Author's Note: Bit of a shorter chapter this time around. The real life problems are much more concise compared to the Mirror World events. Speaking of which, new developments on that side of things coming up in the future. Thanks for sticking around.

~Noxmad

Shiho put her hands on Yuuta's head as she shielded him from the people around them. A bruise on his cheek and tears on his face he looked at her with fear in his eyes. She looked up at the people surrounding him. They were students but she only recognized a handful of them from her grade.

"Get out of the way, Suzui-chan. This guy crossed the wrong person," one of the students demanded.

Shiho shook her head and just leaned over Yuuta trying to shield him from them as much as possible. "Whatever," said another. "Just get them both, then." The two of them where then lost in a cloud of white as one of the students sprayed a fire extinguisher on them. As Shiho and Yuuta felt themselves become coated by the white powder, Shiho heard a darkly familiar voice in her mind.

"There is a fire that is burning in your mind and if you just sit in it, it will make you stronger," the voice said in her mind. It was a strange sensation. Rather than feeling like she was drowning and was being smothered like she had in the past when this voice had spoken to her years ago, she felt motivated to stand her ground. Never again would she be made a victim by her own thoughts. "You are stronger than you know. Sit in the fire and let it ignite your soul!" the voice continued. Shiho held onto Yuuta tighter and just leaned over further to keep him as safe as she possibly could. If only for just a little longer...

Two days earlier

As agreed upon, Shima and Yuuta arrived at Yo's house. As Shima predicted the day prior, Shiho also showed up with them as she had been there to get him out of his house on time. Yo walked with the three of her schoolmates to school. She felt clear headed and was happy to make her way to school with the people with her. As they walked, she caught Kyoshi watching them as they walked. She shook her head and realized that his stares could not hurt her and she turned her thoughts back to the friends that were accompanying her to school.

The school day seemed to pass by normally. As she was getting ready to head home, she found a letter in her shoe locker by the entrance. In the text was just five simple words. But they sent a shiver down her spine.

You brought this on them.

It was written in English and in very nondescript handwriting. Carefully crafted to not look like anything in particular but very rigid and upright lettering. She shoved the note into her school bag and as she began to leave she heard a commotion behind her. She did not dare turn back to the school.

Yuuta however, had a very different day at school. It started when he arrived and had received a piece of paper that simply said "1" on it. It was weird but he had decided to pay it no mind. However, as his day continued he found himself being harassed by older students and even got his in the back of the head by a soccer ball. As he day went on, it seemed to get worse. At the end of the day, he found himself confronted by a group of older students and one of them was very familiar. Kyoshi Yokono was the obvious ringleader of the group and when Yuuta found himself surrounded on the first floor of the building, it caught him off guard.

"Well, well. You seem considerably more coordinated today, Yuuta-kohai," Kyoshi said rather venomously.

Yuuta bowed and said respectfully, "I am sorry about yesterday senpai. I am not used to pushing around Shima-senpai's wheelchair and he only first requested my help yesterday. I will certainly be more careful in the future."

"That isn't good enough, Featherman," one of the other upperclassman said, getting a chuckle from the other teens. "Kyoshi doesn't forgive lightly. You best beg. And the most convincing way to get forgiveness is money. You have been working a job right?"

"I apologize senpai, but I do not have any money to give. It all goes towards supporting my household," Yuuta replied respectfully. Kyoshi however, did not like this answer. He leapt forward and pushed Yuuta back, hand on his throat.

"You are going to give me, all the money you have in your household tomorrow, or this gets worse. More than just soccer balls and getting tripped. And if you tell anyone about this, especially Shima or the faculty, you are going to wish you hadn't because not only can they not help you, but this gets even worse," Kyoshi warned and then he threw Yuuta down on the ground. "No one can save you featherman. No one but me, so you best make this worth my while."

Yuuta was alone soon after and he rubbed his throat trying to ease the pain. He got onto his feet and dragged himself back towards his shoe locker and prepared himself to leave. He knew, he could not bring them any money. But he also knew he couldn't tell anyone about this. He would have to accept the consequences to protect the others and his mom. The following day started off as much of the same. However, when he told Kyoshi that he had no money to give him, the fist to his gut made him realize that they had not been idle threats. Kyoshi told him he had one more chance and the behavior returned to small inconveniences. Yuuta however, continued to stay silent about what was going on.

For Shima, the second day was the longest. Knowing that soon he was going to be able to return to his feet, he was ready to be free of his wheelchair. At the end of the day though, he found a little slip of paper snuck into his bag and written upon it was "2". Shima was not very impressed with it and simply decided to leave the building and pay it no mind. As he left the elevator, he saw Yuuta who looked to be in a foul mood.

"Hey, you alright?" Shima asked as he rolled up to him.

Yuuta looked at him and said, "I'm fine. Just a long day."

"I get that. Let's get going, huh?" Shima said and the two of them began to leave. The trip to Yuuta's house was uneventful and Shima decided to not push the topic since Yuuta clearly did not want to talk about what was eating him. Shima rolled himself home back home and decided to do some prep for the following day. The first day back on his feet and the big surprise for Shiho.

