Chapter 4
Mitsui thought for a moment. It WOULD be fun to act like Shizumi and let her feel how tortured he was whenever she was around, but she would probably beat him up for treating her like that or maybe report to his mother and father. He was speechless. He was about to answer Ryota when a voice spoke from inside his head.
"Do it, you coward! Chicken! Scaredy-cat!"
"Nani?" Mitsui replied to the voice. He didn't have to say it out loud, though.
"Know the brand Nike?"
"Yeah."
"Know their motto?"
"Yeah."
"For once, HEED THEIR MOTTO!"
"What?!"
"JUST DO IT, STUPID!"
"Just do it?"
"Just do it! She's only a kid, duh ."
"Who are you, anyway?"
"I'm a 3 billion year old alien brain cell planted in your head by the Tiny Brainy Skull Aliens three seconds after you were born."
"Oh, and you think I'm gonna believe that?"
"If you're dumb enough, you would."
"So . you want me to just do it?"
"HELLO?! EARTH TO MITSUI HISASHI! THIS IS NOT LIKE YOU! WHY ARE YOU SUCH A SCAREDY CAT?!"
"Hey, stop calling me that, you unknown thing in my head!"
"Then just tell that muffin head that you'll do it! And make sure you're not out of character anymore, or I'll haunt you for the rest of your life!"
"OK, I'll do it! Just shut up and let me be!"
Mitsui had shouted out his last sentence. Everyone stared at him.
"Micchy . I was just trying to help you, as a friend," said Ryota, looking quite depressed. He wasn't smiling anymore. He shook his head and looked away.
"Ryochin! I wasn't talking to you!" Mitsui tried to explain. "There was this strange voice in my head and I was talking to it . and I accidentally shouted out what I said to it!"
Ryota suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hey, calm down, dude! I was just joking, duh!"
Mitsui stood frozen at the spot, feeling humiliated. He forced a fake laugh.
"I was joking, too, Ryochin," he laughed falsely.
"Ne, don't call me Ryochin," said Ryota.
"Don't call me Micchy, then."
"But I can still call you Mitchan, right?"
"No. I'll punch you if you call me Micchy or Mitchan."
". What about sushi king?"
"NO!"
"Oi, Ryota! Mitsui! What're you standing there for?" shouted Akagi. "The second half has already started, bakamoonga!"
***
"The game with Ryonan yesterday wasn't as bad as we thought, right?" said Ayako.
"Yeah . at least we lead by 2 points," said Kogure.
"Thanks to the tensai basketball man Sakuragi Hanamichi!" exclaimed Sakuragi, pointing at himself.
"Your remarkable lay-up shot in the last 5 seconds was unbelievable," said Mitsui.
"Unbelievable, because you're usually not the life-saver," said Ryota.
"Teme, Ryochin!"
"O'hayo gozaimasta!"
"Oh, no . she's here," Mitsui muttered under his breath.
"Go on . do it," Ryota whispered.
"Not yet, I have to wait till she does something first."
"Yo, sushi king, those Ryonans were absolutely awful yesterday, weren't they?" Shizumi said.
"Not exactly awful, but I'd say that you were, pepperoni," Mitsui replied.
Ryota snorted and closed his mouth to fight back a laugh.
"Pepperoni?" she choked. "Come on, I hate pepperoni!"
"Good on you, lizard breath ." said Mitsui, giving Shizumi a thumbs-up.
"Ooh, I'm scared! Mitsui's trying to bully me!"
"Ooh, I'm terrified! Shizumi's gonna gobble me up!"
"Teme!"
"Teme!"
"Yamette, sushi king!"
"Yamette, pepperoni!"
"You're not good at it, so quit it!"
"You're not good at it, so quit it!"
Shizumi glared at Mitsui. He stuck his tongue back out at her.
"Do you want to pick a fight with me?!" she snarled.
"Gomen, but I only fight with people who are worth fighting with," Mitsui replied. "You're too short, too young, too annoying."
"Baka! No one's too young to fight!"
