Chapter Two. The Ballad of the Ember King.
After school the next day I get home. Mom rushes about in her uniform to work her desk job at some support company that's in town. Or a branch of it. There's so many of them that I lost count. Mom halts and straightens her blouse and suit coat. She wears slacks instead of a skirt. Mostly because it makes her comfortable.
"Okaaay Tekka!" She mumbles, "Total focus! Your boss's boss's boss is coming in today!" She pats out her hair just to make sure no embers set anything flammable alight. She breezes by me.
"Kiss the son goodbye." She says kissing me on the forehead. "Food's in the fridge. Be back late. Better be here." She opens the door and slams it shut behind her. I freeze for a moment waiting for the car to pull out of the driveway.
Once the engine fades into the distance I rush to my room and grab my best hoodie. I yank it on and make sure I had my key and phone with me. I take some food with me so I can chow down during a break. Because today I'm gonna take the first step towards my project to become a hero! I have a lot of ideas to do it but if I can find someone willing to teach me how to box or even fight it would be a godsend!
I shimmy up the wall our neighbor put between us. Mostly out of some petty thing Mom and him got into. I cut across his side because it's faster but I misjudge the distance and almost faceplant into a flower bed. I say almost because I feel something around my waist. I'm hanging just inches from a Lily of the Valley. I squirm and the length of something whirls me back around. I don't see who did that until she emerges from the underbrush nearby.
What I first noticed about her is her hair. It's vines. Like… vines you grow and not just like grabby things. One or two of them are secured around my waist. She's taller than me. That much I know for sure. Her eyes are mossy green and even her eyebrows match her hair.
She sets me down on a brick path near the way out "Are you alright?" she asks "If you were to fall from that height you would injure yourself quite severely."
"Eh… been through worse." I huff, "Just using this as a shortcut. Won't be long!" I bounce to my feet and the girl cocks her head to the side.
"But you could've just left your house and gone down the sidewalk? Why would you want to climb my father's wall?"
"Uhh… training! Yeah. Training to be a hero." I sputter. "So uhhh… don't tell your old man you saw me and I won't climb your wall again."
"Hm." she grunts, "I will consider it. As long as you tell me your motivation for being a hero." I run my hand through my hair.
"To help out my mom." I say. It's true. I just say the other stuff so I don't make it so personal but just from seeing her leave for the night shift I knew that I should really strive for it. The girl smiles and lets me go.
"Oh! And another thing, nice garden!" I hurried out of there before something bad was gonna happen. Next thing I need to do is find a way to get stronger. So I head out of our little slice of neighborhood and towards the station.
I didn't even know what to look for so I just followed the sidewalk to wherever I needed to go. Eventually I would come across what I needed. Still I noticed a rather big crowd gathering at an old warehouse. It's not odd to come across some sorta thing like villains gathering for their own black market sales but this is definitely something different.
I muscle or try to muscle through the crowd of onlookers circled around the center of the warehouse. I came close enough to see and what I saw was amazing! Two fighters stand there with their stances up. This is exactly like Hajime No Ippo! One of them is really tall and muscular. Like she was cut right from the ages of some kinda Greek statue book. Her hair is blond and brown tied back into a big ponytail. She's really looking worse for wear but she's smiling.
The other guy looks just as bad but he's just as big as her. The two seem to be at a deadlock.
"Go Valkyrie!"
"Come on Blast Core!"
The crowd begins to roar and holler as they go at each other trading blows and trying to conquer the other. But the woman is still calm and measured with her strikes. The man is really trying to outlast her but it seems like she's got a lot more in the tank than she looks.
Then the strike came. Faster than I could blink the man was driven into the boxes far over our heads. The woman lands from her mighty uppercut and the crowd goes crazy. In that split second I saw something odd about her. It seemed a crimson light emanated from her and her muscles became more solid. Then the strike was faster than I could follow with my eyes. The referee raised the woman's hand above her head or tried to.
"Match over! The winner is the Kraus Conglomerate's Valkyrie!" He yells. The crowd hoots and hollers as she leaves. I slip out in the celebration and see her standing under an old overpass. She doesn't look ticked but she looks sad.
I hear a heavy cracking sound and see that she cracked one of the support beams.
"God dammit!" She yells, "The one time I get to let loose and he can barely take a hit! Way to go Maryanna! Now big sis is gonna be mad at you! Oh! Maryanna why did you knock that guy out Oh! Maryanna, I totally didn't want that dingy warehouse anyway!" she whirls around and I barely dodge a strike.
