Chapter 34 He took the lead and walked towards the sun.
As soon as he finished speaking, Nekono Ikuya immediately chimed in with a smile, "Ah, I'm sorry, but Furuya-kun is right, I really don't like hanging out with random, unremarkable people."
His bright eyes swept around, lingering for a moment on each of the people surrounding Furuya Rei, almost making it clear that he wasn't referring to any one particular person.
Rei Furuya only launched a single-target attack at the leader, but Ikuya Nekono unceremoniously turned it into an area-of-effect attack.
Nekono Ikuya smiled and said, "I'm not targeting any particular person. What I mean is that everyone here is just a random passerby!"
Before anyone else could react, Nekono Ikuya decisively took a step toward Furuya Rei, moving closer to the leader as well.
"And to correct you, Furuya is very popular at school. He started a blonde trend on campus just a few days after transferring."
He spoke with a hidden barb: "Everyone likes Furuya-kun, so shouldn't those of you who think he's a freak reflect on what's wrong with you?"
Nekono Ikuya walked up to Furuya Rei, her gaze coldly sweeping over everyone. Her tone was no longer gentle, and her eyes seemed to be coated with a thin layer of ice. "For example, aesthetics? Eyes? Or simply the brain?"
A smile still lingered at the corners of his mouth, but there was no smile in his eyes. Even his pink pupils, which had originally looked as soft as newly blooming cherry blossoms, now appeared sharp.
Morofushi Kagemitsu also stepped forward, his voice still calm, yet carrying an inexplicable pressure.
"You just said some very rude things to my friend Rei Furuya, didn't you? Please apologize to him!"
Looking at Nekono Ikuya and Morofushi Kagemitsu, who were even angrier than him and stood firmly in front of him to protect him, Rei Furuya felt a warm current flow through his heart and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a pure smile.
Break through their defenses! Break through their defenses hard!
Those who were surrounding Furuya Rei, especially their leader, had now completely broken down.
The reason he completely broke down was naturally not because of the hurtful words from Morofushi Kagemitsu and Nekono Ikuya. Although their words were indeed sharp as knives, the shamelessness of the leader was unbearable!
No matter how others curse his behavior, he's determined to lead a group to surround Rei Furuya. Shouldn't freaks be ostracized by everyone?
But during today's routine blockade, someone suddenly appeared to defend Furuya Rei, and two people even showed up to defend him! This blond, dark-skinned freak actually has friends? How come!
The leader gritted his teeth.
Moreover, Furuya Rei suddenly laughed! This freak actually laughed! He laughed so happily, without a trace of gloom, which infuriated the leader.
Because the leader realized that something had changed dramatically without his knowledge; he discovered that Rei Furuya no longer cared about his skin color at all.
It's complete! It's not just about outwardly pretending not to care while secretly harboring some subtle resentment, even if it's not about skin color but about the rejection from others!
The words that would normally sting Rei Furuya had no effect today. Rei Furuya didn't show the slightest anger. His gaze towards them was only one of boredom and weariness, as if he were looking at fools who were pointlessly pestering him!
How could this be?!
If Rei Furuya doesn't care, wouldn't they have completely become clowns?
"Apologize? What a joke!" The leader seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and for some reason, he became even more hateful. He pointed fiercely at Furuya Rei.
"Why should we? Mind your own business! Aren't we just stating the facts? His blond hair and black skin are already—ah!"
No one expected that it would be Morofushi Kagemitsu who would strike first. He suddenly reached out and grabbed the leader's impolite finger pointing at Furuya Rei, and twisted it hard.
"Appearance discrimination, arbitrarily belittling others based on their appearance, and harming them with words and actions, is the most ridiculous and ugly behavior."
Zhu Fujingguang decisively interrupted him, raising his voice slightly without backing down in the slightest.
His voice turned colder: "—But it seems you're not planning to apologize on your own initiative."
"Ah—you you you!" The leader clutched his finger in pain, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes. He quickly changed his hand from clutching to clenching his fist.
