《The Story of Being Taught How to Fight by a Yankee Gal》 CH 1 Prologue Orifushi Shiki began to experience bullying when he entered high school. He himself was not the type of boy who would be bullied, and in fact, until junior high school, he had lived a life free from bullying. He is only slightly shorter than the average height of his age group, and he is reasonably athletic. He is not outstandingly smart, being in the bottom half of the class in the junior high school he attended. He has a good sense of justice, and a more-than-slightly good-natured personality, so he is rarely alienated by others. The reason why Shiki was bullied as soon as he entered high school¡­ was quite simple. As a result of a combination of various misfortunes, Shiki ended up attending a famous delinquent school¨D¨DSt. Lukimantz Academy, a school that is ridiculed as the [End of century school] because of its poor security. Shiki was a herbivore thrown into the cage of a predator called [Delinquents.] (End of century, a period of degeneration, and sometimes simultaneously a time of hope for a new beginning.) ¡°Haa¡­ haa¡­ haah¡­¡± During the break before the second period, Shiki runs down the stairs, out of breath. He was ordered by a group of delinquents who were bullying him to go to the vending machine corner on the first floor of the school building to buy a drink. And that, too, with a time limit of 100 seconds. The classrooms that were on the fourth floor in the first year are now on the third floor in the second year. Although he would say that this has made things a little better, it has actually doubled the burden on Shiki, as the time limit is now 30 seconds shorter, and the number of times he has been forced to do so has increased. Considering that it had been less than half a month since the start of the school year, he didn¡¯t even want to think about how much worse the treatment would get in the future. He went down the stairs and arrived at the vending machine corner, but unfortunately, he had to wait because one of the students had come to buy juice at the vending machine he was looking for. After the student buys juice and leave, Shiki immediately puts the money into the vending machine. He first buys oolong tea for Kawato, the leader of the delinquent group, and then buys barley tea and orange juice for his two cronies. He collects the change and holds the can with both hands, then turns around and tries to run out as fast as he can, but just when he is about to do so¨D¨D ¡°Whoa!? ¡° He almost hit a red-haired female student who was standing in line behind him, and while turning pale, he tried to forcefully dodge her¨D¨DThen he fell down, and the can he was holding in both hands also went flying through the air. Shiki sees a future where the can will fall to the floor in a few moments; he will be forced to buy a new drink with his own money and be beaten up for the time penalty, which makes him feel gloomy. ¡°Whoops¡­ ¡° Shiki involuntarily widens his eyes when he sees the female student catching all three cans with a fan in her hand. Because even though she caught them, she did it in such a way that she stacked the three cans vertically on top of the closed fan, a feat that would make even a street performer pale in comparison. Moreover, he was sure that he would have collided with thar female student earlier, but thanks to her extraordinarily quick reaction and body movement, they were able to avoid the collision. Shiki, who is still having a hard time taking in all these events, lies on his back and looks up at the student with a blank stare. The girl was, to put it simply, a Yankee. Her hair was dyed a passionate shade of red and tied in a ponytail, and she was chewing a white stick in her mouth, which he hoped was not a cigarette. There¡¯s no way someone of this kind would wear a uniform properly, she was sloppily dressed as if she did not even know the school rules existed. Her skirts are especially short, she wears loose socks, and her legs are exposed as much as possible. This makes Shiki, who is lying on his back, have a hard time looking at her. If we take away the fact that she is a Yankee, it is no exaggeration to say she is a very beautiful girl. The name of this female student is Kohinata Karin. She is a Yankee girl in the same grade as Shiki, who, in just six months since her enrollment, has beaten all the fierce students of St. Lukimantz Academy, which is known as a bad school, and become the head of the school in both name and reality. Her nickname is¨D¨D ¡°Empress¡­¡± The words that unintentionally came out of his mouth made Karin¡¯s eyes widen, then she responded with a frown. ¡°Don¡¯t call me by that lame nickname. Rather, just pick this up quickly.¡± Karin holds up the iron fan with three cans on it with both hands. Her hands are still trembling slightly, probably because the weight is concentrated on one point. Karin¡¯s iron fan is an all-iron fan, meaning that the whole fan part is made of iron. Relieved for no reason that just because he was the head of the school did not mean that she was a gorilla in terms of arm strength, Shiki hurriedly stood up and accepted the three cans. ¡°Err¡­ about this¡­ sorry! ¡° Holding the cans, he bowed deeply and ran away from Karin like a hare. He knows this is not a very admirable attitude, but he still can¡¯t resist the desire to escape the [Empress] as soon as possible. Shiki knows that Karin is not the type of person who bullies the weak but the type of person who helps the weak and crushes the strong since she is, in a sense, the most famous person in the school. She says [I¡¯m just beating those I don¡¯t like.], but he knows that many of those she doesn¡¯t like were delinquents who oppress the weak and worshipped the strong. He knows that as a result of her efforts to eliminate the delinquents, the school¡¯s security, which is ridiculed as a school of the End of the century, has become somewhat better, and that¡¯s why she is quite popular within the school. ¨D¨DHowever Even if he takes all these things into consideration, Kohinata Karin is still an object of awe and fear for Shiki, who is still threatened by delinquents. Kawato, who bullies Shiki, is strong enough to beat Shiki up. Kawato is also said to be beaten up by a senior delinquent. And Karin is strong enough to beat up that senior delinquent. Shiki¡¯s nerves weren¡¯t strong enough to remain calm in front of the [Empress], who was able to beat up the senior delinquent who could beat the delinquent who bullied him. As if to show his inner terror in front of the [Empress], as soon as he reached the staircase, Shiki jumped up the stairs in a five-step leap. ¡°Hmm¡­? ¡° For some reason, Karin looked at his back while raising her eyebrows a little with a slight frown. CH 2.1 Shiki and the delinquent Shiki escapes from Karin and quickly makes his way up the stairs to his second-year class on the third floor. This is not only Shiki¡¯s class but also the hell where a group of delinquents was waiting to bully him. When he arrives at the classroom, he goes to the three delinquents who are hanging out in the backside seats next to the window and reluctantly puts the canned drinks he has bought on the desk. Kawato, a dirty blonde delinquent who was sitting on a chair and watching the situation, turned his glaring eyes on him and said in a blunt and sullen tone ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to wait more than twice as long as the time limit. Orifushi, You¡¯re just trying to disrespect me, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°S-sorry¡­ ¡° Said Shiki, apologizing. ¡°Oh, no, you¡¯ve offended Kawato, Orifushi~kun.¡± ¡°Belly punch? Are we going to see a belly punch? ¡° Two of his followers interrupted his apologize with a deliberate, mischievous tone. ¡°Oh? You¡¯re late, and you didn¡¯t even apologized? ¡° Kawato stood up with a clattering sound, and Shiki shivered. The difference in height between the two of them is almost 10 centimeters, and the way he was staring at Shiki, was simply terrifying. ¡°I mean¡­ I apologized¡­but their voices¡­¡± ¡°Hey-hey, is it our fault? ¡° ¡°You¡¯re blaming us? How terrible, Orifushi-kun¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Kawato¡¯s words silenced Shiki and his two cronies. ¡°You¡¯re late and you can¡¯t even offer an apology. So, the penalty this time is two hits, okay? ¡° ¡°No way¨D¨DUghhh. ¡° Shiki¡¯s words of protest turn into a painful groan as a body blow is delivered to his gut. ¡°Come on, one more! ¡° The second body blow, delivered as declared, again pierces Shiki¡¯s belly. Naturally, since this is a delinquent school and his classmates are all delinquents, there is no one to stop these guys for this kind of thing. Few non-delinquent students did not even look at Shiki who was being bullied, because they were afraid that they themselves might become the target if they got involved in this situation. He wanted to crouch down on his stomach right here and now, but Kawato would judge him as overreacting. He had to hold himself together somehow, because if he did that, he would be penalized even more. ¡°Oh~woww~, you¡¯re tough, Orifushi~kun!¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s not. Kawato¡¯s holding back his strength. Right? ¡° Asked by his cronies to agree, Kawato nodded his head with a smug look. ¡°That¡¯s what it is. If I hurt him too much and the Empress notices us, we¡¯ll be in trouble.¡± ¡¯That¡¯s right~¡¯, ¨D¨DThe three of them chuckle. Shiki, whose abdomen was aching from the blow, couldn¡¯t understand what was so funny. Kawato opens the lid of the can of oolong tea, slurps down a sip, and asks a question. So, why are you late? ¡° ¡°That¡­ I almost collided with the ¡®Empress¡¯ that Kawato-kun just mentioned¡­¡± Upon hearing this, his two followers all scream in surprise. ¡°Wait a minute¡­ you didn¡¯t tell the Empress that we¡¯re picking on you or something, did you? ¡° ¡°Hey-hey! This is bad! ¡° ¡°Calm down, guys.¡± Kawato¡¯s words make both of his followers shut their mouths. ¡°Think about it. Do you think a fool like Orifushi could talk to the Empress properly? Besides, we¡¯re letting him do nothing more than to run errands for us. That¡¯s nothing unusual in this school.¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s true¡­¡± ¡°K-kawato¡¯s right. It¡¯s not something to be scared of.¡± Kawato¡¯s words brought relief to both of his followers. It is a well-known fact that Kohinata Karin, as known as the [Empress], is a so-called person with a heroic-like temperament by helping the weak and crushing the strong, and Kawato and his two cronies who bullied Shiki are definitely categorized as [Those she doesn¡¯t like]. The two cronies sigh in relief due to their awareness of this fact. At the same time, the chime rings to announce the end of recess, and Kawato clicks his tongue before ordering Shiki to [Get the hell out of here.] with a hand as if he were chasing away a dog. The fact that he is still attending the class even though he is a delinquent is also because of the influence of the Empress. Shiki returns to his seat, relieved to be released from hell. CH 2.2 The bullying by Kawato and the others did not extend to class time. And even when Kawato and his friends do attack Shiki, it is only a moderate body blow because attacking his face is too conspicuous. Shiki understands that all of this is thanks to Karin Kohinata, who is the leader of this school. In that sense, he may have to thank Karin to some extent. However, he is more in awe and fear of her rather than in gratitude to her because she is a strong fighter who is able to lead the school, which is even called [End of century school]. Because of these feelings, he is unable to even ask Karin for help, just like what Kawato¡¯s cronies said. He also couldn¡¯t help but think that he has a troublesome personality because, in addition to be so scared of Karin, somewhere in his mind, he thinks, [I don¡¯t want anyone else to get involved in my bullying], and [Especially if it¡¯s a girl.]. ( ¡­it can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s hard to change who I am¡­ ) As if he has opened up, he talks to himself in his mind. The reason why Shiki had to enter this St. Lukimantz Academy, and the reason why Kawato and his friends were bullying him, was because of his personality. On the day of the entrance examination for the public high school he wanted to enter, Shiki left his house with plenty of time to spare, but on the way, he saw an old lady having trouble climbing the stairs of a pedestrian bridge and helped her, saw a lost child and looked for his parents together, and failed to take some subjects¡¯ examinations because he was very late. On the day of the entrance examination for the private high school of his second and third choice, he was late for the same exact reason, and unsurprisingly, he also failed to take the examination in some subjects. On the day of the entrance examination for St. Lukimants Academy, which he took as a last-ditch effort to enter a high school, for some reason, he could take the examination smoothly because he did not see anyone in trouble. Unfortunately, he was admitted to St. Lukimantz Academy. However, if he had just entered the school normally, Kawato and his friends might not have bullied him. Soon after entering the school, Shiki happened to come across a scene where Kawato and his two cronies were bullying a student in the same class, and his inner sense of justice came out and he defended the student who was being bullied, forgetting that he was a herbivore in this school. His action displeased them, and Shiki has been Kawato¡¯s plaything ever since. In addition, the student who he had defended had transferred to another school because he was afraid of the bad environment of St. Lukimantz School, which made him feel even more helpless. Shiki himself, not wanting to cause her parents to worry, had ruled out the option of changing schools. At that time, Karin was not yet called the ¡®Empress¡¯. She used to go around beating delinquents when she saw them bullying the weaker ones. Kawato and the others, who correctly understood the threat of the Empress, never did anything to escalate the bullying against Shiki, such as violence to the point of serious injury, destruction or intentional loss of personal belongings, or blackmail, so as not to attract Karin¡¯s attention. Instead, the bullying evolved more and more insidious with each passing day, resulting in a vertical relationship with no way out that stems from the hierarchical relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. He thought that he could escape from this hell by changing classes as the school year progressed, but to make matters worse, he was put in the same class as Kawato and his two cronies, even in the second year. ( Don¡¯t tell me I will be in the same class with Kawato and his friends again in the third year ¡­¡­? ) Shiki shakes his head as if to shake off the worst possible future that has inadvertently popped into his mind. He doesn¡¯t want to imagine that kind of future. Then, the teacher arrives, and the second-period class begins. Shiki does not particularly like classes, but these fifty minutes were nothing but a break for him since he did not have to worry about Kawato and the others. After that, although he is subjected to some kind of bullying or violence during every recess, he always manages to make it to the end of the homeroom. Kawato and his friends belong to a faction of delinquents in the school, and they are required to show up there during lunch break and after school, so he was already guaranteed to be free from hell if he made it this far. Then Shiki went home as soon as homeroom was over since it would be a problem if he ran into Kawato and the others after they had done showing their faces to the factions while they were staying at the school or making a detour. Shiki went home as soon as homeroom was over. ¨D¨DHe was relieved that he had made it through another day. CH 3.1 Day-off Shiki¡¯s desire to live on his own led him to choose a high school far away from his parent¡¯s home for all of his high school entrance exams. The fact is, he chose St. Lukimantz Academy as his last stop because he heard a rumor, whether false or true, that he could be admitted even if he didn¡¯t take the entrance examination as long as he submitted an application form. He was prepared for the worst-case scenario in which he failed all the schools she had applied to. Shiki lives in a one-room apartment like any other. He couldn¡¯t say it was spacious, but he liked it better than his room at his parent¡¯s house because it felt more like his castle than his room at home, even after more than a year. Shiki leaves his own castle with light steps. Not in his school uniform, but in his casual clothes: a sweatshirt with a hoodie and jeans. Of course, it was because today is Sunday. So it doesn¡¯t matter if he goes outside after eleven o¡¯clock, and he doesn¡¯t have to worry about Kawato and the others. Shiki has not made any friends because of the bullying, but a day off without seeing Kawato and his friends, who are the cause of the bullying, is heaven for Shiki. Shiki heads downtown and decides what to have for lunch on the spur of the moment and, after filling his stomach, decides to go out and buy the game software he had reserved. When he arrived at the downtown area and walked along the main street, he saw that the line for a ramen shop he had been curious about was much shorter than usual, and he decided to have lunch there today. ¡± ??? ¡° The moment he sees Kawato and his cronies, Shiki is struck by fear as if a knife were held to his throat, and he stiffens on the spot. However, Kawato and his followers would catch him if he remained frozen, so he moved into the alley as fast as he could, trying to look as calm as possible. Praying that Kawato and the others would not notice his presence, he proceeded to the end of the alley and pulled the hood of the hoodie that