Chapter 2: 1st FIGHT: BLOODY DREAMS

1st FIGHT: BLOODY DREAMS

-XOXOXOX-

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-XOXOXOX-

-CRASH!-

In the once clean and immaculate living room that was lavishly decorated with items of 'fine tastes' that belonged to those who lived in the upper classes, one could clearly see that the after-effects of turmoil had clearly occurred.

With tables overturned, glass vases shattered and strewn about, and the once oh-so-neat and illustrious bookshelf torn in half with the books it once held laying about disorderly, within the center of this chaotic mess rested naught but two individuals.

Under the rubble of the books and a torn bookshelf, laid a mere child; who laid there, unmoving and unresponsive.

And standing tall was a man who seemed to be of middle age with grey hairs coursing throughout his head of brown hair, whose figure bristled with power and vigor, clothed in a dandy suit that somehow remained clean and pristine amidst the puddles of crimson-red blood that had adored the now messy living room.

"Damn it... Damn it aaaaallllll-!"

Churning with uncontrollable rage as he cursed out, the man sauntered briskly towards the fallen child within the 'rubble', casually pushing away the torn bookshelf as he hoisted the child upwards into the air by his throat.

"Kuuo... uurgh..." The brown-eyed child groaned, still halfway between consciousness and unconsciousness, mindlessly clawing at the tough-as-steel hands tightly gripping his neck, hindering his ability to breathe greatly.

"It's because of you, you know?" As if the ugly expression pasted on the man's face couldn't evolve anymore, it had warped into a face of pure unbridled rage and hatred that even the child; the main recipient of such bitter hatred hadn't ever witnessed before.

"Hhaaaa..." Murmuring faintly, the boy had mouthed an expletive that had only served to further enrage the suit-wearing man as he forced more strength into his grip on the boy's throat, trying to squeeze the dear life out of the child.

"Fuuu...ggghhh... Y...youuuu..."

"You..." The man seethed out before continuing;

"Just like that whore... You have that same infuriating smug grin on your face as if you're better than everyone..."

"Just who the hell do you think you are to be acting as if you're so great, hmnn? It was bad enough back then, now every day of my life I have your ugly mug tainting my sight." The man finished as he bitterly spat.

-pat-

The boy raised his fist, 'striking' the man in his face.

Although typical of a mere child, the strike was weak.

Pathetically weak even.

If a phrase could be accurately used to describe the power of the boy's 'blow' at the man, then it would be this.

However, despite it being laughably weak and even more inconsequential than that of a mosquito's 'bite', it had clearly gotten the message the boy wanted to send to the man.

-Two words, one phrase, and to someone highly esteemed as the man was and possessed a high status in the world as he did; it was indeed very effective.

'Fuck you.'

It encapsulated every single iota of the boy's feelings towards this man, as likewise, he had wanted nothing more than to see the other party's body go cold.

Sadly enough, what brief momentum that could've been garnered due to such actions were quickly squashed as it had only managed to infuriate and agitate the man to the highest limits.

Squeezing the child's throat with newfound power, the man's eyes glazed over with a pure white signifying his boiling rage and hatred as he hissed with a shaky, uneven tone;

"You brat, you make me sick! But no matter... Today, I'll soon remove you from my life, once and for all.

-GRIP-

Resisting violently, the boy thrashed around as he once more tried to free himself from the man's crushing grip.

Paling significantly, his face went blue as he was slowly losing consciousness, struggling to even breathe, much less think.

Though in his eyes, they had lost one bit of the luster and the fire within them. Gazing at the man, whose eyes went white with rage, he heard;

"Begone, you eyesore."

-CRACK!-

-XOXOXOX-

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-XOXOXOX-

-GASP!-

-WHEEZE!-

Abruptly jerked awake, the brown-eyed boy whipped his head around, extremely cautious of his surroundings as he gently caressed his neck, before calming down once he realized where he was.

It was just a dream, so it seems.

The boy was nowhere else but 'home'. Or at least one out of his many 'temporary base of operations' that he held. In one of the umpteenth abandoned buildings that lined the sights of the Tokita Ward within The Inside.

"Tch. Stupid old stuck-up geezer, haunting me in my dreams. Why don't you go fuck off with the rest of you fucks in hell you pedo-ghost." Now frustrated and in no mood to return to sleep, the brown-eyed boy leaped out of his makeshift 'bed', a 'futon' made out of stolen cloth filled with sand.

'Very Nice.'- an astute and profound review given by an even younger version of the boy remarking on the effectiveness of the sand bed when he first started living here only 5 years ago.

"It's been so long huh?" The brown-eyed boy murmured about what his life was like before he had begun to live within The Inside

"?"

Peering outside the windows, he saw the gloomy shadow of the night before the daybreak fully casting its reach over the Tokita Ward as far as he could see.

