The Salaryman Uncle held his pose, his index finger pointed at Kitahara Minakaze, but he hesitated to slap his shoulder.
He was completely paralyzed by fear.
Until.
“Are you an idiot?! He’s stalling for breath!”
The miko, whose nose had been shattered by a single punch, scrambled up from the ground.
Clutching her nose and spraying bloody froth and spit, she let out a sharp yell.
Only then did the Salaryman Uncle snap back to reality.
He forcefully slapped his shoulder.
But Kitahara Minakaze was already gone from his spot.
Before the explosion even went off.
He had already dashed forward.
By now, Kitahara Minakaze was only a dozen meters away from him.
“Idiot!”
The miko cursed in exasperation.
She quickly snatched up the wakizashi from the ground, ignoring her ruined nose, and rapidly formed hand seals with her left hand.
Her figure vanished in a flash.
Her speed was truly unreasonable.
The instant Kitahara Minakaze’s eyes caught her.
She had already arrived at his side.
Raising her blade, she thrust it forward.
Shk.
The sensation of the blade piercing flesh transmitted through her hands.
Gripping the hilt, the miko’s face instantly twisted into a savage grimace.
With a warped sense of twisted pleasure, she pressed all her strength into the wakizashi in her hands.
Her expression was utterly manic.
But she quickly realized something.
Something was wrong.
The wakizashi had definitely pierced him.
But it had only gone in about a finger’s depth.
And then, it couldn’t advance even a single centimeter further.
Because her wrist was caught in a vice-like grip.
The miko slowly tilted her head up.
Only now.
Standing right beside Kitahara Minakaze.
Did she profoundly realize.
Kitahara Minakaze.
Just how tall he actually was.
Standing beside him, her head barely reached his shoulder.
Therefore.
Kitahara Minakaze lowered his head.
As if looking down upon her from on high.
Meeting Kitahara Minakaze’s cold, indifferent gaze.
The oppressive pressure felt almost tangible.
The miko’s entire body violently shuddered.
She also saw it.
That flash of red light in Kitahara Minakaze’s eyes.
She wanted to flee backward.
But it was a little too late.
The moment she made a move.
She felt an immense crushing pressure around her neck.
Kitahara Minakaze gripped her throat with his right hand and squeezed slightly.
He lifted her straight off the ground.
Meanwhile, his other hand held the miko’s wrist, slowly pulling out the wakizashi lodged in his own body.
“—!”
The miko’s eyes grew bloodshot as she began to struggle, her legs kicking wildly while her free hand clawed at Kitahara Minakaze’s arm.
Kitahara Minakaze tilted his head to dodge.
Then, he clenched his left hand into a fist.
And aimed right at her stomach—
“Gah!”
The miko doubled over like a cooked shrimp, her struggles ceasing in an instant.
A glob of spit mixed with bloody froth spewed from her mouth.
Kitahara Minakaze leaned his head away to dodge the spit, slowly retracted his left fist, and snatched the wakizashi she was still gripping tightly, refusing to let go.
Pointing the blade forward.
He aimed it at her flank.
Squelch—
The tip of the blade pierced through the miko uniform, emerging from her back.
The wakizashi had run her completely through.
The miko remained hunched over, her mouth agape, eyes wide with shock and agony.
Kitahara Minakaze pulled out the wakizashi with an expressionless face.
He flicked the blood off the blade and aimed at the miko’s abdomen once more.
Shk.
He pulled it out again.
Pain and overwhelming despair enveloped the miko.
Tears, snot, and drool poured down her face.
She looked at Kitahara Minakaze, her hands waving weakly, her expression twisted and complex.
Terror, fury, remorse, begging for mercy…
Perhaps all of the above.
But it was useless; the third stab arrived right on schedule.
The miko’s head lolled to the side.
Casually tossing aside the miko, who was now as limp as a ragdoll.
Kitahara Minakaze turned his head, casting his gaze back to the Salaryman Uncle.
The Salaryman Uncle was still holding up his right hand, thumb raised, index finger pointing at Kitahara Minakaze.
Kitahara Minakaze advanced step by step, walking right up to the Salaryman Uncle before coming to a halt.
The Salaryman Uncle finally snapped out of his daze.
He slowly tilted his head up, looking at Kitahara Minakaze.
Kitahara Minakaze reached out, grabbed the man’s index finger, and lifted it slightly so that it pointed directly at his own head.
Then, he asked,
“Well? How about you try setting off another explosion at my head?”
