The girl unched herself at Saki so fast that Saki didn't know what to think. She wao shout out to the girl, but it was already beyond words at this point for the girl. There was only oention with her. The stranger pulled her leg around from behind adding spin to it as she turned. Saki lifted her arms up to block the ining kick, brag for the impact.

  Chapter 40 – Strength to See

  Saki was able to take the blow, keeping her head safe. It did still mao knock her off her feet into the bushes from before. The girl nded on the ground lightly watg and waiting to see what became of Saki.

  ‘I didn’t even do anything!’ The bush poked and stabbed at Saki while she id babsp; She held her position for the moment trying to find a way to deal with the problem. The junih schooler had attacked the boy without merbsp; This meant it’d be no different for her, but she didn't uand the reason. It seemed so poio want to fight just for the sake. ‘…Yuki…’ The word rushed her head recalling memories and feelings f her back to her feet, hair a little worse for wear. “What’s your problem?”

  “What’s your problem? I tell that barely even hurt you a you y there in the bushes wasting my time.” The girl threw a straight, easy to block, punbsp; Now she tested her rather than trying to do harm. “You know how to fight, but you’re wasting it defending yourself. Fight me for real!”

  Saki felt the punch vibrate through her arm even though she blocked it with an open palm. She shook her head at the girl in disappoi. Afterwards, she lowered her body down and used her shoulder to push the girl back, clearing the distaween them. “You don’t uand the meaning of having strength!”

  The girl slid and stepped back as she was thrown free of Saki. She sprinted bag a high kick towards Saki’s head. “No, you don’t get it! Strength is wasted if you don’t keep it sharp! You have to push your limits!” Saki blocked the kid grabbed her leg, keeping her from going anywhere. However, the battle hungry girl wasn't taking it as a failure. She pushed herself into the air, throwing her body into Saki. This brought up her arm to strike down at Saki’s face.

  A tilt of her head evaded the punch, but Saki still felt the sting. Following, it partially released the girl from her grasp. . ‘The girl’s crazy and pletely closed minded. She’s as bad as Seiji!’ Saki let the momentum of the girl’s body carry her. She threw the girl into the grass, but the spry girl nded on one karing babsp; The mix of anger and pleasure from a challenge seemed to be interwoven on the girl’s face.

  Across the street in that bookstore, Yuki reached for his wonderful haul. The cashier finished clearing the transa. “Thank you, sir!”

  He smiled bad nodded, lifting his books up a little to get them bato position on him. “No, thank you! I’ve been looking for several of these in tankoubon, but they’ve been sold out.” Yuki left the store with a very wide grin on his face, pleased with this week’s reading. However, he looked around the sidewalk looking for an angry, upset Saki and found none.

  They were supposed to meet outside of the bookstore ten minutes ago, but he lost track of time iore. When he realized that he rushed to get his purchases, but now she was o be found. “Where’s she gone? She said to meet here I know… She didn’t get tired of waiting and leave did she?” Yuki looked around the sidewalk and across the street once more with no more lu finding her. “No, she wouldn’t leave. If anything she’d just barge into the store and pull me out by my colr without letting me pay.”

  The image of Saki looking impatient and angry st through the bookstore pyed through his mind. It made him ugh a little to himself knowing how often he lost purchases due to that. Unfortunately, the mood turned sour when he pictured himself getting dragged out of the store losing all of the manga that he had in his arms. He tightened his hold on his books reflexively. “…scary…”

  Yuki took a few steps around the bookstore trying not to go too far away. “Saki! Saki!” However, he wasn’t finding any sign of her nearby. “Where’d she go? Saki?” Yuki stood around for another mihinking to himself and weighing the choices that he had. The decision soon came when he was distracted by a noise and murmuring of a crowd. Across the street everyoopped to look at the park.

