Chapter 9 How to Fight!
Chapter 9 How to Fight!
“Really—how was someone like this delinquent even accepted into our school?!”
A woman’s voice echoed from inside the office. She was shouting at the teachers. The principal and one of the instructors were inside with her—the mother of the boy I had just beaten.
So when I defended myself, I was the one who got in trouble.
It was so unfair.
I sank into the chair outside the office, waiting for my mom to arrive. I looked down at my hand. It was already red, swollen in places.
Those bastards never get caught. How do they do it? They do whatever they want…
My chest tightened. I felt like crying—not from the pain, but from the injustice. Bad people always won. It wasn’t like the movies or anime, where the hero saves the girl, beats the villain, and lives happily ever after.
The real world wasn’t like that.
Footsteps pulled me out of my thoughts.
My mom had arrived.
“Iryoku… what happened? What did you do?”
I looked up at her, and the urge to cry hit me all at once. I sniffed, forced it back, and looked down instead.
The door opened.
The yelling woman stormed out. “How did you raise someone so aggressive?!” she shouted. “He should be sent to prison!” Her anger was directed at my mom—and at me.
Her son, Kazuki Takeda, stood behind her. A bandage covered his cheek, his face red and blotchy from crying.
My mom tried to speak, to calm her down, but the woman wouldn’t stop. She kept yelling while the teachers and the principal struggled to restrain her.
“But my Iryoku is a good boy,” my mom said, her voice shaking. “He wouldn’t attack someone for no reason.”
Guilt twisted in my chest.
I stood up and stepped in front of my mom, facing the woman.
“Stop already.”
My voice rose before I could stop it. Anger burned inside me.
“That bastard was messing with me,” I said. “He asked me for money, then kept bothering me. He threw papers at me. I saw it in his face—he wanted to bully me, to start something.”
My breathing turned heavy, harsh. I almost said I was going to be bullied again—but I stopped myself.
The woman kept screaming, her anger only growing.
What a way to start my new middle school life.
I was suspended for three days.
I spent them at home, lying around, doing nothing. My parents didn’t know what to do—this was the first time I’d ever caused trouble. They talked to me, told me to think about what I’d done, and said that next time I should just tell a teacher immediately if someone was bothering me.
I sighed.
If it were really that easy.
“Well… let’s take it easy for these three days,” I muttered. “I guess I’m back to being locked in my room.”
I turned on the TV. A harem anime started playing. My eyes widened.
It actually had some pretty good content… the boy in the show stumbled and fell into the girl, his face landing between her legs. He shook it there playfully, drawing a wild moan from her. Without thinking, my hands drifted downward.
I glanced down and saw my friend stirring to life. Great, I thought. I’m recuperating.
When the suspension ended, I finally went back to school.
The moment I entered the classroom, everyone looked at me. Whispers spread through the room. I glanced at one boy who had been staring—he stiffened, looked nervous, and quickly looked away.
What’s this?
I walked to my seat and glanced toward the boy I’d fought.
He wasn’t there.
Instead, he was sitting far back in the corner.
Without thinking, a small smirk crept onto my face.
I looked down at my hands, clenching them.
I did this. I survived. I fought back before something worse happened.
Of course, it was too good to be true.
As I was leaving school, someone suddenly shoved me. I lost my balance and hit the ground. When I looked up, a big guy was walking toward me—older, maybe a high schooler. He wore a different uniform than mine.
“So you’re the bastard who hit my little brother,” he said.
More students flanked him. Behind them, I saw Kazuki, pointing at me.
“It was him, aniki.”
I stood up slowly.
That feeling came back—the same one. Overwhelmed. Outmatched.
Why did I think I was strong? I’m not.
There has to be a way.
I can’t let this end the same way.
Images flooded my mind—me being restrained, beaten, helpless.
I clenched my jaw and looked around.
Behind me was a wall. I was surrounded, and there weren’t many people nearby.
Then something clicked.
I straightened up, crossed my arms, and smiled.
“Really?” I said. “You’re going to do this out in the open? What a dumbass.”
The high schooler’s face twisted with anger.
“You think you’re hot shit?”
