Chapter 20: Date With Chinatsu (2)

"Uh, I'm sorry, but I'm kinda busy right now," Chinatsu replied.

"Busy? And what could you possibly be busy with?" the guy asked.

Chinatsu was clearly getting hit on, and it wasn't surprising given how she looked and her alluring appearance. Any guy would want to ask her out or get her number. I felt a sense of pride that Chinatsu was attracting this kind of attention, but I couldn't deny that I was also annoyed. Did this guy seriously hit on my girlfriend right in front of me? He didn't seem to care that I was here, as if he were intentionally ignoring me. If Chinatsu weren't holding onto my arm, I might have punched this guy in the face.

"I..." Chinatsu glanced at me. "I already have a boyfriend, so no."

"Ha?"

The guy finally noticed me and shot me a narrowed gaze that was meant to be intimidating. But I wasn't intimidated. He couldn't scare me off. I returned his glare.

"You're his boyfriend?"

"You got a problem with that?"

The guy burst into laughter, "Bwahahahaha! Seriously? You're absolutely sure about this? Your boyfriend is a joke! He looks so weak that one finger would knock him over!"

He was really pushing my buttons. I was on the verge of charging at him, but Chinatsu's grip on me tightened.

"Don't fight him, Tsubasa," she whispered to me. "Let's just go."

She started pulling me away, but the guy grabbed her wrist.

"Hey, don't just walk away. We're not finished here. I haven't even secured a date with you yet."

"As I said, I'm already on a date, so can you please go bother someone else." Chinatsu's irritation was starting to show.

"But I like you. That feisty personality of yours, that expression you're wearing right now, it's incredibly sexy. Hey, why don't we ditch this puny boyfriend of yours and have some alone time together? What do you say? I promise I'll take you to heights this dork could never even dream of."

"What the hell did you just say?"

This guy seriously needed a reality check. I was seething with anger at the way he was talking to Chinatsu. I was ready to teach him a lesson he wouldn't forget. I was so ready to punch him into next week!

"Don't, Tsubasa. Don't fight. We're on a date, remember?" Chinatsu restrained me as I moved towards him.

"Do you really think I'd let him get away with talking to you like that, Chinatsu? I'm not the kind of boyfriend who lets someone like him disrespect you like this!"

What he said had crossed a line, and it ignited my anger. He had been hitting on her, and now he was suggesting something completely inappropriate.

"Oh, you're itching for a fight, dork? Fine, then come at me. Just don't run crying to your mommy when I'm done pounding you into the ground and taking your girlfriend with me!"

The douchebag assumed a fighting stance. Judging by his posture, it was clear he hadn't received any formal martial arts training, but he wasn't exactly weak either. He had a solid physique and probably had plenty of street fighting experience. His stance was somewhat awkward, but it seemed like he was trying to mimic a boxer.

"Let go of me, Chinatsu."

"But..."

"I can't just let what he said slide. I'm going to teach this guy a lesson, no matter what."

Chinatsu let out a frustrated sigh. "You're really stubborn, Tsubasa..."

"Huh?"

Did she just call me stubborn? I didn't know why, but her words somehow snapped me back to my senses. My anger didn't disappear entirely, but it simmered down a bit.

Chinatsu let go of my hand and approached the guy with an intense glare.

"Oh? Accepting my date now, huh?" The man said, somewhat relaxing his stance. "Have you finally realized how much of a dork your boyfriend is and decided to switch to someone like me? Good choice, lady. Now, shall we head to a nearby motel?"

I was genuinely shocked that he could say those things, completely disregarding Chinatsu's fierce glare. I was pretty sure she wasn't accepting his date. It seemed more like she was about to deliver a rejection, and it would probably be a painful one.

As she got closer to him, she smiled... That smile... it was the coldest smile I had seen from her all day.

With the guy standing with his legs spread apart due to his earlier stance, Chinatsu had an easy opening to attack his vulnerable area. She wasn't planning to actually fight this guy, of course. Chinatsu was a decent fighter with some martial arts experience, but her fights were mostly friendly sparring matches. She couldn't take down a guy larger than her in a real brawl. But there was a way to handle this.

"Get lost," she said with a cold smile, and then delivered a swift kick right between his legs.

"Kughaaaa?!" The pick-up artist collapsed, clutching his injured groin, tears of pain streaming from his eyes. "Y-You bitch! What did you do?!"

Chinatsu simply turned away without saying another word and came over to me, wrapping her arms around me.

"Let's go, Tsubasa."

"O-Okay..."

I glanced over my shoulder at the guy as we walked away. Despite my anger towards him, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy. I'd never experienced the pain of having my "eggs" crushed, but I could imagine it was excruciating.

"You really laid into him back there, huh?" I commented as I looked ahead in the direction we were heading.

"People who behave like that deserve that kind of punishment," she replied with a smile. For some reason, I shivered when I saw it. "That goes for cheaters too. Actually, the punishment for cheaters is much, much more severe than what I did to that guy."

"I-I'm not going to cheat. I'm completely devoted to you."

"If you're truly devoted to me, you wouldn't be two-timing me and Natsumi."

"W-Well, I'm devoted to both of you."

As we continued our conversation, we didn't notice that the pick-up artist was muttering something.

"Those bastards... I'm going to make them pay."