Chapter 6: Blood and Bone

Kaori screamed.

It brought Hiro to his senses.

After hearing her scream, Hiro didn't hesitate to run across the intersection into the alleyway. He couldn't let anything happen to her. He couldn't let anyone, much less a friend get hurt.

[Hiro: Kaori!]

Cars braked abruptly and honked at him as he ran across the road, making it to the alleyway.

The setting sun illuminated the alley perfectly, long shadows being cast on every figure standing in the alleyway.

Exactly like before, the same three bullies were there-- black-haired Shiro, green-haired Atsuhi, and red-haired Kazuto.

Shiro stood behind the other two bullies, leaning against the alley wall, his arms crossed.

Kazuto tightly gripped Kaori's arms, restraining her. Looking straight at Hiro, he shoved her to Atsuhi.

Atsuhi had a crazed look on his face as he slammed Kaori to the ground and stomped his foot on her back. He was smiling while Kaori began tearing up under him.

[Hiro: Kaori!]

Kazuto stepped forward.

[Kazuto: I told you it was a bad idea to mess with us.]

[Atsuhi: Aww, it looks like someone wants their girlfriend back~]

Atsuhi teased, twisting his foot on top of Kaori's spine.

Her cries sent a jolt down Hiro's back. His chest was on fire. He had to take action.

[Hiro: What are you doing?! Stop! Let her go!]

Flashbacks of Atsuhi crying and pleading for mercy played in Hiro's mind, and it disgusted him. The bullies learned nothing. Instead, he made it worse, didn't he. Now they seeked revenge, and Kaori was going to suffer the consequences.

Was this his fault?

Atsuhi stopped for a second, then put his finger on his lip, looking to the sky in thought.

[Atsuhi: Hmm, how about--]

Atsuhi's lips creased into a dirty smile.

[Atsuhi: --no.]

Atsuhi winded up his other leg, then kicked Kaori in the ribs with such an impact Hiro felt it himself.

Kaori cried out in pain. It was terrible.

How could teens his age be this... evil?

[Hiro: Stop! Stop! I'm not afraid to fight all of you again! I'll beat all of you like I did last time!]

It had to stop. He had to save Kaori, no matter what.

Shiro let out a tiny small laugh, then muttered under his breath.

[Shiro: Quote on quote, "all of you". The only person you beat was Kazuto...]

Hiro got into his fighting stance, holding his fists in front of him.

Kazuto snickered.

[Kazuto: Fight us? You think you can fight us? Ha, If you make any sudden moves, I assure you that your girlfriend will end up in the hospital for months... or worse. And you don't want that happening, right? How many hits she takes is up to you.]

Atsuhi looked like he was itching to kick Kaori again. He licked his lips.

[Kazuto: I'm warning you, she probably won't last long, though.

If Hiro tried fighting them... he would cause more trouble for Kaori?

Hiro subconsciously edged out of his fighting position, and terror began to show on his face.

If he tried fighting them, now that Hiro knew their capabilities, he would lose if they worked together, and Kaori would get hurt. If Hiro walked away from the fight, Kaori would get hurt-- not that he would ever do that.

There was no way out of this.

[Hiro: That's playing dirty...]

[Kazuto: Hey, hey. Don't be so down! You know what, I'll cut you a deal.]

A deal?

[Hiro: What deal...?]

[Kazuto: I bet you already know what this is about, right? Revenge. You beat us up, so we get payback. It's only fair. You're the type that likes justice, right? Consider this a bit of "justice", if you will.

Hiro grit his teeth.

[Kazuto: So, you have two choices. We beat your girlfriend up while you watch and cry like a little baby, or you come over here and let us beat you up. We won't hold back on either of you.]

Kazuto punched his fist into his palm.

Hiro was surprised the thought hadn't crossed his mind. The bullies wanted revenge, so of course they wanted to get Hiro, not Kaori.

If that was the case, he didn't have to think at all. It was second nature to offer himself up to save a friend.

[Kazuto: Of course, it doesn't make a difference for us. Either way we're getting payback on your self-righteous ass.]

[Atsuhi: Oh, what choice is he going to make? Wouldn't it just be amusing if he chose to leave his girl here? The hero trying to save his maiden-- runs away?!]

Atsuhi began laughing.

Hiro shook his head. All of them were disgusting. Revolting.

[Hiro: No, I would never!]

[Kazuto: Then what will it be? Are you willing to have every bone in your body broken for this miserable bitch right here?]

