A Tantalizing Beating

Reiji couldn't help but grumble on his way to Haruna's house, trying to figure out a way to explain the Keito situation without making her worry.

It seemed impossible, unless he lied.

But he'd promised both her and himself that he wouldn't do that, causing this mind-numbing dilemma.

'Why'd that fucker even have to come to me anyway??'

He felt like maybe going back to crack another finger, but pinched himself to snap out of it when he realized that he wasn't thinking of that as a joke.

He frowned, stopping in his tracks for a few seconds before shaking his head and continuing.

'I'm probably overthinking it....'

He turned into the building they were staying at, switching focus to what he might be in for once he entered the Lion's Den as he climbed the stairs.

Haruna would definitely not have kept his injury a secret from Granny, so both the wound and his back started itching in terror for what they might have to go through.

Seeing the cute drawings on their door lightened his mood somewhat after the sudden meeting, smiling lightly as he knocked.

"Haruna? Granny? It's me!" he called out, just in case they thought it was the landlord again.

The door swung open at a ridiculous speed, and Reiji blinked in confusion as he was yanked in by his collar out of nowhere, the door slamming shut behind him.

The deceptively frail old woman in front of him dragged him into the room, though not with deliberate force.

It was more Reiji allowing himself to be guided onto the couch, amused by her irritated scowl that added on even more wrinkles to her face.

"Wait, I haven't taken off my shoes yet," he yelled.

"I don't care, I'll clean it up later. Take off your shirt and show it to me."

Granny stood over him, her arms crossed with a mix of fury and worry that stabbed Reiji right through his chest.

Metaphorically, of course.

But maybe a literal sense wouldn't be too out of the ordinary.

Reiji noticed a first aid kit on the coffee table, already open as if she was just waiting for him.

'.....I really made them worry, didn't I.'

The guilt that he'd already tried to lock away escaped from his inner cage with renewed energy as he sighed.

"Where's Haruna?" Reiji asked, noticing her absence.

"....Ah, right. Where is she? I thought she was coming with you?"

'Bruh...'

"....I had something to do, so she went ahead of me. She should've been back by now."

Just as they were both starting to get worried, the main door opened again, and Haruna walked in with a plastic bag in her hands.

"Where were you?" Granny asked, her hands on her hips.

"I was getting some snacks since Reiji-tan was coming over. Oh, he's here already?" Haruna replied, holding up the grocery bag.

Granny nodded and then turned back to Reiji.

"Hmmm, okay. Now, stop delaying and take it off."

"Geez, both of you are so forceful!" he grumbled, but he complied and unbuttoned his school uniform after loosening his tie.

He removed the clothing and rubbed the outer part of his bandages, knowing that it might have to come off as well.

"Tch tch, what is this ridiculous tattoo?" the old woman chided, pinching the black ink disapprovingly.

"Heyyyy, it's pretty cool! Right, Haruna?"

Reiji turned to the blonde girl for support, but saw that she had her back turned to them, almost like she was refusing to look his way.

'....Is she mad about me asking her to leave?' he wondered when she didn't respond.

But he didn't notice the faint tinge of red on her ears, simply thinking about what he could do to appease her later.

Meanwhile, Granny had started unwrapping the bandages slowly, and when the cut was revealed, her eyes narrowed dangerously as she glared at him.

"How did this even happen?" she asked, reaching for the kit on the table.

"It was more or less an accident because I made a stupid mistake. It won't happen again."

Seeing that Reiji had no intention of divulging anything else, she stayed silent and focused on dressing the wound.

"ACK, THAT HURTS!" he hissed when she started to clean it.

"Yeah, no shit! Now zip it and take it like a man!"

"You old bat, are you doing this on purpose??"

"Hoho, maybe?"

The reality was that wounds like this are usually more painful for the first few days, so it wasn't like she was actually trying to make him flinch.

Reiji winced and watched her reapply new bandages properly, even better than when Haruna had done it before.

Before long, Reiji had put his shirt back on as he stared at the smirking old woman while grumbling under his breath, who closed the kit and took it back inside the bedroom.

Haruna left the kitchen at this point with a plate of fruits, her face still indifferent.

"....Are you mad?" Reiji asked softly.

"Huh?"

Haruna's eyes widened in surprise, and she shook her head a beat later with an awkward smile.

"No, maybe I shouldn't interfere so much," she replied.

