Hiro woke up in the hospital with Satou and Akira's faces suddenly close to his.
"Hey! Back off before I punch you two," Hiro groaned.
"Hiro, are you okay?" Akira asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for helping me back there."
"Don't worry, the girl's safe. Oh yeah, she left her phone number too," Satou said, grinning.
Akira laughed. "Hiro, are you unlucky or lucky? You finally got a girl's number, hahaha!"
"Shut up," Hiro muttered.
"Hey… why did that masked guy attack us anyway?" Hiro asked.
"No idea," Satou replied. "But we need to be careful from now on."
Suddenly, Akira shouted, "OH NO! We forgot about school!"
"Don't worry," Satou smirked. "I already gave a reason for our absence. But Hiro, you might need a few more days to recover."
"Yeah… I guess you're right," Hiro sighed. "I really am a misfortunate kid, huh?"
Three days later, Hiro was finally discharged from the hospital. It was a bright morning. On his way to school, he spotted a girl wearing the same school uniform as him, playing with a kitten.
But he didn't stop. He rushed to school, eager to see his friends again. Before classes began, the teacher entered and announced a new student.
"Alright, everyone, we have a new student joining us today," the teacher said.
The girl stepped forward. "Hello… my name is Hanako Suzuki."
"Welcome, Hanako," the teacher smiled. "You can sit next to Hiro."
As she walked to her seat, Hanako looked at Hiro—and visibly cringed at the sight of his bruised face.
Hiro only smiled, pretending not to care.
After the bell rang for lunch, Hiro, Satou, and Akira headed to the cafeteria.
That's when Hiro bumped into someone he didn't want to see—Shiba.
"Hey, you damn brat. Move before I smash your face in!" Shiba snarled.
Hiro just stared at him, his gaze cold and calm.
"What the hell are you looking at with those filthy eyes, huh?!" Shiba shouted and swung a punch.
But before his fist could land—Hiro moved first.
Like a shadow, Hiro struck with the speed and force of the masked man's technique. His punch connected squarely, sending Shiba flying across the cafeteria. Shiba landed hard and vomited from the impact.
"Don't ever stand in front of me again," Hiro said, his tone ice cold. "Or next time, I'll break your face for real."
Shiba groaned, coughing. "You… you'll regret this… bastard…"