7 Chapter 07
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009.
(POV Change)
Kawakami Shinmachi, Itagaki's House.
"Hnnggrrhh!!" Angel lets out a half-growl, half-moan sound as she stretches her body, causing some of her bones to releases a popping sound in the process.
She wearily wiped the junk from her eyes while her other hand scratched her exposed belly. "...What time is it?" She looked at the clock on the wall, and its hour hand pointed at 8.
She then moved her tired legs towards the small table near the TV. She grabbed her phone and opens the app called LINE in her phone, typing something in it.
-----
RedBeast: Oi, Pachiyon.
HandsomeMonkey: What do you want?
RedBeast: Where r u?
HandsomeMonkey: School.
HandsomeMonkey: What? Miss me or something?
RedBeast: Fuck u! Just askin!
RedBeast: U comin today?
RedBeast: And before u misunderstanding, I'm just askin!
HandsomeMonkey: Uhuh
HandsomeMonkey: I think I will. Around evening.
HandsomeMonkey: And I think I will crash at your place as well. Just got some new games with me to play later.
RedBeast: Fuck yeah! U the best!
HandsomeMonkey: I know I am.
HandsomeMonkey: Oh, teach is here. I need to go now.
HandsomeMonkey: Talk with you later, Tenten.
RedBeast: Hey!
RedBeast: Fuck u!
RedBeast: Stop calling me that, u little shit!
-----
Seeing that Yonpachi doesn't even read her text anymore, Angel huffed and closed the app, but the smile on her face doesn't betray her feeling of happiness right now. She then opens the drawer on a small desk, takes out a glowing bracelet stored inside, and wears it around her wrist.
"Dunno why, but something feels missing without this!" She exclaimed with a grin on her face before she took out two white-furred hair ties and styled her red-orange hair into the usual twintails.
She fixes the black choker around her neck, loosening it a bit before letting out a big yawn until she heard Tatsuko's voice from the living room.
"Ten-chan~ Food is ready~"
"Aight! I'm coming, Tatsu-nee!" Angel shouted as she opened the sliding door of her room and went to the bathroom to wash her face up first.
"There you are, Ten." Ami hummed, drinking a can of beer first thing in the morning while still in her pajamas.
"Good morning, Ten-chan~" Tatsuko greeted Angel, who had just arrived after refreshing herself in the bathroom.
"Good morning, Ami-nee, Tatsu-nee!" Angel greeted back with a biggest smile on her face, showing her cute fangs.
"You look cherry. What's wrong?" Ami twirled the beer in her hand, throwing a curious gaze towards Angel.
"Nothing!" Angel grinned, taking the spot next to Tatsuko, "Just heard that Pachiyon will come today and have a sleepover to play games with me."
The expression on Ami's face sharpened when she heard that, meanwhile Tatsuko clapped her hands, "Oh, that's good news~ I want to see Kurō-kun as well~"
"Hihi~! Yeah, me too!" Angel slurped the miso soup with gusto before continuing, "He said he will come in the evening, and I think it's bout time I should return this tee back to him." She grasped the hem of the orange t-shirt with giant ROCK letters imprinted on its chest that she's currently wearing right now.
"Oh~ Is that Kurō-kun's?" Tatsuko tilted her head slightly, "No wonder I smell his scent coming from you all these days..."
"Really?" Angel tilted her head as well, "Well, I don't know why, but I just like this smell, you know. It makes me really warm and at peace for some weird reason."
"Ehh~ Then you should let me borrow it later, Ten-chan. I want to feel really warm too~ I bet it will make me sleep peacefully too~" Tatsuko planted her cheek on her palm, smiling.
"Just borrow one from Pachiyon later, Tatsu-nee! This one is mine!" Angel crossed her arms in front of her small chest, hugging her body as if trying to protect the t-shirt from Tatsuko.
"Ehhh~" Tatsuko whined childishly, puffing her cheeks at her youngest sister.
"I don't really understand why both of you are so fixated with that monkey boy..." Ami shook her head tiredly while sipping her beer. "It's only been three days we've become acquainted with him, and you three are already this close. It makes no sense. What's so good about that boy anyway?"
"He's a good gaming friend." Angel answered without a beat.
"He's cute~" Tatsuko giggled.
