This... Really Wasn't Inoue Ryushi's Fault

In the infirmary at Seito High School, the air smelled of disinfectant and cigarettes. Shinnosuke slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the glaring light. His throat felt like it was on fire, he was unbearably thirsty, and his whole body hurt like hell.

He looked around and saw Eikichi Onizuka sitting beside him, a cigarette in his mouth, watching him quietly. Shinnosuke propped himself up on the edge of the bed and slowly sat up. He was covered from head to toe in gauze and bandages.

Eikichi Onizuka handed him a glass of water. Shinnosuke took it and drained it in one gulp, then wiped his mouth. He scratched his head and spoke to Onizuka.

"Ah... hello, Mr. Onizuka..."

Eikichi Onizuka's mouth twitched. He took a drag on his cigarette and stared at Shinnosuke, at a loss for words.

"Should I call you thick-skinned or just an idiot? You caused that much trouble on your very first day..."

Ah... should I admit I was wrong now? No! It wasn't my fault. They attacked me first. I was acting in self-defense!

In an instant, Shinnosuke had figured out how to excuse himself. No matter what, as long as he stuck to that point, he was innocent! If he hadn't fought back, they would have killed him! They had even said they would encase him in a barrel of cement and throw him into the sea! It didn't matter how much he exaggerated; he was the victim, after all.

Onizuka instantly guessed what Shinnosuke was thinking. He flicked the ash off his cigarette and spoke calmly.

"Relax. I've already smoothed things over for you. They were the ones who came looking for trouble, and the other students know it too. But that said, you've got some skills."

"You actually won seven against one. That guy Inoue Ryushi is a well-known delinquent at this school too. And you're tough as nails... You only got some superficial injuries. I thought you'd have at least a couple of broken ribs."

Shinnosuke was taken aback, then wondered if this might be another effect of the Daruma doll. But the system never explained anything to him in detail... It looked like he would have to figure it out for himself.

"Oh, right. More importantly, you'd better think about what you're going to tell your parents when you get home. If this reaches the school again, it'll be hard to settle..."

Shinnosuke thought about what his family was like, and his head immediately began to ache...

After putting on the new school uniform Onizuka had given him, Shinnosuke hopped up and down a couple of times, surprising Onizuka. He still hurt all over, but he could move around just fine. Ordinarily, injuries like these wouldn't heal without ten days to half a month, and Shinnosuke was quite surprised too. Perhaps this was another effect of the system.

Though he had questions, he held back from opening the system right away. If other people could see it too, he would be in trouble, since he had no way to explain it.

He tossed his old uniform into the trash. It was so torn up that he couldn't wear it anymore. Then he ambled out of the infirmary.

The sky was gradually turning dusky, and only a few scattered people remained on campus. When Shinnosuke reached the school gate, he saw Kinoshita Hideyoshi leaning against a tree. Hideyoshi waved at the sight of him and ran over.

The fiery clouds cast a crimson glow over the ground, drawing out the running figure's shadow. A gentle breeze lifted a lock of brown hair.

Hideyoshi raised a hand and tucked it behind an ear. The setting sun shone through those fingers, making those pale blue eyes look even brighter... Shinnosuke stared for a moment and thought, This... this really wasn't Inoue Ryushi's fucking fault...

Hideyoshi ran up to Shinnosuke and circled him several times, looking him over, then pinched him... The pain made Shinnosuke jump on the spot.

"Fuck... what are you doing? That hurt like hell!"

Hideyoshi looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"When Mr. Onizuka and I took you to the infirmary... you looked so badly hurt... But now you're so full of life that I thought I was seeing things..."

Hideyoshi suddenly trailed off and lowered his head in silence for a moment before speaking.

"I'm sorry... If it weren't for me... you wouldn't have been hurt. Sorry for causing you trouble..."

Shinnosuke didn't mind. He still had a mission to conquer Seito High School, after all. If they hadn't come after him, he would have made a move himself; it was just a matter of sooner or later. He patted Hideyoshi on the shoulder and walked past him, turning his head with a grin.

"Well, I'm a messenger of justice, after all..."

Hideyoshi froze, then copied Shinnosuke and broke into a happy smile...

"Shin-chan!!! How did you end up like this?! What on earth happened?!"

Tears streamed down Misae's face as she looked at Shinnosuke. She stroked her son's face, her expression full of distress.

"I had a little fight with some classmates... It's okay, Mom. I didn't get the worst of it..."

Looking at the tearful Misae before him, Shinnosuke was deeply moved. Growing up, only his grandfather had ever shown him that kind of concern. This was the first time he had truly experienced a mother's love, and he was reluctant to let go of the feeling.

Without realizing it, he felt a sense of grievance welling up inside him, and he wanted to tell the woman before him about all the pain he had suffered that day...

Just then, Hiroshi, who was sitting nearby, spoke up.

"Boys will be boys... It's perfectly normal to get into fights as a teenager. Shin-chan, your dad used to fight all the time in high school too. My classmates called me 'Jab Hiroshi' back then... Ah, thinking about it really takes me back to high school. Plenty of girls in the years below me even wrote me love letters... Hic..."

"You!!! How come you've never told me about that? You're probably just bragging again!"

"What did you say?! I wouldn't brag. It's true!"

"And you told me you had a work dinner today, so why do you smell so strongly of perfume?! You'd better explain yourself!!!"

"Ah... that's because..."

Shinnosuke's eye twitched as he watched the scene before him. Hey, give me back my touching moment...