He had spent the whole day without running into Shinji or Shiori. He didn’t feel like witnessing their constant arguments, much less intervening in them. He preferred to use his time in other ways, doing something he enjoyed and found relaxing. So, he headed to the western gardens, where he usually practiced controlling his reiki or simply sat under the shade of a tree to read a good book.
But when he arrived, he was disappointed. The place wasn’t as quiet as he had hoped. A group of people, most of them wearing the brown uniform of the novices, formed a circle around someone who was jumping and spinning in the air, eliciting exclamations of admiration and applause. Ritsu approached curiously, wondering who was responsible for all the commotion.
His displeasure was immense when he recognized him.
It was Katsuo, of course. Who else? The most arrogant and presumptuous bully in the entire academy. The one who thought he was better than anyone else, and who never missed an opportunity to prove it. The idiot who had made his life miserable since day one, and who didn’t seem willing to leave him alone.
Katsuo was attempting spinning kicks that became progressively more extravagant. He jumped, twisted, propelled himself with his hands, and landed on his feet, with a smug smile. Every time he did it, the circle of spectators applauded and cheered him, as if it were the best show in the world. Some even threw flowers at him, which he collected with pompous gestures.
Seeing him, he snorted.
He felt nothing but disdain for that braggart, who only sought attention and to win the favor of others.
Katsuo was nothing more than a carnival clown who wanted to impress with cheap acrobatics.
He was about to turn around and go somewhere else when a familiar voice called out to him.
“Quite a show today, huh?”
Ritsu turned to see the owner of that voice. It was his companion Aki, who was also watching the scene with resentment.
“That show-off strutting his stuff again,” Aki rolled his eyes. “What a vain idiot.”
“You can say that again. I came to practice my reiki a bit, or to read a book,” he sighed. “But I see the garden is occupied by Katsuo’s circus.”
“Yes, he seems particularly inspired today,” said Aki, looking ironically at Katsuo, who was still jumping and doing pirouettes. “He must have learned some new trick he wants to show off.”
“Or maybe he just wants to get some girl’s attention,” Ritsu suggested.
Aki snorted.
“Some girl? All of them, I’d say,” he corrected. “Look how they’re looking at him, with love-struck eyes. It’s incredible that they don’t realize what he really is... a complete jerk.”
“Oh Katsuo, you’re amazing!” he heard a girl say with eyes bright with adoration. Other girls nodded, clearly captivated by the spectacle.
Yes, amazingly stupid.
The words of his old master came to mind, warning him that some women felt an irresistible attraction to arrogant fools. That was a painful lesson he was witnessing with his own eyes.
“Or they don’t care,” Ritsu added. “They only see what they want to see.”
“You’re right,” Aki conceded, annoyed. “Let’s get out of here, this circus has gone on long enough.”
But just as they were about to leave the garden, a burly figure stepped in their way, blocking their path. It was Tora, the “second-in-command” of the bullies. His round, sweaty face showed a malicious smile, revealing his crooked and yellowed teeth.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he snapped at them in a shrill voice. “Don’t you want to enjoy the show? Come on, little piggies, stay a bit longer. Katsuo is about to do the Ascending Dragon Kick. It’s a masterpiece, something you could never match in your miserable existence.”
Ritsu felt a pang of anger in his chest, like a flame that was fanned by the wind. He inhaled deeply, trying to calm that inner fire. It wasn’t worth getting angry with this idiot.
“No, thank you,” he finally replied, with all the coldness he could muster. “We don’t have time to waste on nonsense.”
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Tora mocked. “What important things do you have to do? Read some boring book? Practice your cheap reiki? Cry over some girl who doesn’t pay attention to you?”
Some of the spectators surrounding them joined in Tora’s laughter, mocking them. Ritsu felt the heat rising to his cheeks, but he remained firm, not losing his composure.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he replied, containing the urge to hit him. “You and Katsuo only know how to make fools of yourselves with your kicks. You’re just clowns who make people laugh.”
