YOU SUCKED IN A DEEP BREATH, before releasing it all out, slouching your shoulders.
"You okay, [Last Name]-chan?" Chifuyu looked at you, concerned.
You had just arrived at the place where Tenjiku was supposedly fighting Toman, and was walking with everyone else to the area.
"...Yes. Yeah, I'm okay." Your hands clenched, steeling your nerves.
His eyebrow raised, as if not convinced. "It's okay, I get it. It's nerve-racking, right?" You nodded slightly, gripping onto the fabric of your pants. He continued, "I'm already used to it, and to be honest, sometimes it's a little exciting, to be fighting this many people, but you'll be fine. Don't get too worked up on it." He tried to encourage.
"Right..." You looked back to the front, where you're all inching closer to the exact spot. "I'm not afraid of getting beaten up... I'm just afraid of holding someone back with me..." You paused. "...And getting beat up." You awkwardly added. "I guess I'm not used to fighting alongside other people?"
Chifuyu smiled, putting a hand on your shoulder. "This is all about team effort. You might not feel like it at first, but once you get into it, you'll slowly get accustomed. Believe in yourself, alright? You got this!"
Somehow, you felt a little better hearing that. You didn't bring Mr. Froppé ― with this fight being too dangerous and all ― so you lost some sense of comfort, but his words and his all-knowing grin made you feel like you really could do it, even if you don't believe in yourself.
"By the way..." Chifuyu changed the subject. "Takemitchy and I will be going for Kisaki, so..."
"Hm?" You tilted your head before knowing what he meant. "Ah. No, it's fine. You can go on ahead. That's where all the stronger fighters would be, right? I'll just stay in the back with everyone else."
Chifuyu looked relieved hearing you say that. "I would rather stay with you and fight, but my priority is him right now." He turned to the front, as you're nearing closer.
You nodded, a smile forming on your face. You faced forward too, starting to feel a little nervous, but not as bad compared to before.
You had almost forgotten, but Chifuyu was still the vice-captain of his division, so it'd make sense for him to be at the front.
And while you don't want to leave his side, you really also don't want to stay in the front.
The front is where all the attention will be, and you sure don't want that. Not that anyone would bother to pay attention to me. You internally admitted. You deliberately walked slower now, trying to stray back.
You breathed in a few times, attempting to clear your head. And though you're not at the front, you had made sure not to stay too far back.
You heard some guy talking. A guy with white hair... Hm? You wondered why he would choose a hair colour that makes him look old.
Then, another guy stepped forward. "Today's forerunner will be me!!" He shouted. You noted that he had some crazy hair going on. "Former president of the Black Dragons, Tenjiku Four Heavenly Kings... Madarame Shion!"
"Who will Toman send!?"
Huh...? You didn't get what he meant. You heard the group near Takemichi talking about some S-62's infamous ritual of starting a one-on-one fight. Is that how it is? You really don't get delinquent traditions.
"Come on, stop joking around, Toman!!" The guy started shouting again. "Mikey, Draken, Mitsuya and Smiley ― Not even one of your MVP's are around, and no one's around to be forerunner too!?"
You were... starting to get a headache, listening to him taunt.
A tall person from Toman stepped forward, declaring that he would be his opponent.
You recognised that person to be the one Chifuyu introduced a few months back at the festival. The angry looking guy who shouts a lot.
He started to introduce himself, just like the other person did, but the Tenjiku dude closed the distance between them, as if trying to intimidate him. "Whatever. I can finish all of Toman myself."
The other Tenjiku members started to taunt Toman as well, following the first guy.
You wondered if delinquents were always this... rude. Or Toman's the exception?
"You know, afrer all this time you were talking..." Peh-yan spoke, unflinching and unafraid. The next thing you knew, he struck a hit to his opponent's face. "I didn't get a single shit!!"
You were as surprised as anyone else, but what surprised you the most was that it was over before it even began.
"Takemitchy!" Peh-yan turned his head. "I leave the rest to you."
Takemichi nodded. "Everyone, are you ready?" Once he confirmed, everyone started bolting forward.
What!? Though, you didn't have time to be shocked and started running too. You weren't sure what you were expecting, but it sure wasn't running at full speed at them.
You felt super awkward, having a hard time fitting in with this. You only stopped running when you saw in front of you was a guy running at you with his fist up.
On instinct, you sidestepped, managing to avoid his punch just in time. You didn't have time to be relieved, as the guy spun around and started swinging his fist again.
