Untamed Heart ✨

Chapter 41 - A Brawl On Both Sides

I loop my arm around Tatsuo, who is now up off of the floor and face to face with his brother. I can tell he's hurting, in more places than one. It was a terrible fall after all. Personally I'd prefer to meet my boyfriend's brother in different circumstances than this, but nothing can be done about that now. "You shouldn't have come here" he shouts, Tatsuo without response whilst he holds onto his right arm. I take a slim opportunity to check back, Chifuyu and Peh-yan in full swing as the two of them brush aside the members trailing behind the brothers, creating a real two on two now. "Y/N I'd advise you to get back" he utters, looking away from his brother and onto me for the meantime. I sigh, ready to talk back before realising he'd probably be better off if I stepped back. I've come to the realisation that should've been my thought process in the first place, before I even made myself apart of this mess. I feel Hinata wrap a hand around my arm, ready to pull me back so we can duck to some sort of safety. With not much time to think, I oblige, standing back and allowing Tatsuo to face off against Kakucho, for the first time in a while it seems. "I'll be fine" he adds, turning away from me finally although his short-lasting smile manages to light up my face as usual. "Do you remember what we talked about?" Tatsuo begins, fixating his conversation skills and his caliginous eyes on his brother now instead of me. I release away from the stairs, standing back protected by somebody I'm not familiar with, both battles occurring either side of us. Chifuyu and Peh-yan seem to be doing well, but the Haitani brothers show no sign of retreat however. Opposing this, Kakucho and Tatsuo stand facing off verbally rather than physically for the time being. "We agreed no weapons, no cheating, no foul play, just you and your circus freaks". I listen in confused, making sure nothing else is going on that affects me at the same time. "Yet Haruchiyo Sanzu got one of my friends killed!" he shouts, the words rattling straight through Kakucho's body. Like a lightning bolt striking true. He freezes, haunted eyes fixated directly onto his brother. The shouting was quite loud, it's really the first time I've seen him snap in a while. I guess he couldn't stay so 'calm' forever. "You're bluffing, no?" Kakucho questions, Tatsuo's eyes showing honesty and nothing else. "Why would I lie? Think about it, you have a psychopath working with you, you really thought he'd come without some sort of weapon? He doesn't care about you, any of you. He's just a man who wants to watch the world burn". The words he throws out seem to stab at his brothers mental state and mind more and more, Kakucho finding it hard to manifest a response." I bet Shuji Hanma keeps some sort of weapon on him currently wherever he may be. I bet Madarame had his knuckledusters. I bet Ran has his baton. I mean, you didn't talk to any of them did you!" he yells out to finish, participants from both fights listening in now as they postpone the combat. "A-" Kakucho thinks about it, coming to the conclusion he doesn't know what to say. Tatsuo however stops now, clenching a fist in preparation for fighting rather than some speech. "You don't know anything! " Kakucho cries, lunging down the stairs with no regard for any safety in an attempt to continue what he started before. Tatsuo braces himself, grabbing ahold of both of his brother's shoulders and throwing him against the wall in the midst of tumbling back down onto the floor. I try to keep both eyes on the brothers at all times, Tatsuo hitting the floor once more with vigorous force as Kakucho's whole body flies back into the stained wall. He grunts, ridding his arm of all the disgusting dust and grime brushed onto him from the fall. The two sit stalled for a moment before rising up in unison to replay the same sequence over and over. Tatsuo never told me anything about Kakucho, they seem like they didn't have the best upbringing, especially not together. All I'm aware of is the fact that their parents died when they were very young, in an accident that plagued Kakucho with that massive scar on his face. Part of me wonders if Tatsuo was there, or if he has any sort of scar that would surely stay with him for life. As of today I haven't noticed anything. "He's smart" I hear a voice call from further away, the second fight manifesting into the spotlight as the oldest Haitani brother stares Kakucho dead in the eyes. Kakucho and Tatsuo seem confused unsurprisingly, Chifuyu kneeling down on the floor as a victim to Ran's unsporting behavior. Hanging out of his left hand is a telescope baton, identical to the one carried by one of the other less important lackies prior that were brushed aside by Peh-yan. "It's almost like I'm predictable, no?" he taunts, waving the weapon around in the direction of the other guys. Chifuyu wipes his face, a nasty mark forming where Ran supposedly struck him out of spite and response to Tatsuo's little speech. We all stare as the blonde boy rises, Peh-yan attempting to aid him just to be brushed aside by Rindo's lethal tackle attempt. With the two of them falling to the floor, it seems our side grows more and more trapped with no means of escape until backup sprints our way. I think of a way to intervene, a man foiling that by asking us both to get back so we're safer and protected by the group we entered with in the first place. I sadly comply, sitting back to watch as Kakucho attempts to ignore Ran's disobedience, striking Tatsuo in the face with some force while his guard is down, stripped away by the concern towards his friends. Tatsuo takes it well, but is put off balance due to such brutal force. I do hope Kazutora shows up sometime soon. "Why can't one of you help him?" Hina asks, tugging on one of their arms attempting to salvage a way to help one of our sides. "Tatsuo specifically told us it was between him and Kakucho, we don't want to interfere with those orders". She signs, watching on in despair. "Okay what about Chifuyu? He needs help right now, so why aren't you helping him?". Two of them look at each other, inspecting on as Chifuyu and Peh-yan continue to put up the best fight they can against their villainous foes. "What about you two? We're supposed to be protecting you". "We can take care of ourselves. Is it because I'm a woman hm? You don't think I can take care of myself?". I can't help but laugh at the fierce remark, the man trying his best to revive his side of the situation. "No no- that's not what I meant of course not-". He's quickly cut off by one of his companions instructing him it is best to help the two rather than stand and bicker like this. Seems like all it took was encouragement from Hinata. "I think I scared him" she whispers to me through a grin, the men charging forward in a slightly scrappy attempt to force the Haitani brothers off of the pair. It works at first, one of them rushing to their sides while the others push them back, a few of them instantly taken down in the process. Seems like these guys are the real deal... Difficultly, I turn back to my boyfriend, who seems to be fairing well against a very fired-up Kakucho, dodging hard and authoritative punches and then responding with a swift kick to the temple. They seem to match each other in skill, Kakucho wielding the power however while Tatsuo makes up for it in speed. The others however, produce a different story. Chifuyu's speed is proving to be made up of highest quality, Rindo Haitani matching him pace to pace nonetheless. On the other side of the spectrum, Peh-yan is trying his hardest to produce the full amount of his might to deal with the older brother Ran. It's a deadly match up, but the two of them will surely get tired eventually if they go on like this. "If only Kazutora was here, or Senju, or maybe even H-"

"Hakkai..."