Side of the Just

The flames continued to grow larger, consuming from Fumiko’s essence. Lashing out, more tendrils birthed from the core as a mass of angry whips. Kalliope’s uniform began to smoke and sear her skin completely. Homes cracked and snapped from the heat burning ever closer.

Out of the darkened shadows, a large figure leapt forth dropping near Kalliope’s fallen body. In a quick glance, the figure leaned down and picked her up disappearing for a moment before reappearing. A hand rose to their forehead acting as though it shielded them from the light. “The hell’s going on?” After his brief fight, the light signaled him in his curiosity. ‘Damn fights getting dealt with off screen!’

He pounded his fists together and stepped forward trying to get a clear view of the damn center. However, the massive ass fireball consumed all shapes around it in a blinding light. Only a faint blurred form seemed to be visible to him. All of the damn heat and fire tried to blast the shit out of him. “It’s a little warm here…” He looked around at the village seeing it on the cusp of burning. “Who the hell’s stupid idea is this? If they keep going they’ll burn down the village!”

Seiji took a few steps closer, noting the tendrils wailing about like angry ass watchdogs. “Is this another one of those Atlantean powers like Yuki?” He cracked his neck making himself excited. “Maybe this one will actually be a challenge for me!” A grin slipped from his lips charging forward, not paying attention to the increasing temperature around him.

Chapter 108 – Side of the Just

Almost feeling insulted by Seiji’s lack of concern, the flames split, doubling their numbers to increase their vicious as hell attacks. Glowing slightly into the inferno, Seiji charged on destroying any shitty ass tendril that dared to touch him. His fist raised back to charge his strength nearing the target. More flames lined up in front of him in desperation. Nothing stopped him. Seiji rammed through it all, shattering fire to dust. Contact rang out as his hand met something solid. Out of the furnace flew Fumiko crashing through the home at the end of the street. In an instant, the damn fire disappeared as though put out, the staff collapsing to a rattle on the ground.

Seiji came to a stop on the other side of the event. Smoke rose off of his clothes and skin, but remained unharmed for the most part. Even he took some burns. Once the threat disappeared, he looked around for his cowardly opponent (he didn’t pay attention to where he was aiming). Disturbed mortar and crumbling wood alerted him to the huge ass hole made in a home. He sprinted off to learn of the person’s condition. He hoped for the fight to still be on, however when he looked inside an uneasy feeling overcame him. “Huh?! What’s she doing there?”

While Seiji pointed himself back at the spot and the house trying to put the pieces together, Fumiko stirred from her debris bed. Another loud ringing filled her ears and a heavy overwhelming numb disjointed feeling in her head. She slowly pulled herself up, but didn’t realize that she had no feeling through body. “Seiji?” questioned Fumiko with a raspy voice. “Why are you here?”

The sound of Fumiko talking snapped Seiji’s confusion and focused him back on the house. “I was just about to ask you the same thing! What’s going on?” Taking another moment, he took in Fumiko’s appearance. Her body ran with blood, burns, warped skin and ruined clothes. He reflected his confusion on his face. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Huh?” Fumiko stumbled forward, finding it difficult to move her feet. Simple rubble made her trip. She caught herself against the wall near the hole she had flown through. Treating the ruined hole like a window, she searched around Seiji for answers. “I was…” A flash of the soldiers came to her as memories started back up. “…the soldiers… a woman?”

Already forgotten by Seiji, he responded with a puzzled expression. “A woman? One of the villagers? Were you protecting someone?”

Haze filled Fumiko's memories the closer she tried to reach the present. “Protecting someone? I was protecting…who?” She shook her head not certain. “No…it was…”

Seiji scratched his head becoming frustrated with Fumiko’s bout of amnesia. “Where the hell is that guy with the fire I saw? I know I connected with him! He’s got to be around here somewhere!”

