Nezumi only had eyes for Saburou now. The few grunts that managed to get passed her friends while Saburou was getting back to his feet were nothing but an annoying obstacle on her path which she had to dispose of by simply overpowering them. Nothing was going to stop her now. She had nothing left to loose, so why not give it everything she had. She had seen, heard, and suffered enough. Someone had to end this and make Saburou feel the wrath of those who he had watched as they suffered themselves.

“So this is the true Nezumi,” Saburou managed to chuckle. “It’s about time…”

“I promised Mizumi to live seriously…” she replied emotionless. “So it’s time to get serious.”

“Fufufu… Maji no imi wo oshiete yaru yo!” All the amusement that had once tickled his voice as he spoke had now disappeared and was replaced by a lower, more serious tone. He had his fun playing with Nezumi but this was going beyond just teasing and torture. It really was getting serious and the fact that she already managed to break his guard, based on luck or skill, was proof enough that he had to focus this time. He was not going to let someone like her defeat him.

Nezumi ran past the few of grunts who thought they were able to stop the girl, she wasn’t going to fight anyone but Saburou. If the others wanted to meddle in her affairs that much than they can just settle with the small fish while she went after her own prey.

Saburou flung his arms forwards in an attempt to grab her shoulders but instead she duck underneath his arms and ed her fist into her gut, following it with a knee that forced the same amount of air out of his lungs. Her left arm swung around, impacting with his right temple, pushing him aside as she followed him and took another shot with her knee to his gut. As he bend forwards, she moved around him, slamming her elbow against his lower back that caused him to let out a slight groan as he stumbled forwards. He turned around, his eyes filled with anger as he launched himself forwards again.
Nezumi merely smirked as she held up her arms and blocked his punches. She had him right where she wanted. It was her turn to play. Earlier Saburou managed to lure Nezumi into the first attacks and taking her off guard, but she had turned the whole game around. She knew that Saburou grew more and more unstable and furious with every blow she managed to give him, which lead him to act directly and without thinking.

“Tsk,” it was her turn to scoff as she dodged his second attempt to grabbing her shoulders and instead turned around and swung her leg up into the air, hitting the side of his arm, sending him into the pile of boxes onto which he had to hold himself to keep his balance.

Wataru had watched Nezumi turn from the girl he had started to get to know to someone completely different. The girl he had watched fight with as much fun as he had, who made fun of him and his friends and the girl who had actually shown him a vulnerable side had suddenly turned in someone cold and wicked. She had turned into the kind of person Nezumi had warned them about when she spoke of Saburou.
But no matter the reason, he had brought himself into the chaos as he had promised Nezumi. She might have wanted to finish this on her own but even she knew that it was impossible. And Wataru promised himself that he would try his best to assist her the best that he could, not just for her but for herself. Because if she were to defeat Saburou, even though he couldn’t be trusted, he was sure to leave them alone because he knew he was no match for them.
He noticed the group launch themselves forwards and did the same. It’s been a while since he had last been in a fight with such a large group but he surely hadn’t forgotten how to fight.

Michiyo never was a girl of actions like these. She’d rather reason than deal physical damage, but she had no other choice. After all, Nezumi wasn’t the only one who was fighting for the honor of Mizumi. Although the two of them never completely related on the whole Yankee side, she had been taught how to handle herself in battle and had managed to form her own technique in order to do so.

She had never seen Nezumi this fired up before, something didn’t quite seem to be in place with her behavior. Her voice earlier was so cold that it was almost as if she had transformed into a monster.
She kicked her knee up and as the guy in front of her bended forwards, she placed one hand on his shoulder, kicking her leg up in the air, making contact with the chest of one of the guys who tried to sneak up on her. She finished it with a roundhouse kick to get him out of the way.

“Michiyo-chan! Sugoi~!” she looked up and noticed Ryosuke with an enthusiastic grin on his face. She gave a grinning nod but felt a sting to her back and a force that pushed her on her knees that quickly got rid of the grin.

“Oi! Teme~!” Ryosuke growled as he launched forwards, jumping over Michiyo with his leg raised in front of him and kicked the yankee that had managed to hit her. She blinked a second before another grin appeared on her face as she got back up on her feet and proceeded to deal with the others.

