Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 53: Six Strikes in One Second

Chiba silently took her hand out of her bag and then hid comfortably behind Higashiyama Shin. The pepper spray, baton, and stun gun in her bag lost their chance to make a dazzling appearance.

"It seems that Ikeda and Koizumi's parents have some conflicts." Looking at the chaotic scene, Higashiyama Shin led Chiba back to the school for the time being.

Chiba seemed to be recalling something: "I heard a rumor, though I don't know if it's true or not: Ikeda-sensei is divorced, apparently due to domestic violence. So many teachers keep their distance from him."

"Domestic violence? He doesn't seem like someone who likes to use violence, but he is good at using his advantages."

Higashiyama Shinichi recalled the small act of Ikeda quietly helping the class next door to keep order on the day of the entrance ceremony.

“That’s also a disadvantage,” Chiba added. “Most people in the world judge a book by its cover. If that seemingly delicate woman was his ex-wife, with a few wounds on her body, accusing Ikeda of domestic violence, most people would subconsciously believe her.”

Dongshan remained noncommittal.

In fact, he also "judged people by their appearance".

However, he can now roughly judge whether a person's nature leans towards order or evil based on their appearance.

The chaos lasted for a while. Ikeda, the perpetrator, and the woman were taken away by two police officers. Some reporters followed them, and the scene returned to calm. Only then did the two leave the school gate and go home.

Not long after they left, Nobi Tomoyo also walked out of the school with a heavy heart.

Today he discussed the game strategy with his senior Asano again, and they both believed that the handwriting left by the workers should appear again later and continue to play a role.

"So I should pay more attention to whether there is any writing on the tunnel walls. Yesterday, I was too panicked after hearing the train and didn't have time to use the UV light to check the surroundings. Maybe they left some clues."

As he pondered, he reached the Yamate Line and smelled the familiar scent of Tsubaki and Cherry Blossom again, and subconsciously looked up.

It was the same woman with impeccable makeup. Just like before, she was holding a bunch of cherry blossoms and gazing absently out the window.

Nobi was worried about being discovered like last time, so he quickly lowered his head and continued thinking about his own things.

Cracking games is still more important right now.

He still didn't go home today. His father didn't call him, and probably didn't go to the school to look for him either. It's as if he's completely given up on him and left him to fend for himself.

But it's impossible for him to take the initiative to apologize, at least not for him now, unless his father can sincerely apologize and change his ways.

But how could that be possible, that self-righteous guy?

Moreover, even if the father apologizes, their relationship will at most improve.

He still had some money on him, and if all else failed, he could go to the nearby church to beg for food, where they would distribute some collected food nearing its expiration date every few days.

The school has drinking fountains, so he specially packed two extra bottles to bring back with him so he wouldn't have to buy water at night.

Moreover, because of club recruitment today, the wealthy club president, Kanai Chito, bought a lot of snacks and fruits specifically for club members and those who were attracted to the club and interested in learning about video games.

He ate quite a lot; he was almost full.

He carefully avoided convenience stores on the way, worried that Shimazu would see him and then try to force the things he had refused to accept yesterday onto him again.

Back at the secret base, they looked around the entrance and, seeing no signs of disturbance, went inside with peace of mind.

But as soon as he went inside, he was so frightened that his heart stopped.

The two Yakuza quietly watched their master return home from inside the secret base.

One was sitting, and the other was standing. The one who was sitting had a bandage wrapped around his head, and he was clearly the person he had hit yesterday.

run!
Nobita's first reaction was to run, and his body responded accordingly, turning around and running.

"Damn it, it must be you, you little bastard!" the injured man roared, and the two immediately gave chase.

Hearing what was said behind him, Nobita immediately regretted it.

They probably weren't entirely sure he was the one who did it yesterday, but when they came to search today, they found this place with signs of habitation, so they decided to test him.

His guilty conscience and subsequent escape immediately confirmed his guilt. At least for the Yakuza, who weren't there to investigate, evidence was unnecessary; they were certain he was the one.

Although Nobita has begun to have the courage to fight back these days, it takes mental preparation and convincing himself before he can be brave.

In the past, timidity still dominated most of my instincts; when faced with fear, my first reaction was to run away.

"caught you!!"

While running, his bag was grabbed because it contained water, which slowed him down.

Nobi hurriedly tried to drop his bag, but the man grabbed his hand first, then pulled him down and pinned him to the ground.

"Haha, Beidao, I caught him!!"

"You're dead meat, you little brat! I'm going to make sure your head has a symmetrical split!"

The injured Yakuza clutched his freshly stitched head wound and jogged after him, a ferocious grin spreading across his face.

The Yakuza, who was pinning Nobi down, delivered several elbow strikes to his back. Nobi curled up tightly, expertly protecting his head, especially his glasses, which he had borrowed and couldn't afford to break.

"I told you not to run!! I told you—"

Snapped!
"Ahhh! I f***ing—ahhh! You bastard, you are—ahhh, stop hitting me! Stop hitting me!"

Suddenly, a man appeared out of nowhere, wielding an iron rod and displaying an aggressive aura. It was as if he had activated a speed boost and increased his attack speed, and he immediately performed a combo of six strikes per second against the Yakuza.

Before he could finish his threatening words, he couldn't help but howl and cry for his parents. He didn't care that his friend was still there and hurriedly ran away, clutching his right arm, which he didn't know was broken.

"Damn it! Wait for me!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, the injured Yakuza also tried to run away, but was grabbed by the back of his collar.

"Uh—" Yakuza covered his throat and rolled his eyes.

The man sneered, completely unfazed by his attempt to kill him, and slammed a stick down on the side of his head that had just been stitched up.

"Ouch! I just sewed those stitches!"

"Symmetrical, huh?! You like wearing it so much, I'll make you a symmetrical one right now!" After finishing one side, I'll work on the other side.

"Baka yarou! I am Arakawa Ryuzume—"

Yakuza's body twitched; he had begun to feel fear towards the madman whose strength was terrifying.

"I don't care about dragon claws or phoenix claws, when I was out in the game, you were still swimming in your dad's high-level games!" After saying that, he struck again with the stick.

"Ahhh—I was wrong! Please forgive me! Please forgive me!"

Yakuza begged for mercy.

"Get out!" The man shoved him forcefully to the ground.

Yakuza, covered in blood, collapsed in a sorry state, but didn't dare stop for a moment, fleeing in panic.

The man stared intently at Yakuza's disappearing figure, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He turned to look at Nobi Tomohiro, who was getting up from the ground, covered in filth.

Nobita stood up, carefully checked that his glasses were not damaged, and then breathed a sigh of relief, pursing his lips as he looked at the man in front of him.

".dad."

Nobi's father looked at him with a complicated expression for a few seconds before saying in a somewhat hoarse voice, "I want to take you somewhere."

After saying that, he slowly walked ahead.

Nobita hesitated for a moment, dusted himself off, and silently followed behind.

(End of this chapter)