The Park and a 'Talk' With Yujiro

Right now, I was at the park with Shouko and her new friend, Miyoko. I only had an hour until I had to go to Ryozanpaku, but it was an hour I could spend with my sister and her friend, who I was currently getting to know.

"So, you agreed to learn sign language for Shouko-neesan's sake?" I asked with mock surprise - I'd seen the movie in my past life, so I already knew this - before I bowed my head a little, "Thank you. I'd hate for my sister to be all alone in her class," I said with a smile, and the little Miyoko just went a bit red before averting her gaze.

"It's nothing much..." she softly said, nervously squeezing her arm, to which I frowned a little. Lately, normal people had been getting put on edge by my very presence. It was like their instincts were telling them to be careful around me.

Though I could also tell that this Miyoko was naturally a pretty shy and timid person right now anyway.

Smiling before either of the girls really noticed my frown, I continued the conversation with Miyoko, "So, what are your hobbies, Sahara-san?" I asked nonchalantly, and even Shouko looked toward Miyoko with attentive eyes.

Miyoko seemed to be put on the spot and her flustered appearance only got worse.

"Uhhh...I don't really have one...I like to draw and design dresses but that's about it..." she said nervously, not meeting my gaze and purely looking at Shouko-neesan. But that makes sense. I wouldn't wanna look at my eyes either. "What about you two...?" she asked, and Shouko was already on the case, scribbling down an answer. Though it didn't seem to be for herself.

[Yu-kun practices martial arts and plays the piano! He's strong and cool!] Shouko looked over the top of her board with proud eyes and a wide smile. I couldn't help but go a bit red at her praise - it's a bit embarrassing when my sister goes full bro-con in front of other people.

But Miyoko didn't seem put off by her enthusiasm and simply looked at me with curious eyes, "You can play the piano, Nishimiya-kun?" for some reason, she skipped right past the martial arts bit which surprised me. Most kids around our age focus entirely on stuff like that.

"Mhm," I nodded my head, and Miyoko's eyes lit up.

"That's pretty cool..." she said, getting a nod of agreement from Shouko, before she carried on, "Have you been in any competitions?" she asked.

I wanted to play it cool and low-key...but Shouko...

[He has! And he won them! His teachers say he's really really talented with the piano!] Shouko smiled, the pride in her eyes inflating to a scary level and I could only sigh and try and cover the embarrassed redness on my cheeks with a hand.

My physical body isn't the only adaptable thing about me, with my brain and overall mind also being very adaptable and quick to learning things. I'd say this is because just like the cells that make up my muscles and bones, the cells that make up my brain are also very quick to change to fit whatever purpose I need once the need arises. So learning piano was pretty hard for the first week or so, but after that, my brain adapted and it became a piece of cake to learn and then play the piano. I excelled at such a pace that most of my teachers couldn't teach me anything more after 5 or 6 months, so I started entering competitions.

Mainly the ones that gave money as a prize, honestly. Anything to help my single mother out. It may seem all easy and amazing so far, but she is struggling and pushing herself to her limits...so this was the least I could do with my current skills.

I could probably rob a bank...but, well, I doubt she'd accept that money. So I'll have to just keep winning those piano competitions. They're not that hard, either.

But reading what Shouko wrote, Miyoko lost all her nervousness and instead looked at me with respect and awe. She must have thought I was some kind of uncultured brute when she first saw me. And from how my appearance looks...I can't exactly blame her. Her and Shouko kept talking about hobbies, with Shouko finally saying her hobby, which was also drawing. Oh, and also 'listening' to music, or feeling it as she put it.

As they were communicating, I just looked at them with a smile. It was nice to see my sister with a friend that wasn't me, or one of my friends. Or would it be better to say a friend of her age? Either way, it was nice.

But nothing nice lasts for long as I felt a gaze from across the park...

Looking in that direction, I saw a pair of red eyes meeting my own.

Yujiro.

"I'll be back in a minute, don't wander off, you two," I said seriously, getting a nod from Miyoko and a curious look from Shouko.

[Where are you going, Yu-kun?] she wrote and I quickly signed a reply.

Smiling with a fake calm to hide my anger at Yujiro for appearing, I replied, "I thought I just saw a friend of mine, so I'm gonna go and see if what I saw was right, okay? I'll be back soon, so, again, don't wander off," I ruffled her hair, earning me a pout and a glare, before I jogged off in the direction of Yujiro.

When I was far enough from Shouko and Miyoko, I sped up drastically and practically teleported next to Yujiro who had his hand on his chin, nodding with a smile.

"Good, you've truly improved by leaps and bounds after studying under Doppo. He's a strong man, hopefully he can push you to the heights I need you to be at," he mused with a carefree voice, though it still seeped arrogance. But after all my meetings with him, this was normal for him. If he didn't sound arrogant, I'd be worried.

"What are you doing here...father?" I spat the word out, not wanting to say it, but having to nonetheless. He got quite aggressive if I didn't address him right.

Smirking at my anger, her flipped his hand back and forth while answering, "You know, just coming to check up on my son, fight some strong people, you know, the usual," he smiled savagely before continuing, "But it's good to know that unlike Baki, you're at least delving into more culturally enriched things. I've been to a view some of your performances - your style is very representative of the Hanma bloodline. Fast and exciting, brutal and aggressive...it's very interesting to listen to. It sounds like a musical version of a fight. I've come to quite enjoy it, if I'll be so honest," he mused with what I could only assume was a proud smile.

Though such a proud smile make me sick and angry to my very stomach.

