Chapter 3: Unsafe Protection【Part 3】
【言語に関するご注意 / Language Notice】本作はすべて、英語と英語の表現で書かれています。翻訳作品ではなく、オリジナルの英語ライトノベルです。あらかじめご了承の上、作品をお楽しみください。
See chapter one for the main author's note.
Renji
From an alley, a second skater rolls out—wearing a matching mask. He glides toward me, reaching down to grab the line.
A brutal jerk snaps through my spine as the speed doubles. The pavement dissolves into a blur, churning up a gray storm of dirt and gravel that chokes my vision.
The sound is not coming from a rescue squad. It is coming directly from the same kind of mechanical skates from earlier!
“Renji!” Jiro calls from behind. He throws himself forward, but the gap between us widens into a canyon.
“Help! Heeelp me!” I flail my free arm, spitting out sand.
“Try to make yourself heavy! Drop your center of mass!” His voice fades fast against the wind rushing past my ears.
“Gravity has abandoned me, Jiro!” I shriek back, fingernails scraping uselessly against the stone.
The world turns into a nightmare of impact. Friction burns through my clothes as heat—Click.—flares across my chest. Churning gravel crashes into my face as, I lose all sense of direction. Click.
W-what?
More sand blasts into my eyes. The sheer speed drags me through a vortex of blinding grit.
Ahead, the avenue opens into a green intersection.
The skaters pivot hard, whipping around a young tree in the center island. The taut rope catches the trunk.
Tchrrrk!
The tension explodes. My momentum dies, slamming me to a dead stop across the dirt patch.
The two skaters keep moving, vanishing down a branching street without looking back.
Slammed into a heap, I cough violently while dust blankets my face.
Footsteps come near.
“Renji! Renji, are you okay!?” Jiro pants, dropping to his knees. He grabs my shoulders with a pale face.
I push myself up with his leverage.
Shaking a leaf from my hair, I look down at my shredded shirt. “I think...” I wheeze. “I think I just got a complimentary campus tour. Ground level.”
“Who were those people?” He whips his head around, scanning the area.
“Don’t know, tour guides?” I grin, rubbing my aching temple.
The smile freezes.
Figures emerge from the shadows, stepping silently onto the intersection.
Three. Five. Nine. Sixteen of them—all wearing the same animal masks.
They slowly close the distance, forming a wall around the junction.
“More trouble?” Jiro sighs in deep.
I raise a dusty hand, waving it weakly. “Oh. Thank you,” I stammer. “But I think I’ve seen quite enough of the campus for one day.”
“Renji,” He whispers, bracing his shoulders against mine. “I don’t think these guys are part of the welcoming committee.”
The circle collapses.
Before we can even throw a punch, the violence erupts.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
My vision blurs into a whirlwind of scuffing shoes and flying dust. Every impact sends an ache deep through my body, forcing the air from my throat.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The world dissolves into chaos. Strikes come from every direction, sharp and forceful against my ribs, my shoulders, my back.
I curl up, bracing for the next blow and losing track of up and down.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Suddenly, through the storm of impacts, a hand grips my forearm, tightening its hold.
Are they pinning me down? Or is it Jiro, reaching out blindly while the world falls apart…
Ssszzzrrr!
The mechanical whine cuts through the thuds and grunts of the beating. My heart drops into my stomach. A cynical dread strikes over me.
Zzzt-shhh!
Wheels screech, engines hissing to a stop.
The rain of kicks halts. The masked figures freeze mid-strike, their hidden faces snapping upward.
A furious roar explodes into the air across the junction. “HEY! CUT—”
Anza
“—that out, please?” I point through the glass display at the frosted log pastry.
The clerk hovers a knife over the piped edges. Giving me a small nod, he slices the section.
“I always get such terrible stomach aches from that much buttercream,” I mumble, rubbing my temples. “Better leave it out this time.”
A wave of sweet cinnamon hits me as I turn around. “Hey, Asuka, do you want anything else or—”
Asuka her cheeks puff out like a hamster. She somehow stuffed a giant cream horn into her mouth.
“Huh?” she mumbles, crumbs cascading down her chin.
A tiny snort escapes the cashier.
I wipe a stray flake of crust off her nose as I giggle. “You’re hopeless.”
She flashes a thumbs-up, choking down a large bite with a happy hum.
“Is that everything then?” the cashier asks.
“Yep, that’s everything!” I pull out my student ID card, brandishing it.
I look from the card to the counter. “Um... how exactly do I pay?” I stammer.
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Discover what happens next in: Chapter 4: Voluntarily Forced【Part 1】
Written by Limited_Infinity. Extras, official publishing platforms and updates are publicly available only on the Patreon page “_Limited_Infinity_”
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