>>26281 Lovely.
>>26268 I-it's not like I did it for you or anything.
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Damn it, he’s always like this. Always going around picking fights with people no matter what the odds are over the slightest of things! I was hoping that maybe he’d have mellowed out as he really entered the world of adulthood, but I guess even as a corporate man, he still can’t keep his head on straight. I grit my teeth, shaking my head in resignation as he begins to stroll on over to the other table.
Silently, I debate with myself on what to do next. Should I try to stop him? No, he’s never really listened to me on these things in the past; it would just be a waste of effort. Maybe… maybe I could try ignoring this. No, wait, if a fight really does break out, I’ll be hauled out of this place along with him, and there’s no point in staying here by myself in the first place. Besides, as a friend of his, I can’t leave him like that, even if the best I can do is meatshield for him…
Shit, that just leaves one option, doesn’t it?
I curse under my breath as I watch Senpai casually tap the man who tripped that waitress on the shoulder, and slap my forehead with one hand in exasperation as he delivers a clean punch to the man’s face as he turns around, sending the red-faced man stumbling to the floor.
A few of the waitresses who witness it scream and gasp in fright, and the other two men sitting at the table, once they get over the initial shock of a young man just walking up and punching out one of their own, get up from their chairs and walk toward Senpai threateningly, one of them taking off his coat jacket and necktie and throwing them to the floor.
Reluctantly, I get up from my seat, walking over to and standing next to Senpai, putting on the best hard expression that I can muster up. I’m pretty scrawny, but so long as I scowl next to this guy, I must look at least
slightly more frightening than usual, right? Anyway, I’m hoping that the old geezers here get cold feet and leave without trouble. But it looks like I might as well joss that hope. Alcohol tends to empower people with false courage.
The bigger of the two men stares down Senpai, who, not to be beaten, glares back. Boy, I can just see the sparks fly. And then I see fists fly. Not for long, though, because the other one comes at me with surprising speed for a drunk old guy. Panicking as he weaves in, throwing a punch at me, I grab whatever’s nearby at the moment and shove it in his face.
“Aagh!” the man screams, reeling back with one hand covering his face.
That ‘whatever’ turned out to be a still-quite-hot bowl of soup, which makes a dull clink as it lands on the floor, dumping its contents on the expensive-looking mug.
The man wipes at his face with his sleeves, his breath coming out in short, seething gasps through his teeth. I can’t tell if it’s red from liquor, embarrassment, or the scalding now. Maybe all three. He gets ready to come at me again, but is promptly knocked down when his fellow stumbles back into him, sending them both to the floor in a tangled mess.
“Fuckin’ scumbags,” Senpai says as he looks down on the two, one of them knocked out cold while the other’s lying underneath him, trying to get him off. He walks over to the two of them, giving the one still conscious a good kick in the side, cutting short his attempt to stand back up. “Think you can get away with anything just ‘cuz you’re wearing a suit,” he says acerbically, spitting on the rug.
…Senpai, I’m on your side, but I think what you just said might apply to you as well. Do the words “assault charges” mean anything to you, by chance? Speaking of which, we should really get away from here before the cops get here or something.
Finally, Senpai takes a look around, and sees all of the horrified pairs of eyes staring at him, employees and other customers alike. “Uh, sorry about that,” he says apologetically with a sheepish look on his face, before reaching into his pocket and drawing his wallet. He slips out a ten-thousand yen bill from it, and places it on the table nearby. “Here, uh, go ahead and just take it. We’ll be leaving now anyway.”
Sure must feel nice to throw away money like that.
I let out a sigh as he wordlessly walks back to our table to fetch his jacket, loosely draping it over his shoulder. He looks back at me, presumably to tell me to get ready to leave, when his eyes widen in alarm. “Hey, look out!” he cries, beginning to rush toward me.
Before I can even turn around, I feel a hard wooden surface being bashed over my head. At first, the pain lasts for only an instant as I sink to my knees, my mind completely blank. It’s only after a moment that I feel the full force of the blow follow, nearly overwhelming my consciousness with a shocking, swerving sensation. It’s a miracle that I didn’t faint on the spot, though now I wish I had; then I wouldn’t have to deal with this head-splitting ache.
