Minako silently lamented herself as the three walked toward the back alley of Tatsumi port island , and she began asking herself why she thought it was a good idea to come here to begin with . She had been to Tatsumi port island before , besides the time when she arrived in the city with her brother , but it looked so different in the dark especially the back alley . She had thought that she would be fine because she had lived through more serious situations before , like a locked up monorail on a collision course of death or a runaway from a dual gun wielding monster hellbent on slaughtering them . She had looked death in the eye before , so she had thought nothing at that point could scare her , but that place had a different kind of scare , something other than death .
What if they kidnapped her ? What if they assaulted her ? What if they molested her ? What if they tarnished her reputation ? The thugs standing by the walls and corners , with lighters , knives , daggers and even pistols in hand . The women who had no regard for anything , their shrilled laughter , their phones , the other unfortunate girls weeping at their feet while they laugh their throats off . Everything made Minako shrink inside her clothes .
The only person who still couldn't see the problem was Yukari , who was walking through the place as if she was walking through the mall , making both Minako and Junpei cringe as they anticipated trouble . And a it was indeed about to happen , as the delinquents began circling around them , and the women began whispering and laughing while staring at them . Minako knew they were in a seriously bad situation .
" ... the hell ? " one of the thugs eyes them from the corner of his eyes " check out those nerd looking turds ! "
" betcha they're from dat Gekkou high , they must be pissin' and shittin' cash every day ! "
" this is bad ! " Junpei trembled
" Yukari ... uh ... maybe we should come back in the morning ? " Minako whispered to her
" c'mon ! Don't be intimidated by these scums ! " Yukari said to them
" she just called us scums ! What a bitch ! " one of the women laughed
" we'll post pictures of her naked ! We'll bring her family's reputation down to the sewers that her father would commit suicide ! She'll wish she was never born ! " the other women exploded in laughter
" you don't belong here , Goatee " the thugs glared at them " and neither the bitches you dragged along , get it ? Get lost ! "
" goatee ? Oh you mean me ... s—sure , we're gonna ... "
" we're going nowhere until we get what we want ! " Yukari interrupted , and yelled at the delinquent " we have questions for you and we're not leaving until we get a ... "
The delinquent exploded in laughter , and so did his friends , followed by the laughter of all the girls around him . Yukari was only fanning the flame .
" I get it now , Goatee ! You're the one getting dragged here by these bitches ! On one hand I feel sorry for you , I could tell they're a pain in the ass . On the other hand , you disgust me . I don't think you're more than a wobbly goat dick with no balls in there ! Huh !!! "
Junpei thought he knew what was coming for him and quickly backed away from a kick that could have rendered him numb , but that only made the thug angrier
" you think you're clever , you little shit ?! "
And he sent a punch to Junpei's waist that had him bent on the floor in front of the thug , Minako , Yukari and everyone else in the alley . The sight of Junpei crouching on the ground was sickening for Minako , and somewhere in her mind the voice of her telling Junpei she was counting on him to protect them echoed back . She felt she was responsible for what happened , she pressured Junpei to come here . Yukari may had wanted to come here , but it was Minako who agreed and even dragged Junpei with them . The guilt was crushing her from saying anything .
" eyes front , Goatee ! " a thug approached Yukari and clutched her wrist " this is how you tame a raging bitch ! "
" l—let go of ... "
The thug slapped Yukari across the face so hard her cheek grew red , and she almost fell on the ground . That slap rendered her speechless , it was then that she felt the weight of the situation . Her shocked eyes went from the thug that slapped her , to Junpei who still couldn't stand up , to Minako who was just as confused and scared as she was . What was she doing here ? What did she think she would get by coming here ? How is she gonna get out ?
" hey , check out the other one ! She looks more friendly than the bitch you just slapped , bro ! "
Another one approached Minako and clutched her arm , and immediately her senses were rendered numb and her legs began trembling . She kept telling herself she mustn't cry , as that would only have them take advantage of her even more . Wether it was for the best or the worst , she slapped the thug across the face before he could do anything . In retaliation , the thug clutched her chin and brought her face closer to his . The smell of alcohol and cigarettes was numbing her senses even more .
" please don't anger me , sweetie " the thug said with a calm voice that sounded even more menacing " my hands get a mind of their own when I'm mad , and they don't enjoy being taunted "
Suddenly , a football was slammed on the thug's face , and he let go of Minako . Not so far off , stood Minato , who looked furious . It seemed it was he who shot the ball on the guy's face . Everyone was shocked as they turned to him .
