The alley grew eerily quiet. The group of guys stood there, looking unsure now, their smug grins fading as they hesitated, unsure of what to do next. Taka, standing behind them, looked more frustrated by the second. His cocky attitude hadn’t completely faded, but there was a flicker of doubt in his eyes.

“What are you all waiting for?” Taka snapped, his voice cutting through the tense silence. “There’s only one of him! Get him!”

But no one moved. They might have been high school kids, but they weren’t stupid. They had seen enough to know that I wasn’t like them. The scars on my body, the way I carried myself—it was clear that this wasn’t just going to be some schoolyard fight.

“Come on!” Taka screamed again, panic creeping into his voice now. “There’s ten of you and one of him!”

Still, no one moved. Until one of the guys, the biggest one in the group, finally broke the silence with a wild scream and charged at me, fists raised. It was like his shout triggered something in the others because suddenly, they all rushed forward, throwing wild punches in my direction.

Taka’s grin returned, his confidence growing as the gang piled on.

But it didn’t last long.

The first guy rushed at me with his fists clenched, aiming straight for my face. I leaned back, letting his punch sail past me, and grabbed his wrist mid-swing. Before he could react, I twisted his arm sharply and yanked him forward, sending him crashing face-first into the wall. He let out a grunt of pain, stumbling back in shock, but I wasn’t done. I grabbed him by the collar and drove my knee hard into his ribs. The impact left him wheezing, eyes wide with shock as he crumpled to the ground.

Before he could even try to get up, I kicked him hard in the side, knocking the wind out of him completely. He lay there, clutching his ribs, his breath shallow and panicked. He was done.

This wasn’t a regular school fight. This wasn’t just a few punches and someone calling it quits. I was putting them down for good. One by one, they came at me, and one by one, I dropped them.

The alley echoed with the sounds of bodies hitting the ground, groans of pain filling the air as they struggled to get up, only to be knocked down again. I wasn’t pulling any punches. Each hit was designed to take them out, to make sure they wouldn’t be standing anytime soon.

Taka’s grin slowly faded as he watched his friends go down, one after another, until there were only a few left standing. They looked at me, their eyes wide with fear, and I could see it in their faces—they knew they didn’t stand a chance.

One of the guys, his hands shaking, took a step back. Then another. And before I knew it, he turned and ran, bolting down the alley without a second thought.

“Where are you going?!” Taka screamed after him, but it was too late. The others followed, scrambling to get away, fear etched into their faces as they disappeared down the street.

Within moments, it was just me and Taka, standing in the alley, the bodies of his beaten-up friends scattered around us.

Taka’s face paled, his bravado completely gone now. He took a step back, his eyes darting around, looking for any escape. “Y-Yuki... let’s talk about this, okay? No need for things to get out of hand.”

I didn’t say anything at first, just wiped the blood off my knuckles as I walked toward him, my footsteps slow, deliberate.

Taka’s whole act fell apart in front of me. His voice, shaky and desperate now, was a far cry from the smug tone he’d used earlier. "Y-Yuki, wait! I’ll give you the money, alright? Just don’t do anything to me!" His eyes darted around, avoiding mine, like he was looking for an escape that didn’t exist. He was trembling, the fear obvious in his voice.

I noticed Akane standing off to the side, frozen in place. I thought I heard her say something, but I wasn’t listening. My focus was on Taka.

Taka’s fear spiked, and in a panic, he pulled out a pocket knife, his hands shaking so badly it was almost laughable. He pointed it at me, but it was clear he didn’t know what to do with it. His hands were trembling like he thought this tiny blade could somehow save him.

I didn’t even think about it. I grabbed his wrist, twisted it until the knife dropped to the ground with a clatter. It took barely any effort.

Taka collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "Please, Yuki! I swear I’ll never mess with you again! Just let me go! I-I’ll give everything back!"

I leaned down, grabbing him by the hair and pulling his head back so he had to look at me. "Shut the fuck up," I said, my voice cold. "Where’s the bag?"

He whimpered, pointing toward the back of the warehouse. "It’s there! I swear!"

But I wasn’t about to take his word for it. I dragged him across the ground by his hair, forcing him to lead me to the spot where the bag was stashed. His legs barely worked as he stumbled along, hands shaking.

As we reached the spot, I shoved Taka forward, making him crawl the rest of the way to the bag. He fumbled with the zipper, his hands shaking uncontrollably as he opened it up, revealing the contents inside.

The bag was stuffed with cash—American bills, just like the ones I had given Subaru. The sight of it made my anger cool, if only slightly.

I leaned in close to Taka, gripping his hair tighter, forcing him to look up at me. His tear-streaked face was filled with fear, his whole body shaking. I kept my voice low, steady. "None of this happened. You understand?"

Taka nodded frantically, too scared to do anything else. "Y-Yeah! I swear, none of this happened. It was all me—I started it! You were just protecting yourself!"

"Good," I said, my voice darkening. "And don’t even think about doing something stupid. This doesn’t leave this place, got it?"

Taka’s head bobbed up and down, agreeing to whatever I said if it meant he could get out of this without more damage. I could practically feel his desperation oozing from him.

I turned my head toward Akane, who was still standing there, frozen in shock. "You too," I said, my voice sharp. "Nothing happened. Understand?"

Akane just nodded, her face pale. But that wasn’t enough.

"I said, do you understand?" I shouted, my frustration boiling over.

"Yes! I understand!" she finally answered, her voice trembling as she tried to hold herself together.

I wiped some of the blood off my hands onto my pants, feeling a surge of exhaustion settle in. Everything about this situation made me sick—how easy it had been to resort to this, how quickly things had spiraled. But at least it was over.

I stood up, my body aching but my mind sharp. As I turned toward my uniform, I couldn’t help but notice the gang members still sprawled across the ground, groaning and clutching their injuries. Without hesitation, I started walking toward them, my boots crunching over the gravel. Each step I took felt heavier, each one a reminder of the mess I’d just created.

I reached the first guy, stepping right over him as he flinched, avoiding my gaze. I didn’t stop walking, but my voice cut through the silence like a knife. "None of this happened," I said, loud enough for all of them to hear. "Got it?"

They scrambled, crawling up to their knees, clutching their bruised bodies as they all shouted, "Yes! Yes! Got it!"

I grabbed my uniform from where I had left it, slowly putting it back on, one button at a time. As I did, I turned toward the group again, my eyes narrowing as I made sure they understood.

"If anyone so much as mentions this, I’ll be back," I said, my voice cold. "And next time, you won’t be walking away."

There was no more hesitation. They nodded quickly, muttering agreements, their voices weak and fearful.

Satisfied, I turned my back to them, walking away without another word, the weight of everything settling on my shoulders as I disappeared into the distance.

***