The two boys seemed to have started figuring out more about the way that Yuki’s power worked. Their attacks became more accurate ahal. He could easily feel the impacts through his defense. It wouldn’t st for much longer. ‘They’re really trying to kill me! Don’t they see me?’ Gritting through the dull pain eg through his body, Yuki couldn’t remain inactive.

  He hated the thought of fighting people he knew. They were just his cssmates. They shouldn’t be fighting. The school was supposed to be a sign of normalcy returned. Not the ignition for something else. “Dammit all!” yelled Yuki. He had no other choice.

  Shunsen’s test attapletely missed Yuki as he was no longer present there. He had nearly disappeared in the moment. Several meters away dirt kicked up from Yuki sliding across the earth. He supported himself with extra help from his hand.

  The movement from Nagai came in faster than his eyes could follow, but thankfully his trag program from Eudokia’s fight still worked. He wisely left it on automatic rather than manual. At their speeds, he would never be able to have the reas to ter them. The explosion of earth from Nagai failing to ect with Yuki’s body rained out on all sides. Ice shields blossomed in the air to deal with the debris.

  Hesitating to strike with the opening he had, the two seds dey allowed them to recover and zero ba on Yuki. He prepared himself for another bout from them when a massive wave of fmes spilled out between them. Caught by surprise, they were touched by the fire for only moments before making a retreat.

  While he hadn’t been too familiar with it, his mind immediately went to the only possible answer. “Fumiko?” He turo see that she appeared otleground along with Haruo.

  Fumiko surfed in on the fmes and dropped out in front of Yuki. She quickly turned out a few fireballs from her fming arm to disce any others looking at Yuki as an easy mark. “You ’t show them mercy, Yuki! They’re out for blood!”

  “But I know them! We sat in the same css room only a couple months ago!”

  Shunsen and Nagai didn’t seem to get the hint from Fumiko aurned. Better reas than Yuki and decisive, she jumped out and grasped Shunsen’s head in her fme hand. Fmes surrounded his head while she threw them down into the earth as she came to a nding. She retrieved the staff from her back, carried in a makeshift cloth sheath, likely made in a couple hours. The staff was different from her st one as it was shorter aended out quickly to its normal length.

  Tossing the staff behind her, she caught Nagai before he came in reach of Yuki. The staff embedded into the earth with a magic circle expanding out almost instantly. Fme walls stretched out for more than five meters catg Nagai in mid strike. Fumiko stood up finished with Shunsen. She swiftly snatched the staff back up and sliced it through the fire g the magibsp; In the motion, she grabbed Nagai and threw him babsp; Fmes erupted from her hand sending them throughout his body.

  It was over.

  Fumiko turned back to Yuki knog her staff against the earth as fmes painted a background for her. If he hadn’t been so bothered by the way she dispatched them with merciless execution, he would have thought she looked cool or badass. “Those are students at our school, Fumiko! What are you doing?!”

  Partially bothered by his itude, she turned away to not look at him. “This is a battlefield. There are no friends or students. Just people that threaten us. I’ll kill anyone in my way.” She leapt into the air jumping deeper into the fighting without a ce for Yuki to react.

  His arm stretched out in a futile effort to stop Fumiko, but it was a lost cause. ‘What happeo Fumiko? She wasn’t like this before. Why is she being so…deadly…’ Yuki didn’t uand what happeo his world. No one was ag right. ‘Has the whole wone insane?!’

  Chapter 293 – The Resistance

  Haruo strolled in with only a couple of his wolves out following them. He seemed to take the whole thing very leisurely as always. It might have been the only stant still left for Yuki. The sight gave him a little hope for reality. “What are you doing here, Haruo? I know you’re not one for a fight.”

  “Nearby.”