“Guy with fire?” While confused by Seiji’s statement it triggered new images in Fumiko’s mind. More of the battle pieced together for her. She recalled the woman soldier that tried to kill her. The broom staff appeared in her hands. Fire consumed everything around her memories suddenly. ‘…fire…fire…’ The first instance of pain ripped through her right arm suddenly as though reacting to the memories. She bit through it grinding her teeth together until it passed. Clarity came to her after the pain that revealed the conclusion. “I was the one. I think.”

A tilt from Seiji’s head accompanied his voice. “Huh? The one what?”

“The one in the fire. The guy with the fire you’re looking for was me.” The more she said it the more certain she became about her words. “I was the one creating the fire!”

“What?!” It took him a while to recover as his mind processed what he had done. Despite his mind actually working, the severed connection to his lips continued. “You mean the person I hit was you!?” His finger and hand stretched out through the large hole he made calling to it as well as Fumiko.

The gesture almost seemed to be accusing Fumiko. However, it took only moments for her to realize that Seiji had hit her and respond. “What!? Why did you hit me?! I know we teased you but that’s uncalled for!”

“Hey-hey-hey! You were the one going all high school bonfire festival on the village! I was just trying to protect the village from burning down!”

“From burning down?” The words knocked Fumiko back a step as though slammed by a sledgehammer in her chest. ‘I was burning the village? But I just wanted to protect them!’ Fear shook into her arms and through her legs. In moments, she lost her footing, dropping to her knees. ‘What was I doing?! What happened to me?!’

Seiji finally realized what he did and jumped through the hole. “Hey! It’s ok! You didn’t do anything!” He received no recognition from his comfort. Seiji tried to shake her a little to snap her out, but her eyes spoke nothing to him.

Weights fell on Fumiko’s heart crushing her being. She struggled to breathe feeling her chest tighten up. ‘What have I done?’ Each shallow breath came harder than the last. Compounding her pain, the numbness over her body had started to lift. All of the burns and cuts that she took roared anew over her body. Assaulted from all sides, a curdling scream escaped her lips before passing out in Seiji’s arms.

Being so close to the scream shook him and the tone unnerved his usually stoic heart. “What the hell’s the matter?! Speak to me! Damn it!”

Surprise overtook Eusebios witnessing Yuki’s act. In the darkness of the night, he failed to totally grasp the situation. As he backed away to regain his composure, he understood what he had ignored before. ‘I’m not fighting an intruder. I’m fighting an Atlantean like myself…a rebel perhaps.’ The thoughts spun in his mind as he came up with explanations that made more sense to why Yuki knew his master.

Eusebios looked down at his hand materializing his spear back whole once more. ‘He shattered my spear at this close range with merely his hand. What sort of powers did he create for himself?’ Yuki’s Field blended in with the surroundings such that he only noticed because of its encroachment on his Field. A grass Field revealed little to his powers. ‘The frontal attack makes me think he’s more of the brute force type. And he uses no weapon… How does Master know him?’

Yuki gave the man all the time he needed to recover. He closed his hands preparing for another round seeing the man armed. Ignoring words, Yuki resumed his assault on the man. He swung at Eusebios, lightly grabbing his attention before taking a true strike for him. The second punch failed to connect when the soldier dodged. Returning a strike with the spear, Yuki brushed it aside. He fought against the range of the weapon.

When Yuki finally broke through the defense of the spear a new defense burst up. An array of spears thrust up in front of Eusebios meant to take the punch Yuki sent for him. His fist breached the wall with little effort. Wood splintered into a shower blasted outward at Eusebios. Yuki pushed on through reaching for Eusebios.

The spears disappeared and another set surfaced in line as Eusebios tried to leave his range. It proved even less useful with Yuki’s fist crushing them before him with even more dramatic effect. Adding to the damage, the spear tips that began to fall suddenly stopped. A slight glow of particles wrapped around the remaining wood of the shaft directing four spear heads at Eusebios. They launched from their position quickly, but disappeared before being given the chance to strike.

