Squaring Up to Clap Cheeks

“This is Kitsune, your one and only school reporter, live at the scene where the battle of the century is taking place!”

Journalism could be a dangerous thing, particularly when chasing after eye-catching topics. But with nothing more than a smartphone and some charisma, he could record a legend in the making.

“Haibara Misaki, the demon yankee of Yokohama, versus Yuunagi Tsubame, a child prodigy defending school regulations with fist of fury! And not just any old skirmish like before! This one is serious! The damage, the destruction, the tearing of clothes to give a smidgen of ero-ness!”

“Was that last part necessary? Come on, be a little serious here…”

Kitsune brought his phone down, shaking his head at Akio.

“A little bit of allure casts a wider net. Besides, you’re the reason they are tearing at each other’s throats to begin with.”

“Hell if I understand why!”

Though Akio said that, he had a feeling as to the reason. It didn’t just happen out of the blue. Misaki had recovered and things were normal for just a bit. But once she was at full strength, her attempts to corner him and do naughty things came at him like a wrecking ball.

As if that was the spark this day needed, Yuunagi came rushing in. Their fight proceeded as normal, until a bold declaration was made after Misaki was thrown to the ground.

Yuunagi walked over to the waiting Akio and wrapped her arm around his own.

“Since you can’t abide by the school rules, I’ll have to confiscate Wada-san and bar your relationship on school grounds!”

A sudden chill fell upon the entire area. Misaki immediately rose into a pouncing position, a scary look in her eyes.

“You’ll do what now?”

“You heard me, Haibara-san. When he isn’t attending class, he will be at my side, so you don’t cause any more incidents. I have gotten approval from the school to take care of the incidents as I see fit!”

That was all that was needed for Misaki to brandish her true claws. Her first swipe at Yuunagi was far less playful than before, drawing lines of blood on Yuunagi’s forearm as she pushed Akio out of the way.

Rather than the spectacle that their fights had become, there was an edge that made people wary, lest their heads were taken off from stray attacks. Fortunately, they were outside where it would be easy to dodge things incoming. Or… so people thought as debris came crashing around the place. Spectators knew it was their clue to clear out.

Akio panicked as Misaki ripped a bench from its supports, swinging it around like a makeshift weapon. Only, it wasn’t a giant beast she was facing, but a girl much smaller than her, wielding nothing but karate chops and a dinky metal fan.

“Misaki, stop!”

The bench slammed right into Yuunagi, but in the next moment, it flew out of Misaki’s grip. Like it had been launched on a catapult, the wooden bench shattered on impact after tens of meters spinning in the air. Yuunagi had diverted all the momentum away, a massive feat that had prevented her being crushed otherwise.

Misaki lunged with a fist next, but it slipped right by the nimble Taijiquan user. A pair of hands caught the swinging wrist and moved into a shoulder throw, which sent the towering girl right into the ground. The school building trembled from the shock of the Misaki-shaped crater that had formed.

Before Akio could run over to check on her, Misaki popped up, spat out some dirt, and bared her fangs again. She was a mess, but that didn’t stop her from charging forward. Her long arms reached forward to squash the petite girl like a fly.

The force of her blows would decimate a normal person, particularly when Misaki lost control. Even if Yuunagi could deflect them, it was risky like batting away cannonballs. A single miss was all it would take to shatter her.

Akio was stunned by how quickly the fight had devolved into a deathmatch, enough for him to mentally sign his will again. He hesitated to stop them when his pseudo-friend, Kitsune, had jumped in with the commentary. But Akio knew that he had to man up and join this fight soon.

His gaze looked for gaps in Misaki’s defense, something that he had been getting a good feel for. Particularly when she was angry, her backside was left open. Even knowing that, he was staring into a set of slashing fangs, bare fingernails enough to dice him up. It was fortunate that she hadn’t actually drawn the knife she kept hidden.

Ducking and weaving in time with her movements, Akio waited for the right chance to dive forward and tackle her from behind. He only had one chance, so hopefully his half-baked idea would work.

Akio’s face dug into Misaki’s firm back, resilient despite not expecting him. He grabbed her thighs and pushed forward to tip her off balance, managing to feel the weight of gravity push them both down.

They landed hard with Misaki face down and Akio mounting her from behind. With this slim opening for victory, he followed up by slapping Misaki’s butt hard. A chill shot up her spine, along with an indescribable howl. He had no time to consider how it looked at all. All he noticed was that it was a jolt strong enough to reset something.

As Misaki tried to claw her way out of his grip, he slapped the other side as well, forcing Misaki to arch her back in response. All during this time, Yuunagi shot him a look of disgust.

Of course, she would. I’m well aware how bad this is from anyone’s perspective…

However, there was no way he could approach from the front and kiss Misaki to cool her down. That was just asking to be trampled in her rage. Not to mention, it was revenge for the butt squeeze the other day.

Akio stood up from the withering mush that Misaki had strangely become, which was only a smidgen better than a raging one. At least, no one had to worry about death in this case. He walked over to Yuunagi, who had an awe-struck look of disbelief still.

“Yuunagi, what the hell is the meaning of this?”

“Defending your girlfriend still? After all this? Don’t you value yourself?”

She pointed to the mess that had been made of the courtyard – broken benches, crushed flora, and smashed windows – they were casualties of Misaki going wild and flinging things.

