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Techno can feel blood running down his face from his busted nose, he’s breathing through his mouth, tasting blood. He’s standing in a fighting stance, crouched down slightly with his arms up to defend himself. The skin at his knuckles is split, but he barely even notices with the adrenaline coursing through his veins. One of the people who attacked him is down, probably unconscious. Another is leaning against the wall, clutching their sprained wrist against their chest. But there are still three more young adults, all taller and broader than Techno.
Techno didn’t mean to get in trouble, but that one kid in his class was being annoying, again, and he just couldn’t help himself. It’s not his fault that they started crying, or that it happened again. Really, there was no reason to get their older brother and his friends involved. Techno winces and shifts his weight slightly. His leg hurts. One of the people still standing, the one on the left, sighs.
“Come on, kid. The less you fight, the faster this will be over.”
Techno bares his teeth at them in a smile, not backing down. He won’t back down, he refuses to. One of them comes at him and Techno manages to block their fist, but misses the second person and barely manages to twist out of the way of a kick that was aimed at his side. It hits his hip instead and Techno stumbles back, trying to get distance between them. The leader opens his mouth, probably to mock Techno, when he freezes. The other two notice and look at the leader, then back at Techno. Or, well, behind Techno.
Techno’s back is to the entrance of the alleyway, but he doesn’t turn around to look at what his attackers are looking at. He’s not stupid. Instead, he takes that moment of hesitation to breathe and shift his weight off of his hurting leg. The leader has gone stiff by now, the other two pulling back to stand behind him. Only now does Techno hear footsteps over the beating of his heart in his ears.
He turns his head, careful to keep all five of his attackers in his line of sight even as he tries to catch sight of whoever is approaching. They stop beside him and Techno blinks as he recognizes blond hair. He relaxes, ever so slightly.
“Hey, Phil.”
Philza is Techno’s best friend, ever since they were both very small and Phil decided to befriend the young boy with the braided hair that was sitting at the playground all alone. Phil is homeschooled, and his mother is strict, but they still manage to meet up regularly. Philza smiles at Techno, the way he always does.
“Hey, Techno. You don’t look so good.”
Techno shrugs and winces at the movement. One of the hits had managed to connect with his shoulder.
“What, because of the blood? Nah, I’m fine.”
Phil rolls his eyes and then turns to Techno’s attackers. They’re still standing there, the leader staring at them with what seems like growing horror, face pale and shoulders stiff. Phil’s smile turns cold, his posture straightens in the way Techno recognizes from when his friend gets angry, though it has never been directed at him.
“Mind telling me what’s going on?”
Techno frowns. Philza’s tone is cold and commanding in a way he never heard about. He looks at the leader of the attackers. Does Philza know him? His friend did mention that his mother is the head of some kind of company. Maybe through that? The leader gulps, before he starts speaking.
“I didn’t know-”
Philza grabs something from inside of his coat. A dramatic, long coat that Techno likes to tease him about. Then Philza pulls out a gun, holding it with two steady hands and pointing it directly at the leader.
“I didn’t ask for excuses.”
One of the people behind the leader grabs his arm and hisses something at him, but Techno is too far away to hear it. He just stares at Philza, blood slowly dripping down his face. Then the leader of the attackers bows low, jaw clenched and constantly keeping an eye on Philza.
“I apologize, sir. We will leave now.”
He sounds like he wants to be spitting the words, voice pressed, but he manages to hold himself back. Philza snorts, but allows them to gather the two people Techno knocked down and watches as they leave the alleyway. Only once they’re no longer in sight does Phil click on the safety of the gun and puts it away again, turning to Techno. Techno blinks slowly. Now that he is no longer in immediate danger, the adrenaline slowly ebbs away and Techno can feel where he has been hit. His knuckles sting, his whole face radiates pain and his arms ache, especially the shoulder that got hit. He shifts his weight and winces when his bruised leg protests.
Philza steps forward and reaches for his hands, frowning at the blood on his knuckles. Techno chuckles, then starts breaking out into laughter. Philza looks at him questioningly.
“Phil, Phil, you will not believe how funny that just looked. I mean, they’re twice your size! They’re twice your size and you show up and they just-”
He gestures with the arm that Phil isn’t holding, which is luckily the uninjured one, and laughs. Phil rolls his eyes in the way that tells Techno he would hit his shoulder if he weren’t injured, then slings Techno’s uninjured arm over his shoulder.
“Yeah yeah, laugh it up. Come on, let’s get you fixed up.”
They walk in silence for a while, towards where Techno knows Philza lives, though his friend told him that it’s not the only house his mother owns. Techno waits until he’s been sat down on the couch and Phil has come back with a first-aid-kit before he speaks up. Luckily, Phil managed to keep the house staff outside. Well, Phil says staff, Techno would call them guards.
“Why do you even have a gun?”
Phil shrugs from where he has started cleaning up Techno’s knuckles.
“Mom gave it to me.”
Techno looks at him with a single raised eyebrow and Phil snorts.
“Yeah yeah, not what you were asking. Uh, the business my mother runs is a gang? The biggest gang in the city, to be specific.”
Philza sounds proud of that, and Techno can’t help but smile. That actually explains a lot about his friend. Like the reason why he has a gun.
“So, that guy, you know him?”
Philza lets out a long suffering sigh.
“Kind of. He works for the gang, but he’s just a grunt. He’s seen me around before, probably.”
Phil shrugs, then points to the stitched symbol on his shirt, the same one that is on his coat.
“This marks me as protected. He probably just put it together that I’m the boss’ son. I will inherit the gang when I grow up, you know?”
Techno hums.
“Huh, cool.”