Feeling Protected

'My name is Inoue Nagami, I'm 18 years old, and I live at 108 Sakura Town in Tokyo. My parents are alive, and I have a 17-year-old sister.'

'I attend Gakuen High School, where I'm the leader of a small five-person group. While I'm not a big shot in this delinquent school, no one usually dares to mess with me.'

'To me, studying is just a word, with no other significant meaning.

After all, in a delinquent school, those who study seriously are the real outliers.'

'Fighting is an everyday occurrence for me, and because of it, I have many enemies and people who dislike me.'

'This afternoon after school, my companions and I were wandering around nearby schools as usual, looking to "borrow" some money from familiar faces. '

'When we passed by Eikou Private School, I spotted my nemesis, a guy who often clashed with me both inside and outside of school.'

(Masuda Tsukasa) Seida Tsukasa—this guy is different from other punks in the delinquent school.

'His four-person group doesn't actively target weaklings for money; instead, they go against us by charging those same weaklings for protection.'

'Because of this opposition, we've developed quite a grudge.

When I have free time, causing trouble for him is my greatest pleasure.'

'So, my companions and I followed them to see what they were up to. We discovered that he had taken money from someone to teach others a lesson.

But this time, the targets were three girls?'

'Hey, I didn't expect you, Seida Tsukasa, to fall so low, bullying girls like the other scum in school.'

'Because I have a sister at home, I, Nagami, never pick on girls and look down on those who do.

Even though I'm a delinquent, bullying girls is just too low.'

'I silently despised my old rival and planned to step in and rescue the three girls.

It wasn't out of kindness. Compared to the boring act of bullying girls, seeing my nemesis's frustrated and helpless expression would be much more entertaining.'

Hahaha!

The thought alone was exhilarating.

'Just as I was about to signal my companions, I saw something that almost made me bite my tongue.'

'What did I see?'

'Those three girls actually beat down a group of four people who were notorious in the delinquent school!'

No, to be precise, it was the pink-haired girl who taught his nemesis a lesson.

It was surprising but not entirely unexpected.

After all, Eikou Academy was a branch of Seishin Academy.

Having martial arts prodigies in there was quite normal.

It was just unfortunate luck for Seida and his gang.

Nogami was filled with gloating over this.

Just as he was about to go over and taunt Seida, he saw a guy who looked like a pretty boy walk up to him.

Though he couldn't hear what they were saying, he saw the pretty boy give Seida several Fukuzawa Yukichi bills.

Seeing this, Nagami couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.

For delinquents like them who only cared about having fun, that much money were enough to keep them going for a long time.

So, Nagami now faced two options:

One, chase after the pretty boy who had walked away and demand some protection money.

Two, catch up with his struggling nemesis and his friends, teach them a lesson, and then rob them while enjoying their frustration and curses.

Comparing the two, the first option seemed less tempting.

With his plan in mind, Nagami put his hands in his pockets and swaggered over to Seida and his friends, spewing insults.

Seida's reaction indeed gave him a perverse satisfaction.

After all, not only did he humiliate Seida verbally and physically, but he also took all the money he had.

As an old acquaintance who knew him well, Nogami had a rough idea of ​​how much money he usually had.

So when a large amount of Fukuzawa Yukichi was found on him, he was both shocked and regretful.

While it was fun to teach Seida a lesson, the excitement quickly faded and it just felt tht way.

Pulling up his pants that had slid down from the scuffle, Nogami felt a bit of regret for letting the big fish get away earlier.

However, this regret didn't last long.

Later, while wandering around after dinner, he saw the same big fish again.

And this time, the big fish was strolling down the street with a beautiful girl.

It must be nice to be rich, Nagami thought.

Even the girls they dated were good-looking.

Unlike the girls at his school, who smoked, drank, and had tattoos, these girls looked much better.

Feeling a mix of envy and disdain, Nagami, with his hands still in his pockets and a cocky grin on his face, herded the big fish and the pretty girl into an alley.

But unlike the other big fishes who just pretended to be calm facing him, this pretty boy seemed genuinely composed.

Even the girl beside him appeared unperturbed.

Their calm demeanor irked Nagami.

Spitting on the ground, he adopted a slouchy posture and, with a sneer, said to the pretty boy:

"If you don't want a beating, hand over all your money."

"Don't try to be a hero and show off in front of a girl. It's all pointless, you can't handle it. Don't wait until you're in pain to realize your mistake. Let's make this easy for everyone."

Nagami said as he reached out his hand towards the rich boy.

"You stay here and don't move. I'll go teach them a lesson."

Standing in front of Sasaki, subconsciously protecting him like she would for Yuuta Yamano, Natsuha Shinomiya was just about to throw her bag to him and take on the delinquents herself when she was suddenly stopped by the person behind her.

Pulling the girl, who wanted to fight five people alone behind him, the boy stood firm like a solid wall.

"If I need you to protect me, what's the point of me sending you home?"

Hearing Sasaki's resigned sigh and feeling his firm grip, Natsuha realized that the person in front of her wasn't the one who needed her protection.

Looking up at his broad back shielding her, an unfamiliar warmth began to grow in her heart.

This comforting feeling of security was something she had never experienced before.

Since her father left when she was young, she has never enjoyed the feeling of being protected.

Compared to her mother's warm embrace during times of danger, this feeling of having the storm shielded away made her feel unprecedentedly at ease.

However, this comfort wasn't something she expected from her boyfriend.

This made her feel a sense of betrayal towards her boyfriend.

But she also knew that her gentle, peace-loving boyfriend could never give her this kind of security she lacked and needed the most.

This...

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Natsuha looked up at Sasaki, preparing to take on the delinquents, with a complicated but determined gaze.

She might like this feeling of security, but she wouldn't betray her boyfriend for it.

If she couldn't get this feeling from her boyfriend, she wouldn't accept it from someone else.

Grabbing the boy's arm, the girl handed him her bag again.

"Let me handle this. You may be strong, but so am I."

Holding the bag, Sasaki looked at the determined Natsuha, feeling puzzled by her sudden resolve.

No, what's wrong with you?

But he couldn't just stand by and watch her, a girl, take on five guys with her not-so-aggressive Aikido.

After all, what's the point of him sending her home everyday if he was going to let her handle everything alone.

So, holding onto her slender arm, Sasaki stared into Natsuha's beautiful red eyes and said sternly:

"I'm not underestimating you, but if you want to prove yourself, we can have a match at your dojo later.

For now, listen to me. If something happens to you, how am I supposed to explain it to your mother?"

Feeling the warmth and concern in his firm words, the girl bit her lip, hesitant.

She wasn't sure she could resist developing feelings for Sasaki under his protective aura.

It wasn't that she was weak-willed or fickle, but the boy's actions hit the softest point in her heart.

She knew that if she didn't have a boyfriend, just this act of protection could make her fall for him.

But since she had a boyfriend,

She couldn't accept Sasaki's protection.

However, he was right.

If she got hurt because of her stubbornness, how would her mother feel?

She could be hard-hearted and not care about the trouble she caused to Sasaki, but she couldn't ignore her mother's sadness and worry.

As she struggled with her thoughts, Nagami, who had been forced to watch this display of affection, spat on the ground.

"Enough already. Do you think we don't exist?"

"Dammit, are you done with your 'you go, I go' nonsense? Attack them, and don't hold back."

As soon as he finished speaking, before his companions could move, a large hand suddenly appeared in his view.

"Shit!"