Kaze lay on the floor even after they left, he could hear their fading laughter as they walked away. Kaze slowly opened his eyes, the ground had turned a faint orange as the sun began its descent into the horizon. A single shadow remained, Kaze could see two feet swinging, a kid similar to his age sat on a bench. They were a… boy? Girl? Regardless, the shame felt all the same to Kaze, his heart pounded as he quickly got up and dusted himself off. It was a face he hadn't seen with the group of boys, whoever the kid was, they must've come after the boys left.
"Hello, you alright?" The kid asked with a faint smile on their face, they wore a loose singlet and shorts, fit for the warm weather, but not fit for the grandeur of the developing city. Kaze cleared his throat.
"Yeah. I'm alright." Kaze slowly walked towards the faded brown bench and sat next to the kid. His mind and heart pounded simultaneously with curiosity and nervousness respectively. Kaze looked at the kid, they had a unique look, Kaze's eyes widened as the kid's eyes looked back. Hair that was grown to their shoulders, shiny and black. What Kaze found the most interesting was their eyes, both their eyes were a different colour, one shone a beautiful blue while the other was a dark and comforting brown.
Kaze stared at them for a good minute, the kid didn't mind, they were used to it. Kaze's curiosity strayed elsewhere where now, his mind returned to that question.
"Are you… a boy or girl?" Kaze's words were blunt and straightforward, the crickets chirped once again as the kid looked at Kaze. After a few seconds of silence, the kid burst out in laughter.
"You're funny. What's your name?" The kid smiled, they found Kaze's comment very humorous. Kaze shifted on the sturdy plank of the bench creaked as Kaze leaned back on the bench.
"Kaze, yours?" Kaze was a little irritated that he hadn't got an answer.
"My name would give away my gender, how about you call me a nickname?" The kid laughed, the kindness and bubbliness almost radiated off the kid. They were a complete contrast to the group of boys that had just bashed Kaze.
"Double-Eye" Kaze came up with a nickname almost instantly. Kaze felt an obligation to connect the nickname to Double-Eye's different eye colours.
"That's a good nickname, so… You just moved here?" Double-Eye spoke quietly. This sentence was like a trigger to Kaze, his body jolted as his mind reminded him of the time. Kaze immediately jumped off the bench.
"Sorry, I have to go home. Can we talk more tomorrow?" Kaze asked quite jittery, he needed to get home quickly, he hadn't even told his parents that he had gone out, and with their stressed state, they would probably kill him when he got home. Double-Eye sighed and smiled.
"Meet me at this bench again, you won't find me anywhere else." Double-Eye's voice was sincere and considerate. Kaze nodded and bolted back, as his legs ached with soreness, whether it was from the beating or the intensity at which he sprinted he didn't know. His body wasn't the only thing that heavily worked itself, Kaze's mind was full of thoughts, at the top of the king, the crown was given to an innocent yet unnecessary question.
"What gender is Double-Eye?"
Kaze was able to get home in time, his parents were silent and didn't seem to have enough energy to scold him. They must've been exhausted from their bouts of arguing. The dinner table was unlike ever before, silent and awkward. Kaze stared at the warm soup that sat in front of him.
"Did you wrestle on the dirt outside? You're covered in it." Kaze's mother spoke without looking at Kaze, Kaze's face went red, he had no intention of telling both his parents how he had gotten beaten up. The natural snarl in his mother's voice made it seem like she was just waiting for an opportunity to shout at him.
"I fell on my way here," Kaze lied, he cleared his throat and looked at his father. His father wasn't active in the conversation, instead, he drank his soup in silence.
"I met a new friend. They're nice, but I don't know if they're a boy or girl." Kaze swirled his soup around as he tried to redirect the conversation, hoping no one would mention that he looked dirty or injured.
"Does it matter?" Kazuya 'The Shadow' broke his silence, "Things like gender, race or looks. You shouldn't care about them too much. A person's core is right here."
Kaze's father pointed at the left of his chest, the heart.
"Everyone is different on the outside, countless different combinations. But the heart, there's only a good heart and a bad heart. Remember that" Kaze's father spoke statements that impacted Kaze a great deal.
The next day, Kaze sat on the bench waiting for Double-Eye. Before Double-Eye, the group of boys from yesterday came. Kaze was prepared now, they were people with bad hearts. The same large boy walked up to the bench, Kaze quickly jumped off the bench and pushed the boy back, the boy stumbled and tripped on his own foot. Kaze could've sworn he felt the ground rumble a bit as the boy fell onto the ground. The boys fell silent. The large boy had a look of anger in his eyes but ultimately left. Kaze knew he was strong, he had confidence, that same confidence allowed him to stand his ground this time.
Kaze waited til the moon rose and the sky went dark, Double-Eye didn't appear.
