Chapter 7. Break Me Down.
Fighting comes second nature to me. It's almost as easy as breathing. The thing is there were only four participants. Me. Hellboy Jr. Magus. And this Tetsutetsu guy. So when it came time for me to fight again. I gritted my teeth and sucked down the pain. My arms are a little burnt. My chest aches a little from the Second Strike. The announcer from earlier practically jives up to the ring with a hush falling over the crowd. He takes the mic and taps it to make sure it's still on.
"Alright! Our final fight of the evening is here! Sponsored by Ido Tetsutetsu is her son! The Steel Beast TETSUTETSUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" In a burst of blue here he comes to the tune of The Metal. He rushes right to the ring with a huge shining smile on his face. He takes a few shots and the crowd cheers. I tighten my hands into fists. My eyes blazing into the ring ahead. The thrumming of Some Kind of Monster pulses through me. I walk out to more cheering than earlier and the announcer yelling.
"In a stunning victory this fighter has gotten to the finals! Sponsored by Maryanna Kraus it's the Flashing Flame… RENARUUUUUUUUU KAENSHITAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
I get into the ring and march to the middle with Tetsutetsu. He smiles and holds out his hand.
"Yo! Glad you could make it!" He exclaims. "Not every day I get to duke it out with the son of a legend!"
"Issat right? My mom never really talks about it." I answer before we were ushered back into our corners. I'm ready to go when he is. The bell rings and we rush each other. The lights make me sweat and everything kind of fades away leaving me and Tetsutetsu to attack each other. The uphill battle begins now!
We clash steel to flames. Tetsutetsu forcing me backward with the crowd cheering for him. I dodge quickly away with my flames stoking in my chest. I breathe deeply and I close in with flames shooting from my legs.
"Khhhhhhh!" I breathe out with flames bursting to life through my fists. My bands keep the flames in control but they're fraying. Tetsu can outlast me and his steel turns a bright red whenever I hit him with my flames. All I got on him is my agility. He closes in with a heavy wide right hook and I duck under it just as the bell rings for the round being over. I go back to my corner and Maryanna kneels to check me out.
I'm covered in sweat and my arms and fists ache from the metal hitting me. I've kept my face and jaw safe for now but it's really getting tough.
"Sheesh kid… they really have the odds stacked against ya…" she sighs. "But hey! At least you're really good with dodging! And look in the crowd!"
I look over my shoulder to see a familiar face in the crowd. She's towards the back but I know those vines from nowhere else. I smile at her and wave my gloved hand. Ibara smiles and waves back shyly.
Maryanna giggles. "She snuck out here to see ya fight. She really cares about cha! Now watch out for Tetsu's hooks! They're game enders. Try to dodge for as long as ya can and move in when you see an opening."
"Outbox. Got it." I say. "Then a harsh barrage of body blows."
Maryanna nods with a smile. "You can do it. I've never seen a kid as determined as you. As long as you fight smarter, not harder."
The bell dings and I get back to my feet with my fists raised. Tetsu still has his wild no-guard strategy. I bounce from foot to foot staying light as the bell rings again for round two. Tetsu smiles and I smirk right back. Underground boxing has looser rules. Grabs and submissions as well as kicks can and will occur. If two fighters have a basis in boxing it's more common to just stick to blows. I bounce on my feet and quickly whirl around with a heavy kick.
Catching Tetsutetsu off guard, I was able to hit him on the jaw. He goes skidding as I close the distance. His steel barely having time to come out before I got him hard in the gut. I feel my hand crack a little as he struggles back into his all metal form. Suddenly he slams into me. Sending me rolling to the ring floor. My entire body hurts as I lay under the bright lights. Sweat mixing with blood and my body one big bruise. My head swims and I hear the referee going.
"One! Two!"
I hear Tetsutetsu above me, "Come on! You're a fighter right?" he yells, "It's not manly to die on your back!" I look above me and see the ropes. I grab one.
"I… I…" I groan. "I won't… go out like this!" Dragging myself to my feet despite my wounds and bruises. Despite my muscles begging me to stay down. My eyes are just on my foe. No. Not a foe. A fellow fighter like me. But my mind is cast to a different time. A time where I was on the ground just like then. A young boy not understanding why others hated him. Why did they hurt him? Why was he always cast out of things?
But he always got up. I get into my stance again. Tears running down my cheeks. Arms in total agony. My legs are not much better. My body is shaking. My hair is shedding embers. My fists quivering in their gloves. I bite down the pain.
Suddenly… heat bursts from my body. My hair bursts into a roaring life. My trunks billow from the force and the ring below creaks and groans from all the pressure. My eyes are full of the same flames. I don't scream but I do breathe in as Tetsutetsu charges right on in. My body shakes much worse but I stay on my feet. This time just drawing my fist in. Concentrating my flames into it. Everything seems to slow down and all I see is him closing in.
"Third Strike. Rising Dragon." I say. An intense wave of flame and force tears out of my uppercut. The lights burst and sparks rain down like molten rain. Tetsu is still on his feet but his steel is gone. I stumble to the floor.
A total knockout. He won. I close my eyes with the biggest smile on my face. I didn't need to win. All I needed was to show that I could make it as far as I could.
"Hehehe… awesome…" I laugh as I go out.
There were no words to describe what I just saw. The happy go lucky neighbor of mine letting loose his quirk in all its glory. But the crowd was all cheering anyway but louder for him than for Tetsutetsu. Of course Aunt Maryanna is right by his side carrying him out. With her massive six foot seven frame and muscular build muscling through the crowds. I tag along with her worriedly looking at Renaru's tiny and beaten black and blue body.
She almost looks sad. We both hurry along towards her home. A small apartment she rented out to stay here.
