10 Chapter 10, Uhh bro. you seriously fucked up.
I scowled as my gut rumbled demandingly, the tantalizing scents of fresh-cooked breakfast still lingering in the air we'd left behind at Ryozanpaku.
Shooting Miu a sidelong glance, I opened my mouth to lament my gnawing hunger - only to snap it shut as her head whipped around, eyes narrowing at something over my shoulder.
Immediately on alert, I followed her line of sight towards the nearby convenience store.
That's when I spotted them - a couple of thugs clearly in the midst of pulling off a robbery.
One was big and bulky, wearing a judo uniform with a black belt, which told me absolutely nothing with the scale of martial artists in this world.
He had a shaved sides haircut, His partner was shorter but lean and wiry with a headband. Even from this distance, their combat-ready stances radiated an unmistakable aura of training.
I couldn't tell their level of skill but the way they had their legs positioned and moved, they knew at least some martial arts.
Miu didn't need any prompting from me. She was already stalking forward, mouth set in a grim line and eyes blazing with righteous fury. I quickly fell into step beside her, my own blood heating with the prospect of cracking some skulls before the first period.
As we drew nearer, I could make out the convenience store's exterior completely surrounded by a ragtag ensemble of goons - none of which looked like they knew the first thing about real martial arts based on their sloppy posturing alone.
One particularly brave (or just brain-dead) idiot was lounging on an air conditioning unit, wooden bat casually gripped in one hand.
"Hey! Bitch and bitchette!" he hollered in a nasal whine as we approached, lazily jerking the bat in our direction. "This is Ragnarok business, and you better back off before you get hurt!"
I responded with a derisive snort, not even breaking stride.
While Miu's casual walk transformed - shoulders loosening and feet sliding into an impeccable walking martial position, like a tiger stalking forward towards its pretty. It was like a switch had been flipped, her entire demeanor shifting from casual student to absolute warrior in the span of a breath.
Radiating pure, controlled menace, she fixed that irreverent goon with a look that could set a man on fire.
"The only ones getting hurt today are two-bit thugs who can't even rob a convenience store properly," she bit out coldly. "Now stand aside, or I'll knock you down like the pathetic street trash you are. In fact, there's a dumpster right there!"
Mouths dropped open all around us as the assembled punks seemed surprised by her audacity. The bat-wielding idiot's bravado increased to retarded levels as he started laughing, the rest of the men following suit.
"What's bitchette gonna do to stop us then?!" The guy who thought he was the ringleader, but was clearly an absolute moron exclaimed.
The convenience store's door slammed open as the two actual robbery participants came barreling through, clearly hoping to make a break for it after immediately recognising Miu through the casino store window.
But they pulled up short as I stood to block their path.
Miu was clearly done with the idiocy of common street goons, so she moved with super-human speed, knocking them all out in a moment.
In the corner of my eye I noticed the moron with the bat had an utterly shattered arm, his hand stuck in a grasping position as a disgusted look melted off Miu's face. When she looked at me.
The shorty with the headband got into a stance, and shouted, "I'm Koga the kicker and you're gonna pay, forehead girl! But if you come out with me for a nice dinner, and agree to share me with other women, I'm sure we can come to an understanding."
The sheer gall of his disgusting proposition hung heavy in the air.
[Error, Gamer's mind has ERROR ERROR! Gamers mind has encountered a catastrophic fault. rebooting GMND.CONCEPT]
Miu's face contorted into a rictus of pure revulsion, as if staring at a writhing cockroach that had just crawled from a half-eaten sandwich.
Before she could unleash the furious response that insult deserved, I was already moving.
[Gamers mind has a- ERROR.]
[Gamers mind has encountered a catastrophic fault. rebooting GMND.CONCEPT]
Something primal and infinitely uglier than rage uncurled within me, bleeding outward until the air itself seemed to grow heavier with its malignant presence.
"Did I just hear you...call my girlfriend 'forehead girl'?" The words slipped out in a tone of such lethal calm that even the birds overhead faltered in mid-flight.
[Gamers mind has encountered a catastrophic fault. rebooting GMND.CONCEPT]
Koga seemed to shrink back half a step, the bravado dimming from his eyes as that suffocating aura washed over him.
The big punk in the judo uniform actually took a stumbling step backwards, shooting Koga with a look of sudden uncertainty.
I continued my slow advance, face an expressionless mask of rage solidly in place.
Utter and obscene menace poured off me in droves.
Despite not having unlocked my ki yet, the mere force of my unbridled intent was enough to pin the two Ragnarok thugs in place - mouths working silently as their eyes bulged.
"Like did you actually just fuckin' say that?" I growled out each word as a separate Promise of violence. "To my girl's face? With me standing right the fuck here?"
My gaze lasered in on Koga, holding him immobile as a rabbit before the striking snake. My next words emerged as a rumbling growl from the deepest pit of my diaphragm.
Koga's bravado had well and truly withered by now. He seemed to be trying to formulate a response, but the potent pressure I was exerting shoved the words back down his throat.
Beside him, the judo punk paled, as I took another gradual step closer, the sidewalk beneath my feet hairline fracturing with each ponderous footfall.
That inexorable sense of looming devastation grew exponentially, swelling like a tangible miasma until it seemed to blot out all other sensations.
When I finally spoke again, my voice was little more than a guttural rasp - dripping with such concentrated malice that it seemed to reverberate in their very bones.
"Don't worry. Dirt. You won't die. You'll only wish you were dead." my hand darted to grasp Koga's jaw as the sounds of crunching ring out.
Miu gave me a glance of slight unease before she noticed I was going for pain but avoiding hits that would kill.
She shrugged and with a swift strike, knocked out the judo guy without much fanfare.
I'm almost glad that my bane was preventing me from killing this guy.
Almost.
30 seconds later, I walk into the store, buy a breakfast bento and one for later for lunch.
As I continued walking to school with Miu, my mood thoroughly ruined up until Miu grasped my hand, leaning onto me.
Her smile and silent calming presence were all I needed.
[Gamers mind has activated.]
-
We arrived at school just as I finished the last bite in the breakfast bento.
I saw Nijima in the corner, he noticed me and Immediately bolted in the opposite direction.
I decided to deal with the alien rat later. I needed to just chill after what just happened.
Moving towards class, I thought to myself. Something is obviously going to go wrong soon. Things are going too well.
-
The class was boring, so I decided to put my head down and look at my status. My eyes were flooded with Notifications.
