"I... I..."
Kawasaki Akemi was so shocked that she couldn't recover for quite a while. She even started stammering.
"Oh my God!"
She suddenly snapped back to her senses and excitedly said to Hayakawa Kyoko, "Kyoko-san, did you see that? Those guys from Akehisa got so scared they practically pissed themselves and ran!"
"I saw."
Kawasaki Akemi grabbed Hayakawa Kyoko's arm and shook it frantically before being shoved away in annoyance. Still looking in Sato's direction, Hayakawa Kyoko frowned in confusion.
Where had she seen him before?
After the delinquents from Akehisa High fled, Yuuki Asuna and Nishimiya Shouko walked out from the corner of the alley.
"Senpai was pretty impressive."
Yuuki Asuna covered her mouth with a smile. Sato couldn't tell whether she was being sincere or teasing him.
He glanced at her, then turned to Hayakawa Kyoko and Kawasaki Akemi.
"Are you two alright?"
The two girls walked over.
Kawasaki Akemi carefully looked Sato up and down, then glanced at the two girls behind him before whispering into Hayakawa Kyoko's ear,
"He's out with two girls at once. Could he be a playboy?"
Hey! I heard that!
Standing so close to them, Sato naturally caught every word of her whisper.
His face darkened slightly.
Hayakawa Kyoko shot Kawasaki Akemi an exasperated look before facing Sato.
"Thank you for saving us. I'm Hayakawa Kyoko from Seiran Girls' High."
"I'm Kawasaki Akemi."
"Private Mixed High School, Nohara Sato."
Sato gave a brief introduction.
Private Mixed High School?
No way?!
The moment Hayakawa Kyoko and Kawasaki Akemi heard those words, they both stared at Sato in disbelief.
Someone this strong came from Private Mixed High School?!
Seiran Girls' High wasn't far from Private Mixed High School, so they naturally knew of the prestigious college preparatory school with its notoriously high entrance standards.
But...
Wasn't everyone there supposed to be honor students?
There were delinquents there too?!
They had just heard the Akehisa leader call the person before them "Boss."
The boss of Private Mixed High School was actually this strong?!
For a moment, it felt as if their entire worldview had been overturned.
Kawasaki Akemi asked with a conflicted expression,
"Kyoko-san, since when were the delinquents from Private Mixed High School this strong?!"
That was Akehisa High, a school full of delinquents!
Yet they didn't even have the courage to fight the delinquents from Private Mixed High School?!
"Since when did Senpai become a delinquent?"
Yuuki Asuna looked at Sato with a faint smile, her eyes full of amusement.
"I'm not a delinquent."
Sato's helpless explanation was directed at Hayakawa Kyoko and Kawasaki Akemi.
Shrugging, he said,
"Have you ever seen a delinquent go out of his way to save people? During a gang fight, not kicking someone while they're down is already considered decent."
"Gasp! Kyoko-san, I think he's right!"
Kawasaki Akemi looked at Hayakawa Kyoko in surprise.
Hayakawa Kyoko's face suddenly darkened.
She clenched her fist and punched Kawasaki Akemi square in the stomach.
"Ugh!"
Kawasaki Akemi doubled over like a shrimp, looking at Hayakawa Kyoko with pain and disbelief.
"K-Kyoko-san, you..."
The one who landed a critical hit on me was my own teammate!
Grinding her teeth, Hayakawa Kyoko glared at her.
"Akemi, don't keep pointing out things that are obvious at first glance! Where do you get so much nonsense from?!"
I'm not an idiot. Of course I can tell that myself!
When you keep saying it over and over, it just makes me look like the idiot, Akemi!
Kawasaki Akemi opened her mouth to respond, but eventually lowered her head in defeat.
"Okay, Kyoko-san."
Those two are pretty entertaining. It'd be a waste if they didn't become comedians.
Sato found the situation oddly amusing.
He waved at them.
"Since you're both fine now, we'll be leaving."
With that, he turned to go.
"Wait!"
Hayakawa Kyoko suddenly called out from behind him.
Sato turned around in confusion and looked at the girl before him.
She was beautiful. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, it would have been hard to imagine that she was a delinquent, let alone the leader of one.
Especially her long, flowing hair. It was as black as ink and had a silky sheen.
"Um... have we met somewhere before?"
Hayakawa Kyoko finally asked the question that had been bothering her.
Huh?!
Kawasaki Akemi's eyes and mouth flew open.
No way, Boss!
Don't tell me you've actually fallen for the classic hero-saves-the-beauty trope?!
Yuuki Asuna and Nishimiya Shouko's gazes immediately shifted to Hayakawa Kyoko, suddenly becoming much sharper.
Sato was equally taken aback.
Looking at her, he asked,
"Is this your way of hitting on me?"
He gave her a strange look before shaking his head.
"Sorry, we've never met before."
After saying that, he turned to Yuuki Asuna and Nishimiya Shouko.
"Let's go."
The three of them left the alley together.
As soon as their backs began disappearing into the distance, Kawasaki Akemi started chattering nonstop.
"No way, Boss. You're still using that kind of pickup line?"
"That's way too lame!"
"And that guy already has two beautiful girls with him. No matter what, you should've figured out who they were first!"
"You're the boss of Seiran. If..."
Hayakawa Kyoko ignored Kawasaki Akemi completely.
She continued staring at Sato's retreating figure in thought.
Suddenly, her eyes widened with excitement.
"I remember now!"
Kawasaki Akemi jumped in fright.
"Kyoko-san, what did you remember?"
Hayakawa Kyoko excitedly said,
"Akemi, do you remember that video we watched last year? The one where a single person beat up a whole group from Akehisa High!"
Kawasaki Akemi thought for a moment, then her eyes widened.
"It was him!"
"Exactly! I was wondering why he looked so familiar, like I'd seen him somewhere before!"
"Wait, Kyoko-san. Wasn't that a movie? No matter how you look at it, one person beating up over twenty people is way too ridiculous. And kicking someone so hard they flew that far..."
"Idiot! Then where's the movie?"
"Huh? M-Maybe... it's still showing in theaters?"
Kawasaki Akemi answered uncertainly.
"Then have you ever thought about why Akehisa High would agree to film a movie? Those guys all dream of becoming yakuza! Besides... if it really were just a movie, would they be that afraid of him?"
Hayakawa Kyoko folded her arms across her chest as she laid out her reasoning point by point.
Kawasaki Akemi suddenly felt as though the clouds had parted to reveal the sun.
But what shocked her even more was Hayakawa Kyoko's analysis.
She stared at her in disbelief.
Could it be...
Kyoko-san is actually a genius?!