Fujii Mikako was skipping happily down the street toward the Kiryu family dojo.
She wasn't a little kid anymore, but she still couldn't help bouncing along like an excited schoolgirl.
She'd only been to the Kiryu dojo twice before. The last time had been over a year ago, when Kazuma's father was still alive. Back then, the old man had looked at her as though she were already his daughter-in-law.
That had left Mikako terribly embarrassed, and after that, she hadn't dared visit again.
Besides, at the time, she and Kazuma hadn't been nearly as close as they were now.
If their relationship had been like this back then, Mikako probably would've been at the dojo every day.
But it's not too late to start now, she thought with a grin.
With the upcoming preliminaries, they'd definitely be practicing late into the evening. Having Kazuma walk her home every day sounded pretty nice too.
Smiling at the thought, she turned a familiar corner.
The dojo's front gate was already in sight.
Suddenly, Mikako noticed a few suspicious-looking men lurking near the entrance.
They spotted her too, and their gazes sent a chill down her spine.
The man in the lead pulled out a large device with an antenna and seemed to be speaking into it.
Every instinct in Mikako's body screamed danger.
She slid her bamboo sword off her back. She didn't know how much help her kendo would be in this situation, but...
She remembered how Kazuma had beaten those yakuza thugs to a pulp yesterday.
—Are they here to get back at Kazuma?
—What if they've already done something to him? What if he's been captured?!
A flood of bad thoughts filled her mind, making her more and more anxious.
But she didn't lose her head.
Yesterday, she hadn't even been able to help—she'd been knocked out by a baseball bat. If Kazuma hadn't been there, she might have been... violated.
Just thinking about it made the back of her neck go cold and her hair stand on end.
She glanced at her bamboo sword, then decided this wasn't the time to rely on it. Run first.
She remembered there was a police box along the route she'd taken.
She turned to flee—
—and in that instant, a shout rang out behind her. "Hey! You there! Stop!"
Mikako bolted.
**
One minute earlier.
Bandō, stationed outside Etsukawa Girls' School, heard a voice over the radio.
"Bandō-san, we just spotted the girl who was with Kiryu Kazuma when he fought the Tsuda-gumi yesterday. Might be his girlfriend. Should we grab her?"
It was Ōta reporting in.
Bandō frowned.
He knew the boss didn't like dragging innocent people into these matters. If she really was Kazuma's girlfriend, fine—but if it turned out she wasn't, whoever had grabbed her would be losing a pinky for sure...
Bandō had no desire to lose any fingers. He planned to stick strictly to orders: snatch Kiryu Chiyoko.
He picked up the radio to give the order—but before he could speak, an angry shout burst through the speaker.
"Hey, lady! Stop! Don't run!"
Damn. They've been spotted.
"Hold it!" Bandō shouted. "Don't chase her! Ōta! Stop right now!"
But there was no reply. Just static.
Bandō cursed under his breath. "Damn it!" He started the van and shouted to the lookout nearby. "Get in!"
Without waiting, he shifted into gear.
Fortunately, the underling was quick, leaping into the moving van just in time.
Bandō floored it, racing toward the Kiryu dojo.
**
Mikako sprinted down the street. The kendo club was a sports club, after all—she was in good shape and fast.
But the three yakuza chasing her were faster.
For them, running was a survival skill—whether chasing someone down or escaping a beating.
One of them grabbed her bag.
Mikako immediately let go, sacrificing the bag without hesitation.
It stung a little—she'd secretly packed some makeup in there today.
In this era, Japanese schools, especially the teachers and the student morality committees, would open and inspect bags. If they found makeup, it would be confiscated on the spot.
Normally, Mikako would never have brought makeup to school.
But today... after being rescued by Kazuma yesterday, she couldn't resist. That morning, thinking about how cool he'd looked beating up the yakuza, she'd slipped a new lipstick and foundation into her bag.
Halfway to school, she'd regretted it and wanted to run back home to leave them there.
But if she'd done that, she would've been late for training and gotten extra laps from Daimon Gorō.
So she'd gritted her teeth and brought them.
Now, both her makeup and her bag were in the hands of those yakuza.
She glanced back—
—just in time to see another thug lunging at her with a yell.
She didn't have time to draw her bamboo sword from its cloth bag. Instead, she swung the whole thing and smacked the thug across the head.
Originally, bamboo swords were called "bagged bamboo swords," so technically, using them like this wasn't incorrect.
After striking, Mikako realized that running wasn't going to work anymore. She planted her feet, raised her guard, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Help!"
There was a police box nearby. If the officer on duty heard her, the yakuza would have no choice but to back off...
She had plenty of confidence in her kendo. Back in the day, she could beat down Kazuma, who was a shihan-dai. Sure, now she couldn't beat him anymore, but taking on a few small-time thugs? No problem!
Yesterday was just bad luck—I got caught off guard!
She steeled herself, gripping the bamboo sword tightly.
The enemy charged.
"Men!" Mikako shouted, landing a powerful blow to the thug's face.
This time, she didn't hold back. Remembering yesterday's mistake, she put her full strength into the strike.
The thug went down instantly.
But just then, something whizzed toward her face—the device with the antenna!
She batted the metal object aside with her sword, but in that brief opening, the last standing thug rushed in and grabbed her around the waist.
Mikako hammered the thug's back with the hilt of her sword.
She wasn't weak—beneath her sailor uniform sleeves were toned arms. She could easily take down an average nerd.
But no matter how hard she hit, the thug wouldn't let go.
Using his larger build, he shoved her backward, slamming her against a utility pole.
Pain shot through her back, and she cried out. The crushing pressure made it hard to breathe.
At that moment, the first thug, the one she'd knocked down, got back up. He pulled a burlap sack over Mikako's head, then clubbed her on the back of the head.
Her struggles stopped.
In the distance, a police whistle sounded. The officer on duty was running toward them, blowing the whistle.
The thug holding Mikako shouted, then hefted her onto his shoulder. Together with the one holding the sack, they abandoned their injured comrade and fled.
When the officer reached the scene, he hesitated—seeing one thug still on the ground, holding his head.
In the end, the officer chose to subdue the remaining thug first and called for backup.
**
From a distance, Bandō saw Ōta and another thug running toward him, carrying an unconscious Mikako.
He slammed on the brakes. "Damn it! I didn't authorize this!"
"Should I... dump her?" Ōta asked.
Bandō hesitated, then gestured toward the van. "Get her in. Too late now—we'll just have to deal with it. Take the sack off, gag her."
The orders were carried out quickly. Bandō started the engine and sped away.
(End of Chapter)