"Damn it!"
Bang!
Seeing no response from his partner,
Fujiwara finally gave up and slammed Yamamoto's head down hard.
It sounded scary, but Fujiwara still knew what he was doing. He could tell the difference between friends and foes.
So… wasn't Kouhei still under Yamamoto to cushion him?
Kouhei: What the ??? You bastard!!!
Kamishiro: "Oh dear, looks like the tables have turned~"
Iori: "No way, no way, does someone actually think they can take on both of us? One of us is a land battle god!"
Watching the two of them grin wickedly and close in on him, cold sweat ran down Fujiwara's forehead.
He had to admit — with his teammate down, his jealousy-fueled power-up was gone.
In other words...
Right now, he had no buffs!!!
Damn it!
The situation was suddenly turning against him!
Fujiwara's face darkened. In that case, he had no choice but to pull out his ultimate weapon!
"Huff… no choice now. Although it goes against my principles, at this point, it doesn't matter…
Get ready, you two… I'm pulling out a knife!"
"What?!" ×2
Hearing the mention of a dangerous weapon, Kamishiro and Iori immediately stopped in their tracks, staring at Fujiwara in shock and suspicion.
"He's really pulling a knife!"
"You bastard, that's way too dirty!"
The two quickly stepped back, condemning Fujiwara.
If he had a knife, the tide could turn again — no one could take that on with just bare hands.
If they were in Izu like usual, even with a knife, Kamishiro could still fight back.
After all, for his own safety, he'd prepared quite a bit!
But the problem was...
All of it got confiscated at the airport!
And he hadn't expected to run into knife-wielding psychos on a simple vacation.
Damn it, just how deep does this grudge go? Buying knives and stun guns the moment they land?
No doubt — this was a premeditated, organized kidnapping!
"Hahahahahahahaha!!!"
Seeing the fear on their faces, Fujiwara was beyond thrilled.
Yes!
That was the expression he wanted!
At long last… he was the protagonist!
No longer the overlooked, forgettable one!
Don't think he didn't know — those bastards had gone on outings several times and left him behind!
Fujiwara already had it planned: once this "capture mission" was over, he'd apply to become the boss of the group!
Everyone would have to follow his orders from now on!
"Any last words? Save them for the afterlife!"
In his many imagined glorious futures, Fujiwara pulled out his "weapon."
A knife!
A— nail clipper?!
"..."
(???)
Looking at the nail clipper — shorter than even one of their fingers — Kamishiro and Iori's expressions stayed calm, but the veins bulging on their foreheads and arms made their internal rage crystal clear.
So…
This tiny thing was what scared them just now?
"Ahahahaha, prepare to die, you bastar— uh, wait, why aren't you running?
This is a knife, okay?! A real knife!
At least show some fear!"
"Haroken!!!"
"Ata!!!"
"Wrong! I was wrong!!!
Don't hit my face!
Bro, I swear it wasn't me, it was all Nojima's idea! I'm just an innocent bystander!
Ahhh—!"
________________
Bam!
After ten long minutes of punishment, Fujiwara — swollen and pig-faced — collapsed unconscious, eyes rolled back.
The bloodstains on the dirt marked the site of a brutal and inhumane execution.
"Tch!"
Kamishiro spat near Fujiwara, glaring at him in disgust.
"Is this guy a f**king idiot?!"
Threatening people with a nail clipper?
Just how dumb could he be — insulting their intelligence like that?
"Well, at least it shows he's committed," Iori commented, approving of Fujiwara's dedication to his role… and promptly kicked him again.
Approved, yes. But it didn't mean he'd hold back from kicking.
Phew.
After the beating, both of them felt refreshed, as if all their bad moods had evaporated.
Indeed, beating people up was the best stress reliever.
Especially scumbags — zero guilt whatsoever!
"By the way, where the hell is that bastard Nojima?"
Wiping sweat from his forehead, Iori asked Kamishiro. The intense workout had fired him up — he was eager for round two.
