The boy dreams

The Radiant Cosmos has billions of worlds and stars, it is a universe of incomparable vastness. In it were worlds of different races, star systems colonized by mighty emperors and kings, forbidden zones that will swallow even the strongest of armies and a dark space were a man can run forever and never touch the end of it.

Despite the billions of different alien races in the Radiant Cosmos, the 'Ten Great Races' are the most well known and respected. That's because of their undisputed strength and might.

The human race is one of those Great Races. Tucked in the bleak corner of the universe, it's world, called the Human Realm, was half buried in sand and darkness making one, and many, to wonder why the realm of one of the Ten Great Races looks so backwards. That could only be described not explained, there's a difference to those words; one could picture the horrors of the past accurately the other could only vaguely tell its impact.

Anyway among the many nations of the Human Realm, is the powerful Yunjhu empire.

The Empire being one of the superpowers of the human realm naturally has many powerful fighters that come from all over its vast territory. However there is one city that exports the must fighters in the empire. That's Kreal city. Here a legend was born: The legend of the unrivalled genius, Yamato Armor and his method of blasting up the ranks of the Fighters in the Radiant Cosmos.

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Yamato grew up in the rough streets of Kreal city where fights and crime were common. His parents were around, unlike most children roaming the streets, but they never seem to care about him. Ever since he was old enough to walk and talk and beg for food they hardly provided anything for him. So he grew up with a lot of freedom and not much love.

At eight years old he'd roam the streets of the city, barefooted, totally unsupervised. So young and innocent, he was exposed to the darker sides of life in those streets; he learned to steal, to beg, he learned to avoid certain locations, he knew not to trust hookers or strangers. Naturally he was also exposed to the violence that is prevalent in these streets.

The most common kind of violence was robbery or gang related fights, but there was also another kind, Street Fighting!

Street Fighters are different from other kind of fighters, they didn't fight to steal something or to defend themselves, they fought 'for the fun of it'. That means flashy moves, lots of showoffs and style; they didn't just fight, they entertained.

That's when Yamato developed an interest in fighting. He'd watched them in awe and excitement everyday, completely addicted. He also started watching pro fighting on TV, namely the Empire's league. Though he'd never dreamt of being a Fighter.

Yamato's life changed one particular day though. That day there was a particular intense fight were Old man Risla, one of the most famous Street Fighter in Kreal city, fought against an expert from another city.

Yamato was surprised when he saw Risla for the first time. Unlike the usual Street Fighters that are filled with youth and vigour, Old man Risla was a skinny white haired geezer that most be older than seventy, most say he's over hundred years old. He used the black cane he used for walking to face his opponent. Later Yamato will learn that that is Risla's Astral weapon.

Risla's opponent, the foreigner, was a rough looking middle aged man. He was bald and held his Astral weapon, a hook fixed to a chain, casually, showing no pressure. Yamato was squeezed on the roof top of a nearby building to watch the fight because the streets for blocks were flooded full with spectators and even news crews came, pointing their camera's at everything that they thought will interest their audience. Which is mostly the Fighters to be honest.

The 'two experts', Risla and the bald foreigner, exchanged some boasts and overbearing words first, as is costmary, then the referee signaled the beginning of the fight.

Yamato didn't remember much about what he saw. This was not like the other Street Fights that he could follow the action with his eyes. He just saw Risla disappear then the foreign fighter also vanished from sight. A spark and clang of weapons that kept resounding was the only hint that the two clashed weapons, they showed up momentarily then varnished again and again.

By the time the fight finished, Yamato didn't see much besides the occasionally time the fighters reappeared, and the ending when the foreign fighter crashed down from the sky, then Risla floated down and stepped on his chest.

Cheers bellowed all around the place, everything was a blur from that point. People rushed to Old man Risla and carried him away cheering. Men and women talked excitedly, voices mixed, Yamato lost sight of the fighters.

Yet by the time he managed to climb down that building and head home he felt something he never felt before. An undeniable hunger for something.

"I want to become a fighter!" The boy shouted thrusting his fist into the air. That declaration would change the world.

Ever since that day Yamato started working towards his dream. In Kreal city that produced a lot of Fighters, some that have gone and become famous stars in the big league, and even fewer who had gone to defend the Human Realm's pride in the Cosmic arena more than once. There's a heavy influence of martial art in Kreal city so it's quite common for kids to gather themselves to compete.

Like older Street Fighters they form gangs around their friends and challenge other kids. Those gangs are usually formed in school; the government will not let any kid not attend school. Education is a basic human right after all, even if free food isn't.

The day after the famous fight between Risla and Shark, he later found out that's the name of the foreign fighter, Yamato approached a particular disliked group of kids in his school and told them he wanted to join them. Some made fun of him but more accepted him without any fuss and allowed him to start following them.

After school, kids will spar together on the way back home. Usually students of one school battles students of another, the rules roughly the same as the pro league. It was here that Yamato started making a name for himself.

His first fight was against a kid a year older than him. It could be said that Yamato grew up slower than other kids so he was pushed forward by his schoolmates, unkindly, who were expecting him to lose in the hands of the bigger kid.

Yamato and the other kid faced each other quietly. Yamato had a sullen expression while the bigger kid was smirking. One of the older kid signaled the start of the fight.

"Give up," his opponent growled.

"No," Yamato said.

The big kid snorted in displeasure and immediately rushed towards Yamato. He'd been planning to show mercy on the small boy but Yamato's refusal angered him. Closing the distance the bigger kid threw a punch.

Yamato reacted quickly by ducking down and rolled forward; he's very agile so he made use of it. Standing, he jumped and kicked out at his opponent like he sees pro Fighters do on TV; the kick landed on his opponent's back sending the bigger kid stumbling forward. But the older kid quickly regain his balance, turned around in a flash and smacked Yamato with the back of his hand.

It was Yamato's turn to stumble away.

"I am gonna break you!" The older kid growled then reached out and grabbed Yamato in a bear hug, before he could escape, squeezing him.

Yamato struggled to break free for almost a minute futilely, but manage to throw out a knee kick at the kid's groin, though it might have been accidental. For some reason the kick was enough to make his opponent release him and cradle his groin with both hands. Yamato took advantage of it and lunged forward.

The street was quiet as the audience watched with bated breath. Everything seemed to slow. Yamato closed in on the other kid sending another kick to the kid's head, but this time it was a butterfly kick. The kid rotated then planted headfirst into the asphalt, possibly passed out, but Yamato wasn't done yet.

Even so young he was ruthless. He started kicking down on the bigger kid. When kicks weren't enough he also punched down on the kid. Yamato instinctively knew that he should never let an enemy get back up after he knocks them down. Such is the way of the of a true fighter!

In the end the other kids had to intervene and separate the two. An older boy dragged Yamato away in anger, tossed him to the side and shouted. "Are you crazy? Do you want to kill him?"

It was the boy standing as the referee, Yamato realized he must have done something wrong. But he calmly rose to his feet and wiped the blood off the side of his lips. His eyes shined, it was excitement.

"I won," he said smugly.

Yamato realized the feeling of personally fighting was more addicting than just watching. The cheers of the spectators, the fear of his opponent, the thrill of exchanging blows.

He wanted more.