A Rival for Misaki

“Yuunagi Tsubame. Quite the bio on this one.” Kitsune brandished a notepad, like he was imitating detective work. He licked his finger and thumbed through the sheets to be dramatic.

“Anything that I should know that would get me killed?”

Akio had every reason to exploit Kitsune back for putting the spotlight onto him. He had always tried to draw as little attention to himself as possible. That gave fewer opportunities for his lips to betray him. Now, it looked like trouble came around at every corner.

It had become a game of sorts.

Misaki purposefully pulled him into a kabedon right in the middle of the school entryway the next day, igniting an open display of affection. A crowd formed and cheered, until it attracted the attention of Yuunagi, the head of the disciplinary committee.

“Didn’t I warn you yesterday? Such perverseness is not allowed on school grounds!”

“I’d like to see you make me.”

Few words were needed before Misaki and Yuunagi exchanged blows. The two girls reached out to grab the other, forming an impromptu wrestling match.

It was clear that Yuunagi had considerable skill, batting away any attempts at being picked off her feet. Misaki had the strength to lift a grown man and toss him into the display boards, tens of meters above the batting grounds. A normal girl like Yuunagi would be sent to the moon.

Yuunagi’s smaller stature allowed her to duck right under Misaki’s attempts. But rather than fear such monstrous strength, she tucked herself deeper in. A quick bump into Misaki’s lower torso and a grip of her shirt launched the much bigger girl into a shoulder throw.

Seeing Misaki get tossed so casually never ceased to amaze Akio. But his girlfriend was just as impressive, doing a flip before landing on her feet. A grin was on her face, like she was contemplating the next moves to a strategy game. Nevertheless, she charged right in again.

Arms lashed out, blindingly fast. Akio thought he could follow her movements after being in a few fights at her side, but now, his confidence plummeted to NPC level. A gap in his own development grew to several training arcs needed to keep up.

Despite that, he did notice a change in the flow of the fight.

Misaki remained all grins, managing to stay on her feet this time. Her body looped around and around, breaking free from Yuunagi’s grabs before her momentum could be used against her.

Their bodies rubbed against each other, enough so that Akio felt the heat rising within him. He stared at clothing bunched around their curves, skirts lifting up to flash panties, and back bends that highlighted their ample chests.

The crowd around them were no less affected, blushes creeping upon their expressions at this martial arts Twister that was turning somewhat erotic. As if picking up on this, Yunnagi made some distance to clear the air and fix her clothes. She looked a bit peeved at being dragged into the perverted rhythm of Misaki’s command.

Shamelessly, Misaki dove right in for another round. Yuunagi pulled at her belt, revealing a very long rope that had been cleverly disguised. In a blink of an eye, she whipped it out and around Misaki’s body, wrapping her up into a bundle that fell to the ground.

The battle had ended with a swift victory for Yuunagi, who huffed before proceeding to clear the hallway for classes to start.

Akio bent down and tried to pull the rope free.

“Nngh! Harder!” Misaki cried out, making heads turn back to them.

Akio playfully whacked her on the top of the head for that comment. He flinched as his natural instinct to tsukkomi had made him absentmindedly strike her. Several flags of danger were raised as Misaki turned to him with eyes that screamed, ‘What the hell did you just do?’

Akio held his breath, waiting for how she would retort.

“Say, could you call me a ‘stupid bitch’ and give me a kick?”

“WHAT THE HELL?! BITCH, PLEASE!”

A shiver ran down Misaki’s spine as she slinked involuntarily like a caterpillar.

“Wait, no. I didn’t mean that! I didn’t! God dammit!”

Misaki was giggling like her screws had just been loosened even further. Akio looked around to see expressions of disgust shot at him. Even knowing how abusive Misaki could be, he couldn’t help but feel horribly wrong with it reversed.

Akio held his head down at his desk as he recalled all that, prompting him to seek Kitsune for help.

