Chapter 14 – Stay Strong, Damn It

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Lunchtime on the day I finally learned Temari's name, my mom hit me up on LINE.

“Chihiro said she's grateful to Yuuya. She wanted to thank you.”

“I have no idea why I'm being thanked, but sure, tell her ‘you're welcome.'”

“It seems to be about you encouraging Mahiro?”

“I don't remember encouraging Mahiro, and I sure as hell didn't mean to. All she did was apologize.”

None of this made a damn bit of sense.

So in Chihiro-san's head, Mahiro coming back to school automatically meant I must have done some grand act of encouragement. That's how she decided to spin it.

…Well, whatever. If it scored me points with Chihiro-san, I wasn't about to complain.

Keeping things peaceful sounded like a damn good deal, especially if it kept her tits domestic—strictly for the sake of diplomacy, of course. No other reason.

Still, if I really wanted to lock that peace treaty in place, I figured I should take another step.

***

After school, I ended up standing in front of the soccer club locker room again.

Just like last time, I waited until Hashizume strutted out to take a piss. I grabbed his sorry a*s and dragged him behind the school where no teachers or nosy brats would get in the way.

“Hey, Hashizume.”

“…What the hell do you want?”

Dude looked genuinely pissed off, eyebrows scrunched like he was about to throw a punch.

Honestly, it was a little intimidating. But whatever. I had s**t to do and zero time to play nice. Temari said she’d look into things, but wouldn’t it be faster to just beat the answer out of this a*****e directly?

“Did you treat your ex the same way you treated Mahiro?”

His whole body stiffened like I'd just jammed a cattle prod up his a*s.

“Oh, so you did.”

Before I could blink, he slammed me against the wall.

And no, this wasn't some heart-fluttering, shoujo-manga kabedon moment. This was straight-up terrifying. If anyone walked by right now, they'd think I was getting mugged by a pissed-off gorilla.

“You better not tell anyone about that!”

“I wasn't planning to?”

“You slept with Mahiro too, didn't you!? Even just the tip counts, a*****e! You're a co-conspirator now!”

“Wait, hold up. I never slept with Mahiro. Not even ‘just the tip.'”

“…What?”

Hashizume froze, hand still bunched in my collar like he forgot what he was doing.

Meanwhile, my brain decided to wander.

Seriously though, how the hell was “just the tip” even a thing? Logically speaking, it didn't feel good, it still risked getting a girl pregnant, and it was hands down the dumbest play in human history.

Which meant any guy who actually used “just the tip” as a tactic was, by default, a f*****g idiot. Q.E.D., case closed, humanity doomed.

I accidentally let out a chuckle.

Bad move.

“The f**k's that smug little laugh for!?”

“Huh? Oh, I wasn't laughing at you. I was just thinking about how dumb guys are when they try to sell ‘just the tip’ like it's a genius move.”

“YOU'RE F*****G LOOKING DOWN ON ME, AREN'T YOU!?”

Wait.

Hold up.

Did this dumbass actually use that line on Mahiro?

And she fell for it?

Holy s**t.

My entire social circle was made up of brain-dead morons.

I felt like Ban Chuta getting hit with divine mo-re-tsu inspiration. Yeah, screw it. I was officially nicknaming this guy Mo-re-tsu Ana Taro.

“Nah, man, I'm just feeling deeply moved… ‘This is the way.'”

“SHUT THE F**K UP!! Just 'cause you're a little smart, you think you can look down on me!?”

“Dude, I don't even have to look down on you. If you didn't treat your girlfriend like a disposable toy, none of this mess would've happened.”

“…”

“I'm guessing your ex broke down, too. Just like Mahiro almost did?”

“…”

Silence. Dead silence.

A straight-up confession without a single word needed.

Well, that saved Temari a hell of a lot of digging.

“Look, Mahiro snapped out of it before she crashed completely, so whatever. But if you keep pulling this same bullshit, wrecking girls left and right, you and your little F****r Club are gonna get burned. Forget college—you won't even have a damn future.”

“…That would be bad.”

Wow. This a*****e really only cared about himself. My fist itched to clock him right in his smug face, but let's be real—I wasn't dumb enough to think I'd actually win that fight. Instead, I swallowed the urge and spelled it out for him nice and slow, like he was some toddler.

“I don't give a damn about your ex, but do me a favor—keep Mahiro out of your mess. When she gets dragged into your s**t, it splashes onto me too.”

“…So it was you who convinced Mahiro—”

“Nope. Didn't do a damn thing. Mahiro just finally got smart enough to stop falling for your bullshit. Whatever the hell you two said when you broke up? None of my business.”

He pressed his lips together, silence clinging to him like a bad smell.

I wasn't finished.

“Also, if you've got any… compromising material, you better get rid of it. Fast. If you even think about blackmailing Mahiro, you're gonna get caught. And while you’re at it, tell the other jackasses who had their ‘fun' to erase their s**t too.”

“…”

He just stood there, breathing heavier now, but not saying a word.

I stepped closer, made sure my voice hit like a crowbar to the ribs.

“If you get expelled, you’re not just losing school, dumbass. You're losing your whole damn future. Homeless, starving, sucking air in some alley while rats eat better than you. Or maybe you end up working for some underground gang, getting your teeth kicked in because you owe money you can't pay back. Gambling debt, illegal loans, body parts up for auction—you name it. Life doesn't give second chances to idiots.”

His face twisted, eyes flashing, jaw clenching like he was chewing glass.

“And hey, maybe you think you'll be fine, scamming women forever. Maybe you'll ride that slimy wave till you're old and ugly. But newsflash, pretty boy. Only the ones ready to get stabbed survive that game.”

“…YOU F*****G—!!”

Hashizume finally lost it, roaring as he threw a punch at me.

I ducked. His fist smashed into the concrete wall with a loud, meaty thud.

“Guh…!”

The pain hit him immediately. He staggered back, clutching his hand like it was about to fall off. Guess even a roided-out pretty boy wasn't tougher than solid concrete. Who knew.

I didn't wait. While he was still stunned, I shoved past him and bolted.

“Welp, don't feel like catching a punch today, so I'm out! Later! Oh, and seriously—remember what I said! Planning ahead is survival 101! See ya—”

“I'LL REMEMBER THIS!!!”

He screamed after me like some cheesy villain in a bad soap opera. It almost made me laugh. Hell, it did make me laugh, but I kept it inside. No point getting him even more riled up.

Still, if this little talk kept Hashizume on a leash, I'd chalk it up as a win.

All for the sake of peace.

All for the sake of peace.

…Damn. I should probably report this to Temari.

Oh, right. I didn't even have her LINE.

Eh, whatever. I'd just tell her in person.