He swung his fist hard at Morofushi Kagemitsu, shouting a warning to his underlings as he did so.
"Quickly, everyone attack together!"
Normally, it's troublesome enough to have just Rei Furuya by himself, but this time he has two more helpers. Luckily, he brought a lot of people with him today.
I just hope that Furuya Rei's two henchmen aren't as good at fighting as him, so that my group can still take advantage of our numbers.
However, his expectations were clearly dashed.
A figure darted in from the side like an arrow, suddenly spinning and delivering a swift, powerful flying kick that landed precisely on the leader's shoulder, sending him crashing into a nearby sandpit. "Ah—" the man screamed in agony again, his body slamming into the sand and kicking up a cloud of dust.
Nekono Ikumi landed without even panting, her movements so nimble that she barely made a sound.
His pink hair still looked like soft, fluffy marshmallows, but people at the scene no longer thought his personality was as sweet as his voice and appearance.
With her soft pink eyes, Nekono Yuuya looked gently at the figure struggling to get up from the sandpit and said softly, "Aren't you prejudiced against people based on their appearance? My hair and eye colors aren't exactly mainstream either. How about we have some fun?"
Despite being phrased as a question, Nekono Ikuya's words were delivered with an air of absolute certainty, sending a chill down the spine of the person struggling to their feet in the sandpit.
He looked up and met Nekono Ikuya's clear, pinkish-red eyes. Despite their soft and dreamy color, a sense of fear suddenly rose within him.
There's a reason why the leader dared to loudly criticize Furuya Rei's blond hair and dark skin, but didn't mention the uninvited guest's pink hair and pink eyes.
Bullying the weak and fearing the strong? Seeking advantage and avoiding harm? In any case, the leader who likes to bully others in daily life has developed a pair of eyes that can accurately identify who can be bullied at will.
Rei Furuya was a tough nut to crack, difficult to bite but still manageable. However, Ikuya Nekono's expensive clothes and composed demeanor made him keep his distance; this was definitely not someone he could afford to offend.
The leader's keen perception allowed him to avoid many troubles in the past, enabling him to bully many people while remaining unscathed, which made him particularly despicable.
Having shed the unwise thoughts that arose from his anger, the leader suddenly calmed down as he looked into Nekono Ikuya's pink eyes, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
The leader tried to shout for a halt, but the scene was already chaotic.
Seeing this, the surrounding people quickly rushed towards Nekono Ikuya, while Furuya Rei skillfully entered the fray. Fighting, especially group fights, was something he was all too familiar with!
He intercepted the fist that was swinging towards Nekono Ikuya in mid-air, twisting his wrist and locking the opponent's hand. With a powerful pull of his arm backward, he kicked hard at the back of the knee. With a thud, the opponent cried out in pain, instantly collapsing to his knees, powerless. Victory was that easy.
He looked up, his gaze meeting Morofushi Kagemitsu's for a fleeting moment. The other man had just executed a clean and decisive over-the-shoulder throw, and the person he had thrown to the ground was still grimacing, but Morofushi Kagemitsu remained expressionless.
It seems that Morofushi Kagemitsu handled it with ease; all three of them had apparently practiced beforehand.
"Come on, let's all come at him together?"
Furuya Rei provocatively beckoned to the remaining rabble, his blond hair billowing in the wind as he moved, his laughter arrogant and unrestrained. It had been a long time since he had fought alongside anyone and enjoyed the battle so much.
Nekono Ikuya and Morofushi Kagemitsu also smiled and cast sharp glances their way over.
Purple-gray, cherry-pink, and azure blue—three pairs of eyes, each different in shape and color, looked at each other, yet each carried a similar oppressive force.
"Gurgle~"
The remaining people instinctively took a step back; it was somewhat frightening.
...
Under the sunlight, a group of delinquent teenagers stood in a row, and said with humiliation and frustration, "I'm sorry."
Nekono Ikuya put her hand to her ear, tilted her head, and drawled, "Speak louder, I can't hear you."