  “Terse as always. We’re really going to have to work on your replies.” Yuki rubbed the side of his cheek, s through the likely case for what brought Haruo. “Just in the area huh? I guess I did find you arouhe st time. I’m sorry about the neighborhood.” He didn’t really get much more out of Haruo. It was more than he could expebsp; ‘I really only expect him to defend himself, whi this situation is all I would want. I don’t need someone else ag like Fumiko…’

  The thought of Fumiko’s aggressive attitude reminded him of another. ‘Hiroshi!’ He looked around for his friend. ‘If he’s the leader like it seems. He might be able to stop this fighting!’ It didn’t take long for him to find Hiroshi calling out orders from a front line position. The ndscape had already been pletely ged from the fighting. More than two dozen batants filled the field all with vastly different types of abilities, some more destructive than others, but thankfully nothih ging.

  “Keep yourself safe, Haruo! I’m going to try to talk some seo Hiroshi!” Yuki flew into a blur towards Hiroshi. The dete of an ining threat signaled Yuki ahead. He could see it ing after Hiroshi, who seemed prepared for it, however, Yuki intercepted for him instead. Ice grew out geometrically to absorb the impact from the purple orb. It exploded quickly harmlessly raining ice dust. “Hiroshi!”

  Hiroshi gnced back, putting it together that Yuki had aided him. His eyes narrowed with some suspi still.

  ‘I need him to trust me. Hopefully that dispy was enough to see that I don’t want to fight him.’ Yuki slid in up against the wall that Hiroshi crouched behind. “I’m not here to fight you! I just want to put ao this fighting! It’s meaningless!”

  Silence huweewo for several seds. Atacker came after Hiroshi, an adult, possibly a teacher but not one Yuki reized. It broke the tension. Hiroshi swiftly dealt with the atta an unusual way that disabled them. However, he didn’t leave Yuki time to figure it out. “This isn’t meaningless! We’re fighting for our lives here! There isn’t anything meaningless about survival!”

  “What the hell, Hiroshi! This shouldn’t be happening!”

  “Na?ve words aren’t going to fix things right now! If you’re not helping you’re in the way!”

  “…Hiroshi…” Yuki couldn’t believe that this was the same friend he ko tease him on a regur basis about his romantic failures or the ohat took a beating from Saki. There were too many gaps to uand the situation. It wasn’t going to end soon without something drastibsp; ‘I hahem all with ease. I just o be sure not to hurt anyone.’

  Yuki stood up from this cover to get a full view of the field. He started to figure out the exact measures he needed for his pn.

  “What do you think you’re doing, Yuki?! Are y to die?” Hiroshi jumped out, halting two attackers before they reached Yuki.

  “I’m ending this since you’re uo do so yourself.” However, Yuki didn’t get a ce to do anything. The tide of the battle had ged with the introdu of Fumiko. Teaming up with Saki and Yori’s sister, they routed many of the attackers. The group fell apart and started to retreat all in unison without any sign of orders as though all well pnned out.

  It made Yuki sigh with relief to know it ended. He fell down to his knees. “It’s over…” For some reason, he felt a little lightheaded. It made his body uo stand for the moment.

  “For now…” tered Hiroshi, seemingly insistent on dashing any hope Yuki had. He looked around gathering up his group. “How many?”

  “Three…Takagi, Iwasaki and Ayugai.”

  “Damn…all these hit and runs are just pig us apart.” Hiroshi smmed his fists together in frustration. “Give them proper burials. Take your team to see to it. I’ll deal with them.” The i of his words poi back to Yuki and his friends, who all started to return.

  Hiroshi crossed his arms seeing all of them gather around Yuki. “Well isn’t this some reunion. Care to expin yourself, Yuki?” He still wanted answers more than anything. The demanding tone in his voice echoed the shortness of his temper.

  Refusing to back down to intimidation, Yuki stepped forward with simir demands. “I think you owe us more of an expnation, Hiroshi! We’re gone for more than a month and I find that our city is like this!” Needing to show Hiroshi that he wasn’t weak, Yuki snatched up the colr of Hiroshi’s shirt. “I want some answers! I don’t give a damn about sides or whatever!”

  Those behind Hiroshi all moved to defend Hiroshi. Fumiko along with Saki quickly accepted their aggression and willing to defend Yuki. An unfortable standoff built around the two friends.

