Challenging the Behemoth

Chapter 444 – Challenging the Behemoth

A small sting of pain was all that he felt. It was hardly the same shit as before. The damn memory remained burned in his mind and body. Nothing that he would ever be able to forget no matter how long he lived. The sting of the punch and the cracking of the kick still lingered like phantoms to taunt him. None of it was the same as before.

He had to find it again.

Rubbing the blood off his lip, Seiji looked disappointed as hell as he stared down at the street thug. He saw them as a street punk, but in reality it was just a scrawny first year high school boy that played at being a delinquent. Unlike Seiji, the boy had never really even seen a real fight before. Seiji subconsciously even knew that much too. The boy puffed himself up like a damn overfilled balloon ready to pop and Seiji was the first one to question it.

Disappointment in such an empty challenge settled in for him. ‘Gave him the first punch and it had no heart behind it. It wasn’t the same as before.’ He searched for the same sort of feeling that led him to darker alleys and neighborhoods.

Seiji sighed and turned around, not sure where he would find what he was looking for. “Dammit! I don’t remember them all being so damn to hell weak!” School had already been out for an hour and he found nothing. He started to think it was time to give up for the day, another failure in his search.

“Oi, who’s causin’ trouble on our turf?” a deep ass voice called from around the corner of the alley. They hadn’t quite made it around to Seiji yet. It was enough to turn his head in curiosity. Seeking the right sort of fight, the next one might be what he looked for he hoped.

Out of the shadows came a surprisingly large ass teenager, maybe even adult, Seiji didn’t know for certain. The size kept him enthralled more than anything. He gave a bit of a smirk letting his emotions take over for reason. “You’re a big one,” he answered with excitement.

The boyish-man or mannish-boy, jury was still out, groaned a little not looking too thrilled with Seiji enthusiasm about a fight. Not quite built like a sumo wrestler, but getting close to it, his build alone was enough of a presence to make others turn. The fact that Seiji had the complete opposite reaction only increased his frustration. It appeared that he had other things that he wanted to do than put some gnat in its place. “Some mongrel with a bark showed up.”

“I’ll show you how much more of a bark I’ve got,” an annoyed as hell Seiji retorted with veins of anger popping up. He marched back into the alley towards the new challenger. The man stood taller than Seiji and broader. Thankfully the alley was wide enough for it to fit him or else he might have been stuck. Would have ended in a very boring ass fight for Seiji. The size still looked like he would have a disadvantage for his movement. But Seiji wanted to see what the man had to offer for a fight.

Unimpressed with Seiji’s cocky confidence, he stomped forward throwing a fist out to test Seiji’s reflexes. It wasn’t fast enough to connect with Seiji. He had size and strength in his favor, but he definitely wasn’t as fast. The lack of speed gave Seiji his chance to sneak in a couple of blows directly on him. But they didn’t sound right.

Seiji jumped back, not sure what he hit. His hands throbbed in a dull pain from the hit. He stared a little confused at the massive man before him. ‘The hell is he made out of it?!’ It almost felt like he hit steel with his fists, but it still gave just not a lot. Whatever training the man had, he had stupid ass levels of muscle training making them resist his fists with ease. Almost like he did something else than being a street punk or gang member.

“That all the bite you got? I see you’re as disappointing as you look.” He stomped forward with the intent of finishing Seiji off.

Leaning back, he wasn’t prepared for him to take the offense. The man still didn’t have the speed needed, though he was a little slow to react. It still was enough to dodge, but it had only been a setup. Seiji moved exactly where the man wanted him to be with his other hand coming out and grabbing his head. ‘Crap!’

Seiji tried quickly to break the damn hold, but he already had a firm grip on his head. It was like some damn pliers latched on to him. Even the pressure from his fingers grip strength made his skull ache. Then the back of his head slammed into the wall knocking the shit out of him. Reflexively, he coughed up saliva from the shock. A punch to his gut knocked the wind out of him, doubling him over on the ground, dropped.

It was only a single damn punch, but Seiji thought he felt his stomach up in his throat from the force. He coughed expecting to see blood. That much he was spared for now, though he found his strength draining out. ‘Dammit, this guy’s in a completely different league!’

Pain flooded through his body and it wasn’t the same that he thought that he would find. It wasn’t the sort that he could chase. Powerful as it was, there was nothing in it. He could feel nothing from the man’s fist. It was just a shitty job to him and it annoyed him. Nothing to build anything from.

‘This isn’t the same. It’s like him. He’s probably stronger than him, but it’s not the same.’ Back against the wall, he stabilized himself enough to be able to see straight again. Though the pain didn’t go away. It was nothing like the last punk he let hit him. He would be feeling it in the morning.

A low groan escaped his lips fighting through pain. Seiji stared up at the man who seemed to feel that he had done everything necessary. ‘Even being out matched, he’d probably still find a way to beat this guy. That’s just the sort of man he is!’ The image in his mind gave him strength once more.

