Chapter-2: Ninjutsu [Subaru POV]

I caught his knife arm and twisted it, breaking a bone or two. The man writhed back and forth, screeching in pain. Crap. This must’ve gotten the attention of the others in here. It might be better for me to hide her somewhere.

I turned towards Mika and said, “Hey brat! What are you waiting for? Go and hide outside, right now! Once we are done with this, I would like to have a talk with  you.

“Did Mika make you angry?" she looked down and asked.

I could hear the ruckus from a little distance away. If she doesn’t hide now, it will be too late. I won’t be able to protect the two of us in this massive labyrinth. This isn't the time to apologize, so move it!

“Listen, if you don’t hide somewhere, you and your sister will be done for. Now go!"

Mika looked down with even more regret and left. Oh, come on! I feel like a big bully who just took a kid’s snack or an ice cream or something. You see, that’s the problem. I’ve made myself insensitive to little kids from a long time ago. So I definitely wouldn’t care what they think of me. Heck, I don’t give a damn about it either, but that’s the way things work around here.

I could hear their alarming voices as they drew nearer. I looked around and scanned my surroundings to see if there's a way to go prone or maneuver, but to no luck. The insides of the warehouse were a maze; the only possible way was to confront them frontally. It looks like stealth won’t do me any favours now; I would have to rely entirely on my combat prowess. Heh, so be it. I jumped over a ledge and looked down at the direction they were coming from. My eyes narrowed at a place written as'red zone’?

I see. So that’s how it is.

I mastered martial arts, ninjutsu, and many more combat techniques; combining them all gives hell to my adversaries. I sighed. There is no going back now. I promised Mika that I'd save her goddamn sister. In the end, I decided to save her sorry butt and take them down myself.

The gang stopped a few meters away from me as soon as they spotted me perched on a ledge. The look on their faces... confusion and disorder, huh? I could use that to my advantage to take them down.

I leaped down, walked casually towards the group, and made a commotion deliberately. The entire group turned suddenly to find the source of the distraction, only to find me approaching them.

I smirked at them and said, “Sorry about that. Did I catch you by surprise?"

“What the hell are you doing here, you little punk?"

“Busy?" I asked, keeping my calm. “All I see are some asses who need a whipping so that they can be taught some manners."

“You've got some guts telling us that, you punk. We outnumber you twenty to one. You think you can win?”.

I exhaled with a slight tinge of annoyance and said, “Punk this, punk that. Damn, you guys must be all bark and no bite. When you face your enemy, the only way to knock some sense into them isn’t with words.” I balled my sts so hard that my knuckles cracked. “But...with your fists."

They looked at me nervously, and I could feel the unrest growing within them. Yes! Be scared! Be Afraid! After all, you all are nothing but scum! Man, I love to mess with my opponent’s mind. It keeps me entertained.

"You stop right there or you will regret it!"

“Yeah, we’ve got the advantage of numbers. He won’t bring us down easily."

It’s like they are trying to reassure themselves, but they really have no idea who they are dealing with, do they?

I remembered that memory and replied, “You don't need numbers when you've got the courage to face your adversary."

“It's time to shut your trap once and for all, kid, and trust me, you're going to be sorry."

“We'll see about that. Now enough talking.” I said.

“NOW, BRING IT!!!" I yelled as I got ready to pummel them into the ground.

I cast a menacing smile at the shaken-up group, relishing the feeling of towering over the ones who do nothing but oppress innocent people.

“What’s wrong? I thought you had quite the advantage now. Why’d you all calm up?" I asked with sarcasm.

“They are here! Let’s do this!”.

“What?!”

Man, talk about depressing.

I looked around me, and to my surprise, I found myself surrounded by a lot more idiots. Man! As if one annoying bunch wasn’t enough! I could hear jeers and taunts from the mob. I decided not to let it get to me.

You see, the basic purpose of practicing Ninjutsu is to keep peace of mind and your emotions in check. There are many hand seals used too. If I remember correctly, the seal for peace, calmness, and wisdom is Retsu. Yeah.

I made the Retsu seal with my two hands and breathed out. Ninjutsu preaches to avoid ghting and to avoid the attack. This is one of the most important characteristics of the art. We practice so that these incidents don’t happen, however. If the tensions can’t be solved with talks and diplomacy, you have the right to unsheathe your sword.

