Side Story(3)
SS: Fragment of bad memories
Renji Aikawa.
Born with a golden spoon in his mouth, he had never had a single concern when it came to money.
Anything he wanted or needed would just conveniently be there before him if he wanted it.
It wasn't just his wealth.
Looks and charm, even as a child he was ceaselessly admired and chased by girls and envied by men.
He who was born into such a lifestyle never knew of the word defeat and he never would.
At least, that should have been the case.
But he, Renji Aikawa had lost once before.
It was an insignificant memory, one a normal person would have long forgotten and moved on with their lives.
Yet, how could he who was meant for greatness forget the disgrace he had faced that very day?
That day marked the moment he vowed himself that no matter the method, he would never ever lose again!
…
Renji was five at the time.
Having enlisted in a dojo by his parents so that he could learn self-defense, he was chosen by the instructor to take one of the remaining competition spots and claim victory for the dojo.
At first, he thought it was a waste of his time.
Hadn't he only learned martial arts to pass the time?
His parents said it'd be fun and beating people up without getting yelled at was somewhat exciting but a tournament didn't sound too appealing.
He honestly wanted to quit however, his mother excitedly persuaded him to join.
'If you join I'll get you the dog you've always wanted'
When he heard this promise, Renji thought the tournament no longer seemed so annoying and decided, why not give it a try?
He was confident he wouldn't lose in any case so it wouldn't hurt to get a dog while he was at it.
Ever since birth, he, Renji Aikawa had been blessed with a strong physique.
When it came to technique he might be worse than an amateur, however in raw strength he seemed to have herculean prowess.
In the same age group, there was almost no chance of him losing.
Even in the dojo he could easily push around those 10 year old and 12 year old students.
And so, filled with confidence Renji raced through the matches with relative ease.
That was, until he met him.
In the fourth and final round of the qualifiers.
Silver blue colored hair and golden eyes that seemed not of this world.
'A girl?'
Renji though this at first.
However this was the boy's tournament, not to mention his instructor told him that the kid was a boy.
'Anyway, since he's a guy I can beat that pretty face ragged right?'
Renji grinned at the time.
Even as a kid, he never liked people who looked better than himself.
So, while he though this, Renji stretched lightly and the moment the signal was given he charged forward.
'Three strikes…'
He would end this in three strikes.
From what he'd seen in this kid's last match, he was definitely strong but Renji was confident that he was stronger.
He threw the first strike, a wild punch.
It was easily dodged, but Renji didn't care since he still planned to end this by the third strike.
Still, it slightly shook him that his fast punch was avoided.
Pushing aside the doubts, he struck twice more.
Swish! Swish!
His fist flew fast and hard, yet both were easily pushed aside with ease.
'Wha–!'
This was impossible!
Up until now, no one had taken his punches.
With his strength, a normal ten year old couldn't take his punches not to mention a 5 year old.
That was how he made it this far.
Yet even as he struck again and again, the blue haired boy blocked and pushed aside all his strikes as if they were nothing.
There was something wrong with his opponent!
Was it drugs?
Otherwise how could he show such a pathetic display?
He, Renji Aikawa would never lose to anyone ever!
As if he had been driven to insanity, Renji's strikes became more erratic and his fist swam wildly through the air.
He was like a wild beast released from its reigns.
This was another reason he had won prior matches.
Without a set technique, Renji just punched and kicked however he felt like it.
For others, with his powerful strikes and wild attacks, they would be easily overwhelmed.
But against this opponent, the style that carried him so far seemed useless!
When he struck a quick jab, the opponent moved aside as though he already saw it coming.
Giving a side glance to his opponent, Renji clicked his tongue.
He then bent his knees and twisted sending the back of his fist towards his opponents head.
But his opponent didn't retreat.
His wrist was grabbed and the force of his blow seemed to soften in the opponents grasp.
Then before he could collect his bearings, a heavy fist came from below hitting under his chin.
His head flung back while the body he prided himself on seemed to float in the air for a few seconds.
But before he could even fall, a sharp elbow struck the wind right out of his lung folding him forward.
At that moment, he felt his collar being gripped before his world twisted and his eyes saw the ceiling.
Pain, anger, confusion?
What the hell had he even felt in that moment?
All he knew was, when he hit the mat a loud sound echoed and he felt as if he had hit concrete and not the mats on the floor.
He felt paralyzed, unable to even comprehend what in the world was happening.