Eusebios cleared enough room, leaping back to leave him safe from Yuki’s furious strikes. He caught his breath trying to analyze Yuki’s power. It still left him uncertain with only pieces coming to him. ‘He breaks my weapon with no effort. And even tries to make use of them against me. His fighting is so unorthodox. Who trained him?’ He stared deeply at the short tempered boy that challenged him. “Why are you here? What’s your purpose in Atlantis?”

Yuki narrowed his eyes, bothered by the interruption. “My reasons aren’t something you need to be concerned with. You should be more focused on the fight!” Charging onward, Yuki sought to keep the words to a minimum.

Not taking a misstep, the Atlantean kept on his feet seeing how much Yuki resisted the conversation. The lack of answer only made him more curious. He kept his distance measured to stay out of reach. “Purpose is important. You’re here for a reason. I must know why I’m fighting a countryman.”

Set off by the word, Yuki broke into a burst of speed closing their distance rapidly. “This isn’t my country! And I’m not your countryman!” His fist came out for Eusebios’ face, but crushed the spear that got in his way. He barely missed his target. Eusebios recovered once more away from Yuki.

A flicker of Eusebios’ eye gave away his deepening interest in Yuki. He saw that he struck a nerve with his last comment. The reaction was strong, but nothing like the venom in his words when speaking of his Master. ‘What was that about? He just got faster for a moment…’ Eusebios questioned the wisdom of furthering his conversation. “You have the Meso Presecho. What else could you be?”

Yuki ground his teeth against each other. He broke out from his idle spot running for the soldier. Spears began to materialize again out of the ground attempting to divert him from his target. Yuki burst through without a thought to the danger. Accompanying the ground attacks, Eusebios flung spears through the air at him that simply gazed off his body unable to harm him. In the last stretch, Yuki mounted one of the spears breaking through the earth to run up it using it as a ramp. He leapt into the air sailing through to Eusebios, surprised by the move. Yuki rammed his fist into Eusebios’ chest.

Eusebios staggered back from the attack coughing, feeling blood erupting from his throat. He collapsed to one knee in shock. ‘A single punch!? He’s still just a boy! How could he injury me so deeply?’ The pained and ragged breathing exacerbated the striking pain he felt. Each movement felt as though it crushed his ribs. Blood dripped down his mouth tracing around his jaw.

Still defiant, Yuki stood over Eusebios. “I’m Japanese!” he shouted as though trying to convince someone other than just Eusebios.

A cough spat out more blood from Eusebios’ mouth. He managed to form a spear in his hand. Resolve to fight until his last breath was the only thing keeping him focused. Eusebios took the perfect opportunity to thrust his spear in at Yuki’s unguarded stomach. The spear broke off against Yuki, shattering. Even through everything he saw Eusebios managed a look of disbelief.

“This in ends now!” Yuki released his armor from around fist and rammed it through the man’s face, knocking him out. Eusebios laid unconscious on the ground in silence. The dirt Field disappeared and soon Yuki’s grass Field. He stared down at the man pensively.

The night over Atlantis wore on with all of the sounds of battle coming to a close. All that remained in the air were panicked cries from the villagers. Yuki returned back to the village solemnly, but pleased that they saved the village. The damage had already been done, he knew. He just hoped that they saved enough.

As Yuki entered the village, familiar shouts pulled his head up towards the village center. “Yuki! We’ve got trouble!” yelled Seiji.

More trouble spurred his feet into a sprint to meet Seiji to learn of the new problem they faced. “What’s wrong, Seiji?”

“It’s the villagers.”

“What about them?”

“They’ve captured that brother and sister!”

‘Yumi?!’ Every muscle came to a halt in his body. He glared at Seiji for more of an explanation. “Why?!”

“They’re saying that we’ve brought destruction on them or something! They’re planning on handing them over to those military guys!”