ch. 1: x
Surviving The Odds
Disclaimer:
K-On! is owned by Kakifly and Kyoto Animation
Hello and welcome to my new K-On! fic, and this time you'rein for a treat as this fic will be different from my past ones, and again, this will feature Satoshi Tainaka, Ritsu's younger past fics featuring Satoshi were mostly romantic, having him paired with Mio Akiyama (Mio x Satoshi: First Romance) and Tsumugi Kotobuki (Tsumugi x Satoshi: Private Lessons), which clicked quite well, but then I was pondering on what to make for a new K-On! fic since two of my past K-On! fics are still ongoing, but then a new idea came to my head.
While watching cable TV, I came across the 1982 movie "First Blood" which starred Sylvester Stallone, and after watching this (I watched this movie several years back, being one of my favorite movies), it inspired me to make a fanfic adaptation and began to think of which anime to use and which character to represent.
Satoshi came to my head and see him as a "suitable character" to portray, and while he is known as a shy boy in the anime, he will be portrayed in a rather serious tone which will be shown in later chapters and why he will be shown as a different person from what he appeared to be in the anime. While the K-on! characters will be shown within the chapters, Satoshi will be the main focal point of this story.
This will be rated T due to the heavy drama, serious topics, and the rather graphic (but tolerable) violence shown here.
Well, enjoy!
Ch. 1: Flashback ~ Ten Years Ago
Tokyo, about ten years ago...the scene shifts to the Tainaka residence where the family of Ritsu Tainaka lives. While it is typically resembled that of a normal, "happy" family, it wasn't quite so, as in many of the typical family stereotypes, there are conflicts that would happen to almost anyone, and the Tainaka family is among those whose relationships would be shown to have a strained one.
One particular scene shows that Satoshi Tainaka, then 10 years old, was a constant victim of bullying, and while Ritsu resolves to help him, Mr. Tainaka wants Satoshi to deal the problem "as a man", verbally and physically threatening the boy with sanction if he doesn't deal with this problem on his own, in which Ritsu strongly disagrees, but was "shut up" by her dad as Mr. Tainaka uses his position as the "patriarch of the family" to make Satoshi do things the "man way".
"You heard me...solve this problem on your own!"
"But...I..."
"No buts! You're my only son...and I want you to grow up like a man! You should and must learn how to stand up on your own!"
"But...I...I don't want any conflicts! I'm no match for them I..."
SLAP!
"Don't you cry your way out of this one! I did not raise you to act like a girl! You're a boy! You will grow up like a man! So deal with this on your own!"
"..."
"I f you don't solve this on your own...I will teach you the hard way...got me?!"
"Y-yes...'
Being 13-years old at that time, Ristu was unable to stand up to her dad and Satoshi ended up being forced to do what his dad said. He quietly leaves the house en route to school, and Ritsu urged her mom to do something fearing that this might cause some psychological effect to her younger brother, but Mrs. Tainaka instead urged her to follow the patriarch as he knows what is best for Satoshi.
-x-
At her school, Ritsu confided to Mio her situation and Mio can understand why, and she felt that Satoshi needed help, and there she suggested that she asked Ritsu to ask her other relatives for help, or even ask Satoshi's guidance counselor for advice, in which the elder Tainaka sibling felt that this may be the only option seeing that neither her parents would help matters, and as soon as classes ended, Ritsu and Mio set off to Satoshi's school.
"...and that's how it happened..."
"Your dad got this wrong...he shouldn't have..."
"And mom is even supporting him...and when I urged her to help Satoshi, she said just to follow what dad says..."
"Why not ask your relatives for help...even ones who are older than your dad...even his godfather...that may be the only way..."
"You got a point there..."
"How about Staoshi's guidance counselor...?"
"Yeah! He might help! Let's go there after class!"
"Okay!"
-x-
At Satoshi's school, Satoshi is quietly inside his classroom, doing his homework early and is still shaking the effects of bullying, as he was constantly being harassed by other students, mostly the sons of an arrogant judo teachers, who encouraged them to "show who is the man", and the bullies noticed Satoshi and made him their target, and thus the bullying started six months ago, and with their judo skills, and their threats, Satoshi was unable to tell his guidance counselor his problems, even though the guidance counselor sensed his problems.
