First Day of Protection: In the Morning
The
week resumed, pushing away the weekend’s commotion at the Katayama
household. Minami followed her usual path to school, absentmindedly
munching on a slightly crumbled cereal bar with one hand, while holding a
book open to a page marked by an old handwritten note with the other.
The soft notes of her favorite music escaped from her headphones,
forming a cocoon of sound that slightly separated her from the outside
world, where the morning chill nipped at her cheeks and awakened her
senses.
As she walked, the road to school gradually filled with
more students—some in groups, others alone—each following their own high
school routine. Minami, as always, lost in her bubble, thought: Maybe I should look up for once.
She lifted her gaze and took the time to observe others for once, glancing left, then right, and finally behind her.
"Hmm… not very interesting."
A little later
Minami
stood in front of the classroom door, witnessing yet another defeat for
Sanae. The latter, a sore loser, refused to give up, but it seemed that
her opponent, Kurou, had a gift.
"Lost again," he declared with a yawn.
Sanae
looked devastated, but the fire in her eyes remained. Tadao Nao, the
vice-leader of the Chika-Bankaa, dryly remarked, "Waa… You’re really
bad. I’m bored. I thought you’d be at least a little entertaining, but
I’m disappointed."
His gaze, drained of any enthusiasm, lingered
on Sanae. He had been standing to Kurou’s right for several minutes,
observing their match, but now he had lost interest.
"I’d rather take a math test," he said, returning to his seat.
Sanae thought: I even managed to bore Nao! Am I really that bad!?
Kurou smirked mockingly, "Wow! You actually bored him… That’s a first."
The delinquent leader glanced at Nao, who was now slumped over his desk, moments away from falling asleep.
Humiliated, Sanae lightly slammed her hand on the desk. "How do you do it?"
"Huh?"
"Why do I always lose against you?"
Frustration was clear in her voice.
Kurou responded with an expression that screamed both arrogance and obviousness: "Because you suck."
Sanae,
who had expected a more constructive answer, sighed. "Ah… Right… Why
did I even expect anything useful from a delinquent?"
She got up and declared, "I’ll train, and then I’ll come back to beat you—"
"No, I’ll never play against you again. Leave and don’t come back."
"What!? No way! You can’t do that!"
Kurou ignored her, examining his hands as he muttered, "If I keep playing with her, I feel like I’ll catch her disease."
Sanae’s eye twitched in anger. My disease!?
She
stood frozen in front of the Chika-Bankaa leader, who was doing
everything except paying attention to her. This loss was different from
the others—this time, Sanae had really felt like she could beat Kurou.
And yet, somehow, she had still lost.
Suddenly, Minami appeared by
the table and asked the so-called champion, "Are you really that good?
Why are you refusing to play against her again? Are you scared, by any
chance?"
Kurou burst into laughter. "Oh, our little rabbit’s here, guys!"
From
his position face-down on the desk, Nao’s ears metaphorically perked
up, signaling that his interest had been reignited. He bolted upright,
shouting, "Ooh! Finally, something interesting!"
The entire class
turned their attention toward him—except for Minami, who was
scrutinizing Kurou from head to toe, as if trying to figure out his
weaknesses.
"What are you trying to do, rabbit? You wanna challenge me?"
Nao openly mocked Minami. "You? Play against the boss when you lose to Sanae?! Haha, that’s hilarious!"
Minami smirked mischievously and responded, "Exactly. I want to play against you. Bring it on."
Sanae hesitated. "Huh? Minami? I don’t think that’s a good idea."
She stepped closer to her best friend, narrowing her eyes. "Hmm~ So you’re siding with the delinquents now, huh?"
"N-No, it’s just that… well…"
Minami crossed her arms and pouted. "I thought our friendship was stronger than this!"
Sanae,
panicked, didn’t want to upset her. Usually, she was good at faking
emotions, but now she couldn’t tell if Minami was really hurt. Still,
her comment annoyed her. "No way! Don’t say that—!"
"Haha, how could anyone be friends with someone so bad at this," Nao snickered.
His
remark irritated Sanae even more because it reinforced Minami’s words.
"Alright, stop! I’m just saying that Kurou is really strong, and I don’t
want to see you lose for no reason! Especially not against someone so
arrogant."