" makes you get hard to try your strength on ladies , you dick ?! " Minato yelled at them
" who do you think you are , you little shit ?! "
The thug charged at Minato , but he was met with a punch to the waist , before having his arm twisted and pulled , the same arm he used to hold Minako's face . Minato broke his arm and kicked him down to the ground before placing his foot on top of his head
" anyone else wants a piece ?! "
Theee more thugs came at Minato while Yukari and Minako tended to Junpei . Minato found himself surrounded and overwhelmed , he could barely prevent them from breaking his arm like he did with the other one . Minako was really scared when on of them pulled a pistol and was about to shoot at Minato , but between the crowd of thugs he couldn't aim properly . Nevertheless , Minato could do little to keep up with so many opponents , and in the end one of them managed to get behind Minato's back and bash him over the head with a brick , and he fell on the ground , the pain in his head rendered him numb and disoriented .
" gotta ... huff ... gotta admit " they said as they tried to catch their breath from the intense fighting " you weren't a ... huff ... spineless shithead like ... huff ... Goatee over there , but for coming here and picking a fight with us , you're retarded ! "
" no !!! " Minako was one second away from crying
" enough " someone stepped in " leave those clowns be , I'll make sure to get them outta here "
It was the guy they met in Akihiko's hospital room last month , with his usual coat and beanie . The twins , Junpei and Yukari looked at him with shock , but he didn't even look at them .
" who do you think you are ?! You want a piece of this , too ?! "
The thug lunged at the guy , but was met with a headbutt that knocked him out immediately . His buddies stared at him with shock as he lied there unconscious from one headbutt , even Minato was surprised . A thug was about to retaliate , but his friend stopped him .
" let go of me ! I'll kill him ! "
" Are you insane ! That's Shinjiro , as in Shinjiro Aragaki ! They say one of the Yakuza tried to run him over with a Jeep , but he punched it so hard he destroyed the engine in one blow ! "
" I'm calling bullshit on that one ! "
" wanna try it ? " Shinjiro raised his fist threateningly
" d—damn you ! I thought you were one of us ! "
" never in my life have I said I'd join you . Frankly , I prefer to just laugh my ass off as I stare at your mess "
" you just crossed the line , you think... ?! "
" I told you we can't beat this guy , dumbass ! "
" s—screw this " the thug back away , followed by his friends who carried their unconscious friend " you'd better grow eyes in the back of your head , Shinjiro ! "
" hahahahahah ! What losers ! " the girls laughed as they walked away , seeing as how the fun was seemingly over there .
The four troubled schoolers looked at Shinjiro with shock . The whole time he didn't even look at them , and he turned around and walked away .
" you were amazing , senpai ! " Junpei exclaimed
" you ... " it was then that Shinjiro looked at them " You were in Aki's room last month , weren't you ? "
"Y—yeah " Minato winced as he stood up , the blow he received was still in effect .
" I thought you were a bunch of stupid clowns , but it turned out you were the entire circus ! Leave ... " he continued to walk away
" wait ! " Yukari called him " we still need ask some questions to ... "
" those punks will beat you up before they answer anything , or did you seriously think they would help you ? Are you stupid or something ? "
" I ... " Yukari didn't know what to say , she had said that sentence to Junpei many times , and for her to be on the receiving end of it felt strangely sickening for her . Was that how Junpei always felt ?
" I see ... it was Aki who sent you there , wasn't he ? "
" no , I'm the one responsible " Minato said " I'm their leader "
" but you're the one who opposed the idea the most ! " Yukari looked at him with shock and dismay " I was the one who insisted to come here ! "
" but I'm your leader and your safety is my responsibility ! "
" you're their leader and their safety is your responsibility ? Tsch ! Don't make me laugh ! You have no word over your team , buddy , they had no regard for you and they just went on with their plans "
" I don't need you to tell me how to lead my team ! "
" suit yourself , Mr. leader . So you want answers ? Lemme guess , the ghost story "
" actually , that's true ! How did you know ? "
" there were those students from your school talking shit about some girl named Fuuka , in the past few days they were contemplating wether Fuuka's spirit was haunting them "
" Fuuka's what ?! "
" what ? You don't know ? That girl might be dead by now . They said they were pranking her or something , but she disappeared "
" The teachers were talking about how she was staying home because of an illness "
" you did mention that her parents said she was missing , Minato " Minako asked her brother
" Mitsuru senpai was going to ask the homeroom teacher for class 2-E tomorrow , if only certain idiots were a little more patient ! "
" whatever , that's all I know . Satisfied ? "
" thank you so very much " Minako said "you are very kind "
" what ? "
" n—nothing ... I mean thanks for the help ... " Minako nervously responded
" yes , thank you senpai ! " Junpei exclaimed , before noticing the crossed look on Minato's face " c'mon ! Show some appreciation ! "
" thanks for nothing ! " Minato turned his gaze away from Shinjiro
" ach ! Dude ! "
" whatever , if you're done here , then leave "
The four sat on the stairs in front of Tatsumi port island , the experience had shaken them greatly .
