Chương 147: Don't cause trouble to them anymore.
Beside her, Tsukimi Chifuyu, who was also calling Sasaki, looked at the delinquents writhing on the ground like worms.
Although shocked by Otome's strength, she wasn't as surprised as Rinka because she didn't know Otome well and had seen Sasaki fight before.
Standing among the delinquents, Otome didn't know about her friends' shock.
She felt more unfamiliar with her body.
Since she could easily break chopsticks, she knew her strength had increased.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have remained calm in the face of delinquents.
She knew she could beat them.
Her only concern was Rinka and Chifuyu behind her.
To prevent the delinquents from touching them, she chose to strike first.
But not knowing her exact strength,
she was more worried about accidentally killing someone.
So she used very little force in her first punch.
To avoid merely tickling them, she aimed for the eye socket of the first target.
Seeing he couldn't fight back, she decided not to strike again.
For the other three, she also gave one punch each.
No fancy techniques, just relying on her strength and speed.
Seeing them all fall and no longer a threat, and assuming they intended to assault them, Otome didn't hit them further or ask questions.
Glancing at the hurrying onlookers around, the girl turned and quickly pulled the stunned Rinka and Chifuyu away.
As the pain subsided a bit, Tsukasa, who had only been punched in the eye, knelt on the ground, using his good eye to watch the three girls run away, angrily pounding the ground:
"Damn it, is this an ordinary high school girl? I'll get you next time!"
Click-clack—click-clack—
"Didn't I warn you? All of you should go together. Ignoring my words and then blaming me isn't quite fair, is it?"
As Tsukasa's curses faded, accompanied by approaching footsteps, a resigned, chuckling sigh sounded beside him.
Sitting on the ground, clutching his still painfully throbbing eye, Tsukasa turned his head in anger and resentment, gritting his teeth at at the boy, who was now standing beside him:
"Didn't you say she wasn't trained in martial arts?"
Glancing at his phone for the time, Sasaki turned off the screen, pocketed his phone, and looked down at the disgruntled delinquent without expression:
"Did you see her use any taekwondo or other martial arts moves?"
"Uh..."
Hearing this, the latter felt a bit embarrassed because he had seen nothing before being knocked to the ground, making it hard to refute Sasaki's words.
But admitting defeat so easily was impossible for him.
If he couldn't even beat an ordinary high school girl, he might as well go home and farm potatoes instead of playing the tough guy.
Just as he was about to insist that the girl was trained, Sasaki, who had to get to work, cut him off:
"I paid you to teach her a lesson, not to listen to your excuses."
"Losing a fight isn't shameful; being unable to handle defeat is."
With that, Sasaki pulled out a few Fukuzawa Yukichi bills from his pocket, bending down to tuck them into Tsukasa's shirt pocket:
"I see you're a man of principles, so take this as medical compensation. Let's end this here. You don't mention it, I won't either, and don't cause them any more trouble."
Looking at the money in his pocket, Tsukasa stood up, still clutching his eye:
"Don't worry, I won't spill about you..."
"I said, don't cause them any more trouble."
Interrupted again, Tsukasa looked up at the guy towering over him, whose cold, deep eyes seemed to carry a threat he didn't wish to come true and any thoughts of reclaiming his pride vanished instantly.
He had never seen such eyes before, but something told him that persisting would lead to big trouble so after quickly lowering his gaze to avoid the stare, he nodded hastily.
"Y-yes, I understand."
Hearing the agreement, Sasaki turned and walked back the way he had come.
After he left, Tsukasa helped his still writhing companions up.
"Tsukasa, are we going to let this go? Even if that girl can fight, we could call for more..."
Before Iida could finish, the bot, recalling that chilling gaze, slapped his shoulder hard:
"Let it go! Let it go! Why keep it going?"
"This ends here. Don't mention them again. The money we got is enough for the beating we took."
"So forget about it!"
Looking at the twin brothers, Shikyo Ryu and Shikyo Tora, who were helping each other up, he sternly asked:
"Got it?"
The twins exchanged glances, holding their stomachs, and nodded.
"Got it."
Even if they sought revenge, they weren't planning to fight personally again after all that girl's punches felt like drills, piercingly painful.
Despite having fought many times, they had encountered someone like her for the first time and the twins knew clearly who to mess with and who to avoid.
Seeing her strength, she clearly had some serious backing.
They were just school bullies who picked on ordinary students.
Going against someone with a martial arts background was like a balloon hitting a cactus—making a noise but ending up shredded.
So, the two strongest fighters in their group agreed without hesitation.
Hearing his companions' responses, Tsukasa relaxed, draping his arms over their shoulders as they walked towards the street corner:
"Today's beating wasn't for nothing. A little ointment will heal our wounds, but the money is enough for us to have a good time for a while."
"Let's go, let's go, let's get some ramen, the big portion. I'm starving."
Before Tsukasa could hear his companions' responses, a slightly flippant voice sounded beside them.
"Yo~ Made some money and still going for ramen? How about buying your brothers some drinks to celebrate?"
.
.
.
"Huff, huff~"
Hearing the heavy breathing behind her, Sakuragi Otome slowed down, knowing that Tsukimi Chifuyu had reached her limit.
Turning around, she saw the girl squatting silently on the ground, clutching her bag, her fair face flushed redder than the evening glow.
Seeing this Otome sighed a bit and then bought three drinks from a nearby vending machine.
"It's okay now. Here, have some water."
Taking the drink the pink-haired girl handed her, Okino Rinka, who was also squatting but only slightly flushed, opened the bottle and drank in big gulps.
After drinking more than half the bottle and soothing her dry throat, she exhaled and glanced at Otome, who was also drinking water with an effortlessly cool demeanor.
