Haruki came down from the top of the warehouse throwing himself towards the ground, he fell on his stomach and got up normally, as he walked back home he told Hikari:
''Clandestine fights happen all over Tokyo, they have increased quite a bit recently, especially with the political chaos, you sign up, fight and earn money from both prize money and betting commissions, however I can't just sign up for a fight, even if they can't do any damage to me they can still immobilize me, plus I still can't fight well, and most likely they wouldn't let me in because of my height and face''.
You said in a very excited way that you would enter the underground fights, but now it seems that you are giving reasons to give up.
"Not at all Hikari, I'm just analyzing the points I need to resolve before I can start my successful career in the fighting world.
''So what will you do to solve these problems?
''I'll wait two years, that's long enough for me to learn how to fight with Mr. Hiroshi's training in addition to getting taller, it will be easier to disguise my age this way.''
Haruki arrived home and went up to his room, his mother was not there, he went in and lay down on the bed and as he looked up he thought about the bright future he would achieve thanks to his powers, he looks to the corner of the room and found his old toolbox, ''look at that, that old thing is still there'', Hikari came up and said:
''Do you like to collect human tools?''
''No, I always liked mechanical science, I practiced it as a hobby.''
''Um, I realized that humans have a great curiosity about machines''
Yes, I loved to read Leonardo da Vinci's sketches on the Internet, I think I should go back to study about mechanics
And so began Haruki Nakamura's 2 year journey, in all this time he trained a total of 3 hours daily with breaks only on Saturday and Sunday, 1 hour and 30 minutes for martial arts training and 1 hour and 30 minutes of weight training, daily he talked with Hikari about how the spiritual world was and how the blessings worked, in addition he returned to study mechanical science, until finally the long 2 years had passed and Haruki was already 15 years old and already in high school.
''Ah, what a beautiful morning'' said Haruki as he woke up, ''Come on Hikari, you don't want to be late do you? Hikari materialized in her cat form, the two of them walked out the door, ''I'm coming!'', Haruki's mother came out of the kitchen and shouted ''Haruki you forgot your lunch!'' but Haruki didn't hear it he was too excited, he headed to Emi's house, the two of them went to school together every day, ''Come on Emi, you don't want to be late! Haruki shouted at the door of Emi's house until she came out, and the two of them went together, Haruki didn't suffer as much bullying as before however he wasn't the most popular student in school, almost none of his old classmates went with him to the new school, only Emi and Aiko, The reason Haruki was so excited was that the next day would be his debut fight at the underground fighting hall "Tatame", it was relatively new in Tokyo but it was growing exponentially and attracting new martial arts talent from all over Japan, as he thought about it Emi stared at him and Aiko watched from afar with jealousy, Emi said to Haruki:
''Haruki, have you thought about joining any clubs? It's been a few months since we've been in high school and you haven't joined any so far.
"Oh yeah, there's no club I'm interested in joining.
"Are you sure Haruki? How about the basketball club?
"I'm not good at sports
"How about martial arts? You're very good at that! And my grandfather always says you've come a long way
"Don't you remember, Emi? The martial arts club was closed when that boy broke his neck while training.
"Oh...that's right, I forgot..." "Well, how about you join the kitchen club with me! Hana always says we need new members.
''''I don't like Hana, she always complains about everything and always tells people that they are doing something wrong in everything they do.
"So why don't you start a club?
''I'm not popular so I won't get enough members and so the club would be closed eventually.
''Ah...''
As Haruki and Emi talked Aiko watched from afar and she thought, ''What is that bitch talking to Haruki? Are they dating? ah...I should have proposed earlier, now another woman is going to steal Haruki away from me.''
Then the break time came and the students headed out of the room, and Haruki realized that he had forgotten his snack:
''Oh crap, I forgot my lunch again.
"Ah Haruki, you never seem to change, I prepared this for you," at which point Emi takes a lunch box from her bag and hands it to Haruki.
"Gee Emi thanks, I don't know what I would be without you!" at which point Emi blushes and smiles, Aiko was watching all this from the other side of the classroom and says:
''Now she makes his lunch too!? what's missing now? a wedding? maybe she's already pregnant!'' Aiko was red with anger and everyone around her realized this and said nothing, Aiko's popularity as a strong and violent person remained even in the new school.
Haruki and Emi were walking through the halls:
''Haruki, do you want to go when eating there on the terrace, the members of the cooking club will be there.''
''Ah, you can go ahead Emi I have to go to the bathroom''
''Okay, I'll wait for you there!''
Emi went excitedly to the terrace, at that moment Hikari appeared to Haruki and said:
''Where are you really going Haruki, you can't use the bathroom outside the house.''
''I'm going to the sewing club.
''I thought you said you weren't going to join any club.
