"What do you mean he got kidnapped?!" Erika screamed.
Karma winced, still sitting on the ground.
"He's not the only one. Kayano and Kanzaki got taken too."
Only then did Erika realize both girls were missing from the group.
Okuda's face went pale.
"What happened?!"
Nagisa explained quickly, still catching his breath.
"We were surrounded by a gang of high school delinquents in a back alley. We tried to fight back, but there were too many of them. They grabbed the girls… and Akira-kun."
Erika's eyes narrowed.
"Did Akira not fight back?"
Nagisa shook his head.
"He looked really tired and was nodding off. I don't think he could fight then."
Karma added with a smirk,
"He even muttered something like 'Too tired… I'll deal with them when I recover.' And said he always wanted to experience a kidnapping once for fun."
The entire group fell into dumbfounded silence.
Who wants to experience a kidnapping for fun?!
Okuda shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.
"Why did they only kidnap them and leave both of you alone?"
Nagisa replied hesitantly,
"They said something about… he is too handsome and would be useful for something."
The fragile composure Erika had maintained since drinking Akira's blood earlier finally shattered.
Her voice became dangerously calm.
"What did you say?"
The aura radiating from her was so oppressive that even Karma and Nagisa instinctively stepped back.
Nagisa swallowed.
"They said he is really handsome and…"
He couldn't continue. The air around Erika had thickened with killing intent.
Erika's eyes glowed faintly.
"They want to take him away from me? Who the hell do they think they are?"
CRACK.
The pavement beneath her foot cracked.
Erika muttered calmly. "I'm taking him back."
Then her eyes suddenly shifted toward the distance.
The pavement beneath her foot split open.
Then, without another word, Erika shot forward at terrifying speed, shattering more ground as she vanished down the alley.
Karma stared after her, whistling.
"I have a feeling someone is going to die."
Okuda muttered, eyes wide,
"I almost forgot she has super strength…"
Nagisa stood up shakily.
"So… what should we do?"
Karma grinned despite the pain.
"Just call the sensei. As for where they are… we'll have to find them."
Okuda asked,
"How?"
Nagisa pulled out the massive, thick guidebook Koro-sensei had made.
"With this."
---
While the "vampire princess" was rushing to save her prince, the kidnapped prince in the back of the van was already getting annoyed.
"Are we there yet?"
One of the delinquents snapped, "No!"
A minute later, Akira asked again.
"Are we there yet?"
The guy in the passenger seat screamed, "NO!"
Another minute passed.
Akira asked calmly, "Are we there yet?"
The driver slammed the steering wheel.
"Just shut up! Don't you realize you're kidnapped right now?!"
Akira sighed.
"I know, but your driving skills need some work, for kidnappers, you're driving surprisingly slowly."
The guy next to him growled, "You bastard, shut up or I'll beat you up!"
Akira shrugged.
"Fine. I'll sleep then. Wake me up when we get there."
One of the kidnappers muttered, "Why didn't you tape his mouth?"
Another replied, "All the tape got used up because we took two extra people!"
A third guy grumbled, "I can understand taking the girls, but why the guy?"
The leader smirked.
"But he's better looking than the girls."
Akira sighed dramatically.
"Ah… being born this handsome is such a sin."
Kayano, sitting tied up next to him, whispered, "Are you not scared?"
Akira closed his eyes.
"Not really. I'll take some rest. Wake me up later."
Kayano and Kanzaki had no idea what to say. They were genuinely terrified, but Akira had already dozed off like it was a normal afternoon nap.
---
Some time later, Akira woke up.
He was no longer in the van but inside some kind of abandoned building. His hands and legs were tied, just like Kayano and Kanzaki beside him.
A rough-looking guy — probably the leader — grinned at them.
"I called up our buddies. Got everything ready for a little commemorative photo shoot too. Make as much noise as you want — no one will hear you here."
Akira tilted his head.
"Uncle, are you calling your friends too?"
