8th FIGHT: FROM THE MOUTH OF THE OGRE; CAME MY NAME

-XOXOXOX-

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-XOXOXOX-

-Monster.

What even is a monster?

Usually, when the term is used, it is to negatively denote a frightening supernatural creature that can bring about great peril, sometimes boasting a great height and massive size, and most of the time; something mostly out of human understanding.

And what do humans do when presented with what they assume to be an ordeal higher than themselves?

They turn to others and seek help.

When all is lost and they can no longer depend on anyone or anything else, they will often refer to a power higher than them for assistance.

In tragedy or dire circumstances, it would be that very faith in something else that they then would employ to help them throughout the thick and thin.

However, for the cloaked child, no, the brown-eyed boy, no, the boy with no name, he didn't cry, nor did he pray.

In the face of this adversity in the shape of a man, he would only believe in himself, and he would believe that he would live through such events, even though he knew he was disadvantaged.

He wanted to become stronger, and for this reason, he would face his problems head-on.

-'To conquer your ordeals and fly over them, you could persevere, and you could leap… But to fly over them- Wouldn't you need a pair of wings?'

And to do that, he would need to survive no matter what… Because that is what he always did.

-XOXOXOX-

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-XOXOXOX-

-THUD!-

Though flying away with those metaphorical wings would probably take some time, after all, the brown-eyed boy who used to wear a ragged cloak was in quite a dire situation at the moment.

"Kuuu—aaargh-!"

He was currently being blown away by another vicious punch that sent him sprawling onto the ruined concrete.

-If he wanted to use his wings and fly, he'd have to get up off of the ground first.

'Crap, not my babies!' The boy cursed internally, as his brand new-and-improved fist-sized bags filled with shrapnel; glass and sand were taken away from him as soon as he went to use them.

He had lost quite the sum of his arsenal from merely his first encounter with this beast, no, this man who called himself his 'father'; Yujiro Hanma. Who was widely known as 'The Strongest Creature On Earth'.

And the brown-eyed boy was very familiar with this man.

After all, what stood before the boy was the very man whom by just sharing the same blood with had caused everything in his life to go to the dogs.

'W-what the hell!?' The brown-eyed boy yelled in his mind, stunned that as soon as he had met this man once again, he had told him his name before attempting to bash him in the face.

Luckily enough he was able to get away by tossing the cloak he wore at the man in an attempt to temporarily block his view, though he was still blown away by the force of the man's blows. 'You meant to tell me… That this piece of shit is my father?!'

'Then why… Why did Mother…'

"Stop messing with me! It's not gonna work." The boy spat, he wouldn't accept it. He just couldn't accept it.

"Hoh? But it's true; do you want me to tell you how I met your mother then?" Yujiro chuckled.

"!"

'Y-you… I'm really gonna kill you…' Cursing in his mind as he tried to maintain his composure, he reached for the two blades at his back, doing his best to make it as discreet as possible, as he unsheathed the first one at his right as he glared at Yujiro.

'How about this?' Tossing the first knife at Yujiro, the brown-eyed boy rushed towards him, attempting to stab him with the second knife, but to no avail.

Catching both in his hands, Yujiro swiftly snapped the two blades as the brown-eyed boy simply dropped them, jumping back to create some distance as he stared at him.

'Tch! That too? In that case how about this!?' Clenching his fists, the brown-eyed boy dashed at Yujiro once more, using a mixture of martial arts styles he had 'learned' from the books he read in an attempt to bring the man down.

However, it seemed that no matter what he learned nor tried, absolutely nothing would work on this man

Whether it was fast strikes of boxing, dirty tricks such as going for the groin and eyes, or even using the terrain to his advantage once more, the brown-eyed boy had finally ran out of usable techniques, settling for pure simplicity as he ran at the man, throwing a multitude of punches, kicks, and pokes, which didn't even seem to faze the man.

