The Dream Shifter

Chapter 138

There was a drawn length of silence across the grass. A few cackles from the punks worked to punctuate the atmosphere. Haruo was held mute by the appearance of his middle school teacher being held as a hostage of Katsu's g**g. Yuki had no such intentions of being quiet while such underhanded tactics were being used.

Yuki stomped a foot forward, mostly missed by the crowd. "Bastard! You really don't have a shred of honor do you?" His voice echoed through the narrow street. He had been mostly ignored once the fighting started with Haruo, but Yuki just became the center of attention. His body was shaking with him having difficulty keeping himself in control over what was happening. Yuki knew well enough that he could not make a move on them while they were holding someone.

The shouting in vain from Yuki tilted Katsu gaze over to him becoming amused. "Now who's acting the cliché? Honestly, did you think this was a street fight or something like that?" Katsu cracked his knuckles a little as he ground his fist into his palm looking excited. "This is measuring out punishment and I make sure everyone deserving always received more than their fair share of punishment. I'm quite generous in that manner." He smirked viciously as his eyes were making his intentions very clear to both Haruo and Yuki.

'He still sounds like more of a cliché than me,' Yuki stubbornly protested to himself. 'I need a plan and fast! They've got the upper hand and going to make a push with the advantage…' He searched around him for any ideas that might come to him to get him out of the situation. Unfortunately, the hostage prevented anything from being possible. If any move was made towards the teacher Yuki knew that they would not hesitate to hurt the man. It was becoming clear from listening to the way that Katsu spoke that he would do anything to ensure that he got what he wanted.

Yuki tightened his fists starting to rub the skin raw in his palm. He chastised himself for being unable to do anything. 'If hadn't listened to Haruo and acted I could have prevented this from happening…'

A signal to the previously hesitant mob belonging to Takaoka had told them to move out. The other boys that had paused in their assault on Haruo soon resumed with Haruo no longer blocking in order to comply with the demand. It became almost savage with the boys as they were enraged from their frustrations at failing against him. They were going to Haruo pay grievously for the insults. Dull echoes of flesh being struck and hard strikes hitting bone increased the tempo. Blood sprays were its metronome.

Looming shadows crawled up towards Yuki in the advancing boys that had picked him as their target. Being on the receiving end of a fist was certainly no stranger to him, but Saki was usually around to stop before it became too violent. Yuki knew that he was not going to have such luck. He was going to have to deal with it alone, somehow. 'Can I use my power on normal humans? I don't think I have any choice anymore…'

Yuki's mind franticly tried to cover everything that he had available to him. His mind was cluttered with more ideas than he could sort through and he had never had to figure out his laws on the spot before. The time he used them in a fight he did not recall actually thinking about it. Everything that had happened with Demosthenes had been on instinct. But he knew it was not going to save the teacher. 'Come on, Yuki! Think of something! They're almost on top of you!' His eyes glanced over breaking his fragile concentration. All of the teenagers were eagerly approaching him with no haste in their step knowing that Yuki would not be going anywhere for them.

Any fear that they had before of Yuki had disappeared. It was simply six street punks marching gleefully to a beating. Takaoka was leading the group looking like he wanted some pay back for being the first that Yuki had taken out. He ground his hands together as he came to a stop only a few steps away from Yuki. "Remember what the boss said…kid! Ya do anythin' other pretend tah be a punching bag an' the old man ends up in a worlds of pain." Takaoka looked over to two of his boys. "Take his arms, I like clean shots."

Laughter spread through their ranks at Takaoka's little joke. "Yea, boss!" they both said in unison taking up opposite sides of Yuki. They pulled Yuki's arms out straight from his body leaving plenty of room for taking shots at his torso.

Resisting was something that Yuki knew he could not afford despite how much he despised such tactics. There was no pride to be found in such hollow victories. Yuki tempted a rough smirk as he prepared his body. "Not man enough to take me alone?" He knew this was not going to be like the bullies that picked on him before. If he could buy some time for his thoughts it might give him a plan. It was certainly a gamble and he knew it. Angering them too much was likely to cause suffering to the teacher.

Takaoka responded to his taunting with a sharp punch to his stomach. "I like seein' spirit in my enemy. Makes it more enjoyable to take it away." He threw several more punches into his gut that made Yuki buckle a little.

Yuki coughed roughly catching his meager lunch being rudely stirred up. He managed to pull himself back together and straighten his legs back out to meet with the kid, who was about the same age as him. "I see you're taking lessons on how to be a villain from Katsu."

