At a Chinese restaurant in Sapporo, Hokkaido, the sound of a wok being tossed echoed through the air. A television mounted in the restaurant played footage of a live performance by a popular band from Hokkaido.

“This band is amazing!” exclaimed a customer in his 40s, chatting with a man in his 30s, who seemed to be his subordinate, as they both watched the TV.

“Playing in a band, no matter your age, is the epitome of youth,” chimed in the shop owner. “Oh, you’re a music fan too, eh, boss?” The customer in his 40s was enjoying a beer, seemingly unconcerned about being at work during lunch hour, as he struck up a conversation with the owner.

“Well, I may look like this now, but I used to be a band member! Here's your liver and garlic chives!”

“Really? What kind of band was it?” The customer picked up his chopsticks, served himself some of the fragrant liver and garlic chives, and took a bite. It was delicious, but he was also curious about the shop owner's past, so he moved from his table to a counter seat to listen.

“It’s a long story,” said the owner. “We've got plenty of time!” replied the customer. “This was back when I was in high school…”

“Hey! It's you guys again!” yelled Arai, a teacher at North High, as he chased after some students with a shinai in hand. “Oh, crap! It’s Arai!” Four students were climbing over the school fence, desperate to escape. Their names were Ryosuke, the leader; Masaya, the joker; Koji, the big guy; and Toru, the pretty boy.

“Don’t you run! This time, I’ll teach you a lesson!”

The school fence wasn’t particularly high, but it was just high enough to be a challenge. Three of the four managed to climb over, but one was having trouble.

“Koji! Hurry up!” “I don’t have the athletic ability for this!” Koji, a giant at 185 cm, wasn’t exactly light.

The three of them tried to pull him up, but it was tough lifting someone his size.

“Gotcha!” Arai yanked on Koji's uniform with a grin.

“Let go!” Ryosuke leaped from the fence and tackled Arai in the stomach, but Arai didn't even flinch. As the judo coach, Arai was no pushover. He quickly threw Ryosuke to the ground.

“So, what excuse do you have for me today?” The four brats sat on their knees on the judo mats, their uniforms disheveled, and their faces swollen.

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“Well, my mom fell sick suddenly...” Ryosuke started, but Arai tossed him into the air. “I was drinking at your mom's restaurant last night! She was perfectly fine! Come up with a better lie!”

“Oh, Ryosuke's puppy, Chappy, is hungry!” Masaya chimed in, and again Ryosuke was thrown into the air. “Stop! Please...” Ryosuke pleaded, while Masaya, enjoying the spectacle, began thinking up his next excuse. “Oh, we’re out of noodles for our restaurant's yakisoba!” Ryosuke was thrown again.

“Ouch! Doesn't Arai know anything about going easy?” Ryosuke, who'd been thrown to the mat repeatedly, was struggling to get up. “Seriously! He could be a bit gentler!” agreed Masaya. “I noticed you were having fun with this, Masaya!” said Ryosuke. “Busted,” replied Masaya, sticking out his tongue.

“Are you guys okay?” asked Toru and Koji. “We’re fine compared to you,” they replied.

Ryosuke, Masaya, Toru, and Koji: these four were notorious first-year high school students, known as the "Four Brats of Sapporo." It was hard to find anyone who didn’t know about them.

Sometimes, they’d hear about a student from their school being beaten by someone from another high school, and they'd go over and nearly demolish that other school. Other times, they'd be ogling the ladies at a hostess club, or getting caught by police at a pachinko parlor, begging them to let them finish their streak before getting arrested. The police knew them by name, and every time, Arai would have to come and bail them out.

But even these four had their limits. There were three people they feared.

The first was their teacher, Arai. Since he was responsible for them, they couldn't defy him.

The second was Toru's father, a carpenter's foreman. Once, when he came to pick Toru up at the police station, he was all smiles in front of the officers. But as soon as they stepped outside, he grabbed a bat and chased Toru around. Since then, they made Arai the official guardian.

The third person was a surprise—a girl named Kyoko, Koji's little sister. She was a student council president in her third year of middle school.

The reason they couldn’t handle Kyoko was that, despite all their mischief, they had a “code of honor.” They wouldn't hit the elderly, women, or those who couldn't fight back. And Kyoko had a knack for pointing out their weak spots, which left them speechless.

Despite being the "Four Brats," they were quite popular in town. They always showed respect to their elders. If an elderly person needed help crossing the street, one of them would carry their bags while the other would help them across. If they heard about salarymen getting shaken down by other high school students in Susukino, they'd chase them down and get the money back. Of course, they’d rough them up, which often led to another visit from Arai.

So after enduring another one of Arai's harsh sessions, the four brats were left feeling pretty beaten up, slumping in their classroom.

“Wow! You were such troublemakers?” exclaimed the customer. “Oh, that’s just the beginning,” replied the shop owner. “It was painful, but it was fun,” he said, watching TV and reminiscing about his youth.