Yae Ogami, the Boxing King Descends

Are you trying to get a handle on me, Kikyo?

Then I'll do as you wish.

Shinomiya coughed lightly and looked away.

"Let's go. We still have class."

Shinomiya quickly walked away.

Watching Shinomiya flee in a panic, Kushida could not help but chuckle.

This guy was really cute, even if it was fake.

Kushida leisurely followed after him, feeling quite pleased.

As Shinomiya hurried forward, he was not paying attention and walked straight into a "wall."

Clutching his head as he staggered back, Shinomiya found himself enveloped in shadow. When he looked up, the backlighting kept him from seeing the other person's face clearly.

"You're Shiomiya Yo, right?"

A deep, booming voice rang out. The wall in front of him was the one speaking.

Shinomiya stared at the person before him, completely bewildered.

If he were called a mountain, he would be far too thin.

If he were called a person, he would be far too massive.

A huge guy had blocked Shinomiya's path, and he did not even know who she was.

That was right—she. Shinomiya saw that she was wearing an oversized school uniform skirt.

"I am. Do you need something from me?"

Kushida also saw Shinomiya being blocked.

She hurried over and stood beside him.

"Is there something you need, classmate?"

When the towering figure saw Kushida, she gave a cold snort.

"I'm Yae Ogami. I came to teach this scumbag who deceives girls' feelings a lesson!"

Kushida was dumbfounded, and so was Shinomiya.

Kushida: Since when had Shinomiya's taste become this unique?

Shinomiya: What the hell is going on?!

Kushida looked suspiciously at Shinomiya, demanding an explanation.

Shinomiya hurriedly tried to explain as well.

"Uh... Ogami, we don't know each other, do we? Why are you calling me a scumbag?"

Yae sneered. "Just as I thought. You played with someone's feelings, then forgot all about them once you were done."

Yae crossed her arms, each one thicker than Shinomiya's leg, and looked down at him from above.

"Yamada Anna."

At Yae's words, Shinomiya remembered. Wasn't that the name of the socially anxious upperclassman whose information he had tricked out of her?

"So, what is your relationship with Yamada?" Shinomiya asked awkwardly.

"Anna is my friend, and you deceived her feelings."

"Come to the boxing gym and fight me one-on-one today. Then I'll let you go."

Now that Kushida realized there really was such a person, she became angry as well.

"Shiomiya Yo, you'd better explain exactly what happened with that Yamada upperclassman!"

Seeing Shinomiya's own backyard catch fire, Yae laughed. "I'll be waiting for you at the boxing gym this afternoon. If you don't come, you won't want to know the consequences."

Yae clenched one hand into a fist and held it before Shinomiya. Her knuckles cracked sharply.

Then she turned and left without another word.

Shinomiya let out a long breath. He believed his technique would never lose, but the gap in their physical abilities still left him uneasy.

At that moment, a chill came from behind him, carrying a faint trace of killing intent.

Shinomiya slowly turned his head, frame by frame, and found Kushida standing behind him. She was smiling, but her expression was dark.

"Shinomiya, can you explain now?"

Kushida's smile sent chills down his spine. Shinomiya immediately surrendered and told her everything from beginning to end.

After hearing him out, Kushida's expression improved somewhat, but she still punched him squarely on the head.

"You bastard! You actually did something like that just to get information! You deserved to get beaten!"

After venting her anger, Kushida began to worry again.

"Ogami is a professional fighter, isn't she? Her build is so huge."

Shinomiya nodded in agreement. "Definitely. Only a professional fighter could have such an exaggerated physique."

Biotechnology in this world was highly advanced, allowing humans to reach heights that had once been impossible.

A new kind of fighter had emerged as a result. They used biotechnology to strengthen their bodies and make themselves more powerful.

By now, combat sports had become one of the activities most passionately followed by the public.

Shinomiya had a headache too. With Yae's build, he probably could not take even one punch. How was he supposed to fight?

Shinomiya reassured Kushida, telling her that he was not weak either.

But words of comfort could not erase the pressure brought by their difference in size.

Looking at the supremely confident Shinomiya, Kushida asked the question.

"Will you win?"