he had worn for this situation over his eyes. At the crossroads ahead, Shiki turned right and deeply sighed when he saw that Kawato and the others were not approaching him, hiding behind a building. This was not the first time he had seen Kawato and his friends on a day off since they lived in the same town, but that did not mean he would get used to it, and on the rare occasion he saw them, he felt his life expectancy shorten as it did now. There is an option to go and live in another town, but Shiki has no convenient transportation for that, and even if he takes the train, it costs money, so he cannot do it every day. Spending the day off alone in his room in the apartment for fear of Kawato and his friends would also be depressing. In any case, he thinks that it is troublesome to worry too much since the probability of running into them is lower than the number of fingers on both hands¡­ But when he sees them like this, he feels like his happy day has been ruined, and he gets depressed. He feels as if his stomach has been complaining of pain and aching, probably due to the stress of this situation. Naturally, his appetite is gone, and he no longer feels like eating ramen. Shiki decides to stay at the crossroads for the time being since it would be a disaster if he made a wrong move and ran into them. There were many ways to escape here, even if Kawato and the others came into the alley. That is why he made this decision. After a while, he sees Kawato¡¯s followers coming in the direction Shiki entered the alley, and he hastily hides behind a building. The moment Shiki sees Kawato¡¯s followers enter the alley, he immediately tries to run away from the scene. However¨D¨D ¡± ! That¡¯s¡­!¡± Shiki stops when she sees a girl being pulled by Kawato¡¯s hand and forced into the alley. Her hair was black like wet feathers and long enough to reach her waist, and her face was well-defined enough to be recognized from a distance, giving a strong impression of beauty rather than a pretty girl. (tn: Difference meaning in Beautiful and Pretty. The person has a good appearance when someone is pretty, but when someone is a beauty, the person shines on the inside and out.) Judging from the height difference between her and Kawato, she was a little shorter than Shiki¨D¨Dabout mid 160¡¯s, slightly taller than the average height of adult women, and combined with her face. Many people would have believed her if she said she was a model for a magazine. She was dressed in a one-piece camisole dress of the same color as her hair and a white shirt, which exuded a sense of elegance, while her breasts, which were still assertive underneath, were large enough to arouse vulgar fantasies of people like Kawato. As for her age, at first glance, she looked like a female college student. ¡°N-no, please stop¡­! ¡° Shiki thinks she might be about the same age or even younger since the occasional protests she heard were unmistakably those of a young girl. ( What is this¡­ I mean, isn¡¯t that crossing the line?! ) He has heard rumors that many of the delinquents in St. Lukimantz Academy have been involved in illicit s*xual intercourse, even now that the ¡°Empress¡± is at the top of the school. Today, Kawato and his friends do not need to worry about the eyes of the Empress. The way they are too aggressive in picking up a girl, and the fact that they are trying to take that girl into the back alleys where there are few people, he can¡¯t help but have the worst imaginings in his mind. CH 3.2 ( But, even if I tried to save her¡­ What the hell can I do¡­? ) ¨D¨DI am just a weak person who is bullied by Kawato and others. It is obvious that if I come to her rescue, I will only get destroyed by them, and it is also obvious that I will make Kawato and his friends even more displeased. In addition, they do not have to worry about the Empress¡¯s eyes on me today. I don¡¯t know how badly I will be beaten up. The right thing to do is to leave the alley now and call someone for help. ( But¡­ ) What if Kawato and the others take the black-haired girl away while I¡¯m calling for help? What if they trampled her dignity? What if she is scarred both physically and emotionally for life? The worst imaginations that keep coming up one after another sew both of his legs in place, making it impossible for him to confront Kawato and his friends or to escape from them. In the meantime, Kawato, pulling the girl¡¯s hand with all his might, approaches the alley with two of his followers. Shiki is torn between his desire to save the girl and his fear of Kawato and his friends. ( It is right to get out of here and call for help right now! That¡¯s the best I can do! It can¡¯t be helped even if I don¡¯t make it in time! ) He keeps telling himself that. ( ¡­but if the girl suffers worse than what Kawato and his friends are doing to me¡­ ) Ò»Ò»I will probably regret it for the rest of my life. A regret much heavier than the one that Kawato and the others will get angry at me for letting the girl go and that they will hurt me more than before. That¡¯s the moment he came to that realization. Shiki¡¯s inner sense of justice and more than a little bit of good-naturedness overrode his fear of Kawato and the others. ¡°Whatever happens, happens! ¡° He shouted and rushed toward Kawato and the others. Two of his surprised followers moved away to the left and right in surprise, so he used his running momentum to hit Kawato with a body slam. Perhaps because he was caught by surprise, Kawato, who is taller than the others, rolls on the ground with a flurry, but the girl he was holding in his arm also rolls on the ground with him. Then when Kawato¡¯s hand came off the girl, Shiki said these words to her before she could understand the situation. ¡°Run away!¡± The girl shuddered and began to panic, but Shiki continued. ¡°Quickly!¡± He shouted again, and she responded with a [S-sorry!] Then she quickly got up and ran away toward the main street. ¡°Wait ! ! !¡± Kawato angrily shouted as he tried to get up, but Shiki hurriedly clung to him and pulled him down to the ground again. Since Shiki and Kawato were struggling in the not-so-wide alley, the two cronies could not follow the girl. ¡°Get out of the way, damn it! ¡° Kawato elbows Shiki in the nose as he swats him away, causing Shiki to fall on his back with a bloody nose. ¡°Just when it looked like it would work out, you interrupted me! Are you ready for this? Aaah! ¡° While Kawato stood up with a scornful look, one of his followers raised one eyebrow at Shiki. ¡°Hey-hey! I didn¡¯t recognize him because he wore a hoodie, but he was Orifushi! ¡° ¡°Huh? !¡± Kawato, sounding even more pissed off than before, forcefully moves Shiki¡¯s hand out of his way, who is holding his nose with tears in his eyes. He grabbed Shiki by the collar and forced him to stand up. ¡°Seriously, what the hell are you doing, Orifushi?! ¡° Shiki is pushed off and falls to the ground again. The pain in his nose and the stench of blood were too much for him to get up. But he was able to let the girl go. That was enough, he thought. He decided to think so and feel relieved. Otherwise, he didn¡¯t feel he could face the disaster that was about to befall him. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to make you pay for this¡­ There¡¯s a parking lot a little further down the street. You piece of shit, I¡¯m taking you there.¡± The two cronies all nodded in agreement, and they dragged Shiki to his feet and started to walk away. Kawato followed them and spat out before walking away. Then the three of them walked away with Shiki. ¡°Senpai¡­ please come here quickly¡­ ¡° The girl who should have fled to the main street watched them secretly from behind a building. She makes a phone call to someone called [Senpai], holding her phone to her ear. CH 4.1 Empress Shiki is brought to a deserted parking lot. ¡°Orifushi, You¡¯re taking me for a fool, aren¡¯t you? Hey!¡± ¡°Ouggh!? ¡° Kawato kicks him in the stomach, and he backs away in a stagger. Normally, he would have ended there, ¡°Again!¡± Taking advantage of the Empress¡¯ absence, he slammed his fist into Shiki¡¯s face, which he had never aimed at before because the wound would stand out. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Frowning at the unfamiliar pain, Shiki backed away. Or rather, even if he tried to resist or defend himself badly, he would have aroused Kawato¡¯s anger, so there was nothing he could do but back away even though he was being punched and kicked. ¡°Ah? Why do you look like you¡¯re the one in pain? I think my ribs are broken because of you! Hey!¡± Shiki backs away while enduring the pain in his cheek. Kawato¡¯s words, [Because of you!] referred to the body slam Shiki had given him to rescue the black-haired girl. Needless to say, the ribs thing was probably a complete lie, just an excuse to hurt Shiki more than usual. ¡°You¡¯re really tough, aren¡¯t you, Orifushi-kun?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to see you fall down for once.