Chapter 13: Akiyama Village is Full of Pests

She turns to our group, 1-B. "Group C will be clearing the stream at the edge of the forest."

Oh, great. The forest. The place right next to the creepy shed with the local bullies. She's gotta be kidding me.

My friends Ken and Taka are oblivious, just happy to be outside. "Sweet! We can slack off!" Taka whispers.

I just grab a pair of work gloves, my eyes glued to the three thugs. They're still leaning against the shed, smoking, their eyes following every girl in our class.

Ayako sees me watching. She gives me a look. It's not a warning. It's a command.

Do not cause trouble.

I just sigh and follow my group toward the stream.

For an hour, it's actually... peaceful. We're pulling weeds, clearing rocks. Tanaka-sensei is half-asleep in a camping chair.

"Man, this is boring," Taka complains, splashing water on Ken.

"Better than class," Ken shoots back.

That's when they show up.

The three village thugs. They saunter over, hands in their pockets, that same greasy look on their faces.

"Well, well," says the leader, the one with the shaved head. "Look at the little city kids, playin' in the dirt."

Tanaka-sensei actually sits up. "Uh, gentlemen. This is a school project. Please..."

"Shut it, old man," Shaved-Head snarls. He looks at Taka and Ken. "Give us your wallets. And your phones. A 'thank you' for letting you visit our village."

My fist clenches. That old, familiar fire starts to burn.

"Get lost," I say, standing up.

The three of them turn to me. "What'd you say, city boy?"

"I said, get lost," I say, my voice low. "I'm tired of idiots like you. You're predictable."

"Shoujo, don't!" Ken whispers, grabbing my arm.

"A tough guy, huh?" Shaved-Head laughs. He shoves Ken, hard. "What're you gonna do, huh? Your mommy's not here!"

He shoves Ken again.

"Stop," a voice says. A cold, clear voice.

Ayako Katsumi is standing there, clipboard in hand. "You are interfering with a Shinjin High School volunteer event. I must ask you to leave. Now."

Shaved-Head's eyes go wide. He looks Ayako up and down, a nasty smile spreading across his face.

"Whoa... look what we have here," he says, taking a step toward her. "A real city princess. You're the prettiest one of the bunch. Why don't you... ask me nicely?"

He reaches out to grab her wrist.

I'm moving before I even think.

But she's faster.

The instant his fingers brush her sleeve, she moves. It's not the dojo. It's faster. She pivots on her heel, grabs his wrist, and uses his own momentum to flip him.

He goes flying over her shoulder and lands flat on his back in the muddy stream. SPLASH!

We all just... stare.

The other two thugs are frozen, their mouths open. Taka and Ken look like they've seen a ghost.

Ayako stands there, perfectly balanced, her hand still in the air. She doesn't even have mud on her.

"What... what the hell, you bitch!" one of the other guys yells, snapping out of it. He charges... at me.

I guess I look like the easier target.

He throws a wild, clumsy punch.

I don't even think. My body just reacts. Horse stance. Kiba Dachi.

I sink my weight, feel the power connect from my heel, through my hip, and snap. My fist, the tsuki I've practiced a thousand times, shoots out.

It connects. Not with his face. With his solar plexus.

THUD.

The air explodes out of him. He doesn't fly back. He just... crumples. He folds in half and hits the dirt, gasping like a fish.

One.

Two.

The last one, Shaved-Head, scrambles out of the stream, his face purple with rage. He's screaming.

"You're dead! You're both dead!"

He pulls something from his back pocket.

A knife.

My blood runs cold. This isn't a fistfight anymore.

"Ayako, look out!"

He doesn't go for me. He goes for her. The one who humiliated him.

He lunges, the blade flashing in the sunlight.

Ayako's eyes are wide. She's a fighter, but this is... a weapon. She's moving, starting to block, but he's too fast, too wild.

I don't think. I just move.

I shove her. Hard.

I push her out of the way and turn my body, bringing my arm up.

I'm not fast enough to stop him. Just to intercept.

A white-hot, searing pain explodes in my left forearm.

I look down. The knife is... in me. It's stuck right in the muscle of my arm.

The world goes quiet.

Shaved-Head looks shocked, like he can't believe he actually did it. I'm shocked. Even Tanaka-sensei, who's screaming into his phone, is shocked.

Then I look at Ayako.

She's on the ground where I pushed her. And her face...

The mask is gone. The cold, analytical, presidential mask is totally gone.

Her eyes are black. They are completely, utterly empty and filled with a rage I have never seen. A rage that makes my blood freeze faster than the knife did.

"You..." she whispers.

She gets up.

Shaved-Head is still staring at the knife in my arm, confused.

Ayako moves.

Thwack. A palm-heel strike to his chin. His head snaps back. Crack. A precise, brutal kick to the side of his knee. His leg bends the wrong way. Thud. As he falls, she grabs his wrist—the one with the knife—and twists.

He screams. A high, thin, terrified sound. The knife clatters to the rocks.

She kicks it away.

By the time Tanaka-sensei and the other students come running, Ayako is standing there, breathing hard. The three bullies are on the ground. One is groaning, one is holding his knee and crying, and one is just... unconscious.

And I'm standing there, bleeding, with a stupid, stupid grin on my face.

"Your... your form..." I gasp, my arm on fire. "Was... fast."

Ayako spins around, her eyes still black. She looks at me. At the blood pouring down my arm.

"You idiot," she whispers.

Her voice is shaking.

"You absolute, inefficient, idiot."

She rips the sleeve off her own uniform, her hands trembling, and starts wrapping my arm, tight.

She's right. I'm an idiot.

But... she's shaking. The goddess... is shaking.