Advent

Tetsuya was against a man of impressive might and size. But what Tetsuya had that the bandit boss did not was a tremendous will backed by strength that was formidable for his size and age. Most called Tetsuya 'strong' in the sense he was able to do basic work and fulfill basic tasks, but not in the sense he was physically imposing, dominant, or threatening in any sense of the word. The boy was undermined by the leading bandit's colossus exterior initially, a noticeable five or six inches shorter, and comparatively scrawny though Tetsuya's body was toned to muscle to some default ― a guarantee from the arduous labor he was assigned to complete.

But he was committed to the prospect of emerging successful.

He couldn't dare lose. What he called family was on the line. If he were to lose the confrontation with the bandit, his dreams of being a 'free' man would dissipate and vanish forever. His desire would be lost amongst the generic wishes of everyone else, fled to another world of impossibilities.

He couldn't allow that to happen.

The hefty, burly man repeatedly attempted to grab Tetsuya, but with little success. Each and every attempt failed. Tetsuya kept his distance, jumping from side to side in unorthodox patterns that no one expected for such a young boy.

The boy was too fast, and made the bandit boss appear clumsy as time would reveal. Spaced between each session of avoidance was a quick jab to the ribcage of the domineering bandit, causing him to occasionally grunt, but not give up any ground by any means. Tetsuya backed up with each advance the boss made.

"C'mere, YOU RUNT!" The boss yelled, hands itching to grab hold of Tetsusya by the sound of his tone. The boss swiped at the head of the boy and only air was successfully grasped as the boy ducked underneath the arms of the bandit. Tetsuya was simply too fast.

Too much was on the line for him to give up, and so he kept moving. Adrenaline coursed through his body, supplanting every joint and every bone with enough sufficiency for the time being to keep him free from the harmful grasp of the bandit boss whose hands kept reaching defiantly for Tetsuya, itching to take hold of him.

Each and every attempt resulted in failure. The bandit boss, by the time that Tetsuya had managed to dodge for what appeared to be the last and final time, had run out of enough stamina to keep on persisting, beads of sweat running down the side of the comparatively larger man's face as he fell to a single knee. All Tetsuya treaded on after managing to successfully avoid every single attempt to be grabbed was pure adrenaline and everlasting stamina from the stimuli of danger coursing through his veins.

Instinctively, he sensed danger elsewhere. The bandits spectating the fight were beginning to get dissatisfied with what they were witnessing, finding the failure of their boss to be a humiliating discovery. The head of the bandits concealed his expression with his threadlike strands of hair, preventing any spectator of the situation from seeing what emotions plagued the man attempting to pulverize Tetsuya.

"...Huh? No! That runt can't be beatin' the boss, not like that, movin' around like a damn coward!" One of the bandits spewed, unsheathing a machete from his person and moving in on Tetsuya.

Not good, Tetsuya thought to himself. In his peripheral vision with an effortless side-eye of his surroundings, he could view the bandits closing in on him gradually. He couldn't take on all of them, and had yet to procure the safety of his people. There was no way even a resiliently strong and powerful boy such as himself could take on so many. It was simply inhuman, and even he knew that despite the perceived impossibility of his ambitions.

A sullen look took form on Tetsuya's face as the bandits got closer and closer, seeming to take their time with a knowing advantage in their hands. Brandished with swords, knives, and various weapons of lethality, Tetsuya visibly worried.

The boss of them all, huffing and puffing loudly, was still kneeled down on one leg, taking his sweet time with recovering. He curled up his fists, a sharp crack audible from his whereabouts. With a brief shift of the head, Tetsuya's focus went back to his main individual opposition ― particularly to the ground, where areas not concealed by grass seemed to be cracking.

The bandit boss had single-handedly dented the ground with his hand, knelt on the ground as if he had made an admission to temporary defeat by taking a brief resting period of some sort. Such involuntary admission, however, was squashed by the declaration he made next.

