The Confrontation

“Come on, there’s a fight!”

“Is that… Ichinose from Class 1?”

“What is she doing with the senpais?”

Students from all first-grade classes and even those from higher grades gathered at the scene when they noticed the senior delinquents ganging up on Shin Kawamura. The sight of Megumi among them, loose-haired and clutching her hairpins, increased their curiosity.

“Ohh, Megumi!” Chiyo ran up to her, not at all afraid of the senior delinquents now, to Megumi’s stupor, and clasped her shoulders. “Are you alright? Let’s get out of here!”

“Hurry up!” Natsume chimed in, also arriving. “They’re going to start a brawl here! We might get in trouble.”

“Oh, uh…” Megumi followed slowly, still staring at Gorō. It was the second time that he had come to her aid. He really is like Captain Rufy. She thought, remembering her gallant pirate character.

However, her romantic fantasies were brief. Gorō might’ve let Shin off with a warning before, but now it was different. Still holding him by the collar, he bent his knee and kicked him in the stomach so violently that Shin crouched and coughed, almost vomiting. Gorō hit the bending Shin’s shoulder with his elbow and threw him to the ground. Shin cried in pain, but didn’t relent. His face flushed with rage, and he struggled to get up. However, Gorō kicked him back down before he could rise on his knees.

“Stay down! Don’t make me do it properly,” he grunted, his dark eyes flashing behind his thick hair.

Dazai and his cronies chortled at the downed Shin. Some girls among the spectators screamed and cuddled their boyfriends, while others stared at the scene, frozen. Megumi widened her eyes at Gorō’s violence and unusual calm. She realised that her instincts earlier that day, when Gorō was introduced into their class, were correct. He was more than just a “delinquent”, and the fact that the bloodthirsty Dazai Miyamoto called him “Boss” made sense.

But her comparison of him to Captain Rufy wasn’t unsound, either.

“Now, apologise,” Gorō ordered, his foot placed on Shin’s back to keep him bowing. “To Ichinose… for your shitty behaviour today.”

Megumi jolted. She clasped her hands, still holding the hairpins, to her chest. Her heart throbbed with fright, but also fluttered. She’d never experienced such a strange flurry of feelings.

“S-Sorry…” Shin mumbled.

“Louder, you bastard!” Gorō snarled, pressing his foot on his back, making him wince.

“I’m sorry!” Shin shouted, tears coming to his eyes.

“Yeah, I guess even a thick head like yours can learn.” Gorō sneered. He lifted his foot off him. “Now scram!”

Shin barely got up, limping and squirming. Gorō turned to Megumi immediately, making her jolt again.

“You alright?” he asked in a softened tone, rather concerned.

“Uhm… Yeah.” Megumi nodded, flustered.

Gorō’s eyes lingered on her for a moment. Her blue eyes shimmered behind her glasses, or so it seemed to him. She looked just as good with loose hair as with twin tails… He felt his face go a little too hot to his liking. He cleared his throat and turned away.

Dazai and his friends still roared with laughter at Shin’s limp. Some spectator students also laughed, while others remained scared stiff. Some girls, however, began whispering among themselves, intrigued:

“Who’s that delinquent talking to Ichinose? He made Kawamura apologise to her.”

“Are they dating?”

“No way! How could Ichinose date him? He’s scary as hell!”

“Why? He’s rather handsome… And he fought for her! I’d date him if I were her.”

They chatted like this for a while, and Megumi turned red at their whispers. But then a commotion started at the farthest back of the crowd, interrupting their chitchat. Some people were elbowing their way in.

“Let us through!” they shouted sternly.

“The Student Council is here!”

A group of well-groomed students passed through the crowd and emerged on the scene. Natsume brightened up and ran to them, embracing a certain tall boy with an orange buzzcut, glasses, and a friendly demeanour. He was Ryōsuke Itō, the Representative of Megumi’s, Natsume’s, Chiyo’s, and Shin’s class. He was a Student Council member and Natsume’s boyfriend.

“You’re finally here, Ryōsuke!” Natsume smiled. But then she pouted. “You took your sweet time!”

“S-Sorry…” Ryōsuke guiltily scratched the back of his head, sad to disappoint his girlfriend. “When you told me all that was happening, I reckoned that I should alert the Pres, too.”

He turned around, pointing at a certain young man with his thumb, who stood at the centre of the Student Council members. Many girls in the crowd fawned over him. He was rather handsome, with his short hair pink and wavy like Megumi’s, and his eyes blue like hers, too. But he didn’t wear glasses and exuded more confidence than she did, standing with his head held high and his hands in his pockets. Megumi watched him with a rather peculiar fondness, her heart fluttering with relief.

