"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right," Sakura growls. A vicious smile cuts across her face. She slowly walks towards the offending boy.
"Josh? Let's go for a walk." I grab Josh and move towards the mouth of the alley.
"Oh, is the retard going to let his girlfriend fight for him?" Tyrion keeps piling on the vitriol. On some level, I feel bad for him; on every other level, I don't.
"She's going to hurt him, isn't she?" Josh asks me.
"Yes, very badly."
"We shouldn't hurt people," he says decisively.
"Gah!"
'Whoomp!'
Tyrion's shriek is followed by the sound of his body slamming against the ground.
"Well, he hurt Sakura, and more importantly, he hurt you. I know you don't like it when people say mean things like that." Josh pauses to collect his thoughts.
'Boom, bang, bam!'
"Help!"
"That doesn't make it okay." Josh finally responds.
I'm not getting anywhere. Let's try a different approach.
"Let me ask you this, do you think you're an idiot?" He shifts around uncomfortably. I decide to prod him again. "Josh?"
'Wham, bang!'
"Stop! I can't feel my legs!" Tyrion screams.
"...Yes." Josh finally responds.
"And why do you think that?"
"...Because that's what people tell me."
"Well, you're not an idiot, and it pains Sakura and I that you feel that way."
"That doesn't make it okay to hurt people."
I click my tongue. Josh remains firm in his beliefs no matter what I say. We're not getting anywhere, so I figure it's best we discuss the topic later.
'Crash, boom!'
"Oh god, she's got a knife!"
"Sakura!" I call out to the demonic girl currently assailing Tyrion.
"Shut up! I'm busy." Her eyes glow red as she approaches the shattered boy in front of her again.
"Sakura," Josh calls out to her this time, and she responds immediately.
"Yes!" The flower girl makes a sudden appearance and bounds over to our position.
"You shouldn't hurt people," Josh says disapprovingly. She looks at me in shock. I don't know what to say, so I just shrug my shoulders.
"Okay, I'm sorry." Her posture crumples as all the energy leaves her body. I can only imagine how much it must hurt to have someone scold you after you just defended them. An awkward tension hangs in the air.
"Is Tyrion alive?" I ask. A small pool of blood begins forming around his body.
"He shouldn't be–" Sakura stops when she notices Josh's gaze. He so rarely gets angry that it carries extra weight when he does. "I mean, he shouldn't be hurt too bad. Let me go check on him."
She quickly corrects herself and runs over to the crumpled mess that used to be Tyrion.
"Josh, whether you agree with what she did or not, she cares about you. I think you need to cut her some slack." His brow furrows, but he doesn't respond. I turn to look at the injured boy, only to see him whimpering while Sakura whispers poison into his ear. She pulls a healing potion from her belt and only administers it once she's finished speaking. I watch as she walks past me with a smug smile on her face while Tyrion remains lying on the ground. He seems to still be injured pretty badly, so I check on him.
"Are you alright?"
"…"
"Before you blame me, you brought this on yourself."
"…"
"That being said, I'm surprised you said Josh is dumb. I suppose I overestimated you." I take out one of the healing potions from my belt and guide the solution down his throat—a mixture of frustration and shock swirls around inside his eyes. I'm hoping this will be a learning experience, but I don't have the time to hold his hand. "Try being more open-minded; grow up a bit. Then come talk to me."
I need the people around me to be willing to challenge convention, or we'll never be successful. So much of what I'm doing exists outside the realm of what's considered normal, and that shows no sign of changing any time soon. I spare the young man one last glance before chasing after the kids.
[I really hope there aren't any lasting consequences to that little scuffle. I don't think I could have stopped Sakura even if I wanted to, at least not when she's angry.]
I find the kids walking toward the north gate with Josh leading the way. Something must be wrong because they usually walk side by side.
"Hey!" I call out to them as my jog slows to a trot. Neither of them says anything; they just keep walking. Sakura looks particularly down, which sticks several needles through my heart. Desperate to change the mood, I strike up a conversation. "So, Josh, what are you going to spend your money on?"
"I already gave most of it to my mother."
"Really? I don't think I've ever met your parents."
"Okay."
"Is it alright if we meet them?" I don't talk to Josh much, so this feels like a good opportunity to get to know him better. Sakura shoots me a wide-eyed glare that I don't know how to interpret. I turn my palms up to ask what the problem is, but she just looks down at the ground.
[Okay, now I'm really curious.]
"Okay. Let's go." He readily agrees. Without any further discussion, we make our way to Josh's house. He leads the way, and I fall back to talk to Sakura.
"Are you alright?"
"…"
She doesn't want to talk, so I don't push it. It's still pretty early in the day, and the sun is shining through some holes in the clouds. The biting wind is dulled by the warm rays of light. We pass through the commercial district and enter the residential zone.
"You won't like them."
"Excuse me?" Sakura's comment catches me off guard.
"His family, you won't like them."
"Why not?"
"...They aren't nice." I blink a few times and collect my thoughts. Sakura keeps her eyes on the ground, so I can't get a read on her expression, but I can feel the tempest of emotions rolling around inside her. Her hands are gripping her elbows so hard that they're leaving marks. Her shoulders are raised, and she looks incredibly uncomfortable.
"Well, let's see if we can do anything to help."
"There's nothing you can do. Josh won't let you."
"We won't know for sure until we try." We make the rest of the journey in silence. The closer we get, the more uneasy I feel. I can't tell if it's my own anxiety or if I'm picking up on Sakura's feelings. Josh knocks on the door of his house, and we wait for an answer.