Yui's eyes widened in something like fear, and he said, "He—"
He had loved watching his old man fight. When he was seven years old he would watch a bout and say, "It's so cool." He sincerely wanted to be like him, with all his heart.
After a while, the coach said, "Guys, this is Ikada. He'll be joining us today." He asked them to support him however they could.
The guys rushed over and started asking his father, "Are you really Hayato Ikada?"
"Of course."
Suddenly a voice rang out. "And what did you see in him?"
Yui looked at him in surprise, and the guy turned around and said, "His old man is always second. He's just a loser."
Yui frowned and said, "He—"
The guy asked, "Do you want to wrestle?"
Another boy ordered him to stop. "He just got here."
Yui ordered him to shut up. He started fighting the guy, and after a while he came home beaten.
The former number-two ranked lightweight in Japan, Hayato Ikada, turned around and greeted him. He said he had cooked his favourite hamburger today.
They sat down at the table, and Yui said that they had started saying nasty things about him, and he got angry.
His father laughed and said, "I understand." He felt bad.
Yui looked at him questioningly and asked why he was so surprised.
Hayato answered, because he was not number one, and he thought that because of him his son had to embarrass himself.
Yui stood up and shouted, "That's not true, Dad. You're just super. You'll definitely become number one one day. I believe in you."
Hayato smiled and said he understood. That would be good.
Yui asked his father to teach him boxing too. He definitely wanted to become stronger than those guys.
Hayato frowned and said, "That's possible, of course. But I don't want you to make getting stronger the only goal."
Yui looked at him questioningly, and Hayato replied, "If you only think about getting stronger, in the end you won't become strong."
Yui looked at him questioningly again, and Hayato said, "Well. You'll understand it someday."
In the end, he still could not grasp the meaning of those words.
A fight for the Eastern Pacific Boxing Federation lightweight title. The final.
Hayato fell to the floor, and people shouted, "Let him quit already, old man. This is a pathetic sight."
The guy beside him folded his arms and asked, "He's already exhausted, isn't he? The sand's pouring out of him."
Yui looked at him, displeased, and the guy screamed.
A few days later, Yui Ikada in his middle school days. He came home, and his father said dinner was ready.
Yui snapped, "I won't. If I eat the same food as him, I won't be able to win where I want to win."
Hayato looked after him sadly.
After a while a voice rang out in the boxing ring. "The winner: Yui. We need to meet our new champion. He is the winner."
He's not like Dad. That was exactly what he thought.
And yet, after a while, he lost, and thought, "What?"
The voice said, "An incredibly talented rookie. A new legend was born in this ring."
Why him? Yui thought. Why am I lying down?
The host said, "Another promising rookie showing his talent."
Yui was sitting on the bed, watching the report.
Dad came into the room with a tray and said, "Dinner."
Yui turned away. "No need."
Hayato said, "You can't become strong if you don't eat."
Yui screamed, "What then? Why did I lose?"
Hayato said he had watched today's fight. "You get angry quickly. When you get angry, you immediately start waving your arms. I've told you this all the time. There's no need to be arrogant and give in to your emotions. Your talent is undeniable, but your heart—"
Yui told him to shut up. "Besides, I only lost once. Don't confuse me with you. You're the eternal number two. A weakling."
After that he did not care any more. He gave up that terrible sport called boxing. Instead he spent his days fighting. A world without rules and judges was meaningless. But that was what gave him a little peace.
After a while, at the police station, his father shouted, "Why did you do that?"
Yui replied, "It's all his fault."
Hayato asked, "What did you say?"
Yui said, "Because it's all in his genes. Because of him I have to listen to ridicule too. But that's not true." Yui shouted, "If he were strong, this wouldn't be true. That's not true. That's not what I want to say."
Hayato punched him in the face, and Yui thought, he just—
His father told him to do what he wanted. He turned around and started to leave.
Yui thought he would not be accepted anywhere after all the trouble he had caused, and he did not notice how he ended up in Shaon. It was the only place he could go, but it turned out to be very cosy there. It's okay to be strong. It's okay to be this fierce. As expected, fighting suits him the most. This was where he could prove his strength.
Or so he thought.
His thoughts were interrupted by Naritu's punch. He grabbed his cheek and looked at him questioningly.
Naritu said, "I don't know what you're thinking. But a fist swung only for yourself brings nothing but pain."
Kiritani shouted joyfully, "Naritu! Try to go all the way!"
Naritu turned around and thought, Kiritani. He caught Inui. In that case I just need to finish this fight quickly.
He went forward and punched Yui quickly. He fell to the ground and thought, what happened? Why am I lying down? Did I lose to the guy who obediently follows his old man? Him. If he's the strongest, then his genes must be the strongest too. I'll prove it. That's what I had to say.
The boys looked at each other and screamed, "They did it!"
The students screamed, "Amazing." "This guy is incredible."
Saki said, "With one punch."
Naritu laughed and thought, I think I overdid it. Now, because of Kiritani's request, I've attracted too much attention.
Yui got up off the ground and turned away with a loud click of his tongue. He was leaving, and thinking, even now I'm second again.
Matsuda shouted joyfully, "Naritu, this is amazing. This is unbelievable. You won."
Naritu turned around and said, "I won." Then he shouted, "I won. Come to think of it, it's true."
Kiritani said, "You worked hard."
Naritu put his hands on his shoulders and asked, "Everything will be okay now, right? Now I can study in peace."
Kiritani answered, "Yes. Everything should be okay now."
The students were whispering among themselves. "Did you see that punch?" "Now that guy is the ringleader of all the first years."