Haruto slowly opened his eyes, feeling the air conditioning. He saw the bullies in hospital beds beside him, all wrapped up head-to-toe. The same applied to him, but only on his torso.

A clinic nurse went inside. “You’re lucky none of your organs were damaged. Your ribcage was very close to shattering, but all you got were sprains.” She turned. “Can’t say the same for these four, however. One of them had their radius and ulna fractured.”

She further explained that he needed to stay for three days. They had already informed his foster parents. The incident he caused did not give faces of anger but of worry.

“After those days, you and the others will go to the principal. Don’t worry, he won’t expel you. Rest easy.” She tucked his blanket.

At 5:00 PM, Haruto killed time by playing on his smartphone. The only thing he could catch in the room were Cubones. Moments later, he heard the door open.

It was Maki with a bento box. Her friends also gave one to the bullies, even though they were unconscious.

She walked toward him. “Um… I made another one for you. We handed these out to everyone. I wanted you to have one after class.” She placed it on a table. “So, um get well soon, Haruto.” Her head cocked with closed eyes.

Maki went outside with a sigh and a calm heart. That was until a friend smirked at her. “Uh oh….” She carressed her chin. “Looks like Morning Dew Maki (朝露 真貴) has a soft spot for troublemakers.”

She cupped her red cheeks and turned. “H-Huuuuuh…!? W-What are you s-saying?”

Her other friend moved closer. “Oh, Maki. I’m so happy for you! It’s like every single manga I write. Except it’s not BL.”

“Guys, stop. I only wanted to help.” Her eyes lowered. “He needs it….”

The friend inched closer to her face. “What about the other troublemaker, Maki? Do you have feelings for him, too?”

The other squinted her eyes in disbelief. “Really? Her having feelings for that vicious animal? He’s no troublemaker. He’s the king of crime lords.”

Three days had passed. The bullies waited outside the principal’s office. Even in their crippled, bandaged state, they could hear him shouting beyond his limit.

“You’re expelled, Udemaeno! E-X-P-E-L-L-E-D!!” He banged his table multiple times. “End of fucking story!”

The seventeen-year-old cleaned his ear with a pinky. “Oh, nice! For a second there, I thought ya was gon’ groom me, judgin’ by your follicle deficiency.” He chuckled.

The principal sighed and sat back. “Let me repeat, bastard. Last year, you hoarded boxes from Maki’s club so you can sell illegal fireworks to our students. And when we punished you to a cafeteria shift, you replaced the whole menu with fucking udon!”

He raised his hands in front. “Hey, hey… It wasn’t easy, bruh. I had to convince ‘em for half an hour to do it.”

Maki walked toward him with narrowed eyes. “Well, if you wanted to make udon so bad, why didn’t you join my club!? Or start your own, with other delinquents as your team?”

He snickered and turned. “Oh, shut the fuck up, Morning Breath Manjū. If they were delinquents, they wouldn’t have turned down the fireworks. Besides, I work full-time. Not after class.” He casually walked out the door, and, “See ya later, pedo!” waved at the principal behind.

Multiple veins popped within him. “I’m not a… Urgh! You know what? Fuck you, Udemaeno. Just fuck you. I hope you die pathetically!” He pointed sharply as it had closed.

The principal apologized to Maki for his venting; she forgave him instantly. When asked why she still stayed, she had awaited someone’s arrival.

Outside, the seventeen-year-old noticed the battered and wrapped-up bullies. He snickered again. “Woohahahahahaha! Holy shit, bruh! Who the hell beat your asses all the way to Timbuktu? I wanna fucking know.” He grinned.

The gang leader glared. “None of your business, dipshit.”

“Yeah, ya keep sayin’ dat but y’all look worse than dat. Ain’t paintin’ no pretty picture, bruh. Nah….” He shook his head. The leader run toward him, readying a jab. He quickly moved his head to the side and threw a leopard fist to the gut.

Curled on the ground, the leader’s friends came for his aid. The culprit chuckled atop a ledge.

“Oh, Lordy… You are so precious. Think with your fists, and you shall receive one harder than the last.” He jumped down.

The friends worried if he was okay. Suddenly, they saw Haruto from a distance. They backed away in sweat and left him on the ground.

He eventually got up and gave Haruto a narrowed gaze. “What do you want…!?”

“What are you talking about? Let’s go inside.” He turned his head at the door behind him.

The leader briefly looked back and grabbed his uniform. “I want you to know that this isn’t over,” he pointed.

“I prefer it that way, actually.” He returned the glare.

His words angered him more than Hokori’s. Teeth clenched, he readied another punch. However, a friend held his shoulder. He grunted and let go.

Inside, the principal had a long talk with them. “The bottom line is… you young’uns are suspended for a week. Even if you do it a second time, I still won’t expel you. But there are no infinite chances.” He dismissed them.

Before Haruto went outside, Maki gave him another bento box. “The onigiri this time have an umeboshi filling. I hope you like it.”

He looked at her with lowered eyes. “Um… thanks.” The door closed behind him.

Outside the school grounds, he became a little annoyed. She had followed him even as the sun went down. With a cocked head, her hands tied in front.

He sighed. “Are you going to walk for another fifteen minutes?”

