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II: Lily of the Valley
Chapter 87: Endlessly Floating
Boys should protect themselves when they go out.

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When Junpei found Yayoi, she was squatting on the guardrail of the bridge.

The wide bridge deck spans the river bed. The river water flowed slowly under the bridge, and the golden morning light danced and flipped on the river surface.

Junpei stopped by the bridge, his expression a little dull, and he was still holding a plastic bag in his hand.

Yayoi squatted on the guardrail of the bridge, her red hair falling naturally in accordance with gravity. Staring at her hands with an expressionless face, the river under the bridge was splashing and flowing back.

When she realized someone was approaching, Yayoi raised her head and turned to see Junpei standing on the edge of the bridge with a dumbfounded expression.

"Good morning, Yoshino-kun, who we had ramen with yesterday." Yayoi stepped on the guardrail, holding the shoulder strap of her backpack with one hand, and waving to him with her mobile phone in the other.

Junpei didn't know how to face her, not to mention the long modifier after his name.

It rained in the middle of the night yesterday. Junpei returned home before the rain. The dust and haze lingering in the air was washed away by the rain and swept into the sewer. The air today was surprisingly clear, with the smell of grass leaves in the air.

There were still water stains on the bridge that had not been evaporated by the sun, and the beautiful birdsong echoed under the summer sky.

Mixed with the miserable wails of some people.

Junpei turned his head slightly and saw the familiar trio hanging under the bridge.

...well done.
Junpei thought expressionlessly.

"...Amamiya-san?"

A crying cat emoticon appeared on the screen.

Yayoi paused.

After typing a few times with her fingers on the keyboard on the screen, Yayoi sent a message back to Satoru with a cat-head emoticon. From the corner of her eye, she spotted the trio of idiots hanging by her under the bridge.

"They seem to be here to block you." Yayoi said.

Junpei paused, and the hand holding the plastic bag clenched involuntarily.

It wasn't long before dawn broke through the night, and there were few people passing by this area. It was obvious what they wanted to do. If Yayoi hadn't hung them under the bridge in advance, would he have to go home dirty again today?

Junpei pursed his lips, and the fingers of his clenched hand dug into his skin. The pain like a rat gnawing through an insect lingered in the bottom of his heart and never went away.

How long were these scumbags going to keep pestering him?!

"I'm here to block you too."

A slightly cold voice interrupted his thoughts.

His vision became as clear as washing with water, and the delicate light poured down and splashed on the red hair.

"Me?" Junpei turned his attention away from the three scumbags hanging under the bridge, "What do you want from me?"

Yayoi squatted on the bridge while standing on the railing. She was taller than Junpei even when she was squatting, holding on to the relatively tall structure built by the railings.

Yayoi jumped down from the railing.

"I have something to ask you." As soon as she finished speaking, Yayoi lowered her head and looked at the trio of idiots hanging under the bridge. "These three guys can also be of some help."

"Three of them?" Junpei focused on these three people, his eyes unable to conceal the disgust in his heart.

Yayoi stuffed the phone into his pocket, "For example, use it as a sandbag."

Idiot trio: !!!

Junpei: "..."
Please do this.

Junpei didn't know how Yayoi was able to hang these three people under the bridge. There was no one else around, and the blonde lady who was with her last night was not there either. The lack of help meant that she had to complete the job alone.

After the two people standing on the bridge finished talking to each other, Yayoi finally remembered the three guys she hung under the bridge. Junpei watched helplessly as Yayoi untied the knot tied to the railing. She grabbed the rope with one hand and lifted the three guys up in a clean and neat movement without any trace of mud. The weight of three male high school students was carried in her hands as easily as if she were lifting a little chicken.

In the past, it was these three people who bullied others. They probably never thought that they would be bullied one day. When they were dragged up, their legs were shaking like they were having a Parkinson's attack. Their noses and faces were bruised and swollen, with mucus and tears stuck to them. The three pig-headed faces were hilarious.

Yayoi did not untie the rope that tied them. After putting down the rope in her hand, she slowly squatted down in front of them.

"To be honest, I haven't done this kind of thing for a long time." Yayoi said calmly, "The last time I did this kind of thing was when I was in junior high school."

At the end, she added, "I basically never did it when I was in high school." It's all over after the fight.

Junpei: "..."

For a moment, Junpei felt that there were too many things to talk about.