Kazuto pressed his shoe against Kaori's face. Kaori's tears and blood from her head were being soaked up by the gravel.

[Kaori: Hiro...]

Hiro clenched his fists.

[Hiro: Yes. WIthout a doubt.]

Hiro walked forward, offering himself up.

Atsuhi, Shiro, and Kazuto all had varying expressions on their faces.

Shiro looked surprised, Atsuhi looked amused, and Kazuto looked satisfied.

As Hiro walked forward, thoughts ran through his head.

As much as he cared for Kaori, most of what he felt was hate towards the bullies. A blinding, seething disgust for them.

They were the scum of the earth. They didn't deserve anything. They were a waste of space. They were excuses for humans.

Hiro felt heat emanating from his skin, his heart beating like a steam engine.

Hiro walked all the way to Kazuto, less than a meter from his face.

[Hiro: No way will I be a coward and let scum like you take advantage of an innocent girl.]

Hiro made sure all of the intensity and hatred he felt poured from his eyes into Kazuto, as he stared him down.

[Hiro: Now let her go.]

Kazuto stopped smirking and made a face Hiro couldn't read. He lifted his foot from Kaori's head.

[Atsuhi: Haha, you think you're in any position to be making commands--?]

[Shiro: Atsuhi!]

Atsuhi began ridiculing Hiro, but Shiro stopped him.

[Shiro: Atsuhi, let her go.]

With a disappointed look on his face, he stepped off of Kaori.

[Atsuhi: Okay, okay, jeez.]

Kaori struggled to stand.

Hiro moved in to help her up, but Kazuto stepped in front of him.

[Kazuto: Stop. We can't have you taking her and running away. She can get away on her own. You made your choice, and now you have to abide by it--]

Kazuto punched Hiro right in the middle of his face, launching him backwards.

Hiro instinctively began lifting his arms to protect himself.

[Kazuto: Don't resist, or the deal's off.]

Hiro hesitated, and another punch hit him right in the jaw.

Hiro couldn't do anything. He wasn't allowed to, or Kaori would suffer. He had to endure it.

A jarring pain pierced his side, and Hiro doubled over. Kazuto was punching him.

He couldn't see clearly; the pain from the punches were a lot more than he had expected, and he wasn't prepared for it.

[Atsuhi: I'm joining in~!]

Atsuhi leapt to Hiro and hooked him right in the cheek, and right after, Kazuto punched him in the other cheek, sending him stumbling to a wall.

Hiro's arms were grabbed, and his stomach was kneed. The force was amplified from the wall behind him.

Hiro couldn't do anything. He gave it his all to keep from protecting himself-- he had to keep his arms limp or he would reflexively block an attack.

Hiro's face was bashed against the wall, then his stomach was punched again.

Hiro couldn't stand anymore. The pain was too great.

Hiro collapsed onto the concrete.

Another blow hit him. A kick from behind nailed him straight in the spine, and it hurt so bad tears burst from his eyes.

[Atsuhi: He's already crying? Ha! After all of that talk too-- we were worried over nothing!]

It hurt. It hurt so bad.

Kicks came from all directions. Over and over and over they kicked him.

[Atsuhi: C'mon Shiro, you should join us!]

Shiro, who was still leaning against a wall, replied--

[Shiro: Sorry, but I don't find beating someone who can't defend themselves "fun".]

Atsuhi kicked Hiro again.

[Atsuhi: Mm, looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Where'd your pizazz go?]

Shiro sighed.

[Shiro: More accurately, I just don't feel like it, oddly enough.]

Atsuhi kicked Hiro's face.

[Atsuhi: Well, you do you.]

It was terrible. They were senselessly beating him and having a conversation like it was nothing.

The pain was agonizing.

The only thing keeping him going was Kaori.

If she wasn't there, he would've given out a long time ago.

Speaking of Kaori, was she able to run away?

Hiro attempted to open his eyes, but it was all hazy, and each impact rattled his vision. He could feel his brain sloshing around in his skull.

Even though he could barely see, he saw Kaori. He knew it was Kaori. A blurry female figure, on her knees, watching Hiro, helpless.

Hiro could almost hear a conversation between the bullies, but after being kicked in the ears, it left his hearing impaired.

Hiro saw a blurry, black-haired figure walk next to Kaori, with what seemed to be a metal rod. With Kaori ignorant to the figure next to her, the figure struck her on the side of her head with the metal rod, and her body collapsed.