Nanako was concerned. Yuuta was not responding to texts and seemed to be in a really bad mood all day. She decided that before she left school, she needed to try to get some information from her classmates about how his day went. She decided that the best place to try, would be back in her classroom. She made her way back to his desk to see if maybe he left anything for the day. The only thing she found was a small piece of paper that had printed on it '1' and nothing else. Nanako was suspicious of this but needed more. As class president, she felt like it was her role to look out for her classmates more than ever. She approached on the students still in the class.

"Hey, Rin-chan?" Nanako asked her classmate.

"Oh, Nanako-chan! What's going on?" Rin replied.

Nanako with a gentle smile said, "So, I noticed Yuuta was having a bit of a rough day today. Have you noticed anything going?"

"Let's see," Rin thought out loud. "You know, I think at lunch time I saw him get hit by a soccer ball. Some of the older students were involved, I think."

Nanako felt a pit in her stomach at the information she received. "Did any of them happen to be Kyoshi-senpai? The captain of the soccer team?"

"I think that might have him him," Rin answered.

"Thank you very much for the information," Nanako said and she walked away. If Yuuta was being bugged by him, then it had to have something to do with Yo. If it had something to do with Yo, then that means that Kyoshi was going to be very invested to a bad degree based on what she learned. Which meant… she needed to get Shima involved. If he was not there, this problem could get far worse before it ever got better. Even then, Shinji's volatile nature would be hard to reign in for this. She needed to text Yo about this and see if maybe she knew anything about what was going on with Yuuta. Yo-chan. Please meet me outside your house. I need to talk to you about Yuuta. Nanako sent the text and made he way out of the school and headed towards Yo house. When she got there, Yo was sitting outside on the front step.

"Nanako-chan, what's going on?" Yo asked.

Nanako started by showing her the piece paper she had found with the number written on it. "Do you have any idea what this is?" Yo looked at it and seemed to pale. She then reached into her school bag on her side and pulled out the note she found in her locket the day before. Showing it to Nanako it seemed like a match. The carefully crafted calligraphy, the identical size of the paper, and even the ink was from the same pen.

"Yo-chan, do you know why Kyoshi-senpai would have a problem with Yuuta?" Nanako asked and as if in a moment of realization, Yo's eye watered up.

"Oh no," Yo said and then she hugged Nanako. "Yuuta and Shima helped me when I left my house the other day. I need to clear my head so I went for a walk. While I was up on the hill that overlooks the town, I got approached by Kyoshi and friends. I tried to walk away from him, but he followed me, and then tried to get physical with me when I kept trying to leave. I guess Yuuta and Shima noticed because the next thing I know, Yuuta and Shima come bowling through Kyoshi and began escorting me away. Kyoshi was so angry."

"So he plans on going after Shima too then," Nanako commented. Then looking around she thought out loud, "And now probably me, if he has seen any part of me looking into this issue. This isn't good."

"Oh no, I can't believe this," Yo said getting more and more upset and her body started shaking as she held back her sobs. "You guys shouldn't have to deal with this."

"Yo-chan, we are your friends. And you need us now more than ever. Once we deal with this Kyoshi situation we will all sit down and laugh about this later," Nanako said to her grabbing her hand and steadying her. "Let me contact Shima since he already involved and maybe we can work on getting this resolved." Nanako still holding Yo's hand to calm her, began dialing a number. After two rings she heard the phone answer and guitar strumming. It sounded a little odd but she remembered him making a comment on learning how to play the instrument.

"Ah, screw it. Hello?" Shima finally answered. Nanako could tell she was on speakerphone.

"Shima-senpai? Is this a bad time?" Nanako asked.

"Good a time as any," Shima replied. "What's up, Nanako?"

"Listen, we have a situation. Involving Kyoshi-senpai? I am pretty certain now that he has been bullying Yuuta-kun and maybe getting ready to target you as well," Nanako told him. "This is related to the situation from the other day?"

Shima sighed. "Of course it is, look have Yuuta come to my house immediately tomorrow and I will get him to school."

"Yuuta isn't answering his phone, senpai. I think he trying to handle this alone," Nanako said understandably upset. Yo squeezed her hand trying to be supportive to her as well. "I will try to see if I can get him to head your way tomorrow."

"Good, if not I will find him," Shima said to her. "Stay safe Nanako. I'll help deal with this as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Shima." Nanako hung up her call and she just sat with Yo.

Shiho was not expecting to come across the sight of Yuuta being ganged up on by her classmates. He was being beaten by the older students. She ran forward and pushed her way into the fray and threw herself over her younger friend. This forced the older students to back off for a moment and so she dragged Yuuta's head up onto her lap as she knelt on the ground with him and kept him covered. The bruises on his face, the soreness of his muscles was now obvious up close. She was so concerned about him that she ignored the voices of the classmates around her. It did not matter what they were saying to him or to her. So even when the white powder took over her vision and the color of her clothes, she stayed strong.

