Chapter 3: Yuu Rokuro!

{Hiro: Jun. Jun. Jun. Jun. Park. Park. Park. Park. Four. Four. Four. Four. Jun. Jun. Jun. Jun.}

Hiro couldn't keep his mind off it at all. His brain was racing with all the possible possibilities that were possible. The suspense was killing him again.

{Hiro: JEEZ JUN! Why do you have to do this to me...?}

Hiro skipped archery club for this... Hopefully the club elections weren't today. Shuuki and Kaori were going to wonder where he was.

Hiro walked down the street he took every day after school. The park was to the right of an intersection right before his neighborhood. To get to the park from school, instead of going straight from the intersection, you would instead go right, and in a kilometer or two there the park would be.

Hiro was glad he didn't live in the busy part of the city, but also was generally close to everything. He could walk to places and not constantly get annoyed by all the noise and traffic.

The city of Teiko was a small one compared to the pretty big ones in the country of Luncia.

The big shot cities in Luncia such as Turus and Castor were HUGE, rivaling even New York City in the US and Tokyo in Japan.

Good thing the city of Teiko was the perfect size for Hiro, small enough and quiet enough to be peaceful but big and loud enough to be fun and interesting.

If Hiro got to choose where he lived when he grew up, he would probably choose Teiko, his hometown.

3:38 P.M.

Hiro was approaching the intersection, but heard faint disturbing noises in the alleyway right before it.

It sounded like a puppy was being beat. Whimpers and cries, and the sound of a dull surface meeting another dull surface.

Over and over and over again.

Hiro was familiar with that sound-- the sound of punches and kicks meeting flesh.

The only reason Hiro recognized this was because of his countless hours studying martial arts. He wanted to become a combat mage one day, and hand to hand combat is the foundation of battle. Not to mention, because Shuuki had crazy magic powers, Hiro had to compensate to reach his level somehow.

The alleyway was getting closer and closer.

Should Hiro run to the alleyway and check what's going on? Should he hurry past the alleyway?

Hiro looked at his surroundings. Nobody was near him.

If there were thugs beating someone up, Hiro was fairly certain he could take them on. He was confident in his skills. He had a black belt in karate, completed his judo class, and studied endless amounts of videos online.

However, he had no real experience.

The alleyway was a few steps away. A few more steps, and Hiro would be able to see what was going on in there.

The sound of people beating a poor soul did not cease. It grew louder as Hiro got closer.

He could even faintly hear voices.

Two... maybe three opponents? And one victim.

The victim screamed in pain-- it sent chills down Hiro's spine.

From the sound of his voice, the victim was male, and couldn't be older than Hiro. At the oldest, maybe twelve.

[Victim: Aaagh--! Please, someone--]

crunch--

[Assailant 1: Shut up, you're being too loud.]

[Victim: But... but, you told me if I--]

crunch--

[Assailant 2: Hahaha! Shut up, you dumb kid. Be quiet and maybe it'll hurt less--!]

crunch--

The victim was whimpering in pain and fear.

[Assailant 3: Hey, shouldn't we get this over with? Someone will notice all this noise we're making.]

[Assailant 1: Hah? Are you saying we should let this shrimp go?]

[Assailant 2: That's exactly what I was working onnnn~ I'm trying to get him to quiet down so we can have a little more fun--!]

[Assailant 3: No, I didn't say that. I just said that we should finish this up before anyone notices--]

[Assailant 2: Hey, stop him--!]

[Assailant 1: Wha-- get him!]

The victim got up and was scrambling to run away from the three attackers.

Assailant 2 dove and caught the victim's shirt, causing him to trip and fall.

As Assailant 2 stood up and stomped his foot down on the victim's back to pin him down, Assailant 1 kicked the victim right in the face. His head twisted the other way.

Assailant 1's hand burst into flames. He held it up to the victim's face threateningly.

[Assailant 1: Try to run away again and you will be hurt much, much worse.]

The assailants began kicking the boy as he was down again, over and over again, as the boy cradled himself.

[Hiro: Hey! Stop!]

Hiro couldn't take any more of it. Hiro jumped into the entrance of the alleyway. His heart was beating like crazy.

The assailants stopped their pummeling for the mean time.

To Hiro's surprise, all of the assailants looked as if they were Hiro's age, or a little older. Maybe high schoolers.

The first assailant had red hair and a face that leaked with annoyance and anger. It was as if he had a permanent scowl. He also wore a black leather jacket... a stereotypical delinquent.

The second assailant was short, and had green hair. He had dark circles under his eyes, and very much resembled a gremlin.