"You've watched my performances?" I asked, trying to keep my voice even, "I thought you had. I felt like a beast was watching me, after all," I quipped, some of my anger flowing into my words despite my best efforts, "Please do your best to not come to any of those. I do them for my mother and sister, not for your leisure," I finished, turning my gaze away from him and looking toward Shouko who was on the climbing frame with Miyoko.

"Oh ho~? You truly have the sharpest mouth of all my children...That's why talking to you is the most fun," Yujiro laughed, his voice jolly, "Not many people talk to me like that anymore. It's refreshing," he said with a slightly...relieved sounding voice? "But I must ask; why do you waste your time with such a person? She is but a liability to you, Yukiro," he asked, seemingly genuinely confused.

I didn't need to ask who 'she' was. He was obviously talking about Shouko.

"Because she's my family. Because I love her," I said with a smile as I watched Shouko swinging on the bars a few hundred meters away, "Because she's a reason for me to get stronger. Because I need to protect her from people like you, from people who wish to single her out and look down on her because of her disability," I said, giving Yujiro a sidelong glance, only to see him looking at me with a serious face. But I ignored that and carried on, "The same goes for my mother. You tore her down and other people like you will continue to try and do the same, and I won't let it happen again. I 'waste' my time with them, because they mean more to me than anything else."

Silence.

That's all there was after I said this. Until Yujiro started laughing quietly. Then the quiet laughter morphed into a raucous laughter which seemed to shake the surroundings.

Anyone near us slowly backed away, either from fear or confusion.

"Good! Good!" Yujiro clapped his hands together, before he squatted down and picked up a rock, "Then let's see how much motivation I can squeeze from you! YU-KI-RO!" he roared and I felt my heart drop.

Before I even knew what was happening, I was already running back toward Shouko with as much speed as I could muster. I forced my muscles to work beyond their limits, I pushed my joints to their breaking point and I felt my tendons and ligaments strain and groan under the force. I heard a whistling shoot past me:

It was the rock Yujiro had picked up.

The destination? Shouko.

The thought of what would happen to Shouko if that rock even grazed her...it fueled me with anger. My muscles bulged and my skin turned somewhat red. I didn't know if it was just my ears hearing the blood flowing through my veins, but I though I also heard some kind of boiling sound. Like water being boiled into steam.

My speed drastically increased and I could see the rock in front of me, splitting the air and breaking apart under it's own force and speed. The world was moving in slow motion, my innate reaction speed that had been improved even further over the last year, being pushed to it's very limits.

I felt some of the veins in my eyes pop, but I ignored it. I felt some muscles in my legs tear, but I ignored it. I felt blood dropping from my lips and my eyes, but I ignored it.

All I put any attention to...was running to catch up to that rock.

It was barely 10 meters away from Shouko now, and I was about a meter behind it. I was at my maximum speed, no, I was beyond even that. Adrenaline had pushed me beyond it, activated by my rage and the worry of what would happen to Shouko if she was hurt.

I wouldn't be able to catch up...unless I touch a risk.

I had no time to think, and I had to act now, so I placed every little bit of power in my body, into my foot, and when I pressed down on the ground...I jumped at the rock.

I felt countless little cracks spread throughout my foot, the force being too much even for my super-dense bones. Yet I didn't care about that as I was catching up to the rock.

I outstretched my hand and finally grabbed the rock. With the rock in my hand, I slammed both my feet into the ground, making the countless cracks in the earlier foot even worse, and adding the same cracks to my uninjured foot.

The act of me stopping produced a bang as my feet dug into the dirt and sand that made up the play area. Two trenches were left in my wake, the dirt and sand looking like two meteors had crashed through it. The sand was thrown up into the air, like a smoke screen and I put some extra force into my feet as I sensed the climbing frame was quickly coming into view. But all that extra effort did was make sure I didn't hit the metal frame too hard.

*Bang!*

I collided with the metal and felt my body and bones shake. Normally, hitting metal wouldn't hurt me, even if I hit it with my full strength and with bare knuckles. But right now...I'd been travelling too fast and with way too much momentum, so it didn't surprise me when I felt the little cracks spread throughout most of my ribs.

Which was already a good result. Most people would've been squished like a bug if they'd experienced what I'd just experienced.

But the injuries didn't bother me. Shouko was fine. I could hear her, fumbling about on top of the climbing frame. Probably trying to get down to find out what hit the climbing frame.

"Y-Yu-kunn?" I heard her voice, worried and confused, that was clear, even through her slurred speech.

Well, it looks like she's already found out what hit the climbing frame.

Looking up at her with a smile, I saw her eyes widen in horror at my appearance. I'd really pushed myself and my eyes and mouth were bleeding. I probably looked like hell. But I still replied to her, going to sign, but seeing the hand that caught the rock, I could only speak slowly and clearly for her to understand me.

"Hey, Shouko-neesan...I need you to go home and tell mom to pick me up from my dojo, okay?" I strained to get my words out, my lungs and throat - along with the rest of my internal body, actually - feeling like they were on fire.

With that, I turned around to where I'd left Yujiro, hatred and killing intent quickly filling me eyes.

The red-haired fuck just stood there, his hands in his pockets. He laughed, smiling with pride before he turned around and disappeared.

The boiling sound was back, along with my anger, and it was at that point that I figured out that it was me. I was boiling. My skin was red, and steam was coming off of me. But I ignored that, and I ignored my injuries, and I rushed off to Ryozanpaku Dojo.

I definitely needed medical attention.