“We`ll come pick you up at 7. The drive there takes an hour. Don`t make us wait.”

The message ended with an emoji. Kyoya eyes didn`t showed any emotions. Just as he put his phone away, a tall figure loomed in front of him.

“Kyoya! I`m going to Endou`s place. Wanna come?”

He looked up:

“Sorry, I have my part-time job.”

“You are coming.” He said, and dragged Kyoya away.

The little boy couldn`t put up much of a resistance because of the size difference. Finally, he accepted it and boarded the train.

“What is it?” Kyoya asked, still showing little expression.

“I need your help with physics homework! The semester test is coming soon!”

“Haa… But only until 6 ok?”

“Yea yea…” Takumi smirked.

When they arrived, the shop was closed. Without hesitation, Takumi opened the door and pulled his friend inside. Kyoya resisted:

“Chotto! Nee! Can`t you see it`s closed?”

“Just get in!”

“That`s rude! Wait!”

A maid was already waiting for them. Blushing slightly, Eirin looked at Kyoya and said:

“W-Welcome… Gosuji-sama.”

“Ei-Eirin-san?!”

And the rest of them stormed out, yelling:

“Happy birthday, Sougo Kyoya-sama!”

Even Endou was wearing a maid costume. Everyone cheered when they saw Kyoya`s surprised expression. Eirin took some photos with her phone. Takumi noticed something.

Kyoya looked around. All of his friends were smiling, extending their hands towards him.

“Guys… I`m… Please forgive me!” He said, and frantically ran away. The doorbell ringed.

They were all caught by surprise.

“Wait! Sougo-kun”

“Specimen!”

“Kyoya!”

Kirishima said:

“Takumi-kun! Why didn`t you run after him!?”

“W-What? There`s no way I can catch! He`s too fast.”

“Weak!”

“Whatever. Ueda-san, did something happen between you guys?”

“No. We haven`t met lately.”

“Why did you ask?” Said Endou.

“Eh… Well I saw he was nervous… Maybe somewhat scared. Figured that he could have done something to his girlfriend and not dare to face her. Excuse him, that guy is really clumsy with his feelings.”

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Kyoya kept running. The foggy streets tumbled towards him as his breathing became more and more chaotic. Something was chasing him, and no matter how fast he ran, it would always be close. Left, right, left, and then the road unraveled before him. His eyes were disturbed by the dazzling lights of Tokyo at night. He looked behind, and suddenly stopped right as he was about to crash into some pedestrians. A big guy grabbed his shirt collar:

“Hey punk! You almost crashed into us!”

Kyoya was still staring at the alleyway, disregarding the guy`s presence.

“Hora! I`m talking to you! Have some respect you dipshit!” The guy shook Kyoya, making the shounen face him. [lol or else I have to write making him face him. Thank you Weeblish]

“Ah… Eh…” Kyoya snapped out of whatever he was in, and looked at the guy.

“Cocksucker! Watch where you going! You almost hit us!”

“Kosuke! That`s enough! He`s crying, can`t you see?” The girl next to him pulled his arm.

Kyoya realized that he was indeed crying. Softly, he murmured, as his head inclined:

“Gomenasai.”

“Keh! Better learn your lesson kiddo!” The guy shoved him away, while his girlfriend apologized to Kyoya.

“I was… crying?” he mumbled, as his hand touched the wet line on his delicate cheeks.

7:03 pm [or 19:03], … street. [I still haven`t named it. I`ll do that after memorizing Tokyo map]

A cream-colored car zoomed past the intersection. Inside were Demitri and Celestyna. Driving for another hundred meters or so, they parked in front of a house. The burly man spoke, in Russian:

“We`re here, ma`am.”

“Go greet him, Demitri.”

The man picked up the eyeband.

“There`s no need this time.” Celestyna smiled.

“As you wish.”

Kyoya went for the door. He was slightly surprised when only Demitri was there. Saying nothing, they went inside the car. Kyoya chose the seat next to him, keeping himself as far as possible from Celestyna.

They arrived, and Kyoya prepared for the fight. In the dark corridor leading to the stadium, he bit on his mouthpiece, pulling the bandana up to cover his face. Then he walked towards the light.

“… And in the red corner, our newcomer with plenty potential, the guy who covers his face and wears an Adidas tracksuit… please give an applause to … Triple stripes!”

Some unknown Russian dance music played [Tri Paloski] and people yelled. Some were actually excited to see him fight. However many weren`t, so Kyoya received the usual insults.

“Take your stance”

Kyoya used an orthodox side stance with low guard. The guy used Muay boxing, judging from the high guard and rather square stance.

“HAJIME!” A feminine voice screamed.

Instantly his opponent dashed in. Kyoya duck left then right to avoid the jab cross, before taking a side step and back away from the roundhouse. This guy was taller than him, so punching wasn`t an option. The fighter slowed down, spinning his hands to intimidate Kyoya.

Kyoya saw a shift in his balance and dashed backwards, but stored the momentum in his power leg. The fighter`s flying stomp barely missed Kyoya`s face, as he sprung forward with the roundhouse counter.

*Twack*

The hit connected, and Kyoya followed through, sending his opponent`s head down on the mat. The crowd went wild. Kyoya waited.

“Hey triple stripes, finish him off!”

“Yeah! Kill that mothafucker!”

“C`mon!”

He didn`t make a move until the fighter stood up. They both kept distance, and the crowd booed.

On the stadium, a special guess was watching the fight.

“Opa! Davai! That counter was beautiful.” Celestyna cheered.

“Yes. You are right, his style is very similar to that man.” A hoarse Russian voice answered.

“Right? Look at the roundhouse. And also his footwork, being able to jump back and forth that quickly. You didn`t watch the last round, so you can`t see how much he has grown. The kid was only getting used to the ring, but now he pretty much fights like he did when I saw him on the street.” She excitedly talked

“Indeed. The roundhouse technique is quite uncommon. His knee comes up straight like a Karate kick, but then the strike comes from above. You see?” Boris said, as Kyoya landed another kick on the guy`s arm “He pushes his hips, rotates his core, and snaps his calf. All done simultaneously, and that`ll push all his bodyweight onto the strike. He could do it because he has trained enough to be able to twist the pivoting foot 180 degree or more without falling. That`s some incredible flexibility. Of course, when aiming at the head with this kick, the strike won`t travel far enough to deal damage. But the dangerous part is, it pushes the opponent`s head on the ground. That`s a one hit KO or even a kill on asphalt.” [Lol info dump]

“Oh… I see. How would the boy fare against that man?”

Boris shook his head:

“He`ll die in under 10 seconds.”

Celestyna`s eyes became circles:

“Why?”

“Speed, he loses. Power, he loses. Endurance? The boy might barely have more stamina because the age difference. And most importantly, size. That man was tall like a pine tree, which was very suitable for such fighting style. While this one looks like a kindergarten boy. Not saying that he`s not impressive though, but in raw numbers that man was clearly stronger. Still, this young fellow is really durable.”

“After all you`ve said, I think Kyoya is that man`s student.”

“…”

“Then it would be even easier to control him.” Boris smiled.