He tried to save the fallen girls, but they came after him instead.

Yayoi Akiyama wasn't particularly afraid; the bodyguards at her parents' company weren't unusual in that way.

He saw Maki and Shirakawa go into the supermarket to buy things, so he decided to watch them from a distance near the school.

The Mido sisters and Shirakawa all know him, and he is easily recognized even when he is wearing a baseball cap and mask.

Watching the three of them getting along happily and bickering, Akiyama Yayoi felt a surge of resentment and anger.

I should have been the one there.

What kind of magic did Shirakawa cast on them? They had painstakingly worked on this "tough nut" for weeks, only to have it snatched away in a single day.

Yayoi Akiyama sat on the steps of the green belt opposite the muscular woman, biting her finger.

Suddenly, a small, muscular blonde girl walked out of the school gate and checked her face with a makeup mirror.

Isn't that Nikaido, the delinquent from the next class? Based on his observation, he seems to have a pretty good relationship with Shirakawa. The fact that he's only coming out at this hour, and even getting all dressed up, suggests he might be going to see his boyfriend.

Nikaido walked straight towards the delinquent girl, and the two seemed to be chatting happily.

Sisters, best friends?

Since Shirakawa hadn't moved yet, Akiyama Yayoi simply stayed in the green belt and quietly observed the muscular woman and Nikaido.

The two got on the motorcycle and left. As they passed the supermarket entrance, Yayoi Akiyama took in all of Nikaido, the muscular woman, and Shirakawa's actions.

Interesting, very interesting.

Nikaido probably likes Shirakawa, and that muscular woman probably doesn't like Shirakawa.

At that moment, Yayoi Akiyama remembered the pile of intimate material about Shirakawa and Midori Sakura on her phone.

Suddenly he had a bold idea.

Yayoi Akiyama pulled her hat brim down low, put on her mask, and sprinted after the muscular woman's motorcycle.

The opportunity for revenge is just around the corner!

---

The motorcycle slowly came to a stop in front of a sukiyaki restaurant (Japanese hot pot restaurant). The restaurant was quite upscale, and people coming and going were mostly with their children. It was bustling inside, and most of the people there were families having a meal together.

Akaza parked his motorcycle at the entrance and held Nikaido's motorcycle by the hand.

“I can get off the bus myself, cousin. I’m a high school student now. Don’t always treat me like a child.” Nikaido jumped off the bus by himself.

“Okay, okay,” Akaza agreed, gently pulling the motorcycle helmet off Nikaido’s head and hanging it on his motorcycle handlebars. He then tidied Nikaido’s messy hair and led her into the hot pot restaurant.

They still treat me like a child.

Thinking this, Nikaido quickly looked around to see if he recognized anyone.

She's the leader of the delinquents at Sakura High School. If someone she knows sees her like this, how will she ever be able to stay in the delinquent circle again?

"Hello, welcome! How many of you are there?"

"Gentlemen, this is the table Miss Akaza reserved."

Upon hearing that it was Miss Akaza, the waiter's attitude immediately became more respectful: "Ah, it's Miss Akaza, this way please."

The waiter led the two to their seats.

How did my cousin become so extravagant to have an empty table in such a popular hot pot restaurant?

The two sat down, and Akaza handed the menu to Nikaido.

"My cousin is treating today, so please order whatever you like!"

Nikaido's menu is truly terrible value for money.

"Cousin, have you hooked up with some rich guy?"

In Nikaido's memory, Akaza was also a delinquent student who went out into society after graduating from high school and was penniless. Although they had kept in touch by phone, they never had a good opportunity to meet. How come she has become so wealthy after not seeing her for so long?

"Haha, Misaki, your older sister knows a big boss from the Hoshimiya family. I won't go into details," Akaza said, slightly concealing the truth. "Don't worry, all your cousin's money is legal and compliant. Feel free to spend whatever you want!"

"Well, then I'm not welcome."

After ordering, Akaza asked for a can of beer, opened the tab, and started drinking.

Strangely enough, as soon as she sat down, everyone around her, whether they had been drinking or not, became unusually quiet. Even the toddlers were eating obediently.

"Glug~ Glug~ Hiss~ Ah~, that feels good, I'm finally alive again." Akaza had already finished a can of beer and asked the waiter for another one.

Nikaido may be a delinquent, but he doesn't drink beer.