"Who knows? Probably hiding somewhere plotting our downfall. You know how devious he can be — not below you, at least."
"…Compared to you, I'd say I'm not devious at all," Iori muttered.
He didn't have the ability to make Yamamoto lose the will to live with just a single sentence.
Kamishiro shrugged. "What I have is called wisdom."
"..."
So you have wisdom, and I'm devious?
You're hogging all the good words!
But Iori didn't bother to argue anymore — it was pointless.
After all, he'd never once won a debate against Kamishiro… and he always ended up losing money for some reason.
Wait a second!
Didn't that just prove Kamishiro was devious?
Iori's expression changed — he was suddenly tempted to sacrifice some money just to prove it.
But then he thought better of it…
That bastard would probably take the money and shamelessly say, "This is wisdom!"
Better to save the money for souvenirs.
"So what should we do now?"
Kamishiro was about to suggest heading back and calling it a day.
But then he saw Kouhei still pinned under Yamamoto's body…
…and changed his mind.
________________
No matter what, Kouhei's kick earlier could be said to have saved his life. It would've been too cruel to leave him alone here with those two beasts.
Especially in that position...
Anyway—
"Let's wake Kouhei up first."
Upon hearing this, Iori finally remembered they still had another companion. He looked in Kouhei's direction—
And immediately saw an incredibly eye-burning scene: Yamamoto and Kouhei's lips were nearly touching!
From a certain point of view, Yamamoto had basically made close contact with the virtual idol he liked.
The two of them exchanged a glance, but neither moved.
Not because they didn't want to, but just...
One minute later, Kamishiro and Iori tacitly put away their phones.
Of course such a precious scene had to be recorded first!
As Iori put away his phone, he couldn't help but feel emotional.
As expected, people always end up becoming the very thing they once despised.
He used to scorn this kind of behavior — because he was always the one being victimized...
But ever since he became the one doing it, he'd completely fallen in love with the joy of snapping photos at every opportunity!
It felt amazing!
He was starting to understand the fun of otaku collecting CG scenes from games!
...
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Amid a series of loud smacks, Kouhei slowly opened his eyes in a daze.
The first thing he saw was Yamamoto's sausage-like lips.
Kouhei: {{(°△°; "}}!
"What the hell?!"
Kouhei was shocked, instinctively tilting his head back—only to smash it against the e ground, nearly passing out again.
Only then did he realize what kind of position he and Yamamoto were in.
No time to think further, Kouhei scrambled to his feet and took in the chaotic scene around him, falling into brief contemplation.
His memory still stopped at the moment he got shocked by the stun gun.
But speaking of which—why did his face hurt so much after getting stunned?
Unable to figure it out, Kouhei looked to his dear bros, hoping for a reasonable explanation.
At that moment, Kamishiro and Iori were looking at Kouhei with tears in their eyes, like soldiers who had just found a comrade previously declared dead.
"The plan was a huge success!"
"You suffered so much. We'll never forget your sacrifice!"
They each patted Kouhei on the shoulder, one on either side. To be honest, even though Kouhei had been utterly useless during the fight—
They were still willing to award him MVP. After all... if it weren't for Kouhei, they'd probably still be in caterpillar form!
Also, Kouhei's part-time job had also played a critical role in their victory!
They just weren't sure whether Yamamoto could ever interact normally with Kouhei again…
Would it be with the eyes of someone looking at their beloved, or with the gaze of utter disgust?
Too interesting to predict~
(λ_=)
Kouhei: ???
Kouhei was completely confused. What he wanted was the story—how it happened!
Why were they suddenly telling him the plan had succeeded? That they remembered his sacrifice?
What sacrifice?!
"You two need to say something useful! And why does my face hurt so damn much?! AHH—"
Kouhei couldn't help but pinch his own face, letting out another blood-curdling scream that echoed across the dueling ground.
Why the hell was his face swollen?!
"Ahem, here's what happened..."
(;?＿?)