I looked up, and the air around me became calm. Not a single voice. I said, “How pathetic. You need these many men just to take me down.” I smirked. “You guys aren’t even worth my time. Hey! I have an idea. Why don’t you hand me over to Miss Beautiful over there? If you hand her over, I’ll leave this place peacefully and quietly. No harm done, right? So what will you do? Not a bad deal, is it?" I asked. Using diplomacy is certainly cool!

“What if we don’t do as you say?"

“Then I am afraid it would be the other way around."

“The other way around?" the man scorned me. “You think you could handle our numbers now? You seriously don’t know when to quit, do you? Since you are already here, we might as well show you the consequences of messing with us."

I gave a cold smile and replied, “True enough. After all, actions speak more than words."

They charged at me, but fortunately I had the advantage when it came to agility and nimbleness. I fended off as many as I could, but damn, there is no end to them, is it?

“If this goes on, I might be in serious trouble.” A gleam caught my eye, and I noticed a 10-meter-long chain, and my hands began shaking with excitement. I exclaimed, “Now that’s what I am talking about! A swing really riles you up,  huh?

I jumped down and got up slowly. I looked up at them and ashed a dark smile. “Now then, let’s begin the show. Shall we?"

“Heh. Kid thinks a chain is more than enough to stop us."

I replied, “It is the wielder, not the weapon, that will take you down!"

I stood my ground and adapted to a defensive posture the moment they ganged up on me. I let out a deep breath and waited for any mis-movement on their side. Observation, though it won’t look like much, is a valuable trait after all.

“What? Are you so scared that you can't move, or are you all smoke and no fire?"

“All smoke and no fire?" I smirked.

“What's so funny about that?"

I replied,“ When there's smoke, there is fire. You wouldn't want to stick around to get burned, do you?"

Suddenly, one of them came at me with a st aimed straight at my face. I dodged it and returned with a full-strength blow to the gut. I felt pretty good seeing him writhing in pain.

“Get him!!"

Good grief…. Give me a break… Let me speak up!

All of them came at me like a pack of hungry wolves. Well,  naturally, the lion is always a cut above the others. I sent one of them crashing to the ground with an uppercut kick. I must have hit him quite sharply because it rendered him unconscious.

“Now, let’s chain up the party!" I yelled in excitement.

Let me tell you why I chose a chain out of everything as my weapon. In Ninjutsu, there is a weapon based on short, medium, and long-range attacks: the Kusari Kunai (plain terms: Chain Kunai). Of course, I am not as adept at using this sort of weapon as a Kusarigama (Chain Scythe). The chains reduce your speed and mobility quite considerably, and they are not suited for melee-type combatants like me. And besides, using it for long durations can make my arms sore, so I’d better wrap this up real quick.

Part of the reason I took the chain was that there were too many of them. If I had to reduce their numbers considerably, I would have to use a ranged weapon so that I could also remain unharmed for the time being. Though not my favourite, it seemed the best choice at the moment.

A guy bypassed my swing range to aim at my gut, which I dodged effortlessly, but I was totally caught by surprise. To return the favor, I caught his neck, kneed him in the stomach, and hurled him to the ground. I felt pretty good seeing them thrown around like garbage bags.

I swung the chain, snaring three guys at once, and smashed them into the others. “Ha! That’s more like it!" I gave out such a laugh that it even scared the hell out of me.

Another guy faked me out and gave me a good blow on the cheek. I stumbled, trying to stabilize myself. I then looked up at him and gave out a scary laugh.

But I kept on smiling and said, “I see. You are not all talk, are you? I commend you on landing a square blow on me. However...”. I looked up and said, “IT’S FUTILE, NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU TRY!!"

Others paused their advance and looked at me in surprise. “Huh?!"

“Don’t you dare think that you’ll get away with this!" I yelled.

He could not believe what I said. I must have looked quite daunting myself, for all I could nd in his eyes was a look of fear, pure terror. With a few swift strikes, I took him down. The others got cold feet and stood, frozen.

“Now... as for the rest of you. I am willing to be merciful. If you want to get the hell out of here in one piece. I suggest now is a good time or... perhaps...”, I said pointing the chain in their eyes. I continued, “Well of course even if you choose to withdraw I would still come to kick your asses too. No offense.”

