Chapter Five: The Genji Ryutani Experience Card

Maeda Tora never imagined that simply arriving late to class out of habit—missing just one period—would lead him to witness a scene that left him utterly shocked and furious.

A bald guy—one who looked even fiercer than himself—was actually being approached and chatted up by his goddess, Kokomi! And what’s more, the bald guy avoided her! And he was sitting in Maeda Tora's seat!

Almost on instinct, he shouted out those words.

“Hey, you over there, baldy—have you had enough of living?” But as soon as Maeda Tora blurted it out, he quickly regained his composure, because the bald guy in front of him turned to look his way.

What kind of look was that? Even those real Yakuza he’d occasionally seen at the arcade hadn’t radiated this kind of intimidation. All it took was for this bald guy to turn his head and fix him with a stare, and the pressure was overwhelming.

Maeda Tora’s expression turned cold. A tough one!

At that moment, Aoki Tsukasa’s forehead veins throbbed from being called baldy. He turned around to see a sturdy youth, over six feet tall, glaring at him with a face as hard as stone. The guy’s hair was a striking red, swept to the side—a garish style that made his identity obvious: a delinquent in every sense of the word.

“Who are you calling baldy!” Aoki Tsukasa stood up, his frame barely reaching five foot nine, a head shorter than the burly youth.

Of course, as soon as he replied, Aoki Tsukasa realized he might have acted rashly—he was probably doomed. Just by eyeing him up, he could tell this brute could take on two of him at once. Yet, for some reason, whenever someone called him baldy, he simply couldn’t contain his anger. “This is a shaved head! A shaved head!”

[Mission triggered: Debut Battle of the Delinquent]

[Debut Battle of the Delinquent: Without an impressive record, how will others ever truly submit to you? End this insignificant battle with a flawless performance and receive a random attribute reward based on your display.]

[Friendly reminder: You still have one Random Delinquent Experience Card. You can use it at any time! It lasts up to thirty minutes. What are you waiting for?]

“Heh, baldy, have you had enough of living?” Maeda Tora glanced around and, as expected, since it was between classes, many of his friends were horsing around in the corridor. Several familiar faces were among them.

“Hey! Dai Takeshi, go round up the guys!” Maeda Tora shouted, then turned back to the bald youth, a menacing grin spreading across his face. No matter how fierce you look, no matter how well you fight, you’re still just one man.

Meanwhile, Aoki Tsukasa was busily communicating with the system, paying no attention at all to Maeda Tora’s wicked smile or his call for backup.

[Would you like to use the random card?]

Use it, use it! Aoki Tsukasa thought that if he hesitated any longer, he’d be flattened by this brute. As far as he could recall—apart from the unfamiliar memories of the former ‘Aoki Tsukasa’—he’d only ever been in one fight, and that was in elementary school, with a female classmate. And he’d lost, too.

“Well, you’re the one who made me a delinquent. I can’t peak at my debut and just stop here.” Aoki Tsukasa pinned his hopes on the system.

[Random Delinquent Experience Card used successfully.]

[Randomly selected character: Genji Takitani. Experience time: thirty minutes.]

In an instant, Aoki Tsukasa felt as if he’d become a different person.

No, he truly had become someone else.

In his mind, memories of countless brawls flashed past like a film on fast-forward: slugging it out in the rain with a shockingly strong short guy; charging single-handed into a crowd and mowing down opponents with a punch each; a legion of underlings at his back, storming enemies who outnumbered them by far...

These scenes flickered through his mind at lightning speed. When everything finally settled and clarity returned, it was as if he’d lived through them all himself, fresh as the day they happened.

Opening his eyes again, he was now a man named Genji Takitani—a man with a cold exterior and a heart burning like fire.

“Hey, Redhead.” Aoki Tsukasa raised his eyes, and the chill in them made everyone watching shudder. “Don’t you think your backup is taking a little too long?”

Maeda Tora’s eyelid twitched. He suddenly felt the guy in front of him was even more terrifying than before, but he refused to show weakness. With a sneer, he replied, “Heh, if it weren’t for the fact that fighting in class looks bad, do you think you’d still be standing? Kid, got the guts to meet me on the roof?”

Aoki Tsukasa tilted his head slightly, habitually reaching for the pompadour he no longer had. His hand met nothing but scalp, and he clicked his tongue in annoyance. His voice came out hoarse but magnetic, full of cold disdain: “You have five minutes. Don’t make me wait too long.”

With that, Aoki Tsukasa strode straight toward Maeda Tora. Maeda Tora instinctively clenched his fists, but the bald youth merely glanced at him with a look bordering on contempt, then brushed past, bumping his shoulder, and exited through the back door.

As he walked out, Maeda Tora saw him grab a random student by the collar, ask for directions to the rooftop, then shove his hands in his pockets and head off, not sparing Maeda Tora another look.

Damn it... Maeda Tora’s fists creaked with tension, his face growing more savage by the second. He turned to a classmate nearby, seized him by the collar, and forced him to meet his eyes. “Who is he?”

The classmate, trembling with fear, stammered, “T-transfer student… Aoki Tsukasa…”

“Good…” Maeda Tora turned, just as his buddy Dai Takeshi swaggered over with eight or nine other rough-looking youths. With a grand wave of his hand and a clenched jaw, he barked, “Follow me to the roof!”

Damn it all... When he bumped my shoulder, I didn’t even have the guts to make a move? No, I, Maeda Tora, a man determined to become the strongest high schooler, can’t fall here.

No matter how strong you are, I will defeat you!

Baldy!

Maeda Tora and his crew disappeared down the corridor, while Kokomi Terabayashi narrowed her eyes. Her female classmates clustered around her, chattering anxiously. “What should we do, Kokomi? That baldy is going to get beat up by Maeda Tora!”

Kokomi instinctively wore a worried expression and said urgently, “You’re right! We can’t just stand by and watch Maeda Tora and the others bully the new student. I’m going to find a teacher!”

Heh, when you’re lying battered on the ground, I’ll arrive with the teacher like your savior... Ah, such a perfect entrance—even the heroines in anime couldn’t do better! For a girl as flawless as me to rescue you at that moment, how could you not fall for me?

Kokomi clenched her fists. Aoki Tsukasa? I’ll make you say, “Oh my!” for me!

“Kokomi, it’s too dangerous, don’t go!” her classmates called after her, but their shouts had no effect on Kokomi’s determined stride.

One girl gazed after Kokomi with admiration and murmured, “How can I ever become a perfect girl like Kokomi? She’s not just gentle and kind—she’s so brave, too…”

“Yeah…”

If Aoki Tsukasa were here, he would surely sigh from the bottom of his heart: Tsk, how terrifying.