Past: Second Family

"Hey, Shiho. When will you give me my manga back?" Kazuma asked.

"O-oh, well, I'm not done reading it yet, hehe..." the girl replied suspiciously.

"She's lying. She accidentally spilled water over it and is waiting for next month's pocket money to buy a new one." Shinya stated with an amused smirk.

"W-what?! I thought you would keep it a secret, Brother!" she grumbled.

"Heh, how typical of you." another boy commented.

"Shut up, four-eyes!" she insulted him back.

Currently, a group of four friends in their middle school uniform were walking in a shopping mall.

A year passed already since Kazuma and Shinya first met.

Since then, Kazuma became acquainted with Kanzaki Shiho and Miller Hirata.

Kanzaki Shiho was Shinya's little sister and was one year younger. She had long brown hair that reached to her waist and just like her brother, she had emerald green eyes. Kazuma first met her when Shinya let her tag along with them after a weeks passed since Kazuma and Shinya met. And since then, the three of them would always hang out together.

Miller Hirata was one year older than the other two boys. He was half American and half Japanese. He had short blonde hair and his eyes were blue. Due to his bad eyesight, he had to wear glasses. Hirata was also taller and better built than his other peers, even in comparison to American kids his age. Kazuma and the Kanzaki siblings met him when he was surrounded and was getting beaten up by a group of high school students. The three joined forces with Hirata and managed to win against them. Since then, Hirata became a part of their group.

Within that year a strong bond was built as each one of them shared their own problems to the others.

First of all, there was Kazuma, who sought after the attention of his parents who were constantly busy with work and therefore only rarely at home.

Then, there were the Kanzaki siblings, who shared the same and yet different problem. Just like Kazuma, they wanted to feel parental affection however their parents never showed them love. They only abused them.

And lastly, there was Hirata, who felt isolated from his peers due to his roots. He tried his best to make friends but it was futile. In addition, many older teenagers were always starting a fight with him.

Even though the four of them spent less than a year together, they were like a second family to each other.

"Hey, hey, how about going to the Game Center?" Shiho suggested eagerly.

"Weren't you short on money?" Hirata remarked.

"Don't worry, Brother will pay for me!"

"Huh, what are you talking about, you brat? Ask Kazuma." Shinya passed the baton to Kazuma.

"Kazu-kun! Just a few rounds! Pretty please?" she begged him as she threw herself at his arm.

"As if."

Plonk.

Kazuma told her off and gave her a chop on her head.

"Ouch! You meanie!" she said while she rubbed her head.

Kazuma sighed.

"Oh, well, how about just two rounds then?" he gave in in the end.

"i knew I could count on you, Kazu-kun!" she jumped at him for a hug.

Plonk.

He gave her another chop.

"Stop it, will y-"

Thud.

"Huh? Wanna pick a fight, brat?"

While they were talking, someone bumped into Kazuma's shoulder.

"Hm?"

Turning around, Kazuma saw a guy who was about three or four years older than him. He had a tattoo on his neck and on his trained arms. The person had black hair tied into a man bun. With his jet black eyes he looked down on Kazuma.

Behind him were three other people who were also around his age.

Kazuma knew that these guys were bad news. Even if they started to fight, he could not imagine to win against them.

"I'm sor-"

"Hey, you're the one who bumped into him. Shouldn't you say sorry?" Shinya interrupted Kazuma and pulled him back to face the the guy.

"What are you doing?!" Kazuma panicked and grabbed Shinya's shoulder.

People, who were also in the mall, started to avoid them.

"B-Brot-"

"That's right! It wasn't Kazuma's fault!" Hirata agreed with Shinya as he stepped forward, too.

Shiho tried to stop her brother but was also interrupted.

"Huh? Didn't your parents teach you to pay respect to your elders?" the guy became even more annoyed.

Pow.

Without hesitation, Shinya threw a punch at him and hit his cheek.

"Not bad, brat! Now let me show you a real punch!"

Unfazed by the punch, the guy launched a punch at Shinya.

Instinctively, Shinya guarded his face by raising both of his arms up.

Bam.

However, the punch was aimed at the stomach.

"Bluargh!"

Thud.

Shinya fell on his knees as he held his stomach.

