Unlike the female delinquents in modified school uniforms under Orikasa Midori's command that Hayashi Shuichi had met before, the group currently surrounding the two of them was entirely different.
This time, they were encircled by a gang of boys dressed in bizarre outfits with hair dyed every color of the spectrum.
Their appearances were exaggerated to the extreme. Some wore leather jackets studded with metal spikes, others wore school trousers slashed into tatters, and some sported hair dyed in rainbow hues that reflected a cheap, harsh sheen under the setting sun.
The leader of the pack was a boy with red hair gelled into sharp spikes, looking for all the world like an agitated hedgehog.
He twisted his mouth into a sneer, his provocative gaze sweeping up and down Hayashi Shuichi's frame. Suddenly, he grinned broadly, revealing a silver stud embedded in his canine tooth. "Oh? Do my eyes deceive me?"
The boy deliberately dragged out his vowels, his fingers idly twirling a metal chain hanging around his neck.
"Our Boss Lady Orikasa has actually fallen in love? And she found herself such a frail little pretty boy?"
A flicker of displeasure crossed Orikasa Midori's face. She waved her hand impatiently, her tone icy. "Igawa, cut the crap. Get lost. I don't want to see your face."
"Oho? You don't want to see me, but I sure want to see you, Orikasa."
Igawa, the hedgehog-head, let out a mocking laugh, though a flash of humiliation and anger flickered in his eyes.
"Last year, when I confessed my feelings to you, you rejected me in front of everyone. You completely humiliated me before my brothers. Now that you've found yourself a boyfriend, I'm dying to see just what kind of skills he has to have bewitched you like this!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the delinquent lackeys behind him began to jeer and hoot, whistling loudly with looks of pure entertainment plastered on their faces.
"Igawa, Senior Hayashi is not my boyfriend! I brought him here on serious business."
Orikasa Midori was furious. Her face flushed red as she instinctively tried to dismount from her bicycle to teach Igawa a lesson.
However, in her anger, she forgot about the injury on her foot. As soon as she touched the ground, a sharp jolt of pain shot up from her ankle. She couldn't hold back a groan and teetered, looking as if she were about to collapse.
Fortunately, Hayashi Shuichi was quick to react. He reached out and steadied her. "Be careful. Your ankle is sprained; don't try to be tough."
Watching this intimate exchange, the hedgehog-headed Igawa wore an expression of mixed envy and jealousy. He gritted his teeth and spat, "Pretty boy... you dare try to steal a woman from the Igawa? Let's see if you have the skills to back it up! Today, I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't forget!"
With that, the red-haired hedgehog charged forward aggressively, winding up a fist to smash directly into Hayashi Shuichi's face!
Hayashi Shuichi held Orikasa Midori securely with one arm, letting her lean against his chest. With his other hand, he shot out like a viper, his fingers clamping down on the incoming fist like iron pincers. Before the boy could react, Hayashi raised his leg and delivered a savage kick straight into the hedgehog's stomach.
Igawa, who had been arrogant just a moment before, instantly turned pale. His facial features twisted in agony as he clutched his stomach with both hands and collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
"Damn it! This guy dared to hit Big Bro Igawa! Get him, boys!"
Seeing their leader kicked down by Hayashi Shuichi, the surrounding delinquents were instantly enraged. Fists raised and roaring aggressively, they prepared to rush him all at once.
Hayashi Shuichi narrowed his eyes slightly, a glint of cold steel shining in his gaze. Just as he was preparing to dismantle this mob of punks properly, a piercing sound cut through the air.
It was the ringing of bicycle bells.
He followed the sound and saw the Thorn Rose Squad—the all-female delinquent group under Orikasa Midori that he had met previously—charging toward them.
There were at least twenty girls, riding bicycles and brandishing wooden swords (bokken), rushing into the fray with terrifying momentum.
Leading the charge was the blonde girl named Hazuki, who always followed by Orikasa Midori's side.
The minions who had just been clamoring to avenge their boss felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over their heads. They slammed on the brakes, looking around nervously, their guard suddenly up.
"Igawa! Boss Lady told you long ago she wasn't interested, yet you still dare to harass her! Today, I'm going to teach you a lesson on her behalf!"
Hazuki, the blonde girl, skidded her bicycle to a halt next to Hayashi Shuichi. She raised her wooden sword high and swung it viciously toward the red-haired boy squatting on the ground.
