Chapter 4: Street Fight

"If I can prove myself in the world then maybe I'll be deserving of this name. "

"Murder…"

The word whisked in and out of his ears so quickly he had not one second to react.

"That's what you are, isn't it? A murderer…"

The voice laughed coldly. It was neither a deep nor a high pitched voice. It was the voice of a person you'd imagine meeting in the back streets of Morroc. No, not so much a person as a rotting corpse from which the dry and cracked voice emanated from. By now the laughter was coming from all directions. Left, right, above, below; there was no escaping the eerie cackles. The sound reverberated in his ears as if he was standing inside a cave – the pitch black was engulfed by the sound of this maniacal laugh. Despite all his efforts to block out the laughter, it only grew louder and louder to the point of an oncoming deafness. He grasped his head, falling to the ground. He couldn't take it any longer.

The voice suddenly halted its unnatural laughter.

Silence.

…

The only sound he could hear was the constant beating of his heart. The silence was slowly eating away at him. Unlike the incessant laughter, there was no chance of blocking out the silence.

He screamed into the stillness "Who are you?" As if to mock him, the echoes subsided and all the remained was the same silence. His outburst had done nothing to dampen this invisible foe.

"Answer me!" From the corner of his eye he saw a flash. He turned to see what it was; only to find darkness. From the abyss, a quiet chuckle emerged.

"First you can't stand my laughter, now you scorn the silence. 'Master,' can't you make up your mind?" There was no submission in the way Master had been uttered. The voice simply stated the word as if it were a wild man speaking outwards with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Again a viciously malevolent chuckle echoed in Hiro's ears.

"Stop your mind games and tell me what you want! Now!" It dawned upon Hiro that he was growing very angry, very fast. This entire feeling seemed familiar to him; this impatience and anger. It also horrified him that this rage seemed to ascend within him so quickly. Despite realizing it, he could do nothing to calm it. Even as he tried to calm himself, his temper boiled; threatening to explode on the first thing he saw.

"My, my. Feisty today, aren't we?" He couldn't tell if it was the silence, the arrogant nature of the voice or this unnatural rage but Hiro was overcome with a feeling of nostalgia. The enraged captain felt his eyes burn intensely while veins all over his body began to bulge and his flesh steamed from an indistinguishable heat. To him, this feeling seemed familiar…

"I've come to collect your soul!" Within a heartbeat Hiro was staring at a two handed katana, its blade red as blood. A crimson light bathed the captain forcing an ethereal body from him. His soul was being ripped from him… With all his might, Hiro screamed in pain but not a single sound emerged from his parched lips. Desperately, he reached out to grab his escaping being, only to have it slip through his fingers. Overcome with grueling pains and an inescapable heat, Hiro sunk to the floor. His body gave way while his mind was being torn in two different directions.

When all hope seemed lost, a hushed voice echoed throughout his head. At first it was a murmur but now he could hear it flawlessly. "Courage, master. You're not alone." the voice spoke with the firmness of a father but also with the gentle nature of a mother. A pale blue aura washed over Hiro. His spirit fell gently back into place as if it were being placed down. The inexplicable heat diminished and the blood red aura cowered as life blossomed in the form of grass, trees and flowers all around.

A clash of metal was the last thing he heard before jolting up in his bed. From head to toe, he was drenched in sweat. A small crack from the shuttered windows bore a ray of sunlight into his eyes. It was a warm welcome from the previous darkness. Hiro rose slowly from his bed. After making his way to the sink, he stared at himself in the mirror. His body burned and ached from the moment he awoke. He ran his hand along the bare skin of his chest only to find it was strangely hot.

'Can't be,' he thought.

