Chapter 16 - Fight Club

"Woah, are you alright?" Minami asks, meeting with Haruko at one of the smoking areas on the campus. "You look annoyed..." she points out.

Haruko was standing there, chewing on a toothpick she had pulled out from her bag. She missed smoking, she wasn't a frequent one but she did smoke whenever she was stressed. 

And she was stressed.

She had come to a realization a while ago that chewing on a toothpick kind of helped replace the urge to smoke, especially if it had a minty taste.

"I'm fine, just a little drama that happened earlier... nothing new." Haruko sighs, trying to hold a smile. "Let's head to our clubs..."

"Not gonna meet with the others?" Minami asks.

"I need to get ready for basketball." Haruko lies, "We can run into them later or something." she threw her toothpick away before they head off.

Meanwhile, Shizuka met with the Hasegawa siblings. The three were expecting to see Minami and Haruko as well, but...

"She's probably cooling off..." Takashi said awkwardly, standing between the two. It was hard to even breathe because of the tension.

"Great... now Haruko is mad... this could have been avoided if you hadn't done all of that shit in the nurse's office." Shizuka huffs.

"What? And this is my fault, how?? You're the one who's going on some egotistical rant right now." Yukiko rolled her eyes.

"Let's not do this right now. You two need to calm down." Takashi grumbles, wincing when they face him at the same time.

"Shut up." The deadpanned in unison.

"I don't have time for this, I'm leaving. I'm going to watch Haruko practice..." Yukiko huffs, walking off in the direction of the gym before Shizuka could stop her.

Shizuka grunts, beginning to follow after her, "And where do you think you're going...?" Takashi asks, grabbing her arm.

Shizuka tugs her arm out of his grasp roughly, "I never told you that you could touch me, what gave you the right to think that you can just do that... Or do you just give yourself rights to do whatever you please." She deadpanned, "You have eyes don't you, I'm following your stupid sister to make sure she doesn't fuck this up."

"Excuse me??" Takashi glares at her seriously. "You can be mad at me for as long as you please, but don't you dare say that about Yukiko. Just because things aren't going your way doesn't mean she's not trying just as hard as you."

"..."

"You keep saying Yukiko can't control her temper but you need to work on yours." Takashi scoffs, "Why don't you try and figure out why you're getting so worked up about this, huh? Instead of taking it out on everyone." He finished before heading off to his own practice.

"Why I..." Shizuka trails off, she frowns slightly. Standing there by her lonesome self.

*

The Advisor blew her whistle, "Everyone, line up!" She calls out loudly, waiting for the women to drop what they were doing to huddle up. "We're having a mock game next week with another university. During this game, we'll be testing out our newbies to see what roles they fit best."

Shizuka listens in closely on the conversation, leaning up against the door of the gym from outside. "She's going to play, huh...? I should watch her game with Minami..." she mumbled to herself.

By the time their practice was over, Takashi was heading to the gym to check on them. Only to see Shizuka peeking inside the front doors. "What are you doing...?" He asks hesitantly, "Don't you have a date you were going to?"

"I-I-- h-he pushed it back a little bit so I had some time..." Shizuka jumps, "I-I was just watching Haruko practice..." She admitted quietly.

"She's still in there? Practice finished a while ago...?"

"She wanted to stay behind to practice more apparently.."

"Just watch from inside??"

"What? N-No, I can't..."

"And why not?"

"Uh... I-I-- You first...!" She trailed off, pushing Takashi through the doors. Causing him to stumble in.

Haruko stops when she heard his footsteps, turning her attention towards the door in confusion, "Takashi??"

"Hey, we're just going to sit down and wait for you to finish practicing or something." Takashi waves awkwardly.

"We?" Haruko repeated weirdly, the ball resting on her hips as she held it there with her arm.

"Uh.." Takashi glances back to realize Shizuka had ditched him. "I mean-- I... I wanted to watch you practice." He rephrased, frowning slightly at her cowardice.

"I see. I'll try to be done soon then."

"Oh, no rush! Take your time." Takashi reassures, he puts his bag down and looks around. "I thought Yukiko came to watch?"

