Time froze.
.
.
It was suppose to be a leisure stroll for you, roving across the paved sidewalks and into town, but on your way you were met with a sight you would rather die than witness ever again. The two brothers of your friend Matatagi clutching onto each other for dear life as they were backed against a bricked wall, forms trembling with fear as they stayed paralyzed in each other's embrace.
The thing scaring them was none other than two thug-like people spewing threatening words from their tainted and dirtied mouths at the younger ones; these men appeared to be in their early twenties, perhaps three or four years older than yourself. You weren't sure what was happening, how Yuuta and Shun got into their current position, but there was a flash of adrenalin, and trepidation spiraling inside you. You couldn't stay situated where you were.
Leaving the safety of your current disposition, you rushed forward and delved in front of the boys and set yourself up in a defensive stance with your arms blocking out any hits that might've occurred to the two of them. "Stop it!" you cried out from the bottom of your lungs with so much emotion in your voice you thought you might actually cry.
The thug-like men now standing in front of you gave you the dirtiest look they could muster, disgust ringing in their voice as they pleaded you to move for your own good. When you shook your head, feeling Yuuta and Shun both clasp the back of your shirt with their tiny and trembling hands, you knew that words were no longer going to pursue the bigger men with words alone.
"Shun...Yuuta...run," you grimly ordered, giving them barely no time to react as a fist came whirling through the air and directly smacking you across the face harshly. There was a yelp, not even from you because you could only gasp breathlessly and groan in pain, but from the younger children you were trying to protect. Thy didn't want to watch you get hurt in their stead, but they looked wearily at each other, terror filling their eyes as they both gave their word about getting you help while running off as fast as their little legs could carry them.
A fresh strike brought you to the presence of mind to release all air from your entity, and tighten your abdominal muscles before the next impact could be blown. You weren't a fighter, that was certain; not even your physique could keep up with many hits, so you figured dodging and protecting yourself would be the best bet.
With two of them in front of you, running off successfully seemed nearly impossible.
Seeing another fist being formed, you poorly brought your two arms up to defend against another punch to the face but was met with a different penetrating fate. The second male, which you had temporarily forgotten about, came around and jotted you in the gut with his knee. Even the muscles curled together in your abdomen couldn't handle the pressure, and you felt an unhealthy amount of bile lurk in the depths of your throat from the hit.
Your head dropped, an overwhelming dizziness making your head and eyesight whirl as your body hunched forward to now protect your stomach. Your arms automatically wrapping themselves around the injured area. The adrenalin coursing through your veins ever since you stepped up to plate and take on this fight hadn't strayed from your body, and it still made you feel acutely conscious to the punch and kick; you could almost feel the blood vessels pumping inside you bruise and burst.
The unpalatable smell of your own blood filled your nostrils, and your ears had picked up on a distant noise of rubber against pavement; it wasn't from you or the thug-like people getting ready to lay another one on you, it was like someone was running. Running at breakneck speed with an urgency to get somewhere important, and if you had an inkling of an idea on who was coming.
You couldn't bring your gaze up to see, but when you heard name being called by a penetratingly loud voice that belonged to a singular fellow, you knew immediately who it was. "[Last Name]!" Matatagi came to a stop right before one of the men could elbow you in the neck, and stopped the arm from reaching it's destination.
The palpitating frenzy your heart was in came to a sharp halt as you perceived what Matatagi said next.
His voice had dropped an octave, it was filled with the utmost vexation, and every syllable was dripped in bale: it made your own blood run cold. "Don't fucking touch her!" the brusque demand was guttural and raucous, so he allowed his ire to probe his heart and his nerves were sent haywire as electric currents of desperation poisoned his being.
Still compelled into a helpless position, you could only fall to your knees and double over to keep your face hidden from what was happening. You could hear groans, and grunts of pain, and the smacking of skin against skin as every possible blow was made. The strength you possessed trying to protect the boys had fled from you, and you were quivering in your spot; it hurt so, so much.
You tried your best to alleviate the dryness in your throat, the searing flames burning within your lungs, and the thought of throwing up with deep breaths to swallow the air around you. It proved not to do a whole heck of a lot, but it did help your lungs settle down a bit.
"We'll get you for this!"
The sound of hurried footsteps rang your ears, and they soon became distant. Matatagi...actually won? You couldn't believe it, you honestly couldn't; but the proof was right there as you felt the texture of skin move along your back slowly, fingers swiveling soothing circles into the tensed muscles on your back. "Are you okay?" he inquired, tone and voice returning to his normal, everyday one.
The one he used earlier had been relinquished as Matatagi flew the final punch to victory, his wrath being bestowed on the two who dared harm his brothers, and you. "I-I'm fine..." you weakly coughed out, god, you felt like you really were going to throw up.
That fight was too easy, just how weak are you? "Let's go back to my place, and get you cleaned up. Shun and Yuuta are worried about you too," Matatagi proposed and allowed you a second to recoil yourself back up as best as you could. You viewed him crouching down beside you, and you could tell he was fending off the instinct to cringe once he got a glimpse of your face.
"Will you carry me?" you requested, not feeling enough strength to walk all the way back to his house. Matatagi nodded his head, solemn etching on his features as he tentatively placed his right arm on yours with his arm behind your neck, and his hand just below your shoulder. He then roped his arm under your knees, still taking care not to further harm you anymore than need be. At this point, you'd probably easily bruise given your body had lowered itself into the weakest place.
Your faces were leveled, and he could see the rapid swelling of your nose and blood trickled down from it and he knew you could probably taste your own blood at this point. But, that wasn't his focus.
Getting you to his house was.
a/n; I'm not very good with fight scenes, so please bear with me! Also, it's pretty hard to call this a drabble series when you exceed one thousand words...orz||
inazuma eleven go (galaxy) © level-5