*****
Hisao
*****
Normally, it would be impossible for me to run straight to the school non-stop because, well, as you all know, I ain't all that great at fitness. But run to the school non-stop, I did. And without ever even slowing down. I just ran and ran, and ran as fast as I could through dark streets and alleyways. My feet hammered hard against the pavement, but I felt nothing, as if I was running on air. Thinking back, it was most likely due to my Psy-Armor absorbing the impact that would’ve traveled up my legs.
To me, the streets were like a completely different world at night, but I still managed to find my way to the school, taking the same route I always took during the day. And when I arrived, I immediately caught sight of Akira. And he was in trouble.
I spotted Akira from the side, which was easy because he was the only one who'd be covered in fur. His claws were also covered in flames, I noticed. Bitterly, I realized whole-heartedly that the others were right all along. Akira was the arsonist.
Everything was all circumstantial in their deductions, no evidence at all, so it hadn't really sunk in yet.
But none of that mattered right now. What did was the huge, indescribable missile flying straight at him. I spotted it at around the same time Akira came into my sight.
I didn't slow down. I actually sped up.
Under any other circumstance, I might've stopped like a deer in headlights, hesitant and wondering what I should do. But before something like that could happen, a voice screamed in my head a command. That was all I needed to act.
"CUT IT!"
I leaped right in front of the incoming missile, gripping tight the plain black umbrella that Omoyo had handed to me when I passed by her. Psychic energy sprung from my hand and wrapped itself around the umbrella. From there, the energy stretched out into a blade almost seven feet long.
Blood rushing to my head, I screamed and swung the blade of psychic energy down. I poured everything I had into that blade and it delivered spectacularly.
The blade slammed against the missile, breached through its shell and made it disperse. Bluntly put, I cut the damn thing and made it go boom.
And then, with a half-turn, I glanced back and asked, "You okay, Akira?"
The wolf guy blinked in utter bewilderment.
"No way. It can't be!" I heard him mutter. The flames that draped his claws fizzled out. I was relieved to see he was unharmed. At least I thought he looked unharmed. He was covered in fur, so it wasn't like I could see if he got any bruises or not. (Later, I found out he actually got a lot of bruises.)
I then turned my attention to the crowd in front of us and my relief was turned into righteous fury. These were the guys who attacked and hurt my friend, so of course I'd be angry at them.
They all leaned back a little, probably stunned by the explosion. But they quickly recovered when someone suddenly shouted, "He's in on it! He's on the arsonist's side! Get him! Kill them both!"
They all snapped from their stupor, but looked at each other, confused. However, whoever the guy shouting was continued.
"Come on! If we don't take them down, they'll burn us all! Just like they did our houses! They deserve to get put down!"
"What? No!" shouted another boy's voice. I turned to see both Yamimura and Soushu side by side trying to calm everyone down, or at least restrain them.
"Don't listen to that idiot!" Yamimura barked. "You guys want to end up in jail for murder?"
"This is all wrong!" Soushu shouted. "Don't do it!"
"Are you crazy? Just look at that monster!" shouted the boy.
I tried to find him, but he was just too deep in the crowd. Surprisingly, and annoyingly, there were just too many people and they were all getting kicked into a frenzy by the dude's words.
"He'll burn us all! Take him down before he does that!"
I just stood and listened as venom spewed from their mouths. That guy, whoever he was, started it, and everyone else soon followed. Each and every word got under my skin, especially the curses. Over half were directed at Akira, while the rest were thrown my way.
A few of the people gathered raised their hands over their heads while balls of fire, sheets of lightning, clumps of rock and huge shards of ice appeared. The rest of the mob chanted, "Take them down! Take them down! Take them down!"
Yamimura and Soushu also had their hands over their heads, gathering psychic power between them. They had given up trying to stop the mob with words and were going to use force. But before the pandemonium could start, I had already reached my breaking point.
"ENOUGH!"
I held up the umbrella from which another blade of psychic energy stretched out. With might roar, I swung at the mob and literally swept them off their feet.
I had no intention of seriously hurting anyone so I purposely made my sword feel like a gust of wind to them, but landing against the pavement had got to be painful. They probably got some scrapes from rolling across the ground.
Yamimura and Soushu saw my attack coming and pulled away just in time. They stared dumbfounded, as if unable to process what they had just seen.