"...Don't INTERVENE. All of you will stand back and watch me settle this one on one. I don't care how old he is. If he's got the nerve to take out one of my men, he's worthwhile being dealt with."

The bandit asserted, a vigorous show of his head to display his eyes becoming increasingly bloodshot as if he was under a supernatural influence by the time he had come to terms with what he was going to do.

Tetsuya stood there as the bandits stopped their seeming attempt to close in and take him out by themselves. He was going to take on the leader of the operation by himself. Though not as strong ― or not as powerful as the bandit boss, he believed he possessed the element of surprise. An exceptionally strong fifteen-year-old boy up against the equivalent of Goliath, his intention was to beguile the bandit boss.

In some haphazard motion of happenstance, Tetsuya happened to turn away from his ambitious stance, and his expression turned into one of fear as the leading bandit of the herded pack watching stood to his feet. Shock filled the eyes of the boy as he seemed to plead for mercy just by the look in his eyes ― genuine quality unquestioned by the bandit boss whose belief commanded him to believe that Tetsuya's life was in his hands after his declaration of will.

There was no way. No way the boss would allow himself to be bested again, right?

That was what he believed to be the case at the time. So, of course, he seized the opportunity to assert complete dominance over his undersized opponent. Standing over Tetsuya at commanding wavelength of willpower and ferocity, the bandit was unaware of the ace Tetsuya possessed in the circumstance of suspense. Every villager who watched ― every person who oversaw Tetsuya's fate in that very moment may have as well believed he was dead as a domineering, oversized hand belonging to the boss reached out for his comparatively smaller frame.

Everyone who called Tetsuya's existence off was wrong. Whether they expressed their fear for Tetsuya in the form of a scream, shudder, or dead silence ― or the inevitability of the perceived hopelessness of their situation, they were dead wrong.

Though death would've prevailed in the situation Tetsuya gave into whatever fear he feigned, he remained asunder from the clutches of the boss, breakneck and meteoric reaction resulting in a quick, unprecedented situation where the boss was outsmarted by the fifteen-year-old. He was simply too quick. Too swift, and too broad in what he had planned to deceive the leader of many men who lacked insight into his plans, he was a step ahead.

He remained a step ahead at all times. The bandit did not relent, pursuing after Tetsuya wildly with a serious of attempts to snatch Tetsuya off the ground, but each and every attempt failed. On the final attempt, Tetsuya, in the spur of the moment, backed into a tree, interrupting his streak of avoiding the boss's attempts to grab him, his collision slowing his movement down drastically. It was then that he was completely helpless with no assistance from any of the spectators who were blockaded by bandits who eagerly watched the result of the confrontation.

The natural terrain of the village had been his only downfall. But his streak leading to what appeared to be victory seemed to end prematurely. The bandit aggressively reached a hand outward, sending his large clutches into the center of Tetsuya's chest to pin him against the tree he collided with.

"Ungh!" Tetsuya grunted. Pinned and trapped, he was helpless under the palm of the bandit. The palm of the bandit was enough to span the entirety of his chest, leaving him entrapped. Tetsuya couldn't escape.

"...I've got you. Time for you to feel real pain."

Tetsuya's life flashed before his very eyes. Indomitable will vanquished in the aisle of a freight train heading his way, he was struck in the chest by an alternating set of hands, clobbered through the trunk of the tree he was held against.

He could feel pressure and pain bearing down on him every single second he was hammered. Blood gushed from Tetsuya in significant amounts as the very ribcage of the boy had nearly been fractured within the first set of hands given by the boss in his series of astronomical strikes to the center of his body. Held into the truck of the tree, powerless, and weak, every spectator in mutual area fell silent in shock of what they had witnessed.

"...Feh."

The bandit boss let Tetsuya slump into the dark hole of the tree that resulted from his vicious combo. As far as he knew, the job was done. No fifteen-year-old would be likely to survive such damage, he thought to himself. He withdrew from the trunk of the tree, letting each and every villager know of the dominance he asserted just through what he had done.

