✔ The Hunters | Garou

EIGHTH HUNT

JUSTICE

"I want to talk
About what happened
Without mentioning
How much it hurt.
There has to be a way.
To care for the wounds
Without reopening them.
To name the pain
Without having to invite it back
Into me."

- Lora Mathis (If there's a way out, I'll take it)

"Stop bullying Garou!" I heard her scream.

From the ground where I was pushed down, I looked up to see a girl standing defensively before me. The morning sun was in front of her, and her golden hair, shook by the breeze, fluttered and glittered.

"Get out of the way! Justiceman has to kill the monster!" yelled one of Tacchan's henchmen.

"No!" she screamed adamantly, spreading her arms, "Don't bully him! If you have a problem, you should talk it out! That's what my mommy told me!"

"Why are you getting so worked up? We're just playing." said Tacchan.

"But you're hurting him." she answered.

Tacchan, having had enough of her, put out his foot and kicked her. She fell right on top of me. He said, "If you want to protect him, then you are the monster too."

The girl glared at Tacchan and got off me. She stood up again and said, "Mommy told me that we can get along with others if we talk about our problems-"

"Enough!" one of the henchmen yelled, "You're so annoying! Tacchan, let's go play somewhere else."

"Yeah." Tacchan gave us a look of disgust and I winced at it, but the girl wasn't fazed. She glared at them as they walked away.

"Aren't you Tenrou, the new girl?" I asked cautiously. If I remember correctly, she was the new girl who moved to S-city from A-city.

She turned to me with her big and beautiful blue eyes and smiled. "Yes, I am!" she grinned.

I stood in awe of her large, glittering blue eyes that reminded me of a cloudless sky. It knocked the wind out of me for a moment. "Why did you save me?" I finally managed to ask.

"Because my mommy taught me that I should protect those who are being bullied." She said as she stood up and dusted the dirt from Tacchan's shoe off her baby pink frock.

I watched as she frantically tried to scrub the dirt off the frock. I got to my feet and said, "We can wash it off with some water. Do you have a handkerchief?"

"I have one." she said, pulling it out of her pocket.

I took her hand and pulled her to one of the outdoor wash basins by the playground. I wet the handkerchief and wiped the dirt off the frock.

"I like your dress." I said.

Her face beamed and a large, toothy grin pulled the corners of her face. "It's my favourite!"

I smiled as I wiped the last of the dirt. A faint stain remained, but she didn't seem to mind it at all.

"Give me the handkerchief." she said, holding out her hand.