Thinking about the situation strategically, Lukazio knew that grappling and scuffling with the bully wouldn't help him. The older boy was only slightly larger, but he would prove superior in those situations.
Instead, he relied on his own strengths. Dodging the older boys swings and attempts to grab him, he made sure that his hits only struck the most vulnerable spots, without regard for his attacker's well-being and without regard to any consequences for injury.
With some limited access to his memories, even ones that shouldn't have occurred yet, he couldn't help but feel that the selection was somehow carefully curated. Nonetheless, he recognized that although he had been in many fights in his prior life, they were all in defense, never as an aggressor.
He also held back during those fights. For some reason he usually didn't truly want to hurt them. So his efforts were lackluster and half-hearted. Realizing that his failure to go all in, even against his aggressors, would often result in his loss- he felt a burning sensation in his chest.
The desire for victory, the passion of a warrior, suddenly burning brighter and brighter, the heated sensation overtook his entire body.
Lukazio was struck a few times while distracted, but his reaction speed was still better, so he avoided being hit too hard. Several times turning what hits he took into glancing strikes; those lost most of their force or already didn't have much impact.
His vision, however, was worse which sometimes made his attempts at dodging ineffective and made some of his punches fall short. Several easy hits, that could've been pretty devastating, completely missed his target. Lukazio's nearsightedness and poor depth perception were significant handicaps.
Contemplating how to increase the damage his hits were doing, and motivated by his desire for victory, Lukazio realized he needed to up the brutality and end the fight quickly. It had only been a few minutes and both boys breathing already came ragged and labored.
While thinking that, the bully managed to grab, and pull him in. Trying to force Lukazio's head under his arm to position him for a repeated face bashing, he was partially successful. He shouted with glee and rained two hits directly into Lukazio's forehead.
Shocked, but not completely stunned, Lukazio realized that there wasn't enough room or leverage to draw his body back for the momentum needed for a forceful hit. However, the position with his head partially under an arm gave Lukazio a unique vantage point to finally unleash the brutality he was hoping for.
Rotating from the waist as much as he could with his head gripped, Lukazio drew his elbow in and jumped with all the force in his legs. With some lift, he counter-rotated and drove his elbow directly in between his opponent's legs. The bully squealed in pain and the impact immediately loosened the grip on Lukazio's head.
Fully freeing himself as the older boy held himself and groaned in pain, Lukazio used that opportunity to lunge forward and throw a left swing as hard as he possibly could.
The yell of pain was immediately muffled and Lukazio felt the boy's nose give from the hit. Collapsing, the older boy went down in a heap, choking on his spit and then gasping for breath.
Lukazio idly wondered if this was real, or if it would affect his future. Perhaps his past. He couldn't be sure, but those thoughts were pointless because nothing happened to make him believe this strange event was yet over.
He was still here. Not teleported back to his strange room and he was still in his younger body, free to move around.
Was there something else he was supposed to do?
Catching his breath, he watched as some of the adults finally checked the other boy. Determining that he was going to be okay, albeit his nose now bled fiercely.
Several looked at him with a light of respect and one, a teen probably close to adulthood, said "Fucking great job little dude" while exhaling a cloud of smoke from his cigarette.
Leaving him to his own devices, Lukazio decided to try and hurry up and run home. He wondered if he could figure out his real name and other things about himself once he arrived there.
He slowly caught his breath and as his adrenaline slowed and stopped, his aches and soreness from the fight made its way to the forefront in his body.
It was only a ten minute walk home. Preoccupied with his thoughts and elated at his victory, Lukazio paid no mind to an old beat up truck, slowly idling down the road behind him.
As he moved to cross the T-shaped intersection into the housing projects, his senses alerted him to a vehicle that had hit the gas forcefully just a second prior. He halted on the grassy edge of the street corner immediately, which saved him from imminent death as the truck, now already going over 50mph, nearly bowled him over.
Although he wasn't run-over, the front bumper and passenger side wheel well slammed his small body with a force his weak frame still couldn't handle. Knocked away several feet, Lukazio lay sprawled senselessly in the grass near the roads edge, groaning in pain.
The truck slammed to a stop a short distance away and quickly turned off its engine. Lukazio could vaguely hear the truck door opening but he couldn't gather himself together before heavy footsteps approached him.
"Goodness, young man, what on God's Earth possessed you to jump into the road that way! You could've been killed if I hadn't been watching you from the down the road! Wondering why you were in and out of the road like that!"
The voice was gravelly, but not too deep. A slight southern drawl, but nothing pronounced or dramatic.
"Thought you were mighty close to the edge there! Don't you worry, I'm gonna head up to that house over there in just a sec and call up an ambulance for you." Let me check you out." The man said loudly, almost oddly so.
Though his kind sounding words seemed to have good intentions, Lukazio's danger senses spiked. He knew he hadn't been that close to the road until he started crossing the street.