It had all landed, but it did nothing to the man. Throughout this 'fight', this man was virtually unharmed.

-Not even when he went for the balls…

'Damnit, I'm hitting him, but it isn't doing shit!' Landing dozens of blows onto the man's body nonstop, the brown-eyed boy grew frustrated as the only thing that had changed was the ever-growing smirk on the man's face.

Seeing Yujiro move his arms albeit slowly, alarms rang through the brown-eyed boy's body as his hair stood on its ends. 'Crap! Move, move, move-!'

"?!"

-SMASH!-

A dull impact resonated within the empty alleyways, and the body of a little boy flew a few meters in the air, before slamming down into the garbage cans

-THUD!-

What had sent him flying was a simple backhand.

"Kuuo-uurgh…" Staggering, the brown-eyed boy stumbled away as he cringed at the reddening bruises on his forearms he tried to block with, earnestly trying to create more distance between the two before he was sent flying once again.

The 'fight' had continued for a while with attacks that failed the 'breakthrough' Yujiro's superb defense, but there was one thing that he had noticed throughout this ordeal.

'This brat- He's still getting up after all of that…' Yujiro thought, standing still as if he were a stone wall while the boy rained blows upon him before swatting him away like a fly once again.

Sure, he wasn't going all out in order not to utterly demolish the boy, but those blows weren't exactly the lightweight-type either- meaning they 'would' be able to knock out your average joe.

"?"

'Hehehe… So that's it, huh?' Yujiro smirked, finally understanding what the brown-eyed boy was trying to pull off.

It was merely a higher level of body conditioning and positioning, in which the fighter would loosen themselves up as they steered their body towards where the blow would connect, hoping to lessen the impact damage and intensity of the blow somewhat.

What it did wasn't stopping the blow, nor evading it, but in a fashion, 'curbing' the full impact of the blow.

-To go along with the flow, but not be caught up in the raging streams.

All in all, it was truly a nifty tactic, but not one everyone can pull off.

For the most part, those who would attempt it during a fight would end up in an intense make-out session with the floor as they got the living daylights knocked out of them, further proven as even the brown-eyed boy wasn't able to execute it perfectly.

"Hehehe- Hahahahaha!"

"Even more! Show me what else you've got under your sleeves, boy!" Much more invested into this 'fight' now than before, Yujiro laughed as he walked towards the boy, but upon reaching him, he witnessed… a rather peculiar sight

"I've had enough!"

"?"

The brown-eyed boy was crawling on the ground, curling up into a ball as he began to sob with hot tears pouring down his face.

"I give up… So, please… Please leave me alone."

"..."

The man named Yujiro Hanma, The Ogre, needed time to process this.

Hearing the sounds of sobbing from his offspring, Yujiro's face went blank before twisting into several shades of red.

'What…'

'What the actual fuck?'

Yujiro Hanma, the man with the epithet of 'The World's Strongest Creature', was thoroughly confused.

"Just leave me alone…"

Yujiro was bearing witness to an utterly pathetic display of a fighter, a display not of a fighter, but one befitting a snotty little child.

"Uwaaaah-!" Taking it to a newer level, the boy sobbed loudly as snot rolled down his face, throwing a tantrum as genuine tears stained the cold hard ground as the boy continued to slam his left fist upon the floor.

For the number of people that had been robbed blind and beaten to a pulp by this little child, this would've been music to their ears, a performance capable of rivaling symphonies composed by the geniuses of classical music, though sadly there were no audience members to view such glorious sights.

"Oi… You little shit…" Yujiro exclaimed in visible anger, after all, he had invested so much into his future for his son's development and this is what he comes back to?

Wouldn't it be better if he had just killed him back then and made another child?

'What shameful display.' Yujiro thought. His son, his own flesh and blood had impressed him, only to now disappoint him.

Briskly stomping towards his son with the full intention of beating the brakes off of him, he stopped just short of reaching the boy as he now noticed something else. "Hmnn?"

