A high-pitched sound travelled through the corridors and rooms of the school. It was lunchtime.

  Without even waiting for the teacher to leave the classroom, Larnatook the bowl from his backpack and placed it on the table. Frowning, he removed the lid. There was a delicious homemade ramen. His mother sometimes prepared it for him, knowing he liked the Asian culture.

  The echo of heavy steps reached Larna’s ears. His heart raced, but he kept eating. I won't give it to him.

  The steps grew louder, then they stopped. The only sound in the classroom was made by Larna slurping the noodles.

  “Why are you eating my food?!” Garuma growled.

  The food stuck in Larna's throat, but he pressed his eyes shut and swallowed.

  Veins stood out on Garuma's hands as he clenched Larna's table. "I've been waiting for this moment all day." Then he upended it towards Larna. "I'm hungry!"

  The table slammed into Larna, toppling his chair backwards. His back slammed into the floor, and the table's weight pressed his chest down, making him gasp.

  Larna's eyes widened, and adrenaline ran through his body. He pushed the table away with both hands, but its weight massively increased as Garuma stomped on it. It pressed Larna harder, making him yelp.

  Garuma glared down at him, pushing the table down with his oversized feet.

  Larna tried to fight back or slip out, but the table pressure over him only increased. He gasped as his lungs were slowly left airless.

  He glared up at the bully. He's going to kill me.

  “One of my clan members had told me that you hurt him.”

  Larna grabbed the table edges and tried to pull himself free. As he saw no result, he tried to use his legs to leverage them against Garuma's strength, but he couldn't position them right. He kept gasping, jerking compulsively with a growl.

  “You have done the worst you could.” Garuma kneeled over the leg on the table and got face-to-face with Larna. “You hurt my family.”

  He took Larna by the collar of his uniform and made him stand. Larna's lungs tried to fill with air in a deep breath. But Garuma punched his stomach, making him spit and hunch.

  “If you want to hurt someone, hurt me!”

  Garuma grabbed Larna's hair and pulled it up. With his right hand, he punched Larna's stomach again.

  Larna fell to his knees as he coughed and gasped for air.

  “C’mon, stand up!”

  Larna used his hands and pushed himself up, but his shaky legs made him stumble.

  Garuma laughed. “You’re so lame! After his laugh faded, he continued with a mocking voice. "Why were you running that day?!”

  Garuma scratched his head and looked upwards for some seconds. “Don't. Don't tell me you want to take revenge on me!” Garuma burst into a laugh again.

  Larna was still trying to stand up. He managed to crouch and started pushing up his body with his legs.

  “I…”

  Gravity seemed to increase. He clenched his teeth as his legs trembled on their way up.

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  “I’ll be a Battler!” Larna yelled as he lunged towards Garuma with his right hand clenched behind him.

  He closed his eyes and launched his punch towards the bully. His fists impacted in a soft but at the same time dense mass.

  Larna opened his eyes to see his fist against Garuma's chest. There wasn't any pained moan nor growl. It didn't do anything.

  Garuma punched Larna’s stomach again. Larna felt a black pain as his intestines contorted and he plummeted onto the floor.

  He hugged his stomach in an attempt to shelter himself.

  Garuma put his toe on Larna's face, twisting it as he frowned down at Larna. “A Battler? Don't make me laugh! Trying to make you join my clan has just been my excuse for bullying you.”

  Larna's eyes grew moist, but he wasn't the same as a week ago. He grabbed Garuma's leg and squeezed it with all he had.

  But Garuma pressed stronger. “So lame!” The bully kicked off Larna's hands as he retired his feet, leaving a burning scratch on Larna's cheek.

  Larna’s foggy eyes stared at Garuma, who was charging his leg back. His heart raced. He tried to crawl away, but the kick landed on his ribs, making him roll over.

  He hugged himself, feeling the pulsing pain across his body.

  Garuma laughed compulsively as he kept kicking Larna. “Hey, Battler! What are you gonna do?!”

  Larna clenched his teeth and pressed his eyes closed every time he received a blow. This wouldn't end if he didn't do anything.

  At this point, he had felt in his own skin the frequency of Garuma's kicks. He knew when the next would be.

  Teary-eyed, Larna waited for the moment and lunged to grab Garuma's leg. Using his entire body, he yanked it. The floor trembled as Garuma's back slammed onto it.

  Larna grimaced as he leaned against the wall to stand on his feet. This time, he was the one looking down.

  Garuma's eyes reddened with veins. With a growl, he jumped, grabbed Larna's neck, and slammed his head against the wall.

  Larna jerked as a pained moan escaped from his mouth.

  Garuma prepared his punch again and stuck it into Larna's abdomen. Larna's eyes briefly turned inward as he vomited the ramen he had eaten.

  “What's going on here?!” a familiar voice shrieked.

  Garuma's hand let go of Larna's neck, letting him fall limply on the floor.

  With his blurry vision, Larna stared at the classroom door, seeing a silhouette of someone standing there.

  The person stomped closer. When Larna's eyes slowly centred, he could discern that it was his teacher.

  ---

  Larna inched home, clenching his teeth with each step. He rubbed his cheek, feeling the damaged skin on it. He would have to think of some excuse for that.

  After the teacher arrived, both Garuma and he were taken to see the director. Because of Garuma's previous reports of bullying, they decided to expel him from the school.

  Larna didn't object to the decision. It was right. Garuma deserved severe punishment. But what would happen next? He would surely become a criminal or something like that. It was worrying.

  After that, the director wanted to call Larna's parents, but he swallowed his pain and somehow managed to convince him not to do it. He didn't want to worry them or to make them know that his son was a bullied kid.

  Larna stepped stronger and straightened as his house came into sight. The broken window was already replaced, and inside, the glass shards were nowhere to be seen.

  Looks like Garuma's arc has ended. He sighed, entering his room.

  He sat in the bed with a grimace as his stomach muscles contorted.

  I should take the day to recover. He couldn't imagine himself doing a single push-up. Yeah, it'll be the best.

  He lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The fight with Garuma of a few hours ago replayed in his head to the last detail. Maybe brought by similar feelings, he also remembered his battle with Rising Shadow. The things they said, the way they underestimated him, how they looked down at him as nothing. He was at the mercy of them, as they easily punched, kicked or sliced him.

  Larna's eyes welled up with tears. He bit his lips as his throat tightened. His fists clenched to the point of turning white. The flame on his chest burned unbearably.

  I can't rest. I must become strong.

  ---

  Larna rested on his bed with his hands and legs spread. His limbs had become dead weight.

  I was worse than yesterday, but I feel good. If I had rested, I would be lamenting it now.

  Someday, I'll show them.