The fighting was interrupted by the loud sound of crates breaking and things collapsing. Everyone turned to the side where a huge pile of crates had tumbled down, Nezumi standing in front of the pile with her arms by her side, but Saburou was nowhere to be found.

“...Ne~ Saburou…” she tilted her head, her voice still sounding rather emotionless and cold as she stood there. “It’s no time to play hide-and-seek…”

There was no answer and slowly the buzzing began amongst the group. Was it true? Did Nezumi manage to put an end to their leader? Did she actually manage to defeat him. The crates were made of heavy wood and inside were iron things used for construction, there was no way Saburou was able to come out alive if it all fell on top of him.

“Uso…” Mizusawa said softly as they all stared at the broken pile. “Nezumi no ka…?”

Nezumi turned around, a smirk appeared on her face as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at the group, “Saa…” she chuckled for a moment. “Who is next?”

The group stared at her, some of them with widened eyes filled with fear, others with disbelief that someone as Saburou was actually defeated by someone like her. Someone some of them knew as being just a young little brat within their gang.

“No one? Well then…” she sighed as she tilted her head, a rather bored look replacing the smirk she had a moment ago that immediately switched over into a more serious, menacing look, “KIERU!!”

As if hunted by the police, they immediately dropped anything and everything and made a run for the exit on the other side of the building, only Wataru and his friends remained.

“Yatta! Nezumi yatta ne!!” Nippori immediately jumped with a wide goofy grin on his face.

Nezumi loosened her neck for a moment, “Such a shame… I was just warming up…” she stopped with her head tilted as she glanced back to the group, her eyes now locked on Wataru as she slowly straightened her head and pointed forwards, “Now it’s your turn… Azuma Wataru…”

Wataru had been staring at her with a serious look on his face for a while now, but that look had been replaced by a widened gaze of surprise. A smirk had painted her face as she spoke those words but soon after she had frozen in her place, the smirk disappearing as she slowly lowered her head. Her plan had been interrupted by the sudden surge of pain that filled her entire body and as she looked down she noticed that drops of blood were slowly dripping down to the ground. From behind she heard the soft but satisfied chuckle of the one who had sneaked up on her.

“You made the same mistake that Mizumi made…” he added to the sound of his laughter as he slowly retracted his arm and the sharp object he had been holding; a small pocket knife. “Never turn your back on the enemy until you’ve burned the body yourself…”

Nezumi rubbed her hand over the spot and raised it up, staring at her crimson colored hand before another chuckle escaped from her, “Hikyou…” she whispered.

“Nani?”

“HIKYOU!!” she cried out as she turned around and launched herself towards him, pushing him against another stack of crates that started to shake. She flung her right fist forwards, hitting his jaw, repeating it again as he lost his balance and stumbled to the side, dropping the pocket knife. Nezumi reached over to the pile of broken crates and pulled out an iron pipe, swinging it against the ground.

“Nezumi, stop it!” Michiyo tried but she merely ignored it. She was not going to make the same mistake twice. If she were to leave him be, he would surely managed to find a way to pass the final blow to any of them. She didn’t want to risk it. This cowardice had already cost one innocent life, she was not going to allow another one to suffer.

She kicked forwards, pushing Saburou to the ground as he was completely taken off guard. He searched for the pocket knife on the ground but she beat him to it and kicked it out of the way. She continued by kicking him to the side, sending him rolling for a moment before stopping on his back. She approached him, the iron pipe leaning on her shoulder as she tilted her head. Saburou looked at her and realized that he had finally met his match. He had heard Mizumi’s stories but never did he expect to be so underpowered as he was. His last attempt was – like in his fight with Nezumi – last resort. It worked out for him with Mizumi, but Nezumi was different.

“You can’t kill me,” he began, a grin appearing on his face. It might have been desperation talking, but he was out of options. “You’re not capable. That’s not how Mizumi raised you, is it? You know she’ll be disappointed in you… If you’d kill.”

“Urusai yo, baka!” she stomped her foot onto his chest and he let out a cry of pain.