"And strong too!" Angel clashes her chopsticks with each other with a grin on her face.
"Yup, very strong~ And that side of him is cool too~" Tatsuko started to doze off a bit.
"He's a nice fellow if you get to know him, though he can be a dick sometimes." Angel huffed while eating the mackerel, "But I guess that what makes him more interesting than other boys around my age."
Ami just sighed, looking defeated for some reason. She just doesn't understand these girls anymore, more like she doesn't want to, "Whatever..."
Angel just hummed before she noticed someone missing from the usual dinner table, "Where are Sensei and Ryu, by the way?"
"Dunnooooo~" Tatsuko yawned before she finally succumbed to the sleepiness and fell asleep on the table.
Angel was fast enough to react, pushing all the tableware from Tatsuko so she wouldn't accidentally break them and getting hurt in the process, "Phew~ Safe!"
"Hiccup~ Ryu was got called by that Marōdo guy. The guy told him to gather more people. And for Sensei... I think I heard him saying he wanted to search for someone strong to fight or something." Ami sighed satisfyingly after she finished all the beer in her hand, "Hiccup! Ohh~ I'm wasted~ I'm going back to bed now. Good night~"
Angel just shakes her head in response and continues to eat her breakfast alone while playing some games with her phone.
--*MAJIDERASHAI!*--
(POV Return)
Kawakami Academy, Second Gymnasium Building.
Today is the human powers measurement. It's a physical examination conducted for today's 1st period after morning homeroom ended.
The basic height, weight, and sitting height are being measured and in addition, they're holding an eye test and a hearing test as well. In short, this is a health exam and sport test.
Since we have a large number of sports teams, apparently the ones like the baseball team with a lot of players are also scheduled to undergo a more thorough examination addition to today's examination.
Thank goodness that I'm in a go-home club.
"Oooh..." Moro groaned in frustration, "I stopped growing as I thought..."
"Heh! You should work out like me, Moro." Gakuto said, flexing his muscles before flaunting the dynamometer in his hand to Moro, "See, the hand dynamometer went off the scale."
"I think it's harder to grow horizontally if you have muscles." Moro sighed.
"Hey, did anyone see Yonpachi? He's the only one left that's gotta do the height measure test." Suguru approached Moro.
"Yonpachi is over there, gawking at girls in their gym uniforms from the window." Moro pointed at my direction.
And true to what he said, I was sticking my face to the window like a lizard, ogling brazenly towards the schoolyard where the girls are doing their sport tests right now.
"Right... Just because he's gotten stronger these days doesn't really change the fact that he was still the most perverted monkey in Kawakami." Gakuto nodded his head sagely, "Then again, not that I can blame him either way. Because girl's gym uniform is some seriously hot shit here."
"Fukumoto!" Ume-sensei yelled at me, "Come over here and go measure your height right now!"
"YES, MA'AM!" I straighten up and ran over to the measure device like crazy.
"Don't move and straighten up your body just like that." Ume-sensei ordered as she helped me measure my height. "Umu. This sound crazy, but you have indeed grown 15 centimeters from last year!"
"Yahoo!" I shouted in delight, bringing my hands up in the air and pointing the ceiling while running around the court like a kid on sugar rush. I'm now 5'5 feet tall!
"Wow, I never thought seeing someone growing 15 centimeters up just in a couple of weeks!" Kazama commented from the side, "That's some crazy spurt growth!"
"Ugh... I feel like it won't take long for Yonpachi to surpass me in height soon..." Moro lamented with a sigh.
"Don't mind." Yamato pat the effeminate boy on the back in sympathy, "You can't compete with someone who has had crazy growth like him, Moro."
"Fukumoto! Stop fooling around and go measures your grip strength now!" Ume-sensei snapped her whip in my direction but I just moved out of its trajectory by hopping backward.
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"I've seen your fight with Kawakami yesterday, but you are indeed improving so much. Your instinct particularly." Ume-sensei suddenly praised me as she retracted her whip, "Make sure keep up the good work!"
"Aye aye, Ma'am! I won't disappoint you!" I saluted her in a very enthusiastic manner.
"Umu! Good reply!" She nodded her head in approval.
"Let's see here." I gripped the hand grip of the dynamometer and clenched it, "Oh. It goes off the scale."
