BtF - Part X

Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, February 16th, 2022

Sakura gets of the bed rapidly, as he did the same. Both of them get up.

Shun remain looking at them, revealing in his face anger and sadness at the same time. Miya appears just behind of him without saying a word, but he understands the entire situation and does not interfere, as Sakura felt two steps back just by noticing his presence. He steps to the front to his friend.

“Shun…I…we…”

Shun he looks down.

Shun: “For how long? How long how you two been shitting our relationship with lies and deceit!? HOW LONG!?!?!?!?!?” he raises his sight with his face full of anger towards both of them.

Sakura: “Shun…I…”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP. YOU SPEAK!”

He approaches Shun, tiring to not let him getting to close to her.

“Shun, I am so...”

“DO NOT SAY IT! DO NOT FUCKING SAY IT. HOW LONG HOW YOU BEING HIDING THIS FROM ME?! HOW!?”

He looks down for a moment.

“For this month. Two weeks.”

“That is why you distance yourself from me?!”

“I could not look to you on the eye and lie. Not without regrets. You are my bro…”

“NO MORE! BROTHERS NOT BETRAY EACH OTHER WITH THIS!”

Sakura runs to him

“Shun please hear us-"

He hits her with the back on his hand on the face making her fall to the floor, but her head hits strongly the edge of the desk. Her eyes fell numb and the rest of her body fell to the ground, unconscious.

The Blue Ronin’s face changes in a second to be a one of anger.

“DO NOT DARE TO TOUCH HER!”

“I CAN SAY THE SAME TO YOU!”

Shun advances on hi with his Shinai on hand, rising the wooden blade and lowering it as fast as he can, but his adversary raises his left arm a bit stretched, and the blade just clashed and slipped though the side of his arm. With his empty arm, he pushes him backwards with his opened hand directly to the chest, falling him three steps back.

Miya attempts to get nearer to him. “STAY FROM THIS MIAY, THIS IT BETWEEN HIM AND ME!”

Miya, reluctantly, stays his hand.

Miya advanced on his friend for a second time with a horizontal attack, forcing now to him to back off, and give him space. His shinai blade was right at his friend’s back, he would need to get pass him, nothing easy considering Shun knew this. He makes other horizontal powerful slash nearly hitting him, but with this, making his now former friend clashing the wall. He had nowhere to run. Shun raises his blade and makes it go downwards again, as he blocks with both arms in an X, entering a briefly struggle with his adversary, looking eyes as their breath was heavy. They keep on for a moment doing this, as he was slowly succumbing to Shun’s wrath state but finally he manages to place a front kick right on the chest, forcing him back once again. He again comes trying to thrust the blade thought his stomach. He can nearly avoid it moving his entire body laterally, as the blade was inches from his side, but in this moment he approaches rapidly and delivers a full hit with the side of his arm to his friends body, sending him to the ground, but in the meantime, Shun releases his blade and grabs his head, locking it with his body, making both of them fall to the ground. They end in front of each other in the floor; Shun rapidly places a punch directly to his face, making him roll and end with his back to the ground he gets around and tries to choke him out with both of his hands. They struggle for a second time as he tries to quit his hands from his neck, but after trying for some moments he also punches him in the face, and the impact causes him to remove his heads from his head and leaves Shun a bit numb. In the meantime, he manages to recover his feet and placing a double strong kick to the chest, forcing now his friend to the ground. They looks at each of them bleeding for a second, but in h3e end he rolls backwards as Shun gets up and grabs his Shinai, as he did the same.

“I NEVER WANTED TO FELL WHAT I DO FOR HER! I NEVER WANTED ANY OF THIS!!!”

Without the will to speak to him, he attacks he falls back, but the power of the strike hits a lighted lamp, as the power of the hit make it broke as after it fire started consuming the wooden desk, as it rapidly advances thought all woods or potentially inflammable thing on his room. The smoke alarm is set off, as all the students start to come out the dormitories. They continue to fight nerveless, without stop. Shun could not forgive him, neither he could stop him, and after what he had done, he deserved this. Miya continues to stare to the fight as Sakura remained laying on the ground unconscious of what was happening. Shun continues his assault, on him, as he was nearly defending and counterattacking whenever he could. Shun raises his blade clashing it with his and as it slices down the edge, he punches him back, but shun attacks by the other side he could parry the shinai and trying to hit his face, but Shun parries and the forces him backwards thrusting the blade to his chest. Shun attacks again as now he was back against the wall again, but know he kicks him back with other frontal kick, but this time the blade continues on his path, and hits part of his forehead until the eye. He could barely parry that move, but if not, he could have lost an eye. Miya notices this and rushes to grab Shun, and manages to do so grabbing both of his arms by the back.

