Chapter 03 - Bridge of Weirdos

"W-What...? Even Kisarazu-kun and Sudanuma-kun got beat..."

"And we were.... Guh! ... Annihilated in an instant...?"

The thugs who still have their consciousness were in disbelief as they stared at the man in front of them.

"Well, let's clean the trash up." Yōta said before he grabs one of the unconscious thugs by the collar one by one.

"Huh!?"

"Just so you know, I won't show any mercy to dirty guys who would surround a single person." Yōta smiled sweetly at the thugs but in their eyes, they could only see a demon standing in front of them.

"GAH!!"

"KUAH!!"

"GOHK!!"

"BWEHK!!"

Yōta smacks every thugs that still conscious in the face so hard rendering them to unconscious with froth coming out from their mouths.

"Yoi~sho." He then starts stacking every unconscious bodies on top of each other. They're stacked up very nicely as Yōta nods his head, looking very satisfied at his work.

It's a tower made of people.

"Well, I hope I don't see you all here again." Yōta raised his bokutõ to his chest before he steps forward and spins in quick motion, using the momentum of the spin to strengthen his swing, "Goodbye."

He swings the bokutō to the stacked-up men and blows them away far into the sky, and without looking back Yōta slides the bokutō back to his side before he walks back to the group with the crowd cheered for him.

He smiles and bows his head to the crowd, a very basic thing to do when you done performing your kenjutsu.

When he finally reaches the group among the crowd, Yōta could see that Momoyo is currently flirting with unfamiliar girl in the crowd, if he had to guess, the girl must be from first year at their school.

"I see that Momo-senpai is going after girls again." Yōta commented while raising his glasses a bit.

"You know her." Yamato shrugged his shoulders.

Miyako came to Yōta's side and gently grabs his hand with both hands, she couldn't stopped a smile to form on her face when her love gently squeezes her hands in response, "You look awesome back there, Yōta."

Yōta's ears heated up when he saw Miyako's smile, he then shyly rubs his nose, "Thank you, Miyako-san."

"You both should hook up already, seriously." Yamato deadpanned at Yōta when he saw the interaction between both of them.

He doesn't understand why these two still don't hook up until now. When looking at how they interacted, their conversations and everything, it wouldn't be weird if many people thought that they were a couple.

He knew already the reason what hold Yōta back to accepts Miyako's love until now.

But in his opinion, the reason behind it is pretty much easy to handle with. Yōta simply just doesn't realize the answer for his problem is easy enough to solve.

Miyako looks at Yōta in anticipation, meanwhile the man in question closed his eyes before he smiles gently, "I'll think about it."

"It's okay. I'll wait for it." Miyako smiled back at Yōta and squeezes his hand for one last time before she takes her hands back to her side.

Miyako also already knew the reason why Yōta didn't accepts her love until now. They're already talking about it, even though it's quite hurt to hear the reason, but she's already made her choice regarding the matter.

It's just a matter of time.

"Whatever." Yamato shakes his head. He can be pretty busy-body if he wants to, but he won't ever meddle in with his friend's love problem if they don't ask for his help first.

As they were talking with each other, Momoyo comes along to the group, looking contended. The cute girl Momoyo flirted with earlier already run off with a red face, the crowd also followed the girl's example and disperse to continue what they were doing.

"Did you see that, guys? She completely has the hots for me."

"Oh come on, Momo-senpai!" Gakuto started while raising his arms high above.

Momoyo raised her eyebrows in response, "What?"

Gakuto suddenly starts crying and dejectedly slumps his shoulders, "You're taking too many cute girls for yourself! You should give some to me."

Momoyo stares Gakuto flatly, "No way. If you want a girl, go get one yourself." But then she wears a smirk on her face, "Oh, but I'll take her away if she's cute. Fufufu."

"You're so forceful." Yamato chimed in from the side.

"It's a real waste for a beautiful woman to like women!" Gakuto complains while flailing his arms.

"Hey now. Just because I love flirting with a cute girl, doesn't mean I like girls by nature, Gakuto." Momoyo places her hands on the hips, "It's simply because the guys around me aren't attractive, that's all. That's why I meddle with the girls."

"It's because you set the bar too high, Momo-senpai." Takuya corrected while reading the Jump, "Nobody tries to make an appeal to you because they think it's impossible."

Gakuto snorts and smiles in very confident way before he's posing in front of Momoyo, "I'm different from all those weaklings! Momo-senpai! Go out with a tough guy like me! I'll show you how great men are!"

