"Ugh~ this long-distance train ride is going to take a full two hours!"
The distance from Izu to Tokyo isn't particularly far, but relative to Japan's landmass, a journey exceeding two hours qualifies as "long-distance."
Except...
Looking at the fair, slender leg Sakurako Busujima had "accidentally" exposed by smilingly lifting her skirt, Miyazawa Yuu's eyes instinctively flashed as he took a mental screenshot for the archives—but his body remained pressed against the window, so far back he practically merged with the glass.
What is this? This is too much, too generous. Even if you're my 'bro,' being this generous can lead to accidents!
To be honest, back at the Grand Blue entrance, when Iori said Busujima was chasing him, he had scoffed. He thought it was just a lie the dead woman had spun to get Iori to cooperate.
But ever since they left the sight of Nanaka-san and Azusa-senpai, the situation had clearly taken a turn for the weird. From the looks of it, Busujima was playing for keeps!
"Wh-what are you trying to do?"
"Nothing~ It's just that sitting in a hard seat for a long trip is unbearable. Listen to me, sucker... Yuu, a college girl's lap pillow service is a 'limited-time offer,' you know!"
"Chotto matte. Did you just let a very impolite nickname slip out?"
Feeling like he'd just heard a fragment of the truth, Yuu stared at Busujima's slightly guilty face for two seconds and tentatively voiced his judgment.
"Hiss... Busujima, you didn't happen to hear somewhere that I'm some rich heir and you're intentionally sucking up to me, are you?"
"Eh? How could that be possible!"
Cold sweat poured down her face. Sakurako Busujima's heart raced, and her hands instinctively gripped her skirt to steady her nerves and make her expression look less suspicious.
Calculated wrong. She had only thought that everyone in the PaB club was a drunken idiot, forgetting that Yuu was the rare semi-rational one among them.
Compared to Kohei, who could be appeased with Lalako merch, or Iori, who could be lured away with a bit of thigh, this guy was much more cautious!
"Is that so? Anyway, I'm poor. You can check my phone balance and my wallet; if I have more than you, I lose, okay?"
Sighing, Yuu reluctantly reached out and pulled Busujima's skirt back down, then started scrolling through his phone, deciding to put her out of his mind for now.
While he couldn't see any flaws for the moment, he was absolutely certain he had found the truth.
After all, Busujima herself had said her criteria for a partner were looks and money. Since he didn't meet her visual standards, he could only conclude this bad woman was eyeing his bank balance.
"Geez! I already told you it's not like that~"
Liar! A guy who can buy a home theater system without blinking couldn't possibly be broke!
And even if he isn't super rich, as long as he's a family man willing to bring the money home, I wouldn't mind buying a few fewer bags to make a life together...
Her brain suddenly stalled. Sakurako Busujima realized her train of thought had derailed. She shook her head violently to toss out the idea of "settling down."
I'm someone who's going to marry a rich, handsome guy and live the socialite life! How could such a plain thought appear in my head!
"Ah~ by the way, Yuu, do you have something to do at home this time? I can accompany you! Just as long as you provide food and a place to stay!"
"Ha? Aren't you going back to your family home? You don't have a place to stay?"
"Because of reasons~ there actually isn't a room for me in that house anymore!"
Pouting, she leaned into Yuu's space, desperately trying to pull her logic back to the goal of stripping Yuu of three layers of skin and devouring the boy whole!
"What should I do~ I heard there are villas for rent in Minato! How about we rent one for half a month and live together?"
Quietly lowering her collar, she tilted her head slightly, using her jawline to partially obscure her "assets" while feigning a casual temptation: "Living with a beautiful girl... isn't that every college boy's dream?"
"First, you need to understand that out of the PaB trio, the only one who isn't living with a beautiful girl is Kohei."
Glancing at the vast expanse of white, Yuu's eyes were terrifyingly calm this time—he almost wanted to laugh. Only reaching this level was far below his "excitement threshold" passing grade!
One must know that breasts and thighs are two different points of temptation. The former has a simple hierarchy of scale, while the latter varies by roundness, muscle tone, and shape!
If possible, he'd much rather observe some slightly chubby thighs with less muscle. As for the chest... please don't come here to humiliate yourself in front of the standard set by Nanaka-san and Azusa-senpai.
"Second! Please don't lump me in with college boys like Iori and Kohei. I've actually seen a thing or two; being associated with them is a genuine insult!"
"..."
What is up with this guy? Is he only interested in thighs and has no feelings about breasts?
Busujima keenly noticed that Yuu hadn't fled or hidden; his gaze even held a hint of pity. She furrowed her brows in frustration, her mouth twitching.
It had to be said, this guy was the most troublesome person she had ever encountered.
Moreover, this was the first time she had tried to "poach" someone from another's territory. This "solid bunker" that was impervious to all tactics was truly hard to dig into. Should I just go for broke and try to grab the 'little head' to settle things once and for all?
