First Fight
“…..Yes? “
Shiki’s voice is aghast, and Kawato bites into Karin’s suggestion like a moth to a light.
“Are you saying Orifushi and I are going to have a one-on-one fight? In that case, you’re not going to touch me, right? Regardless of the outcome of the one-on-one fight. “
When Kawato implicitly indicates that this is a condition, Karin nonchalantly agrees.
“That’s fine. But if you lose, don’t touch Pashiri-kun anymore.”
“Alright. I’ll give you my word. Only if Orifushi can beat me.”
“Hey-wait! You can’t go on talking on your own like that mfft――?!”
Shiki tries to protest, but Karin’s hand clamps down on his mouth.
A chill runs down Shiki’s spine as he thinks he has offended her, but the sweet scent of Karin’s palm, apart from the faint scent of the iron fan, makes him forget his fear of the [Empress] for a moment. He found himself swallowing the words of rebuttal before he knows it.
Karin, completely oblivious to Shiki’s change, winks at him and says,
“Don’t worry. I’ll give you some advice so you can beat that idiot.”
“Huh? Are you trying to give him some advice?”
Karin moves her hand that was covering Shiki’s mouth out of the way and covers her mouth this time, chuckling with a [Pff~ kuku~] look on her face.
“Oh, what’s that~? Are you scared~? Even though you’re the one who bullied him a lot~? I’m just trying to give him a little advice, you know~? “
In the face of the blatant ridicule, Kawato trembled as if enduring humiliation and spat out words with blue veins showing on his temple.
“Haa… Who’s scared of Orifushi? Give him advice or whatever you want.”
“Well then, I’ll do what I want.”
With that, she puts her hand on Shiki’s shoulder and turns her back on Kawato.
The sweet aroma tickles his nostrils again, and he’s also a bit nervous because Karin’s face, which is smaller than he expected, is right next in front of him.
Misinterpreting Shiki’s reaction, Karin’s lips twitched, and she said
“You were pretty much the same way when we almost bumped into each other in front of the vending machine, I’m a little hurt when you’re always scared of me.”
“No… it’s not like that, I mean… it’s for a different reason.”
It would be a lie if he said he’s not afraid of the [Empress] because he has been shown how she destroys Kawato’s cronies in a second.
But right now, he was much more overwhelmed and embarrassed to be so close to a person named Kohinata Karin.
“Hey, don’t use honorifics either. If you’re the same age as that idiot, that means you’re the same age as me too, right? “
“No, but…”
“No buts, no loofahs. Anyway, no honorifics. Now, err, did he say you’re [Orifushi]? “
“Y-yes.”
“What’s your first name? “
“It’s Shiki.”
“Shiki… it is easier to say than Orifushi, so I’ll call you that. You can call me Karin instead.”
” …what? ” “
“Thank you, Shiki. For protecting my junior. I really appreciate that.”
“Ah, okay…”
While he’s overwhelmed by Karin’s rapid closing of the distance between them, the conversation goes on at her pace.
“So, yeah. Since that idiot seems to have a short temper, I’ll cut the idle talk and give you some advice right away. Are you ready? “
Shiki gasps and nods his head in affirmation, and Karin smiles with satisfaction but then offers some advice that he couldn’t believe he was hearing.
“You simply need to take the first move! Kick that idiot in the stomach as hard as you can! That’s all you need to do to win! “
He looked at her as if to say, [What――?], and she continued.
“You look like you want to say “What――?” “
Shiki was hit by the right answer with a chuckle, and he somehow managed to fix his expression while trying to reflect on the situation.
“Well, even if I said it myself, I also think it’s pretty absurd advice, too, you know? But seriously, considering you, it’s the surest way to win, so it can’t be helped.”
Shiki’s mouth falls silent in the face of this confident statement.
The [Empress] has given her assurance.
If he could kick Kawato in the stomach with his front kick, he might really win the match.
However, the fear of Kawato was not so shallow that Shiki could believe it unconditionally.
( However… )
Even though the dark-haired girl was Karin’s junior, letting Karin deal with everything was not okay. This is the least he can do because she has already come to his rescue.
“…got it. I’ll do as Kohinata-san said.”
“I told you to call me Karin… anyway, that’s not important right now.”
Karin backed away and slapped Shiki on the back.
“So go ahead, give him a shot! “
Shiki nods her head in affirmation and turns to Kawato determinedly.
“You’ve got some nerve just because you got a little advice from the Empress. Come on…I’ll crush your [Empress] advice! “
In front of Kawato, who has blue veins on his temples and is angrier than ever before, Shiki unintentionally looks back at Karin. But by that time, she had already left Shiki’s side, smiling and giving him thumbs-up from a distance.
For a moment, he really thought that today might be the day of his death.