"She went to grab a snack, I think?" Haruko shrugs, dribbling the ball.

"Need any help with anything?"

"Nothing in particular." Haruko responds blandly, "You can just watch."

"A-Alright..." Takashi nods, he leans against the door first. "You know... you could've just come in with me... I don't understand why you didn't want to." He whispered, knowing fully well that Shizuka was leaning against it as well, listening in.

"Whatever..." Shizuka muttered.

Takashi makes his way over to the bleachers to sit down instead, watching in awe as Haruko shoots from the three point line, she runs up to catch the ball again before it goes too far and dribbles beneath the net.

Haruko jumps, arching her arms upwards to toss the ball into the hoop from beneath the net.

"How come you're still over here practicing more? Is there a game coming up?" Takashi asks, mesmerized by her movement.

"Yea, I just want to be ready I guess. Also, this is helping clear my head a little." Haruko admitted sheepishly. It was true, something about playing basketball was pretty therapeutic for her.

"I can understand that."

"Do you have a game too?"

"Yea. And the guys we're up against are monsters, supposedly."

"I'm sure you guys can do it."

"Thanks. And I know you'll be able to wow the crowd with whatever you do." Takashi chuckles.

"That's pushing it, I think." Haruko laughed.

Takashi continues to watch silently while Haruko practices some more, he jumps in shock when Shizuka falls in, Yukiko walking behind her.

"What the hell are you doing outside like that? Just go in already." Yukiko scoffed, holding a bag full of snacks and drinks.

"What is your problem...!?" Shizuka stood up, dusting her clothes off of any dirt from the floor.

"You're my problem!" Yukiko hissed, the two getting in each other's faces.

"Why you little--"

"Stop! Show some restraint, Haruko is trying to practice." Takashi stood up, getting in between them quickly. "If you two don't behave yourselves, we're going to the gate."

"You can't tell me what to do--" Yukiko pauses, noticing Haruko watching them silently. "Uhh... Sorry, H-Haruko..." she mumbles.

"Yea.. S-Sorry..." Shizuka added with an apologetic tone.

"Haruko, I'm just going to take them to the gate to wait for you and Minami. Take your time in here." Takashi sighs, he grabs his things before shoving the other two out of the door. Forcing them to follow him instead.

Leaving Haruko to herself and the silence that filled the gym.

*

"Alright. Let's talk, what the hell happened in the nurse's office?" Takashi drags the two to the front gate, turning to face them with his brows furrowed in annoyance.

"I walked in on Haruko and your sister kissing..." Shizuka mumbled, "Obviously I would get mad. What if someone other than myself walked in? What would they do if it was one of the Ishikawa..."

"She could've handled it differently but she chose to be an angry witch about it and demand things from everyone!" Yukiko argued.

"If I don't tell you what to do, you'll just end up doing whatever you please and getting Haruko killed...!"

"Okaay, okayyy, stop." Takashi gets between them again, massaging the side of his temple. "Can we just... talk this out like mature adults, please??" he groaned.

"Woah, what's going on out here?" Minami asks worriedly, approaching the group with Haruko beside her. The taller girl is holding a basketball at her side. "I stopped by to get Haruko along the way."

"Just some complications between these two, nothing new." Takashi sighs heavily. "You two ready to hang out like you suggested earlier, Minami?" he tries to move on from their childish fight.

"Uh, y-yea." Minami laughs awkwardly. "Are you heading out now, Shizu?"

"Y-Yes..." Shizuka nods slightly. "I-I suppose I'll see you all later..." she says, looking directly at Haruko. Who was chewing on a toothpick again.

"Have fun." Haruko mumbled, acknowledging that she was leaving. They watch as Shizuka walks off to go meet her boyfriends somewhere else.

"Alright~ Let's get going, I know a new hot pot place that just opened up nearby." Minami exclaimed excitedly, holding Haruko's arm.

*

The meal was awkward, not for Minami but for the other three. Especially Haruko and Yukiko, they chose to eat in silence. Only speaking whenever prompted to.

"How was the drama club, Minami?" Takashi asks suddenly, turning his attention to Minami.