-Something rather odd had also happened right there and then.

"!"

The brown-eyed boy leaped up, with a shard of glass in his hands, aiming for Yujiro's neck.

"Why don't you just die already-!?" The boy had exclaimed, springing up as he slashed towards Yujiro's throat.

'This little shit… Was it all a scheme?' Wondering such, Yujiro quickly slapped the glass away, shattering it on a wall as his red eyes widened in surprise as he looked at his son, seeing the crazed determined look in the boys brightly shining hazel brown eyes.

Losing the glass in his hands the brown-eyed boy leapt up and held on to Yujiro, kneeing, punching, and elbowing him, doing anything he could to survive.

-And as he was about to continue, Yujiro made his move.

Prying the brown-eyed boy off of him rather easily despite the boy's best efforts the man suddenly changed the way he was holding him.

Holding the boy by his ankles, Yujiro made no attempts to dodge or even block the attacks made on him as the boy possessed surprisingly great flexibility, bending his body and trying to attack him but failing.

"Hyuup-!" The man grunted, before…

"?!"

-Swinging him?

Truthfully with such a unique way of attacking, could it even be called a technique? Nevertheless, Yujiro had continued.

-CREAK!, CREAK!-

Feeling his bones creaking and clattering, the boy gritted his teeth as he held his head securely and tried to curl himself, not only to loosen the hold but the defend against slamming into random things as the world suddenly went all 'twisty-turny' on him.

Rapidly spinning and swinging the boy around as if he were using nunchakus, Yujiro put even more force into it as he slammed into trash cans while using him as a weapon

Finally finishing, Yujiro swung the brown-eyed boy using his great strength which sent him flying.

But as he did this, the boy sprung to life as he did his best to position himself to lessen the fall, rolling and pushing himself off the ground before standing up once more, albeit extremely dizzy with his eyes unfocused. Getting up he wasn't too harmed except for a bloody nose and the bruises from earlier, so he immediately got back into a fighting position after inspecting both him and the man before him.

"Hmmn… Looks like putting you in this place did help somewhat." Yujiro hummed, a faint hint of relief and surprise in his tone. Though, his next words only served to infuriate the brown-eyed boy even more. "Come to think of it, you definitely got your mother's eyes. She was quite the stickler for the finer details- A real analytical one. Would see things like this coming from a mile away."

"You!-" The boy had snarled before stopping himself, realizing something,

'What on earth even was that technique?!'

'Calm down, calm down, calm down.' the boy muttered in his mind repeatedly as if he was chanting a Buddhist mantra. 'This bastard is clearly stronger and faster than me, plus he's not easily tricked like the rest… Any other joe would've gotten their throats slit with that move…'

'It's the worst person I could fight as I am now… It's like I'm fighting a beast instead of a human!'

Dashing at the man, the brown-eyed boy once again threw a punch.

Once again putting faith into himself, and only himself, he had tried all that he could once again.

-SMASH-

To be sent flying for the umpteenth time into the trash.

"Uuu-aarrrgh!"

This time it was done by a front kick that had pushed him all the way to his current position.

Groaning as blood leaked from his nose, he realized that his body was starting to show some serious bruises as he felt his chest burning hot from that kick.

'Even when I tried to do 'that', the 'impact' is still seeping through! Is he just that strong?'

Humming in approval Yujiro muttered while nodding. "Hehe… Out of all of the tricks I've seen you pull, brat. This one seems to be the most useful of all"

Once again using this technique, the brown-eyed boy had done his best to not crumble under the impact of Yujiro's assault.

'Now I'm curious. Where did he pick something like that' Yujiro wondered as he continued to brutalize his own flesh and blood.

"C'mon, what's the matter!?" he said as he beat his son to a pulp. "If you keep this up, you'll die right in these slums, brat!"

"Shut up!" The brown-eyed boy yelled through gritted bloodstain teeth, furious if not bitter about the results of his techniques not working. "After I kill you here and now, I'm gonna get back to mom, and you won't be able to stop me!" 