Honestly, thinking about it now, I could hardly believe it myself. But I didn't think about the unbelievable stunt I pulled at the time because I had more important matters to worry about.
I glared at the fallen and watched as they slowly picked themselves up. A few just barely managed to sit up when I jabbed the umbrella down against the ground. The umbrella was still shrouded with psychic power and made a loud thud noise.
I leaned on the umbrella like it was a cane in front of me and rested my hands atop the handle, feeling the muscles between my eyes scrunch as I fiercely glared at the crowd. Although I was usually self-conscious, I didn't mind having so many eyes on me. It just showed how livid I truly was. And it worked out perfectly for me to get their attention because I had something I really needed to say, spurred almost like a puppet with a voice actor behind me.
"Do you not understand what you were all going to do?" I shouted at them. "Do you not understand what line you were all about to cross? Akira's not some monster to be put down like a rabid dog. He's a PERSON!"
One guy managed to stand up, glaring back at me, and said, "So you just want to let him go? After all the damage he's done? Screw that! He needs to be punished!"
I softly replied back, "Does that mean you plan to become a murderer just like the Piper?"
The guy heard me clearly and hesitated. "Well . . ."
After taking a deep breath, I continued. "I concede that Akira did wrong that warrants punishment, but that's all the more reason not to do this. He needs to be judged fairly by the law and given the chance to atone."
But then someone, the same guy that's been riling the crowd this whole time, shouted, "Atone? ATONE? There's no atoning for what he did! That murderer!"
Suddenly, all went quiet.
"What did you say?"
All eyes turned to Akira who, in a hushed voice, broke the silence.
"What do you mean by murderer?" He had a terrible look of dread.
"You heard me! Murderer!" the guy shouted. "Because of you, the owners of that last house you burned died!"
"What? They're . . . they're dead?" Akira shook his head over and over again, starting slow before picking up speed. "No, no, no, no. no. That can't be!"
I was confused for a moment. It was clear that the guy must be talking about Akira's grandparents. But I definitely heard Isaneko say that Akira's grandma and grandpa were okay. Clear as day, I remembered.
Muttering among the crowd signaled their rise of rage again.
"Wait! Don't listen to him!" I shouted. "He's lying!"
But I was too late. The damage was done, and Akira, plain and simple, freaked out and lost control of himself.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
He let out a horrible scream and fire erupted all around him, shrouding his entire body. Even his wolfish shape melted into the flames.
"Akira! Calm down! He's lying! It's a lie! You're grandpa and grandma are okay! They're still alive!"
But no matter how much I urged, begged and screamed, my words fell to deaf ears. Akira was too far gone.
He lashed about, spraying bits of fire and sparks everywhere. I wasn't concerned about that since I had my psy-armor to protect me, but everyone else frantically retreated as far back as they could, some yelping from being stung.
From the side, Isaneko and Mirai made their appearances.
"Oota!" Mirai screamed. "You need to do something fast! If this keeps up, Akira's going to burn himself out! He'll self-destruct!"
I could see for myself that Akira was already on the path of self-destruction. I watched my friend flail around in utter mental disarray. Sometimes he banged his fists against the ground. Other times, he breathed streams of fire from what I guessed was his mouth. And then, repeatedly, he threw himself against the wall. It was clear that he was trying and succeeding to hurt himself.
Time was running out for Akira, but I had no idea what I was supposed to do now that my voice would not reach.
To myself, I asked, "What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?"
My questions got an answer back.
"The pool!" Isaneko shouted. "Get him to the pool!"
I looked at her, then at Akira. And then my attention turned to the school's wall.
"Just grab him!" Isaneko barked. "I'll throw you both over the wall. And then you handle the rest! Got it?"
I did and threw aside the umbrella before charging straight at Akira. With absolute confidence in the defense my psy-armor provided, I wrapped my arms around the huge mass of fire that made up Akira's form and held him tight.
Akira put up a fight and tried to break free, but my arms held firm.
"Isaneko!" I screamed.
The next thing I knew, I was flying in the air, going over the wall in an arc that ended smackdab in the middle of the front courtyard. I struck the ground first and skid across by several feet before stopping.
Akira laid on top of me, but not for long.
