5 years later...
The child is falling to the ground. Covered in dirt and bruises all over his body. As he lies on his back, on the ground, he sees the child on the right, whom he considers a comrade and friend, who got kneed in the abdomen. Then at the same time, he sees the child on the left get hit by a plank, and the child in the middle gets punched on the face…
"Hehehe, this is what happens when you mess with us, brat!"
The big figure was about to throw another punch at the child, but was taken aback by the child's movement as he was brought to the ground.
The white-haired child was surrounded by a group of people taller than him. Covered in dirt, bruises, and blood. As the child punched one of them, the other hit the child from behind. The longer it goes on, the condition of the child worsens.
"It's enough, Ryuma! They're all high schoolers! There's no way we can beat them!" The white-haired child stares daggers at him.
"HUUUUUHHHH!!! SAY THAT AGAIN, I'LL BEAT YOU UP!!!"
"But!-"
"THESE FUCKERS MESS WITH NANAME!!! YOU THINK I'M GONNA LET THIS GO, YOU BASTARD?!!! AS LONG AS THESE FUCKERS DON'T GET WHAT THEY DESERVE I WON'T EVER SETTLE DOWN!!! EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!!!"
The child saw the high schooler trying to hit the white-haired child from behind.
"You talk too much, brat!"
The high schooler tried to sneakily hit him from behind, but what happened next was unexpected. The white-haired child dodges the punch from his blind spot. The next thing he does is grab his arm and give an elbow to the high schooler's arm. Right on the joint, thus breaking the arm.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! MY ARM! MY ARM!"
The high schooler screamed in pain and agony, at the same time, the other high schooler tried to attack him. But the white-haired child had another plan. He leaps closer to the closest high schooler, bites him on the ear, rips it, and hits him in the temporal skull.
The other high schooler couldn't stand by and started to charge at the white-haired child. But the plan doesn't go well for them; the child sends one of them flying. The moment he got grabbed, the child grabbed back and broke his finger. The moment he got kicked, the child grabbed the leg and broke it. When he gets full-body grappled, he bites off his flesh.
Blood, a lot of it. Painting the ground red. As if somebody spilled a can of red paint. In the child's eyes, this isn't a fight anymore. This is a scene when the predator slaughters the hunter. If anybody saw it, they would mistake the white-haired child for a wild predator by the way he fought.
"O-Oi! How can you all struggle with one kid?!-" At that moment, the high schooler was grabbed from behind. Then, he can't feel his feet touch the ground.
"W-What is this?!"
"This is for earlier, you bastard!!"
The child throws the high schooler to the ground. Hitting his head, almost breaking his neck, which led the high schooler to pass out.
"Y-You bastard!"
The high schooler tried to attack the child with the plank, but he didn't realize another child was on his side, holding a pipe. The child bashes the high schooler with the pipe on the head. Thus, another one passes out.
"Mika! Kiyo! You both too..."
"Yes, we don't let our friends fight with only themselves!"
"We come here to get back at them for bullying Naname..."
"When it comes to this, this isn't a normal fight anymore... This is WAR!!!"
The two children charged forward, leaving the child behind. At that moment, the child thought to himself...
("I don't like pain. I don't like violence...") The child's eyes averted to the wooden plank lying on the ground and picked it up.
("But... My friend has become a victim of violence! There's no way I'm gonna sit down and watch!") The child charged towards the battlefield with only a wooden plank. March alongside the two children.
...
...
...
("Yeah, how could I forget about that?")
Rioga Tenjiro was lying on the ground while being bound by the roots called trauma and fear, trying to stand up. Bit by bit, the roots broke off from him. To his four... Then to his knees. Finally, he was able to stand on his two feet. Holding his Inazumei, he walks towards the defenseless Hutogi.
("This is fine, this is for curing his trauma. As he killed me over and over again, he soon didn't think I was a ruthless and scary person." Yes... this is the way to cure it...")
But what happened afterward is unexpected. Instead of unsheathing the sword and slashing him, he reached his hand to him.
"Thank you, Hutogi."
"W-What? This isn't what I was intended-" Rio grabbed Hutogi by the arm to lift him up.
"No, I know exactly what you're doing. Although I'm saying thank you, not because you helped me. I'm saying thank you for making me realize how much of a coward I am."
Rio gives Hutogi his sword back. The black mixed red color. From the sheath to the handle.
"Do you remember our score, Hutogi? 13:0, that's how much fear you gave me. Each time you defeated me, I became conscious of my own strength. And sometimes, I saw the ruthless vision of you, slaughter myself with that sword of yours…
As I was defeated by you, every time I looked at you, you became more and more intimidating. Until I can't look you in the eyes anymore... And I was thinking, will I ever reach your level... With the current cowardly me?"
Rio bumped a fist to Hutogi. At the same time, Hutogi realized that Rio was holding something inside his fist. Hutogi heard the sound of the pin being pulled. The next moment, the whole room was flashed in white. As soon as the flash goes away, the two figure have already unsheathed their sword.
No... They're already finished...
("Even after all that, he still managed to parry it. What a monster. But...")
"To defeat the strongest enemy, you gotta bring out everything you have. Any tactic, any power, any weapon. Even if you'll be called a coward. Because this isn't any normal fight, but a WAR! Thank you for looking after me all this time, but I have picked my route for one and for Rioga Tenjiro only. Are you disappointed, Hutogi?"
"No, in fact, I'm glad that you managed to find yourselves."