Rumble Kings, Chapter 3
(Right where we left off...)
"Holy crap!" Rat and Biggs shouted in unison as they ran over to the window, even Din went to go see how badly his entire life would become being a witness for an act of murder. Though to a tiny sliver of dismay, Yang was still moving. Groaning in pain he gripped at his right shoulder as blood dripped down his face from a few cuts received falling face first into a glass window, his legs were curled up and twitching as well. Rat and Biggs rushed to get down and help Yang out students and faculty alike slowly came to the scene of the crime. Likewise Din rushed over to help Fuji up.
"Phew," Fuji exhaled casually as he stood up and dusted himself off, even stretching afterwards, "my my that was quite a fall, lucky I didn't break my nose or anything." He looked over at Din who was trembling, "Umu? What's wrong, are you that glad that I'm ok? Ahaha, what a good person you are!" He reached over to pat Din on the shoulder but Din violently swatted it away and grabbed Fuji by the collar.
"ARE YOU INSANE!?! Just what the hell is going on in that mess of a brain you have!? A person just got seriously injured...and could have even died if he had fallen on his head or had a piece of glass in him which would have been pushed further from the fall."
"Uwah...it looks like you've finally snapped..." Fuji said had a somewhat playful tone.
"Take this seriously will ya!?" Din grip tightened.
"I don't know why you're so concerned about a guy who beat the crap out of you not too long ago..."
“God...why is this happening to me...I just want to be left alone.” Din's head hung down with a sense of desperation, "if I never ran into you I wouldn't have been caught up in all this...it wouldn't have been this bad...".
“You know for a genius you’re pretty stupid…” Fuji’s tone suddenly became very cold. Din was taken aback by Fuji's sudden change and looked back at him. Fuji’s face was completely serious and once again his piercing eyes sent a chill down his spine as he felt his very core being dug into.
“W-w-w-what? What are you saying all of a sudden…”
“It’s no problem for me to just go ahead and never say another word to your sorry face…but do you think that if you wiggle your way out of being around that Yang and his cronies will leave you alone too? It's too late now crying over spilled milk or would prefer taking solace in a future where Yang would've just bullied you throughout your years here until you broke or committed suicide...”
“…!”
“Did you think that just because you survive one day at a time, guys like him will just get tired of you? That if you manage to avoid one beating, they wouldn't come back for seconds. This is a reality and unfortunately, it's your reality. You can go back to curling in a ball waiting to die or you can at least die trying to fight back. This isn’t about anything I want from you, it’s about what you want from yourself.”
Din was at a loss for words, deep down he knew what Fuji said to be true, but some part of him just couldn't accept it that way. This was supposed to be a new life for him…at a new school, meeting new people, with new everything. “I...I know that…I know that, damn it I do! Don't you think I'd fight back if I could…but I just can’t, I’m just a punching bag…always have been…always will be. All my life I’ve been a victim…I’m weak, I’ve always been weak…it’s been very hard for me trying to get through all of it to where I am now and…and…I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO OKAY! I’M SCARED…when I moved here all the way from Barton I was supposed to have left all those bad memories behind me...IT WAS SUPPOSE TO BE DIFFERENT!!!..." There was a moment of silence.
Fuji suddenly snapped back to his usual face as if he was in a trance, “Oh sorry, I spaced out half way…what were you saying?”
Din let go, nearly falling backwards from sheer disbelief, “Listen to what other people are tell you.” He flailed the best he could at him.
“Well you pretty much had me at ‘I’d fight back if I could’…” Fuji reached out and placed his hand on Din's shoulder.
“What?...” Din became a little apprehensive and confused.
“What if you were taught to fight back..."
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(The next day...)
In every class and in every hallways there was only one topic that seemed to occupy.
"I hear that Yang guy picked a fight with those freshman from that first day at lunch and got tossed out the window...Dislocated shoulder and several small fractures everywhere, he even sprained both ankles trying to cushion his fall...not to mention his face got cut up from the glass...He'll be in the hospital for about 2-3 months."
"The teachers acknowledged Yang starting that fight but him falling was just an unfortunate accident, that pink haired one even testified to it being an accident...he seemed pretty sincere about it..."
"That's just because he's totally get killed once Yang gets out the hospital..."
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(Lunchtime, at the Infirmary...)
"*Sighs*...look, I know you're all so attached to this place...but this isn't some kind of clubhouse...," a hint of exasperation Dr. Cho's voice as she was examining Din's condition. Shuu stood leaning against the wall by the door and Fuji was sprawled all over one of the spare beds as usual.
"But it's so soothing in here," Fuji faced the open window above the bed and inhaled deeply, "so Doctor is our patient going to pull through..." his voice jokingly concerned and over-dramatic.
"Well he hasn't gotten to worse, that's a start. But the second beating you received has given you a few more bruises to replace the old ones..."
"But how--"
"I'm a doctor, it's my job to be able to see these things...besides it's pretty obvious at this point, especially after what happened yesterday."
"I didn't do anything! It was all him!" Din pointed vigorously at Fuji.
"What are you saying my dear partner in crime? That was a rather nasty 'message' you gave me yesterday, you know?"