"Confessing your love all of a sudden?" Miyako couldn't helped but asked that, "Are you crazy, Gakuto?"

"You always doing the same too." Yõta retorts from the side and Miyako blushes when he points that out.

"No. Your heart wasn't in that. That aside, you're too shabby for me." Momoyo casually turned down the man right away.

"I'm fine."

"Nobody said anything."

Gakuto gave an unimpressed look at Yõta for saying that, "Anyway, do you guys know? They say people have a certain period in their lives when they're popular with girls."

Takuya hummed in response, "I want to say that's an urban legend, but then again we have the living legend with us right now."

Everyone look at Yōta's direction at the same time, making the man in question raised his eyebrows.

"What?"

"Yeah, right. Yōta is alright for me." Momoyo thoughtfully said before she pats the swordsman's head.

"Yeah, yeah." In response to that, Yōta simply waving her statement off.

While he appreciated the approvement she gave, he doesn't have any plan on chasing her romantically at the moment.

Both of them are close, that's for sure. But they both knew that there's no romantic feeling between them.

At least for now.

"Damn it, man. Seriously, how can an average man like you have women fussing all over you!? Life is not fair sometimes!" Gakuto whines loudly as he scratches his head in frustration.

"What do you mean having women fussing over me? As much as I know, there's only Miyako who's fussing over me all the time though?" Yōta curiously asked Gakuto. He doesn't have any recollection about him having women fussing over him.

"Don't start with me, glasses!" Gakuto started while pointing a finger at him. "You have Momo-senpai, Wanko, Koyuki and Kokoro from the Class S! And just in case you REALLY don't know, while it doesn't as big as Capt's fanclub, you also had a quite large fanclub in the school after you've become the Young Emperor!"

"Wait, what?" Yōta clearly looks baffled at that information. Why no one ever mention him about the existence of his fanclub? His fanclub? Like seriously?

"I mean, don't you think you've been received all kinds of gifts in valentine day back then?" Yamato asked with a shrug.

"Ah, now that you mentioned it. I think I did. I thought it's simply an obligation chocolates..."

"Are you fucking kidding me!? If you're thinking that many chocolates is a simple obligation chocolates, then you should check my fucking locker back then!" Gakuto's crying a river as he shakes Yōta's shoulders in frustration, "Why!? Just why!? Why a man with mediocre face like you could have harem life!?"

"Could you please stop mentioned how mediocre my face is!!? Even I could get hurt, you know!!"

"WHO CARES!? I'M JUST SPEAKING THE TRUTH!! YOUR FACE IS MEDIOCRE AFTER ALL!!"

"WHY YOU, YOU STUPID GORILLA-LOOKING!!!"

While Gakuto and Yōta's bantering with each other in the background, Momoyo looks around, "Hm? Is that fool not here?"

"You know the drill." Yamato answered.

Momoyo nods her head before she comes to Yōta's side and drags him away from Gakuto, locking her arms tightly around his, "Stop fighting. Look at the time, let's go to the school."

"Let's go." Miyako also nodded and skipping to Yōta's side, locking his other arm with hers.

Yōta could only grumbles as he's being dragged by two beautiful girls by the arms as the other members started to follow them.

They reach the Tama Bridge in no time as they talk to each other. On the other side of the bridge is Kawakami Academy.

This bridge is also known as the Bridge of Weirdos.

"Butterfly~" A girl with pink eyes and waist-length white hair exclaimed in a sing-song as she chases the butterfly. The girl have a very atlethic body, specifically her legs.

This is Sakakibara Koyuki, a student in Kawakami Academy and is a part of class 2-S, where only the elite students can be part of.

"Hey, hey. Don't go wandering into the road." Another voice belonged to a simple man with black eyes and a bald head appeared behind the girl, looking at her worriedly.

This man is Inoue Jun, also a student in Kawakami Academy who has weird attraction toward a little girls or girls who simply look much younger than him.

"Hm?" Koyuki stops in her track before she tilts her head curiously at Jun, "But, a butterfly is flying. It's cute."

Jun purses his lips in response, "The road has cars and it's dangerous. Don't do dangerous things."

She becomes silent for a moment until she realized Yōta and the others are looking at them.

She smiles widely and waves her hand in their direction, "Yōta~ Yahoo~!" She runs to the group with a big smile and open arm.

"Good morning, Yuki-san. You look as energetic as usual." Yōta greeted her back while smiling gently at her.

"Oh, Yuki~ You look cute again today." Momoyo on the other side couldn't stopped herself to glomps on the poor girl as she smothered Koyuki between her big boobs.

