JSWGAS Chapter 52

“I said, is that guy even coming?”

About thirty meters outside the gate of Teiko Middle School, five idle delinquents were either half-squatting or deliberately hunching over, leaning against the wall, listlessly staring at the students coming and going through the gate.

They had been waiting here for over half an hour and still hadn’t caught anyone. Fewer and fewer students were coming out. One of them impatiently asked, and another clicked his tongue in agreement, saying, “Is Whitey really that useless? He can’t even handle one little kid? Does he really need us to come over?”

“Whitey probably went to deal with the other two,” said a delinquent squatting on the ground, smoking a cigarette. “He really has it out for some people. This is just a side thing… We collected a lot of ‘protection money’ from those little punks just now, right? Let’s just think of it as keeping an eye out for him.”

“That’s true,” agreed the one with the pompadour. “We made almost 100,000 today… These kids nowadays are something else, swimming in money.”

“I’m actually pretty curious how these little brats managed to piss off Whitey,” said the delinquent with the cigarette. “Didn’t they tell Brother Shiraiwa last year not to bother helping him and to just stay in school? But recently they’ve been running to Brother Shiraiwa’s side again.”

“For people like us, we should just honestly accept our wretchedness,” the one who complained first sneered. He had a flamboyant head of red hair.

They were all high school dropouts, loitering aimlessly in the streets all day. Relying on their youth and strength, they didn’t dare to commit murder or arson, but they were well-versed in petty theft and other shady deeds.

Shiraiwa’s older brother was also one of them, but he was doing better than they were. That’s why these guys were willing to give Shiraiwa’s brother some face and help Shiraiwa out.

The delinquent with the cigarette frowned and made a noise. Before he could speak, the one with the pompadour shouted, “Is that him?”

Following the sound, they saw a tall, black-haired figure standing at the gate of Teiko Middle School. While everyone else was rushing home, he was standing there, craning his neck and looking around, as if searching for something.

The delinquent with the cigarette narrowed his eyes, took a closer look, and stubbed out his cigarette, grinding it under his foot. “That’s him.”

But before they could follow him and find an opportunity to corner him, the boy seemed to have found his target and walked straight towards them.

Unlike the students who would cower at the sight of these delinquents, the boy walking towards them had a calm face and sharp eyes, and his presence was not inferior to theirs.

The two groups stared at each other in silence.

“Looking for me?”

The condescending tone was more like a provocation than a question, as if he already knew and had deliberately come to challenge them.

The hot-tempered redhead was about to explode, but the one with the pompadour stopped him. The leader of the delinquents sneered and said slowly, “Since you know, how about we find a place to have a good chat?”

Even if the other party didn’t agree, they would forcibly take him away for some ‘friendly exchange’. That’s what the delinquent thought.

The black-haired boy stared intently into his eyes, for so long that the delinquent felt an eerie feeling, before giving a strange laugh.

“Sure.”

…

…

The heavy rumble of vehicles passing overhead could be heard from time to time. The air in the sparsely lit tunnel, rarely frequented by people, was cold and gloomy, making Kokonoe Taka shiver involuntarily.

The redhead took this action as fear and mocked, “Ha! You were so calm just now, but now you’re showing your true colors? A little brat is still just a little brat! Scared out of your wits and still trying to act tough.”

The five delinquents surrounded him, not too close and not too far.

They were now in a tunnel under a bridge, which was very hidden and almost no one would notice. This also meant that no matter what happened here later, no one would come to interfere.

The leader of the delinquents said, “But I really didn’t expect you to obediently follow us here.”

Kokonoe Taka replied, “After all, I also have something I want to ask you.”

“Something? Ask us?”

The one with the pompadour laughed. “Kid, have you not figured out the situation you’re in?”

Compared to the others they had cornered, he was too calm. But these delinquents didn’t care about this little strangeness and continued to threaten him with their usual tactics. They were always good at this. Kokonoe Taka listened to a bunch of nonsense and impatiently reached out to brush the stray hairs falling on his forehead to the top of his head, clicking his tongue very loudly.

“Who sent you? Shiraiwa and Maki? Where did they go? Did they go to find my friends?”

He rarely – no, except for many years ago, he had hardly ever shown such a rude side. His voice gradually grew louder, his tone aggressive, and listeners could easily feel his irritability. In the end, he even slipped into a bit of the Miyagi accent.

“Huh?” The leader of the delinquents’ eyes turned cold. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”

“Kids just out of school always think too highly of themselves,” said the one with the pompadour. He pulled a baseball bat out from behind him, arrogantly resting it on his shoulder, and took a step forward – not only him, but the others also found weapons from the corners of the tunnel and approached with malicious intent.

…These guys came prepared. Kokonoe Taka thought. They won’t answer.

He stared at the five delinquents gradually surrounding him, but still asked again, unwilling to give up, “Not going to answer?”

