Free Marks II: Study Group

Soon after, the study group gathered around a large square table tucked in the corner of the room. The table quickly became packed with an assortment of desserts and drinks, transforming into a feast of indulgence. Amid the laughter and chatter, it seemed no one remembered their original agenda — or why they had come here in the first place.

"I think we might have ordered them excessively, Shinji-senpai," Emi spoke with a slightly shameful tone. The girl sat on the same side as Shinji across from Ayane and Shouichi. 

"Don't worry, it's your cheat day today, right? Emi-chan." Shinji spoke with a big smile, his white teeth gleamed briefly. 

"Hmm? I didn't know that. The manager is off the diet?" Shouichi teased her busty junior a little. When he took a closer survey of the physique of Ito Emi, he arrived at the conclusion that she had indeed slimmed down. However, her true figure was hard to discern beneath the oversized uniform she was wearing.

"Eh? Did you wanna spoil her rotten? That's why you treat us today and put them on your father's card?" Ayane accused him after sudden realisation. Then she turned to sip on her hot long black. 

"Hey, ain't you smooth, mate?" Shouichi beamed at him playfully. 

"You caught me," Shinji confessed, lifting both hands in defeat. He was never a man without motives or stimuli, Shouichi thought. 

"Thanks for the treats, senpai!" Emi said, her voice raised an octave in appreciation, clasping her hands together. Her sparkling brown eyes passionately lingered on Shinji's longer than they should.

"Let's dig it! I'm super low on sugar right now!" Shinji suggested and started to pick a strawberry-flavoured macaron and dunked it into his mouth wholly. 

From afar, Yoko imagined that the two pairs of adolescents might have been lovers enjoying a double date together.

***

"Oh? It seems like we just ran out of tissue papers." Ayane muttered when she lifted the empty box.

"One moment, I'll go grab them for you." Shouichi kindly obliged and sprung up on his feet. 

"Thanks, Shouichi-kun." She appreciatively beamed at him. Shouichi found Ayane to behave like a well-mannered friend, which, unfortunately, only happened when others were around. Who could have expected that she would be a perverted beast underneath the pretty face, Shouichi questioned in his mind.

Shouichi walked across the room to find the napkins, suddenly he overheard his mother arguing with a dodgy customer. Her frantic voice was urgent and alarming. 

"Admit it, mister~you just touched my butt!" Yoko's voice now carried an upsetting tone. Shouichi turned his attention toward them, stepping closer.

"What!? That's absurd! Lady, why are you accusing me of that misdeed?! My hands slipped, allegedly..." A man explained with a dishonest smile, his crooked teeth glinting in the light. He was thin and pale in his 30s, marked by a prominent bald spot, thick glasses obscured his dubious gaze, adding to his unsettling demeanour.

"Sir, you need to leave or else!" Yoko warned with a stern voice, crossing her arms. Surveying the situation now, Shouichi realised he needed to step in. 

"Ridiculous! Calm your tits, lady. It's just an accident! What's the big deal?" The dubious man raised his voice, his spit spilling out, "Is this how you treated your loyal customers? Yoko-san?" He smirked and remained seated in his protest.

The distressing noises caused others nearby to stare at the source with prying eyes. Their voices were murmuring in the background.

"I know what you did! That's it, I'm calling the police!" Yoko concluded, turning on her heels and pulling out her smartphone. 

"You ungrateful bitch!" The man's claw frantically grasped her by the throat tight, suffocating Yoko. She squirmed and gagged, desperate for air.

The whole situation escalated, and images flashed like a lightning strike. Shouichi, who was a few steps from them, rushed in. 

"Get your F**KING hands off!" Shouichi yelled and swung his fist with rage. The knuckles ripped through the air as they collided squarely in his opponent's left eye. The powerful impact sent his frail body crashing into the table behind him. His arms fell flat on the sides.

At that same moment, Yoko collapsed to the ground, coughing and heaving for oxygen.

"AARRRRH! Motherf**cker, you just punched me!" He cursed heatedly while his palm covered his eye. His eye throbbed sharply and an agonising pain coursed through his skull. 

Shouichi said nothing as he strutted toward the ugly man, his steps slow and deliberate. His piercing eyes burned with rage and hatred, each step radiating a murderous intent. His fists clenched so tightly they flushed red, his jaw tightening as his face twisted into something inhuman, something demonic.

A chill of primal fear coursed down the man's spine. At that moment, he realised with terrifying clarity: this boy wasn't just angry — he was going to kill him.

"Shouichi, stop!" His mother's voice rang out, firm and pleading, as she wrapped her arms around him from behind, holding him back.

Yoko's sudden embrace cut through the haze of his fury, grounding him and pulling him out of his violent trance. The tension in his clenched fists began to ease, his breaths slowing as the weight of her presence brought him back to reality.

"F*ck! F*ck! F*ck!" The man scrambled to his feet and left the store as fast as his legs could allow, his left eye bruised red as a souvenir.

"Oh my god!"

"Damn, the kid just punched the molester."

