Hayato stared at Daichi for several seconds, waiting for a laugh, hoping to find the slightest sarcasm in his tone, anything like that. However, the old man remained with a severe look on his face.
Hayato, confused and troubled, stumbled toward the wooden sword and grabbed it with trembling hands. An image invaded his memory for a moment. No, various images. Memories...
'I am feeling... I am feeling just like in those times. I feel like he can step on me any time he wants. Hopelessness and uncertainty fill my heart. I just want to go away. I want to run away from here.'
He stood in front of Daichi again. In the blink of an eye, he acquired the same aura that Trevor and the others had. This detail, which could or not be just a trick of his desperate mind, made him feel fear. A fear that he didn't feel for weeks, but that now came back with full force.
'Somehow, his presence can be even more assertive than Trevor's.'
"It's your time now. You can attack me however you want, anytime you want. I will just leave this field a few hours after the sunset."
Hayato waited for more words, maybe a hint or a lesson, but nothing more came.
"Is that all?"
"Yes. That's all. Just come and attack me."
"But... I can just choose not to attack you, can't I?"
"If you are not feeling better or... if you are afraid of what's about to happen, then yes, you can just go away. However, I thought you wanted to get stronger. You had such a determined face when you revealed that you had someone you want to kill, after all. If you keep running away and leaving your training for the next hour or the next day, you will never get to the necessary level."
Those words hit Hayato like a truck at full speed. A heartthrob sent waves of anxiety across his body.
Daichi looked disappointed when seeing Hayato's expression and posture. He shook his head, then clicked his tongue.
"Are you afraid of me, Hayato?" he asked while taking a step forward.
Hayato answered by instinctively stepping back.
"What did I say to you, bastard!?"
Daichi's angry voice seemed to paralyze his body. For a moment his mind went blank, but one thing he did remember.
'Never...' he thought.
"Never fucking step back!"
Furious, Daichi kicked the ground, going towards Hayato. The latter didn't know how to react to Daichi's speed. It was not the same tremendous speed he showed a few days ago, but it was still too much for an ordinary fighter like Hayato.
Daichi swung his sword downwards, aiming for Hayato's head again.
The boy remembered the feeling of a missile hitting his head a few hours ago and his body acted on its own. He put his sword in front of the attack, not entirely blocking it, but deflecting.
The attack got him on the shoulder instead, dislocating it. Hayato let go of the sword, not having the strength to hold it anymore.
'Shit!'
"Don't you want to be stronger, Hayato!?"
Daichi raised his sword once again. Hayato put both hands in front of his face.
However, that was a feint. What came was Daichi's fist, sinking into Hayato's stomach.
"Don't you want to stop kneeling to others and live your life freely!?"
Another punch to his stomach.
"Then, fight back, you wimp! Fight back even if it kills you in the end!"
Next, came a knee to his solar plexus. Hayato felt the air leaving his lungs.
He remembered Tess' face, the white fur and the crimson blood of his cat, the kitchen knife, the face of his worst enemy...
His eyes got filled with tears of anger and frustration as he planted his feet on the ground, not allowing Daichi to push him back any further.
He let out a roar as strong as he could and threw a punch to Daichi's face. It was going to reach the old man on his chin, but he swung his body backward before it even grazed.
Hayato fell face down to the ground, unconscious. His body didn't even twitch, he was truly out cold.
Daichi let out a long and tired sigh. A drop of sweat ran down his face, hung on his chin, then fell. Time felt like going at a slower pace for him. He reproduced the moment of Hayato's counterattack in his mind several times, just to make sure that he wasn't imagining things.
'He could even fight back after taking so many punches and a heavy blow to his shoulder, huh? That's kinda impressive, but I am sure that I got a glimpse of his face at that moment.'
He stared at Hayato for several seconds, lost in his thoughts.
"I will fucking kill you..." that's what his expression said.
'I wonder what happened to this boy to make him able to wear such an expression of visceral anger. It even looks like...', the old man clenched his fist, reminding himself not to recollect useless memories.