Reiji didn't like hearing that, so after a bit of hesitation, he patted the seat next to him.

Haruna sat down with a puzzled expression, and Granny also came back at the same time.

"Okay, so I'll explain some things, but only if you promise not to ask any questions for more info," he said to both of them.

The two women exchanged glances and nodded in agreement, so Reiji leaned back in his seat and decided to give them some peace of mind.

"I'll preface this by saying that what I've been doing isn't quite as dangerous as what you might be imagining. I wasn't lying when I said that this cut was caused by a stupid mistake, and it was something I could've easily prevented had I not been an idiot."

"....But what caused it?" Haruna piped up.

"....No questions, like I said."

He didn't want to lie, and there was zero chance he was going to tell them it was from a crossbow, which was basically this world's equivalent of being shot at with a gun.

Though this made her pout with resentment, Reiji promptly ignored her as he continued.

"I'm usually given simple tasks, like protecting businesses from external threats, which isn't too bad," he explained, recalling Greeny's family restaurant. "As for the man you saw today.... he was one of the people I was protecting someone from. He came to me to get a job, saying that he wanted to change his ways, and I turned him down. That's all it was, so I just didn't want you to be exposed to someone like that."

"Man? What man?" Granny interjected.

Reiji quickly caught her up on what had happened earlier, and she also seemed a little iffy about the entire thing.

Haruna stayed quiet for a few moments, not responding to his explanation.

Then she looked up and smiled.

"Thanks for telling us, Reiji-tan. I feel more relieved now," she muttered.

But for some reason, it didn't quite seem genuine, almost as if she was thinking of something completely different.

And since Reiji wasn't sure what it was, nor if he was imagining things, he simply took it at face value.

Granny on the other hand.....

"Relieved? Relieved my ass! What type of stupid ass shit is this? Am I supposed to be fine with you going around and getting into fights, coming back with injuries like that? Even if it was a mistake, if it happened once, it can happen again!" she snapped, twisting his ear furiously.

"OW OW OW!"

He rubbed his throbbing ear when she let go, moving away from her to hide behind Haruna.

"You deranged bag of bones, don't you understand that you're a bigger threat to me than those idiots I have to deal with??"

He'd rather face up against Hayashi again, if he was still alive at his father's hand, that is.

Granny's face lit up, and she started rotating her hands like she was warming them up.

"Good idea! If you can take my beating with a straight face, maybe I won't have to be so worried later on," she grinned.

"....."

Reiji held up a cushion, backing away slowly.

"That might be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Don't get carried away! Leave me alo- AGHH!"

***

'Does this crazy hag lift weights or something?'

Reiji massaged his aching back, giving the old woman a death stare while he ate the fruits on the table.

He glanced at the girl who was chewing a grape next to him.

Haruna had been strangely silent ever since he'd come over, and he was now sure that she was still pissed for whatever reason.

But asking her about it yielded no result, only a simple smile accompanied by some reassuring words that only a fool would believe.

What puzzled Reiji was the fact that Haruna wasn't the type to bottle her anger away, at least not towards people that she was close with.

He still remembered how angry she was when he'd made a large breakfast despite his sickness just a few days ago, so this eerie indifference threw him off.

No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't figure out what was wrong, so he simply decided to give her some time and space and see if maybe it was just a temporary cold shoulder.

'.....Should I bake something for her tomorrow?'

But maybe that only worked for Yui, so he was back to square one.

"Don't forget to avoid resting on your shoulder when you sleep!" Granny reminded him as he opened the door to leave.

"Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't be able to do it anyway; it would hurt too much."

After one last look, seeing that Haruna hadn't come to the door, he sighed and left their house.

His phone dinged with a notification just as he turned the corner, and he pulled it out to take a look.

***

[Beardy]

Beardy: Sorry Boss, I was busy with something. Why would you want to meet Arata?

Chefalicious: i need to ask him something

Beardy: are you sure?

Chefalicious: yeah just gimme his address and I'll handle it

Beardy: .....fine, but can we come with you? who knows what that cocky asshole might do.

Chefalicious: nah, I'll be ok. just send it to me.

***

After staring at the address that wasn't too far from his school, Reiji pocketed his phone, deciding to pay him a visit sometime soon.

There were quite a few things he wanted to ask, after all.

Things only he might know the answer to, aside from Daichi.