“You are so unlike her though… Ironic,” he scoffed. “This how the fight between Mizumi and me ended. I laughed at that, she was weak, so powerless, so incapable of believing that I was actually going to kill her. She begged me, she cried, she showed weakness and cowardice. She was pathetic. That is why I finished it. Someone like that doesn’t deserve to live,” he continued as he stared up into her eyes. Eyes that had completely turned into stranger’s eyes. Filled with hatred and anger. “You fought on, no matter how damaged… She was such a disgrace, calling herself a Yankee. ”

“URUSAI YO!” she screamed, launching the pipe off of her shoulder and swinging it past his head. The sound of the iron colliding with his skull echoed through the empty building as the lights in his eyes faded. But she didn’t stop swinging the pipe. She couldn’t stop. Tears had started running down after hearing him speak the way he did. She couldn’t fight back the tears nor the anger. He had to suffer for every deed he had done. For every word he had spoken. For every person he had endangered and hurt. He had to suffer.

“Nezumi! Yamero!” Wataru yelled and ran towards her, grabbing hold of her arms as he pulled her away from Saburou.

“Hanae!”She struggled against his grip but somehow he managed to overpower her. She dropped the pipe and tripped over her own feet, the two of them falling backwards into a sitting position on the ground.

“Did she…” Yuuta asked doubtfully.

Nezumi pulled her arms out of his grip and crawled towards Saburou’s body that lay motionless in front of her. She had her guard up, this could be just one of his tricks again. She leaned over him and slowly poked his chest. No reaction.

“Ne~…” she poked him again. “Saburou… iie…” a smirk appeared on her face. “I did it…” she said softly and proudly. “I killed Saburou…” she grinned. “I killed him… I killed him… I…” as the words sank in, the grin disappeared. She had actually done it. She had let her anger get the better of her, something Mizumi taught her never to let happen, and she had actually killed Saburou. She killed a person. “…iya…” She did the one thing Mizumi would never had allowed.

“Nezumi, daijobu?” Michiyo said as she approached the girl.

“Iya!” she yelled, “Stay there…” she looked back at Saburou. “Gomenasai…” she whispered and closed her eyes. “Gomenasai!” she jumped up and ran towards the other exit from which the gang had escaped earlier. She ran as fast as she could, as fast as her legs could carry her and the pain allowed her to. She was well aware that she still carried an open wound, but she didn’t care. She did the one thing she had hoped she would never do. She had disappointed Mizumi. She had fought with anger, she took someone’s life. Even though he had done the same, she knew that this was wrong. She was a murderer.

“Oi! Nezumi!” Wataru yelled as he watched the girl spurt off. “Chotto matta! NEZUMI!” he got up from the floor and followed her.

“Aniki!” Nippori was about to follow when Michiyo stopped him. He gave her a rather disagreeing look but Michiyo shook her head.

“I think it’s best if we leave that up to Wataru…” she then looked around, “And I think it’s best that we go home. If someone had heard the ruckus or the police checks up, we’ll all be in a lot of trouble… especially with…” she turned to Saburou and shook her head once more. To be honest, she had the urge to follow after Nezumi as well, she was concerned about the whole situation. She had never expected things to get so out of hand as they had gotten, but she knew that if anyone could manage to stop Nezumi now, it’d probably be Wataru.

“So desu ne… ” Ryosuke nodded faintly.

“Nezumi!” he yelled as he looked around. He had running after her for a while now and she had disappeared on him. It was slowly getting darker and darker outside, the wind was starting to rise up and the temperature was slowly lowering. He starting get more and more concerned. He had seen a completely different side of Nezumi today, one filled with so much pain and so much hatred that lead her to doing something she would normally never be capable of. Not to mention the fact that she was even more hurt physically than she was in any other fights, she needed medical attention and fast. “Nezumi!”

He had managed to find his way back to the outskirts of town, passing the graveyard and the temple as he headed back to town. None of the others had seen or heard of Nezumi since she disappeared so she still had to be around.

He stopped in front of the gates of the old temple in the middle of the graveyard. There she was, standing in front of the temple, her head bowed down, hoodie pulled over her head once again and her hands together in front of her face. Was she praying? Asking for forgiveness? Either way, he had found her.