"Hey! I believe this is my seat! What do you think you're doing?"
Just as Sakurako Busujima was biting her nails in frustration, the train reached a stop and more passengers began to board.
Although she had Iori's tip-off, she wasn't so powerful that she could buy adjacent seats on a whim. Hearing the accusation, she quickly stood up and offered an apologetic smile to explain her seat-stealing.
"Ah~ Sorry! We're together and couldn't get seats next to each other. Could we swap? It's just two carriages down, please!!!"
"What's all this gibberish? You're a damn nuisance!"
An old man with three scars on his face took a deep drag from a half-finished cigarette until only the butt remained. As he slowly exhaled the smoke through his nostrils, the entire carriage was quickly enveloped in a thin haze.
Fortunately, this was a train; if it were a subway, the smoke alarms would likely be going off already!
"Beat it. Get lost!"
"Cough, cough... you... Yuu?"
"Just a Yakuza..."
Waving away the smoke, Miyazawa Yuu's eyes turned unfriendly, and his voice took on a tone of impatience.
In truth, the Yakuza had existed in Japan for a long time, though many violent syndicates had been dismantled since the crackdowns began.
However, remnants of the Yakuza structure still existed in the form of "agencies" or "handyman shops."
Accordingly, they were usually very fond of taking in seniors who had just been released from prison—except these seniors had often been out of touch with society for too long and failed to see the reality of the present.
"Busujima, go back to your own carriage. And, mister, please put out the cigarette."
"What did you say, kid?! It's only the rule of law that saved you! If this were fifteen years ago, I—"
"You would have slashed me with a knife, right? I know, so hurry up and put it out before you burn your lip."
The man was in his fifties; he'd likely dedicated all his youth to fighting and killing. Now that he'd served his time and come out, he still loved to talk about his "glory days" like a nagging elder.
Japanese society is diverse, but that didn't mean Miyazawa Yuu had to accept diverse people!
Seeing the guy reaching for his cigarette pack as if to light another, Yuu stood up, gave Busujima a push to send her on her way, then reached out, plucked the cigarette from the old man's mouth, and tossed it out the window.
"Alright. Please, sit."
"???"
Perhaps for the first time in his life, the man had encountered someone more arrogant than himself. The scarred old man's face turned beet-red with embarrassment!
But after staring at Yuu's calm expression for two seconds, the wisdom gathered from years on the streets told him this kid wasn't bluffing. This kid really wasn't afraid of the underworld!
In that case...
"Hey! You, woman!"
He sat down with a thud, gritting his teeth. As the saying goes, "pick on the softest persimmon." The scarred man didn't dare smoke again, so he targeted the panicked Sakurako Busujima instead.
"If you want to sit with your boyfriend, you can sit on Uncle's lap! Hahahaha—!"
"..."
Busujima's mood was in the gutter. Her sister was being rebellious, she couldn't "dig the wall," and now she'd run into a relic from the last century talking trash on a train.
A surge of pent-up anger sat in her chest, but while the other passengers didn't dare speak up, they were all watching.
As a college student, she couldn't just scream profanities under the public gaze. In the end, all she could do was blink back tears and quicken her pace to leave...
"Sakurako, come back and sit down."
"???"
Dazed, she turned around at the sound of his voice. Sakurako Busujima was shocked to see Miyazawa Yuu stretching his muscles as he stood up. He pointed to his seat, clearly getting ready to use force!
But fighting on a train leads to detention! It wasn't worth getting in trouble over a piece of trash!
"Forget it, actually—"
"And you..."
Yuu's neck let out a series of loud cracks. With a "nuclear-grade" kind smile on his face, he flexed slightly. Under the gaze of the entire carriage, his clothes instantly shredded, revealing pectoral muscles that rivaled a "great evil."
"Stand up!"
"..."
To an ordinary person, it might have just been a sentence. But in reality, Miyazawa Yuu's physical pressure and the killing intent of the Kure Clan were in full effect.
In the eyes of the scarred old man, this aura was no different from the time he was tied up in front of an enemy boss and had the life scared out of him in front of a hundred subordinates!
"I-it's a rule of law society now..."
His hands and feet wouldn't stop shaking. The scarred man stood up with difficulty, his eyes no longer darting but fixed on his own shoes, not daring to look up.
"I'll... I'll give you the seat."
"Of course it's a rule of law society. So, I won't do anything to you."
Once Sakurako Busujima sat down in her seat, bewildered, Miyazawa Yuu calmly squeezed his body into the scarred man's narrow aisle seat, then patted his own thigh.
"Please, sit!"
"No... I'm sorry..."
"I said—sit!"
Staring at the terrifying demon before him whose pupils had inverted to black and white, inviting him to take a seat, the scarred old man was pushed to the brink of tears by the immense psychological pressure. Trembling, he obeyed the command.
For some reason, he had the distinct hallucination that if he didn't listen, a hitman would find him the next day and tear him to pieces!