"Productive!" Minami grins, "We decided on what play we'll be performing for the cultural festival. Now we decide on the roles, build the stage and practice before October hits. So our performance is perfect."

"Cultural Festival...?" Haruko repeated in confusion. 'Oh right, that was a thing that happens in the game... Takashi is supposed to help out with the play because there wasn't a lot of members in the drama club. He plays the main male lead and Shizuka plays the female lead; or well... whoever he had the highest affinity with.'

"Oh! It's like a huge event the whole university does, organized by students mostly." Minami explains, "Unlike High school, we're not required to attend so... it's basically free time for people who aren't participating. But my club is performing something to, y'know, attract newcomers from the upcoming freshmen class, how about you guys?"

"I haven't heard much from the people in my major." Yukiko shrugs, twirling her straw in her tea. "Probably going to just be some sort of food booth or whatever."

"I know Computer Science guys want to do a cafe in our main classroom, plus show off some games we coded and worked on with the Animation students. " Takashi hums. "It's probably going to be a gaming cafe thing. That's exciting."

"No one mentioned anything about a Cultural Festival in my major." Haruko shrugs, "I'll probably just be walking around to experience it."

"You'll be free then, Haru?" Minami asks with hopeful eyes.

"I-I mean, maybe?" Haruko nodded slightly.

"Please help perform for my club." Minami tried, clasping her hands together. "We don't have a lot of students in the club, so it would be really helpful if we recruited some help."

"O-Oh?? Me??" Haruko raised a surprised brow, "I mean, I wouldn't mind...?"

"Thank youu!" Minami smiles. "I would ask these two, but apparently they might have stuff to do with their classes."

'Oh shoot... Takashi's class wasn't suppose to do anything, but why are they suddenly doing a cafe...?' Haruko frowns, she replaces it with a smile when Minami looks at her. "Anything for you, Mina."

"Great! We'll see who else I can recruit to help perform~" Minami hums, she watches as Haruko stood up from her seat. "Oh, restroom?"

"Yea, I'll be back." Haruko says, she heads off on her own, leaving the three alone at the table.

"...I'm guessing something happened between all of you, from earlier?" Minami looks to the twins with a knowing glance, she offers a reassuring smile. "Haruko got mad too, huh?"

"Honestly, they started it." Takashi sighs, "Her and the other one." he motions to Yukiko. "It's too much sometimes when they fight."

"You can't really expect them to be buddy buddy, considering your history, your families aren't exactly friendly to one another." Minami shook her head, she perked up when she noticed the couple walking in. “Uh-oh… speaking of…” she motioned to the front discreetly.

The siblings peeked slightly to see Shizuka there with her boyfriend. “Ugh… why is she still on our turf…” Yukiko rolled her eyes, leaning against her palm.

“Probably her boyfriend's idea. This is a new place too, he probably wanted to check it out with her.” Takashi shrugs. “Doesn't look special to me…” he huffed, staring at the guy.

“I just hope Haru doesn't bump into them…” Minami mumbles, she watches closely, noticing Shizuka smiling brightly up at the man as they talk about something.

A smile they haven't really witnessed before. They held their breaths when they noticed Haruko turning the corner from where the restrooms are.

She walks past the couple as if they didn't know one another before sitting back in her seat. “Are we ready to go…?” She asks quietly, looking around at the group.

“Y-Yea… let's get going.” Minami nodded in agreement, picking up her things.

They left the restaurant, all of them avoiding Shizuka's table on their way out.

“We'll walk you two home?” Takashi offered, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

“Let's take Minami home first.” Haruko suggests, motioning in the direction of her place.

They begin their walk, silent at first. Until Takashi speaks up. “I hear Shin and the guys are going to Daisuke's house party. With Noriko, Kou and Chisako.” He admitted.

“Great, hope they shut his big mouth up.” Yukiko stated blandly, rolling her eyes.

“We are better than that.” Takashi shook his head, giving her a scolding look. “Other than them, those other men are going as well… the rest of that one group…”

“That could be a problem, huh…?” Minami frowns.