By then the bullies bullied the remaining classmates to leave, and with no witnesses, they began to harass Staoshi and demanded his money and food, in which he has nothing to offer and pleaded to them to leave him alone, but this gave them reason to bully him physically and began to use jab punches to hurt him while others serve as lookouts to signal them if a teacher is passing by.
"Hey, pipsqueak! Hand over your money and food!"
"But...I don't have any..."
"Hey, boss...he's got nothing! What now?"
"Let's teach him a lesson..."
"How about giving him something...?"
"But...please...leave me alone...!"
"Huh?"
"Sorry...we can't..."
"We'll make you obedient to us..."
As the bullies began to shove and slap him, Satoshi was starting to get over the edge, and began to shove them back, and one of them was toppled when tripped against a chair. That one was the leader, and he was quite challenged when Satoshi did that to him. As his two cronies help up their leader, the trio are about to gang up on him when the leader seemed to change his mind and offered to forgive and forget.
Satoshi appeared to take the bait as he wanted to avoid trouble and accepted, but it was just a ploy as the bully leader delivered a roundhouse kick that struck the left side of his temple and Satoshi was sent crashing against a table and the other two bullies began to stomp and kicked him, but the other two bullies who serve as lookouts urged their mates to stop as a teacher is passing by, and there the leader tells his troops to stop and he pulled Satoshi by his hair, threatening more harm if he tells anyone of this before leaving.
"Tell anyone what you did and you won't come home in one piece..."
As the bullies left, Satoshi was lying on the floor, battered and humiliated, and because of the psychological situation he is in, mainly due to the "sanctions" by his dad, he is unable to tell his teachers and guidance counselor about this and leaves the school ignoring concerned looks from other people. Some of Satoshi's classmates suspected this but are unable to tell the teachers because they too are being threatened by the bullies.
A few minutes later, Ritsu and Mio arrived and went inside Satoshi's school and found his guidance counselor and there they talked about the problem and there the guidance counselor realized why Satoshi is always quiet and avoiding kids his age, and is now considering telling the principal to summon Satroshi so that they can make moves on how to help him in his situation, but then a concerned student came and told him that he saw and overheard the bullies' plan to follow Satoshi outside school, and there Ritsu, Mio and the guidance counselor began to move and head out of the school to find him.
-x-
Several blocks away from school. Satoshi was walking for home, his bruises on his face and cut on his left temple are visible and he did not even bothered to wipe off the blood as he knew his dad would berate him even more for not "standing up like a REAL man" and that getting help from a guidance counselor would make him more of a coward and "gay", and this further caused him to border on the limit of his "tolerance", in which a few more situations would make him SNAP.
By then the bullies caught up with him, and with no witnesses around, they surrounded Satoshi in a 5 to 1, and prepare to attack him in a humiliating way.
"Hey, pipsqueak!"
"Let's have some fun..."
"No...please...leave me alone!"
"Sorry...no can do..."
"No witnesses...no teachers...no interruptions..."
"We'll make you feel sorry..."
"...for messing our boss a while back there..."
As Satoshi pleaded to therm to stop this, it only went on deaf ears as they began to use their judo moves on him in a 3 to 1 handicap match while the other two serve as lookouts, and the trio attacked Satosahi using judo punches and kicks, and there the leader told Satoshi that they were spying on him at his home and overheard what his dad said to him and stated that no one will help him and that Satoshi will remain a "sissy" for the rest of his life, and claiming that Mr. Tainaka will regret having a son who couldn't "grow balls" and that Ritsu would be a good cheerleader with "no panties" and made lewd comments and gestures aimed at her.
As Satoshi tries to talk back, the bullies brought out kendo sticks and began to torture him physically like he was being tortured in war-themed movies, and this humiliated the boy even more. As the two bullies held Satoshi, the leader brought out a cutter and is scaring him into thinking that he is cutting his face off, and when he said that he is going to use it to cut off Ritsu's panties, his concern for his elder sister, who is the only one who helped him through out his ordeal, caused an effect on him and the humiliation (physical and psychological), along with what his dad told and warned him about, reached in to his soul, finally made him snap and adrenaline coursed to him as he shift his legs and grabbed the other bully and threw him towards the leader, and then kicked the next bully on his groin, in which the bully knelt in pain.
