I am a girl after all [WINDBREAKER - Umemiya Hajime]

Chapter 17

Chapter 17: backstory pt.4

I have not stopped harassing Umemiya since the day he said he'd accept all my challenges, I've been provoking him to fight me almost every day, you'd think that after a year of fighting him I've finally won at some point, right?

I have not won a single fight against Umemiya Hajime.

It was weird, I would go around Makochi and challenge any delinquent I encountered and won every single time, but when it came to Umemiya, I couldn't even land a single hit on him.

Is Umemiya Hajime the best fighter in Makochi? Is he the 'Ultimate Boss' I have to defeat to end the game? If he is then I'll do whatever it takes to win.

I didn't care if I developed feelings for him, I didn't care if he was the prettiest being I had ever seen, I didn't care if he was the most gorgeous man I had ever met, I had my priorities and that is to prove to my father that I'm going to be the strongest.

The only thing I cared about was proving to my father that abandoning me and my mother was a mistake and I had the potential he was looking for.

I needed to prove to my father that he didn't need his twin sons. I remember watching TV and seeing the news about him being interviewed, he was praising his twin boys and calling them prodigies. He even said those two would be the strongest fighters in the future and represent Makochi internationally.

I'll make sure to prove him wrong.

But how was I going to do that if I couldn't even touch Umemiya who isn't even a trained fighter? 

"Umemiya! Fight me!" I burst through the doors of the orphanage, Umemiya was sitting on the floor playing with the younger kids when I came. "I'm sure to win this time!" I say that every single time but always end up losing,

"I'm a little busy right now," He said as he showed me the book he was holding, he was telling the younger kids a story, "Besides, you're starting middle school tomorrow, you should get ready. Have you packed up your school essentials?"

"N-No," I stuttered lamely, I completely forgot about school tomorrow. I haven't even ironed my new uniform yet, "B-But y-you said you'd fight me every time I'd challenge you and I'm challenging you now!" As usual, I was not taking 'no' for an answer.

"Can we reschedule for tomorrow after class? I promised the kids I'd read to them," Umemiya said, flashing me with his puppy eyes. I felt completely awkward and embarrassed that I couldn't say no to him.

"F-Fine!" I spat back nervously as I walked out of the living room and headed to the laundry area so I could iron my uniform.

I might as well do something productive tonight since I'm not getting my way with Umemiya.

"Stupid white-haired idiot!" I mumbled to myself as I was aggressively ironing my clothes for tomorrow, I was so preoccupied with cursing Umemiya that I accidentally burnt my hand with the iron. "Son of a--,"

"You know a lot of colorful words for a 12-year-old," A girl about my age said as she entered the laundry area, she had brown hair and huge thick glasses. I've seen her so many times before but I have never spoken to her. I do remember she was always helping Umemiya take care fo the other kids.

"So I've been told," I answered nonchalantly, I was not interested in making small talk with her so I was pretty much keeping my replies minimal, 

"You're doing it wrong," She said as she grabbed the clothes from the rack and put them in the laundry basket, "See, you're clothes are still creased," She pointed at the blouse I was ironing, "Here, let me do it," She offered as she placed the basket on the floor beside the washing machine and took over what I was doing. She was explaining step-by-step how to properly iron my uniform.