My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

Chapter 37: 35: 'Physical' is the Most Effective Form of Persuasion

From my surprise right hook, Kenzo Nishitani fell to the ground.

"Are you stupid? Why would you think your father is here, at this time?"

"Guh...! Come here, you son of a bitch...!"

Groaning, he scrambled to his feet and came at me with a straight. I casually twisted my body out of the way and slammed my fist into the side of his face a second time, knocking him once again to the floor.

"Did I say you could get up?"

"Kaghk...!" He spluttered as he fell, but I paid no attention to it.

Fuelled by rage, he jumped back up and threw a punch at me once more.

"Shut... the fuck... up...!"

I don't understand... Trying the same thing twice isn't going to change the result, you know?

This time, I simply evaded the attack by tilting my head. Then, anchoring my right foot firmly on the ground, I swiftly swung my left leg to violently connect my foot with his temple in one brutal motion, sending him flying metres across the rooftop.

"Kugh...!"

Crashing down, he rolled a few times before slowing to halt. This time, he couldn't get up right away.

The consequences of blunt force trauma, especially to the head, is not to be underestimated.

No matter how strong of a fighter you believe yourself to be, there is no one who can withstand such an impact and get off unscathed, even if it appears as so at a glance.

Approaching closer, I looked down at him, who only seemed to be in a daze after being struck hard in the head.

"Are you getting up?"

I am not so physically strong to have knocked him out in a couple of hits, even if they were to the head. Unless his brain got rattled around his skull a bit as a result, then he should still be conscious for the most part.

On the other hand, if he landed in an unfortunate position, then there would be no helping it.

"Ugh..."

Fortunately, his moaning having reached my ears clearly meant that he wasn't too damaged yet. It was good that he was still conscious.

That meant I could continue.

"Kenzo Nishitani. I believe I asked you a question. Are you getting up? Or not."

"Y... You... Bas...tard..."

His eyes spinning, he spewed more insults from below. I noticed his hands fumbling around the ground in a futile attempt to try and stabilise himself, his world tumbling.

I waited, and after a minute or so, he eventually managed to get one knee up on the ground.

"Shall I take this as you getting up?"

"..."

Leaning heavily on his knee, he didn't respond to my question as he tried bringing his other leg up to stand on and panting deep, laborious breaths as the only noise coming from his mouth.

"I'll take silence as affirmation. But, you know..."

Slam-!

"Uak...!?"

I kicked the patella of his knee, the instant reflex reaction forcing his leg to give way and causing him to collapse.

"?I never permitted that, did I? Or am I misremembering something?"

Crouching down, I grabbed his collar and lifted him up as I stood.

"Just kidding. It was only a joke. I'll let you get up. Here, take a stand, take a stand. Look."

Before he could get his feet stably on the ground, I dropped him.

Thud-!

"Whoops. Sorry about that."

He had fallen onto his stomach, and so his chin collided heavily against the ground.

Looks like it hurts.

After all, gravity is a better weapon than muscles, isn't it?

"I'm really sorry. Do you need some help? Here."

I bent my knees and picked him up again, upon which I once again dropped him.

"Ah, what's wrong with you...? Stand properly on your feet, man."

Dropping him a third time, he landed on his back. Then, I placed my right foot on his stomach.

"Aaah, we can't be having this unsightly behaviour from you, now, can we? Nishitani-san."

"..."

Staring down at his beaten face, I saw small reflections of light beginning to emit from the corners of his eyes, like sparkling gemstones being spotted in the black depths of a dangerous mine.

He must have gone through something.

"Nishitani-san...? Are you feeling okay?"

His widened eyes as I applied pressure on my right food gave away his fear, and the tears certainly didn't help to hide it either.

"It's alright, you know? You can tell me if something is hard for you, right? But, you're okay, right? There's nothing wrong, is there...?"

In his last, trifling effort to resist, he feebly grabbed a hold of my leg that pinned him down with his trembling arms.

It seems as though he was desperate for this to end.

Was that enough playing around?

A pity.

"Kenzo Nishitani. I am going to ask you a question. You will answer me either with a 'yes' or with a 'no'. Alternatively, you may nod your head, meaning 'yes', or shake your head, meaning 'no'."

I applied a little more force, causing his free legs to reflexively writhe in struggle.

"Do I make myself clear? I don't mind repeating myself if I have to, you know?"

You just may have to struggle a little more in order to listen properly. Keep your ears peeled, you know?

It appeared there was no need for that, though, as he vigorously nodded his head, meaning yes; he understood.

"Kenzo Nishitani. Are you going to continue your silly actions of causing me trouble by picking on weaklings at this school using the authority of your father?"

He shook his head as if someone had threatened to kill him otherwise.

What a good lad.

I briefly smiled.

"Glad to hear it."

I released my foot from his stomach and crouched down, grabbing him by the collar and bringing his face close to mine.

"Now. I would highly recommend withdrawing from this school. What you've experienced during this time?wouldn't you hate to experience the same thing every day for the rest of the year? Not only that, but I've heard from a friend of mine that a certain Takuya Nishitani's term is going to come to an end soon. Isn't that unfortunate? You won't be able to make use of his position then, right?"

His already shaking eyes quivered at my mention of his father's name.

"So, wouldn't you want to quit whilst your ahead? Doesn't it sound like a good idea?"

Yesterday, after school, I had spoken to Minami about removing Takuya Nishitani from his seat at the board of directors, and it looks like that will happen shortly.

However, even if his father is no longer in a position to cover for him, Kenzo Nishitani is still a person who uses violence to lord over other students?that method of staying at the top of the caste is one that will still work even without his father, albeit not as effectively.

If he beats people up secretly, it could work for a short while before people report him. Or, even if he still threatens them with the authority of his father, there's not many ways that ordinary students are going to be able to find out he actually has no power anymore, so they would be under the assumption his father is still in power.

In any case, there are a multitude of ways to go about solving the issue, but the easiest and most effective way is to simply remove both Kenzo and Takuya Nishitani from the equation altogether.

Hence, I decided to 'physically convince' him using the same 'physical language' he seemingly liked to use to 'physically persuade' other students in the school to submit to him.

It was, at the end of the day, this guy's decision whether to drop out or not, after all.

Therefore, convincing him that his life will be hell if he stays is all I can do to make him drop out without getting too engaged with the matter myself.

Giving him a taste of his own medicine or whatever you want to call it, but it was undoubtedly true that this was the same method he used on others, and it was also true that it was the best way for me to get him to stop bothering people.

After all, 'physical' is the most effective form of persuasion.

"Kenzo Nishitani."

A moment of silence passed before I called his name.

"..."

He, who could no longer bring himself to voice any complaints in this situation, merely stared back at me as I towered over him.

"Let's drop all the pretences, okay?"

Looking him dead in the eyes, I confessed.

"?If you cause trouble for me again, I'm going to kill you."

Even if it's an incredibly low risk.

Even if there's only a slight possibility of you being a nuisance and disturbing my life, then not you, nor your father, belong involved with this school.

Not while I'm here.