Chapter 49: A Van Full of Trouble
SWISH!
Maruko's punch was purely instinctive, a "sneak attack" from behind.
But in the next second—
Hina ducked, dodging the fist. Planting one hand on the ground, she spun and launched a back-kick aimed straight at Maruko's head.
BANG!
Maruko raised his forearm to block. His stance held, but his entire body slid several centimeters across the ground.
"Ouch..."
It was a stinging pain that went straight to the bone!
The fabric on Maruko's right forearm was torn, and a large, swollen bruise appeared on his skin instantly. It didn't look like an injury caused by human strength.
"Eh? You blocked it?"
Hina bounced on her feet, sizing Maruko up again. "You look flustered. Are you scared of me? Am I scary?"
"Ah..."
Maruko unclenched his fist, looking at the advancing Hina, completely at a loss.
Fight?
Am I gonna get beaten up?!
The big brothers had taught Maruko: Before you get beaten up... KICK!
SWISH!
Maruko kicked upward with all his might, a vertical front kick.
Hina dodged to the side, moving to Maruko's flank. She drew back her right fist, charging up, the stars in her eyes shining with excitement.
"Hmm, not just 'fast,' but 'tough' too. Haven't fought a weirdo like you in a long time..."
"Ah—?!"
The killing intent beside him jolted Maruko awake. He gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, and his eyes darted, locking onto the target.
Their next punch would be for real!
BOOM!
Two fists, one left and one right, swung with explosive force, distorting the air and creating a sonic boom.
But before they could collide—
SWOOSH!
Shiraki Kei took a massive step forward, crossing his arms and opening his palms to catch both fists.
SMACK! SMACK!
One large, one small—two fists with different textures but equally immense force were stopped by Kei's palms, firmly gripped by his fingers.
"Hoo..."
Kei stood with bent knees, feeling the residual force rampaging through his arms. It felt like countless ants crawling over his muscles, a numbing sensation shooting through his upper body.
Hina retracted her fist, raising an eyebrow. "You blocked it? You two are amazing!"
Maruko finally snapped out of it. He quickly withdrew his hand and apologized, massaging Kei's forearm. "Sorry... Maruko got scared..."
"..."
Kei patted Maruko to comfort him, but his hands were still trembling. Clearly, taking those two punches head-on hadn't been easy.
Maruko went without saying. As a successful test subject, a modern-day Frankenstein's monster, his physical specs were far beyond the human norm.
As for Hina... Kei could feel it from her punch.
This girl named "Hongo Hina" had tendon strength far surpassing ordinary people. If she compressed her tendons to the limit and released them all at once, it was like loading a spring into her arm. The power was astonishing!
That foreign assassin must have had his face caved in by a punch like that.
As they stood in silence, Hina was about to speak when three more people walked into the alley.
"Oh—hey!"
The leader, Ichika, swaggered in. She didn't look like a cop; she looked more like an officially sanctioned thug. "Police are here~! Fight again, and I'll arrest you all!"
The police van was equipped with tasers and other restricted items. They had planned to bring them to help, but the fight was already over.
Ichika had contacted her superiors at the MPD to send a cleanup crew, while she handled the initial processing.
"Wow, they got beaten up pretty bad..."
Nozomi, hands in her pockets, craned her neck to look at the three unconscious foreign assassins. "Not even breathing. Even if they survive, they'll probably be paralyzed for life."
"They deserve it! Always causing trouble."
Ichika pulled out her phone, took photos of the three foreigners, ran a quick search, and got results.
"Ah, got it. They're in the MPD database."
She pointed at the scar-faced man—the one Kei defeated. "This guy is Gilbert Isaac. International fugitive. Ex-US Marine turned serial killer turned hitman."
"The other two... faces are a bit messy, but they're likely famous hitmen who entered the country recently."
"..."
Kei rubbed his chin, puzzled. "Can a 'famous' hitman really be considered a good hitman?"
"Who told them to moonlight in other dirty jobs while being hitmen? In short, they're idiots!"
Ichika shook her phone. "Anyway, leave these three to the MPD. If anyone survives, specialists will 'pry' the intel out of them."
"—As for IDEAL, the MPD doesn't know much either. If you want, I'll send you the files later."
"..."
With the cleanup handled by Ichika, everyone remembered Hina.
Regarding Hina's "strength," the unconscious hitmen were proof enough. Now they just needed to ask her.
But before anyone could speak, Hina beat them to it. "So, what did you need me for? I'll help if I can!"
Everyone paused, but Hina was frank.
"You two big brothers... and the three big sisters over there, and Sakurai-san... you're all so interesting!"
"Unpredictable feelings are fun. So playing with you guys should be fine, right~?"
"..."
Looking at the large group, Kei thought for a moment and suggested, "How about we go to my place?"
...
...
Shiraki House.
Currently, no one was home.
Two yakuza punks sneaked up, acting suspicious, carrying two buckets of paint.
They were "former" Grisly Tooth members, currently unemployed.
"Bro, is this the place?"
"This is it. Our boss Inoue went bankrupt because of the brat who lives here. If not for him, we wouldn't be jobless!"
"But... if even [Nioh] Komada couldn't beat him, how do we get revenge?"
"Idiot! Just like with that Baki kid! We can't beat him, but we can splash paint and write graffiti while he's out to humiliate him!"
"That makes sense! I heard he has a sister too. She'll definitely cry, right? Hahahaha..."
The two punks got excited, prying open the paint cans, ready to start their "art project."
Just then, a van drove down the street and stopped in front of the Shiraki house—right in front of the two punks.
"..."
The punks stared as a high school girl got out of the van. It was Kei's sister—Sakurai Arisa.
This got the punks fired up.
"Bro, splash her?"
"Idiot, we'll get arrested. Just ruin her uniform and make her cry!"
The two punks eagerly approached with their paint buckets.
Then—
Maruko got out, standing behind Arisa. Still sulking from earlier, he pouted and glared at the two punks.
Then—
Shiraki Kei, Tenma Nozomi, Iori Ichika, Mitani Hana, and Hongo Hina got out one by one, staring at the two intruders with interest.
"..."
The two punks froze. They didn't know what to do with the paint buckets. Finally, their arms shook, and with a splash, they dumped the red paint all over themselves.
"You guys—"
Maruko stepped forward, fists clenched, asking bluntly, "Are you bad guys?!"
"No, no..."
The two punks shook their heads frantically. "We're... performance artists!"
With that, they ran away without looking back.
Seeing this, Hongo Hina was even happier. "I knew it! This place is definitely interesting!"
She recalled what they had told her in the van.
Nozomi's "Women's Fighting Group" and Kei's "Fighting Center." Both sounded good.
"First, let's see Big Brother Shiraki's Fighting Center~!"
Hina hooked her arm through Arisa's and skipped into the yard, led by Arisa to the dilapidated dojo.
Then, Hina stared at the crumbling building, frozen, expressionless.
She remembered Kei's enthusiastic, passionate description in the van. Her eyes had sparkled with anticipation.
"..."
Hina walked up to the building and lightly tapped a support pillar with her fist. With a CRASH, the pillar snapped, and a small section of the building collapsed completely.
"Hmm~~~!"
Hina thought hard, pointed at the "ruins" in front of her, turned to Kei, and asked seriously, "Excuse me, is this a garbage dump?"
Shiraki Kei: "..."
He felt a subtle sense of defeat.