"I'll win! I'm the strongest!"

Shinomiya answered with complete confidence. His powerful conviction infected Kushida, putting her at ease.

"I believe in you. Then I'll come cheer you on this afternoon!"

Shinomiya froze awkwardly. He had only meant to comfort Kushida; he had planned to apologize by himself.

There was no shame in admitting defeat. Though Shinomiya hated losing, he also knew the difference between them existed.

As long as he showed a craftsman's spirit, it should be fine, right?

"Mm... okay."

Shinomiya agreed through gritted teeth, then tossed the problem to his afternoon self.

I believe in you, just like I believe in myself.

That afternoon, inside the boxing gym.

Muscular men were practicing combat everywhere. In front of every punching bag stood someone hammering it with punches.

Two people stood in the boxing ring at the center.

One was towering and massive, while the other was slender.

They were Yae Ogami and Shiomiya Yo.

"Go, Yōha!" Kushida's voice came from below the ring.

Shinomiya clenched his fists and looked resolutely at Yae.

Seeing Shinomiya so serious, with Kushida cheering him on as well, Yae did not know how to feel.

This scumbag actually had someone supporting him so wholeheartedly!

I should just teach him a small lesson.

"Don't say I'm bullying you. One round only. Three minutes."

"Wait!" Shinomiya quickly raised his hand. "I have a few things to say before we start."

"Want to beg for mercy? Too late!"

"No!" Shinomiya said seriously. "I want to explain. I never meant to play with Yamada's feelings. I just wanted to... ask about something."

"Do you need to use that kind of method just to ask about something?" Yae scoffed. "Ever since that day, Yamada has been waiting for your call every day, completely distracted. But you never showed up again."

Shinomiya fell silent.

All right, he had indeed been a little nicer to Yamada back then, just to make things easier.

"Nothing to say?" Yae assumed her stance. "Then let your fists do the talking!"

Before her words had even faded, Yae's fist was already swinging toward him.

Yae was huge, but her movements were incredibly agile.

Shinomiya barely managed to twist aside. The wind from her punch brushed past his cheek, making his skin sting.

I can't take those punches head-on!

Yae used boxing techniques. Jabs, hooks, and swings came at him one after another.

Relying on his astonishing reaction speed, Shinomiya kept moving and evading.

It was not as if Shinomiya had not tried to counterattack, but when his fist landed, Yae was completely unharmed.

Instead, he exposed an opening and took a punch.

That punch nearly sent Shinomiya flying.

Time continued to pass. Below the ring, Kushida clenched her hands tightly, sweating for Shinomiya.

As Shinomiya's stamina drained away, his concentration began to fall. In a moment of carelessness, Yae's jab struck him squarely in the face.

Blood gushed from Shinomiya's nose as his whole body toppled backward.

Ding—!

The bell rang, and the match was over.

"Yōha!" Kushida climbed into the ring and hurried over to check on Shinomiya.

The boxing gym's doctor also came over to examine him.

"It's fine! It's only a little nosebleed." The doctor reassured Kushida.

Shinomiya slowly sat up and looked at Yae.

"Thank you. You held back on that last one."

Yae walked over, and Kushida instinctively shielded Shinomiya.

"Jabs aren't that powerful to begin with.

And don't go looking for Anna again." Yae turned to leave after saying that.

"Wait!" Shinomiya called after her. "Tell Yamada I'm sorry."

Yae paused, but she did not respond. She simply left.

Seeing Shinomiya in such a sorry state, Kushida instinctively wanted to punch him, but ultimately held herself back.

"Let's see if you dare provoke other girls again." Kushida snorted coldly, warning him.

"There won't be a next time." Shinomiya clutched his chest and promised sincerely.

Kushida helped Shinomiya toward the infirmary. He had taken another punch earlier, and Yae definitely had not held back on that one.

After the two left the boxing gym.

Yae and another girl watched them leave from a corner.

"Anna, I told you he doesn't like you! Do you believe it now?"

The other girl was Yamada Anna, the one Shinomiya had previously tricked into giving him information.

"Mm..." Yamada lowered her head, recalling Shinomiya and Kushida just now, as well as the sight of the two leaving together.