Seeing the heavy wooden blade about to crack the red-haired boy's skull, Hayashi Shuichi moved instantly. He firmly caught Hazuki's wrist mid-swing. "What are you doing? You don't aim directly for the head. What if you cause permanent damage?"
Hazuki glared at him angrily. "Are you crazy? I'm trying to help you!"
"I don't need your help," Hayashi Shuichi said calmly. He snatched the wooden sword from her hand, then glared down at the red-haired boy. "What are you looking at? Scram!"
"Hmph, this isn't over. You just wait..."
The red-haired boy tried to leave behind a few threatening words, but before he could finish, the wooden sword in Hayashi Shuichi's hand lashed out, knocking him back to the ground just as he had stood up.
"You're just a middle school brat, yet you want to play gangster and act like an adult?"
With every sentence, the wooden sword in Hayashi Shuichi's hand struck a different part of Igawa's body. The force was controlled with surgical precision—painful enough to make him scream, but causing no permanent injury.
"This one is for your parents." Whack.
"This one is for your teachers." Whack.
"Refusing to study properly every day, doing nothing but bullying the weak." Whack.
"What kind of future do you think you'll have?!"
...
The red-haired kid looked tough on the outside, but after taking a dozen strikes from Hayashi Shuichi's wooden sword, he was curled up on the ground, trembling all over and screaming in panic, "Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me..."
The surrounding delinquents were terrified by Hayashi Shuichi's ruthlessness.
To put it plainly, these brats simply envied the reckless freedom of real gangsters and mimicked their violent behavior. But in reality, aside from bullying those weaker than themselves, they had no real skill or grit.
The moment someone got real with them, they turned pale with fright, not daring to make a move.
"I... I'm still a child..."
Seeing that his apologies weren't stopping the beating, the red-haired boy cried out desperately, "If you hit me again, the police won't let you off!"
"Idiot. If you're a child, then aren't I one too?"
Hayashi Shuichi planted a foot on the red-haired boy's head, an amused expression on his face.
"If the two of us fight, even if we end up at the police station, it's just a brawl between minors! Don't try to scare me with the cops!"
"I was wrong, I really know I was wrong..." The red-haired boy sobbed, tears streaming down his face as his body shook uncontrollably.
"Do you really know you were wrong, or are you just putting on an act for me?" Hayashi Shuichi tapped the boy's cheek with the wooden sword, his eyes filled with skepticism.
"I really know I was wrong," the red-haired boy promised hastily. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have harassed Orikasa... Please, just let me go."
"Boss Lady... this guy is actually terrifying..." Hazuki, the blonde girl, watched with a twitching lip, whispering to Orikasa Midori. "I thought he was just a useless pretty boy before. I didn't expect him to be such a fighter!"
"Don't talk nonsense," Orikasa glared at her best friend. "Didn't I tell you before? There was that time I was ambushed by thugs, and it was Senior Hayashi who helped me."
"I thought you just said that to save face for your boyfriend," Hazuki laughed dryly, looking a bit embarrassed. "Who knew he was actually this formidable."
"If you know you're wrong, get lost!" Hayashi Shuichi kicked the red-haired boy, sending him rolling across the ground. "If I see you again, I'll teach you a lesson every time we meet. Don't think I'm joking!"
The red-haired boy didn't dare utter another threat. After being helped up by his minions, he scrambled onto his bicycle and fled with his tail between his legs.
"Here. And be careful when you fight in the future—don't just swing at people's heads! If you actually kill someone, your life is over!"
Hayashi Shuichi tossed the wooden sword back to the blonde girl, then reached out to support Orikasa Midori again. "We've wasted enough time. Let's hurry to Nagashima Ruko's classroom. I still have to go back and open the shop later."
"Yes," Orikasa Midori nodded. "Senior, follow me."
Seeing Orikasa limping, Hazuki immediately flared up. "Boss Lady, did Igawa hurt you? I'll take the girls and go get revenge right now!"
"With his pathetic skills? How could he hurt me?" Orikasa replied grumpily. "I accidentally fell while riding earlier. Anyway, I brought Senior Hayashi here for the Nagashima Ruko matter. You all go do whatever you need to do, don't worry about it."
Hazuki waved her hand, dismissing the rest of the female delinquents.
She then pushed Hayashi Shuichi aside and insisted on supporting Orikasa Midori herself. "Boss Lady, didn't Nagashima Ruko run away from home? Why bring him? Even the police can't find her. What can a high school student do?"