"Back to 'Mom'? The hell 'ya talking about, brat?" Yujiro asked, taking a quizzical glance at the boy

"You motherfucker…" The brown-eyed boy cursed at his father, realizing too late about the inherent irony in his words.

-But Yujiro did.

"Yes?" Yujiro replied with the usual sadistic grin he wore morphing into a full-on shit-eating grin.

Slowly by slowly, trying to remain calm was becoming an endeavor that was totally out of his reach as his expression twisted with anger, as the boy gnashed his teeth so hard that they made creaking noises.

"Don't tell me you forgot, you shitty bastard! I'm really gonna kill you now!"

Even when enraged the boy never forgot the basic training he had, always keeping it in mind as he threw a multitude of attacks,

"Don't be stupid, you brat, of course, I remember. But the question is…" Yujiro trailed off, before striking the boy in the gut, sending him stumbling backwards gasping for breath "Do you?"

"Don't fuck with me! Of course I…" the boy spat before stopping dead in his tracks as Yujiro had just looked on.

"W-wait…" The brown-eyed boy muttered, quite unsure. But as memories flooded back into his head, he realized something that he had forgotten, or rather never thought about.

-The manor.

-Blood.

-Dead Bodies.

-Blood.

-The manor.

-Blood.

-Dead Bodies.

-Blood.

-Mother?

"!?"

Widening his eyes, the boy looked at the beast of a man before him as if he were his mortal enemy, as in his mind everything he had remembered had started to distort in a rather bizarre fashion as he heard the familiar chuckle of that monster of a father he had.

"Looks like you remember kiddo." Yujiro chuckled before looking at him with a mean-spirited grin as the boy glared at him with intense hatred.

"That's right- She's dead, and for a few years at that too. So…" He said, moving faster than the boy could react to as he landed a particularly nasty-looking punch at the boy's face.

"So what are you going to do about it, huh?"

-WHAM!-

-XOXOXOX-

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-XOXOXOX-

The brown-eyed boy didn't know where he was at the moment, whether he was conscious or not, but what he did know… Was that the man known as The Ogre who had hit him.

-And that man had hit him hard.

'You mean Mother's dead…?' He thought.

He didn't remember any of this, or did he?

'But... How?'

'No. She couldn't be…' Refusing to believe so he kept fighting with the words dancing within his mind, not knowing whether or not his or his father's words were the truth. 'But if not, then why am I here… then?'

'And why can't I remember everything, damnit?' Thinking back on the precious moments he spent with his mother his mind suddenly went blank for even less than a second as he thought about it.

'Ha… Haha…'

'Of course, she was...' the brown-eyed boy thought to himself. 'If she wasn't then I wouldn't be living in a lawless slum, now would I?'

'If that's the case, then is there even much point in me trying anymore? That bastard's gonna kill me anyways…' The boy thought.

Closing his eyes shut he was about to give up before snapping right back to reality as he noticed something quite strange.

'Huh?!'

'Haven't I hit the ground yet? Why am I slowly falling?' He thought, the breeze brushing past his slightly tanned skin. 'A… A-am I… Flying?'

He was aware that he was still being knocked back; the fist imprint on his face that was burning hotly was proof of it, but it looked like everything was going much quite slower, in fact …

-Much slower.

And as he struggled to stay conscious he could feel the tension within his muscles as he felt that they might tear apart within his skin.

He felt weird as it was cool and calm within his head, but the burning pain of the bruise told him that he was still alive.

'Old Man Shintarou said that in life or death situations people tend to change… Could this be one of those?' The boy thought, feeling that he was able to react to it better, seeing the individual details of everything within the alleyway more clearly.

'What bullshit.' he cursed in his head, trying to wrap his head around what was happening. 'Couldn't this happen before I almost got my face caved in?'