[Hiro:––!]

Shiro?!

Why did he hit her?! They promised to let her go!

Shiro started making his way towards Hiro.

Hiro began screaming in rage, writhing fiercely in an attempt to escape his beating.

If they weren't going to follow their own rules, Hiro wasn't going to either. They hit Kaori again. That was unforgivable.

[Shiro: Hey hey hey, calm down, if you struggle more she's the one that's going to suffer from it-- hey, stop--! You're going to regret this!]

[Atsuhi: Errgh, yeah!]

The green-haired bully and the black-haired bully struggled to hold him down. Their words didn't ease their captive one bit.

[Shiro: Ugh, this is bad-- I'm not strong enough to keep him down--]

Atsuhi knelt down next to Hiro's face and smacked him repeatedly.

Water burst from his hands, and Hiro's head became drenched. With each word, Atsuhi slapped Hiro in the face.

[Atsuhi: Calm-- the-- fuck-- down-- you-- stupid-- bitch--]

Kazuto pushed the green-haired bully off Hiro.

[Kazuto: Get out of the way.]

Kazuto, with his foot on Hiro's face, lifted his hand, and it burst into flames.

[Kazuto: You know, your heroic attitude really pisses me off. What's it matter that some girl is getting beat? What's it matter that some little kid was getting robbed? It happens all the time! So calm down or I'll burn your face so bad, no one will be able to recognize you.]

Kazuto was bringing his hand closer and closer to Hiro's face. The heat was incredible.

The metal pole. The metal pole that Shiro dropped was within reach.

Hiro strained his body with all his might to grab it, the bullies still hitting him and holding him down. Hiro threw himself forward, and the bullies trying to restrain him lost balance, staggering backwards and letting go of Hiro.

Hiro picked up the metal pole, and yelled as he swung at Atsuhi's neck.

crunch--

The green-haired bully fell down and stayed down, but was still conscious.

[Atsuhi: A-- a... aa.. ah--]

One hit wasn't enough for Hiro. Hitting Kaori was unforgivable. Calling her a bitch was unforgivable. Hiro was going to grind these bullies to a pulp.

Hiro bashed Atsuhi's body brutally, again and again; skin tearing and bones shattering, only stopping because he noticed Kazuto running at him with flaming fists.

[Kazuto: You piece of shit!]

Kazuto took lurching steps forward. The bully threw a flaming punch at Hiro's face, only barely dodging it. However, because he was distracted, he got grazed by the flames.

Reacting in pain to the burn on his face, his hands instinctively went to his cheek, dropping the metal pole.

Kazuto shot slightly past Hiro, stumbling from the momentum of his missed punch.

Kazuto was getting ready to punch again, but Shiro on the opposite side of him stopped him.

[Shiro: Kazuto! Wait...!]

Shiro looked at Kazuto, raised both of his hands, then lowered them into a fighting position, nodding at Kazuto.

[Shiro: It's the safest option.]

Kazuto gave a frustrated expression, then murmured something under his breath. He exhaled; dropping his fighting stance, then pointed both of his hands at Hiro, the palms of his hands facing him.

What was he doing? Some sort of attack--?

Suddenly, something hit the side of Hiro's face, sending him stumbling to the side. He sensed another one coming and Hiro ducked.

It was Shiro. Was that thing with Kazuto a distraction?

Even though he successfully evaded the second punch, Hiro could feel his whole body shaking and aching from the beatdown he received only seconds before.

But Hiro couldn't stop now. He had to protect Kaori. Kaori was the only thing that mattered right now.

Fight for Kaori. Fight for Kaori, and win.

Adrenaline pumping through him, he dodged and weaved through two more punches, but was alarmed by the kick that flew through the air– very close to hitting his face. So close that he could smell the rubber on the bottom of his foot.

The person in front of him wasn't like the other two bullies– Shiro knew how to fight.

Hiro swiped his leg across the ground, hoping to trip him while he was still recoiling from launching a missed kick.

However, instead of trying to regain his balance, Shiro intentionally fell over with his elbow out towards the ground. Shiro's elbow landed right on Hiro's calf, nearly breaking his bones.

Hiro cried out in pain.

Shiro held Hiro's left arm down, disabling him. Hiro hit the bully with his free hand furiously, but he did not give in.

Shiro swung his legs on top of Hiro, pinning him down, then disabled his right hand. Shiro put his head close to Hiro's face, and spoke quietly, so that the other bullies couldn't hear.

