Chapter 27: This Is Self-Defense!
The two of them arrived at the train station together.
Inside the train, advertisements were hanging everywhere, featuring a newly famous young star who seemed to be around the same age as Mai. Mai couldn't help but glance at them.
"Do you miss it?" Shunsuke pointed to the posters and ads.
Mai stubbornly replied, "Of course not. Things are better this way. It's best if no one in the world knows who I am anymore. I don't want to live under everyone's gaze."
"That's the root of the problem. That's why you're invisible now, Mai-san."
"...You don't understand."
With that, Mai ended the conversation.
After the train had been moving for a while, the passengers around them suddenly started to stir.
"Is that Sakurajima Mai?"
"No way! We're in the same carriage as a major celebrity. Today's my lucky day!"
"Who's that guy beside her? Her boyfriend?"
"Is this newsworthy? If I snap a picture and send it to the tabloids, can I get paid?"
"When did she get on the train? Why am I only noticing her now?"
Although people were whispering, Shunsuke heard every word.
"It seems the effect wore off. Mai-san, you're quite popular."
"That's why I said earlier, it was better before. I've been like this since I was a kid—always under everyone's eyes. It's exhausting," Mai said with a hint of pride, feeling like she had won this round.
"Thanks to you, Mai-san, I guess I'll become famous tomorrow as well, being your rumored boyfriend."
Mai's expression froze, and she immediately put on a cold, unapproachable face, ready to put on her headphones. "Let's pretend we don't know each other before we get off."
"Seems a bit late for that."
As Shunsuke spoke, he suddenly stepped forward, blocking Mai from a bulky man with a thug-like appearance who was holding up his phone to take a picture of her.
Click! The man only managed to capture the upper half of Shunsuke's body.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing, you jerk!" the man shouted angrily, upset that his photo was ruined. Next to him, a tattooed guy and another with dyed blond hair started approaching, backing up their friend.
"Isn't it bold for a creeper like you to be so arrogant? I just saved you guys once, you know," Shunsuke said, looking at the three men like they were yapping Chihuahuas. "You were planning to sell the photo to the tabloids for money, right? If Mai-san decides to press charges, you could all be arrested for violating her privacy."
Though Shunsuke wasn't entirely sure about the legal details, he trusted that these low-level thugs wouldn't know either.
In a society that values privacy so much that all phone cameras are required to make a sound when taking pictures, there was a good chance these thugs would believe him.
Sure enough, seeing Shunsuke's confident demeanor, the three thugs began to hesitate.
But thugs, much like goblins, are emboldened in numbers. If it were just one of them, they'd likely back off, but with the group around, their false courage swelled. They didn't want to lose face in front of their companions, so they grew more aggressive.
The guy with the camera, feeling insulted and not wanting to appear weak, started shouting crudely, his tongue rolling as he cursed.
The crowd that had gathered around them quickly dispersed.
Mai, worried that Shunsuke might try to show off in front of her, hurried over, grabbing his hand to pull him away.
She wasn't afraid these punks would actually do anything, but she preferred to avoid unnecessary trouble.
If Shunsuke got hurt because of her, even if the thugs ended up in jail, she'd still feel like it wasn't worth the cost.
Seeing Mai "back down," the thug with the camera grew more smug, and as he reached out to shove her, his confidence only increased.
"You want to leave? Apologize to me first!"
This kind of demand was the most these low-level thugs could muster.
As the guy with the camera slowly reached out his hand, Shunsuke casually pinched it with just two fingers.
Of course, he used the power of Star Platinum for that. Otherwise, even with Jotaro Kujo's strength, grabbing a grown man's arm with just two fingers would be a bit of a stretch.
The guy reflexively tried to pull his hand back but couldn't budge it. He glanced at Shunsuke's two fingers holding him and froze in disbelief.
Once Shunsuke saw that he understood, he released his grip.
Although he was tempted to teach them a lesson, there were cameras on the train, plenty of witnesses around, and most importantly, Mai was with him.
Causing a scene might complicate things for her, potentially hindering her career if word got out.
"Hey, you!"
While the guy with the camera caught on, the tattooed thug and the blond one clearly didn't. Seeing their friend embarrassed, they angrily closed in.
"Tch, why are there so many idiots in the world?" Shunsuke clicked his tongue and glanced at Mai.
"Got it," she quickly responded, pulling out her phone and pointing the camera in their direction.
Even though there were security cameras on the train and witnesses around, it was always smart to have firsthand evidence.
"Hey, who the hell are you calling an idiot?" the tattooed guy exploded when he heard Shunsuke's insult.
"Don't take it personally. I'm talking about losers who still try to make it in the underworld and can't even get anywhere. Why are you so worked up?"
Shunsuke calmly taunted him, unfazed.
Mai, meanwhile, turned her camera off briefly, only to start recording again.
"You think you can disrespect me like that?"
"Wait, hold on—" The guy with the camera tried to stop his friend, but it was too late.
The tattooed thug swung his fist at Shunsuke's chest, forcing him to take two exaggerated steps back.
With Star Platinum absorbing the blow, the punch felt like nothing more than a mosquito bite.
"If you hit Shunsuke again, I'll call the police!" Mai chimed in at just the right moment.
"Huh? You b****, so what if my buddy took your picture? Go ahead, call the cops. I'm not done beating him up."
The tattooed thug advanced again.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on Mai-san," Shunsuke said, pretending to dodge the punch clumsily. He went through the motions before launching a punch of his own.
"ORA!"
The thug flew backward, spitting blood as he crashed into his two companions, knocking them to the ground. A few teeth scattered across the floor.
Shunsuke had deliberately held back his strength. Otherwise, with Star Platinum's power, breaking all three of them at once wouldn't have been a challenge.
In the corner of the train car, a girl in a white school uniform quietly retracted the step she had been about to take.
"Hey, what's going on here?" The train security officer finally arrived, albeit quite late.
Mai immediately stepped forward to meet him, determined to paint the scene as one of Shunsuke acting in self-defense.
"If you want revenge, you're welcome to try anytime. Just know, I won't be this gentle next time," Shunsuke crouched down, smiling as he spoke to the tattooed thug.
The man's head was buzzing, too disoriented to fully grasp what was being said. But instinctively, driven by fear, he nodded rapidly.
That punch from Shunsuke had been so devastating, it left him in a daze. His body was reacting purely out of fear.
The security officer glanced around, asked a few perfunctory questions to both parties, and upon hearing everyone claim it was just a misunderstanding, he shrugged and moved on.
After all, it was just a job—no need to take it too seriously.
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