''I'm not joining the club, I'm just going into the room, come on''
Haruki entered the sewing club room, the club was empty, Hikari asked:
''What did you come here for?''
''Tomorrow is my big debut Hikari, everyone in Tatame wears masks in the fights, similar to wrestling, and I need one too, the sewing club is the perfect place for that, it has materials and machines, plus while I was studying mechanical science I took the opportunity and studied a little about the principles of sewing''
''And do you already have some ideas in mind of what this mask will look like?''
''''Just watch me''''.
Haruki took white fabrics, scissors and started sewing on the sewing machine while saying:
"The first time I used this power was when I saved a cat from being run over, so I believe this should be the most appropriate.
The mask was ready, it was a completely white mask with cat ears, it was open at the top of the head which left the hair of the wearer exposed, the parts that covered the sides and the back of the head were made of latex covered with the same fabric as the front, there were holes in the ears and nostrils (even though Haruki was invulnerable to asphyxiation), Haruki put it on and looked into the eyes of Hikari who was in her cat form and said:
''Pretty cool huh? I haven't thought of my fighter name yet, but that's for later''
Looking at his watch Haruki realized that he had missed the remaining classes he would have for the day, really, making masks takes a lot of time.
I hope Emi won't be mad at me.
Haruki headed out of the school to go home when he found Emi, she had a disappointed and angry expression on her face, ''hi'' Haruki said but Emi stared at him, she turned her face with contempt and headed towards the cooking club ''Yeah, apparently she's mad at me'', when Haruki made his way to the exit he saw Aiko and she stared at him, he stood still for a few moments and followed until he left the school, when he reached the dojo of Hiroshi sir he saw that he was staring at his sword:
''Sensei Hiroshi, may I come in?''
''Oh, Young Haruki it's you, can you come in''
''Yeah, your family sword is very beautiful, too bad you don't know how to use it''
''Yes, it's a pity I have a good friend who is a great master swordsman, I wish I knew at least half of what he knows''
''Wow really?
''Yes, our parents were friends so we've known each other since childhood''
''Geez.''
Mister Hiroshi smiled and looked at Haruki and said,
"Young Haruki today I'm going to give you a break, you've been training too hard.
''Really Sensei Hiroshi? Thank you very much!'' Haruki went to the exit of the dojo and Mr. Hiroshi said:
''You know young Haruki, in my life I had few people who I could say were really my friends, but you are one of them, thank you for being my student, thank you for being Emi's friend, if I could have one more grandson I would like him to be like you''
At that moment Mr. Hiroshi's eyes filled with tears.
''Mister Hiroshi...I don't know what to say..... why are you saying these things?''
''Oh nothing, it's just an old man's sentimentality, now go, your mother must be waiting for you.''
Haruki went home, on Mr. Hiroshi's desk there were results of a medical examination.....
When he entered the house Haruki realized that his mother had left, he prepared a lamên and went to his room, as he made his way to his room he thought about everything that had happened in the last two years, the way he was blessed with those powers, in his mind he said:
''So it is tomorrow, the first time I will appear in public with those powers, I wonder what kind of person Kurogami's human must be, is he old? man? woman?, anyway, regardless of who he is, he can't beat me because I am the invu-''
Before Haruki could finish speaking he hears the door open, he gets down and sees that it is his mother, she had gone to the market to do some shopping:
''Haruki, are you here yet? I went to the market, I bought your favorite chocolate, what do you want for dinner? chicken? tuna? fish? if you want we can order a pizza".
''''Pizza sounds like a good option''''.
As Haruki's mother called the pizza place Haruki thought:
''Since we had that argument mom has been acting better, I haven't seen her drunk anymore....well, not as much as usual, she is more responsible now and seems to be putting in the work at the beauty salon, I believe I was a bit rude when I spoke to her, but some people just change their ways that way.''
Haruki ate his pizza with his mother and went to sleep, he woke up and stopped by Emi's house and the two went to school together, as the two walked Haruki apologized for not going to the terrace to have a snack with Emi, she forgave him, Emi was a sweet and kind girl and never seriously upset, Haruki walked down the halls of the school and thought about how amazing his debut fight would be, at break Haruki and Emi walked down the hall, Haruki was pensive, as they walked up to the terrace Emi handed him a special lunchbox she had prepared for him:
''Haruki, I hope you like it, I tried to apply the new cooking techniques I learned at the club.''
''Ah Emi, thank you....''
''Haruki, did something happen?''
''.....''
''What is it?''
''Emi, if you found out that you have something that no one else has what would you do?''
"What do you mean?
''If you suddenly found out that you had a talent that no one else in the world had, what would you do?
"Oh, well, it depends on what kind of a talent we're talking about
"Would it be wrong to make money with it?
