I would rather.

I'm in my last class listening to the teacher talking about literature, but my head is too occupied with what I'm going to do after school. I look outside the window and the sky is so clear today but Aunt Lisa told me that it's going to rain today and I don't bring an umbrella with me. I look around the class and I see some people's bags and I can see they're bringing their umbrella, I look at Erii's bag and she's also bringing hers. I look outside the window again and think about myself that's going to be drenched in rain.

The bell rings and I immediately grab my bag and leave the class. Erii and Ryo are looking at me and they both are looking at each, Ryo shrugs and shakes his head. I'm walking down the stairs and can't wait to just get it done because I don't want to be walking home wet. I make a turn and go to the school backyard and I can feel someone is following me but I don't bother to look back.

I look around for my seniors and they're looking at me near the alley. I swing my bag on my back and walk toward them with confidence, and I can still feel someone is following me. They're puffing their cigarettes while keep staring at me and hoping that I would be nervous about it, but that's not going to work on me because they're just a bunch of punk who knows nothing but a big mouth.

One of him is standing in front of me while smirking.

"You got some balls."

I sigh and look at him.

"Let's just do it because I'm in a hurry."

They're all laughing so loudly and it's so noisy in my ears. The guy who's squatting near the fence is pointing his finger at me.

"Yo, Kazuha, are you really going to let this kid talk like that? Give him a lesson so he should know to not mess with us in the future."

Kazuha turns around and points his thumb at me.

"Hey, I don't want this kid to die, alright? Look at him, he already has bruises on his face and I think got into trouble and got beaten by someone already."

I look at Kazuha and sigh.

"I have met so many people like you, they think they're the boss because they're the biggest in the group and they're always the same, talks too much but in the end, they're just nothing but a useless piece of shit."

They're all glaring at me and raise one of their eyebrows. Kazuha crosses his arms while leaning his body towards me.

"What did you just say? Say it one more time."

I roll my eyes and tilt my head.

"See? All they can do is threaten with their mouth, but too scared to throw a punch."

Kazuha grits his teeth and clenches his fists.

"You little shit!"

Kazuha throws a punch at me, but he's so slow that I can easily dodge his punch. I immediately throw a left hook on his stomach and he groans in pain while pressing his hands on his stomach. I swing my right hook at his face and he gets knocked out from just that. His friends are looking at him in shock and disbelief, they're approaching him and helping him get up.

I'm shaking my arms and cracking my neck.

"It only took two hits to knock him out, now I know that I only need a single punch to knock you all out, do you all want to try it?"

They're all glaring at me and I just raise my eyebrow, then one of them is running toward me. I scoff and smirk then throw a straight punch at him so fast that he can't dodge it, I can feel my fist is hitting the bridge of his nose and I can feel something is moving out of place. He falls down to the ground with his head hitting the ground first, I look at him and shake my head.

"Amateur..."

All of them then start running toward me.

"You shit!"

There are four of them and they're all running toward me, I'm looking for the skinniest one and I found him in the far back because he knows he's the weakest of them all. I block and dodge their punches while waiting for an opening to throw a punch at him, and when they're all pulling their arms, I dash forward and throw a strong left hook at his jaw, he's stunned and falls to the ground like a plank. I immediately walk back and ready my stance again while taunting them all, and they're easily provoked by it. One of them throws a punch at me, I grab his arm and pull him closer while giving him a powerful uppercut, his eyes go all white, and he falls to the ground.

There are two of them left, I'm cracking my fingers while looking at them. They both are hesitating and unconsciously walk back because they know they can't win. I raise my eyebrows and tilt my head.

"You guys done? Or do you want to continue this fight? My time is limited, so I will give you three seconds to give me an answer."

They both are looking at each other and gulping.

"One..."

They both are still looking at each other and then they both are shaking their heads.

"Two..."

When I'm about to open my mouth they both raise their hands and then run away. I sigh and rub my face where they hit me, but then I hear a footstep is coming from behind me, I turn around and I see Ryo is holding my backpack, he walks toward me and gives me my backpack.

"You should've told me if you're going to have some fun, Az..."

I put on my backpack and shake my head.

"Why? Do you want to get another assignment from Kyouko? I can handle them myself, so there's no need for me to ask for your help."

Ryo puts both of his hands on the back of his head.

"Right..."

I look at him and furrow my forehead.

"What are you doing here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be with Erii right now?"

Ryo is walking beside me and tilts his head.

"Well, that's exactly why I'm here. When you left hurriedly after the class ended, she looked so worried and I know that she wants me to look over you and find out what happens. Erii saw you fought those seniors earlier, and I know by the expression she made that she wanted to help you, but she couldn't because of what happened between the two of you, and now I'm here walking next to you as a middle man."

I'm humming with understanding while keep rubbing my face. Ryo is looking at me from the corner of his eyes.

"You should have some talk with Erii, Az. I know that she's hurting because of what happened, and I think it's not good to let this problem keep on going like this. She's still worried about you, you know? I'm not sure if it's because she still has a feeling for you or is it just because she's our best friend."

I sigh and shake my head.

"What do you want me to do? I apologized and I already had a talk with her as well, she said that she wants to be alone and I do what she wants, so what else do you want me to do?"

Ryo raises his eyebrows and shrugs.

"I don't know, maybe do something about it?"

I exhale deeply.

"I do love her, and I'm not trying to be an asshole or something like that, but she was the one want to break up with me. I apologized and it hurts me when she said that and when I saw her crying while I couldn't do anything. I would rather fight dozens of people than have to try to fix a problem that doesn't even have to be fixed in the first place. It hurts more when I see Erii's face than getting punched in the face by those people."

Ryo sighs and nods with understanding.

"Alright, I understand, but you should stop doing something so recklessly. Erii doesn't want you to hurt yourself because she thinks it was her fault."

I nod.

"Yeah, I know that."

The dark clouds are forming and the sky starts rumbling, and the rain immediately falls from the sky. Ryo is running toward the school building while I keep on walking in the middle of the rain, Ryo looks at me and furrows his forehead.

"What are you doing, Az?!"

I smile and look at him.

"I'm going home, see you tomorrow."

I keep walking toward the school gate and I see Erii and Ryo are looking at me, and when I look at the school gate, I see a woman in Shiroihana's uniform while holding an umbrella. I squint my eyes and approach her.

"Aiko?"

Aiko lifts her umbrella and looks at me while smiling.

"Hi."