  Hiroshi was the first to motion for a cessation. Even though he told his team to back down, it didhe gring test betweewo of them. Easing the atmosphere only went so far whewo would not even say a word. They just let their eyes do the talking.

  Breaking Yuki’s hold with ease, Hiroshi fixed his shirt casually. “They’re safe.”

  “But—“ One of the students that Yuki didn’t recall tried to object, but Hiroshi cut him off before much could be said.

  “I’ll take responsibility for them. Besides, you saw how they fought. It’s apparent that they aren’t enemies.” Hiroshi turned half away to signal his team to move out. “We’re returning home! Leave no trace of our presence!” Two members of his team, a teacher that Yuki knew he had seen around and another unfamiliar student broke off.

  Waving to Yuki, Hiroshi ushered them out of the graveyard. “Follow me. I’ll expihing whe to safety. Though they retreated, it’s not unon for them to have a sed team.” Spinning around his finger in the air, he whistled to get everyone’s attention. “Team Two on re! Make sure we’ve got no unwele guests!”

  Saki joined up with Yuki, who started to follow uneasily the ragtag group of students and teachers. She leaned over to whisper to Yuki. “Hey you know anything about what’s going on? This isn’t the Hiroshi we know. He’s ag like he's in charge of everyone, even the adults.”

  “I know as much as you. I’ll agree though I don’t reize this Hiroshi. I didn’t think he had it in him. But we barely even know him. We’ve only known each other sihe start of the school year.”

  “Yeah, but this is just too much of a ge.”

  “We’ll get some answers soon.”

  Answers were all any of them wanted. The only ohey got was that everything was no lohe same. Their familiar world, their city, their home, their school, even friends were ged almost as if it was a nightmare where someowisted everything good and f into something awful. They just hoped to wake up from it all.

  The first ahey got was the location of their ‘Home’ as mentioned by Hiroshi. Several blocks away and a thirty-minute walk brought them to a family owore. Judging from what they saw i seemed to be part venieore and part homemade food. It was one of the few buildings that looked to still be ued by whatever war trashed the city.

  Hiroshi motiohem over to an arcade box. It had an old game from the te 80s still running on it. Long out of style and not even popur, it gathered quite a bit of dust on it. A lonely presehat seemed to beg for even a little attention. Today seemed to be its lucky day with how many gathered around it. “All clear?”

  A nod from the middle-aged man at the ter firmed the final check Hiroshi needed. He quickly pyed the buttons in a seemingly random order and then flicked the stibsp; Suddenly the arcade groao life as it moved away from the wall. Behind it against an outline of aged paint, a deep hole revealed itself. A dder rose up to the full height iing.

  “This way,” invited Hiroshi. His team went in first along with Team Two. He stared back at those that still might call him friend. “This is our secret base. What you’re about to see may surprise you, but this is the reality of our city now.” With those ominous words, he jumped to the dder and slid down.

  Yuki looked around at his friends to see their resolve. None of them needed words to answer his question. They all had the same desire as him. They wanted answers and to know why their home was in ruins. Only Hiroshi had their answers. They couldn’t turn away.

  Taking up the rear behind everyone else, Yuki arrived at the bottom st. After taking more thay rungs, he followed in suit with the others to slide down. It was still an unfamiliar and risky move, so he stopped every few dozen. What surprised him more was how deep it went down. Before even taking in the se, Yuki pined, “Damn, feels like we went a kilometer underground.”

  “It’s actually one hundred and sixteeers,” corrected Hiroshi. “But it doesn’t feel it.”

  Yuki finally opened his eyes to his surroundings. The sight left his mouth hanging open a little. “How…the hell?” A massive cavern seemed to be carved out before them extending for tless meters into the air. If it had been a cave he might have been more accepting, but it looked like it had an atmosphere. He thought he saw clouds he top. It looked impossible.

  “Wele to the Resistanbsp; Where we fight for the survival and safety of our city!”