You're here again!

The next day, Tsukasa Aoki slumped over his desk, studying a daunting medical text while recalling the events of the previous day.

In the dream practice room yesterday, Kenshin Himura had thoroughly taught Tsukasa a lesson in humility.

He could understand a master swordsman beating him with a blade, but how on earth could someone beat him even after dropping the sword?

Tsukasa clenched his teeth, wishing he could send Master Li, who taught him striking, to beat Kenshin to a pulp and show him what real fist-and-foot combat was. Bullying someone with sheer physical stats was simply too much!

He conveniently forgot how he himself liked to bully others with his physical stats...

Sitting up and stretching lazily, Tsukasa muttered under his breath, "Once Master Li passes my striking and teaches me proper techniques, I'll definitely settle this score. Getting beaten up in hand-to-hand combat by a swordsman is just too humiliating."

Tsukasa was not particularly hot-tempered, but that did not mean he lacked a memory for grudges. He always repaid kindness and returned enmity in full. Kenshin's blatant bullying was outrageous, and claiming it was a traditional teaching method of his school? Tsukasa refused to believe Kenshin's master had beaten him like that since childhood.

The sting of that bamboo stick against his body was utterly painful.

Finally, Tsukasa heard the bell ring, signaling the start of the lunch break.

With a snap, he closed his medical book, fished his bento box out from the desk compartment, and prepared to head up to the rooftop for lunch. Just as he was about to call out to Tora Maeda, he caught Tora shooting him a lewd, knowing smile before darting out of the classroom like a wisp of smoke.

What is that kid up to?

Tsukasa raised an eyebrow, turned his head, and saw Kokomi Teruhashi walking toward him, looking as stunningly beautiful as ever. Her blue hair and snow-white skin caught the sunlight, reflecting a faint glow that made it seem as though she was radiating light.

Kokomi stepped right up to him with a bright, beaming smile. "Tsukasa-kun, shall we go eat lunch together?"

Hesitating for a moment, Tsukasa glanced around at the surrounding male classmates, whose eyes held a mixture of envy and dread. He smiled wryly, nodded, and said flatly, "Alright, let's head up together."

Kokomi smiled sweetly. "Great! By the way, Tsukasa-kun, do you prepare your own bento every morning?"

"Yeah." Tsukasa walked at an unhurried pace, and Kokomi adjusted her steps to match his, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Tsukasa-kun must have a really tough time every day... Would you mind if I prepared your bento starting tomorrow? My cooking skills are quite decent, you know. I've taken specialized culinary classes, so the taste is guaranteed."

"Uh, there's no need." Tsukasa smiled and shook his head. Having Kokomi prepare meals for him was out of the question. Noticing a flash of disappointment on her face, he added kindly, "I have to prepare lunch for Kaguya every day anyway. Even if Teruhashi-san made me a bento, I wouldn't get a break from cooking, but thank you all the same."

"Oh," Kokomi replied. She clutched her pink bento box with both hands, opening and closing her mouth a few times as if she had something she wanted to say.

"What is it? Why are you hesitating so much?" Tsukasa tilted his head in confusion, noticing she was struggling to get the words out.

Kokomi bit her lip and cautiously said, "Actually, there is something I'd like to ask Tsukasa-kun for help with."

"What is it?" Tsukasa raised an eyebrow, joking, "As long as it's not borrowing money, ask away."

"Well, it's about my cousin." Kokomi's smile grew a bit stiff, as though her cousin was a difficult topic to broach.

"Go ahead. As long as it doesn't violate my principles, I'll help if I can," Tsukasa said in a relaxed tone.

Hesitantly, Kokomi opened her mouth. "My cousin goes to Senran High School. Her name is Kyoko Hayakawa. Last night, she sent me a message saying she was being harassed by some hoodlums from the underworld, and she didn't know what to do, so she wanted to ask you for help."

"A cousin?" Tsukasa asked with curiosity. "Teruhashi-san has a cousin too?"

"Well... she's a distant cousin, and I'm not even sure how she got my contact info," Kokomi said with a bitter smile. "She's my uncle's child. When my uncle was young, he idolized biker gangs and infuriated my grandfather, so he was disowned. To be honest, my relationship with them isn't very close. Uh, Kyoko seems to be a delinquent girl herself... If Tsukasa-kun finds this troublesome, you can refuse."

Hearing this, Tsukasa pressed his lips together. To be honest, he had mentally prepared himself for dealing with the so-called "underworld." After all, he was a delinquent youth himself; how could he avoid crossing paths with that circle forever?

It was just arriving a little sooner than he had expected.

Well, since she was Kokomi's cousin, he might as well help out.

With that thought, Tsukasa nodded and calmly said, "Alright, get in touch with her and let me know when it's convenient. I'll go take a look."

"Really? Thank you so much!" Kokomi's expression lit up with excitement, and then her cheeks turned pink as she whispered, "I-I'll remember this favor."

"It's nothing, just a small matter." Tsukasa smiled, acting as though it were no big deal.

To be completely honest, though, Tsukasa was feeling a little nervous. Brawling at school was still well within his realm of common sense, but dealing with underworld members—the so-called yakuza—was a first-time experience for him.

He wondered if they would all look fierce with full-body tattoos.

The image of Iwao Matsuyama popped unbidden into his head, and Tsukasa couldn't help but chuckle out loud.

It was a real pity that Iwao wasn't a yakuza; he already looked the part of a seasoned enforcer. Just as that thought crossed his mind, Tsukasa noticed a passing classmate shrinking away from him in sheer terror, instantly wiping the smile from his face. It seemed he wasn't really qualified to laugh at others...

"What's wrong?" Kokomi asked, noticing Tsukasa suddenly burst out laughing only for his expression to stiffen just as quickly.

Tsukasa coughed solemnly. "Nothing. Just got a bit happy thinking about upholding justice."

Kokomi's cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of red. "As expected of Tsukasa-kun..."

So cool! Tsukasa-kun certainly wouldn't want to get mixed up with underworld organizations casually! Yet, for her sake, he agreed to something that had nothing to do with him!

No, wait. Maybe Tsukasa-kun didn't just have a soft spot for her, but was genuinely driven by a sense of justice!

Remembering what others had told her when she asked about the five-yen coin, Kokomi felt an even deeper wave of admiration for Tsukasa: That's right! A Tsukasa-kun who would protect others for a mere five-yen coin must truly possess a heart full of justice!

Seeing Kokomi once again struggling to suppress a squeal of "Ooh!", Tsukasa deeply felt the burden of his sins. *Damn this good looks! System, give my hair back! I want to cover my face with long hair so these romantic young girls can suffer a little less!*

[Denied.] The system coldly crushed Tsukasa's hope of reclaiming his long hair.

Curling his lip, Tsukasa figured that as long as he kept working hard, he would eventually earn his hair back ahead of schedule!

Even a buzz cut would be fine...

The moment the two reached the rooftop, Tsukasa spotted an anxious-looking Mizu Fujiwara sitting on the sofa, hugging his phone, shaking his leg, and turning as red as a monkey's backside.

The moment Fujiwara caught sight of Tsukasa, he sprang up and put on a pitiful expression. "Boss, you've gotta help me out with this..."

"You again!?"

---
PS: Two chapters today... The reason why...
Because...
I'm so angry!
Those people in Dota Auto Chess are too much! They wouldn't let me win a single match all day, damn it!!!