Weakened from the hit, he managed to find his feet. Standing was harder than it seemed like it should be especially only from a single punch. Seiji convinced himself that he could keep fighting. “You’re going…to have to try…harder…”

“Seems you don’t know when to quit.”

“This isn’t over.”

“I’ve hit you too hard, it appears. You’ve lost your reason.”

“I’m feeling just fine!” Finally surged with energy, Seiji charged after the man was able to still dodge him. All the punk had going for him was strength. He only had to stay away from him. Striking from behind him, he hoped to find a weak point or at least exploit a blind spot. While his size made his blind spots larger, none of that shit mattered.

Each punch or kick that he made against the behemoth did the same as before. He wasn’t even using a defense against him. It was just his natural body’s resistance that he fought against. ‘Dammit, nothing will get through!’ However, he stood up and owned his determination. Seiji dodged away from the grab. Experience in a fight told him that the punk knew that he couldn’t land a solid hit on Seiji, the only way to finish the fight would be to keep him from dodging.

Even dodging and taking strikes in the opening wasn’t enough. All it took was time for Seiji to slip up. The punk had more experience than him, especially with the way that he had to fight. He was just a smarter fighter and pinned him up against the wall once more. “You’re certainly a stubborn one still standing after a single punch from me. But you won’t be after a second.”

“Let’s see if you’re right!” Seiji taunted.

“The cockiness won’t save you!” The second hit was just as painful as the first, possibly even stronger. Pain at the intensity Seiji felt was all relative. It hurt like ass and he nearly threw up his lunch. Seiji still managed to hold it together despite the pain. Coughing on the floor, the punk stared down confident that Seiji was down for good.

Contrary to his thoughts, Seiji stood back up weaker than before. He smirked back with a taunting gaze. “I think someone’s a liar.”

Grinding his teeth, seeing Seiji back up really started to get to the punk. “You’re starting to piss me off, kid.”

A bit of Seiji was happy having managed a strange moral victory for himself. Though it didn’t last for long as he wasn’t fast enough to stop a direct punch to the face. It knocked him off his feet and flat on his back. A bloody nose and lip was his reward.

“Stay down.”

Seiji pulled himself back up, denying him of his demand. “You’re going to have to make me.”

“What you’re doing is pointless!”

“It’s only pointless if you don’t give it meaning.”

The punk knocked him down again. This time his cheek was cut with another split in his lip. Blood started to collect along his chin and jaw. “There’s no meaning to what you’re doing!”

Seiji staggered back up to feet. A smirk remained on his face keeping his damn defiance in spite of the complete one-sidedness of the fight now. “You’re not the first one to beat me up. And won’t be last either.” Finding a sliver of strength, Seiji managed to dodge the fist and connect again. It felt like it actually made it through. All it did was cut his lip, but it was a hit.

Blackness.

“Oh it’s you,” a familiar voice remarked with disinterest.

It triggered his consciousness awake and his eyes snapped open. Seiji stared up to see Yuki looked down at him. “You!” Seiji jumped to his feet quickly pulling up his fists ready for another round with him.

Yuki turned away, completely ignoring him. Any hint of interest he had vanished. “I don’t fight with the walking dead.”

“I’m not dead yet!” Seiji chased after Yuki only to fall over with lightheadedness taking him over. He crashed roughly into the cement. “I’m not finished!”

“Determination isn’t enough once your body’s broken.”

Even if Yuki was right, Seiji would hear none of it. He fought with his body to let him stand up. Only a moment before he was standing, surely he could again. Bracing against the wall, Seiji clawed his way to a half standing position. “Wait!”

“I said no.”

“Not that!”

This seemed to peak the curiosity in Yuki as he paused and looked back. The injured state of Seiji left him with few options remaining. However, the determination in his eyes spoke of something else. It wasn’t the question that he expected.

“How would you fight someone completely beyond you?”

“I haven’t found them yet.”

‘Damn, he’s so cool…’ There was no answer. He tried to imagine what he would do, but none of his solutions changed the fight. The outcome had been determined before the first swing. “When you do!”

Yuki turned to face Seiji directly, seeing how serious he was about an answer. Any answer that he could give wouldn’t really be of help to him. They fought differently. “In a fight, there is nothing off limits. The moment that you narrow your focus to your opponent you’ve already lost. Use everything you have and can find. Victory is all that counts in the end, not the way you achieve it.”

Seiji coughed up blood, but wiped it away. “Damn that hurts like hell!” Ignoring the pain in his body, he stood back up throwing off the rubble from the impact. Rubbing his chest, he could feel his heart pounding with excitement. It was amped up for the fight like him. “It’s too early for me to be dropping out. It’s not really my style, but when Yuki says it, he’s right. Victory is all that counts in the end!” Seiji pounded his fists together, finding his drive for the fight once more.