Tora’s eyes widened, offended to the core.
“How dare you insult Katsuo?” he roared. “He’s the best, the strongest! And what are you? A nobody, a fucking failure, an absolute loser.”
Ritsu exhaled with weariness.
“Don’t make me laugh, Tora. Is that all? Can we go now?”
“Enough!” he howled; his face congested with fury. “I won’t allow you to keep talking about Katsuo like that. I’m going to teach you a lesson you won’t forget. I’m going to beat you to a pulp until there are no teeth left in that insolent mouth of yours.”
Ritsu wasn’t going to say anything else, he knew very well that any fight wouldn’t be beneficial for him due to the connections of those arrogant nobles. Besides, if he faced Tora, he would probably have to face Katsuo and all his henchmen as well. He would have no chance of winning, and would only get more problems and more pain. So, he prepared to ignore Tora, to turn his back on him and go on his way.
But before he could do so, Aki stepped forward, facing the bully.
“Oh yeah? And how do you plan to do that? With your shameful belly?” he mocked, challenging him, while looking at him defiantly. “Why don’t you try? I’m sure you can’t even reach me with those chubby little arms.”
What was he doing? Why was he provoking him like that? Didn’t he realize the danger they were in?
But it was too late to stop him.
Tora grunted something unintelligible before lunging at Aki with outstretched arms, trying to crush him against the ground. And behind him, the other nobles joined in to encourage him, hungry for blood and revenge.
But Aki easily slipped away, chuckling.
“Too slow, you disgusting fat man,” he mocked. “Does all that cake cloud your vision? The pig is you, not us. It’s disgusting just to look at you! Look at yourself, you look like a bag of lard with legs that moves like a flan in an earthquake! OINK OINK! The only thing you could crush is a dozen cakes, not me.”
Anger made Tora’s chubby face turn redder and redder. He charged at Aki again, who kept dodging him with insulting ease while laughing at him.
“Well, well... little Tora is tired,” Aki said in a childish voice when his opponent began to pant, his forehead beaded with sweat. “I think all those little cakes have left you out of breath. OINK OINK! You’re a gluttonous and lazy little piggy!”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Ritsu stayed on the sidelines, watching the fight and making sure no other bully took advantage and attacked Aki from behind.
Tora huffed in frustration, trying to catch Aki with his hands. But Aki was too quick and cunning for him.
He moved like a weasel, escaping his grasp.
“Oh, poor thing, have you run out of breath?” his companion continued, humiliating him. “Don’t you have any stamina? Looks like someone’s been eating too many sweets lately. Look at that flabby, shapeless body. You look more like a ball than a fighter.”
Tora became even more enraged.
“Shut up, damn you!” he roared, throwing himself at Aki with all his might. “I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL DESTROY YOU UNTIL NOT EVEN YOUR MISERABLE SHADOW IS LEFT!”
Aki didn’t dodge the attack, but instead ducked and delivered a precise kick to his opponent’s bulging belly. Tora doubled over, breathless.
“Is that all you know how to do, Tora? Charge like a bull?” Aki laughed out loud.
“That’s cheating!” howled one of Tora’s henchmen. “Fight fair, you coward!”
But Aki paid no attention to them. He remained focused on Tora.
“Come on, get up, little piggy,” he goaded him. “Or did that little kick already knock you out? I think even my grandmother would fight better, and she’s half crippled!”
It was then that Tora decided to use his reiki.
It was forbidden to use it outside school hours, but it seemed he didn’t care.
Tora put his hands on the ground and, with a guttural roar, released a shock wave. The ground shook and cracked, as if an invisible force had hit it. Everyone nearby staggered and became disoriented, unable to maintain their balance.
Aki stumbled, struggling to stay firm in the face of the surprising display of power. Then, he looked around and saw the cracks that had formed in the ground. Tora looked at him with a malicious smile.
“What have you done?” Aki asked, more surprised than angry. “Did you use your reiki? Are you crazy? Do you know the consequences that could have?”