"I suppose a new-born baby can kick-butt, then?"
"I'm losing my patience!"
"So am I."
Shizumi attempted to punch Mitsui, but he slapped her hand away. Another attempt to kick him failed, so did the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that.
"Tired?" asked Mitsui.
"I don't get tired so easily, sushi king," Shizumi replied. "Don't underestimate me."
"Hey, I see fire in your eyes! Need some water to put it out?"
"Urusai!"
"On second thought, your tears are enough to take it away ."
"Shut up, will you?!"
"But you don't get tears in your eyes until you cry ."
"Put a sock in it!"
"Someone has to make you cry, or that fire in your eyes won't go away ."
Shizumi took her shoe off and threw it at Mitsui. He couldn't evade it, so it hit his forehead. She looked quite satisfied, seeing the look of pain on Mitsui's face. Ryota seemed to be on the ground, clutching his stomach, laughing silently at the huge footprint on Mitsui's forehead.
"Bull's-eye," she said.
Mitsui threw her shoe back, but her hands were fast enough to catch it before it hit her face. That seemed to go according to his plan, because he took the chance to punch her stomach with his left hand. She flew and hit the wall hard.
"Uh, Micchy ." said Ryota. "I think it was a little too hard."
"Hard?" Mitsui replied. "I've experienced even harder ones."
"No, I mean, really hard."
"Why?"
"Look."
Shizumi wasn't moving.
"Nah, she's faking it," said Mitsui. "She'll be getting up any moment."
But she didn't.
"Do you think she might've fainted?" asked Ryota. "She can't be faking it for so long."
"Umm ."
Mitsui was speechless. Maybe he had hit her a little too hard. OK, maybe he was using too much of his energy. Too much revenge going on in his mind at that time.
Finally, Shizumi got up. Blood was streaming down from the end of her mouth.
"Are you satisfied now?" she asked, her voice a bit shaky.
Mitsui noticed that her eyes were beginning to get watery. A tear streamed down her cheek. She was crying.
Mitsui thought for a moment. It WOULD be fun to act like Shizumi and let her feel how tortured he was whenever she was around, but she would probably beat him up for treating her like that or maybe report to his mother and father. He was speechless. He was about to answer Ryota when a voice spoke from inside his head.
"Do it, you coward! Chicken! Scaredy-cat!"
"Nani?" Mitsui replied to the voice. He didn't have to say it out loud, though.
"Know the brand Nike?"
"Yeah."
"Know their motto?"
"Yeah."
"For once, HEED THEIR MOTTO!"
"What?!"
"JUST DO IT, STUPID!"
"Just do it?"
"Just do it! She's only a kid, duh ."
"Who are you, anyway?"
"I'm a 3 billion year old alien brain cell planted in your head by the Tiny Brainy Skull Aliens three seconds after you were born."
"Oh, and you think I'm gonna believe that?"
"If you're dumb enough, you would."
"So . you want me to just do it?"
"HELLO?! EARTH TO MITSUI HISASHI! THIS IS NOT LIKE YOU! WHY ARE YOU SUCH A SCAREDY CAT?!"
"Hey, stop calling me that, you unknown thing in my head!"
"Then just tell that muffin head that you'll do it! And make sure you're not out of character anymore, or I'll haunt you for the rest of your life!"
"OK, I'll do it! Just shut up and let me be!"
Mitsui had shouted out his last sentence. Everyone stared at him.
"Micchy . I was just trying to help you, as a friend," said Ryota, looking quite depressed. He wasn't smiling anymore. He shook his head and looked away.
"Ryochin! I wasn't talking to you!" Mitsui tried to explain. "There was this strange voice in my head and I was talking to it . and I accidentally shouted out what I said to it!"
Ryota suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hey, calm down, dude! I was just joking, duh!"
Mitsui stood frozen at the spot, feeling humiliated. He forced a fake laugh.
"I was joking, too, Ryochin," he laughed falsely.
"Ne, don't call me Ryochin," said Ryota.