"Generally speaking, if others don't mess with me, I won't mess with others." Yayoi said, "So—"

"Don't even think about running away. If you dare to run, your legs will be broken." Yayoi raised her eyelids and stared at the three pig-headed faces with fierce glare.

"Uh-huh—"

The three guys nodded vigorously.

Junpei: "..."

After the one-sided intimidation ended, Yayoi untied the knots on the idiot trio, pulled out a card from her pocket and threw it in front of them.

The tallest person in the trio gingerly picked up the card thrown by Yayoi on the ground and found it was a student ID card covered in stains and dirt.

The owner of the student ID card was a girl named Mika Niijima. She had neatly cut short hair in her headshot. She had pretty features, but her demeanor was a bit lacking in energy, and her eyes were tired.

The tall man who got the student ID was stunned for a moment.

"Do you know her?" Yayoi's faint voice came.

Everyone was so frightened that goosebumps appeared on their skin. They shook their heads wildly and told Yayoi decisively, "I don't know her!"

Junpei, who had been standing nearby, realized that this guy was lying, but he was accustomed to keeping silent and clenched the hand holding the plastic bag tightly.

'Would you like to say something?'

'Would you like to say something?'

'Say it, say it, no one will believe you anyway.'

'Go ahead and say it!'

'You go!'

The noisy voice was like a broken old TV, and it was like falling snowflakes. The malicious face was like a Noh mask pinned on the wall, exposed the ugliest face in front of him. He could not refute and it was useless.

Indifferent teachers, indifferent classmates.

Endless shadows rushed towards him, dragging his brain, leaving behind a sludge that made him feel sick and wanted to vomit.

"You'd better be hung."

The sound was like the roaring bells of a temple, echoed in the boundless sky, and his mind was instantly clear.

Junpei saw Yayoi get up and pick up the rope on the ground.

"I said it!" The tall man who used to be arrogant jumped directly at Yayoi's feet, as embarrassed as a maned dog sticking out his tongue and begging for mercy.

Junpei suddenly wanted to laugh.

After getting the information she wanted, Yayoi put the student ID card into her pocket.

Just when the three people thought Yayoi was leaving and wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, Yayoi slowly squatted down in front of them.

The three teenagers huddled together like three frightened chickens. The muscles of the teenagers at this age have gradually begun to fill up, and the physical fitness of the three people had gradually begun to move closer to adults. The three tall and powerful figures were huddled together like weak and boneless women, which looked quite funny.

"You were the ones who locked Yoshino-kun in the warehouse yesterday, right?" Yayoi had a paralyzed face, as if she was going to beat them up the next moment.

"Hey, do little boys of this age like to bully others so much?" Yayoi asked softly.

"W- who are you to Yoshino?!" The tall man's voice was shaking like a sieve.

"What do you think?" Yayoi asked unhurriedly with her face still paralyzed.

The tall man looked at Junpei, who was silent all the time, and then at the redhead next to him. Both of them looked very thin, but the one in front was weak and easy to bully, and the one at the back was a brutal beater, specifically targeting the sore spots.

"Relatives?" the tall man said thoughtfully.

"That's right." Yayoi said calmly, "Children at this age should not learn to fight."

Idiot A: "..."
Idiot B: "..."
Idiot C: "..."

So angry.

"Studying hard is the right way." Yayoi said, "Well, even when I was this age, I had a lot of fights."

Junpei: "..." So, are you from a Yakuza?

"Anyway, you know what to do, right?" Yayoi said, "I am a relatively laid-back person."

Idiot A: "..."
Idiot B: "..."
Idiot C: "..."

The three idiots were nodding like crazy. They didn't know what to say. They just nodded like they were desperate, as if they were going to blow their brains out.

Yayoi didn't make things difficult for these three guys. After asking for the information she wanted, she simply let them leave.

Junpei watched the backs of the three idiots supporting each other leave in the breeze and morning light. He just felt funny, so he couldn't help but laugh. This laughter did not make him happy at all. Something remained silently. In his heart, he was rotting alone.

He tasted bitterness between his lips and teeth.

The water flowing under the bridge rushed toward the horizon, passing away and never returning.

Yayoi leaned on the railing, fumbled twice in her pocket, and took out two orange-flavored candies, "Extend your hand."