The mocking tone from Yuki had renewed the grin on Takaoka's face. He moved a little closer to Yuki taking hold of his shoulders for support as he rammed his knee into Yuki's stomach. The impact quickly made him slump down against Takaoka. After Takaoka had returned his leg back to the ground he grabbed Yuki by his hair. He ripped his head back up by the hair to force Yuki to make his gaze. "Resist a lil' for me. I've ne'er liked him when I was in school. Seein' him rollin' in pain would make me so happy."

Yuki pulled at his head finding his leg's strength to meet Takaoka's stare back. "I'm afraid you're going to have to suffer from depression then. I don't grant wishes to my enemies."

"Either way I still get tah beat that defiance out of ya!" laughed Takaoka as he resumed his assault.

Between blows Yuki continued to smirk back. "You're going to have to work on that terrible punk accent if you want to be a real villain."

"Still got plenty a talk in ya huh?" A silent turn of Takaoka's head gave a signal to the other three boys that had been waiting in the wings for their chance to get back at Yuki. The three punks walked around behind Yuki and filled in around him. Each of them took up a different part of his body to take their frustration and revenge out upon. Takaoka grinned to himself before resuming his work once more.

The situation was of little difference for Haruo aside from having less talking going on and one less teen beating up on him. The years of taking a***e and not fighting back gave him more resistance than Yuki to the beating that they were getting. However even Haruo had his limits. He was eventually thrown back into a property wall of a house. A potted plant tried to fall over into the house's grounds, but had become attached to the greenery growth.

Noise from the plant would have been on deaf ears regardless. There had been enough yelling and chaos from them that if any of the neighbors were going to act upon it they would have already. No, they were all too scared to do anything. If it was not strange monsters and frightening changes to their city that had them utterly scared they knew exactly what would happen getting involved in a g**g fight.

Katsu took great pleasure in seeing his plan coming together how he had envisioned. The sound of Haruo and Yuki being pummeled sweetened his heart even more. It was a lesson that he took particular joy in teaching. In the case of Haruo, this was one class that he had long hoped to have and now it was finally coming true. He would steal from him that small light that he naively thought he had found. "I'm not hearing enough bone breaking from the kid's friend, Taka!"

It was music to Takaoka's ears to be told to go harder on Yuki. "I understand, boss! Sorry to disappoint ya!" He grabbed Yuki's chin pulling him towards him after Yuki had a second of pause before taking several feet to his back. "Hear that, kid? Time tah show ya true pain!"

Yuki coughed and laughed a little while being cut-off by the three boys behind him. "Good, I was starting to get bored with the girly punches."

"Still got that smart mouth on ya!"

"I can't help it you were born with a girl's body."

A vein popped in anger on Takaoka's forehead hearing the insult coming from Yuki. His smirk grew wide as he wound up his arm to put his full weight behind it. "I'm going tah enjoy this!"

"So I guess it's because you used that girly body to seduce the rest of your g**g that you're the leader then." Yuki laughed again only to feel several stronger strikes digging into his back. It was enough to break the wind in him and make his shoulders feel like they would pop from their sockets. He tried to keep the pain to himself to maintain his bravado.

Yuki watched in amusement as Takaoka grew even angrier listening to his taunts. It was nearly entertaining for Yuki seeing how easily he was getting under his skin. He knew it was only going to take a little more seeing how boiling Takaoka was already. Yuki turned his head towards his shackles and tried to look back a little. "So which one if you did he do first?"

"That's it! Get back guys!" Takaoka was almost a face full of steaming blood and veins listening to Yuki. He took a step back to take in his tightening muscles in anticipation. The three teens quickly moved out of sight leaving only the two holding Yuki to remain. Once he could no longer hold back his rage Takaoka released it all in a scream as he charged at Yuki. In a surprising show of martial arts, Takaoka spun around his leg and leapt sending his entire weight into the kick.

The foot and a little of the leg had slammed painfully into Yuki's chest. Both boys were unable to hold on Yuki from the force that was driven into him. Their grips scrambled to keep hold, but only managed to scratch at Yuki while they lost. Yuki was sent flying backwards into the air a little before rudely being dropped into the grass falling out of sight apart from the split in the surface where he rested. 'Felt that one for sure…'

Mr. Asanuma struggled against his three captors when he saw Yuki being sent flying from an incomplete flying drop kick. "Yoneda! Can you hear me?"

Haruo was able to catch Mr. Asanuma's voice amongst the attacks and yelling from the boys that enjoyed their work. He knew that he could not respond to him. Silence had to remain if he was to stay safe. 'It's better this way.' He could not let someone else become hurt because of something that was his fault.

"Fight back, Yoneda! I don't care what they do to me!"

Katsu reached out with his hand taking hold of Mr. Asanuma's neck. His fingers firmly wrapped partly around his throat. "Showing some spine, Mr. Asanuma? But believe me when I say that I will cause you great pain if the kid does anything."