Chapter 163: Watch the Road (Long Chapter)
His movements flowed like water, carrying an inexplicable beauty within them. With just a single kick and a palm strike, both muggers were sent sprawling onto the ground.
Shizuka stood dazed for a moment before finally rushing over. She looked anxiously at Akishin's hands, then patted him down to check for injuries. Only after confirming there wasn't a single scratch on him did she finally let out a sigh of relief.
Akishin reached out to ruffle Shizuka's beautiful hair and offered a gentle smile. "You don't need to worry. If people like that could actually hurt me, I might as well throw away my Kendo championship title."
Her hair was soft, feeling like a stream of water sliding between his fingers.
"Don't touch my hair, I'm not a child."
Shizuka brushed his hand away, her face flushing slightly. She puffed out her cheeks as she glared at Akishin—she looked incredibly cute. When she touched Hotaru's hair, it felt perfectly natural, but when Akishin touched hers, it felt... strange.
Hmph! I'm clearly older than you! You should be calling me Big Sister; you should be letting this Big Sister dote on you properly!
Shizuka flashed a mischievous grin and reached out, intending to ruffle Akishin's hair in return. However...
She was nearly ten centimeters shorter than him. She had to stand on her tiptoes just to reach his head naturally; otherwise, it would just look like she was grabbing at his hair.
And so, a scene unfolded beneath the light of a thousand stars: a beautiful woman in a kimono, swaying unsteadily on the unfamiliar geta sandals she wasn't used to wearing, reaching up to touch the man's hair to show her "big sister" affection.
The man wore a helpless smile filled with tenderness, carefully standing guard to make sure she didn't fall. Finally, he gave in and lowered his head, allowing the woman to satisfy her curiosity.
The only thing slightly out of place was the two men lying on the ground, their status between life and death unknown.
This was the sight that greeted the woman who came running from around the corner, clutching her high heels. She froze instantly on the spot.
"Alright, that's enough. Someone's here. If you want to keep going, we can do it at home; you can touch it as long as you want there." Akishin leaned down to pick up the woman's bag from the ground, waving a hand toward the lady at the corner.
"Hehe, let's see if you still dare to touch my head after this!"
Shizuka withdrew her hand with a satisfied look; Akishin's hair felt quite nice to the touch, too. Catching sight of the woman in the distance, two spots of crimson appeared on her cheeks. She gripped her small fabric pouch with both hands and stood there quietly.
"Thank... thank you so much! I'm truly... incredibly grateful! There were... important documents in there, I couldn't afford to lose them, huff..."
The woman ran closer, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she poured out her gratitude. But once she saw Shizuka's face, she cried out in surprise. "Shizuka!?"
"Cousin!?"
Shizuka was equally shocked. She hadn't expected it to be someone she knew. "What are you doing here?"
Akishin looked at Shizuka, then at the woman in front of them, raising an eyebrow slightly.
She wore a proper black women's business suit, though it had become somewhat wrinkled from the running. Her wavy hair was tied back in a ponytail, her lips were a bright red, and her makeup was a bit heavy.
She was the picture of a typical Japanese career woman, and likely held a high position given that her suit was clearly custom-made.
A relative of the Hiratsuka family?
She didn't look like Shizuka at all!
"It really is you! Are you just getting back from the fireworks? And the one next to you is..."
The woman stared at Shizuka for a few seconds before looking confusedly at Akishin.
Shizuka introduced him. "Cousin, this is my boyfriend, Chishima Akishin." She then turned to Akishin and said, "Akishin, this is my cousin, Hiratsuka Misaki—ah, no, I should call her Nito Misaki now."
She had changed her name and was wearing a ring; she was married.
Akishin nodded, giving a polite greeting. "Hello, I am Chishima Akishin."
Nito Misaki immediately returned the gesture with a respectful tone. She looked deeply at Akishin before turning back to Shizuka, speaking with a hint of relief. "Uncle mentioned before that you'd found a boyfriend. We were a little worried, but it seems you two have really committed to the relationship. Congratulations, Shizuka..."
She had noticed the silver ring on Shizuka's hand.
Turning back to Akishin, she spoke earnestly. "I am Shizuka's older cousin. Is it alright if I just call you Chishima-kun? You're the Chishima-sensei, the Kendo champion everyone in Chiba has been talking about lately, aren't you? I've heard of your reputation for a long time."
"You flatter me. It's just an empty title."
Akishin smiled helplessly and nodded.
It was certainly a prestigious identity, but whenever someone else brought it up, it always felt a bit odd and very unfamiliar.
He handed the bag in his hand over and said, "Oh right, here. This belongs to you, doesn't it?"
"Right, my documents!"
Nito Misaki seemed to just remember the most important thing. She took the bag tensely and opened it. After seeing that the several A4 sheets inside were intact and undamaged, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking back at the two muggers coughing up blood on the ground, a look of fear flashed across her face. She said gratefully to Shizuka, "Shizuka, thank you. I've already called the police. They should be here soon..."
