The next day~
…
‘What the hell is up with that new kid…?’ Hiroki thought.
He sat with his group of friends while they idly chatted around him.
‘Twice that ice beaten that guy…
The first was supposed to keep him away from my sister for good.
The second time, was just for good measure…
But…’ Hiroki recalled the two times he and that skinny twig faught.
The first time, he had beaten him to an inch of his life.
Usually, that did the trick against plebs like him who dared to harbour any kind of feelings towards his sister, but that day…
‘Just how the hell did he make that expression…’ Hiroki couldn’t forget it.
The face the boy he faught last week and yesterday had the same soulless expression of someone who just just wanted to pursue something…
Hiroki wondered if it was passion, but quickly dismissed it, he wondered if it was madness, but they were too focused for that…
Then, he eventually found the right word, obsession.
That was how he could describe that boy.
He could see a never ending depth to that guy’s want to surpass him, and himself…
‘Even if it was some kinda sick obsession, that doesn’t explain how did he came back even stronger after pummeling him…’ Hiroki thought deeply about it.
It made no sense to him.
No one can suddenly grow that quickly, right…?
“Oi, Hiroki?
You alright?” One of his friends asked.
Hirkoki snapped out of his thoughts, before turning and nodding: “Yeah, just thinking about my next match!” Hiroki said, forcing a smile.
‘Hmph…
No matter what that new kid pulls out of his arse, he’ll never surpass me anyways.’ Hiroki thought, with absolute certainty…
.
.
.
Ryu found himself at school once more, his condition not that much better than before…
His condition wasn’t exactly perfect.
His body was still sore from yesterday’s beating, but strangely enough, the pain wasn’t nearly as distracting as it should have been.
His increased Pain Tolerance made the aches feel considerably more manageable, while his Willpower seemed to help him push through the lingering fatigue.
‘Still hurts, though.’
Ryu rubbed his shoulder as he walked through the hallway: ‘At least I can move normally.’
The rest of the morning passed relatively normally.
Ryu attended his classes, took his notes, and tried his best to behave like an ordinary student.
For someone who had only been in this world for a short while, he was beginning to get surprisingly comfortable with the routine…
Then, during one of the breaks~
“Oi.”
Ryu stopped.
He slowly turned around.
Hiroki Kenzaki was standing behind him.
“…What?” Ryu asked.
“I need to talk to you.” Hiroki suddenly said.
Ryu immediately narrowed his eyes, saying: “No.”
Hiroki blinked: “…No?”
“No.”
Ryu folded his arms: “You’re probably just going to beat me up again!”
Hiroki’s eyebrow twitched: “I told you, I need to talk.”
“And I’m telling you that I don’t trust you.”
“Why the hell would I beat you up in the middle of school?” Hiroki rebutted.
Ryu huffed in rotation: “Dude!
You’ve done it twice already!”
Hiroki opened his mouth before closing it again.
“I…
Uhh…
Hmm…
Fair point.”
Ryu stared at him suspiciously.
Hiroki sighed.
Before eventually adding;
“Look, I only did that because I wanted you to stay away from my sister…”
Ryu’s expression immediately became confused…
“Your sister?”
“Yeah.”
“…Who?” Ryu asked, genuinely puzzled by this new set of information.
Hiroki stared at him: “Who else?
It’s the girl from the cafeteria.”
Ryu froze…
His eyes widened slightly: “…Wait.”
He remembered the dark blue hair.
Those hazel-brown eyes.
“What!?” The girl who had recommended the honey bread, and strawberry milk to him: “She’s your sister!?”
Hiroki nodded: “Yeah.”
Ryu stared at him for several seconds.
Then he suddenly raised both hands: “Hold on!” He quickly put his hands: “I wasn’t ever in love with your sister.”
Hiroki tilted his head: “…Huh?”
“…”
Ryu sighed, explaining: “I wasn’t trying to get with her!
I wasn’t even thinking about her like that!”
There was a brief silence.
“Oh…”
Hiroki scratched the side of his head: “You should’ve said something, man.”
A vein practically popped against Ryu’s forehead: “You beat me up TWICE because you THOUGHT I liked your sister!?”
“W-Well, yeah…” Hiroki shrugged, He continued: “Guys fall for her all the time.
I’m a guy too, so I know how they think.
I don’t want any of them hangin’ around her.”
Ryu stared at him incredulously: “…I understand the protective brother thing. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
To an extent.”
He sighed: “But I’m telling you, I’m not interested in her.
So you can, ya’ know…
stop.”
Hiroki nodded;
“Alright.
Sorry about that…”
Ryu blinked: “That easily?”
“Yeah.” Hiroki added without hesitation.
Ryu was shocked.
Wasn’t this guy supposed to be the typical bully archetype otherwise…?
Hiroki only smiled awkwardly: “I should probably make it up to you somehow.”
Ryu became quiet: ‘Make it up to me…’
He thought about it.
Realistically speaking, there wasn’t really anything Hiroki could do for him…
Except…
Ryu’s lips slowly curled upward.
Hiroki’s smile immediately disappeared upon seeing Ryu’s expression
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Let’s meet up where we met yesterday.” Ryu said, ignoring Hiroki’s question.
“…Why?” Ryu turned away.
“Haha…
You’ll see.”
Later that day, the two met behind the school.
Hiroki looked around: “Why’d you bring me all the way out here?”
Ryu stepped into the open space and raised his hands;
“It’s obvious.”
Hiroki’s eyes widened slightly.
“We’re fighting.”
“What?”
Ryu smiled: “Honestly…
I enjoyed fighting you.”
Hiroki stared at him like he’d just heard something insane: “You enjoyed getting punched?” The champion had to ask at this point.
“No…
Not exactly.” Ryu swiftly clarified.
