Chapter 14: Better Ten Punches Than One Elbow

He couldn’t understand it. If the other side knew he was being followed, why deliberately lead him somewhere with fewer people?

“Of course I know.”

Miyamoto Tokima nodded in confirmation.

Shogo Haizaki was extremely confident in his fighting skills. He gave a vicious grin and said:

“Since you know that, you still dare walk somewhere this deserted?”

Miyamoto Tokima kept a gentle smile as he replied:

“Too many people watching wouldn’t be very nice.”

“So you know you’re about to get beaten, and you chose a quiet place so it won’t be too embarrassing, right?”

Shogo Haizaki suddenly found Miyamoto Tokima hilarious. He was about to get beaten up, yet he was still worried about how he looked—what a poser.

With a mocking expression, Shogo Haizaki circled Miyamoto Tokima twice, clicking his tongue repeatedly.

Miyamoto Tokima rubbed his forehead helplessly. Why does a simple fight have to be so troublesome?

Still, he didn’t make a move. He was waiting—waiting for Shogo Haizaki to strike first, so he’d be in the right.

Wanting to get home as soon as possible, Miyamoto Tokima provoked him:

“Hurry up. I’m in a rush.”

Shogo Haizaki’s expression changed. He suddenly charged forward, raising his fist and swinging straight at Miyamoto Tokima’s temple.

The attack was incredibly fast, almost instantaneous. Seeing Miyamoto Tokima still not reacting, excitement surged through Shogo Haizaki.

But in Miyamoto Tokima’s eyes, the movement looked several times slower.

Miyamoto Tokima simply lowered his body slightly, cleanly dodging the punch.

Shogo Haizaki’s excited expression instantly turned to confusion. He subconsciously glanced downward—and saw Miyamoto Tokima already throwing a punch. This is bad, he thought.

He tried to dodge, but it was too late.

Miyamoto Tokima’s fist slammed straight into Shogo Haizaki’s stomach. With just that one punch, Shogo felt like he was about to vomit up everything he’d eaten.

Miyamoto Tokima didn’t stop there. As Shogo doubled over, Miyamoto Tokima drove his elbow hard into Shogo’s face and said:

“This elbow’s for you!”

“Better to take ten punches than one elbow”—that saying wasn’t a joke.

That single elbow strike knocked Shogo Haizaki out on the spot. He collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.

Miyamoto Tokima was startled. Did I use too much force?

He crouched down and pinched Shogo Haizaki’s philtrum, muttering:

“Don’t die! Don’t die! I held back, I really did!”

As he spoke, confusion filled his mind.

He was sure he’d restrained himself. Who knew Shogo Haizaki would be this fragile?

After several minutes of pinching, Shogo Haizaki suddenly coughed violently. Miyamoto Tokima finally let out a sigh of relief.

As long as I didn’t kill him… as long as I didn’t kill him.

Miyamoto Tokima stood up. When he saw Shogo Haizaki open his eyes, he spoke threateningly:

“I called an ambulance for you. If you pull something like this again, it won’t end with you just lying on the ground.”

Shogo Haizaki looked at Miyamoto Tokima with fear in his eyes and nodded with great difficulty.

It wasn’t that Shogo Haizaki was spineless—just now, he truly felt like he’d seen the King of Hell.

That elbow from Miyamoto Tokima made him feel as if he’d already crossed over. Shogo Haizaki silently swore he would never experience that feeling again.

After seeing him nod, Miyamoto Tokima turned around and headed home.

...

The next day.

Miyamoto Tokima tiptoed over to the gym. He crouched near the entrance, peeking around as if checking whether someone was there.

“Tokima.”

A voice suddenly came from behind him. Miyamoto Tokima jumped in surprise and spun around.

When he saw Satsuki Momoi behind him, he relaxed and pulled her aside to whisper:

“Satsuki, where’s the coach? Have you seen him anywhere?”

Satsuki didn’t answer right away. She stared blankly at Miyamoto Tokima holding her hand, her cheeks slowly turning red.

Miyamoto Tokima didn’t notice at all. He was still looking around, searching for Kōzō Shirogane.

Not hearing her response, he grew a little anxious and kept asking:

“Satsuki, do you know where the coach is? Satsuki? Satsuki!”

After he called her several times, Satsuki finally snapped out of it. Realizing she’d been rude, she quickly replied:

“Ah—Tokima, you’re late. The coach is furious right now. He’s waiting for you in the locker room.”

Once he knew where the coach was, Miyamoto Tokima happily shook Satsuki’s hand and thanked her:

“Thanks, Satsuki.”

Feeling the warmth from his hand, Satsuki lowered her head shyly and murmured:

“You’re welcome.”

Originally, Satsuki Momoi hadn’t planned to tell Miyamoto Tokima where the coach was. First, because the coach was extremely angry, and second, because she wanted Miyamoto Tokima to get punished a bit—so he’d train properly in the future.

But the moment Miyamoto Tokima grabbed her hand, all those thoughts flew out of her mind.

It wasn’t really Miyamoto Tokima’s fault that he was late. He’d originally planned to slack off and time it so he could head back to the dorms at the last minute.

Who knew his classmates would mess with him?

Because of his personality, Miyamoto Tokima quickly got along with everyone in class. He joked around often, and his classmates were used to that kind of interaction.

After school, he casually asked his desk mate what time it was.

Club activities started at 4 p.m., but his desk mate didn’t know Miyamoto Tokima had club. Jokingly, he said, “3:50.”

The worst part was—

Miyamoto Tokima believed him.

So he rested his head on the desk and went back to sleep.

After a few minutes, his desk mate asked curiously:

“Tokima, do you have something to do at four?”

Miyamoto Tokima replied groggily:

“Yeah.”

Realizing he might have caused trouble, the classmate hurriedly said:

“Tokima, it’s actually already past four…”

Miyamoto Tokima instantly woke up, his voice shooting up:

“Seriously?!”

The classmate scratched his head awkwardly.

“It’s true…”

Miyamoto Tokima said helplessly, on the verge of tears:

“Thanks. You’re really a great person…”

Then he grabbed his backpack and bolted out the door.

And that led to what had just happened.

Now that he knew the coach was in the locker room—and that he’d definitely been caught for being late—there was no point pretending anymore.

He swaggered straight into the locker room and saw Kōzō Shirogane sitting on a chair, glaring at him.

Miyamoto Tokima let out a dry laugh, ran behind Kōzō Shirogane, and started massaging his shoulders while speaking ingratiatingly:

“Coach, why are you here?”

Kōzō Shirogane clearly wasn’t buying it and spat out a sentence with barely contained fury.