“Well, aside from a growing jealousy at having two of the most prominent girls in school fighting over you, I’d say she could murder you on the spot if you ever cross her. Congrats on becoming a harem protagonist.”

“Please, I could use the plot armor to keep me informed that I won’t just die from a misstep.” Akio shook his head at the jest. “Not like it’s me that they are interested in. I’m just an excuse for them to butt heads on personal views.”

Akio snatched the notepad from Kitsune, taking a look at his notes. His eyes jittered in anxiety as he skimmed Yuunagi’s credentials.

“Master martial artist in Taijiquan? Wait, isn’t that the thing that Chinese grandpas do for exercise?”

“At a low level, sure. But do you think a grandpa exercise can really defend against a yankee that has single-handedly crushed gangs? That’s some Erase-Me Doobles level of magical girl shenanigans.”

Akio held up a palm. “I don’t need to know your weeb references. It’s not going to save me from dying.”

“To put it bluntly, Taijiquan is a fighting style that redirects the momentum of attacks and adds it to your own. The way to fight a monster is to have it punch itself, essentially.”

Akio thought back to the fights between them. He did notice that Yuunagi mostly went with counters. The power of those throws had the same awe to them as Misaki herself. Of course, harnessing that momentum was the reason behind it.

“Her parents are also on the police force, so she has the righteousness card in play as well. A cop’s kid on the disciplinary committee against a prominent yankee that does what she wants. Looks like it’ll be the match of the century. You have been upgraded to Wada Trophy.”

Akio felt like punching him for that, but he was only telling the truth. It didn’t help that impromptu betting pools between the students formed with each encounter. He sighed as his dream of having a normal life grew farther and farther away. Akio froze on a certain page as he shoved the notepad back in Kitsune’s face.

“Bets on who my innocence will be lost to? Haibara, Yuunagi, or Death?! It was you, you fricking asshole!”

Kitsune snatched the notepad, and zipped away, somehow faster than even Misaki could manage. Akio stomped after him, annoyed that death was by far the highest probability.

v

Misaki had found Akio after school, inviting him for the walk home. Since he had no reason to deny the date, he held his arm out for her. Rather, the chance to do more ‘normal’ things felt like a must.

Hmm… this is a bit heavy…

Several blocks down, he was still trying to get used to the awkwardness of her larger frame leaning on top of him, making it tougher to walk. It was no wonder that was why guys rarely draped themselves over their girlfriends in a similar fashion. Instinctual evolution made the shorter person cuter to be the hugger in the situation.

…Did that make him a beta?

Never mind, he was fine with Misaki hanging on top of him after all.

The two of them walked down the streets, passing by the local shopping district and transit hub near the school. Misaki pointed fingers at amusing clothing, lining Akio’s reflection right up to the mannequins in the window to play virtual dress-up with him.

They talked about what to have for an afternoon snack, finally choosing crepes to share. He found out that she liked strawberries and cream, which she strongarmed the shopkeeper into adding extra with a single overbearing grin.

Akio didn’t mind moments like this. At first, he thought being with Misaki meant having to cope all the time in order to enjoy their relationship. However, she was surprisingly normal when strange ideas didn’t strike her fancy.

Her crazy yankee personality was there when she needed it. It was a backup to make sure that no one would spoil her fun. It made him wonder how much of an act being a perfect girlfriend was.

“Hey look, there’s cream on your face, Akio-kun.”

“Huh, where? I thought I was being pretty clean.”

To his surprise, Misaki stuck the end of the crepe right into his cheek, before bending over to lick it up. Akio reached over and dabbed his finger in the crepe, trying to get her back. However, his finger was chomped on to block the assault.

“No fair, you’re way too good at this.”

Misaki giggled and twirled around, sticking her tongue out at him. Akio sighed in response, wondering if time would just stop. They continued walking and taking bites from the crepe until it was gone.

“Oh, it’s a game center.”