Minami gave her an exasperated look. She’s so frustrated from losing that she can’t even tell I’m messing with her?
-(Minami) "It’s just a board game. I don’t care about losing. It’s not a race."
-(Sanae) "Ah… I see."
"And besides, I don’t plan on losing," Minami added confidently.
Two minutes later
Minami,
chin resting on her hand, wore an expression of deep thought as she
analyzed the game. "Hmm… Interesting." Then, with an alarmingly serious
tone, she concluded, "I lost."
Nao and Katsuro burst into laughter, rolling on the floor. Kurou thought: I really want to crack up too, but as the boss, I have to keep my composure.
Sanae, hiding her face in embarrassment, thought: She made the worst possible moves! How is that even possible!? Every single one of her seven turns was OBVIOUS!
"You were so focused that I thought you might actually do well! But you barely lasted two minutes?!" Katsuro laughed.
"Hmm… You’re not that strong," Minami said bluntly.
Nao and Katsuro both thought at the same time: Is she an idiot?
Sanae, still embarrassed: Minami! Stop! This is already humiliating enough!
Kurou, however, frowned slightly. Something felt off. She’s really saying that sincerely… She’s not just a sore loser. There’s something more to this…
Nao now saw Minami as someone who didn’t have all her lights on, and he was almost worried for her.
“Uh… You do realize you just lost in two minutes, right?”
“Yes, but I suck.”
At first reassured that his classmate admitted her own mediocrity, Nao continued, “Ah! Well, you’re not that dumb after a—”
He abruptly stopped in his tracks:
Genuinely confused, he asked Minami, “Then why are you saying the chef sucks? I don’t get it.”
She replied with excessive confidence, “I know people way stronger than that.”
“Haha! Of course! I’d love to meet those people!”
“Well, first of all, why don’t you play against Sanae?”
The
Chika-Bankaa’s vice-captain responded with just as much confidence, “I
don’t see the point in facing her. This was supposed to be a duel
between her and the chef, I’m not going to interfere. That wouldn’t be
worthy of the Chika-Bankaa.”
Minami thought.
Nao continued, “But if you want to see her lose again, no problem, I can put on that show for you, haha!”
Minami turned to Sanae with a smile and said, “Go on, you’re going to crush him, just watch!”
The two players sat down.
Two minutes later
“I won!” Sanae exclaimed.
Minami approached Nao, who was lying on the classroom floor, nearly unconscious. “Well? What happened to you?”
She looked down at him with a devilish grin. Katsuro couldn’t believe his eyes:
Nao
struggled to get up. “How could I have lost as the vice-captain of the
Chika-Bankaa? I knew I should’ve taken down her damned—”
Kurou glanced at Sanae:
Minami,
who had been watching him discreetly, suddenly appeared, catching him
off guard. However, he managed to keep a neutral expression.
“So?” she asked with a sly smile.
“What?”
“Quit playing dumb, you know you’d lose if you played against her, riiight?”
Kurou narrowed his eyes and replied, “I don’t know what makes you think you can talk to me like that.”
Minami thought.
“I’m just saying what I think. Besides, just because I suck doesn’t mean I can’t gauge your skill level.”
Katsuro responded, “Uh, yeah, it kinda does.”
Minami declared proudly, “You wouldn’t even last a minute against my little sister!”
Nao
snapped out of his temporary depression and laughed. “Haha! Oh yeah?
And what’s next? You don’t think you’re delusional, considering you lost
in two minutes?”
“You lost in two minutes too.”
“Ah—…”
Kurou was the only one in the group taking Minami’s words seriously:
-(Kurou) You sure have an unusual circle of friends…
-(Minami) That’s right, I’m surrounded by people way stronger than you!
Kurou was confused by Minami. He could no longer tell what was real and what was exaggerated.
Katsuro
suddenly spoke up. “By the way, speaking of strength, it’s true that
you won our protection for two days thanks to your race against that
lunatic!”
“Two days? I thought it was one day per person?” Minami asked.
“Tishiku didn’t want his, so he gave it to you,” Katsuro replied.
“Tishiku?”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Minami glanced at his desk. He was calmly reading a book:
Sanae clapped her hands together and said, “Well, in that case, I’ll give you my protection day too, haha!”