“Yea. So maybeee…”

“... What are you suggesting we do then? We can't just tell Daisuke to call off his own party. He'd obviously decline.” Yukiko says.

“We just attend the party, get him to invite these two.” Takashi motions to Haruko and Minami, the two sharing nervous looks.

“Are you crazy? We can't bring them to that, those parties are–”

“Haruko is our distraction, Minami provides extra eyes, and helps to alleviate the situation.” Takashi tries, explaining briefly. “We need them there.”

“Right, because that's all you ever consider her lately…”

“It's really not a secret that she's a hot topic around campus.” Takashi continues. “The Ishikawa-kai think fondly of her too, considering they targeted a whole group of men for her. I just think maybe it'd be best to have her keep them distracted until the guys are all gone. Which shouldn't take too long… Shin usually gives up if there aren't any girls that are interested in what he has to offer…”

“Distract them on your own.” Yukiko deadpanned, glaring at her own brother harshly.

“What can I do? Chisako isn't too fond of me, remember? So her friends won't be fond of me either. Let's discuss this with Uehara tomorrow. I'm sure she'll–” Takashi pauses when he realizes Haruko had stopped walking with them “What's wrong?”

“Sorry. I think I'm going to go practice some more…” Haruko admitted to them after a moment of silence. She held the ball tightly in her hands. “I just need to let out some steam, I guess. Maybe go to the gym…?”

“Eh?? You shouldn't at this time…” Yukiko shook her head. “The body…” she trails off wearily.

“We already have an inclination of who might have done it. And like Takashi said, the group thinks fondly of me. So it'll be okay if I go to work out.” Haruko reassures. “I'll be sure to call when I get home, okay?”

“Are you sure, Haru??” Minami frowns slightly, clutching at her bag

“I'm sure.” Haruko nods. “Please get Minami home safely?” She looks between the twins. “See you guys later.” She waves them off, heading in the direction of the gym near her home instead.

“Be safe!” Takashi called out, watching her throw a thumbs up as she walked away. He looks at the other two, “Let's go.”

*

When it became midnight, Yukiko came out of her room to go downstairs into the living room to see her siblings sitting around while watching TV.

She yawns loudly, getting their attention.

“Goodness. What happened? You were sleeping so soundly when I last went to check on you.” Erina chuckles when Yukiko sat beside her, resting her head on her lap. Erina brings a blanket over her. “Be careful with what you wear, Yuki. It's been getting cold lately.”

“Mmn, nothin’...” Yukiko grumbles. She glances at the TV screen before looking at the time on the wall. Yukiko sits up to look at her phone curiously.

No new notifications.

“Did Haruko text or call you, Takashi…?” Yukiko asks, glancing at him lazily.

“No? I thought she called you.” Takashi answered, he looked at his own phone. “Didn't she call you??”

“No, I went to sleep… I didn't get anything either…”

They shared a weary look with one another, a cold chill running down their spines at the thought of what's to come.

“Is something the matter? What's wrong?” Erina asks, looking between the two worriedly. She pets Yukiko's head to ease the anxiety in her eyes.

“Haruko… she… she uh– she went to the gym to work out and practice some more.” Takashi admits carefully, he notices Reika's expression right away, preparing for the worst from her.

“What!? And you idiots just let her go off on her own???” Reika shot out of her seat quickly, clutching at her phone. “Was no one listening when I said they found a student dead??” She stated blandly, taking in their guilt-ridden faces. Reika scoffs and goes to her room for a moment, coming back out with a jacket over herself.

The three take notice of the strap around her waist as she slides a decently sized knife into the sheath that hid on her back. “I'm going.” She announced, walking out the front door.

“Reika?? Wait!” Erina calls out, she stands up as well and goes to pull her shoes on. “You two stay here, I can't let her go alone.”

“L-Let us come too!” Takashi tried. “She's our friend!” They hurry to put their own footwear on as well. Erina had no time to reject the proposition as she made sure the door was locked.

The three hurry after Reika to look around for Haruko. Texting and calling her phone whenever they could as they looked and checked the gyms nearby.

