The fight moved so fast there was little opportunity for thought to precede action. Punches moved so rapidly in the dark she barely had time to differentiate her four friends from the innumerable oncoming foes. Nevertheless, she swung furiously and landed a few lucky hits from time to time. She hadn't been in many fights, but a childhood with older brothers made her able to connect a solid punch, even if she couldn't coordinate them. All the same, she really was no match. They shoved her away and discarded her blows continuously until she started jumping on their backs or tackling them down.
Her crazy contribution kept her frantic, but the frenzy didn't stimulate her to withstand full opposition. One swing came up short when a retaliator yanked her off one man's back and slapped her perfectly across the face—the pain every bit a sting as the shrieking sound that split the punches. It brought her down quickly, and red lines blurred her confused vision. She felt her face throb, but it took several moments for the real pain to sink in. When coherency returned, the fight was nearly over. One Housen student stood off against Genji's gorilla teammate.
"Makise," Manabu whimpered. She realized he lie next to her, but the effort of speaking absorbed what little energy he still possessed, and he passed out.
The Housen student pulled a knife, and Makise faced him, accepting the challenge. Tenseness vibrated throughout his body, working up in panting breaths until he finally screamed and charged at Makise. Hana maneuvered quickly in front of Makise, desperate to end the conflict before it worsened, but she needn't have bothered.
He was stopped by another force: Narumi Taiga.
"Washio," Narumi spoke calmly. "Real men don't behave like this." Then he pulled back a fist and knocked Washio flat on his back with one solid punch.
Hana jumped when Makise's hand touched her, directing her behind him. She allowed the change in position, but her fists remained tightly bound at her sides. "Narumi."
Narumi turned toward them. He gave Hana only the briefest of recognition then focused entirely on Makise. "As expected from Suzuran."
"Nani?"
Narumi raised his fist and pounded it against his chest. "You see." The oddly endearing suggestion made Hana swallow, but Makise wasn't so moved. "I want a one-on-one with your leader."
"Fine by me." The brief silence that followed made her skin tingle, and, just as quickly, Makise suddenly charged forward, fist high.
Narumi proved quicker—that or more well-rested. He ducked under Makise's fist and planted his own in his gut. Hana tensed. "You're a real man." Then Makise tried another blow, and Narumi kicked him backwards onto the ground.
"Makise!" Hana crouched down beside him, but a hand grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her away. Her temple collided into one of the metallic garbage cans, and for a few moments her vision went black. The pain from the slap suddenly drifted back to the forefront of her mind, and she curled inward at the compound throb throughout her head. Her limbs still worked accurately, and groping the ground for something tangible drove away the blackness then revealed Makise lying unconscious on the ground. Another man, someone she didn't recognize, stood over him silently.
Hana crawled clumsily over and turned Makise onto his back. "Makise?" The sound of her own voice irritated her aching head, and she lifted a hand to sooth the pain. The contact was wet, and her confused eyes stared strangely at the red blood across her palm. She discarded it, however, when her almond orbs returned to the bloody and bruised man on the ground. "Makise."
Two white shoes entered her peripheral vision, and Hana stopped shaking Makise. Slowly, her head lifted. Narumi looked down at her incomprehensibly then crouched beside her. She recoiled from his sudden closeness, but he moved no closer. "Are you all right?" His voice was soft, much softer than she was used to from him.
