First School Day and a Vow

"Hey! You're like us, right?" Karla gave an optimistic smile, looking like she'd found another possible friend. Miu, right behind her, also looked hopefully at purple-haired child next to us.

The purple-haired girl who I recognized as Saeko Busujima, simply looked at Karla with an eyebrow raised in questioning, "What do you mean, like you?" she asked with genuine confusion, which in turn confused me and the other two.

Did she not know there were other martial artists in the world? Seems unlikely.

"Fighters, martial artists, we're called many different things - aren't you a martial practitioner?" Miu asked, tilting her head innocently. Hearing Miu, Saeko seemed to look for something on their persons before she looked back up at them with a confused look.

"Then where are your swords or weapons?" she asked, and then it all made sense to me. Saeko was a part of the weapons faction of the martial world, while Karla, Miu, and I were all part of the unarmed faction. Pretty much, one side believes in the supremacy of weapons, while the other believes that their bodies are the weapons nature gave us, and the only weapons we should use and train with. I'm firmly a part of the unarmed faction. The body is the perfect weapon when trained enough.

My teacher, Doppo, told me near the start of my lessons under him, that Karate fighters hone their hands and feet to be weapons. That through a mind-numbing length of time, we train ourselves into the only thing we need in a fight.

And I agree.

With just my body and my unnatural strength, I could bend steel and wood was practically like cardboard in front of me - breaking it or ripping it apart was neither challenging or hard.

If you use a weapon, you're at a constant disadvantage. If you lose your weapon, all your training is useless. While I have nothing to lose save my hands and feet, and even then, I could still fight with my knees and elbows. Though cutting through my bone and muscle would prove to be quite hard given their natural durability.

"Oh! You're part of the Weapons Faction, right?" Karla said with a look of realization like my own on her face, "We're a part of the Unarmed Faction, so we don't use weapons," she said with a hint of pride.

Saeko's face looked a bit lost as she looked at the two girls, "But father said that I could only class as a real warrior if I used a weapon - are you guys not real warriors or something?" she innocently asked, without malice; she was genuinely just confused.

Though Karla didn't seem to see it that way as she glared a little before a look of disdain came across her face, "We're better warriors than people who rely on stupid weapons~" she childishly said with her tongue stuck out, trying agitate Saeko back for the agitation she'd caused in her by implying she wasn't a real fighter.

"Karla...Don't be mean!" Miu said with an apologetic look toward Saeko, before looking at Karla with a reprimanding look.

Deciding I should chip in before a fight starts, I looked to Saeko, "Has your father never told you about the two factions in the Martial Arts World?" Saeko looked toward me in surprise, not knowing I was also a martial artist, or even listening in on the conversation at all. Yet I ignored her surprise as she shook her head, and I carried on, "There are two factions: those who use weapons, like you, and those who only rely on their body. There's benefits to both sides, and which one is better has been an argument for as long as martial arts and weapon arts have been a thing. Or so my Sensei says," I shrugged before putting a hand out, "You probably heard my introduction already, but here's a more personal one; My names Yukiro Nishimiya, student of Doppo Orochi, the founder of Shinshinkai Karate. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Seeing my hand, Saeko seemed hesitant, yet she still took my hand in a tight handshake, showcasing her strong grip, "Saeko Busujima, heir disciple of the Busujima Style of Swordsmanship. It is also a pleasure to meet new people to expand my horizons with," she bowed her head, speaking unlike any other 6-year-old I'd ever met. She seemed quite a bit more mature than Karla and even Miu. It was a nice change of pace, honestly.

At my interference, Karla seemed to calm down, becoming like how she usually was around me - a sort of 'meek younger sister' type girl - and she also introduced herself as Karla Kure, the great-granddaughter of the head of the Kure Clan. Miu also introduced herself, going as far as to invite Saeko to spar at her Dojo with her.

That last part made Saeko's eyes light up with excitement.

Ah~? Another battle maniac? She could make a fun sparring partner, now that I think about it.

In such a relatively normal world like the HOTD world, Saeko displayed brilliant martial skill with the sword. Imagine what she could be like in this world that allowed people to go beyond the 'normal' human limits? Pretty far, if her talent was as high as it was in the show.

Those three continued to talk. Well, when I say those three, I mainly mean Karla and Miu, with Saeko only answering questions directly asked at her. Most of the time, she kept taking curious glances at me. It seemed that after a while, she couldn't take the curiosity any longer and decided to ask me the question on her mind.

"Nishimiya...that isn't your real last name, is it?" she asked, a sort of realization on her face, "You remind me of a man who visited my father a few months ago. You have the same eyes," she said innocently, but I was already filled with annoyance. I knew which man she was speaking about.

Yujiro Hanma...my father.

But the thing that annoyed me? That I was being recognized for the traits I hated the most.