[Shiro: Hey, I personally don't like violence, and I want to go home as soon as possible, so pretend like you're giving me a good fight, and I'll knock you out. Got it? It's better if you get hurt from me than if you get hurt from him.]

Shiro tilted his head towards Kazuto.

[Black-Haired Bully: You're pretty good at fighting too, so promise me that if you somehow get the better of me, which you won't, you won't hurt me too bad, okay?]

Hiro wasn't having any of it. After what he did to Kaori, Hiro couldn't trust him.

Hiro violently twisted his body, giving him enough momentum to roll on top of the Shiro.

Shiro's eyes became wide with surprise.

[Shiro: Hey! You're going to regret this man, seriously––]

Hiro punched him straight in the face.

Shiro groaned from the pain.

Hiro, holding one of Shiro's arms down, punched him repeatedly in the face.

However, after six or seven hits, Shiro blocked one of Hiro's punches with his palm, clasping his hand.

Hiro didn't try to escape, but instead pressed his fist down with all his might, making both of the boys' arms shake from the tension.

Shiro's face was all bloody from the pummeling Hiro dealt to him.

[Shiro: I told you not to hurt me too bad! Do you really want to get beat even more--?]

Suddenly, a blast of fire smothered Shiro's face, only barely missing Hiro's. Shiro's limbs became limp as if he lost consciousness, and the ground around his head became engulfed in flames.

Hiro let go of Shiro's arms.

Hiro looked around for the source, and it came from the red-haired bully, Kazuto.

With his arms outstretched, Kazuto's hands were blazing with raging flames.

But... Kazuto blasted one of his own with flames?

Hiro was left in confusion as to why Kazuto had struck one of his friends with his magic, but couldn't dwell too long on it, for Kazuto shot another fire blast at him. Hiro had to consider it lucky. Maybe now he had a real chance.

Hiro quickly rolled away from his spot to escape the fire.

Even though it missed him, the heat from the blast was overwhelming; a sultry heat that dried the blood on his body.

Kazuto began punching and swiping the air with his fists-- waves and arcs of fire bursting from hands. Hiro gave his all to try to dodge them, all the while trying to get closer to Kazuto.

Hiro had to close the space between them. If he stayed at a range, there was no way he could hit Kazuto. And if he couldn't hit him, there was no way he could win.

Bit by bit, Hiro made his way to Kazuto.

The fire launched by him was hot, but not very fast. Much like his punches, it was easy to evade and predict.

Hiro dodged the arcs of fire, imagining them to be Kazuto himself, throwing fists.

Just a meter or two and Hiro could land a punch--!

As Kazuto was about to blast Hiro with fire at point blank, Hiro was able to knock his hands away. Kazuto lost his balance and staggered back a bit, and Hiro took his opportunity.

Hiro rushed forward, grabbing Kazuto and ramming him into the alley wall. The impact left both of them on the ground dazed, but Kazuto didn't let that stop him from yelling out.

[Kazuto: Shiro! What are you doing?!]

Recovering from the collision, Hiro pounced on Kazuto and punched him in the face repeatedly, but he wouldn't seem to lose consciousness.

Blood spurted from Kazuto's nose, and Hiro's own blood was dripping onto his face.

[Kazuto: Shiro--!!]

Kazuto yelled for help one last time, before a punch to the forehead left him unconscious. Hiro relaxed a bit, and slowly stood up.

All of the pain was getting to him. Unlike last time, there was nothing fun about this fight at all. This was barbaric... ferocious.

Even though Hiro thought he had defeated all of them Hiro had very little time to rest, as he felt an arm wrap around his neck and another try to trap his arm.

Hiro reflexively knocked away the arm, and twisted under the arm on his neck.

Hiro jumped backwards, and got into another fighting stance. The attacker this time was Shiro.

Shiro?!

How was he up, after taking the brunt of the flames that Kazuto shot at him? And... he doesn't have any burn marks?

Shiro rushed forward, keeping his hands to his sides so that Hiro couldn't predict where his next strike was going to be.

Instead of trying to jump back and evade his attack, Hiro rushed in as well, hoping to surprise his opponent. As the two teenagers met, they exchanged a flurry of punches and blocks, some connecting, some missing.

There was no time to think about anything else but the person in front of them, or else they would risk losing the fight.

A punch to the face– ducked. An uppercut to the stomach– blocked. A swipe of the legs– jumped over.

The two boys really were evenly matched in their skills.

