In the alleyway

Later that day, as the students were dismissed from school and club activities were over, Youko walked back home with a spring in her step, looking as if on cloud nine.

She whipped out her phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hey, Onee-chan, you know what happened today?" She said on the phone.

"I don't know, what is it?" Said the voice of Detective Otake Miyoko, sounding fatigued and annoyed.

"Sorry to call you at work, onee-chan," Youko apologised yet maintained her smile, "But can I ask you something?"

"Depends. What is it?" Asked Miyoko.

"What does it mean to be in love with someone?"

At Youko's question, there was a tepid pause as Miyoko remained ostensibly silent, and Youko worried for a moment that her sister was shocked into silence.

Then she heard her reply, "You're serious?"

"Well... I am," Youko answered, "You see..."

Youko told her all about what happened between her and the bullies in Gohanyama High, and of how dashingly handsome, manly and brave Eothai was when he came to her rescue. When she finished, she felt her heart beating fiercely, a blush and dreamy smile on her face.

"You know, I was worried for a moment you'd never get a boyfriend or at least show romantic interest in someone," Miyoko admitted, "Or worse, you'd prove to be a homosexual or asexual."

"H-Hey, I'm not a lesbian!" Youko hotly denied, her blush intensifying, "You know I was all about archery practice! I just didn't have the time to find a boyfriend or whatever! You know my dream of going to Nationals!"

"Pipe down, I was joking," Miyoko reassured, "But it's good, at least you're finally going through that phase we all go through one day or another."

"Says the woman who ended up with a lot of failed relationships due to work," Youko flatly pointed out.

Miyoko audibly winced on the phone, and her voice was strained, "I-It's not that I have problems holding my relationships together, it's just... Uh..."

"Nevermind, forget I said that," Youko sighed, "Anyway, you want me to prepare dinner for tonight? I'm thinking fried rice with shrimp and bacon."

"Sounds lovely," Miyoko smiled, "See you tonight."

And the line went dead.

"Now then, how about we-"

Youko felt a hand clamp down on her mouth as she was dragged into an alleyway, and while she fiercely struggled to get free, she felt her arms being restrained and her senses dulling while her world turned blurry. Before long, she slumped ****, and the damp cloth was removed from her mouth.

And just like that, she vanished from sight.

Eothai lounged in the comfortable sofa of his apartment, bored out of his mind as he mindlessly scrolled through TV channels. It took every ounce of effort to lift the TV remote and press a button, peeling it away from the sticky entrapment of the soft leather.

"Sigh... Isn't there anything new to watch...?"

His phone rang, and he saw an unknown number displayed on the screen.

"Come to think of it, didn't Elwur say to be wary of scam callers?" Eothai muttered, "But it's not as if every unknown number's a scammer number, right?"

Thinking nothing of it, he answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Eothai? We need to talk."

The instant he heard the voice - the crooked tone and smile - his eyes narrowed to slits and his gut told a foreboding feeling.

"What do you want?" Eothai demanded.

"Come to the address I send you on your phone, alone," Demanded the lead bully, "And no calling the cops, or Youko gets it."

Eothai grit his teeth, knowing what the bullies wanted.

"Is she unharmed?" He asked.

There was a brief pause, and then the shaky voice of Otake Youko could be heard.

"Eothai? Eothai, is that you?"

Youko tried to be calm, but Eothai's elven hearing told him of the fear and uncertainty she tried to hide.

"Yes, it's me," He answered.

"Please, you don't have to come. You don't have to listen to them!" Youko pleaded with him desperately.

"Youko, everything is going to be alright," Said Eothai, "Just stay calm, and I'll be there to help you, okay? Trust me on this?"

Eothai briefly heard Youko try to reply, only for her voice to become distant and then the lead bully's voice replaced it.

"You better come here quickly if you don't want something to happen to her," Said the lead bully, "My friends are... itching for female company."

And the line went dead.

Eothai growled beneath his breath, a boiling anger rising to the surface.

"How dare these curs...!"

Through his rage he heard the phone ring like a clap of thunder, and swiping it open, he saw the address sent to him by SMS. Reading it, he recognized the area, and with a wave of his hand he teleported to his destination.

"Well, well. Look who decided to come, our white knight!" The lead bully pompously declared with a sneer, "I see you upheld your word."

"How can I not?" Eothai replied indifferently, "More importantly, where is Youko?"

"Relax, we haven't done anything to her," The lead bully assured with a wave of his hand, "She's right over there."

Youko thrashed in her bindings, trying in vain to free herself from the ropes binding her hands and legs to the chair she sat on. Her eyes, like tranquil ponds, now resembled torrential ocean waves of the deep seas, capable of overturning and capsizing ships. She did not cry, but nonetheless looked at Eothai with eyes of pleading, as if not wanting him to be caught in a trap.

As he walked inside, Eothai knew he was surrounded and outnumbered, counting over a hundred boys in delinquent garb and wielding all manner of weapons from baseball bats to small knives.

"Let her go, now," Eothai demanded.

All the gathered bullies sniggered and jeered at Eothai's words.

"You big idiot; did you really think we'd let her go so easily?" Said the lead delinquent, arrogantly brandishing a small pocketknife in his hands like a good luck charm, "And in case you haven't noticed, you're surrounded."

"I know," Eothai said, "I knew from the very beginning you meant to lure me into an ambush. After all, your true target is me, no?"

Many bullies were caught completely off-guard by his words, and the lead bully got into Eothai's face, unconvinced and irritated.

"Huh!? You pulling my leg, you punk?" He shouted.

"Do you think I'm joking?" Eothai replied.

Eothai's eyes were stone-cold and filled with a simmering rage, and for the first time the bullies doubted their resolve, some taking a step back and shivering in cold sweat.

The lead bully, rather than be cowed, instead exploded in rage as he stabbed Eothai in the gut, and Youko screamed beneath her gag.

"Don't think you're hot shit, you self-righteous prick!" He shouted, eyes red with anger, "You think you're getting out of this alive!?"

Eothai, on the other hand was completely unphased, effortlessly grabbing the bully's hand and crushing it in his grip. The bully screamed in pain, tears flowing freely as he was reduced to a simpering wreck. Eothai then lifted him by the scruff of his T-shirt until he was eye-level, pulling the knife from his wound.

"I warned you," He said.

And with one swift motion, he plunged the knife into the bully's jugular, and the High Elf derived satisfaction from the bully's eyes slowly dilating until he ceased to move. The bully's corpse collapsed to the floor, unmoving and bleeding crimson, his blood staining Eothai's grim, unfeeling face. Before they could react, Eothai changed into his armour with a wave of his hand, motes of light transforming linen into cold steel, his massive two-handed axe brandished in its menacing glory.

He moved with lightning swiftness and swan-like gracefulness, his axe cleaving flesh and bone like wet paper. Those he could not reach, he cast magic, bolts of turquoise light shooting forth like bullets, piercing their skulls and ending their suffering.

In thirty seconds flat, one hundred and twenty-five bullies were slain like cattle.

Eothai then turned to face Youko, slowly sheathing his axe and wiping the blood from his face before moving to untie Youko's ropes and remove her gag.

"Are you alright, Youko?" Eothai questioned.