¡± Kawato rolled his sleeves in response to the request of his cronies who were watching the event while smoking cigarettes because they were outside of the school. ¡°Well, look at this.¡± Then he landed a powerful right hook, assuming that his opponent would neither counterattack nor evade. Shiki¡¯s body moved to the right as he was hit on the left cheek. ¡°Come onn! ¡° Kawato followed up with a left hook to the right cheek, causing Shiki¡¯s body to move to the left. Kawato continued to alternately land hooks, and with each blow, Shiki¡¯s body moved to the left and right like a metronome. Shiki¡¯s mouth is full of iron taste due to the repeated blows to his cheeks. It was a miracle that not a single tooth was broken yet. ( Please finish soon-please finish soon-please finish soon¡­ ) That¡¯s all he could wish for as he continued to be beaten. He keeps getting beaten up, trying to keep his mind off reality as much as possible. By escaping from reality, he also escapes from the pain that strikes him on both cheeks. ¨D¨DA weak person like me cannot stand up against violence even if I face it properly. ¨D¨DSo I escape. ¨D¨DI ran away, only hoping that everything would end soon. Eventually, when the number of times he has been hit reaches 20, Kawato stops moving. ¡°How the f*ck¡­ can this guy¡­ still be standing¡­? ¡° Breathing hard, he spits out angrily. Shiki¡¯d like to reply that it¡¯s because he¡¯s escaping from reality, but that would only cause him unnecessary anger. If he tries to move his mouth now, he can feel the pain in his cheeks and mouth cavity. So, he will not say anything and continue to escape from reality¡­ ¡± ¡­¡­uh? ¡° Suddenly, Shiki¡¯s consciousness is forced back to reality when he sees a girl behind Kawato in his field of vision. It seems that he is not the only one who has noticed her presence, as two of his followers drop their cigarettes in their mouths and stare at her. Kawato, seeing Shiki and the others and realizing that there was someone behind him, looked back with a puzzled ¡°Huh?¡± ¨D¨DThen he stiffened as if he became a stone statue. Because she, the one who was behind Kawato, was, ¡°E-Empress¡­ ¡° Kohinata Karin, or [Empress], looked at Kawato, who reacted in the same way as Shiki a while ago, then twisted her face in displeasure. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why everyone always calls me by that lame nickname.¡± Karin walks with her hands in the pockets of her Sukajan (tn: Something like a baseball jacket), casually walks past Kawato, and stops in front of Shiki. The white stick in her mouth, the miniskirt, and the loose socks are the same as when she wears her school uniform, Shiki thinks to himself in the corner of his mind. CH 4.2 ¡°¡­hmm? ¡° While everyone else remained stiff and motionless, Karin looked into Shiki¡¯s face with a furrowed brow and said, ¡°You¡¯re that Pashiri-kun from that time! ¡° (tn: a person who runs errands; gofer?) She raised her voice loudly and slapped Shiki on the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ve got guts, even though you were so scared of me. I¡¯m impressed with you.¡± To be honest, I¡¯m still scared of her now¨D¨DHe tried to ask her what she was talking about when she said he had [guts.]. But, ¡°Whf¡­.?¡± He couldn¡¯t say anything as his oral cavity, which had been shredded by Kawato¡¯s blows dozens of times, was in pain. ¡°Uh, you don¡¯t have to talk right now. I¡¯ll explain later. ¡° After saying this, Karin glared at Kawato. Kawato shuddered at the sight of someone who was at least 15 centimeters shorter than he was. It was just like Shiki did when Kawato stared at him. ¡°You, I think I saw your face at the Arai faction.¡± While Kawato shuddered again, Karin looked around at his two cronies. ¡°So, I guess you two are the same?¡± When she said that, both of them trembled. Seeing the three of them looking so scared, Shiki can¡¯t help but think that maybe the reason he¡¯s afraid of her is that she can casually make Kawato and the others so scared. ¡°This Pashiri-kun doesn¡¯t look like a delinquent, does he? That¡¯s why I thought it looked suspicious at that time, but¡­ I guess this is what it was all about.¡± By [At that time.] Shiki thinks she is referring to when he almost bumped into her the other day when he was bullied. ¡°¡­.What are you trying to say? ¡° Then Karin answered in a terrible tone of voice to Kawato, who was asking in a hushed voice. ¡°It means that you guys are doing shit like bullying the weak behind my back.¡± ¡°¡­What does he have to do with you? ¡° ¡°We don¡¯t have any connection. But I don¡¯t like it. So I¡¯m gonna crush you.¡± ¡°Huh. You¡¯re doing the same thing just like me, bullying people weaker than you.¡± Kawato replies with his point, to which two of his followers whisper in agreement, [That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right.] At the sight of Kawato and the others, Karin sighs. ¡°If you say it like that, then listen to me.¡± Kawato and the others are almost relieved to hear her say that. ¡°I¡¯ll change my words. Do you know that pretty dark-haired girl you were trying to take into a deserted place forcefully? She¡¯s my junior.¡± The next moment, all three of them lost color on their faces. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think you guys who secretly bully the weak behind my back would also be able to do such a big thing¡­¡± With a pair of twinkling eyes, she pauses for a moment. ¡°You tried to touch my cute junior, that¡¯s not going to change. And a little scolding is not enough for me to let you get away.¡± In front of Karin¡¯s pressure, who was smaller than anyone else in this place, Shiki, Kawato, and his two followers were all in a state of shock. ¡°Aah¡­ah¡­aaaahhh! ¡° One of the followers, perhaps unable to bear Karin¡¯s [Pressure], screamed like a maniac and tried to hit her. ¡°Back away.¡± Karin says, pushing Shiki¡¯s body lightly. Shiki, who had no intention of resisting the pressure, staggered back, then Karin pulled out a steel fan and threw it at the approaching guy. The tip of the closed fan strikes his nose, and he stops moving momentarily. Karin, who was already in close proximity to him, pulled another iron fan from her pocket and swiftly pierced his solar plexus, knocking him unconscious with a single blow. ¡°Damn it! ¡° Perhaps because his friend had fainted, one of his followers half-desperately tried to punch Karin from behind. As if she had eyes in the back of her head, she dodges the punch by spinning around on the spot. At the same time, she caught the iron fan that she had just thrown and was about to fall to the ground. With the momentum from her spin, she swung the fan and struck his temple, knocking another one of his cronies with another blow. It¡¯s just information that Shiki overheard, but Karin combines Kohinata-style ancient martial arts, which is dubiously an old ancient martial art, with her own style of fighting. Just by that, she could hold her own against the St. Lukimantz Academy¡¯s fierce men, who were proud of their strength. Shiki thinks that her fighting style is certainly different from that of Kawato and other delinquents. Kawato, perhaps because having witnessed Karin¡¯s fights, seemed to be unable to move even after two of his followers had fainted. Karin turned her back on Kawato, put the iron fan in her left hand into the pocket of her Sukajan, spread out the iron fan in her right hand, and walked over to Shiki while fanning herself. ¡°Even if I crush here and now, when the heat dies down, he¡¯ll probably do it again without me seeing it¨D¨DMaybe.¡± While Shiki is puzzled by what Karin is trying to say, Karin points at Kawato with her left thumb and makes an outrageous suggestion. ¡°So, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s going to take down that idiot.¡± ¡°¡­yes? ¡° CH 5.1 First Fight ¡°¡­..Yes? ¡° Shiki¡¯s voice is aghast, and Kawato bites into Karin¡¯s suggestion like a moth to a light. ¡°Are you saying Orifushi and I are going to have a one-on-one fight? In that case, you¡¯re not going to touch me, right?¡¡Regardless of the outcome of the one-on-one fight. ¡° When Kawato implicitly indicates that this is a condition, Karin nonchalantly agrees. ¡°That¡¯s fine. But if you lose, don¡¯t touch Pashiri-kun anymore.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll give you my word. Only if Orifushi can beat me.¡± ¡°Hey-wait! You can¡¯t go on talking on your own like that mfft¨D¨D?!¡± Shiki tries to protest, but Karin¡¯s hand clamps down on his mouth. A chill runs down Shiki¡¯s spine as he thinks he has offended her, but the sweet scent of Karin¡¯s palm, apart from the faint scent of the iron fan, makes him forget his fear of the [Empress] for a moment. He found himself swallowing the words of rebuttal before he knows it. Karin, completely oblivious to Shiki¡¯s change, winks at him and says, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll give you some advice so you can beat that idiot.¡± ¡°Huh? Are you trying to give him some advice?