"So, what's your family like? You said you have a mum and dad, no sibling?" Tata asked as he took off his shoe. A tiny rock had somehow gotten in, and it was annoying the hell out of him.
"No, no sibling. Just me, the only child to the Cortezs. Though if I could, I wish I could have a little sister. That way, I could show her how cool I am and that her big brother would always be there to protect her."
"Huh, maybe you might get that chance in the future."
"No way. Not my parents. Mum especially said it was hell just having me." Will chuckled nervously, remembering his father choking on water while Mum gave him a blank stare. After that, he never dared to ask if he could have a sibling ever again.
As they chatted, Tata suddenly stopped, sniffing the air and scrunching his nose. Will, noticing Tata had stopped, looked back.
Will tilted his head and asked, "What's wrong? Smell something funny?"
"Yeah, something ain't right. It smells like blood and ash... Will, is that where you live? Is it normally that bright?"
Will, confused, looked in the direction he was pointing at—time seemed to have stood still for Will before he took off running.
"MOM, DAD!!!!"
Tata quickly followed, scooping Will up and running at full speed toward the ash and fire rising in the distance.
By the time Tata and Will reached Vila Solta, the district was already burning.
Screams could be heard through the streets. Lights flickered behind broken windows and broken houses. Doors were kicked in. People ran barefoot through the alleys, carrying whatever they could hold. The smell of smoke and gasoline choked the air. It was a purge.
Will froze when he saw his home. His parents' shop had been ransacked, glass shattered, shelves overturned, his father's old sign stomped into the mud.
There were six men inside, shouting and laughing as they destroyed what was left.
One of them had a machete raised over Will's father, who was tied to a beam, blood running from his temple. Will's mother screamed from behind a tipped cabinet.
Will ran forward. "MOM, DAD!—"
Tata caught him by the back of the collar and yanked him behind cover. His voice was flat.
"Stay here."
Will grabbed his arm. "What do you mean, stay? Get the fuck off me—" Will shouted, looking back but froze.
"I said stay."
Tata's eyes no longer held a shred of light in them. He grabbed a blank mask from his bag, pulled his hood low, and stepped out alone. As he did so, he took out lighter from its cloth.
The gang noticed him almost immediately.
"Hey," one of them said, turning toward him. "Oi, looks like one of the little shits came back, hahaha!!!"
Tata didn't respond to his taunt. He stepped over a broken fence, walking across the mud.
Each footfall felt louder than the last. Fires crackled from nearby houses. The wind shifted and blew smoke into the sky. The gang looked over.
One of the thugs, a heavyset man with a missing front tooth, laughed and waved his machete.
"You lost, runt?" he sneered. "This district's under the Red Fang now. Don't tell me you came here to be a hero or some crap."
Tata tilted his head slightly. "Why have you hurt these people?"
The man blinked, caught off guard by the question, then burst out laughing. The others joined in, kicking shelves and grabbing their guns like it was the funniest joke they'd ever heard.
"Because we could," the fat one said. "They're weak. We're strong. That's how it works out here. You take what you want. That's what strength's for."
Tata's hand slowly moved to his side, unclipping the metal handle from his belt.
"So being stronger means you have the right to take someone's life?"
The man grinned, spit to the side. "Damn right it does. That's the law of nature. We run this place, and anyone that says different ends up in the dirt. Like this guys about to be. Fucker thought he could fight us. No one is stronger than the Red Fangs." He pointed the machete toward Will's dad, bleeding out by the wall.
Another thug stepped forward. "Boss Rak, want me to grab him?"
Rak smirked. "Yeah. Bring him here. He'll be the first example. Let the rats see what happens when you stand up to wolves."
They cackled and started to move, surrounding Tata. But Tata wasn't laughing, nor did he take a step back.
He could hear everything, the choked sobs behind walls, the hurried breathing of children holding hands in closets, the scraping of fingers pulling on broken locks, trying to hide. The fear hanging over them like a sword tied by old dry thread.
His fist clenched, and the handle clicked.
He raised it slowly, pointing it at the gang.
The blade extended.
A soft hiss escaped as the ignition caught, and fire erupted from the edge. The sword lit up in a long orange blaze, steel wrapped in flame.
Tata didn't speak again. He didn't need to. These people wouldn't be getting that luxury.
The first man with the machete snorted and swung wide.
Tata stepped in, grabbed his wrist mid-swing, and drove the butt of his sword into the man's sternum. Bone snapped. The machete clattered to the ground.
The others barely reacted before Tata launched forward, the ground cracking beneath him from the sheer force. He kicked a man in the gut, sending him flying into a shelf. The next tried to stab him, but Tata caught the blade with his bare hand, twisted, and broke the man's wrist clean.
"Gahhhh!!!"
He screamed like a pig and gave Tata a death glare. He went to find his knife, but his wrists were severed from his hands before he could. The smell of burning flesh was putrid.
"W-who the hell is this freak?! You fucks, stop standing around and help us!"
The last three backed up, yelling for help, but it was too late. Tata moved like a ghost, one punch shattered ribs, one sweep knocked teeth out. In under 20 seconds, all six men were down, wheezing, bleeding, or unconscious.
Will ran to his family, tears in his eyes. "Mom! Dad!"
Tata didn't stop Will from going to his parents. It seemed the father was just unconscious, thankfully not dead.
Rak looked like he had eaten a pile of rat shit. "You... do you know what you've just done? Haha, you've really made my day, kid. I can't wait to personally skin you. Alive."
A roar could be heard from the distance, and over 100 thugs on bikes arrived, having received the signal to convene at the commander's location.
Tata looked at all the thugs that were about to surround him, and then at Will.
"Wait Tata Don't!!!—" Will called out, but it was to late.
With a swing of his sword, he destroyed the pillar holding the front in place, creating a barrier. He couldn't be worrying about Will while he fought. It wasn't just those on the motorcycles.
One by one, they came. Street thugs. Hollow Raiders. Ex-mercs. All of them armed to the teeth. Chains, axes, bats, knives, guns. Over a hundred men lined the street, blocking every exit.
A man with gold teeth and a jagged scar across his neck stepped forward. His eyes landed on Tata, then on his men who were knocked out and brutalized.
"You the brat who did this? Impressive. What do you think about joining the Red Fangs?"
Tata didn't answer. Join the Red Fangs? He would rather eat a pair of the old man's gym socks.
"What are you talking about? I didn't call you to invite him. I called you to kill him," Rak huffed, grabbing his gun and pointing it at Tata.
The man sighed. "Fine, fine. Kill the kid."