The bully was already prepared to start the fight.
They were all in a secluded corner of the school.
It was the perfect place to be if you didn't want to get caught doing something you shouldn't.
Just before the older boy could do anything, =@º\' spoke up.
"Why were you asking that boy for money?"
"Ahh?! What do you care?"
"Tell me."
"Are you backing out now or what?!"
"I'm going to give you the money."
"...?"
The boy dropped his aggressive stance and relaxed his body. He and his friend were surprised by his response. He hadn't even expected it.
"But first, tell me, why did you ask him?"
"Well, you see. Two days ago, I nicely asked that kid for 1,600 yen, and he said he'd give it to me. But, as you know, I'm still waiting for it."
"And you're just talking to him like that because of that? He doesn't even owe you."
"But he promised me! A promise is a promise, right?"
=@º\' sighed. "Look, I'll give you those 1600 yen now, but leave that kid alone, okay?"
"Make it 3200!" said the bully's friend.
"No. I'm going to give you the 1600. Either you take that, or you're left with nothing."
"I think I like the offer my friend made. Either you give us the 3200, or there's no deal."
"Two thousand. That's the most I'll give you."
"You heard what I said. If you don't give us the money, or if you complain anymore, we're not going to put up with it anymore."
&$%"!, a little fed up with the situation, stepped forward and intervened.
"Isn't it better if we just give you two thousand?! You'll walk away with more money than before. Even if it's not much, it's something."
"Well…"
"And shit!"
Taking advantage of the fact that &$%"! Wasn't behind =@º\', the bully's friend approached him and punched him in the face.
&$%"! He didn't expect it, so he fell on his butt to the ground.
The blow caused his nose to bleed, which was surprising, considering how skinny the boy was.
=@º\', pissed off, tried to approach the brat, but the bully got in the way.
"I guess you're not going to give me anything, huh?"
"I'm going to give you what you wanted. Something to warm you up," said =@º\', as he got ready.
When I arrived, it was all over a long time ago.
I knew where they were going, because it was the most hidden place in the institute.
Just by looking at the scene for a few seconds, I could understand what was happening.
Only the bully and =@º\' got into it, although &$%"!'s nose was bleeding, so I don't know who started it first.
&$%"! is holding =@º\', who, like the other, wants to continue the fight.
Luckily, the retard's friend isn't that stupid and is also holding him back.
The two involved in the fight were a little unwell, although it was nothing to worry about.
"That's enough, Soeyu!"
" Haven't you had enough already?! And I'm fine! My nosebleed isn't that bad!"
Just as I tried to approach them, a voice was heard behind me. It was a teacher.
"What happened?"
He was coming with _¨*^?¿, and it seemed they were asking me.
I turned to look at him and answered. "No, I just got here, but…"
There, I turned around again, now looking at the problem.
As soon as the teacher saw them, he went straight to stop them.
The professor gave us all a good lecture. I know it wasn't directed at us, but he gave it to _¨*^?¿· and me too.
When he was done, he took the four troublemakers. I assume they went to the infirmary first, then to the principal's office.
The only thing that pisses me off about all this is what I heard as they walked past me.
Before they left, someone said something.
" Thanks for the help, Riku."
No one in the group was looking at me, but I knew it was directed at me. It was =@º\' who said it, with a clear sarcastic tone.
I understand that he's angry, but it bothers me that he's the one saying it, especially after saying that I could do nothing if he wanted to.
I didn't do anything wrong. They were the ones who wanted a fight, and they kept fighting for a while.
They only have the right to blame me for being a coward. The only one who's done anything right is _¨*^?¿·. That's all they have to complain about. They wanted to fight and got interrupted, after all.
I'm not going to take it seriously. It makes me feel bad that he sees me like that, but what can I do? You can't think straight when you're that angry.
Besides, we're friends, right?
For the rest of the day, =@º\' and &$%"! were in the director's office, along with the other 2.
At the end of the last hour, &$%"! Entered the classroom. As soon as he did, I went up to him.
_¨*^?¿ told me he had to leave early so he could keep an eye on his younger brother, so it was just the two of us in the group.
"What did they tell you in the end?"
"Well, they told the kid who was following Soeyu and me that they were going to talk to our parents, and we were going to stay for seventh period after school, me for 1 week and the other one for 2.
" =@º\' and Soeyu have been expelled for a week. They even called their parents in the middle of the conversation." &$%"! sounds clearly annoyed.
"I understand my punishment, but it pisses me off that =@º\' got expelled the same way as that retard."
"What did you expect to happen? You couldn't solve something like that by talking, much less with people like them."
"Anyway, nothing would have happened if _¨*^?¿ hadn't gone to a teacher."
"I know you're angry, but it's not like we can blame him."
"But I knew we were going to have everything in control. Besides, we're not retarded, if we see that we're going too far, we'll stop, whether the other one wants to continue or not."
"He didn't do it with bad intentions; he did it with your best interests in mind."
As we were talking, &$%"! Walked over to his desk to grab his backpack and put it on his left shoulder.
"I understand you wanted to help, but we could have solved everything ourselves. Didn't you see how we were trying to get them to stop fighting?"
We both started leaving class.
"And you wanted to leave there with your nose bleeding, and with those two people hurt in the face a couple of times?"
" The nurse would have kept quiet. I feel like she's sometimes too nice, but it's in everyone's best interest if she doesn't say anything."
"Even so, I don't think _¨*^?¿ did anything wrong."
"Do you want us to blame the director?"
"Well, no, but he shouldn't have punished you in any way, not even =@º\'"
"We've already told him the whole situation, but he told us it didn't matter, since we went with them to the corner, instead of looking for a teacher. He said it nicely, so...
" You could also say that I didn't do anything, but I followed =@º\', and we started picking a fight. Now that I'm hearing it a second time, it makes sense. Though it still bothers me.
"The only one that didn't do anything is you. _¨*^?¿ brought the teacher, though I'm surprised one didn't come sooner, and you haven't done anything."
That he emphasized that last point made me feel a little guilty that it had ended this way, even though it wasn't that bad.
"I don't think my parents will ground me from going out or going to the convention. They'll probably understand."
"Yes. I can't wait for Saturday."
"Right? I'm getting a little impatient from waiting so long."
After talking for so long, we quickly reached the entrance. We stopped for a moment to change our shoes.
"You don't have to stay today?"
"No, they told me starting tomorrow.
He paused for a moment before changing the topic.
"And, going back to the convention, were you going to dress up as that in the end ?"
"Mhh, I'm still not sure. I know I bought it, and it would be a waste not to wear the cosplay, but I'm really embarrassed."
After leaving our school shoes in the lockers and putting on our own, we left the entrance.
"I'd love to see you wearing that. Although it would be weird if you were wearing cosplay and I wasn't."
"I don't think so. Anyway, if I were wearing it, I'd be the weird one, not you."
"I hope so."
As we crossed the entrance to the high school, we stopped in front of it.
"Well, we'll talk more tomorrow."
"Yes. See you later."
"See you tomorrow."
We both said goodbye to each other and started walking home.