"What's wrong?"
Yuuki Asuna glanced into the alley before looking at Sato with a puzzled expression.
Sato focused his senses and listened carefully for a moment. Rubbing his chin, he said, "There's something strange going on there. I'm going to take a look."
"I'm coming with you!"
"Me too!"
Yuuki Asuna and Nishimiya Shouko spoke one after the other.
Sato glanced at them but didn't stop them. He simply gestured for them to follow.
The two girls' eyes lit up as they followed him, slowing their footsteps until they reached a corner inside the alley. Peeking around it, they quietly looked ahead.
...
There were more people in the alley than they had expected.
At the far end stood two high school girls wearing sailor uniforms. Their uniforms looked somewhat familiar, probably from one of the nearby high schools.
Facing them was a group of delinquents wearing gray school uniforms, uniforms that were even more familiar.
"So they're the punks from Akehisa High."
Sato watched the scene with interest.
What were these punks trying to do?
Rob them?
Or something worse?
"Senpai, do you know them?"
After hearing Sato mutter to himself, Yuuki Asuna looked at him curiously.
"Yeah. We've had a few run-ins before."
"Then... are you okay?"
Shouko immediately looked at him with concern.
Sato gave her a strange look before smiling.
"If something had happened to me, I wouldn't be standing here now. They're just a bunch of punks."
Shouko realized what she'd implied and blushed slightly.
"Let's keep watching for now."
Sato motioned for the two of them to continue watching.
...
"My, my. Isn't this the big sister of Seiran Girls' High?"
The leader of the Akehisa High delinquents looked especially arrogant. His collar was left open, and a shiny chain of some unknown material hung around his neck. It certainly wasn't real silver.
The big sister of Seiran Girls' High?
That seemed to be one of the high schools near the Private Mixed High School.
But what that Akehisa delinquent had just called her was...
The big sister?
Those two girls?
Sato suddenly became even more interested.
He carefully sized them up.
The two girls who had been surrounded were actually both quite pretty.
On a scale of ten, one would probably score above seven, well above average, while the other was at least a nine, definitely beautiful enough to be considered one of the school's top beauties.
So girls like them were the leaders of a delinquent group?
This world really was something else.
...
"Kyoko-neesan, there are too many of them. What should we do?"
Kawasaki Akemi looked grimly at the dozen or so Akehisa High delinquents before them.
If there had only been four or five, she and Kyoko-neesan could have handled it. But now there were so many of them, and they had been cornered deep inside the alley. There was no way to escape.
Hayakawa Kyoko gritted her teeth and glared at the delinquents.
"I'll make an opening in a moment. You run."
Akemi's expression immediately turned anxious.
"Kyoko-neesan, how could I do that? I'm not leaving you behind!"
"Akemi!"
"Kyoko-neesan, don't say another word. No matter what happens, I'm not abandoning you!"
Akemi's tone was unwavering.
Sato figured she must have worshipped Guan Yu, putting loyalty above everything else.
"Hey, hey!"
The Akehisa delinquent leader standing before them twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"Are you two pretending we don't exist?!"
If you're going to discuss it, fine, but why are you talking so loudly?!
Are you afraid we won't hear you?!
"Neither of you is getting away today!"
Hayakawa Kyoko narrowed her eyes at the group before her and said quietly,
"Akemi, if that's how it is, then we have no choice."
"I know, Kyoko-neesan."
Akemi replied in a low voice as well, her eyes fixed firmly on the delinquents.
The next second...
Bang!
The two of them moved in perfect sync, striking first.
Each delivered a powerful kick to the Akehisa leader standing in front of them.
Though they were girls, their strength was anything but weak.
The force of the kick sent the Akehisa leader flying backward into the crowd.
Supported by the others after crashing into them, he roared furiously,
"Get them! Get them!"
Damn it!
Getting kicked away by two girls was humiliating enough.
And...
Damn, my chest hurts like hell.
In an instant, the two delinquent girls from Seiran Girls' High clashed with the group of delinquent boys.
Skirts fluttered across the narrow alley as the two girls fought side by side in perfect coordination, attacking left and right with flawless teamwork. For a while, they actually forced the Akehisa delinquents steadily backward.
"S... so amazing!"
Shouko covered her mouth in shock.
After watching for a while, Sato commented,
"The terrain is limiting Akehisa's numbers, but those two really can fight."
"But the same terrain that limits Akehisa also traps them. Since they're cornered at the back, it's going to be hard for them to break out."
"Senpai, should we..."
Yuuki Asuna looked at Sato again.
"Let's wait a little longer."
Of course Sato knew what she was about to suggest, but he still wanted to wait.
To his surprise, however, Asuna kept her bright eyes fixed on him.
"What?" he asked.
"Senpai, are you planning to make your entrance at the most dangerous moment, put on a heroic rescue, and then..."
She deliberately left the sentence unfinished before giving him a meaningful look.
Sato: "..."
Where are you getting all these dramatic ideas? I just wanted to watch the show a little longer!
Sato grumbled inwardly.
After all, it wasn't every day you got to see a fight between delinquent boys and delinquent high school girls.
"You should have more faith in my character."
Yuuki Asuna thought for a moment, then tilted her head slightly. Her bright eyes sparkled with amusement like the morning stars.
"A womanizing dummy?"
The corner of Sato's mouth twitched.
He decided not to continue that topic with Yuuki Asuna.
Turning his attention back to the depths of the alley, he saw that under Akehisa High's relentless assault, Seiran's two leaders were gradually being pushed back.
"All right. Let's save them first."
Sato stepped out from behind the corner of the alley.
Aside from Seiran Girls' High's two leaders, who were facing his direction, none of the Akehisa delinquents noticed his arrival.
That really wasn't much of an entrance.
With that thought, Sato's teasing voice echoed through the alley with a faint smile.
"Hey, you Akehisa punks, what are you doing?"