Rei had always been unsure about the reason why he was so obsessed with his achievements. He knew he had to be better than the other people around him. He didn't want to be some kind of hero, but he also felt like he wants to - no - that he needs to do his best to improve the world. It was a childish and embarrassing dream. Any kid would fantasize about making a big change, about revolutionizing humanity. But Rei had never moved on from that childish dream.
After all, what other choice did he really have? The last thing he wanted was to turn out like the other people around him - ignorant and apathetic. He didn't want to turn out like his father. Rei knew how people are like. It isn't pretty. It's scary. It scares him so much. They all only care for themselves. They sometimes might act kind or helpful, but in the end, it's all for their own gain.
Before Rei had been adopted, he had fully come to accept the gruesome nature and selfishness of his peers. He was convinced that everyone was like that. Even now, Rei sees his adoptive grandfather and brother as some sorts of exceptions. The only two people who he could feel any kind of trust towards. Everyone else had shown him nothing but animosity, at least for the most part.
He didn't really understand why that was happening to him. Why was everyone so cruel? Why were they looking at him with disgust? Was this just how humans behaved? No, deep down he had many suspicions. Many thoughts that would whisper ideas to him. Sometimes he could even hear his father's voice, "it's your fault", it would say. Whether Rei believed those words or not... he wasn't sure himself.
One thing was for certain, Rei had to do his best to leave a positive impact on the world. To be better than the rest. To prove to himself that he wasn't like them. Because to him, that was everything. There was nothing else in this world to hold onto. To Kawakami Rei, unless he was climbing up that disgusting hill, unless he was getting closer to the bright light at the top, unless he was working towards that dream, unless he had was making progress by himself - there was no meaning in his life.
Rei stepped into the white square once again, in the opposite corner of Akki. If he was being honest, he was a little confused on what point there was to this fight, at least from the view of the academy. Rei and Akki were in the same class, so no matter who won, they wouldn't show any "superiority" over another class. So what was being tested here? What did the academy - the director - want to see? He wasn't sure, but that didn't matter right now. Because no matter what, he had to give it his all, that was certain.
"Ready?" the referee asked, to which the two boys nodded. As the countdown began, Rei could feel his heartbeat accelerate. Before the referee gave the go, Rei took a big breath, before immediately starting to move. If there was one advantage he had over Akki, it was probably his agility. He also assumed that he had more experience, though he couldn't be too sure about that.
Tenji loosened his feet from the ground, closing in as well, until the two met in the middle. Tenji was the one who threw the first fist. As Rei expected, it was quick and had a lot of power behind it, though Rei managed to avoid it. Without waiting, Tenji's second fist came flying, but that too missed. And another miss. And another one. Then a high kick. Rei bent backwards, the foot flying over his face. Using this chance, the grey haired boy let his upper body fall all the way to ground level, where he held himself up with both his hands. Before Akki managed to regain balance, Rei's own foot shot forward, hitting Akki's knee - the one point that held his entire pose together. With a groan the bastard brother fell down, but managed to get his other foot back on the ground to catch himself. But by the time he had managed to regain any resemblance of stability, Rei's fist was only inches away from his abdomen. Instead of trying to defend himself, which he knew he would be too slow for, he decided to go for a counter attack, his own fist on it's way towards Rei's face.
Tenji was confident in his strength. If they were to trade blows, even if Tenji's punch was a little spontaneous, he was sure he would take the advantage afterwards. But it didn't turn out like that.
Instead of taking the bait, Rei moved out of harm's way, crouching even lower. Tenji wasn't quite sure how he did it. It felt like he couldn't keep up with his opponent's sporadic movements.
With Rei still being close, he managed to get a hit into Akki's stomach, although it wasn't as powerful as the original one before he had crouched down. Still, it hurt. Akki had to counterattack - if he backed off now, Rei would keep dictating the tempo of the fight. And so he tried again, this time his attack was coming at a steep angle, attach Rei from above. And yet, as if he had eyes on his back, Rei moved his upper body out of the way. Using his current momentum, he again throw his won body towards the ground, pulling off a similar move as before. This time, he pushed his feet off the ground with as much force as possible, his legs shooting into the air with a broad arch. With a perfect kick, his legs in the air and his arms on the ground, his foot slammed into Akki's side profile.
