Our Invincible Protagonist (7)

The park was considerably emptier when Kotaka arrived that night, as he expected. Under the light of the street-lamps he had no trouble navigating back to where he had met with Suzaku...

"Ah Shuyaku! Welcome back!" Suzaku laughed, spreading his arms out in welcome. Suzaku looked around, before leaning forward and resting his chin on his hand, "I don't see the Oni with you."

"You don't say." Kotaka replied sarcastically, "But you already expected that, didn't you."

"Well I did have a bunch of my guys follow you just in case," Suzaku said smugly, "Though I must say I don't quite understand why you came back despite knowing that?"

"Probably because you weren't planning on letting me off either." Kotaka replied, jerking his head toward the shadows.

"Heh," Suzaku grinned, and snapped his fingers. At that signal a horde of spiky haired delinquents emerged from the trees, blocking all paths in and out of the area, "Well you can't expect me to let a slight against my gang go unpunished can you?"

"And you can't expect me to run from a fight can you?" Kotaka smirked, tucking his hands into his pockets, "It'll look bad on my resume."

"Still playing that card I see." Suzaku threw his head back and laughed, before giving his men a thumbs-down. Without a moment's hesitation one of his men stepped forward and punched Kotaka in the stomach. With a strangled grunt Kotaka fell to his knees, two of the delinquents grabbing his arms.

"I can't stand people like you," Suzaku said coldly, his smile completely gone from his face "People who think that image alone is all it takes to make it in this world..."

Held firmly in the grip of Suzaku's minions, Kotaka could only laugh awkwardly as the delinquent leader stood up and started walking towards him, loudly cracking his knuckles.

"Oh boy," he thought to himself as Suzaku stopped in front of him and pulled back his fist, "This is going to suck..."

SSS

*CLANG!*

Onimaru Godou yawned as he felt another metal pipe smack ineffectually into the back of his helmet. Not even bothering to look at the perpetrator, Godou smashed the back of his fist into the guy's face, casually flicking the blood of his knuckles as the delinquent flopped to the ground.

There was a shout of rage as another one of the gang members charged at the Godou from the side with a knife, only to meet empty air as the helmeted high-school student deftly sidestepped the attack and brought his own weapon down on the astonished thug's head. A split second later he felt a little tickle on his neck as someone jumped on his back and wrapped a chain around his throat, as well as a slight pushing on his chest as another person tried to tackle him to the ground.

"Come on, you guys call this teamwork?" The masked boy slammed his knee into the chin of the thug grabbing his waist, and thrust his elbow into the ribs of the one with the chain, shaking them both off his body as their grips fell limp, "You've got to try harder than that."

Godou yawned again, wiping some dirt off his visor as he waited for the next attack to come, only to be met with complete silence. Shouldering his bat, Godou took a quick survey of his surroundings, what had once been a fairly clean secluded alleyway now a sea of broken weapons and limp bodies.

"Weird, I could have sworn I took down only twenty five...did the other five run off or something?" Godou looked the alley up and down for any signs of life, but if there were any of his opponents still in fighting condition, they were all long gone.

"Man, what a letdown." Godou sighed, he thought the number of guys and them having weapons would make the fight a little entertaining, but it just ended up a repeat of what happened that morning. Their moves were so slow that even his grandmother could dodge them, and their attacks were so limp she probably wouldn't have had to. They could barely take a tiny little hit from his bat before falling to the ground like sack of potatoes. Guess even in high school there wasn't anyone who could even come close to giving him a decent challenge...

"Maybe I should have dialed it back a little more, to like 0.1% or something..." Godou frowned as he tried poking one of the fallen delinquents in the face with his bat, "Doesn't look like any of them will be waking up any time soon...guess I'll have to figure out where the Boss went on my own."

Gingerly stepping over the bodies and out into the street again, Godou whistled innocently as he started heading in the direction of the park.

"I wonder how the Boss is doing?" he mused, "Hope he's at least leaving some action for me..."

SSS

The sickening sound of fist meeting flesh echoed in the air as Suzaku mercilessly pummeled Kotaka's face and gut with his fists. Held firmly in place by the delinquent leader's underlings, Kotaka could do nothing but endure the endless barrage of blows, each one hitting harder than the last.

"You're weak but you've got some cunning," Kotaka could barely hear Suzaku speaking to him amidst the assault, "So you think you can just puff up your cheeks, act a little tough and frighten people into thinking you're strong."

"Well guess what," Suzaku snarled, exchanging a quick glance and a nod with each of the underlings holding his prey, "You can spin whatever tall tales you want, conjure whatever image you want others to have of you, build up a reputation of being the strongest guy in town. But at the end of the day?"