"Oh, if it isn't the self-proclaimed Mediocre Swordsman-dono and his friends. Sieg Heil Class Rep!" Jun greeted Yōta and the others with his unique way of greeting,

"Stop calling me that, Jun-san. I'm not self-proclaimed, but I am indeed a mediocre swordsman."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Young Emperor-dono." Jun said in sarcastic manner. He won't believe what this glasses say about his own skill as a swordsman.

Like hell, a man who win more than 5 gold medals is a freaking mediocre swordsman. Yōta is known as the strongest youth kendo practitioner in Japan by now.

And you want him to believe a man like that is a mediocre at best? Hell no!

It's like telling him that Jun himself is a World Boxing Champion in Boxing after beating the shit out of Mike Tyson or something like that.

"Yōta, Yōta, help me~ Waaa~" Koyuki's reaching her hands in desperation for Yōta with a cute face and big tears in the corner of her eyes.

She's been smothered by Momoyo far too long, that it's becoming uncomfortable for her. She loves to get spoiled, mind you, but if it's getting too much, it's a no-no.

Momoyo loves to give the cute girl so much affection because all of the Kazama Family's members are knew about her past.

And since Koyuki never received any affections from her parents or anyone besides Yōta, Momoyo took the role to give her the best affection the older girl could ever give.

But sometimes Momoyo could easily going too far when she gives her affection to someone she adores. Yamato and Yōta both could attest to that.

"Momo-senpai, would you like to see this beautiful girl who interested in you?" Yōta suddenly asked while giving his phone to Momoyo, it brings the intended result as the Goddess of War's attention changes from Koyuki to Yōta's phone.

Since Momoyo is pretty famous and many knows about his relationships with the Goddess of War, there's a time when girls would come to him just to make him as the bridge to deliver a letter or their phone numbers to the said Goddess of War.

She lets Koyuki go and snatch the phone from Yōta's hand in breakneck speed.

"Ooh! Damn, she's so fine!"

"Wait, let me see it too, Momo-senpai!" Gakuto raised his hand high and come to her side to look at the photo in Yōta's phone, "Oh wow!"

"Waaa, Yōta~" Being freed by the Goddess of War's love hold, Koyuki throws herself into Yōta's chest and hug him tightly.

"Hai, hai..." Yōta could only smiles at Koyuki's antics, and moves his hand to pats the girl on the head.

Koyuki's preening at the attention and discreetly sniffing Yōta's smell, only Miyako who caught her in the act if the pout on her face right now is any indication.

Long ago, Yōta played with Sakakibara Koyuki for a period of time. You can say, she was like a Kazama Family guest member.

"Nee, nee, Yōta." Koyuki started as she looks up from her position with her chin comfortably rested on Yõta's chest, staring at the swordsman with her cute big eyes, "Let's play during our day off?"

Yōta hummed in response before he smiles gently at her, "Sure. We didn't get to have much fun during summer break after all since I had to prepared myself for All Japan High School Kendo Championship back then."

"That's a promise then~" Koyuki smiled happily before she buries her face to Yōta's chest once again and let out a giggle before she finally let him go.

The way she was now. It's hard to believe she had once suffered from her parent's abuse.

The time she spent playing with Yōta and the others had supported her, made her able to withstand the cruelty.

Yōta was nothing more than a friendly and busy-body kid who she'd sometimes come to play with. He hadn't done anything special or expect nothing in return.

He was a simple kid who couldn't leave someone in need. If there's someone crying, he will do everything just to wipe those tears and make them smile again.

Before long, the truth come to light and Koyuki's parents lost custody over her.

The Aoimon Hospital took her in, so Koyuki was now like family to Aoi Touma and the others.

For a time, Yōta and Koyuki hadn't been able to meet, but now they attended the same school...

Koyuki raised her arms high, "Then, let's play on Sunday!"

"Okay." Yōta nods in response.

And they even played together during their private time. Sometimes with Miyako too.

As such, Koyuki was more a member of the Aoi Family than the Kazama Family.

"Are you gonna join us, Miyako?" Koyuki asked while tilting her head cutely, she then reaches her hand for Miyako's, grasping it tenderly and swings it from side to side.

Miyako hummed, "You don't mind?"

The two girls were kindred spirits; so they pretty much getting along with each other.

"Un! I don't mind~"

"Then I would love to."

