Kiryu Kazusuke looked at Saionji Mina’s terrified expression and was not surprised.
He stepped forward, came to her side, and took the bat from her hands.
“Watch carefully.”
Kiryu Kazusuke gripped the end of the bat with both hands, planted his feet apart, and assumed a standard batting stance.
Power came from his waist, driving his shoulders, his arms swinging through.
Whoosh—
The aluminum alloy bat traced a silver arc through the air.
Bang!
A tremendous crash exploded into the silent night sky.
The front end of the bat slammed hard into the metal frame of the information board.
The originally flat, smooth surface of the board instantly caved in, and the glass cover over it shattered, cracks spreading rapidly like a spiderweb.
Saionji Mina covered her mouth, her eyes wide.
Her heart was beating so fast!
Inside City Hall, the information board that symbolized authority was actually so fragile beneath the impact of violence!
It sounded beautiful!
The sound of shattering was truly beautiful!
Kiryu Kazusuke drew back the bat and looked it over. There was no damage to it.
He turned around and once again shoved the bat back into her hands.
“Here. Try it.”
“I don’t dare…”
Saionji Mina looked at the bat in her hands, then at the information board still shedding shards of glass, her body trembling.
She didn’t dare do it.
Ever since she was little, she had been an obedient good girl—never late, never leaving early, never causing trouble. Even when she was bullied, she would only swallow her anger in silence.
Her arms froze in midair, unable to come down for a long time.
“It’s all right.”
A low voice sounded beside her ear.
At some point, Kiryu Kazusuke had walked behind her.
His chest pressed against her back, and his two hands passed under her arms, covering her hands where they gripped the bat.
“I’ll guide you.”
“Look ahead.”
“Put all your grievances, all your anger, all your unwillingness into this one motion.”
Kiryu Kazusuke murmured by her ear, his warm breath spilling over the rim of it.
Saionji Mina’s mind went completely blank.
Being held from behind by a man in such an extremely ambiguous posture made all the blood in her body rush to her face.
But Kiryu Kazusuke gave her no time to be shy.
“Grip it tight.”
His large hands enveloped her small ones, forcefully tightening her fingers.
Then he guided her arms and raised them high.
At that moment, Saionji Mina closed her eyes, gave up thinking, and handed control of her body over to the man behind her.
Swing.
Accelerate.
The bat carried the sound of the wind, carried the strength of both of them, and smashed hard toward the already cracked information board.
Bang—!!!
A sound even louder than before burst out.
The bat struck the center of the information board.
The enormous recoil traveled back along her arms, numbing Saionji Mina’s shoulders; even her teeth chattered slightly.
But that numbness, in this moment, became the most potent stimulant.
She saw the stainless steel plate cave in completely, the entire sheet of glass shatter to pieces, and the notice printed with Section Chief Yoshino’s face smashed into a mangled mess.
In that instant.
Saionji Mina felt as if an electric current shot straight from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head, every pore on her body opening at once.
The black sludge that had been suppressed deep in her heart for years seemed to have found an outlet, gushing out along with that tremendous crash.
“How does it feel?”
Kiryu Kazusuke was still holding her hands. He could feel them burning hot, trembling.
“It’s not enough…”
Saionji Mina said in a low voice.
Her eyes were red, and her breathing grew heavy.
“Then again.”
Kiryu Kazusuke released one hand, but he still stood behind her.
The body in his arms, originally stiff, was now trembling violently.
Not from fear.
From excitement.
A physiological shudder brought on by a wild surge of dopamine.
Kiryu Kazusuke once again guided her arms.
Another swing.
Bang!
This time, Saionji Mina clearly put her own strength into it.
The stand of the information board was knocked crooked, and the entire sign tilted at a forty-five-degree angle.
Kiryu Kazusuke let go.
He took a step back and stood to the side, watching.
Once the desire to destroy had been opened even a crack, it would become like a flood bursting through a dam—impossible to stop.
And Saionji Mina, who had lost his support, did not fall.
She looked at that already shattered information board, looked at that no longer complete, no longer perfect, no longer lofty “order.”
So… that was all it was.
As long as she swung her arms, she could smash it to pieces.
Saionji Mina took a deep breath.
The cold air poured into her lungs, as if feeding the flames within her and making them burn even hotter.
She gripped the bat again.
She raised her arms on her own.
“Yaaah—!!!”
Along with a sharp, cathartic scream.
She swung the bat again.
Bang!
The remaining glass shattered once more.
Bang!
The metal frame let out a wail.
Saionji Mina gripped the bat with both hands and swung it wildly like a madwoman.
There was no technique, only the purest release of violence.
It was as if she meant to vent all the grievances of the past year, all her forbearance, all the anger she had never dared speak aloud.
“Die, die, die!”
“That’s for cursing at me!”
“That’s for throwing documents in my face!”
“…”
Every strike used all her strength.
The information board was beaten beyond recognition. Its original shape could no longer be made out; it had become a heap of twisted scrap metal.
“Hah… hah…”
After several minutes, Saionji Mina finally stopped.
Leaning on the bat, she bent over at the waist and gasped for breath in great gulps. Sweat ran down her forehead, soaking her bangs.
Her neatly tied ponytail had also come loose, and several strands of hair clung to her face.
It wasn’t that she had vented enough. It was that she had no strength left.
“How do you feel now?”
Kiryu Kazusuke, both hands in his pockets, glanced at her condition.
Excessive adrenaline secretion, dilated pupils, muscles still in an excited state.
“Kiryu-san…”
“My hands are shaking.”
She stretched out both hands. All ten fingers were trembling uncontrollably.
“Hey! What are you doing over there!”
Just then, an angry shout came from the distance, followed immediately by the beam of a powerful flashlight shining over.
“The police!”
Saionji Mina’s face instantly went deathly pale.
The arrogance from moments ago vanished without a trace. Her legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to her knees.
The police?!
This was the entrance to City Hall, a key patrol area in the city center.
Although the security guards were off work, the patrol officers were not.
With such a huge commotion, there was no way they wouldn’t hear it.
It was over.
They were going to be caught.
Prison, losing her job, the end of her life.
“What are you standing there for? Run!”
But Kiryu Kazusuke let out a low shout. Without the slightest hesitation, his right hand was as powerful as an iron pincer as he yanked her up from where she stood.
“Eh?”
Before Saionji Mina could react, a tremendous force pulled her forward until she almost flew.
“If you don’t want to get caught, run faster!”
Kiryu Kazusuke pulled her along, turned, and charged into a nearby alley.
“Stop! Don’t run!”
Behind them, the patrol officer chased after them on a bicycle, the shrill sound of a police whistle cutting through the night sky.
Saionji Mina could only move her legs mechanically, following Kiryu Kazusuke in a mad sprint.
The wind howled past her ears.
Her lungs felt as if fire were burning inside them.
She had never run this fast before, not even when she had pushed herself during school sports festivals.
Thrilling.
Tense.
Terrifying.
Exciting.
So this was what it felt like to do something bad?