Chapter 4: I Summon My Fist in Attack Position
Fujita, the assistant director, wearing a school uniform he had pilfered from the changing room, anxiously checked his watch, waiting for the "male lead" to arrive. As he checked the time, he couldn't stop muttering, "The director only knows how to boss me around," and "Where the hell is Yugi, why isn't he here yet?" From time to time, he'd lift his head to glance in a particular direction.
A few tens of seconds later, he raised his head again and finally saw a frail figure, gasping for breath, appear around the corner.
"Here he comes, here he comes!" Fujita was quite excited, and quickly walked toward the figure that had just appeared. "Yugi, you're finally here!"
As he spoke, he didn't forget to lower his voice, fearing he might attract others.
The short figure who appeared was indeed Yugi.
After the lunch break bell rang, he had accepted Joey's Nth "Redemption Challenge" for a thrilling Duel Monsters match. As expected, with his skilled use of Spell Cards, Joey's Nth challenge failed once again.
It was only then that Yugi belatedly remembered that someone seemed to have invited him to go out during lunchtime, claiming there was "actually a celebrity at school, and he could take him to meet them." Recalling this, Yugi politely declined Joey and the others' invitation to "eat lunch together" and hurried to the agreed-upon location.
Seeing that the student named Fujita was indeed waiting there, Yugi, who had been worried he might have been tricked, breathed a sigh of relief. He had been afraid that he would arrive only to find no one there.
Relieved, a sense of anticipation also began to grow within him—who could this celebrity be?
Yugi still held a bouquet of flowers he had prepared in advance. He planned to give them to the celebrity he hadn't yet met, as coming empty-handed would be too embarrassing. As for where the flowers came from... *the school's flowerbeds certainly had many varieties.*
Seeing Yugi arrive, the director, hiding in the bushes, was quite excited. He quickly nudged the cameraman squatting next to him with his elbow: "Alright, quickly turn the camera, it's about to start!"
Yugi walked up to Fujita, and just as he was about to apologize for his lateness, Fujita impatiently cut him off: "Hey, you finally made it, Yugi. You really made me wait a long time~"
Although autumn had arrived, it didn't mean the summer heat had completely faded. The scorching midday sun still had some bite, and Fujita was already feeling irritated from the heat. For the short boy in front of him, who was about to be beaten without realizing it, Fujita felt no burden whatsoever. After all, in his mind, it was all Yugi's fault for making him wait so long; he deserved a beating.
But Yugi didn't perceive the annoyance in Fujita's words. Instead, with a face full of apologies, he bowed slightly to him: "I'm truly sorry, Fujita, I didn't remember it right away and made you wait." As he spoke, he looked around. "By the way, Fujita, I remember you said there was a 'celebrity,' right?"
"I don't see anyone else here, though?"
As Yugi turned his head to look around, a malicious grin appeared on Fujita's face, but it was quickly masked by a feigned friendly expression as he spoke to Yugi: "Actually—"
"No, you have to lean closer, then I'll tell you."
Just as Fujita instructed, Yugi obediently leaned his head closer, wanting to hear Fujita's whispered secret. But behind Fujita, where Yugi couldn't see, his left hand, hidden behind his back, was already clenched into a fist, just waiting for Yugi to get closer so he could deliver a powerful punch.
The director in the bushes was extremely excited, even crumpling the paper tube he was holding: "Yes, yes, hit him quickly, hit him hard, Fujita!"
Yugi's head was already close. The malicious grin on Fujita's face was no longer hidden, and the fist he had concealed behind his back violently swung towards Yugi's face!
"Thwack!"
The sound of flesh colliding reached Yugi's ears. Before he could even register Fujita's incoming fist, he saw Fujita, who had just leaned his mouth to his ear, suddenly get slapped across the face, sending him flying.
The director hiding in the bushes almost jumped to his feet in excitement. He had indeed filmed a "campus violence" scene, but the problem was that the "victim" wasn't his predetermined "male lead," Yugi, but Fujita, whom he had sent out to play the "bully"!
"Ugh!" Sitting up from the ground, clutching his swollen cheek, Fujita had been entirely focused on Yugi just moments before and hadn't noticed anyone approaching. It was only after he was hit that he realized someone had come near.
Yugi also turned his head and saw several familiar faces. Still unsure of the situation, he asked in confusion, "Joey, Tristan, Téa? Why are you here, and why did you hit Fujita?"
"Of course, it's because this guy was just about to hit you~" Someone stepped out from behind Joey, holding a new-model card camera.
"Kobayashi, why are you here too?" Yugi was even more puzzled. He remembered Kobayashi being quite a reclusive person; few classmates had interacted with him. In fact, because of his outstanding looks, Kobayashi and his classmate Seto Kaiba were playfully dubbed the "Ice Prince Duo" by the girls.
Why would Kobayashi, who usually had no interaction with him, be here?
"You little brats, how dare you hit me!" Fujita, who had just been ambushed with a slap by Joey, was seething with anger. He hurled threats while swinging his fists and charging towards Yugi. However, because his cheek had been swollen by Joey's powerful slap, his threats came out in such a strange, comical tone that it made one want to laugh.
"Hmph, good thing I haven't had enough yet!" Joey sneered, charging towards Fujita. With just one blow, he knocked down Fujita, who appeared imposing but was actually all bark and no bite. Holding Fujita by the collar and shaking him forcefully, Joey even made strange "Ora Ora" sounds.
"Honestly, Yugi, if Kobayashi hadn't told us, you would have gotten hit just now." Téa walked up to Yugi. Due to Yugi's incredible height, Téa, who wasn't particularly tall, actually had to crouch slightly and lower her head to talk to Yugi, just like a kindergarten teacher talking to a small child.
Shaking the camera in his hand, Chumley calmly stated, "It's all thanks to 'Little Ribbon' Nosaka. Without her camera, I couldn't have recorded the evidence." The camera in Chumley's hand had a yellow anti-slip strap attached to it, as well as a sticker with "Miho" written on it.
(end of chapter)