*

After almost half an hour they come to a stop, “This is going nowhere. We should split up.” Yukiko suggested. “We can cover more ground that way…”

“That's too–” Erina was cut off again, the two pleading with her.

“Pleaseee.. we need to find her quickly.”

“...Ugh. Fine, but at least try to stay with each other??” Erina warns the two briefly, kissing their forehead. “I'm going to keep following Reika, call me if you find Haruko, okay??”

“Okay!”

*

“Let's split up too.” Yukiko suggested when they had searched more.

“What?? Erina said we needed to stay together.”

“Erina isn't here. We're not making much difference this way..” Yukiko huffs. “I need to find Haruko.” she said seriously, her fists clenched.

“But…”

“For God's sake, I can take care of myself.” Yukiko reminded him.

“Fine but be careful. Seriously!” Takashi shouted after her when he realized she was walking away already. He made sure to watch which direction she went down first before going on his own search.

He finds himself at the playground in the midst of their turf to analyze the area closely. A pang of relief hits him when he notices a familiar pair of blue eyes, a woman standing just at the top of the slide that stood dead center of the playground.

Takashi jogs over, “Hey…” he called out, staring up at her.

“Oh… hey.” Haruko greeted him back, snapping out of her daze to face him.

“What're you doing out here…?” Takashi explained quietly.

“I don't know… I just– I came here after working out and just decided to chill up here.” Haruko admitted, she goes back to staring at the moon.

“Is something wrong, Haruko?”

‘Was something wrong…?’ Haruko pressed her lips into a thin line, thinking about it. “Nothing that I can think of…” she mumbled.

“Can you come down here so we can talk…?” Takashi suggests he motions to the swing set.

Haruko nods slightly, going down the slide. She follows him over to the swings, the two sitting on different ones.

“Do you know what time it is?”

“Past midnight.”

“And you're just out here… doing nothing…?” Takashi takes the basketball out of her hands. He noticed she had picked it up and started fidgeting with it.

“Pretty much.” Haruko huffs, she holds onto the chains that keep the swing up and leans back dangerously. “...It's complicated.”

“Well, does any of this complication have to do with Shizuka?”

“Maybe? I don't know… yea… She looked happy.” Haruko sighs. “ Why does it feel like all I ever do is frustrate her…? My decisions lately– I don't know… I hate disappointing people…” she admits, speaking from experience.

“She's getting too worked up on her own, that's her fault. She's fighting her demons I suppose and taking it out on us.” Takashi scoffs.

Haruko sits back up, leaning her head against the chain. “I guess…”

“Is that all… or?”

“I'm overwhelmed.”

“By?”

“I just–...” Haruko thought about it, glancing at the boy wearily. Was he being controlled right now…? It didn't seem like it. “I'm used to being alone. Being surrounded by so many people gets exhausting for someone like me… Sorry, It just feels like a lot lately…” she sighs, slouching over.

“That's alright, go at your own pace.” Said Takashi. “This whole mess wasn't even your fight to begin with, you got dragged into it with Minami and I'm sorry that happened. We're all just… frustrated? And I guess sometimes we take those frustrations out on people who don't deserve that.” He was referring to her situation with Shizuka and Yukiko and she knew that.

“...” She just sits quietly, listening to him speak. She pushes herself slightly on the swing, making it sway a bit.

“Ready to go home?” Takashi asks after a moment.

“Sure.”

“Let's go find the other three. Erina, Reika and Yukiko came out looking for you too.” Takashi admitted, he hops off the swing set.

“Shouldn't you have called them to tell them you found me already?”

“Oh right.. I should've done that first actually.” He calls to get their location and figure out where to meet up.

Haruko follows him quietly, holding her bag.

*

'Well this is a predicament...'

“Who the hell are these guys…?” Takashi questions, peeking around the corner.

He had led Haruko towards the designated meeting area they had agreed in with the others only to see that they were surrounded by a bunch of gruff looking people. About 5 people to be exact, two women and three men. 

Reika stood protectively in front of the other two... tried to at least. She hissed when one of the women tugs on Yukiko's hair teasingly, slapping her hand away. 

"What are the Hasegawa doing out this late at night? Shouldn't you kids be sleeping by now??" The women snickered, "Where are your lackies?"

