Chapter 1: King of the Ring and the Queen of Sting
"You are a descendant of the Uchiha clan, and therefore, you must uphold the honor that is bestowed on us," the man said. "This clan is considered as the most powerful within the Village of Konoha, and it is your duty to maintain the good reputation it has already gained." He rapped the stick he carried sharply on the table. "Do you understand?"
Fugaku quickly sat up ramrod straight and dismissed his expression of boredom and disinterest. "Not really—I mean yeah, yes. Of course, oto-san. I do understand."
"Good. So does that mean that you will not anymore engage yourself in useless battles like some bird in a cockfight?"
He suddenly looked up. "Wha- what? How did you know that?" Fugaku asked. He hastily corrected himself. "I mean, what made you think of that?"
His father gave a crooked smile. "Don't ever think I'm too old not to suspect such a thing and do nothing about it. Fugaku, my boy, I didn't really go straight to the age of sixty, you know. I also passed sixteen. And I have to admit, the idea of participating in those fights was quite appealing."
"A ne? If you did, then there's no reason why you should prevent me from joining them. I mean, well, if you found them quite...er... appealing, do you suppose I could still...um...you know?" he looked at his father apologetically, but likewise grinning.
Suddenly, the old man's expression became stern again. "I never said you could still participate in activities such as those. Furthermore—"
"But oto-san, you did say I had to take pride in the Uchiha clan's strength. Well, I'm letting the others see how strong we are!"
Slowly, his father shook his head. "No, Fugaku. I'm talking about—never mind." He looked away. "Perhaps I presumed you were already old enough to understand, but maybe I was wrong." Then in a louder voice, he added, "Just listen: I don't want you in those fights again. The next time I hear you've been in them again, I will personally make sure you will never be allowed to go out again on your own without an escort. Is that clear?"
Numbly, Fugaku nodded his head. Satisfied, his father turned to leave the room and slammed the door closed, leaving his son to hang his head in disappointment.
After a few moments alone, Fugaku slowly stood up and crept upstairs to his own room. Why can't I just even be allowed to go to the places where the fights are being held? Even if I don't fight, I still want to be there. The truth of this was that whenever Fugaku went to 'cockpit' battles, fighting was not his only reason to stay there.
He quietly went over in his mind the reason why he always went to those fights...
It happened last month, when Fugaku's friend dragged him into one of the arenas.
"Come on, Fugaku. Be a sport. You know you can take on them easily. With that kekkei genkai you've got, they'll all be reduced to ashes in seconds."
"I can't. Honestly, I can't. I mean, the idea of it is pretty appealing, but I'm forbidden."
"Not just this once? No one will notice. Besides, don't you think it would be a good idea to let them all have a taste of Uchiha power?"
He hesitated. It wasn't that bad, and it certainly didn't sound like he'd die if he went to a fight. On the other hand, his friend was right. Showing a little of his power could be exciting.
Slowly, Fugaku nodded. He sighed. "But just this once. After this fight, no more."
His friend patted him on the back. "Just what I thought you'd say. Of course you're gonna do it just once. It's entirely up to you when you want to fight."
Fugaku's attention was riveted when applause sounded from the people, especially those surrounding the arena. When he looked, he saw a giant of a man standing triumphantly over the body of an equally large person.
"Our winner is the great Bullfighter!" More applause sounded. The announcer glanced at his copy. "Next, our fighter who will be facing the king of the ring, um...er..." he turned to Fugaku and his friend. "Do you have a nickname you could use?" he whispered.
Fugaku shrugged. "Uchiha Fugaku will do," he said.
The announcer turned back. "Our next fight will be the great Bullfighter versus Uchiha Fugaku!"
A murmur rose through the crowd when Fugaku stood in the ring. He looked like a midget compared to the beefy man next to him. The crowd began cheering, and 'Bullfighter' started raising his arms in acknowledgement of the applause. Fugaku rolled his eyes.
"Let the fight begin!"
At once, the huge man ran towards Fugaku, attempting to hit him with his head. The Uchiha was very surprised, especially because this was the first principle in fighting: never do direct frontal attacks on your opponent especially if you didn't know what they could do.
He smiled. If this man didn't take note of even the most basic principles in fighting, it would be a piece of cake. He sidestepped the man, and grabbed his massive arm. Fugaku hurled it with all his strength and Bullfighter got thrown off. He hit the ground with a sickening crunch. Roaring in rage, once again, he set off for the Uchiha but using the most basic taijutsu, in a matter of fifteen seconds, the match was over, and Fugaku had won without even breaking a sweat.
The announcer hurriedly went in the ring and knelt before the huge man, touching his arms for bruises. "It looks like we've got a new winner folks," he said, standing up to face Fugaku. "The first ever man who was able to beat Bullfighter, Uchiha Fugaku, the King of the Ring!"
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a voice sounded. "King of the Ring indeed! If it wasn't for your ability to fight, I would have called you a Weasel."
Fugaku turned to watch who had insulted him. He started to open his mouth for a reprimand, but stopped himself. Immediately, his first thought was, My God, she's beautiful, and he continued gazing at her with admiration.
She ran to where the defeated Bullfighter now lay, and touched him carefully. "No, what will I tell mother when you go home bruised up again? What's gotten into you? You're supposed to be my brother!"
Fugaku approached her and touched her shoulder but she gave a start and pulled away, glaring at him furiously. "You could have killed my brother," she snapped at him.
He sighed. "But I didn't, did I?"
His friend walked towards them. "Lady, do you know who you are talking to?" he put in. "He is Uchiha Fugaku, from the most powerful clan in the Leaf."
She balled her hands into fists and held them to her sides. "Uchiha?" she mocked.. "So what about it? I don't care. The fact is that you hurt my brother, and you will pay dearly for what you did."
With this, she slung an arm of her brother and made her way out through the crowd, leaving Fugaku and his friend with their mouths open.
That was everything that happened. From then on, Fugaku could not get off his mind the face of the young girl he had seen. That was why he always went to battles, hoping to catch a glimpse of her there. And now, every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was a vision of a fair young girl with dark black hair and deep, green eyes.