2 Unexpected Encounter

'What should I do?' Izumi thought, lowering his head.

The street was empty. A quick glance at his surrounding earlier told him that, as usual, the other students walking to school were all nowhere to be seen. Most likely they had run off hurriedly when the commotion first started. Therefore, there wasn't anyone around who would help him, even if he were to ask for help.

For a fraction of a second his brown eyes flashed with sadness and his face looked like he was about to cry. He couldn't find the solution to get away from this situation. He had no choice except accepted his fate and gave them his money.

'It seems it really can't be helped—'

"Wow. Look what I found this early in the morning."

The voice pierced through his thought and brought the three bullies surrounding him into silence.

Slowly they turned around to look at the source of the voice. They found a teenage boy around their age standing a few meters with both his hands on his pockets. The expression on his handsome face looked like a child who had just discovered something interesting. On the contrary, the grin that adorned his lips suggesting something quite dangerous.

'Who…?' Izumi wondered in his heart.

"Ugh, it's Mikami Kyousuke," one of the bullies with a thug-like appearance uttered a name, unknowingly answering Izumi's question. "Why is he here?"

'Mikami… Kyousuke…?' the golden brown-haired boy repeated the name in his head.

Upon seeing the mysterious boy though, the three students froze where they stood. They made eye-contact with each other wordlessly. Then, their relaxed posture unexpectedly shifted a little into a guard one while they eyeing the newcomer warily, as if they expected him to suddenly attack them or something.

"Good morning, bullies~" greeted the one called Mikami Kyousuke in a cheerful tone of voice that didn't seem appropriate for the situation or the mood.

"Who did you just call bullies, huh?" the bully number 2 said, irritated.

"A nice weather, wouldn't you say?" the jet-black-haired boy continued nonchalantly.

"What do you want, Mikami?" the bully number 1 questioned gruffly, narrowing his eyes.

"Hmm? Nothing important," he replied with a smile. "It's just… It seems like you guys having a nice breakfast, so I can't help but want to say hi."

"Breakfast? What are you talking about?" asked the fat bully confused.

"Are you making fun of us!?" the bully number 2 yelled, feeling offended.

None of them carried any food nor had breakfast like Mikami said. So it was understandable that they would be completely dumbfounded by his answer. And from the context of the sentence alone, it could be easily misunderstood that he was making fun of them—looking at his expression though, it seemed to be the most plausible case.

Mikami tilted his head to the side in puzzlement when he heard their questions. "Of course not. Why would I make fun of you three? I'm sure that would be boring," he replied casually, a smile still wide on his face.

"What did you say!?"

Before no one knew it, a tense atmosphere began to hanging in the air. However it looked like he didn't even notice the heavy air around them.

Ignoring the bullies' enraged shouts, Mikami continued, "I'm simply hoping to have some breakfast with you guys. After all, I'm a bit hungry at the moment." He glanced at Izumi's direction. His dark red eyes locked with Izumi's brown ones for a second. "And he looks pretty tasty."

Izumi's eyes widened in shock, 'EEEH!!?'

He could only shrieked inwardly after hearing that comment, horrified. Just what did that boy mean by he looked tasty? He did not look tasty—wait, no! That was wrong. He wasn't food. Don't say it like that! He didn't look tasty because he wasn't even food! To begin with, if he was hungry, why did he not just go to the cafeteria or something?

And somehow, Mikami's name bothered him a little.

'It feels like I've heard it somewhere before,' Izumi couldn't help but think that.

"Stop talking nonsense, Mikami," the bully number 1 cut in. "Can't you see we're busy?"

Mikami let his gaze moved from Izumi to the bullies surrounding the poor boy. They were getting annoyed by the seconds. Sadly, the menacing glares they shot towards him did not have any affect on him at all. The source of their annoyance appeared to be totally unconcerned about any of it.

"Hmm?" he hummed as if contemplating before saying, "All I see is three bullies playing with their food. Not a very nice scene if I were to say since your behavior could be considered very rude to the food. A bad manner. Although it's within expectation coming from you three."

"You bastard! Don't mock us!" the other two growled.

"Why would I do that? I'm just stating the truth."

"Stating the truth, huh? Why don't you take a look at yourself first?"

"Yeah. Isn't it rude to butt in to other people's business like you do?"

The other two said almost at the same time.

"Not really. I don't think I'm that rude like certain people. At least I know how to greet people normally." Then Mikami added, "If you know what I mean," as an afterthought.

"SHUT UP, MIKAMI!" barked the tall bully angrily after hearing his insulting words. "We don't have time to play with you! Get lost!"

His tone became low and dangerous, leaving no room for any argument, and yet—

"Yeah! Get lost already!" the other two chimed in, glaring daggers at him.

"How rude. And here I'm hoping a civil conversation with you guys."

—Mikami didn't take the hint and kept talking anyway.

In a way, it was like he purposefully not paying attention to whatever the bullies were saying. This time he sounded saddened. However it was hard to tell whether he was being genuine about it or not since he maintained his carefree attitude and continued smiling.

"If you're just going to be a nuisance, just go away! And we'll think nothing about it!"

"What if I say no?"

"If you refuse, then—" he paused here and a smirk crept on his face, "—I'll make you as the dessert," he threatened, putting emphasis on 'dessert' and the other two snorted. "How about it?"

The black-haired boy stayed quiet, not answering and no longer smiling. He seemed to be considering the situation he was in—about the offer (read: demand) from the bully number 1, the consequences of all of it. A moment later, he let out what sounded like a long-suffering sigh as if disappointed.

"I see," he responded, not really agreeing or disagreeing.

"If you understand, then leave. Now!"

