Chapter 2 – Yakuza Kindergarten

◇《POV: Renma》

“I’m here to pick up the kids—!”

I threw the door open and, stepping forward, swept my gaze across the room.

In the center, children were piled on top of each other, and beside them stood a single burly yakuza.

Counting the yakuza included, there were about twenty adults total.

“What the hell are you…… Hah. Hate to say it after you came all this way, but we’re about to start a fun little party. So take your nuisance ass and go home.”

“Can’t do that. Let me join in.”

“HUUUH!?”

The yakuza stepped forward and glared at me.

He put away the lighter he’d been holding, and instead pulled out something like a sheathed dosu.

While he did, three punks crept up from behind, gripping bats and crowbars.

-back, behind you!

-today’s enemies are lively, huh

-alright, how many seconds does he last

-waaah! so scaaary! (deadpan)

-hyahha!!

-let’s see what you’ve got

“Untrained teachers, huh.”

I turned and flicked my right hand, and the punks crumpled like their souls had just slipped out of their bodies.

Their blunt weapons hit the concrete floor with a noisy clank-clank, the sound echoing through the room.

“Tch…… do it!!”

At the yakuza’s single command, a wave of big-built men rushed in.

With one swing of my right hand, I knocked out the two who came closest, then sank my hips and knocked aside the knife thrusting toward me.

I drove a fist into his gut—the punk with the knife doubled over and collided with two others approaching from behind me.

I flicked my right hand again and stole the consciousness from all three, and the punks backed off, fear finally getting to them.

Seeing eight men drop in an instant, yeah—no surprise they started getting scared.

───Not that it even compares to what the kids felt.

“You idiots!!! That guy’s a sorcerer!! His cursed energy’s wavering!! Watch his right hand!!”

Looks like the yakuza who’s probably the boss isn’t stupid.

He’s right—this Unique Curse Technique I’m using can’t activate unless it’s my right hand.

But even if you figure that out…… it’s already too late.

“Hey, hey, hey. Aren’t you being a little too hard on your staff? They’re all already face-down, you know.”

“W-What……!?”

At this point, the only ones still awake here are me, the yakuza, and the kids.

All the punks are already in naptime.

“I’ll file their workers’ comp for them…… death penalty.”

“That’s a verdict, dumbass……!”

Well, I’m streaming, so I’m not going to kill anyone.

Still—if he can take my hits and stay standing, then the enemy sorcerer has to be that yakuza.

A guy trying to incarnate a Grade Two curse spirit isn’t going to go down to half-assed attacks.

“Fine. Now that those idiots are gone—I’ll kill you myself!”

He tossed the sheath aside, and in his hand was a short dagger so grotesque it barely even looked like a dosu anymore.

The presence it gave off made it obvious—this was a cursed tool, no doubt his trump card.

“Waaahhhhhh!!”

“N-no, nooo!!”

“Uuuugh……!!”

The raw cursed energy interfered with the children’s minds, pushing them into even deeper panic.

The sounds of kids crashing into each other—warped by tears and sweat—turned into a nasty, discordant racket that made the air feel heavier by the second.

-this feels bad

-i’m getting chills just watching

-scary scary scary scary

-is this okay!? can he win!?

-hyahha!!

-isn’t this really bad!?

If even the viewers are trembling, yeah—the effect of that cursed tool is no joke.

Honestly? I’m a little scared too.

“I’LL KILL YOU, BASTAAARD!!!!”

The yakuza didn’t miss the opening when my movement stopped for just a beat.

He lowered his stance, closed the distance in a flash, and poured power into the cursed tool as he tried to stab straight through me.

Even if I swing my right hand, at this range I won’t make it in time.

Normally, that’s the kind of situation you call “totally screwed.”

-ahh, he’s gonna die!!!

-dodge!! please dodge!!!

-that’ll be a live-stream disaster!!!

-please! don’t die!!

-hyahha!!

-this is bad this is bad this is bad

───But that much is not our enemy.

“Gh…… n-no way.”

“You seriously thought I’d be dumb enough to charge in barehanded?”

“My Master really does get underestimated, doesn’t he.”

The yakuza’s motion stops an instant before the blade reaches my heart.

From the outside, it probably looks like some weird paralysis—but to a sorcerer, it has to look different.