“W–What? Haha, no-no, you can keep it—”
“After all, you’re the one who deserves it! You won the race, haha! ” Sanae replied.
Minami
saw right through her friend’s scheme. They looked at each other in
silence, smiling, both fully aware of what had just happened.
Kurou smirked at Minami. “Well then, we’ll be protecting you for three days, little bunny.”
Just
as she was about to retort, she froze as the history teacher entered
the classroom. The creaking door signaled the start of the lesson,
forcing all the students back to their seats.
During class, as the
teacher droned on in a monotonous voice, Minami became the target of
paper wads from both sides. The tiny projectiles flew silently, barely
grazing her face as they followed their erratic trajectories. Meanwhile,
the teacher remained engrossed in his notes, oblivious to the small
acts of rebellion unfolding in his classroom.
Annoyed by the
disturbance, Minami watched for the perfect moment. When Nao seemed
ready to launch another paper wad, she seized the opportunity. With
calculated precision, she flicked a paper ball toward Tsuka, who was
sitting just a few rows ahead.
The projectile hit its target perfectly, making Tsuka spin around abruptly, searching for the culprit behind the attack.
Nao and Minami’s gazes met. Tension crackled between them.
Tsuka, furious, scanned the rows and locked onto Nao, the main instigator of the paper war.
Caught off guard, Nao, red with embarrassment and shame, whispered to his accomplice Katsuro to abandon their game.
“” Minami cheered in her mind, while Sanae, a spectator of the silent battle, sighed.
The lesson continued peacefully after that.
When
the lunch bell rang, Sanae and Minami headed to the cafeteria as usual.
They passed by the twin sisters going back and forth with Haru,
probably preparing for an upcoming election?
Nao had picked the
worst moment to try and clear up the misunderstanding from earlier.
Tsuka was still mad at him, convinced he was behind the attack.
Once they arrived at the cafeteria, Sanae and Minami went to their usual table. But suddenly, an unexpected disturbance arose:
“The cereal bar muncher?? Your shop’s closed—”
Minami interrupted loudly, raising her voice excessively: "WHOOOAAA, breaking news! As always, super useful, Ayemi!"
The heavy silence that followed was broken by a disdainful scoff: "Tss! Serves you right—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Katsuro, Nao, and Kurou sat down at Minami’s table in perfect sync.
Kurou,
with his piercing and intense gaze, moved forward with a confidence
that bordered on audacity. He took his seat at the table with calculated
nonchalance, legs spread apart and back slightly slouched, as if ready
to spring into action at any moment.
"What does the viper want
from us?" he asked in a low yet commanding voice, his tone sliding like a
serpent ready to strike. His unwavering stare and relaxed demeanor
exuded an aura of latent danger, capable of intimidating anyone in his
path.
Ayemi and Kaori, the latter remaining silent, simply walked
away from the table, cutting the conversation short. One question
lingered in their minds: What are they doing here?
"Bahaha, Minami?? That’s all you’re eating??" Katsuro asked, amused.
Nao
joined in, making a comment that got a reaction from Kurou as well, the
delinquents losing themselves in their own conversation, as if Minami
and Sanae weren’t even there.
The two friends exchanged glances
amidst the commotion. Then, deciding to break the silence, Sanae
hesitantly spoke up: "Uh… Can I ask what you guys are doing here?"
All
the delinquents turned to her, staring without a word. Feeling awkward,
she clarified: "I—I mean… you don’t usually eat here, do you?"
"Are you stupid or what?" Nao shot back with contempt.
"Hey! Don’t talk to Sanae like that, you clown!" Minami snapped, irritated.
At
that moment, Kurou cast a sidelong glance at Minami, a mischievous
smirk playing on his lips. Though she was focused on her meal, she could
feel his gaze on her and looked up to confront him: "What? Why are you
looking at me like that?"
"I’m really wondering what’s going on in
your head for you to talk to us like that," he said, leaning forward
slightly, his sharp eyes locked onto hers.
Determined not to be
rattled, Minami continued eating in silence, but Kurou didn’t let up.
"Last time, when we saw each other outside, you weren’t running your
mouth so much."
A shiver of apprehension ran through Minami. Her eyes narrowed slightly, betraying a crack in her usual confidence. Damn… He’s completely right.
