“She’s the one harassing us, dipshit.”
“Wh—but you—!”
As Akane started to splutter, Ai held out a hand in front of her to stop her. The key to de-escalating conflict was to prevent anyone from restarting it. This he had learned through dealing with drunk people at his workplace.
“What’s going on?”
He looked into Akane’s eyes. She started to speak, but closed her mouth and looked away. From this, he determined that the men were telling the truth. Next, he looked over at the group, but none of them made a sound, save for the guy from the smoking area, who let out another loud scoff. Maybe he was their leader, or maybe he just wanted the other guys to deal with it.
“We were just laughing about the cross-dressing freak, that’s all.” Though he didn’t seem to be enjoying this, the man recreated a pointed smile.
“Oh, is that so?”
Now Ai understood what was really going on. When he looked at Akane, she looked to be seething inside, ready to lunge at them all over again. But she probably wasn’t used to getting in fights, because her eyes were damp. Instantly, he knew what had to be done.
“Okay, well, let’s end it here. You guys have fun—the two of us are gonna leave.”
“Hey, hold it! She’s the one who started shit!”
The moment Ai showed signs of retreat, one of the other guys piped up to prolong the problem, as if he’d smelled weakness. Oh brother. Guys like this were everywhere. The second they thought they had the advantage, they started talking big.
“None of us gain anything by dragging this out. We’re all a little unhappy with this, but let’s just suck it up and go home. I mean, aren’t you legal adults now? Don’t get pressed over some high school kid.”
Ai could tell they valued personal benefit over reputation or pride. The reason one of them had dug their heels in was most likely because his instincts told him they stood to lose if they let the situation resolve unfavorably. Maybe they wanted to be plied with a show of remorse from Akane. Either way, Ai didn’t want to deal with that level of aggro.
“Look, if you want me to apologize for butting into your fight, I will. I’m sorry. Let’s see, what else… You smoke the same brand as me, right? I’ve only got two or three left, but you can have ’em.”
He pulled the crumpled pack from his pocket and tossed it at the smoker. Then he steered a half-protesting Akane to the front desk, paid the bill, and dragged her onto the elevator with him.
As expected, the men didn’t try to give chase. Akane’s status as a minor likely kept them at bay more than anything else. And a few seconds later, he happily forgot all about them. Come to think of it, there might’ve only been one left in that pack…
He promptly forgot about that, too. There were more pressing matters.
“I’m in the mood for coffee. Wanna swing by someplace?”
He waited for her passive nod, then brought her to a cafe he knew.
Inside, they were directed to the second floor. Ai ordered coffee, and Akane pointed to black tea on the menu. The two drinks were swiftly brought to their table.
“I hear the pumpkin flan is really good here, but they have a sign up that says they’re sold out today.”
“I beat them, you know,” Akane said, ignoring Ai’s remark and breaking the silence she had maintained until her Earl Grey arrived.
“What?”
“The guys earlier.”
“Oh yeah. Almost forgot about them.” Perhaps she considered her actions a considerate gesture toward him. “Look, there’s no winning or losing when it comes to that stuff. Maybe it feels like winning when you make the other person mad, but it’s just a waste of energy.”
“That’s not what I wanted. I wanted them to take it back.”
“What, the shit they said about me? It doesn’t bother me, Itobayashi Akane. Just forget about them.”
“They crossed a line!” she shouted, then heard her own volume and quickly corrected herself. “Sorry. But I really can’t tolerate it.”
Her eyes were building moisture again, as if the fever from earlier had rolled back in. But Ai wasn’t annoyed by leaky tear ducts. On the contrary, if she was this upset, then perhaps he was wrong to have dismissed it out of hand. “Fine, maybe you were winning the argument.” He never told lies—he simply estimated the strength of her emotions and gave her his thoughts in turn.
“See, you get it!”
“But there was a chance it would’ve turned into a nightmare. Say I ended up duking it out with all four of them right there, or out on the street—well, okay, I’d fare better than you’d think, that’s for sure. But beating their asses wouldn’t change anything, and besides, I’m not gonna put a teenager in danger. That’s why I needed to end it ASAP.”
“So a teenager isn’t allowed to get angry if someone crosses a line because it’s too dangerous?” she hissed, turning the blade of her glare on him next.
“No, it’s—”
“If you’re under eighteen, it’s not safe for you, so when someone makes fun of your friend, you should just stand there like a braindead moron?”
“That’s not what I’m saying!”
A hint of emotion welled up inside him. To convert it into words, Ai took a sip of coffee, swallowed, and processed his thoughts. But Akane wasn’t willing to wait.
“Just because I’m not physically strong, I should just let bad things happen?”
“Look—”
It was so unnecessary. From an objective viewpoint, her stance was nothing more than extra trouble for him.
As someone who loved to wear makeup and clothes designed for the opposite sex, he had endured more attention than she could possibly imagine. Strangers volunteered their unsolicited opinions on a near-daily basis. But at some point, he had switched to thinking these idiots weren’t worth his time, and though it still managed to provoke an ounce of irritation, he had learned better ways to vent. He didn’t need the righteous indignation of a teenage girl he barely knew, and no one stood to gain anything from her throwing it around.
However…
“That’s not what I’m getting at.”
Ai was not made of stone, particularly when faced with a heart laid bare right in front of him. No matter how objectively unnecessary it was, no matter how little it ultimately achieved, he would always see value in the courage to protect a friend. It wasn’t something logic could surpass.
“You’re allowed to be angry, Itobayashi Akane. But if you act on that anger, and something bad happens to you, your friends and family will be devastated, and so will I.”
He relayed to her the same message he had once received from his loved ones when something had made him angry. Then he added in his own feelings.