4 Years Later.
"Don't tell the teachers and no parents. What do you think? Do you agree?" The 17-year old Azami stared at the guy in front of him, a boy with a weird looking hairstyle that faced to his left-side more.
'Takeshi Sendo.' Azami muttered under his breath, his heart raced fast as he felt the thrill of facing an opponent at his level, above even.
Takeshi Sendo, known as the Naniwa Tiger who had fought over thirty guys last week. Azami had personally searched for him in Osaka to challenge him into a fight, since beating down random thugs in his hometown became boring.
"Tch, so they call you Akagami? You better live up to my expectations." Takeshi cracked his knuckles, his lips curling into a smirk.
Without saying a word, Azami lunged forward, the wind snapped as his shoes tore across the pavement.
His left shot out—!!
FWOOSH!
Just then, Takeshi slipped right through the lightning fast jab with a twist of his neck.
WHAM!
An overhand punch landed squarely onto Azami's face. Despite that, the red-haired boy managed to hold his ground, slipping past a straight, Azami ducked under a flurry of punches by Takeshi.
FWISHH!
A cross grazed Azami's shoulder, and at that instant, the red-haired boy pivoted to his right, turning his hips in a circular motion, aiming below with a body shot.
THWACK!
All of the sudden, Takeshi's left-hand launched forward like a rising dragon, pummeling down Azami's jaw.
Blood gushed out from the red-haired boy's mouth, his eyes turning gray as his consciousness faded.
"D-Damn it…" Azami fell to the ground with a loud thud, his school uniform covered in dirt and sweat.
…
A few moments have passed, the red-haired boy finally woke up facing the ground, while his opponent had already left hours ago.
Groaning, Azami rummaged his hair in anger as he found out that Takeshi stole the money he had taken from beating up the delinquents in Osaka.
Azami forced himself to stand up, though his bruises still hurt. Thankfully, his face doesn't seem that damaged, still handsome as always.
It's not like anybody would care for his injuries anyways. His mom died shortly after his birth, his dad died away at sea after going fishing when he was still 7 years old.
The boy took out a gum in his pocket and washed his hands on a nearby water tap, then proceeded to ride his parked bike back home.
While on the way, Azami stopped by the train tracks to piss, but was interrupted by a commotion under the bridge.
SLAP!
"Hmm… doesn't something stink?" A guy with a black pompadour asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"That's true, something is stinking." Another guy with a shorter pompadour answered, sniffing the air in disgust.
"Huh, I wonder what?" A smaller guy with short shaggy hair and thick eyebrows scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"You moron, you're the one who stinks like a worm!"
WHACK!
"Oh my, I'm so sorry about that." Azami emerged from behind, picking his nose without care.
The four high schoolers, Umezawa, Takemura, Matsuda, and Ippo, whipped their heads towards the noise.
"Eh, who are you?" Umezawa tilted his head in confusion, still holding Ippo by the collar.
Azami spat out the gum and kicked it before landing on the ground, the momentum causing it to fly onto Umezawa's forehead.
A visible nerve appeared on the delinquent's face, but flinched after hearing a whisper from Matsuda.
"B-Boss, that guy…"
"Akagami." Takemura gulped.
"Urgh!" Umezawa's mouth twitched slightly, taking off the gum that stuck onto his pompadour. "Idiots, he looks beaten up! That can't be the real Akagami!! Besides, there's three of us!"
"Man, these fools don't even look strong…" Azami spoke up, startling the three.
"Attack, damn it!" Umezawa screeched, Matsuda and Takemura following behind him, each of them bearing a fist.
FWOOP!
The red-haired boy leaned his head to the left and countered one of the punches with a right haymaker.
Matsuda and Takemura, who were also about to attack, stumbled on their feet as they saw their gang leader falling head-first.
"You got some cash?" Azami turned towards them and said in a monotone voice.
"I.. C-Cash?" Matsuda straightened, then nodded aggressively. "Yes sir!" He and Takemura immediately took out their wallets and brought it towards Azami with care.
"Good." Azami licked his lips, counting them one by one, "This place is my turf now, get out before I beat you up as well."
"Yes!!" ×2
Matsuda and Takemura nervously rested Umezawa on their shoulders and rushed off with haste.
"Thank you, Azami-kun!" Ippo bowed his head on the ground, sweat dropping from his temple.
He hadn't seen nor talked with this red-haired guy before, but his reputation in their school had already made him a celebrity.
"The Akagami…" Ippo murmured, silently peeking at the squatted Azami in front of him.
"You're not one of them?" Azami raised an eyebrow, glancing at the helpless nobody. "I'm not sharing my loot, you know?"
As the red-haired boy stood up, a firm hand gripped his shoulder tightly.
"Are you the one those guys were calling, monster?" A voice boomed behind Azami. Seeing the battered boy, Ippo still bowing, he spoke again, "Stop acting so proud."
For once in 17-years, Azami felt a chill run down his spine, his instincts told him to create distance as soon as possible, but after seeing the shadow casted by the dawn, his feet wouldn't move.
"Hey, are you deaf or what?" The man called out, placing his hands inside his pocket.
Forcing himself to calm down, Azami turned around, and quickly saw the guy he believed he must defeat to become the strongest man in the world, the final boss, the guy who injured several rugby fans for insulting his brother.
"Mamoru Takamura."