The leader snapped, "Who are you calling uncle?! I'm a high school student!"
Akira stared at him, then at the rest of the group.
"What? But all of you look so old? How many years have you repeated high school?"
One of the guys shouted,
"We're eighteen, bastard!"
Akira stared at them for several seconds.
"…That's impossible."
The leader's face turned red with anger and he raised his fist.
"You…!"
But one of his subordinates stopped him.
"Boss, don't! Otherwise you'll ruin his face."
The leader calmed down and turned to Kanzaki instead, holding up his phone.
"You… I thought I'd seen you somewhere before. This is you, right? At a Tokyo arcade last summer?"
He showed a photo of Kanzaki dressed like a delinquent girl, holding a soda. Kanzaki looked down. Kayano stared in shock.
The leader continued with a nasty grin.
"I told my buddy to let me know if he found the right girl. Had plans to kidnap you, but then lost sight of you. Who knew you were a student at that famous junior high? But I get it. The higher you are, the deeper you wanna fall."
He smirked.
"Well, from now until nightfall, the professor of ruin will teach you about that."
The room fell silent as the leader and most of his men stepped outside to make calls.
After a moment, Akira turned to Kanzaki.
"Ehh… so you like arcade games?"
Kayano stared at him in disbelief.
"Akira-kun… that's the thing you're worried about?!"
While Kanzaki was quietly telling Kayano about her father's strictness and how she ended up in Class 3-E, Akira suddenly became distracted.
Selena's voice rang in his head.
"Hey brother, why did you suddenly let yourself get kidnapped anyway?"
Akira replied telepathically, still looking bored.
"Well, it couldn't be helped. I was too tired… and I really wanted to experience being a damsel in distress. Or a dude in distress?"
Selena sounded exasperated.
"So how's the experience?"
Akira sighed as if he was disappointed.
"Not great. These guys are idiots. They didn't even have enough tape, and they just left us alone here while they went outside. Total amateurs. Well, doesn't matter. I just need to wait for Erika to save me and become a knight in shining armor. That would be fun. So… is she coming?"
Selena replied mysteriously.
"Oh, she's coming alright. She's practically bolting here. Though I'm not sure it will end easily."
Akira asked,
"What do you mean?"
Selena said with an amused tone.
"Let's just say she's almost gone berserk after hearing what happened. She's coming to take you back… at all costs."
Akira was startled.
"Wait you mean to say was... "
Selena declared.
"She is really angry."
Akira sighed.
"Seems like I have to save myself for now. To reduce casualties."
He looked at the leader who had just returned to the room with the girls.
The leader grinned nastily.
"I'll drag you down to our level, all right. Now when you get back to your rooms, you stay real cool and say we were just having some fun singing karaoke. Do that and no one gets hurt. Let's get together once we're all back in Tokyo, eh? Maybe while we reminisce over our fun vacation photos…"
Akira suddenly said.
"Well… trying to drag others down to your own level so you feel superior is kinda pathetic, don't you think? Can't you strive to be better?"
Everyone turned to look at him.
The leader sneered.
"Strive to be better? Are you joking? Not everyone was born equal. Someone like you, who was born with everything — who are you to tell me how to live?"
Akira slowly stood up.
SNAP.
The ropes around his arms and legs tore apart effortlessly.
Everyone froze.
Akira calmly dusted himself off.
"Born with everything? Well, maybe. I was born to be perfect. But what of it?"
One of the guys rushed forward, fist raised to punch him.
Akira casually waved his hand. The man's arm dislocated with a sickening crack as he was sent flying into the wall.
Akira continued calmly, his voice carrying through the room.
"It doesn't matter how you are born. As long as you keep moving forward, you will reach the top one day. There are many people out there who strive to reach further. Even if they couldn't reach it they pass down their hope so others could. Humanity only reached this far because people kept passing their dreams forward. One person reaches farther, then inspires the next. That's how humans keep moving ahead. That's the will of humanity."