She gasped with red cheeks and twiddled her fingers. “N-No… Of course, not. I-I just felt like you’d be lonely out here. Your home’s pretty far away, that’s for sure. So, I—”

“What are tou talking about?” He stopped within a lawn. “I have a new home.”

Maki’s eyes widened upon seeing the house. It was merely five blocks away from school. “Huh?” she stood dumbstruck. Then, sweat overcame her.

“Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” She bowed at Haruto as she stood further and further away. He would have mistook her for a cartoon character.

At home, his foster mother hugged him, worried sick. After dinner, Nisemono and Shōmei had a lengthy conversation about how it was okay to stand up to bullies but never threaten their lives.

“Don’t worry, sport.” His foster father patted his shoulder. “I know how it feels when the world spits on you.”

Shōmei kissed his cheek. “Be careful next time, honey. I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to you.”

She accompanied him to his bedroom and tucked him firmly.

A week later, Haruto decided to do kendo atop the school building. He placed his Zoro figurine on a nearby table, serving as a motivational piece for his dual-wielding practice; gold Pokémon cards of Zacian-Crowned were held up as well.

He mimicked the Nitōryū technique called “Nigiri” (弐斬り). He swung at a makeshift target dummy made of a potato sack and barley straw; the components were from a recycled trash art club. Along the way, he turned down another as he wanted to do kendo alone.

Days went by, Maki had given him more bento, while the bullies never touched him once. However, the gang eventually found out his base. Before, they were suspicious of him going up a long flight of stairs after class.

5:00 PM. Haruto opened the rooftop door and dropped his bento. He sweated bullets with widened eyes. All the shinais had splintered to pieces, and the dummy got mangled beyond recognition. His Pokémon cards burnt to ash, and his Zoro figurine had melted to a hard, black plastic sludge.

An empty can of hairspray rolled by the wind. He fell to his knees, hands on the floor. He cried silently but not of sadness. That day, he felt a snap within. His breathing worsened by the second.

“That’s it….”

Before Haruto’s little joys in life were taken away, he would only beat up others when provoked. Now, there was almost no end. He came close to drowning the gang leader on a restroom sink.

He waited the right time after class merely to torment them further. He stood before the battered bullies near a forest. “Tell anyone… and I’ll buy my first pocketknife.” He pointed with a soul-staring glare.

Haruto’s reputation changed. Alluding to the school uniform for boys, students began calling him the “White Delinquent” in Japanese slang (白ヤンキー). Detention after detention came in, and he was suspended three times.

Maki continued politely giving him bento. Haruto’s annoyance now had a hint of anger. She convinced him endlessly to change. No matter the lecture, he would ignore it as his patience waned. He had felt another snap.

She followed him in the hallway, trying to keep up. “Please listen to me! If your main problem with this school is everyone, then haven’t you done enough? You’ve hit so many at this point. No one here would even dare intimidate you. Even the faculty’s afraid. You must understand that—”

He grunted with clenched teeth. “Shut up!!” he turned. “Why are you doing this? Stop sticking to me like glue and leave me alone!” He continued walking.

She walked faster behind. “I can’t do that, Haruto! I can’t just let you harm more all because they looked at you funny!” They argued further loudly. Many students observed.

“I said shut up! What gives you the right to—” Haruto saw the four bullies in the distance. He quickly pulled up his shinai.

Maki turned around and gasped. She held back his weapon. “No… No, no, no. Don’t do this. Please!”

He grunted in place. “Let go!” he used both hands.

She pulled as much as she could. “Please! Be better! This won’t solve anything!”

Haruto repeated the phrase over and over as she pulled harder. From afar, the bullies stood their ground, perplexed by what they saw. Eventually, Maki lost her grip.

“I said let go!!!” He swung without thought.

Letting out a brief shriek, Maki got hit at the left humerus. She fell on her back, and everyone gasped. Her friends ran crying her name and held her up.

Maki did not stop screaming in short bursts. The agony radiated all over her left side. The friend who teased her before looked at the affected area closer. She realized her arm had bent 14° in two.

The friend teared up a river. Teeth clenched, she pushed Haruto away. “Get away from her, you fucking monster! Get out! Get out! Get out!!” She shoved him one last time.

He lingered over the scene for a bit. “No… I didn’t mean…” his heart raced and he walked backyard.

The bullies ran away. They did not want to feel the wrath of the White Delinquent again, nor did they want to get roped in.

Haruto finally went out of the horrific scene and sprinted. Other students looked at him in confusion.

A minute later, he banged the rooftop door open. He hyperventilated and recollected his thoughts. He felt authorities had come to get him. Before long, he screamed at the top of his lungs. Nesting birds flew away.

His teeth had clenched, yet a waterfall came out. He destroyed the previously broken shinais even further to the ground aimlessly. Next, he tore apart the splinters with his bare hands. He did the same with his unbroken sword.

The rage all felt pointless. He curled into a fetal position and bawled profusely. Memories flashed before his eyes once again.

At age six, he had excitedly insisted his father play John Lennon’s “Beautiful Boy” via his home’s vintage record player. He never got tired until age twelve.

He always danced giggling. His mother would join in. “Moms can enjoy this song, too, honey…” she said softly, smiling at her little bundle of joy. His father laughed with closed eyes like no tomorrow. His grandparents on both sides clapped to the beat.

The song ended internally in a fade. He stopped reminiscing and sobbed quietly.

“Mom, Dad… I wanna go home….”