Momo… She thought, her cheeks burning with guilt and embarrassment. I hope he doesn’t tell parents about this!

It was her older brother, the top of his class and the Student Council President, Momochi Ichinose.

“Whoa, here comes the trouble!” Dazai chuckled, eyeing Momochi. He wrapped his arm around Gorō. “Don’t mess with that guy, Boss!”

“The hell you mean?” Gorō raised an eyebrow at him.

Momochi cast a glance around, registering the details of the scene. Then, he walked up to Megumi. She shrank like a cute maiden and looked up at him with sad eyes and pursed lips – their shared joke from childhood. Momochi chuckled and patted her head.

“I suppose you’re alright, then,” he said in his deep, gentle voice.

“Sorry for the trouble.” Megumi smiled guiltily.

“Just a few more reports on my shoulders.” Momochi shrugged and rolled his eyes. “I’ll be fine. I’m just glad you’re not hurt! I was worried.”

Gorō watched the pink-haired guy, whom they had called the “Student Council President”, patting Megumi’s head while she acted all childish and cosy around him. Blood shot up to his temples, although he couldn’t tell why exactly he was so pissed. He wanted to take a step forward, but Dazai’s arm kept him rooted.

“No sweat, Boss.” Dazai grinned, divining Gorō’s feelings before he himself could make sense of them. “That’s Ichi, our Class Rep.”

“Ichi?” Gorō blinked, grasping Dazai’s hint.

“Ichinose Momochi,” Mashirō clarified, standing by their side. “He and Ichinose from your class are siblings.”

“H-Her brother?” Gorō looked at Momochi again, who kept talking to Megumi with a smile. His muscles relaxed, and his eyelids drooped. “So, that’s how it is…”

“Yup,” Dazai said. “And he means trouble! Ichi doesn’t need to throw hands to make someone eat the dirt.”

“If you say that, he must be interesting.” A corner of Gorō’s lip curved up in a smile. He placed his hands in his pockets and surveyed Momochi and Megumi. Like sister, like brother, I guess.

Having made sure his sister was fine, Momochi finally found the time for the troublemakers. He glowered at Shin, Gorō, and Dazai’s gang.

“Itō,” he referred to Ryōsuke behind him, “take your classmate to the infirmary! We’ll have him answer to the Principal for his misconduct later. Notify Takeda Sensei too! He’s your homeroom teacher.”

“Sure!” Itō nodded. He turned to Natsume and smiled. “See you later in class, Natsu!”

He went up to the injured Shin with some of his friends, grabbed his arms and led him to the school building. Shin followed, limping, and kept his eyes down.

“Y’all scatter!” Momochi glared at the crowd of spectating students. “There’s nothing more to see here.”

The Student Council members helped break the crowd. Gradually, all students left save for Megumi, her two friends Chiyo and Natsume, Gorō, Dazai, and his gang. Here, Momochi finally confronted the delinquents. He strode up to Gorō and Dazai and looked at the latter. Dazai responded with a friendly smile, but Momochi retained his frown.

“I thought you said crap like this wouldn’t happen,” he said sternly.

“What can ya do, Class Rep?” Dazai chuckled, scratching his eyebrow with his thumb. “That twerp was askin’ for it. It ain’t the first time he’s pulling those stunts, either, I’ll remind ya! And now it was your sister he picked on, no less!”

“And who are you lot, a law-enforcing bureau?” Momochi retorted, unimpressed. “My sister can take care of herself, and she’s got me… although I’m thankful for your intervention, don’t get me wrong!” He glared at Gorō, who was about to speak, but shut his mouth when Momochi expressed his gratitude. “But,” Momochi continued, locking his eyes with him, “taking your background into account, Shimura, I’d prefer that you stay away from my sister.” He highlighted the word ‘background’, hinting that he knew Gorō’s recent past. He lowered his voice so that the girls wouldn’t hear them and added, “You gotta remember, this is the school grounds, not your streets. I run things around here. So if you don’t want to blow back where you came from, you’ll be more careful. Morikawa Sensei can’t shield you from everything.”

He turned around and walked away without even waiting for Gorō’s reply. But Gorō had nothing to answer. He only smiled, rather defiantly, as he eyed Momochi. The latter wrapped his arm around his sister, Megumi, who had remained troubled during the whole confrontation and allowed herself to relax only now that it was all over. Momochi walked with her, her friends, and the Student Council members back into the building. When they were gone, Gorō turned to Dazai and grinned, exhilarated.

“You were right, Musashi,” he said. “That guy’s a total freak!”