The third assailant had black spiky hair, and long eyelashes for a guy. Even though he looked comfortable in his position, he didn't look like he wanted to fight.

The victim was pinned to the ground by the green-haired bully's foot, his face to the concrete. He was only a young boy with a set of broken glasses, tears and blood pouring down his face. Scrapes were all over his arms and legs.

The three bullies looked at Hiro like he was stupid, but the boy looked at Hiro like he was his savior.

That look on his face gave Hiro the motivation and the flame he needed to win this three on one.

It was absolutely terrifying, but invigorating at the same time. Standing there in front of three potential opponents, trying to rescue someone.

If Hiro could do this, he would be one step closer to becoming a combat mage. If he could do this, he would save an innocent boy from harm.

The red-haired bully scowled.

[Hiro: Hey... don't pick on others like that... What'd he do to you?]

A vein bulged from the red-haired bully's forehead. The red-haired bully gave the kid a kick to the nose before walking towards Hiro.

The meaningless brutality made Hiro's blood boil. But he had to stay calm. As much as he wanted to slug all of them, the first thing he should always do is see if they can resolve it peacefully.

[Red-Haired Bully: What does it mean to you what we do to him? Don't pick on others? Who are you? Some friend of this kid?]

The red-haired bully was extremely close to Hiro, pushing his face forward. He sure as hell was intimidating.

[Hiro: N-no--]

[Red-Haired Bully: Then get out of here. We don't need punks like you intruding on our business.]

The red-haired bully pushed Hiro's shoulder, sending him stumbling back a few steps.

Adrenaline was pumping through Hiro. It was so much harder to speak than he thought it would be.

{Hiro: C'mon Hiro, it's just three people who probably don't have a lick of combat experience. Keep your confidence up! Show them! You can't just leave this boy here!}

[Red-Haired Bully: So, get out of here! Scram.]

Hiro stayed exactly where he was and clenched his teeth.

[Hiro: No.]

Another vein popped out on the bully's forehead.

[Red-Haired Bully: What did you say?! Tell me I heard that wrong. Because if I didn't...]

[Hiro: No. I'm not leaving that boy. That boy is going to come with me, away from you guys. To safety. I won't let you hurt him any longer.]

The green-haired bully holding the small boy down began laughing. He slapped the boy's face as he spoke, water splashing out of his hands.

The boy winced and closed his eyes to block the water.

[Green-Haired Bully: Haha! Awww, did you hear that Kazuto? He doesn't want us to hurt him anymore... He wants to intrude in our business?! Haha, he has no idea what he's getting himself into. He knows that if he tries to save this little brat he'll get pummeled by us, right? Does this idiot really think he can beat all three of us--?]

[Hiro: Yes.]

Everyone looked at Hiro with surprise. They weren't sure if he was brave or stupid.

Hiro knew what he was doing. He also knew that that boy couldn't stay here any longer. The sight made Hiro's insides turn inside out. It left a sour taste in Hiro's mouth.

[Hiro: Without a doubt, I can wipe all of your sorry little asses. Bullies who pick on people weaker than them tend to be pretty weak, anyway.]

A third vein popped from the red-haired bully's forehead.

[Green-Haired Bully: Hmph, you have a pretty big head for someone who's about to--]

[Kazuto: Atsuhi, quiet!]

Kazuto interrupted the green-haired bully, then glared and growled at Hiro.

[Red-Haired Bully/Kazuto: Now you've done it. I'll show you... You're going to be sorry you ever decided to mess with us!]

[Black-Haired Bully: Kazuto! Wait--!]

Kazuto's hands burst into flames as he rushed forward to punch Hiro.

{Hiro: Slow. Predictable. Easy to counter.}

Kazuto winded his punch behind him, and thrusted his fist forward.

With ease, Hiro dodged it.

Hiro sidestepped, and suckerpunched him right in the face.

The punch was so powerful and clean that it lifted Kazuto off of his feet and caused him to hit the wall behind him.

Kazuto fell onto the ground, and wiped the blood from his head.

[Kazuto: AARGGHAA! You're going to fucking pay for that!]

Kazuto scrambled to stand back up, then tried to punch Hiro again, but was still dazed from the last punch. He came at Hiro like a drunk man.

This attack was even easier to predict than the earlier one.

Hiro sidestepped again, hooked onto Kazuto's arms, then flipped him over his shoulder, slamming him onto the concrete.

[Kazuto: GHAA--]

Kazuto fell with a thud right onto his back, losing his breath. The air was knocked out of him. The fire on his hands dissipated.

Kazuto struggled to get up and breathe. He wheezed, his lungs screaming for oxygen.