When he finally remembered to breathe and took a gasp, he felt as if he'd been choked to the point of suffocation.
At the same time, at the end of his vision something seemed to be getting closer to his face.
What was it?
He squinted.
It wasn't until the heel fell beside his face, tearing through the mat and slightly causing a dent in the floor.
Crazy!-
Renji looked at the ground with a pale expression.
Just what kind of monster was this, this couldn't even be considered human anymore!
'Did the ground Crack?!'
Following a nervous gulp, he looked up only to meet the eyes of his opponent.
Deep murky eyes filled with no form of emotion.
No hatred, no joy, no nothing. All that he saw in those eyes were darkness, a deep endless abyss.
This was Nagisa at the age of 5.
Having not only killed someone for the first time, but also having someone he cherished die right in front of him caused him to lash out in the only way he knew how.
Through fighting-
Even just standing there on a normal day, hands that seemed clean to others seemed to be dripping with blood.
In his mind lingered disgust.
Disgust at how he could take a life so easily, and at how easily something precious could be taken away.
So now Nagisa sought it-
More power.
A power strong enough to stand up to fate, to keep those he cared for safe and to never let him experience feeling so pathetic ever again.
He had learned neither technique nor skill yet.
Realizing that the young Nagisa was willing to learn the Kanata family martial arts, his grandfather set this stage expecting him to get his little butt beat in the early stages.
Get real, Nagisa hadn't yet learned any form of martial arts.
While he practiced when Nagisa was around, he never guided Nagisa and training alone would be dangerous so he knew this brat had no prior experience in martial arts.
Even if the smaller ones lost, he was sure Nagisa would lose to the bigger ones as this tournament went up to age 13.
To his surprise, this kid of his seemed to be a bonafide monster!
Renji on the other hand could hardly get a read on this person.
'But it's okay'
Yes, it was fine.
Just one hit, that was all he needed to do. Land a solid shot!
His opponent was a human and no kid his age could stand properly after taking his punches!
Thinking this way, Renji forgot his fear and shot forward.
Swish!
The punch was wilder than any other, but no doubt it was faster and more powerful.
Yet, as if he'd seen through it all beforehand, Nagisa swayed to the side easily evading the strike.
What followed was a flurry of futile attempts to punch and kick his opponent, yet no matter what he did he only lost stamina in the end.
Just when he was on the verge of falling due to his exhaustion, Nagisa made his counter attack.
Crouching under a fist, Nagisa planted a strong fist deep into Renji's abdomen.
All the air seemed to be stolen from his lungs in that moment.
For such a weak and frail looking kid, Nagisa had strength that simply didn't make sense!
Yet it did not stop there.
Bam!
A fist met his face before Nagisa twisted following the momentum and sent a kick to Renji's unguarded stomach.
Each attack was accurate and filled with powerful force.
Was this the skill of a child?
The crowd was awestruck unable to believe what they were seeing.
Renji was frustrated.
He was losing, and by a huge margin at that,
Worse, his opponent attacked so quickly in succession that he couldn't even find time to surrender.
His frustration boiled over and before he knew it, his movements were more unstable.
Yet the result stayed the same, rather for him it worsened as he didn't even have his guard up anymore.
Little Nagisa sighed thinking it was time to end it.
Renji spun a wild kick at Nagisa, however Nagisa crouched to his hand before kicking away Renji's pivoting leg.
Losing balance, Renji fell sideways while Nagisa twisted and landed an elbow to his chest slamming him to the ground with force.
Bam!
Renji felt he hit the ground even harder than before but, more than that was his chest.
It felt broken!
Still, Nagisa was far from over.
Folding his right arm into a fist he drove it town the sound like tearing through air.
[Match! That's enough!!]
Just inches away from hitting its target, Nagisa's fist stopped carrying a terrifying wind that blew aside Renji's bangs.
The fist paused, and Nagisa stayed in that position for a few seconds before getting up and performing a bow respectfully then turned.
Just like that, he walked away until he was no longer seen.
Renji, still on the ground looked into the ceiling.
He was left in confusion.
[I…lost?]
He lost, and to someone his own age at that?
The confusion on his face cleared, replaced by tears that fell endlessly.
He, the one who should have it all lost!
Not only that, but the emotionless eyes of his opponent, that sigh hat completely disregarded him…
When he recalled all this, Renji's face contorted with anger and he decided that moment.
'Even if I have to be cruel, I will never lose…not ever again!'