by Billy Wong
Rupert started. "What do you mean you caught him?"
"Exactly that. I decided to stop in the restroom after leaving, and as I knelt there with my pants down a boy got the door open and tried to stab me! Luckily I value practicality over modesty, so after putting some space between us I just took one foot out of my shorts and kicked him out cold. He's tied up there with his own clothes now, but we'd better secure him more thoroughly and bring him to the guards with haste. He's stronger than he looks, or so it felt when we were grappling, so I don't know if the garments will hold him."
It seemed a tad convenient for him to be caught so soon after she joined them, but they shouldn't jump to conclusions. Plus, maybe he specifically targeted her after somehow learning she had agreed to help them. They made their way to the restroom and opened the door to find a scrawny shirtless boy facedown with his limbs hogtied behind him. There was a bloody gash on his back between the shoulder blades. "Did you do that to him?" Patrick asked.
Charlene wore a surprised expression. "No, he didn't have that wound when I bound him. Is he dead?"
Meg knelt to check. "Alive, and his pulse is steady." She inspected the injury more closely. "It doesn't appear that deep."
"So somebody came in here and stabbed him while he was unconscious, but didn't kill him? That seems hard to explain."
"Perhaps it was an accomplice who wanted to silence him," Rupert said, "and found they didn't have the stomach to commit to a fatal strike?"
"I suppose you could be right. Though I'd think someone who knew their stab wasn't deep would at least go for multiple stabs, but they might've just panicked or not had the heart to kill him."
They found a trail of blood that led towards the window, but stopped before it. Since they'd probably be hard pressed to catch anyone who escaped that way by now, they hauled the captive out of the restroom. As he emerged into the hallway, he stirred. "Ouch," he mumbled, "why does my back hurt so much..." Then he continued, "What have I been doing? I've killed innocent people... how could I do such evil?"
Rupert and company stared. "Wait," Meg asked, "you mean you know what you did was wrong?"
He looked up at her with horrified eyes. "Yes, of course it was. I had an urge to experience what killing was like, and took the lives of kids who didn't deserve it even though I knew I shouldn't. Just kill me if you want, I don't deserve to be alive anymore if they aren't!"
Meg put hands on her hips. "Well, this isn't the way we expected things to turn out." Rupert was pretty sure all her companions agreed with her. "We won't kill you, we're not your executioners and you didn't take anyone close to us either—though I won't be shocked if the law demands your life." She looked around the empty hall. "I have some questions for you before we turn you in, though. Who is your accomplice who tried to silence you?"
"I don't have one. Gods I wish I could blame an outside influence, but everything I did was on my own."
She exchanged looks with the others, and Patrick said, "He doesn't sound like he's lying, especially considering he just admitted to the murders and seems to feel guilty."
"But then why would some random person stab him in the scant time Charlene was away from the restroom? Maybe he's trying to protect them?"
"It's possible, I guess." The killer's despondent countenance showed no signs of deceit, though. "We should probably let the guards do the rest of the questioning. Ravensgrave and crew are surely more experienced at coaxing out secrets than us."
"True. Two more things, though. You're sure you did this of your own free will? No one controlling you somehow?"
He sadly shook his head. "I've often thought about what it would be like to kill a person since I was young. I never acted on it, but one day I just became too tempted not to try it."
"So it's kind of like Rupert," Charlene said. "Even though he knows it isn't always best to try and win a fight by any means necessary, when he actually gets into one he can't help it. This boy knows it's wrong to kill without justification, but lost the battle against his dark urges."
"I doubt Rupert appreciates the comparison," Meg pointed out correctly, "but you could say it's slightly similar. Except Rupert losing control lasts for a fight, while he... people's minds can be very different." Rupert thought he had problems, but now saw it could be much worse. "Last question. Why target Charlene, did you think to stop her from helping us investigate? Or just because she's a fighter and you like to challenge yourself by going after them?"
The murderer's expression grew blank. "I... I don't know. Never thought about it, really."