''I believe that if any person has a talent that can help others he has an obligation to help without charging anything, the talents are not given to people by chance, of course, it is not wrong to use your gift to make money, as long as it is done in an honest way, great cooks provide a service to society with the taste of food, but they charge for it, singers can speak to the soul of people, pass joy to all, but they charge for their performances, but if your ability is something that can protect and save you should not charge for it, that's my answer''
Haruki after hearing all this became thoughtful, he looked away and everything was silent for a few moments, until he smiled and said, ''Emi, thank you'' and Emi blushed, the break was over and everyone went back to their classrooms until the end of the school day, when classes were over Haruki said goodbye to Emi, Emi went to the cooking club, Haruki ran out of the school looked up and said ''Today is the day a legend emerges'' at that moment a boy pulled down Haruki's pants, everyone saw it and everyone laughed while Haruki kept his face up with a smile.
Haruki went back to the house and asked Hikari to come over, and Hikari came over:
''Ah Hikari, I'm a little nervous, even though I know I'll be wearing a mask and that I won't get hurt I wish there was someone there with me, I don't know if Mr. Hiroshi would agree and I haven't told him anything about my powers either, so I'd like you to go''
''Alright, I'll go''
"Great!
''The Tatame Fights always start at 10pm, and today is the day to challenge the champion, every month they hold tournaments and whoever manages to beat the champion of this tournament wins 700,000 yen (author's note: around $5000)''
'''It's amazing you know all this even though it's an underground fight site, where do you find out about it?'''
'''On their website'''
''Oh''
''Okay, the only tricky thing will be convincing mom to let me out of the house, it may not seem like it but she is very attentive when it comes to the places I go''
When dinner time came Haruki went downstairs, and while eating with his mother one of them said:
''I need to leave the house today at 9pm, I don't know what time I'll get home, is that okay with you?''
''Ah, that's fine mom''
''Ah Haruki, you're such an understanding son''
Yes, apparently Haruki was having a bit of luck, when Haruki's mother left the house he went up to his room, grabbed his mask, picked up his bicycle bike and went to the Tatame underground fighting center, arriving there he came across a large building that looked abandoned, he knocked on the iron gate and a gap opened in the door from where a voice came out and Haruki started talking to her:
"Who's there? What do you want?
"I came here to "dance" do you understand? "Dance"?
"What do you mean dance, this isn't a ballet class or tap class
''No, I know that's not what I meant''''
"So what do you want?
"I came, to take a "class"".
"Class? What class? Is it like a school here?
''Ah, well ....
"Do you see anyone in uniform?
''No....''
''Do you see a teacher?
''No.....''
''Do you see a bunch of teenagers talking nonsense?
"Yeah, I got it
"Do you see schoolgirls talking about the boys they're in love with?
"'Man.....'
"Do you see any nurse with big tits?
''Dude
''Those huge tits-''
''MAN I CAME HERE TO FIGHT!!!''
''Ah!, come in''
At that moment the door opened and Haruki entered, the place was huge inside, the construction was modern, almost all the big kings of the Tokyo underworld were there, members of the Yakuza, the place played music before the fights started, there was a bar, a steakhouse and a small lámen restaurant, there were also dancers with very short clothes that only covered parts of their breasts and private parts, some of them were prostitutes and wore masks, at the top there were stairs that led to the upper parts, the boxes where the most important and rich people came to watch the fights and bet, the tatami had 5 categories for the fighters, bronze, iron, silver, gold and diamond, there were no weight requirements, the fighter could move up in category as he beat more opponents, you could move up in level instantly if you beat the number 1 fighter in the desired category, that is, even if it was your first fight you could become the number 1 fighter in the silver category if you beat the current number 1 fighter in the silver category, almost all the fighters were masked and Haruki would challenge the number 1 fighter in the gold category, this fighter's nickname was Hades.
When Haruki went to register to fight the girl who was writing down the names asked the questions:
''How tall are you?
''1,60m''
''What is your weight?
'''65kg
'''Do you understand that Tatame is an underground organization and that we are not responsible for any injuries you are sure to suffer?'''
''Yes''
''Okay, now tell me, what is your name as a fighter?''
''My name is-''
While Haruki was signing up Hades was fighting, he had no mercy, he grabbed his opponent by the neck and punched him in the nose until he passed out, he fought like an animal but still had technique, he mixed wrestling with muay thai, he was 1.95m tall and weighed 100kg, after knocking out his opponent he threw him off the tatame and he remained on the ground until the paramedics attended to him, at this time the judge declared Hades the winner, at this moment some members of the Yakuza sercados of dancers and prostitutes looked at the fights from the cabins and laughed among themselves:
''Haha I knew it, you can't lose always betting on him''
"You're the best Mr. Masashi
"Shut up
Masashi was the nephew of one of the highest grade subordinates of the Tokyo Yakuza boss, while laughing he felt a hand touch his shoulder and say:
''I see you got a good result with your bet''
''Ah it's you Kazuki, it's been a long time, yes since I started attending Tatame my assets have been increasing more and more hahaha this business venture of yours has given me much joy''
''Ah, I'm glad''
''Haha, from what I see now it will be the rookie's turn, puff it will die fast, at least this will give me a great financial return, I'll bet everything I have on Hades, 20000000 yen (about $143000)'', at this moment Kazuki gives a smile as he walks out the door and says:
''Beware, appearances can be deceiving''
"What do you mean? What do you mean? Hey, where are you going?