Taking a deep breath, Suzaku threw an uppercut directly at Kotaka's chin. The two underlings holding him let go as Kotaka was thrown into the air by the force of the punch, tumbling a few feet away and laying still. He struggled to get up, blood flowing from his mouth and nose.

"It doesn't change the fact that underneath it all…" Suzaku walked toward Kotaka's prone form, a dark look in his eyes, "You've got nothing that warrants your rep, and when someone with real power comes along?" He growled, kneeling down in front of Kotaka's bleeding face, "He'll crush you like the weakling you are."

"Damn it" Kotaka thought as he felt Suzaku's shadow over him. That last hit had more power behind it than expected. His vision was blurry and his body felt numb, but he needed to hold out a little longer. He couldn't lose consciousness now, otherwise his plan would fail and he would have sacrificed Onimaru to the Firebirds for nothing…

"He isn't weak." came a familiar voice that Kotaka was not expecting to hear.

Following that voice was several cries of pain as three of Suzaku's underlings dropped to the ground, a familiar three-horned figure standing over them. His uniform was more ruffled up and dirty than before, but he was otherwise no worse for wear. In his hands was a dented baseball bat, stained with patches of blood.

Onimaru!? Kotaka's eyes widened in shock and horror, when did he?

There was a brief moment of silence as Suzaku processed this new arrival. Slowly, he turned away from Kotaka and advanced toward Onimaru. He shoved his hands into his pockets and signalled his men to keep an eye on the former.

"So the Oni has decided to show itself," he said finally, "I sent some of my best men to finish you off, I'm impressed you managed to get away from them."

"Your...Your best...Pfft....AH HAHAHAHAHAHA", Onimaru suddenly started to burst out laughing at Suzaku's words, doubling over and clutching his stomach.

"What's...What's so funny?" Suzaku frowned.

"Ha Ha-What? Oh you were being serious..." Onimaru stopped laughing. Straightening up and clearing his throat, "Well whatever, I guess it doesn't matter one way or the other."

"Hmmm, so you're the guy leading this bunch of goons?" Onimaru stared at Suzaku, seemingly sizing him up, before letting out a slight chuckle, "Heh, you seem strong enough, but..." Onimaru jerked his head towards the rest of Suzaku's gang standing scattered about, "you should probably find company a bit closer to your level."

"I could say the same to you," Suzaku smirked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at Kotaka.

"Ah but you see, Chicken Head," Onimaru replied, pausing briefly as Suzaku's eye started to twitch, "You're underestimating the boss, keep doing that and you're gonna regret it."

"Hey Boss! You gonna keep letting him talk shit about you?" Onimaru shouted, raising his bat in Kotaka's direction, "Why don't you quit playing around and show them what you're really made of?"

At those words Suzaku's gang noticed that Kotaka's body began trembling at their feet. "That asshole." He thought, "coming all the way here and saying those things after what I did…"

"That's it…" Kotaka muttered under his breath, the underlings stepping away in shock as the broken body before them rose to its feet.

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ANYMORE!" Kotaka roared, with ferocity that scared several of the underlings surrounding him to the ground.

"You bastard!" One of them cried, throwing a punch at Kotaka's bruised face. There was a sickening splat as fist met bloody cheek, but Kotaka remained standing; silent, not even whimper escaping his lips. The goon swung again, this time hitting him square in the stomach only yield the same result. The crowd of gang members could only watch in stunned silence as their comrade threw punch after punch at their would-be victim, only for him to continue to stand, unfazed by the barrage of blows.

"Those kinds of pussy-ass punches," Kotaka growled, his voice dripping with venom and bile, "WON'T BE ENOUGH TO DROP ME PUNK!" At the sound of that almost animalistic roar the goon fell to the ground and his compatriots took over, screaming battle cries and swarming over Kotaka in an enraged mob. Kotaka made no move to retaliate as they did so, and he was quickly consumed by a flurry of blows. However, despite everything being thrown at him Kotaka stood tall, with the same irritated scowl on his face.

"What the…?" Suzaku snarled, "How the hell is he still standing?"

"Heh." Onimaru chuckled, "This is the boss' true strength."

"Your goons may be stronger than him physically, but he's got one thing they don't have." He continued as Kotaka took blow after blow with no visible effect, "Experience."

Suzaku turned his attention back to the fight, this time closely observing Kotaka's movements. Now that he looked closely Kotaka wasn't just standing still and taking the attacks, he was moving his body very slightly along same direction that they were coming from.

"His body has gotten used to being beaten up." Suzaku muttered, "So it instinctively recoils when he senses an attack coming his way. By rolling with the attack, the impact to his body is lessened."