“THIS IS ENOUGTH CALM YOURSELF.”

“MIYA NOT GET INTO THIS!” the Blue Ronin said.

Shun manages to place his left elbow to his ear, partially knocking him, and making him go to his right, result of the power of the hit. Shun attacks him with a downwards slash, but he manages to parry the blade. He then changes raises his sword to hit Shun it the face, but he manages to parry, placing his bade diagonally towards his right. The blade rapidly slices along the blade, as then the tip of the blade clashes with the right side of Miya’s face. The blade rapidly, thought it seemed like an eternity for him, slashes downwards from his forehead, across the eye and his right cheek also, as he starts to bleed and scream. He steps back clashing his back with his friend’s wardrobe. The power of the momentum suddenly turns back on him as the entire heavy thing felt to his back, as he felt with his chest to the ground with him. He continues to place his hand on his face and tries to endure the pain.

After witnessing this, the blue Ronin was as enraged as Shun, he attacks now, paring his blade and now advancing on his own onslaught, but shun then fights back, as both of them are top to top. They end up clashing blades, eyes and breath all at the same time, in a third power struggle on the battle. Both of them coordinately end it by punching each other on the face. Both of them are tired, wounded and they can barely breathe because of the smoke, but especially Shun was on a bad state. They stare briefly t each other as he starts braking first braking silence.

“I am sorry Shun just know that!” “Liar!”

“END THIS! NOBODY WANTS THIS! WE CAN BOTH DIE BY THIS YOU CANNOT BREATH SMOKE REMEMBER!?

“FUCK THAT YOU SHIT FRIEND! TRAITOR!”

Shun attacks him but he parries the thrust of the blade and lowering his entire body, he places a hard thrust to his chest. The power of the thrust makes shun lose all the air on his lungs, and forces him to get down to his knees. He briefly looks to his now former friend, before with his remaining strength thrusting his blade thought his belly, making him also lose part the air inside of him. Shun falls to the ground with both of his hands on his belly, and passes out.

The Blue Ronin gets to his knees for a second, breathes for a second and regains a bit of origin inside of his lungs, but it would not last. The smoke was already gathering on the room, and great part of hit was already burning, including the entire desk, the desk, the wooden bookshelves, the books on them, and the bed was about to share the same fate. He approaches Miya, still under the desk. “Are you alright?!”

“I have been better.” He removes his hand from his face.

He stood shocked to what his eyes looked. Miya had a deep scar on the right side of his face, from his forehead, across his eye, which was now blind, and it ending near the end of his cheek. He bleeds a lot, but it seems that he could afford it somehow. “I…I am sorry.”

“Does not matter. Help me out of here!”

He makes an effort to raise the wardrobe but even for him, it was too heavy, and Miya could not help him. He makes a second try stronger, but he cannot raise it, no matter how hard he tries. For a second he looks back, and notices both Shun and Sakura unconscious on the ground right at his back, while Miya remains on the ground shouting at him to help him as the fire rises. He looks to his best frilled he had betrayed, and then to the girl he loved, thinks for a moment, and notices what he had to do...

He gets up and looks to Miya. “I am sorry Miya.”

He runs and grabs Saruka, placing her on his right shoulder, as he also grabs Shun in the same way, but with his left shoulder. He manages to get up even with all the weight both bodies meant. He looks back at Miya for a second, as Miya notices what he was about to do. “NO!”

He begins to leave.

“NO YOU CANNOT FUCKING DO THIS TO ME!”

He continues as he was about to regret, but if he stayed, all of them would had died. He had no choice.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

He runs across the dormitories as fast as he can with both of their bodies, until he does not longer hear Miya’s voice. Getting down the stairs, he opens the door, noticing every student outside the place looking towards him, with he carried both bodies. He kneels leaving both bodies softly to the ground, as all his friends outside of the place appeared. He succumbs to exhaustion immediately afterwards.

---

The Blue Ronin wakes up slowly, opening his eyes, notices white light tubes on the ceiling. He looks around, notices he was on a hospital and gets up from the bed. Shortly afterwards a doctor comes out of the place.