Looking downwards, seeing fellow residents moving up and about, busy as ever, the child could only move on as he wryly thought; 'Tokita Ward is the city that never sleeps, huh?'

'Well, It's still early in the morning? Gee, the sun isn't even up.' Thinking such, the brown-eyed boy began to set up his array of makeshift equipment he had to perform his routine daily exercises.

"Huff, Huff."

Starting with a few reps of stretches and pushups, with his body and frame in mind, the boy exercised intending to boost his flexibility and speed. Without any special training or equipment available, he had to work with what he was given, and with that, he had long reached the human limits of strength a 10-year-old could possibly possess.

'Should I really get a weapon? The glass I'm using is still pretty serviceable though...'

'Well, time to break open up the goods.' Thinking so, he started to rustle through the bags of several books, food, and miscellaneous items that he received from the man wearing a grey-colored Gi.

Pulling out a book focused on Yoga poses, the brown-eyed boy tried to perform some of the poses in an attempt to loosen up his muscles while increasing flexibility while not harming himself sue to overstraining the muscles.

"Heeeck, Ngggrh"

Posing in various ways to either loosen or flex the muscles of the shoulders, hips, hamstrings and back, the brown-eyed boy felt nimble as a thief and as light as a feather.

After spending 10 minutes on stretches, he took a short break before moving on to a different exercise.

-SKETCH, SKETCH-

Grabbing chalk out of the plastic bag, the brown-eyed boy sketched lines onto the ground in the middle of the room, as the next drill he would be doing would be reminiscent of that of a linebacker in football.

Heaving a makeshift sandbag weighing at least 50kg, he strapped it onto his back before heading towards the middle of the room where the lines were drawn.

-TAP!, TAP!, TAP!-

Taking inspiration from what the child had seen in several sports within the books he owned, he started with footwork drills while picking up his speed, keeping wasteful movements to a minimum, while making sure to even out his balance as he continued to land on one leg.

"Alright! Let's go!"

As he continuously dashed to and fro to where the lines were sketched, he sent out light jabs and kicks while keeping up his movements with the sandbag still strapped to his back.

It's thanks to this drill that he usually practiced that he was able to evade the attacks of others within a very narrow escape window, and in the event that he was unable to dodge, then he could escape the most of brunt of the impact that would land upon his body.

-WHIP!, WHIP!-

After performing the drills for about five minutes, then having another brief rest, he moved on to the second-to-last he would perform; a striking workout.

-WHACK!, JAB!, SMASH!-

Hoisting another sandbag that had drastically outweighed the bag currently on his back, he pushed it against the wall before striking it; whether it was jabs, hooks, straights, or kicks, he continued once; getting into position then striking in a rhythmic manner starting from a one-two onwards, then two; in an unpredictable irregular fashion from an almost free-form position.

"Hyaat!, Haaah!"

After 10 minutes of striking, seeing that the sun was slowly rising the boy decided to finish up. Dropping the sandbag that was strapped to his back, the child had stripped completely as he went to the abounded bathroom to shower.

"Man, I really reek! Though surprisingly, this place actually has water that works and isn't poisoned!" the brown-eyed boy exclaimed.

"Sadly I can't enjoy it too long as it's not too good to stay in one place for too long. I mean, if it's anything that I agree with that lazy karate man on, then it's this." Bitterly thinking so, he went into the dilapidated building's shower to freshen up.

-SSSSSHHRRRRR-

-WHISTLE-

"Man, ain't I a rich man? I've got working water!" Happily humming, the boy scrubbed himself clean with the soap he had gotten from the lazy karate man.

Finally finishing cleansing himself, he walked back to his main room, while going over his course of plan today.

Today, he decided that he would lure others that looked like thugs from other wards in The Inside in order to 'relieve' them of some of their belongings.

In any case, if the others weren't willing to risk their lives to waddle into the Tokita Ward because of mere thieves, then why shouldn't he use this to his advantage?

And while he was on the road, he would 'borrow' a cloak, or a jacket, since he was running out of rags that could be used as clothing.

After all, walking outside without a cloak almost covering his body from head-to-toe?

Really? What would that result in?

Suicide, if not a fate worse than death.

While the boy possessed a musculature much more pronounced than an average 10-year-old boy with nicks and small scars all over his body, with his wavy raven black hair, bright hazel brown eyes shining violently with life, plus a youthful unblemished immature face that still carried the beauty of innocence within the world, it seemed quite natural that in such a lawless land it would surely invite ill intentions of the no-good people living in the Tokita Ward looking for such an 'exotic pet' to have fun with.

And though he was young, the brown-eyed had quite a developed sense of pride and was as stubborn as a young bull despite his best attempts to not show it on the outside.

In a way, robbery and beating people up was A-OK, but risking the sanctity of his rear end?

