As I climbed out of the river, the night sky was the first thing that came into view.\n
The pain came back again. I hadn’t felt it earlier, but now it was hurting and it couldn’t be helped. It was proof that my body was regaining its senses.\n
My arms, my legs, my face, my stomach, everything was aching. It’s more painful than a normal injury due to the water stain.\n
But it was still not unbearable.\n
I grabbed the grass on the riverbank.\n
I slowly crawled out of the river. I got on the ground and gasped for breath while holding my sides.\n
When I looked up, I saw that the delinquents were already leaving. I yelled,\n
“Wait!”\n
I yelled as loud as I could. The delinquents noticed my voice and turned to look at me.\n
“Don’t run away!　Come here!”\n
Not yet. I’m not done yet.\n
It’s meaningless if I don’t finish the job. To show that I could still do it, I gave the leader a sharp look.\n
Even from a distance, I could tell that he was snickering at me.\n
I guess he saw how battered I was and decided that one man was enough. Only the leader of the group began to walk toward me.\n
I covered what I had picked up at the bottom of the river with my hand.\n
The leader of the group looks down at me, right next to me.\n
“You still want to do this?”\n
He smirked. I looked at his face and smiled back.\n
He lifted his leg, ready to push me into the river again. That was the moment I aimed for.\n
Using all the strength I had, I stood up and grabbed him by the collar. Then dropped him down, sweeping the other leg off its feet.\n
It was as if the leader was leaning on top of me.\n
I held his head in my arms. I pressed my right hand against his neck.\n
“Do you know what this is?”\n
You could feel the chill in the air. The leader froze when he heard the words. He stared silently into my eyes.\n
He looked like he was about to say, “No way”. I narrowed my eyes.\n
When I pushed a little harder, he let out a pathetic sound.\n
“How was it? Did you enjoy it?　I’ve let you beat me this hard. I’m sure you’ve had your fill. Even if I did yawn from all the lousy attacks.”\n
It’s half a lie, half the truth. I continued, not caring that there are lies in the mix.\n
“Oh, by the way, weren’t you talking about doing something about my sister earlier?”\n
With my left hand, I stroked his neck. The opponent’s body jolts. I push my right hand in harder.\n
“If you go through with it, I’ll kill you.”\n
I whispered in his ear. One note at a time, to heighten his fear.\n
“I will kill you. No matter where you run, I will chase you down and kill you. I won’t just cut off your head. I will shave off your limbs, crush your crotch, and gouge out your eyeballs. I will make it so painful that you will die from the pain, and I will chase you all the way and kill you. Remember that.”\n
Then I pushed him off with my foot. He slumped, took a few steps back, and sat down on the spot.\n
The leader lets out a dry chuckle. His mouth twitches.\n
He glared at me, then quickly got up and ran away. His cronies probably had no idea what was going on. I’m sure he was saving face.\n\n
After making sure that the delinquents were gone, I fell down on my back.\n
Finally, it was over.\n
I slumped my arms down. I looked at the object I had been holding earlier.\n
It’s just a piece of glass. I didn’t care what it was, as long as I could scare him.\n
I threw the piece of glass toward the river. It made a popping sound and sank.\n
I laid on my back and looked at the night sky.\n
There were hardly any stars in sight. There was no moon, so the sky was completely clear.\n
I let out a deep breath.\n
I wondered how much time had passed. Maybe it wasn’t a very long time. But it felt like a very long time to me.\n
It was quiet as if it had never happened before. I could hear the sound of water. My whole body was in shambles, and every time I took a breath, some part of my body ached.\n
I looked at my arm and saw that it was covered in blood and bruises.\n
I had to go home, I thought, but my body didn’t move as much as I wanted it to. Even though my opponent was not used to fighting, he was still capable of hurting an unarmed person. I might have let my guard down a little.\n\n
I raised my body.\n
My whole body screamed at once. I couldn’t lift my legs as I normally could. I dragged my feet forward.\n
I moved to the bottom of the bridge.\n
I found my phone, which I had left there beforehand. I couldn’t leave it in the pocket of my clothes because I was afraid it might get dropped in the river.\n
I sat down, leaning against the natural riverbank. I picked up my phone and turned it on.\n
I looked at the time. It had been less than half an hour since I arrived here.\n
That means it’s been almost an hour since I left the house. I didn’t want to worry my father. I have to force myself to go home.\n\n
It was when I was about to close my phone.\n
The phone vibrated.\n
Ah, I thought. I see the person’s name on the screen again, just like yesterday.\n
I smiled a little. I didn’t expect to receive it at a time like this.\n
I tapped the notification and saw the contents of the message.\n
Risa Enami: Is it okay now?\n\n
Seeing this, all the strength drained from my body.\n\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nTN: There you go people.. this guy really thinks things through.\n\n