2.5

The Call of the Wild: Unbreakable

It came like thunder, wild and strong. Most of them were there to it loud and clear, a black void, swallowing anything in its path, mercilessly.

“Hiro?” Willow looked on in disbelief, he was right in front of her.

Then came down the black spot swallowing him whole, splitting the train car in half with its blighted existent. Now, the deep dark hole lodged itself there, refusing to move, its void inviting. Three of them were swallowed, Hiro Hanazawa, Eikichi Kira and Fleur Guillard. On one side, separated from the rest were Willow, Malcolm and Conrad.

The other side, however, was far grimmer, there was only Jim Cross as two men broke in through the windows. One a giant, whom despite his threatening stature seemed calculating and cold. The other, a boxer with hands wrapped in bandage, was smaller but twitchy, hungry for victory.

Waiting for nothing, the smaller jumped at Jim and punched him right at the jaw. The teenager stagger back, a tooth dislodged from its place.

“I thought this would be harder” The boxer said, mockingly.

A jab followed by a brutal straight punched that broke the teenager nose. Blood was spilt and spit and it was all over. The boxer could see the end, he punched with all his might and yet in that final moment, a light lit up. His power warned him off something and the boxer slowed down his momentum.

A wise choice, as the boy skin hardened at the last moment, tough as diamond. The boxer felt like punching a wall but his fingers weren’t broken.

“You brat”

The boxer grunted and slammed a nearby table onto the teenager, the thing snapped effortlessly against skin as tough as diamond. This bastard dared to lure him in, Jim took the hit to bolster the boxer confidence, waiting for that final punch.

“YOU BRAT” The boxer yelled from the bottom of his lungs but before he could do anything, his power warned of something from behind.

Jumping to the side, he narrowly dodged his companion charging forward. Jim took the brunt of the hit, getting knocked to the end of the train car. A figure towered over him, skin as rough and tough as rock. The man looked at the teenager mockingly.

“It seems like our power are rather similar” A grin appeared “But not enough”

Another kick aimed straight Jim’s chin, launching him through the connecting door. The two could both hardened themselves but Jim so much more, going to ludicrous level. However, the trade off was that harder he got, the more immobile he became. Meanwhile, his opponent, not only could move normally, but also had his speed and strength enhanced.

Behind the teenager were the bedrooms, from one of them, exited the little Haruka.

Seeing an opportunity, the rock charged forward, only to stop by Jim. The teenager couldn’t hope to win this match up, however, his power was never about fighting anyway. No, it was to take hits after hits and could still move on to take some more. To be unbreakable.

Behind him, Hotaru exited to find the juggernaut. The operative had no intention of helping but she wouldn’t want to child to get hurt. Haruka was pulled away.

To support Jim was to be someone else, Johann von Brandt.

The boxer was starting to worry. How could that guy still standing, and the now the rock was to be outnumbered. He then breathed deeply, no, there was no reason to be worry. That man could handle all of them. Then there was him, he was invincible, he was unbeatable. And he would prove it.

“YOU THINK I COULDN’T SEE YOU!”

The boxer yelled from the top of his lungs and block a devastating kick from Doraemon. The girl jumped back and decloaked herself. This third rate managed to find her out. He could also predict Jim’s attempt at breaking his hand.

“Good grief” The girl mumbled.

“You can never beat me” The boxer said, that sentence aimed more at himself “I am unbeatable, I am unbreakable!”

He stepped up and jab quickly. Such sloppy movement, Doraemon immediately kicked, her legs aimed at his throat. The boxer, however, put his weight into his back legs and retracted his punch, grabbing onto her leg with his left arm. With his right, the man drove his elbow straight at her shin, a direct hit.

The girl spun her other leg for a kick, only for that to be dodged. At least she was freed.

“How!” The boxer said in disbelief “Your leg should be broken!”

Of course not, Doraemon bones were state of the art. There was no way her leg could be broken by a third-rate boxer. But this guy was ready for her kick, his back leg already in position. Perhaps…

“You there” Doraemon said, pointing at him swinging her hip to the side “Your power is precognition” She stated casually.

How could she know, the boxer felt stung. Her conclusion was slightly off, the boxer was more limited. He could only use his power in a fight and it could only predict an enemy movement. The Greatest, he called it.

“So what” He said “I am invincible, I am unbreakable!”

