After that conversation, the rest of the week passed with an almost suspicious calm. Classes, daily training, meals with Pig everything continued without further incident.
My body felt more stable every day, stronger, and although I still couldn't consciously manipulate spiritual energy, I knew that something within me had changed.
Until the last night before Tenzin returned.
That same night, I went out to the convenience store to buy something to eat. The night air was cool, and the streets were almost empty, as usual at that hour.
On my way back, walking with the bag in my hand, I heard raised voices coming from a nearby alley.
—And what are you doing here?— someone said in a mocking tone.
As I got closer, I saw a boy wearing a dark blue uniform, different from the black one of the high school I attend.
He wasn't from Shinsei High School. As I realized this, two students from my school surrounded him, lightly shoving him.
—A student from Mirai High School in our territory?— the other sneered.
One of them grabbed him by the shirt, raising his fist.
—Hey!— I intervened immediately, stepping between them.
—Leave him alone. What did he do?
Both of them looked at me with annoyance.
—And who do you think you are to butt in?— one said.
—This doesn't concern you— the other added.
—Just leave. It's not worth starting trouble over this.
While I was arguing with them, I felt the boy behind me suddenly move at incredible speed and strike one of the two students hard in the face.
—What?!
I didn't even have time to react when the boy who was hit was sent flying by a kick and crashed into the ground.
The other barely had time to respond before taking an even more brutal punch to the jaw.
Without hesitation, the boy from the other school grabbed him by the neck and pummeled him relentlessly, giving him no chance to defend himself.
In a matter of seconds, both of them were on the ground, writhing, their faces bloodied.
I stood frozen.
The boy in the dark blue uniform calmly adjusted his jacket, as if he had just finished a short jog.
—Is that all Shinsei High School has?— he said with disdain.
—Hey! You shouldn't have done that! You just had to leave— there was no need to beat them like that!
The boy looked at me for the first time. His eyes were cold, filled with disappointment.
He approached slowly.
—Are you from Shinsei High School?— he asked.
—Yes— I replied, not understanding why the question mattered.
The blow came without warning. A direct hit to my solar plexus knocked all the air out of my lungs. I fell to my knees, gasping desperately.
I barely managed to look up when I saw a kick coming straight for my head. I instinctively raised my arms, taking the impact there.
—What's wrong with you?!
He didn't answer and attacked again.
That was when I understood he wasn't going to listen to reason.
I threw the bag I was still holding at his face to block his vision and tackled him with all my strength, managing to take him to the ground.
On the ground, he easily trapped my head, and his elbow felt like a hammer—repeated elbow strikes slamming into my back.
The pain was immediate and paralyzing. I gradually lost strength and ended up releasing him, lying helplessly on the pavement.
The boy stood up and approached with calm steps. He grabbed me by the collar and began hitting me again.
Blow after blow landed on my face—my jaw, lips, cheekbones. My vision began to blur, sounds distorted, and just before I lost consciousness, he spoke.
—Listen carefully. My name is Tatsuo Naoya, from Mirai High School.
He released me and took a step back.
—I'm going to conquer every high school in this country. Tell the number one at your school to prepare himself.
His silhouette faded away as darkness closed in on my vision.
The last thing I felt was the cold of the ground and a sharp pain throughout my body.