Dragon Heart | #Wattys2022

XIII - Rida's Conviction

Haru came through first. His lungs felt heavy – and it wasn't because of the weight on his chest – and his eyes stinging. He slowly blinked awake, turning his head slowly to look around and make sure everybody was safe. He blacked out after the fireball hit the stands where he and his friends were. He vaguely recalled all the Slayers throwing themselves at him when the saw the incoming fireball and that was the last he remembered.

"Haru! Haru! HAAAAAAARRRRUUUUU!"

Haru winced when he heard both Gil and his mother's voices screaming inside his head. How long was he out for them to start sounding like his life was in grave danger? Not that it wasn't, but he was talking figuratively of course.

"We're okay," he might as well respond to their calls before his head explode from their screaming and yelling. "At least I'm okay, can't say about the others," he added, coughing out loud from the smoke caused by the fireball and the debris.

"Oh thank God!" was Kona's relieved sighed overlapped by Gil's stern command, "Get your ass outta here ASAP!"

"What? Why?" Haru ignored acknowledging his mother's relief.

"Rocco's out of control and we're holding him off from reaching you," it was Drake who answered sounding a bit strained, like he was pushing back something hard and near immovable from the sounds of it.

"He's the one with the dark chakra!" He exclaimed, remembering what he just discovered before he passed out.

"We figured that out already," smirked Kit. "He used his instructor and his opponent as catapult projectiles at us," he added sounding equally out of breath as Drake was.

"He needs to be stopped."

"What do you think we've been doing here?" Drake sounded incredulous that he had the gall to point out the obvious. "Just do us a solid and get your ass outta here. He's clearly after you," he added.

"He's also after Lex since he hijacked both mine and Lex's chakra," he argued.

"He's fixated on you and not Lex, so get your ass outta here NOW!" Drake yelled the last word and infused it with as much authority as he could muster all while fighting off a full-on ragemode Rocco.

"Screw this," Haru wasn't about to listen to his mentors. Rocco was their classmate and the one who was out to get him from the beginning. This fight was between him and them; Drake and the others are just collateral damage and shouldn't even be involved in this at all.

He pushed off the weight that was on top him, making it harder for him to breathe on top of nearly being suffocated by dust and smoke. He paused when he realized he was actually touching whoever was on top of him. If he was able to touch someone, then that means...he lifted his head up just a fraction and looked down at himself.

"Aw, shit," he hissed, feeling his cheeks burn when he saw who was sprawled on top of him: Wendy. She was laying spread eagle (almost) on his fully naked self.

If he was back to his human form, then that means Lex was too.

Establishing a separate mental link with the Slayer, Haru can tell that Lex was still knocked out cold.

"LEX, WAKE UP!" Haru screamed into the Slayer's head.

"What the hell, Haru?" growled an annoyed Lex.

"Rocco's outta control. Gil and the others are trying to hold him off, but he's gung-ho on getting his hands on me. Also, we're both stark naked right now since everyone's knocked out by that fireball." He gave the Slayer a Cliff's Notes version of what has happened since before they passed out.

"Aw, shit!" hissed an annoyed Lex.

"My sentiments exactly," Haru felt his frustration he realized what turning back to their human forms meant. "You don't happen to recall a re-clothing spell that was taught to us?" he asked meekly.

"When was this taught? I don't recall learning about spells and stuff this year."

"Crap, it was during freshmen year. It was basic magic spells that can be used in a pinch."

"Well, I wasn't here freshmen year. But if you recall that spell, would you mind magicking some clothes on me too? Both Ori and Kura are keeping me modest right now, but I don't want either one of them to wake up and faint again when they see me wearing nothing but my birthday suit."

"I think I recalled the spell."

"Hurry! 'Coz I think Ori's about to wake up," Lex insisted, panic lacing his tone.

Haru understood Lex's panic; Wendy was starting to stir too, and he also sensed a few others were about to wake up pretty soon as well. They can't be caught buck naked out here. Acting immediately, Haru recalled the spell that was taught to them for 'in case of emergency' situations (Senshis often go into battle and often rip their clothes during intense fights), which this situation ranks as high priority emergency situation.

Haru performed the spell just in time before Wendy came fully awake. She rubbed sleep off her eyes and coughed after she inhaled all the dust and smoke still lingering in the air.

"Are you okay?" Haru pushed himself up to a sitting position and pounded Wendy's back lightly.

"I'm—" cough "—I'm f-fine—" cough "—w-what about you?" She asked in-between coughing.

"I'm fine," he reassured the worried Slayer. "Everybody's still knocked out cold except for Lex," he added, surveying their group quickly and mentally made a note.

"Haru!" Tina's panicked voice followed by her engulfing Haru in a tight embrace. "Thank God you're alright!" Relief was mixed in with worry and annoyance in her voice, and she never loosened her hold on him. "Get your ass outta here right now, you hear?"

"I won't," he argued, pulling away from one of his mother's Guardians' arms. "Rocco's outta control and he's out for my blood," he pointed out. "I can't just tuck my tail between my legs and run."

"Haru, it's exactly for that reason that you're being told to get your ass outta here," Wendy sided with Tina. She was back to Slayer mode instead of a concerned schoolmate and friend.

"No." Haru was firm on standing his ground. He understood where both Tina and Wendy were coming from, but he made a promise to himself a long time ago that he won't rely solely on the Slayers and others to keep him alive. If he was to become Doragon's leader one day, he wanted to leave a legacy wherein his people would remember him as someone who took action instead of retreating in the background and let others fight his battle for him.

"Haru—" Tina began to argue, but Haru held up his hand as he stood up and, for the first time, looked down his nose at one of the two Guardians who has watched him grow from a wailing babe to the young man he was now.

"Right now I am not in Doragon nor am I royalty," Haru began, holding Tina's serpentine gaze. "I am a Takibian Senshi-in-Training. If I'm to become a full pledged Senshi one day, I need to be able to hold out against other foes on my own," he argued.

"But Haru—" Again Tina was cut off before finishing her sentence.

"Wendy and the others are my classmates, and Rocco too even though he's more a pain in the ass than a classmate most of the time. If he has a beef with me, then I'll face him off and kick his sorry aristocratic ass." He said with conviction Tina hasn't heard from him at all.

"Haru..." both Tina and Wendy were at a loss for words to say. All they can do was stare at Doragon's future king in awe.

"Make sure everyone's alright," he told the two women as he made his way down the stands.

"Where are you going?" Wendy called out after him.

"Gil and the others need help."

"Rocco's too powerful," Wendy pointed out, remembering that surge of chakra she felt – as well as the others too – when Haru zeroed in on who was emitting such chakra level.

"He's also outnumbered," Haru pointed out, a smug smirk tugging the corner of his lips before turning his back to her and Tina and jumped in to the battleground area.