Sora's cheery eyes darkened while looking at the brutes.
"Me and Rachel will handle these guys. Just stay under the table while we do, I don't want you to get hurt if I can avoid it."
Dust popped his head up from under the table.
"How's Rachel going to be of any help? She's way too wasted to do anything."
Sora rooted through her pocket and pulled out a glass vial filled with a foul brown liquid.
"Zenith gave me this stuff to sober her up. It's probably gonna suck for her but you know what they say about desperate times and desperate measures."
Sora angled Rachel's head upwards, then shoved the vial in her mouth. Rachel's eyes jolted open once the vial was empty. Vomit spewed from her mouth onto the table. After she emptied her innards, Rachel stared hatefully at Sora.
"I told you NEVER to use that vial! What could possibly be so important you had to make me barf all over the table?!"
Without saying a word, Sora pointed to the thugs. Rachel began analyzing the situation with robotic proficiency.
"Ugh... Fine. I got some stuff we can use."
Rachel took off her fluffy coat and shook it aggressively over the part of the table not covered in vomit. A couple firecrackers and a bottle cap etched with tiny runes fell from the jacket. Rachel tossed the bottle cap over to Sora. A wave of disgust rushed over Sora's face as she was given the bottle cap.
"Would it kill you to enchant normal objects?"
Rachel sneered.
"Just be grateful you're getting it for free."
Sora sighed.
"What does it do?"
"It'll make a barrier for about a second. I reckon you get three uses out of it before it breaks."
Both women looked at the thugs like they'd done this a thousand times before. There was no hesitation in their posture, which made Dust feel more justified in his cowardice. Sora glanced back over at him.
"You don't have to feel bad about hiding. Zenith will be here soon and sort everything out anyways so it's not like we're in any real danger."
Dust nodded, a feeble smile forming on his face as he did so.
See, they know what they're doing, it's fine that I'm hiding. There's nothing wrong with letting people help you... Right?
Rachel grabbed her firecrackers and allowed her mind to run through all the possibilities of how to start the fight. She settled on the simplest option.
***
The barkeep kept his cool demeanor in the face of the brutes' aggression. He simply continued wiping down dirty glasses with an apathetic look on his face, much to the drunkards' chagrin. The leader of the thugs decided he'd had enough of the man's disinterest. He readied himself to pummel the indifferent man. In the moment before punching the barkeep, a red object collided with his face.
Boom!
The explosion wasn't too powerful, but it was enough to temporarily blind the man. In the chaos caused by the sudden explosion, three more firecrackers flew through the air and collided with the other men.
Boom!
Three of the thugs fell to the ground. The only thug who hadn't been hit yet looked around for the attackers. He saw them. He rushed towards the two girls with sluggish movements. Just as he was about to hit them, a blue forcefield formed from the glowing runes on the bottle cap. The man ran into it full force and knocked himself to the ground.
By this point the other men had risen to their feet. Their movements were more focused than before. The explosions seemed to sober them up a bit. The biggest man drew his daggers, bloodlust raging in his eyes. However, that meant little to Rachel as she chucked another firecracker at him, sending him to the ground. The other men charged at the girls with more coordination than their comrade. But that wasn't enough to break through the blue shield emitted by the bottle cap.
As Dust watched Sora and Rachel's amazing coordination, he felt just a bit better about hiding.
Everything's fine. They clearly have it all figured out, they don't need my help. I mean seriously, I've dealt with enough shit over the past couple days. Why should I feel guilty about letting them deal with it.
All the justifications did nothing to ease the crippling guilt inside him.
Sora was forced to keep the forcefield active under the pressure of the three men charging her. Sensing it couldn't go for much longer, she gave a signal to Rachel. The shield dropped for only a second, but that was all Rachel needed to chuck her three remaining firecrackers at the men. The point-blank detonation sent them all to the ground.
While the rest of his crew lay in a pile at the girls' feet, the biggest man grabbed his daggers and stood up. His bloodlust had been replaced by the controlled hatred of a seasoned soldier. He threw his dagger at the girls. Sora barely managed to activate the shield before the knife hit them. The bottle cap cracked slightly, something the thug quickly took notice of. He walked towards them slowly. Once he got close enough, he jabbed his knife at Sora. The forcefield blocked it, but this was the last time it would do so. The bottle cap shattered in Sora's hand, leaving both her and Rachel completely vulnerable. The man raised his knife with childlike glee and stabbed downwards.
Instinct shot through Dust. Justifications ceased, guilt and fear vanished, all that remained was a single overpowering thought.
I can't lose it again.
Dust leaped from under the table and tackled the brute's legs, dragging him to the ground. The larger man found himself unable to return to his feet. Dust, however, was able to easily recover his balance on account of his nimble figure. He stood in front of Rachel and Sora. Rachel nudged his side.
"Nice timing, weasel boy."
Asshole.
The men sorted themselves out and rose to their feet. Five brutish men now stood in front of them. Dust felt a wave of malicious intent surge from behind the men. Dust knew of only one person with such powerful hatred. In just an instant, the men were on the ground. It only took one punch each to knock them unconscious. Standing on top of the pile of bodies was Zenith. There was an uncanny respect in his eye while he looked at Dust.
***
After the brawl was over, Zenith stated that he had some things to discuss with the barkeep. Rachel had returned to her seat and had started getting herself drunk again, so Sora and Dust were left with cleanup duty. They dragged the unconscious men outside the bar and placed them against the wall. Zenith had assured them earlier that he would make sure the Defense Organization deals with them.
Sora walked up to the men and crouched nearby them. She picked up their arms and examined them for any injuries. They had a couple of burn marks from the firecrackers. Sora sighed. She touched the injured parts of their bodies. A brilliant green light formed in her palm and flowed into the men's injured flesh, slowly healing it. Dust watched with awe.
While he initially questioned the power, he was more confused by the fact that Sora was even bothering to help people that had just tried to kill her.
"How are you doing that? Actually, scratch that, Why are you healing them? The quicker you let them get back on their feet the sooner they'll just go hurt other people."
Sora moved over to another one of the men. This time she was facing Dust as she healed them. She had an empty look on her face, as well as a dull smile.
"I know..."
Sora looked downward, the green light emitted from her palm cast a shadow on her face.
"You're right. They'll almost certainly go hurt others after I heal them. Still, when I know I have the power to help someone and I choose not to... I end up feeling like a monster. Really there's no winning. If I heal them, I deal with the guilt of knowing they'll hurt someone. If I don't, I feel disgusting. Both results are bad so I figure why not do the one that gives me some short-term comfort."
Sora smiled at Dust. There was sadness hidden behind that smile.
"I'll keep helping people, no matter what. That's my curse to bear, running from it will only make it worse."
Sora had begun to feel like a safe space for Dust since meeting her. But seeing her now, he realized that all the kindness she gave to him wasn't for his sake. It was just something deeply embedded into her nature, something she wished to be free from.
Zenith peeked his head through the tavern door and looked at them.
"Come in when you're done healing them. It's nearly time for the big reveal."
All the answers Dust could've wanted would be his if he went back inside the tavern with Zenith. For some reason, he just stayed put. He leaned against the tavern wall and stayed with Sora. The dense silver moonlight illuminated the despair that plagued the girl's eyes as she worked. Dust said nothing, he simply stayed put and waited for her while she bore her burden.