Things escalated quickly.
Screams were heard from the girls who had been praising Katsuo. In a matter of seconds, he descended from the sky like a bird of prey, his feet barely making a sound as they touched the ground.
Aki turned, but it was too late. Katsuo’s fist crashed into his jaw with the force of a hammer striking a blacksmith’s anvil. Aki fell to the ground like a rag doll.
“How dare you?” Katsuo hissed in a voice as cold as ice. “Mocking one of ours? You should know better who you’re messing with, you insignificant vermin.”
Aki brought a trembling hand to his nose, from which a thin stream of crimson blood was flowing. He looked at Katsuo with a mixture of hatred and fear.
It was normal, Ritsu thought. Despite everything, they knew Katsuo was strong. Not like the coward, Tora.
“I... I was just defending Ritsu,” Aki stammered, trying to justify himself. “Tora started insulting us and threatening us. I couldn’t stay quiet.”
Katsuo frowned and looked at Ritsu.
“What do I care about that? Trash deserves to be crushed,” Katsuo sentenced with disdain. “Ritsu is nothing but scum, just like you. And I’ll personally make sure you learn your place.”
Ritsu felt a wave of rage. He couldn’t stand Katsuo talking about Aki like that.
He was a good person and didn’t deserve the nobles’ contempt.
“Don’t give me that shit,” Ritsu snapped, stepping forward with his jaw clenched. “Aki is my friend, and you’d better respect him. You’re nobody to decide who deserves what.”
He didn’t sound pleading or furious, but absolutely determined.
“Nobles like you,” he added, looking him straight in the eye and making clear the distance he was marking, “think your title gives you the right to trample on others. Well, you’ve made a mistake with me. I don’t care about your lineage, or your rank. If you want to get to Aki, you’ll have to go through me first.”
Katsuo let out a sarcastic laugh that chilled the blood in Ritsu’s veins.
“Oh, really?” he asked cynically. “And who’s going to stop me? You? Don’t make me laugh. You’re a nobody, transparent as glass. So predictable you almost make me feel sorry for you. You think a couple of heroic words turn you into something more than a beggar with pretensions,” he spat, pointing at him with an accusing finger. “These months you’ve kept quiet without doing anything. It’s obvious you have no talent for reiki or martial arts. You’re a worm. And I’m the one who’s going to crush you.”
Katsuo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly, Ritsu felt a chill. The nearby plants and trees began to wither, their leaves drying up and falling to the ground.
It was as if the heat and life were being drained from the environment.
Thin threads of water emerged from the dying plants and converged around Katsuo, forming a liquid sphere that spun rapidly. Ritsu contemplated that display of power with wide eyes. Katsuo’s reiki sphere radiated a relentless energy, resembling the eye of a hurricane about to unleash.
Ritsu remembered all the humiliations of the past, the malicious whispers and contemptuous looks that had pursued him since he had entered the Forbidden City. He relived the pain of countless beatings, the cruel laughter of Katsuo and his thugs as he lay bruised on the ground.
He heard again the insults that shattered his self-esteem, the taunts that made him wish to disappear. He had endured months of abuse in silence, too ashamed to ask for help, even convinced that he deserved that endless torment.
A voice screamed inside him.
“No more!”
He longed to put an end to a life of pain and shame.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In his chest he felt a comforting warmth coursing through his veins, as if he had fire instead of blood. When he opened them, a new determination shone in his gaze.
Months of pain and fear dissipated like mist before the morning sun.
That afternoon, the humiliations would end.
Oh, how he had longed for that moment.
“Katsuo, I don’t want to fight you,” he said, giving him one last chance to back down. “But if you attack me, I will defend myself.”
Katsuo paid no attention to him. He raised his right hand, pointing at him with his fingers extended. The reiki sphere contracted until it reached the size of a ball.
It was a bomb about to explode.
“Goodbye, scum!” he shouted angrily. “I’m going to wipe you off the map!”
