Yuko Takiya

Yuko Takiya was somewhat troubled.

She had a dream last night, a particularly terrifying nightmare.

In her dream, she was the ghost of a boy, a middle school student like her, weak and prone to tears, yet surprisingly strong, repeatedly failing but always managing to rise again. Moreover, the things he went through were truly terrifying, and Yuko cried uncontrollably alongside him countless times.

Even when she woke up from a dream, she was in tears.

That dream was terrifying.

Yuko could still clearly remember the contents of her dream when she woke up, but when she brushed her teeth, she found that she had forgotten most of it.

She tried hard to recall, but could only remember a little bit.

The school bell rang, pulling Yuko back to reality. She decided not to dwell on the nightmare anymore; after all, it was just a dream, she thought.

Yuko is a first-year junior high school student. It's August, and she should be on summer vacation. However, Yuko has enrolled in evening tutoring classes. The reason she chose evening classes is because it's too hot to go out during the day in summer.

Yuko quickly tidied up, glanced at her phone, and saw it was already 7 p.m.

As she went downstairs, her classmates from the cram school greeted her, and Yuko Takiya responded to each one. She wasn't the outgoing or lively type, rarely initiating social interactions, but she was always ready to answer questions and spoke softly. She had waist-length, jet-black hair, snow-white skin, watery eyes, and peach-like lips; coupled with her gentle demeanor, she perfectly embodied the image of every boy's first love.

She had just come downstairs when her phone rang. The caller ID showed "Kuroki".

This is her driver. Yuko was kidnapped when she was a child, but after a series of twists and turns, she was finally rescued without any real danger.

Since then, her family has arranged a car to pick her up and drop her off.

She pressed the call button.

Kuroki said, "I'm so sorry, Miss, the car broke down and we may have to wait a while."

"How long will it take?" Yuko asked.

Kuroki replied, "We are already arranging for another vehicle to come as soon as possible."

Unable to leave, Yuko returned to the training center, greeted her teacher, and waited in the classroom. She sat down, opened her phone, and found only three numbers: her father, Takiya Hideo; her driver, Kuroki; and her half-brother, Takiya Genji, who was ten years her senior.

Her brother has recently been making a fuss about wanting to be independent, so he opened a barbershop and seems to be living there, rarely going home anymore.

Yuko, as if possessed, pressed the dial button and called her older brother.

It rang several times before the call was answered, and the moment it connected, a strange electrical sound echoed in her mind.

"Yuko? What's wrong?" Her brother's voice drew her attention.

Hearing her brother's worried tone, Yuko couldn't help but whine, "Brother, the car broke down, we can't get home."

"Didn't the old man arrange for someone else to pick him up?"

"Can't my brother come pick me up? Let's go home together."

Genji Takiya was silent for a moment, then compromised and said, "Then wait over there for a moment, I'll be right there."

He wasn't lying about coming right away; Yuko received his call a few minutes after hanging up, telling her to come down. Yuko quickly grabbed her bag and walked out of the building. As soon as she stepped out, she saw a cool black Honda street car, next to which stood a tall, thin guy with long legs, wearing a black T-shirt, cargo pants, and leather boots.

Young girls passing by couldn't help but turn around.

Yuko walked over and took the helmet her brother handed her, asking, "Why didn't you drive, brother?" She sighed inwardly; she was wearing a dress today.

"Baka, motorcycles are the romance of men."

Yuko: Speeding is only dangerous, where's the romance?

Takiya Genji, who was already fully prepared, urged, "Aren't you coming up?"

This clueless guy clearly didn't realize that riding a motorcycle while wearing a skirt would result in him exposing himself.

After mentally preparing herself, Yuko climbed onto the back seat with a touch of embarrassment. She reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, but didn't hug him tightly; instead, she held onto the fuel tank in front of her.

When riding this kind of streetcar, the passenger in the back should not affect the rider's center of gravity, should not hold onto the shoulders, and should not press their weight against the rider. It is best to either hold onto the rear buckle or hold onto the front fuel tank.

Yuko wasn't riding on her brother's motorcycle for the first time, so she naturally knew about safety precautions.

Before starting, Genji said to his sister, "Your call came at just the right time; I happened to be on my way."

"Does brother have something to do?"

"I guess so. I'm going to see a friend. It's rare for him to come all the way from southern Hunan."

"Kanagawa? How do you know people from there, brother?"

"Because your brother is very capable."

Yuko: ...She didn't quite understand the logic behind it.

They set off amidst the roar of motorcycles. Genji wasn't exaggerating; it really was on the way, and they arrived at their destination in no time.

Yuko took off her helmet and looked up at the sign—SS MOTOR.

Motorcycle shop?

A man with neat black hair came out of the store and raised one hand.

"Oh, you're here."

"ah."

Genji gave him a high five to greet him.

"Where's Ryuji?"

"They're in the back, go in first."

