The other noble boys circled at him, baring their teeth in ugly sneers like a pack of well groomed wolves. Amaro tracked onto each of them as they passed, not bothering to turn towards the ones who moved behind him. He could still feel where they were.

“Why do you all have such a vendetta against me anyway?” He asked, hands in his pockets. His tail twitched behind him, snatching a stone from the air and slinging it straight into the mouth of another boy.

He clicked his tongue, tossing the box of Lokum in the air. “I suppose I’ll ask again later.”

The group lunged in all at once, but Amaro was too quick.

Brainstorm.

It had been such a long time since he had used a proper spell on himself. The boys who now lunged at him moved in slow motion. His eyes flicked from one to the other as his brain was put into overdrive.

Surging Combatant

Velox Contra

He noticed them unsheathing their blades, a smile curling on his lip as he pressed his thumb to the hilt of his katana.

Inazuma’s Blade

Surging combatant gave him enough speed to keep up with his mind. Velox Contra established a circle of death around him. Anyone who stepped in its boundary was instantly shocked. Finally, Inazuma’s blade was a spell which forced a lightning elemental to inhabit his sword. He had practiced it specifically for landing a hit on The Crow should he ever meet him again.

His sword hummed with magical power, pulling him towards his first target. He flipped the blade over to its blunt and let the lightning elemental guide his strikes. It crashed into the one who had dashed up behind him, taking a jagged path around his guard and straight into his temple.

Amaro jumped as one attempted to hack at his legs, coiling his tail around the boy’s neck and slamming him into his nearest ally. He carried the momentum of his toss into a mule kick straight through the teeth of another assailant.

Velox Contra activated, crashing into everybody within its reach. With the combination of spells and defenses Amaro had employed, he had not anticipated anyone to break through it. He raised his guard out of instinct as he detected someone far too close to him. It was his turn to be sent flying.

He twisted through the air, trying to get a good look at the one who had pierced his defenses, only to get a better look at his fist. Amaro slipped the punch, feeling it cut his cheek as he delivered his counter.

Another noble child broke his defenses, grabbing his tail and tripping him. Amaro twisted on his way down, kicking him in the head.

Velox Contra pulsed again, but these noble children were sturdier than most. Amaro hit the ground, rolling out of the way of an incoming stomp only for the snow around him to turn into a path of thorns.

He was not fast enough to avoid a running kick to his ribs. He growled in frustration. Amaro should not have been getting hit by them. From the corner of his eye, he saw the box of Lokum slowly descending. He launched after it, jumping over a noble boy who attempted to obstruct his path.

He had to get away now. Snatching the box out of the air, he turned to run, only to see his father standing right in front of him. Their fight came to a halt.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Hello Amaro. Playing nice with the other boys?”

Amaro was stunned along with all the others.

Kadmus’s eyes tracked onto the children behind him, “Oh? Don’t stop just because I’m here. I’ve no intention of joining a child’s game.”

“You don’t understand father they’re-”

“Trying to harm you? I’m well aware. And you were trying to run away just now, weren’t you?”

Kadmus raised his hand to reveal the box of Lokum. How had he swiped it? When?

“You’re attempting to protect this, correct? I presume this is your gift to the Tibur?”

Amaro said nothing, but it was obvious to him that he did not need to.

“It’s preventing you from fighting at your fullest,” Kadmus continued, “so I’ll hold onto it to ensure it’s not damaged. In return, bring some honor back to our name and fight like a Xirxus instead of running like a coward.”

Amaro’s jaw flickered in anger. He had almost been allowed to forget that his father was in this camp watching over him and his siblings. He turned to face off against the group of noble boys again. His mind raced as he tried to come up with a plan. He had always been a skilled fighter. He had always been talented and far beyond others even in comparison to his siblings. However, he was facing multiple opponents, none of which were pushovers. Each laid claim to a level of training or talent which could be considered prodigious. They were all big fish who had come from small ponds, in the end.

If Amaro had the chance to fight each of them one on one consecutively, he had no doubt he could win. If only by the skin of his teeth, but a victory nonetheless.

At least now he had them all in front of him, “I’m going to ask this one more time. Why are all of you after me? If you think I’m weak or cowardly, then none of you have any room to talk.”

“All of that isn’t going to matter when we knock you out and tie you naked to the totem pole in the center of camp,” One of them said, “You can scream about how unfair it was, but we’ll be too busy laughing at you.”

Amaro had to play to their pride, “So you admit you can’t beat me alone. I think I would be the one laughing in the end.”

“No, we just knew you would try to run like a coward.”

“Well, as you can see, my father is preventing me from running, and yet you’re still planning to fight me all at once? Tell me, who gets the credit for defeating me if you end up winning? I assume lesser houses like yours are okay with sharing glory?”

“Of course not! I’m the one who would get the majority of the praise.”

“What? You barely did anything, it would be me!”

“You’re both wrong, it’s me who would lay claim to the victory, I’m the one who came up with the plan.”

“Said by someone currently regrowing their teeth!”

Amaro splayed his hands out in a casual shrug, “How pathetic, fighting over glory that none of you earned on your own! Even if one of you gets the final hit on me, it’s not like you can ignore the contributions of others, right?” He waved his hand dismissively, “Ah, but, lesser houses really have no pride whatsoever, I almost pity you. Why don’t I do this? I can show you my dick and balls that you want to see so badly, and help you tie me up so you can all get credit for doing such a good job being cowards. Does that sound like a victory to you?”

“Stand back, I’m taking this loudmouth on my own.”

“On your own?! Who died and made you leader?”

“I’m the only one who got a decent hit in, you losers can’t stand with him unless I’m there.”

Amaro smirked, he had them in the palm of his hand now, “This is very flattering. It’s also so cute. You’re all worried about fighting me alone huh?”

“We’re not!”

“It sure sounds like you are. Not that I would lose to any of you idiots if you fought me properly anyway.”

“Form a line. We’ll take turns, and whoever knocks him out gets all the glory for their household!”

“Shut your mouth dumbass, quit directing me!”

“Let’s draw sticks.”

“I don’t trust that, what if you cheat? The one who gets the sticks should automatically go last.”

“I’m not doing that!”

“Nose goes!” One of them said before putting his finger on his nose.

There was a pause before the second one repeated the gesture, inviting a wave of the rest to do the same.

Amaro almost wanted to laugh. In the end, they were all just kids.