They escorted him to the office of Commander Ravensgrave, who thanked them for bringing in the "suspect"—though his guilt appeared all but assured—and had her men take him away. Despite there being little doubt he'd committed the crimes, this still seemed a strange and unsatisfying way for it all to end. The group decided together to stay informed on the progress of the guards' investigation, in hopes that more would come to light so they could make sense of things. Who had given the killer that stab wound and for what reason? Also, many people thought about doing bad things now and then without going through with them. If he had never harmed anybody for many years before, could something have caused him to snap without him being aware of it?
#
The tournament wrapped up over the next two weeks, the quarterfinals being completed one week and the semifinals and finals the next. Having procured the unused chapel building near the edge of campus for temporary use gave the last leg of the tourney a suitably grand setting. The knife girl Rupert had thought a top contender lost to a heavy leg strike that caused her to quit in the semis, while the sword and shield boy from the first match won it all. Sometimes the more basic looking, reliable style triumphed in the end, though he didn't get as many cheers for his last performance won by decision than other flashier contestants in their wins. Still, Meg and friends had achieved their goal of showcasing a variety of fighting styles and bolstering interest in combat training at the school judging from the attendance and talk about it. The clubs were gaining a good number of new members too, so that they might soon do well to change meeting places.
"Maybe we should have a high level mini-tourney just among ourselves," Peggy suggested after the finals. "Everyone liked Meg versus Charlene after all."
"With me involved?" Rupert asked. "Somehow I don't think..."
"Oh, I know. It could just be me, Meg, Patrick and Charlene. I can face the Diamond Mouse while Charlene tests herself against her little bro, and then the winners can fight each other."
He looked at Patrick. "Little bro? I didn't realize you and Meg were siblings."
"We're not, it's just an in joke because Gavin says we act like we are."
Meg shook her head. "Though I would be intrigued at these matchups, especially testing my blade against an inexplicably strong fellow pint-sized powerhouse, I'm tuckered out already from promoting one event and have much else on my plate. So if this is to be a public tourney as I assume PP intends, it'll have to wait a while. But maybe we can do it near the end of the term."
Patrick grinned. "That would be a good sendoff for us, actually. Hope we'll be able to work it in."
"And then I can show that Pow Pow power is the strongest!"
Life became calmer with the tourney over and the murderer Hughie apprehended, though the lack of public updates on the investigation other than him being expectedly transferred off school grounds to a prison grew frustrating. Sabina and her colleagues wouldn't reveal much even when asked, which while somewhat understandable annoyed Rupert and his friends. It was possible too that they didn't release new information because they didn't have any, but keeping it a mystery scarcely helped. Despite the criminal being in custody, Meg and Patrick announced they would be starting up their own inquiry into him again, and Charlene agreed to cooperate. Rupert didn't disapprove as it would feel safer to have an explanation for his odd stab wound, though he doubted he could contribute much with his still limited social skills. The
y learned a fair amount about Hughie such as his interests and who he associated with, but so far nothing too promising in terms of what pushed him over the edge. One of his friends, a bookish girl named Gwen, seemed suspicious with her nervous cringing and slowness to respond when Meg spoke with her, but that could just be due to a shy personality. Still, they would keep an ear out for news involving her in case that lead might indeed prove fruitful.
One day, going to meet Meg for their weekly "planning" session which remained a thing despite the tournament being over, he spotted her in the hallway before reaching the room. She chatted enthusiastically with a handsome man in his early twenties, standing several inches over six feet and clad in the mail of a warrior with a heavy sword on his back. "You didn't find a love interest, did you?" he asked. "As a school visitor, he stands out a lot."
"Breastslayer, what are you talking about? This is my brother!"
"Breastslayer?" the man asked.
"Brother? You mean an actual sibling and not a close friend like Pat?"
"Yes, actual sibling."
"But he's so much taller than you!"
Meg put a palm to her face and shook her head. "I'm aware of that... he's the shortest of my brothers actually, the rest are even taller."
"Really?"
