Chapter 82: Kanagawa Prefecture
Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Beneath the towering steel skyscrapers, a surging tide of people moved about.
The weather was cold, but many women were still dressed lightly, showing off their legs even in the season of winter coats.
Many men squeezed into the crowd, some rushing to work, others perhaps harboring less innocent thoughts.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind swept across the street!
Many men instinctively looked around, their eyes drawn to the women in miniskirts. Judging from their reactions, their interest was more than casual.
The women screamed and covered their skirts, startled, but who knew if there was also a hint of something else mixed in? If they were truly modest, they probably wouldn't have worn such short skirts in the first place—now it seemed almost deliberate.
They seemed to be waiting for a gust of wind to lift their skirts and reveal what lay beneath.
A girl in a high school uniform found herself in this situation, though it wasn't really her fault—Japanese sailor uniforms are famously short all over the world, and many adult stores globally sell replicas.
Not only summer versions, but winter sailor uniforms too. It was only early autumn now, which didn't stop these women from still wearing short skirts.
A strong wind blew up her gray sailor skirt, startling the girl. She instinctively tried to hold it down, but the stares from those around her made her uncomfortable.
Because the wind was so strong, she could only barely cover the front of her skirt to keep it from billowing, but the back was completely exposed.
She reached back to cover it, but the playful wind immediately lifted the front again.
It was as if an invisible person stood beside her, constantly playing pranks.
Just then, a shadow fell over her.
"Just cover the back," the person's voice was slightly deep and magnetic. "I'll cover the front."
Murano Satomi looked up and saw a handsome, tall man standing in front of her, with neatly trimmed black hair and wearing a black suit.
He wore a scarlet tie.
The pure white dress shirt and jet-black suit, punctuated by the blood-red tie, created an image that should have been cold and intimidating, yet appeared incredibly gentle in Murano Satomi's eyes.
"Hey!" the man shouted, startling the men still staring at Murano Satomi. "Eyes off! Or I'll make sure you regret it!"
Many, seeing his height far exceeding the average, backed down and averted their gazes.
But there were still some who didn't get the message.
A man—not tall but incredibly muscular—approached. Despite the approaching winter, he was still wearing short sleeves, his muscles bulging against his plaid shirt.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" The muscular man casually pulled a butterfly knife from his pocket, displaying an impressive show of skill—the butterfly knife truly seemed to dance like a butterfly in his hands.
The blade moved upward, pointing at the man in the black suit's head. "I can look whenever I want, and I can even touch!"
With a lewd laugh, he actually reached out and tried to grab Murano Satomi's body!
Screams and whistles rang out from the crowd, as if such indecent acts weren't shameful here, but rather some kind of twisted entertainment.
There were also those who couldn't stand it—mostly young students in school uniforms. Although they wanted to intervene, their courage deflated like a punctured balloon when they saw the butterfly knife in the muscular man's hand.
Murano Satomi screamed, and seeing the man's actions, she tried to run forward in fear, but just as she started to move, she was suddenly grabbed around the waist.
It was the man in the black suit from before.
He wrapped his left arm around Murano Satomi's slender waist, turned his body, and pulled her to the left.
The muscular man's groping hand naturally missed its target.
Enraged by his failure, the man raised the butterfly knife, intending to stab the man in the black suit.
Facing the sharp knife about to pierce his face, the man in the suit seemed oblivious, his expression remaining calm.
Murano Satomi, terrified, tried to warn him, but the knife was too fast. Before she could even open her mouth, it was already about four inches from his face!
She instinctively closed her eyes, clinging tightly to the man's body—all purely instinctive.
CRACK!
The sound of bones breaking!
Then came a scream!
But the sound didn't come from beside her—it came from a distance, behind her.
It couldn't be this heroic man in the black suit, Murano Satomi thought before daring to open her eyes.
When she opened them, the scene she'd imagined—a head pierced by a knife—didn't appear. Instead, something else had happened.
The muscular man's right arm, thick as a steel pipe and holding the butterfly knife, was bent at a completely unnatural angle!
The sound must have come from when his arm was broken.
Sure enough, the next second the muscular man collapsed to the ground, screaming and writhing in pain.
"You're built like a tank and you use something as small as a butterfly knife?" the man in the suit said mockingly. Unfortunately, the muscular man was no longer paying attention, as excruciating pain had robbed him of coherent speech, reducing him to agonized screams.
It was only then that Murano Satomi realized she was still clinging to him. She let out a soft cry, blushing as she released her grip and stepped back from the arm that had been around her waist.
"Are you alright?" The man in the black suit suddenly smiled—a smile like a warm fire in the dead of winter.
It was comforting and reassuring.
"Yes," Murano Satomi murmured shyly, quickly averting her eyes.
"Good," he nodded, saying nothing more. Just then, a voice called from nearby, "Satomi!"
Murano Satomi turned at the sound and saw her good friend, Izumi Shinichi.
He slowly pushed through the crowd. Many people had gathered since the fight began, but Murano Satomi, with her eyes closed, hadn't noticed she was being watched.
Now, thinking about how so many people had seen her hugging this stranger, she felt even more embarrassed.
"Are you okay?" Izumi Shinichi ran over and grabbed Murano Satomi's hand, then looked her over. "Let me see if you're hurt."
"No, I'm fine," Murano Satomi subtly pulled her hand away from Izumi Shinichi's.
"I heard someone say a female student was being harassed, and I thought it might be you, so I ran over," Izumi Shinichi said, letting out a sigh of relief. Looking at Murano Satomi's flushed face, his guess had clearly been correct. "Thank goodness you're alright."
"Of course I'm alright, thanks to this gentleman who saved me," Murano Satomi gestured toward the man in the black suit still standing there, and received a friendly smile from him. Suddenly she trembled, and her face turned even redder.
"Why are you blushing, Satomi?" Izumi Shinichi asked, puzzled.
"It's nothing."
Although Izumi Shinichi sensed something was off, he didn't dwell on it and turned to thank the man. "Thank you for saving Satomi."
"It's nothing. This whole situation started because of me anyway."
Indeed, if he hadn't called out those other men, the muscular guy wouldn't have gotten involved, much less started a fight.
"Please don't say that," Murano Satomi shook her head. "Thank you so much for your help." She bowed to him in gratitude.
The man in the black suit waved dismissively and turned to walk into the crowd.
Watching the figure slowly disappear, Murano Satomi and Izumi Shinichi exchanged a glance, then looked at the person still groaning on the ground, and finally left.
The surrounding crowd also dispersed, but no one called the police or an ambulance.
This kind of behavior from the guy on the ground was despicable, even though most of the onlookers probably shared similar attitudes.
It was the pot calling the kettle black.
Murano Satomi suddenly remembered that she hadn't asked the man's name. She ran in the direction he'd gone, but couldn't find the tall figure in the black suit among the crowd.
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