Something about the man's attitude or his general bearing just seemed off. While Lukazio couldn't yet put a finger on what exactly made him suspicious, he felt and looked around for anything at hand. Lying on the ground, there didn't seem to be anything in the grass around him, nothing particularly useful from his vantage point.
Despite what just occurred, the area was quiet. It was the housing projects, so people tended to mind their own business most of the time. This worked to his detriment as the gruffy and lean man made his way towards Lukazio, who was on the ground trying to brace himself to stand.
Before he could react, the man's booted foot kicked Lukazio's arm out from under him, causing him to fall facedown on the ground. Groaning, Lukazio turned his face towards the man who now knelt nearby, one arm reaching for him. Immediately, Lukazio felt an impact on the side of his face amid an eruption of blinding pain.
Crying out, he struggled to wriggle away but a pressure on his back made him realize the stranger had his knee pressing Lukazio down. The stranger's eyes watched with an inner glee and Lukazio realized the man had his right arm drawn back into a fist.
A moment ago the man had been reaching for him, palm upward as if in aid, with his left hand. He must have struck him with his right.
A sharp pain in Lukazio's left thigh alerted him to something wrong there, but he was distracted by a high pitched noise.
The man had whistled. Eyeing Lukazio he said "Looked like you were fading out there. Truck almost did a number on you, I guess your brain aint settled yet. Don't look like you got out totally free though." He spit to the side and scratched idly at his beard, lowering his right arm and unclenching his fist.
The man then removed his knee and roughly turned Lukazio over on his back. Looking him over he leaned closer and whispered "I didn't appreciate how you roughed up my kid. He's stupid, but I don't want him to have to go to the hospital and doctors look at him and then at me with a bunch of questions."
The man leaned closer and grabbed Lukazio's head firmly in both his hands. Lukazio felt real fear for a moment and involuntarily released a quiet whimper. Inwardly disgusted with himself as a result, Lukazio's adult mind began working to figure out how to turn the suddenly grim situation around.
The man continued with his jumbled monologue. "Then start having to explain how he doesn't listen and how often he needs disciplined. That's a lot of unwanted attention. Brings a lot of eyeballs my way and I don't like that. You might be wondering how this is any better. Well, I have an answer for that."
Dark eyes piercing his, the man whispered chillingly, "I'm gonna take you with me." Apprehension turned grim and a hysteria overtook Lukazio, but it was too late.
Without a word, the man jabbed his thumb roughly into Lukazio's eye while quickly covering his mouth with the other hand.
Roaring in pain under the man's grip, Lukazio wriggled madly. The sharpness of the man's nail felt like a fiery wire in his eye. His eyelid couldn't close under the pressure and Lukazio worried that his eye might pop.
A discordant noise reached Lukazio's ears over the sound of his own muffled cries. It was harrowing when he realized the man was giggling fanatically. With his good eye he could see the stranger somewhat through the tears. The man's eyes were wide with euphoric delight. A true sadist, he seemed to savor Lukazio's suffering with glee.
He tried displacing the mans arms, and hit him, but it was for naught. This body couldn't hope to physically keep up with an adult strength in any way. The pain was short-circuiting his brain and his muffled screams were turning hoarse. Lukazio's struggles brought some clarity when his pained flailing caused his own fist to bash his left thigh.
He felt a different pain, sharper. It distracted from the pressure in his head and he squirmed his hand in his pocket. Feeling something cylindrical, he could almost place what the object was. . .but it was wet.
The intense pain finally stopped as the brutal stranger removed his thumb from Lukazio's eye. The man kept Lukazio's mouth covered and looked around, scanning for witnesses.
The same burning resolve from earlier overtook Lukazio once more as he determined to fight back, and somehow live.
He tried to inconspicuously remove his arm from his pocket while gripping the object. The guy looked back down at him suspiciously, then turning his head to see Lukazio's hand. Which put his face perfectly in line.
The man had felt Lukazio's sudden arm movement as he assured himself no one was nearby watching, or coming to aid the kid. He was secure in his ability to overpower a child-so he wasn't guarded and assumed Lukazio was adjusting his arm underneath him, not realizing his sudden danger as his wariness dropped.
The boy's arm adjustment seemed benign, so he idly turned his head downward to look at the boy's hand. Before he could react the arm whipped forward and he suddenly felt something hit him in the face with a loud plop noise.
A well-placed critical hit!
The man felt immediate agony and screeched at the top of his lungs feeling sharp pain as he realized something was jabbed inbetween his eyeball and the corner of the socket.
Standing up quickly, the man continued to howl in pain and stomp around, Lukazio nearly forgotten on the ground. Blood ran down the side of his nose and into his beard.
He clenched his eyelid closed, which jarred the pencil in his delicate injury, each movement a fresh wave of agony.
Only a slim difference in angle prevented it from being stabbed directly into his eyeball. Only the child's short reach prevented it from going further in and doing more horrific injury, or even death.
Lukazio, though elated at first, worried that the lucky hit wasn't going to be enough.