"Do you think I'd lie about that, and doesn't it make sense when you think about it? Anyway, meet my brother Cor. Cor, Rupert the Breastslayer, the boy who fought me on his first day and then became my friend."
Cor fixed him with a glare. "Am I to assume you did something to my sister's breasts?"
Meg stepped between them. "Easy now big brother, I said we're friends now so it's all in the past. But yeah, he punched one of them and then cut them open good."
"You must be a respectable warrior to wound my sister so." Cor extended a hand, which Rupert took to find it compressing his in a viselike grip. He squeezed back hard enough for Cor to give a satisfied nod and release it. "It's good that you've found kindred spirits here, Megan. Otherwise I might have worried about how well you would fit in a school."
"Megan? Not that it's a bad name, but I do prefer Meg... should I return the favor and call you by your full name?"
He raised his hands and waggled them in a negative gesture. "N-no!"
Rupert gave her a curious look. "What is his name?"
She whispered into his ear, "Corinne."
"Hey! Why do you have to..."
After a short-lived attempt to hold it in, Rupert broke out laughing. "So the tall stud warrior has a girl's name?"
"It's a long story," Cor muttered hanging his head, "suffice to say our father always honors his bets."
"Anyway, should I leave you two alone? I imagine you have a lot of catching up to do and I might get in the way."
"You don't have to," Meg said, "but I guess I wouldn't mind discussing some things in private."
Taking his cue, Rupert headed away. When he passed a bend in the hall, he saw Patrick pressed up against the wall listening in. "Eavesdropping are we?"
The scarred boy grinned bashfully. "It doesn't harm anybody. Want to join me?"
"Why not," he said after a moment. He took his place next to Patrick.
Down the hall, Meg and Cor's conversation continued. "Even if I didn't meet anyone here near my level," she was saying, "I would've been able to fit in. None of the soldiers at the fort besides the officers were close to me and Pat, but we just helped them out and made plenty of friends. Heck, we were doing the same here before these strong kids arrived with the mid-year class, and I even became student council president."
"That's nice. But still, in the last couple years you've gone from being a monster hunter, to a soldier, and now a student. It was quite hard to even find you with all you've moved around. Might your search for a purpose out in the world not be fruitless, and you'd be better off coming back home?"
"I can see your reasoning. But the initial career change at least was due to the world changing, not me. If not for Julianna making peace with the monsters, we'd probably still be hunters. And I feel like we're getting really close to something we can settle into. Once we finish school we'll be researchers, able to go around exploring and having adventures while helping society. That seems like pretty much the perfect career with the current state of the world for me and Pat."
"And if being a researcher turns out not to be to your liking?"
Her voice wavered. "I don't know. I would have to reconsider what I'm doing obviously... but for me, Pat and Gavin to give up our dream, it would be a big decision."
"I understand that much, and do admire you. You're a brave girl to leave the comfort of home to pursue your dreams, acquiring so many scars in the process. In any case, let's not make my visit all uncomfortable debate. Are you going to show me around the city?"
Meg perked up. "Of course! I hope you brought enough money, because there is a lot of good shopping to be done."
"Oh? I wasn't aware my little sis was a big spender."
"I'm not. Wouldn't have the income to keep being one at school anyway if I was, so looking is usually enough for me. I meant more if you wanted to buy stuff."
"Looking is enough for me too, unless we happen upon some real interesting weapons. Let's meet up tomorrow then, since you have a meeting to attend." Their footsteps split up, one moving away, the other in Rupert and Patrick's direction.
"I think we better go on ahead to the meeting room," Patrick said, and they tried to sneak away. Then Meg's voice reached them.
"I hear some nosy busybodies!"
She turned the corner, and Patrick flashed a sheepish smile. "Just showing concern for my best friend."
"Well I told Rupert he could stay, so you boys are forgiven I suppose. What do you think of my brother?"
"He's tall," Rupert replied. "If he's really the shortest, I can see why you're viewed as such a runt." She gave him a playful slap, and he shook his head as to dislodge the topic from it. "So the rest of your family just stays in your hometown protecting it or what?"
