The mean-faced middle-aged man beside Suzuno was a stranger to both of us — but that wasn’t the issue. Suzuno’s face was frozen with fear; it was clearly not a friendly conversation.
She was in trouble. Ayato saw it too — and froze.
(His usual flaw kicked in. I’d have to go — but Ayato, despite freezing, was trying to push his feet forward.)
He was wrestling with himself. Of course the man wasn’t waiting. The man reached for her.
”!”
She screamed. The instant she did, something snapped in Ayato — he moved. He inserted himself between Suzuno and the man.
“Hey — stop. She’s saying no.”
“Who the hell are you?”
“Her friend.”
(Ayato was suppressing fear — but holding his ground.) The man was Ayato’s height with a more solid build; just facing him was pressure.
(Watching this hit me — I was four-years-old when I burst into the six-graders’ classroom for Kano. Ayato right now was exactly me back then.) The man recovered.
“This kid bumped into me and my phone hit the ground — I’m just collecting damages, butt out.”
“Suzuno — is that true?”
“No! He bumped into me.”
“Bullshit, you bumped me.”
(Stories diverge. Neither of us saw what happened. But if Suzuno actually had bumped him she wouldn’t lie about it.) I believed Suzuno.
(There’s a known kind of street scammer — bumping-old-men — who deliberately collide with weaker-looking people to extort. They’d warned us about them at school’s pre-break assembly. But how to prove it? The man would never admit it.)
The argument continued, heavier. Bystanders noticed but no one stepped in — touch-nothing-fear-nothing. What could I do?
Someone tapped my shoulder.
“Yuito — what’s the situation?”
“Kano-san. Suzuno’s in trouble — Ayato’s stepped in, but…”
(Why was Kano here from the other direction? Many questions — I gave her the summary.) She listened.
“I see — Ayato finally conquered himself. But the opponent looks rough.”
“Yeah — reason isn’t going to work on him.”
“For that kind of opponent, there’s a perfect solution. Leave it to me.”
She had a plan.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Ayato’s awakening chapter. Readers have given him a hard time in comments — but I’d planned this development since chapter 1, which is why I’d written chapter 68 (Ayato’s POV) as a calibration so he wouldn’t be hated too hard.