No way in hell.

"I'll have to really find something to cover my face, oh woe is me~" he cooed, admiring his 'beauty' as he paced around the room in a manner that was definitely not narcissistic.

"To be cursed of such a fate to be forced to hide one's beauty~" he continued, imitating the manner of speech in a novel he received in the stacks of books from the 'karate' man. It was an English-to-Japanese translated novel by name of; 'Prejudice And Pride'. However, remembering the lazy 'karate' man's words when he asked him for advice made him break into a small frown.

-XOXOXOX-

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-XOXOXOX-

Standing tall, with his hands behind his back and his eyes closed, the man wearing a grey gi opened one eye as he gazed at the brown-eyed boy in a cloak. His eyes were black, deeper than the ocean, unable to be fully seen through, and were filled with the most profound-profoundness-to-ever-profound in this mere realm of earth.

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Truly, this man was a wise sage.

As he opened his mouth and let out a deep, yet domineering voice that had reverberated down the brown-eyed boy in a cloak's very core and shook the boy's soul greatly, the man said;

"Young child, do you dare? You have eyes, but you still cannot see Mt. Fuji..."

"Huh?" The young boy blankly asked.

"Surely you must know, that to defeat the booty bandit...

-One must become the booty bandit themselves..."

"H...Huh..?"

And that was the last time the boy had taken almost anything the lazy 'karate' man had to say seriously.

-XOXOXOX-

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-XOXOXOX-

"Pretentious old man. Wasting my time like that, I can't believe he had me hooked for a second." The boy grumbled as he walked down the hallway.

He didn't know much about what the man was saying, but he couldn't help but think that maybe the man had a point.

'I don't know how, but he's really strong even though he acts like a fool... What if he's actually not pulling my leg? Do I really have to become a booty bandit? Geez, I need to read more books...' The poor boy thought, grabbing his head in frustration.

"Well whatever, I won't get anywhere if I keep thinking too much about it." Pushing the thought aside the boy finally reached his 'living' area as he began to clothe himself, topping it off with a long ragged cloak that covered everything.

"Well... time to eat, I guess." Moving over to the bags containing food, the child feasted on an exquisite meal of canned beans and sausage with bottled water.

-CRUNCH, MUNCH, GULP-

Truly a magnificent first-class meal for a homeless kid like him living within The Inside.

"Bwahaa! One of the best meals I've had in my entire life if I say so myself!"

Packing up after a brief meal, the boy now rustled throughout the books he had all possessed, picking a certain amount of them being;

'Hooked On Phonics'? Check.

'Book On Vowels And Constanants'? Check.

'Numbers And Symbols?' Check.

'Edu-tainment Book For Men Of Culture?' What.

Tossing the 'edu-tainment' book that consisted of pictures of women in rather intimate positions aside, the boy focused on learning from the materials before him.

Finally, finishing studying after half-an-hour, the boy couldn't help but gaze towards the book he had tossed aside into the corner. Picking up the book as he narrowed his eyes intently while he opened up the page as if light could be seen shining from the book;

"Now, it's time for the 'real' education."

-XOXOXOX-

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-TTC Building, The Inside-

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-XOXOXOX-

In a tall 3 story building owned by the local Yakuza in the northernmost area outside the Tokita Ward, it could be said that compared to the other buildings that seemed dull, bland, and oppressively grey, that this building gave off the atmosphere of bone-chilling coldness.

Why was that?

Because everyone that would either pass by it or enter it would rapidly experience several negative emotions, not limited to anxiety or fear.

However, within the Yakuza Don's office of this Yakuza group, the atmosphere seemed to be anything but cold. Rather, it seemed to be really jovial if one could ignore the three figures bowing before the don, nervous as ever.

"Wow, just wow." The blond-haired man dressed in all-black mouthed off half-amusedly while gazing towards his 'competent' subordinates.

Standing, or rather, bowing, before the man most likely the Yakuza's Don were two figures that were bandaged upon their heads and another man who just wore plain black sunglasses.

Positioned in the most formal and respectful of bows, a 90-degree bow, the trio kept looking down, not bothering to shame themselves further by looking up.

The first being a man who couldn't stop gnashing his teeth as he cursed up a storm inwardly.

The second was a man who only held a guilty expression scrunched upon his face.

And lastly, a man who was eerily calm and quiet, with a keen glow in his eyes under the sunglasses he wore.

"So, do you all have anything to say? The Yakuza Don asked blandly, not particularly bothered by the development before him.

"It won't happen again. We just ask for another chance." The lanky man calmly asked.

Surprisingly, the hotheaded man hadn't made a fuss at all, instead opting to stay silent as he kept looking towards the lanky man in the middle.

"Hmnn? And you actually expect to be given another chance? Really?" The Yakuza Don asked with an inquisitive glare.