"No surprise there." Yamato hummed, "I've already seen how powerful your punch was in your match against Wanko."
The others are nodding their heads in agreement.
"Gee whiz, stop complimenting me like that! It makes me blush!" I grinned bashfully like a schoolgirl.
"Ew, that's disgusting!" And they suddenly turned their backs on me.
"Fuck you all!" I roared and chase after them as they were scattering around like ants.
"Stop playing around all of you!" Ume-sensei clapped her hands hard, catching our full attention. "If you're done measuring, go to the schoolyard. The girls are taking their sport test, and you all will take their place once they're done."
"Monkey Step!" And with that, I've gone in a flash, leaving nothing but dust behind.
"Yonpachi, you bastard!" Gakuto shouted as he ran after me to the schoolyard followed by everyone.
SNAP! SNAP!
"I know I've seen it, but damn that move is still fast..." Suguru commented, fixing his glasses.
"It feels like he was teleporting." Moro nodded his head.
"That's so cool!" Kazama smiled brightly at the word of 'teleport', "I want to compete with him in running track!"
"Hyaah~ The bloomers here are just the best~" I moaned in ecstasy, "That's one of the top reasons why I entered this school."
"Man, you sure love to talk about sex, Yonpachi..." Moro laughed awkwardly at me.
"Walking on the path of Great Pervert is my destiny." I made a pose after I said that.
"I feel like the cool voice you had is being wasted on you for being a pervert and all..." Moro looked the other way in discomfort.
"Hey, that's just rude." I huffed, looking quite offended. But just as I was about to say something, I caught a glimpse of cute and sexy movement coming from Wanko through my peripheral vision. I moved so fast to the perfect location to snap a perfect shot of Wanko adjusting her bloomer from a perfect angle, "Noice!"
"Stop using a high-leveled footwork like that just for taking a picture of a girl!" Gakuto yelled at me.
"What are you talking about, Gakuto!?" I stand on my feet, looking at him straight in the eyes, "In the first place, I practiced this footwork just so I can indeed take a picture of a girl in a more fast and efficient manner! So what's wrong for me to utilize such move!?"
"Wait, are you serious!?"
"Of course I am! My passion for a woman's body is powerful enough to make me change myself! To get stronger! So I don't have to worry about getting beaten up after taking a picture of a girl who is stronger than me!" I announced truthfully.
The whole schoolyard was descended to a dead silence upon hearing my bold statement, and I can even hear the sound of a cricket and a sound of crow called me 'AHO' from far in the distance.
"Dude, I have no words to say about that..." Gakuto shook his head in defeat followed by many other guys behind him.
"Never knew such a riveting way to changes oneself exists." Yamato commented, chuckling to himself. He just found such reason to get stronger was funny.
"What an idiot." Tadakatsu seemed fed up with my bullshit.
Kazama on the other hand was laughing his ass off for some reason in the background, smacking his knee and whatnot.
"Eugh, look at that monkey saying something inappropriate first thing in the morning." Chika tucked her hair behind her ear and huffed in distaste at me.
"Um, ehe—hehe... At least he is passionate and serious with what he's doing..." Mayo said with an awkward giggle. I appreciated it that at least she tried to support me.
"Yonpachi-kun is so honest." Wanko giggled with her hands on her behind before she suddenly lost in her thought, "But is this what he meant by finding something you truly want to do...?"
Miyako on the other hand was simply rolling her eyes in disinterest. No matter what I said, nothing can faze her unless my name is Yamato. Such a loyal chick!
"Hahaha! Yep!" Kazama nodded his head multiple times after he finished laughing, "You are a unique and funny guy just like I thought! Yonpachi, join my pirate crew!"
There was a pregnant silence until I opened my mouth to retort him like a straight man, slapping the empty air in front of me with the back of my hand, "What, is this a One Piece!?"
Another silence was occurred by then until Kazama laugh once again while giving me a thumbs up, "Nice tsukkomi!"
"You guys are out of your minds..." Yamato shook his head wearily at our joke.
"But on a serious note, I really want you to join the Kazama Family." Kazama said with a smile on his face, extending his right arm to me.
"Huh..." I looked at him straight in the eyes for a moment before shifting my gaze towards Yamato, who shrugged his shoulders in response, "What do the other members think about this?"
