May 24th, Monday. It was a normal evening. The Ayanokouji Group was busy studying in my room...
"Phew! That part was tough," said Ken, as he passed his paper to me.
Akito and Airi look pretty drained. Meanwhile, Haruka was already laying her cheeks on the table.
"Let's take a quick break. Rest your brains for a few minutes before we continue," I said.
"Oh, nice!" Ken celebrated.
"Thanks, Kiyopon!" Haruka thanked me, her cheeks still planted on the table.
"How's your club going, Ken?" I asked.
"Oh, it's going pretty great. Even if I took a lot of time off, the seniors were still quite tolerant of me," Ken replied with a smile.
"I see. That's good, then." I turned to Akito. "How about you, Akito?"
"Everything's good in the archery club, too. The seniors and instructors were very lenient."
"Is shooting bows that fun, Miyacchi?" asked Haruka.
"H-Haruka-chan, I think they shoot arrows, not bows," said Airi.
"Ah, is that right? My bad, ehehe." Haruka giggled.
"Haha, Airi's right. And I think it's not about fun. I mean I am having fun. I wouldn't do it if it doesn't. But it calms me down more than anything. My mind is at its most focused when I'm doing archery," explained Akito.
"I wonder if that's how Ken-kun and Kiyotaka-kun feel when they're swimming or playing basketball..." Airi mused.
"Hmm... Maybe?" I answered.
"Well, Airi's completely on point in my case. I get pissed off really easily but when it comes to basketball, I tend to think logically way more than I normally do." Ken explained with a wondering expression.
"I hope you adopt that mindset in your everyday life. Even if you're alright to the people in our class, you still got a pretty bad reputation outside," I said.
"That's true. There were a lot of times when I needed to forcefully drag you away because you were about to lash out at some random student." Akito scoffed, giving Ken a side glance.
"S-Shut up! I'm trying my best, okay?!" Ken said with a slightly embarrassed expression.
"Now that I think about it, aren't you two the same-- being former delinquents and all?" Haruka said.
"Eh? You were a delinquent, Akito?" Ken asked.
"Ugh... You know I don't like talking about that, Haruka." Akito sighed in exhaustion.
"So Akito-kun is good at fighting too?" asked Airi.
"I didn't expect that," I commented.
"Hahaha, isn't it fine to tell everyone, Miyacchi? You've changed already, anyway." Haruka tapped his back with a smile.
"Well yeah, I was a delinquent, but I wasn't really the top dog in our middle school or anything like that," he narrated.
"But you can probably still hold your own in a fight, right?" asked Ken.
"I guess so. I'm not a wimp like Ike or Yamauchi," Akito answered with a shrug.
"Hahaha! You really did 'em some. It's true, though. Those two would probably just turn tail and run during a fight. Add Hondou in there, too." Ken snickered with a huff.
"Ugh... All those perverts did back then was ogle my boobs..." Haruka looked like she just remembered something disgusting.
"I-I was wondering if Ken-kun and Akito-kun were to fight, who would win?" Airi, who didn't seem fond of talking about those guys, changed the topic.
"Oh, nice question, Airi. Wanna slug this out later, Akito? Just for fun." Ken smiled intimidatingly.
"I haven't fought anyone in months, but you should prepare to lose a tooth or two," Akito smirked back with a cool expression.
"E-Eh?! I wasn't-- I didn't have that intention! I was just asking hypothetically!" Airi waved her hands in a panic.
"Haha, what do you think, Kiyopon?" Haruka asked me.
"I wonder. I don't really know their individual strengths so I can't tell," I explained.
"Fufun~. Then how about an arm-wrestling match?"
"Hah? Isn't that just a competition of brute strength? Even I'm aware that Ken is stronger than me on that front." Akito complained, but his lips shifted into a smile. "But I guess that's fine. I kinda wanna see how it goes."
"Woah! As expected of Miyacchi! He doesn't back down!" Haruka clapped her hands in amusement.
Airi and I just looked at each other and shrugged. I guess our short break will be extended.
After moving our things to the side, my dining table was now an arena for their battle. When the two of them got in position, Haruka raised her hand and readied the signal.
"Go~!" she said.
"Hrr-"
"Hnng-"
"Woah..." The three of us absentmindedly watched the battle unfold.
Ken's advantage immediately became apparent, but Akito was holding his own. Even if the position was tilted slightly in Ken's favor, Akito was still making it hard for him to win.
"Hggghh-"
"Grr-!"
Slam.
In the end, Ken still won.
"Sigh... I guess that was to be expected." Akito shrugged his shoulders.
"What the hell was that, Akito? You were insanely strong. If ya held on longer with the same amount of strength, I woulda ran out of stamina." Ken ranted with a smile.
"I told you I'm not a wimp," Akito smirked.
"Whoo~! How manly, both of you! How manly!" Haruka nodded her head repeatedly.
"You two were so strong... I feel like my arm would snap if I tried..." Airi commented in a slightly terrified tone.
"I didn't expect Akito to be that resilient. As expected from a former delinquent, I guess," I said.
Ken turned to me like he just remembered something important.
"Shut up, Kiyotaka! Fight me right now! I know you're strong, yourself!" he said with a furious glare.
"Oh, didn't you mention that last time-- that Kiyotaka would pummel you if you fought?" Akito smiled at me curiously.
"Tch, I guess so. Let's test his strength right now." Ken glowered at me with a serious expression.
"Do I really have to?" I asked, knowing that it was a futile question.
"You can do it, Kiyotaka-kun!" Airi cheered timidly.
"Woah~! It's a Kiyopon versus Kencchin match!" Haruka raised her hand as we got into position.
"I'll kill you if you hold back even a little," threatened Ken.
"Fine... But stop glaring at me like that. It's scary."
"You're my rival, so even if you're also my friend, I'll be merciless," Ken said with a determined smile.
And with that, our match started.
"Go~!" Haruka yelled.
"Haaa-! Wai- Wha-?!"
Slam.
And I won.
I braced myself for Ken's initial push. After I felt him weaken, I instantly used all of my strength to slam his arm against the table and take the win.
If I immediately pushed as hard as I can and clashed with Ken's initial push, his forearm bone might've snapped in two.
"Whaaat-?!" Even the calm and cool Akito couldn't help but react.
"K-Kiyopon, you were that strong?!" Of course, Haruka was the same.
"S-So strong..." Even Airi's mouth was agape.
"Nice fight, Ken," I said with a thumbs-up.
"Nice fight my ass, Kiyotaka! I didn't have a chance!" Ken yelled indignantly.
"What the hell, dude...? You're insane..." Akito tapped my shoulder.
"Well, that's probably as far as I can go."
"It's more than enough, bastard! You can probably knock anyone out in a few punches!" said the annoyed Ken.
"Even you, Kencchin?" Haruka asked in surprise.
"Probably..." Ken answered with an unsure expression.
"I'm not that strong. It was my technique that beat you," I shrugged.
"Shut it. Technique or not, you beat me convincingly. You're just genuinely strong, Kiyotaka." Ken's angry expression turned into a grin.
"Now I can really believe what you said, Ken. Kiyotaka would most likely pummel us in a fight." Akito laughed bitterly.
"Hah, probably. I'll make sure to land a clean hit before that happens, though!" Ken said, clenching his fists.
At that moment, I felt Haruka and Airi's fixated stares. I think we should go back to studying now. I'm just about done listening to two delinquents talk about fighting me...
Author's Notes:
Just because Ken is kind and gentle to his friends and classmates, it doesn't mean his wild nature is completely gone. That was the case even in the Y2 Ken. People don't change that easily.