"There is a fire that is burning in your mind and if you just sit in it, it will make you stronger."

"You are stronger than you know. Sit in the fire and let it ignite your soul!"

Tap. Clack. Slap.

"Hey, assholes!" shouted out a voice that Shiho was glad to hear. Covered in fire retardant powder, she looked up to see Shima standing. Looking down, she saw him back in his prosthetic and it was the best sight she had seen in weeks.

Shima planted his fist in the closest students face. With his cane to balance, he lashed out with his good foot and piston kicked another student's hip making him crumple to the floor. Snatching the fire extinguisher from another student he swung the tank and the impact flipped another student half over. The students began to disperse from the scene, but one in particular put his hands up in fists and stood his ground. Shima was seeing red at this point and forward lunge landed him punch to the face and a follow up centered on his chest. His vision focusing on what was happening made him realize that Kyoshi had been the only one to stay and he had a stance like a trained fighter. Dropping the fire extinguisher, Shima focused in and found himself mentally steeling himself for a fight against someone who actually knew how to fight back. Not an impossible fight to win, but one that required him to be much more attentive to his opponent. Besides, it was not like the fact that they were trained saved the last one when this situation came up.

Shima dashed forward and ducked under a jab, dropping his cane. Lunging forward he planted his shoulder into Kyoshi's torso. As he began to push him back, he felt the knee planted into his chest. Pushing past the pain, Shima finally toppled him. The two of them scuffled on the ground, Shima planted a couple of meaty punches to Kyoshi's face before he was finally kicked off. The two of them both struggled back to their feet and stood opposite of each other. Shima scooped up his cane as he got his feet beneath him.

"Kyoshi," Shima said menacingly. "Which part of letting us walk away did you not understand?" He relaxed his muscles and put himself in a considerably more neutral pose. This whole exchange happening in an alley between two blocks of houses meant that they were not likely to get any outside assistance. But one look over at Shiho and her form shielding Yuuta made him determined to win this fight. He would not lose this fight. Not after everything she did here to protect Yuuta. Not after getting sprayed by fire retardant.

"What can I say, as a high school soccer star, I am pretty used to being respected. Not that you can really relate to either of those things, right?" Kyoshi replied with venom dripping off his words. However, Shima just smirked as he realized something. All this time, he had spent his high school years solving problems with violence and never really stopping to look at a larger picture. Even if he beat Kyoshi right now, chances were that nothing would actually change. So, Shima decided to take a page from Nanako's playbook and decided to use a far more dangerous weapon, words.

"You know, in the past I probably would have gone into a blind rage at a comment like that. But you know you made me realize that you really aren't worth my time. Because at the end of the day, you are a small town superstar that is going to get punched in the face by reality after graduation harder than I could ever hit you. So you know what, I will give you the chance to walk away now so you can at least continue living your fantasy. But if you don't let this end now, I will not let you have that opportunity. Your leg will be mine," Shima explained calmly and he tapped his cane in his hand. The slight drop in confidence was all Shima needed to know that he was pushing the right buttons. But Kyoshi's pride would not let him leave just like that, Shima knew it. So he kept himself in a battle ready position in case Kyoshi decided to come after him.

"What do you know about me?" Kyoshi asked like a cornered animal.

Shima sighed and his gaze softened. "Let me guess, soccer has been the only major skill you have had. You do decent in school and you have dreams of being a huge soccer star in the UK or the USA. So the only class you excel at is English. Welcome to a look in the mirror," he explained.

Kyoshi's stance relaxed and he even had a strangely impressed look on his face. "That is scary accurate," Kyoshi admitted.

"Look, I don't want to be at odds with you. But you shouldn't be lashing out at people while you still have your dream. You could prove me wrong. But the bad attitude I have comes from years of being under the feet of people whose dreams can still come true. Many people whose futures became just a little more guaranteed since I was no longer in their way. Yet I am still here despite all that. Don't throw away your pride over petty shit like this," Shima continued. He also dropped his aggressive stance.

Kyoshi just dropped his shoulders. "You sure you're not good at school?" Kyoshi asked with a bitter smile.

"It isn't smarts. I've been at the top. I'm now at the bottom. It's just perspective," Shima said with a downtrodden look. Kyoshi began to walk away from the scene. Shima's shoulders dropped in relief. Kyoshi disappeared beyond a corner and Shima moved over to Shiho. He began to brush off her face from the powder and as he finished he gave her a kiss on the lips and as he pulled away Shiho saw tears of relief building in Shima's eyes but he kept blinking them away as he tried to stay strong. Shiho looked down at Yuuta and saw that his face was mostly unaffected though his hair was coated in the powder.

"Thanks senpai," Yuuta whispered through labored breaths. Shiho leaned over him again and embraced him like he was a life preserver and she was out at sea. The fire inside of her continued to burn as she held onto the friend she had just saved. Shima rested his hand on her shoulder and leaned over them both like he was shielding them. Yuuta after a moment also added, "Shima-senpai, I thought you were really cool too."