Rei made sure to pull through with his kick, throwing Akki on the floor. Rei pushed himself back up on his feet, seeing Akki lie on the ground in front of him. Was he unconscious?
This was also the moment he noticed that more students started to watch them - seems like the smaller groups have already finished. Even the Director was paying full attention on their fight. A perfect opportunity.
When he turned his attention back on Akki, he could see him struggling to stand back up. Guess the fight wasn't over just yet. But Rei wasn't going to let his enemy recover so easily. And so, before the blonde boy was even of his feet, Rei closed in again, his punch aimed into Akki's side. But Akki's strategy didn't seem to have changed - his goal was still to exchange blows. And so, as Rei's fist dug itself into Akki's ribcage, Akki took the chance to get a hit into Rei's face. While the punch definitely managed to slam into Rei's cheek, it wasn't all that powerful. And so, while biting through the pain, Rei didn't stop attacking. His other fist struck Akki's abdomen, then another punch that awkwardly landed on his shoulder. Akki tried his best to fight back, even managing to get a hit with his elbow in, but it was to no use. He could barely stand, his vision was blurry, and every part of his body was screaming in pain, begging him to stop.
When Rei jumped back to get some distance, allowing himself to take a few breaths, Akki was still trying to get more attacks in. He took a step forward, then another, only to collapse onto his knees, before his entire body fell on the grass. He had gone unconscious.
Rei sighed, looking to the sideline, where the spectators were looking at him. Some were showing a lot of interest, others were barely paying attention.
"The fight is over, Kawakami Rei wins," the referee announced. Immediately, Rei let himself fall on his back. He was spent. The thought of having to go through another fight was already dawning on him.
The staff managed to wake Akki up, carrying him away from the fighting field. Another staff member helped Rei stand up and stumble onto safety, where he sat down, trying best not to put any pressure on the points where Akki had hit him.
"That looked like it hurt," Akari was next to him, stating the obvious. Her lip was a little bloody, but otherwise she seemed fine. "Good on you for winning though, I sadly lost in the first round!" she announced, laughing loudly. Seems like she wasn't taking her defeat all that seriously.
Now, Hyoudo and Ribeiro stepped forward. Rei hadn't seen much of Ribeiro's fighting abilities, but even if Hyoudo had shown great technique, he doubted that it would be enough to win. That means Rei would have to fight Ribeiro in the next round.... the thought alone made him shudder. Even if he manages to win, it would definitely turn out to be a painful fight.
Either way, both the contestants readied themselves, both looking very confident in their stance. As the match started, Hyoudo once again waited for her opponent to make the first move, while Ribeiro slowly creeped in. He soon threw the first punch, one that Hyoudo cleverly evaded. She immediately countered with a quick high kick, aimed at Ribeiro's face, which was blocked by his forearm. Despite the kick being very fast, blocking it looked like it was effortless for the tall fighter.
Before Hyoudo could retract her leg, another punch already came flying at her, which perfectly hit her into her face. And what a punch it was. For a second, Hyoudo resembled a lifeless doll, as her body was pushed into the grass by the sheer force of the impact. So this was Ribeiro's punch... no wonder Mayafumi had given up so quickly.
For a second, Rei thought that Hyoudo would not move again, but it only took her a second to get back on her feet, fast enough to evade Ribeiro's next attack and get some distance between them. Blood was dripping through her lips. This time she attacked, throwing a punch into Ribeiro's abs, which, while it did hit, didn't seem to do much damage at all. Meanwhile, Reibeiro managed to slam his first into Hyoudo's head, throwing her back. She managed to land on her feet, but Rei could swear that she had lost consciousness for a moment. Before she could do anything, another punch landed into her stomach, causing her to gasp and fall on her knees. Ribeiro stood in front of her, looking down.
