It was lunch break and Natsuha was sitting alone, with a lunch box open on her lap. She kept poking her food with chopsticks, barely eating at all.
She didn't even know why she was still waiting here, their usual spot at the bench near the fountain.
Deep down, she knew she was being selfish. Adrian wasn't her boyfriend. They weren't officially together. He had every right to spend time with whoever he wanted.
Yet the thought made her chest tighten painfully. She had ended things with Yuuta, her childhood friend, the boy who had been with her for years. All for Adrian. Because his confession haunted her every night, filling her head until she could think of nothing else.
She had believed that after she ended things with Yuuta, he would become hers. That it was only a matter of time.
But then Nagisa appeared again.
And now Chiaki…
She could have been fine if they had just talked nicely. But the moment they met, she immediately started hurling insults. As expected, anyone close to Nagisa was the same. A bitch. A whore.
She didn't believe Nagisa had even one good thing in her. How could she? That girl had simply stood there and watched her get molested, doing nothing while she cried desperately for help.
Her grip on the chopsticks tightened until her knuckles turned white. Hatred bubbled up again, hot and bitter. Anyone close to Nagisa… anyone trying to take Adrian away from her… they were all the same. Bitches who didn't deserve him.
'He confessed to me first.' She thought, blinking back the sting in her eyes. 'So he should've been mine. I'm not the one who's wrong… it's those girls who keeps getting in the way. '
While lost in thought, a shadow suddenly fell over her.
Natsuha looked up, her heart skipping despite herself not wanting it to. Adrian stood there with a wry, slightly apologetic smile. He crouched down to meet her at eye level.
"Hey… about yesterday," he started gently. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"Hmph." Natsuha turned her face away, refusing to look at him.
Inside, however, her heart fluttered. 'He still came. Even after everything, he still came looking for her.' A warm, giddy feeling spread through her chest.
The memory of his soft, warm, and sincere words suddenly flashed in her mind.
"Don't worry, I won't leave you. Ever."
Her lips parted. She wanted to say something, anything, but before the words could leave her mouth, a loud shout cut through the air.
"So you're really here, you fucking bastard!"
An athletic looking young man stormed toward them, a baseball bat resting on his shoulder.
Behind him followed a whole group of people, eleven in total, with some carrying bats, and others simply cracking their knuckles. They quickly surrounded the bench, trapping Adrian and Natsuha in the middle.
The athletic guy stood at the front, presumably their leader. His eyes were burning with rage as he glared at Adrian. His gaze flicked briefly to Natsuha, then back to Adrian with a mocking sneer.
"Hah! So you're really not Chiaki's boyfriend, are you?!" he shouted. "Or are you just playing around with multiple women, you bastard?!"
Natsuha's blood boiled. 'Chiaki…? That bitch from yesterday…' Her thoughts turned dark. As expected. Those kinds of girls only bring problems. They should just disappear.
- - - - - Adrian's POV - - - - -
'Shit' Adrian's mind raced. He hadn't expected the situation to escalate this quickly. He had been too focused on fixing things with Natsuha and pushing forward the hotel renovations as fast as possible.
He didn't expect to be suddenly surrounded by 10 something people, with a few of them clearly armed with baseball bats.
Still… This was manageable.
He had roughly twice the physical strength of a fully grown adult man. That alone should give him a massive edge. Their numbers and weapons were the only real problem to him.
Calmly, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a sleek black pen, and clipped it onto the open collar of his uniform shirt, positioning it to record everything.
Adrian stepped forward slightly, shielding Natsuha with his body, and looked Daichi dead in the eyes with a cold smirk.
"Heh. All this bravado just because you brought your little gang with you?" He glanced at the group behind Daichi. "What, many little bitch guys just to deal with one person? Pathetic. No wonder Chiaki dumped you. Such a weak little pussy."
He raised his middle finger with a scoff. "Go back to sucking dick, dipshit."
Daichi's face twisted with fury. "You fucking piece of shit—!"
He swung the baseball bat in hands with all his strength, aiming for Adrian's head.
Adrian dodged it effortlessly, and stepped inside Daichi's range. His fist drove hard into Daichi's stomach.
"Guh–!!"
Daichi crumpled instantly, dropping the bat as he gasped for air. The rest of his group stared in shock for half a second before roaring in anger and charging forward.
The fight is on.
Adrian moved quickly, not letting them use their numbers.
He ducked under a bat swing that whistled past his ear, then drove a punch into the attacker's ribs, its sound echoed with a sickening crack. The boy gasped in pain and clutched his ribs.
Spinning on his heel, Adrian snapped a powerful kick into another attacker's knee, the joint dislocating with a sharp pop, dropping the boy screaming to the ground.
