Chapter 44: Ichinose Minami Is Acting Strange

Hondou's punch came fast and furious, but I had some training in martial arts, and I easily sidestepped it. His balance wavered, and I took advantage of the opening, landing a swift kick to his side. He grunted in pain but quickly recovered, charging at me with reckless abandon.

I kept my cool, dodging his haymaker swings with ease. Hondou was a brawler, no finesse, just raw aggression. He aimed a wild hook at my head, and I ducked under it, delivering a solid jab to his ribs. He winced and staggered back, clearly feeling the pain.

Ichinose watched, her eyes wide with shock, her hands pressed to her mouth. "Stop, both of you, please!"

Hondou, however, wasn't about to back down. He lunged at me again, throwing punches in a flurry, but I expertly blocked and parried each one. I could tell his energy was waning, and he was becoming frustrated.

"You think you're better than me, Kurogane?" he spat between heavy breaths.

"I never said that, Hondou. But I do think I'm better at not resorting to violence to solve my problems."

He came at me again, swinging wildly with a haymaker. I smoothly ducked under his arm, feeling the rush of air as it whizzed past my head. I used his own momentum against him, guiding him further off-balance.

Hondou stumbled, and I followed up with a swift kick to his shin. It wasn't a devastating blow, but it was enough to send him crashing to the ground with a loud thud.

"Urkk..."

He grunted as he hit the floor, clearly not used to fighting someone with any semblance of skill. He scrambled back to his feet, his face twisted in a mixture of anger and humiliation.

This time, he charged at me recklessly, throwing a barrage of wild punches. I blocked and dodged each one with ease, my movements fluid and controlled. It was like a dance, and I was leading.

I saw an opening and decided to end this before it escalated any further. With a well-timed strike, I disarmed him, sending his clenched fist spinning away. Before he could react, I executed a perfect leg sweep, knocking him off his feet once more.

Hondou hit the ground hard, and this time, he stayed down. His breathing was heavy, and he looked defeated. It was clear that he was no match for someone with proper martial arts training.

I stood over him, "Had enough?"

That seemed to infuriate him further. He swiftly pushed himself up from the ground and threw a punch at me. However, his rushed attack caused him to lose balance, and when I sidestepped him, he ended up back on the floor.

"You jerk. Is this who you really are? Gloating about your skills, huh? Did you keep this hidden so you could mock us while we made fools of ourselves, thinking we were strong?"

"I've never looked down on anyone. Chinatsu taught me that looking down on others is the same as overestimating yourself. I know my abilities well, which is why I rarely get into fights. But I won't hesitate to use my strength if someone's in danger."

"Don't act all righteous."

"I'm not even considering it, to be honest."

I'm not some righteous hero. I've got my flaws, plenty of them. I'm no different from anyone else here. I've made mistakes, screwed up, and had my fair share of regrets. But when I see someone in trouble, I can't just stand by and do nothing. It's not about being righteous; it's about being human.

If I had to point out who the real righteous people were, well, I'd say it's Kasumi-san, who took care of me and Yui, even though she wasn't our real mother. And, of course, Chinatsu and Natsumi. They were the ones I could lean on, and it was their warmth that drew me to them and made me fall in love.

I'm not a righteous person. I'm just a lucky guy with two wonderful girls by his side. That's all.

"Who are you, really?" he asked as he got back on his feet.

"Who am I? Well, you already know, don't you? I'm just your classmate."

"No. I'm not talking about your outward self. I mean who you are on the inside. Out of all the people I've fought, you're different. It's like there's a gap in our skills, much wider than I realized."

"I don't think there's anything special about me, honestly. I just don't like seeing someone in trouble, especially when it comes to stuff like this."

Hondou seemed to be sizing me up, his gaze intense. "You're not afraid of me, are you?"

I shrugged, trying to appear more confident than I felt. "I wouldn't say I'm not afraid. It's just that there are things I'm more afraid of, like letting someone get hurt when I could've done something to stop it."

