Intuition

"My goodness, wasn't that a rough one."

Hoyes remarked whilst looking down at Fachtna.

"H-hoyes! I..."

"Should've known. Even still I know you can keep going."

Without responding a blaring flash of white light sliced near Hoyes' neck. Maah's sharp hand grazed the rough skin of Hoyes.

"What the hell is that?"

"You don't need to worry about that, Yang."

"Hoyes!" Then in a calm rage Maah struck, his swift hands came down like a rain of arrows. The blistering fast strikes began to close the ever-changing distance between the two. In merely two seconds the two had run around the entire arena. Hoyes's face was slightly dulled, and bewildering anxiety overwhelmed him.

Jo simply stood back, he the one standing in between all of it, had the hardest time comprehending what was going on. In less than thirty seconds the two had stopped, neither all that exhausted, just some small scrapes and bruises for one of them.

"Hahahahaha!"

Hoyes shouted into the skies, his cry of laughter less than thinking it was a sign of insanity or contempt. Yet they all knew it was none of that, and for the first time in his short life, Maah felt fear. His innards were churning his pores visible from protruding sweat that began to gather.

In all their minds it comes down to only one phrase.

'He's really demented.'

Hoyes in his fit pulled out a gun, and soon everyone froze. No one had any weapons, and even though most were scum, they still had integrity. And when it be either gang v. gang or a one v. one. Guns and any brutal weapon were off limits, it was somewhat dumb, but people knew that if you broke it. It wouldn't be you killing.

Ending with their decapitated head left in front of their parent's home. It used to be a common site till people realized that following was better than that.

Once a few grasped the immediate situation, it was run or die. Soon everyone was about to bolt, but then Fachtna was standing behind HOyes. A simple pop rang throughout the forest, Hoyes laid across the stone. His blood flowed from his head like a small hole in a balloon.

When they all thought they couldn't be any quieter, they broke their thoughts and tried stopping anything that would bring a possible bullet toward them.

Fachtna simply stood holding the revolver lightly, staring directly into the eyes of Maah.

"Fachtna what are you thinking?"

"I don't know."

"Huh..."

"Men! Prepare for war! kill these two and anyone they came with!"

As if their bodies were remote-controlled, a huge brawl between Jo supporters and the drug syndicators came about. The onslaught was immense, a sea of bloodied individuals clashing about in a mere minute.

Jo was so out of it, he knew..."JO! JO!" He could hear a voice calling his name, but then the shroud of bodies around him gave him a click to reality. In those very seconds, Maah had taken out the more aggressive pursuers of Jo and him. Behind Jo, screaming yet not being heard was Jimi tugging till Jo finally let up and ran out of the arena's stage.

Thereby a sloped exit stood Muhktar in a slight daze. The kids were then running as fast as possible, none speaking a word, just following Muhktar's lead.

'None of this makes any sense. I was ready to intervene if necessary with Toto, but Hoyes just died. Knowing HOyes it makes no sense he would be so careless.'

Just as he was concluding within his thoughts, Muhktar's comm began to vibrate.

"Toto! Where are you?"

[I'm leaving]

"What?! Stop screwing around."

[I'm not. Muhktar calm down, think rationally here. I'm not as knowledgeable about Hoyes as you and V. But could he really die so easily? Even if Maah wanted Hoyes permanently gone, a guy like him, someone that powerful would've given a glimpse of the situation no matter how angry]

"Your point."

[Hoyes faked his death]

"How the hell could that be, even if it was a normal gun, Hoyes got shot and...and. My God, he faked his death, and..."

[Ya. I care not for this Maah guy or whatever, so he can fight till the world falls apart for all I care. I'm leaving, this is boring. Also even if I did something, that guy's already dead]

"Huh, What do you... Click. Seriously! What is with Apostles always hanging up so rudely? Fine whatever, is... Ah sorry guys, we've gone quite far. Let's take a break for a bit."

"Thank goodness, my entire body is breaking apart," Jimi said whilst laying down on the cool grass.

Lull was throwing up a few feet away by a tree, Jinu was panting heavily but seemed alright. Jeanne had no reaction, and Yaffa seemed to be contemplating what was going on, especially who this Muhkta guy is.

'He's strong. Strong on a different level. He's above that maid, he may be on par with Godmother.'

