A Second, Older Lam

Several minutes had passed as Klay continued on his way towards the dojo. He kept his hood on and did his best to stay out of the way of others, sticking to the alleyways and various paths between the buildings. He didn't want to be easily noticed since Alp and the other bullies hadn't tried to attack him or bother him in the last week, which was exactly how he preferred it.

I wonder if I'll have to do any fighting with the other dojo students today. They might be more reasonable than those bullies at the school, but they have confidence to the point of being assholes.

He grimaced while thinking back to the multitude of sparring matches at the dojo, where the other students continually mocked him for being related to so many strong individuals and yet having no talent in martial arts. Klay shook off the negative expression and continued on his path towards the dojo, turning down another narrow.

A cold wind whistled quietly through the alley as Klay ducked his head down to avoid the sight of the two people that were leaning against the wall partway down the alley and making some basic conversation. The two were both a bit taller than Klay due to their age, but what caused his reaction was at the sight of their red school uniforms. The teens were wearing the uniform of Copper High, making him far more nervous than he was moments before.

Crap, why are people from my school here? I've taken this route a bunch before, but I've never seen them! Damn it! They should leave me alone if I just keep my head down and ignore them.

Doing just that, Klay made his way past them, doing his best to not be seen and to not acknowledge their presence either. His steps were heard over the quiet dims of the wind and their conversation, but they ignored him as they happily chatted away. The narrow alley seemed far more congested as he passed by them, but the feeling went away as he quickly escaped that stretch of alleyway and turned the corner.

CRUNCH!

"Think you could get off scot-free, did ya?" A snobbish voice asked rhetorically, stepping in front of Klay.

[Broken nose detected. Activating Level 4 Regen Focus]

The rapid gushing of blood out of his nose quickly slowed down, while Klay covered his crimson face with his hands and warily looked at who hit him.

The older student who had hit him was blonde, looking down on Klay with a smug expression as he held a bloody bat in his hand. He had come from around the corner, hitting Klay when he had least expected it. From where Klay was on the ground, the student was extremely tall, albeit lanky. He, along with the teen next him and the two that Klay had passed just before, wore the traditional Copper High uniform.

As the feeling of his regeneration kicked in faster with a buzz, Klay focused in on it before he managed to speak.

Alright, calm down, Klay. Clearly, they are bullies, seeing as I was able to escape losing teeth through sheer luck. Alp isn't with them, so I should be able to fight them off if not escape. Who are they though, and what did I do exactly? They look older than me, so they are probably juniors or seniors. 

Groaning softly, Klay spoke out angrily. "Who are you, asshole? What did I do to you?!"

With a sneer and a huff, the blonde bully kicked out at Klay and hit him on the shoulder, pushing him back against the wall. Klay hadn't bothered to dodge as the kick appeared fairly weak, and only the push had truly hurt him.

"You really don't know who I am, do you red? Isn't that too ignorant of you, especially with you getting in fights all the time. Whatever. My name is Henrik Lam, and my issue with you is that you've screwed with my little brother. So take your beating…" the lanky Henrik stretched out the syllable while raising his leg up, where he quickly sent it down at Klay. "And repent!"

Activate Contortion!

[Activating Level 2 Contortion]

Beyond the four bullies' expectations, Klay quickly rolled forward and used his Strike, landing a decent hit on Henrik's ankle and causing him to yell out and stumble to the side, falling against one of his flunkies.

"Damn! Don't let him run off, grab him!" Henrik yelled out as he steadied himself. The other three moved quickly to surround Klay, helping to corner him as Henrik lifted his bat up and swung it in a downward arc at his head.

Trapped against the wall, Klay grit his teeth and raised his arm up, blocking the ferocious swing of the bat with his forearm as a painful collision occurred between the two. The pain of the hit flooded through Klay's without a moment of relief. In a response, his eyes began to water as he yelled out in pain beyond anything he had felt before.

[Broken arm detected. Activating Level 4 Regen Focus]

He guarded his arm carefully, doing his best to ward off the reaching hands grasping out at him from the blonde boy's lackeys with his singular arm. 

Why isn't my Regen Focus dealing with the pain yet?! Fuck! I can't while trying to keep my arm from feeling so much pain, so fix it already please!

Klay begged the system in his mind while using Strike to ward off the three other students who slowly encroached on him. Having barely managed to avoid several of their attempts to grab and hold him, or just punch him, Klay's free arm was gripped and roughly shoved against the concrete brick behind him.

"Arghh!" Klay screamed out in pain, kicking out his legs and feet with little technique. Henrik, standing behind the other three, laughed at his resistance.

Brandishing his bat, he stood tall and smug with a glaring smirk on his face. "Just give up already, red. Even if you managed to deal with a couple of that sophomore Alp's hits and were even cocky enough to beat up my lil' bro, there's just no way you could get out of this. Take your beating well and maybe I'll let you go without breaking your other arm." 

Shut up, you bastard! System, use Strike with my kicks! Just get me out of this! Observation!

"[The current Strike ability is only effective through the modum of punching. While kicks and other kinds of offensive movements can still be used, none are as accurate or power-efficient as punching.]"

Despite receiving an answer from the system denouncing the idea of using Strike in such a manner, Klay began sending out more rabid kicks with the ability while using Observation to decide on where to target with the kicks.

Henrik Lam, average physique, armed with a wooden bat. Confident, paying little attention. Relatively minimal threat. Three bullies, all athletic and unarmed. Older and stronger, Junior class. Closest one, pinning healthy arm against the wall. Focused on keeping me in place, easy target. Second one, punching out at me. Aiming for injured arm, wary of getting kicked. Swinging fist outward, meant to knock me out. Third bully standing in front of me. Wrestling stance, trying to grapple my legs. Blocking some kicks with his shoulder, feeling pain.

"Haaa!" With a lash of his foot, Klay flung his foot upward at the second bully's chin, who stepped back to avoid it with a frown. His eyes widened as he saw Klay yell out and twist his leg with a stomp, hitting the wrestler who had targeted his open leg down.

PA!

With a pained grunt, the air was knocked out of the wrestler. Several more stomps landed on the bully as he tried to push himself up and away from Klay, but with the Strike skill being used they were continually shoved down to the alley. For just a moment, the second bully was caught off guard but quickly stepped forward, sending a wide hook out and planting his fist into the chest of Klay.

PA!

Damn it, I can't Strike both of them easily! My knee is still hurting from the stress of the last-

SMASH!!

Klay's vision flashed white as he was batted in the side of the head by Henrik, throwing him to the side as he struggled to recover his senses. 

[Mild brain trauma detected. Activating Level 4 Regen Focus]

Subconsciously, Klay focused on healing his head as well. The buzz of his regeneration filled his head pleasantly, letting him focus on it instead of the several older bullies.

"Hahaha, how'd ya like that, red?!" Henrik laughed haughtily. "Boys, grab him and hold him, I wanna use my own hands to beat some sense into this bastard that thought he could get away scot-free after beating my little bro!!" The blond yelled and tossed his bat to the side, letting it clatter against the wall of the alleyway as it fell.