“Nezumi…” he said which startled her. She turned around and as soon as she saw him she desperately tried to get away again, only to trip over her own feet and landing on the patches of grass that grew in between the paths.

“Leave me alone, Wataru…” she growled as she tried to get up, her hand clutching her side once again. At least she started to sound like her normal self again.

“Daijobu desu ka?” he frowned as he tried to help her back to her feet but she reluctantly pulled out of his grasp and stumbled up in her own way.

“I am fine!” she said through gritted teeth. “Go away.”

“Oi! Nezumi! Stop being so stubborn,” he scoffed at her.

She sighed, “Mou, ii yo,” she said as she looked up at him for a second, “Then I’ll leave,” she brushed past him as she made her way towards the gates but Wataru grabbed her wrist and stopped her in her tracks.

“You need to get medical attention,” he frowned once again, knowing very well that although she knew this, she was still reluctant to seek any help. As usual. “”

“I’m fine,” she scoffed reluctantly, “And none of your concern anyway.”

“Stop that!” he raised his voice and tightened the grip around her arm. She felt the bruises underneath his hand sting as he did so. “If you weren’t my concern we wouldn’t have come to fight alongside of you, would we?”

“After I specifically told you not to!” she replied with her own raised voice.

“You should be thankful we did! If we didn’t you would’ve been dead!”

“And because you did I killed Saburou!” she replied, tears stinging in her eyes. Those very words were still too hard to utter but she did so. “I turned into a monster. I killed a human being! I disappointed Mizumi!”

“You didn’t do it on purpose,” he shook his head. “You are not like that, it’s what Saburou made you become!”

“How would you know? You don’t even know me? Who’s to say I’m not that kind of person? I might be as bad and cruel as Saburou. I might be even worse!”

“Because if you were you would’ve killed all of us by now I’m guessing,” he chuckled slightly, “You might be short-tempered but you are definitely not a cruel person.”

She sighed, “I didn’t want to kill him… But the way he spoke about Mizumi… I just couldn’t…” she slowly looked down to her hands. The stains of blood had faded but not disappeared. It was her blood mixed with the stains of Saburou’s blood. The very sight made her tremble. She had let herself go too much, she lost control. She completely forgot everything Mizumi taught her. “I killed him… I let her down…” her voice trembled as well.

He watched her, desperately trying to fight back the tears. The fact that she showed so much remorse proved she really wasn’t as wicked as Saburou. Saburou showed pride in his deeds, took his kills as trophies.
Wataru reached out and placed his hand on the small of her back and pulled her against his chest. She was trembling and even though she was wearing a rather warm hoodie she felt cold. Slowly he felt her relax in his embrace followed by soft sobs.

“Gomen ne, Wataru…”

“Daijobu…” he told her as he rubbed her back for comfort, “But we should get you to the hospital…”

“Iya!” she pulled back from his embrace and looked at him, “Please don’t make me go back to that horrible hospital! They’ll probably chain me to the bed this time…”

A smile appeared on his face as he noticed the hints of sudden cheerfulness within her eyes.

“Can you blame them?” he chuckled. “It’s the only way to get you to sit still.”

“Oi!” she pouted.

“But your wounds…”

She shrugged, “I’ve recovered from more serious wounds… I don’t need a hospital.”

He scoffed, “Don’t be so stubborn, Nezumi!”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” she crossed her arms.

“Fine,” he sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, “But you are coming with me…”

“Eh?”

“You need to be patched up, at least a little, ne?”

She sighed but nodded reluctantly. He was right after all, she did need medical attention and if she refused to go back to the hospital the least she could do if let some of the wounds get patched up before they get infected.

“There is just one thing I have to do first…” she then decided and looked back up at him.

They returned to the building where the battle had taken place. It was empty but the damage that had been done to the crates was more than clear. Stains of blood had splattered over the floor as a reminder of what took place.

“Ne~” she began hesitantly as she headed further into the building, “Did you guys hide Saburou’s body?” she looked around. Except for the crates and the objects that were supposed to be stored inside here, there was nothing else. Saburou’s body was nowhere to be found.

“No…” he frowned.