  “Huh? What’s going ohere?” He shifted the weight of his manga and made his way to the crosswalk nearby at the interse. It was a longer way around, but he didn't want to run across the street with the precious cargo in his arms. When he arrived the crowd had shrunk, but it was still gathering people with curiosity. He leaned over to a businessman that had stopped for a while looking fused. “Do you know what’s going on?”

  “No, there’s just some strange noises ing from there like someone’s breaking the park.”

  “Have the polie?”

  “No, not that I saw.”

  A woman that had been there longer corrected the man speaking up to Yuki. “I saw a teenage girl go in there a while ago, but I haven’t seen her since.”

  Yuki became increasingly curious about what went on as another loud crash of metal echoed out. He looked at the other onlookers through his books questioningly. The adults seemed only ied enough to listen. Their ck of civic duty (or maybe curiosity?) made Yuki a little frustrated. ‘I wonder if the girl they saw was Saki… Only one way to know…’

  He readjusted himself with his books once more and pushed through the remaining thin crowd to get to the entrance of the park. “I’m going to find out what’s going on.” The others looked back at each other fused about what he expected for them.

  Everywhere he walked he could see things thrown about the park. It looked like someone had emptied all of the trash bins in the park and spread the tents. Then as though unsatisfied with just throwing junk around they drove a motorcycle or bicycle through destroying all of the flowers and half the bushes. “Saki?!” He hoped for a response, but there was nothing. “What happened here?”

  As he went deeper into the park there were even more than just cshes of metal and things breaking. He was certain that he was hearing girls' voices shouting and grunting, but he didn't know why. “What the…” Yuki pushed on walking with some caution in his step as he approached closer to what he believed to be the sourbsp; The noises became louder along with the voices being clearer to him. “Is someone fighting back there?”

  “Are all you going to do is preae?”

  “I’m not going to fight you!”

  “I’m not letting you go!”

  “I think that’s Saki!” Yuki reized her voibsp; It pushed his feet forward a little faster to get through the distanbsp; He appeared around the foliage with Saki jumping away from a girl attag her. “Hey Saki!”

  The junih schooler caught Yuki’s voice by reflex and turned her head over to him. There wasn't even a moment’s thought as she charged for a loaded down Yuki. Yuki stepped baot certain what he had gotten himself into now. She sprinted for him with a look in her eye that he was all too familiar with.

  Saki had slid back to keep her distance from the girl, but that immediately ged wheiced the ge in target. The Yuki Proteeter jumped to an immediate five and Saki burst into a full sprint to close the distan time. Her mind was no lohinking. The thoughts of staying out of the fight and being peaceful vaporized with a narrowed look in her eye.

  The girl was in mid-air pulling back her arm for a quick punch, but Saki covered the ground with remarkable speed. Using the already built up momentum, she brought up her leg horizontally as she leapt. It ected her thigh to kh the girl’s stomabsp; The strike khe wind out of her and coughed up some saliva.

  Her sudden ge in speed and dire bent her over and around Saki’s leg. An instant after, she flew her away into the bushes, disappearing with only her legs stig up. Saki came to a sliding nding on the t, rotating around to check Yuki. “Are you alright?”

  “Wow, Saki! That was an awesome kick!”

  Saki twitched a little hearing that as his rea. She marched over to him gring at him a little annoyed. “I asked if you’re hurt!”

  “Oh uh? Yeah I’m fine. Not even a scratch.”

  Saki looked Yuki up and down trying to get through the wall of manga that he carried. “I thought you were only getting a few today?”

  Yuki’s face turned red looking embarrassed. He almost lost trol of his books, but salvaged them in time. “Well I found some that I’ve been looking for a while for.” He blinked, catg the moving, twitg leg of the girl left in the foliage. “Who’s the girl?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I’ve been trying to calm her down.”

  “By hitting her? She looks like she’s in junih!”

  Saki snapped her head over at Yuki. “What?! No, she attacked me!”

