Breaking the Tether

Hideo lunged first. His right fist hurtled toward Haru’s face. Haru ducked just in time, the punch grazing the air above him. He countered with a sharp kick to Hideo’s shin, effectively sending him tumbling. Hideo hit the ground with a heavy thud, his pained cry ringing through the parking lot.

I winced at the sight. That must have hurt. I should help, though I wasn’t sure what I could do against a man that size. Panic set in as I scanned my surroundings. My eyes landed on Shiba, sitting calmly by Enma’s car like we weren’t teetering on the edge of failure.

The robot dog companions were programmed never to use violence under any circumstances. But Shiba wasn’t like the others. If I could find a way to get him to help without anyone noticing, we might still have a chance at this.

Before I could devise a plan to secretly enlist Shiba’s help, Haru’s eyes locked onto mine. Hideo lay groaning on the ground, clutching his leg. Alarm spiked through me. There was no time to think. Haru was already charging straight at me, his massive frame barreling forward.

My first instinct was to run, widening the distance between us and buying myself some time to think. But Haru was faster. That was to be expected, given his size and strength. Before I could take more than a couple of steps, his arms locked around my stomach like steel bands. The next thing I knew, I was flat on my back, the hard pavement slamming against the back of my head. The throbbing pain swallowed my senses whole.

“You do realize you have no chance against me, right?” Haru said, sitting on my stomach as he calmly watched Hideo wriggling in the distance. His voice held no urgency, as if he knew this fight was already over.

The weight of his body pressed down on me, making it hard to breathe. I summoned the last of my strength to swing at his side, but Haru remained unfazed, like my punch had been nothing more than a light poke.

“Why are you doing this?” I gasped, my breath shallow and uneven. Hideo was my only chance to escape. Trapped under Haru’s weight, I forced myself to engage him in a conversation, attempting to distract him long enough for Hideo to recover from the hit. “You can serve in the military while letting the hospital take care of your mother. Use your days off to visit her. Why risk deserting?”

Haru snorted at my suggestion. “I’m the only family she has left. The pay from the military doesn’t cover her treatment costs. I have to work so many jobs just to pay enough so they don’t kick her out of the hospital. If I stay in the base, it’s the same as letting her die. You would do the same if you were in my shoes.”

“Have you told the military about your mother before you deserted? You could have asked for—I don’t know—a loan, maybe.” I was just spouting nonsense at this point.

“They wouldn’t even let me take unpaid leave to visit my mother. Do you think they would do anything to help? No way in hell,” Haru snapped.

What else should I say?

Hideo hadn’t come to my aid. I needed to keep the conversation going. At least Haru had answered my question and was humoring me now. I was doing my best to serve as a distraction.

I debated whether I should tell him about the military’s ultimatum. If his mother was transferred to the military hospital, he wouldn’t be able to visit her again. He was in a tough spot. I could understand his desperation, but the world wasn’t getting any better. It was only getting worse, and fighting against it recklessly like this could lead to an undesirable outcome. Yet if I told him, I would defy the military as well. That was a risk I couldn’t afford. I wouldn’t be safe.

When I was at a loss for words, Hideo finally got back on his feet. He used the momentum of his lunge to shove Haru off me. I quickly wriggled free from under his weight and took a deep breath. The two of them rolled on the ground, exchanging punches. But it was only a matter of time until Hideo was overwhelmed by Haru’s sheer power and the latter took advantage of the opening.

What can I do to help?

My head pounded, and my chest ached. With my current strength, I could do nothing to stop him. As I paced around, trying to think, I heard the clanking of the handcuffs in my pocket. Shiba was staring at me from a distance. I had a terrible idea, but I just had to try. I only had one shot. If I failed, I would lose the element of surprise, and it wouldn’t work.

On my signal. I texted Shiba with my ID watch.

Hoping Shiba would understand my signal, I pulled the handcuffs from my pocket and sprinted toward the fight, careful not to draw attention. I timed it just as Haru was about to land a punch with his right hand. His left hand gripped Hideo’s collar. While Haru focused on landing the punch, I slipped the handcuff around his left wrist, holding on to the other cuff tightly.

“Shiba!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

On cue, Shiba dashed from his post toward me, clamping his jaws around the cuff I was holding. With a powerful tug, he dragged Haru along with him. As a robot, his strength far surpassed that of a human’s, easily overpowering Haru. He was so dependable I nearly cheered aloud.

This shouldn’t count as violence, right?

I ran after Shiba as he bolted around the parking lot, a helpless Haru dragged along behind him. It seemed Shiba had the same idea I did. He brought Haru to a corner of the parking lot where a large truck blocked the cameras’ view. Realizing his intent, I quickly turned off my earpiece and ID watch to avoid being detected for a while. I wanted to give Haru a chance. I needed to tell him about the military’s threat. As long as Bluefort didn’t notice, I should be safe.

Shiba came to a stop, still holding firmly onto the cuff in his jaws. I crouched down to meet Haru at eye level. He looked utterly battered. His face was bruised from Hideo’s punches, and his clothes were torn from being dragged across the pavement. Cuts marred his skin, while blood and dirt stained the fabric of his shirt. He wasn’t struggling to escape anymore. He seemed defeated, almost resigned.

“Please, I beg you. Don’t take me back. I need to save my mother.” Haru’s voice trembled with desperation. It was hard not to understand where he was coming from. If I still had family left, I would do whatever it took to keep them alive too.

I braced myself. It was now or never. I had to make a difference. I couldn’t keep living under the military’s threat. “So, what’s your plan? Fight every Drifter Captor they send after you? Don’t you think they’ll do something different after a few failures? Do you really believe they’ll let you keep getting away with this?”

Haru didn’t waver. “I’ll keep fighting, no matter what it takes, if it means keeping my mother alive.”

“What if I say I can help you?”