Knowing Shizuka's strength, she subconsciously assumed the two muggers had been defeated by her.
Shizuka shook her head slightly, smiling as she spoke. "Cousin, this wasn't my doing. Akishin did this. You should be thanking him."
Nito Misaki stared at Akishin in surprise, dazed for a moment before reacting. "Right, right! I almost forgot about your identity, even though I just mentioned it. But perhaps that's exactly why you were able to win Shizuka over..."
After that, Akishin dragged the two muggers to the side of the road. After confirming they weren't in immediate mortal danger, he dialed 119—the number for both fire and medical emergencies in Japan—though he had to clarify first that there wasn't an actual fire.
Shizuka asked Misaki why she was out so late. Wearing work clothes, she couldn't have been out for the fireworks.
At that, Nito Misaki began to vent her frustrations sadly. She talked about a big event her company was preparing today that she had to lead, meaning she didn't even get to see the fireworks. She mentioned a subordinate who had made a huge mistake that she had to clean up...
She tried to hold back because Akishin was there, but the more she talked, the sadder she became. Combined with the lingering shock of the robbery, she finally hugged Shizuka and began to cry softly.
Shizuka comforted her patiently.
Akishin could see it now; Nito Misaki had a very straightforward personality, far removed from the poised impression she gave at first.
Perhaps it was only because Shizuka was her younger cousin.
Nito Misaki explained that she had come to deliver important documents to Yuren. Because the road ahead was under construction, the taxi couldn't pass through.
She thought the distance wasn't that far and she knew these streets well, so she figured she would just walk instead of making the taxi take a long detour. But as soon as she got out of the car, she was robbed. It was the first time in nearly thirty years she'd experienced something like that, and she was truly terrified...
The three of them waited quietly for the ambulance and the police under the streetlights of the night sky.
Ten minutes later, before the police or ambulance arrived, Nito Misaki's husband showed up instead.
A man with a rather handsome face, around thirty years old, he was the owner of a small company. Upon hearing his wife's call, he had rushed over immediately.
Akishin and the man exchanged brief bows to introduce themselves.
Seeing her husband arrive, Nito Misaki let go of Shizuka and threw herself into his arms, sobbing loudly for several minutes before finally stopping.
During that time, the man comforted her with great affection. His gaze toward the two muggers was fierce; if they hadn't been unconscious, he likely would have gone over to kick them.
Five minutes later, the ambulance arrived with its lights flashing—they had been stuck in traffic because of the fireworks festival.
The ambulance doors opened, and a doctor and three nurses jumped out. Akishin quickly explained the timeline of events. Once the doctor understood, he had the nurses move the two men into the ambulance first to check them with their equipment.
The first mugger had a small area of stomach bleeding; the injury wasn't too severe and wasn't life-threatening. The second had lost teeth and had minor bone fractures; if not treated properly, there was a high chance of facial disfigurement...
Once the doctor determined that no immediate crisis was likely, he waited on the spot. For criminals like this, unless it was an absolute emergency, it was better to wait for the police to arrive before making further decisions.
There was a surveillance camera at the corner not far away, so there was no fear of the muggers making excuses—besides, Akishin had the Hiratsuka family backing him up.
After the doctor finished his examination and started an IV drip, he stepped out and asked, "I have to ask, how did they end up like this? Aside from the most severe injuries, no other wounds were found on the rest of their bodies..."
In his experience, this should have been the result of a brawl, yet each victim had only a single point of injury. It was highly unusual, especially since the four people in front of him didn't look like they had been in a fight at all.
Except for one woman who looked like she'd been crying.
He felt quite curious.
Akishin said, "My apologies. I was the one who hit them..." He described how he had struck the muggers, adding at the end, "Ah, right. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Chishima Akishin."
Those last words were entirely for the sake of avoiding unnecessary trouble.
"Chishima Akishin?" The doctor was confused for a moment; the name sounded familiar, as if he'd heard it somewhere. Looking back at Akishin's face, he remembered.
"You're Chishima-sensei!?"
"That's me."
Upon learning Akishin's identity, the doctor felt that the condition of the two muggers was perfectly reasonable. Chishima-sensei was the strongest in Chiba; delivering strikes like that was only natural!
Chishima-sensei was supposed to be that strong!
Right then and there, he took a photo with Akishin and asked for an autograph, though unfortunately, Akishin didn't agree to the latter. After finding out who he was, the three female nurses also came out to take a group photo.
Shizuka was quite annoyed, immediately pulling Akishin away and shielding him behind her back...
Ten minutes later, the police finally arrived.
Just as Akishin thought, the police were also out maintaining order; their manpower was stretched thin, and the roads coming here were also congested.
"Officer Sato, hello."