Satoshi has "blacked out" as anger and adrenaline overtook his senses and thinks nothing but fight back, as he gouge his attacker by his eyes, ripping them out and his face was filled with blood and the other bullies and their leader were taken aback at what they saw, as the now-blinded bully screamed in pain and begged for help. By then Satoshi grabbed the kendo stick and breaks in in tow, and there the next bully went for him and attempts to use his judo skills on him but Satoshi evaded them, and as the bully dies a roundhouse kick, Satoshi stabbed the broken kendo stick in his attacker's leg, puncturing him and he is disabled, and he fell down and screaming in pain.
"AAAAIIIEEEE!"
The bully leader is now starting to get the jitters at seeing his two posse being taken down in a rather violent fashion, and struggles to keep his composure as he tries to charm his way to lower his target's guard, and then thought of using Ritsu in his tactics to distract him and he uses the chance to do so which seemed to have work.
"Look! It's your elder sister...Ritsu!"
As Satoshi turned around, taking the bait, he is distracted to see that Ritsu isn't actually around, and the lead bully took the chance and used a roundhouse kick to hit his head, and then does a lot of judo kicks to disable him, and as Satoshi staggered down, the lead bully tackles him and uses knee strikes, but then Satoshi hugged and lifted him before slamming him down, hitting his head on the pavement. As the lead bully moaned in pain, Satoshi grabbed his right arm and slammed it against his leg with much force that it broke, and in a horrifying fashion, the bully's broken bone punctured out of his skin, exposing it and bleeds.
"AAAAIIIIEEEE!"
As the two bullies watched in horror, Satoshi grabbed the lead bully's other arm and slammed it against his leg, also breaking and bleeding it, and the lead bully is fully disabled, and is now setting his sights on the two lookouts, who are cowering in fear, and began to pleads for their lives as they didn't want to end up like their three friends.
"N-no...please don't!"
"We won't do it again!"
"We'll tell the teachers what they did to you!"
"Yeah...we'll leave you alone...I swear!"
"Just don't hurt us!"
"We'll transfer schools if that'll put you at ease!"
"Just get away from us!"
"Please!"
However, the "carnage" stopped when a police officer, who just arrived and saw what Satoshi did to the three bullies, arrived and fired taser shots at the boy, disabling and knocking him out before locking him in handcuffs and there he asked the other two boys what happened, and fearing that they might get the "dressing down" if they tell them the truth, the two boys lied and gave their statements making it appeared that Satoshi attacked them for no reason and belied that the five boys were forced to defend themselves, in which the officer took the boys' words and called for an ambulance while taking the Satoshi to the police station.
As Ritsu, Mio and the guidance counselor arrived they saw only the three injured boys being loaded to the ambulance while Satoshi is not around, and when the guidance counselor asked if they saw Satoshi after showing him the boy's picture, one of the medics stated that a policeman took someone to the police station and there the trio realized what they feared: Satoshi snapped, and the trio asked where Satoshi is taken and head off to the police station in order to see how they can help the beleaguered boy.
To Be Continued...
Hope you like this chapter, and I do hope you weren't taken aback at how Satoshi is portrayed here, but it is justifiable considering the situation he went through. Because bullying (physically, psychologically and via cyber space) is a serious topic in real life, I thought this would be a good way to present this as a start-up topic as to how Satoshi would be portrayed as a misunderstood character and how this would affect him when he reaches high school, and that's where the main point comes in.
For now the story will be a bit slow as details of Satoshi's childhood will be presented here before the main one comes in the upcoming chapters.
Feel free to submit your reviews and let me know what you think of how I presented Satoshi in a different way.
Preview:
Satoshi's "innocence" is further strained as he struggles to move on after being named a suspect instead of being a victim, and is misunderstood within his hometown, which Ritsu struggles to help him as he slowly makes his way from the rest of his elementary days to high school.