The Best Medicine for a Fight

The sound of battle echoed through the school courtyard. The two combatants were, of course, Misaki and Yuunagi, whose ideologies simply clashed when it came to following rules.

It had become somewhat of a lunch period pastime, as Akio looked on from a nearby bench. He took a sip of green tea from his thermos top, sighing at what had triggered the confrontation this time.

As usual, Misaki was being flirtatious, beckoning Akio to eat bites of her bento that she had prepared for him. If that had been all, there would simply be a quorum of jealous eyes to judge how saccharine the scene was.

But then, Misaki unbuttoned her top.

“Ah, Mr. Tako Wiener has fallen down my shirt! Would you be a dear and fetch it for me?”

Akio gulped at her provocation. The sets of eyes from before honed their gazes at her cleavage spilling out of her bra top as she propped it up with her arms. The longer he hesitated, the more she inched forward and pressed her chest upward. He felt uncomfortable, not only by being put on the spot, but also annoyed at others staring at Misaki lewdly.

Grabbing his chopsticks, he went fishing straight for it, the space in between the mounds.

A metal fan suddenly sent the chopsticks flying from Akio’s hands, where they clattered to the ground. Needless to say, such unsavory activity was frowned upon, which ticked Misaki off and gave her an excuse to start swinging.

Akio sunk back and continued munching on the bento that he had been given. The food was innocent in this ordeal, so he couldn’t very well ignore it.

As he sipped on his tea to cleanse his palette, the form of Misaki flying towards him triggered his instinct to stand and brace for impact. She landed with a thud against his body. Even with his feet planted on the ground, the sheer force nearly sent him tumbling back. Somehow, he managed to wrap his arms around her torso before landing not too hard onto the bench.

“Eh? Aren’t you going a bit overboard, Misaki?”

Akio could feel dampness from her back pressing against him. She was heaving a bit harder than normal too. Yunnagi was certainly a good fighter, but it wasn’t like Misaki to be shaken like this. She waved it off and stood up, but a slight wobble to her step before she corrected went noticed by him.

Focusing on the fight now, Akio suddenly realized. Her movements were a smidgen slower than normal. The sharpness of her aura had been dulled as well. To most people, they wouldn’t have picked up on it. But Akio had learned from constantly watching her. She was ferocious, free from hesitation, and carried a pin-point accuracy.

The Misaki before him was slipping, just enough for him to see that she was having a bad day.

“Don’t tell me…”

He stood up and charged forward. It was the only chance that he would have. With Misaki focused on her opponent to cover up her tells, he dashed right up to her and went for the legs.

Unfortunately, scooping her up in a princess carry had proven to be a terrible idea. As soon as her weight settled into his arms, an elbow flew out and crashed into the side of his head, knocking them both to the ground.

Yuunagi and the lunch crowd blinked vacantly at this unexpected interruption as Misaki tumbled to the side after Akio crumpled from being struck. Rubbing the sharp pain in his head from it, he got up regardless, before strike a fighting stance before Yuunagi.

“What are you doing, Wada-san?” Yuunagi cocked her head at him.

“Tagging in for my girlfriend. What do you think? I can’t have her falling any more ill on my behalf.”

Misaki had taken care of him just days ago. It was likely that she had caught whatever it was that knocked him out. Given how stubborn she was, it left only him to notice and care for her. The only way he could see her standing down was if he stepped in.

“Isn’t that foolish? I didn’t have the intention of bringing any disciplinary action to you.” Yuunagi looked a bit unsure, but her pose was still adamant to judge those before her.

“That’s mighty unfair. Don’t you think? Sure, Misaki may be to blame for provoking me, but it’s not like I’m innocent either. I was the one that held the chopsticks. Just like how I’m stepping in, I had every intention to help myself!”

Akio had his pride. He stopped being ashamed by his actions. If he was going to do something dumb, he had to start owning up to it. And as dumb as it was to face off against a Taijiquan master or whatever, he’d lick his wounds after the fact.

Akio threw a jab at Yuunagi’s side, keeping his power as low as possible. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to hit a girl… Well, not solely for that reason. The moment that Yuunagi’s hand grabbed his wrist proved his instincts right.

A pop and an unsightly sounding crack signaled that his wrist was being twisted right off the bone. He went with the direction of Yuunagi’s spin to keep from that being fulfilled. Eventually, his hand shot free from the dangerous vortex that came from attacking her.

A single stab into her defenses was like being eaten by a whirlwind that could tear him apart. If he had thrown a harder punch, an imaginary Akio would likely be sailing into the windows high above. He nursed his sore wrist, having doubts about tagging into the ring.

Looking back, he could tell Misaki was ready to jump right back in the moment he let up, so he charged forward with a kick before she could.

