Heroes to Hunted

Thanks to my training, I caught Takagi's fist in midair and held it there. Of course, I empathized with him, but I still wasn't about to let myself be beaten to a pulp.

"Let me go, you fucker!" he threw his other fist, aiming for another weak point; my skull's temple.

It made sense. As a punk, he must've had a lot of fighting experience. So he'd naturally know where his strikes would be most effective.

Unfortunately for him... I had more.

While he swung, I slipped underneath the arm I held, twisting it, and flipped him to the ground. His back crashed into the turf, and he gasped for air.

"Calm down!" I turned him to his stomach and placed a knee on his arm's joint, limiting its motion.

"Fuck you!" Takagi retorted. "'Forget about Nakamura?' How the hell can you say that?! He saved your life, you ungratef-"

"What the hell are you guys doing?!" Agawa stood up from the campfire; the rest of my companions soon followed her.

Suda gripped her bow and an arrow, aiming it for my chest. "Let 'im go." Her eyes were devoid of any shred of hesitation. She wasn't threatening me; she was making a promise. A promise to end me if I caused any more trouble.

I couldn't comply with her. Throughout the exchange, Takagi thrashed about violently, doing anything he could to shake me off. With his current mood, like a raging chimpanzee, I had no doubt he'd try to tear my head off if I released him.

"Suda, stop," Mizuno took hold of Suda's bow and lowered it, "this is between them."

Suda hesitated but ultimately gave in. "Fine! Fine... Fine!... I getcha already." She huffed and sat back down with a scowl. Finally, she returned to her squirrel skewer, trying her best to ignore Takagi's frustrated shouts.

Likewise, Mizuno and Shrug returned to their seats.

Three were left standing; Kamida, Ayame, and Agawa. Meanwhile Takahashi was retreating into the darkness in avoidance of the conflict.

The three looked anxious to speak, but they hadn't had a chance before Takagi finally shook me off him.

I retreated a few steps while Takagi recovered and rotated his shoulder.

He glowered at me, his eyes consumed by a smoldering rage. "You... I was wrong about you... I respected you, but you're useless in the end. Letting yourself get knocked out, having us ferry your ass to safety, having Nakamura die because YOU were too busy napping in a coma..."

Takagi clenched his teeth. "Why the hell didn't you wake up?!" his words started to stagger, and his breathing became unsteady. "You could've saved him! If you were there..." he paused and lowered his gaze. When he returned it, he revealed two tears streaming down his eyes. "If you were there, Nakamura would still be here!"

I had no response; what was there to say? I couldn't apologize; a "sorry" would be meaningless. I couldn't give an excuse; that would only anger him off more. I could only stand in place, ready to receive all of Takagi's verbal lashings.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Agawa. She'd been pushing Kamida to try stopping us. But Kamida shook his head in disagreement and stood his ground.

"Whatever, I'll do it!" Agawa angrily relented, opting instead to approach us herself in intervention.

She was about to shout but was halted by Kamida's hand on her shoulder.

"Stop," Kamida's expression matched his serious tone, "this is necessary, Ms. Agawa."

Ayame spoke up in Agawa's defense. "Necessary?! But look at them! They're going to kill eac-"

Kamida squeezed Agawa's shoulder and looked at Ayame. "Agawa'll make it worse; this is a dispute they must resolve themselves." He returned his sight to Agawa. "Please, just stop. You'll only cause more problems."

Agawa cursed under her breath, shook off Kamida's hand, and backed away from us.

"Say something!" Takagi squeezed his fists. "If you won't say anything," he formed a fiendish smile with bladed teeth, "I'll just beat it out of you. You deserve that much," he lifted his arms and took a brawler's fighting stance.

One thing I learned in the military was that, in some cases, fists spoke louder than words. Knowing this was one of those times, I took a stance too.

"Heh, at least you'll put up a fight." Takagi snarked arrogantly. "It'd be no fun if you just stood there and took it." Though he made his usual insulting remarks, anger-filled tears flooded his eyes. Whoever this Nakamura was, he had a strong influence on Takagi before his death.

The woods became silent, the only sounds coming from the crackling of burning wood from the campfire. Then, a branch snapped from the heat, and Takagi lunged forward.

Like his turbulent fury, his attacks were infused with pure hatred.

He recklessly charged me like a tidal wave to a seawall. While he wailed on me, he sounded like a man possessed. Accompanying every attack were vicious grunts and guttural snarls.

Despite his ferocity, he was a novice. Though powerful, his strikes were easy to predict and redirect.

Takagi threw a wide right hook that could shatter a cinderblock. I backstepped and grasped his wrist. Then, with all my force, I threw him over my shoulder.

He crashed into the ground. But there'd be no rest. After snarling angrily, he flipped onto his hands and sprang to his feet. He then raised his fists, ready to try again.

Surprisingly, he began feinting attacks. He must've realized brute force alone wouldn't work with an experienced opponent. He thrust his fist toward me, but a punch wasn't his true objective. He opened his clenched palm and went for a grapple on my defending arm.

When he took hold, he smirked. "I've got you now, you fu-" But, again, I redirected his hand and threw him over my shoulder.

Still on the ground, he hoarsely screamed with impatience, then said, "don't think that'll work forever," and growled.

He was right...because I wouldn't let it last forever. As he began to recover, I shoved him back to the floor and flipped him to his stomach. Then, I used a knee to pin one of his arms while holding the other arm behind his back.

Like last time, he struggled and thrashed about violently, but I wouldn't be bucked off again.

"Let me go! Let me go, dammit!" he tried every possible maneuver to escape, but it was futile. My hold on him wholly shut down any counterattacks.

"Calm. Down." I tightened my hand around his wrist, causing Takagi to wince from the pain. "We're going to talk about this peaceably, alright?"

However, Takagi didn't respond.

"Takagi! I nee-" Interrupting me was a nervous twitch from his lips. Not just the lips; his entire face trembled from a force he struggled to hold back.

In just a few moments, a flood of renewed tears overwhelmed his eyes. "Why?... You can fight so well, so why weren't you there? Why weren't you there to protect us? To protect him?"

"I'm sorry," I grimaced. "You can't save everyone."

Takagi began speaking again; however, this time, it wasn't directed at me, but at someone whose presence escaped the physical world.  "Why did you die?..." his words were meek and defeated. "You promised me... You promised to help carry my burden... "

I could feel Takagi's muscles relax, and his fighting spirit drained away. So I warily released him and paced backward.

Takagi lay on the ground, his body limp as he silently wept. Despite gaining his freedom, he was still trapped in a moment of raw emotion.

For the remainder of the night, we remained silent, watching as Takagi confronted a reality he had long shielded himself from. The only sounds were the crackling of the fire and the occasional stifled sobs from a broken delinquent.