  “But look how hard you hit her. You probably knocked her unscious!” Yuki set down his books, realizing that they were getting in his way. He walked over to the bush looking in and then away getting a little embarrassed from the sight he caught. “How could you be so mean?”

  “What?! But I didn’t…” Saki swung bad forth between anger and guilt. She didn't even realize that she was being defeh Yuki. “I roteg you!”

  “Well you didn’t have to hit her so hard, she’s youhan you.”

  “She was attag me and that uy! Why you treating me like the vilin here?”

  He leaned into the bush trying to find something safe to grab onto the girl. “Just teasing a little, I know there's a rational expnation. But first, help me get her out of the bush, Saki.” There was silence from behind him as he looked around for an arm amongst the leaves. He thrashed around with his hands goiween the brarying to keep free and not get scratched up in the process.

  “Hah!” He finally located the arm. When he went to grab the girl’s arm he felt the bush shift and move suddenly. Yuki looked over at the girl to see if she was trying to get out. However, he saw that it was Saki who exged Yuki’s slightly fused face for a begrudging assistanbsp; “Saki…”

  It took her a moment, but they finally had the girl by the arms. Yuki ted the time down with Saki to pull together. They freed the girl a her ba her feet, brag her for support. Yuki let her go making sure that she didn't fall over while she was still unscious. “Umm…little girl? Are you alright?” He put his hand on her shoulder hoping to be able to get her to wake up with a little shaking. “You hit her pretty hard, Saki…”

  Panid guilt ran over Saki as she tried to wake the kid up. “H-hey-hey! You okay? She retty lively, sort of surprised that was enough.”

  “You didn’t really hold back there.”

  “I did!” Yuki gave her a questioning look. “Half…maybe two-thirds, but I didn’t go all out! She’s a kid!”

  “Hm…um, you look for identification?”

  “Huh?”

  “We o find out who she is and try to get her to her parents.” Saki looked back at him with a fused look. “You really think it’s a good idea a teenage boy—”

  “Yes, right! I’ll do it.” Saki k down staring at the girl. The matter of finding identification was going to be difficult for them if she didn't have it on her. She couldn't find any school bag or pack that she might have been carrying, leaving only her school uniform. Saki swallowed slowly, not sure what she felt about having to help this girl.

  The search had to wait. Their new friend started to move on her own slowly looking up. It only took a moment, as though it rogrammed into her, for her to leap, taking a safe distance away from a still kneeling Saki and going into an attack stance.

  Yuki jumped iweewo. “Woah! We aren’t here to hurt you! It’s alright Miss…” He offered his hand out to her as an invitation. However, she just stared at him almost with disgust. “I’m Yuki.”

  The girl didn't ge her staowards the two of them. She checked out of her left eye to see the muscur teen was still nearby keeping his distance from any of them. His silenearly made him seem invisible, trary to his size. “I was mistaken…”

  Saki stood up from the grass looking around Yuki at the girl. “So you’re apologizing for attag us?”

  “I thought he was a worthy oppo, but he’s just a weakling.”

  Saki couldn't help but flinch a little from the ued response. She stepped around Yuki towards the girl. “I’m Saki! What’s your name?”

  The tiny girl still looked narrowly at Saki, but finally backed off her staanding normally. She looked disappointed or frustrated. “I’m Chiharu…”

  Saki looked over towards the boy from their school hoping to finally get a word out of him. However, he remained quiet, not quite staring, but more just watg them. They were interrupted by the sound of something breaking under foot. Chiharu immediately surning towards the noise in a prepared stanbsp; Saki rushed over to Chiharu putting her hand on her shoulder hoping to ease her down.

  Out of the exit of the park, or entran this case, came three boys with rough trouble seeking looks. They stopped just ihe park taking notice of the four students. However, as Yuki looked around, the ter boy, wearing a different high school uniform, poio Yuki. “Hey boys, looks like we got lucky! Wait…You’re Hayashi aren’t you?! I’ve got some payback for you!”