"Back off. Don't you dare touch my sister." Reika snapped, she slaps her hand away. "I'll kill all of you." she deadpanned, it was a serious threat but there was no telling if she could take all of them at once. 

"Try it. Look at us." One of the men motions, "You're out numbered." he chortles. 

"Grr..." Reika glared directly at him, her gaze so intense it was like daggers. 

"Uh-oh~" Reika heard, tensing when a woman snuck behind them. The woman slipping her way past Reika from behind, snatching the knife from around her waist. "Look who came prepared." she hums, spinning it around as she walks over to her friends.

"Hmm... they're going to find this amusing." The man commented. "Hasegawa aren't on the list but we can find a way to fit them in!" 

"Idiots... if they're not on the list we shouldn't even bother... We have other things to worry about right now..." A calmer man tried, holding on tightly to a sports bag at his side. 

"Shove off." What seemed to have been the leader of this group steppe dup and grabbed Reika by the cheeks. He harshly pulls her close before caressing her jaw. "Huh? You know what, these three a pretty cute..." he mumbled, staring at her closely.

"Drop it." The calmer of the group tried again, "We seriously don't have time for this..."

"Shut up, let me have my fun will ya?" Their leader snickered, he took the knife from the woman that was spinning it around easily. "You'll let me do that, right?" he practically threatened Reika, pressing the knife against her neck. 

"..." Reika bit harshly onto her own lip, holding her harsh glare. 

"Should I start with your sisters then?" He offered, an almost sadistic grin on his face. The man looks behind Reika to take in the sight of Yukiko and Erina. 

Erina glares, hiding Yukiko behind her. 

"Oh? I'll start with her then, since you both seem so protective." The man shoves Reika to the side and makes his way towards Yukiko. Erina's eyes follow her quickly, worried Reika would get hurt somehow. The figures approaching her going unnoticed, she gasps when the women tug her away as well, holding her by the arms.

"Come here." He growls, grasping Yukiko by the hair, tugging her closer. 

"Yuki...!" Erina struggles to pull her arms out from the women, shoving her elbow into their face when she could but ultimately subdued in place. 

"Don't--!" Reika got out hoarsely. "Stop!! Fine...!" she got out, her fists clenching tightly. "D-...Don't touch her..."

There was a pause, "Hmph... Good." The leader snickered, grinning widely. "I'll have my way then we can get rid of them afterwards, that'll please the bosses."

"... No it won't.." The calmer man grumbled, he grunts when the leader shoves him off. "Seriously, don't do anything... we're supposed to be delivering these..." he blurted out, figuring he could since they had the intent of harming the three women.

"Go keep watch then, I'm sure we'll be fine if they don't catch us." The leader hums, he puts an arm around Reika's shoulders and spins the knife around playfully. "Come..." he motions to the alley way. 

*

Takashi's fist clenches as they watch, he couldn't fight all of them on his own. But also, he didn't know how to approach without risking his older sister's safety. "Fuck..." he punches the wall nearby.

"Takashi, hold this." Haruko grumbles, handing him her things quickly. She peels her jacket off to leave her in the tank top she had worked out in and tousled her hair around. 

"W-What are you going to do...??" Takashi asks worriedly. "Haruko, be careful..."

"Don't worry, try to jump in when you can." 

"B-But--"

He was too late to stop her, peeking from the corner still to see Haruko rushing up to them tiredly. 

*

"E-Excuse me...!" She called out in English suddenly, the man quickly hiding the knife behind his back as they whip their heads around to see Haruko approaching them with sweat dripping down her forehead. "P-Please help me..." she got out shakily, her movement seemingly different to the others, she seemed frail. 

"What's this?? A foreigner...?" The man hums in awe, watching as Haruko runs up to him. Resting her hands on his chest. He let Reika go a bit to place his hand on her shoulders. 

"Please, sir... I need help..." Haruko repeated, sobbing into his chest. 

"What do you need, sweetheart?" He asks, his grin growing wide as she caresses her back lightly. Before his hand could get any lower though, Haruko strikes. 