"Give up," he simply said. Gritting her teeth, Hyoudo stared up at him. She pushed herself off the ground in a quick maneuver, fast enough so that Ribeiro couldn't immediately throw her to the ground again. But again, she only managed to get past three more punches, before another one smashed into her face, immediately follower up by a kick, which sent her flying all the way to the white line. If she hadn't reacted by digging her fingers into the dirt, she might've rolled out of the square.
"Give up."
Hyoudo tried to stand up, but Riberio grabbed her by her hair, turning his body to pull on it. It seemed like he was planning to throw her over the line. But Hyoudo held onto his arm, before using her core strength to throw her legs up, her knee hitting the back of his head. Ribeiro stumbled forward, let go of Hyoudo and almost stepped over the line himself. It was the first effective counterattack, and Hyoudo wasn't going to let go of that chance. Despite having fallen down on her back, she jumped back up like it was nothing, pushing her entire bodyweight into Ribeiro, hoping that he would fall over the line. But he didn't. Now seeming more wary and way more annoyed, he instead balled his fist in the air, letting it fall down in a long arch, like some sort of warhammer, and letting it crash into Hyoudo's side, catapulting her away. And again, somehow, she stood back up. But Ribeiro was prepared for that, two punches landing their mark in rapid succession. Hyoudo's face had been transformed into a mess. Blood was gushing out of her mouth and nose, with her nose clearly broken. She had cuts and bruises everywhere, and her right eye was surrounded with a dark, red bruise. She stumbled backwards, yet managed to stop herself, putting her fists back in front of her body, intending to fight on.
"Give up!" Ribeiro yelled, and even though Hyoudo managed to block one of his fists with her two arms, his straight kick forced it's way into her belly, throwing her on the ground once again, where she stayed for a second too long, coughing. Ribeiro grabbed onto her ankles, probably wanted to try again to get her out of the square.
"No!" she yelled, her scream sending shivers down Rei's spine. She grabbed onto the grass and dirt as she was dragged off, throwing her legs back and forth, trying her best to free them. And right before it was too late, she succeeded; her foot slipped out of Ribeiro's grip, and she immediately kicked him into his chin. He let go of her legs and her body fell back on the floor. But before she managed to get back up, Ribeiro pushed his knee into her back, one hand on her head and the other grabbing her left wrist, pinning her down.
"Give up already! Or I will dislocate your shoulder!" he threatened, pulling her arm behind her back as her shoulder was pinned on the ground.
"No!" is the only thing she yelled, as she tried her to best to push her attacked off her back, her free arm slamming into his sides. But it wasn't enough - it seemed to barely bother him, probably because she wasn't able to get any momentum into her attacks.
Ribeiro glanced towards the referee. That's right, the referee could declare the match to be won right here. But instead, the referee looked at the Director, who was smiling as always, watching the brutal fight go on. He simply shook his head.
"You should stop this," a voice rang out, addressing director Mazato. It was the boy with the red ponytail from Class B - if Rei remembered correctly, his name was Akata. He had a stern and disapproving expression on his face.
"Why?"
"Because she is going to get seriously harmed."
"So? This is just a simulation."
"It's still going to be painful! There is no way she can win this anymore-"
"Who are you to decide that?" the Director interrupted him. "Hyoudo Moena can still think and talk. She can give up at any time. But who are you to speak for her? Who am I to speak for her? Neither of us can predict the future, or can you maybe?" he argued. While he wasn't wrong, Rei also agreed with Akata. This was going too far.
A yell interrupted their conversation. Hyoudo's arm was pulled back all the way, pointing straight into the sky in an unnatural way. The sight made Rei want to puke.
"Give up now. Please!" Riberio yelled, but Hyoudo was just groaning and gritting her teeth as she shook her head. Then, in a sudden act of determination, she rolled her entire body to the side, temporarily removing Ribeiro's weight from her back, and immediately punching his face, before crawling away from him. Her left arm was barely moving, and she only used the right one as she pushed herself back on her feet. The audience was stunned. She was like a wild beast, unwilling to give up.
