One is Rust the Other is Gold

13: The One That Could Break My Heart

It was unfortunate for my stepfather that he spent the extra seconds to speak to me, because he briefly hesitated before shooting at Joel's head. My body moved on its own. My hand touched Fugo's knife at my thigh and an electric shock seared up my arm. My stepfather was momentarily distracted by the oddly bright 'reflection' from the small sliver of steel before the small blade was thrown from my hand.

"Fuck!!" my stepfather barked, his shot harmlessly hitting the concrete, and one of his hands was rendered useless as the knife continued to dig into his skin as if it were alive. I dove for his falling gun before it hit the ground and grasped the cool metal just in time to realize I was dangerously close to my stepfather's legs. Stars burst into my vision and hot metallic liquid filled my nose and mouth when I impacted with his foot. The gun slipped from my fingers. Just as he was about to smash my ribs in with the heel of his boot, Joel had recovered enough to stand and throw a punch at his face.

My stepfather jumped back, barely dodging the attack. "I shot you through the chest..." he said in amazement.

Joel wiped the blood from his lips that he'd coughed up. "Yeah, but I got better," his voice was strained. I noted he probably didn't have time to completely heal himself.

When the stars cleared, I saw that the blood stain covering Joel's back was slowly growing larger. My stepfather produced a knife of his own that was sheathed on his belt. It was a large, military-style blade with a jagged edge. "You're all fucked up, but you're coming back for more?" my stepfather mocked as he took regular glances at the ground looking for his gun.

Joel circled him, looking for an opening. Joel's pained expression grew more relaxed within seconds. The longer he and my stepfather circled each other, the broader Joel's grin, making me wonder what he was up to.

I searched in the dim light for the gun I had dropped. I finally spotted it poking out of the shadows beneath Joel's car. My stepfather and I made eye-contact for a half second before we simultaneously dove for it. I grabbed it first and before my face was sliced in two by the large blade, my stepfather suddenly froze. It was odd, but I wasted no time wondering what had happened as I held the gun up to his face and scooted my butt backwards across the cobblestone street.

Joel was standing behind my stepfather and made a motion with his hand and my stepfather's hand mimicked his. A thin line of light wrapped around my stepfather's arm constricted and squeezed. The line shone and suddenly exploded like a string of malfunctioning Christmas lights.

"What the fuck???" My stepfather roared, clutching his arm. The sleeve of his shirt looked to have been shredded with dozens of tiny parallel strings and blood seeped between the slices.

Joel saw my expression and pulled out a small roll of floss from his pocket. "You can do a lot with string, gutter water, and a little Hamon," he winked at me.

My heart skipped in admiration.

"You're outnumbered and outgunned!" I steadied my voice and the gun.

My stepfather laughed at me. "You've never touched a gun before in your life. Anyone can see your aim is terrible," he grinned through his pain as he still clutched his bleeding arm.

"Want to step closer and risk it?" I asked with venom in my voice. Sure, I'd never aimed a gun before, but...

"My aim is good," a large shadow spoke from behind and struck my stepfather in the back of his head like a bag of boulders. His body hitting the ground made a noise that made even me cringe.

"Mom, what are you doing here??" Joel cried out.

Ms. Kujo adjusted the brim of her hat and made a 'tsk' noise. "You left the hotel before dinner, dressed up, fussing over your hair, and refusing to tell me where you were going. Do you think I'm stupid?"