Chapter 40: Proof of strength

“Ou, long time no see, boys!”

　Three students were sitting in the luxuriously decorated cabin.

　A man with a wooden sword in his waist, a man with a hooded head, and a man with a hawk on his shoulder.

　All of them reeked of bad things.

“Let me introduce you!　From right to left, Kubosaka High School’s 3rd year, Kendo Club Director, Itousai Terada!”

　I-Itousai!　It’s a name that only a swordsman would be allowed to use!

　If this had been a homecoming club, he would have been the laughing stock of the whole school.……

　Terada-senpai has a wooden sword on his waist. Does he have it ready to pull out at any time?　Clearly, he was born in the wrong era.

　He bailed lightly at me, and I bailed back.

“In the middle of the room is Zenzo Hattori, third-year gymnastics team leader at Torajo High School!”

Zenzo Hattori!　He’s in the gymnastics club, he’definitely a ninja, this guy!

　Hattori-senpai formed the sign of a ninja. Is that a greeting?

　I bailed lightly.

“On the far left is Asuka Takagai, second-year student at Onodera High School and Hawk keeper!”

　 Hawk Keeper ……?　It all got a little shabby at once, didn’t it?

　The Hawk Keeper, as the name implies, has a hawk on his shoulder.

　I bailed, but he turned away from me with a huff.

“And this is Soma Yagami, a second-year track and field student at Mouki-Mourosu High School!　This is a real man who went into a battle against a hajiki with his bare hands!

“Hi, I’m Yagami.”

　I bowed my head.

　However, Takagai still turned his back on me.

“Oi, hawk-keeper ……, what’s with the attitude towards …… this man that I approve of?”

　A tremendous killing intent was released from the villainous Senpai.

“…… Such a sprout is not worthy of this place. He’s not worthy of being a chief. His eyes have no power at all.”

　You are right, Takagai. It’s not appropriate for me to be here at all.

　Because I’m just an ordinary student. So let me go home as soon as possible.

“Takagai…..!　Get up…..!”

“Well, wait a minute, Villainous. It’s understandable that Takagai is suspicious. He’s been a nobody until now. Why don’t you let him prove his power for once, that he can?”

　Terada!　Don’t say unnecessary things!

“Indeed, that’s also true.…… Okay, Soma!　You’ ve got to show these guys what you can do!”

{1 [“All right?　Who should I beat up?”] (Tie up with the hawk keeper.)

{2 [“I can prove it by killing you!”] (Beat up the villainous Senpai.)

{3 [“From now on, the leader of the Kanto region will be me!”] (Beat up the four of them and become the leader of the pack.)

　Look, this is what happens when Terada says something unnecessary.

“All right?　Who do you want me to beat up?”

“Funn~, I’ll deal with him.”

　Takagai stood up and pointed his finger at me to go outside.

　Damn it, ……, this is what happens after all.

　What to do?　How do I lose in a good way, with a certain amount of damage?

　If I do that, I’ll never be called again.

　I decided to go with that strategy and got up.

“Go all out, Soma Yagami.”

{1 [“Then let me go all out without hesitation] (Fight the hawk keeper seriously.)

{2 [“All-out?　Then I will kill all of you!”] (Kill them all!)

“Then let me go all out without hesitation.”

　Terada!　You said something unnecessary again!

　I landed on the pier, angry and pissed off.

“Hahaha!　That Soma guy is full of fighting spirit!　I’m really impressed that you’re undaunted in the face of that Hawk-keeper!”

“Umu, I guess he is a born samurai.”

　No, I’m not!　I’m just pissed because you said something you shouldn’t have!

” — handicap. I’m not going to use this hawk.”

　The hawk-keeper flew his hawk into the sky, took off his school uniform and rolled up his sleeves.

　So, you’re going to use a hawk when you’re really fighting?

　It would be terrifying to be attacked with such a sharp beak and claws.

“Soma!　Watch out for the falconer’s elbow!　His elbows are as sharp as a hawk’s claws!”

　Elbows?　Does he do Muay Thai?

　I’ve never fought anyone who uses kicking techniques. Will I be able to handle the kicks?

“Well, Start!”

　As soon as the signal to start was given by Senpai, a middle kick came flying at me.

　I quickly guarded myself, but the impact of the kick caused my guard to collapse.

　It’s a hell of a kick!　It’s nothing compared to a punch!

　The next moment, I was hit with a straight shot, but I managed to avoid it.

　But the elbow combination that followed cut my cheek.

“Hooo, …… you just barely avoided me. …… Well, well, well. You’re good.”

　I wiped the blood from my cheek with my hand.

　It’s not like boxing at all,……!　It’s reach and power are far superior to punches. How the hell am I supposed to fight it?

　The weakness of the kick is that it has a large gap and cannot be hit repeatedly. It is difficult to hit if the opponent is too close to you.

　The only way to block kicks is to close the distance and get into an infighting match. If it’s a fistfight, I should have a chance to win.

　I took a step forward, trying to get close to Takagai.

　Batcham!

　That huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurts!

　Takagai’s low kick landed on my left leg. I was about to fall to my knees, but I

I managed to hold it back.

　I’ve heard that low kicks are effective against boxers, and it’s true. I hadn’t been able to see the attack at all because it was out of sight.

　I can’t just jump in like this. What do I do?

“You’re a boxer, right?　You can’t handle low at all. Hahaha!”

　That’s right. I have no idea what to do.

　If I keep my distance for fear of low kicks, I will fall prey to middle and high kicks.

　To be honest, if Terada had not said anything unnecessary, I would have given up immediately.

“—–Uoooo!?”

　As I was struggling to attack, a high kick came flying at me. I barely avoided it.

　He threw a single high kick with a large gap, probably because he was trying to outsmart me.

　If it had been used in combination, I would have been hit without even realizing it.

“Oh, you have good eyes. But you can’t beat me if you just run away.”

　Now what?

　Takagai is sure to throw a low kick again now that the high kick has been avoided.

　Do I go for that?

　–Yes!　I’ll put it into practice again this time!

　In both the Koga and Saotome fights, my winning strategy was the same. It’s the counter.

“Mu…..I can feel the strong determination from Soma.”

“It’s going to be decided next time.”

　I took a step to close the distance between me and Takagai.

　Takagai fires a low shot to intercept me. –Yes, I can see him well.

　I took a step forward at maximum speed and threw a straight hit.

　My fist catches him in the face before his low hit.

　Okay, I’ve won the rapid-fire duel.

　Takagai flinches.

　I tried to follow up with a hook since he wasn’t down yet.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!!!!”

　I stopped for a moment.

“Soma’s ability has been proven sufficiently now, hasn’t it!　What do you think, hawk keeper?”

　Takagai opens his mouth, wiping the blood from his nose with his arm.

“No, I knew it all along. …… What do you think?　Terada-san?　Hattori-san?”

“Umu, it is perfect, that it is.”

“I have witnessed Yagami’s bravery and determination!”

“Hahaha!　So that’s what this is about!　Terada and Hattori are both terrible guys!”

I see. So it was Terada-san and Hattori-san who were unconvinced, not Takagai, and they were using their junior colleague Takagai to test me.

“I’d like to introduce myself again. I’m Asuka Takagai, a sophomore at Onodera High School. Nice to meet you, Yagami.”

“Nice to meet you too, Takagai.”

　I shook hands with the Hawk keeper and became his companion.

　No, should I say I have become one of them…