Ch 6: Bandits and a Bunny - Pt 4: Breaking Free

"You what?!" Yuuna was about as shocked as I expected after hearing what happened after she was taken.

"I'm still trying to figure it out." I looked down at my hands. "I thought I could use it to rescue you, but by the time I arrived, it just wasn't working anymore."

"Well, I suppose we can talk more about that later." Yuuna turned toward the door. "How do we get out of here then?"

Following her gaze, I stood and put my hands on my hips. "There's not really much for us to do other than run for it and hope for the best." I looked back at Yuuna. "You head right for the door as fast as you can. It should be a relatively straight shot. I'll do my best to hold them off until you are safe."

Yuuna rose and stepped up to me with her hands clasped. "Promise you'll meet me outside?"

I grinned at her gentle face. "Promise."

Slowly pushing the door open, I peeked through the crack to assess the situation. The card players were back to their game, and the coin counters were bagging up the money, but I did not have any view of Brute, Spike, Gloom, and their fourth friend. If I was going to have to fight anyone, they were likely to be the first.

We gave each other a firm nod to signal our readiness, and I shouldered the door open. Just as I instructed, Yuuna hurried out like a horse with blinders with only the finish line in sight. Similarly as I predicted, the other four men were already on their feet and the quickest to react. The unknown lacking a nickname reached for a wooden club, but I kicked it away before he could reach it and elbowed him in the temple. One down.

Brute was strong enough to handle a fight with only his fists and was surprisingly quick to swing. I ducked just in time and rolled backward to meet another lackey with a sledgehammer raised above his head. I tumbled to the side before I was smashed into the floor like a nail and swung my leg around to trip him.

Focusing on defense, one by one, I evaded their attempts. There was no need for me to win the battle as long as the two of us made it out alive. I glanced over to see Yuuna's progress, spotting her only a few steps away from freedom. She's gonna make it!

"Ah!" As if I jinxed it, Yuuna's arm was snatched, and she was pulled to the ground.

"Where do you think you’re goin', Girl?" Just like before, Spike only cared about keeping Yuuna around.

"Yuuna!" Distracted by what was happening to my left, my face was struck by a fist from my right.

Brute hit me so hard I, too, was on the ground. Eyes still on the one I came to save, I watched as Spike pinned her arms over her head and knelt over her. Gloom had joined him and stood by their side laughing.

In synch with my inflaming emotions, energy began pulsing throughout my body. Even though Brute was out of my sight, a sixth sense warned me of his foot coming for my head. I grabbed his ankle and twisted his leg. A yelp sounded after the cracking, and a thud from the big guy hitting the ground finished the series.

"I really didn't want to have to hurt your pretty face, but yer leaving me no choice." Spike brought his arm across his chest, preparing for a backhand. "I'm gonna have to teach you a little lesSOOON!!"

Before the thug could do any harm, I wrung his wrist with a motion of mine. It wrenched so tightly the bones in his forearm likely separated and snapped. I held my control of his arm as I approached, all while breaking the legs of the rest of the scum in the hideout using my free hand until it was finally Gloom's turn.

I forced their bodies to the ground so that Spike and Gloom were unable to move as if gravity had become infinite only on them. In her state of panic and confusion, Yuuna scrambled to her feet and started for the door. Control of my actions was escaping me as I mangled and contorted their limbs while they shrieked and struggled.

Still feeling dissatisfied, my attention shifted to Spike's long, scrawny neck. His head slowly pushed against the resistance of his muscles as I moved my hand. The time between each of his breaths started to lengthen from the suffocation induced by his collapsing esophagus. But then someone suddenly stopped me.

"Don't!" Two fragile arms wrapped around my chest. "Don't do it, Aoi! Please!" A small spot on my back became damp from the tears leaking from Yuuna's eyes. No more words followed, but her weeping was all I needed to hear.

I instantly snapped to my senses and stared down at the terrified man who could barely beg for is life with the state of his limbs and lack of air. "What was I..." The tension overpowering my body relaxed. Was I really just about to kill a man?​

"Aoi... Please..." Yuuna pleaded weakly, but the mixture of fear and desperation in her tone were clear.

I placed my hand on hers. "You're right, Yuuna. But I'm not about to just let them get away with what they did." I gave them both a swift kick to the side of the head to knock them out. "Let's go."

When we went outside, there were two men on horses with one of them pulling a cart. "Huh? Who the hell are you? Ahh!" I spun the speaker's wrist around.

"If I were you, I'd head back to town and fetch a doctor for your friends in there." I pointed my thumb over my shoulder. "Oh, but make sure you turn yourselves in if you don't want to see me again."

"R-right!" The spared latecomer scrambled to detach the cart, and they both snapped the reigns in a rush.

A moment later, Masato came running down the path. He slowed up once he saw us through the darkness. His arms went still by his side, and tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "Yuuna..."

"Father!" Yuuna perked up and ran to him.

The thankful man embraced his daughter like never before. He lifted his head from over her shoulder and met my eyes. "I must apologize to you, Aoi."

Yuuna removed her weight from Masato's chest. "What? What did you do, Father?"

Masato moved his daughter to the side and walked up to me. "I'm sorry, Aoi! Please forgive my insolence!" The man took the shape of a right angle. "I knew better! I knew I could trust you! But I--!"

"Masato, it's quite all right." I placed my left hand on his shoulder. "I'm not upset or anything. I probably would've reacted the same way." I looked at my other hand. "I mean, even I have to admit it was pretty scary, and I was the one doing it."

Masato stood back up straight. "Aoi..." He cleared his throat and spoke more normally. "Anyway, thank you for saving my daughter. I couldn't have done it alone."

"Yeah, of course. Just think of it as my thanks for welcoming me into your life." I flashed him a smile that startled him slightly.

"Ha! That doesn't seem like a fair trade to me. What happened to all that gusto you showed me yesterday?" Masato winked.

Just when we finally were able to calm our nerves, there was a clatter from underneath the blanket strapped down over the cart by a series of ropes. The three of us looked at each other with shrugs. Masato and I undid the ties while Yuuna stood back a safe distance. When we pulled away the blanket, there was a little girl shaking in a small cage, and she cowered into the corner with her face buried. But this was no ordinary girl.

She was a bunny girl.