The effect of Yuki ing out unscathed left a deep and dramatic impa everyone ireet. The sudden reversal soundly left a silent void. He already proved himself to be unharmed by Akihiro’s attacks and with Katsu’s invisible attaot even scratg Yuki the morale of the gang members fell apart.

  Katsu wasn’t vinced of Yuki’s decration as it only made him more frustrated to see Yuki trying to feint his way through the fight. “It’s just another one of your illusions!” Determio prove Yuki wrong, Katsu raised both of his hands. Two green glowing crest shaped forms materialized in front of his hands. The distortion around Katsu shifted into a pale greehat swirled and twisted around his arms feeding into the creation of the crests.

  Yuki took a couple of steps forward even when Katsu uhe wind crests at him. The visibility of the attacks made it signifitly easier to dodge, but Yuki didn't even bother. They sped towards him with razed sharpness and swirling with rapidly folding gales. Yuki snapped his hand up vertically, slig through one of the crests. Its bound torrents of wind unleashed and bsted the area with an explosion of gusts. The sed crest he allowed to simply graze off his shoulder and fall apart in the air behind him.

  “Uand now?”

  Chapter 84 – Growth

  A grim thinly pursed lip repced the perma smirk on Katsu’s fabsp; Knowing that it wasn’t a trick made him start to run pale. “I uand that you’re a cocky bastard who’s seen too muime! What did you do to my powers?”

  The serious tone from Yuki hadn’t ged. He no longer acted carefree and cocky with the gang. “Once I uood your power it was simple enough to develop a termeasure. Since wind is invisible I applied a Law stating that the wind you use will be colored. The rest is simply a matter of using equal and opposite force of wind to break apart your attacks before it cause harm to me.”

  “What the hell are—“ Katsu was uo finish his question with Yuki having closed the distanbsp; Yuki didn’t give Katsu a moment to react, f him to take a direct punto his stomabsp; Katsu stumbled backwards coughing up blood as he lost his bance dropping to the dirt. Even though Yuki had only punched him it had felt like his insides were torn up and screaming in violent agony.

  All of his boys ran forward to try to e to their boss’ aid, but Yuki stopped them all with a sharp gre. Katsu tio cough hoarsely, spitting up bits of blood itently. Everything waited as the grave dition of Katsu became darkly acute.

  Once he had mao subdue much of the pain and involuntary coughiurned his head up towards Yuki. His lips were coated with blood along with the sides of his . “W-what did you…do to me?!” Katsu received nothing but a deep stare that spoke of his defeat, but Katsu refused to give in.

  He tried to form together his wind to mold into an attack with pale green threads appearing in mass. A faint shape of a crest began to take form, but it suddenly shattered to pieces to his shock.

  “At this proximity I pletely ralize your wind with my own. It’s useless.”

  Katsu gred back at him, feeling that defiaion that he had seen before from Haruo and Yuki. It was a bitter taste for him to accept. “What the hell are you?!”

  Most of the gang members had already lost their will to stay. A few had fled from the se while others were simply too paralyzed to reabsp; Yuki took a hold of Katsu’s colr, lifting him back up to his feet. The pierg stare from Yuki leveled at Katsu trying to break him down. It looked like the mental test would never end until Haruo broke them off by gettiween them.

  “I already told you this is my problem to deal with. Stay out of it.” Haruo and Yuki locked eyes for a moment. He turned back towards Katsu, struggling to keep his legs straight. “Back down or I’ll bring out my animals again.”

  Katsu ughed, choking a little, even while he barely was able to keep himself together. “You’ve got pretty…full of yourself…kid!” Katsu tried to grin, but the pain made it difficult.

  Akihiro had been waiting and took the moment to make his atta Haruo, knowing that he could do nothing to Yuki. A rge sword bde burst from the earth, but as it reached towards the target it turned horizontal with the ground. He stared fused at it for a moment only to realize that the ground that it had been attached from was bent over.

  A sideways gnce from Yuki jerked Akihiro back, making his blood run cold. It took him a sed to pull himself back together. Thinking it would be different a sed time another bde thin and jagged reached out for Haruo only to fail to reach.

  Katsu took the momentary distra to force down the pain and make an attabsp; The desperation he felt fed into his power drawing on more than he had been before turning streams of pale green pressed wind around his body. A struggle for strength of the gales ensued between Katsu and Yuki, but with Yuki’s tration being divided the bance set.

