Chapter 5 — Minus 1000 aura for Subaru.
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Pov Narrator.
Chin, upon seeing how Subaru ran toward him with more enthusiasm than technique, smiled. With a quick and fluid movement, he brought both hands behind his back. And then he showed them. Two blades gleamed under the light of the alley.
He spun them skillfully until taking a reverse grip, ready to stab the moment Subaru was within reach. Subaru stopped dead in his tracks. He tried to halt, but his feet slipped on the gravel. He skidded awkwardly and ended up falling to his knees, with his forehead almost against the ground.
All his bravery evaporated in an instant. He wasn't an idiot. Fighting someone armed using only fists was a death sentence. The silver shine of the blades was enough for his mind to shift from "mandatory event" to "I could die here".
And he didn't want to die. He would rather lower his head and beg than feel one of those blades piercing into his body.
—I'm terribly sorry! I won't do it again!
The adrenaline that seconds ago pushed him forward now had him trembling. Káiser observed the abrupt change: from exaggerated confidence to total submission.
He didn't judge him. Nor could he. They were knives. For a normal teenager —although somewhat athletic— like Subaru, real combat wasn't his thing. The simple fact that his hand had hurt when throwing a punch already proved it.
This wasn't an anime. It was real steel. Even so, Káiser didn't stay still. Without wasting time, he crouched and grabbed a stone from the ground. He weighed it for barely a second and threw it hard using his right arm, aiming at the distracted Chin.
He didn't shout. He didn't warn him. He only tried to create an opening. Because Subaru, kneeling and begging like a small child about to be punished with a belt, had no chance in that state.
And if they were going to get out of there alive… They needed something more than fake bravery.
Chin managed to see Káiser's movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his body just in time and the stone passed grazing his shoulder before getting lost against the wall. Now he was completely alert. With both blades firm in his hands, his smile returned, more twisted than before.
—Do you think this is a game? —he spat with contempt—. I'm going to kill you, kids.
There was no trace of light mockery anymore. Only intent.
—Subaru, lift your head! —Káiser shouted while running toward him.
He didn't slow down. He trusted Subaru would understand. Subaru, still on his knees, raised his gaze upon hearing his name. It took him barely a second to process the scene: Chin focused on Káiser… and him right in front of his legs.
He understood it. Without thinking further, he threw himself forward and tightly hugged both of Chin's legs.
—Hey, what are you doing?!
Chin lost his balance instantly. He tried to keep his stance, waving the arms holding the blades in a desperate attempt to recover stability.
But it was too late. Káiser closed the distance. Internally he was grateful Subaru had seen the opportunity. Without stopping, he stretched his hand and firmly grabbed the chain of the collar hanging from Chin's neck.
He pulled down violently. At the same time, his right fist shot forward. It struck directly against Chin's face with a dry hit. The sound was blunt. Without giving him space to react, Káiser took advantage of the fall and slammed Chin's face against the ground brutally.
The crack was unmistakable. The nose broke instantly. Blood began to stain the dust of the alley while his forehead also split open from the impact. The blades fell from his hands with a metallic clink.
But Káiser didn't stop. As a final move, he stepped back half a step and launched a direct kick to Chin's face, finishing him against the ground and splitting his lip.
The body finally remained motionless. Silence took over the alley, broken only by the agitated breathing. Káiser released air slowly. He knew he hadn't killed him. Not even close would those blows be enough to kill someone. But they were more than enough to make sure he wouldn't get up anytime soon.
And at that moment… That was all he needed.
—Hey, Subaru… that kneeling thing… was it a distraction or did you actually surrender when you saw the knives?. —Káiser threw the question with a relatively neutral tone.
In reality, he did it to give Subaru the chance to recover a bit of the dignity he had lost a few moments ago, when he knelt with his forehead pressed against the ground as if he were begging for his life.
The scene had been… quite pathetic. Not because of the action itself. In a normal situation, begging for mercy in front of someone armed wasn't something shameful. It was, in fact, a completely human reaction. The problem was everything that had happened before.
The arrogance. The exaggerated confidence. The desire to "defeat the enemy of the mandatory event". And then… the first glimpse of real danger. The fall had been too abrupt. That's why it had looked so ridiculous.
—Huh? Oh! Of course! —Subaru reacted immediately, as if he had just remembered something important—. It was a strategy to focus his attention on me, so you could attack him and I could catch him off guard. —He pointed at himself with his thumb, showing a wide smile that tried to look confident. —We make a great team!
The smile, however, was slightly tense. The scare was still present. After all, he had been seconds away from getting stabbed. If he had kept running with that absurd confidence from before, he would probably be lying on the ground bleeding right now.
Káiser watched him for a moment and then nodded. He didn't insist. After all, he had asked the question precisely for that: so Subaru could make up an excuse and save a bit of face. Although, being honest Káiser had taken down all three.
But well. In the end Subaru had helped, even if just a little, against Chin. And in an improvised fight in an alley. That already counted as teamwork.
Káiser directed his attention to the three bodies lying on the ground. The thieves were still unconscious or too stunned to get up. The alley had fallen silent, except for the heavy breathing of both teenagers after the fight.
—If these guys had tried something like that in my neighborhood… they would have been killed. Or even worse, they'd strip them naked and the weird neighbor would come with a gasoline can. —Káiser commented with total naturality while crouching next to one of them.
Without wasting time, he started checking their pockets calmly, looking for something that would tell him what the currency of that world was.
—Emmm… Kaiser… what are you doing? —Subaru asked, raising his eyebrows.
He watched with some discomfort how his new companion checked the pockets of the three thieves, clearly uneasy with the idea of… well, stealing.
Káiser quickly thought of an answer. From what he had seen so far, Subaru seemed convinced that all of this was some kind of fantasy adventure where both of them were protagonists. So he decided to use that same logic against him.
—Claiming my loot. In RPGs, when you defeat an enemy, they drop coins for you to pick up. I'm just claiming my share. —He shrugged. At that moment, a faint metallic jingle made him open his eyes a little wider. —Jackpot!
He put his hand into Chin's inner pocket and pulled out a small light-brown cloth bag. From the sound and the weight, it was full of coins.
He lifted it slightly, making it jingle.
Chin seemed to be the leader of the group, so it made sense that he was the one carrying the money. Even so, Káiser didn't trust it completely and began checking the other two as well.
You never knew.
—Really?… —Subaru murmured. He scratched his head with some doubt. —Then… I guess it's fine.
Despite his response, he didn't seem completely convinced. After all, in videogames that was normal. But this… felt a bit more real.
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End of the chapter.