THWACK

"Shi--" He grunts loudly when Haruko headbutted him hard, causing the man to stumble backwards. She lunges forward when she saw his hand loosen around the weapon, slapping it out of his hand quickly. 

"What the fuck...!?" The other burly man that stood by tensed, he approaches her quickly. When he was going to step in and grab her, he was thrown off by a basketball hitting him in the head from a different angle. "W..What??" He turned slowly, glaring at whoever threw that. 

Only to witness Takashi jumping towards him, kicking his chest harshly and shoving him down. "Step away from my sisters, you pricks!!" Takashi hissed, his eyes filled with rage before he attacked the one holding the bag.

'Ow, ow, ow...' Haruko groans, holding her head in pain. She looks up to see the women trying to help the man that she had headbutted back up. She scrambles quickly to pick up the knife that was on the side of the street, hurrying to give it back to Reika. 

"H-Haruko..." Reika gasps, taking the knife in surprise. Baffled when Haruko proceeds to push them off to the side where they were out of fighting distance. 

"Stay here... do NOT move from this spot. " Haruko suggested, she wasn't worried if she ever gets hurt in the game. Hell, she wasn't worried if they killed her in all honesty. She was just going to be revived again anyways. 

A character dying though? That's another story...

Haruko glances back to look at Takashi worriedly, he was in the middle of blocking some attacks from the women, who had picked up metal pipes they had brought along with them to begin with. 

And the main character dying?? 

She didn't want to risk any of that at all. 

Haruko hadn't a clue of how to fight, but she figured the body would do it's own thing if she allowed it. She hurries back into the brawl, her fist coming in contact with one of the women's face. 

She winches at the sound of bone meeting bone, a loud cracking sound heard. The woman was sent stumbling off to the side. Haruko then grabs the other one by the hair, tugging her back harshly until she falls backwards, allowing Takashi to move freely and focus on the other guys. Haruko was quick to kick the woman on the ground, hitting her right where it hurts to keep her down for a bit longer, that way she could take care of them one at a time. 

 "You--!!" The woman hissed, holding her cheek in pain. 

'Shit...' Haruko glares back, holding her arms up. She keeps her chin tucked, keeping a close eye on the woman's movement, holding her hands up to guard her face with her elbows tucked in as well. 

She's met with the screeching woman running up at her, swinging the metal pole around. Haruko dodges swiftly bobbing and weaving the attacks, until she finds her back against the wall and the woman was able to land some hits on her. 'Fuck, fuck, this hurts...' she thought as she waited for her moment to counter.

When she catches her lift her arms up for an attack, Haruko quickly tackles her from her midriff. Bringing the woman down to the ground. 

The pipe clangs at it hits the ground, falling out of her hands. And before the woman could reach for it again, Haruko kicks it further away. 

She began to punch at what she could, she didn't know if it was the right way of doing it but she wasn't going to stop. They weren't going to hurt them. 

"AGH...!!" She heard Takashi grunt, glancing up wearily to see that Takashi was being punched by one of the burly men. The other one on the ground, beaten badly. 

"Takashi..!" Haruko calls out, "Hold on--" she gasps when she felt someone pull her hair back. Looking up to see the other woman there, she had gotten back up.

"You little witch..." The woman sneered, wiping away some of the blood dripping down her nose. "I'll kill you..." She spat right into her face.

Haruko glared back at her, wincing at how tightly she was holding her hair. The other one that was beneath her reaching up to grab her by the neck, squeezing tightly.

"Haru!" Yukiko called out, about to step in. They all wanted to step in and do something. 

She notices in the corner of her eye, Reika trying to sneak up as well. "Reika, don't move!" Haruko heaves out, yelling at her. The other two taking steps forward.

"D-Don't!" Haruko tried, she yelled at her, "Don't move!!" she growled. She shuffles forward to grasp the woman beneath her by her head using her thighs, keeping her arm between her legs in place but squeezing it enough to make her lose feeling. 