Suddenly, a whoosh of fire hit Shiro in the back, blocking Hiro from the flames. Wisps of black formed a barrier between Shiro and the fire, protecting him.

The flames looked as if they were sucked into the black mist before disappearing.

Magic.

Behind Shiro, Kazuto sat up, leaning against the alley wall.

He was already awake!?

[Shiro: C'mon man!]

Shiro, seemingly unharmed, patted down his clothing. The bottom of his shirt was in cinders, and his jeans were slightly charred. Shiro expressed annoyance toward Kazuto and sighed.

[Shiro: I liked that shirt too...]

Kazuto, with one knee on the ground, ignored Shiro's whining.

[Kazuto: Shiro! Finish this quick, my mana won't last much longer!]

Shiro turned around to look at Kazuto, and with another sigh, he replied.

[Shiro: Gotcha.]

Shiro turned back to face Hiro and sighed.

[Shiro: We could've ended this a long time ago you know.]

Shiro wiped the blood off his face.

[Shiro: But I can't say I don't enjoy a good fight.]

Shiro went in for another attack.

Hiro's muscles and bones were trembling, his body exasperated and bruised all over. His body was screaming for rest. Despite this, Hiro didn't stop fighting.

He couldn't lose now– he fought too hard to lose now.

Hiro and Shiro exchanged another flurry of strikes, skillfully evading and striking each other in the alley way.

Fire was flying in arcs around them, Hiro dodging and strategically using Shiro as a human shield to intercept the flames.

The fight was brutal, but also beautiful in a way. They danced along the alley way, blood spilling and fire lighting the stage.

Hiro waited for the perfect moment to strike, and after a long cycle of dodging, striking, and getting struck, he found it.

The adrenaline seemed to slow the time for him, and he found the perfect path to strike.

A line from Hiro's fist to Shiro's face presented itself, and Hiro put all of his power into this one punch.

With a yell, his fist connected, and sent Shiro's head to the side, banging against the alley wall. Shiro collapsed, unconscious.

Ha, and he said Hiro wouldn't be able to beat him...

Hiro looked behind him.

kkksh--

Kazuto collapsed onto the concrete, the fire around his fists dissipating.

Kazuto looked up at Hiro.

[Kazuto: How did you... you fucking... argh--]

Kazuto's eyes closed and his head fell to the ground. He was out cold.

He must have gone out from mana exhaustion.

Hiro had been looking forward to slugging Kazuto's face, but now he was out cold. Hiro would go and punch him again, but lacked the energy to.

Hiro looked at the three bloodied and bruised boys blacked out on the ground, realizing that he really had won.

Relief washed over him, but the anger and frustration still lingered... Not to mention his own broken and battered body, aching and covered in blood.

At the very least, Kaori was okay– albeit unconscious on the floor; but he had won the battle.

Hiro limped to the alley wall next to Kaori, and slid his back down into a sitting position.

Hiro's day with Kaori was ruined. He looked up at the orange sky. He was really enjoying today too...

With his adrenaline fading away, the pain came. Everything hurt. At least Kaori seemed fine.

You know, if only he had enough strength to defeat the bullies in the first place-- if only he had some sort of magic ability, this might have been over before they got hurt.

That's always what it led to. Hiro's inadequacy.

He wasn't strong enough. If he was strong enough, he could have protected Kaori.

Hiro stared at his bloody palm.

Hiro trained all he had, nearly every day, but his physical body could only go so far.

Without a magic ability he could only go so far. At some point he would reach a limit that he couldn't break without magic.

Was he ever going to unlock an ability at all?

Would he ever be able to become a great combat mage like Kobu without magic?

These thoughts brought him to Shuuki.

Why was Shuuki so much better than him at everything, and have to have a magic ability?

If only Hiro had a magic ability, he could do so much more... Maybe he wouldn't be in this rut right now if he had one.

Maybe if he had a magic ability he could reach Shuuki's level. Become an equal. Someday.

Lingering in the back of his mind, one of Hiro's biggest fears was that his magic ability wouldn't come, and he would be stuck struggling for the rest of his life, in Shuuki's shadow.

It's just not fair...

Even though Hiro won the battle against the bullies, he wasn't feeling good about himself at all– mentally and physically.

Hiro coughed up blood onto his hand, wistfully staring at his palm before wiping the blood on his shirt.

He felt his cognizance fading away, and his eyelids started to become heavy. He closed his eyes, and--