He pushed himself away from me and leaped back, screaming, "Get away from me! Get away from me!"
"Akira stop! Wait!" I cried out. "We need to get you to the pool before - !"
"I SAID GET AWAY!"
"Damn it, Akira!"
He threw a huge ball of fire at me, but I jumped to the side just in time. I jumped again to dodge another fireball he lobbed at me. And then again.
"Hurry, Oota! There's no more time! You need to get Akira to the pool NOW!"
"I'M TRYING!" I screamed back. Akira in his panicked state was not making it easy for me to save him.
He just kept lobbing fireball after fireball, after fireball at me, all the while screaming and wailing like a toddler throwing a tantrum. I tried running over to him many times. But some of his fireballs managed to hit me. They didn't hurt thanks to my Psy-Armor, but they were strong enough to push me back by a lot. Whatever progress I made trying to get to Akira was basically reset.
But then his screaming got softer and thrashing slowed. And then he fell to one knee.
"Akira!"
This is not good, spoke a voice in my head. He's reaching his limit. We may already be too late.
And then Akira fell flat on the ground completely and stopped moving, still blanketed by inferno.
"No!" I screamed.
I ran and this time, successfully reached his side. Ignoring the flickering flames all over his body, I scooped him in my arms and threw him over my shoulder like he was a bag of rice. And then I went sprinting to the school, following a route I've taken dozens of times before. I didn't bother opening doors. I just bust right through until I finally reached the place I sought, the pool.
As soon as I laid eyes on the shimmering blue, I pushed my legs to pick up speed and then jumped. Both Akira and I plunged into the cold water. We probably made a big splash, literally, with our combined weight and mass.
We were under water for maybe fifteen, twenty seconds. And then we resurfaced. I pulled Akira to the edge of the pool and dragged him out. And then, sopping wet, we collapsed onto pavement, out of breath and panting like dogs.
I rolled onto my back and stared up at the night sky which was almost completely black. Supposedly, it was because of all the lights in town that we can't see as much stars.
After a while, my breathing calmed. The first to speak up was Akira.
"Hey, Hisao," he said.
"Yeah, Akira?" I said.
"Are my grandma and grandpa . . . ?"
He didn't finish that question, but I knew what he was asking about. And I replied, "They're alive. Mirai said so, so I'm sure of it. He's got eyes that can see a hell of a lot more than most people."
"I see," said Akira. "That's great. That's really . . . great."
We fell silent again.
And then it was my turn.
"Akira, I meant what I said earlier," I told him. "Even if it was an accident, you did something bad and hurt a lot of people. You need to pay for that. I won't stop you if you want to run away. But I think we both know that won't do you any good."
After a short while, Akira softly replied, "Yeah."
Later, I slung Akira's arm over my shoulder and half-carried him out of the school. When we reached the front gate, we were surprised to see a whole bunch of black cars with tons of people in black suits waiting outside.
The moment the people in black spotted us, they ran towards us. I was on guard and quickly activated my Psy-Armor. But then I saw among the people were Mirai and Isaneko.
I relaxed a little when Mirai told us that he was the one who called them and that they were trustworthy allies.
The leader of the people in black, an African American lady, introduced herself as a representative of the BTA. I had no idea what the heck the BTA was, but apparently, it was their job to deal with messes that involved non-human beings like Akira.
"We'll make sure that he's well cared for," the lady promised.
"Don't worry," Mirai said. "They'll get him the help he needs."
"What happened to everyone else?" I asked.
The lady replied back, "If you're talking about that angry mob that was making a ruckus here, they scattered as soon as they saw us coming. I'll leave some people to keep an eye out for the next couple of days to make sure they don't stir anything up. The Shirogami Clan actually reached out to us and asked us to do that anyway. Normally, we'd just leave such matters to them since they're the town's de facto overseers. But since a non-human was involved, we gotta make sure things get smoothed over."
"Are you a non-human too?" I asked the lady.
But the lady shook her head and said, "No. Just a friend looking to make the world a better place for them."
I was still reluctant to let Akira go, but relented while trusting Mirai when he said the BTA were on our side.
Me and Akira said our good-byes and I watched Akira get escorted to one of the black cars which drove off as soon as the door closed.
And then, once the car was gone, I went home, leaving behind the BTA to sort out the mess that I had partly made.
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