¡± Karin moves her hand that was covering Shiki¡¯s mouth out of the way and covers her mouth this time, chuckling with a [Pff~ kuku~] look on her face. ¡°Oh, what¡¯s that~? Are you scared~? Even though you¡¯re the one who bullied him a lot~? I¡¯m just trying to give him a little advice, you know~? ¡° In the face of the blatant ridicule, Kawato trembled as if enduring humiliation and spat out words with blue veins showing on his temple. ¡°Haa¡­ Who¡¯s scared of Orifushi? Give him advice or whatever you want.¡± ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll do what I want.¡± With that, she puts her hand on Shiki¡¯s shoulder and turns her back on Kawato. The sweet aroma tickles his nostrils again, and he¡¯s also a bit nervous because Karin¡¯s face, which is smaller than he expected, is right next in front of him. Misinterpreting Shiki¡¯s reaction, Karin¡¯s lips twitched, and she said ¡°You were pretty much the same way when we almost bumped into each other in front of the vending machine, I¡¯m a little hurt when you¡¯re always scared of me.¡± ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s not like that, I mean¡­ it¡¯s for a different reason.¡± It would be a lie if he said he¡¯s not afraid of the [Empress] because he has been shown how she destroys Kawato¡¯s cronies in a second. But right now, he was much more overwhelmed and embarrassed to be so close to a person named Kohinata Karin. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t use honorifics either. If you¡¯re the same age as that idiot, that means you¡¯re the same age as me too, right? ¡° ¡°No, but¡­¡± ¡°No buts, no loofahs. Anyway, no honorifics. Now, err, did he say you¡¯re [Orifushi]? ¡° ¡°Y-yes.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your first name? ¡° ¡°It¡¯s Shiki.¡± ¡°Shiki¡­ it is easier to say than Orifushi, so I¡¯ll call you that. You can call me Karin instead.¡± ¡± ¡­what? ¡± ¡° ¡°Thank you, Shiki. For protecting my junior. I really appreciate that.¡± ¡°Ah, okay¡­¡± While he¡¯s overwhelmed by Karin¡¯s rapid closing of the distance between them, the conversation goes on at her pace. ¡°So, yeah. Since that idiot seems to have a short temper, I¡¯ll cut the idle talk and give you some advice right away. Are you ready? ¡° Shiki gasps and nods his head in affirmation, and Karin smiles with satisfaction but then offers some advice that he couldn¡¯t believe he was hearing. ¡°You simply need to take the first move! Kick that idiot in the stomach as hard as you can! That¡¯s all you need to do to win! ¡° He looked at her as if to say, [What¨D¨D?], and she continued. ¡°You look like you want to say ¡°What¨D¨D?¡± ¡° Shiki was hit by the right answer with a chuckle, and he somehow managed to fix his expression while trying to reflect on the situation. ¡°Well, even if I said it myself, I also think it¡¯s pretty absurd advice, too, you know? But seriously, considering you, it¡¯s the surest way to win, so it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Shiki¡¯s mouth falls silent in the face of this confident statement. The [Empress] has given her assurance. If he could kick Kawato in the stomach with his front kick, he might really win the match. However, the fear of Kawato was not so shallow that Shiki could believe it unconditionally. ( However¡­ ) Even though the dark-haired girl was Karin¡¯s junior, letting Karin deal with everything was not okay. This is the least he can do because she has already come to his rescue. ¡°¡­got it. I¡¯ll do as Kohinata-san said.¡± ¡°I told you to call me Karin¡­ anyway, that¡¯s not important right now.¡± Karin backed away and slapped Shiki on the back. ¡°So go ahead, give him a shot! ¡° Shiki nods her head in affirmation and turns to Kawato determinedly. ¡°You¡¯ve got some nerve just because you got a little advice from the Empress. Come on¡­I¡¯ll crush your [Empress] advice! ¡° In front of Kawato, who has blue veins on his temples and is angrier than ever before, Shiki unintentionally looks back at Karin. But by that time, she had already left Shiki¡¯s side, smiling and giving him thumbs-up from a distance. For a moment, he really thought that today might be the day of his death. CH 5.2 ¡°It¡¯s too late to be scared now. I¡¯ll make you regret to the death that you dared to fight me! ¡° Kawato rushes in, shouting angrily. ( We¡¯ve already started !? ) He screams in his mind, but he can¡¯t think of anything unimportant; what Kawato and I are going to do now is to fight. Unlike sports, there is neither the necessity nor the inevitability of a fair fight when someone starts it. Shiki, who had no time to think about how he would land a front kick, was so desperate that he unhesitatingly threw a front kick as hard as he could at the oncoming Kawato. ¡°Aww! ¡° Almost at the same time, Kawato punched him directly in the face. From the feel of the soles of his feet, it seems that Kawato was also caught by his front kick, but because he was punched in the face, he could not confirm which part of his opponent¡¯s body he kicked. He fell down because he was also hit when he was standing on one leg due to the front kick. Shiki thought without a doubt that he would be killed if he was pinned down like this and tried to defend himself by shrinking down like a turtle. ¡°¡­what? ¡° He sees Kawato in his vision, prone on the ground with his hands clutching his stomach. ¡°God¡­damn it¡­. ¡° He cursed in a hushed voice but did not seem to be able to move even a little from his prostrate-like position. ¡°Hey. You won the first exchange because you did what I told you. ¡° Karin walks up to him with a subtly smug look on her face and holds out her hand. He hesitates to hold Karin¡¯s hand, but that¡¯s no reason to ignore her kindness, so he takes her hand and stands up in contemplation. ( Is this¡­ really real? ) Looking down at Kawato, who was lying on the ground, he couldn¡¯t understand what was happening. Karin, perhaps sensing his state of mind, asked him something like this, ¡°Try to remember the time when you almost collided with me again. Shiki was going up the stairs in a five-step leap at a time as it was normal, right? ¡° ¡°That¡¯s¡­ because since the first year, Kawato-kun and the others have been making me do their errands every day with a time limit, so it just happened naturally.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s good or bad for Shiki to say that, but anyway, you were forced to dash up the stairs every day, and that¡¯s how you got decent leg strength to climb the stairs in a five-step leap as it was normal. That¡¯s why I gave you that advice. With that kind of leg strength, I thought you could handle an idiot guy who is not used to fighting. ¡° Karin¡¯s unexpected words make Shiki¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°Not used to fighting¡­that Kawato-kun? ¡° ¡°Well, to be precise, all three of them are.¡± Karin says calmly, and Shiki is now very quiet. ¡°You look like you don¡¯t believe me. The only reason Shiki feels that these guys are good in a fight is because they are used to beating people up. It doesn¡¯t mean they are used to fighting. In fact, that¡¯s the reason you were able to beat that idiot Kawato.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ might be possible, but¡­ ¡° It¡¯s still incomprehensible to me¨Dperhaps this thought was showing on his face. Karin continued her explanation as if to emphasize her point. ¡°People like Kawato and others have an advantage in a fight compared to ordinary people like Shiki because they are used to beating people up. The people who are used to beating people seem strong because they are, in most cases, either those who do not hesitate to hit people or those who like to hit people, and unlike normal people, they can hit people as hard as they can and look strong. Shiki can only kick Kawato as hard as he can, partly because you were desperate, right? ¡° Just when he thought that might be true, he suddenly realized. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that¡­Kohinata-san calculated all that and gave me that advice?¡± Suddenly, a silence fell. ¡°Err, o-of course I did.¡± Karin¡¯s eyes amusingly wandered as she answered him. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­Kohinata-sa¨D¨D¡± ¡°Aah! You know! That¡¯s it! For example, if two guys have the same punching power, but one is used to hitting people, and one can only hit people with half the force because he¡¯s not used to hitting people, the difference in punching power would simply be twice as much, right? Shiki¡¯s illusion that Kawato and the others were experienced in fighting was due to the difference in their punching power! ¡° ¡°That means¡­ if I hadn¡¯t been so desperate, my kick might not have been as powerful as Kohinata had assumed, and I might not have been able to beat Kawato-kun¡­ ¡° Again, silence fell. ¡°Oh, I believe anyone can be a good fighter when they want to be! It¡¯s true! I¡¯m not lying! ¡° Karin¡¯s eyes were swimming so much that he couldn¡¯t help but smile as she emphasized this. ( ¡­yeah. Let¡¯s just say the result was a blessing in disguise.) Shiki was kind enough not to mention it. ¡°Anyway! Our school is called a fin-de-si¨¨cle school because there are so many delinquents and idiots, but surprisingly few are used to fighting in the true sense. I think there are maybe only two or three dozen of them. ¡° The number of delinquents at St. Lukimantz Academy is 70% of the more than 650 students enrolled. Maybe Karin is right that the number of people who can really fight compared to the number of delinquents may be surprisingly small. ¡°Especially a guy like Kawato. He seems to have hit only weak guys, right? He may think that someone weaker than him can¡¯t fight back, and even if he has experience in one-sidedly hitting someone, he doesn¡¯t have much experience in being hit, so his defense is not very good. So I thought that a guy with legs as strong as Shiki¡¯s would be able to sink him with a single front kick.¡± Karin looks at his crotch, and Shiki closes his crotch subconsciously. ¡°Well, if you can shoot a high kick, that would be better, but you haven¡¯t done any flexibility exercises, have you? ¡° He thinks to himself, [Oh, that¡¯s why she was looking at my crotch.] and he replies with a nod of the head. ¡°Then, why don¡¯t you start today? ¡° When she asked him this, Shiki was blindsided. Kawato, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly got up. ¡°Ooooooriiifuuushhiiiii !!! ¡° He shouts in an animalistic rage and tries to hit Shiki. The sheer force of the scream is so strong as if it will cause a yelp of pain to escape from his throat. ¡± ¡­¡­!? ¡° Suddenly, a high kick hits him. Karin¡¯s right leg hit Kawato in the side of the head, knocking him unconscious this time. ¡°If you can get your legs up smoothly and swiftly like this, I think Shiki will be able to beat most people.¡± Karin smiled triumphantly at him, but Shiki turned his away from her even though it was too late. Again, Karin is wearing a mini-skirt. What would happen if she did a high kick with such a skirt? Seeing Shiki¡¯s reaction and his refusal to make eye contact with Karin, Karin¡¯s face turns reddish. ¡°You¡¯re a fool, you know that? Of course I¡¯m wearing safety pants under my skirt, and I¡¯m not ashamed to show it.¡± The color of her safety pants was pure white, and although he thought it was rude, he was deeply surprised about the color. ¡°I was not a child to make a fuss over someone looking at my pants, you know. The reason I¡¯m wearing such a skirt is just to tempt the boys and play with them.¡± The unintelligible bravado continues. Perhaps because of her bad attitude, like a delinquent, for better or worse, Karin does not want people around her to think that she is naive and inexperienced. Just as he was smiling at her childish attitude, he suddenly realized that his fear of the [Empress.] had decreased significantly ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t care about the pants, let¡¯s get back to Haruno now.¡± TN: Shiki with a high-kick, probably at the end of volume 1. (illustration from the book.) Left Text: Life-or-death decisive battle¨D! Right Text: ¡°If you don¡¯t stand up, I¡¯ll kick you. In the same place I did before.¡± CH 6.1 After the Fight ¡°Are you sure we can leave them like that? ¡° Shiki asks Karin as they leave the parking lot. He was referring to Kawato and the others. ¡°It¡¯s okay, they¡¯re fine. They will wake up on their own, get depressed on their own, and go home on their own. Well, if someone sees us fighting and calls the police, we might be in trouble.¡± He doesn¡¯t think that would be all right, but after being bullied so much, Shiki was hoping that the police would take care of them. After walking for a while, he heard a voice when they came to the main street. ¡°Ah! Karin-senpai! ¡° Karin¡¯s junior, the dark-haired girl whom Shiki saved from Kawato and the others, smiles and waves toward them. She rushes through the crowd¨D¨Dand falls down in front of Shiki, head-sliding in a flashy way. Such a thing on the side of the main street would inevitably attract a lot of attention. Then Shiki twists his head as he sees the eyes of the crowd shift from the girl to him. He is aware of the fact that he does not have any characteristics that would attract the attention of others, so he is puzzled by the crowd¡¯s stares. ¡°You guys, come here for a second.¡± Karin is the only one who panics, then she takes Shiki¡¯s and the girl¡¯s hands and starts walking away, dragging them with her. They leave the main street as the two of them are pulled and arrive at a park that is, as anyone would say, very deserted. Shiki, wanting to know why he was attracting so much attention, almost opens her mouth to Karin when the dark-haired girl says, ¡°Waa! Look at you, you¡¯re badly hurt! ¡° Shiki finally understands when the dark-haired girl screams. Kawato had beaten his face a lot. Though knowing his face was bruised and swollen was not particularly strange. ¡°Rather, you¡¯re too calm. Before, you were in pain even when you tried to speak.¡± It¡¯s true that he was suffering from unaccustomed pain right after he was hit¡­ even though there is a difference between the stomach and the face, maybe he was accustomed to pain quickly because he is used to being punched in the stomach. It was a sad, new discovery of himself when he thought about it. ¡°W-w-w-we have to disinfect it first!¡± While Shiki looked away, the dark-haired girl busily went through her shoulder bag and took out a small container of antiseptic solution and gauze. She then tries to soak the gauze with the disinfectant. ¡°H-huh? ¡° She pushes her finger into the tilted container, but no disinfectant comes out, and the girl starts panicking even more. ¡°W-why? There should be more disinfectant in this bottle! ¡° The girl, sounding more and more panicked, starts to peek into the disinfectant container with the bottle tilted down. Shiki and Karin, who had a vision of the disaster that was about to happen the next moment, rush to stop her, but they are a little too late. ¡°Gyaa¨D¨D¨D¨D! ¡° The girl faints in agony as the disinfectant spurts out in a gush and hits her in the eye. Just peering into the spout from below was dangerous, but neither Shiki nor Karin could see the future when she would push the container further into her eye to make the disinfectant spurt out from it. ¡°You idiot¨D¨D¨D¨D! ¡° ¡°Ah, quickly get to the water fountain! ¡° Fifteen minutes later¨D¨D ¡°I apologize! And please accept my deepest gratitude for saving me! ¡° The girl¨D¨DHaruno Momozono¨D¨Dbows her head toward Shiki, her eyes still bloodshot even after being washed with water. ¡°No, uh, Kohinata-san also saved me, and Momozono-san already gave me first aid, so there¡¯s no need to speak so formally to me.¡± True to his word, Shiki followed Haruno¡¯s instructions to refill the ice she bought into two sheets of plastic bought at a convenience store and wrap them in a towel, which he then pressed against both his cheeks where Kawato had beaten him severely. Aside from the fact that it was uncomfortable for him to have Karin and Haruno press it for him, Haruno¡¯s treatment was so appropriate that it was hard to believe what had just happened. ¡°Haruno¡¯s parents are both doctors. She¡¯s pretty good at this kind of thing¨D¨D¡± ¡°I¡¯m a klutz and get hurt easily, so my mom and dad told me over and over again [This is the one thing you must learn.] That¡¯s why I¡¯m used to this kind of simple first aid.¡± Haruno talks openly about something that could be described as a shameful part of her. Karin held her head in one hand as if she wanted to say, [You didn¡¯t have to tell him that.] Incidentally, Haruno¡¯s bag was filled with gauze, bandages, plasters, and disinfectant to the extent that it can be called a small first-aid kit. Shiki thinks that her parents probably put and prepared this in her bag. Karin said, [Well, anyway.] she prefaced her words as if she was trying to sort the situation and then pointed at Shiki with the iron fan that she had taken out of her pocket. ¡°Let me introduce you again. This is Orifushi Shiki. He¡¯s in the same grade as me and we go to the same school. For Haruno, he¡¯s a senior¨D¨D¡± She then points at Haruno and continues, ¡°This girl is Haruno Momozono. I probably don¡¯t need to tell you this, but she¡¯s in the same school as us, and she¡¯s one grade below us.¡± ¡°Yes! I am Karin-senpai¡¯s junior!¡± Haruno says happily, but when he compares her and Karin, he can¡¯t help but notice that Haruno looks more like a senior than Karin, if only in terms of appearance. Karin herself is about average height for her age and has a face appropriate for her age. It is simply that Haruno¡¯s appearance is so mature that she does not look like a high school student to him. It is hard to believe that she was a junior high school student until half a month ago. But that¡¯s only if she were standing there silently because there are many points where it is understandable that she was a junior high school student aside from her appearance. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should say this, but she doesn¡¯t look like she belongs at St. Lukimantz Academy.¡± ¡± I know, right? I already told her to go to the other school too¡­¡± Shiki had expected they had only known each other for less than half a month, but after hearing these words, he realized that this Senpai-Kouhai relationship had been going on since before Haruno enrolled at St. Lukimantz Academy. CH 6.2 Shiki had expected they had only known each other for less than half a month, but after hearing these words, he realized that this Senpai-Kouhai relationship had been going on since before Haruno enrolled at St. Lukimantz Academy. And to prove her right, Haruno gleefully begins to speak quickly and enthusiastically about her encounter with Karin. ¡°It was around this time last year that I ran into some bad people who were trying to force me to go somewhere with them, but Karin-senpai happened to pass by and saved me by knocking down all the bad people! I admired her so much that I decided to enter St. Lukimantz Academy!¡± ¡°I feel a little guilty for dragging you into the path of evil, you know?¡± Karin pulls out a small box from her pocket and pulls out a white stick that looks like a cigarette, puts it in her mouth, and then says ¡°Hmm? ¡° She then holds out the box to Haruno and tries to recommend it to her. Shiki, who was about to see someone drag a younger student into the path of evil right in front of him, threw away the ice-covered plastic he was holding on both his cheeks and said in a surprised voice. ¡°Wait-wait-wait! What the heck are you doing, Kohinata-san?!¡± Shiki was in a panic while Karin was smiling and pointing a box of white sticks that looked like cigarettes at him. ¡°You want some too? ¡° ¡°W-what do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean, I¡¯m offering you candy cigarettes.¡± ¡± ¡­ha? ¡° A stupid voice escapes from Siki¡¯s mouth. ¡°You know, like a stick candy. Cocoa flavor, cola flavor. Pineapple flavor.¡± ¡°Pineapple¡­ ¡° Shiki¡¯s face turns bright red as he realizes he misunderstands. Seeing this, Karin giggles like a child who has successfully pulled off a prank. ¡°A-ha-ha! It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen someone who fell for such a lame trick! ¡° ¡°Senpai! Are you talking about me? ¡° Haruno raised her hand proudly for some reason, and Shiki could not help but hide his face in his hands. Karin always had a white stick in her mouth, and while he thought that it might not be a cigarette somewhere in his mind, he also thought that it might not be impossible for the [Empress.] to have a cigarette in her mouth, even though we¡¯re underage. That¡¯s why, when he saw her suddenly offering cigarettes to the junior in front of him, he tried to stop her. ( Thinking about it, the cigarette she had been putting in her mouth before in the parking lot was gone before I knew it, even though I didn¡¯t see her throw it away¡­ ) Shiki slumps his shoulders, realizing he has just been tricked. Karin gives Haruno a ¡®cigarette¡¯ and then points the box of ¡®cigarettes¡¯ at him. The design of the box looks like that of a cigarette, but if he looks closely, he can see [Candy Cigarettes] written in large letters on the front of the box. However, it is not difficult to hide it depending on the position of the fingers holding the box, and if anything, he had a feeling that Karin had hidden it well before he revealed it to him. Karin started to answer something he didn¡¯t ask her. ¡°I don¡¯t even want to smoke because I don¡¯t like the smell of it.¡± ¡°But why are you eating pineapple candy cigarettes? ¡° ¡°Because it¡¯s my favorite flavor, but also because it¡¯s kind of cool. That¡¯s why.¡± She handed him a box of pineapple candy cigarettes while giving him a rather casual answer. ¡°Anyway, Shiki, would you like to have one? ¡° Even though he twitched his face at her answer, he didn¡¯t have the guts to refuse her, so he took one without hesitation. As soon as he put it in his mouth, the aroma of pineapple and peppermint filled his mouth. Actually tastes pretty good, he thought. ¡°It¡¯s interesting if a police officer found sees us at a time like now. Because of our appearance, we¡¯ll be misunderstood at first sight.¡± Karin says, laughing happily. Haruno is laughing as well, but Shiki is the only one whose face is drawn even more tightly. ¡°Well, enough joking around, I¡¯m going to talk about something serious¡­ Shiki, you should take a day off from school tomorrow just to be safe. Don¡¯t forget to get your facial injuries checked by a doctor after you return home.¡± Haruno also stared at him as she said this with a serious face. He understands this stare means that she¡¯s trying back her adored senpai words. ¡°I think that would be better. If that were the case, it would be better to check it today, but it¡¯s Sunday and my father and mother said they will be home late from the meeting. Shiki was rather relieved at the latter part of the statement. Even though he had been injured by helping Haruno, asking her parents to check his condition was a little awkward. Because he doesn¡¯t really know how bad his injury was, Shiki thinks that he should obey them since Karin is used to fighting, and Haruno is the daughter of a doctor. They probably know his condition better than him. ¡°I just¡­ wonder what Kawato and the others will do to me the next day if I take a bad day off¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re the kind of loser who hides behind me and bullies me, right? Of course they won¡¯t retaliate to you break their promise to me.¡± ¡°But Kawato-kun was really upset that I kicked him, and in the end, it was Kohinata who beat him¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡­ that¡¯s true.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ It was my fault. ¡° ¡°No, no, it¡¯s not your fault! ¡° Haruno apologized again and Shiki hurried to deny it. At the same time, Karin put her hand on her chin and thought for a moment before start talking again, ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Since I¡¯m involved in this, I¡¯ll cover your ass for a while.¡± ¡°Kohinata-san¡­ a girl shouldn¡¯t talk about ass so casually¡­¡± ¡°Ahh? Noisy-noisy. I mean, differentiating someone for being a woman or not is so old-fashioned nowadays.¡± Shiki is at a loss for words when she says something like that and Karin continues. ¡°A-ny-way. You¡¯re afraid of Kawato¡¯s retaliation, aren¡¯t you, Shiki? But I don¡¯t have time to keep an eye on you all the time, either. That¡¯s why¡­¡± Karin smiles and says something that was unexpected for him. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you how to fight.¡± ¡± ¡­Yes? ¡° The words that escaped from Shiki¡¯s mouth sounded ridiculously silly. CH 7.1 Chaotic Lunch Break In the end, Shiki decided to withhold his answer, and after leaving Karin and the dark-haired girl and returning home, he did as he was told, keeping his face cool with ice and resting. The next morning. Shiki sees his face in the mirror and decides to take a day off from school to go to the doctor. When he went to see the doctor, the doctor looked at him suspiciously, wondering what had happened, but when he told him that he had been attacked by a delinquent from St. Lukimantz Academy, he immediately understood and even sympathized with him. He was reminded again that the school he attended was the end of the century of the school. Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with his bones, and he was told that he should continue to keep his cheeks cool while taking care of frostbite. Then Shiki left the doctor and bought the game software that he had missed buying yesterday. After returning home, Shiki did as he was told and spent the rest of the day playing games, not only the ones he bought but also some free social games (Soshage), perhaps to escape from the reality of what would be waiting for him when he went back to school tomorrow. And the next morning. Shiki leaves his apartment, relieved that the swelling on his face is much better than yesterday. Even though the security was better thanks to Karin, fights between delinquents in the school were a common occurrence, so it was also common to see delinquents with swollen and bruised faces everywhere, just like Shiki now. Therefore, not many people cared about the injuries on his face before he arrived at the classrooms of Class 2 of the second year. He thought that the only such person would be Karin, who was always on the lookout for those who bullied the weaker students. ( Why is everyone glancing at me¡­? ) Shiki, who had taken his seat, couldn¡¯t help but feel uncomfortable with how the students, delinquents and non-delinquents, were glancing at him. At the same time, Kawato enters the classroom with his cronies. Since the relationship between Shiki and Kawato is well known by many of his classmates, the air was tense for a moment. ¡°¡­tsk.