Hina also watched their fight in the distance. She seemed unfazed by what happened. Her eyes were strangely cold, though there was a little bit of surprise hidden in there.
"Well, at least he is good at standing while getting beaten. What do you think?" Daichi giggled, a fake smile present on his face. He turned to Hina, hoping to see how she would react to his comment.
She was still unfazed.
"I didn't hear you coming. You have an amazing talent. A deadly lady. If you hadn't other purposes for my plans, I would turn you into the best woman warrior of this district."
No words, no reaction. Nothing.
"You also have a good talent for deceiving others. You don't even care about his well-being, do you? After all, people like you cannot feel anything."
She kept on ignoring him.
"That's why I cannot see you as anything other than an object. A dangerous one."
Daichi looked at the sky, seeing that the sun was far from reaching the horizon line and disappear.
"Take him back to the house and treat him if you may."
She nodded. Although unwillingly, she took Hayato by his armpits and started to drag him.
"Ah, another thing, akuma..."
By hearing her nickname, Hina shivered and cast a murderous glare at Daichi.
"You better reserve your grudges to me, only. If you dare to touch my new disciple, you will wish to come back to hell."
After staring for a while, she snorted, then continued dragging Hayato back to the house.
Daichi sighed, then lay on the ground, resting his head on his crossed arms. He closed his eyes and fastly fell asleep.
****
Hayato opened his eyes, feeling like he just had a Deja vu.
"Did I... Did I fall unconscious again?"
When he didn't have any answer, he turned to the side, only to lay his eyes on Hina's pretty face. She had a nonchalant face, hands resting on her lap. Hayato also felt like he had seen this scene before.
'Of course, I won't receive any response.'
"Did I?" he insisted on the question, to which Hina replied with a nod.
"You seem mad at something. What's it?"
Hina didn't show any expression, nor did she move her hands to make any gesture. She just blankly stared at him.
Hayato's cheeks blushed after he got so blatantly ignored.
"It's fine if you don't want to talk. Sorry."
He took his eyes off Hina. She didn't complain about that, though.
'She is totally pissed off with something. I just wonder what? Is it because I ignored her warnings and went down there? Hmmm, but would a girl really get this angry over such a thing? I can't possibly be this important to her after knowing her for just a few days.
'But, man, seriously... What kind of training is that? He just beat the shit out of me without teaching me anything. That's really messed up. Is that guy just looking for a human sandbag?'
Hina's silent presence made Hayato kind of uncomfortable. He didn't know why she was there since she didn't want to talk to him.
'Ah, maybe she is just checking if everything is okay.'
"Hey, due to my dislocated shoulder, I probably will need to rest for a few days, won't I?" he once again tried to interact with her somehow... only to be ignored again.
'Damn it. I am feeling like Daichi now. Being ignored like this after talking to her that day makes it feel more painful. I guess I got carried away and thought we were friends or something. Turns out I was just getting ahead of myself.'
Hina was not dumb. She knew that Hayato was confused about her silence. Besides, his frustration was as clear as day. He wasn't good at hiding his true emotions.
As she kept on watching his troubled face, she became restless for some reason. She looked at her hand, the hand which Hayato held firmly when he was suspicious of Daichi's intentions a few days ago at the restaurant.
She knew about his magic capabilities, so his strategy was obvious there. Even though Daichi was frighteningly strong, Hayato was willing to run away from him and take Hina along, regardless of how dangerous it would be and without even knowing her.
She sighed, caressing her own hand.
Then, she drew his attention by poking him on the cheek.
Hayato turned to her immediately, confused.
That's when she feinted a slap to his head.
A flash of Daichi's attack that knocked him unconscious quickly appeared in his mind, making his body act on its own.
Quickly enough, he put one of his arms in front of his face, trying to defend himself... but the slap never came.
Hina, then, got up from the chair and calmly left the room.
Hayato watched her all the while.
"Thank you..." was all he could say. He had figured it out, more or less. He figured out what Hina meant to say.
'So that's what you intended to do all the while, Daichi? It's a strange way of training me, and quite dangerous... but I think it will be effective', Hayato's eyes were sparkling as he looked his own hand.