Reasons to Fight

‘Damn, they must have been alerted from all the yelling…’ Yuki ground his teeth together wishing he had noticed them sooner. It only made their situation more complicated. He didn’t want to have to be dealing with the UN so soon. ‘I knew that I’d have to confront them eventually, but I don’t have a plan to deal with them. Even if we win here it doesn’t end things. This isn’t going to be a simple fight.’

Seiji surprisingly remained fairly calm in front of the threat. While Yuki expected him to charge in like the last time on the boat and even here, he remained still. Nothing changed the look on his face, he was ready to go at a moment’s notice. However, he seemed to be keeping himself restrained. Such an act pleased Yuki as he knew he still had a chance.

Turning away from Seiji, Yuki faced down with the man that looked to be in charge of the team. Around him, he saw a cast of members that reminded him as much of the wild gathering of the Titans as much as they did the stories he read. The leader looked far more reasonable in appearance and not nearly as wild as Rheia. ‘I might be able to reason with him…’

The man’s team worried Yuki though. He could see the looks in their eyes and they were all very familiar ones. They were the same ones that were in the Atlanteans that they fought. They wanted to fight and not for the sake of something good or just. These people just wanted a fight and being part of a military force gave them all the justification that they needed. It was sanctioned killing.

Yuki had no issues with the UN in its ideals. However, he didn’t agree anymore than the rest of them with their presence in Japan, not that it surprised him that much after he thought about it. It was an all too common tale, an easy and predictable outcome, even if it is normal and rational.

And they were all just exploiting it. They had positions where they got to fight others with powers, likely powerful ones, without any worry over being arrested themselves. Government sanctioned fighting, the worst sort of backing. And they all wanted as much as they could take.

Except for the leader, he was out of place with the rest of them. Yuki felt like this man actually believed in what he was doing. The look of confidence and self-assurance posture. He had no doubt, stood like a mountain and yielded to nothing.

‘I guess it makes sense. Like how Rheia’s insane strength kept the Titans in line, this man probably is like that as well. The only thing those people respect is power. How powerful is this man? We’ve only had each other and the Atlanteans as a measuring stick. Could Seiji beat him if we needed?’

Chapter 310 – Reasons to Fight

Dropping his Field, Yuki wanted to try something before things went beyond his control. Everything happened quickly even though no one was making any moves. They were waiting to see how they responded, a standoff.

“Gang war? What do you mean?” It was acting time. Yuki played up his best innocent mask that he could. ‘I hope this works…’ Nothing was set in stone yet, he could still get them free without a fight. That was the hope anyway. “We just stumbled by this. We’re passing by.”

The man narrowed his eyes reading through all of Yuki’s features trying to get his measure. “You’re saying a conflict that has been going on for more than a month and has a tenth of the city in flames is completely unknown to you.” His suspicions were easy to read, and for good reason.

Yuki sweated a little to keep up his front of the man. “Well that is to say, I’ve heard the rumors, but I’m from the Okashi District.”

“Okashi, you say? That’s far to the west, what are you doing here, even you’ve heard the rumors.”

“I’m here with my friend,” Yuki answered, pointing over to Seiji. ‘Time for a little truth.’ A good lie had some amount of truth built into it. “He’s from the Tsuji family shrine nearby. My friend heard about the rumors and felt compelled to do something. I’ve been trying to stop him. I’ve been trying to convince him that the UN must have it under control.”

“Is that so?” Staring for a while at Yuki, he looked like he might be buying the story. It was still hard to tell. He had an enormous amount of suspicions about the two. So it was likely going to be hard for him to accept it all. “What were you doing just now? You looked like you were fighting?”

The con continued it seemed, though he was making progress. “As I said, my friend wants to do something. Seeing this shocking incident has him acting without thinking. So I’ve been doing what I can to stop him, even if it means so by force. I don’t want to see him start a fight with you.”

Part of it seemed to be working. He pulled a little back from his intense leaning. “I agree. Our desire is not to fight, but to keep the peace.”

Yuki played up more of the coward and weakling so that the man felt he was superior and in a position of power, though admittedly he didn’t really need to do that much. The man carried himself so proudly that he already saw his superior position as a certainty. It was more that Yuki submitted to him in not trying to challenge him. “Yes, all of this fighting and strangeness has been very scary. I don’t have any wish to fight. I’ve been trying to convince him of the futility of fighting. We can just talk to settle things.”

“You must forgive my aggression. It’s rare to meet anyone these days that actually wishes to have a civilized discussion. Power seems to have gone to everyone's head and power seems to be the only thing that they respect or understand. It’s quite saddening to see how much our home and people have changed in such a short time. It really feels like the end of days at times.”

A momentary slip cracked through Yuki as he allowed the man’s sorrow slide into him. Guilt bubbled up within him. Even though he quickly recovered to keep his façade, it didn’t change the internal developing maelstrom. ‘The apocalypse...there’s people out there that think I’m some sort of god, but I’m like the Bringer of the Apocalypse than some god…I’m the cause of all of this… I must fix it.’

