You're shitting me, aren’t you? Of course, I had to play hero. Acting all smug in the store like some budget anime protagonist, standing up to some punk with no plan would bite me in the ass. God saw that and decided, “Yeah, let’s humble this clown.”

  Now here I was, standing on the sidewalk at night. Three Incapable/useless girls behind me. Three menacing guys in front of me.

  And one of them had a metal bat with my name on it. Nao and Reina were clutching the back of my shirt like I was a damn fortress. I wanted to swap places so bad. Let me hide behind them.

  Please. But nooo. Pride said nah.

  And I know Yuki would never let me live it down if I actually did that. I glanced behind me, and Arisa was the only one trying to keep her chin up. She stepped forward, voice trembling but defiant.

  “GET LOST, CREEP! YOU WERE THE ONE ACTING UP IN THE STORE, RIGHT?!” Her voice echoed off the buildings, but I could hear the crack in it, like a porcelain vase about to break. The guy just smirked and slapped the bat into his palm.

  “Oi, bitch. Shut up and come with us. We won't hurt you since you’re sexy, but that mouth of yours is annoying at least whilst it's empty. It's your little boyfriend's fault that he wanted to get cocky in front of me. So I want payback.” He stepped closer, dragging the bat on the pavement with a screech.

  Arisa froze. Like, literally froze. The sound of the guy's footsteps and the tone of his voice were enough to make her realise her situation. Her hands were clenched, but her legs wouldn’t move. The fear finally caught up to her.

  So it was upto me.

  I stepped in front of her, arms wide like I was doing some holy sacrifice.

  “Wow. You really needed backup to beat up a student? I’m honoured.”

  "…"

  "Piss off, Dick." He responded.

  It sounded cool in my head. In reality, it just pissed him off even more. He stomped forward, now front and centre, spinning the bat once like he was selecting a weapon in a game.

  “You think you’re funny, jackass? Let’s see you laugh when I cave your skull in!” He lifted the bat. “YOU BIIII-”

  FLASH!

  A sudden beam of white light cut through the dark, right past my face. He flinched hard, dropping his swing mid-air. I didn’t think. Didn’t hesitate. I swung. LEFT HOOK. RIGHT TO THE JAW. He dropped. Flat. My knuckles screamed, but adrenaline drowned out the pain. I turned just in time to see what blinded him. A phone light. Nao was holding it up with both hands, trembling, shouting, “SOUTA, RUN!!”

  Tempting. God, it was tempting.

  But I looked behind me, and yeah. Reina and Arisa were running.

  More like fast walking.

  Actually, no. More like jogging through molasses.

  “Goddamn! Those jugs were slowing them down!” I thought, whilst glancing back.

  Rude. Yes, uncalled for, yes. But also… Kinda true. Big chests: 10/10 until you have to run for your life. I realised there was no way we were outrunning anybody at that pace. The guy on the ground groaned, blood dripping down his lip. His friends stepped forward.

  All three of them now.

  Bats ready.

  Though it was almost impossible to see, I just knew their eyes were locked on me as if I had just insulted their entire bloodline.

  “YOU’RE DEAD!”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “GONNA MAKE YOU BEG, PUNK!”

  “AFTER WE’RE DONE, YOU’LL BE EATING THROUGH A STRAW!”

  They fanned out. Flanking me. I backed up slowly, trying to buy time, to think of anything to get us out of this mess. My fists were shaking.

  I couldn’t run. Couldn’t fight.

  Couldn’t call for help.

  It was three bats.

  And one terrified idiot.

  "GOD, WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS? IT SHOULD BE THE PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO GET GOOD STUFF! NOT THIS!" I cried out to myself, regretting every life choice.

  My eyes drifted from one guy to another, the hoarse breathing of the three men echoing, closer and closer was the only thing I could hear. I tried to figure out a way, any way, to try and escape this situation without getting my ass handed to me, but nothing came to mind.

  "Get him." The guy with the bloody lip muttered.

  I lifted up my hands ready for an all-mighty beat down, but after taking one glance at the girls, even at their 1 pace speed, they had made some distance.

  "That's good enough", I thought to myself as the men began to pounce.

  The world felt like it slowed down as the goon started rushing me.

  Can I do this?

  Could I really take on these guys and at least protect them?

  But just as all hope was lost.

  I heard a voice.

  “It seems you’ve done well. You’ve gained some of my respect, Pervert.”

  The voice echoed coldly.

  It was Sharp like ice.

  We all turned. A figure stepped out from the shadows. Black twin-tails. A black jacket over a black dress, and with Eyes that could kill.

  It was Yuki.

  Like some kind of ninja, she launched in front of me, dressed head to toe in black, her midnight hair whipping through the air like it had a personal contract with the moonlight. For a second, it was like she was posing for a photoshoot, except this wasn’t glamour; it was chaos. She spun low, sweeping the front two guys with a slice kick so clean they dropped like bowling pins, before booting the third guy in the shin.