"Yay~"

While the two girls were dancing around in the background. Jun came to Yōta's side, "But man, I remember that final match in summer. It's so intense, I tell you. That Kirigaya guy you fought in final is freaking good. I'm surprised you could take a point from him back then." Jun commented from the side when Yōta brought the topic of last summer tournament.

"Ah, the Black Swordsman, isn't it?" Yamato chimed in while crossing his hands when he heard the name of Kirigaya. "The first-ranked of Elite Swordsman-in-Training, Kirigaya Kazuto from Shuuken Academy."

As the man with great connection, he's pretty much know about them. He also had some acquaintances in Tokyo after all.

"They are pretty famous in Tokyo." Takuya added.

"I want to say that I got lucky, but then again, luck wouldn't help me win that fight." Yõta nods his head thoughtfully.

All participants from Shuuken Academy is really strong especially Kirigaya Kazuto and Eugeo, members of the 12 Elite Swordsman-in Training.

It's hard for his team to win the team fight when Shuuken Academy was their enemy.

While Kawakami Academy's Kendo club members are fairly strong but Shuuken Academy is far stronger than them. Eugeo and Kazuto particularly.

When in team fight, there are 5 positions to assign for. And their club advisor usually assigned Yōta as Taishō, the last fighter.

So unless his other members could win 2 matches before him, then Yōta could have his turn. But if they're losing 3 times first, then there's nothing Yōta could do.

Even if Yōta assigned to Sempō, the first fighter, and win, which is sometimes happening, if his team lose 3 times in next match, it's meaningless in the end.

Five competitors from Shuuken are best of the best in their Academy, and with Eugeo and Kazuto in their team, it's hard to beat them.

Most of the competitors from other schools would be defeated by the third match at best.

Kawakami Academy only ever win once in team fight againts them in Inter-Highschool Championships, since Eugeo was absent from the tournament for some reason.

But in individual fight, Yōta completely dominated the match and grabs the Young Emperor title for himself in that championship.

The match following between Kawakami vs Shuuken:

Nagakura Yõta vs. Eugeo : 2-1.

Nagakura Yõta vs. Kirigaya Kazuto : 1-0. Time's up.

Not gonna lie, Eugeo and Kazuto are the most difficult one Yōta ever faced in sword match. Even more than Yukie.

Because they fight like nothing Yōta ever seen. Their attacks are basically pretty much unpredictable and hard to read.

Eugeo and Kazuto's swordsmanship are mostly giving him 'as long as it hits' vibes, which is why it's hard to dealt with.

Their technique mostly consisted of multi-hit by using momentum to increase the force of one's strike.

It takes time for him to finally getting used of it to counterattack them.

"That Kirigaya guy 11-Hit attack is really nasty. If I was in your position back then, there's no way I could deflect or avoid all of them." Jun shakes his head to get rid of the image of him being hit by that technique.

When the first time he saw that technique from the spectator stand it sends shiver down his spine.

Miyako nods her head in agreement, "Even I couldn't follow the half of his movements back then, that attack was too fast even for my keen eyes."

"It's still impressive for you to be able tracks half of its movement, Miyako-san. It just means you just have to practice more." He said with a smile on his face, "And with your great talent, it won't take long for you to be able follow fast attack like that." He continued while patting Miyako's head in comfort manner.

"It's coming from a man who could deflects all the attack with ease." Yamato chimed in with a deadpan eyes.

Yōta closes his eyes and fix his glasses, "I've been sparring a lot against your Nee-san who more faster than him. I'm quite used with that kind of speed by now."

"I guess you're right." Yamato hummed in agreement. It wouldn't be weird at all for Yōta to be able deflects that kind of attack if his Nee-san is his usual sparring partner.

Momoyo was more faster and more stronger than the Black Swordsman. That's for sure.

"And you already knew about my technique right?"

"Karakusamoyõ, right?" Yamato once again hummed, "I had to say, that kind of technique is pretty hax. But then again you have Nee-san who could easily creates a black hole or shoots laser beam from her hand, so having a technique that could see many possibilities to give you a desired result in a mere second by peering into the technique itself is plausible, I guess."

"It took 7 years for me to finally completed that technique."

"Yeah, you've work hard, man. You really deserved that Young Emperor title." Yamato said while patting Yōta's back.

"Good work."

"Good job."

"Yosh-yosh~ Yōta is a good boy~" Koyuki on the other side pats Yōta's head while smiling widely.

"As a reward for your hard work, you can have me, Yōta." Miyako said shyly as she squeezes his arm between her boobs.

And before he knows it, everyone started to give him compliments and a pat on the back.