"Hmm, is something wrong?"

"I-it's nothing," Yaffa replied cautiously.

"Alright then. Is everyone set?"

Muhktar said with a glittery smile as if nothing in the last five minutes didn't happen.

"No."

"Jo, is something wrong? If you need any assistance."

"No, I'm fine. Take everyone, they're too young, I'll head back and help him."

Muhktar's dimmed, and a slight discomfort came about everyone.

"Fine. If you die though, that's on you, junior. Good luck."

He said these whilst gesturing to the rest, his smile seeming grossly artificial, even Lull and Jinu could see something wasn't right.

"Wait! Shit man, are you crazy, he has a gun, and a whole mob of insane people."

Jimi practically squealed like a pig, in these few moments, it was probably the closest experience to true death he's ever had.

"It's fine Jimi."

"What if you die? Who's gonna take care of your siblings huh, your just...hick."

Jimi began to tear up and each had a face of slight shock except Lull and Muhktar. Muhktar's could be described as very blatant, 'this is wasting my time,' it said. Luckily no one was paying attention.

Jeanne looked uncaring, but that was all due to the mask and long hair covering a portion of his eyes. For Jeanne this was a bizarre turn, he's seen Jo, Jinu, and even Jacky cry. In his mind though, the one person who wouldn't cry no matter what wasn't a stone-hearted individual, but like roaring thunder. Jimi was that thunder, a storm of intellect that in moments baffled Jeanne as if he was the same as how he was normally. Some would call Jimi a spoiled rich brat, but Jeanne had a similar feeling at first meeting Jimi.

***

It was an odd period where lunch was a collective gathering of all grades. Jeanne was naturally tall. Taller than even some of the male teachers. He sat alone at one of the outdoor tables and then the storm arrived.

"Lull! Come on, look I found us a good spot!"

Jimi was yelling like no tomorrow. Supposedly this was just a few days after his experience with music, and he was brandishing the usual stereotyped clothes and look of a rockstar. To Jimi's standards anyway.

He then jumped one side of the bench as Lull came suit. Jimi cared not for the other guest. Lull on the other hand chose to speak, "Mind if we sit here?"

No response came, so Lull just looked at Jimi and sat. Most food the schools would provide were different flavored nutritional jelly.

"Blegh! I seriously can never get used to this stuff."

"No, it's not about used to it, it's about your personal chef pampering you all the damn time."

"L. when were you so foul-mouthed."

"Since a year after I met you."

"I fucking blamin' me?"

"Yes."

"Pfft."

A slight sound came from the opposite direction. It was Jeanne pulling his mask tighter on his face.

"Are you some type of germaphobe?"

Jimi said whilst looking at Jeanne as if he was some bizarre creature in a circus. Jeanne gave just a shake of the head, waving his arms he tried to explain himself. Both of the young boys seemed not to understand. And so Jeanne quickly stopped his pantomime.

Jimi was then trying to hold his laughter, till a spark sizzled his small mind, as Jimi said bombastically. "Join my band!"

"What?"

Jeanne said with a serious tone, deep and groggy. Doing it without realizing he then got up and ran off. Both Lull and Jimi shrugged. Though it seemed to Jeanne that they possibly thought he was just a really weird guy.

'They'll leave me alone right, right.'

He was shaking, his body falling limp as he staggard off. The sun was beating down on his head, he was wearing thick layers of black all over his body. Soon stopping the sun from just getting a peek at Jeanne's head, but now truly invading his personal space with dangerous levels of heat.

The grounds looked blurry, the sky, the trees, the walls. A boy dressed head to toe in a sun magnet had collapsed.

Jeanne woke, and two figures looked at him, it was a weirdly cool feeling.

'What's happening? Ugh, I feel like dying.'

"Yo, your one crazy guy. Probably more insane than L."

Lull chose not to retort, instead, he took an ice bucket dumping half onto Jeanne, then chucking the rest into Jimi's face.

"EEEEK!"

The two screamed simultaneously.

"Lull! Shit man, that was colder than death... When the hell did you get so cheeky?"

Lull smiled flatly. Jimi not having the patience to deal with Lull's antics tackled him, and the two began to grapple each other. Though Lull was a real twig, skinnier than a thread, Jimi wasn't much of an athlete either. So the two just looked like leaves blowing in the wind, or some type of extra petite breed of kittens rolling atop each other.