"That should let everyone here know just how hopeless they are. He was stronger than most of the men I've strong-armed into getting what I want, but could do little to stop me."

The bandit explained over the sea of the village's population and to his own subservient bandit group who blocked off the villagers from intervening or getting a closer look at what ensued.

There was only a pit of silence left after what occurred. Even the bandits couldn't believe what they'd seen ― not in a state of defiant belief that their boss beat someone that turned out to be stronger than they thought they'd be, but in the sense a young boy had just been senselessly beat and battered by a grown man in every sense of what occurred. Plodding along to regroup with his men, the village, and town by extension, simply dwelled in silence and some fleeting sense of misery.

"...As for this town, that will be the last time another defiant member of your population ever challenges my bandits again. If I hear of anything similar ever again, I'll make sure to kill more than I deprived you of last time." The boss spoke in an authoritative fashion as if he governed real, tangible authority over the land.

And in a sense, he did. Nearly every townsfolk was in fear, trembling from the implications of the bandit's presence in the jurisdiction of the town.

"...Wait! Tetsuya... Tetsuya can't be dead!" A hyper, high-pitched voice snapped from the seemingly endless crowd.

Every townsfolk whipped their heads over to see who had said it. Tetsuro.

In the instant after such words had been said, Tetsuya came out from the gaping hole he'd been clobbered into, showing uncanny resilience. He'd gushed out a significant amount of blood from his mouth as a result of the trauma he endured at the hand of the opponent he tried desperately to counter against. As an act of cosigning his determination to prevail, he spat out the rivers of blood pooling in his mouth.

"...You can beat me up as much as you want. I'm not giving up until these people are saved."

Though young, Tetusya's will was insurmountable. He wouldn't allow himself to be beaten without putting up as much of a fight as his body would allow. Unfortunately, he wouldn't last much longer, and his body knew that.

"Still standing?" The bandit boss rhetorically asked, raising a brow to the lone fighter.

"...Yes. So come here and get away from the townsfolk. I'm your priority. Nobody else."

Tetsuya knew well he was outmatched. But he was determined. Something gleamed in his eyes. As the bandit boss came forward, Tetsuya shifted his hands up, getting ready to formulate his own defense.

But there was a scream from the crowd.

There was a girl with light blue hair from the crowd by the name of Sarah, a girl Tetsuya met earlier in a task to return an item she lost, was quick to come to Tetsuya's defense. She barreled through person after person as best as she could until she pushed past the group of bandits, coming to Tetsuya's side at long last. Even the bandits were shocked by her arrival as they weren't expecting such an unspoken presence from the townsfolk to arrive and assist Tetsuya in some shape or form.

"Leave him alone! I won't sit by and watch this happen any longer." She yelled at the top of her lungs, defiant of the apparent authority exerted by the bandits and their boss. In her eyes, she saw them as decadent, corrupt, and dangerous.

"...So, you've got townsfolk wanting to fight back, huh?" The boss shifted his eyes to Sarah. He sufficed only a brief chuckle.

"Take her away. Can't afford to have people intervene. I won't waste time with the boy again as well. Take him away, and make sure no one else tries to get involved. We'll sell them on the black market overseas."

The bandits proceeded to obey. Six bandits surrounded Tetsuya and Sarah to take them away. Instantly, Sarah's resolve seemed to thin away as strong, well-built men seemed to be closing in on them. She wouldn't be able to defend from them at all considering how outmatched she was. She would need to fight back with all her willpower if she were even to stand a chance.

Tetsuya held his head low, blood clad around his chin and face as an implication of the beatdown he had taken. Still, though, he didn't give up much ground. He seemed to be struggling to put words together, stuttering underneath his breath.

"...You shouldn't be here. Let me handle this! I got myself into this mess." Tetsuya said, raising his head to look directly at Sarah.

She was silent for a moment, withdrawing from making mutual eye contact with Tetsuya to focus on the bandits.

