Author's Note:
*Japanese mafia
**red-light district of Tokyo (The name "Kabukicho" wasn't used until the late 1940's as the area was a swamp until the Meiji Era.)
***Fighter-for-hire
*Kinniku – Muscle
*aku: meaning "evil" "wicked" or "bad" in Japanese.
**Kanji: Chinese characters used in Japanese
***Gi: A fighting uniform for martial arts
*kusogaki: unpleasant child (damn brat for short XD)
**kusojijii: unpleasant old man (damn old man)
*baishunfu: prostitute
ENTER: TOKYO'S MOST POWERFUL FIGHT MERCHANT
TOKYO, 1878
The Kamiya Bar was full that night.
It was normally a bar so grubby and dull, that the Japanese folk never understood how it managed to keep itself open for all these months. The bar had almost no regular customers, except some minor yakuza* henchmen.
The owner was shitty, the bartender was shittier and the drinks were the worst. The only thing good about this place was that it was located near Tokyo's infamous red-light district, Kabukicho**.
The fight between the most powerful fight merchants of Tokyo simply happened to be in that bar, which was what that saved the bar's reputation.
But we aren't here to hear about the reputation of this dirty little bar.
There were 9 customers that night. All of them being yakuza henchmen with the lowest pays, except one. This one man, was one of the most feared fighters of Tokyo, a really dangerous kenkaya***. Others felt uneasy being around this particular man, nevertheless they kept quiet. No one wanted to anger him out of nowhere. He had enormous muscles for which he was named after. He was known to have been extremely brutal and his lust for tormenting people he was assigned to defeat was legendary. It was known that he had even crushed the head of a man with his bare hands.
His name was Kantaro Shouichi, often known as Kinniku* Sho.
Everyone in Tokyo feared him. The guy was a living nightmare.
So was the young kenkaya he was to face that night for the first time.
His name, or rather his street name, was Zanza. One could easily agree that he was taller than the most population of the city, and very well built for his young age. He had appeared out of nowhere 3 years ago, when there was a big confliction between the two major yakuza's of the underground. This kenkaya, who was only 15 at the time, had defeated countless men and was since one of the most powerful fighters of Tokyo. His giant-like sword, Zanbatou, was his trademark which his rivals had nightmares about. That and the 悪 (aku*) kanji** he carried behind the back of his gi***.
As soon as people heard these two dangerous men were to fight in this crappy place, the bar became all of a sudden very crowded.
They had simply followed Zanza. One didn't need to be smart to understand that he was going to battle someone. Someone so strong, that he needed his legendary Zanbatou.
The young kenkaya unexpectedly entered the Kamiya Bar. The others followed. He had to lean down in order to pass from the door. The others did not.
The bartender and the owner was shocked to see such big names of the underground. In their bar too? For them, it was an honour to host such powerful kenkaya's, but neither of them spoke. There was something intense about the way Zanza looked, it was clear he wasn't here for a drink. Instead, they joined the curious crowd and followed Zanza to where he was going.
Zanza stopped at the table where Kinniku Sho was sitting.
Before he adressed Kinniku Sho, the most dangerous kenkaya of Tokyo, Zanza smirked. One could sense his eagerness to fight, to be soaked in blood, to win. But what made that smirk so famous and so dangerous was , one could also see that Zanza was angry. That dark smirk of his, it was the only smile he had.
"Sho." The young kenkaya's voice was rough and strict. "I am here to fight you."
Unlike his somewhat calm attitude, Sho was a man who spoke loudly. "Zanza, welcome!" he said smiling, clapping his hands as if welcoming a friend.
"I was expecting you." He continued. "But you came early. I was just about to head to Kabukicho for some women you know." He looked at the crowd behind Zanza. "We sure have the perfect audience don't you think?"
"Shut your yelp Shouichi." Zanza said angrily. Everyone in the room was startled. "Don't talk to me like I am your friend. I am nothing like you."
The way that Zanza unintentionally controlled the atmosphere of the place, the fact that people were more scared of this brat, rather than him, got on Sho's nerves. Zanza didn't respect Sho at all and everyone in the room knew it. Nobody could mock Kinniku Sho just like that.
"Fine kid." Sho's smile faded, being replaced by a threatening face. "I will give you your lesson quickly." He stood up. He was one of the biggest men people could ever see, despite that, he was only a few fingers taller than Zanza. Sho flexed his muscles and cracked his bones threateningly but Zanza just smiled.
"They will fight!" Someone shouted excitingly and everyone in the crowd bawled with him. The bar suddenly became the loudest place around.
The owner of the bar shouted to the bartender, as the two kenkaya's went outside, to the garden. "What are you waiting for you scum, give everyone a drink! Move your ass you useless shit! Quickly, quickly!"
Soon, everyone had a drink in their hands and the kenkayas were ready to fight at the wide garden of Kamiya Bar.
Some cheered for Sho, some for Zanza. Sho did a demonstration of his strength, by simply tearing down a big table with his head. He was shouting wildly and making the crowd cheer for him, while all Zanza did was to stand and wait for his stupid opponent to calm down.
Zanza ripped up the bandages that covered the surface of his Zanbatou and that made everyone lose focus on Sho's shoutings.
A Zanbatou is a traditional sword used for slaying horses but it was said no one has been able to use it due to it's significant weight. Zanza carried it as if completely ignoring it's sheer size and heaviness.
He didn't care about his fame or his fans. He just wanted to fight, fight until all his bones were broken, until he was blood-soaked, until he was dead. He was so angry, that he would never stup punching things and beating people as long as he lived.