"Let's see..." Kazama looked at his fingers before answering my question, "2 are against it and 3 others are up for it, though I haven't asked Wanko about this yet and Yamato still hasn't given his answer as well."
"Let me guess, the two who were against this were Moro and Shiina, didn't they?" I raised one of my eyebrows.
"Yup." Kazama nodded his head.
"I'm surprised you can guess that." Yamato hummed, crossing his arms.
"Well, we might only know each other for a year, but I think I've already grasped all of your personalities by now." I chuckled to myself, "Shiina was too obvious. She's the type of person who doesn't like a random stranger barging into her safe haven so willy-nilly. Then again knowing her past, I guess it was inevitable."
"Oh, you know her past...?" Yamato was slightly caught off guard by that.
I scratched the back of my neck uncomfortably, "Well, I accidentally stumbled upon it to be honest. I once saw her get bullied by other kids when I passed through the Kawakami Elementary School from the passenger's window in the past. It's quite shocking for me to see someone get bullied back then, so it's kinda stuck inside my head even now."
"...I see." Yamato closed his eyes for a moment before looking at me with a serious face, "Please just don't tell people about it. I don't think many know about her past in this school."
"Dude, I'm not that insensitive. I know how to keep a secret." I huffed, looking quite offended.
Ýamato chuckled in response to that, "I know. I'm just trying to make sure."
"Yeah, yeah. And for Moro, it's simple." I continued, catching a glimpse of Moro flinching when our eyes meet as I grinned at him, "He's the definition of an introvert. I bet he wasn't that comfortable enough with me joining the group he considered his second family since we'd only been friends for a year or so."
"Spot on." Kazama and the other male members of Kazama Family joined me, grinning at the effeminate boy who was blushing a bit in embarrassment from our teasing.
"Ugh..." Moro groaned, hiding his face with both hands.
"Heh, no wonder Wanko lost against you yesterday." Yamato snorted in amusement, "If you were already this aware of each of our personalities, then you must be aware of Wanko's bad habits, huh."
"Well, being a keen observant is a must for a cameraman, after all." I grinned at him.
"I think you'll fit in well enough in this group." Yamato chuckled under his breath, "You've got a positive vote from me."
"Nice!" Kazama made a gut pose before he looks over Wanko and called her over to where we are standing, "Oi, Wanko! Come over here for a sec!"
BWOOOSH!
And just like that, Wanko easily cut the distance between us and her in a flash while having a biggest smile on her face upon approaching us as her imaginary tail wagging happily, "Hai, hai?"
"Kugh..." I clutched the chest part of my shirt, groaning.
"Huh, what's wrong with you, dude?" Gakuto asked when he noticed my weird reaction.
"Nothing... I just had this sudden urge to pat her head when I saw how cute she is right now..." I heaved in pensive, trying to calm my beating heart down.
"Hnn...!" Wanko suddenly grabbed her ponytail and used it as a cover to hide her red face from me.
At that moment, I can feel something building up within me and before I know it, something just burst through my nostrils like a waterfall, surprising many who watched the scene.
"Whoa, damn! Yonpachi just got nosebleed!" Gakuto shouted in shock.
"Oi, oi, majikayo!?" Suguru ran his hands through his hair.
"Th-This is the first time I saw someone got nosebleed like in the manga..." Moro commented from the side, looking quite shocked and awed at the same time.
"Did your immunity towards Wanko get weaker by any chance?" Yamato raised one of his eyebrows, "Because I swear you were not this bad."
"Ugh... No." I shook my head, "I was always this weak against her. I just know how to hold myself back without being too excessive with my reactions."
I think also heard someone screaming 'HIDEO-SAMA!' in the background right now, but it might be just my imagination. Or not. Yeah, definitely not. Hideo must have seen the same scene as me by accident and passed out or something.
I mean, Tadakatsu, the grumpiest of Mcgrumpie, was blushing hard too earlier. He was just fast on recovering his composure before anyone could see his reaction.
"But because of our last conversation, I felt like there's no need to hold myself back anymore with her. That's why I'm just being true to myself right now." I nodded my head sagely while stuffing tissues into my nostrils.
"Um... Are you okay, Yonpachi-kun?" Wanko shyly asked, she still tried to hide her blush with her hair.
