Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Revengers

There were a lot of things that Mai had to process as soon as she took consciousness over her new body.

The first was shock. Especially as she felt a sharp, searing pain flared on her right hand. The pain was accompanied by a sickening crunch from whatever her fist collided itself with.

What—

Surprised with the turn of events, she instantly retracted her hand before unclenching her fist to examine the extent of the damage. Luckily, it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be; her knuckles were already reddening and her forearm was aching but it was nothing that she couldn't bear.

Why Mai thought that it was smart to go and start punching people, she didn't know. She wasn't really the type to go and get unwanted attention to herself. Instead, she preferred being on the sidelines so that she can do her thing in peace. And although she didn't know the exact reason for her action, the odd satisfaction she felt from it was enough reason to forgo her initial motive in the first place.

"Did she just punch Rui?" Someone whispered loudly.

The interruption was what made her realize that she wasn't actually alone. Oops.

"Was it just me or did you all hear a crack from Rui's nose?" Another asked. "Mai's scary!"

And judging from the comments, what she just did was not that popular to them. Mai repressed the urge to roll her eyes. Still, unpopular or not, people shouldn't waste their time gossiping about others' misdeeds like a bunch of children. Despite being still in the dark behind the story of the punch, her current predicament was sounding more and more like she's in the middle of a typical school drama and she didn't like it one bit.

"I was actually expecting Mai to do that," Another added. "Rui deserved it for bullying her."

"Still!" Someone tutted. "Mai shouldn't have done that, she's a girl. Her mother would be sad."

Now who's the fucking sexist who said that— Wait, bullying? I haven't experienced that since high school.

And then, this time, Mai took another clear look at the group and, to her surprise, realized that the people acting like children were actually children.

To Mai, dealing with people was a pain but she eventually grew accustomed to it just because it was an important skill in society, especially if she wanted to earn money. But children? No, thank you. Many adults can be satiated with fake smiles and a bit of courteousness, but not children. Children are vicious.

Wait another minute, I'm a grown adult, why would I even punch a child for bullying me? What's happening? Because no matter how vicious children are, Mai still wouldn't hit one out of spite (since that would lead to her being sued, and being sued would cost a lot of money, and money would mean more hours of work.) Anyway, she was not here to complain.

With dread, she turned around and, horrifyingly, saw more children murmuring to each other. Her looking at them didn't even stop them from discussing about her (the little monsters even seem to look like they were enjoying the scene in front of them).

"Excuse me," A smile, familiar and fake, was plastered into her face, a habit from her work settling into action. "Where are your parents?"

The children only stared at her before ignoring her in favor of discussing with their fellow peers.

Well. At least she tried.

Just as she was about to leave the area, (because she honestly didn't care at this point, she just wanted to go back and sleep) she realized that she didn't even know where she was. Thus, the second thing she had to take in: confusion.

Because... was she on a playground?

Which was a surprise because in her country, public parks weren't a thing and if they did have one, it wouldn't be as well-built or even clean as what she was seeing right now. Even more confusing is that the last thing she remembered was that she was settling down in her bedroom after another day at work. After that, blank.

"You're going to pay for punching Rui!" A boy shouted.

What a pain. This led to the other children murmuring excitedly at the possible commotion.

She turned her head grudgingly at the source of the voice and saw a pre-teen boy hovering defensively near another boy, the latter splayed on the sandbox and was nursing his nose, snot and blood both flowing down from it. Ah. The second kid must be Rui.

Now, Mai had a belief. As much as possible, she'll resort to being diplomatic in solving her problems. Violence would never be her plan A. Well, largely because she didn't need to exert more physical effort.

With a sigh, she approached the Rui and offered her hand. "Do you need help?" Let's just get this over with.

However, Mai's belief had multiple theoretical flaws, and it has bitten her back multiple times before. But as long as she can solve the problem without unnecessary violence, then it's fine no matter how tedious her way is (and besides persuading through talk is much more fun than having to hit someone. Plus, again, the pain of consequences).

Rui only glared before spitting at her hand. And then with a nod of his head, his friends grabbed both of her hands from each side, restricting her from moving said limbs.

Ugh. This is why I hated kids. They're vicious and disgusting.

The third thing Mai had to take in was displeasure. Mainly because she suddenly felt faint when a wave of nausea hit her. One second she was fine and then all of a sudden she felt like shit. Even shittier than having to do consecutive days of double-shift at work.

