It seemed to have upset him. The leader said in a voice that was loud enough for me to hear.\n
“Who the hell do you think you are?”\n
He put his weight on it. The little guy was struggling. He must not be able to breathe well. I could hear his muffled voice. It was painful to watch.\n
After a while, the leader relaxed. At that moment, the little guy looked up and took a deep breath. After catching his breath, he shouted.\n
“Hey, if I mess up, I’ll get caught!　Absolutely not possible!”\n
Ha! You idiot! You won’t get caught that easily! It’s not like you just let them catch you with it!　Ah?”\n
“That’s not what I’m talking about. ……”\n
His face sinks to the ground again. The words “crime” and “get caught” are all so disturbing.\n
The other four people surrounding them made no particular move. They were just silently watching the two of them. They only nodded occasionally at the leader’s words.\n
“……, Wa.ha”.\n
The little guy, his head freed, held his chest and breathed hard.\n
But his defiant attitude had not changed. He kept glaring at the leader’s face.\n
Then he said.\n
” To attack a woman is absolutely insane!\n
…… Oh, so that’s what he meant.\n\n
The moment I heard those words, everything connected in my mind.\n
Yamazaki wasn’t lying when he said that.\n
I was convinced, but at the same time, I was very irritated.\n
He’s a jerk. He’s really a piece of work.\n
The leader said with a laugh.\n\n
“Idiot. It doesn’t matter to a chicken like you. We’ll have fun on our own, okay?”\n
The cronies smiled at the leader who turned his back.\n
“I want to see the howling face of that guy Ookusu. I wonder what he’ll look like.”\n\n
I laughed in my mind.\n
Hahahaha. Do you want to see my face now?\n
I can’t see my own face, but I know what it looks like.\n
–I want to kill.\n
I’m sure I’ll look like a demon, dominated by murderous intent and anger.\n
I was at my limit. What Yamazaki was saying was 100% true. So I didn’t need to hesitate anymore. I just told my dad that I was going to the convenience store. I had to get home quickly before he got suspicious.\n
I turned off the phone in my pocket and hid it in the grass.\n\n\n
I approached the delinquents, making the sound of rough footsteps.\n
My back felt like it was floating. I was back in the shitty world I had once stepped into. A place I shouldn’t be. A place I had decided not to come back to. Still, I had to keep going.\n
Eventually, the delinquents noticed me.\n
“What, you!” (TN: “You” here and in the following sentences are the rude form “omae”) \n
One of them grabbed my shoulder, but I shook him off and walked on.\n
“Oi!”\n
I ignore the voice on my back.\n
As I walked out of the darkness to where the streetlight was shining, the leader of the group turned to me.\n
He looked at me and widened his eyes.\n
One step. Two steps. Backward.\n
I didn’t care, I’m going forward.\n
“You, you’re, Ookusu……”\n
The other person continues to move back. I kept walking.\n
Gradually, the leader catches up to the river bank. But he doesn’t stop. Eventually, we were within striking distance of each other.\n
“Wh, why are you in such a place?”\n
I didn’t answer. I just stared at his face in silence.\n
“Did you hear what I just said? Naa, oi.”\n
He’s obviously scared. He must be remembering the time when I beat him up.\n
“What are you planning on doing? Oi. Stop it, man. What the… what the heck are you?”\n
His breath still stinks, I thought. When I looked closely, I saw that his teeth were very dirty. Some of his teeth were missing. There was also the smell of cigarettes and alcohol mixed in, making me want to pinch my nose.\n
I said, \n
“Nothing particular. I was just wondering what was going on because it was so loud.”\n
But now it’s as quiet as a lie. The other delinquents seemed to have noticed. I looked around and asked.\n
“So, …… what is the aim?”\n
“What do you mean?”\n
“What do you hope to accomplish with your stupid criminal scheme?”\n
The face in front of me twisted in agitation as if he realized I’d heard everything.\n
“Shit.”\n
His eyes have been swimming for a while now. I’m sure he already knows in his bones that I’m stronger than him. That’s why he can’t hit me.\n
He turned his head to the side and looked away. Then he covered his face with his hands.\n
He does this for a while, but then his shoulders start to shake a little.\n
I wondered if he was getting desperate. He started to chuckle.\n
“Oh, you’re such a pain in the ass!”\n
Even as he began to speak, his eyes were not looking at me. He was looking at something behind me.\n
“I’ll answer you if you insist.”\n
The sound of footsteps came from behind me. I pretend not to hear them.\n
His face twists ugly. It was the lecherous smile of a man convinced of victory.\n
The leader of the group shouted out loud.\n
“It is to see you cry and regret it!”\n
At the same time, the footsteps behind me suddenly rushed forward.\n
I glanced to the side and saw another delinquent there.\n\n
He was holding a wooden stick that he seemed to have picked up and was about to swing it at me.\n\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nTN: Moment of truth… Spoiler alert- It’s probably not what you think.\n\n\n