“You are awake already?!”

“I am fine. Where are my friends? Are they alright?”

“They are.”

“Where are they?!”

“But you should right now care about yourself. You spent like two hours unconscious.” “Fuck that. Take me them! NOW!”

“well alright, alright! Follow me.”

The doctor gets out of the room, as he swiftly follows, after putting on his jacket on a chair next to his bed.

“How did we get here?”

“An ambulance arrived shortly afterwards alongside the firefighters to the dormitories of Nihago Middle School. You three where brought here that way.”

“Wait! Three?!”

“Yes. Why?”

He grabs the doctor by the neck.

“Why there was a forth! One of my best friends was there! where is he!?”

“NO ONE ELSE GOT OUT OF THERE! NO ONE.”

He looks down, really sad. He had caused his oldest friend’s death. All what happened was his fault. If he had never grew feelings Sakura that would had never happened. He felt tears almost flowing out of his eyes, but he held them inside, and breaths trying to do so. He lets go the doctor.

“I am sorry.”

“Yeah…sure…”

They continue to walk.”

“Where is Shun?”

“Near here. His lungs are weak to fire, but he will be alright in a day so. He is already awake, if you want to speak to him. But not for long.”

“I want to.”

They rapidly enter a room where Shun was alone, helped to breath by a mechanical respirator covering his nose and mouth. He was awake, but was tired.

Upon seeing him, his eyes again show anger towards him.

“Leave us please.”

“Alright. I will wait for you outside. Not more than some minutes.”

The doctor gets out of the place, closing the door behind of him.

“I am here only to speak to you.” He approaches and lowers himself, getting his face near to his friend’s.

“You think that a simple conversation can explain what I saw?”

“It is the least you deserve. This started when we went to the festival together. I noticed that she had a fight with you, she was all teary, and it was not for what Shinji and his shits had done to her. There we kissed. We knew what we were doing with you was wrong, but none of us could tell you.”

“Why was she this night with you?”

“Kirei discovered me in the gladiatorial games and after I beat Shinji. If I lost to you I was going to remain here, as the rest of you were going back to home. She was there to speak once again to me…”

“The only reason?”

Shun stares directly to his friend’s eyes, but he could not do the same, not after this. He still did not have the strength.

“Whatever happened between us…”Shun parts his sight from him. “I am to blame. Not her. NEVER HER."

“I loved you as if you were my own brother.”

“And I you.”

“No. You are a man that stands only for himself. And would betray anyone and anything, to gain what you want. ”

The doctor enters.

“Time is up.”

He looks to his friend once again.

“I was an eternal fool. To have ever believed otherwise.”

He gets up, following the doctor, and closes the door behind of him.

“Where is Sakura?”

“Next room. He suffered a contusion, she is not awake.”

He opened the door, and looks to her connected to the machines.

“She will be alright?”

“She is struggling. The speed in which she hit her head was pretty high, and right now she is struggling. She can live, but there are possibilities for her body will never be the same it was.”

“What do you mean?”

“She may have deficiencies…”

His facial expression immediately changes.

“…like problems to speak, to walk, even to think...”

“Enough! Leave us.”

“Alright.” After noticing his expression the doctor left without complains.”

He sits down a chair next to her and grasps her hand with both of his.

“I will be here with you, and you will be alright. I know you will get out of this.” He stops for a moment, looking to sleeping girl, peacefully resting “Please. I need you; we still have to offer our apologies to Shun. No, it is not just that. I want us to be together, it is the thing I most want to. All of us. Izumi, Ikuto, Takeru, Yamato, Daisuke, Tai, Shun and Miya.” He stops for a second closes his eyes, saliva gulps down thought his throat alongside his sadness, and he continues. “I will win my own battle in here, do whatever to manage it. But you must do the same. So that we can make this possible.” He places his hand on her cheek. “Sakura…I…”

The machine pulse rate stops and makes a constant beep. He freaks out the second afterwards, getting of his chair and grabbing both of her shoulders.

“Breath! Breath! BREATH!” He grabs her head with his right, as doctors began to came in by the noise. “BREATH SAKURA! BREATH SAKURA! BREATH SAKURA!” fore than four doctors are necessary to hold him from her, as other begin to try to revive her. He keeps on trying to get to her but she remains the same.

He still tries to get to her, as security appeared inside of the place.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

He is knocked out by a hit to the back of his head.