"You bastard!" Hirata shouted and sprinted at him with a clenched fist.

"No, Hirata, stop!" Kazuma yelled.

Pow.

One of the guy's friends stepped in and kicked Hirata in the side.

Thud.

And just like Shinya, Hirata was also on his knees now and held his side in pain.

"How disappointing." the one who kicked Hirata commented.

"Only two left."

"Hey, what should we do with the girl?"

The remaining companions also began to move from their spot and came closer to Kazuma and Shiho.

Despite being nervous and scared, Kazuma stood protectively in front of Shiho who was shivering with fear.

It was a four versus one situation, excluding Shiho.

Kazuma gritted his teeth as he thought about a way to escape with all four of them.

"Wanna play prince charming or what?"

"Better protect your princess from us then!"

"She's kinda hot."

They started to mock him.

"Isn't it sad?" Kazuma began to speak with a provocative grin while he was sweating nervously.

"Hm?" they were baffled.

"I mean, is it really fun for you to pick on mere children? Don't you have any pride?" Kazuma mocked them.

"Huh, what did you say?" one of them grabbed him by his collar.

"Let him go." the one with the tattooed neck ordered.

"Y-yes, sir!"

Without hesitation, the guy let go of Kazuma just like he was ordered to.

"So you're the boss?" Kazuma asked him.

"What do you plan?" ignoring the question the tattooed one asked Kazuma.

"How about this? a one on one between the two of us. No interference allowed. If you win, then you can do everything you want with us. But if we win, then you have to listen to everything we say." Kazuma suggested.

"W-what? That's ridiculous! As if we'll become the dogs for you kids!"

"You stupid or what?"

The other members of the group were enraged.

"Kazuma... don't..."

"Run with Shiho..."

Shinya and Hirata warned Kazuma. But he did not listen to the two.

"Heh, you are interesting. Fine, I accept." the leader accepted with an amused smirk.

"B-boss?"

"What? Do you question my decision?" he looked at his companion with a fierce and intimidating gaze.

"N-no..."

Then, the members of the tattooed one and Kazuma's friends formed a circle around them.

"W-will he be fine?" Hirata asked with a still pained expression.

"..."

"He will." Shiho answered.

"You know it, too, right? Kazu-kun is someone who never starts a fight he knows he will lose." she elaborated.

"Hehe, true..." Hirata agreed.

Kazuma was already in his fighting stance while the leader of the other party looked relaxed.

Kazuma expected that his opponent would underestimate him. From an objective perspective, everyone would bet on the other one. His opponent was older and stronger than him.

Kazuma smirked.

"Now come at me, brat!" the boss signaled the start of the fight.

Kazuma prepared a fist and ran to him.

The leader did not care to defend and also prepared to launch a punch.

Looking as if both of them would hit each others' faces, Kazuma surprised him by sliding under his legs.

"!"

Before he could turn around, Kazuma jumped up quickly and launched a punch aimed at his head.

Crack.

And as he turned his face to him, Kazuma was able to hit his nose.

"Ahhhrg!" he cried in agony as he pressed his nose with his hands.

Pow.

Kazuma did not wait and kicked him in his stomach while he was still wide open.

"Ugh! You little-"

 Then, Kazuma grabbed his hair and was about to hit his broken nose with his knee but stopped when it was about to connect.

"My win?"

"..."

Everyone's jaw dropped.

"I-I give up..." the guy said with heavy breathing.

He let go of him and joined his friends on the sideline like nothing happened.

"Can you two stand?" he asked Shinya and Hirata and held his hands out.

Still not being able to believe their eyes, they took his hands and stood up without saying a word.

After they stood up, Kazuma let go of their hands and grabbed Shiho's hand to pull her close to him.

Not knowing what he planned to do, Shinya and Hirata only watched confused.

"Now listen..."

Kazuma formed a circle and whispered something to them.

"W-what are they doing?"

From the view of the other group, it looked as if they had a team discussion like the ones during a time-out in a sports game.

After a few minutes, the circle dissolved and Kazuma walked into their direction again. While Shiho and the others looked nervously, Kazuma wore a confident and playful grin.

"Time for the punishment, brats!" Kazuma declared.