"No. This is my way of repaying you for what you did for me. Please don't interfere. I'll try and buy you time. Maybe we can reason with them." Sarah said, whispering ever so slightly so as to keep the specifics of her plan classified.

Sarah proceeded to charge forward relentlessly towards the bandits before stopping, splaying her hands out in an attempt to protect her newfound ally. Genuinely, she thought the bandits could be reasoned with.

"Stop! You don't need to do this. Don't you understand?!? You're hurting innocent people for no reason. Just..." Before Sarah could finish, the bandits grabbed her by her arms.

"What... what are you doing?!? Let go of me!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. No use. Two bandits began taking her away while the other four walked over to restrain Tetsuya.

Tetsuya was angered. Someone he had helped and assisted ― though not associated himself to be attached to was out of his reach and out of mind. He was enraged, violently so to the point where his fists quaked through the nausea he felt since getting himself out of the gaping hole of the tree resulting from the monstrous strength of the bandit boss he was exposed to in an unpleasant manner. Presently, he could feel it ― the sensation of fists upon fists being clobbered against his ribcage with the appropriate tenacity to fracture the skeletal structure of his ribcage. Through some miracle, he was still intact with a ribcage that hadn't suffered a single crack, but the same couldn't be said for his muscles. He'd been bleeding a stream from his mouth for a while.

If he weren't careful with the bandits, the same could happen once again. He masked his anger so it couldn't get the best of him. He had to get Sarah back, and quick. It was his first test to see if he was worthwhile becoming a boy who could venture the world freely without restraint.

"...So, you guys think you've got me cornered, huh?" Tetsuya asked, a coy look on his face. His head, despite not being the target of the previous series of attacks, felt like it was splitting and he felt extremely nauseous. The nausea began to clear as he realized what he had before him next. As he interlocked eyes with the four bandits, a sense of ambition entered his mind.

He was previously powerless against the bandit boss, but believed he could take out the four bandits before him if he was smart enough and wise to keep his distance.

"...Go ahead. Come at me, then. I'm ready for anything you've got. Anything. Anything you throw at me... I'll just return it two times as hard and fast!" Tetsuya exclaimed.

The bandits looked between one another for a moment in some fleeting sense of ridicule. Brandishing knives from their pockets, they charged at Tetsuya all at once. Inexperienced with the art of avoiding knives, he was left a sitting duck as possible death was heading towards him from all four attackers, the sharp ends of their knives reflecting the possibility of death if he wasn't careful enough.

He was quick enough to dodge the first two instances of attackers attempting to inject their knives into his body, but narrowly missed the succeeding three instances, escaping by a smidge with his clothing torn by the end of their blades. In the aftermath, he stumbled to the side, still affected by the beatdown he sustained from the boss of the bandits. They were too many for him to take by himself considering he was one person ― one person up against four men bloodthirsty enough to use knives to try and put him down to take away.

Townsfolk watched anxiously, unable to do anything ― or not willing to do anything; the distinction irrelevant amidst a situation of life-and-death as the bandits stormed towards him. He backed up as they did to the very tree that had been the catalyst of his brief downfall against the bandit boss, removing a branch from the tree as a defense. As he did, he surreptitiously held it behind his back, waiting for the first of the bandits in their relentless charge to arrive.

Once they did...

HACK!

Heart-racing, anticipation thriving, and in a rush, Tetsuya stabbed the branch through the arms of two bandits, causing them to drop the trajectory of their attack entirely. The knives the two bandits held dropped from their hands, and Tetsuya kicked the two of them away, causing them to land flat on the grass. The remaining two were stabbed in the eyes by the branch and fell flat on the ground, writhing in pain.

"Hrngh... w-what... what the hell?"

Tetsuya only smirked down at the bandits after taking them out. He dropped the branch to the floor after managing to dispose of them, turning his sights back on the bandit boss. Other bandits started to get involved, appearing to engage themselves in the effort.