"I will beat you senseless kid." Sho shouted. "You might be a well-known fighther for hire, but I am the strongest. You will be crying for your mama when I'm done with you!"
"Shut up and fight Shouichi." Zanza answered.
As Kinniku Sho dashed to Zanza, everyone held their breath. Zanza quickly swung his giant-like sword to slow Sho down. Sho had to stop in order not to be crushed by the sword, but attacked again as soon as the sword was behind Zanza's back. Then again, Zanza was unexpectedly quick with his weapon. He simply jumped back and swung it again and all Sho punched was the sword itself. Zanza moved harshly forward pushing Sho with it. Sho leaned and escaped and attacked again. Zanza managed to block his extremely strong punches with his sword. Sho was a powerful man but had straight-forward attacks, which were quite easy to read. His body was too big, that it didn't allow him to do unexpected attacks. However, one could not easily take his punch and stand up again. Plus, his body was so muscular, that one had to blow 10 times more than normal in order to defeat him.
Zanza continued to block his attacks until suddenly he jumped and raised the sword on his head. He swung it sharply to the ground. Sho barely escaped the blow. There was a big hole, where the sword had hit. Zanza, without delay, swung the Zanbatou once more, this time hitting Sho. Blood splattered onto the ground and Sho shouted in pain.
The Zanbatou was the perfect weapon to fight against him. The greatsword was an antique and was not sharp as normal swords anymore. But it could still crush things and break bones.
"No!" Sho shouted with anger. "I will not let a kusogaki* like you take my reputation! I am the strongest kenkaya of Tokyo!"
"You will have to kill me then, kusojijii**." Zanza smirked.
"Won't be the first time I kill a man." Sho attacked quicker and stronger than before. The two continued to land hard blows on each other for the next five minutes but neither of them fell. The crowd around them was getting bigger. It would be just a matter of time before the city police heard about two underworld members fighting to the death.
That didn't matter to anyone though. They were too eager to see who would win this fight.
Both of the fighters had blood, sweat and mud all over them. Sho spitted out a broken tooth of his and Zanza rubbed off his sweat. He picked up his Zanbatou again and prepared himself for an attack.
Sho didn't attack for at least 10 seconds instead looked at Zanza with hatred.
"What happened, kusojijii?" Zanza teased him. "Too weak 'n old for your 'the strongest' title?"
One of the things Sho hated the most, was to be mocked. He had too much of an ego, not to be angered by it. His eyes suddenly changed, they were wilder than before, furious and red-hot, almost crazy. People who saw his eyes suddenly stopped cheering right before he dashed into Zanza one last time. He was attacking to kill.
And he was fast. Zanza was shocked and for a brief moment frozen after seeing his eyes. The eyes of a killer.
He reacted just in time. He lifted his Zanbatou and turned it's end to the ground. He submerged it underneath the earth and Sho couldn't stop and lost his balance stepping on the sword itself. Zanza instinctively lifted the sword with all his strength. Sho, who was standing on it flew a few meters away when the sword reached the air.
What a move. It was the first time Zanza did it.
Sho tried to stand up from where he fell. "No!" he shouted. "No, I'm not done yet!" If Zanza hadn't done his finishing move, he could have get up. Zanza knocked Sho out by hitting him on the head.
The crowd continued to shout his name for at least 30 seconds but Zanza was waiting for Sho to get up. He was expecting him to. But Sho didn't rise. He laid there, unconcious. People who were sure the battle had ended, ran to the "battlefield" and loudly congratulated Zanza. Zanza unwillingly put his Zanbatou slowly to the ground as they approached.
"What a battle!"
"From now on he IS the strongest! We should inform everyone of this!"
"Zanza! Zanza! Zanza!"
Most of them were yakuza henchmen with filthy smiles and a few that were women, were mostly baishunfu's* who came from Kabukicho. Zanza unwillingly and quietly accepted their cheers.
As Zanza was trying to peek over the crowd one last time to make sure Sho was unconcious, a woman literally jumped onto him and pressed her lips onto his. The crowd cheered louder while someone shouted "More drinks! You shitty bartender drinks!" Zanza held the woman but he harshly parted his lips from hers. She was a beautiful woman with long dark hair and cherry red lips. But she was… a baishunfu. Zanza was confused, nonetheless he let the woman go and strictly said "Get away from me."
"Why?" The woman asked, dissapointed. "You are so strong and sexy. Every woman here craves for you. Wouldn't you like to spend your night with a beautiful woman right after the biggest victory of your life?"
"I... No." Zanza was sure of his answer but it was harder than he thought to say it out loud. It had nothing to do with this being his greatest victory. He would never want anything to do with baishunfus.
The woman was greatly dissapointed but it was too early to give up on such a valuable prize. She was just about try again when someone screamed.
Zanza lifted his head and the woman turned around to see what was happening. Suddenly, a bloody fist appeared and hit the woman right in the face. Her blood splattered onto Zanza. Women screamed and men sweared. Zanza was shocked, trying to ignore the loudness, trying to understand whether the woman's neck was completely broken or not, trying to reach to his Zanbatou.
He saw the next fist coming right at his own face. And he saw the furious eyes behind it.
This happens one and a half year before Sanosuke meets Kenshin and the others. There will be no mention of Kenshin, Kaoru or Yahiko, though I might make references. This is for Sanosuke fans, damn isn't he a hot mess XD
MINI INFO ON ME: English is NOT my first language, so there might be mistakes OR there might be improvements to make (e.g. "hurdled" sounds better than "bashed" because…) I will be happy to hear them.