She grabs the other woman, the one tugging at her hair, by her wrist to control how much she was pulling on her. She jolts her forward suddenly, and punches right above her elbow joint. Causing the woman to let go in pain, Haruko took this as a chance. She moves her grab on the woman's wrist to her sleeve, and when she hunches over in pain... she grabs the woman by her collar on the opposite side and throws her over her shoulder. 

Slamming her body into the other woman beneath her. 

'Okay, Haruko... you're kind of good at fighting...' Haruko thought, getting up when she realized the two women were out cold. She looks up to see Takashi in the middle of kicking the burly man. He was able to handle the man on his own, 'Thank god...' 

She notices the man holding the bag backing up quietly, trying to make his escape. 'The bag...' Haruko thought, staring at it. 'I need that bag...' she stood back up, walking up to him slowly.  Haruko looks around, taking the pipe on the ground that was beside her foot.

"Give me the bag." She demanded.

"N-No way..." He shook his head before taking off, running a few feet away from the others. Haruko chases after him, she grabbed at the strap of the bag, pulling him back harshly.  

"It wasn't an option..." She grumbled in annoyance. "I'm really sorry about this..." she tells him quietly. 

"P-Please... they'll kill me, they'll kill my whole family..." The man pleaded quietly, backing away. His legs trembling in fear. 

Haruko hesitates at first when she heard that, her hands faltering. "I--..." she didn't want this man to just lose everything from her taking the bag. She gnaws at her lower lip harshly, pondering her next move.

But he made that for her.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!" The man screams desperately. 

Haruko snaps out of her daze when she notices him running right at her with a knife in his hands. She clenched her teeth, taking a step back quickly and swings the pipe upwards just as he got close. 

CRACK

The sound of the pipe coming into contact with his chin echoed loudly. "Ugh...!" Haruko grunted when the knife almost hits her left eye as the man falls back, barely missing as it cuts her eyebrow instead.

She watches as he fell backwards -- it was slow and heavy, his body hitting the floor with a loud thud. 

'Ugh... fuck...' She fell to her knees in pain, the adrenaline wearing off when her body realized she had taken care of most of them. Haruko reaches towards the bag, opening it slightly while she was down to see hundreds of packets of the drug, large blocks of it, and an envelope that was addressed to someone. She couldn't exactly read it right now, her eyes were getting a bit blurry. But she smuggles the letter, shoving it into her pocket. 

"R-Retreat!!" The burly man shouted, backing away from Takashi. He rushes past Haruko, picking up the man she had just knocked out and dragging him away. 

The two women picking themselves up when they were conscious enough. They were left to drag the last man away, screaming profanities at the group that Haruko chose not to listen to. 

Once they were gone and out of sight, Takashi approaches her quickly. "Are you alright??" He asks worriedly, helping Haruko up to her feet.

"Peachy..." Haruko grumbles, holding her bloody face. 'God, can't I just die instead-- never mind, I would be crazy to want to repeat this whole shit show of a day...' 

They approach the other three tiredly, Haruko having put her arm around Takashi's shoulders as he helps her move around. "Are you three okay??" He asks, looking between his sisters. He's met with Erina and Yukiko hugging them tightly. 

Haruko places a hesitant arm around Yukiko's body, holding her in slight pain. "Are you hurt anywhere...? I saw them grabbing your hair." she grumbles, touching the parts they had touched harshly. 

"I-I'm not... b-but you two are..." Yukiko pointed out, she was teary eyed and frowning. Making Haruko awkward, she's not used to people crying in front of her like this. She winches when Yukiko reaches up to hover the cut on her eyebrow. "Why did you do that...?" she asks Haruko directly. 

"Takashi wasn't going to hit the girls..." Haruko shook her head. "I couldn't just let him take all of that by himself, they were hitting him with a pipe..."

"You're coming home with us, this instant." Erina demanded, even she had some tears forming at her eyes. "I will take care of your wounds and you will be staying over."

"B-But--"

"You don't have room to decline, missy." Erina scolded, "You are staying over and that's final. At least for tonight, Haruko. Please..."

"I-I guess so..." There's no fighting an older sister who has set her mind on something. They're all stubborn. 

"Good. Let's go." She motions, Reika helping Takashi bring Haruko along. 

They head back to the Hasegawa household.