It was as if a switch was turned on and then everything around her hyper-focused. She felt disoriented; everything felt bigger and her limbs felt different as if she was used to a body much bigger than her current one. Worse, she couldn't even push the kids grabbing her aside because she knew if she moved further she might actually vomit (and again, she might get sued).

The influx of heightened senses and confusion must have overwhelmed her because the urge to hit something again resurfaced.

"Annoying," she grumbled.

Everything was suddenly overwhelming; her head was ringing, her arms were sore from being held, but most of all, the stickiness of the saliva was very distracting. The jelly-like, germs-infested liquid was just there on her palm, now slowly making on her fingers with the way she was held by the kids on her side. And yet, its consistency was not enough to let it drip. It was both distracting and so disgusting.

Out of spite, she wiped her saliva-filled hand on the cheek of one of the boys holding her.

"Hey—," The boy grimaced. "You bitch!"

While she was distracted feeling relieved at her now slightly clean hand, she failed to see another punch being swung around. Except this time, it wasn't her who did the punching. A sickening crunch echoed again before it was followed by a loud thud.

The next thing Mai saw was Rui's unconscious form. There was a beat of silence as everyone in the park processed what just happened. And then everything was in chaos when the other children ran away in panic, even the boys holding her in place immediately let go and ran away, forgetting their fallen friend in the process.

What just happened.

Her savior, another child who appeared out of nowhere, was standing in front of Rui, toeing the latter with his shoes. He was still in his school uniform, albeit in disarray as if it was done on purpose to make himself look intimidating. If Mai would describe the body language he's exuding, he would be a wannabe delinquent. Still, maybe he can be her friend?

Just as Mai was about to thank her savior, she heard the impact of the other's fist before she even realized what the latter did. And then mind-numbing pain bloomed on her face.

The fuck? Was I just punched? Her first instinct was to nurse her cheek before she narrowly evaded the next punch sent on her way.

"Are you crazy!?" She screeched at her savior-turned-attacker. "Why'd you do that?"

Just as the boy was about to strike another punch, he suddenly stopped. "You wanna go?"

Huh? Dumbfounded by the sheer incredulity of the question, Mai only gave him a look of disbelief. Go as in leave the place? Go out on a date? What even is the context? She almost even forgot that the boy just punched her square in the face. Maybe she just misheard the other due to her ears still ringing from the earlier punch?

The boy sighed. "It wasn't a question, y'know. Let's fight."

It was almost foul how bland the boy replied as if punching the person he just saved was the norm.

"Then why ask for my permission when you already punched me in the first place?" Mai couldn't help but ask. Again, what the fuck is happening?

The other only shrugged.

"Hey, wait, wait." Mai raised both of her hands in surrender. "Let's talk about this—"

And then he punched her again.

Only this time, she wasn't lucky enough to be able to dodge on time. She felt the pain as soon as his fist connected with her stomach.

The boy frowned. "What are you doing? Fight back."

There were a lot of things that Mai had to process as soon as she took consciousness over her new body. And the last one was the effort it's taking her just to restrain herself from the urge to hit a kid. Because that would be against her belief (and well, to be honest, because it would be child abuse. And then it would lead to a lawsuit, the money— yeah, you get the gist of it).

But the punishment wouldn't be as harsh to her if she only retaliated in self-defense, right?

While she was busy comparing the pros and cons of hitting a child, the boy used the opportunity to hit her again. This time it was on the cheek. And on the very same side he just hit her earlier.

He's doing this on purpose! And then like what a mature adult would do in situations like these, Mai also punched back.

However, the boy must've been already used to fighting because he easily dodged her punch before raising his leg for a kick. Remembering some few self-defenses she practiced a while back, Mai dodged by feinting to the side.

The boy sneered at her.

After that, she went for a fake kick which caused the other to lift his shin to block the incoming kick. But instead of hitting the boy's front leg, she dropped her weight and kicked for real. This time she aimed at his rear leg by kicking underneath his front leg thus, letting her successfully sweep the boy's leg.

"Shit," The boy cursed.

Originally, Mai planned to end the fight as soon as the boy lost his balance before things got out of hand. The idea was to disrupt his momentum so that he'll also lose his initial bloodlust which would, hopefully, return the boy to his senses and stop this nonsense of a fight.

But apparently, her body had a mind of its own because as soon as the other lost his balance, she grabbed a fistful of his hair. And then in one swift move, she forced his face down before kneeing him right in the face. Hard.