"You..." Orikasa shook her head helplessly. "Didn't I tell you? Senior Hayashi is amazing. He's helped the police solve several cases. When my flower shop was smashed up, he was the one who caught the robbers."
"That sounded way too exaggerated, I thought you made it up," Hazuki chuckled, a look of disbelief still on her face.
Hayashi Shuichi ignored their banter and frowned, asking, "The theory that Nagashima Ruko ran away from home—who started that rumor?"
"Everyone is saying it," Hazuki replied nonchalantly. "Last week, after Nagashima Ruko didn't show up for class, people started saying she ran away. As for who said it first, how should I know?"
...
Guided by Orikasa Midori and the blonde Hazuki, Hayashi Shuichi arrived at Class 3-4, Nagashima Ruko's classroom.
The room smelled of a mix of cheap perfume and sweat.
Although school was over, many students still remained. They were either playing around or huddled together in couples, flirting. Not a single one was studying.
Orikasa Midori's appearance instantly silenced the room. Several girls who spotted her rushed over to offer sycophantic greetings.
Hayashi Shuichi noted that the look in their eyes when they regarded Orikasa was a mix of awe and worship.
"Where is Nagashima Ruko's seat?" Orikasa asked.
"Over there, second from the back by the window," a girl wearing round glasses pointed timidly.
Hayashi Shuichi walked over and, under the curious gaze of the students, began to inspect Nagashima Ruko's desk and chair.
The desktop was very clean, without even a scribble of graffiti. The storage space inside the desk was completely empty. If no one had told him this was Nagashima Ruko's seat, Hayashi Shuichi would have assumed it was an vacant desk.
"Her belongings... did she pack them herself, or did someone else remove them?"
The students looked at each other; no one spoke.
"Did you not hear Senior Hayashi?" Orikasa frowned. "If you know something, speak up."
"I remember... last Tuesday morning, when we arrived, it was already like this," the girl with glasses, who sat next to Nagashima Ruko, recalled. "At the time, we all assumed something happened at her home and she wasn't going to attend school anymore."
"Senior, is there a problem?" Orikasa asked, puzzled.
Hayashi Shuichi stood up and dusted off his hands. "She didn't run away from home."
"What makes you say that?" Hazuki asked defiantly. "Do you have proof?"
Hayashi Shuichi countered with a question: "If you were running away from home, would you take the textbooks from inside your desk?"
"Well..." Hazuki thought for a moment, looking embarrassed. "Why would I take those? You can't eat or drink them. I don't even bring books home usually."
"That is exactly the point," Hayashi Shuichi mused. "Her things are all gone. Clearly, someone deliberately cleared everything out to create the illusion that she left. But they cleaned it too thoroughly, leaving behind a flaw. Last Monday, did Nagashima Ruko act strangely?"
"I remember that day, she spent the whole time lying on her desk, staring blankly into space as if thinking about something," the glasses girl said. "When I went home after school, she was still like that."
"Did Nagashima Ruko have any close friends at school?" Hayashi Shuichi asked.
"I don't think so," the glasses girl thought for a moment. "Her personality was a bit withdrawn. She rarely spoke to anyone, and I never saw students from other classes looking for her. She was always alone."
"Oh, actually, if anyone was close to Nagashima Ruko, it would be Kitamura-sensei. He often called her out for talks."
"Kitamura-sensei? What does he teach?" Hayashi Shuichi pressed. "Why did he frequently talk to her?"
"Kitamura-sensei is the PE teacher. I don't know why he talked to her, but there are a lot of rumors in the school..."
Before the glasses girl could finish, a man's voice suddenly interrupted.
"Although Nagashima Ruko wasn't good at academics, she was very athletic. She won many awards at the sports festival every year. I sought her out because I wanted her to represent the school in competitions. It was for the honor of the school."
Hayashi Shuichi looked up. The speaker was a tall man with a whistle around his neck. He had a handsome face and a beaming smile, looking very optimistic and cheerful.
"Student, you aren't from our school, are you?" Kitamura-sensei looked at Hayashi Shuichi with a smile. "Although our school doesn't strictly forbid students from other schools entering, school is over now. You should leave immediately and not loiter here."
"Kitamura-sensei, Senior Hayashi is..."
Orikasa Midori tried to explain, but Hayashi Shuichi had already stood up. Wearing an apologetic expression, he said:
"I'm sorry, Sensei. I intruded. I only came to Sakura Hill to find Orikasa. I heard a girl went missing, so I just asked a couple of questions in passing."
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"