" I'm so sorry , Junpei ! " Minako said ashamedly " I pressured you by saying you'd protect us and put you in danger ! I'm so sorry ! "
" I apologize , too " Yukari sighed " I keep making fun of you and call you names , but I was the stupid one this time "
" uh ... you're right ... I ... I mean it's okay ... really ... " Junpei was not used to the position of being in the right
" and nobody's gonna apologize to Minato's poor skull that got bashed by a brick ! " Minato groaned
" you're right ... I'm ... " Yukari started
" I don't need your stupid apology ! Not only was I beaten into a mess for your mistakes , but I was also ridiculed for my incompetent leadership . I hope you're proud of your leader who can't keep his team in line ! "
" that's not true , we're ... " Yukari tried to speak
" I said I don't want an apology nor excuses. If you have time to plead for my forgiveness , you two should go back to the dorm . Mitsuru senpai is waiting for you in the lounge and is getting angrier with every second ! Prepare for execution ! "
" ex—execution ?! "
" as for you , Junpei , your dinner is on me tonight "
" sweet ! That made it worth it "
" I'll see you ladies later , if you survive " Minato walked with Junpei away from the two speechless girls .
" we brought this on ourselves "
Yukari sighed , but she noticed that Minako was a little absentminded . Her brother was probably to angry to notice , but Minako had been silent ever since they left the alleyway . She apologized to Junpei and was then sunken into silence .
" Minako ? Are you okay ? "
" oh ! Yes , I'm fine ! "
" don't worry , it might be called an execution , but she wouldn't really kill us "
" I know , it's gonna be okay " Minako laughed nervously
————————————————
The next day , the twins had something they needed to check , what really happened to Fuuka and why her homeroom teacher lied to them . When they entered the room , they were a little surprised to find Mitsuru , Yukari , and Junpei talking to that teacher . Before the teacher sat a student that Minato recognized immediately , it was one of the student who hanged around Fuuka . She looked extremely distressed . It seemed they entered while the girl was confessing what had happened .
" we didn't mean it ! We didn't mean it ! " she frantically cried " we were just messing with her as usual , we were going to prank her by locking her in the gym . We were going to release her before we leave the school , but a teacher found us near the gym and we didn't want to look suspicious so we left . Later , Kashiwada snuck into the school at night to free her , but ... but ... ! "
" she was found unconscious " Yukari sighed
" are you saying you left Fuuka in there for the whole night ?! " Minato exclaimed
" What're you talking ab—? Oh no ! " it took Minako a few seconds to release " this is bad !"
" we didn't mean it ! " the girl wept .
" you ... you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to " the teacher nervously said " you don't want to give them the wrong idea "
" n—no . I want to talk to them . I'm scared ! "
" scared ? "
" after what happened , I went to release Fuuka from there , but she was gone ! She disappeared !!! "
" figures " Minato sighed
" ever since then we've been searching for her every night , and we still couldn't find her even now . Worse yet ... we ... "
" one by one you lost consciousness and were found in front of the school " Mitsuru added as she saw the girl unable to speak , and the girl nodded in agreement . She then turned her attention to the teacher " I thought you said Fuuka was home due to illness ? You knew of what had happened to her all this time , Mr. Ekoda . Why did you keep it a secret ? "
" I wanted the benefit of all the students . You kids don't realize it yet , but we ... "
" a student went missing for a week , she could have been kidnapped or killed and you didn't tell the police for the ' benefit of the class ' ? How despicable ! "
" I ... I didn't ... I mean ... "
" that's Mitsuru senpai for you " Minato nodded
" you should have seen her execution " Minako sighed
" shut up , I'm still mad at you "
" anyway " Mitsuru proceeded to ignore the teacher's attempts to justify his actions and focused her attention on the anxious student before her " can you tell us anything you found strange about the students who were found unconscious back when they were fine ? "
" um ... well , they spaced out for a a good minute and were like hearing voices "
" voices ? "
" yeah ... I didn't hear anything , but that's what they said "
" I see . Please stay in our dorm tonight , it's the safest place for your situation , and don't leave under any circumstances "
" but Fuuka ... "
" don't worry , she should be fine . We'll find her "
" you will ? "
" yes , we know what we're doing "
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I really hope I didn't overdo it with the swearing . I can't believe I forgot to put a disclaimer in the previous part ! I tried unpublishing and republishing it to notify my readers , but I'm not sure it worked .
Anyway , what do you think of the changes I made ? Expanding the fight in the alleyway , Minato's interference , Shinjiro coming to the rescue . I hope you liked them . And I will see you in the next part , stay safe .