"Don't call me Micchy, then."
"But I can still call you Mitchan, right?"
"No. I'll punch you if you call me Micchy or Mitchan."
". What about sushi king?"
"NO!"
"Oi, Ryota! Mitsui! What're you standing there for?" shouted Akagi. "The second half has already started, bakamoonga!"
***
"The game with Ryonan yesterday wasn't as bad as we thought, right?" said Ayako.
"Yeah . at least we lead by 2 points," said Kogure.
"Thanks to the tensai basketball man Sakuragi Hanamichi!" exclaimed Sakuragi, pointing at himself.
"Your remarkable lay-up shot in the last 5 seconds was unbelievable," said Mitsui.
"Unbelievable, because you're usually not the life-saver," said Ryota.
"Teme, Ryochin!"
"O'hayo gozaimasta!"
"Oh, no . she's here," Mitsui muttered under his breath.
"Go on . do it," Ryota whispered.
"Not yet, I have to wait till she does something first."
"Yo, sushi king, those Ryonans were absolutely awful yesterday, weren't they?" Shizumi said.
"Not exactly awful, but I'd say that you were, pepperoni," Mitsui replied.
Ryota snorted and closed his mouth to fight back a laugh.
"Pepperoni?" she choked. "Come on, I hate pepperoni!"
"Good on you, lizard breath ." said Mitsui, giving Shizumi a thumbs-up.
"Ooh, I'm scared! Mitsui's trying to bully me!"
"Ooh, I'm terrified! Shizumi's gonna gobble me up!"
"Teme!"
"Teme!"
"Yamette, sushi king!"
"Yamette, pepperoni!"
"You're not good at it, so quit it!"
"You're not good at it, so quit it!"
Shizumi glared at Mitsui. He stuck his tongue back out at her.
"Do you want to pick a fight with me?!" she snarled.
"Gomen, but I only fight with people who are worth fighting with," Mitsui replied. "You're too short, too young, too annoying."
"Baka! No one's too young to fight!"
"I suppose a new-born baby can kick-butt, then?"
"I'm losing my patience!"
"So am I."
Shizumi attempted to punch Mitsui, but he slapped her hand away. Another attempt to kick him failed, so did the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that.
"Tired?" asked Mitsui.
"I don't get tired so easily, sushi king," Shizumi replied. "Don't underestimate me."
"Hey, I see fire in your eyes! Need some water to put it out?"
"Urusai!"
"On second thought, your tears are enough to take it away ."
"Shut up, will you?!"
"But you don't get tears in your eyes until you cry ."
"Put a sock in it!"
"Someone has to make you cry, or that fire in your eyes won't go away ."
Shizumi took her shoe off and threw it at Mitsui. He couldn't evade it, so it hit his forehead. She looked quite satisfied, seeing the look of pain on Mitsui's face. Ryota seemed to be on the ground, clutching his stomach, laughing silently at the huge footprint on Mitsui's forehead.
"Bull's-eye," she said.
Mitsui threw her shoe back, but her hands were fast enough to catch it before it hit her face. That seemed to go according to his plan, because he took the chance to punch her stomach with his left hand. She flew and hit the wall hard.
"Uh, Micchy ." said Ryota. "I think it was a little too hard."
"Hard?" Mitsui replied. "I've experienced even harder ones."
"No, I mean, really hard."
"Why?"
"Look."
Shizumi wasn't moving.
"Nah, she's faking it," said Mitsui. "She'll be getting up any moment."
But she didn't.
"Do you think she might've fainted?" asked Ryota. "She can't be faking it for so long."
"Umm ."
Mitsui was speechless. Maybe he had hit her a little too hard. OK, maybe he was using too much of his energy. Too much revenge going on in his mind at that time.
Finally, Shizumi got up. Blood was streaming down from the end of her mouth.
"Are you satisfied now?" she asked, her voice a bit shaky.
Mitsui noticed that her eyes were beginning to get watery. A tear streamed down her cheek. She was crying.
