Old Friendship

(Varis Hakonen)

"Fight, fight, fight!" 

They clapped and started circling Varis and Bareon. These mindless vultures always ground up when they saw a carcass. 

Thanks to stupid Weasley, who enjoyed the carnage, everyone in the canteen knew what had happened. He was always a pain in the ass. 

"Come on, man," Weasley smiled smugly while his stupid lips crawled near Bareon's ear. Seriously, he enjoyed it if Bareon and Varis quarrelled. "Just punch him in the face and teach him how real men handle things!"

"So now you become his lapdog, huh?" Varis said. "Waggle your tail to your master?"

"Shut up!" Bareon pushed Lanert hard against the pillar. "You retract what you said in class!"

"What do I say?"

Bareon answered, "Everything about element users!"

"But that's what happened. Elements change you. You changed. You are not Bareon that I knew, that Nisel knew, that everyone knew and loved. You are a shit bully. You became someone who detests most."

Bareon's eye widened. It seems Varis' words knocked his realisation. 

Varis hoped he could pull him onto his old self, who he knew, the good Bareon, who hated bullies, Bareon, who dreamed of becoming a superhero, protector of the weak. 

He remembered the good time with Bareon. The first time they became pals. 

***

It happened when they were still in elementary school. Perhaps 7 or 6 old, Varis forgot the exact years. 

Warm sunlit sneaking between the leaves that dance with the breeze. What a beautiful day for being lazy. 

Like always, Varis rested on the tree branch with one leg dangling freely, enjoying the solace and breeze until the noise disturbed him from below.

"Hey, you guys, shut it!" Chibi Varis yelled without opening his eyes. "I tried to sleep here! Shut up, or I will beat you all!"

Varis had been trained with his horse for three hours, had been trained with his wooden sword for two hours, and had been playing soccer with friends. His muscles were exhausted.

He needed to doze off and rested and hid there from his brother. He didn't want to attend piano lessons. But the noise, god, the noise! It came wild, and many times his tree shook. It pushed him to the limit. He opened one eye and peeked below. 

Cibi Bareon had a third masses than Weasly but curled like a puppy under the tree shade, beaten by Weasly and his gang. 

Other children's circled and watched like a fool. No one dares to help Chibi wide Bareon, and they enjoy what happened. Stupid boys and girls, if they could hand-to-hand beat those bullies, no one would get bullied. 

"Shut the crap off!" Varis tried to concentrate on his nap, too tired to do anything, but the girl's voice disturbed him. 

"Stop it, stop it." Cibi Nisel cried. Still in her blue and white elementary uniform, she wiped her tear. "Please stop it, help, help, somebody, please help him."

Weasly smug face mocked Bareon. "Big Fat Pig, you wanted to play with Nisel? You must be dreaming! Now, listen, never play with Nisel ever again, or I will beat you to pulp myself! Alright, boys, hit him more until he promises me!"

"You jerk!" Nisel said, struggled trying to release herself from stupid Weasly. "I never play with you forever!"

Varis smiled as he heard what the dumb had been saying. "So the young master wants some chick, huh? Alright, you ask for this."

Meanwhile, below the tree, Weasly pulled Nisel closer and kissed her on the cheek. "You will play with me forever. After I beat this big ass useless—" 

"I said, shut up! You disturbed my nap, damn it!"

The boy raised from beating Bareon. "Shut up, Hakonen!"

After Varis jumped down from the tree, he jolted, ducked under and knocked the useless boy down. He sat on his opponent's body while punching his face repeatedly, which didn't give him time to breathe. The boy's nose was bleeding and lost one of his teeth, and his face was bruised. 

One stupid kid tried to pull Varis off but got shuffled on the nose by the elbow and cried. "Mommy, Mommy!"

Two other looser tried to help their Kamerad and succeeded. They pulled Varis to the ground. On sat on his belly and punched his lips.

It bleeds.

"How dare you hit Hakonen!" Varis wrestled with him and came on top. "I'll show you the consequence!" He repeatedly hammered his face before his opponent's friends pulled him off and pinched his arms from behind. 

"Eat this!" Weasly punching Varis' belly. It didn't feel much. What a weakling. 

Varis propelled his own back and kicked Weasly. He successfully disengaged from the boy behind. 

Pivoting, Varis grabbed his throat with both hands, throttled him. and lifted him in the air before throwing him down with full ferocity and doing the pinfall.

Everyone was astonished seeing how strong Varis could be. 

Back to his feet, like a gorilla, Varis hammered his chest. "Who dare face me?!"

"Mommy!" Weasly run like a chicken. 

"Kyaa!" Everyone ran, and the circle broke. 

What a pesky little shit. But at least now Varis can sleep again.

Varis lend Baeron his hand. "Come on, big guy."

Varis almost pulled down when helping him set back. Seriously, Bareon Cibi was big, but, well, he was flimsy, frail, and dully. But he was nice. Even back then, Varis didn't know his name. He always sees Bareon play with others. He always plays with Nisel, the most beautiful girl in school. No wonder that stupid Weasly was jealous. 

"If you want to protect your girl, you should fight against the bully. Don't be a punching back."

"Thanks for helping, but I have nothing to fight back." 

Varis raise his palm. "You had this."

Varis stroked his lips, then licked the blood on his finger. Salty with a hint of sweetness.

"Whoah, you're so strong!" Nisel never let her eyes out from him somehow. She forgot entirely about Bareon—a typical girl. 

Varis winked while smiling at her. "I am always being strong." Then he turned to Bareon and caught a glips of disappointment on his face. Well, what was he supposed to do? He just helped him, and his girl forgot about him. 

"Are you alright?" Varis asked.

"Bareon Darcy, nice to meet you."

"Varis Hakonen." After they shook hands, they became a best friend. 

***

What a lovely memory. If Bareon remembered that time, remembered who bullied him, remembered who his faithful friend was. 

"Bareon, show them if you are better than this shity boy," Weasly whispered. "And show Nisel if you are better than him."

"Nisel? So all this about a girl, huh?" Varis chuckled. "Do you think Nisel loves seeing you right now, bully?"

"Oh, you hear him clearly, my friend." Weasly, shit com goes live. "He said he better than you. Crush his beautiful face, and Nisel would forget him."

"Knock it off. Use your sense," Varis still hoped for him to be good again—just like in old times.

"He said this because he was on the edge," Weasly continued. "Finish him and claim your girl."

"Shut up!" Varis harshed pickled boy, shuttered him, and the boy hid behind Bareon like a girl. Shit, if Varis has him, he send him to hell for sure. 

Varis returned to Bareon. "Be your old self. We miss you."

"Be a week, and fat, and shit." Weastly patted Bareon's shoulder. "He wanted you to be looser. He's jealous of your element. He doesn't have an element."

Baeron lost control, pulled his fist and launched a punch. Varis dodged, and the punch hit the pilar instead. 

The pillar cracked, and so did Bareon's fist. He cried hard while Varis slid away from his dominance. 

Bareon lost control, and his electro splashed, hitting random objects nearby. It was dangerous to many innocent people at the canteen. 

Varis decide to run away for now. It was too dangerous for him to fight back. Everyone could get harmed.

"Coward!" Bareon challenged. "Come back and fight me like a real man!"

Bareon's roar echoed like a wave of tsunami pursuing him. The only way to pull him back to be old Bareon was by beating him. 

But how? He had an element, a muscular build, and many Weasky cronies nearby.