“…”
The Salaryman Uncle stared at Kitahara Minakaze.
He neither slapped his shoulder to pull the symbolic “trigger,”
Nor did he run backward to put distance between them.
He seemed completely stunned.
“Nothing to say?”
Kitahara Minakaze smiled.
Gripping the extended index finger, he violently snapped it upward.
The Salaryman Uncle finally made a sound…
a bloodcurdling shriek like a slaughtered pig.
Kitahara Minakaze dropped his smile.
He let go of the broken finger, opened his palm, and clamped it over the man’s face.
Taking a step forward.
He forcefully slammed the man’s head into the ground.
A muffled thud echoed out.
“At your age. Still bullying a high school girl.”
Kitahara Minakaze shook out his hand, leaned down, and drove his knee hard into the man’s chest.
Then, he grabbed the man’s throat with one hand and clenched the other into a fist.
“Clench your teeth and bear it, mongrel.”
Kitahara Minakaze leaned back slightly.
His clenched right fist trembled faintly from the sheer force he was exerting.
Red light bled from the corners of his eyes, making him look like…
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…
On the other side.
Natsume Mio leaned against the wall, panting heavily as she watched from afar, trying her hardest not to lose consciousness.
Severe blood loss left her head swimming, accompanied by intense dizziness and ringing in her ears.
She couldn’t make out any specific words, and the people and objects she saw.
Were all overlapping.
She could only vaguely make out that tall figure darting around—choking someone by the neck, grabbing someone else by the arms like he was about to force a kiss on them, and then standing intimately close to another man, seemingly having a conversation…
And from time to time, strange roars and sharp feminine shouts would reach her ears…
How strange.
It really is so strange.
I was actually pretty worried just a moment ago.
But for some reason, I want to laugh.
I really want to laugh…
It hurts so much…
With her back pressed against the wall, Natsume Mio revealed a smile that looked worse than crying.
The Salaryman Uncle’s miserable wails were very loud.
Then, they slowly died down.
Soon after.
The only blurry, tall figure left standing walked over to Natsume Mio.
And crouched down.
The blurry face gradually came into focus.
“…You didn’t go stupid on me, did you?”
Kitahara Minakaze crouched in front of Natsume Mio.
After wiping the blood off the back of his hand, he reached out and gently patted her cheek.
Natsume Mio weakly propped her head up and looked at Kitahara Minakaze.
After a long moment, she forced the corners of her mouth up, seemingly trying to return a smile.
“You seem normal enough. Let’s get you to a hospital first. Hiss… I think that miko’s stab got my kidney. Damn it, she really knows where to aim.”
Complaining as he went, Kitahara Minakaze reached out with both hands and scooped Natsume Mio up into his arms.
She was quite light.
Even though he knew she was light before the fight started, it felt like she had gotten even lighter after those ten-odd minutes.
It was probably because she was a beautiful girl, covered in wounds, curling up pitifully in his arms.
Tch, the base nature of men.
Kitahara Minakaze silently roasted himself in his heart.
Then, carrying Natsume Mio, he walked forward.
Natsume Mio curled up in Kitahara Minakaze’s arms, her head resting against his chest, her right hand gripping his collar tightly.
After walking for a bit, she seemed to recover slightly, and her soft voice drifted up.
“I’m sorry, Brother.”
Kitahara Minakaze kept his eyes forward and casually replied, “You really should be sorry. My kidney got stabbed… So, about that female classmate you mentioned last time who had her eye on me. How about you introduce us? I need to test if my kidney still works…”
“Gross…” Even though Natsume Mio was in agonizing pain, she forced herself to endure it, grabbing Kitahara Minakaze’s collar and giving it a hard tug.
“Don’t pull my collar. If you pull any harder, I won’t be able to wear it. School uniforms are expensive, and I just got fired. Show some consideration.”
“Stingy…” Natsume Mio raised her other hand and grabbed Kitahara Minakaze’s collar as well.
“Thank you so much. You’re half-dead, but you still have the energy to call me gross and stingy.”
“…”
Natsume Mio leaned against his chest, offering no reply.
She had completely passed out.
“…I’m begging you, if you’re going to pass out, at least let go of my collar.”
Kitahara Minakaze looked down at Natsume Mio.
Supporting the back of her knees and her neck, he hoisted her up a little higher and quickened his pace.
Crack.
As Kitahara Minakaze took another step forward.
The sound of shattering glass rang out.
The ticking of a clock.
Came to an abrupt halt.