Junpei stretched out his hand, and he saw Yayoi put something in his palm. He opened his hand and saw that it was two candies. The exquisitely packaged candy lay quietly in his hand, looking particularly endearing.

Junpei was stunned for a moment, and then he heard Yayoi say, "Children of this age, don't always have a straight face, they will easily get wrinkles."

"It's okay to cry occasionally." Yayoi leaned on the guardrail and looked down at the running water under the bridge.

Junpei pursed his lips, and warm liquid filled his eyes. He suddenly wanted to cry, but he was an extremely stubborn child. He was so stubborn that he was unwilling to bow to his bullies or ask for help from others.

Arrogant without knowing it, he was neither willing to meddle in other people's business nor go with the flow. The arrogance deep in his bones was more obvious than he imagined, although it was not the kind of shining and outstanding person who was suitable for everyone. Different, but being in a crowd was enough for others to exclude and bully him.

After all, human beings have always been a race that liked to exclude dissidents. For things and people they could not understand, at the other end of a distant time, they were tied to a fire and burned to death. Now, it was a society ruled by law, and they could not kill people casually. Otherwise, they would be the ones to be punished, so they changed to another method, using cold violence and unabashed bullying.

So the boy who was different was isolated from the crowd, but he was a child who had little ability to protect himself, and did not know how to resist or fight back, which led to today's situation.

Junpei sniffed and started looking for topics to divert his attention, "Hey, what does Yayoi-san do?"

"A sorcerer, a half-baked one." Yayoi said.

"Half-baked?" Junpei didn't quite understand.

"I was a teacher a month ago." Yayoi said, "Physical education teacher."

Junpei: "...maji?" With your threatening posture just now, I suspected that you were from the Yakuza.

"Really." Yayoi straightened her hair. "When I was a kid, I was often teased because of my red hair. If they pulled my hair, I would beat them."

'Red-haired Yayoi, Yayoi’s red hair is a treasure.'

The woman in her memory had black hair, black eyes, and a curved smile.

"I'm sorry."

"You weren't the one who laughed at my hair. Why are you apologizing?"

"The sorcerer is..."

"A person who specializes in getting rid of cursed spirits. The cursed spirits are the monsters you saw yesterday."

The two people standing on the bridge chatted endlessly. The reeds on both sides of the river bank turned into white waves in the wind. The sky was as clear as water, and two or three white birds flew across it from time to time.

Junpei hadn't chatted like this with others for a long time. After he dropped out of school, his temperament became more gloomy and silent. He almost forgot what it was like to chat with others.

It was surprisingly easy, even breathing felt relaxed.

"Do they often trouble you?" Yayoi asked suddenly.

Junpei didn't think this was a big deal. All you need to know was asking around in school.

The boy hummed, "I've been on leave since my second year of high school."

The boy's lips moved, "Because I've had enough."

"Didn't you tell the teacher?" Yayoi asked again.

Junpei thought of the fat and bloated teacher, and couldn't help but sneered, "Sotomura-sensei won't care."

As soon as he finished speaking, he lowered his head again and buried his head in his elbows folded on the guardrail. The muffled voice reached Yayoi's ears.

"No one will care about me," he told Yayoi, "no one will care about me except my mother."

Yayoi remained silent, listening to the boy's unconscious complaints. The sky echoed with the cries of birds. The summer sky was exceptionally clear, just like the river under the bridge, so clear that you could see the bottom.

She thought again of the midsummer when she was fourteen years old. The boy with small eyes and round head was sitting on a rocking horse, with a warm smile on his face, but inexplicably it overlapped with Junpei in front of her.

'The weak bully and persecute the strong.'

In the melodious and steady violin group, the face of a young man in cassock was blurred by the water vapor.

Yayoi patted Junpei on the shoulder, "Do you want to learn how to fight with me?"

Junpei was stunned for a long time by this nonsensical question.

"I think boys should protect themselves when they go out." Yayoi's expression was serious.

Junpei: "...yes."

Although he didn’t quite understand this sentence, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.

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· Genuine translation can be found only in OchatimesBlogspotCom, FanFictionNet, and Wattpad

• Omake •

#Small theater:
Yayoi: Geto, what happened to you?
Satoru: Suguru! Suguru, it's my fault. As your best friend, I didn't notice...! [painful mask.jpg]
Brother Suguru: Shut up, you two, I'm doing very well!


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