Kamishiro closed his eyes, avoiding looking at Kouhei's face. He was afraid he'd burst out laughing while making stuff up.
Besides, he had squinty eyes anyway—Kouhei wouldn't be able to tell if they were open or closed.
And so, under Kouhei's baffled gaze, Kamishiro began his journey of pure bullshitting.
Half a moment later—
(???)
Kouhei stared at the unconscious Yamamoto with the gaze of a murderer.
"So, after I got knocked out, Yamamoto this bastard kept slapping me over and over out of spite?!"
Kamishiro nodded solemnly. "Exactly! We couldn't just stand by and watch!
To save you, Kitahara and I charged out and fought them with all we had!
Unfortunately...
Their strength was overwhelming—we were at a disadvantage from the start!
That bastard even kept bullying you right in front of us. How could I tolerate that?!
I fought him again, three hundred rounds of fierce combat!
Knocked down again and again, but I kept getting back up!
And finally—
With the power of our friendship, we defeated those two beasts!"
Kamishiro vividly described the scene, and to make it more convincing, he even lifted Iori's shirt to show the battle scars—
(Beaten-up bruises)
"Kamishiro… Kitahara…"
Kouhei looked at the two, moved beyond words. He couldn't believe it—these two, who usually pretended not to even know him, actually cared so much when he was in danger!
It was... too touching!
"We are Brothers for life!!!"
Pfft!
That shout almost made Iori burst into laughter.
As expected, blond guys are the easiest to trick.
Kamishiro shot Iori a glare for almost ruining it. Before Kouhei could turn his gaze to Iori, Kamishiro wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"We are brothers! Don't forget the power of friendship in Rarako!"
Seeing Kamishiro's determined look, Kouhei was stunned—then smiled brightly, tilting his head back to stop the tears from falling.
Having friends like these in life—no regrets!
He felt awful about ever thinking of abandoning them before!
Thinking of this, Kouhei fell into deep guilt!
(っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)
Meanwhile, the true mastermind Kamishiro wore a devilish smile as he watched the scene.
As expected, Kouhei was way too easy to trick.
Say a few things about friendship and bonds, throw in a Rarako reference, and boom—his brain's instantly on the level of 10-year-old Kitahara.
If he'd gone with a reasonable explanation (still a lie), Kouhei might've been suspicious.
But now?
They were bros for life!
Feel guilty, regret it all!
Hand over all your fortune and video games as compensation!
Kamishiro had already made up his mind—once they got back to Izu, he'd go "borrow" some figures and games from Kouhei.
???????‵?
As expected of himself—so clever!
Scumbag!
Iori spat in Kamishiro's direction.
He was the true snake in the grass—after slapping someone around, he got them to treat him like a best friend.
Terrifying!
Iori was so shaken he wanted to take out a notebook and record Kamishiro's tactics—
One: for self-defense, so he wouldn't fall for it himself.
Two: so he could try it on someone else. If you can't beat them, join them!
"Bro, go ahead and let it out."
Suddenly, Kamishiro thought of something and quickly brought Kouhei to Yamamoto's side, gesturing politely.
Kouhei instantly understood, and a cruel smile crept across his face... hiss!
Even smiling hurt, which only intensified his thirst for revenge!
Slap slap slap!!!
Amidst the merciless sound of slaps, Kamishiro quietly pulled out his phone.
Mhm, when Yamamoto came looking for revenge later, he'd have video proof it wasn't him.
If Yamamoto wanted payback, he could go after Kouhei.
Oh, and he had also secretly recorded Kitahara just now. Might as well send that to Yamamoto too.
Watching Kamishiro's moves, Iori was dead silent.
What a bastard!
...
After Kouhei finished venting, Kamishiro casually put away his phone and started chatting with Kitahara like nothing had happened.
"Now there's only Nojima left."
(???)
"..."
Iori just stared at the bastard in silence.
He was way too skilled at this!!!
How many times have you done such heinous things?!