  Most of the buildup had gone unnoticed by Yuki or Haruo. It wasn't until it was too te that Yuki was alerted to the already developing attabsp; Unlike before, Katsu wasn’t creating a crest with the wind, but rather a sphere. When it reached dangerous proportions Yuki had little options avaible to him.

  In the final moments of the wind sphere being formed Yuki grabbed Haruo to shield him while throwing themselves away from the attabsp; Using a reckless thrust from his own wind, Yuki tossed them out of the immediate bst radius of the sphere.

  Upon impact, it released all of the fined wind mini-crests shot out from the ter in a wide spray c everything except for behind, leaving Katsu and his gang safe. The bdes of wind careened around them and bounced off of Yuki’s wind. Despite the wind though, there were too many for him to stop leaving them to be cut up several pces over his body with shallow wounds.

  Yuki ighe pain keeping Haruo protected from harm. The two slid over the dirt ing to a sloainful rest. Between Yuki’s wind and the force from Katsu, they were sent a surprising distance away from Katsu. ‘Ugh…I knew I was going tret that… my body wasn’t meant for such crazy stunts…’ He struggled to get his body bader his trol.

  Numerous screams and murmurs echoed around the empty Field from residents left in terror. They were already too afraid to do anything about the gangs outside of their homes, but there was no longer any prote for them. Some had even gathered together for strength and support in numbers.

  “You…in one piece…still?” Yuki looked down to Haruo, who he was still id over top of.

  A pensive pause from Haruo deyed his respoo Yuki. His back had taken the brunt of the force during the slid, but despite that he didn’t feel that he was injured. ‘What happened? Why did he protect me? What does he have to gain?’ Haruo pulled himself up from under Yuki. “Why did you do that?”

  Yuki coughed as he tried to ugh. “I guess…I shouldn’t be surprised at this point…” He hesitated for a moment, uain if he wao tempt his body again. The spare seds had given him enough to push himself over to lie on his babsp; “I think Katsu’s got a point about you…”

  “What did you say?” Haruo leaned in, nearly breaking his ft tone.

  “Guess there’s still some emotion buried uhere after all. You really are quite na?ve…”

  “I had all of that burned out of me a long time ago. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I may not have known you for years, but I’ve seen enough of you today to uand.” Yuki tested out his arms and legs while he talked, trying to make the most of his time. Even with Katsu as badly ihey weren’t going to stop. “You’ve seen so much of the bad side of human nature that you’ve goo the plete opposite end. You’ve gone so far to that end that you found your y in a new form.”

  Haruo’s eye twitched a little feeling ered by Yuki. He had seen Yuki as a simpleminded kid that was too inexperienced about the world to uand. However, Haruo could feel him pierg through all of his walls. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know me.”

  “You’re ered and just repeated the same defensive lines.” The pain came in full ford he struggled to keep it from overing him. “I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising that you don't uand when someone wants to help you. You gave me that same look earlier.”

  Haruo had found him curious before for saying the same thing as Mr. Asanuma. He didn't like the feeling that he was sensing. “I think the fall must have scrambled your head.”

  “No, I’m thinking clearly!” He locked his eyes sternly on Haruo. “You don’t uand do you? You think you have to be alone and even now everything happening is reinf that idea, isn’t?!” Harou didn’t reply to him. He almost looked like he had been pushed back a few timeters. “You just don’t get it! You’re not alone! When you ’t do something alone your friends support you! True friends five and accept you! And they protect each other! You ’t do everything alone! You don’t o be anymore!”

  Haruo stared back at Yuki in silence, questioning him. ‘Perhaps he really is simpleminded…’ He had heard enough of the ranting from Yuki and stood up. ‘Support…friends… This is my way…’ Into his palms light grew suddenly responding to him. Once more white spirit-like animals materialized at his side.

  A hound stood at his right with a primal stare prepared to leap into a. Taking position on his left was a cougar exposing its teeth like it was ready for a meal. Haruo stepped forward feeling reassured by the pany of his pets. It was a strange power, but their eade him certain.

  Katsu colpsed to one ker trying to make it over in range of the two. The remaining gang members were surprisingly moved by their boss’s resolve and rediscovered their own fortitude. They stepped up around Katsu, gettiween Harou and him.