“B-but… Where is Saburou?” she widened her eyes and turned around to Wataru. “Impossible! He couldn’t still be alive… He was dead! I’m sure he was! He couldn’t have…”

“Calm down,” Wataru said as he patted her shoulder, “His grunts probably took his body for the final burial…” he pointed towards the ground where trail of blood led towards the other entrance. It looked like someone had been dragging something bloody and he could only assume that it was one of his gang who took their leader back.

“So desu ne…” she slowly nodded and sighed. She felt relieved. It might have been better if he hadn’t died, but if he hadn’t then he would surely return to seek revenge. And knowing Saburou he was going to come back stronger than before. She wasn’t planning on letting herself go again, who knows what damage she could cause if it happened again.

“Sa… Ikou?” Wataru nodded.

“So… Are you going to report me to the police?” she asked hesitantly as Wataru moved over from the counter with a first aid kit. He placed it in front of them on the table and sat down beside her. They hadn’t spoken since they left.

“Tabun…” he smirked as he opened the first aid kit and pulled out some things. He was all too familiar with using these things for wounds. He had often come back hurt himself and either his mother wasn’t at home, was sleeping or just decided he could take care of himself since it was his own fault. His mother wasn’t home yet, she was visiting relatives outside of town and he had planned on inviting the gang over for some kind of sleep over to work on their next choreography.

“I wouldn’t blame you… I-ittaii!” she growled through gritted teeth as Wataru pressed a piece of cloth against the scratch on her cheek.

“Stop whining,” he scoffed. “I thought you were a Yankee, not a little child…”

“I’m enough of a Yankee to kick your ,” she tilted her head but let out another groan as he pressed the cloth against the scratch again, this time just a little rougher.

“Is that a challenge?”

“Hai,” she grinned.

“Challenge accepted,” he nodded confidently. “So, what’s your next plan?”

She raised an eyebrow, “Eh?”

“Well, you came here to avenge Mizumi, deshou?” He wondered and she nodded. “So, you did. Now what is the great Nezumi going to do?”

She thought for a moment. She hadn’t even considered what she was going to do after she completed her mission. Mostly because she had expected not to come out of the fight with Saburou alive. But when she first came here, her main objective was to get revenge for her friend and leader after which she was just going back and continue with her live at home. So, is that what she was planning on doing, maybe that’s what she’s got to do right now.

“I’m going back…” she shrugged.

“Ah?”

“I only came here for revenge. I got it. So I should go home…” she said thoughtfully. “I’ve caused too much trouble being here, it’s only fair.”

“You don’t have to, you’ve enrolled into Karasumori anyway… And we’re getting used to your meddling… ” he tried but she didn’t seem to snap out of her thoughts.

“Wakaranai… ” she sighed.

“Then… What are you going to do when you get back?” he wondered. As much as he heard, she wasn’t exactly the type to go to school, nor was her old school one to actually care if students attended or not.

“I might get crowned leader of the gang,” she tried with a faint smile. “And I still need to get my payback on Yuko for trying to kill me…”

“Maji de…” he scoffed and she looked up with some surprise. “You’re going back only to fight again?”

“Well, I am a Yankee after all, it’s part of my…-“ she got cut off as Wataru stood up.

“Stop talking about your Yankee soul! It’s not real! It’s just what you yell to reason for wanting to fight!” he snapped at her. She had survived a possible death by the hands of someone wicked. She had acted the deed herself, showed remorse yet was still focused on continue fighting.

“I don’t care if you believe in Yankee soul or not, but I do. I believe in the passion that lies within someone to become the best that they can be, to fight all obstacles to get to where they want to be, to be victorious!” she replied, kicking back the chair as she got up herself. She didn’t want to fight for the fun of it, maybe she used to but she had learned her lesson. She wanted to fight in order to become a stronger person, in order to be able to handle any situation. It wasn’t just all about fighting for her. It was about becoming stronger. “And you can’t tell me that is wrong.”

“Fine,” he scoffed. “Do whatever you want. If you’re okay with putting friends through all of this, just to leave and start it all over again then, have fun with your Yankee soul.”

“… Baka …” she scoffed, kicked aside another chair and headed for the exit.