After the man finished speaking, he noticed Yuko behind Genji: "This is..."

Genji introduced: "My younger sister, Yuko."

Yuko quickly bowed and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you. My brother is very grateful for your kindness."

The man grinned slyly and said, "Hello, Yuko-chan, I'm Shinichiro-nii."

“You shameless bastard, who’s your sister?” Genji hooked his arm around Shinichiro’s neck and pulled him inside.

Yuko, following behind, thought to herself, "So he really is my brother's friend." After all, her brother was very cool and didn't like doing anything gay with other men.

They went into the back room together. Although it was air-conditioned, it was filled with smoke, and Yuko coughed a couple of times because she felt uncomfortable.

Inside the room, a man with a ponytail and glasses, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, was squatting in front of a cabinet, rummaging through things.

Shinichiro Sano walked over and kicked him in the butt: "What are you doing on someone else's turf?"

He couldn't even kick it, and then this guy pulled out a pornographic DVD and showed it to me, saying, "Shinichiro, you have pretty good taste. You even have this one. Let me borrow it and take a look."

"Hey, you guys watch yourselves." Genji immediately stepped in front of his sister.

"Huh? There are children here. Sorry, sorry." The man said as he put the disc back in its original place and stubbed out his cigarette.

“This guy is Ryuji Danma,” Genji introduced again. “My sister, Yuko.”

"It's the legendary Yuko." Ryuji Danma, having put down the film, seemed like a different person, appearing somewhat refined. He teased Genji, "No wonder you always hid it from everyone, Yuko is absolutely amazing!"

Genji said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "If you dare to make a move on Yuko, I won't let you off the hook."

Danma Ryuji chuckled, "How can you not let me off the hook? With your weak fists? Ah, ah, I'm so scared."

Shinichiro ran a hand through his hair, showing no interest in their bickering. He simply said, "If you want to fight, go outside. Don't damage my shop."

"Xiao Zhen is so heartless. Shouldn't you fight together?"

"Is it because you're afraid of me beating you up before?"

The two, who were just moments ago at each other's throats, are now working together to harass Shinichiro Sano.

"Since you've all said that," Shinichiro said, cracking his knuckles and wrists, impatient with their chatter. "Clench your teeth and don't cry later."

It could erupt at any moment.

Although all three now have legitimate jobs, they were all extremely delinquents in the past.

Ryuji Danma is one of the members of the Oni-Baku duo, who strike fear into the hearts of the Shonan biker gangs.

Shinichiro Sano was the first leader of the Black Dragon, a delinquent organization in Tokyo.

Genji Takiya graduated from Suzuran High School, a now-defunct school but once a hotbed of delinquency, and was just one step away from achieving complete dominance. His father, along with Yuko's, was the president of the Kanto United Meteor Society.

The three of them got into a fight, and when Yuko saw this, she left and thoughtfully closed the door behind her.

She understood long ago that men communicate with their fists.

About half an hour later, Ryuji Danma opened the door with a bruised face: "Yuko, you're here. You can come in now."

The room was a mess. Not only Danma Ryuji, but also her brother and Sano Shinichiro had injuries on their faces, and Shinichiro's nostrils were stuffed with paper.

The group rearranged the overturned chairs and tables and sat down. Shinichiro took a few cans of beer from the refrigerator, while giving Yuko only water.

The men were drinking and chatting.

Genji: "Why didn't Eikichi come along?"

Ryuji: "That guy is preparing for the exam, saying he wants to be a teacher."

Genji: "Huh? Is that guy okay? Going to teach people how to fight?"

Shinichiro: "Why did he suddenly make this decision?"

Ryuji: "Eikichi was very upset because he was rejected by a woman who liked a middle-aged teacher at the school."

Shinichiro: "I can totally understand..."

Genji: "I can understand why you two like chasing after women."

Yuko, unable to join their conversation, took out her phone and played a Sudoku game for a while. While drinking water, she noticed Danma Ryuji touching his cigarette pack several times. Looking at her brother, the heavy smoker who had been smoking since his teens, he was now starting to get restless.

As expected, Genji took out money and asked his sister to go outside to buy drinks.

Yuko, who was running errands, readily went out and arrived at the vending machine a hundred meters away, where she was somewhat troubled.

What do my brothers want to drink? They didn't say at all.

"Hey pretty girl, are you alone? Come play with us!"

Yuko, surrounded by two men dressed in strange clothes: ...

Was I hit on?

Or were they taken by biker gangs?

Yuko's expression shifted slightly.

"Keep us company, it'll make you very happy later," the man with the mohawk said, grabbing one of her hands.

"Let go, I don't want to go play with you guys." Yuko refused very seriously.

"Don't be so cold..." Before the mohican could finish speaking, he was sent flying and crashed heavily to the side.

"Who?!" Mohican's companion looked angrily at the newcomer, but before he could finish speaking, he was punched in the face.

"Is it a man's job to bully women? You two scumbags."