  Yuki couldn’t help but look a little bewildered by what he was seeing. ‘I guess they aren’t as cliché as I said…it’s a little weird seeing the bad guys ag brave and heroic…guess the world really has ged pletely!’ He stumbled to his feet attempting t off his pain. The effort was starting to work, but he still had a long way to go. Yuki thwarted atempt by Akihiro. ‘My mind’s still sharp…’

  Haruo sent the two animals out ahead of him to csh with the group of six gang members that still remained. Among them Takaoka had elected to try to take the hound on while awo tried to do something about the cougar. The rest decided to fall bato familiar tactid charged for Haruo.

  The awkward fight between the hound and Takaoka was left with the dog having the advantage. It had mao score a few bites on Takaoka’s leg leaving him bleeding, but still willing to challehe beast. Takaoka breathed heavily, sliding his foot back after the st exge. The uainty of surviving began to rise in his head as anrowl from the hound ran his body cold for a moment. ‘I’ve gotta protect tha boss! I ’t let this stupid dawg beat me!’

  The pause broke with the dog leaping forward at Takaoka. He dodged the first attempt and took a swipe at it, but missed as it quickly turned and tered. Takaoka put up his forearm in defeaking the full force of the fangs from the spirit beast. He fell to the earth holding his bleeding arm as the dog slid around rec for a final strike. “Damn! This ’t be it!”

  Everything afterward for him seemed a blur. It wasn’t until he heard a bit of a whimper that he opened his eyes. At his feet was the white dog surrounded by a fme that worked towards its core. He widened his eyes in surprise and caught a glimpse of a few trabers from his hand. “I did that?!”

  Yuki stared with narrowed eyes, not pleased with the arrival of a third power. ‘Fire, you be any more cliché?’ He saw the kid throwing another fireball at the animal finishing it off. It had all seemed to be instinbsp; ‘Cliché or not, it still ’t be taken lightly!’ His time for remaining still came to a sudden end.

  Takaoka turned his new found power on the cougar and mao catch it in his fmes with the first shot. He soon turned his hand on Haru to keep his focus together. “I’ll end this!” Another fireball grew in his palm for an unprepared Haruo.

  It wasn’t until there was a red glow that lit up his eyes that pulled him away. ‘Fire? I ’t…’ There was no time to move for him as he was forced to accept it, but at the st sed the burning cougar leapt forward taking the fireball for him and vaporized instantly. ‘It protected me. Again…’

  The sight of the animal giving its life for him forced Yuki’s words bato his mind. He tried tet them and focus on standing on his own, but the echo only got louder. ‘I-I ’t… support… help… friends… No.’

  Haruled to hold himself against the three boys. They seemed to be getting even strohan before. ‘The animal was a creation of mine. It only makes sehat it would protect me.’ It gave him a small sense of peace allowing him to defle ining punbsp; The kick was a different story though as Haruo was knocked off his feet a into the dirt. He had barely seen the opportunist fireball ing in at him as he y defenseless. ‘Am I so helpless?’

  The fireball roared towards him c him in its fiery glow. It threw away loose dirt in its wake, appearing even more intehan any of the previous attempts. Adaptive had proven to be a deadly ally for Takaoka already figuring out his power. There was nothi.

  “Giving up already?!” shouted Yuki over the roar of the impending fireball. He stood between the fallen Haruo and the fire attack that sped towards him. It had only been a few seds to spare, but it was enough for him to give Haruo a quick grin before being engulfed in the explosion as the fireball ignited upon impact.

  Haruo watched stunned seeing Yuki disappear from sight. He didn’t know what to think. Everything inning around in his head so quickly for him to be able to reabsp; ‘Why? Why did he do that?’ Smoke from the fire’s bst bhe area blog out sight. ‘He seemed…almost happy… It doesn’t make any sense.’ Through all the clouds he tried to look for a sign of Yuki. He o know if he was alive still.

  Inside Haruo’s head Yuki’s words repyed for him as though to answer his own fusion. ‘You just don’t get it! You’re not alone! When you ’t do something alone your friends support you! True friends five and accept you! And they protect each other! You ’t do everything alone! You don’t o be anymore!’

  As the smoke slowly began to clear Haruo stood up slowly. ‘Friends support, huh? Protebsp; I don’t…’ He emerged from the bst straightening himself out. All of the gang members stared on at him looking ready to strike once more. However, Haruo turned his head up towards them, log eyes with them.

  The stare he returned made them all step baeasy having never seen such a fierce look of determination and strength from him before. “I don’t have to be alone anymore… I don’t have to stand by myself…” He threw out his hands, tossing dirt into the air that suddenly burst with light. A moment ter six massive tigers appeared in a circle around him shining with a divine light brighter than before.