Sensing
this subtle shift, Kurou smirked in satisfaction, his gaze taking on a
more intimidating edge. "Don’t tell me it’s just the school walls giving
you all that confidence?" He then burst into laughter, his voice
ringing out with a menacing echo.
"You saw them outside?" Sanae asked, intrigued by his remark.
"Yeah…"
Just as she was about to elaborate, the delinquents shot her a sharp
look. "I—I just ran into him and gave him back the headband. Anyway!
What are you guys doing here?!"
Nao groaned, "We’re here to protect you! The three days have started!"
"Excuse me?" Minami asked, incredulous.
"You heard me. And by the way, you better clear up the misunderstanding with Tsuka! Because—"
"That’s your problem," she replied flatly.
"I don’t think you understand, Minami," Nao suddenly turned menacing, a murderous aura surrounding him. "You will clear up that misunderstanding."
"They should be protecting me from you! Okay! Okay! Just don’t throw anything at me ever again!"
"Okay!" he responded solemnly.
The
delinquents finished their meals quickly, waiting only for Minami and
Sanae. The moment Minami finished, Nao swiftly cleared her tray. She
didn’t even have time to thank him before he dragged her off toward
Tsuka, followed from a distance by Katsuro, Kurou, and Sanae.
Tsuka
was caught off guard when she saw the duo in front of her. Sensing the
oddity of the situation, she asked Taiya and Haru to go ahead, assuring
them she’d catch up soon. "What are you two doing together? Since when
do you get along?"
"It’s not what you think, Tsuka," Minami replied, visibly exasperated by the situation.
Seeing
that she wasn’t getting to the point fast enough, Nao shook her with
one arm to speed things up. "Yeah, yeah, I’m getting to it! Ugh… So,
Tsuka… that paper ball you got."
"Hm?"
"It was me."
Tsuka
burst into laughter and mockingly replied, "That’s all?? You scared
me!! If you wanna have a paper ball fight, just let me know! I’d love
to! Just gotta avoid Haru…"
"No thanks, I’ll pass," Minami replied immediately.
"Oh, well, if that’s all… I figured it was you."
"Not at all! I had no reason to throw one at you!" Nao said, blushing slightly.
Hearing that excuse, Minami furrowed her brows. "And me then? Did you have a reason to throw one at me?!"
"Hahaha! Watch out, Nao! Anyway, I gotta go, I need to catch up with the girls!" She ran off.
At that moment, the rest of the group caught up. "All good?" Katsuro asked, seemingly way too invested in this.
Nao gave a thumbs-up and grinned.
Minami, despairing over his enthusiasm, thought: Does he seriously think he has a chance with Tsuka?? Has the lovebirds’ list messed with his head?
Sanae whispered in her ear: "I think Nao is in love with Tsuka."
She replied sarcastically, "Nooo, really~?"
"What?! You knew?! Why didn’t you tell me?" Sanae asked, embarrassed.
"Well, it’s obvious—"
Sanae
wanted to keep the topic low-key, but her exclamation had already drawn
Katsuro’s interest. He suddenly questioned her: "What’s going on?"
"N-No, nothing, I—" Why do they always butt into everything?! It’s unsettling!
Minami
saw her friend struggling to find an excuse and decided to step in to
divert attention: "By the way, you guys are usually four. Where’s, uh…
what’s his name again?"
Sanae continued, "K-Kiyoshi, yeah! Where is he?"
The Chika-Bankaa leader replied, "Kiyoshi? He prefers to be alone at lunchtime, probably training somewhere."
"That surprises me, coming from you guys. I thought you were always together, like an inseparable gang, you know?" Minami said.
"Yeah, that is surprising," Sanae added.
Brimming
with pride and confidence, Nao spoke up: "The Chika-Bankaa is an
organization with well-defined rules. We’re not just some inseparable
gang. We’re brothers!"
"Exactly!" Katsuro confirmed.
Kurou nodded seriously, showing his agreement with the vice leader’s words.
Minami thought.
Nao
continued, “But that doesn’t mean everyone isn’t entitled to their own
moment of solitude! Because yes, it's in solitude that we build
ourselves!”
Sanae was surprised by his sudden confidence and started clapping. “Wow, I wasn’t expecting this much assertiveness.”
The Chika-Bankaa’s vice leader, smug, replied, “Come on now, I’m just doing my job!”
