Purotekuta

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Kirai is still alive? But - how is that possible? I saw his body. My eyes are swimming with tears, but I quickly wipe them away, not being able to afford these kinds of emotions right now.
"What do we do, Hajime?" I look at Akihiko, then look over at Akio.
"We wait. There is nothing we can do right now. We are useless to them if we reveal ourselves now." We all look back at the fight raging in front of us. Father rushes forward, flames engulfing his arms. The look in his eyes is not one you would like to see up close. I can tell that he's trying his best to keep his affinity under control, but his attempts are futile. You can almost feel the heat from the flames from where we hide in the bushes, but Kirai stands unmoving from his spot. The extra villains that Kirai had brought along with him rush towards my father, but are quickly taken down by Mr. Kaze who rushes in and erases their affinities, taking them down one by one. Mr. Kaze not only has his affinity erasing affinity but is also really fast. His speed is not because of an affinity, but just because of pure skill and training. Nobody is faster than him. The villains that are attacking Mr. Kaze may outnumber him, but they are severely outmatched. The one villain that doesn't sit right with me is the one that Kirai summoned from the portal. There's something off about it, and I can't figure out what it is. Father rushes towards Kirai, aiming for his heart, but the villain protects him, the flames going through it instead of Kirai. Father quickly falls back, the anger raging in his eyes only getting stronger. Before our very eyes, the villain that Father just killed starts to reform, healing the giant hole looming where its heart should be. No, it can't be. It has a healing affinity!? He's going to be hard to defeat.
"You knucklehead! Are you such a coward that you don't come and fight me yourself!? Or are you so weak that you could never defeat me?" The smile that was once on Kirai's face falters slightly, and he growls.
"No, Father. I just have actual common sense that is telling me that I shouldn't fight you. Even if I would win, I would end up with permanent injuries. I would rather let my friend here do the work for me." Father rolls his eyes.
"Same as always, Kirai. So lazy you couldn't catch a fly the size of your palm." Father rushes forward again, propelling himself forward by the soles of his feet, leaving a trail of smoking ground behind him. He forms the fire coating his arms into a sword, compressing it. He slices at the chest of the creature, but it barely makes a dent. My Father lands and stabs the villain through the heart. Before Father can even pull out the sword, the wounds are already healing. The villain punches Father in the stomach and sends him flying backward. He spits blood out of his mouth at the impact of the punch. Father looks so beat up, yet the villain doesn't even have a scratch on him. A huge blast of blazing fire rushes at Father. What!? How is that possible!? He has a copy affinity as well? Just how many affinities does this villain have? Can you even call it a villain? It's more like a creature.
"Aww, who's talking now? I thought you were supposed to be the number one protector in this city, yet you were so easily defeated by my little old friend here? Pathetic." I look over at Akio.
"Akio, what's your affinity?" Akio's eyes go wide, and he looks away.
"I... I don't wanna say. It's embarrassing." I smile at him, trying to give him confidence.
"Whatever it is, it's not embarrassing. All affinities are special and unique! Yours is the same." Akio hesitates but eventually opens his mouth to tell me.
"I can telepathically speak to people, but I haven't used my affinity in over two years. I can't do much more than say a single word in one's mind. I'm not even sure I can use my affinity anymore." I think about that for a moment, then nod.
"Okay then. Thank you for telling me, Akio." Akio nods and turns his attention back to the battle. "Akihiko," He turns to look at me. "How much strength does your affinity have left?" Akihiko closes his eyes, focusing on his affinity.
"I have enough. I have been recovering from the water spout, and I am probably at 70% right now." I close my eyes, thinking about our options.
"Do you think you have enough energy to open a giant crack beneath that creature that Kirai summoned?" Akihiko thinks but eventually nods.
"I think I do. It's going to be close, though. That takes up a lot of energy."
"Okay. Thank you, Akihiko." Akihiko nods and turns back to the fight. I look at the battle and assess the situation. We can help out Father by getting rid of the creature, but that gives away our location. Plus, we also run the risk of taking Father with the creature. We'll need to show ourselves for this to work. "Guys, we're going to need to intervene. Akihiko, you're going to create a chasm to capture the creature, but only when Mr. Kaze and my Father are out of the way. Akio, you are going to be our eyes in the sky. It doesn't look like these villains have a flying affinity or wings, so you'll mostly be safe up there. I will get Mr. Kaze and my Father out of the way." Akio and Akihiko nod in agreement, and I start to count down from three.
"One..." Akio unfurls his wings, "Two..." Akihiko tenses his legs, "Three!" We all rush forward, Akio taking off into the sky, and Akihiko dashing to the left, digging his hands into the ground and building up his strength. I rush forward and yell for Father and Mr. Kaze to get out of the way. They are confused for a moment, but as soon as they see Akihiko, they rush out of the way.
"What are you doing, Hajime!? You're going to get yourself killed!" I look at my Father, a fire in my eyes that says, Not now. Father's expression hardens, and he backs away. I take off into the air, making sure to get as far up as I can.
"Now, Akihiko!" Akihiko's eyes fly open as he releases the last of his strength into making the chasm beneath the Creature open wide. The creature falls into the chasm, but as I look over at Akio, I see his wings falter, struggling to keep him in the air. I don't have any time to think, I just go. I rush towards Akio as fast as I can, using both my wings and my fire to fly faster. There is nothing else on my mind except for saving Akio. If I lost him, I don't know what I would do. If Akio falls out of the air, he either falls right into a swarm of villains or into the chasm along with the creature, neither of those options being desirable. I am only a few feet away when his wings stop working completely, and he starts falling to the ground. "AKIO!" I dive after him, swooping him up just in time before he hit the sea of villains beneath us. I quickly fly back up and land us on a rooftop near the entrance.
"Thank you, Hajime." I look him up and down, searching him for injuries. I find none, and exhale a sigh of relief.
"No problem." I'm out of breath, so my words are airy and short. I see the look on Kirai's face, and it doesn't mean anything good.
"You'll pay for this, Father. Mark my words, our next encounter won't be so easy." Kirai whistles, and walks back through the portal that appeared once more, all of the other villains following him.