Kanadehon Chūshingura | Tokyo Revengers

1. Fox Bride

Enraged cheers fill her ears.

Okiku is entirely surrounded by boys that range from fourteen to seventeen years old, much like herself at fourteen, she is a sore thumb in the crowd. Proudly wearing her crimson school uniform from a private high school, there aren't few that don't take a peek at her, and different disheveled delinquents take their turns guessing what someone like her is doing here.

"Do you think she's Michimasa's girlfriend?"

"She's a rich girl that wants to have her fun mingling with low-lives like us."

"Maybe she has too much money and doesn't know where to spend it."

It's true that, at the start of this entire ordeal, Okiku didn't hide when she handed over a fat stash of cash to the guy dealing with the bets. And she didn't say, either, what exactly she was doing there besides betting and observing. Her nonchalance and appearance, both always working in her favor, have the entire crowd of boys reeling at her like rabid dogs. Always around her, but never daring touch her, as it is apparent in the empty space around Okiku's seat. Someone would call her a dog tamer if she cared enough to address such effect.

The mere sight of a girl has these boys, filled to the brim with hormones, drooling around her like hungry beasts. But Okiku isn't just an unexpected sight at this place, a remote fight club in Shibuya. but represents something deeper and more enigmatic than just a sight for sore eyes. She's a bizarre encounter between two worlds seemingly running parallel to one another, untouching and separate; the low and dirty land of teenage delinquents crashes against the schoolgirl from a good family when she makes her appearance, and most cannot fathom such a sight.

The flimsy guy she's betted on, a first year boy called Shinohara Hiro, stands the blows the best he can while unsurprisingly being unable to land any hit against his opponent, a guy that's already out of high school and working part time, Kakui Shoho. (One might wonder how she knows so much about the fight club's pawns, but to that she won't answer).

Okiku stares down at the arena like how a roman emperor might have stared down at the coliseum a hundred years ago. The scenario is set clear in her eyes; Shinohara, the unfortunate gladiator set on today's battle for entertainment, Shoho, the lions bound to eat him.

Okiku's phone pings with a sweet whistle, a strange noise that doesn't fit with the screams surrounding the pseudo arena. She changed the sound for Heiemon's contact to know it was him when he messaged. A picture of two kids smiling at the camera (on the day where they got their first piercing made, the girl had dragged the boy, and so he was convinced) welcomes Okiku when she unlocks her Sony Ericsson. Quickly, she checks Heiemon's text;

'Where are you? We're gonna be late.'

Okiku types a message with skillful fingers, overseeing the battle still ongoing on the ground. Shoho is panting now, surely tired from trying to hit Shinohara, who had changed strategies after the tenth punch and focused solely on dodging. As it's clear, he's definitely doing better.

'Don't worry, it's ending soon.'

The moment she hits 'send', Shoho finally collapses and Shinohara is left standing, covered in bruises, but still standing. He is quickly appointed winner and Shoho's friends go get him from the floor, as Shinohara abandons the stage and the various executives get ready for the next fight. Meanwhile, Okiku unceremoniously gets up and goes to get her money.

From all the fights taking place that 6th of July, this one was the most likely to have the competition betting on the loser. At first glance Shinohara was a weakling, known for stepping on his own feet since he was a kid, so no one would have thought him capable of winning a fight. It was this clumsiness, however, the one that made him get into athletics. Appointed by the doctor to get better control of his motor skills, Shinohara had been a member of the running track club since middle school, and one of the best runners from what Okiku had been told.