Instantly, the heavens and earth collided. Akio could no longer feel what was up or down anymore as he spun viciously in the air. Yuunagi had flicked his kick away like it was nothing. Just like the hand of a giant slapping him away, he landed like a fly against a windshield, feeling broken.

How the hell can Misaki handle that?! They are both monsters!

He could feel the rumble of the ground as Misaki ran up to him, cradling his battleworn body that had lasted for mere seconds.

“You should both head to the infirmary. I take it that you aren’t up to continuing our fight.”

Yuunagi’s gaze was undeterred. She stared down at them both before softening the slightest bit.

“I apologize for taking it too far. Please, just keep the doting to a respectable level.”

With that, she walked away. Akio couldn’t care the least bit as his vision went dark. His head was between thigh goodness.

v

Akio woke up to see the familiar medical curtains of the nurse’s office around him. Feeling something around his hand, he lifted it to see his wrist bandaged. He noticed one around his head also. Tossing off the light cover, he opened the curtain to see the back of the school nurse, Mikado-sensei.

She had light brown hair that draped over the back of a lab coat, curled up stylishly to stay out of her way. Noticing him, she spun around in her chair, brandishing a smile that was appropriate for a woman in her thirties caring for school children like her own.

“Let me guess, you’re wondering about your girlfriend.”

Akio nodded lightly.

“She’s sleeping over there. I gave her some medicine that’s strong enough to knock out an elephant. No funny business while I’m here.”

‘Appropriate’ at first glance.

Mikado brandished a large syringe menacingly with her statement. Apparently, there were rumors that she used to be a delinquent in her younger years. He couldn’t deny the possibility. The way she barely batted an eye at the strange injuries tipped him off. It was like she was used to handling the aftermath of Misaki’s rampages.

“Still, it’s so rare for her to willingly stop for a moment to rest. If it weren’t to bring in a certain boyfriend, I would never have met the reason behind the constant flow of hurt students.”

A shiver went down Akio spine. He bowed reflexively to apologize on Misaki’s behalf, but the nurse waved it off.

“Kidding. Just kidding. It breaks up the monotony of fevers and scrapes that you kids come in for. It gives me a chance to keep up on my field medic skills,” she answered with a sly grin.

“Field medic? Isn’t that for war zones-” Akio got chills as her smile grew wider. There was something unsettling with how she seemingly ‘enjoyed’ dealing with sources of pain.

Mikado walked over and pulled the curtain aside for the adjacent bed. Misaki was snoozing, messily sprawled on the bed. Akio was reminded of an unconscious body tossed there, almost feeling the syringe being injected to take her out. He made a note never to cross those with access to drugs.

The nurse jabbed a finger at Misaki’s face, teasingly. She poked and prodded her a few times with a grin.

“Well, here’s your chance, boy. Unguarded and easy to tease. Isn’t that the romance that young men dream about? But do keep it to nice touches. Wouldn’t want one of my scalpels to slip.”

Akio was a straightforward guy. Apparently, easy to read as a book too. He reached over and stroked Misaki’s cheek, savoring the feel of a normal interaction for once. Misaki’s personality made it difficult for him to try the simpler things. He would get caught up in her rhythm, get riled up unnecessarily, and finish the day, pent up.

With Misaki asleep, she was like any other pretty girl, except she was his. A hand brushed lightly against her black hair, feeling its silkiness. He teased the tips of her ears and traced a finger down her chin. Feeling down around her neck, it was no longer feverishly hot like she was before, yet the clamminess of evaporated sweat was still there.

He backed off for the moment, content with that much.

“Got off on only that much? How good it is to be young.”

“I’m not a beast, Sensei. What do you take me for?”

“Might need to be one to handle her.”

Akio suddenly felt a hand in his pants. He turned around to see Misaki stirring, but somehow, she had reached around and found his ass cheek. He yelped as she gave it a hard squeeze.

A syringe came down on her thigh, and she stiffened before falling back into a deep sleep.

“A mighty one, isn’t she? Thought I dosed her enough to be out for another hour, but her fever isn’t down yet. It wouldn’t be good for her to start crushing things while half asleep.”

“C-Crushing?” Akio was afraid to ask.

“You know, when soldiers wake up from a nasty battle, some of them have to be held down. Otherwise, the panic might cause them to bash someone’s head in by accident. The residuals of their consciousness before might cause them to continue whatever it was that they were doing.”

A moment of silence blanketed the room.

“And what was Misaki doing before you drugged her?”

The nurse’s cat-like grin was all he needed to know. He decided that it was best to make his escape while he still could. He took a look at the clock, which read 3PM. Classes were pretty much done for the day.

“Don’t worry. She’ll be on her feet before closing time. You can come back to retrieve her then.”