Ryu then settled into his stance: “But, if I want to get stronger, who better to practice against than an upcoming boxing prodigy?”
Hiroki’s expression shifted: “…You’re, serious?”
“Very.” Hiroki sighed.
“Fine.” Ryu immediately rushed forward.
Following his lead, Ryu’s fist shot toward Hiroki’s face.
Hiroki, seeing it from a mile away, casually leaned aside.
The punch passed harmlessly by.
‘Well…
He’s definitely faster.’ Hiroki analysed.
His eyes narrowed.
‘Much faster than last time…’ He’d seen Ryu fight yesterday.This was clearly not the same kid…
Even compared to their first fight, the improvement was obvious…
At least, in terms of physical ability.
‘So, I guess that means my observations definitely aren’t a fluke…’ Hiroki now understood that clearly.
Ryu then turned around.
Hiroki’s expression became thoughtful: ‘He’s even gotten stronger.’
And not by a small amount.
It was almost unreasonable.
Ryu raised his fists again, saying: “Again!”
Hiroki nodded.
Ryu attacked once more, with more fervor than before.
And once more, Hiroki dodged his attacks as if they were nothing…
Ryu’s movements were still very rough around the edges.
His footwork wasn’t particularly good by any means, and his punches lacked any form of proper technique…
But something was different…
He was learning, and terrifyingly fast as well…
Compared to the first, and a bit of the second time.
Hiroki doesn’t know what to describe this as.
But, it felt as if Hiroki’s instincts were just…
Good?
This went on, until Ryu suddenly stopped…
‘…I don’t feel it.’ Ryu thought: ‘I can’t feel it coursing through me…’ He couldn’t feel that sensation now.
Hiroki raised an eyebrow, wondering: ‘He’s stopped…?’
‘That sensation from yesterday.’ Ryu looked down at his hands: ‘The thing that makes me want to keep pushing…’
He looked back at Hiroki…
Ryu raised his guard: ‘Hiroki…
Do me a favor…
I want to fight you, for real.”
Hiroki’s expression became serious: “You’re sure?”
“Just, whatever you do, don’t end it immediately.” Ryu added.
Hiroki stared at him.
Then, he smiled, saying: “Sure…” However, the atmosphere changed…
Ryu noticed it immediately…
Hiroki’s relaxed posture disappeared.
His eyes sharpened.
In fact, his entire presence seemed heavier, like some kind of invisible weight, or pressure surrounded him…
Then~
He moved.
Ryu barely managed to raise his guard.
THUD!
The impact forced him backward.
Another strike followed.
Another…
“…”
He barely slipped his arm into position: ‘There it is…’ That sensation returned…
Something deep inside him stirred.
Push…
Ryu’s eyes narrowed.
Surpass it…!
He clenched his teeth: ‘So that’s it…’ This time, he was conscious of it.
He could feel his entire body responding to that will that seemed to empower him
But he could also feel something else…
His stamina.
It was dropping.
And fast too…
‘Damn it…!
This damn power…
It’s practically chewing through everything I’ve got…’
Hiroki on the other hand kept on striking with countless boxing techniques.
Ryu blocked.
Dodged.
Moved.
Then, he had adapted…
Eventually, thirty minutes passed…
“Come on-!
Strike harder!” Ryu shouted.
Hiroki raised an eyebrow: “I already have been!”
He’d been gradually increasing the intensity throughout the entire spar.
Yet Ryu was still standing: ”He probably doesn’t even realize it.’
Hiroki’s eyes followed Ryu’s movements: ‘I’m not imagining it…
Ryu…
He’s getting better.’
Unknowingly, Ryu’s blocks were much cleaner.
His reactions to Hiroki’s strike were sharper.
He was beginning to predict certain attacks before they even happened.
Not to mention the fact that his overall footwork was improving…
Even his posture was correcting itself as he fought: ‘It’s like watching a game character level up right in front of me…’ Hiroki couldn’t believe it;
‘He’s correcting his own mistakes just by fighting me naturally…’
Another exchange.
Ryu blocked.
Countered.
Missed.
Adjusted.
Again.
…
…
…
The improvement was becoming impossible to ignore.
Eventually an hour had nearly passed.
Hiroki’s expression became serious.
‘I’ve actually got to try now.’ It was still nowhere near his maximum.
Not even close.
But even using roughly a fifth of what he could truly put out was ridiculous considering who he was fighting.
‘How the hell is he growing this fast?’ Hiroki stared at Ryu: ‘He’s almost like a genius.’
Not a technical genius.
Something else.
A fighter who could identify his own weaknesses in real time, and what seems like him instinctively correcting them.
Ding~Dong~
…
The bell suddenly rang in the distance…
Signalling that the spar was over.
Ryu immediately lowered his hands;
“Haaah…” He was breathing heavily.
His chest rose and fell rapidly as sweat ran down his face.
Hiroki watched him carefully: “You alright?”
Ryu raised a hand: “Y-Yeah…”
He struggled to catch his breath: “I’m fine.”
Then~
Grrrrrrr…
Ryu froze.
Hiroki stared at him…
Ryu looked down at his stomach: “…I’m hungry.”
Hiroki blinked: “…S-Seriously!?”
Ryu opened his mouth to respond.
His vision suddenly blurred: “…H-Huh?” His body felt a flush of overwhelming weakness.
Before he knew it…
His very legs had given out under him…
Thud~
Ryu had swiftly collapsed onto the ground, almost spasming.
Hiroki’s eyes widened: “O-Oi!” He quickly moved toward him: “Hey!
You said you were fine!” The kid was indeed NOT fine.
Ryu didn’t respond…
However, unbeknownst to him…
His body had simply run out of fuel…
.
.
.
End