It just can't be…

Hiro ripped himself away from the mirror and strode to the window. He pushed the shutters away and found himself staring down upon a busy Prontera morning. Hundreds of merchants and blacksmiths were selling their goods in make-shift stands. It was easy for a Pronteran to tell which lived up to their name of quality goods. The best craftsmen spent their earnings on better, more expensive forging materials. As a result, their stands lacked the lustre and shine that their scheming counterparts raised. A wandering crusader immediately caught Hiro's attention. The young man was browsing a blacksmiths sword collection. He expertly eyed each sabre. Holding it outwards to test the weight, clashing it against his shield to surmise the strength and various other trials he thought of. Hiro watched the crusader intently while recalling their spat yesterday. The young crusader, Hikaru looked down at his church issued sabre and walked away from the stand holding the sabre with great pride.

"That one's got potential," Hiro said.

A sudden knock called Hiro to the door. At the entrance, with an arm casually resting on the frame stood a silver haired monk.

"Ready?"

Hiro nodded as he grabbed his sword and walked out the door.

"Are you sure?" Alphonse said worriedly.

"It's not confirmed" Hiro spoke with a serious tone "but chances are that there will be a war."

"Damnit!" Alphonse clenched his fists in anger. Hiro stared on at his lieutenant with a melancholy expression. Alphonse's father was a crusader and famous crusader at that; one of the most powerful of his time. The late Scorpius Dedgewind spoke passionately about pacifism; a belief he passed to his son. Ironically, Scorpius was one of Prontera's greatest assets as a warrior. He knew that there was a fine line when fighting was necessary and when it could be avoided and he walked on it regularly. A war was definitely not needed, especially one that was fuelled by greed. At least, in the eyes of Alphonse, who took the whole idea very personally.

The two friends approached the center of Prontera. A large crowd had amassed with several people shouting and throwing their fists into the air. "Kill him," screamed one man. "Rip him in two," shouted another. Alphonse gawked wide-eyed for a moment. Then the air around him whipped causing his robe to thrash violently in different directions. Five glowing, blue orbs appeared around him. They began to spin rapidly in a circle around the monk. He watched furiously as the people before him continued to act like demons. He had half a mind to launch his spirit spheres into the crowd before he remembered…

"Remember Alphonse; life is the most important thing on this planet. We are not gods to take it away so easily. Do not act out without a reason." A tall man clad in silver armour leaned down and pat his son's head. The crusader smiled warmly.

Alphonse flinched as grabbed a sphere. It immediately disappeared and before Hiro could blink, Alphonse was already out of sight. The now lone captain ran his hand through his hair. He knew Alphonse enough that, that meant "You handle it." Narrowing his eyes, he walked into the crowd to obtain a better view. At the center of this assemblage, stood two figures; the first was a hulking blacksmith. Colossal arms and an even larger axe were dead give a ways: sixth division captain Maleagant Stactide, a menacing figure if one ever saw. The person standing in front of him also stood with his back to Hiro. A cotton cape dyed blue signified that he was a crusader.

"Better 'pologize , punk!" Maleagant shouted over the crowd. His voice was deep and obviously agitated.

"You apologize, you damn brute. You walked into me!" Hiro instantly recognized the voice. The same border egotism belonged to none other than Hikaru.

'What a mess he's gotten in to.' What a mess was an understatement. Maleagant was known to shatter bones for the smallest offences imaginable. The giant grabbed Hikaru by the neck guard.

"You got a death wish, punk?" The two stared each other down for a moment.

"Maybe we could talk after you brush your teeth. I'm dying from fumes here." The entire crown burst into laughter. Hiro shook his head in disbelief. The comment turned Maleagant's face a bright shade of red. With a swing of his arm, he hurled Hikaru to the opposite side of the ring. The enraged captain unlatched his axe and smiled fiercely at his opponent.

"I'm gonna enjoy this."

Hikaru struggled to his feet but the enormous figure was already charging him. The axe clashed down on his shield sending a searing pain through Hikaru's arm. The wound wasn't fully healed and taking a beating right now wasn't going to help. The young crusader drew his sword and concentrated on a basic holy spell causing the blade to emit a bright light. Maleagant though was one step ahead. He spun his body and positioned himself for a horizontal slash. Hikaru moved his shield accordingly and prepared for the worst. The sound of coins was the last thing he heard before witnessing Maleagant's power. The captain's axe shone with a golden light as the blade cleaved through the shield with ease, barely missing Hikaru's arm.

