Tokyoites don't have martial virtue

22. Roses and Wine

After school, Makoto Kyushu went to work at the shop in Kamurocho as usual.

As he passed a convenience store, his eyes suddenly fell on a fashion magazine with a flashy cover on the bookshelf:

Tokyo Fashion NeDays ~ 100% Tough Guy Outfits Exploding with Hormones!

Kyushu Makoto's eyes lit up, and he went into the convenience store and picked up the book.

This fashion magazine's theme is "Modern Tough Guy's Style," which should be very helpful for Mizuhashi. After all, if she wants to become a real man, she definitely needs to put effort into her clothing.

He bought two discounted bento boxes at the convenience store for dinner, paying for them along with the magazine.

"That's 1,700 yuan in total. Thank you for your patronage!"

After paying, Kyushu Makoto was about to leave the convenience store with his plastic bag when someone suddenly called out to him.

"Hey, Haru!" A girl with long black bangs called out to Kyushu Makoto, waving and greeting him.

"What a coincidence! I didn't expect to run into you on my way to work!"

That guy was his colleague, and he had taken the initiative to become familiar with Kyushu Makoto ever since the attack.

"Oh, it's Milan!" Kyushu Makoto called out the other person's nickname and greeted him politely.

"It's almost time for work, let's go to the store together." ***Milan took a can of lactic acid soda out of the plastic bag and handed it to Kyushu Makoto.

"Hmm." Kyushu Makoto flicked the tab with his thumb and took a sip.

As the two walked side by side toward "Tokyo Gensokyo," a male student named Shujin, wearing a mask, was secretly following them, carrying a camera in his hand.

Just as Kyushu Makoto and Milan entered the store, the masked man's eyes suddenly lit up, and he raised his camera and snapped a few photos.

"Amazing... I never expected to capture such amazing footage..." He looked at the photos on his camera, brimming with excitement.

"Our students are working at a hostess bar! This is big news! Minister Karasu was right to have me keep an eye on Makoto Kyushu after school! Contact the minister immediately!"

......

After finishing his workday, Kyushu Makoto stretched and left the store.

Since defeating those masked thugs, his colleagues have clearly grown much more fond of him, eagerly taking on many odd and tiring tasks and wishing he could sleep in the staff lounge on pay.

Therefore, his work tasks are much easier than before, and he is not so tired that he can't walk after finishing his work.

As he passed through a relatively quiet alley in a residential area, Kyushu Makoto suddenly heard a jarring argument coming from nearby.

"Onee-chan (Miss), don't go~"

"Let...let me go! I'm calling the police!"

Not far away, a bald, drunk man in a suit was harassing a young woman.

The drunken man with a smirking expression grabbed the girl's handbag and began groping her.

The girl being harassed had perfectly applied makeup and wore a tight-fitting mini-skirt with gold scales that accentuated her figure, revealing the alluring beauty of a young woman.

In Kamurocho, girls dressed like this are almost always hostesses at adult bars, and are the most popular targets for gropers.

As the area with the most developed sex industry, Kamurocho has consistently ranked first in Shinjuku in terms of crime rate, and the number of harassment cases it handles each year is among the highest in Tokyo, to the point that the police are overwhelmed.

Seeing the female public relations officer's tearful expression, Kyushu Makoto raised an eyebrow, took out his phone, pointed the camera at the drunk man, and then quickly stepped forward and pushed him away.

The drunkard swayed as he sized up Kyushu Makoto, then raised his chin dismissively and asked, "Hey, kid, who are you?"

Kyushu Makoto simply continued recording with his phone, speaking calmly:

“You have committed the crime of forced indecency. This lady is very distressed. I advise you to stop.”

"Damn it! Mind your own business!" Upon hearing this, the bald drunkard's face turned red and ferocious, and he swung the bottle in his hand forcefully.

The female PR person next to her screamed "Ah!" and cowered down on the roadside in fright.

Faced with the flying bottle, Kyushu Makoto decisively dodged to the side. He then turned off his phone, rushed forward, and grabbed the drunk man's wrist.

"Then go to the police station and repent!"

Kyushu Makoto's eyes blazed with fury as he roared madly.

He quickly threw three consecutive straight punches, all landing squarely on the drunkard's forehead. Then, he unleashed a powerful spin with his upper body, slammed his front foot into the ground, and delivered a powerful "heart-piercing elbow" straight at the opponent's chest.

boom--!

The elbow bone collided violently with the chest cavity, and the drunkard was sent flying backward as if he had been seriously injured. He rolled three times on the ground before losing consciousness.

After defeating his opponent with a series of moves, Kyushu Makoto calmed down and his eyes quickly regained their clarity.

He turned to the trembling female public relations officer and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

The female hostess looked at Kyushu Makoto in surprise and exclaimed, "Wow, that's amazing... Do you know kung fu?"

"No, no, I don't know any kung fu!" Kyushu Makoto quickly waved his hand in denial, saying meaningfully, "He was drunk and started harassing us first. I was just acting in self-defense and accidentally pushed him down...right?"

The female PR representative stared blankly at Kyushu Makoto for a moment, then turned to look at the unconscious drunk man lying on the ground, and quickly nodded in understanding:

"Yeah, it was a shove! The guy was acting in self-defense, he just accidentally pushed him down!"

Five minutes later, the patrol officers arrived late on their bicycles. After reviewing the video of Makoto Kyushu and listening to the hostess's testimony, the officers expressed their gratitude for the boy's courageous act and took the drunk man to the town's police station.