"Yeah pretty much, us being its guardians goes far back. It's a worthy role to play, and I have no problem with those satisfied with it, but me and my friends decided years ago that we wanted to do more and make a name for ourselves out in the larger world. While we've already accomplished our share of small deeds, our journey is just beginning. So as much as I know my family loves and misses me... I'm sorry about that, but I don't intend to return home for good anytime soon. Though I am grateful to Cor for visiting me."
"I'm sure you'll make them proud... and already have been. By the way, you don't have to come to our meeting today if you'd rather spend the evening with your brother. It's not that urgent right now. We'll just tell the others, right Pat, and we can carry on without you while you take Corrine on that tour."
Meg smiled. "I think I'll take you up on that offer. I'd better hurry if I want to catch up to him." She turned and burst down the hall, the boys gazing bemusedly after her.
"Wonder who finds their name more embarrassing," Patrick said, "Mouse or Corrine?"
Rupert chuckled. "PP is more embarrassing than either, but she just doesn't realize it."
"Breastslayer?"
With a sneer, he replied, "A nickname meant to be derogatory doesn't count."
#
The next time Rupert saw Meg when he arrived early for club, he said, "I hope you had fun in town with your brother."
"I did. We rode the tram up to the Tower of the Council, and the view was breathtaking! It's a bit daunting to think I'll be living in the city soon, with its maze of buildings to navigate."
He looked down. "I'd almost forgotten you won't be with us in a few months. You and Pat have been great friends, and I'll miss you."
"Great friends, huh? You can always come visit when we aren't out on assignment. But does that mean you'll be happy to carry on our legacy?"
"I'm not half the leader you are. But I'll definitely do whatever I can for the clubs you built."
She
patted his shoulder. "Don't sell yourself short, I'm not that much of a leader myself. The student council president is barely more than a figurehead, I may take the lead in action sometimes but that isn't the same as being a real leader in adult politics or something."
"Still, that's a lot more than I can say."
"Everybody's different. I can't blame you for being a little more reserved with your history. Besides, you've already made strides compared to your old trying-to-hide-from-the-world self."
"When you put it that way, I agree, but it's largely because of you and Pat accepting me so easily even after we started off as adversaries. You can count on me—as long as I'm at this school, there'll be a place here for students to pursue the fighting arts beyond the mandated basics."
Later on, Rupert was approached by Charlene between classes. "Excuse me, I'd like to ask you something." A hint of uncertainty tinged her voice. "Since Meg and Pat have been busier recently and less available to spar, would you mind practicing with me sometimes? You're one of the few here remotely near their level, so I thought you might be a good partner for me."
He thought about it. "I suppose we could do that... as long as you promise to remember it's training, and not get over-competitive trying to prove a point out of pride."
She gave an anxious laugh. "Oh, I won't. I know you don't play around once it starts getting close to an actual fight, and my glass jaw isn't much for handling that."
"I don't know if it's really glass, Meg just caught you good. But I like that you can joke about it. By the way, what about PP? She's very formidable too, will you ask her to train with you as well?"
"I don't think she likes to spar with her best weapon too much, part of the mystery factor she wants to keep. But who knows, maybe if the both of us ask her she'll open up, and even if she only uses other weapons she's probably pretty good with them still."
He nodded. And maybe the three of them, along possibly with others like Ty, could be the next generation of battle club leadership to follow in Meg and Patrick's footsteps.
Their first session went decently as Rupert and the girls proved close enough in skill that they could all benefit from it, though he questioned if Peggy displayed near her full capabilities when she used a staff in similar style to her mace, but minus the nuances and potential for greater power granted by its immense weight. In spite of him cautioning them not to be overly competitive, Charlene and Peggy competed against one another in trying to look better against him, at times aggravating him as they got too aggressive for practice in their offense. He managed to restrain himself from retaliating in full force and turning it into a real fight, though there was one close call where he stunned Charlene with a stiff counter punch which sent her reeling against a wall.
