Thirst for Revenge (3)

Maruyama, too, had a menacing gaze on his face. While he tied the dragon chain around his neck, his hands intertwined with Asahi's as they were in a sumo stance.

Maruyama had an advantage as a former sumo learner. His hands started to squeeze Asahi's lean hands, using his weight to push Asahi back. Maryuma tried to twist his position, but instead, Asahi started to push Maruyama backwards. 

His grip got firmer, and as the very first use of spiritual power, Asahi released his energy and twisted the position of Maruyama, and by grabbing his waist, he threw the man like a potato in the mud. 

Maruyama had a shock on his face as his eyes widened while the entire scene unfolded in slow motion. He never expected to be on the losing end, and he didn't like this. Asahi raised his hand to snatch the key chain, but instead, Maruyama took hold of his wrist and started to twist it to break his bones and tissues. 

But Asahi instantly pulled his hand away. Maruyama's grip loosened, and right then, Asahi started to throw the punches. They were quick and tough, but it also affected Asahi. Maruyama could barely keep up with defending, and he started to spit blood. 

Asahi had hit all the vital acupuncture points, which were extremely hurtful. 

'Ahem!' The man spat blood on the floor, and Asahi pulled the man by his collar and started to raise his feet to give constant back kicks, which landed on his shoulders. Maruyama's powers had weakened, and his pace of breathing had started to increase. 

While Ashi continuously kicked, he for the second time used his spiritual power to land a butterfly kick, which made Maruyama lose his balance. Asahi, without care, continuously kicked, and for the last time, his feet almost landed towards his nose and eyes, but they didn't. He stopped himself as the man had thrown the dragon jade into the air. 

Asahi gave one last glare towards Maruyama and moved on towards Takahashi again. Takahashi had recovered. Takahashi took hold of Asahi's fist and raised it while using his left foot to lock Asahi. He then started to twist his arm, which was already injured, and with his other hand, he threw a powerful punch towards the abdomen. 

Asahi could feel a metallic liquid in his mouth, and he too spat the blood on the floor. He quickly recovered and threw a scissor kick towards the man. They both paused as the cold wind passed by them. 

Asahi still had that smirk on his face, while Takahashi was expressionless. The wind cooled off the sweat that dripped from their foreheads to their necks and drenched their nagagi. Asahi now had no chance to use the spiritual power, while the old man had the advantage of using his powers to any extent.

All six of the bystanders watched the match enthusiastically. They took their stance while starting to form a circle. Asahi and Takahashi both rounded in opposite directions, and as one of the leaves fell on the garden, Takahashi landed a fierce kick, which Asahi dodged and instead raised his left foot and kicked at a 90-degree angle. 

It was a heavy kick that messed up the insides of the old man. Just when things were about to turn, Mr. Kobayashi threw two nagamaki in the air. Asahi jumped in the air, and in a split second, one of the nagamaki landed on Takhahashi's lap. 

Asahi's fingertips were just about to grab the sword when suddenly he felt a push that was so strong that he was thrown into the mud. Maruyama Kenji sneered in victory as he held Nagamaki with pride. 

"Humph! You need more skills." Maruyama taunted while rolling his eyes; meanwhile, everyone's eyes were upon Asahi, who was picking himself up from the mud. 

His pride, his grandfather's pride, and the family name of Ito were for sake. Furthermore, he wanted revenge. revenge so poisonous that Kenji would never forget. With bloodshot eyes, he wiped the mud around his chin. The air was calm, but untamed. 

At the speed of lightning, Asahi dashed towards Kenji, and before the man could even comprehend what had happened, Asahi took away the keychain from Maruyama's neck.

Then, after Asahi locked the man's stance and twisted his arms, the joints started to tear apart. Kenji could feel excruciating pain around his shoulder. He tried to use his body mass to push Asahi away, but instead, Asahi kicked his kneecaps, making him stand in a surrender position. 

"YAaa!" A man roared as the tip of a nagamaki almost pierced through Asahi's bones. He quickly picked up the fallen nagamaki dropped by Maruyama Kenji and twisted the sharper edge at a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree angle. The blad made a Greek sound as it was stopped in the middle by Takahashi's blade. 

Then onwards, Takahashi pushed the blade to the point where Asahi was cornered in between the trees. While he held the blade with one hand, he used his other hand to wipe the edge of his lips. 

"Enough playing now, Ojisan." He smirked and instantly used up his physical power to cross over the man and start to fiercely use his blade. It was an intense match as the blades clashed over and over, chipping the edges. 

Takahashi's eyes glared darker as he used his spiritual powers to enhance his power, yet Asahi remained unfazed, and he continued to battle. As Takahashi twirled the nagamaki and aimed for Asahi's abdomen, Asahi squatted on his left knee while flexing the other feet parallel to the ground. He took hold of the man's sword, and his nagamaki aimed for Takahashi's chin. 

It was almost a neck-to-neck tie, but still a win on Asahi's side. The match was over, and all the bystanders slowly entered the fighting scene. A few of them helped Kenji stand up, but apparently he had some major injuries, so for the time being, he was carried to the engawa while Kuro jumped at Asahi's shoulder. 

"It was a close match." The head, Mr. Kobayashi, clapped with a smile that reached the sides of his ears. 

"Thank you for your generous compliments." Asahi bowed and handed over the dragon keychain to the head. 

"No need; you may keep it. You have earned it, after all. The next match will be held at my house, where you shall face both obstacles, so be prepared." The head of the association had amusement written all over his face, while his hands were both hidden under his large sleeves. 

Maruyama gave him a nasty glare for one last time before a few of the servants from the house lifted him to the car and took him to the nearest hospital.

~

Vocabulary 

1) Nagamaki- It is a traditional Japanese samurai sword which has the same blade length as katana but has a longer handle allowing more distance and power.