He was a troublesome brat, to say the least. Definitely someone capable of causing cause bodily harm to others in a fit of rage. His on experience and multiple instances from the past had taught Asahi that.

 

He was also someone who managed to escape the repercussions of his actions, almost every time. A cocky bastard who knew the right people and unlike most bullies, someone who occasionally used his brain. 

When anger doesn't cloud his mind, that is.

 

So when Mizutani came running into his room and screamed that Endo was about to pour boiling water on someone, he didn't bother to ask him if it indeed was true.

 

They had both rushed to the scene imagining the worst, but once Asahi reached there and saw the ruckus, what he first felt was huge relief. 

The worst had not happened.

 

The first thing for him to do as always, was to stop Endo, which didn't take much effort since his unexpected visit had distracted him already. 

And then the next step was to diffuse the situation. That too went quite well as he successfully managed to scare him off, for the day.

 

But when before leaving, Endo asked Shiiba to stay back and "help him out", Asahi realized that he might have lost a few confidence points somewhere along the line.

 

He more or less did see it coming.

 

Now all that was left, was for him to bully the two kids badly enough to leave an impression on Shiiba but in a way that doesn't hurt them a lot.

 

 Push ups were his recent favourite and he thought it would be more than enough. He could ask them to do say, a 100 Reps and in between once the mood lightens, he could just tell them to stop. 

 

This way, Shiiba, Mizutani, the kids and he himself - they could all be happy. And he can go back to his room and get back to watching the movie where he left it off.

That was atleast what he had in mind. But of course it didn't happen. Someone had to have a problem with that. 

 

One of the two underclassmen, the one who was lying on the floor a few seconds ago, had decided not to let him carry out his plan in peace. 

 

The kid with a bloodied and swollen nose shouted .

 

Striking out the possibility of showing him the tiniest bit of sympathy, Shiiba reminded them both that it indeed, has to be this way. 

 

That's when the kid surprised him again by picking up a fight with Endo's minion. It was a welcome change, to be very honest. Asahi was so used to seeing people either ignore Endo's deeds or quiver infront him, that this kid's protest was a pleasant surprise. 

 

But this wasn't the time to admire.

 

In fact, if he didn't intervene right now, the situation might escalate into something way worse and he knew he would come to regret it later on .  Assuming his role completely, he approached the person lying on the floor and gave him a cold stare. And then, he let his nastiness manifest. 

 

However, while lecturing the underclassmen what the situation is and where he actually  stood, he couldn't help but take in the details of his face. 

 

The pretty face bore eyelashes that were unusually long for a boy. The eyes weren't really special but the intensity with which they looked at him, almost arrested his heart beat for a moment. And then there was the bloody nose. 

 

For some reason, he reminded him of a sheep.

 

It was as shame. 

 

Honestly, it was a shame. The kid didn't seem to know when to shut up.

He had a feeling that if this went on for a little longer, Shiiba would forget about his decision to not get involved in trouble for what was left of his college life. 

 

He said. 

The angry sheep glared at him, as stubborn as ever.

 

 

From the way the other victim of harassment reacted to what he said, he quickly picked up that the target should've been someone else from the beginning.

 

Asahi made sure to drive the point home.

 

"Nao, please. Let's just get this over with."

 

And in no more than a few seconds, the sheep was tamed.

 

So the name's Nao. 

 

Asahi noted. And whoever the other person was, it seemed he's important to Nao.

 

 

 

On the way back to his room after watching Nao complete 150 push ups, Mizutani told him the story of a kid who stood up for his friend infront of a bully and saved him from getting a burn. From his tone, it seemed that he was in awe of the kid.

 

*Nagamine was depleted and collapsed at about 70 counts but Nao had continued. He went on even when Endo's lackey went back to his room once he was bored and when Asahi told Nagamine that he could stop. 

 

Never once did he complain.

 

He was interesting. Asahi was glad he forced Nao to take breaks after every 10 reps once Shiiba left.