He didn't intend to make things difficult for these people, but their apologies were indeed rather soft and insincere, sounding quite reluctant.
"Isn't it only natural to send it back for a second opinion?" Nekono Ikuya said confidently.
"You—you're going too far!" one of the delinquents said, his eyes wide.
"Huh? What did you say?" Nekono Ikumi twisted her wrist threateningly, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Rei Furuya and Kagemitsu Morofushi also turned their gazes in silence.
"Uh." The delinquent who had been speaking immediately backed down and didn't dare to say anything more.
It's not that he doesn't want to be tough, it's just that the pinker his hair, the fiercer he fights. This cute-looking pink-haired, pink-eyed boy really hurts when he hits someone.
His body trembled involuntarily; he shuddered. He didn't want to take another hit.
The troublemakers were forcefully suppressed, and the delinquents could only meekly repeat, "I'm sorry."
"Speak louder!"
"sorry!"
"Honestly! Are you still secretly cursing me in your hearts? How about we switch back to the previous round and do another round of 'education on love'?"
"No, no, I'm sorry!"
And so, after countless rounds, Rei Furuya finally received a very sincere, almost tearful, apology from the delinquents. However, he did not choose to forgive them; forgiveness was another matter entirely.
Watching the once arrogant delinquents help each other away in a panic, Nekono Ikuya clapped her hands and stared at their retreating figures with a puzzled look.
"These people are so weak in combat! How dare they bully others like this? Aren't they afraid of getting beaten up in return, like today?"
Nekono Ikuya glanced at Furuya Rei and Morofushi Kagemitsu, then looked at herself. Although she had just fought a battle where she was outnumbered, they were only slightly disheveled and barely injured.
Nekono Ikuya's most painful spot is his hand, but that's because force is reciprocal; in other words, when he hits someone, it hurts. This fighting ability...
"They're just taking advantage of having more people," Rei Furuya said casually as he straightened his clothes.
He plucked a black cat hair from his clothes and casually reminded Nekono Ikuya, "Don't believe their apology. They're only doing this because they're under duress."
The power of force.
Nekono Ikuya's gaze towards the cat's fur gradually turned resentful, and her cheeks puffed out slightly. "Fuyuki, you were deliberately avoiding me, weren't you? You… sigh!"
He also heard Furuya Rei's warning, and immediately put on an innocent expression, casually saying something quite terrifying: "I know, I just wanted to torture them a little."
"???" Furuya Rei and Morofushi Kagemitsu turned their heads, white, white cut black?
With a worried look in her eyes, Nekono Ikuya continued, "But Furuya-kun, are you really alright?"
Now even Morofushi Kagemitsu looked at Furuya Rei with concern.
Rei Furuya was taken aback for a moment, then smiled gently: "I'm really fine, I don't care about this anymore."
We also have to thank Ikuya Nekono for this. When someone can dramatically change their appearance, everyone becomes a "face blind person," and appearance discrimination naturally loses its foundation.
What's there to care about? Doesn't he already have two very good friends and a group of classmates who don't care about appearance?
So, to thank his friends who stood up for him and fought for him today, Rei Furuya decided—"Come on, aren't you hot? I'll treat you to ice cream!"
He was the first to walk towards the sun.
Nekono Ikuya and Morofushi Kagemitsu exchanged a glance, then smiled at each other and followed Furuya Rei's steps into the sunlight.
Nekono Ikuya skipped and jumped around, laughing and shouting, "Then I want strawberry ice cream, um, or cantaloupe? It's such a difficult choice!"
Morofushi Kagemitsu murmured, "Chocolate." He only uttered one word, and it seemed he had become quiet again.
Rei Furuya tilted his head: "Why don't we try every flavor?"
Nekono Ikuya asked in surprise, "Really?!"
Rei Furuya waved generously: "As long as you can eat it!"
Nekono Ikuya cheered, "Yay! Furuya-kun is the best!"
Morofushi Kagemitsu simply smiled silently.
In the sunlight, their shadows were stretched very long.
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