"Ibara. Get me a lotta cold water. Also some ice and bandages." She demands as I rush into the bathroom grabbing a bucket and filling it up with cold water. She laid him down on her sagging couch and I noticed steam curling off his body.
I quickly move into the room with the bucket and soak a bunch of towels in the water to lay on him. His skin hisses a little at the cool towels but still stays on. His eyes squint open as he looks at me.
"Oh… hey…" he groans. "I messed up… I was gonna look all cool in front of you…"
I gently touch his cheek. Just a comforting gesture. "Just rest." I say. I look into his eyes. Seeing genuine sadness in them. I gently grab his good hand. The other was just a minefield of bruises and maybe a break.
I lean down and kiss him on the forehead. "You did well. I thought it was rather… uhm… amazing."
"Ha! So I should get my ass kicked more often!" He exclaims with a smile. Making my cheeks heat up.
"No!" I squeak, "Certainly not! Of course I thought you were amazing but-" my eyes drift down to his muscular arms and rock hard chest. My cheeks turn crimson. His body is… much more mature than I remember.
Seeing how fast he moved in the fights makes me wonder if he truly mastered his quirk in such a short time. But knowing how quirks work like I do I can tell Renaru was improvising the whole time.
"Hey." he states. "My eyes are up here." I blink and realize I was ogling his bare chest and my cheeks turn fire engine red.
"S-sorry!" I stammer. "I didn't mean to! I…"
Renaru stops me with a hand on my shoulder. "By all means stare away! I don't get that kinda attention from girls often. Most of the time they kinda just do it out of sheer disgust or pity but I mean who really checks for those things am I right?" He rambles and his cheeks turn just as red as mine. We avoid each other's gazes with his hand gently moving from my shoulder. His other hand bandaged and I reach for a towel. He takes it and wraps it around his waist. Just for a moment I see some odd scarring on his arms and legs. His hands shake just a little.
My vines gently embrace him as they lift him out of the tub. His clothes are nearby. I reluctantly left his side so he would get dressed. I have so many questions about him. How can he still fight knowing it ruins his body even more? How can he still be a hero when his body burns and bruises and breaks when I just… I just want to protect him?! He's so small and his flames burn so brightly… I don't want to lose him. He comes out of the bathroom with his clothes on from earlier. His bands slightly frayed.
"Hey Ibara! How about you walk Renaru back to the station?" Auntie Maryanna wonders. I nod and he heads out with me. We walk down the streets together with my hand holding his in an effort to keep him steady.
He walks unevenly with one foot in front of the other but with slight deviations to his path. I go ahead of him with my vines gently clearing any rubble or trash that might make him fall. He follows me with a smile on his face.
"Ibara. You know I can still walk, right?" he asks.
"Well… yes." I mumble softly as I find myself squeezing his hand. "But… Can you walk with me?"
Renaru cocks his head to the side. "You know you don't have to ask me that, right?" his sunset eyes glimmer in the warm streetlights. I feel his hand gently squeeze mine back. Something about how he didn't need a reason for me to help him contradicted what I was taught. Everyone needed a reason for something. Not just that but I was only walking him to the platform leading back home. So why was I so… flustered? Why did I stare at him like that? Why is… why is it so hard to look him in the eyes?
I can't bear to see him get hurt. I can't even go a second without wondering if he was okay. What is wrong with me? Why do I want to embrace him and protect him from this horrid world? Such a bright light cannot go out. I mustn't let him go out. He's too… too… frustrating. Too pure. I must not let him be tainted. His smile. His laugh. How he's so carefree…
How he called me his guardian angel. How he looks so happily my way and never really cares about what occurred to me in the past. The platform was coming up and I didnt want this all to end. Just before he went through the turnstiles, I grabbed his hand.
"Wait!" I squeak. He turns.
"Yeah? What is it?" he asks "I don't wanna miss the last train." I hesitate for a moment. Maybe it's best to let him go home. Making his mother happy with news on how much he's improved. It's foolish of me to keep him for longer than needed.
But something makes me hesitate. Something that makes me want to keep him forever. Just so I can keep him safe. A feeling… not dissimilar to anger.
I let go. "I… I hope you have a good evening." I say.
"Yeah. I think I will." He answers. "Just… be careful going home." I watch him disappear into the crowd of late leaving patrons to the red light district. I turn and begin the long walk back. Thinking of him. Suddenly I'm back at my aunt's. I see her carrying some takeout.
"Oh! Hey! Look at what I got! Wash up and come dig in!"
I smile. "Forgive me but I don't feel very hungry. So I will be going to bed."
"Alright…" she says, "I'll save ya some."
I went to my room and went over to my bed. My eyes are stinging lightly with tears. Reflecting on my father and what occurred earlier. Setting up the picture of my mother. Seeing her so happy made my heart ache. What would she think of father's rampaging like he did?
What if I was just like him? Just bottling it up until it explodes into an unending fury at everything he never understood? Or the kind of fury that ruined the hero society of an entire country. Razing it to the ground and salting the earth because of it. I had questions and only one person could answer them fully…
My other aunt. I roll over in bed facing the wall. The glint of streetlights shining off the ceiling. Softly breathing and closing my eyes. Just thinking of the day I had. The thoughts of Renaru softly drifted through my mind like the sun through the sky. I smile and allow myself to cry. Mostly to release it all. Just to have it leave me like the morning dew. I just need to get some answers.
A.N. Alright! I just wanna say I love and appreciate all the comments and the following and the favorites thus far. You all rock! I was planning on posting this chapter yesterday but my power went out due to negligence/an Ice Storm. So XIII is back, baby! Please tell me what you all think of this chapter either good or bad and be on the lookout for Chapter 8 releasing sometime soon!
See ya next time. Same Bat Time, same Bat Channel!
My Hero XIII.