Ribeiro had it. He wasn't going to risk losing by trying to throw her outside the white line again - he just had to knock her unconscious. And so, he moved in once again, this time Hyoudo intending to fend him off with just one arm. Not to mention that all her movements have become sloppy. She couldn't stand upright without shifting her balance around, she couldn't throw a punch without stumbling forward. So when Ribeiro inevitably managed to punch her face again, she was barely responding. she just stumbled backwards a few steps, before readjusting her right arm in front of her, and walking forward again, only to get hit again. The students started to look away, and more complaints started to come in, but the Director ignored all of them. His smile was just as unfading as Hyoudo's fighting spirit.
After a few more punches, Hyoudo's body fell backwards. She was lying in the grass on her back. For a moment, everyone hoped that this fight was finally over, but they were wrong Because Hyoudo kept on moving, struggling to push herself back up. Once again, Ribeiro looked towards the Director, who just shook his head. He hadn't won yet - how far would he have to go?
He walked towards the struggling Hyoudo, pinning her down once again, this time with her back on the ground. And so, he lifted his arm, letting his fist come down on her already bloodied face. But she didn't go unconscious, her right arm clawing on Ribeiro's shoulder.
"Say the words. Just say that you give up for fucks sake!" Ribeiro once again tried to appeal to her. But she shook her head.
"No... never..." she said, this time not in a bloody yell, not in a scream of a passionate fighting spirit, but just in a barely audible whisper. And so she took another punch. And another. And another. Each time Ribeiro looked towards director Mazato for confirmation, and each time growing more aggressive as he was met with headshaking. He kept on punching, his fists digging deep into his opponent's face, staining everything with blood. Soon he could barely even see her facial expression, the only sign of life being the weak, right arm scratching against him. He could feel the bones of her facial structure crack with each punch, and soon he was groaning himself. He was close to tears as he kept on punch, and punching, and punching. Whimpers left his mouth as his face twisted with disgust, desperation, fear and anger. Most people have stopped looking. Every member of Class A, who had entered this competition, was now arguing with the Director. Some even tried to walk into the field to physically stop the 'fight', but they were warning that if they did so, it would count as them breaking the rules of the competition, which would of course leave anything but a good impression.
At this point, Ribeiro probably stopped thinking. He didn't even think of grabbing Hyoudo's body to throw her outside the white square. He was just throwing one punch after another in a robotic motion. His mind was telling him that as long as he kept on punching, this would all soon be over. Just keep on punching. Don't think about the feeling of blood staining your knuckles. Don't think about the sensation of cracking bones beneath your fists. Don't think about the sight of a barely recognizable girl beneath your body. Just. Keep. On. Punching.
And so, Hyoudo's hand suddenly fell on the ground, motionless. Ribeiro almost looked taken aback, like he couldn't believe that it was over. He stood back up, looking at what was left of Hyoudo. There was barely anything resembling a face left, just a bloody, caved-in mess. The referee immediately came in, putting his fingers against Hyoudo's wrist.
"She's dead."
Ribeiro knelt down and vomited, hugging himself. The Director clapped, still smiling.
"Let's take a 5 minute break," he announced.
Before either of the contestants knew it, Rei and Ribeiro were standing face to face, both looking... scared? Rei couldn't read Ribeiro's face with certainty. It was like he was glaring at Rei with anger, yet also with pure fear. Like an animal willing to protect itself with everything it had.
"Start!"
Rei was in considerably worse shape, his body still hurting. Meanwhile, instead of closing in with caution like he usually did, Riberio let out a yell as he rapidly approached.
Let this be over fast. That was Ribeiro's only wish. If opponent was going to withstand him more than a minute, he was fully willing to give up.
First punch - Rei managed to avoid it. He countered, hitting Ribeiro's leg with a kick. But he didn't seem to mind at all. Instead, the second punch came flying towards Rei. It was so fast - Akki's attacks weren't even comparable. Ribeiro clearly put all of his energy, all of his emotion, into this one attack. The last thing Rei saw was Riberio's distraught face.
"Huh?" Rei simply let out a sound of confusion, before the fist hit him perfectly in his face. The force was so strong, the pain so intense, but Rei could barely remember it. Because after he closed his eyes to prepare himself for the impact, he wouldn't open them again.
Kawakami Rei went unconscious with one punch. The winner was Ribeiro Enzo.