Your arms moved to protect your face, and it took the hit.
"Ah―" It hurt a lot more than you expected.
"Hah, I heard they got some chick, but I didn't expect you to actually fight back!" His face distorted into a sadistic smile.
"Is baby bird a common insult these days...? I don't get it." You whispered mostly to yourself, confused by the term usage.
Before you could even think more, he made his move, darting towards you with yet another punch.
This time, you felt a bit more prepared.
You waited for his fist to get closer to your face, before you moved your head just to avoid it. Then, you clutched his arm tight once he missed, putting all your strength into your leg as you struck his groin.
You knew full well that it wouldn't be effective, so when he bent over in pain, you pushed his head towards your knee, slamming his jaw with it.
You stepped back to give yourself some room, absolutely slugging the back of his head with your elbow.
Finally, he went down, face planted on the floor.
I did it! You celebrated. You couldn't help but be a little happy inside.
And...
Either his muscles are too hard, or my bones are too soft that my limbs are hurting... It was painful, but nothing you couldn't handle after enduring several beatings.
You were sure most of these people had a physical advantage over you. All muscle-like and big. Which is why you were taught to strike at vulnerable spots by your uncle.
You heard heavy footsteps coming, and before you could react, you felt a pain-filled punch to your face.
Staggering back, you looked up to face another opponent. You held your cheek, whining at the pain.
You only have yourself to blame as you faced off the next person.
Meanwhile, Peh-yan was out here busting asses while everyone was busy pissing their pants.
Tenjiku was hesitant to step forward, afraid of getting clobbered by his monstrous strength.
That is, until Izana came.
"Well... Revenge is totally not my style, but fight me, will you?" Izana said calmly, causing Peh-yan to get angry.
He rushed to him, intending to pummel him like the others, but in an instant, Izana took him down in one go. Peh-yan's body flew at least a couple meters away.
Guess the wind pressure must have stirred the air, as the fighters nearby stopped to look.
You heard a loud thump, then seeing Peh-yan on the floor, knocked out. "Woah..." You softly gasped, looking around. Everyone else was shocked too. Even... your opponent.
You were at close ranged, making it easy to hit when he's unguarded. You balled your hand, sending it up in the air and whacked his nose. For a moment, you thought you heard something cracked.
Your torso leaned back, bringing your foot up and thrusted hard into his stomach.
But then, his hand caught your ankle, stopping you in your tracks.
"Heh." A smirked worked its way to his face, as he gripped harder and pulled your leg forward.
"Wah...!" Your body had no choice but to follow your leg, and you got thumped on the head pretty hard, causing you to feel as if your brain shook.
You were too dizzy to notice, but the person's clenched fist was already on its way to you.
Then, you felt your body being pushed back, and though your vision was a bit blurred, you saw someone else wearing the Toman uniform punching your opponent's face, then uppercutting his jaw, effectively knocking him out.
You, of course, fell on your butt, groaning in pain at both your head and rear injury.
Your eyelids fluttered open, still feeling woozy when you saw a hand in front of you.
"Here, can you stand?" A boy's voice spoke out.
You looked up, finding a familiar figure.
"Oh... Huh...?" You mumbled. It was a guy with the big burn scar on his face.
You hesitantly took his hand, and he helped you up, albeit wobbling a little. "It... Head... Khh..." You whimpered out.
"...What?" Inui stared at you puzzled, but concerned.
"Head― Hurting..."
He realized that you must've had a concussion. Of course you did. He saw the guy practically smack your head straight. "Do you need to sit down?" As much as he would love to fight, he couldn't leave you to fend for yourself.
"Sit down? That... doesn't make sense..." You groggily mumbled, your eyes feeling like they're shaking.
"Here." He gently lowered you down to the ground, forcing you to sit while you try to recover.
While he was focused on you, someone's feet slid into his line of sight.
Inui looked up, unsuprised. "...Mucho." He slowly stood up, glaring at the man as he did. "Guess I'll be fighting you, former 5th Division Captain." His eyes unblinking as he spoke, "I'll fucking kill you. I'm bringing Koko back."
Mucho nonchalantly stared. "I will not be fighting you."
Inui was only baffled for a second before he felt someone punched his face. He quickly recovered, revealing it to be Kokonoi who struck him.
He gritted his teeth, while you were still as oblivious as ever on the ground.