Brutal Journey Of An Unfortunate Female Heroine 53 Now, Isn't This Fun?

"She's pretty scary huh?" Owen looked over at Bennox and tried to cheer him up but his friend just started at Bianca blankly. Bennox mumbled something under his breath.

"She's close but not quite the same..."

"Huh? What'd you say?" Owen perked his head and tried to look cute.

"Nothing, and stop that will you? You're not cute." Bennox put one hand over Owen's face but Owen used his face to push Bennox's hand away.

"Ha ha. Now what do we do?" Bennox pondered it for a bit before spotting a few large cubes against the wall.

"Let's sit on those for a bit."

"Okay." Bennox and Owen shifted towards the cubes. Behind them Bianca and Javier traded words like knives, each warning the other indirectly while testing them as well.

Owen set Bennox on the cube and started to wipe off the dried blood with Bianca's shawl.

"You know I can do it myself right?" Owen flinched.

"I-I do, it's just that I'm trying to repay the favor, from back there…" Bennox smiled warmly at Owen.

"I didn't do it to gain a favor from you, I was just trying to protect my friend." Owen's stiff face softened and he laughed as well.

"Ha ha, yeah… what am I doing anyway? Getting scared of a girl?" Bennox took the shawl from Owen and began lightly rubbing the blood, careful to not pull any of the wounds open again.

"I wouldn't really call it being 'scared', more like embarra.s.sed." Although Bennox's voice was slightly m.u.f.fled under the shawl, Owen pretended to not hear it. After hearing no response from Owen, Bennox stopped rubbing and moved the shawl from his face. All he saw was Owen's back turned to him, running away in the direction they came from. Confused, Bennox shifted himself over and saw Javier and Bianca fighting, Bianca losing.

Bennox tried to get up but his legs just wouldn't move like he wanted them to. He pinched and hit his legs but something in them had already worn down. Realizing that it was useless to injure himself further. Sighing Bennox watched as his friend held true to his morals.

"Sorry Owen. Looks like I can't help you this time. Although it's good to know that you hadn't changed much from when we first met..."

Back in the slums Bennox and Owen had only been six when they met each other. Bennox was a slightly known child thief and Owen who was just dumped there recently. Like most of the orphans dumped in the slums their parents had abandoned them for various reasons, Owen's was that his family already had a better son to inherit his father's farm so they didn't need another mouth to feed.

It was the day Bennox had just scored a huge catch by robbing an old n.o.ble lady who came to 'adopt' young children often. They would go with her, blinded by the promise of food, clothes, luxury and more importantly, family. Then they disappeared. When officials go to her and ask why she always uses the same excuse. 'Those ungrateful brats simply ran away'. Though not many believed her, money was power.

As young Bennox ran away laughing the old n.o.ble was shrieking madly.

"Catch that thief!" Her guards rushed forward but Bennox knew the slums better than they did. Eventually he lost them.

"Bleh. Those old guys can't catch me. Not even the guards in the slum can! How can a few fatties catch up?" He laughed to himself. "Let's see how much the hag had on her…" When he opened the money purse there was only a few silver slips and a handful of bronze ones.

*tch* "Guess today wasn't her buying day. Must've only been looking for new ones." Bennox tied the purse to a string around his chest under his baggy shirt. As he did something in the bag caught his eye. Hidden behind a silver slip was a small piece of paper. He pulled it out.

"We've got your favorite this time. Black hair, blue eyes and only six. Bring the money and he's yours"

Bennox crumpled the note angrily.

"That hag. So that's why those hoodlums trashed the kids camp last week…" Bennox looked at the note and an address was written on the back. Smirking, Bennox thought of a plan. "They want to profit off of us? Well, let's see if they can!"

Later that evening at building fifty-eight four men stood around a small child. His blue eyes had run dry of tears and yet, even then he still mumbled small rasps of pleas. Though his face wasn't bruised, under his clothes were large welt marks and purple bruises. The ropes that held his hands and feet together had long since made his hands and feet numb.

"Is that person coming?" One of them sounded panicked.

"Just wait a little longer. She won't pa.s.s up on this one." The biggest one seemed like their leader.

"But-" The other stopped suddenly.

"Boss, do you hear that?" All of them quieted and soon the noticeable sound of feet running reached their ears.

"Scatter!" Each of the four men ran in different directions but they were already too late. The slum guards had already locked down the area and were doing a sweep. One of the guards spotted the leader and notified the rest of the guards.

"We've got suspects in area D." Soon the rest of the guards had rounded up the rest of the thugs. Some were fighting while some tried to escape and the guards tried to detain them. No one noticed a small group of kids hiding in the shadows, slowly moving into building fifty-eight.