"I'm fine." I grinned, giving her a thumbs up to reassure her.
"Good then." She slowly pulled the hair out of her face, showing a gentle smile. "Anyway, what's wrong, Capt?" She hastily changed the subject.
"I just want to ask your opinion about Yonpachi joining our group." Kazama puts both hands on his hips.
"Oooh!" Wanko opened her mouth wide before looking at me with her eyes twinkling in excitement, "You will join us, Yonpachi-kun?"
"No..." I tilted my head.
"!!!" The shock on her face was a sight to see as a cloud of depression suddenly appeared on top of her. She looked very downcast with her imaginary dog tail drooped in sadness, "... I see."
I reached to my mouth with my hand, covering them shut just so I didn't laugh out loud but the snorts coming out of my nose caught her attention, making her look into my direction and finally saw my reaction.
Her face grew redder and her cheeks puffed up with so much air before she jumped on me, punching my shoulder repeatedly in a playful manner, "Mou! Yonpachi-kun! Why are you always teasing me like this!?"
I half-heartedly put up a guard on her playful attacks, "It's your fault for being so cute!"
"Yonpachi-kun!"
"Seeing both of you are already this close with each other, I guess you won't have any problem with him joining us, right, Wanko?" Kazama grinned at both of us.
Wanko pouted, turning her head away, not looking at any of us while crossing her arms, "Hmph! He's a meanie, but..." She glanced in my direction for a second before humphed at me again, "I'm fine with him joining us."
"Are you sure nothing happened between the two of you yesterday?" Yamato raised his eyebrows curiously, "Why I feel like you're getting so close to each other right now?"
"Hmph, nothing really happened!" Wanko still pouted at me. She doesn't even want to look at me right now.
"Nothing... happened...!" I crossed my arms over my chest and stood straight while pretending I was badly hurt or something.
"Stop with the One Piece's joke already!" Moro retorted with a passion.
Kazama laughed boisterously, "Excellent! Welcome to the group, Yonpachi!"
"Whoa, whoa!" I put both hands in front of me/ "Let's not be too hasty, alright! I haven't agreed to this."
"Eh~ Why!?" Kazama childishly whined at me, "Are you saying you don't want to join this awesome group of mine!?"
Wanko flinched and turned her body towards me all of a sudden before she dashes forward, grasping my right hand with both hands, "You're not gonna join us, Yonpachi-kun? Why...? Is it because of... me?"
"Geez, calm down." I grumbled, flicking Wanko's nose playfully, making her scrunches her nose cutely in response, "I'm not saying I won't join, I just said don't be too hasty. Can you see back there? Someone's glaring in our direction right now." I whispered to their ears while glancing towards the person who was glaring at us with silent anger this whole time.
When others are looking in the same direction, they saw Miyako was indeed glaring at us right now. She doesn't say anything, but her mood and expression are saying that she's not pleased at all.
"Ah..." Everyone said at the same time.
"So..." I started, catching their attention, "How about making it a trial first? Let's see how things go for now. If there are truly no inconveniences during my trial as the guest member of Kazama Family and all of you are still wants me in your family, then I would happily join y'all."
"To be honest, that was a good plan." Yamato approved with a nod of his head.
"I didn't know you were such a level-headed person, man." Gakuto commented, scratching the back of his head, looking quite surprised.
I laughed heartily at that, "Well, it's because that trait of mine was easily outshined by my daily pervertedness."
"Right..." Moro nodded his head in agreement.
"It's a good camouflage, don't you think?" I grinned, running my fingers through my spiky hair. "By letting many people see me as a pervert and assume I was nothing but a pervert monkey, they will tend to miss what lies beneath that act and underestimate me until it's too late."
"You hone one of your natures and used them as a mask to hide your other natures and traits?" Yamato smirked at me, "How shrewd of you."
"Heh, you're not so bad yourself, Naoe."
Afterward, both of us laughed together while ignoring the looks other people gave to us right now.
"These two are bad people!" Wanko covered her mouth in shock.
"Oh, give me a break. We had someone with a nihilistic mindset like Yamato's too now?" Gakuto groaned with both hands on the hips.
"I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing..." Moro sighed with a shake of his head, "Anyway, for the trial thing, I'm fine with it."