Hondou's eyes stayed locked onto mine, and I could sense a certain intensity in his gaze. He seemed to be trying to figure something out, perhaps searching for something deeper within me.

"You're an interesting guy, Kurogane," he finally said, his tone less confrontational than before.

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. "Interesting? How so?"

He let out a short, almost rueful laugh. "Most people wouldn't have stepped in like you did, especially not against someone like me."

I scratched my head, feeling a bit self-conscious under his scrutiny. "Well, I don't know about that. I just... couldn't let things escalate further, you know?"

Hondou's expression shifted, as if he were mulling over something. "You know, Kurogane, I've been in my fair share of fights, and I've come across all sorts of people. But you... you're different. You've got this... aura about you."

"Aura? What are you talking about?"

He leaned in closer, his voice low. "It's like you've got this hidden strength, something beyond what meets the eye. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's there."

"I don't know about hidden strength. I just do what I can when the situation calls for it."

"Is that so?" he said. Suddenly, the bell rang, signaling that lunchtime had come to an end. Hondou then glanced at Ichinose, who was nervously watching us from the side. "You've won this round, Kurogane. But mark my words, this won't be the last time we cross paths like this. Keep that in mind. And you, Minami-chan, don't think for a second that I'm done with you. I still want you. I won't stop until you're mine, no matter what it takes." With that, he turned and walked away, slipping his hands into his pockets.

I looked at Ichinose, who briefly met my gaze before looking away. "Thank you, for the help, I mean."

"It's no prob. But I have a feeling Hondou won't give up easily. Just be cautious around him."

"O-Okay," she replied, her voice shaky. She then shifted her weight from one foot to the other, a look of surprise on her face. "But I've got to say, I honestly didn't expect you to be so good in a fight, Kurogane-kun. You really caught me off guard back there."

I shrugged, trying to downplay it. "I'm not that great, really. I've just had my fair share of scuffles growing up, that's all."

"You make it sound like it's a normal part of your life."

"Well, I guess you could say I've had an eventful upbringing. But don't worry about it too much. Let's just hope things settle down from here on."

Ichinose nodded, and a faint smile played on her lips. "Thank you again, Kurogane-kun. You're really something."

I wasn't quite sure what Ichinose meant by "You're really something," but regardless, we headed back to our classroom together. On the way, we happened to run into Usui-sensei, who was headed in the same direction as us.

"Hm? Oh, it's Ichinose-san and Kurogane-kun."

"Hello, Usui-sensei," we both greeted her.

Usui-sensei raised an eyebrow with a mischievous grin. "It's a bit unusual to see you two together. Is this some secret rendezvous, perhaps? Naughty behavior isn't recommended, you know. This is a school, after all. If you're caught doing something inappropriate, I'm sure the school won't take it lightly."

"Please don't joke like that, Usui-sensei. We just happened to bump into each other and decided to walk back to the classroom together."

Usui-sensei chuckled. "I see, I see. My apologies if I jumped to conclusions."

"That's right. Besides," I added, "it's not like Ichinose and I are a perfect match or anything."

In terms of appearance and anything else...

I thought Ichinose would agree with my comment, but when I glanced at her, she had a wide-eyed expression. What? Did I say something strange?

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"N-Nothing," Ichinose stammered.

Her behavior had been a bit odd lately. I wondered if my frequent visits to her workplace had sparked some deep contemplation on her part.

"Ara ara."

"U-Usui-sensei?!"

Ichinose's rather peculiar behavior seemed to have triggered something within her. She appeared to understand why Ichinose was acting the way she was. As for me, I remained puzzled.

"Oh, the joys of youth," Usui-sensei said, her eyes welling up with tears.

I couldn't quite grasp what had just transpired, but I had a feeling that high school life was about to get even more complicated, and I wasn't sure if I was entirely prepared for it.