With his face and chest burning, the brown-eyed boy could feel the bile rise to his throat as he peeked at the expression that his so-called father wore.

-A subtle expression of surprise, and amusement.

'Shit… I don't… I really don't feel so good right now…'

'But even then… I can't let that bastard kill me…' The boy thought as a resolute glow shone within his bright hazel brown eyes.

-XOXOXOX-

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-XOXOXOX-

"Ho…?" Yujiro raised his eyebrows. He had seen the light escape the boy's eyes with that hit, but now it looks that he's still up and kicking?

Seeing his son slamming into the wall, stumbling as he tried to get up over and over again, he had slowly started to form a nasty grin on his face.

"Haaah-!" Stomping on the ground firmly in a horse stance with his two feet spread apart, the boy firmly balanced himself.

Yujiro could see a small grin forming on the corners of the brown-eyed boy's face, twisting upwards as the boy got into a lower stance ready to continue.

"This… I think I've read books where this happens before- But I'm not complaining though…" The brown-eyed boy muttered, blood seeping through his nose and ears.

"So you better watch out…" The brown-eyed boy said while spitting out blood. "Cause with these 'wings'…"

"I think I might be able to soar."

-XOXOXOX-

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-XOXOXOX-

Oddly enough it seemed that the brown-eyed boy was drifting in and out of consciousness or at the very least zoning out, as his gaze was unfocused with his pupils dilating as he tried to stand firm.

"Shaaa-!" Rushing forward the boy landed many punches to Yujiro's body which didn't pierce his defenses to anyone's surprise, but as Yujiro tried to knock him away, his fist traveled through the empty air as it only grazed the brown-eyed boy's nose as he jumped backwards away from him.

"!'

-It was official, the man had been impressed at the growth and potential of the boy.

"Even now… It's still too fast..." The boy muttered under his breath, ignoring his bloody nose that continued to leak, staining the ragged shirt he wore.

'Once more.' The boy mouthed, he was going to try once more, to dodge then attack, and if he fails…

-No, he wasn't going to fail, because he planned not to.

"He… Hehe…" Yujiro had chuckled softly at the dazed boy who had somewhat evaded his strike even if not completely. Although he was holding back so as not to actually kill the brat he still put a lot of force into the strike.

'Though, he doesn't need to know that…' Yujiro thought.

"Hehehe…" Yujiro continued to chuckle as he lowered his head downwards

"Gwahahahahahahahaha-!"

-Before raising it with a burst of raucous laughter that shook the surroundings.

Looking at his son, he felt a myriad of emotions in a few minutes. "You're still standing, you brat?"

Glaring hatefully at Yujiro, the brown-eyed boy had breathed heavily as he struggled to answer, his chest heaving with every word he spat as he wiped his bloody nose. "Y-you… You still breathing… You piece of shit?" He retorted between labored breaths.

"Hahaha-! You've got quite a mouth kid! Looks like there still some fire in your eyes…." Yujiro said as his muscles bulged.

'Can I do it?' The brown-eyed boy honestly wondered.

He was aware of his shortcomings, but if there was one belief he put the utmost faith in- It was himself. The brain he possessed, followed by his fist. 'I'll try and go for one… It should be possible- Right?'

-A counter. In this exchange, he wanted to not only emerge victoriously but do so by landing a counter nonetheless.

'Here it is! The final stretch!' The boy exclaimed within his mind as he focused intensively on Yujiro's next move.

'It's either do or die!'

-Not close enough…

'Wait for it…' He mentally noted as he waited for the right moment, taking notice of Yujiro's positioning who was readying himself to perform a straight punch.

-Closer…

'Not yet!' He said in his mind as the man was about to follow through with his attack, he could see the man much clearer than before as the details on his face that maniacal grin he wore became even more pronounced, but even then, all it told him that it was still too early for him to make a move.

-Even closer…

'Almost there!' He yelled mentally, the visage of the terrifying beast burned into his retinas as he steeled his resolve.