"Hey, Misaki, how's everything at home lately?"

"It's alright. My parents' ramen shop is doing pretty well, and I often go to help out."

"Huh? Go help out? What about your studies?"

Nikaido quickly covered it up, saying, "Helping you won't take long and won't interfere with my studies."

"That's good. Don't work too hard. If you need any help, just ask your cousin!" Akaza laughed heartily.

The food was served very quickly.

Even though the hot pot restaurant was so busy, there was still a waiter standing next to Akaza's table, ready to serve at any time.

Akaza cracked a sterile raw egg with one hand, put it in a bowl, stirred it well, and used it as a dipping sauce.

Nikaido took a bite of the Wagyu beef and thought it tasted quite good. Maybe he can bring Shirakawa to try it sometime.

"By the way," Akaza asked while stirring the egg mixture, "what's the name of the boy you like?"

"Cousin, please don't ask!" Nikaido rarely showed a shy expression.

"Haha, I was just asking, maybe it's someone I know!" After saying that, Akaza picked up a piece of beef, dipped it lightly in the egg liquid, and put it in his mouth.

"His name is... Shirakawa Akira..."

"Shirakawa Akira?" Akaza chewed on the beef in his mouth. "That's a strange name. People with the surname Shirakawa are quite rare around here."

"Yes..."

"how did you guys meet?"

It's human nature to love gossip, and Akaza is no exception, especially since it's her cousin. The two of them have always been fighting since they were little, watching tokusatsu shows as Ultraman fighting monsters. Akaza is very interested in what kind of man her cousin could fall for.

“That’s a classmate of ours, we sit in the row in front of and behind each other.”

"How was studying?"

"Not bad..." After thinking about it carefully, Shirakawa had only been here for a day and hadn't taken any tests yet, so Nikaido could only say that.

"Not bad, is it the guy we saw at the supermarket entrance? The one chatting happily with other girls, the one with a tall and straight figure, and the one with bandages wrapped around his right hand?" Akaza got down to business, bombarding Nikaido with a series of questions.

Nikaido nodded slightly, revealing the awkwardness typical of adolescence.

Akaza stopped smiling and said to Nikaido with a serious expression, "That guy... um... who are those two girls? What's their relationship with him?"

“Two sisters in our class are his neighbors,” Nikaido said, his expression revealing a hint of disappointment.

Seeing Nikaido's state, Akaza advised, "Cousin, I think that guy is pretty scum. We'd better not hang ourselves on one tree."

"But I like him."

"It's okay, it's not important. Have you two officially started dating?"

"not yet."

"Yeah, you haven't officially become boyfriend and girlfriend yet. Does he know you like him?" Akaza asked to be on the safe side, just in case it turned out to be his cousin's unrequited love.

Nikaido recalled the moment he lightly kissed Shirakawa in the corridor, and his hand unconsciously went to his lips.

"They probably already know."

Akaza nodded: "Look, that guy named Shirakawa knows you like him, yet he's still openly joking and playing around with other girls. While it's not exactly cheating, just considering this behavior, doesn't it show that he doesn't care about you at all?"

"No, he still cares about me a lot." Nikaido recalled the moments he spent with Shirakawa.

Akaza sighed. Every girl has to go through a phase of being love-struck, and only when they are hurt by a scumbag do they finally wake up.

Akaza has never been in a relationship because of her body shape, but many of her close friends call her in the middle of the night crying.

Try to avoid letting your cousin go through these things.

Akaza ate while pondering.

Just then, Akiyama Yasushi ran past, panting, saw the motorcycle in front of the shop, stopped, and took a short rest.

Fortunately, the commercial street was crowded, and the motorcycle couldn't go very fast, otherwise I would have lost them long ago.

Yayoi Akiyama straightened her clothes, took off her baseball cap and mask, and entered the hot pot restaurant.

"Welcome, you..."

"Looking for...looking for someone."

The waiter, seeing the student in his school uniform covered in sweat, didn't make things too difficult for him and let him in.

Yayoi Akiyama approached Akaza and Nikaido and greeted them.

Nikaido frowned. Wasn't this Yayoi Akiyama from the next class?

Their relationship was basically limited to matching names; they never spoke a word to each other during their school years, only getting to know each other through gossip within their respective small circles.

Why is he here?