He took out one of them with ease. All that training Hiro went through wasn't a waste. Of course it wasn't!

The other two bullies looked at Hiro in shock that he took out Kazuto so effortlessly.

[Green-Haired Bully/Atsuhi: What the fuck? Was he using any magic?]

[Black-Haired Bully: I-I don't know...]

[Atsuhi: Is he amping his strength? Is it light magic?]

Hiro knelt down and aimed for the perfect spot, then precisely karate chopped Kazuto's neck. Kazuto's limbs went limp as he fell into unconsciousness.

The bullies looked at Hiro in fear.

[Hiro: No, it's not light magic. It's just good old hard work and muscle.]

Hiro grinned and flexed his bicep.

It felt great beating one of the bullies so smoothly. It felt great putting his training to use. After that, he felt like he could take on anyone. His confidence skyrocketed.

[Hiro: So, who's next?]

Hiro smiled menacingly as he slowly approached the bullies.

Atsuhi backed away further in the alleyway, dragging the boy with him. After seeing Hiro obliterate Kazuto in a fight, he wasn't going to try to press his luck.

[Black-Haired Bully: Whoa whoa whoa, we can talk this out, right? We only roughed the boy up just a little bit, we didn't hurt him too bad. And- and I'm so sorry about Kazuto, what he did and what he said, he didn't mean it--]

[Hiro: Don't mess with me. That's bullshit.]

[Black-Haired Bully: No... ergh-- arrgh, I don't want to fight right now! Kazuto, dumbass!]

The black-haired bully yelled in frustration at his unconscious comrade. Atsuhi tried pleading with Hiro.

[Atsuhi: Just let us go-- please?]

Literal scum of the earth.

[Hiro: You know, this is what I hate about people like you. You always act like big shots, and always put everyone down. You make people suffer while only caring about yourselves, taking advantage of people weaker than you. Then the moment you're the ones that are at a disadvantage, you give up and whine! You know, some people are always at a disadvantage, but we try our hardest--!]

Hiro realized he flubbed his words.

Hiro sighed.

[Hiro: Ugh, just let the poor boy go--]

Even before Hiro finished the sentence, the black-haired bully unclamped the green-haired bully's hands off of the boy's shirt then pushed the boy forward to Hiro, all while bowing like he was giving an offering.

The boy ran behind Hiro, hiding behind him.

Hiro blinked a few times.

[Hiro: Huh?]

He didn't think it would be that easy.

[Black-Haired Bully: Okay, you'll let us go now, right?]

Hiro was still shocked about how little resistance they showed.

[Black-Haired Bully: RIGHT?]

The black-haired bully raised his voice at Hiro's lack of response.

[Hiro: Oh, umm, yeah yeah. Go on ahead.]

The black-haired bully began walking past Hiro, then realized he was being too passive. He had to teach them a lesson.

[Hiro: Wait.]

The black-haired bully stopped moving and focused his attention on Hiro with an annoyed look on his face.

[Hiro: Both of you, if I ever see you messing with someone else again, don't think I won't beat you up. Am I clear?]

[Black-Haired Bully: C'mon man, I just want to go home...]

[Green-Haired Bully: Uhh--]

[Hiro: Am I clear?]

The black-haired bully sighed.

[Black-Haired Bully: Yeah yeah, you're clear all right.]

The black-haired bully began walking away, but then Hiro grabbed his shoulder because he wasn't being sincere.

However, the black-haired bully grabbed Hiro's hand, then pivoted around him to put his arm in a lock.

It happened so fast. At any second, the black-haired bully could break his arm.

This wasn't the movement of an amateur.

Luckily, the black-haired bully sighed, then let Hiro go. If he was the one who fought instead of Kazuto, he could have posed a huge threat to Hiro.

[Black-Haired Bully: Sorry, reflex.]

The black-haired bully smirked as he put his hands in his pockets and walked nonchalantly out of the alleyway, out of sight.

[Atsuhi: Wait! Don't leave me! Wait!]

The green-haired bully tried running past Hiro, but Hiro stopped him.

[Atsuhi: Wait no-- please just let me go, I'm not as strong as them, I don't have strong magic, I can't--]

The green-haired bully began crying. It was repulsive.

[Hiro: Name.]

[Atsuhi: Huh?]

[Hiro: What are your names?]

The green-haired bully sniffled.

[Green-Haired Bully/Atsuhi: I-I'm Atsuhi, the one with red hair right there is Kazuto, and the person that just left is Shiro. N-now will you let me go--?]

Hiro pushed him towards the exit of the alleyway.

[Hiro: Go.]

The green-haired bully left, frantically running away, coins and a bill falling out of his pocket.