The next day Wataru arrived at school in a sour mood. He was still angered about what happened last night, the fact that Nezumi was still so stubborn that she’d chose fighting over staying back and living a normal, peaceful live now that Saburou wasn’t hunting her anymore. He had seen so many different sides of Nezumi is just a couple of hours, a person that was so tsundere that it even got to him, and no matter how much he reluctantly tried to get through to her, she ended up being the same Nezumi that he had started to get used to.

“Oi! Wataru!” a waving hand in front of his face caught his attention and as he looked up he was surrounded by his friends. “Daijobu desu ka?” Yuuta wondered.

“Oh,” he nodded as he tried to make a smile appear on his face.

“Did you manage to find Nezumi?” Kaneko wondered.

He nodded again but refused to talk about it, nor did he have the time since the warning bell rang. It was the first time he was happy that classes were about to start, he feared that if he would have to explain the situation to the others he would only get angered again. And if Nezumi wanted to be stubborn, if she wanted to be so selfish then he was not going to spend any more energy for her. It’d all be wasted.

As class started he couldn’t help but gaze over to the empty seat which belonged to Nezumi. She didn’t show up for school today, was it because she already left for home? Was it because something happened? Or maybe she visited the hospital after all and they had indeed chained her to the bed? Whatever reason, she was gone and he shouldn’t worry about her anymore.

After classes ended, the guys had made their way back to their own clubhouse for some practice. But it mostly turned into them sitting around talking about the aftermath. Wataru couldn’t avoid the subject and proceeded to explain what he and Nezumi had talked about before she disappeared again.

“It just can’t be helped,” Hino then nodded. “If that is what she wants…”

“But still, it’s not a good idea…” Mizusawa frowned, “What if Saburou’s gang seek revenge themselves…?”

“Well, that’s not our problem anymore…”

“Oi! Takenaka!” Nippori jumped up but Wataru raised his hand.

“He’s right,” he nodded. “She made her decision. And we’re not involved in her problems anymore…”

“So desu ne!” Ryosuke nodded too. “Besides, don’t we have a competition to focus on?”

“Will Nezumi-san be alright?” Satoshi couldn’t help but worry.

Wataru grinned as he placed his hand on their manager’s shoulder, “She’ll be fine. Sa… What do you say we ditch practice and get some omurice?” he proposed.

“Ditch practice?” Yuuta frowned.

“Great idea, aniki!” Nippori cheered as he rubbed his stomach, “I am hungry!”

The others agreed on this proposal and Wataru turned to Yuuta, staring at him with begging eyes and a wide grin. Yuuta sighed, knowing that he had no other choice since everyone else was so into the idea and reluctantly nodded.

“Yoshi! Ikuze!” Wataru smiled and raised his fist into the air, leading the way outside the building and down the stairs, coming to a complete stop as he reached the bottom, his fist slowly descending to his side.

“Doua?” Ryosuke grinned as he casually came to a halt next to him and looked up. The others joined their side.“Ah!”

In front of them stood Nezumi, her hoodie down and her hair casually hanging loose around her face. She had some bandaids placed all around her legs and hands and one over the scratch on her cheek, her hands buried deeply in the pockets of her hoodie as she stared at the group for a moment.

“Nezumi-san…” Satoshi started. “We’d thought you’d left…”

She nodded, “I was considering that…” she tilted her head slightly, “But someone convinced me that maybe it’d be best if I stuck around here… ”

“Eh?”

“You never know if Yuko is planning something… And everyone knows you guys would be nothing without my help…” she grinned at those words. “Did you honestly think you’d get rid of me that easily, Azuma Wataru?” she continued with the same playful look on her face as she took a step forwards and stared at Wataru only. “I mean, we haven’t even had our own fight yet… That’s why I came here in the first place…”

He sighed. “I told you I’m not going to fight you.”

“Then I guess I won’t be leaving…” she shrugged as she approached him and playfully hit his shoulder before turning to the rest of the group. “Besides, you guys still owe me a trophy…”

“Ah~ so desu ne,” Satoshi chuckled.

“So, what do you say?” she turned to Wataru once more. “Think you can handle me being around?”

“Bring it on, Nezumi,” he laughed.

And so ends Tumbling Down. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it! There is a sequel story under way so if you liked this please subscribe to me or send me a friend request and hopefully see you around~!