  "HOLY SHIT, WE'RE SAVED!" I wheezed out, half-laughing, half-sobbing like a villain who just got saved by their overpowered best friend. You know those scenes? When the bad guy’s sweating bullets until their S-tier buddy shows up, and suddenly they're the cockiest bastard in the room? Yeah, that was me. I straightened my back like I owned the place.

  “Hahahaha! Now what?! Getting dropped by a girl?! Couldn’t be me!” I shouted, my voice booming with freshly borrowed confidence.

  But of course…

  You know my luck, at least I hope you do by now.

  Yuki turned towards me, as the moon crept out the exact moment she did so, I could see everything, and the smile on Yuki’s face, the one that screamed “I’m a badass,” crumbled. She winced, then looked at me, eyes now shimmering under the glow of a flickering streetlamp.

  “I-I-I-I think I sprained my ankle…” She sniffled, trying to hold in tears that didn’t ask permission to fall.

  "…"

  "…"

  "..."

  “FUCK RUN!!!” I screamed with no hesitation. I bolted and scooped her up like a prince carrying his tsundere princess.

  “UNHAND ME, YOU PERVERT! I DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS!” She screamed, fists flying at my face and shoulders. She slapped me so hard I saw constellations.

  “You just body slammed two guys, and now you're crying? I’m saving your ass here!” I snapped, ducking another slap as I caught up to Arisa and Reina. But the girls weren’t fast; they were dragging their feet like we were in a slow-mo horror movie. I couldn’t pass them, couldn’t risk leaving them behind. If those guys caught them…

  I clenched my jaw.

  Fine.

  I’ll be the bait.

  I kept running, making sure to take a different route that still led us to the apartment, but without the others in the way, Yuki flailing in my arms, every punch and kick making it harder to stay upright. The goons behind us weren’t losing steam. In fact, they were getting faster. But I didn’t look back, my heart raced, the thought of being caught and getting Yuki in danger wasn't in the book, so with everything I had, I kept on running for dear life.

  I kept running.

  And running.

  And a bit more running.

  Until I noticed it. The apartment. Long gone behind us. I’d passed it, way too far. Shit. The others must’ve turned off earlier. Now, it was just me, Yuki, and the footsteps behind us getting louder.

  “YOU’RE GONNA GET US KILLED, SOUTA! YOU MISSED THE APARTMENT!!!” Yuki yelled, eyes wide with panic. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I just focused on fixing my screw-up. I veered left into a narrow alley, then cut right, then left again, dodging through shadows and squeezing past rusted fences.

  A second of silence was all I needed. Boom. Found it. A half-lit parking lot packed with dusty cars.

  I slid toward the centre and spotted a tiny red coupe parked awkwardly between two trucks. No time to be picky. I dropped to my knees, immediately regretting it, pain shot through my shins, and I shoved Yuki underneath.

  “Watch the hair!” She hissed.

  "No time for hair, Yuki! Unless you want a killer haircut from our friends with the baseball bats!"

  I wriggled in beside her. Which I quickly realised was the wrong choice. The undercarriage of the car was barely a foot off the ground. We had to press flat, really flat. One wrong move, and any part of us could peek out.

  And that’s when I realised… Her face was right there. Inches from mine. I could feel her breath, warm, shaky. Her chest moved against mine every time she inhaled. The air was tight. My brain screamed at me not to move, not to breathe, not to say something stupid.

  Then.

  CLANG!

  A metal bat hit the ground right beside the car. Yuki flinched and jumped into me. My arms instinctively wrapped around her, not out of romance, more like “holy shit, I’m dying” reflex. She didn’t push away. Her chest was way too soft, pressing against mine, but she didn’t say a word.

  We froze. The man’s shadow loomed on the asphalt, stretching longer as he approached. I could hear his boots scraping gravel.

  "Where did they go!" He shouted, with pure anger behind his voice.

  I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest, and the sweat that was rushing down my back made me one hundred times more uncomfortable. But what came next was a mere ant in comparison. The man crouched slightly, just enough for his hand to reach under the car. I could feel Yuki's hands clutching me tighter as he knelt down further and further.

  No, no, no, don’t look down, just grab the bat and go, bro. Please.

  His fingers wrapped around the bat handle.

  Don’t look. DON’T LOOK.

  I squeezed Yuki even tighter, hoping that would do something, my face nearly buried in her hair. She didn’t even flinch. I could feel her breath on my neck. It wasn’t angry. It wasn’t annoyed. It was terrified.

  And then, what felt like an eternity, the bat dragged away. Footsteps retreated.

  "They're not here, let's go back." The man scoffed.

  And then silence. I didn’t move. Not for a while. Then finally, Yuki exhaled.

  “…You smell like sweat and cheap instant ramen,” she whispered, her voice trembling.

  “Better than blood and regret,” I whispered back.

  She somehow let out a chuckle, a tiny laugh. And for once… Just for a second… I thought I was glad she was with me.

  DeadEndYuto!