Turning Point

Akihiro had knocked down all fifteen of them in minutes. The side of the road was now paved with the unconscious, bleeding bodies of the members of the ‘Renji-kai’.

Akihiro was a complete mystery. His physical capabilities had already exceeded the limits of the human body. Nothing made any sense to Natsume.

‘Who the hell are you?’

But Natsume didn’t have the luxury to be thinking about that. Shinoda still stood in front of them with a metal rod in his hand. Natsume signalled Akihiro to stay back as he walked towards Shinoda.

“You already had enough fun. Leave this one for me.”

Natsume’s confidence and aura intimidated Shinoda as he stumbled backwards. He grabbed a metal rod from the floor and pointed it at Natsume.

Natsume grabbed a metal rod from the side of the road too and charged towards Shinoda. The rods clashed mid-air as Natsume continued to push forward.

“This is pure desperation, Shinoda! The ending is already set in stone. Give up! This will not give you any satisfaction.” Natsume yelled.

Shinoda still clenched the rod, not showing any signs of giving up. He swung the rod as they clashed again. “Don’t tell me what to do. I’d never give up to someone like you.”

“Fine then. You leave me no choice. Looks like the only way I can end this deadly cycle...is by crushing you.” Natsume said as he charged towards Shinoda.

He leapt to the side and struck Shinoda in the right arm. Shinoda wailed in pain as he dropped the rod. Natsume then jumped in the air and kicked Shinoda’s face. He stumbled and fell to the ground. Natsume grabbed his collar, lifted him up and continued punching him.

“Stand up!”, Natsume screamed as he let go of his collar. Shinoda struggled but managed to balance his weight with his two legs.

Natsume didn’t wait. He stood in the conventional boxing form and began punching Shinoda’s face rapidly. Blood from Shinoda’s nose dripped down his fists, staining them red. He moved in and dealt a right uppercut to his chin.

Shinoda fell to the ground as his back hit the wall.

Natsume grabbed the metal rod and walked up to Shinoda.

“This is what happens when you get desperate.”

Natsume lifted the metal rod in the air and swung it one last time.

The rod hit the wall right next to Shinoda’s face and cracked it.

“No matter what you do, the ending is already set in stone.”

----

“Ayane, are you fine? Your right hand is swollen.” Akihiro asked as he held her hand.

“I should be asking you that! Your head is bleeding!” she exclaimed, her face was filled with worry.

“Ah, don’t worry. See it stopped bleeding already. So in a day, even the wound on my head should heal completely.” Akihiro said. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

Ayane might not have had much knowledge when it comes to wounds and cuts, but Natsume knew that wounds that Akihiro received could never heal in a day. But Akihiro wasn’t normal and Natsume was having a hard time trying to accept it. Akihiro’s head had already stopped bleeding. But that shouldn’t have been possible. It didn’t make any sense to Natsume.

‘Aki-kun, who the hell are you?’

Rumi stood next to Natsume. “Aren’t you gonna ask me if I’m okay?”

“W...W-why should I ask you that?” Natsume stuttered.

“What? Don’t you want to know if I’m okay?” Rumi asked as her cheeks turned red.

“You have bigger biceps than me. I already know you are okay. You should be asking me if I’m okay!”

Rumi immediately kicked Natsume in the stomach. Natsume clenched his stomach and groaned, “What was that for!”

“Humph...Go die!” Rumi crossed her arms and pouted. They all laughed and walked towards the station.

----

“Man, we didn’t even get to enjoy today properly. Shinoda-san really had to ruin everything. Why don’t we go somewhere this weekend?” Natsume proposed.

“Ohh, let’s go to the aquarium!”, Ayane exclaimed. “I love the sea. I love watching fishes swim in the sea.”

“Ahh that’s a good idea.”, Natsume said as he got onto the train. “Fine then, so we four shall meet up at the aquarium this Saturday.”

“Yea!!!” the four of them agreed.

----

As time passed by, the news that the infamous ‘Renji-kai’ gang had been defeated by a single person spread all over the city. Their reputation dropped significantly and their area was now taken over by neighbouring enemy gangs.

All fifteen members of the ‘Renji-kai’ who fought with Akihiro, ended up in the hospital for months. Some were lightly injured while the rest were lucky to just be alive.

The incident was broadcasted on various news channels, but the name of the person responsible for these injuries was never revealed.

Out of guilt and shame, Shinoda gave up his position as the leader of the ‘Renji-kai’ and left the gang. Eventually, the ‘Renji-kai’ was disbanded.

----

Saturday had finally arrived. Ayane’s bruised hand had healed over the week and Akihiro’s wounds on his head seemed to have disappeared too.

Akihiro was waiting at the entrance of the ‘Tokyo Sea Life Park’, a famous aquarium in the middle of the concrete jungle.

Akihiro could see Ayane running from a distance.

She ran up to him and tried catching her breath.

“Sorry, I’m late! Were you waiting for a long time?”

“Ah don’t worry, no one else has arrived yet either.” Akihiro said.

“Oh yea, now that you tell me, I don’t see them here.”

