Chapter 54: So that’s what a duel between delinquent groups looks like!

With their precious date, Ishikawa Yuka really didn’t want to interfere in other people’s business.

But since she had stumbled upon it, she couldn’t just turn a blind eye.

The other side clearly had the advantage in numbers and was older.

Five older kids bullying three younger ones—however you looked at it, it was going to be a hassle.

“What are you all doing here, surrounding these children?”

“Huh? Who are you?”

As Yuka stood in front of the three young boys, the five older kids immediately snarled at her.

Though being threatened by elementary schoolers was really funny, Yuka forcefully suppressed her smile and continued to question them.

“I asked first. What are you doing?”

It was clear even without asking that it was a case of bullying the weak.

Though she didn’t know the cause, it was unsightly for the older and more numerous side to use force against children.

“None of your business!”

“Ah! Be careful!”

One of the taller kids reached out to push Yuka.

He wasn’t trying to hit her, just trying to push her out of the way.

Judging from the way the other two young boys had fallen to the ground, that was probably how they had been pushed down as well.

“Heh~”

“!”

Yuka lightly sidestepped the attack.

That guy had put too much force into it and stumbled a few steps, nearly falling.

‘Kids these days don’t get enough exercise,’ she thought.

‘If Sensei saw that, he would definitely scold them for having “no strength in their waist and legs!” and then put them through hellish special training.’

“Y-You! You dare resist?!”

“Resist? Why should I just stand there and let you push me?”

The five older kids looked even more disgruntled.

But Yuka wasn’t wrong; she had no reason to let them push her around.

“Damn it!”

“Heh~”

The other side reached out again without giving up, and Yuka dodged once more.

After a few consecutive attempts, the five older kids stepped back a few paces, saying fiercely:

“You! Darting around is annoying! Do you know what will happen to you if you cross us?!”

“I have no idea. Could you tell me why I must stand there and let you push me?”

Yuka thought to herself: I don’t even know who you guys are…

Though these kids might attend the same school, she had never met them.

“You’re also in their group?!”

“Hmm? Ah… I don’t know these kids in the back either. I just saw you guys arguing and came over to ask what was going on.”

‘As expected, this is what elementary schoolers are like, huh?’

Communication was such a hassle.

It was all because the elementary schoolers she usually dealt with were too mature; from her brother Yota to Kurohara Masahira and Marina, everyone was precocious beyond their years.

These were the average elementary schoolers, practically speaking a different language.

They didn’t listen to others and decided on their own what to believe.

They should clearly be able to tell she went to a different school and had no connection to the three young boys…

“If it’s none of your business, then get lost!”

“That’s why I’m asking what the dispute is, isn’t it?”

“If these little kids are in the wrong, I will handle it fairly.”

“But since five older kids are surrounding them, I have to ask what’s going on. If they did something deserving of punishment, I won’t stop you.”

She would definitely stop them from using violence, but she wouldn’t interfere if it was just lecturing.

Yuka didn’t think that being young meant one was necessarily right or pitiful; she was just asking the other side to explain the reason, but these older kids hadn’t been willing to communicate properly from the start.

“This guy is always so cocky! We’re teaching him how to act!”

“Ah~… I see… it seems the older side is bullying the weak and has no legitimate reason.”

It seemed the reason was just that they thought the other party was “acting cocky.”

Then Yuka had no choice but to side with the young kids.

“It looks like there’s no need to hold back!”

“Charge!”

Two of them attacked at the same time.

But their coordination was terrible, hindering each other; instead of utilizing their numerical advantage, they only made their attacks more predictable.

“Yo…heh…”

Yuka grabbed the fists thrown by the two of them with one hand and used their momentum to throw them out.

It was easy to take them down by simply grabbing their arms and changing the direction of their force.

“Damn it!”

“Don’t get cocky!”

Hmm… didn’t they see what happened to the first two?

The newly arrived two repeated their mistakes, hindering each other and charging in with a straightforward, predictable attack route.

It would have been better if they had come at her one by one.

“You… take this…”

Yuka grabbed the arms that came flying again and threw them out as well.

The four landed hard on their butts on the parking lot floor, grimacing in pain.

Only one was left…

“D-Damn it!”

“Hey.”

The kid who had been issuing the orders charged at her last.

As expected, it was the same… straightforward attacks were too easy to deflect.

Yuka grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, pushing her knee into the back of his leg and forcing him to kneel.

“It hurts! It hurts, it hurts!”

“Don’t exaggerate; I’m not even using that much force.”

“If I really wanted to twist it…”

“Waaaaah! It hurts, it hurts!”

Seeing him shout in exaggeration, Yuka applied a bit more force, and he immediately howled.

It was too noisy, so Yuka released her grip and asked:

“Well then, what is the cause of this farce?”

Yuka scanned the area and asked.

The five older kids remained silent, but the only one of the three young boys still standing spoke up:

“They’re always running rampant at school!”

“They hog the swings, and when they see us playing, they chase us away…”

“When we don’t listen, they hit us and push us…”

“They say we’re ‘acting cocky for our age’… they found us here today and brought us here…”

“Ah~…”

If this child wasn’t lying, then the situation was clear.

