CHAPTER 9: THE TRAITOR (part 1)
The terrifying sound of Akuro Yoshibe's open-handed
'Kudo strike' (SMACK!) was still echoing in the stagnant air of the canteen. Right after that came a heavy,
blood-curdling sound—THUD.
100-kilogram Renjiro Hoshino crashed to the ground like a chopped tree.
The floor shook so hard that the plates on the nearby tables began to rattle.
Renjiro's body didn't move an inch.
His eyes had rolled back, showing only the whites.
"From his brutally swollen jaw and busted lips, a thick, dark red pool of blood began to spread across the white tiles of the canteen."
A graveyard-like, suffocating silence fell over the hundreds of students standing there.
Not even the sound of anyone breathing could be heard.
The canteen, which was full of noise just moments ago,
had turned into a morgue in a single second.
But just then,
from right behind Akuro's white leather jacket,
someone ripped through that deathly silence.
"HAHAHA! Boss! What a hit!"
Kenchon—Akuro's most brutal enforcer,
who had scars on his face—stepped forward. He rubbed his heavy hands together while clapping.
His voice was piercing, like shattering glass.
"You put this fat pig to sleep in just one hit! Flawless,
bro, absolutely flawless!"
Akuro slowly turned towards him.
His movement was as slow as a ticking bomb.
The smile was still on his face; in fact, that smile had grown even wider.
"Really?"
Akuro's voice was completely soft,
but it carried the weight of death.
"You liked it that much?
So, do you want to eat a slap too, Kenchon?"
Kenchon's psycho laugh got stuck in his throat.
His blood seemingly dried up and his face turned pale as a ghost.
He suddenly realized that he had made a huge mistake by breaking the silence.
Nobody knew the Smiling Monster's mood.
"N-No Boss! I didn't mean that!
I was just—" Kenchon pleaded while backing away,
his heavy boots making a weird scraping sound on the floor.
Akuro looked deep into his terrified eyes for three seconds,
and then suddenly let out a sweet laugh.
"You idiot,
I was joking!"
Akuro said casually,
waving his hand in the air.
"Why did you get so serious?
Look at him, trembling like a leaf."
Kenchon took a deep breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Ah... y-you're right Boss. You really scared me."
The canteen's tension dropped slightly for a second.
Some kids exhaled their held breaths.
But the Black Blazers' game of psychological torture wasn't over yet.
Daizen Mori—
the gang's tallest and skinniest fighter—
stepped forward from the shadows, gnawing on his thumbnail.
He had a predator's hunger in his eyes.
"Boss,"
Daizen pointed at the unconscious Renjiro,
"This fat guy stood in the sun to get an ice cream for Meiko-san.
We should feed him something too,
shouldn't we?
Out of politeness."
Meiko Fujiwara, sitting at the corner table, laughed softly.
There was pure venom in her red eyes.
For her, this wasn't a tragedy;
this was her entertainment movie,
and she was the lead actress.
"Well said,"
Meiko smoothly crossed her legs.
"He was very fond of eating ice cream,
wasn't he?
Kaito Arashima! Go quickly and bring an ice cream.
Don't make our guest wait any longer."
"Yes, Lady Boss!"
Kaito shouted, pushing past the terror-frozen kids as he sprinted toward the counter.
By then,
Akuro walked over to Renjiro lying on the ground and said theatrically,
"Oh, what's this?
He fainted from just one little slap?
I didn't even close my fist properly.
Now so many people are watching our show,
who is going to refund their money?"
Akuro crouched down and began slapping the unconscious Renjiro's face with full force, without stopping.
Smack. Smack. Smack.
The horrifying sound of slaps hitting bone and skin echoed throughout the entire canteen.
He was hitting him like a machine,
but the sweet smile on his face didn't budge an inch.
He wasn't even out of breath.
Toma Kagetsu,
who was standing like a stone statue,
spoke with his 'dead eyes':
"Boss, he should be beaten more.
He dared to touch the Lady boss.
His hands should be broken."
"Yeah man,"
Akuro said,
delivering the final slap and shaking his hands off as if he had touched some garbage.
"But his brain has completely shut off. He isn't waking up at all."
"Boss! The ice cream is here!"
Daizen Mori yelled,
snatching the ice cream from Kaito's hand and raising it in the air.
Kenchon quickly held out his heavy hands so he could get back in the Boss's good books.
"Bring it here, bastard! I'll feed it to this fat guy!
I'll shove it right up his nose,
Boss!"
Akuro slowly turned completely toward Kenchon.
In a millisecond... in just a single millisecond,
that cheerful smile vanished from Akuro's face.
His face became so cold,
it was as if death itself was standing there instead of a human.
"Oh?" Akuro's voice was like a whispering,
venomous snake.
"You want to feed him?"
Kenchon didn't realize the atmosphere had changed;
he was still laughing,
"Yes Boss!
Your wish is my command!
Just give the order!"
Akuro took a slow step toward him.
"You know... an interesting thought just came to my mind,
Kenchon."
Akuro said, looking dead into his eyes as if clawing at his soul.
"It was you, wasn't it?
The one who leaked our territory details to the Thunder Bulls gang last week."
Hearing these words, a deathly silence filled the canteen's air.
But Toma, Daizen, and Kaito, standing behind him, weren't surprised.
A wicked, creepy smile appeared on all their faces.
They already knew!
This wasn't all for Renjiro... this entire act was staged to set up an 'Execution'.
Kenchon's face turned pale as a ghost.
His legs began to shake violently.
"B-Boss!" Kenchon whimpered, his eyes wide with fear.
"You... you have a huge misunderstanding!
Who lied to you?!
I don't know any Thunder Bulls!
I swear on my mother, Boss!"
Toma Kagetsu took a step forward, his monolithic body casting a shadow over Kenchon.
"Oh, really?
Then who
were you talking to exactly at 6 PM last evening outside the school?
Who was that guy with the leather jacket and bull tattoo, Kenchon?"
Kenchon's remaining pride crumbled into dust.
He realized his game was over.
He collapsed to his knees right there in front of everyone,
crying his eyes out.
"Boss! Please forgive me!"
Kenchon begged, rubbing his forehead on the floor,
snot running from his nose.
"They threatened me!
I won't tell any secrets from now on!
I swear Boss, have mercy!"
"Forgive you?"
Akuro tilted his head slightly,
his smile returning.
"No. I'm going to clean you up right along with this fat guy."
To be continued to next chapter