"Well... I'm so grateful for your help today, otherwise I don't know what would have happened." Watching the police car drive away, the female PR representative breathed a sigh of relief and asked gratefully:

"May I ask your name, sir? If there's a chance, I'd like to invite you to dinner."

"Instead of thanking me, you should learn to protect yourself first." Kyushu Makoto, however, adopted a serious expression and began to lecture:

"If you're a woman, I recommend you buy pepper spray or hide a heavy ashtray in your handbag. Kamurocho is dangerous, and people like you who work in the sex industry should be especially careful."

Upon hearing this, the female public relations officer couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

"Hehe, you're quite interesting, aren't you? Even though you were invited by a girl, all you could think about was teaching me self-defense!"

As she spoke, she moved closer to Kyushu Makoto, the scent of rose perfume mixed with a faint smell of alcohol wafting from her golden curls.

"We can talk about self-defense later. Let me treat you to dinner first, otherwise I'll feel guilty. By the way, my name is Suzumiya Momiji, nice to meet you!"

"Suzumiya Momiji...is that a stage name?" Kyushu Makoto felt the rose-scented perfume was a bit pungent, so he took a small step back.

"Of course, people in our line of work can't use their real names, right?" Suzumiya Momiji stuck out her tongue slyly.

“My name is Harukawa. Well… I guess you could say I’m in the same line of work as you.” Kyushu Makoto thought for a moment and replied, “You look older than me, so I’ll call you Momiji-nee.”

"Eh... Momiji-nee?" Hearing this address, Suzumiya Momiji's eyes crinkled into a smile as she giggled, "Hahahaha! What's that? Usually people call you Suzumiya-senpai, right? You're so funny, Harukawa!"

"You keep praising me as 'interesting,' are you trying to trick me into patronizing your business?" Kyushu Makoto was somewhat sensitive to this kind of sales pitch, so he asked warily.

"How could that be? Doing business with competitors is forbidden~" Suzumiya Momiji laughed and cried at the same time, quickly changing the subject back to food: "Let's go to the ramen shop on the next street, I suddenly really want to eat tonkotsu ramen!"

“Alright.” Kyushu Makoto was also hungry, so he nodded in agreement: “Let me take you back after you finish eating, so you don’t encounter any more danger.”

23. A cage called "Kamurocho"

After walking a few streets, the two arrived at a ramen shop located in an inconspicuous alley, with a sign that read "Kyushu Ichibanboshi".

As soon as he entered, Kyushu Makoto smelled a rich, fresh aroma, which made his stomach rumble.

"Don't let the small, shabby appearance of this shop fool you, the food is actually way better than Ichiran Ramen, and it's much cheaper too~" Suzumiya Kame winked and smiled.

"I come here to eat every day after get off work, and I'm sure you'll love the food here too!"

The shop was already filled with customers. The two chose to sit at the counter, and Suzumiya Kame skillfully ordered two bowls of classic tonkotsu ramen.

Soon, the owner brought out two large bowls of steaming noodle soup, with so many slices of pork and char siu that they almost completely covered the noodles.

"I'm starting!" Suzumiya Momiji grabbed her chopsticks, clasped her hands together, and cheerfully offered her pre-meal prayer.

Kyushu Makoto ignored all the formalities and simply scooped up a large lump of noodles with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth.

The chewy noodles, mixed with the incredibly flavorful and thick pork bone broth, flooded Kyushu Makoto's mouth, assaulting his taste buds and giving him a double satisfaction of taste and texture.

Kyushu Makoto tried another slice of pork char siu. The meat was fatty but not greasy, melted in his mouth, and had a perfectly balanced salty and savory flavor with a hint of honey sweetness, which satisfied him, a southerner who loves sweet flavors.

"This restaurant is really great!" Kyushu Makoto stuffed the noodles and meat into his mouth with big bites, then picked up the bowl and drank the soup in one gulp. Only after seeing the words "I am honored" printed on the bottom of the soup bowl did he put the bowl down with satisfaction.

“Right? My recommendation is definitely right. After all, I worked in Kamurocho for two years.” Suzumiya Kame slowly slurped her noodles and said proudly, “I haven’t been to Ichiran since I found this restaurant.”

Upon hearing this, the owner behind the counter laughed and boasted, "Hmph, our shop uses a century-old recipe. Ichiran Ramen's soulless industrial broth thinks it can compare to ours?"

"Okay, okay~" Hearing her boss boasting, Suzumiya Momiji revealed a mischievous smile and joked:

"When will you be able to surpass Ichiran Ramen and establish a nationwide chain?"

"Um...this..." The shop owner was so choked that he couldn't speak, and could only go back to cooking noodles with a wronged look on his face.

"Isn't it inappropriate for you to tease the boss like that..." Kyushu Makoto felt a little sorry for the boss.

"I've known that girl since she dropped out of high school and came to Kamurocho. Why would I get angry over a single word she said?" The shopkeeper chuckled as he expertly scooped up the noodles.

"Hey, don't go around telling everyone about my affairs!" Suzumiya Momiji slapped the table impatiently.

"Huh? Isn't he your boyfriend?" the shopkeeper asked in surprise. "You'll have to tell him about this sooner or later, right?"

Hearing this misunderstanding, Kyushu Makoto shook his head, both amused and exasperated.

"I just met Sister Huazi today, and I'm just an ordinary friend of hers."

"Oh...I see..." The shopkeeper sighed in disappointment, "I was hoping the young lady could find a reliable boyfriend and leave Kamurocho as soon as possible~"