Countless black arms—stretching up from my shadow—were clinging to his body, and those masses of cursed energy were locking him down completely.

“What the hell did you do!?”

“Nice work, Yuuri. I’ll make your dinner extra big tonight.”

“Such undeserved happiness.”

“I can’t get caught here!!! Just when I finally got my hands on a cursed tool from that guy!!!! Damn it!!!”

His scream—pure momentum and nothing else—rattled my eardrums.

At this distance it’s just obnoxiously loud.

“Later, Principal. If you’re gonna scream, do it from inside a cage.”

“Ah—! I’m—! The boss…… y-you know……”

The yakuza collapsed on the spot, and as the cursed tool’s effect faded, the children’s screaming gradually quieted too.

“Yuuri, call the police. I’m going to check on the kids.”

“Understood.”

Incarnating in an instant, Yuuri smoothly operated the streaming drone and connected us to the police.

That curse spirit incarnation the yakuza were desperately trying to pull off—was just a normal act for her.

Of course, that’s only possible because of my power, but still.

◇《POV Change: Renma → Hanako》

The uproar from before had stopped, and the unexplained pounding in my chest was gone before I realized it.

I still kept my eyes shut, but from the sounds around me I understood help had arrived, and relief surged up from deep inside my chest.

Surviving the brink must have made my brain flood with feel-good chemicals, because a smile slipped out on its own.

“Smiling in a situation like this? You’ve got more composure than I expected.”

At the same time as the man’s voice from earlier, the ropes binding my limbs were cut.

I hurriedly tried to wipe my eyelids, but my hand slipped because of the sticky oil.

“For now, wipe your face with this. That cute face is going to be ruined, you know?”

“……Thank you.”

When my vision finally cleared, what I saw was a suspicious person—his whole body wrapped in black, with an even blacker mask over his face.

“H-Hii……!”

I reflexively stepped back, slipped on the kerosene scattered across the ground, and my feet went out from under me.

There were still kids behind me—if I fell like this, someone was definitely getting hurt.

“Yeah, I guess a mask like this would scare you. Sorry—it’s to keep my identity from getting found out.”

In an instant, the man in black scooped me up.

His presence should’ve been more intimidating than the yakuza’s, but for some reason my heart calmed down instead.

“The police will be here soon. You’ll all be able to make it home safely, so don’t worry.”

“Haruta……! Is Haruta okay!?”

Coming back to my senses, I started searching for my little brother.

Haruta wasn’t among the kids who’d already been helped—which means……

“No……! You’re kidding, right…? Harutaaa……!”

Haruta had always been frail.

Protected by everyone around him, he grew up kind—and that adorable smile of his had saved me more times than I can count.

Every year on this day, the two of us go to the next town over to buy flowers.

It’s a way to thank Mom for always protecting us, and it’s one of the few chances Haruta gets to have an “adventure.”

I dragged Haruta out from the pile.

His body, crushed under other children, was bent the wrong way. He was barely breathing, and even that looked like it could stop at any moment.

There’s no way we have time to just sit here and wait for an ambulance.

The relief from before flipped instantly into a violent surge of anxiety that swallowed my heart whole.

Why did I bring Haruta out in the first place?

When I felt something off about the town’s atmosphere, couldn’t I have turned back?

Regret after regret swirled, and the visible presence of death tightened around my chest.

“Waaahhhhhhh!! Harutaaaaa!!nDon’t dieeeee!!”

I clutched Haruta’s body and sobbed.

Once my emotions broke, the wave wouldn’t stop.

My heart was so wrecked I didn’t even have the room to pray for a miracle, and that hoarse scream started spreading panic to everyone around me too.

Even so, the man in black stayed calm.

“It’s wrong to make a child bear a fate this cruel.”

Drawn by his voice, I looked up—and saw him approach the fallen yakuza and flick his left hand.

“At the very least, you’ll pay the price.”

The yakuza twitched in unison for a split second, and ignoring them, the man crouched in front of Haruta.

After checking Haruta’s condition, he held his left hand out toward him.

“N-No…… wait……!!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll save him—no matter what.”

Even up close, I couldn’t tell what happened.

But one thing was certain: Haruta’s body visibly recovered in moments, and his breathing steadied, deep and sure.

“Haruta!!”

“He’ll wake up soon. If anything seems wrong, call me.”

And with that, he went to help the other children.