"What about you, Miyako?" Kazama suddenly threw the question towards the sulking girl, "You wouldn't have a problem with this setting, right?"
Miyako was silent at first, she doesn't do anything but express her displease through her mood. But after she was addressed by the leader and seeing most of the members in the family are already agreed with the trial thing, there's nothing else she can do but accept it as well.
"Fine..." She grumbled under her breath, turning her head the other way.
"Good!" Kazama clapped his hands loudly and smiled brightly at me, "Welcome to the family, Yonpachi!"
"Yay!" Wanko clapped her hands as well, looking excited as she suddenly grabbed both of my hands and jumped up and down like a kid on sugar rush, "Let's get along with each other, Yonpachi-kun!"
"Welcome, man!" Gakuto happily smacked me on the back with a grin on his face meanwhile Moro nodded his head at me.
"It might be temporary for now, but I think everything will work out fine." Yamato hummed, tapping my shoulder once with a smile on his face, "And with a personality like yours, I think you wouldn't lose easily against these maniacs."
"Heh." I snorted in amusement, "Well, thanks for having me, I guess."
While the members of Kazama Family are busy welcoming me to the family, somewhere in the background, there is a group of our classmates looking at us.
"Have you guys ever felt this feeling that your presence was diminished for no reason at all? Like you were being replaced as a background or something? You can say nothing but only looking at the people with more presence than you having fun under the spotlight?" Suguru suddenly threw a question that caught many people who heard it off guard.
"Ah... I felt that too sometimes, especially when I was near Naoe and Kazama." Aguri, a guy with short brown hair, nodded his head in agreement.
"Geh! Please don't say that!" Noboru, a black haired chubby otaku, grabbed the sides of his head with both hands. "It sounds like we are nothing but background characters right now! The fact that we can't be protagonists in our lives is something that scares me the most!"
"Right... That would be too depressing, wouldn't it?" Suguru nodded his head in contemplation, "Though I'm fine with being a side character, I can take it easy with my life by letting the protagonist do all the heavy jobs for me, like saving the world and whatnot."
"Dude..." The others are lost for words upon hearing that.
CLAP! CLAP!
The sound of sharp clapping hands caught everyone's attention as we instinctively looked towards the source, which is Ume-sensei. "Boys, please gather in front of me! We'll now start the sport test! We'll start with the 100 meter dash!"
"All right!" Kazama raised both of his hands high in the air, "I'll run like the wind! Yonpachi, for the first initiation to joining our family, let's have a bet!"
"Ho~" I scratched my jawline, "Interesting. So what will we be betting on?"
"Let's go with Wazou's tonkotsu ramen." Kazama nodded his head before throwing three fingers at me, "Three bowls!"
"Oh, from old man Jizou's place? Sure, I'm on it!" I made a gut pose.
"Oi, are you sure about this, Capt?" Gakuto suddenly called out to Kazama, "Didn't you see how fast Yonpachi was earlier?"
"Yeah." Moro nodded in agreement, "I know you were fast and all, Capt. But, I don't think you are faster than Yonpachi."
"Tsk, tsk." Kazama smiled while waving his index finger at both of them, looking smug for some reason, "No worries! Because look at this customized shoe of mine!"
He flaunted his black customized shoe in front of others with a biggest smile on his face, "These shoes emphasize on the fit to eliminate the power loss and suction impact by using high-efficiency hold! And it's possible to kick with great power because of the super resilient material! So, there's no way I'll lose!"
"Hah! You'll never defeat this handsome monkey with mere customized shoes like that!" I announced boldly while doing a three-point stance, unlike Kazama who did a proper running stance.
FWEEET!!
With the sound of whistle blowing, both of us dashed forward at breakneck speed. Kazama was fast, really fast actually, but unfortunately for him, my footwork and the structure of my muscles are something that far surpassed his, which is why no matter how fast he is, he just couldn't beat me.
The race between us ends with a quite close victory by me.
"Hahaha!" I laughed like a maniac with both hands spread out, "This is the full power of someone who wants to get away from angry girls after peeping on them in the changing room!"
-----
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have successfully defeated Hero of the Shōnen Protagonist!]
You have received +10 Physical Strength
You have received +10 Spiritual Power
You have received Lady Luck's Loved Child!