Minami thought.
In the High School's Botanical garden
Makoto Kiyoshi from Chika-Bankaa and the shy Tengu Harumi—this improbable duo found themselves in an equally unusual place.
-(Kiyoshi) "I don’t really know how I ended up in this group."
-(Harumi) "P-Please d-don’t hurt me…"
She backed away in fear, but her trembling body made her stumble backward. “O-Ouch!”
Kiyoshi’s
face darkened suddenly, and he lowered his eyes. A certain tension
filled the air, and silence reigned. Harumi feared the worst, but his
attitude was different from usual. With a hint of sadness, he muttered,
“…Ah, right… Because of my appearance…”
Harumi had no idea what
was happening. She usually watered the garden plants every morning, but
today, on a whim, she decided to do it at noon. That’s how she ended up
face-to-face with Kiyoshi, doing it in her place.
“They’re not
actually bad people. I got to know them—okay, I wouldn’t recommend
hanging out with them outside of school, but they’re pretty chill
otherwise.”
Harumi thought.
She
froze for a second, finally realizing what her classmate had been
saying from the start. Hesitantly getting up and taking a few steps
back, she asked, “Y-You’re not a delinquent?”
“No… I’m just a big guy… That’s all.”
Harumi thought.
“B-But w-why do you hang out with those, um… W-Why—”
“It happened so fast… I didn’t have time to react…”
Harumi thought.
Despite
her fear, she decided to give him a chance, seeing his miserable state.
Even with his size, Kiyoshi looked small, crouched down with the
oversized watering can in his hands.
“ W-Why don’t you just leave that g-gang then—?”
“They’re my first real friends… And even though they sometimes go too far—”
“They see me as a brother…”
…
It
was no longer fear that Harumi felt when she heard Kiyoshi’s heartfelt
words—it was empathy. She didn’t know what to say. She understood the
longing to form bonds, as well as the pain of repeated failures. Being
extremely shy, she struggled with these things herself.
After a
moment of silence, Kiyoshi continued, “Maybe I should leave them after
all… I already scared everyone with my looks and my clumsiness, and now
it’s even worse. Everyone thinks I’m a delinquent…”
About ten meters away, behind a fence, Rikka, who had overheard everything, thought:
“Waa~ I wasn’t expecting that… But he’s still really scary though…” she muttered as she walked away.
Late Afternoon
Sanae
had to go to the cooking club. Her schedule had gotten quite busy
lately. As for the track club, today was specially reserved for
first-years who had joined at the beginning of the school year; Tanaka
had gathered them to rank and assess their skill levels. With nothing
else to do, Minami decided to go watch.
Sanae was heading to her club. “Alright, I’m off! See you tomorrow!”
“Yeah, later,” Minami said, getting up from her chair.
After
packing her things, she left the classroom, only to run into the
Chika-Bankaa—this time, in full force. Nao, as if this were the most
normal situation in the world, asked, “Where are we going?”
Minami,
who had forgotten about them, froze for a moment before snapping back
to reality. “Ah… Right. But you really don’t have to, you know? Besides,
no one is allowed on the track when it’s reserved for the club.”
Kurou,
already walking, replied, “Whatever, we’ll stay in the stands. Besides,
it’s going to be fun—they’re deciding who’s the strongest, apparently.”
Katsuro, excited, exclaimed, “Whoa! Awesome! Maybe someone’s stronger than you, Minami! Watch out!”
She waved dismissively while walking. “Yeah yeah, keep dreaming.”
Our
athlete and her "bodyguards" walked through the hallways, down the
stairs, and across the courtyard toward the track. The students passing
by looked both confused and intimidated.
A student whispered to his friends, “I didn’t know there was a girl in their group—[…]”
Another: “Isn’t she from the track team??”
Yet another: “[…] Is the group led by a girl??”
Indeed,
the Chika-Bankaa had chosen a formation that optimized 360-degree
defense. The four members formed a diamond around Minami, deterring any
troublemakers who might have the bad idea of attacking her. Kurou was at
the front, Katsuro and Nao positioned on her left and right, and
finally, Kiyoshi stood behind their “protected” target.
Minami, who initially found it embarrassing, now enjoyed the situation as she listened to the students’ whispers.
“What a bunch of idiots…” she chuckled.