¡± Kawato passed by Shiki with a single click of his tongue and headed straight for his seat with his followers in tow. Shiki, who could barely look in Kawato¡¯s direction, was nervous inside, but then he listened to the whispers coming from everywhere. ¡°Hey, Kawato didn¡¯t even come close to Orifushi.¡± ¡°That means¡­ did the Empress really have Orifushi¡¯s back? ¡° ¡°Of course. In fact, yesterday during lunchtime, the [Empress] was here asking about Orifushi.¡± Shiki is convinced after hearing such a conversation. ( I don¡¯t know if it was to make sure I wasn¡¯t coming to school disobediently or to create a situation like the one I¡¯m in now, but now I know everyone was glancing at me because Kohinata-san showed up in this classroom yesterday. ) I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s the only reason, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m getting into any more trouble here. ( If that¡¯s the case, then even if Kohinata-san doesn¡¯t teach me how to fight, Kawato-kun won¡¯t touch me anymore¡­ ) With such a faint hope, he fearfully looked at Kawato¡¯s seat with a side glance and immediately averted his eyes. ¨D¨DHe was staring at me. Kawato was staring at him with a murderous look as if he was trying to avenge his father¡¯s death. It was obvious that Kawato was determined to pay back the debt for the front kick, but maybe he was afraid of breaking his promise to the [Empress] not to touch Shiki if he lost the match. The bell rings, and a dull old man, the homeroom teacher, enters the classroom to start the morning homeroom. Kawato and his classmates did not even show any sign of approaching Shiki during recess time. Although he was happy to have a peaceful break time after a long time, it was very unsettling when his classmates saw this and started to murmur that there was the ¡°Empress¡± behind Shiki. At lunchtime, after the third and fourth-period classes, he checked that Kawato and his classmates were leaving the classroom to show their faces on their factions as usual, and then he got up to buy some bread from the store. Shiki¡¯s routine is to get his lunch while Kawato and the others are away, go to a secret place where Kawato and the others cannot find him, finish his lunch there, and hide until just before the lunch break is over. But¡­ ( Maybe since Kohinata-san came to my classroom yesterday, she might come again today¨D¨D) ¡°So you¡¯re Shiki-kun¡«¡«?¡± Then he heard an alluring girl¡¯s voice from behind him. ¡°Whoaa?! ¡° He lets out a strange scream because she blows on his neck. While he¡¯s wondering what¡¯s going on, the girl hugs Shiki from behind¡­ and his thoughts are immediately short-circuited by the two unknown but instantly recognizable bouncinesses transmitted from his back. Or rather, he had no choice but to short-circuit because the blood would flow immediately to his lower abdomen if he thought about it even a little. The girls chuckle brightly at Shiki, who is now red in the face up to his ears. ¡°Hmm, perhaps this the first time a girl has done this to you? You¡¯re so cute~.¡± She presses her chest against Shiki¡¯s back and puts her chin on his right shoulder. Shiki turns his head forward and stiffens like a stone statue. He glanced sideways and saw the girl¡¯s face so close to him that her breath could reach him. She had long, somewhat quirky flaxen hair that reached her back. Her eyes were slanted and her eyelashes were so long that he wondered if they were really open, and despite the somewhat seductive tone of her voice, she had a soft smile on her cheeks that reminded him of the Virgin Mary. Although it was only visible up close like this, he could see that she was wearing a lot of makeup, especially on her thin lips. Probably, she was wearing natural makeup that made her look like she was not wearing any makeup at all. Judging from the fact that she did not lift her heels, she might be about the same height as himself. With these features confirmed, the identity of the girl who was attached to him from behind was obvious to Shiki¨D¨Dor rather, obvious to the students of St. Lukimantz Academy. ¨D¨DThe girl¡¯s name was Hiyama Touka. CH 7.2 She is a member of the Kohinata faction, the strongest faction in St. Lukimantz Academy, of which there are only three members, including Karin, the [Empress.]. She was famous for being rumored to have many boyfriends and girlfriends (TN: kareshi to kanojo) in and outside of the school and for being unrivaled in disrupting the public morals of the school. While the whole classroom is abuzz at the appearance of this ally of the [Empress.], the girl herself continues her dubious skinship without a care in the world with him. ¡°Well then, let me have a little taste~¡± He doesn¡¯t understand what she means by [Taste] and tries to ask her back. ¡°Whoa?! ¡° She licks his neck, and again he lets out a strange scream. He never dreamed that she literally meant exactly what she said. ¡°Hmm, yes, not bad. I guess I can count on this one too!¡± Both of her fingers, which had been tracing the surface of Shiki¡¯s body, were about to reach between his legs like a live snake when suddenly, ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± I heard a cute little girlish voice, and just then, Fuyuka fell down with the sound of [ahn] ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I apologize that this s*x demon is causing you trouble.¡± The one who apologized to him in a respectful manner was a female student who looked and sounded like a little girl. Her wolf bob hair was dyed gold, and the color was so bright that it was rude to compare it with Kawato¡¯s dirty blonde hair (dark blonde shade with wheaty, brown undertones). Her face was as cute as her voice, and her small size, which could be mistaken for that of an elementary school student, filled her with a charm similar to that of a small animal. The skirt of her school uniform was long enough to reach her ankles, but both sides had slits from the middle of her thighs, and the slender legs wrapped in tights were exposed through the slits. In her small hand, she was holding a stun baton, a stun gun similar to a baton, which must have been responsible for the sound and for Touka¡¯s fall. This little girl¨D¨DTsukiike Chiaki, is also a member of the Kohinata faction, and the story that she and Touka had protected Karin¡¯s back before she was called the [Empress] has circulated among all the students in the school. ( I don¡¯t understand, she used a stun gun that didn¡¯t electrocute me even when she was in close contact with me¡­ ) (TN: He was hugged but didn¡¯t get electrocuted.) If you think about it, a stun gun is useless for self-defense if it can¡¯t be used. But to be honest, it was a reason that he did not really want to know. ¡°That¡¯s terrible, Chi-chan. Doing an electric current play in public~.¡± Touka protests as she sits up and leans against the nearby desk. Her school uniform, which was even more revealing than Karin¡¯s, exposed her ample bosom, and her skirt, which was even shorter than Karin¡¯s, was almost revealing her underwear at the slightest movement. Shiki, who is a herbivore at heart, was honestly at a loss for what to do with his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s your fault for being l*wd in public. Wait, what do you mean by [Play]?¡± ¡°Of course I meant exactly what I said~¡± ¡°Alright, now I¡¯m going to do a [play] with the max voltage, come on!¡± Chiaki has a foul mouth, but her voice is so young that it¡¯s not annoying and only makes him smile. In fact, Touka was smiling naturally when she was bickering with Chiaki. While Shiki was watching their exchange with a bemud look on his face, someone tapped her shoulder from behind. When he turned around subconsciously, he saw her¨D¨DKarin¡¯s index finger poking Shiki¡¯s cheek. ¡°Hey, I got you.¡± Shiki replies with a clueless [H-hello] to her glee at having pulled off such a childish prank. The situation is so chaotic that it is hard for him to understand what¡¯s happening. ¡°Shiki¡¯s face when Touka hugged her¡­it¡¯s just like a normal boy.¡± HI thought in my heart that [Kohinata-san is also just like a normal boy in the sense that she has a strange sense of distance], but he didn¡¯t say it out loud. ¡°Anyway Shiki, let¡¯s go out for lunch.¡± The classroom, which was already in a state of confusion, became even more disturbed by her words. ¡°Hey-hey, isn¡¯t this more than just a matter about the [Empress] having his back? ¡° ¡°Why is that guy hanging out with the Empress¡¯ faction?¡± I¡¯m jealous of him, though not very much¡­¡± Karin, ignoring the voices of those around her, says to Chiaki and Touka. ¡°You guys, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Roger!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Shiki leaves the classroom with Karin and the others. The Kohinata group is not only the strongest in the school but also known in the school for having the best reputation. Shiki, who did not know what was going on anymore, did not know whether she should be afraid or happy to be surrounded by such girls.