Was he frightened?

Of course, he was. His heart was beating so fast that the brown-eyed boy wondered if he would die from a heart attack before being killed by the man in front of him, but it didn't mean that he would give up at this last juncture.

-And now at the closest he could be…

'Now-!' Practically roaring in his mind, he had managed to miraculously slip under Yujiro's strike.

"!"

'Hoh~' Yujiro was pleasantly surprised "This brat actually dodged it…"

It was minor, but at that time, the brown-eyed boy's 'aura' had emerged once more.

'Form, Balance, And Strength- All pointed to one direction!' Clenching his fist tightly, he recalled the principle of what the man had taught all those years ago.

-[SEIKEN-ZUKI/ FORE-FIST STRIKE]-

Although he didn't yell the name of his attack as if he were mentally inept, with the crazed expression on his face, and his bulging muscles, the brown-eyed boy knew that Yujiro would be able to guess which move he was trying to use on him.

-But even then, he would go through with what he believed to be his best bet, his trump card if you will.

He felt it, his muscles screaming at him as he strained his eyes, his brain that felt as if it was trying to burst out of his skull, and his veins straining as he tried to move such distance as his fist cut into the air.

-But as long as his attack reached, then it would be worth it

'Die alreadyyyy-!' The boy roared mentally, his fist aimed at the man's chest area.

-BAAM!-

-It had landed.

-The strike had connected and after what seemed to be a rather tumultuous event for the boy, it had all paid off at this moment

-THUD!-

-Slumping down face-first into a pool of his own blood, Yujiro Hanma, the man who was known as 'The Strongest Creature On Earth' had just been defeated.

-After a tumultuous battle, the brown-eyed boy had finally prevailed over the great 'evil', standing victorious as he looked up towards the heavens above

-For he was the 'brightest star' on that day, and also the most 'eminent person' in that altercation.

-The monster was dead, and he had won.

-With that being done, everything was going to be fine from now on, and he would leave The Inside pay his respects to his late mother, and then go on to be a great man.

-…

-…

-…

-That was, of course, all in the brown-eyed boy's head.

"You… You've got to be shitting me…" The boy stammered as his face twisted in a nasty grimace.

He had dodged the swift strike of that man, and the all-in attack he pulled off had cleanly stuck and connected, not to mention the tactile and audio feedback seemed really strong and genuine, so why…

-Why didn't it do anything?

-Was this man's body just that strong?

'Even so… Euuuh- uurghh…' Clenching his hand that shook uncontrollably, the brown-eyed boy had ignored the extreme pain, focusing on landing blows with his both hands and legs.

-wham, wham, wham-

The brown-eyed boy continued to desperately land attacks on Yujiro as the man slowly raised two of his arms as he opened his palms.

"To be honest, I didn't expect the first one to be so successful, so I was ready to spread even more of my seed if you'd become a disappointment…" Yujiro muttered, tanking all of those hits.

"…"

"But you've been a real wonderful surprise, Myoujou!" Yujiro yelled

"?!"

'What did he say?!' The boy had blanked out. 'Myoujou- Was that… My name?'

-WHAM!-

-Yujiro had brought his hands down upon his son.

Myoujou.

Myoujou...

Myoujou…

-XOXOXOX-

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-XOXOXOX-

"Myoujou?" A soft and feminine bell-like voice can be heard.

"Hmmn, Mother?" The brown-eyed boy whose name was Myoujou replied.

They were currently seated in a pristine Japanese-styled manor, with an abundance of vibrant greenery surrounding the land.

Sitting peacefully, there rested a sickly woman who ironically seemed to possess a bewitching countenance with long raven black hair, a fair face, and hazel brown eyes, alongside a little boy who rested his head upon her lap.

"What was it you were saying Myoujou, your mother didn't quite hear you?" The woman said.

"Oh, that! To make a difference and create world peace, I'll be the 'Maou' of the world!" Myoujou said, cheekily grinning as he puffed his chest outwards, standing as tall as he could.

