Seven Heroes Redux

The third one wore a red and black striped football jersey. He had very short hair, shaved in a line on the right side. His right eyebrow also had a line. He had a lip piercing. What stood out the most were his bright orange glasses.

Haji, without answering, glared at the bald man as if challenging him. He frowned in irritation, walked up to Haji and punched her in the face. She fell off the bench she was sitting on and was thrown a few meters away.

— Hey, little girl, weren't you ever taught to respect your elders?

The man was about to punch her again before she even got to her feet.

— Hey, Roberto, stop, she's just a child. If we give her candy, she'll come with us.

Haji didn't understand anything they said. It was a language she had never heard before. But they understood each other perfectly, and the 17 years old girl was the only one who also spoke japanese.

— Did you guys forget what the plan was? The Pope needs her safe and sound. If you keep hitting her, she will only become a defective product.

— But she's annoying. I had to teach her a lesson.

The man wearing a football shirt spoke for the first time in the conversation:

— You're right, Roberto. It is very difficult to deal with children these days. But you know there's always a better way to make a brat learn to respect us, if you know what I mean.

The hooded man, troubled, said:

— Stop it, Cleiton. I have a trauma with pedophilia, so don't even talk about it around me. And our goal is not to traumatize her.

— Oh, come on, Jorge, just a little! You know, her body isn't that bad. Sometimes, immature is better! I can do it, right, Bruna?

— It's actually not a bad idea. It saves us the effort of disciplining her, and you're happy. Everybody wins.

The bald man interrupted the conversation:

— Wait, I'll go first. I still haven't punished her enough.

— Okay, leave some for me, since Jorge won't want it.

As Roberto grabbed Haji by the arm to undress her, a cell phone fell from her left hand, which had been hidden since she was knocked down.

When he saw the cell phone screen, he realized that a call was recording the entire conversation. And the person on the other side was Yuto.

Roberto punched her again, but with much more force, sending her flying for five meters before falling to the ground.

Confused, Yuto answered Haji's call. He didn't hear her voice, but rather those of several other people. He shouted for her to listen, but there was no response.

Haji had muted her cell phone so that Yuto's voice wouldn't be heard. After a few seconds, the sound of a subway train passing by could be heard.

Only one subway station was close to their house. All the others would take much longer to get to, even by running. Yuto knew exactly where he should go.

In less than a minute, he arrived at the scene of violence. He saw Haji being beaten a few more times after her trick was discovered.

When Roberto was about to throw another punch, his fist mysteriously stopped. It was Yuto's power, which pushed Roberto's arm back and forth simultaneously, paralyzing him.

Increasing the power of the simultaneous push, the arm began to be crushed and blood flowed. His bone went through his elbow. The arm compressed itself so much that it no longer seemed to exist.

Roberto, screaming and crying in pain, knelt down. If he suffered any more damage, he might die. Yuto prepared to crush his heart, when Haji shouted:

— Don't do that, Yuto! We need them alive!

Yuto was still angry, but he listened. All this time, the other three on the team didn't even know where the power came from. He rushed to knock them out instead of killing them.

Sensing the threat, the hooded man pointed his left palm at Yuto. A harpoon on a chain came out of it. Yuto just dodged it. Jorge used his other hand and this time hit Yuto's left arm. Yuto grabbed the chain attached to it and pulled it towards him. He then used his shoulder to hit Jorge in the stomach with enough force to make him faint.

Cleiton, the one in the team's jersey, materialized a pistol in his hand. He aimed it at Yuto's head and fired, but all the bullets stopped in mid-air. Yuto faked a punch and kicked him in the groin, leaving him unconscious instantly.

The last one left, Bruna, didn't know what to do. Yuto approached her slowly.

— W-Wait! Is there no way we can solve this without violence?

— No violence, really? Am I really hearing this after all that?

Aiming at the victim's stomach, Yuto was about to punch, when she disappeared. He looked back, and there she was. It was a short teleport.

Out of despair, she grabbed the three incapacitated members and teleported them one by one, then herself as well.

— Are you okay, Haji?

— Good enough, because you saved me. T… Than… Thank y… Argh, I can't say this! But know that you are still an idiot.

— I know. I want to start over from scratch and fix the mistakes I made in those wasted years.

Haji was surprised by Yuto's maturity.

— Since when are you so responsible?

— You don't take it easy, huh...

Suddenly, the four of them reappeared in the same place they had been teleported from. And the girl returned to her original position, once again within Yuto's reach. She was panting heavily and looked desperate, as if she was on the verge of death.

— P-Please, anything but that! I do not want to die!

— Die? It won't be that easy.

Yuto finished the punch to the stomach that had been interrupted before, and she also fainted.

Yuto called the police to arrest the three knocked out and an ambulance for the one whose arm was crushed.

At the hospital, Roberto had his right arm amputated. It was crushed to the point of no salvation. Soon after, he was sent to the police station where the other three were.

Bruna was the only one who spoke Japanese and was chosen to be interrogated. The others were preventively arrested.

None of the four had family present. The only one responsible for them was a certain Pope. His real name was not visible on Bruna's cell phone, but it was the only option the policeman had to contact.

Her cell phone had an automatic translator for calls. Most media at the time were already equipped with this function, in case an international call was needed. The Pope was brazilian, but he could understand the japanese police officer perfectly.

— Hello? Sir... Pope? Are you responsible for these teenagers?

The policeman showed the four of them through the cell phone camera.

— HELLO? OF COURSE I AM! THEY ARE LIKE CHILDREN TO ME!

— Good to know. But, sir, could you speak a little lower?

— THIS IS MY NORMAL VOICE.

— Oh, right…

— WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? WHAT DID MY DEAR FAITHFUL PEOPLE DO?

— They're at the police station for assault and attempted rape.

— WHAT DID YOU SAY?! HAVE THEY BEEN ARRESTED? THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE! THERE IS NO INFIDELITY TO THE LORD GREATER THAN THIS!

— Where are you located? Your presence would facilitate the trial in court.

— I AM IN BRAZIL, I WOULD NOT GET THERE IN TIME. I HAVE A PROPOSAL: IF YOU RELEASE THEM, I WILL GIVE YOU 1 MILLION REAIS- DOLLARS- YEN, OR WHATEVER YOUR CURRENCY IS.

— Sir, that would be illegal...

— THINK ABOUT IT, OFFICER: YOU PROTECT JUSTICE, AND YOU DON'T EARN MORE THAN A MINIMUM WAGE. WITH 1 MILLION YEN, YOU COULD TRAVEL AND RELAX, A WORTHY REWARD FOR SOMEONE OF SO MUCH EFFORT.

The policeman reflected for a few seconds, thinking about what he could do with that much money. He knew that his work was essential to society, but he was not adequately rewarded. Convinced, he replied:

— Y-You're right… The holders of justice are the most wronged. I accept your proposal.

With the power of corruption, the four prisoners were released. And the policeman enjoyed his trip to the beaches of Hawaii.

Yuto was determined: he would go back to Tokyo. Not to work for the association he hated so much, but to finalize unresolved issues.

Slade, Kanata and the dark side of the city, many mysteries still unsolved. Yuto felt guilty for everything that happened. He could only redeem himself if he went to Tokyo himself.

The invasion his sister had planned was interrupted by the woman on the beach. None of this would have happened if she hadn't existed. Yuto had this in mind. He had never felt so much resentment and hatred towards someone in his life.