Episode 38: The Bankrupt
Yuuto Kamijou saw the folding fruit knife in Mikado Kouki’s hand, amidst the piercing screams of a female student.
“――――”
His kneeling brother was bleeding from his hand, and he himself was glaring at Yuuto with bloodshot eyes.
And then,
“Kamijooooooo!!!!”
He roared like a beast, brandishing the knife at Yuuto.
“…!?”
Yuuto instinctively used his left arm to shield his face from the blade swung down with brute force.
It tore through the blazer fabric and cut his skin, the pain, almost like heat, spreading with a slight delay after the strange sensation in his arm.
“My life is ruined because of you, because of all of you!! You incompetent fools should have just obeyed me!!!!”
“Don’t screw with me!”
Yuuto stopped the thrusting knife by grabbing his arm.
The blade grazed his abdomen, but it was nothing more than that.
“Yuto—!”
“Stay back!!”
To protect Ichinose Ayano, who was calling out in a voice like a scream from behind, Yuuto pushed Kouki towards the front of the classroom, still holding his arm.
He shoved aside desks and chairs with all his might, pinning him against the teacher’s desk.
“Ugh, aah!?”
Even so, Kouki, while losing his balance, kneed Yuuto in the gut.
The impact and dull pain made it hard to breathe, and his strength left him for a moment.
He realized he’d messed up, and at the same time, the knife was swung, and he reflexively fell backward to avoid it.
But,
“Hahaha—!”
Taking that as an opportunity, he pounced on Yuuto.
“—!”
Yuuto intercepted the blade falling to stab him without hesitation with someone’s bag that was lying nearby.
The impact transmitted through the bag repeatedly, thump after thump. The wound on his arm screamed in pain even more.
He felt the blood drain from his face. He was really trying to kill him.
This was no joke.
He couldn’t bear to be killed by a guy like this, over something like this.
If he died, who would be the most saddened?
If he died, who would this man kill next?
—This was no joke.
He heard her anguished cry.
He had decided not to make her sad.
“You—!!”
Yuuto roared, pushing Kouki away with the bag and the knife stuck in it with all his strength, knocking him over.
He then twisted it forcefully, like turning a steering wheel, to entangle the knife.
“Enough already, damn it!!”
And then, he put all the strength he could muster into his right hand.
Yuuto’s fist dug into Kouki’s cheek, and he collapsed onto the floor.
“Ugh, ah… Kamijou…!!”
But Yuuto wasn’t particularly strong. He wasn’t the kind of guy who could pull it off when it mattered, like the protagonist of a shonen manga.
Mikado Kouki staggered to his feet.
With blood seeping from his mouth, he unleashed his irrational anger at him.
“Damn…”
Yuuto gritted his teeth, but the pain in his left arm intensified, and he crouched down.
This was bad.
He couldn’t move.
—He couldn’t stop him.
“I won’t, I won’t forgive you… you guys…!!”
Before Kouki could grip the knife again,
“—Shut the hell up already, you bastard!!”
Akimoto Fuyuki jumped onto Kouki, leaping over the desks.
“Hey, stop watching and lend a hand!!”
At Fuyuki’s shout, the boys moved all at once, restraining his flailing limbs with their weight.
“Let go, you incompetent fools! Let go, let go—!!”
Kouki, who was screaming, eventually gave up and fell silent.
“—Yuto! Yuto!!”
Ayano rushed over, sobbing.
“It’s okay, it’s over now.”
He forced a smile to reassure her, enduring the pain, but his consciousness faded as if he had exhausted all his strength.
His arm hurt. The bleeding wouldn’t stop.
Still, his beloved Ayano was safe.
—That alone was enough.