Shori No Megami

Objective #6. The Sparrows

Objective #6: The Sparrows

Shinai Park (outside of Shinai Academy), April 28th, 1230 hours.

Sumire, Shou, Kaede, Watanabe, Sawada, and a handful of other Swallows reach the playground located just outside of the school on foot in a few minutes, following the panicked girl. Most of the gang seem too disturbed and dumbstruck by the sight in front of them to move. A group of ten brutish students wearing Takahashi uniforms are repeatedly kicking a curled up boy in a Shinai uniform. Sumire’s blood is on fire with rage. This… is…

My fault. She’s shaking now. “Shou. Let me handle this.” The calm, calculating part of her mind that always thinks a few steps ahead acknowledges that this is a rare opportunity to win the Sparrows’ trust without disclosing too much about her. Things are already getting too close for comfort—she needs to overwhelm them a little.

The louder part of her so angry she can barely keep a grip on herself. She doubts that she’ll be able to hold back one hundred percent. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be a problem, but… They’re still high school kids. She’s afraid if she doesn’t at least fight all of them alone, she’ll seriously hurt someone. In their previous fight, she held back almost all of her strength. But this time… It's okay if I don't kill anyone, right?

“Sumire, I don’t know….” Shou looks a little concerned. Although seeing her expression, he’s not entirely certain who he should worry for more—her, or the gang she’s about to fight.

The boy on the ground finally falls unconscious, beaten to a bloody pulp. The leader of Takahashi’s group shouts gleefully, “Hey! Let’s strip him!” The suggestion is greeted with raucous laughter from the other Takahashi students.

Sumire looks at Shou steadily. “You are the banchou of the Swallows. You are the banchou of Shinai Academy. These guys are in clear violation of their territory agreement. Don’t dirty your hands with them.” Her expression becomes black as venom. Every member of the Swallows except Shou steps back. “Let me.”

Shou nods curtly. In the same moment she drops into her low stance, she dashes forward like lightening. Her sword blurs through the air as she leaps and slashes with a downward strike onto the head of the speaker, immediately rendering him unconscious.  

“What?!”

“What’s going on?”

“Who--!” The next victim’s is cut off when a slice from Sumire’s wooden sword cuts across his stomach with such speed and power that he can’t breathe or speak. He collapses.

She’s moving with such speed and grace that’s it’s difficult to keep up with her movements just by watching. Four are down, now, but the remaining six are finally coming to their senses and try to catch her. One gets a lucky punch, striking her jaw; Sumire barely feels it. She kicks the striker in the face and uses the momentum from the recoil to spin and catch a student behind her in the ribs with her blade. Stepping inside the defense of the third, she knees him in the groin before throwing him backwards head first with her sword barred against his collarbone.

Three left. Somewhere in the mix she caught another hit above her eye. Blood trickles down the side of her face. She’s back in her low stance, eyeing the three. The first one lunges forward. Instead of dancing back or dodging, Sumire drops lower and strikes snake fast at his left knee. He immediately collapses. The last two hesitate.

Sumire has no room for mercy. Not right now. She dashes at the student on the left and uppercuts him with the hilt of her blade in his gut. She then spins and reverse punches the last man standing full in the face.