I pointed past them, putting on my best innocent voice.
“Oh—Mrs. Takeda? Perfect timing. Your sons are the ones causing trouble this time.”
The high schooler and Kazuki spun around immediately, panic flashing across their faces.
There was no one there.
By the time they realized what had happened, I was already running. I barely squeezed through the gap between the wall and one of their goons and kept rushing forward.
“Hey, motherfucker!” I heard behind me.
What now? How do I lose them?
I rounded a corner and spotted a group of adults walking together—three women chatting as they went. One pushed a stroller with a baby, the others carried shopping bags. I slipped in beside them, matched their pace, and acted like I belonged.
Kazuki and his friends burst around the corner and immediately spotted me.
I turned my head just enough to smirk at them.
Mocking them.
My chest was pounding so hard it felt like I might collapse at any second—but I didn’t stop. I kept walking, staying close to the crowd.
One of the women glanced at me.
I smiled and gave a small wave. “Hello, ladies. Want me to help carry that?”
I did my best to sound innocent, to hide the exhaustion in my eyes.
They looked at me strangely at first—then handed me the bags.
Phew.
I guess I still looked small and young enough to seem harmless to adults. If not… they probably would’ve thought I was a creep, with eyes like mine.
When I finally got home, I stepped inside.
My mom looked exhausted.
“How was your day?” she asked gently. “I hope you didn’t get into trouble again.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Mom… for all the trouble.”
She hugged me tightly. “If anything’s bothering you, just tell me. Please.”
I nodded, and we sat down to eat together.
Later, back in my room, I scribbled on a piece of paper.
Let’s assess what happened.
First: Kazuki tried to harass me. He tried to hurt me. I defended myself—and got caught. In plain sight. I was punished.
Then they wanted revenge. They almost had me. I escaped using deception.
So… what were my mistakes?
First mistake: I crossed the line and got caught. I shouldn’t have punched Kazuki in the middle of the classroom, right in front of the teacher.
Second: I didn’t think about the consequences.
Third: I relied on strength instead of awareness.
I paused, thinking.
Now that I look back, I walked out of school without paying attention. I thought people feared me. I didn’t watch my surroundings. I didn’t consider that Kazuki might have a big brother—someone who could corner me. I just thought I beat him, and that was the end of it.
It’s not that simple.
I don’t have the strength to beat them. Not one-on-one—and definitely not as a group.
I stared at the paper.
I need awareness. Speed. Planning.
Not strength… well, I do need strength too—but planning has to come first.
I checked my body, then pulled off my shirt and stepped in front of the mirror. My body looked normal again—no bruises left.
“I need to go back to my exercises.”
Suddenly, her face flashed in my mind.
I shuddered, my chest tightening, almost on the verge of tears.
“No.” I shook my head hard. “Forget about that bitch—she’s just a stupid whore who doesn’t deserve my time or thoughts.”
I turned on the TV. The same ecchi show was playing again.
“Nice.”
I was about to sit down and watch—but instead, I dropped into squats.
I kept going while the show played in the background, watching it at the same time. The boy in the anime was surrounded by girls; he was sick, and they were all tending him at home—making food, nursing him. One even fell onto him, her breasts landing in his face. Harems really are the best. Why would any guy want anything else besides that many girls surrounding him?
Down. Up. Again. I continued exercising—I had a boner, but I kept going. “If I can’t last through the whole anime, I won’t beat my meat,” I said, setting a reward for myself.
My legs started to burn.
I didn’t stop.
I pushed until they gave out, and I collapsed to the ground.
The show was still on—this time the main character wandered into the bathroom and caught all the girls bathing.
I shifted to push-ups now, ignoring the boner—well, it didn’t help much since my dick was funnily touching the ground.
From there, my mind wandered back to the three ladies from before. They were older, but they had really good assets: one with wide hips that made her butt pop up with each step, another with ample chest—the one with the stroller probably had her breasts full of milk—and the third thinner and flatter but with a very cute face and big eyes.
I was getting even more aroused. Then I set a new goal in my mind, blending the anime scenes with those three older ladies: Someday I’ll have a harem like that too—all mine.