Chapter 3: Hidden talent

I thought Himari had accepted me as her tutor after the incident the other day, but that wasn’t the case at all. 

That day was was the only time she listened to my lessons honestly.

Sakurako-sensei avoided me and shut herself away in her room every time I came over for tutoring. With no supervision, I read magazines, ate sweets, and generally did what I wanted.

As such. a week passed without me being able to apologize to Sakurako-sensei.

Truly, my life became a mess because of the curse.

I’m taking out my frustration on my poor punching bag right now.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The thumping of punch bags echoes inside the gym.

“Good! Good, Yagami! More, more! Give it your all!”

“Yes!”

The curse forced me to let the president watch over me one-on-one.

“Yagami, you’ve still got it!”

{ 1 「I’m just gettin’ warmed up!」 (Speak in a Kansai dialect) }

{ 2 「Crazy bastard!」 (Punch the president in the face) }

…

“I’m just gettin’ warmed up!” I give a cheerful reply in an atrocious Kansai dialect.

“Hahaha! That’s what I call a man! Now come on. hit the mitt, let’s get started!”

“Yes sir!”

I throw a punch into the mitt held by the president.

“Nice, nice. You’re a diamond in the rough! Keep hitting and shine away!”

“Yes!”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The president often praises me, but I’m not naive enough to believe that it isn’t just lip service to keep me from leaving the club. 

I love peace and quiet more than anything else, no way I have the attitude and talent for martial arts.

“Hey, Zama! Are you fucking kidding me? How many times do I have to tell you to just hit the target?! I’ll kill you if you don’t get this right!”

“Y- yes sir! I’m sorry!”

“If you’re not gonna do it right, get out of here. Trash belongs in garbage cans, not the gym!”

The president shouts at Old Man Zama with a sharp tongue.

This is puzzling. Why is he so strict with the old man? If he keeps talking this way, wouldn’t Old Man Zama withdraw from the gym? Or, could it be, Old Man Zama is a masochist?

“Okay, Yagami! Let’s spar!”

“Eh? Already?! It’s just my first week!”

Sparring is a mock battle. It’s painful and scary because you have to actually hit each other. I definitely don’t wanna be punched.

“Don’t worry about it! Sakoda, Sakoda! You, stay on guard!”

“Yes sir!” Sakoda-san, a training boxer, confidently replies.

I see, so I’m the only one who can punch. If that’s the case, it won’t hurt for me, I don’t have to worry.

It would be bad if Sakoda-san resent me for hitting him too hard, I’ll just pretend to do my best.

Sakoda-san and I step into the ring.

“Yagami! Hit with all your might! Even if its just a single hit!”

{ 1 「I’ll knock you out, Sakoda-san!」 (Defeat Sakoda-san) }

{ 2 「You’re next!」 (Defeat Sakoda-san and president Arakure) }

Are you kidding me?! 

If I don’t defeat Sakoda-san, at the very least, disaster will befall me. What the fuck!

“I’ll knock you out, Sakoda-san!”

“Well said, Yagami! You’ve got guts!”

Thud! Sakoda-san’s shoulder collides with mine.

“…I’m sorr—.”

“You, I don’t know if you’re the chairman’s favorite, but there’s no way an amateur who’s only been doing this for a week can beat me…… Don’t get carried away.……?

Sakoda-san glared at me and mumbled.

It was only the first week, and the little shit is already acting big. No wonder he’s so angry.

I’d like to apologize for my rudeness here, but …….

{ 1 「You’ll be able to tell how good I am by fighting me.」 }

{ 2 「I’ll show you what the rising star of the boxing world, Yagami Souma, is capable of」}

……If I can only choose the same thing, it doesn’t matter which one I choose. Jeez…..

“I’ll show you what the rising star of the boxing world, Yagami Souma, is capable of . “

“I’m going to beat you to a pulp. Be prepared for that, okay?”

　Sakoda-san glares at me. Koee……!

　But how can I beat him?

　Sakoda-san has been boxing for 11 years. Moreover, I’ve heard that he has one of the best defenses in the gym. There’s no way my punches can hit him since I’m an amateur.

“—-No, don’t be weak. If I don’t win, I die.”

　If I don’t beat Sakoda-san, I could be hit by a truck, my house could catch fire, my father could stab me in the stomach with a kitchen knife, or a meteor could hit me. I had to win at all costs.

“Hang in there, Yagami!””

　An old man from Zama cheered me on. It was annoying.

　Would I feel differently if it was from a cute girl?

　Kaan!　The bell rang.

　I took the stance I had learned and closed the distance to Sakoda-san.

　Sakoda-san grinned at me.

　Okay, that’s good.

　It was easy for him to read my attacks, as I had only learned the one-two. It was natural for him to drop his guard down.

　I’m sure Sakoda-san is thinking this.

“He’ll probably try a jab first.”

　I had no choice but to bet on that!

　I stepped in at once and threw a straight right into his face with all my might.

　I could see my punch slamming into Sakoda’s face in slow motion.

　I naturally hit the jaw of Sakoda-san with a left hook that I hadn’t learned yet.

　Ding, Ding , Ding !

　The bell rang, and I looked down at Sakoda-san, who was lying on the ground, with a puzzled expression on his face.

“No!　I’m so impressed!”

“Well, thank you.”

　I had been invited by an old man from Zama to Jomon-ken, an all-you-can-eat set meal restaurant.

　My mother was supposed to be making dinner and waiting for me, but since I had the choice of eating with him or beating him up, I had to come.

　It looks like I’ll have to eat two dinners today.

“I can’t believe you knocked out Sakoda-kun. Yagami-kun, you definitely have talent.”

“No, that was because Sakoda-san was careless. Next time—“

“That’s right. Next time I won’t eat the same hand twice, okay?”

　The old man and I looked back at the owner of the voice with a start.

“Sakoda-san?”

“Hey, can I join you?”

“Go a head, go a head”

“Eh, sure”

　Sakoda-san took a seat at the same table as us.

　Don’t tell me you’re here to kill me?

“Yagami ……, you’re …… good.”

“Eh ……?　T-Thank you.”

　Sakoda-san laughed, “Fue”

“I think you’re kind of a weird guy. …… You look really uncomfortable and you’re working out really hard. I really don’t know what to think of you.”

“Hahahaha!　I know exactly what you mean, Sakoda!　I wondered that myself too!”

“Hahaha…… Well, there’s a little reason for that…….”

　Good. The atmosphere is more relaxed than I expected.

“I’m looking forward to it, Yagami.”

“T-thank you very much!”

　I think this might be the first time someone other than …… father, mother and Sakurako-sensei has said that to me. –Well, it’s not a bad feeling.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting”

　The waitress came with the food.

“Ah, it’s here, it’s here!　Stir-fried meat and vegetable with a thick-skinned egg!”

{ 1 「Shall we eat this girl too?」 (Chuckle) }

{ 2 「Give me that!」 (Steal and eat Old Man Zama’s boiled egg) }

How is this love and youth?

“Give me that!”

“Ah!”

“Hey, Yagami!”

I grab the egg with my chopsticks and threw it into my mouth. Delicious.

“You’re a polite guy, but sometimes you’re a bit of an asshole, aren’t you? Careful now.”

“Pardon my rudeness!”

“Hahahahaha!　This is something I really like about you, Yagami!　It’s all right, it’s all right, eat, eat.”

“Well, it might be this kind of person who will open up a new era of boxing.”

He convinced himself. Lucky.

We continue to enjoy our meal, talking about school and work problems.