A third charged in with a tackle and Adrian met him head-on, slamming an uppercut into his jaw. The boy's head snapped back, blood spraying from his mouth as he staggered back,holding his head in place.
The incoming attack was relentless. Every punch Adrian gave, landed with bone-jarring force and every kick sent someone sprawling.
Even with Adrian's powerful attacks, he still can't escape being hit.
A bat grazed his shoulder, tearing his uniform and drawing a hot line of red. A lucky fist caught him in the ribs, forcing a grunt from his throat.
But Adrian forced the pain down, he didn't want to slow down. He grabbed that attacker by the collar, yanked him forward, and slammed his face into the concrete with a wet crunch.
Within five minutes, more than half of the group lay sprawled across the ground, groaning, and clutching their broken noses, and bruised ribs.
The rest froze, eyes wide with fear, and bats trembling in their hands.
Adrian stood in the middle of the chaos, his chest rising and falling heavily. A few bruises darkened his cheek and arms, and his uniform was torn and scuffed, but he remained standing tall, looking over them like a beast glaring at its prey.
"Y-you don't take a step!" A teen shouted as he held Natsuha, placing a bat between her throat. "O-or she gets it!"
"Sigh, what are you doing, taking a girl hostage just because you can't handle me. Who do you take me for!" With a roar, Adrian took a step forward.
The teen flinched at Adrian's roar, his grip on the bat slipping. When Adrian stepped right in front of him, his resolve broke and he turned to run.
But Adrian didn't give him the chance. He stepped in and drove a full-force punch into the teen's face, sending him flying across the pavement and crashing at the others' feet.
"If you ever come after me or anyone close to me again," Adrian said coldly, voice growling and dangerous, "I won't be this gentle next time."
The remaining players slowly backed away, fear clear on their faces as they helped their injured friends to their feet.
Adrian didn't spare them another look, he then turned to Natsuha.
She was staring at him with wide eyes, her breathing shallow. Shock, fear, and something dangerously close to awe flickered across her face as she took in the scene around him.
Then, all at once, her expression crumpled, and tears streamed down as she began to sob, shaken by what had just happened.
"Hey, hey..." Adrian gently wiped the tears from her eyes. "It's okay, you're safe now. It's over."
She nodded. "Mmhm."
Looking into his eyes, her emotions finally overflowed. Her hands reached out and clung to his shirt as she leaned forward, pressing her forehead lightly against his chest.
"You're… hurt," she said shakily, noticing the bruises on his face and arms. Her voice cracked as she spoke. "Why did you… go that far… you could've just left me…"
Adrian exhaled slowly, brushing a hand gently over her hair. "Because I meant what I said. I won't leave you, we'll stick together, forever." he replied quietly.
Natsuha bit her lip, her grip tightening slightly as more tears slipped down. "Idiot…" she whispered, but there was no real anger in it. Only relief.
Natsuha looked up at him, her eyes still shaken but softening as she inched her face closer. But suddenly, her expression snapped.
"Adrian—!" she shouted.
Behind him, Daichi had pushed himself back up. His grip on the metal bat was trembling, but his eyes were filled with rage as he raised it high up.
Adrian sensed something wrong immediately and turned, moving to pull Natsuha out of the way at the same time.
But it was already too late.
The bat came down fast.
*CRACK!*
A heavy impact rang out as Adrian was struck, his body jolting from the force before he staggered a step, momentarily losing balance.
His vision briefly blurred as pain shot through him. Blood slowly ran down the side of his face as he steadied himself, one hand instinctively rising to his head.
When he pulled his hand back, his fingers were covered in warm, crimson blood. It dripped slowly down his palm and onto the ground.
Daichi's eyes widened in horror as he stared at the blood. His face turned deathly pale. The bat slipped from his trembling hands and clattered loudly onto the ground with a heavy thud.
"W-what have I done…?" Daichi muttered, voice shaking. "What the hell did I just do…?"
He took a shaky step back, eyes glued to the blood on Adrian's head. His breathing grew rapid and ragged as panic set in. "I… I didn't mean to… fuck… what have I done…?"
The still remaining members of the group stood frozen, whatever anger they had left, was drained away and replaced by dread and uncertainty.
Suddenly, a loud, authoritative shout echoed across the area.
"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING HERE?!"
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice. A middle-aged man in a tracksuit was storming toward them with a furious expression.
The coach's eyes widened as he took in the chaotic scene. Several of the soccer players were sprawled across the ground, groaning in pain and clutching their injuries.
Their captain, Daichi, stood frozen with a deathly pale face, his hands trembling uncontrollably. A few steps away, Adrian, the popular transfer student, had blood steadily streaming down the side of his face from a deep gash on his head.
The atmosphere grew even heavier as the coach approached.