Okumura Syndicate Ending 1

Chapter 161: Welling Fear

At the same time, Fleur was drawn to a halt by the mysterious people surrounding her. "So, does little Fleur want to know what her daddy has been up to the whole time?", taunted Patrice. "S-stop with this!", protested Fleur, reaching for her sword but too shaken to grab it. "Y-you can't just leave with uncertainty!", she pleaded, tears flooding her eyes. Patrice giggled, "That's quite an attitude, you're not a kid anymore, after all.". 

Fleur bared her teeth, "You're right, I'm not a kid!" Patrice just laughed, "Oh, it's quite alright, little Fleur, you may be young, but there's nothing childish about your resolve. I've seen the way you stare at these men, wanting to wipe them out with your power.". Fleur let out a quiet growl, a rising frustration welling up within her. "I see that there is much in your life you need to figure out, little Fleur. What's holding you back? Is it fear? Resolve? Desire?". 

"I-I-I-I don't…" , Fleur stammered, beginning to panic. "Just shut up for now!", Patrice said, raising a hand. "I'll tell you what, I'll tell you everything you need to know, if you can defeat me.", he stated somewhat jokingly. She charged at Patrice, attempting to push him over, but he caught her in the air and thrust her down to the ground. "Take your best shot, if you can't beat one of us, how on Earth can you beat twelve?". 

"That's enough!", exclaimed a voice from outside. "Seems the cavalry's arrived...", muttered one of the anti-crime group members. Everyone turned around to see Craaq, Viper, Shiva and Sulena stood tall and confident. "Fleur, are you okay?", Craaq enquired worriedly. "Craaq, I-I can do this myself...", insisted the elf girl. "Your fear got the better of you, you do understand that even the strongest in the world could take this on, right?", replied Craaq. 

"It happens to the best of us, Fleur, we'll take it from here!", declared Viper. "An impossible task for most, you should've called for us earlier.", remarked Sulena. "This is going to be fun!", enthused Shiva. The four of them looked on at their opponents, all weapon users by the looks of it, though slight anxiety plagued them, they still had to fight fiercely to the best of their ability. Fleur stood up, "I-I can't thank you enough, but you really don't have to…". Craaq interrupted her, "Fleur, you're an integral part of this fight too, remember that.", he said confidently. 

"Alright, enough banter, let's fight!" exclaimed Sulena.  "If anyone can finish this, it's you!" announced Craaq. Fleur closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts. She raised her sword to her left hand, her own mental darkness spinning about her weapon. The group of opponents readied themselves, all ready to attack. Taking a deep breath, Fleur looked on at the twelve fugitives, "Ok guys, let's begin.", she declared.

Straight off the bat, Patrice struck Craaq's sword with his axe. "Such a small little creature, much like your superior, are you sure you can take me on?". The anthro bunny didn't hesitate to strike him back, "I have you know I'm a very competent swordsman!", he announced. Craaq managed to avoid the first strike, but received a hit on the other side of his body. The man now stood right in front of the bunny, striking him back. "Now that was uncalled for! ", Craaq yelled. 

Viper's opponents were just as tough, a male crossbow user whose skills were ten times that of what she'd seen from Craaq, and a woman who could easily deflect her chains with her huge claymore. The witch first tried to surround them, but the man managed to willfully shoot off her cape, leaving her vulnerable to his arrows if he hit her a second time. The woman slashed the end of one of Viper's chains, damaging the end of it. "We're playing like that, are we?", Viper sarcastically questioned. She had an idea. 

At the other side of the building, Shiva and Sulena were surrounded by seven of their opponents. "Why the heck are you crowding around here you cowards?!", enquired Shiva in an attempt to intimidate them all, but the entire crowd drew thier weapons in defence. By surprise, one of the men screamed in agony, "What is this?! Poison?!", he yelped. "Best keep an eye on both of us next time.", remarked Sulena. Shiva looked back at her, "Nice moves spider lady!", he enthused. 

Finally, in the middle of it all was Fleur, the remaining three people were scattered around the room, far apart,  but clearly stalking her every move. She was terrified, though Craaq decided to take on the most threatening of the group, her fear kept her feet firmly in place, she could only let the enemy come to her. Were her spirits going to break? She wasn't sure, but as they got closer, she felt her fighting instinct building up.