Kanzaki's eyes widened, as if she had realized something profound.
Kayano just stared, wondering why he was suddenly talking about the will of humanity.
Akira cracked his knuckles.
"Those like you who stay in the mud and drag others down are just trash."
The leader, who had been scared after seeing one of his men swatted away, now looked furious. He pulled out a pocket knife.
"So what if you're strong? You can't stop all of us!"
The others drew whatever weapons they had and rushed at Akira.
Akira smiled calmly.
"This is where the fun begins."
All the high school delinquent kidnappers rushed at him at once.
Akira didn't waste time. Erika was still coming, so he decided to dispatch them as quickly as possible.
As the first guy with a knife reached him, Akira caught his wrist, twisted it sharply, and dislocated the joint. The knife clattered to the floor. A casual kick sent the man crashing into two others.
Four more attacked with metal pipes and wrenches. Akira leaned back, redirected their swings into each other with precise hand movements, and dislocated their arms in the same motion. Their screams echoed through the abandoned building.
Now they were really scared. He was far stronger than they had expected.
Some tried to run, shouting, "Run!"
Akira sighed.
"You think you can?"
He moved in a blur, kicking their legs out one after another and dislocating joints with clinical efficiency. In seconds, no one was left standing — all of them groaning on the floor in pain.
Kayano whispered in awe,
"He's so strong…"
Akira dusted off his hands.
"Well, yeah. That wasn't as fun as I thought it would be."
Then—
BOOM!
The entire wall behind them exploded inward.
Everyone fell silent.
A beautiful girl with blond hair and blue eyes stepped through the dust, radiating overwhelming pressure. The air itself seemed to tremble.
Erika stood there, eyes glowing faintly with restrained fury.
"Where is he?"
Akira and the girls stared in shock.
Akira suddenly slumped dramatically to the ground.
"Oh no… my whole body hurts… someone save me…"
Everyone — even the beaten-up kidnappers — thought the same thing:
Who are you acting for?
Erika's terrifying expression instantly softened the moment she saw him.
"Akira!"
She rushed forward and scooped him up into a princess carry.
"Are you alright?"
Akira leaned into her arms.
"Erika… my body hurts…"
Erika's gaze snapped toward the groaning delinquents on the floor, radiating murderous intent.
"Did they do this?"
The kidnappers immediately panicked.
"No no, we didn't do anything!"
Akira said lazily,
"I'm fine. Just a bit sore from being tied up, that's all."
Erika wanted to beat them up, but seeing they were already thoroughly defeated, she decided to leave it. She adjusted her grip on Akira and turned to leave.
"From now on, don't leave my sight, okay?"
Akira smiled.
"I won't."
As Erika carried him out of the building, Kayano finally found her voice.
"Erika-san! We're still here! Release us first!"
But Erika had already disappeared with Akira in her arms.
A moment later, Koro-sensei arrived at Mach 20 speed, tentacles waving.
"Don't worry, students! Sensei is here—!"
He froze mid-sentence, staring at the chaotic scene.
Kayano and Kanzaki were still tied up on the floor. The kidnappers were groaning in pain, scattered everywhere. A massive hole had been blown through the wall. And Erika was calmly walking away in the distance, carrying Akira in a princess carry like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Koro-sensei's eyes widened.
"…What happened?"
Karma, who had arrived with Nagisa and Okuda, grinned despite his own bruises.
"Seems like they had fun without us."
Nagisa sighed, looking exhausted but relieved.
"At least it's over, I guess…"
They quickly helped untie Kayano and Kanzaki. After handing the beaten-up kidnappers over to the police, the group somehow managed to catch up with Erika and convince her to slow down.
Because of this incident, the rest of the day's tour was quietly cancelled.
By evening, the entire Class 3-E had returned to the hotel, the chaotic events of the afternoon already becoming another wild story for their Kyoto trip.