I Just Wanted a Peaceful Life After Transferring, but I Fell into a Rom-Com Trap and a Hidden Battlefield No One Knows About - Chapter 11: Even Though I Don’t Want Pointless Fights

Chapter 11: Even Though I Don’t Want Pointless Fights, I Somehow Get Caught Up in One Every Day

“Haa… just my luck…”

I went back to the classroom, stashed away the present I bought for Umika, and let out a deep sigh before heading home.

Suddenly, the sky was illuminated by a flash of lightning, followed by a heavy, rumbling thunder. And before I could even process it, the rain came pouring down.

“Huh? Wait a sec, it was sunny just now! Why the hell is it raining all of a sudden?! Is the sky messing with me?”

The moment I pointed at the sky and complained, another loud thunderclap roared, like the bellow of an enraged beast.

Startled, I instinctively stepped back a few paces.

“S-Sorry…”

Yeah, I guess it’s not wise to defy the heavens…

At that moment, I felt something lightly prod my back. Reflexively, I turned around—only to see a guy towering over me, much taller than I was.

He was wearing sunglasses, had an incredibly bulky build, and was the very definition of a walking mountain of muscle.

From behind those sunglasses, he was staring straight at me.

Wait, is this guy from our school?

He was wearing a uniform, but his face looked oddly like a middle-aged man’s. A teacher, maybe? The principal? Or… is he actually a student?

Nah, no way. If he were a student, there’s no way he’d look this old.

“What’s your deal, huh?”

“I heard you messed with my boys the other day.”

Huh? The hell is this guy talking about all of a sudden?

“Wait… what? What are you even saying?”

“You don’t get it? Last week, you decked one of my guys in the bathroom, didn’t you?”

His guys? Last week? The bathroom? Wait a sec…

“Oh! Don’t tell me—you’re with those guys from before…”

“That’s right. I heard you knocked Tsukimoto out so bad he hasn’t even been able to come back to school. You look scrawny like a damn monkey, but you’ve got some fight in you, huh?”

What an asshole… Well, not that I expected someone like him to be polite to me.

Come to think of it, all that politeness is just a front, isn’t it? If you put it nicely, it’s called manners. If you put it bluntly, it’s hypocrisy.

The hardest thing to understand in this world is the human heart.

Someone might treat you with courtesy on the surface, but deep down, they could be cursing you out. And if they happen to be a cold-blooded killer, they could just be waiting for the right moment to take you out.

Of course, that’s mostly just my imagination.

Anyway, back to this guy. Did he just call me a monkey?! Do I look like a damn monkey to him?!

“You’re seriously rude as hell! Don’t call me a monkey!”

I jabbed my finger toward his face, glaring at him in protest.

“You got a problem with that? Oh, yeah—there’s one more thing I should tell you. The rumors about you and Tsunekawa Momiji? I was the one who spread them. Hurts to be on the receiving end of that kinda talk, doesn’t it?”

The rumors—so it really was him! Just like Tsunekawa said!

That means the culprit is the second possibility—someone who holds a grudge against me! This bastard set things up so the whole school would misunderstand me!

“You piece of shit… You messing with me on purpose huh?!”

“Oh? You gonna hit me? Come on, then. I wanna see just how strong the guy who took down Tsukimoto really is.”

I mean, I’d love to get some payback, but… this is the classroom. Not a bathroom stall. If I start a fight here, it’s definitely gonna turn into a huge hassle later.

It’d be better to just get out of here before things get any more annoying.

Most of the students are off at club activities, but if someone happens to come by and sees us fighting, this is gonna become a way bigger deal than I want.

Seeing that he was about to take a swing at me, I ignored him and turned around, walking away. The sound of my shoes splashing in puddles echoed with every step.

“Don’t you fucking ignore me, brat!”

Just a few steps later, I heard a furious shout from behind me. I turned around—

BAM!

Ow—!!

I took a punch right to the face—no, I basically got sent flying. The impact knocked me off my feet, and I went rolling across the ground.

What the hell, this guy just punched me out of nowhere! That hurts, dammit! And now my clothes are covered in mud… Ugh, it’s gonna take forever to wash this…

“You bastard! You just—Ow! Gah—!”

Before I could even finish my sentence, he lunged at me again and slammed another punch into my face. Once again, I hit the ground hard.

Shit… This guy’s stronger than I thought…

Well, in that case—

I got up from the ground and took a fighting stance, warning him.

“Damn, you’re pretty tough… But you know what? There’s always someone stronger… Eh? Wait, the skirt—!”

Crap! The skirt fell to the ground! Even though it was still in its packaging, it wouldn’t take long for the rain and mud to soak through and ruin it.

“Hold up! I gotta pick something up!”

I raised my hands to signal a pause and hurriedly ran to grab the skirt. Now’s not the time for this stupid fight.

This is my little sister’s birthday present. If it gets ruined before I even give it to her, that’d be way too depressing.

“The hell?! Are you ignoring me?!”

While I was reaching for the skirt, the bastard kicked me right in the face.

At that moment, a hot liquid started dripping from my nose, mixing with the rain, leaving me feeling gross all over. I could also feel an old wound on my forehead reopening.

“You asshole! This cut was finally healing, and now you just had to kick it open again—ugh, seriously, again?!”

Before I could finish my complaint, he landed another kick to my stomach, followed by a flurry of blows to my body. The pain rained down like an unrelenting storm.

One hit. Two hits. Three hits…

Each and every strike landed mercilessly, sending pain shooting through my entire body.

“Don’t fuck with me! I’ll kill you!”

He grabbed my collar and slammed me into the wall.

Shit, that hurts…

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue now that I’ve beaten you to a pulp?”

He started walking toward me again.

“I told you already—time out, dammit!”

I grabbed a handful of mud from the ground and flung it at him.

That managed to stall him for a second, giving me just enough time to grab Umika’s skirt.

Thankfully, the packaging was solid, so the skirt inside was safe.

The wrapping got a little dirty, but as long as the skirt’s fine, that’s all that matters!

Now then…

“Huh? You trying to act tough now?”  

“You bastard! Getting all cocky! Just so you know, I’m crazy strong!”  

“Then come at me!”  

As soon as I said that, he charged at me without hesitation. Looks like my warning didn’t get through to him at all.  

“Die!”  

He swung his fist at me, but I quickly sidestepped and dodged it. Without hesitation, I landed a single kick—sending him flying over ten meters.  

He crashed onto the ground, clutching his waist, barely moving.  

For now, it seemed like it was over. I definitely took him down in seconds, but… maybe I went a little overboard.  

“Guh… *cough*… *cough*…”  

After a while, he clutched his chest and coughed, lifting his upper body slightly to glare up at me.  

“Who… the hell are you…?”  

His voice was hoarse, and it was obvious he was in serious pain.  

“Aniki!”  

“Aniki! Stay with us!”  

“Hurry up and help him up!”  

Before I could say anything, another group of delinquents rushed out of the school building, scrambling to lift him up.  

Looking closely, I realized they were the same guys I ran into on the train and in the restroom earlier.  

“Listen… I’m not a delinquent like you guys, but I’m not exactly a good student either. How should I put it… I guess I’m just a regular student. Yeah, that sounds about right.”  

…Wait, what the hell am I even saying?  

I had no clue what was coming out of my mouth, but whatever. Leaving behind those words, I grabbed the birthday present I bought for Umika and walked out of the school.