-----
[Lady Luck's Love Child]
You are the love child of Lady Luck, she who governs the fortune and fate. And as her love child, you have been blessed with a grand fortune and luck.
-----
Fukumoto Ikurō
Grandmaster of Kama Sutra
Rating: C
Physical Strength: 277 – New!
Spiritual Power: 155 – New!
Martial Art: ▾
Ability: ▾
Lady Luck's Love Child – New!
-----
"Dude..." All of my friends were speechless. Their amazement and awe after seeing how fast I am was diminished greatly upon hearing such ridiculous statement.
"Whoa! That was fast, Yonpachi-kun!" Wanko on the other side looked very happy for me. I think she ignored my weird statement and just focused on the race instead.
"To think Capt's invincibility was broken by Yonpachi's pervertedness. Like they said, if you live long enough, you will see new things every day, I guess." Yamato said to himself, looking amused more than anything.
"Kahh! I thought I could win!" Kazama smacked his knee in frustration, heaving a bit from the exertion before exhaling loudly, "Welp, lose is lose. Let's eat in Wazou's Ramen Shop after school later. My treat!"
"Wooho, let's go!" I pointed to the sky excitedly. I love freebies.
"I know both of you are bonding right now, but move away so others can use the track field!" Ume-sensei yelled at us.
"Yes, ma'am!" We both scurried away in sync.
And with nothing more excitement happening than that, we ended the activity after we finished all of the sports tests and started the next period.
--*Please, Koi Me Seriously!*--
After school ended, I and other member of the Kazama Family went to the Wazou's Ramen Shop in Nakamise Street just like Kazama promised. We met Momoyo on our way there after Yamato called her.
We had a blast with Momoyo welcoming me to the group as well, and I had to use some money to treat all the members except for Kazama since he lost a bet against me.
And after they told me that there was this event called Friday's Gathering, and I have to attend it every Friday night, we finally said our goodbye to each other with Wanko giving me the cutest hug I ever received in this life.
I almost melted at that moment, especially when I heard her make a sound of 'gyuuu~' while hugging me. Her cuteness is just too deadly for my poor heart.
After all of that, it's already past four in the evening.
Before I go to the Itagaki's house, I need to buy some errands first by the station. It took quite a while, but I've got all the ingredients I need to make some cream stew for tomorrow, since I craved for it for some reason.
And just as I was about to go home to put all these ingredients, I saw a familiar girl with light brownish-yellow hair, perching on a park bench, face-deep in a book.
"Oh, is that Sweets?"
The way she's reading on a bench in the sunset is kinda surreal. It's like I'm looking at a painting. So, in a moment of daze, I put my groceries down and whipped out my digital camera, taking some pictures of her.
"Huh...?"
Is it either by the shutter sound of my camera or the sound of moving around like a perv, taking a picture of a teenage girl like this, Chika turned her head abruptly in my direction.
"Kyaaahhh!!!" She then screamed all of a sudden, surprising me in the process.
"Whoa! What the hell are you doing!?"
"Th-That's my line! What are YOU doing!? You can't just sneak up on me when I am concentrating!" She panted a bit, trying to calm her heart down by putting her hand over her décolletage.
"Yeah, my bad." I apologized with a wry grin, "So, what were you reading anyway?"
Chika even dropped her book among the commotion, and since it was my fault, I ought to pick it up for her.
"Huh, what's this?"
"A-about that! E-Err, you see...!"
"Secrets to Love for the Unconfident Volume I." I read the title of the book out loud, "Wow." I opened my mouth in amazement.
It's clearly some kind of love instruction manual/fortune-telling book hybrid.
"Not gonna lie, it's quite a shocker. This is not the kind of book I'd picture you would read." I hummed in interest, flipping and skimming through the pages.
"H-Hmph!" She turned her slight red face the other way, "I-I was just bored, so don't get any funny ideas. A-and just in case you thought otherwise, no, it isn't mine. A friend of mine lent it to me."
"Uh-huh." I nodded offhandedly.
"..." She looked in my direction, staring at my face with a nervous expression, "Wh-What's with that 'uh-huh' supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, really." I closed the book carefully, "I just remember you once said you don't really believe in fortune-telling or something back in the day."