"I need to see if the wounded are okay, enjoy your evening with our beautiful women.
Kazuki Takahashi is the creator of Tatame, he is a man of 1.86 meters with an athletic physique always wearing clothes of famous brands, he has very long blond hair, he is also a member of the Takahashi family which owns several companies and is one of the most influential in Tokyo, he bribes police and politicians, that is why Tatame can continue to exist even though it is not something so hidden, although it is not clear why he maintains this enterprise since he and his family have much more profitable businesses.
The host of the evening climbed into the ring, took the microphone and said:
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful night at the Tatame, we will now go to our 5th challenger of the night who will fight the undefeated Hades, I hope he knows a good plastic surgeon, I present you to the invluner- (at this moment the microphone fails but starts working again soon after) Haruki gets in the ring and thinks ''It's now, I know that the training with Mr. Hiroshi was not in vain'', ah, ''well it seems that my microphone had stopped working, anyway let's start the fight! ''
Haruki came face to face with Hades, Hikari was outside the ring watching Haruki, Hikari was invisible to everyone but Haruki, Hades looked into Haruki's eyes and said:
''Kid, if I were you I would go home and wash that ridiculous mask of yours, I always finish what I'm going to do quickly.''
"Really? Your girlfriend must always be dissatisfied''.
The referee gave the signal and the fight began, the Yakuza looked on from above and commented: ''Puff, seriously that guy signed up for the Tatame? by the muscles he must not be weak but it's daring to want to face Hades hahaha'' Misashi was quiet, just watching and thinking ''What's the reason I have this bad feeling?
Hades punched Haruki in the stomach so hard that Haruki was thrown and the whole audience screamed, however Haruki got up quickly as if nothing happened, leaving everyone impressed and this made the audience scream even more, Hades thought:
''What? with that? that punch should have incapacitated him, I've won fights with that punch alone!''
"Gee, that was a pretty strong punch, but I guess you can hit harder, can't you? ''''
When Haruki said this Hades was furious and went towards Haruki and applied a Suplex on Haruki and then a ''Crossbody'' (author's note: this movement is performed with the fighter jumping on top of the opponent with your body 'lying' in the air in a horizontal position, causing the opponent to fall on the canvas with him on top)
but Haruki got up again, Haruki was laughing and making jokes with Hades, everyone in the audience was laughing and celebrating, on top Misashi was getting nervous:
''What do you mean? Hades threw two of the best punches and that guy moves like nothing happened.
The fight followed, Hades was stepping, kicking, throwing, punching and squeezing Haruki but nothing happened, Haruki was also blocking and dodging with smooth movements, result of two years of training with Mr. Hiroshi, until the moment came when Haruki applied a circular kick on the chin of Hades, Hades fell to the ground and Haruki climbed on top of him and started throwing punches in sequence while the crowd screamed deafeningly, the fighter that seemed invincible before was broken and was being beaten by a rookie that couldn't be hurt, Haruki kept punching until Hades fainted, the judge stopped the fight and gave the victory to Haruki all the audience screamed and celebrated, Misashi shouted ''THIS CAN'T BE TRUE! !!!', Kazuki who was also watching the fight made a happy face and said ''Um, interesting, very interesting''.
Haruki couldn't believe it, he managed to win his first real fight, he didn't feel any pain thanks to the invulnerability blessing, Hikari looked at Haruki with a neutral expression, the judge lenvated Haruki's hand and shouted:
''HERE IS THE NEW CHAMPION OF THE TATAMI GOLD CATEGORY, WHO WILL TAKE THE 700,000 YEN PRIZE! HE IS INTACT EVEN AFTER TAKING SO MANY HARD BLOWS, TELL ME BOY, WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
Haruki took the microphone looked at the audience and shouted:
''I AM THE INVULNERABLE !!!!!''
And everyone shouted in celebration, everyone repeated his name ''invulnerable, invulnerable, invulnerable'', Haruki felt an indescribable euphoria, that night the Invulnerable won his first fight.
Haruki returned home, on the way he ran and jumped for joy, and the money was already in his bank account, he said to Hikari:
"Did you see that? Did you see that? I did it, I did it!
Haruki arrived home, it was half past midnight, when he opened the door he heard a voice saying:
''So there you are.....''
To Be Continued......