Hikaru whirled around and stared at the severed shield. The cut was made without any resistance whatsoever.

'Unbelievable,' he thought.

Looking up, he was met with a charging beast. He quickly unlatched the shield and rolled to the side. Maleagant's axe was sent careening into the stone walkway. Hikaru took this chance and drove his sword into the captain's side only to be met with another shock. Maleagant pulled his axe from the stone with ease and dropped it perpendicular to the ground, effectively blocking Hikaru's thrust. The captain pushed his axe aside and brought his arm forward to backhand Hikaru in the face. Hikaru lay several feet away on his back now. After playing back the last scene in his mind he noticed two things. The first: Maleagant liked to throw his weight around more than the average fighter. If not for his ridiculous strength, he'd be the one on the ground right now. Second: Maleagant could have easily grabbed his axe and sliced his head off but he didn't. Why?

'No matter,' Hikaru thought 'I'll get him this time.'

As Maleagant reared for another attack, it seemed as if the ground shook from his charge. Hikaru eyed his opponent. The axe came swiftly from above. Hikaru rolled out of the way. He rolled once again and positioned himself just outside of Maleagant's peripheral vision. Before Hikaru could strike, Maleagant's body emitted a bright gold light. His entire movement had stopped. The axe never touched the ground and all the momentum he had built up stopped in an instant.

"Impossi—" Before Hikaru could finish, the looming figure of the sixth division captain emerged before him. Maleagant brought his fists down on Hikaru's shoulders. The guards folded with ease, leaving craters the size of large melons. The crusader coughed up blood violently. All movement from him had ceased. He wasn't getting up.

"What? That's it?" Maleagant said "Pathetic!" The captain raised his arms in triumph. The crowd responded with loud cheers and more "kill him!" hollers. The blacksmith approached his defeated enemy with an ear to ear grin. His axe glittered in the sunlight as it came down swiftly. A shrill crash instantly ushered the entire mob into a silence. Facing Maleagant stood a knight and before his axe, a long katana. Hiro placed his free hand on the blade of his sword. Maleagant was not easy to hold back especially with such a light weapon. Hiro's blade emitted a slight tint of red. Suddenly a spark shot out from the point of contact between the two blades; followed by several more and finally a flame erupted, engulfing Maleagant. The large brute jumped back quickly escaping with slight burns and a charred chest plate.

"What're you doin' Hiro?' Maleagant said "this kid lost!"

"That's right. He's lost. Now leave before you do something you regret." Hiro's eyes narrowed. He looked straight into Maleagant's and spoke with a distinguishing seriousness; a signal that the crowd took to leave. Maleagant grunted before waving at the crowd and turning away. Several blacksmiths and young merchants followed the giant as he lumbered away. The mass dispersed quickly enough and numerous priests from Hiro's division rushed to the crusader. Hiro sighed as he looked at the young warrior.

'Not bad, kid.'

"You should have let him die."

Hiro whipped around. To his surprise, a small girl no older than seven stood in the street. She was wearing a delicate, blue spring dress. Her brunette hair was strung into a tail, giving Hiro a clear view of her radiant, green eyes. The girl stood stiffly while staring Hiro down.

"Because of him, Mu—is going to obtain a huge advantage." The noise in the square reached its peak. Hiro struggled to listen but the girl was finished speaking.

"W-what do you mean? Who are you?" Hiro gazed disbelievingly at the girl. In some ways, she looked like a younger Haruko. The captain walked closer to her, extending one of his hands slowly.

"Hiro!"

The captain turned back to find Jung Hwa looking at him.

"I need you to put some pressure here before I can heal it."

Hiro glanced back. The girl had disappeared…

(A/N)

Ok, you may have noticed that Maleagant, a blacksmith used endure. I did that to make the world more believable. Originally, he wanted to become a knight but quit his training to become a blacksmith, so he can use some swordsman skills.