The room went silent. Eya and Reon exchanged glances. Kakashi and Kyoryu exchange glances while standing in the doorway of two bedrooms. Hitori was standing in between Kakashi and Kyoryu with Akira behind him.
Hitori wanted to stay strong. To think about giving up and running was totally out of question. He wanted to stay strong this time and get this finished. If he lets Tengoku run over him or if he runs away from the danger, it will only come closer to him than it is now.
He listened to Kakashi before and agreed to the 'no action,' policy only because they were out of danger, but now, Tengoku was at their doorstep with around a hundred men. So no matter what anyone said, he was determined to stand his ground.
"NO one is running away," Kyoryu said, "but we have to think—"
Hitori turned with a click of his tongue. He crossed Akira and on his way, he said, "I can not deal with your 'think rationally' way. We are already under attack, what other choice have you got than either defending or running?"
"We are defending, Hitori, but there are ways to defend!" Kyoryu said, but Hitori had reached the exit.
Without glancing at them or considering what they wanted to do, Hitori climbed downstairs. Akira glanced between Kakashi and Kyoryu, then made his way downstairs.
Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Selfish and arrogant. This never gets old," he muttered and drew his wand.
"Are we letting him lead us?" Kyoryu asked. "He has less experience."
"Go ahead and try to stop a teenager, you will understand that less experience will not stop him." Kakashi stopped in front of the staircase. Looking at Eya, he said, "Just keep the defense strong. With the defense gone, we all are doomed."
Kyoryu watched Kakashi climb down the stairs. He noticed Eya staring at him, waiting for his permission. "Just do what he says," he said without looking at her, "I will guard this floor, you two—"
"I am going downstairs too!" Reon ran from Eya's side and raced down the staircase.
"Reon!" Eya shouted and tried to grab her, but she was gone. She glanced at Kyoryu, who was staring at the exit in disbelief. "She… she has taken this personally."
"Let her go," he said, waving his hand, "we need only your defense. We are following the plan– not even a plan– but the actions of an inexperienced fighter, so if we are fortunate enough to survive, I will talk with him."
Eya closed her mouth and nodded. Kyoryu turned to go back into the bedroom when she said, "Kyo-san," she said, "Hitori-san knows what he is doing. Maybe the recent events have messed his thinking process, but he knows what he is doing."
Kyoryu stared blankly at her. He wondered why she was telling him that.
She hesitated. "Trust him. Either his intelligence or his emotions, I do not know what will get us out of his situation, but in the end, we will be safe."
"I trust him, but even a trustworthy person does something that takes his title from him. Sooner or later," he said and left to take his position.
Eya shook her head. "It will be alright, this will pass," she muttered under her breath as she closed her eyes.
One thing bothered her. She would create the shield and all, her mana would last them long, but she wondered:
"Where is the spirit? Tengoku is right in front of you, take him away."
The bullets had shot down the lamps and the air had extinguished the torches. The hall was as dark as it used to be on the nights Hitori was shut in his room after Kamiya's death.
But through the darkness, Hitori knew his way around his house. He resisted the temptation to light a fire on his finger. Just around the second stair, he jumped.
Hitori dived to the left side, he held his wand by the side as he went near the sofa. Akira jumped to the other side and rolled to the storeroom.
He saw the door was standing still. Pieces of glasses were shattered everywhere in the hall. If it was not dark, then Hitori could have seen the men through the curtain with hundreds of holes.
He heard someone coming down the stair.s he took cover behind the sofa– it was filled with numerous holes, he knew the sofa was not holding much longer.
Reon jumped off the second stair. Her silhouette came into his view. He saw her moving towards him, Hitori considered moving to the room but rejected the idea.
Reon dashed to the floor and slid beside Hitori behind the sofa. "What do we do?" she asked.
She was sitting close to him, leaning against the wall with her gun clenched in front of her. Hitori moved away and went near the sofa. "We wait for him to come."
The curtain was shredded, it was hanging somehow. Outside the broken glass door, he saw a silhouette. Only if he could summon a ball of fire, light the area, and burn everyone to death.
Then he heard someone on the stairs. "Guardian, grant me your strength. Strangle those bastards outside," he muttered.
Hitori raised his eyebrows. "Kakashi…" he muttered, "Kakashi?" He waited for Kakashi to reply.
"You are seriously low on experience. If you wait for him, he will either launch another assault or kill you before you even know." He heard Kakashi coming downstairs.
For some reason, Hitori's heart jumped. A grin spread on his face. "Enlighten me then," he muttered.
Reon glanced at the stairs. Hitori lowered his eyes and saw Kakashi's foot. He took another step and then moved to lean against the wall.
Kakashi was staring at the door, ready for the invaders. "If you came down and took the trouble of arguing with that man, why do you want to stay back?"
Hitori opened his mouth to answer, but a sudden thud outside made his heart jump. He turned to the side and saw some movements outside.
Another bang. He looked at the door but it refused to move. They were not hitting the door. Then what?
"Do not worry," Kakashi said, still standing against the wall, "it is the defense shield they are trying to break."
"What are we waiting for?"
"For the trees to strangle them," he said.
Hitori turned and peeked from over the sofa. His hand slipped off the floor and he landed hard on his butt when he heard a piercing scream.
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