"Stop! Billy, stop hitting him!"
As Max watched Aiden go down repeatedly due to Billy's relentless punches,her heart was torn in half,not only because she couldn't stand watching Aiden get beat up like that,but she also knew Aiden would punch back really soon... And he wouldn't hold back. She didn't know who to worry about more between her brother and her boyfriend.
She just wished this wasn't happening at all.
El put a hand on Max's shoulder, looking just as distraught as her best friend. "I'm sorry,but we have to"
Inside the sauna,Billy grabbed Aiden from the floor by his hair before latching his hands to the boy's neck.
Aiden had taken at least 15 consecutive hits in total and had a bloody lip and nose by now. He knew he couldn't hurt Billy because it wasn't his fault so he initially just opted to block and dodge,but in a cramped sauna,that didn't work so well.. and the fact that the other kids turned up the heat in the sauna wasn't helping at all.
'Kakashi Sensei... Can you sense him in there anywhere?'
Aiden started to gasp as Billy's grip on his throat started to tighten with each second, depriving the 15 year old of oxygen.
'No, there's no sign of Billy for now. That shadow's still fully in control'
"In that case..." Aiden choked out loud before ramming his forehead into Billy's, following that with two left hooks to Billy's jaw, causing the older boy to let him go.
Aiden took a couple of seconds to catch his breath before looking up to see Billy rushing towards him again,only this time, the lightskin boy was prepared. Aiden connected a kick to Billy's midsection, sending him backwards a good distance but Billy was determined to keep attacking.
"Give up already,you eight legged bastard!" Aiden rushed towards him as well and both constantly exchanged blows. Billy's body was really strong but Aiden had the speed advantage, delivering punches much faster and apparently dodging quicker, enraging Billy even further. Aiden decided to take things up a little higher and channelled chakra to his right fist, immediately socking Billy in the face and sending him to the floor.
Aiden was glad to see that at least Billy was down for the moment,but the amount of hits to the face he'd taken, coupled with the intense heat were making him dizzy. The boy leaned back against the wall to recollect himself, when he heard Billy's voice.
"Wheeler?"
Looking up,he saw Billy on his feet, causing his body to tense up at first.
'Calm down, he's back to himself again'
"What... What happened to you?" Billy asked as he got closer to Aiden. "Did... Did I do this?"
Aiden was too concussed to speak,so stuck to nodding his head.
"No,no no..." Billy held his head in his hands, panicking as he saw Aiden's eyes begin to close. "No, Aiden! Keep your eyes open, please! You're the one who makes her happiest and I..."
"It's not your fault" Aiden managed to cling to consciousness,blood still dripping down his lips and nose. "I know,man... You just need help. And that's what we're trying to do. Just try to hang in there..."
Billy broke into sobs once Aiden fell unconscious,still horrified at what he'd done. He then started to plead with Max from inside the sauna, telling her that he didn't want to do any of the things the mind flayer made him do. Max looked inside the sauna and could barely contain her worry at seeing Aiden bloodied and unconscious in one corner of the small room. Mike immediately pulled Max away from the door,a millisecond before Billy burst through the glass window, missing Max's head by just inches with the shard in his hand.
The mind flayer had taken him over again.
Billy pushed the door a number of times before busting it open,black stripes now covering his body.
El immediately lifted a barbell, throwing it at Billy who unfortunately caught it and threw it back. El ducked as the barbell flew past her.
Billy immediately went over and grabbed her by her hair. The rest of the group looked terrified as Billy smiled at them before grabbing El's throat. The girl screamed,choked and thrashed in his grip but he didn't flinch till Mike hit him on the back with a metal pole. As he finally dropped Eleven to face Mike who had his pole ready.
"Go to hell you piece of shit!" Mike's pole went down only for Billy to catch it and throw it aside. As Billy walked closer to Mike,he sensed something behind him and immediately turned, elbowing Eleven to the side and sending her against the wall.
As Billy approached Eleven,the girl weakly raised her index and middle fingers,as if to poke at Billy,only for the girl to point those two fingers to the left.
Billy immediately looked in the direction she pointed only to see a flash of crackling white light.
'Thunderclap Arrow'
Aiden threw the lightning release technique without warning and it hit its mark immediately before Billy could react, sending him crashing through the wall.
Unfortunately,as the boy teleported over to the other side, Billy was gone.
"Dammit" he cursed. "He escaped"
Max immediately rushed outside just to see Aiden passing out. She managed to catch her boyfriend seconds before he hit the floor.
"That was intense," Melanie said as the group got outside. "Is he okay?"
"I think Aiden used up his chakra," Lucas theorised.
"No, Aiden's fought for longer than this without using his chakra that much" Max pointed out as she looked at his unconscious form.
"Yeah,but he's never used lightning before," Mike said.
"I saw something..." El said from Mike's arms. "When he made that lightning technique"
"What?" Will asked.
"I don't know if I was just seeing things but..." El looked around. "For a moment, Aiden's left eye glowed red"