"Don't get the wrong idea. I never said I agree with it."

"Huh?"

"Just so we're clear, even if I'm planning to leave, I'll take him with me," Mikami clarified, pointing his finger at Izumi who let out a soft "Eh?" and froze on the spot at the sudden attention. "And if you're not going to hand him over to me, then… I just need to snatch him from you bullies."

"What? You want to pick a fight now?" asked the fat bully.

"Do you think you're a hero or something? Saving the damsel-in-distress?" sneered the bully number 1 mockingly.

"As if you could win against the three of us," the bully number 2 put in.

The bullies cracked their knuckles menacingly to scare him.

'This is getting out of hand…,' Izumi muttered silently in his head as he looked nervously back and forth between Mikami and the three bullies. 'At this rate, a fight would really break out.'

"Do you know that it's not good to use strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker?" Mikami asked, out of the blue, starting a new topic entirely.

"Huh!? So what!?"

"That doesn't have anything to do with you!"

Bully number 2 and 3 yelled almost at the same time.

Really, if you guys keep doing that, if you three continue doing something like this… there will be someone like me who will make you pay a visit," he continued. A smile bloomed on his face. But there was something different about it now. There was—

"A visit to the hospital, that's it," he continued.

—a sadistic hint on it.

Without warning, the black-haired boy lunged at the three bullies with great speed, closing the distance between them in record time. Then, he punched the tall bully right in the face. The impact sent the bully crushing into a nearby pole which knocking him unconscious right away.

"…!"

The remaining two bullies widened their eyes and gasped in surprise at the scene happening right before them. A moment later, after they regained their composure, the two bullies sprang into action.

Bully number 2 clenched his hands and swung his right fist at Mikami who instinctively ducked aside. However Mikami didn't have any time to relax. Following that, the bully number 3 aimed a kick at his head from another direction. But he blocked it without even looking as if he already knew before it was coming. The bully number 2 was going to follow his friend's attack with a punch, when suddenly his opponent launched a counterattack.

"Guh!" gasped the bully number 2.

He barely had time to react when Mikami landed a kick on his stomach and sent him flying. This time the bully slammed into a wall hard then pass out.

"You bastard!" screamed the fat bully.

The next moment, the bully number 3 charged at him with all his might.

Reaching out his hand at the black-haired boy, the last bully tried to grab his neck. Maybe he intended to suffocate him or something. So, if the attack was connected, it could potentially be dangerous for his opponent. Even so Mikami dodged it calmly, slipping away out of the fat bully's range of attack easily. After that he came at him with a roundhouse kick. Just like before, the bully crashed into the wall, letting out a pitiful cry before he was out cold.

And just like that, the fight was over less than a minute.

The bullies didn't stand a chance of winning against someone like Mikami.

Meanwhile…

Yoshinaga Izumi, who was unable to do anything except to stand at the side line and watch everything unfolded before his eyes, had come to a conclusion that even though he was an innocent bystander he could be in danger. So, when the fight started, he took a few steps back in order to avoid getting into the crossfire.

It was a wise decision. Now though, it seemed he had been frozen on the spot. It couldn't be help, because he finally remembered where he had heard that name before. Although he didn't know who the jet-black-haired boy was, since they weren't even classmates, he did recognize his name—Mikami Kyousuke.

He had heard the name from some rumors about the other boy. He thought it was merely a rumor so he didn't think too deep into it. But now that he had seen it himself, he couldn't help but think that maybe it wasn't just rumors after all. The said rumor was relatively a lot. Such as he was dangerous, the worst bully in school, a delinquent, always got into trouble, always got into a fight, or the likes…

To put it simply, Mikami Kyousuke was a troublemaker.

Strangely enough, people never seemed to have any proof of his misbehavior, even the teachers.

'Speaking of teachers… We would be in so much trouble if the school, and especially our parents, find out about this,' Izumi said inwardly, worried.

Nevertheless, the golden brown-haired boy never imagined he became the sole witness of one of his delinquency first hand like this.

"Are you okay?" a voice snapped Izumi up from his reverie.

He blinked and noticed that it was Mikami who questioned him.

"Eh? Ah, yes. I'm okay," he replied with a nod. He looked at Mikami who was standing in front of him then glanced at his surrounding. "Um…but…" He gestured his right hand to the pile of three bullies lying around on the street. "They are…"

"Don't worry. They're fine. They're just taking an unintentional sleep," the troublemaker said unconcernedly without losing his smile.

Izumi blinked, "Eh?"

'An unintentional sleep?' he repeated in his mind.

"They won't wake up for a while though, because I hit them with that purpose in mind."

"EH!?" Izumi couldn't believe what he had just heard.

'With that purpose in mind? Which means he did it intentionally!'

He didn't say it out loud—since it was probably better to say nothing about it—but perhaps it was somehow shown on his face. Because the black-haired boy before his eyes abruptly turned to his watch and—

"Oh, look at the time! We'll be late if we don't hurry up. Come on!"

—changing the topic.

"Y-yes!"

Mikami turned around and ran ahead with his long stride while Izumi jogged after him.

By the time Izumi reached the gate of Nanazono High School, the other boy could no longer be found anywhere. Most likely he had entered the school building, leaving him on his own. Oh well, it wasn't like they were friends or anything. They weren't even acquaintances. They were practically strangers, after all. Not to mention, Mikami had a lot of strange rumors about him and was a dangerous person—if what Izumi saw earlier was anything to go by.

'It's better this way,' Izumi thought to himself.

He was not sure why exactly, for some reason he felt disappointed.

Still, he couldn't help but feel like an abandoned cat on the street.