Chapter 2

Ugwaaaaaah?!

“Ooh, tough nuts! Oogami-senpai got a little too cocky and got knocked out just like a minor antagonist~!”

“Remember your training! Wax on, wax off! Pretend you’re washing a window!”

“Ah man~… It’s no use, he flew clear out of bounds! Anzu-san is right where he’s about to land—but she came prepared! She was just quick enough to avoid him!”

“You look pretty happy for some reason, Anzu-san~! Wait, don’t tell me—Did you come to watch the Dragon King Competition just for this?!”

“Oh, here goes Oogami-senpai too with a spinning backflip so he doesn’t crash into her! Aaand he sticks the landing! But he stepped out of bounds, so Oogami-senpai loses~!”

Dammit, that ain’t fair, Kiryu-senpai! Starin’ into space like you’re all lost in thought only to turn around and roundhouse kick me?! The hell was that surprise attack?!

We’re redoin’ this! No way this counts, got that?!

“Yeah, yeah. Give it up, you sore loser~ He didn’t break any rules!”

“Everyone should know by now that the Dragon King Competition allows for obstruction of a performance using violence!”

“Really, it’s your fault for not hearing me when I whispered that you were on as the first challenger!”

“You only have your own carelessness to blame! You’re gonna have to crawl back to our sifu and start your training from square one!”

Wh–why’d you whisper it?! Aren’tcha on my side here, Hinata?!

Sorries~… I don’t think you’re the main character this time around, Oogami-senpai. Now make room for your cute kouhai, ‘kay? All right, get a move on ♪”

Urgh~… You li’l shit, I’m gonna remember this. You’re not gettin’ nothin’ for Valentine’s Day, you got that Hinata?

“Ahaha! I don’t actually like sweet things anyway, so I don’t need anything~ ♪”

Haha, sorry Oogami, but I can’t hand over the title of “Yumenosaki’s strongest” just yet.

If you still got a problem with that, we can go at it again later in a back alley or something.

Don’t worry. I’m gonna defeat Taishou here and become the strongest man at Yumenosaki Academy.

And then we can have another Dragon King Competition next year. You can challenge me when that time comes… Oogami-senpai ♪

Whoa now, where’d all that self-confidence come from, Tetsu?

You’ve never won against me when we were sparrin’ at the club or anything even once.

Don’t make promises you can’t keep. They say even a bird with a long neck can’t see the future—only god can.¹

Ngh~ Well, nine times outta ten there’s no way I can beat you in a fight the way I am right now.

But I have taken you down a few times though, like when you haven’t gotten enough sleep.

So if all I have to do is kick you off stage or get in the way of your performance, it should be possible.

On the other hand, all I have to run around and avoid getting hurt.

then it’s just a matter of how good we are as idols. And I think I can hold my own against you there, Taishou.

I’ve been working really hard in Ryuseitai for a whole year now, after all.

Haha, I didn’t leave you to Morisawa just so you could learn how to talk yourself up. All that groundless boasting just comes off like some joke.

But you’ve always been like that, huh. Ever since we first met, you’ve been a little wimp who put up a front to make yourself look bigger than you are.

You’re awkward and clumsy, so everyone underestimates you…

But you stuck to your guns so no one’d look down on ya. You were an empty shell of a peson without any substance.

Yeah, you’re right. I know that, Taishou. I know now that the reason I couldn’t join Akatsuki was because you guys saw how weak I was.

Akatsuki, and you too, Taishou…

I don’t know all the details still, but you guys are carrying the burden of Yumenosaki’s dark history, with all of the schemes you came up with like the Dragon King Competition.

I wouldn’t have been able to share that load.

Even if… Even if I had joined Akatsuki, I was such a wimp back then. I wouldn’t’ve been able to handle everything, and it would’ve crushed me.

You guys are the proud and strong number two unit at Yumenosaki—There’s no compare to you…

It’s not easy being part of that. Never being able to lose, always having to stand with your head held high even when students hate you or are scared of you.

I’d only scratched the surface—I had no idea what kinda load you were carrying, Taishou… And then I just tried to imitate what I saw on that surface, like dyeing my hair to match.

I am an empty shell of a person. So much that I can’t endure any kinda pressure and crumble under the weight.

You kept me at a distance in order to protect me and make me stronger.

I tried to follow you to that bullet-riddled battlefield… but you gave me shelter and used your body to protect me.

And I never even noticed it—all that blood covering your back. I was too busy admiring you from the front, too busy looking at your beautiful face. Like an idiot.

I wanted to be cool just like you, Taishou.

But that’s all over now. Time’s running out, isn’t it?

Pretty soon, you’re gonna graduate, and that giant wall that’s been protecting me this whole time is gonna come crumbling down.

So I’ve made up my mind. I don’t need to be kept in an eggshell anymore.

And whatever’s born from that egg won’t be a dragon like you, Taishou.²

It’s gonna be a clumsy, immature thing that can’t even walk on its own. It’ll look just like a cute little kitten.

Despite all that, you held it close to you and raised it just like your own in your beautiful nest, even though it looks nothing like you.

So, to repay you for everything you’ve done for me, it’s about time I showed you how much I’ve grown.

I can’t be a dragon that flies high up in the sky like you. But just like my name… I’ll be a tiger, one that can’t be beat by anyone. Even if I’m disgraceful and embarrassing, even if I get covered in mud.³

I’ll be a strong, imposing tiger that won’t be ashamed to face you.

Karate literally means “empty hand.” It’s a pure, graceful fighting style that doesn’t use a weapon. You’re the one who taught it to me.⁴

The palm of my hand is empty, so I can grab anything I want! Even the sun and the moon!

If you feel like I can’t reach that high yet, then just smile and laugh it off—there’s no helping it!

I can’t fly, but I’ll keep on jumping over and over until I can grab hold of it!