Hiro grimaced at the contents. He stole money from the grade-schooler.

Hiro shouldn't have let them go... Even if he had to fight Shiro, he should have been harder on them.

Based on Shiro's attitude and Atsuhi's stolen money, they didn't learn anything. They were going to repeat their actions.

Not to mention, they left Kazuto. They left him in the alleyway. No way could these guys be friends. All of them made Hiro want to hurl.

[Boy: Umm, excuse me?]

Oh that's right! The boy!

Hiro had to get out of his current mindset, there was no use in dwelling on what he should've done. Other than his disgust, he did feel pretty accomplished after saving someone for the first time.

That was the first time he has ever gone out of his way to do something so heroic. It felt good, like a bite into sweet bread.

That's right, he saved the boy! Hiro marked "righteous action" off his mental checklist to become a combat mage.

That was also his first fight. He had never been in a real fight before this. Yes, he has had many sparring matches with multiple opponents, namely his older brother, Kobu, but other than that no, he has never fought anyone outside of set matches.

It was reassuring that he was able to hold his own. He could read the movements of his opponent. He could feel the heat of the battle, even though it was one-sided and only lasted less than a minute. The satisfying feeling of punching someone in the face. The jolt that shoots down your arm, and the pain in your knuckles-- it was extremely gratifying.

Yes, Hiro was in a much better mood now. That was invigorating.

The boy standing in front of him wore a plain blue T-shirt and gray pants, and had cracked glasses. He carried a backpack over one of his shoulders, and looked even younger now that Hiro was getting a good look at him.

Bruises and cuts were all over the boy's skin, and he had a black eye.

[Hiro: Oh, yes? Are you okay?]

[Boy: Um... I think so...]

[Hiro: You sure?]

The boy nodded.

[Hiro: Well, if you say so... make sure when you get home to get patched up, alright? No broken bones?]

[Boy: Okay... No, I don't think so.]

[Hiro: That's good, you should be alright and good to go in only a short while then! Just make sure you stay out of trouble until then!]

The boy looked down and looked embarrassed. It took him a while to respond.

[Boy: Th-Thank you for saving me by the way. Thanks so much... I... I don't know what would've happened if you didn't-- didn't save me...]

The boy was trying to suppress his tears, choking on his words.

Just seeing the little boy cry and thank him like that, with such genuinity, warmed Hiro's heart.

Hiro's natural response was to hug the boy.

Hiro put his arm over the boy's shoulder, and his other arm under the boy's arm, and hugged him. Not too hard, carefully avoiding his bruises and cuts.

[Hiro: Don't worry about all that... You're fine now. You're safe.]

The boy cried even more.

[Hiro: And...]

After a minute or two, Hiro broke away from the hug, and smiled warmly at the boy.

Wiping away his tears and sniffling, the boy looked up at Hiro.

[Hiro: You're welcome.]

Hiro seemed to shine in the boy's eyes, the person who saved him.

At least that's what Hiro would like to think the boy thought.

zzt~

Hiro's phone vibrated in his pocket.

Hiro pulled it out. A text message from his mother.

4:04 P.M.

"Mum: Dinner at 5:00 today. MAKE SURE YOU'RE HOME BY THEN"

{Hiro: Oh crap, I should probably get home soon.}

He did not want to anger the mother.

Hiro also needed to shower and change out of his school clothes. He had been reusing his school clothes so he had less laundry to do, but it's taken a toll on his hygiene.

Putting his phone back in his pocket, he said his thoughts aloud.

[Hiro: Oh, I have to go.]

Hiro looked at the boy and extended his hand.

[Hiro: Hey, I never got your name. Mines Hiroshi. Hiroshi Hiroto. But everyone calls me Hiro.]

The boy wiped his tears away again and shook Hiro's hand.

[Boy/Yuu: My name is Yuu. Yuu Rokuro. I don't have any cool nicknames.]

[Hiro: Nice to meet you Yuu, but I have to get going! Make sure you get home safely, and stay away from sketchy people! Stay well and eat healthy!]

Hiro said this as he waved and jogged out of the alleyway.

With Hiro out of the alley, and Yuu by himself, Yuu's distressed and timid expression completely changed to an indifferent one.

Yuu wiped the blood from his mouth, and sneered.

[Yuu: Finally, I can finally stop with that act. Compared to what I've been through, this was nothing. But you--]

Yuu stepped over Kazuto's unconscious body.

[Yuu: --you really pissed me off.]

Yuu's eyes leaked with black ooze, and what could only be called a demon appeared behind him, rising from his shadow.

[Yuu: Die.]