Slowly they began to fall back and ran with their tails in between their legs. Obviously, I went after them like it was a natural thing to do so. I smirked and yelled, “Whoever sends you to do the dirty work! Tell them I said ‘nice try’!!”

I collapsed on the ground and sat for a while to catch my breath. So many of them in such a small place. And using the chain has made my muscles sore. But.... it really felt good letting out some steam. I wonder if... there was someone in my shoes, what they’d do? Turn tail or get themselves whacked. I already noticed a familiar presence behind my back for quite some time now.

I looked behind me and called out, “It’s no use hiding from me you know. You can come out now Mika-chan.” Mika emerged from the shadows, slowly and carefully.

She approached me and asked, “Are you hurt Subaru Onii-San?”.

She had a worried look on her face.

I smiled back, “How can I not be okay when I have this?”. I asked as I held up the good luck charm Mika gave me. I continued, “And besides... I had to work hard enough not to worry you right? If I made you worry... I wouldn’t like that.”

She looked into my eyes, “Subaru Onii-san....”

Wow. I just met this little girl an hour ago and I already feel this attached to her. Kind if hard to explain this new feeling. Is this love? Care?... I have no idea. But the moment was so gentle that it warmed my heart.

I gave her a gentle pat on the head and said, “We shouldn’t wait here too long. Your sister is waiting for you. Yeah. Let’s go get her and get ourselves out of this creepy place.”

Mika looked up happily and said, “Yes!”

I got up and observed my surroundings... no sign of any movement. That’s good to know. I took hold of Mika's hand and made her stick close to me just in case. Now... the ‘red zone’ was it? I have a gut feeling that she might be there. But God! This place is a freaking labyrinth damn it!

I moved carefully, my senses on high alert. Holding Mika close to me... we took a few turns now and then and nally... ‘red zone’. Sure enough someone was already having a good time struggling with her bonds or so I thought.

Mika’s face flushed with relief and she moved towards that person. She looked at Mika with wide eyes and shook her head frantically. She then looked above us with wide eyes and made loud gags as she struggled to speak.

Wait, don’t tell me...

She then looked above me with wide eyes and made loud gags as if trying to warn us about something. The look in her eyes... Why is she terrified? Wait, don’t tell me... I turned around not a moment too late and found someone jumping o a huge crate with a knife pointed straight at Mika. All I could do at that time was to just push Mika out of the harm’s way and take the hit for myself.

I caught him in mid-air but it was too late because the damage had already been done. Despite stopping him in the air, I got stabbed on the shoulder.

“Now, now, Did you possibly think that you could catch me o guard?”, I asked menacingly, catching his throat in mid-air.

I looked at his terrified face and said, “I have one last question for you. Do you want to die immediately.... or slowly?”, I gave him a villainous smile. But that smile slowly changed to a wince. The feeling of fear alongside terror must have been too much for his mind to bear because he passed right where I held him, hanging by my hand.

Now that was over faster than I expected. Oh well, they are down... that is what matters right now. I walked towards the bound entity with my shoulder dripping red and glared at her. I looked down dominantly at her, making her inch and tremble with fear.

“Hanako-nee. Don’t worry. Subaru Onii-san is a good person. He came and helped you out. So don’t be scared.”, Mika assured her older sister. “Considering the circumstances, it would be better if I walk you guys home”, I said. I turned my cold gaze at her and said, “So you are the pain in the ass huh? Mika, untie her. I’ll meet you guys up in the front gate okay? Wait a bit longer. I’ll be back.”

As the sound of their footsteps receded behind me, I decided to look around the storage facility.

This place is quite dusty. The more deeper I got, the darker and damp it got. I looked around at the crates, some empty, some broken and others... I prefer not to talk about it.

"I'd better head back... it's getting late. Man, what a drag! I swear- Woah!"

I fell beneath the ground and tumbled down what felt like a staircase. Blast it! Today really is not my day. First a stab in the arm and now falling right into a.... Wait, a trapdoor?

I felt my hands on the walls to find the switches for turning on the lights. There! Got it!

What I was about to witness blew my mind away. I could not comprehend what I seeing.

"No way...."