The next day he did the same, he was deep in thought when suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder behind him. Kaze's expression transformed into a smile, he turned around expecting Double-Eye. Instead, he got punch-to-his-eye. The large boy and the group of boys stood behind him, they snuck up behind him and ambushed him. Kaze was on the floor and again he was in a position where he was being ganged up on. He heard various curses directed towards him, he felt the difference of the power of blows. Those who simply only hit him to fit in the crowd, and those with the intention of hurting him.
Kaze's eyes remained closed til they left again, he knew better than to try to take on a group. To his surprise, once they had left and Kaze opened his eyes, Double-Eye sat on that bench. That event seemed to code a program in Kaze's mind, a sort of connection. The two times Double-Eye had appeared was when he had gotten beaten up. Did Double-Eye only appear when he got bashed?
The next year or so, the connection Kaze's mind made that one day would stay with him, he would deliberately get beaten by the same group of boys every day, at the same place. They never seemed to bore off the violence they exhibited onto Kaze, Kaze's body had adapted to the frequent bashings. He had built an impressive muscular endurance that had even been recognised by his father.
"It's like you did endurance training every day…" Were the exact words his father spoke, Kaze had to stop himself from laughing at the irony of the comment.
Kaze loved talking with Double-Eye, he found his father's words to be true, if a person had a good heart, factors like gender, race or looks didn't matter. They grew together, they both celebrated their twelfth birthdays as they progressed through the year, and spoke about school together, although they went to different schools. Soon, a year had passed since Kaze first moved to the city. A year had passed since he first got beaten up by the boys, and a year had passed since he had met Double-Eye, their friendship was strong but Kaze couldn't help but feel that Double-Eye was hiding something. Maybe he should ask?
Kaze walked out of his apartment a little later than usual, the clouds were dark today, they loomed over the city about to burst with rain. Kaze felt a chill go up his spine as the cold wind crept down his shirt. The sun desperately attempted to penetrate the dark coat of clouds, Kaze yawned as he thought of all the things he would say to Double-Eye, well after he went through his daily ritual of getting beaten up to summon them anyway. Kaze laughed at the stupidity of the process, but it had become a habit that he couldn't seem to shake. Every conversation with Double-Eye started with a concerned "Are you alright?" Kaze would always respond with a confirmation like "Yeah". Kaze inhaled deeply, a certain smell that came before rain filled his nose. He exhaled and turned the corner. The clouds seemed to darken and Kaze stopped in his path, his stomach lurched as his eyes analysed the scene. The bench was isolated, in front of the bench, the group of boys surrounded Double-Eye who was on the ground holding their head. The group of boys stomped and kicked just as they did to Kaze. Double-Eye yelped and shouted in agony.
Kaze's whole body tensed as his hands clenched into fists. The group of boys seem to realise Kaze's presence, in some way, Kaze's soul filled with gruesome hate and disgust at the sight of them, it overflows. Bad hearts. Every single one of them had bad hearts.
Kaze remembered something his father had told him the day before, about knowing where he had to stand. A reason to fight. Kaze knew where he stood in this situation.
The large boy didn't have a single second to laugh, Kaze wouldn't allow it. Instead of a sound of amusement, he screamed in pain as his nose was smashed into by Kaze's elbow.
Double-Eye looked up at the fight that unfolded, unlike the last time the large boy fell to the ground, the other boys in the group charged at Kaze. Kaze didn't back away, he continued to overwhelm the group with his intense power, he weaved between people who sprinted towards him, dodged and blocked attacks while simultaneously delivering his own. Kaze's fists relentlessly struck his opponents, the Motion of the Shadow was initially made to be a balance of defence, attack and control, but Kaze messed up the balance and only focused on attack. In a fight against another competent martial artist, this would be a fatal mistake, however, this fight was against boys who didn't hold a candle to Kaze. At twelve years old, Kaze took out a group of seven boys all by himself. They were all on the floor, soon they scurried away like the rats they were, crawling on fours out of pure fear. They ran together, constantly looking back at Kaze, their eyes filled with tears. Kaze quickly went to Double-Eye's side, he helped Double-Eye to sit on the bench.
"...You alright?" Kaze awkwardly laughed, the tables had turned. Double-eye also realised this and laughed a little. Unlike Kaze, Double-Eye hadn't been in a single fight their entire life, their muscles ached, wounds bled and bruises throbbed violently. Double-Eye took a deep breath and looked at Kaze. The different coloured eyes were filled with some sort of sorrow.
"Yeah," Double-Eye sighed and slowly relaxed on the bench. "I have to tell you something… I've wanted to tell you for a couple months now."
Double-Eye fiddled with their fingers as they took a deep breath in, Kaze remained attentive and gulped.
"I'm moving." Double-Eye's words struck Kaze bluntly.
At the age of twelve, Kaze was about to say goodbye to one of his closest friends, their two eyes, different in colour, will never leave his mind, a bond that will forever stay with him. Although the innocent young Kaze felt as if life had hit a low point as his friend delivered this sorrowful news. He had no idea what the years that had yet to come would hold for him. This event would begin a spiral for the worse.