Ayane was wearing a red T-shirt with a yellow frilly overcoat. The grey jeans matched her white sneakers perfectly. But the most beautiful item that she wore was the scarlet red pendant on her neck.

She looked at him and smiled. Maybe this was the effect of the scarlet red pendant, but she was sparkling today.

“Oh, you are smiling! Wow, that’s rare.” Ayane said. Akihiro hadn’t realised that he was smiling. The river was flowing on its own, with no barriers in its way now.

“You know, you look really good when you smile. I like it.”, Ayane said.

Akihiro pulled out his phone and used the selfie mode to check his face. He was indeed smiling, naturally.

To the man who rarely ever expressed emotions, he couldn’t believe it. He touched his lips and felt the muscles around his cheeks. It was indeed a natural smile.

The river was flowing, and Ayane was the one who broke the barriers.

“Oh selfie?”, Ayane asked as she jumped at Akihiro and grabbed his arm. She put up a peace sign and said, “Cheese!”. The photo was clicked and that moment in time was recorded forever.

Ayane pulled out her phone to take a few more selfies. She placed her cheeks right next to his and smiled at the camera. Another precious moment in time had been recorded forever.

It took a moment for Ayane to realise that their cheeks were touching. She quickly pulled back and let go of his arm. Her cheeks were tinted red. “A...ah they haven’t come yet. Shall we just go inside? J...j-just the two of us!”

She was nervously fidgeting with her hands and glancing at Akihiro once in a while, looking for an answer.

“Yeah, We’ll just tell them to find us inside. Let’s go.” Akihiro said.

Ayane’s face brightened up. She nodded and walked with Akihiro inside the aquarium.

There were fishes everywhere, just swimming around lazily in their own tanks. Ayane’s eyes gleamed with excitement. She loved watching and reading about the different kinds of fish in the sea.

Even her red pendant seemed to be dull in comparison to the sparkle in her eyes.

“Aki-kun, do you know why I love watching these fishes so much?”

“No, not really.”

“Life originated in the ocean. Looking at these creatures in the sea is like looking at the prehistoric past...our past. At one point of time, we humans probably looked like this before we evolved to be able to walk on land. Even though these fishes are trapped in this glass chamber, look at how happy they are. It always reminds me of how everyone seeks happiness. Animals, birds, everyone seeks happiness. And right now, I’ve already found happiness.”, Ayane looked back at Akihiro and smiled.

Akihiro was completely lost in her eyes. He had never felt this way before. The idea of love and even emotions had never made sense to Akihiro, but ever since he had met Ayane, everything seemed to have started to change.

He felt an urge to capture this moment and preserve it forever. Her smile, the way she turned back, the fishes in the background, everything just seemed so beautiful. Akihiro was just in awe.

Ayane waved her hand in front of his eyes. “Hello? Where are you lost! Are you in your dreamland?”

It all felt like a dream to Akihiro. A sweet, heartwarming dream that he secretly wished to go on forever. He snapped out of it and looked her in the eye.

“Oh, you are back from your dream world huh? Haha, then come with me!” Ayane grabbed his arm. Her chest touched his arm, but she was too focused on dragging him to the fish tank in the front.

“Look at that suckerfish. It’s sticking to the glass wall. Hahaha, doesn’t it look a little bit like you?” she said as she pointed to the black suckerfish sticking to the glass wall.

“How does it look like me?” Akihiro asked, puzzled.

“Look at its eyes. They look so dead and uninterested in everything.” Ayane turned her head and looked at Akihiro. “You used to be like that too but now, your eyes seem so full of life.”

Just then, two goldfish began circling the black suckerfish.

Akihiro grabbed his phone to check how his eyes looked. Ayane laughed, “Another selfie? Let’s take one over there.” she said as she dragged him over to the next tank.

The black suckerfish let go of the glass wall and swam in circles with the two goldfish. Finally, the lonely suckerfish was now accompanied by the two goldfish as they swam away together.

A married couple, probably in their forties, were walking and looking at the fishes in the tanks. Their kid couldn’t see the fish at the top of the tank even after jumping as high as he could.

“Papa! Lift me! Lift me!”, the kid said excitedly.

The father smiled and lifted him, placing his kid on his shoulders. “Now you can see everything clearly, right?”

“YES!” the kid exclaimed as he pointed his fingers at the rainbow-coloured fish.

“Umm...Sorry to bother you, but could you take a picture for us?” Ayane asked, interrupting their family time.

The wife looked at the husband and then nodded, “Yeah sure.”

Ayane handed the phone to her and stood next to Akihiro, in front of the tank.

“Come a little closer, both of you.”, the wife instructed.

Akihiro moved closer and their arms touched. Ayane’s cheeks turned completely red.

“Cheese!”, the wife clicked the photo and returned the phone to Ayane. Both of them thanked the couple and walked away, holding hands together.

“Dear, don’t they remind you of how we were when we were young?” the wife asked her husband.

“Haha yeah, our first date was in an aquarium too. It brings back so many memories.” the husband replied, remembering his youth.

“Papa Papa! Why are they holding hands?” the kid asked eagerly.

The father smiled and put the kid down.

“Because they love each other.”