The next few scenes seem like a blur. I turn around and see a man: the one Senpai punched out when he started the fight, holding one of the chairs in his hands. The next moment, I hear Senpai swear loudly, and I see that man tumbling back down to the floor, clocked out himself by a chair that came flying from behind me. I hear a rush of footsteps, and see Senpai rushing past me, picking up one of the fallen chairs and raising it over his head, ready to bring it down on the man now lying on the ground.
But…
“Stop!”
He can’t, because someone’s run up behind him and grabbed him around his shoulders, dragging him back. My vision goes blurry for a moment, and I shake my head to clear it. Red hair. It’s that waitress. Senpai loses his expression of contorted rage, and allows himself to be pulled away, lowering his arms and tossing the chair to the floor.
The waitress lets go of him, and though he’s still obviously angry, he ignores the men in favor of walking over to me and extending a hand concernedly while the redheaded waitress shouts what seems to be instructions to the other workers still gawking around.
“Hey, you okay?” Senpai asks.
“…No, not really,” I say as I take his hand, his strong grip pulling me up. I let go of his hand, trying to walk on my own, but it seems I’m still not quite all there yet, as I nearly fall back down, though Senpai catches me before I do and wraps my arm around his shoulder, supporting me.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” he mutters, glaring at the men now being helped up to their feet by the other waiters and waitresses of the restaurant.
“I’ll escort you outside, sirs,” the redheaded waitress says, hurrying over to us and taking my other arm, helping Senpai support me as they begin to drag me toward the entrance. Senpai gives her a grin in gratitude, and I would mutter words of “Thank you” as well, but right now, I feel like I might throw up if I tried to open my mouth.
The owner of the place is kind enough to give us words of farewell as we live. He points at Senpai, his face lividly red. “日本鬼子! 白痴!” he screams, narrowing his eyes. “I call the police! You!” He next points at me, continuing in that broken dialect. “No come back again!”
He hurries off to the center of the restaurant. Senpai glares at him, pausing for a moment to flip him off before continuing to drag me.
“What were you thinking!?” the waitress hisses at us in a hurried whisper as we pass by the reception area, her red eyes narrowed into a harsh expression. “What, did you think that I’d thank you for it!" There wasn’t any reason to turn this into something big like that!”
Senpai looks completely flustered for a moment, at a loss for words. I have to agree with her; what we did was pretty fucking dumb, and I got a chair to the head and a ban from this restaurant for it.
“Sorry about that, Miss Daidaiko,” he finally says apologetically, lowering his head in shame.
“…Touko,” I manage to raise my voice to correct him.
“
Chengzi, actually,” she corrects us both, reaching out with one arm to open the door as we all step outside.
Oh. Oooohhhh.
She lets go of my arm, dusting off her clothes with a harassed look on her face. “Hope I don’t get fired for this,” she mutters to herself, shuddering. “Anyway, you two probably shouldn’t show your faces around here for a while. He didn’t
really call the police, but you don’t want to give him any more reasons to do that.”
“Right, right,” Senpai nods, and I follow suit, although rather feebly.
“And…you should probably take it easy for a while,” Miss Chengzi says to me, looking slightly concerned. She reaches up and pats the top of her own head. “That looked like it really hurt.”
Oh believe me, it did.
“Well, um,” she steps away, her hands folded primly on top of her legs as she bows low. “过 好天! May you have a nice day!”
So polite, even after all what’s happened.
…
A few minutes of strolling later, and I’m ready to stand and walk under my own power. Still, this nasty headache is like a nagging grandmother, pulling at my ears and trying to get me to listen to one of her rants, except slightly more bearable.
“We didn’t even get to eat anything,” Senpai says with a sigh, his hands jammed into his pockets.
And whose fault was that?
“Anyway, you sure you’re alright?”
“Huh?” I ask dazedly, shaking my head. So annoying, this headache.
“You look like you’re pretty out of it,” he says, frowning. “You know, if you want I can call a cab and take you home. You don’t have to accompany me if you’re not feeling too hot. Oh, and I’d like to check out your place, if you don’t mind.”
What. No way. That’s definitely out of the question.
[ ] Go home. Alone.
[ ] You can stay out a little longer.