One, two, three, four, five ― soon even ten bandits got involved, brandishing knives of their own. It was too much for one boy such as Tetsuya to deal with. He had dispatched four of them with ease, only requiring a branch to take them out and nothing more with the supplementary addition of his speed. But what he didn't have that they did was numbers. The bandits blocked his path off, preventing him from venturing forth and getting Sarah.

"...You should just surrender. You won't be alive by the time we're done with you." One of the bandits warned.

But Tetsuya did not falter or back down an inch of ground even once. His expression remained the same, the stark definition of sturdy defined on his face.

"Well... don't say I didn't warn you."

They charged forward, ready to end Tetsuya's life. In foresight, he was clueless of how he would respond to so many people, but improvised he would end up losing his life in the process.

He stormed forth in mutuality to the response cultivated by the bandits. If his fate was to be sold on the black market as a faceless boy who, sure, expressed bravery amidst chaos and hopelessness, then he would accept it. It was better than kicking the bucket as someone who failed to respond.

That was it. He would finally meet his fate.

Glistening in the reflection of the brandished knives of the bandits was his skin, flesh, and envisioned fate... he could see himself being torn and mercilessly beaten by the bloodthirsty bandits, their fists primed to batter his lifeless husk. In his peripheral, he watched the boss of the ruffians enjoy the preview to his fate.

The damned bastard ought to pay for cutting his dream short.

But alas...

It was too late.

Or so he thought.

BAM!

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Silence enveloped the area. The ten bandits that once stood in front of Tetsuya all unexpectedly had their weapons confiscated in what seemed like an instant, their knives collected in a lone, individual flying palm appearing to belong to something foreign . . . . . .

The flying palm seemed to belong to a human. When Tetsuya first saw it, he came to a stop in his blind rush towards death, and so did the bandits, their hands unoccupied to provide them confidence in their assault.

Just what was it, and where did it come from? In the awe of seeing something so blatantly nonconforming to the world's physical rules, the entire town's attention snapped to it, seeing a floating palm brandishing several knives as if they were a deck of cards.

"...What is taking you all so long? Go ahead and deal with..." The bandit boss trailed, his eyes shooting up to take notice of the lone hand hovering in the air. It was unlike anything he'd seen, and he was miraculously lost, quavering in fright for a moment.

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"...This isn't... this isn't... what... what is that?!?"

Confused murmurs came from the boss and his associates quavered in bizarre, renounced fear. He, himself, was scared of the bizarre phenomenon he was seeing.

Amongst the silence, there were screams of acknowledgement, some fearing the phenomenon of a hand levitating with knives in its grasp. The introduction of such a foreign element bewildered the bandits who once seemed fearless despite the gravity of their assumed authority over the town.

Tetsuya's expression contorted to one of disbelief and profound excitement while others were confounded with the phenomena they were witnessing. It was his first time seeing anything of the sort.

There was too much on his mind for him to even express. Too much on the minds of townsfolk, bandits, and even the unnoticed to express in rationale besides screams, murmurs, and whispers of little legibility.

The knives confiscated from each bandit were pitched towards their heads from the floating hand. With little time to react, five of the ten bandits had their heads punctured, blood exuding from their heads like a bad leakage as they hit the ground like lifeless dolls. By a small margin, the other five knives missed, hitting the grass, lodged in a permanent position.

The human hand seemed to retract its presence in the area entirely through levitation, gravitationally independent from the area, affixing itself to a presence that emerged from the woodworks of the town's crowded center where townsfolk witnessed the result of an unprecedented confrontation.

A single girl revealed herself to be the cause of such an attack. Fitted with an implement of that of a cyborg on her left arm and a normal, functioning human arm stitched with bandages, she exuded an aura of mystery.

Just who was this girl, and what had she done to generate an effect in which her hand could levitate?

All eyes went on her. Eyes from the townsfolk, eyes from the bandit, eyes from the boss, and the eyes of Tetsuya, the boy courageous enough to provoke a confrontation with the bandits, went on her, attracted by the aura of mystery she inadvertently produced by her interference in the situation.

. . . .

TO BE CONTINUED