"That was you too! Antagonizing Yang like that and spurring the fight!"
"Well whatever, this gives us time to find a third member and commence our training!"
"Well that's great news, I'll go ahead and pass word over to Jin and set the match for 3 months time...that'll give you two enough time to get in top shape for the fight and find someone. If you ever need any tips I could teach you a thing two," Shuu laughed lightly before exiting.
"Just continue taking one pill a day, and you should be back to normal in a month's time, I don't care what you have to do three months from now but excessive action can slow down the healing process and worsen your state or worst case even end up crippling you someway or another."
"I understand..." Din stood up slowly and calmly before exiting the room.
"Is he ok?" Dr Cho asked while pulling out a cigarette and lighter from her inside coat pocket.
"I thought you were suppose to know these things?," Fuji teased.
"You know what I mean, I'm a doctor, not a psychologist...although there are clear signs of mental fatigue and stress but I don't know all the reasons." She took a long drag and puffed out a big stream of smoke, to which Fuji gave an animated performance on choking and coughing on it while swatting it away towards the window.
Din hadn't moved a single step since he closed the door behind him and rolled over on the wall by the entrance, leaned back against it deep in thought.
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(Yesterday after school...)
The Sun began to set by the time Fuji and Din left the campus, they had spent quite sometime explaining their side of the story to the campus faculty without blowing things out of proportion.
"Ahhh...I'm beat," Fuji yawned, still charismatic even when expressing his exhaustion. Din didn't respond at all and instead continued walking forward. "So you live on the off-campus dorm housing, I hear." Din shot a quick glance over. "Ah, Shuu told me that when we were having a conversation, in fact we had the conversation just before we met up with you today. Man that sure seemed like forever ago. Say how about we go grab something to eat and--". Fuji suddenly stopped moving and looked over his shoulder. Somewhere along him talking Din stopped in his tracks, staring at Fuji. "Or we can go ahead and just call it a day and--"
"When..."
"Umu? When what?"
"When are we going to start?"
"Start what? What are you talking about...if you gonna be talking in your sleep, might as well be asleep at home and--"
"You said that you were gonna train me." Din had a determined glow in his eyes, there was a brief pause.
"Excuse me?"
"After I went and said everything you asked me what if I were taught how to fight back..."
Fuji paused again, but this time bursting into laughter to break the silence, "Wait...don't tell me...pffft did you think I was gonna?...HA, that's a good one...didn't I tell you at the arena the first day...I don't fight."
"Cut the bullshit," Din's sudden outburst seemed to shock Fuji and even warrant a couple of curious looks from passerbyers. He marched up close to Fuji, "That first day in the alley...I saw it...I saw you beat up Yang and his friends, and don't try to tell me I was delusional or dreaming. And during the confrontation with Yang in the hallway...I saw it." Fuji raised an eyebrow.
"And what did you see exactly?"
"...Even now I still question myself, but...frankly I'm convinced I'm right about this...what happened to Yang wasn't an accident, you made it looks like a slip but you actually...seriously tripped Yang into going out the window."
Fuji said nothing, but then opened his eyes and had a smile that almost seemed...deranged. "And what if I said you were right?"
Din was slightly perturbed by this reaction from Fuji, but held his ground firmly. "You've given me a lot to think about these past few days and not a lot of time to think about it. So...I'm not going to just muck about and think about it anymore...I'm going to just go for it and move forward. So that's why...I don't know why you're trying to hide the fact that you can fight like that...I don't even care...what I want...is for you to train me...train me so I can finally fight for myself." There was another moment of pause as Fuji studied Din for a moment.
"Pffft, Ahahaha," Fuji broke back into his usual expression, laughing wholeheartedly, "In all days...haha...it has been quite sometime since I've...aha...run into an individual like you..."
Din body relaxed, not realizing he had been this tense the whole time.
"Congratulations...you've stepped up from being a worm to being an ant. Very well, since you have sense through my ruse, you deserve your reward...I will teach you." Without realizing it Din smiled in a way he hadn't done in a long time. "But there are two rules which you must follow..."
"Anything..." Din found himself blurting out instinctively.
"Rule #1: You are to obey my instruction without question. If I ask for 1000 push-ups I expect just that, no more, and certainly no less. If I say jump, I expect you to know how high."
Din gulped a little hesitant about such a high rule, but reluctantly nodded his head.
"Rule #2: You are to understand that I will not teach you what you want, I will teach you what you need."
This second rule raised a few questions but he would worry about it later, so he nodded more readily this time.
"Good...go back and get a good night's rest...tomorrow we begin training." And with that the two parted ways, both with a satisfied expression and excitement bubbling deep in their souls.
"This is it...this is how it's going to be from now on!..."
"Let's see how far this ant can go..."
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END
*Special Author's note: For those who are wondering, Umu (oo-moo) is a multipurpose singleword phrase used by Fuji. It has no particular meaning, however he can use it as affirmative statement "(Umu), I agree" representing "(right/understood/yes/quite/indeed/etc,), I agree" in both happy and sad tones. Or as a question where basically is asked a question and responding in "Umu...?" could be the same as "Um...?".