"Whaa! Whoa! Whoa!" I yell stumbling back "Watch it!"
"Eh?" she blinks before losing her stance, "Oh! Uh… sorry kid." She mumbles looking rather surprised before awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck "So uh… whaddya want?"
I bow so hard my face almost knocks into the pavement, "My name is Renaru Kaenshita! I want you to train me how to box Miss Valkyrie!" I look up and see her grinning like a little kid in a candy store.
"Really?!" She gasps, "I mean- uh… hit me with your best shot Kaen-whatever!"
"Wait… why?" I ask her.
"Because I need to see what I'm working with! So come on!" She exclaims beckoning me forward. I get down into my best imitation of a boxing stance and shuffle lightly. Something in my mind makes me hesitate so I lightly hit her.
She huffs, "You're holding back cause I'm a lady aren't you?" she lightly shoves me back and I dodge the motion. For a split second I see a small stream of embers come from my fist as it makes contact with her stomach. There's no give or anything like that. Embers fly from my fists as I continue pummeling on and on. She just blocks one of them and socks me away. I skid back and fall on my ass. Feeling a slight heat around me.
She holds out her hand "Not bad. Kaenshita." She says, "Could be better but still you have a good idea on how it works. Maybe do some training to get your quirk up to par."
"R-right." I mumble as she hoists me to my feet. 'What was that coming out of my fists just now?' I think. 'Some kinda fire quirk I guess, judging by how Mom and Dad both have them.'
"Hey. Your hair is glowing!" she exclaims, "Just a little though! With boxing nowadays you gotta marry your quirk and your body." she gently grabs my wrist studying it closely.
"Hmm… yeah. You were born with a lot of bad stuff weren't you? Short. Slender frame. Shaky hands and feet. Tight muscles you need to stretch out." She's circling me and looking at me closely.
"Oh… I'm that bad huh?" I wilt and mumble.
"No. Not at all." Miss Valkyrie says "I saw it. I saw that determination. You're the definition of an underdog aren't you? You pummeled me without hesitation after the first strike."
She smiles and gets in front of me. "I think… you really don't fit boxing at all." she says, "You could use it as a base but the thing is you're one of those hero types of kids."
"Huh? How do you know?" I wonder as I roll my shoulder a bit. My hand looks a little singed.
"Every kid wants to be a hero nowadays." She answers. "But here's the thing Kaenshita… if you really wanna be a hero then prove it by entering this! Train hard until then!"
She gives me a flyer and I take it. On it are the words Junior Underground Tournament with an address and time. The time is just a few months away from the UA Entrance Exam. And the address is an old arena where fights still go on.
I smile and fold it. "I'll be there!" I exclaim, "See ya Miss Valkyrie!" I dash off.
"Hey! Hang on!" She calls after me. I halt and look over my shoulder.
"If ya see my brother tell him I say hi!"
"Will do!" I answer and I begin my way back to the house with the flyer in my pocket.
On my way back to the house I see the girl from earlier calmly reading something outside on her porch. She looks up at me with a slight smile.
"Hello. Lovely evening isn't it?" she asks. I nod quickly. Vaguely recognizing her. Of course we're neighbors but I remember when the wall wasn't between our yards. When me and her were friends.
"Uhh… what are you reading?" I say not exactly coming close to the yard or even the curb. Mostly in the road but nobody really drives down this way other than Mom and our neighbor. The girl raises it.
"My bible." She answers. "My father requires that I read it every day. Of course the good word would be quite fine for life."
I cock my head at that. "You read anything else like manga or…"
"Oh no. No. My father banned those." She denies. I blink and suddenly almost fall over.
"Wait! Your father doesn't let you read MANGA?! I mean yeah if you read stuff like Berserk or some really crazy horror then I can see why but ALL OF IT?!" I yell. The girl just listens without a care in the world.
"Well I've had a passing fascination with it." She says. I nod and lay my hands on the back of my head with my arms tenting my head a little. I turn and begin my way back to my house. It was already late enough and she most likely needed to move on.
So I just head home without another word. But she calls after me. "Wait! Can you at least tell me your name?"
I turn with a slight smile on my face. "It's Renaru. I live next door. Have a good evening." I turn back around and walk away toward my house with my head full of ideas on how to train myself. How to condition myself into a better version of me.