Akishin spotted an acquaintance among the police officers.
It was the first policeman he had seen when he first arrived in this time, Sato Kamikawa—an officer around forty years old with a face that looked weary from the experiences of life.
However, the other man didn't seem to remember him.
"And you are?"
"I am Chishima Akishin. Four months ago, Officer Sato, you recorded my information at the hospital. Don't you remember?"
"Oh, I remember! It's you! Oh, right, you said you're Chishima Akishin, the Chiba Kendo champion who defeated Officer Suzuki!"
"You could say that..."
"I didn't expect it, I really didn't! When I first heard you'd won the championship, I still couldn't believe it! Haha, if you hadn't been drinking back then, you probably wouldn't have been robbed... And these two were knocked out by you?"
"That's right. They robbed Mrs. Nito's bag. The surveillance camera over there should have recorded the whole process."
"I understand. I know these two; they're repeat offenders. This isn't the first time they've done something like this."
Akishin chatted with Sato Kamikawa in a very harmonious atmosphere. Behind him, Shizuka opened her small mouth slightly but didn't make a sound. She remembered that the form provided by the hospital back then clearly showed that Akishin hadn't been drinking at all...
She'd had her doubts back then, but now she chose to believe him.
Akishin suddenly felt his hand being grasped. He turned to look at Shizuka and asked with a smile, "What is it?"
Shizuka shook her head and leaned in closer, fully interlacing her arm with his.
Sato Kamikawa saw this scene, smiled as he nodded, and walked away to organize three officers to accompany the suspects to the hospital...
...
Half an hour later.
"Chishima-kun, if you have time, stop by for some tea."
"Of course. Thank you for your hard work today, Officer Sato. It's a shame to have to bother you during a festival like this."
"As a policeman, it's only my duty. If anything, Chishima-kun, you were the one who helped us immensely..."
The four of them walked out of the police station, waving goodbye to Sato Kamikawa and the others behind them. In addition, Akishin had left behind more than ten photos and dozens of autographs at the station.
"We're finally heading home. I didn't think something like this would happen. Father and the others should be almost home by now."
Sitting in the back seat of the luxury car, Shizuka stretched her body and leaned comfortably against Akishin's shoulder, closing her eyes slightly, filled with a sense of peace.
"Shizuka, I'm really grateful to you guys today." Nito Misaki, in the front passenger seat, thanked them once again.
"Cousin~ you've said that so many times already. Just be more careful next time, or maybe learn some self-defense like me."
Before Nito Misaki could speak, her husband who was driving, Nito Ichiro, immediately cut in. "That won't be necessary, Shizuka. An incident like this didn't just scare Misaki, it scared me too. I've decided that from now on, I'll be picking Misaki up from work every single day..."
"Dear, you're so kind, but... what about the company?"
Nito Misaki didn't work at her husband's company; she wanted to build her own career. And through her own ability, she had indeed reached a fairly high position at her current workplace; it wasn't an exaggeration to call her a strong career woman.
Of course, the influence of the Hiratsuka family played a part, but honestly not that much.
Nito Ichiro spoke with firm resolve. "Well, the company is on the right track now; things can be a bit more relaxed. You are still the most important thing."
Nito Ichiro also knew of Shizuka's strength; he'd even seen videos of Shizuka's martial arts matches. He didn't dare let his wife learn self-defense, otherwise, their future life...
Nito Misaki said happily, "Dear, you really are the best."
Nito Ichiro nodded, looking at the scenery outside the car. Whatever he was thinking about, he sighed and said, "Misaki, actually... I want you to resign from your job. We've been married for five years now, we don't lack money, and I... I actually want to have a child."
Nito Ichiro's words were a bit forced. He understood his wife's ambitions and supported them, but they were both already thirty years old.
"..."
Nito Misaki fell silent. She turned to look at Shizuka and asked, "Shizuka, when do you two plan on having children?"
Shizuka and Akishin looked at each other. Shizuka's face turned red enough to be seen by the naked eye, though it wasn't quite as obvious in the darkness.
"That... we aren't even married yet, why are we talking about children... of course we haven't thought about that yet, really haven't..."
Actually, she had thought about it, but she couldn't say that out loud. It would be far too embarrassing.
"True, you should at least get married first before talking about it."
Nito Misaki nodded and leaned back in her seat. She glanced at her husband, who was stealing glances at her, ruffled her hair, and then gently touched her stomach. She looked at her husband again, then out the window at the night sky, filled with a thousand stars...
A few moments later, Nito Misaki let out a long sigh. For what felt like the hundredth time, she saw how anxious her husband Nito Ichiro was, and this time, she gave a definitive answer. "This time, I'll listen to you."
"Really!?"
"Yes. I've been wanting to have a child too."
"Hey, hey, Brother-in-law! Watch the road, watch the road! We're about to drive right into the ditch..."
...
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