Role Reversal

As time went on, the rain poured stronger and stronger which led to many puddles being created on the ground.

The entire crowd gradually dissolved after Kazuma got beaten up in the beginning and after the rain started to become heavier.

Now the only persons left behind the gym were Kazuma, Yui, Ken and his companions.

While Kazuma and Ken were in the center of attention, the others could not move and acted as bystanders.

“W-what are you trying to do?!” Ken panicked.

Splash.

Once Kazuma was within his arm's reach, it was impossible to not notice the visible panic in Ken's face. Ken tried to step back but due to the now slippery and wet ground, he fell on his butt.

“...”

As if he wanted to show his dominance and superiority, Kazuma looked down at Ken who was dirty and pathetically sitting in a puddle.

“H-how dare you!” Ken shouted aggressively.

Pow.

He got up and threw a sloppy punch at Kazuma. But in the end, the one who was met with a heavy punch in the cheek was Ken.

“Argh!” he cried in agony.

“W-what?”

“Impossible...”

“Was he holding back all along?!”

That punch of Kazuma not only knocked Ken almost out but also knocked the socks of his gang off.

It was a much faster and more precise punch than Ken's punch which lacked technique and experience.

“K-kazuma?”

Yui was struck dumb and covered her mouth with one hand in shock.

“Get up.” Kazuma said coldly.

This time, he was the one giving orders to Ken.

“Tch. You dare to-”

Bam.

"Aahrg!"

Not letting him finish, Kazuma kicked him in the face.

“You damn mothe-”

Bam.

"Bluargh!"

Kazuma kicked him in his stomach so that Ken spat a lot of saliva.

“W-what are you guys waiting for!? G-get him!” Ken mustered up all his strength to give that order to his followers.

“Y-yes!” they answered.

Just like they were ordered to, they surrounded Kazuma who still looked indifferently with his focus being only on Ken.

“Take this!”

Like the first time, the well built guy was the first one to act and launched a punch aimed at Kazuma's face.

“?!”

Bam.

Kazuma, who finally noticed that he was about to be attacked, tried to block the punch by putting up his arms in front of his face. He may blocked the punch but his arms were a bit numb after that.

Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam.

The bulky person did not ease up and followed with multiple punches aimed at Kazuma's stomach and face. Kazuma could not defend any of the punches and after a while his face was full of bruises and his mouth was bloody after coughing blood.

“Stop it, please! I beg you! He is already bleeding this much...” Yui chimed in.

She had tears in her eyes and was trembling all over her body until a moment ago. But she knew that she could not stand around doing nothing as her friend got brutally beaten up.

Bam. Pow.

Splash.

When Kazuma let his arm guard down out of tiredness, he was kicked with great force in his stomach making him bow his upper body. Then, the bulky guy clenched his two fists together and hammered them down on the back of Kazuma who consequently fell on the ground.

“All bark but no bite, huh?” Ken commented after getting up from the puddle.

He was relieved that Kazuma was finally knocked out but once again his expectations betrayed him.

“What?!”

Kazuma held the bulky guy's ankle with one hand.

“Let go, you maniac!”

He tried to free himself but it was in vain. Kazuma held his ankle with great force despite still lying on the ground.

"!"

Splash.

Then, as if he was revived, Kazuma got up while pulling on the guy's ankle making him fall on the ground.

Pow. Pow. Pow.

Without giving him a moment to breath, he knelt down with one knee on his chest and started a barrage of punches on his face until he lost consciousness.

“...”

“...”

The two other guys watched Kazuma as he got beaten up with pleasure but with his comeback their grins turned into scared faces as they watched their buddy getting hit until he did not move anymore.

“Y-you will pay for this!” the chubby one announced with a hint of fear in his voice.

“Y-yeah!” the other one responded with a slight crack in his voice.

Pow. Crack.

Splash.

This time, it was a two versus one. However, Kazuma did not want to waste time anymore and knocked them out as fast as he could.

He punched the chubby one with everything he got in his face and kicked the tall and thin guy, who was right behind the other one, in the jaw causing a small crack sound.

“N-no!”

Ken's despair kicked in again. Watching his three pawns laying on the dirty and wet ground unconsciously, he had no idea how to escape this situation.

"Haaa!" Ken yelled.

Not having learned his lesson, he tried to punch Kazuma again.

After tasting one heavy punch after another from the strongest guy of the group and then mustering up all of his remaining strength to knock down the other two guys, Kazuma could only stand there while being barely conscious.

Bam.

Splash.

But this time, the punch connected. As a result of Ken's punch, he fell on the ground again. Kazuma tried to get up but could not. He was too exhausted.

“...”

Lying on the wet and yet hard and dirty soil, Kazuma thought about his actions. In spite of being an honor student, he participated in a brawl with Ken and his followers who were just a bunch of wannabe delinquents.

In just a single moment, he broke two promises. The first promise was a promise to himself that he would not seek out a fight with others and the second one was the one with Yui where he said that he would not fight back under any circumstances.

But why did he broke those promises? Usually, Kazuma would not give even a single moment of his attention to some wannabe delinquents. He could have kept his second promise if it was not for that moment. The moment when Ken leaned closer on his ear and whispered his vulgar and malicious plan to him.

It was that moment when Kazuma lost all reason and only had the urge to beat him up as much as he could. Yui was his only friend, or rather, the only person he was close to. So it was clear to Kazuma that he would do anything to protect her.

However, his glorious fighting days were over a long time. His main focus these days were his studies and not fights. Therefore, he lost against Ken and his friends.

“Haha... hahaha! How is that, huh? Seems like you couldn't handle my almighty punch!” Ken praised himself as he stomped with one foot on Kazuma's face.

“Hey, you! Piss off the show is over!” Ken stared at Yui.

She was startled. She did not know what to do and even if she knew, she could not move from her spot.

“Wanna get a piece of this fist, too?”

Ken slowly became annoyed and tried to threaten her so she would leave.

“N-no, p-please let him go!” Yui begged.

Even though, she was scared. She insisted on helping her friend who motionlessly laid on the ground.

“Is that so? Well, don't blame me but blame your stubbornness.” Ken said while grinning and cracking his knuckles menacingly.

As Ken walked over to Yui, a faint voice was heard from behind him.

“Y-yui, run...”

It was Kazuma. Despite looking like a corpse, he muttered his final words while also smiling faintly before he finally lost his consciousness.

Yui, who could not move before out of fear, started to run and shed some tears after hearing his words. She knew that it was cowardly of her and she hated herself for it but nonetheless, it was the best decision in that predicament. She did not want to get beaten up by Ken but she did not want to leave Kazuma alone.

However, Kazuma did not want to see his only friend getting hit. Therefore, he made her leave him to make her feel less guilty for abandoning him and seeking her own well-being.

As Ken watched Yui running away, he noticed another party coming from the opposite direction.

Even though, they were far away, he could recognize that blonde hair of that person even from miles away. It was Emma.

However, beside her were two other silhouettes. He was able to deduce that one of them was the P.E. Teacher due to his build and that the other one had to be the school nurse because she wore a white cloak which was typically for school nurses.

“Tch. Guess, I will leave for now.” Ken clicked his tongue.

Not wanting to get into trouble on his first day after being absent from school for weeks, he decided to walk away. An unsightly scene of four beaten up boys on the ground was left behind.

With the arrival of Emma and the school staff, the first brawl between Kazuma and Ken concluded with Ken emerging as the winner.