“Who would tell you!”

With this shout, the redhead took the lead and rushed at him with a brick! Kokonoe Taka immediately raised his backpack to block the blow, and taking advantage of his approach, he simply put force into his hands and slammed into him! The redhead was no match for his strength and fell backwards with a cry of pain.

Kokonoe Taka looked down at the fallen redhead, just about to say something, when he noticed the sound of wind suddenly approaching from behind! He quickly lunged forward to dodge the pompadour’s sneak attack with a bat, and was forced to let go of his backpack. Ignoring the dirt all over his body, Kokonoe Taka quickly got up and coldly looked at the pompadour who was helping the redhead up.

“You’ve trained?” asked the pompadour.

This time it was Kokonoe Taka’s turn to be silent.

He clenched his fists, his fingernails digging into the old scars. Without any warning, he rushed towards the delinquent on the side! He was extremely fast, and the pompadour blinked and realized that the person in front of him had disappeared, momentarily terrified. The delinquent who had been made the target was caught off guard by this straight punch! Instantly, his face was knocked askew, blood immediately poured out of his nostrils, his mouth tasted metallic, and he swayed his body, dizzy, kneeling on the ground.

Kokonoe Taka retracted his fist, silently twisted his neck, and his eyes were contemptuous. He flipped them off.

“Damn it!” The leader of the delinquents roared. “Let’s go together!”

…

…

Yagimoto and Nijimura were confronting Shiraiwa.

Specifically, Yagimoto was initially forced into an alley by Shiraiwa. But Shiraiwa didn’t expect Nijimura to secretly follow behind Yagimoto, and the original plan to only block Yagimoto fell apart. And when enemies meet, they are especially jealous, and before the two groups could say a few words, they started fighting.

Yagimoto and Nijimura both had bruises on their faces, but at least they were still standing straight. The people opposite them were in a worse state than them. Apart from Shiraiwa, who could still stand up, the others were rolling weakly on the ground, groaning in pain.

Yagimoto spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and sneered at Shiraiwa, “You really look down on us too much, right? Just six people, did you think this guy–” he pointed to Nijimura, who was panting for breath next to him, “–was just eating and doing nothing?!”

Nijimura Shūzō glanced at him weakly: “…I’m just eating and doing nothing, can you please not always hide behind me…”

Yagimoto cursed him in a low voice: “Don’t take my spotlight at this time! And I secretly helped you block a few sneak attacks just now, right!”

Nijimura Shūzō: “…” But you used me as a meat shield more often.

But he didn’t take his spotlight after all. Yagimoto cleared his throat and stared at Shiraiwa. “I said, shouldn’t this behavior stop? Is it interesting?”

Shiraiwa had been looking at them coldly from the beginning, his eyes full of malice. Nijimura had punched his face a few times, his mouth was bloody, and his eye sockets were also bruised. “It’s too interesting,” he said. “If I can’t get into the first string, don’t even think about playing easily… Ha! Didn’t you ask why there are so few people here just now?”

Yagimoto’s intuition was alarming, and he suddenly thought of a possibility: “You–” He lost his composure and rushed forward a few steps, grabbed Shiraiwa’s collar, and slammed him against the wall of the alley.

“Guessed it? Yagimoto? Did you only guess it now?” Shiraiwa looked at Yagimoto’s expression and finally showed a smile, gleeful and resentful. “You, and Nijimura, you both care a lot about that Kokonoe, right…?”

Nijimura also rushed over. He had been able to tease Yagimoto just now, but at this time his face was pale. “What did you do?!”

This reaction made Shiraiwa realize that his guess was correct. He laughed twice and was punched in the cheek by an angry Yagimoto, but he still stubbornly squeezed out a sneer from his throat: “Of course I did the same thing, you st–upid–”

“You!” Nijimura Shūzō was furious.

Yagimoto forced himself to regain his composure: “Where are they?” He asked, his face ugly. But Shiraiwa giggled strangely, “Those guys aren’t the same as these dumbasses who don’t know anything.” He raised his chin and glanced contemptuously at his companions lying on the ground. “Those guys don’t know how to hold back when they start, maybe you’ll go to school tomorrow and see a poor guy in a wheelchair… Cough, cough, cough!”

After being punched in the stomach again by Yagimoto, Shiraiwa continued to laugh hysterically: “Hahahahahaha! Only I know where they took him…”

This sentence made Yagimoto stop. He glared at Shiraiwa gloomily and released the hand that was grabbing his collar, gritting his teeth: “Where are they?!”

Shiraiwa leaned against the wall and spat out two mouthfuls of blood. “Kneel down and apologize.” He said maliciously, “Then quit the basketball club. I’ll tell you where they are.”