Jeanne's eyes knew not what to think. he was shirtless and his scars were bare, plus his mask was off. Feeling the deadly unknowingly, Lull and Jimi stopped, only staring at the now intensely frightening Jeanne. The dark circles around his eyes, his silky long curled black hair, and the bottom half of his face practically torn off. To the two boys, a wet, maskless, scar-covered Jeanne was scarier than the possible death that they thought would occur.

"Hey, buddy. Let's just talk it out, ya know, how a-about... an introduction."

Jimi said with hesitation. Then Jeanne pointed to his face, and Lull prompt up, just remembering what he had. Handing the mask to Jeanne, he put it on the second it was handed over.

"I wanted to keep it dry while we tried to cool you off."

"Ah, hey look, we kinda get it, at least L. over here does. Why don't you show him, I mean we've seen his face."

"I suppose."

Lull then began to untie one of the many bandanas he would wear to cover his forehead. The scar was nowhere near as gruesome, but the familiarity of shame between the two was similar to the point of being the same.

Jeanne slumped back down, huffing.

"I'm Jeanne."

The raspy voice had nowhere to echo, yet it felt like it had.

"People call me Lull."

"..."

Jeanne then nodded, then the three stood stationary for however long Jeanne chose to stay there.

***

'That was the first time I met them, and after that day, my life, for better or worse I suppose. Got much louder. I could never say I hate it, to me it's the loud sound that I find pleasant when compared to my family.'

Jeanne was like a board, yet on the inside, he was having a whirlpool of feelings.

'The guy who's a year older than me. The guy that's louder than any storm. The guy is overly smart for his age, I think. The guy who's positively too positive is crying.'

In these few frames of Jeanne's life, they exemplified an understanding of the innate nature of people. He thought they were all going to be stagnant. Jimi was not always some irritating rich kid, nor was he always positive. He even noticed Lull for the first time in a weird way, his confidence and calmness.

'Even though I couldn't show it, no even now I'm scared. I thought I was going to die. I've gotten too cocky.'

Jo tried to comfort Jimi, for in Jimi's eyes he was a role model. To some, they thought it was weird for a kid to base themselves on the character of someone who is only a year older. Jimi cared not for that commentary, for Jimi, Jo was an all-encompassing aspect of what a man should strive to grow up as. Sure Jimi never wanted to be poor or struggle to take care of his siblings, but at the same time, he envied it oddly.

Lull walked up to Jimi and smacked him on the head.

"Ow! What the... L. what's your problem."

"We're wasting time, let's go."

Everyone was a little stunned even Muhktar who wished to do the same.

"Hey! Lull don't be so mean, Jimi's having an emotional moment."

"Jinu shut it," Lull was stern and firm, he gave no give. Technically he was the weakest, even when compared to Jinu. Yet he had an oddly calm presence that made one unable to push against it.

"Cry when he's actually dead. Jimi you only see him feed babies, you've never seen him honestly do anything else. He's what the older kids claim as one of the 'Earthly Three,' I don't think you get to be part of a club like that easily, especially when we saw a guy punch faster than a bullet."

They all had nothing to say, it made some general sense, so why not.

"Haah. Sorry L. It was my bad. Jo promise you ain't gonna die."

Wiping his tears Jimi looked into Jo's eyes. His loud, sometimes ferocious temperament was gone. In Jo's eyes, he looked like a wounded little cub.

"Promise. Jimi. To me, you are family as much as the rest, all of you. Thank you. I'll have to run fast so I'll be going."

The split end of his 'going' left a crater that shattered the ground, shaking up all who stood near. Once the dust cleared they couldn't see him even as a spec in the distance.

***

Arriving at the arena, a brilliant white lad that embodied light itself stood upon piles of corpses. Fachtna was bloody and bruised, his shirt torn apart, and his bloodshot eyes contrasted deeply with his sickly pale skin. His veins pulsed violently, making his entire body vibrate, his muscles bulging to sizes bigger than one of his age could achieve. Disheveled hair, red eyes, cold pale skin, and a monstrously large figure. Jo could barely believe it.

'Is that truly Fachtna.'