Revenge

Hana walked slowly down the alley with his hands tucked inside the pockets of his khaki trousers. The blond strands of his hair were a nuisance since they reached the top of his shoulders and drifted in his face with each step. The random footsteps grew closer behind, but he didn't increase his pace as he stared at the concrete. He knew they were following him, as they did every day after school. There would be no way to avoid a confrontation now. He was blocks away from his house, and they were still on his trail. Hana stopped his pace suddenly and paused briefly before turning around.

There were three of them this time. A skinny boy with red hair folded his arms across his chest and grinned at him with excitement. He was much taller than Hana and had bad acne. The second boy was of average height and build with short black hair and evil green eyes. He wasn't smiling, but Hana could see the intention in his eyes. The two boys were unfamiliar, but he assumed they were henchmen for the boy who was standing between them. James was very large for his age, extremely muscular and much taller than the other boys. He had brown spiky hair and brown, innocent looking eyes that hid his bad personality. Hana hated the boy mostly because he always picked fights and beat him up after school. Fighting back wasn't an option; doing so would disobey his parents instructions to be peaceful no matter how he was treated. He thought the rule was stupid, but he didn't want to disappoint his father. But now James was sure he was afraid, and this fact didn't sit well in the pit of his stomach.

"I'm not afraid of you," Hana mumbled under his breath.

"What did you say?" James sneered at him as he took a few menacing steps forward.

The other boys whose names Hana didn't know laughed suddenly as if on cue. Hana rolled his eyes and clenched his teeth slightly.

"I said I'm not afraid of you."

"Well I didn't know you were stupid too." He balled his hands into fists.

"Don't come any closer." Hana took a few steps back instinctively. This was going to be a bad day; he could feel it.

"Or what? You'll cry?" He laughed. "I'm gonna beat the crap out of you and there's nothing you're gonna do about it. Cause you're just a little girl."

"Please don't come any closer," Hana repeated as he closed his eyes.

"Where's your little dress?" The other boys laughed as he taunted him and began their approach.

This was it. Hana was facing the brink of another beating, and James seemed dedicated to making sure he was badly injured and humiliated before sending him home. He opened his eyes and glared at the boy with an expression he didn't recognize.

"What, you're mad now? What you gonna do?"

Hana glanced at the concrete for several seconds and clenched his hands into fists at his sides. Without lifting his head he glared at the boy with a new glare of pure hatred.

"I told you not to come closer."

"Hana, you're home!" His father called to him but quickly changed his tone. "What's wrong?"

Hana sauntered into the house and headed for the bathroom without acknowledging his father's voice.

"Hana, what happened?" He followed him inside the bathroom. The boy remained silent as he stood in front of the mirror. He blinked his eyes a few times before the focus was clear and then finally noticed the blood splatter on his clothes and face.

"Anna! Something happened!"

His mother rushed into the bathroom seconds later and stared at her son in horror. She then inspected him for wounds and babbled on about taking him to the hospital. She stopped in mid sentence suddenly to proclaim, "This isn't his blood, Yoh."

Yoh grabbed the boy's shoulders. "Hana, tell us what happened."

After several moments of dazed silence, Hana sat on top of the toilet and exhaled.

"I think he's dead," he whispered.