That perked up Akio. It was quite clear to Misaki that he was a gamer. It could have been said that she had the heart of one too, if her preference for more physical ones counted. The two of them veered into the entrance, where there was a spread of claw machines, rhythm games and shoot ‘em ups. Akio passed by a fighting game, immediately turning down the idea. He could totally imagine Misaki getting frustrated with the controls and sending a fist through the screen as a result.

Rather, he chose a dancing game that was intuitive by using one’s body. Of course, it didn’t take long for her natural skill to get used to the timing and motions. As expected of someone that was built differently.

Though, Akio had another reason for playing such a game. It felt rather satisfying for Misaki to follow in step with him, rather than the other way around. Constantly having to keep up with her monstrous abilities was challenging to say the least. He nodded in satisfaction when the scores came up and he was one grade letter better.

“My turn to choose something to play,” Misaki said to him.

“Sure, what’ll it be? Shooting game? Everyone like killing zombies.”

“You.”

“Me? What do you-”

A pair of hands held him by the face. Misaki didn’t hesitate to dive right in. It was hard to say what brought this on. Perhaps, it was because they finally had time alone. At school, any attempts at lip locking had been swiftly interrupted by Yuunagi. A fight ensued, leaving little time to pick up where they were. But here, they were in their own little world.

“Ehem.”

Oh no… not again.

Akio turned to the side, seeing Yuunagi’s face through the glass of a claw machine. She walked over with a look of disapproval. He wasn’t sure why, but he moved into a defensive stance, like he was just as guilty of indecency.

However, Yuunagi just sighed before turning the other way.

“Oh? Not going to have it out with me here?” Misaki heckled her rival of sorts, a bit disappointed.

“I have no jurisdiction here. We’d all get in trouble by starting something. As much as I disapprove, my authority doesn’t work outside of school.”

“Well, aren’t you a precious do-gooder? Does that mean we should find someplace out of sight to continue our enjoyment?”

Akio stepped in between the two of them, opening his big mouth.

“As much as the audience would be thrilled to see Haibara x Yuunagi go at it, I feel kind of neglected.” He quickly turned to Misaki, “and before you say it, I have no interest in being in the middle of that! Wipe that lewd grin off!”

“Aww, you’re no fun, Akio-kun.”

He knew full well that was not what Misaki meant. If he obliged, that meant being churned like butter by a whirlwind of attacks. He wasn’t suicidal enough to let his libido lead the way.

“What are you doing here anyways, Yuunagi-san?” Akio thought it was best to change the subject altogether, lest he be coerced down that path.

Yuunagi pointed to a stuffed Wan Wan Kamui in a claw machine. It was flopped over near the edge of the prize port, ears outstretched toward the exit like it was inching toward the end of a journey.

“I’ve been working on getting him, but then I saw you two, and it made me mess up. Now, I’m out of tokens.”

The way that Yuunagi pouted when she said that made Akio a little soft-hearted. He scratched his head before walking over to pop a token in. He brought the claw smoothly right onto Kamui-kun, hooking it by the rear end and flipping it into the dispenser. He bent down and grabbed the plush, tossing it over to her.

“Here, all good now, right?”

Yuunagi nodded, silently bowing before walking out of the arcade. It didn’t take long until a chilly whisper tickled his neck.

“Akio-kuuuun, aren’t you going to get your girlfriend a plush as well?”

“Uhhh, sure. Which one do you want?”

Misaki pointed at a magical girl looking plush, holding a scythe. It was partially buried under others.

“I can’t get that. It’s too stuck under other crap. Would have to waste too many tokens to get the others off it first.”

Misaki stared at the inside of the claw machine for a moment.

“Indeed. But I like it. It kind of vibes with me.”

Rearing back with her foot, she gave the machine a hearty kick, causing all the plushies inside to bounce around and reorganize. By some fortune, the one she wanted had ended up on top, close to the dispenser.

Before the attendant could come by to check out the loud noise, Akio swiftly played the claw once and knocked it into the hole. He grabbed the plush and Misaki’s hand, making a hasty escape.

After exiting the arcade, he finally had a chance to look down at the prize.