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“Everyone be prepared for a fight. We’ll be leaving the moment we get the signal.” Kanji instructed as he gathered all the members at night.
Sakura Haruka, the first year at Furin who had helped resolve the incident with Gravel, had come looking for their leader a few days ago. He wanted help for a great battle Furin had gotten entangled in. Naturally, Roppo Ichiza agreed, not the kind to turn away someone who needed them.
Kiryu rapidly tapped on his screen trying to clear the current level of his game while waiting for the message. His father wasn’t particularly fond of his decision to join Roppo Ichiza. Yet, he didn’t take any strict measures to deter him either. Mostly because he dismissed it as a whim and not a deliberate choice. Little did he know, Kiryu very much planned on walking the same path as his sister, which involved finding a decent job here that would help him survive while keeping his belongings ready to leave as soon as he was old enough.
He hadn’t spoken much with Akari since she moved out, but he did try his best to meet up with her on their birthdays. She offered her support, but Kiryu declined. If he had to do this, he needed to do it himself.
“Kiryu, are you ready?” Miyoshi tapped his shoulder softly to get his attention. “We’re leaving.”
“Yessir~” Kiryu quickly pocketed his phone and followed Miyoshi towards the group that had already departed.
The trek into the Furin territory wasn't a hard one but still took longer than he had expected.
Kiryu tensed a bit as the battle cries in the distance started becoming louder. He had been involved in one battle after the other for the past few years, yet he still hadn’t become immune to the pre-battle jitters that plagued him.
“You good?” Otowa asked.
“Mhm,” Kiryu nodded and took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”
One final war cry, and they collectively charged towards the park, the location Sakura had previously instructed them to safeguard, while Suzuri along with Gravel went towards the town.
Furin was largely outnumbered and on the verge of collapse when they leapt in. Kanji and Miyoshi immediately sprinted towards Mizuki and Momose, helping them back to their feet.
“Nakamura-shi, please don’t let them into the town.” Kiryu overheard Mizuki speaking to Kanji.
“Yeah, don’t worry. You got it.” Kanji reassured him and turned towards his team. “Miyoshi, Hidaka, you two come along with me. And Kiryu—” he turned towards his pink-haired friend who was helping a Furin student to his feet— “hold the fort here.”
“Yessir!” Kiryu complied and watched his leader take a part of their squad towards the main street.
A major chunk of the enemy squad had already left for the town, so there were hardly any enemies left. That, however, didn’t mean they were going to let them leave easily. They put up a good fight to prevent them from going to back up their friends. Kiryu swept through most of them quite easily, though. But the looming dread in his chest didn’t subside.
“My, my, aren’t you a new face here~” a new voice chimed in.
Kiryu spun around, already on his toes to defend himself and his companions.
The new entrant, a boy probably around his own age with short burgundy hair, wearing an eyepatch and tassel earrings, smirked at him.
“I don’t want to hear that from a nameless nobody,” Kiryu spat back. Despite the childish jab, he could very much tell that this guy screamed trouble.
“You’re interesting,” he cooed. “I’m Suo Hayato, by the way. Since you’re so keen on wanting to get to know me.”
Kiryu narrowed his eyes and stayed planted in his place. “I don’t care for introductions. Just get to it already so I can beat you up.”
Suo didn’t even bat an eye at his impertinence. He did, however, breathe a full-bodied laugh at his face. “You really are interesting… Maybe agreeing to join that loser Endo wasn’t exactly a bad idea.”
Endo… now that was a familiar name. If this guy was chosen by Endo Yamato of all people, then there could be no doubt… he was a Noroshi.
A chill ran down Kiryu’s spine, both from the threat of looming danger as well as the flush of anticipation he only feels before entering a boss battle.
While he was busy connecting the dots, an arm shot up in his vision. Relying on his muscle memory, he grabbed the arm and spun around, successfully deflecting the hit.
His heartbeat picked up a few paces as he watched the guy leisurely spin around and grin at him.
“You’re fast.”
The next few hits were faster.
Kiryu maneuvered his body in the strangest ways he had never done before to prevent the punches from scraping his skin. He also managed to sneak in a few hits of his own, which were just as skillfully warded off.
His opponent was relentless, but he was not the one to keel easily.
Suo had met all kinds of opponents, from powerhouse attackers to sneaky strikers, but never someone like this. Never someone who could match him so perfectly.
Adrenaline spiked in his body as exhilaration bubbled in his chest.
He continued grabbing and spinning and striking his opponent, who returned it all with the same grace.
To an onlooker it may look like an intricate dance where both the dancers were trying to lead, and Suo won’t deny that he wouldn’t mind ending up on an actual dance floor with this intriguing guy.
Suo wanted to laugh . Maybe even scream.
Life had never felt so colorful before.
Sure, his movements were getting sloppier from exhaustion, but at least he wasn’t alone.
“Getting tired?” He mocked, pausing a few steps away to catch his breath.
“You wish,” Kiryu drawled, equally out of breath.
Suo barked out a laugh while Kiryu continued glaring daggers at him.
In that instant a peculiar thought crossed his mind.
‘I think I’m in love.’
Unknown to him, Kiryu had a thought flit through his mind as well.
‘I really hate this guy.’