Coach Azuma and Hayato both winced. Hayato didn't remember the details, but he could guess. Azuma, however, remembered everything. He wasn't about to admit to two students that he was castrated while trying to rape a girl.
Suguru, sensing the tension, decided to "break the ice" with a lie. "Well, if you guys are shy, I'll go first. After school, I was helping a classmate with chores. At the gate, I saw a pervert attacking two girls. As a model student, I charged in to save them!"
He paused for dramatic effect, trying to script a heroic ending in his head. Hayato and Azuma stared, waiting.
"The guy was a pro fighter! We fought for two and a half hours! I finally chased him off, but I was wounded in the process. The girls were so grateful, they practically begged to marry me as they brought me to the hospital. Ah, it's hard being a hero~"
Hayato and Azuma looked at the clock on the wall. It hadn't even been two hours since school ended. The math didn't add up, but they admired the sheer audacity of the lie.
"I had a similar experience," Azuma said, his voice deep and "mature." "I'm a club advisor. I caught a boy trying to assault one of my female students in the equipment room. He was strong, but I fought him off so she could escape. I passed out from exhaustion and woke up here."
Liar, Suguru thought. It sounded just like his story, but more professional.
"Me too," Hayato added quietly.
Back at the station, Kurokawa exploded into laughter. "HAHAHAHA! Oh my god, listen to these three! 'Heroes saving girls?' Look at their faces! They look like thugs and perverts! This is comedy gold!" She pulled out her phone, opened Share, and started recording the monitor. "I'm posting this. The 'three musketeers of justice' with no balls. The 'Jimes' (girls) are gonna love this!"
Tachibana didn't stop her. She watched the "Square Watermelon" filter Kurokawa used to hide her own face while she mocked the patients. Tachibana looked at her own phone. She had downloaded the app, but seeing how Kurokawa used it, she hesitated. Should I delete this?
In the ward, Suguru spoke up again. "Since we're all heroes from the same school... why don't we become sworn brothers?"
Azuma wanted to tell the fat kid to fuck off, but then he hesitated. "Fine... okay."
"Great!" Suguru was excited. More "brothers" meant more power on the streets. "And you, friend?" He looked at Hayato.
Hayato was silent for a long time. The thirst for revenge was burning him alive. "Fine. But I need you guys to help me find someone."
"No problem! I'm an expert at gathering intel!" Suguru promised. Azuma just smirked, a predatory, twisted look on his face.