These five were typical bullies, and these three had been targeted for not obeying obediently.

They had run into each other at the mall today and had been brought to the rooftop parking lot to be bullied…

Although she couldn’t fully believe one side’s story, seeing that the older kids didn’t offer a rebuttal, it was probably close to the truth.

This was bad.

If it were just a chance encounter, they could simply disband and never see each other again.

But since they went to the same school and held a deep-seated grudge, things wouldn’t end so easily.

“Hmm~ arguing here won’t solve the problem…”

“Are there no adults or teachers to mediate?”

“It’s always them who are wrong… it’s always them who start bullying… but we’re always the ones who get scolded…”

Eh? This child… did I see him somewhere before?

And this story sounded familiar…

Could it be… that this was the character who was originally a good kid full of justice, but because he protected his friends and was misunderstood by adults, he was labeled as a “violent delinquent” and eventually went down a dark path?

‘No way? I’m running into a possible capture target even here… how unlucky…’

“Listen carefully. It is true that some adults don’t listen to children’s explanations and scold them based on their own assumptions.”

“But there are also adults in this world who are willing to believe you.”

“Please don’t give up on yourself; carefully observe those around you and find an adult who is truly worthy of trust.”

“That person is definitely by your side.”

“……Ah?”

Hearing Yuka’s words, the child froze.

Was saying this to a first-grade elementary student too difficult to understand?

Moreover, she wasn’t sure if he was even that character.

Although he had a similar vibe, he was still far from the completely fallen delinquent she remembered.

However… Yuka seemed to understand his feelings.

Doing the right thing… yet not being understood by adults.

Being unfairly treated as the one in the wrong and being scolded for no reason.

The adults knew nothing, only looking at the results and not listening to the children’s explanations.

Despite being the ones who were bullied, children who bravely stood up to protect their friends were unilaterally scolded because they had injured the other party and used violence.

The Yuka of her past life had experienced something similar and had rebelled because of it.

However… whether one became utterly disappointed in adults and went down a dark path, or encountered someone who understood them and was led back to the right path, wasn’t entirely the child’s problem; it was an issue of their surrounding environment.

Yuka was fortunate to have been saved, but there were also children in the world who didn’t receive understanding and ended up being labeled as “delinquents.”

She hoped this child wouldn’t become like that…

“It hurts, it hurts! Let go of me!”

“Ah… I forgot I was still holding you.”

Without realizing it, Yuka had increased the force in her grip, and the child whose arm was twisted behind him cried out in pain.

Afterward, Yuka and Marina hurriedly fled the scene.

“So that’s what a battle between delinquent groups is like! It’s the first time I’ve seen it in person!”

Marina clasped her hands tightly together, her eyes sparkling as she said this.

Yuka held her forehead.

“Where did you get all this knowledge from…”

“Hmm? Various sources, you know? Delinquent-themed dramas, movies, and stuff…”

Ah… come to think of it, there were occasionally these kinds of dramas about school life…

She hadn’t expected Marina to watch these too…

However, dramas are fictional, so please don’t take them too seriously?

“Sigh… are you still in the mood to shop?”

“Of course! I came out prepared to get scolded! I’m going to have as much fun as I can!”

Oh… she was truly spirited.

And it seemed she was aware that she would be scolded…

Sorry for dragging you into this… we’ll endure the scolding together.

“Then let’s continue browsing.”

“Alright! Today we’re going to conquer this shopping center!”

“”Hahaha!””

As if to match their declaration, the two truly browsed every single store in the mall afterward.

Though they were bound to get scolded when they returned… as long as they faced it together, it wasn’t a big deal.

****

That day, a dashing hero appeared before the boy.

Instantly, he threw five older bullies to the ground, just like the heroes on TV.

The image of him facing five people alone yet winning with overwhelming power perfectly overlapped with the image of the heroes he admired on screen every day.

It turned out heroes really existed.

Moreover, that hero had told him that adults often misunderstood things and only knew how to scold.

Even though he had bravely stood up to protect his friends, he was scolded as being “so violent at such a young age.”

He had already been disappointed in adults… but why did this hero understand his situation so well?

“I see!”

The boy pondered and reached a conclusion: the hero had been watching him all along.

Just like the heroes in dramas, the hero would always appear to help in the truly critical moment.

It must be because the hero had been protecting them all along.

Then he must never live in a way that would shame the hero.

The hero had said that not all adults were untrustworthy.

Therefore, he couldn’t just hate all adults…

“…Are you okay, Ken?”

“Yeah. Let’s go before things get too big.”

“Okay…”

Before they could thank him, the hero had left.

And the hero had a heroine by his side, who was far cuter than any lead actress on TV.

She had called the hero’s name.

The hero whose name he hadn’t been able to ask…

“Was it ‘Yuka’?”

Yuka, the hero who had saved them, also had a super cute heroine by her side.

Though they hadn’t promised to meet again… the boy swore in his heart that the next time they met, he would live uprightly, doing nothing to shame the hero Yuka.