Chapter Ninety-One: How Did She Know?

Taishi Aoki crouched at the mouth of the alley, tapping a metal bowl with his hand.

Before long, yelps came from within the narrow lane.

Aoki watched as three puppies poked their heads out from the far end of the alley, all three looking timid and reluctant to come any closer. Smiling, he set the metal bowl aside and poured in the dog food he had just bought. “Dinner time!”

The three puppies barked from a distance, but none dared move forward too readily.

Aoki stayed where he was, simply crouched there. He pushed the bowl of dog food a little farther out, then took out a small plastic bowl he had just bought, filled it with mineral water, rested his chin on both hands, and watched them in silence.

The puppies hesitated for a long while. At last, the pug named Natto took a few steps forward, then stopped warily. Only when he saw that Aoki was still just watching from where he sat did he inch ahead again.

Only after Natto reached Aoki’s side, sniffed the scent of the food, and began to gorge himself eagerly did Kuroko and White Tail finally trail after him and come up to the bowl.

Aoki simply watched with his chin propped in his hands, a faint smile curving his lips, and said softly, “Today I only had breakfast. I didn’t even eat lunch.”

“I’ll come twice a day from now on, morning and afternoon. How about that?” Even after he spoke, the three puppies still kept their heads down, tearing into their meal like they had been starving. He gave a helpless laugh. “Slow down. No one’s going to steal it from you.”

Of course the puppies could not understand what Aoki was saying. He gently reached out and stroked Natto’s head; the pug’s rough skin and fur prickled his hand a little.

Natto lifted his head warily to look at him. Seeing that Aoki meant no further move, it lowered its head again and gulped down the dog food with eager little snorts.

Aoki watched them finish every last bit of the full bowl, even drinking all the water, before putting the metal bowl away. He refilled the plastic bowl with water and set it against the wall, then said quietly, “Eating too much isn’t good for your health either. I’ll leave you for today.”

Perhaps because they were full and satisfied, the three puppies kept their distance from Aoki and watched him from the alley entrance. They did not bark, only paced about, studying him from afar. Perhaps they were trying to remember his face.

Aoki stood up and, while stretching his body, felt a sting at his eyelid and winced. He waved to the puppies. “Bye. See you tomorrow.”

The three puppies barked back in lively agreement. Aoki grinned, put away the dog food and metal bowl, and turned toward the bookstore at the alley entrance.

A beautiful girl with long black hair and a beauty mark at the corner of her eye was leaning on the cash register, idly looking around. When she saw Aoki, her expression turned to surprise and disgust.

She was surprised because she had never expected this guy, who clearly did not look like a good person, to actually come and feed the three puppies today. The disgust came from the fact that he was wearing only a white tank top, and his clothes were smeared with both dirt and blood; the wounds on his body looked as though they had been freshly born.

It was obvious he had just been in a fight.

Ruri Gokoshi looked at him expressionlessly. “Welcome.”

Aoki showed her a toothy grin, though with his face covered in wounds, there was no way the smile could look especially bright. He did his best to keep his voice gentle. “Could I ask you to keep the dog food and the puppies’ bowls for me? If you close late, you can feed them a little more when you get off work. Just not too much. If they eat too much and get sick, that would be troublesome.”

Looking at his fierce expression and the grotesque way he smiled, Ruri felt a little afraid, but she did not show it. Instead, she answered calmly, “I understand.”

Seeing that she had agreed, Aoki thanked her with a nod. “Thanks. Otherwise I’d have to bring everything from home every day, and that would be rather inconvenient.”

“It’s nothing.” Ruri pressed her lips together and lowered her head slightly, not wanting to look at his face. “Even if you hadn’t asked, I would still take care of them.”

Aoki blinked. The voice sounded oddly familiar, though he could not remember where he had heard it before. He gave a polite smile. “Ruri Gokoshi, was it? That’s a nice name. Then I’ll leave it to you. I’ve got something to do, so I’m heading out.”

Ruri said nothing, only nodded. A faint blush crept over her cheeks—she had almost blurted out the name of her own title, the Dark Angel of Chiba. If this guy had heard that, he would have laughed himself silly.

Good thing she corrected herself in time.

Aoki glanced at the time, set off for home, and dialed Iwa Matsuyama’s number.

“Let me guess, kid—you’re calling to ask for time off again!” The moment the call connected, Matsuyama’s teasing scold came booming through the phone.

Aoki let out an awkward sound and scratched his bald head with a sheepish laugh. “Yeah. How did you know, Iwa?”

Matsuyama snorted. “If you didn’t have anything going on, would you be calling me? What happened this time—fought with someone again? If you dare get yourself hurt, don’t even think about getting your paycheck!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Aoki apologized repeatedly with a wry smile. In truth, he had already promised Matsuyama that he would take part in the competition, so it was also his responsibility to take proper care of his body before the match and keep himself in fighting condition. But some things could not be helped. He could only assure him again and again, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. I can go back to training tomorrow. I’m just a little exhausted today, and my mental state isn’t all that great...”

Matsuyama’s tone grew angry over the line. “Tomorrow, I’ll set up an opponent for you. You’ll be doing live sparring, and you have to show up!”

“If you perform poorly, then wait for a new training plan! You still had enough energy to go pick fights, so clearly I haven’t been working you hard enough!”

With that, Matsuyama hung up. Aoki sighed.

He could understand the man’s frustration. After all, only a few days ago he had confidently told Matsuyama he would beat Arlong into the ground at the Supernova tournament, and yet today he had skipped work and gone off training. It was only natural that Matsuyama would be upset.

Still, Aoki felt that once Matsuyama saw tomorrow that his strength had suddenly surged again, the matter would likely be forgiven and forgotten.

Ding-dong.

Aoki pulled out his phone. A message from the contact labeled “Little Sister Sora” read: Sora, where are you? Did you fight with someone again?

How does she know!?

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PS: First, as usual, I’ll shamelessly ask for votes. Second, I want to recommend a friend’s novel. When I started this book knowing nothing at all, this friend told me many useful things, and the book they wrote is quite good too. Everyone is welcome to check it out on Q Reading.

The title is Emperor Young Master Reaches the Heavens, a fantasy novel that is well worth reading. I hope you’ll give it a look.