Chapter 42: Chapter 42 - A Path to Ruin
At that very moment, Ito Yoshito arrived to witness a scene that enraged him deeply.
Under the street lamps, the petite landlady, Asou Miyuri, stood trembling in front of two rowdy blond delinquents, looking small and helpless.
Wrapping her arms around herself, she sought comfort in the face of their intimidation.
A wave of fury washed over Ito Yoshito, darkening his handsome features as he swiftly approached them.
'These scumbags are bullying Asou-san—are they seeking death?!'
With a loud "bang," before the two could react, Ito Yoshito was already at their side, wielding his fists and delivering devastating blows.
"Arrgh!"
The anguished cries echoed through the night.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Ito Yoshito rained down blows on the two delinquents, each strike causing them to clutch their stomachs in agony.
"You've already chosen your path to ruin!"
His icy voice resonated clearly in the silent streets of the night.
"Cough, cough, Ito-kun, wait a moment!"
Asou Miyuri finally snapped back to reality, witnessing the two blonds curled in pain on the ground, powerless to fight back against Ito Yoshito's assault.
She hurriedly ran to his side and gently tugged on his sleeve, signaling him to bend down.
"Ito-kun, it's enough to teach them a lesson. I just heard that this is their first attempt at being delinquents."
Pausing, Asou Miyuri leaned in closer to whisper in his ear, her warm breath carrying a sweet scent, "More importantly, I don't want you to get into trouble because of them. If they call the police, it would be a bigger problem."
Her calming presence gradually extinguished the flames of Ito Yoshito's anger.
Ito Yoshito glanced down at the two young men, who squirmed on the ground as they writhed in pain from his heavy punches.
Slowly, he retracted his ready fists.
He crouched down and picked up the fallen phone from beside them, handing it back to Asou Miyuri.
"Asou-san, are you alright?"
Ito Yoshito expressed concern, scanning her petite frame for any injuries.
Under the lights, Asou Miyuri's eyes sparkled like clear springs, reflecting her delight at his concern.
"I-I'm fine; my legs just feel a little weak."
Heeding her words, Ito Yoshito quickly moved to support her.
However, due to their height difference, he had to bend over.
Instead, he decided to lift Asou Miyuri into his arms, his sturdy arm supporting her weight easily.
In his embrace, Asou Miyuri's charming face nestled against his chest, her large, expressive eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Ito-kun, you looked really cool just now! Bonus points for you from me!"
Ito Yoshito chuckled lightly, replying gently, "Asou-san, let me finish handling this, and then we can head home."
With a curious look from Asou Miyuri, he skillfully approached the two fallen blond delinquents, crouching down beside them.
"Ugh, two broke losers."
After defeating the enemies, of course, there would be loot to collect!
In the past, when Ito Yoshito was short on cash, he would venture out at night to hunt for ordinary delinquents on the street, raking in easy gains to ease his financial woes.
As Ito Yoshito carried Asou Miyuri's figure further away from the light and into the darkness, the two blonds slowly recovered from their act of playing dead, sitting up groggily.
"Moze, maybe… we shouldn't be delinquents after all. Ouch…"
Matsushita Masao winced, feeling the pervasive pain throughout his upper body as he timidly suggested to Ueda Moze.
"Ouch… You're ready to quit after a little setback?"
Ueda Moze gently massaged his injuries to soothe the pain.
"Masao, do you want to go back to the days when we were bullied?"
"But there's no choice…"
Matsushita Masao said glumly, lowering his head in defeat.
"In our first attempt at being delinquents, we got our butts kicked. It hurts worse than the bullying we used to endure!"
"Emm… sigh!"
A gloomy atmosphere enveloped the two rookies in the delinquent world.
"Maybe we just had bad luck, running into a brick wall on our first try…"
Ueda Moze paused, then continued, "Huh?"
"Masao, do you think that guy was really strong?!"
"Isn't that obvious? I'm still hurting like crazy!"
"Masao, I think we encountered a seasoned veteran!"
"Ah?"
"Think about it. What did that guy do after he took us down?"
"What did he do? He just walked away…"
Matsushita Masao scratched his head in confusion, perplexed by Moze's line of questioning.
"Come on, how can you be so stupid… ow!"
Ueda Moze, amused by Masao's cluelessness, leaned in to give him a playful slap but accidentally pulled at his injury, gasping in pain.
"After he beat us, didn't he start going through our stuff?"
"It was like that…"
"Just think about it! He was so familiar with picking through our things; we've definitely run into a senior in the delinquent world!"
"If we could get him to be our boss, then in the future, we wouldn't have to charge in recklessly and risk offending someone important!"
"Ha ha, that's fantastic, Moze!"
Matsushita Masao clapped and laughed merrily.
"Of course!"
"But what if he doesn't want to be our boss?"
"Uh!"
The lighthearted banter suddenly halted.
Ueda Moze looked at Matsushita Masao, then up at the deep, starry sky that enveloped everything in darkness, his expression shifting to one of profound melancholy.
"Masao—do you know what our greatest strength is?"
Matsushita Masao rubbed his chin, pondering for a while before cautiously answering, "What is it?"
"You stupid pig! I finally worked up my enthusiasm just to have you ruin it… ow!"
Ueda Moze's excitement led him to hurt himself again.
"Forget it; don't speak anymore."
Ueda Moze turned his gaze back towards the stars.
"Ahem, our greatest strength is that we can take a beating!"
"As long as we shamelessly ask him to be our boss, even if we get punched, it will be alright. I believe one day, he'll be touched by our sincerity!"
"..."
"We deserve some applause here!"
"Ah oh oh oh… clap clap clap——"
The crescent moon hung high in the night sky, casting down warm moonlight, the gentle curve of the moon appearing to smile, blessing the two aspiring young men seated on the ground.