As quickly as it had started the fight was already over. When the guards moved into building fifty-eight there was no one, only a few broken ropes on the floor along with the old n.o.ble lady's purse.

That night would be the first time Bennox would meet Owen. Having been saved by a boy not much older than himself he instantly became attached to Bennox. Following him everywhere and even learning some stealing skills as well. Though it wasn't often Owen sometimes showed kindness unbefitting someone growing up in the slums. Feeding a stray pet with his rations, helping a little girl who was starving and even bracing danger to protect Bennox. It was hard to not find him lovable. Eventually they became as close as family and Bennox devised a plan before they entered the Academy. Owen would be the blade and Bennox would be the hilt that handles the blade.

Bennox though back on the past four years and smiled dearly.

"Owen, you've grown more than I have. You're able to rush blindly to someone's aid while here I am, stuck frozen in fear. Even up against a n.o.ble…" Bennox hung his head and flopped backwards onto the white cube. "…I'm pretty pathetic huh?"

A few moments before Bianca and Javier began fighting, she was still walking away when she heard a slight thud behind her. Turning around Bianca barely had enough time to partially raise her arms in defense. Javier was there with one leg raised against her arms.

"Oh? I guess a Baron family is still quite something. To be able to still partially block in that situation." Javier pushed off from Bianca's arms and jumped back lightly. He landed on his toes. Javier waited for Bianca's next move but she didn't move at all. Confused and slightly ticked off Javier slumped his shoulder and snapped at Bianca.

"What? Come on, it that all you've got? You know this is really p.i.s.sing me off. I had expectations but looks like you were just lucky." Bianca didn't move or speak. Her face hidden by her raised arms. Javier reared back and kicked out with another high kick. Expecting it to end with that next kick he was a bit slow in realizing that Bianca had shifted her hands from a fist to slightly open. No longer able to stop his momentum Javier's leg collided with Bianca's hands.

Smirking, Bianca gripped Javier's legs tightly. She wrapped her arms around his leg and pulled, trying to set him off balance. Javier pushed forwards with his one remaining foot and let himself be pulled towards Bianca. As they moved backwards Javier bent his legs suddenly and pulled Bianca back towards him. Using one fist he aimed at her face.

Dodging Javier's fist narrowly, Bianca twisted her body and flipped herself so that the back of Javier's leg was pressed against her back. With both arms looped around Javier's leg Bianca spun on her heels, pulling Javier's leg in the wrong direction. Javier leaned his whole upper body in the opposite direction Bianca was pushing. Seeing this chance Bianca abruptly released Javier's leg and fell low to do a sweeping kick at Javier's single leg.

Concentrating on his standing leg, Javier used all the muscles in his leg to narrowly push himself out of Bianca's reach. Bringing his other foot down Javier took a few more leaps backwards and steadied himself.

"So you can do it I you wanted to." Javier's eyes were full of eagerness. "Ah, just letting you know. I'm fighting 'Bianca' right now. Not the second miss of house Breavux." Javier smiled again. In truth he was overjoyed at how things had turned out. After getting Bianca to stop beating up Senri while also earning Senri's fidelity, he now had the chance to fight someone with experience. Possibly, another genius.

Bianca on the other hand was not pleased. After giving up the opportunity to beat Senri senseless and even backing off, Javier still had the nerve to attack while her back was turned. She could feel the stinging on her arms. If she hadn't blocked in that last moment his leg might've knocked her out for a few moments. If it was known that a n.o.ble was knocked out with one kick it would mean disgrace to her family's honor. Bianca stared at Javier coldly. Still, what bugged her the most was that Javier had tried to attack while her back was turned and as if that wasn't irritating enough, he had even tried to clear the matter of whether she would be representing her family or not! It was like he was saying 'even if you lose your family wouldn't lose face'.

Bianca clenched and unclenched her fists. Putting on her indifferent face she was determined to beat the c.r.a.p out of Javier, even if it meant punishment by the academy she was after all, fighting only as Bianca, not the second miss of the Breavux house. Maybe this situation would work in her favor?

"My, if you had wanted to spar with me so much you should've said something. Attacking a lady like that is very rude." Bianca's tone was like she was just scolding Javier for something small like spilling tea or getting dirty. Javier raised one eyebrow slightly.

"I see, I've noted that down. Then, would you have a spar with me?" Javier's smile still ticked Bianca off but this was a chance she could use.

"If you wouldn't mind having me, Ill be glad to." Bianca raised both arms slightly and waited for Javier to get ready as well.