Dusk, a filthy alleyway.
Every city had alleys like this, basically dumping grounds for garbage. Flies buzzed endlessly as they darted and chased around all kinds of trash, while a pungent stench hung in the air.
Bang...
A somewhat frail figure crashed heavily in front of a pile of garbage. His body was covered in grime, his face swollen beyond recognition, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
He was practically unrecognizable, but one could still barely make him out. It was Takeuchi Sosuke, the one who had been sitting beside Wu Biao on the train earlier.
Right in front of Takeuchi Sosuke, several flamboyantly dressed high school students were crowded together. Some held one boy around the waist while others restrained his arms, keeping the high schooler in the middle pinned in place.
"Kumakura, stop hitting him. If you keep going, he'll really die."
"Yeah, Takashi, it's not worth getting yourself into trouble over a piece of trash like this!"
"Besides, think about it. If he dies, there'll be one less place for us to get spending money from."
"..."
Their repeated attempts at persuasion finally caused the ferocious look on Kumakura Takashi's face to gradually fade.
"Come on, you're making it sound like I was really going to kill someone," Kumakura Takashi said with a smile.
A strange look flashed through all their eyes at those words, but none of them said anything more. They simply dispersed.
Freed from their restraint, Kumakura Takashi stepped forward and squatted directly in front of Takeuchi Sosuke, who sat against the garbage pile with vacant eyes and his head hanging low. He roughly reached out and grabbed Takeuchi Sosuke by the hair.
"Sosuke, don't do this again, okay? It really hurts Big Brother Takashi's heart to hit you."
Kumakura Takashi tapped