07 – I Came to Settle Everything

(Kento POV)

“That damn girl… I’m gonna make her regret ever messing with me!”

I, Kento Hino, clenched my fists tightly, seething with anger. It hadn’t been long since…

Flashback

『――So, right here and now, I’m breaking up with you. It was short, but thanks for everything.』

Those were the words Sena used when she dumped me—right in front of the school gate, no less. And to make it worse, she agreed to date that nerdy guy I had set her up with just to mess with her.

“That bitch! She humiliated me…!”

My thoughts swirled with rage as I plotted what I’d do to her once I found her. Yeah, that’s right… her dad works for my old man’s company, doesn’t he?

I could use that to threaten her. I’ll spread rumors about her father, degrade his reputation… That’ll teach her. Then, I’ll finally make her pay.

“Oi! Have you idiots found them yet?!”

But despite our efforts, she kept slipping away.

“Damn it… We figured they’d be at the park, but they must’ve moved.”

“S-Sorry, boss… But we got a tip that they were seen entering a family restaurant nearby…”

“Then let’s move out! Don’t just stand there, get moving!”

We quickly made our way to the restaurant. When we arrived, I spotted some of my old buddies from middle school hanging around outside.

“Huh? What the hell are you guys doing here? Don’t tell me you came to laugh at me.”

“Come on, man, don’t be like that. We heard that chick made you look bad, so we couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. We’ve been staking out this place ever since we got the tip.”

“Tch, so everyone knows, huh… That just makes me wanna get back at her even more.”

“Yeah! That’s the spirit, bro!”

“Alright, boys, let’s go teach that b*tch a lesson!”

With my friends backing me up, we marched toward the entrance of the family restaurant. There were seven of us in total. No way that nerd or anyone else would stand a chance against us.

I stood in front of the family restaurant’s door and—

“It’s too late to regret it now! You b*tchhhhh!!!”

I kicked the door open.

“Huh?”

Yes, I kicked it open, and there she was—

“Sena…”

“Yes? Is there something you need?”

It was indeed Sena.

“Ha, ha, ha! Have you realized you can’t win and decided to turn yourself in?! That’s a good mindset—”

“That’s not it.”

“Huh? What, you’re here to fight us? I didn’t expect you to underestimate me like this…”

I reached out to grab Sena by the collar in a fit of rage. But she slapped my hand away sharply—

“No, that’s not it. I’m here to—settle everything.”

She said this with eyes devoid of light.

―――――

(Eito POV)

“So, Eito-san, please hide in the restroom or somewhere. If you do that, I’ll handle everything on my own.”

“No, no… That’s not something you can handle alone! You can’t just deal with those guys by yourself!”

I was trying to convince Sena, who suddenly started saying strange things in front of the situation where the yankees were about to burst into the family restaurant.

“I can manage… Besides, this is all something I brought upon myself. If I had just done as they wanted, you wouldn’t have been targeted by those guys—”

“But what about you, Sena? If it was like that, you’d have to live your life as their pawn.”

“Yes, that might have been the case. But—”

“Sena, our fates are already intertwined. We can’t have one of us sacrifice ourselves for the other now.”

So, I desperately hoped that no one would bear the burden alone and then disappear on their own.

“…I understand. In that case, please stay hidden near the entrance. After all, this is still my problem… and no one likes to show their anger to others.”

“Got it… but be careful.”

With that, I watched over her from the shadows.

A friend I made for the first time since elementary school… I absolutely didn’t want to lose her.