True Colors

"Ah!"

A scream rang out, shattering the silence of the alley. Its owner was none other than Satsu.

He shouted and dodged the fruit knife the shopkeeper swung at him, his face full of terror. It wasn't an act; he was genuinely scared.

Although he'd mentally prepared himself beforehand, when he was finally faced with the gleaming blade, Satsu still felt a chill of fear.

This wasn't an ordinary street fight. He could take a punch or two, but if he got slashed with a knife, he'd be done for.

Seeing that his sneak attack had failed, the panicked shopkeeper hurriedly thrust the knife forward again.

Satsu had already anticipated the attack. He hunched over and drew in his shoulders, stumbling backward.

"Aw, shit!"

Suddenly, Satsu didn't know what he'd stepped on. His heel slipped, and it felt as though the support had been swept out from under him. With a terrified cry, he fell flat on his backside.

The fall nearly scared the life out of Satsu. It hadn't been part of his plan; it was far too risky. One wrong move, and he'd be finished.

Before Satsu could figure out what had happened, his mind-reading ability picked up the shopkeeper's thoughts: slash down hard and end this farce once and for all.

"Die, you bastard!" (Creepy old man)

Satsu almost instinctively raised a hand to block. The gleaming blade slipped between his fingers, leaving a small cut on the back of his hand before he managed to stop it completely.

Before he could even catch his breath, Satsu kicked the shopkeeper in the crotch, hitting his target with pinpoint accuracy.

"Ugh!"

The shopkeeper cried out in pain and clutched his groin without thinking.

When no more thoughts came through to his mind, Satsu realized he'd stunned the man.

He hurried to his feet and kicked the shopkeeper hard in the stomach. The searing pain was finally too much for the man to bear. His legs gave way, and he fell to his knees.

In less than a minute, the situation had completely reversed. The tables had turned.

Satsu naturally gave him no chance to catch his breath. Without hesitation, he went over and began punching and kicking the shopkeeper.

First, he kicked the shopkeeper in the stomach. Satsu didn't even dare put too much force into it; he didn't want to end up being charged with excessive self-defense.

Then he punched the shopkeeper in the face. A dull thud sounded as bone struck bone, and Satsu visibly paused.

He slowly looked at the shopkeeper's face, contorted with pain. For an instant, the corner of Satsu's mouth twitched.

Tentatively, he swung another punch. As he raised his fist, Satsu glanced at it, then threw another punch.

"Heh heh."

He laughed.

As if some kind of seal had been broken, Satsu stopped holding back and struck with all his strength.

Every cry of pain from the shopkeeper became fuel, driving Satsu to hit harder and harder.

His breathing grew ragged and hurried. His punches came faster and faster, harder and harder!

In the end, he wasn't satisfied with beating the man with just his left hand. His elbows, knees, and feet became weapons, and Satsu attacked relentlessly, not caring whether the shopkeeper was still resisting.

Fragments of his reason scattered like the shopkeeper's blood. His eyes filled completely with a twisted excitement.

Only when the shopkeeper's cries grew faint did Satsu stop. In an almost frenzied voice, he said,

"What, can't take it anymore? Keep going a little longer!"

As he spoke, Satsu kicked the shopkeeper hard in the head. The man's shattered teeth flew out along with a spray of blood.

"Looking at you, it seems you won't be enjoying yourself with women anymore. Since that's the case... how about I take them off for you!"

"Ah!!!"

As Satsu stomped down hard, the shopkeeper let out another loud scream.

"Hahaha, yeah! Just like that. Scream louder!"

After three more stomps, once he'd completely uninstalled the man's QQ, the shopkeeper fell utterly silent.

Satsu lightly nudged the shopkeeper with his foot. When he saw that the man was still breathing but had stopped moving, he hardened his heart.

"Living like this would just be torture for you. Why don't I put you out of your misery!"

As he spoke, Satsu glanced at the fruit knife on the ground. Just as he turned to pick it up, a girl's voice suddenly rang out.

"Stop!"

A pink-haired girl stood there, holding up her phone as if recording him, her eyes fixed on Satsu.

Her pupils trembled slightly, and she bit her lower lip, unable to hide how frightened she was.

"Haah!"

Satsu looked as if he'd been startled. His pupils suddenly dilated. "No, I was forced to do it!"

First, he thrust both hands forward. "What have I done?! Haah!"

Finally, Satsu clutched his head in both hands and crouched down. "No... no, I didn't!"

Satsu crouched where he was, trembling and muttering to himself. Blood on his hands stained part of his hair red, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.

The setting sun illuminated Satsu's face. His mouth hung open, strings of viscous saliva dripping down. Although his face still held a twisted smile, he was crying silently.

The girl was already too stunned to move. She fought to suppress the urge to vomit. Even though Satsu wasn't moving anymore, she still didn't let her guard down.

How was what she was seeing any different from a mentally ill person accidentally killing someone?

"Ichinose, I brought security!"

A petite girl came running over, shouting, with four security guards following behind her.

"Ah—!"

The petite girl let out a piercing scream the moment she saw the scene.

Even the security guards who had arrived with her were taken aback. They'd never encountered anything like this before.

Perhaps seeing the security guards had helped her relax. Ichinose slumped helplessly to the ground.

A moment later, the intense nausea finally overwhelmed her. She began vomiting violently, unable to stop herself.

The security guards cautiously came forward and restrained Satsu. He didn't resist, letting them take him away.

After checking on the shopkeeper, one of the guards shouted, "He's alive! Go get a doctor!"

But before his colleagues could move, another team of security guards arrived. Their leader barked, "Take everyone away and seal off the information! Don't cause panic among the students!"

"Yes!"

This team of security guards moved swiftly and decisively, clearly trained professionals.

"Hey! We're security too. Why are you taking us away?"

"And who are you guys? I've never seen you before!"

Meanwhile, in the Chairman's Office,

Sakayanagi Narimori sat face-to-face with a man in a sharp suit.

The man looked to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven, and his every movement exuded composure.

"Mr. Chairman, please allow me to thank you once again!"

"Thank you for understanding the young master's unstable emotions. But rest assured, we'll handle this matter properly."

"From now on, I'll be conveying Kato's intentions to you. You can call me Wolf Spider."