“Is there a need to repeat that like a broken record…” Doraemon replied, her words were ignored, however.

“I am invincible! I am unbreakable!”

The boxer felt renewed as he repeated his chant. He still hadn’t lost sight of it, that boy, sitting enthralled in front of the television screen. It was a boxy set; the image was barely visible. The sound was also marred by constant statics. And yet, the boy continued to sit, on the screen was a declaration that struck deep in his heart.

“Imma show you how great I am!”

That was when the boy knew, he could only be the best. The boxer would never stand down, he would be among the great, he would never lose with this power.

The boxer stepped up proudly. Doraemon tried to get in the strike but her move was read. The girl got a jab straight at her chin instead. It was followed by a flurry of punches straight at her head. She held up her arms to defence but what could those lean limbs blocks. All of the boxer hits went through, one after another viciously pounded at her head.

“You are nothing!”

The boxer jumped up, his knee straight into the girl face. She flew back but somehow regained her balance. The boxer didn’t know why he did it, that knee, it just felt natural. He could feel it, the flow of the fight.

“I murdered a rock! Injured a stone! Hospitalised a brick!”

More, he wanted more, he would prove his superiority. All of them back at the gym would see, they mocked him and his dedication. They tainted the sport.

The boxer prepared for another onslaught but there was a strange feeling nagging at him. It wasn’t his power, however, it still showed that the girl wouldn’t act. He dismissed it. Rushing headlong, that was when the boxer realised what was it that was nagging him. Blood, or more like the lack of it. The girl never drew blood.

His power rang, the girl would throw a punch straight at his face, a simple move. The boxer dug his feet into the ground to prepare the blow.

“Eh…”

He stared at disbelief as the fist was already his face. A crunch sound of broken nose later, the boxer staggered back all bloodied. There was no time to rest, a kick would come and it came as predicted. And yet, once again the blow connected, two of his ribs were broken.

“How… How could this be… My power…”

“Is wasted on a third-rate like you” Doraemon completed that sentence for him “What’s the use of reading everything when you are that pathetically slow”

Third rate? Slow? Her mocking took a while to be processed. Those words weren’t new to him, but why would he hear them here, in this place. He had The Greatest, he was invincible, he was unbreakable…

“I am invincible, I am unbreakable”

The boxer murmured to himself. That was the truth, that bitch was just trying to rattle him. Just like all of them, they tried to bring him down, they tried to deny his talent.

“Slow? Me?” The boxer said, then broke into a violent sprint “I will show you slow! I cut the light off in my bedroom and was in bed before the room was da…!”

Doraemon jumped up and kneed him in the face. How? He knew she was going to do that, how could that connect.

“You talk too much” The girl said mockingly “Now it’s my turn”

This wasn’t real, it couldn’t be. The boxer was pummelled again and again. He could read them all but he could dodge none. This was just a dream, this was just another fight. When everything was done, he would return home, there would be a meal waiting for him.

“I am invinci…”

A punch parted three of his front teeth. The boxer desperately clung to a nearby chair. In the window, he could see faint reflection. What was that man, so bloodied, so beaten, so pathetic, just a loser. No, this wasn’t a dream. This couldn’t be! With the rest of his breath, the boxer yelled out.

“I am invincible, I am unbreakable! I WILL SHOW YOU HOW GREAT I AM”

“Just shut up already”

Doraemon kicked him straight at the head, sending him through the glass window. Outside, the sun was shinning brightly, but the boxer could no longer enjoyed it as he slammed against the heartless ground.

The girl let out a sigh. She should feel lucky that ability wasn’t granted to someone with more self-awareness. But who to say powers couldn’t be similar. Doraemon brushed the dust of her hoodie, paying no mind about the fight she was in. That kind would never know what he had or why he lost.

Only the rock remained and he was also in a bind.

Johann he could snap in half, but that meant getting past Jim Cross. The teenager still stood his ground, defiantly, truly unbreakable. The young warrior, with his naginata, could get past the block with ease. But his weapon wasn’t enough to break the rock. But there must be a weakness, he just needed to see it.

‘Eikichi could see that weakness already’ Johann told himself. It didn’t matter, the rock was now outnumbered three to one.

Then there was that void, just being there, ominously. Three of them were swallowed but no one here was worried. After all, Eikichi was among the people taken.