"Urk..." Chika flinched a bit, "S-So what? Does that mean I'm not allowed to read these books or something?"
"Nah, I wouldn't really go that far."
"I-I have to read books like this occasionally, so I can keep up with conversations at school." She nodded her head twice with a shaky smile, "Yeah, it's basically required. Think of it as another part of my studies, if you have to. It can be SO tough trying to keep up with all the hot topics as they come and go."
"Must be hard being a popular girl, I guess." I said while giving the book back to her which she took very fast.
"Y-Yeah... Sure isn't!" She starts waving the book around as a means to draw attention away from her laughable attempt at an excuse.
I really kinda want to tease her a little more, but judging by her reaction so far, it's probably wise not to.
"..."
"..."
There was an uncomfortable silence lingering around us for a moment before Chika opens her mouth in a hesitant manner, "Wh-Why aren't you saying anything...?"
"What?" I raised one of my eyebrows, "Did you want me to keep prying?"
"No, please. Spare me." She shakes her head furiously in embarrassment, "You don't have to tell me; I know how pitiful of an excuse that was myself!"
"Oh?"
"Yeah." She nodded her head, hiding half of her red face behind the book.
"..."
"..."
Another silence occurred until this time it was me who broke the silence, "So, how long have you been reading those books?"
"You're prying, you dirty liar!" She slapped my shoulder with the book, "Just get off the subject, sheesh! I just read it for no reason in particular. Need me to repeat that? No-reason-in-particular!"
"Alright, alright." I put both hands in front of me in a gesture of surrender, "I heard you. No need to get angry like that."
"... I'm not angry at all..." She mumbled to herself, sullenly.
Seeing that if I tease her too much it will backfire, I moved to get the groceries I put down earlier and looked at her with a smile, "Well, I was out doing some errands, so I better get home soon. And try not to waste your time out here too long, 'kay? Be home before dark or the old man will freak out like usual." I saw her giggled a bit when she heard that.
After saying what I wanted to say, I started walking towards the park's exit, a bagful of groceries in hands. It will only take me a little more than ten minutes to get back home from here.
As I was about to take another step, I stopped myself when I heard a voice call out to me from behind.
"Can I ask you one thing...?"
"Hm?"
"When you saw me reading this book..." She hesitantly started before looking straight into my eyes, "Do you... think it was strange...?"
I raised my eyebrows at that before shaking my head, "Man, you can be silly sometimes, Chi."
Chika's body shuddered when she heard me call her by her pet name, "Wh-What do you mean by that...?"
"Chi, it's normal for people our age to be interested in that sort of stuff. So, there's nothing strange at all with you reading those books. Be more confident with yourself." I smiled at her, missing the massive blush on her face because the vibration coming from my phone. "I really need to go now, see you at school, Chi!"
"Y-Yeah, catch you later... Kurō." Chika looks sort of refreshed by now.
"Right, and thank you for giving me a nice picture to take!" I waved my hand lightly over my shoulder, "You just look as beautiful as ever! So, there's no need for you to read those types of books. Like I said, be more confident in yourself, Chi!"
With that, I head straight back home, ignoring her attempt to call me back with a shout and screech filled with embarrassment.
Whether I noticed, the massive blush on her face and the fact that I made her heart skipped a beat this whole time was a story for another time.
Also, on my way home, I found three or four delinquents observing me from afar. So, I took some of my time to beat the shit out of them and made one of them spill everything, from their identities to their purposes.
These people were sent by the Cobalt Devils to observe my movement for now. It seems the words of me beating one of the captain divisions was already spread out through the whole gang and their leader are already making his decision to retaliate against me anytime soon.
The fact that they blatantly sent some people to observe my private life was already threatening enough. I don't know what type of underhanded methods they will do if I leave them alone for too long. I'm afraid they will make some of my friends as their hostage just to get to me.
Now it comes to this, I guess I really should prepare myself to crush the whole gang. It's now or never.
-----
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have successfully defeated x4 Challengers!]
You have received +9 Physical Strength
You have received +7 Spiritual Power
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Fukumoto Ikurō
Grandmaster of Kama Sutra
Rating: C
Physical Strength: 286 – New!
Spiritual Power: 162 – New!
Martial Art: ▾
Ability: ▾
