Leave it to Misaki

“Haibara!”

Akio wasn’t sure if it was him who said it or someone else, but he didn’t hesitate to throw a right elbow backward as his attackers stood there in a daze. It slammed into someone’s nose, breaking the grip on him.

Before someone else could counter, Misaki grabbed another stunned opponent and hurled him at Akio and his captors. There was a collective scream as they were all bowled over and scattered, somehow missing only Akio.

He hadn’t expected a body to come flying toward him, but he opened his eyes and looked around to see freedom. In an instant, he had moved over to Misaki, and she had stepped in between the crowd, evening the odds.

One look at her face and it was clear that she was ticked off. Akio felt somewhat relieved that she hadn’t abandoned him completely, but he shook it off.

Misaki’s expression darkened.

“So you were the ones doing it. Figures that rats collude where trash smells the worst. The only way to get rid of it is to remove the source.”

“Back to a girlfriend voice, I see.”

Akio could feel it – the crazed bloodlust, but at the same time, tempered by her desire to be a proper companion. She reached down under her skirt, and in that moment, he knew he needed to act. With both hands, he gripped her by the wrist, hoping that joints would stall her long enough.

It barely kept the grasped blade in place. He had stopped her from playing ‘Operation’ on Tanimura’s face. Misaki gave him a look of disbelief, wondering why he would let such a thing pass.

Akio’s mind spun as he collected reasons.

Knowing what she was capable of, Tanimura would become a stain on the grass. But they were at school. There were witnesses. Even she couldn’t get off with murder in broad daylight. And if she were to go away because of that, because she was defending him, then he couldn’t bear it.

Akio had to absorb some of that rage himself.

“Get back, you damn yankee! Go find a thug to bury ass up in your bed of pansies! You really think I can’t take care of my own schoolyard brawls?!”

Misaki’s other hand clamped over his other two hands and squeezed. Pain flared up his arms as he no longer was sure who was holding onto who. She glared at him and let out a deep breath, still aware as to who had insulted her.

Her rage was tempered by her affection for him. He couldn’t think of any other reason. Because of that, she needed one more push. “This is my fight, Misaki.”

Her body went slack in that moment, and Akio broke free. She stood there, fighting to digest the fact that he had used her first name. All the rage turned to redness in her cheeks. It was somehow cute to see her like this.

“Can I count on you to guard my back so I can have a fair one-on-one?”

“Hehehe, leave it to me~~~”

Misaki’s tone was a mixture of enamor and poison. He could trust those words spoken to him. It was the best medicine to invoke his courage. He looked back at Tanimura, who was unsure what the hell had even happened. He traded glances between Akio and Misaki, still expecting her to jump in at a moment’s notice. His body language spoke of unfairness in how the situation reversed.

“I’m not that cheap, Tanimura. I don’t play games like that. You got beef with me? We’ll settle it between ourselves.” He turned toward Misaki. “You got that?! You try to butt in, and I’ll shank you myself! I don’t care if I die in the process, I’ll find some way!”

Both Misaki and Tanimura stared at him, wide-eyed. The lackeys that had woken up also did the same. Even Akio himself no longer knew what he was saying anymore. He was simply tired of holding back. He was tired of being reasonable. Misaki was the first to crack a smile and nod for him to go ahead.

Fighting was just his way of venting for everything that had happened.

He ran up to Tanimura, planting a firm right cross into his left cheek. That swiftly knocked some sense back into him. A wide uppercut was thrown in response, but Akio moved to the side and clinched his opponent, driving a quick knee into his stomach. A gag bubbled from Tanimura’s mouth, making it clear how effective the blow was.

His stunned opponent could easily tell. He was outclassed by Akio. Ganging up on him hadn’t given Tanimura the chance to realize that until now. The bullied ones were often seen as weak and unable to defend themselves. Their meekness and hesitancy to invite trouble were taken advantage of. Even Akio had fallen victim to that kind of thinking.