And he launched his reiki sphere at him.
He didn’t have time to dodge it, it was too fast.
He could only react by instinct, remembering one of the books he had read to do Professor Oda’s homework. In one of them, it was told how a warrior had created a wall of flames to protect himself from an enemy army.
He tried to imitate it, invoking all the reiki he could. He opened his mouth and blew hard, causing a burst of fire to come out of his lips. The fire spread and rose, forming a burning barrier between him and the water sphere.
The sphere collided with the wall of fire, causing a deafening roar that resonated in the air like the rumble of thunder. The water and fire collided, seeking to mutually annul each other in a fierce struggle between opposites.
For a fleeting moment, it seemed that the fire was going to emerge victorious from that struggle, as the watery sphere quickly reduced, evaporating into a cloud of hot steam that rose towards the sky.
But then, something went terribly wrong.
Ritsu felt as if he could no longer contain the fire that flowed from his mouth. The flames grew in intensity, voraciously feeding on the flow of reiki that ran through his body, like a thirsty oasis in the middle of the desert.
Despite the intoxicating power, there was something twisted in its essence.
Every time he embraced it; he could feel the corruption seeping through him like a poison.
It was a sickening and sticky sensation that gave him chills.
He felt as if he was going to burst, filled to overflowing with a glow that burned him from the inside.
The light radiating around him, sparkling like embers, hurt his eyes.
The heat seemed to consume him, scorching his extremities.
The flames tormented him, licking his flesh.
He felt unbearable pain, as if the fire was burning his bones.
The flaming wall he had invoked as a defense suddenly became an unexpected assault. It escaped his control, spreading voraciously in orange tongues, growing taller and more imposing.
A sea of fire grew uncontrollably.
Ritsu desperately tried to contain it, but it was useless. It was unstoppable, roaring and crackling, feeding on all available oxygen. The burning tongues licked the sky, illuminating it with their sinister orange glow.
The fire had a life of its own.
Katsuo cursed, backing away from the scorching heat. Then, he created another sphere of water to defend himself.
The rising steam clouded Ritsu’s vision like a thick fog. Through the whitish veil he could make out a silhouette that must have been Katsuo.
“Stop!” he heard the figure shouting, the voice muffled by the crackling of the flames. “You’re going to destroy everything!”
But Ritsu could no longer hear him.
The sea of fire consumed everything in its path, threatening to leave only ashes and charred memories.
He was lost in the burning chaos he himself had unleashed.
And at that moment, when all seemed lost, a new figure interposed between the flames. With a single fluid hand movement, the mysterious silhouette created a whirlwind of air that smothered the fire. The flames, like rejected lovers, extinguished in a sigh, leaving only a faint trail of smoke that curled and slowly ascended.
Ritsu fell to his knees, exhausted.
He looked up wearily, trying to distinguish the stranger through the steam. He met the eyes of Professor Norio, who was looking at him with a stern expression.
His eyes were like two daggers piercing through him.
“What are you doing?” he asked in a warm voice. “Don’t you know it’s forbidden to use reiki outside of class hours? And what is this?” he pointed to the surroundings of the garden, now reduced to a pile of smoldering ash. “What have you done to my beloved garden?”
“Professor, I...” Ritsu began, but the words escaped him.
“You know?” Norio continued; his voice soft but laden with a weight that Ritsu could physically feel. “For seven years I cultivated every flower, every herb in this garden. I raised them from seeds, whispered to them at dawn, protected them from winter frosts.” He paused, contemplating the charred remains of what was once an oasis of life. “Each plant had a purpose, a story, a reason for being.”
The professor crouched down, taking a handful of ashes that slipped through his fingers.
“Power without control is like a river without a channel, young Ritsu. It destroys everything in its path and, in the end, destroys itself.”
It was the last thing Ritsu heard before darkness claimed him, his body finally yielding to exhaustion. The last thing he saw were Professor Norio’s eyes, which now reflected something more than severity: a deep and ancient sadness.