“How can you stay with someone that causes so much trouble for you? Does she not have your life dangling under her whims?! Can you not reach out to me for a helping hand?!”

Akio sighed. He walked right up to Yuunagi and stared her down. After a moment, he walked over to Misaki and flipped her over. She had been staring vacantly, trying to figure out what he would do.

He bent down and locked lips with her, fiercely, like she would do to him.

“Hey, wait… what are you…” Yuunagi’s voice was weak, waiting for Akio to stop and listen again. Eventually, he broke off and looked up at her.

“What? You’re not going to stop me? I’m breaking the school rules, aren’t I?” His hand slapped one of Misaki’s thighs, making a lewd sound from her. “Is that not enough? Aren’t you going to throw me to the ground like you do her?”

“Wada-kun, I know you are a nice guy. Far too nice, to have to deal with such things on a daily basis. Every time I see you two together, it’s like you’re coping with your situation. To me, it’s like you’re trapped with nowhere to go but simply nod your head and follow along.”

Akio stood up and faced Yuunagi again. Several things were clicking in place for him.

“I get it. Our relationship seems a bit odd, twisted at times even.”

“That’s why I think you should stop. If I have to step in, then I will-”

A fist came at Yuunagi, which she deflected without even thinking. Surprised, she watched as Akio landed hard on the ground after being flipped.

“Wada-kun, I didn’t mean-”

Akio simply sat up and shrugged it off. The fire in his eyes hadn’t lowered a single bit.

“That was instinct, wasn’t it? You couldn’t help but do it, right?”

Yuunagi nodded.

“That’s how I feel about Misaki. Yeah, she might be a pain and crazy forceful. I can’t avoid getting hurt from it all. But you know what? Fuck it. If she asks me to jump off a cliff, then I’m doing it. You want to know why. Cause she’ll be right there beside me.”

“Isn’t that insane? You’re nowhere near her level!”

“Do I need to be?”

That single rebuttal knocked everything Yuunagi thought she knew about Akio out the window. He appeared meek, taken advantaged of even, whenever he stood next to Misaki. Anyone looking at them would think of a lackey loyally following the pack leader.

But Akio didn’t care about appearances. He knew full well how another person’s perception could be so far off. He struggled with that disconnect all the time.

“I may not be a challenge to you at all, Yuunagi. Does that mean I should have nothing to do with you either? If so, take this back. I don’t need it.”

Akio threw the medicine he was given back to her, which she caught. Yuunagi squeezed the bottle in her hand, wondering why she was suddenly tearing up. It took only moments, but she realized it.

She was frustrated. Akio was interesting and nice, and she had believed that he was trapped somehow. It felt like her duty to break him free of it. As a result, she had targeted Misaki each time.

Perhaps, a hint of jealousy had even developed. As the disciplinary head, it was natural for stiff regulation of rules to be scorned. But when it came to someone blatantly known to break rules and hurt people, she had been surprised by Akio championing chaos instead.

It defied logic, so she set out to correct it.

But in the end, she had been all wrong about Akio himself. And Misaki. And what actions she should have taken to correct it all.

A hand gripped her by the arm. She looked up to see Akio smirking.

“Finally. I gotcha.”

Before she could react, he tripped her and lifted her light body into the air. It was a rough throw, laughably amateurish even, but she was sent flying, nonetheless. She had been too lost in thought to defend. Her back hit the ground, where she was face-to-face with Misaki. They both slowly stood up while eyeing each other for any sudden movements.

“And you, Misaki, why don’t you just fess up and say that you like scrapping with her? The fun in your eyes is all too obvious.”

“Boooo, Akio-kun. It was more fun that she didn’t notice. It’s a rare occasion that I can actually find someone to toy around with that doesn’t break.”

Akio looked off to the side, quite clear to everyone that he couldn’t handle her ‘physical prowess’. Yuunagi didn’t look convinced though.

“Likes our fights? Then, why did it look like she was trying to kill me?”

“Taking Akio-kun from me is a big no-no. I said it before. No matter how much I like you, you’re dead meat if you try it.”

“My mistake for flipping your switch then.”

“As long as you understand.”

Misaki extended for a handshake truce, which Yuunagi accepted. But rather than letting go, she gave a small tug that pulled the smaller girl right into her bosom. Misaki looked down between her cleavage, with a face of ‘I’ve got you now!’

Sliding down, Misaki found the other girl’s lips as her hand snaked behind and held the girl tightly. Yuunagi had no choice but to squirm helplessly in her snare.

Akio facepalmed. All this time, she had been looking for some way to break through the impenetrable guard and extend some affection. That had been the case when she found ‘enjoyment’ at his strange actions.

And whatever Misaki wanted, she would do everything in her power to get. Not even gender seemed to matter when it came to it.

“Get a room, you two. Seriously.” Akio had to say it.

“I have Tsubame-chan. You book it and grab the key!” Misaki replied.

“Not happening! I’m not condoning this!”

“To be continued – on pay per view!” a cry from the distance echoed.

“Over my dead body, trash fox!” Akio chased after Kitsune, forgetting that he had recorded the whole thing.

Whatever the case, Akio knew that being in a relationship with Misaki was far from normal. It didn’t matter if there was another random body in the equation.

At least, Tsubame, oops, Yuunagi will take some of the pressure off me… hopefully?

There was no certainty in this world. But it was one less thing he’d have to stress about.