'T-The Maou? Surely you don't mean Maou as in Demon King?' Smiling at her son as a sweatdrop appeared near her temple as she responded. "Wouldn't you want to be a hero instead?"

"No way Mother! Heroes take way too long to get strong, and everyone would already be dead by then!" Nodding like a sage, or rather, as sagaciously as a kid whose age isn't even in the double digits would while having a lap pillow Myoujou responded. "So that's why I'm gonna become a 'Maou/Demon King'! But I'm not gonna become a villainous demon king. I will be the greatest, kindest demon king!"

"Well my son, 'unfortunately', there are no 'Demon Kings' in this world… Well if you exclude the likes of Oda Nobunaga… However! There is a Prime Minister of Japan though." She said while ruffling the boy's wavy raven-black hair.

"Huuh?" Myoujou responded shocked to the core, before giving a toothy grin. "That's even better! I'll become the 'Prime Minister' of Japan before becoming the first 'Maou/ Demon King of the world!"

"Oh my…" His mother responded.

Smiling brightly, Myoujou held a resolute shine in his eyes as he exclaimed. "Don't worry! I have a feeling that it'll work out! And I'll even get stronger for the both of us too!"

Life in the manor was truly heaven on earth for him and he enjoyed every minute of it, though he wished to explore the world, especially to help his mother get better.

"When I become the 'Maou', I'll make sure… That you get better soon…" The Myoujou spoke, his words started to become fainter.

"Well then Mr. Myoujou, before you become any kind of king you might want to start eating your vegetables you know?" She said

"Vegetables? Oh no…" Myoujou whined, as he started to drift off.

"You really are a sleepyhead are you?" His mother smiled. "There, there..." She cooed as Myoujou widened his eyes, fighting the embrace of slumber.

"Huuh? No way- I'm not…" Myoujou protested trying not to drift off into a deep slumber. "Falling… asleep…"

Chuckling softly his mother had ruffled his hair. "Remember Myoujou, my son," She said as she soothed her son with a calm and gentle tone. "Things in life won't always be easy, and there will be sometimes when you want to give up, but always remember that I will be looking over you, no matter what."

"After all, you are the 'star' of your own stage… So never give up, okay?" His mother had smiled at him.

-XOXOXOX-

---

-XOXOXOX-

"…"

'Heh. Becoming a 'Maou/ Demon King? And the kindest one at that? What a stupid dream...' Myoujou muttered faintly.

'And to think I used to smile like that- Man...' Thinking back at the past, Myoujou could only look at the figure of a man as he thought about what would be the end of his life.

After that man had attacked the manor, he had been shipped from home to home of his mother's 'supposed relatives' before finally being picked up by The Ogre himself, and it wasn't entirely a pleasant experience

"What a short, shitty life…" Myoujou muttered. He thought it was crazy not how shitty it already was, but how it could be even shittier if he continued to live.

"Damn it…" Myoujou muttered as he saw the figure of his father's palm move away from his body.

-This was it. His supposed all-or-nothing gamble hadn't paid off, so now the only choice left is to pay the price for it.

'Fucking bastard.' Myoujou cursed bitterly.

-The strike had connected, and everything else for the boy had gone blank

-But before he lost consciousness he heard one sentence.

-A sentence from his father, the man who started this all.

"At this point, I'm sure of it. You'll be a great fight in the future."

'Is that why you did it… You piece of shit…' Myoujou thought as he slipped into the darkness.

And in the end, his vision went dark, like a TV screen after being unplugged, and all that could be heard in the now silent alleyway was the chirping of the birds and crows near the area.

'I… I don't think I'll be able to fulfill that promise to you…'

'Mother.'

-THUD!-

-XOXOXOX-

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<8th FIGHT: FROM THE MOUTH OF THE OGRE; CAME MY NAME> END

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-XOXOXOX-