Katsuro was having fun too. “So, what do you think of our formation? Pretty cool, right?”
She smiled. “Yeah, it’s not bad.”
Later, On the Track
The
delinquents sat in the stands, ready to intervene if their “bunny” was
attacked. Minami stood with Asayoshi and Isao on the sidelines,
observing Tanaka as he gave the directives to the First-Year Group.
Together,
they were the three most admired people among them; a certain aura
emanated from them—an aura that only runners could perceive.
Sitting
on the ground, Minami was starting to get bored: "Argh… When is this
thing going to start? The captain talks way too much…"
Isao, hands in his pockets, simply replied: "Yeah, for real."
Curious, Asayoshi asked: "Why are they looking at us like that?"
"Good question. No idea," Isao responded.
"Are you two dumb or what?"
Both teenagers replied in unison: "What?"
Tanaka had just finished giving out the instructions when Leon arrived late, running and out of breath.
"Sorry for being late, something came up! Damn,
I almost missed the most interesting day of the club—good thing I’m a
beast and run super fast. I’m going to show everyone who the best is!"
"Okay,
just be careful next time. Ask your teammates for the instructions; I
need to grab the timers, I forgot them," Tanaka replied.
"Got it."
Before
Leon could even ask, his teammates rushed to him: "Hey, Leon, look!
That’s the club’s legendary Top 3! They’re so cool~ I wish I could talk
to them!"
Another young runner blushed and asked his friends:
"Hey
guys?! Do you think I have a chance with Minami?! Ever since the start
of the school year, I think it's love at first sight between us~"
He couldn’t contain his excitement, picturing himself holding her hand, while the others openly mocked him.
"BAHAHAHA! In your dreams! You really think she even noticed you?!" one of them exclaimed.
"Hey! Stop! That’s not cool, guys!"
"Besides, with your skill level, there’s no way she’d respect you!"
The whole group burst into laughter while the poor guy tried, unsuccessfully, to defend himself.
Suddenly, Leon turned around, filled with rage, looking straight at the Top 3.
"Perfect timing! I need to have a word with her!" he declared.
One of his teammates asked, "Whoa! You guys know each other?! That’s so lucky!!"
As he walked toward his target, Leon muttered under his breath, "Lucky? Yeah, sure… She’s gonna see…"
Excited, Asayoshi spoke up, "Haha! They’re full of energy, that’s a good sign!"
"Yeah, but I hope there isn’t another one like you… You’re already exhausting," Minami replied with a smile.
"Hey! That’s so rude to say!"
Minami and her rival playfully bickered as they waited for Tanaka’s return.
Isao put an end to the moment by pointing at Leon and asking,
"Who’s that?"
Minami turned her head and saw Leon storming toward them, furious.
"I don’t know," Asayoshi replied.
Minami, worried, spoke up,
"Uh… Guys?"
"Yeah?"
"Hmm?"
"I don’t have time to explain, but that guy is hostile towards me!"
Asayoshi was shocked to hear that someone other than Ayemi had a grudge against his rival.
"Huh?! Seriously?!"
Isao pulled his hands out of his pockets and took a step forward.
"I’m waiting to see what he’s gonna do…"
Whoa… Isao seems a little tense… Minami thought as she stood up.
Leon reached the Top 3, completely ignoring the two boys beside his worst enemy. Clenching his teeth, he declared,
"Hey, b*tch! You really screwed me over with your dog last time! Time to pay up."
Isao, who had been watching for the slightest movement, immediately intervened,
"What do you want, you f*cking a**hole?"
Startled by the icy tone, Leon briefly turned his head toward Isao before refocusing his glare on Minami.
It’s like he just now noticed me… I get the feeling he only sees Minami, Isao thought.
Asayoshi didn’t even have time to step in before the furious Leon raised his hand to strike Minami.
Minami instinctively raised her hands in defense, thinking,
Seriously?! He wouldn’t dare! He’s insane!
But
before Leon could land his strike, Isao grabbed his arm mid-air,
stopping him cold and throwing him to the ground. Leon fell on his butt,
groaning in pain.
"The hell do you want?! You b*stard!" Leon shouted as he got up.
Despite Isao’s intervention, the enraged runner still hadn’t calmed down.
END OF CHAPTER