"Otome-nee, when did you get so strong?"
"They were delinquents, you know."
Standing up, as the pink-haired girl helped the exhausted Chifuyu to her feet, her eyes sparkled as she looked at Otome, who seemed completely unruffled.
"Well…"
Unsure of how to explain that she had become like this after drinking too much of Fuyumi's strange thing, Otome blinked rapidly, searching for an excuse.
After a moment of thought, unable to come up with a plausible story, she finally decided to tell some truth without subtly mentioning the actual embarassing thing .
"I'm not that strong; I just caught them off guard..."
"I learned these moves from your brother, Fuyumi. He taught me some self-defense because he was worried about me."
"Oh, I see..."
Feeling a bit jealous, Rinka mumbled. But quickly shaking off these her feelings, she perked up again:
"When I get back, I want Fuyumi-nii to teach me too. I can't believe I didn't know about this. He's so biased~"
"Um..."
Slightly taken aback, Otome listened to Rinka's words and felt tempted to tell her to wait a bit longer.
After all, she had been rejected once already.
Though she didn't know the reason Fuyumi had refused Rinka that night, she figured it was because she thought she was too young.
Because she hadn't sensed any dislike from Fuyumi towards Rinka, so this was the only logical reason she could think of.
But considering this, she finally decided not to voice her thoughts.
Instead of advising Rinka something like this, it might be better to let her persistently ask Fuyumi herself.
After all... such matters also depended on one's talent...
Dragging it out too long wouldn't be good...
Thinking this, Otome gently patted Rinka's head, her gaze a bit complicated as she spoke:
"Training like that is really tough... and painful too."
"Training is supposed to be tough. I can handle it."
Unaware of her sister's thoughts, Rinka clenched her small fists with determination.
Though she had no intention of competing with Otome, she still had a bit of sibling rivalry.
With a determined spirit, Rinka stood tall and spoke firmly.
Afterwards, she looked at the still recovering Chifuyu, and bounced over to hug her arm:
"Sister Chifuyu, do you want to join? Learn some self-defense from Fuyumi-ni and then take down delinquents like Otome."
"Huff~"
Breathing lightly, Chifuyu shook her flushed face and pressed her hand to her chest:
"I-I think I'll pass. It's not really suitable for me..."
"Not suitable… um…"
About to refute her, Rinka noticed where she was pressing and found herself speechless.
Slightly leaning back, she scanned the girl's figure that was even more curvaceous than Otome's and her face twisted with a mix of emotions.
"Ugh~ You guys are bullying me~"
Unable to handle it, Rinka squatted down in frustration, covering her embarrassed face.
Looking down at where she had been staring, Chifuyu blinked her big, innocent eyes, not understanding her meaning.
Then, seeing Rinka squatting with her face covered, her eyes suddenly widened in realization.
But not knowing how to comfort her, Chifuyu looked helplessly at Otome.
Understanding that Rinka wouldn't be easily discouraged, the latter glanced at the sky and sighed:
"Rinka-chan, if we don't leave now,
Chifuyu will get home too late and worry."
Hearing this, Rinka instantly stood up, apologizing to the still flustered Chifuyu:
"Oh, sorry, sorry."
"But I really am a bit sad, you know. You both have…"
Making a large round gesture in front of her, she pouted.
Realizing she wasn't seriously upset, Chifuyu sighed in relief and started walking with Otome, waving her hand:
"It's okay. I don't have anything to do at home anyway."
"Actually, being too big isn't good either. It gets very hot and your shoulders get very tired."
"Tch~ I wish I had that kind of problem."
Enviously glancing at Tsukimi Chifuyu's gigantic melons, Okino Rinka turned away, ending the conversation on that sad topic.
"Speaking of which, that was really close earlier. We're lucky Otome-nee was there."
"Mm-hmm~"
Tsukimi Chifuyu nodded in agreement.
To her, Sakura Otome had always been a gentle and approachable person.
And ow, with this added sense of security from her strength, her image in Chifuyu's mind became even more perfect and impressive.
No wonder... she is his childhood friend...
Looking at the figure ahead, the girl compared herself to Otome in her mind, only to find that she had nothing noteworthy to offer...
Feeling inexplicably downcast, the light in Chifuyu's usually gentle eyes dimmed slightly.
"Sister Chifuyu, Sister Chifuyu~"
"Huh?" Feeling someone shaking her arm, Chifuyu snapped out of her daze, looking blankly at Rinka, who was calling her name:
"Rinka, is there something you need?"
"Not really, but Otome-nee was calling you. You didn't hear her just now."
Exchanging a glance with Rinka, Sakuragi Otome walked up to Chifuyu, reaching out to feel her forehead:
"Are you not feeling well? Or were you just scared earlier?"
Smelling the faint cherry blossom scent and seeing Otome's caring blue eyes close to her, the girl awkwardly tilted her head back a bit, blinking rapidly:
"No, I'm fine. I just spaced out a little. By the way, Otome, did you call me for something?"
Knowing Chifuyu might be scared, Otome walked to her side and, like Rinka, linked arms with her, saying:
"We're here. It's the place you mentioned. Everything's fine now, don't worry."
Looking at the familiar apartment building ahead, Chifuyu, hiding her thoughts like a little squirrel, didn't correct Otome's misunderstanding and softly replied.
"Mm~"
"Otome, Rinka-chan, would you like to come up for a bit?"
"No, it's getting late and I need to buy groceries. We won't disturb you now. We'll visit next time."
Seeing that Chifuyu seemed distracted and needing rest, Otome didn't want to impose further.
Waving goodbye, she walked away with Rinka towards her home.
Looking at the girl's disappearing figure, Tsukimi Chifuyu stood by the roadside, her eyes reflecting a complex mix of emotions.
...
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