Ch. 2: The One with the Punch
P.E. was the next class on the schedule for the group. They were doing swimming first so everyone was in their swimsuits. Kagura and the others met up at the pool. Kagura turned around. "Kazi, does this make my butt look big?" She said, looking down. Kazuhiro turned to her. "Do I look like the keeper of that knowledge?" He said bluntly. "Especially on my best friend?" He finished. Kagura nodded. "Good point." She added. The two lightly chuckled at each other. The rest arrived. "Well, are we having fun?" Tomo laughed at the two. Sakaki followed quietly behind her, followed by Chiyo and Yomi. Kazu looked back at Sakaki. "You look good." He said politely. She blushed a little. "Really?" She stammered. Kazu put his hand on her shoulder. "Would I lie?" He asked. Sakaki just looked off into the distance. "I've know you for about an hour, so I'm not sure." She blatantly pointed out. Kazuhiro sighed. "Well, I tried." He made his way out to the pool. Sakaki looked down and blushed again. Suddenly a voice boomed in behind them. "YES! VERY GOOD! SO PRETTY!!" Sakaki turned slowly and was greeted by none other than Mr. Kimura, with his usual gaping expression. Kazuhiro turned about to see Mr. Kimura, he sighed loudly. "I'll handle this." He mumbled gruffly. He made his way up to the teacher and stood by Sakaki as Yomi joined them. "Don't you have somewhere to be? Like not here?" Kazuhiro growled. The perverted teacher looked down at him. "Ah… Mr. Okami. It's been awhile." He said blandly. "Not long enough…" Kazu growled under his breath. The teacher continued. "Well, as I was saying… You just look really good and…and…" He finally snapped. "AND I WOULD REALLY LIKE YOU TO STOP BY MY OFFICE AFTER CLASS TODAY!!" He yelled. Kazuhiro was finally fed up with him. Yomi was mad enough too. In almost perfect synchronization, Kazuhiro swung his body around and drilled Mr. Kimura in the left temple with a brutal high kick just as Yomi wound up for one of her infamous uppercuts, Mr. Kimura dropped before she let loose. Kazu spun back from the recoil of the kick's impact, but it all happened so fast that Yomi didn't have time to aim. She let out the uppercut and struck Kazuhiro directly in the lower jaw. He fell back onto the concrete and gently cradled his jaw. Yomi gasped in shock, she just realized what happened. She ran up to him, yelling. "Oh my God, are you OK?" Kazu slowly rose to his feet. He patted Yomi's shoulder. "Ms. Koyomi Mizuhara, you have one HELLUVA left hand! Damn." He cradled his jaw again. "Haven't been nailed like that in a long time." He laughed a little and proceeded off to meet Ms. Kurosawa, who was just entering the pool area. The group gathered around her and the class proceeded. After a while, Ms. Kurosawa called Kazuhiro over. "OK, listen. I saw what happened with Mr. Kimura. I would normally have reprimanded you for it, but seeing as he has a reputation of harassing girls and the principal won't do anything about it, I'll let it slide. He had it coming." She said calmly. Kazuhiro nodded. "OK, thank you." The fighter replied as he made his way back to the pool.
The period proceeded on and finally ended. The first couple days always seem longer for some reason. As they were making their way home, Kazuhiro was walking alongside Tomo and Yomi, and something about the wildcat seemed familiar to him. "Um, Tomo?" Kazu asked calmly. Tomo looked over at him. "What's up?" She asked. "What is your address?" He asked, trying not to sound creepy. Tomo looked confused. "2014 Tanegashima Dr., why?" She asked inquisitively. Then, it hit him. "Oh! You live right across the street from me. That's where I recognized you!" He said excitedly. Tomo smirked. "So, that WAS you. The one with the motorcycle. Well, nice to meet you, neighbor!" She laughed. Kazuhiro just smiled and laughed a little. But it was all clear to Kazuhiro. Her house was the one he was worried about…
Kazuhiro had moved into his own house a year ago because his father, Daniel Cogburn, was killed in action in Iraq. He moved out when his mother couldn't afford to take care of them both. He moved into his new home, just across the street from the Takino household. Tomo's father, Shinji Takino, served with Daniel while they were in Iraq. He was given an honorable discharge after Kazu's father was killed. He had never gone over there because he was too scared to. It turns out when Shinji married Tomo's mother, her ex-boyfriend reappeared. Tomo's mother broke up with him after his was found guilty on six charges of rape. SIX! After Tomo's mother and Shinji got married, he began stalking the couple. When Tomo was born, it only got worse. The man had broken into the Takino home multiple times as the family was being torn apart. The arguments between the two parents grew more and more angry, and at one point, the man broke into their house while there was only one person there…Tomo. Kazuhiro had not met Tomo until today, but he had to bear witness to a year of fear and anger. And now he was emotionally tied to one of the victims. The fighter had a gut-twisting feeling that this was only going to get worse for her, and now he was caught in the maelstrom. "What if he goes after Tomo?" He thought to himself. He quickly snapped himself out of his thoughts and moved ahead of the pair of best friends to catch up to Kagura and Sakaki. He jogged out to the parking lot, and mounted his motorcycle; he turned the key as the 1300cc V-Twin motor roared to life. Kazu let out a long breath and threw on his helmet. He pulled up the kickstand and revved the throttle. "Oh yeah." He smiled. He backed the chopper up and pulled out of the parking lot to catch up to Kagura. He eventually did, as he saw Kagura and Sakaki walking along the sidewalk. He revved the engine behind Kagura, making the athlete jump and turn around. He smiled and waved as the Chief rumbled up alongside the pair. Kagura laughed. "You still have that old thing?" Kazu smirked. "Of course." He replied bluntly. Sakaki looked over the vehicle, the paint once again glowing in the afternoon sun. "It's very beautiful." She said quietly. Kazuhiro smiled. "Thank you." He replied politely. Sakaki nodded and smiled warmly. It was today that Kazuhiro Okami saw something in Sakaki that only one other person did. He saw a shy, caring person who couldn't hurt anyone even if she wanted to. Kazu and Sakaki locked eyes. She was mesmerized by the fighter's ice blue eyes as he looked deep into her soft dark blue, almost violet ones. The gaze was quickly broken when Kagura coughed. She looked at the two. "Sorry. Something in my throat." She said, laughing sheepishly. Kazuhiro just rolled his eyes. "Should've seen that coming" He grumbled to himself…