Surprised, she immediately shoved the other.

The other groaned before pulling back, distancing himself from Mai. He tilted his head back as if that would help stop the bleeding in his nose.

"Yo, you good?" She asked, worried. Still, she kept her distance just in case the other suddenly decided to retaliate. "That wasn't my intention, I promise!"

He only barked a laugh. "I know you had it in you!

He then proceeded to swipe at the blood dripping from his nose, all the while with a huge grin on his face. Mai observed that he had slightly sharp canines (it would be painful if he bit her); the only distinct feature he had which Mai wouldn't have noticed in the first place if he wasn't grinning at her like a madman. Please don't do whatever I think you're going to do—

Still chuckling to himself, the boy spat blood at the side. He moved into a fighting stance, expression now derived from humor. "Now let's fight more seriously."

God damn it, can't she take a break!? "Wait, we can still talk this through—"

He ignored her in favor of sending a punch straight to her face. At the last second, Mai's body moved on its own again. She evaded to the right before grabbing the other's arm and pulled forward.

"I'm not going to fall for that again!" The boy jeered as he corrected his posture at the last moment. Finally, he grabbed the collar of Mai's shirt, pulling her to him.

It's funny how panic can affect people's actions. Mostly, this also leads to even more reasons to panic. Without thinking and without aiming on a specific area in particular, Mai flailed her hands and gave another kick with as much force as she could muster the moment the other got hold of her. Unluckily (or was it lucky), her kick landed in the middle of the boy's legs. Smack right in his balls.

It's not even child abuse at this point, I'm also going to be sued with attempted castration! Mai bemoaned. She didn't even have the time to look back because the moment she knew she fucked up, she seized the opportunity to escape and run towards the nearest help she could get.

Said help was in the form of two boys standing on the edge of the playground; both were watching them as if it was the most interesting scene they've ever witnessed. The taller one only raised a brow while the other was eating some sort of snack. Both of them had their hair dyed blond, the latter had a messy hairstyle while the former was in a… mohawk ponytail? Wait, was that a tattoo on the side of his head?

Mai didn't even think twice if the two could help her or if they were her attacker's accomplices in the first place. She just needed something to shield her from the other boy who she was now sure was going to kick her ass.

"Please help! He's going to kill me!" When the boys were within her reach, Mai immediately hid behind them. She grabbed the taller one's legs as if it was her life support before peeking through the space between his legs. Shit, shit, shit.

"Get back here!" Her attacker roared, now heading straight towards their direction.

Mai screamed louder at that. I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead. She repeated to herself, thinking about the would-be state of her face and the money it would cost to repair it.

Just as the other boy was about to grab her again, the taller boy kicked away the former's hand.

"Draken, get out of the way." Her attacker snarled, attempting a swipe at the taller boy instead.

The taller boy, Draken, didn't even budge.

"Oi Baji, stop bullying the kid." The shorter boy said blandly, still munching on his food without a care in the world. Was that a dorayaki?

Miraculously, her attacker heeded the shorter boy's order but not before kicking Draken on the shin.

"Since when did you become boring, Mikey?" Her attacker, Baji, grumbled. "This is all Draken's fault, he's too dull for you."

"Hah!?" Draken grouched "You wanna repeat that?"

Baji only shook his head. "Ah fuck, my balls hurt like shit."

Draken snickered. "Want me to kick it again?"

"You want me to rearrange your face!?"

The smaller one, Mikey, ignored them. "Baji, gramps wants us in the dojo early. Something about my brother causing trouble again."

"What, was Shinichiro got himself beaten up again?" Baji blandly replied. He rearranged his pants, side-eying Mikey. This led to him accidentally spotting Mai in the process. "You."

Mai couldn't help but flinch. However, she knows that showing she's scared wouldn't be a good idea for her plausible future bully. So she steeled herself and glared back at Baji. "What do you want from me?"

"Be here at noon tomorrow."

The two blonds only watched the exchange in mild interest as if they're already used to Baji's impulsiveness.

This time, Mai can't help but roll her eyes. "And why would I listen to you?"

Baji seemed to be amused at her reaction because he gave her a broad grin. "Because we still need to finish our fight. Loser has to be the lackey of the winner."

Mai repressed the urge to scream. This is why she hates associating herself with children; they're vicious, disgusting, and really, really insistent. Especially the little shit in front of her.

I can't tag Baji. help.