Getting Groped and Running into an Acquaintance

Only after Yang Xiao and the other two squeezed into the crowd did they realize this was no mountain climb. It was more like being kneaded into dough, shoved back and forth shoulder to shoulder by the tide of people, carried wherever the crowd went.

"Hey, stop pushing me!" Toga Himiko cried out. A greasy middle-aged man had actually taken advantage of the crowd to grope her!

"Hehehe~" The greasy middle-aged man gave a lewd chuckle. He was closest to Toga Himiko, and with such a cute little girl in front of him, how could he not take a feel?

Seeing that he even dared to laugh, Toga Himiko steeled herself and jabbed him with a syringe. She was wearing loose knee-length pants today, so carrying a syringe in her pocket was perfectly normal. It was an essential item.

"Ah!" The greasy middle-aged man cried out. The people around him merely glanced at him. In a crowded place like this, getting stepped on or bumped into was normal. No one paid it any mind.

Only the greasy middle-aged man knew what had happened. That little girl had stabbed him with something, and she had even drawn blood.

The greasy middle-aged man refused to let it go. He had weathered plenty in life; how could he allow himself to be bullied by a little girl? He had to grope her a few more times to save face.

However, when he tried to reach for her again, he found that Toga Himiko had already been squeezed farther ahead. He was feeling rather weak now anyway, so he decided to stop the bleeding first. Getting stabbed in the thigh hurt like hell.

Still, that squeeze of her butt earlier had felt really good. It had been round, soft, and springy.

The three of them squeezed out of the most crowded part of the masses. Once they regrouped, the area around them felt much more open. The spot near the entrance had simply been packed with people.

Looking around now, they could still see crowds packed shoulder to shoulder in the distance.

"My shoulders are about to fall apart." Wu Shiyin rubbed his shoulders. He had been shoved around and knocked into earlier.

Yang Xiao was not doing much better. He had a backpack on and was carrying things in both hands. Luckily, none of what they had brought had been stolen.

Toga Himiko did not say a word. She did not want Wu Shiyin or Yang Xiao to know that she had been groped—on the butt, no less!

Things like this happened often at Mount Fuji, and quite a few girls got groped. But nobody spoke up, perhaps because they were afraid of embarrassment. As a result, plenty of girls still came to visit, while those greasy middle-aged men and other men hoping to get lucky became even more brazen.

The man who had groped Toga Himiko earlier was a habitual offender. He had committed this kind of crime many times, always squeezing through the crowds at the foot of Mount Fuji and constantly taking advantage of women.

This time, although he had managed to grope Toga Himiko, he had also gotten jabbed in the leg with a syringe. He had not come out ahead at all, and for now, he had withdrawn from the crowd to stop the bleeding.

The foot of the mountain was still lively and crowded. By then, Yang Xiao and the other two were already on their way up Mount Fuji.

Mount Fuji stood more than three thousand meters above sea level. Ordinary people really found it difficult to reach the summit, unless it was around August or September.

Only after walking for half an hour did the number of people begin to thin out. Most had only wanted to admire Mount Fuji's grandeur from afar and were unwilling to spend more effort on their feet. After all, climbing such a tall mountain was no easy task.

Toga Himiko had not said much along the way. The man who had groped her at the foot of the mountain had left a shadow on her mind. Yang Xiao did not know what was wrong with her, only that she seemed unusually downcast.

He could only try to cheer Toga Himiko up. Fortunately, it had some effect, and her mood improved quite a bit.

Just then, Yang Xiao spotted a familiar back. It looked somewhat thin and lonely.

A man with dark purple hair stood with his back to Yang Xiao's group. His hair was fluffy and curled, and he was gazing at a sea of flowers in the distance. Looking down from here, the view was beautiful.

Just as Yang Xiao was wondering who he was, the man turned around, and his gaze met Yang Xiao's.

"Shinso Hitoshi?" Yang Xiao was startled. With that seaweed-like hair, triangular eyes, lifeless gaze, and dark circles, who else could it be but Shinso Hitoshi?

Shinso Hitoshi quickly looked away. To him, Yang Xiao was merely a passerby. Although he had noticed the surprise in Yang Xiao's eyes, he did not think much of it.

After all, there were few people in society who looked anything like him, so it was normal for someone to be surprised.

Shinso Hitoshi turned and continued walking up the mountain. Yang Xiao had only said the other's name in his heart, so Shinso Hitoshi had not heard him.

Yang Xiao had no intention of going over to greet him either. They were only strangers now, though running into an acquaintance at Mount Fuji was rather interesting.

Come to think of it, Shinso Hitoshi was a decent person. He had perseverance and determination. Someone like him should be cultivated into a friend and a person useful to society. If he fell into darkness, it would be a tremendous loss for the side of justice.

That was because Shinso Hitoshi's Quirk was extremely powerful. His Quirk was "Brainwashing." He could control another person's body through speech. If someone reacted to words he spoke while using his Quirk, they would be controlled, so Shinso often activated his Quirk by provoking his opponents. If he had no intention of brainwashing someone, however, they would not enter a brainwashed state.

Once controlled, a person lost control over their body, but intense pain or stimulation could break the control.

That was Shinso Hitoshi's Quirk. If the other party did not know about it beforehand, they would definitely suffer badly. Unless he encountered a mute, in which case Shinso Hitoshi could only cry without tears.

Yang Xiao knew Shinso Hitoshi's Quirk, so he had ways to deal with him. However, once Shinso took control of his body, Yang Xiao had no way to break free unless he covered his brain with Holy Light. Maybe that would work?

"What are you spacing out for?" Toga Himiko saw Yang Xiao staring blankly at a passerby's back and reminded him.

Yang Xiao chuckled. "Nothing. Let's keep going."

"I've been talking to you forever. Give me my drink and lollipop. Are you sleepwalking or something?" Toga Himiko raised her voice. He had not heard a single word she had said.

"Oh, right." Yang Xiao said apologetically, "My bad. I got distracted."

"You two should hurry up. We can head back once we reach the mountainside, and we can enjoy the scenery there too. Stop dawdling." Wu Shiyin nagged from ahead while picking his nose.

Yang Xiao quickly handed Toga Himiko the drink and lollipop she wanted, then hurried after Wu Shiyin.

"Yang Xiao, you jerk! How dare you leave me behind!" Toga Himiko tore open the lollipop wrapper and shoved it into her mouth. Speaking with puffed cheeks, she gripped her drink and chased after them.

Yang Xiao and Toga Himiko soon caught up to Wu Shiyin. Shinso Hitoshi was walking even faster than Wu Shiyin, his hands in his pockets and an earbud in one ear, looking quite relaxed.