I get into the garage and look around in the storage shed. Finding an old set of weights and a barely held together heavy bag with a rusted chain. I don't know what else to find. Somehow Mom had these since years ago and she never told me about them.
I still beat out the cobwebs and started my search for a new chain for the bag. I find it in a large bin on a shelf along with boxing wraps that look rather new. I unfold the flyer and hang it up to keep me going. Every time I look at it, I should be reminded of my goal. My journey begins after today. No more will I ever be weak again after this. All it will be is hard work and challenges I have to clear out of my way.
So what if I lose? I'll be stronger for it! I fasten the heavy bag to the ceiling of the garage and get to it. My fists sailed into it but it was barely moving. I hammer at it again with more force. No luck. I grit my teeth and breathe deep. Trying to pull out the embers I had earlier. Trying to feel the heat from earlier. Trying to stoke the flames and light my body up with them. Until then I continue to chip away at it.
'Breathe in, breathe out. Keep it balanced 50-50.' I think to myself as I pummel the bag like no one's business. My arms and legs ache and my body is slick with sweat. I shed my jacket and shirt. Soon enough, I feel it again. It's small and barely flickering. Like a candle. I continue to breathe and suddenly my hair lightens up and all the sudden my right fist rockets into the bag. A sharp pain tears up my arm and I go flying backward.
"Owww!" I hissed, "Shit!" I slowly take off the band and I see a pretty solid burn there. So I dash inside to take care of it. Running it under cold water and bandaging it. At least I know how to take care of burns.
I begin using my other hand more. Mostly because I didn't expect my arm to burst into flames. I head back out and see a sizable burn on the surface of the heavy bag. It seems like I have some strength in it but the recoil could be bad.
So I decided to stop for now. It's a good start but I can't risk injuring myself further. I fix myself some dinner and turn on the TV. Just as background noise until my food was done. Listening to the news is odd because normally I don't listen to it. Hero stuff. The weather. Something about a big company. Stuff I don't care about. My food gets done and I sit alone at the dinner table. Normally, Mom would be home and we would be talking and carrying on but when she works nights it sucks.
It's not that she ignores me or doesn't spend time with me but when I'm alone, it just feels weird. I huff and slowly eat my instant noodles, not much in the mood for cooking. Mulling over what I have to do or thinking about that girl.
Something about her seems so familiar. I can't place it. Something that bugs me even now. The feud between Mom and our neighbor had to start somewhere and at sometime. I did remember a friend of mine when I was little.
Then it clicks. My neighbor is my friend from years ago! How did I ever forget her? It makes sense when I realize she was reading a bible and bringing up her dad so… yeah. I haven't seen her for years either. So now I have a means to train and maybe a good friend. I just hope she's doing okay. I look down at my weakly shaking hand and clench it into a fist. All I need to do is hold on and keep training and maybe I'll get to be friends with her again.
I throw away the cup and get to my room with me changing out the bandage and taking off my clothes to get into the bath full of warm and sudsy water. The water doesn't sting but I just lay there in the bath staring at the ceiling. I still had a lot of work to do.
But at least it was a start. I wash the sweat and grime off and it all sheds off. I dry off and find my hair still glowing just a little. I smile in the mirror and head off into my room hearing the front door open.
"Renaru! I'm home!" Mom yells, "Man… what a day." She sighs as I tuck myself in and she stands in the doorway. Her hair was shining softly. She takes one look at me and marches over to my bed.
"You… you ignited." She starts sitting down on the edge of my bed and reaching out to touch my glowing hair. Her eyes are full of odd nostalgia.
"Guess you're like me. I didn't do such a bad job." She says. "You look like me." I blush and she chuckles a little.
"Is that a bad thing?" I ask.
"No. No honey. It's fine. Just…" she looks at my burn and sighs. Gently grabbing me and pulling me against her chest. She's holding me. It seems like it's sad.
"Be careful." She mutters. "If it gets too tough you can always of it."
"Mom. I'll be fine!" I exclaim "I'll become a hero and… and you…" I get a little embarrassed and she pushes me back to look me in the eyes.
"Don't do it because of me." she says.
"Do it because you're you. That's the only way to do it. I've seen someone close to me drive himself crazy being a hero for someone else." she sighs. "And idiots who do one heroic thing that lands them in trouble."
Mom just stands and tucks me in. Kissing me on the forehead. "Goodnight Renaru." She moves towards the door and closes it shut behind her. I smile and snuggle down into my blankets. Something about tomorrow sounds even better than today considering I took my first step quirk wise.