Later, after finishing his homework, Neizan went outside to meet up with his friends.
『Neizan: Hey, what's up, guys! 』
He greeted them energetically, raising his hand while running toward them.
『???: What's up, Neizan? 』
『???: We've been waiting for a while. What were you doing? 』
Neizan waved to the two boys, both taller and bigger than him, as they were a couple of years older. One of them was Sebas, a boy with light brown hair and a serious yet friendly face. The other, Nico, a little shorter than Sebas, had dark hair and bright eyes that sparkled mischievously.
『Neizan: There's still time to head to the court. What are you doing now? 』
He asked, curious, while looking at them.
『Sebas: We're practicing parkour. 』
Sebas responded, stretching his arms and legs, as if warming up for the next jump.
『Nico: Watch out, I'm about to do a "cat leap" over the railing. 』
Nico sprinted toward a nearby railing and, with agility, jumped over it, using both hands to support himself while swinging his legs over in one smooth motion.
『Neizan: I'm going to try it too! 』
Neizan exclaimed, full of confidence.
『Sebas: That railing's too high for you, man. 』
Sebas said, with a teasing grin.
『Neizan: Nah, I got this. 』
Ignoring the warning, Neizan ran toward the railing, determined to imitate Nico. But...
『Sebas: Hahahah! 』
Sebas burst out laughing as he saw Neizan stumble. One of Neizan's feet clipped the edge of the railing, making him lose his balance and fall backward to the ground.
『Nico: Whoa, dude! You okay? 』
Nico asked between laughs, walking over to help him up.
『Neizan: Yeah, yeah, I just got a little scrape, hahaha. 』
Neizan replied, laughing despite the scrape on his elbow.
『Nico: Let's just head to the court. At this rate, you won't make it there today, hahaha! 』
Sebas and Nico kept laughing as they walked together toward the basketball court. On the way, they stopped at a store to grab some drinks and sandwiches, which they devoured while cracking jokes. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing and laughing at the court, until the day slowly faded into night.
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With eleven years old, while enjoying the summer vacation, Neizan came across a small abandoned puppy that looked weak and hungry. He was eating a sandwich and decided to share it with the animal.
『Neizan: Come on, buddy! Here's some food for you. 』
The dog, noticing that Neizan was bringing a piece of the sandwich closer, approached to sniff it first. Realizing it was food, he began to lick it eagerly. Neizan left the sandwich on the ground and sat down to watch the puppy devour the food.
『Neizan: Wow, you really were hungry! 』
When the puppy finished eating, Neizan turned to leave, but he noticed that the dog was following him. Surprised, he asked:
『Neizan: Do you want to come with me? 』
The puppy, which seemed to be about four months old, looked at him attentively; it was truly adorable. That morning, Neizan decided to adopt his first dog. This male was an American Mastiff.
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『???: Hey, Marck, they're fighting. Shouldn't we do something? 』
『Marck: Let them be; they're just kids. Besides, if we stop them now, they'll fight later. It's better to let them figure out who's stronger. 』
In front of two adults stood two boys, Neizan and another boy his age named Marcos, ready to fight. The scuffle arose from an incident at school: Marcos had been bullying a girl named Elena during recess, who was in Neizan's class. Neizan intervened to stop him and was about to confront him when two groups of kids separated them.
Now, both boys faced each other, ready to settle their differences with punches. Among the spectators were Marck and another adult, along with a group of kids who watched intently, whispering to each other.
『Marcos: What's wrong? Does it bother you that I talk to a girl from your class? 』
『Neizan: That's not the issue, idiot. 』
『Marcos: Hahaha, I'm two years older than you. Are you sure you want to fight me? 』
『Neizan: I couldn't care less about your age, jerk. If you think you can humiliate a girl in my class and then try the same with me... You'll see how I break your mouth. 』
『Marcos: You know I don't care about your mother, right? 』
With a mocking and arrogant smile, Marcos provoked Neizan.
Hearing those words, Neizan charged at Marcos, throwing a punch that the latter easily dodged by stepping back. But Neizan didn't stop; he was all in, determined to hit him without hesitation.
As he got closer, Marcos, realizing he couldn't keep his distance, decided to counterattack with a punch aimed at Neizan's head. However, since Neizan was shorter, Marcos had to lean down, losing the angle he needed to land a solid hit.
Neizan lunged forward violently, hitting Marcos in the stomach with an uppercut, followed by a powerful hook with his other arm that connected with Marcos's chin, stunning him.
『Kids: Ooooooh! He hit him! Wow! 』
『Marck: Well done, Neizan! 』
『Neizan: Aaaaah! 』
『Marcos: ...! 』
The fourteen-year-old didn't expect that a simple twelve-year-old, smaller and shorter than him, could strike with such violence and force. At that moment, he realized too late his mistake in being overconfident.
He fell backward to the ground, and now Neizan was on top of him, ready to hit him again, this time in the face. Only a few seconds passed, but that was enough for Neizan to land at least six punches on his face while Marcos could barely protect himself, covering up with his arms.
『Marcos: Stop, stop already! I give up! 』
『Neizan: Damn you, bastard! 』
Neizan ignored Marcos's words and continued hitting him. It was then that Marck intervened, pulling him away from the boy, who was already lying on the ground, bleeding from his nose.
『Marck: Enough already! Can't you see you've won? Do you want to kill him or what? 』
『Neizan: That bastard messed with my mother! I won't forgive him! 』
After the fight, Marck accompanied Neizan home while the other kids left. Neizan had started attending school that same year, and his first term had been quite difficult.