Buried in internal turmoil couldn’t keep him from still speaking with the leader. He couldn’t allow his personal matters to ruin the progress he made with him. “It’s all very frightening to see, but I’d like to believe that there is something good to be found in even this.”

“Good? I wonder if such a thing still exists in this world. It seems that right and wrong have become blurred and only exist to prove the meaningless of it all.”

Their conversation gleaned more than Yuki expected. It seemed he might have finally found someone sane in the world for once. A man tortured and haunted by all the evils and trying to do the right thing, but forced to be the evil seen by others in the hope of it being for some small good. “I think there’s a need for more like you. If more thought like you do things could change.” Yuki extended his hand out as a peace offering. He hoped this was the end and they might be free to go. The arrest thing had yet to resurface.

A bit of a curious look came across the leader’s face. He seemed to have noticed something different about Yuki and his words. However, he only seemed to acknowledge it within rather than give it words. “Perhaps. Masayuki Ayabito.” He accepted Yuki’s hand.

‘I finally found an honest and straightforward person. Hate having to lie, but it’s not like I want to fight. I just need to get out of here.’ Yuki smiled, allowing a little of his stature to return now that the footing seemed to level out between them. “Yuki Hayashi. And this is Seiji Tsuji.”

Everything looked to be coming to a resolution. The tension dropped quickly. However, it couldn’t end so easily. Masayuki might have been someone looking for peace, but his team was not. They looked even more ready to start something now that things were calming down. It only seemed to anger them that things might be over.

“Ya can’t possibly be thinking of letting them go,” one of the members barked in disbelief. He was actually even taller than Masayuki, the tallest of team of five. It looked like they had finally someone that would give Nerine a run for her money in the height department. And he certainly made sure that the full extent of his height added to his menacing presence, not that Yuki succumbed to it.

Eying from the other side, one of the two women spoke in agreement, “You deployed us to put down rogue elements. I don’t like being ordered out for no reason.” The woman looked just barely out of her high school years and still in her prime college years . Even if she didn’t look like a proper college student. She had bright green hair and the dye job was old as her bleached and black roots were appearing.

“Stand down! That’s an order!” yelled Masayuki. He might have seemed softer talking to Yuki, but his commanding presence returned without missing a beat. The other two in the group held quiet, though still with hungry eyes. Masayuki's command over them made it clear as the outspoken ones made a hesitation in their stances.

Yuki watched it all intently trying to look for a way out. ‘I was right. He’s keeping them in line with his own power, meaning he is definitely the strongest of them. They are afraid of them. It’s the only reason they didn’t attack immediately. But fear only goes so far. Hunger can be more powerful than fear…’

Also on the ready, Seiji went back to looking to attack. He kept to a defensive position only planning on responding, but he wasn’t about to act submissive like Yuki. ‘This Masayuki guy must be powerful if they’re hesitating. This might be more interesting than I gave it credit for…’ Even Seiji could notice it. The man’s presence was powerful, very easily at the same level as Demosthenes and Rheia. The sort that couldn’t be ignored, but preferable not stirred as well.

Seiji remembered all too well from his first meeting with Demosthenes. All the build up during the journey and after it all finally came to an end, he met the man. The one behind it all, they met while Yuki slept in recovery. ‘He looked like a simple man, an old man just your typical grandfather. But it was just a front. I could tell he wasn’t someone to mess with at just a glance. Hearing that Yuki planned to fight him, I sort of wanted to throw a punch at him too just to see what the talk was about. But just seeing him felt like he was going to crush me, the fact that I was stronger or faster didn’t seem to even affect him. Absolute confidence in himself, no doubt…’

The sense of full commitment to a cause came from Masayuki. He still had a bit to go in some areas from someone like Demosthenes, who had age to grant him experience. But even being so young still the man felt every bit an equal to the old man in every other way. A man that would crush anyone in front that stood before his ideals. He knew what he wanted and that it had to be done. Someone good committed to a dark path.

An all too common trait in the new world.

Unfortunately, even his presence didn’t seem to be enough to hold them back. They wanted blood. They could taste it even though none had dropped. Madness had captured them. The same madness claiming the world.

“Look at him. He wants a fight,” commented the man again. “I can see it in his eyes. He’s just asking for a reason.”

“Sounds like rogue elements to me,” the woman added in agreement. “I think that’s enough justification to take them in.”

Masayuki was losing his patience with his men. “Nawabe! Umari! I said stand down! We have more important threats to deal with right now!”

“I see a threat right in front of me,” Nawabe replied, completely taken in by the thought of a fight. He already seemed to be sizing up Seiji.

Umari took a step forward, already self-justified in her mind. “If we let them go they will only cause trouble later on. They all do! Best to snuff out weeds before they take root!” She charged in completely ignoring any further orders with Nawabe quickly behind her in acting. They both went after Seiji, the prime target.

Peace broke down.