"...Yes, sir." After a moment of silence, the lanky man finally answered, his tone filled with resolution as his eyes under his sunglasses gleamed with a sharp look.

Fortunately for him, he was the least injured as he was saved just in time to escape a fate of permanent blindness and was on the way to a full recovery.

Over the past week, he had made sure to seriously reflect on his past actions. Looking down on the kid had put a dent in his pride and nearly cost him his sight.

And now, he wouldn't make the same mistake again, he realized that the kid had relied on trickery due to his lack of fighting prowess, so he planned to strike back with that in mind.

He knew he had screwed up and he was ready to fix his blunder.

After all, he had his pride and his ambitions, and to reach them he would-

"Meh, ok." Cutting off the lanky man's internal monologue, the Yakuza Don replies nonchalantly.

"?" The lanky man was at a loss.

"Huh?" The hotheaded man dumbly spouted

"Pardon?" The 'mature' man politely asked.

To say they were confused would be an understatement. To be honest, they had expected to lose a couple of fingers, or get disposed of good 'ol Yakuza style, but now they have another chance?

'Seems like heaven is looking after us' They thought.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm currently incomparably pissed, at the fact that not only did you three fail a simple delivery mission, but you even got taken out by a kid. Granted it may be quite the strong kid; but that still no reason for you grown adults to lose, now is it?" The Yakuza Don calmly said, smiling ear-to-ear

It seemed to be a calm, kind smile, but the three knew; that beneath this smile was a fate worse than death if they flubbed this mission once more.

The trio still bowing looked calm on the outside, yet were inwardly nervous as they stayed silent, awaiting the Yakuza Don's next words.

"Buut-" The Yakuza Don playfully stretched his words, making the trio even more nervous than before.

"It seems that we have gotten something just as good, in exchange for losing the package." The man smilingly said.

"You can come in now, Chouji."

"Osu!" Entering the office, the trio was surprised by the events that were unfolding.

It was simple, This man was quite powerful, and it was told by the aura he unconsciously leaked while he took slow yet firm steps.

While the average height of the trio topped of at 190cm, the man towered over them easily, standing even higher than 2 meters.

Wearing the standard Yakuza attire; an all-black suit with his undershirt being halfway unbuttoned allowing his rippling muscles to be on display, the man casually walked in, with arrogance resting all across his face as he bowed towards the Yakuza Don.

"This right here is Suji Chouji, you fellows might know him as the main 'Muscle Man' of our group."

"With his grappling, Chouji here could even make short work of a bear if need be."

"Uh, sir?" The hothead man began before being interrupted by the Yakuza Don.

"Tut, Tut, Tut. No, no, no, Akihiro. The boy and the package aren't important at this moment." The man tutted as he looked towards the hotheaded man.

"He won't be going as far just for a kid you know, but to help on certain tasks."

"It's letting the bug go free in order to catch a bird if you will. I'll send you boys on a few more delivery jobs, discreet this time, alongside with Chouji here, and I need you all to tail the kid without getting caught or lost."

"And when you find the person that sending the kid out on missions, take them both out at the same time, ok?"

"Osu!" They shouted in unison.

"Alright, you three can leave now." The Yakuza Don smoothly orders, smiling.

After bowing and taking their leave, the smile on the man's face dimmed a bit as he gazed towards Chouji, the man known as the 'Muscle Man'.

"You know what to do, right?" The Yakuza Don asked in a sharp tone.

"Yes boss, I've got the issue all down, it won't be much of a problem when I'm done." Chouji resolutely replied.

"Music to my ears, that's just what I want to hear, Mr. Chouji."

"After all, that package only contained a few of our minor places of operations and what they held within them, but if they have gotten ahold of info on our main branch and resources and decided to raid us, it would be quite the pain honestly."

Inwardly sighing, the Yakuza Don looked more intently at Chouji, saying;

"You see, those three kids might be sharing the same two brain cells, but with Gou and his natural brawling skills, Yun who was a former kickboxer, and Hanzo whose a real knife nut that knows his way around a blade, those three together make for a team with great potential, so I'd rather not have them kick the bucket too soon, ok?" The Yakuza Don finishes, peering outside the window towards the beginnings of the Tokita Ward.

"Understood sir," Chouji replied before bowing and leaving.

-CLICK!-

Lighting a cigar, the man leaned further into his chair as he briefly closed his eyes, taking a puff, pondering about the next direction in which he should take his group before opening them once again.

-FWEEEEW-

"In time you'll realize, Kyouma. You'll realize that physical prowess means nothing in front of money and overwhelming numbers." Speaking to no one in particular, the man blew out smoke as he squinted towards the horizon, before picking up his phone to make a few calls.

-XOXOXOX-

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1st Fight: BLOODY DREAMS END

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-XOXOXOX-

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