"Bingo!" Onimaru declared, pointing his finger in the air, "But that's not all…"

The goons' movements began to slow as fatigue started setting in, and pretty soon their blows were no longer hitting Kotaka at all. He deftly dodged each swing and kick they sent his way, all the while looking upon them with the same dead, almost mocking expression.

"Once they are all tired out those sissy punches become easy for someone who has witnessed countless attacks to dodge." Onimaru chuckled, "and then he delivers the final blow…"

"What's the matter? Getting tired?" Kotaka questioned, spitting a shot of blood onto the ground as his opponents stood panting, "I've fought grade schoolers who hit better than you lot."

At that moment, their morale broken and their muscles aching Suzaku's men saw before them a terrifying visage. Of a man covered in blood and bruises who showed no signs of weakness or fatigue. His serpentine eyes glaring at them in pity & contempt, "Come on," he laughed, flashing them a demented grin, "When does the real fight start?"

"MONSTER!" They cried, scrambling away as fast as their tired bodies could carry them fleeing into the shadows of the trees in the park. The sound of Onimaru laughing loud and hard filled the air as he watched them run, clutching his stomach.

"You..." Suzaku hissed at the masked demon, "You planned this didn't you, you knew what he where his true skills lay and-"

"Nope." Onimaru cut Suzaku off, tossing his bat aside, "I only just found out myself." Ignoring the incredulous look Suzaku was giving him, Onimaru walked up to Kotaka with open arms.

"Yo Boss!" Onimaru gave Kotaka a friendly slap on the back, nearly causing him to fall over, "You sure showed those punks what for! I knew my gut was right about you!"

"Onimaru…" Kotaka gasped, the damage to his body catching up to him a little, "You're not supposed to be here."

"The guys he sent after me were less entertaining than I hoped, "Onimaru laughed, "Thought I'd at least try to get in on some of the real action." He looked around at the empty park square, "But it looks like you didn't leave any for me huh."

"Yes now get lost." snarled Kotaka, turning to face an oddly quiet Suzaku, "I can take care of this guy."

Suzaku remained silent as he glared to the two ingrates who had just made a fool out of him. He gritted his teeth, his fists shaking with rage…before he suddenly relaxed. With a small grin, he put his hands in his pockets and shifted his feet, adopting an odd stance like he was getting ready for a sprint.

"Hmph" he chuckled, "So you have a few tricks other than acting tough, that still doesn't mean you stand a chance against me."

"What did you say?" came Onimaru's confused response

"I'm one of Nakaba's Shiseiju," Suzaku continued, his eyes narrowing, "You should be honoured that you will see a bit of that power today."

"WHAT?!" Onimaru shouted

For the first time since that morning Kotaka sensed a terrifying aura coming from Onimaru. The latter's fists were clenched and he was staring straight at Suzaku.

"That stinkin Chicken-Head," he said, rage reverberating through every syllable, "still underestimating us…"

"Onimaru…leave it," Kotaka stuttered, his instincts screaming at him to defuse the situation, "I got this."

"Sorry Boss, but this chicken-head's really pissed me off now." Onimaru replied stiffly and stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.

"I don't care what the rumors say Oni," Suzaku readied himself as Onimaru walked slowly towards him, "The title of Suzaku is not one to be taken light…"

Before he could finish Onimaru was in front of him. Without giving him time to react Onimaru wound up and punched Suzaku square in the face with astonishing force, sending him careening across the park and crashing into the fountain; blood dripping from his nose as he lay still.

"DON'T TALK BIG IF YOU CAN'T BACK IT UP IDIOT!" Onimaru cackled.

Kotaka could only stare with his mouth hanging open as Onimaru laughed maniacally in celebration of his total victory. He looked around at the bloodied square, empty save for the two them and a small number of battered and unconscious delinquents plus their leader in the fountain.

"AAAH!" Kotaka yelled, finally snapping out of his daze, "What…What have you done?!"

"Huh?" Onimaru cocked his head in confusion, "I just taught this chicken-head a lesson in humility."

"No! No! You don't understand!" Kotaka hobbled over to where Onimaru was standing, eyes wide in panic, "We have to get out of here now! Before the…"

Kotaka didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as the sound of sirens filled the air. It was followed by the sound of footsteps and cries of 'This is the Police!'. Within seconds several police officers had surrounded the two from all sides. Walking calmly behind was a burly man in a brown trench-coat. A cigarette in hand and the bushiest moustache either student had ever seen.

"We received an anonymous tip about a youth gang incident." said the man, looking around at the fallen forms of the remnants of Suzaku's gang, "Looks like we arrived just in time, you kids have a lot of explaining to do."

Kotaka and Onimaru stared at the stern faces of the surrounding police officers, and simultaneously voiced the only thought they had at that moment.

"Shit."

SSS