“You!” Nijimura had been suppressing his anger and listening to the conversation between the two from the beginning. At this time, he couldn’t bear it any longer and almost rushed up again, but was stopped by Yagimoto.

“Do you even believe what he says?!”

Nijimura Shūzō questioned his companion in disbelief, but Yagimoto shook his head at him and looked at Shiraiwa again, “How do I know if what you’re saying is true or false?”

Shiraiwa rolled his eyes.

“My original plan was to block Yagimoto and then threaten you with Kokonoe.” He sneered twice, “I didn’t expect Nijimura to show up… As long as I make a phone call, they’ll bring Kokonoe over.”

“But as long as I don’t make a phone call, they’ll beat that kid up first. –But at that time, I can’t guarantee that it’ll still be a complete Kokonoe.”

He stopped and was satisfied to see the two’s faces turn pale. “Thanks to Nijimura, we wasted a lot of time. I’m afraid Kokonoe has already suffered a lot, right? It’s all your fault…”

He whispered, stabbing the last knife into their hearts: “If you hadn’t met, Kokonoe might have been able to spend his school life happily.”

“You decide for yourselves,” he took out his phone from his pocket, “Do you want to do as I say and let me make this call? Or you can just leave like this…”

“…”

Yagimoto stared at the phone in his hand, gnashing his teeth. He knew that Nijimura Shūzō beside him must be filled with the same annoyance as him: Why couldn’t they have paid more attention to Kokonoe? Even if they had sent him home first, and then Nijimura and himself came out.

Kokonoe… Kokonoe was a good student in the eyes of the teacher, and all the teachers in the grade praised him. Although they complained that his expression was always cold and difficult to get along with, his popularity was actually very good. After getting to know him, they knew that this guy was just a soft-hearted, stubborn idiot…

Nijimura Shūzō gritted his teeth. He glared at Shiraiwa, wishing he could grind him to dust and scatter him to the winds, so that he would never appear in front of him again. But at the same time, he was extremely self-reproachful, why hadn’t he discovered Shiraiwa’s conspiracy earlier.

Yagimoto painfully lowered his eyes. He didn’t dare to look at the phone in Shiraiwa’s hand. He couldn’t control the thought that if the call was connected, would he hear Kokonoe’s screams, would Kokonoe hate them for dragging him into this.

Just thinking about this possibility made the two of them extremely painful.

Shiraiwa didn’t urge them either. He waited leisurely for the two to admit defeat.

–But suddenly, the phone rang.

Yagimoto and Nijimura’s hearts stopped beating at the same time, their breath stagnated, and even if they controlled their expressions, they couldn’t hide the tension in them.

Shiraiwa sighed in disappointment, but thinking that the voice from the other side of the phone might shock the two of them even more, he became expectant again.

He answered the phone and even pressed the hands-free button.

It was quiet on the other end of the phone, and only rustling sounds could be heard. This was not consistent with what Shiraiwa had imagined. He frowned and spoke, “Kogura?”

Rustling, rustling, the sound of clothes rubbing, vague groans, and the sound of heavy objects falling, but no one answered him.

Shiraiwa sensed something bad. He managed to calm himself down and spoke again, but inevitably with urgency, “Kogura? Mizukawa?!”

The strange sound on the microphone stopped, but what followed was an unsettling silence.

Yagimoto and Nijimura hesitated and looked at each other.

Finally, someone spoke, but not the one Shiraiwa thought, “Sorry.” The person said, his voice low and hoarse, very unique, “The people you were looking for have already passed out… But I guess I’m also one of the people you’re looking for, so let’s just make do with each other.”

Shiraiwa: “…Who are you?”

“How ruthless, these people say you wanted them to block me, but now you don’t know who I am?”

Yagimoto and Nijimura concentrated and listened carefully to this point, and their expressions had gradually twisted.

This familiar voice, this familiar sarcasm, this familiar yin and yang weirdness…

Nijimura: And this familiar desire to complain…

The voice on the other end of the phone laughed coldly, making people know that the owner of the voice was not in a good mood.

“I’m Kokonoe, Shiraiwa-senpai.”

Yagimoto desperately signaled to Nijimura: Listen to these words, he’s angry, right? He must be angry! Maybe even furious!

Nijimura received Yagimoto’s signal: That’s not right! It’s not wrong either… The one who called is Kokonoe, which means that the people Shiraiwa sent were all beaten down by him?!

Shiraiwa was equally shocked: “Kokonoe?! What did you say happened to Kogura and the others?!”

“Passed out, Shiraiwa-senpai. Are you old enough to not understand human language? Or have you suddenly undergone reproductive isolation and left the human species category? Do I need to be considerate of your brain, which is even smaller than a goldfish, and explain in detail how these people were knocked unconscious by me?”

Shiraiwa’s face turned pale when he heard the first sentence, then started to turn red in the middle, and finally turned blue – his face was multicolored, his hands trembled uncontrollably, and he was about to faint from anger.