"Did that ugly man just grab Yamamoto-san by the throat?"

"Serve him right, pervert lowlife."

The gossip echoed through the atmosphere accompanied by the curious stares of the customers. 

Shinji ran up to the scene and tapped on his friend's shoulder lightly. The adrenaline lingered and flooded Shouichi's system, causing his body to shiver uncontrollably. He felt every beat of his heart pound, so deafening. 

"Shouichi… Are you alright?" Shinji asked, concerned.

"Y~yeah… yeah…" Shouichi eventually replied with a quivering voice, looking at his shaking fingers and red knuckles. 

"Yoko-san, Are you okay?" Ayane asked while inspecting Yoko's jugular, a noticeable discolouring appeared around her throat. 

"Cough, cough! I sho~I should be fine. Thank you, Ayane-chan." Yoko replied and smiled at the concerned girl weakly. 

"Yamamoto-san, please rest here for a bit," Emi suggested and led Yoko toward the booth. "Let me grab you a cup of warm water?" Ayane said calmly as Yoko settled down. In response, the injured lady nodded in obedience. 

After a few moments, everything turned quiet and a faint sense of normality returned. Shouichi already cleaned up the mess and returned the table to its original position. The black-haired shop owner took a short rest in the booth with Shouichi's group of friends. 

"Here's your warm water, Yoko-san," Ayane said to her, softening in her tone as she placed a cup of warm water on the table and sat next to her. Her expressive purple eyes tinged with a genuine worry. 

"Thank you," Yoko replied as she clasped her palms around the cups, letting the warmness wash over her. Then she absentmindedly stared at the ripple of the water, her mind was still processing the recent incident. 

"Mom… I'm sorry." Shouichi spoke up after a long mute. There was guilt in his eyes. "I~I lashed out and I just winged it without thinking..." He explained while his hands covered his nose and mouth, shamed.

"Shouichi," Yoko said, gazing into his cinnamon-brown eyes. "It's not your fault." Her voice was sincere.

"Thank you for protecting me, Shouichi-kun," She added, her gentle smile warming her face. His heart eased, and the weight of his guilt began to lift. 

"Yoko-san… I thought you would be mad at me." Shouichi responded, confused at her reaction. Yet, somewhere in the corner of his mind felt a big relief, the heaviness in his chest slowly disappeared.

"Mommy is so proud of you. Shou-kun really is my sweetest boy." She assured as her hand extended to pat on his dark hair, softly like a feather.

"...It's like, in a movie, a hero arrived to save a female lead. Fufufu!" His mother jested all of a sudden. It appeared that Yoko reversed back to her cheerful self. 

The oddity in Yoko's sense of humour lightened up the air, "Haha... Hahaha!" Shouichi was amused at how an unfunny joke could be funny. 

"Yoko-san can't be a female lead, right? Otherwise, that movie would be categorised as a MILF!" Emi chimed in and chuckled.

"Eh? What's MILF?" Yoko asked baffledly, poking her index finger on her cheek.

"Nothing, Mom! Don't listen to her." Shouichi quickly dismissed, embarrassed. 

"A true hero is not defined by the battles he wins, but by the protection he offers to those he loves." Shinji proclaimed coolly with his clever quote. But everyone instantly cracked up because of how unserious he appeared. 

"By the way, mom. Do you have any idea who the molester is?" Shouichi asked, curiosity laced his expression.

"...umm... I don't know him personally, but he does look familiar…" Yoko said, shaking her head and then she closed her eyes and concentrated deeply.

"Is he really a regular? I have never seen him before." Ayane interjected, remembering what he said before Shouichi punched him.

"I think he visited a couple of times… Especially during the day, I guess." Yoko retraced her memory despite the fogginess in her mind.

"Oh, that explains why I never run into this man. Since I'd be at school during that period." Ayane rationalised, sipping her coffee. It was now cold and bitter but she didn't mind it.

"Should we inform the police? The guy literally assaulted you." Shouichi suggested eager in his tone.

"I don't think he'll ever return. Otherwise, he's gon' get another black eye." Yoko joked and giggled, his kind mother was back in full. 

"Maybe I'll ask Akiyama-san about it. A man like him might be on the sexual offender list or something." Shouichi proposed naturally, lifting his index finger.

"Right! I agree that we should ask Suzuki-san for info." Ayane added with a handclap, leaving Emi and Shinji to stare at her questioningly. 

"So, who is Akiyama Suzuki-san?" Emi eventually asked, her brown eyes were as clueless as Shinji's.

"Well, she's my relative, who happens to work as a police officer!" Ayane replied, enthusiasm in her voice and her radiant purple eyes glistered with hope.

"Yep, Yoko and I met the officer yesterday when she was working on the fire ceremony's case..." Shouichi told his side of the story leading to his encounter with Akiyama Suzuki.

"I heard it too. That case is awfully terrifying!" Emi added, uneased at the thought.

"It seems like bizarre things are happening all over the place again," Shouichi concluded, resting his chin atop his palm. "I wonder if this is the start of something sinister…"