It took Misaki’s actions for Akio to say, ‘screw the rules’. His fist hammered Tanimura’s shoulder, bringing him to his knees. A pathetic slap reached out to catch Akio, but he grabbed the hand easily. It had far less bite than Misaki when she was messing around. It was hardly worth even defending against.

A twist of his hand, and Tanimura was begging, his other hand slapping the ground like a forfeited match. Akio brought his face right up to the stuttering, wailing mess of shallow apologies. His face darkened as he glared right at Tanimura.

“You go tell all you care to about what happened here. That I beat you into the ground. Not Haibara, but me. And if they think that shit is going to fly anymore around me, I’ll snap again. Consequences be damned.”

Tanimura gave a low yelp of understanding, nodding his head with deer-stricken eyes. Akio let go of his hand, letting him tumble to the ground to nurse it. Before long, he started crawling away, frantically escaping behind a building.

His lackeys followed suit, each giving Misaki a nervous glance before understanding that they were all being let go for now. She bared her fangs at them as a warning for the future.

Even after they had all left, several moments of silence blanketed the area. Misaki wandered over and wrapped her arms around Akio.

“Your legs are still shaking.”

“Glad you’re the only one that noticed,” Akio said, collapsing to the ground. He brought his knees in to rub the fear out of them.

Misaki crouched down, beaming a smile at him.

“Where’d you learn how to fight? That wasn’t half bad.”

“Shadow boxing and image training. With all the trouble I was getting into, felt like it would come in handy. I saw this Japanese boxer, some world champ, who people kept underestimating. He keeps his guard low and lashes out when his opponent comes in for the attack.”

“So that’s why you always wait for me to attack.”

“No, that’s just because I’m scared of you.”

Misaki giggled. It seemed out of place for her to do so. But then again, nothing was a certainty with her. Akio had seen her violent and dangerous side. That made her cutesy actions seem like an act, but he was fooled for the moment.

She extended her hand and helped him up. He was pulled into a firm but comforting hug.

“You have good eyes.”

Akio sighed at that compliment.

“Next thing, you’ll tell me that you actually like my insults.”

“Maybe I do.”

“Really? There were several times I thought you were going to kill me.”

Misaki looked down, pouting. Almost embarrassed about herself.

“I can’t control it. My body just moves, acts. I don’t do well with people. If something bothers me, I take care of it. It doesn’t matter what. I’ll find some outlet to express myself.”

Misaki squeezed, a little too tightly. Akio could feel his bones bending in strange ways.

“But that’s why I feel like I can’t let you go. I tried but then I found myself trailing you, stalking you, making sure that you’re safe.”

“At this rate… I’m going to die in your arms!” Akio squeaked out, his resistance wearing thin. She let loose almost immediately.

Misaki looked a bit lost, small even. It was moments like these that Akio had no idea what to do anymore. To anyone else, her hesitation was hardly noticeable, but he somehow felt it. It was like reason and sanity could go out the window if it meant having one person to believe in. He reached over and cupped her hands, letting out a sigh of resolution.

“Dammit, I know I’m going to regret this, but… I’m not going anywhere. Be my girlfriend or whatever, but try to go easy on me.”

Misaki’s face lit up. She was a mess of extremes, and Akio had no choice but to endure them. He decided that the best way was to cut away his hesitations and just dive right in.

“And before I forget, thanks for saving me. I don’t think I would have used force to resolve the problem if it weren’t for you, but maybe letting loose occasionally isn’t so wrong.”

Misaki was definitely a bad influence on him, but being ‘good’ all the time didn’t always work. And if he was lucky, maybe she would take some of his ‘good’ in exchange.

As they walked out of the school grounds, holding hands, Misaki pulled him closer. Her face snuggled against his shoulder.

“I still can’t bear to see anyone else kill you but me. Just say the word, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

…Maybe she would need to take a lot more of his ‘good’ than expected.