Yagimoto seized the opportunity, quickly grabbed the phone from Shiraiwa’s hand — he took the phone with hardly any effort, and Shiraiwa collapsed all of a sudden, only able to rely on the wall for support.

“Kokonoe!” He shouted anxiously to the other end of the phone, “Are you okay?! Where are you now?!”

The voice on the other end of the phone paused, “…Yagimoto? Are you there?”

“I’m here too.” Nijimura came over. “We’re all fine, are you okay?”

Faced with the concern of the two, Kokonoe Taka said coldly, “Oh, what a pity, it seems I have to cancel the luxury suite I just booked.”

Nijimura keenly noticed a hint of something bad, but he insisted on asking, “…What luxury suite?”

“The catalpa coffin.” Kokonoe Taka said slowly, “Satisfied? If you’re not satisfied, I can change to Japanese cypress, pine, until you’re satisfied?”

Nijimura Shūzō: “…Hahahaha, no need, I’m very energetic now, let’s wait a hundred years for the coffin… I want the highest grade one when the time comes.”

Kokonoe Taka sneered again and again.

Nijimura Shūzō shrank his head.

There was another silence.

The people lying on the ground secretly climbed up, helped Shiraiwa escape from the scene, and didn’t attract the attention of the two of them. The two sides were separated by the microphone, listening to each other’s breathing.

Yagimoto’s tone was self-reproachful, and he said softly, “Kokonoe? Are you angry? I’m sorry, we should have sent you back first… Knowing that Shiraiwa might play tricks, we still let you be alone…”

Thousands of meters away, in a tunnel, Kokonoe Taka’s fingers tightly pinching the phone case finally relaxed.

He lowered his eyes and stared at his own phone in his other hand. The screen remained on the dialing interface, and there were countless calls that had been dialed but not opened.

He pressed off the screen and coldly glanced at the delinquents piled up into a small mountain in front of him. Several delinquents closed their eyes and pretended to be dead, fearing that the evil spirit in front of them would be unhappy and raise the butcher knife to them again.

“…Why didn’t you answer the phone?”

“…Eh?”

“Why didn’t you answer the phone?” He repeated again, “I called you and you didn’t answer, Nijimura’s was simply turned off… Why didn’t you answer the phone?”

Nijimura’s phone was unfortunately hit at the beginning of the melee, and the screen was smashed to pieces. As for him… Yagimoto took out his phone from his pocket, unlocked the screen, and looked at the 84 missed calls on it, looking helpless.

“I… turned on silent mode…” He couldn’t hide his guilt, but was also a little happy, “I didn’t turn off the prompt tone before when I was in class, and I got caught by the teacher, so I got used to turning on silent mode later… I’m sorry, Kokonoe.”

“…”

Yagimoto carefully: “I will never miss your call next time!”

Kokonoe Taka was silent for a moment, and Yagimoto and Nijimura seized this opportunity, all kinds of straight balls came one after another, making people shiver uncomfortably, and even in the end the two of them said: “Kokonoe, you can scold us if you want! It’s all our fault!”

Kokonoe Taka: “…”

Nijimura suddenly thought of something at this time, and hesitated, “I forgot to ask just now, did the people Shiraiwa sent really pass out? Are you really not injured? …Kokonoe, you don’t know how to fight, do you?”

“I never said I didn’t know how to fight.” Kokonoe Taka replied, “I’m better at this than you think.”

“…You’re usually a very good student?”

“I think you’re just looking for a beating.”

Nijimura still looked incredulous, he insisted that Kokonoe was fighting the delinquents with his top-five IQ in the grade, and the more he said it, the more he believed it. Kokonoe Taka listened more and more speechlessly, and took a photo of the delinquents piled together in front of him with his phone, succinctly: “Yagimoto, check your email.”

Yagimoto obediently opened his email, and the two gathered together, speechless after seeing the photo.

“This…”

Compared to their side, the battle situation on the other side was obviously more intense. The surroundings were a mess, with broken empty wine bottles, broken baseball bats, and bricks smashed in half serving as the background, and the faces of the delinquents in the photo were multicolored, some were swollen into pig heads, some turned into pandas, and their dyed hair was limp on their foreheads, turning into strands because of the blood, especially embarrassed.

Kokonoe Taka listened to the silence over there and thought that you should be able to believe it this time, he hummed happily and refreshingly.

But before he could say anything, Yagimoto trembled and asked in horror, “Where are you now? Wait, we’ll go over and help you dig a pit and bury them now! No one will know what you did then!”

Kokonoe Taka: “…”

The pompadour delinquent who had heard the whole process — his hairstyle had been destroyed by Kokonoe Taka’s ruthless iron hand, and now he looked more like a male version of Sadako — shouted heroically: “We’re not dead yet!”