I hate my red eyes. I hate my wild hair. I hate the angular and sharp features I'd gained from 'him' despite them being off-set by my mother's good looks, somewhat. I hated everything about me that was from 'him'.

Being reminded about it only reinforced that hatred. That annoyance. The infuriating memories of 'that' man.

"Nishimiya is the only family name I recognize as my own. That man you saw probably only had similarities with me, nothing more, Busujima-san," I said nonchalantly, trying to hide my annoyance. But from the subtle shaking most of the normal children were undergoing, and even the shaking of the teacher, I knew that my aura was flaring because of my anger.

I closed my eyes, calming my breathing according to the meditation techniques Doppo-sensei had taught me. It calmed my raging heartbeat down to a steady pulse, only then did I open my eyes and looked back to Saeko as she looked like she was about to continue.

"Please just leave it, Busujima-san," I said calmly, yet my voice also had a sharp edge to it. Saeko's hand edged ever so closer to her bokken that was in it's bag.

A few awkward seconds went by before Karla started speaking about another random toy she'd seen advertised on TV, with Miu looking at it and thinking about the toy with sparkly eyes that screamed 'I want it!'. Probably because it was a cat-themed toy.

Saeko continued to take glances at me, but she no longer asked any question, politely leaving it.

Thank god.

But my relaxation wasn't left for long as another one of my classmates came up to me, curiosity in their eyes. When they got in front of me, there was no politeness, they just went straight into their question in the way only a 6-year-old could, "Ummm, you said your family name was Nishimiya, right?" they innocently asked, but I could see they were asking with an ulterior motive.

"Yes, it is," I nodded with an indifferent expression, wondering what this was about, yet I quickly figured out why.

Shouko.

Why else ask for my family name? Of course it was to figure out if I was Shouko's brother or not. As if to prove my thoughts right, the child, a girl with black hair, continued her questioning.

"You have an older sister, right?" she asked in a slightly disdainful way, "A deaf one called Shouko, right?"

"Yes, I have an older sister called Shouko," I kept myself calm, knowing I was dealing with a child, and children are mostly stupid, ignorant little shits. Most of the time anyway. You get the odd good ones like Saeko, Miu, Karla, and of course my sister Shouko, but the majority of kids are snot-nosed brats.

A few other people came up behind the girl after I answered, and they all looked at me with condescension.

"We all have older siblings in her class - they say she's really weird and she talks funny. Isn't it weird having a sibling whose deaf?" the main girl asked me and I just rolled my eyes, a scowl slowly crawling cross my face.

Of course I knew who my sister was and who my mother was. They were anime characters. From a manga series/animated movie called A Silent Voice or Koe no Katachi, and it seems the plot of that movie...is going to play out. Or is playing out. I...I've let my sister suffer through bullying and yet she'd never spoke to me about it. Despite knowing who she was, I never asked. Willful ignorance.

The thoughts of her calling me the perfect little brother...they stung me now more than ever.

I was a terrible brother.

"No, it isn't weird having a deaf sibling. She's my older sister and I love her dearly," I said, barely holding back a primal growl from slipping through, "She's perfectly normal, and the reason she talks funny is because she's deaf. How about you tell you shit-for-brains older siblings to be more considerate of other people and their circumstances, huh?" I said, finally losing my temper a bit, and lashing out.

The kids seemed to pause for a moment, not expecting such a brutal rebuttal. Especially when they outnumbered me 4 to 1. Their tiny little brains couldn't comprehend how a kid could answer back to them so rudely, despite them having higher numbers. Elementary school is a place where the one with the higher numbers is the cooler and stronger one.

But I'll flip that rule on it's head if they come at me.

"O-oi, who are you to say such bad things about my Nii-san?!" a chubby boy who was a bit bigger than the others leaned over my desk and pretty much spat in my face, his face red with anger.

"Who am I?" I returned the question before lifting my hand up to about eye-level with him, "I'm stronger than you, so what I say, goes," I said before flicking his head with enough force to send him backward, yet not enough to injure him.

Not to say it didn't hurt, however.

The kid proved that right when he lifted his hand up to his red forehead before he started sniffling. Said sniffling soon became a soft sobbing. Before the soft sobbing turned into wailing.

The rest of the group backed off at that point. They're goddamn lucky we aren't older. If we were in high school, I'd have pummeled them for what they said about Shouko.

The teacher soon came over and asked the kid what was wrong. Of course he grassed on me, telling the teacher how I flicked his head, yet the teacher just looked at me with a disappointed gaze before reprimanding me about being nice to my fellow classmates. Teachers like this piss me off. They were obviously trying to bully me, yet I'm the one who got told off?

Annoying.

Guess I'll be checking up on my sister during lunch break. Though no matter what I see, I have to keep my calm. These are kids and I'll be in deep shit if I hurt them. Too badly, at least.

Lessons begun after that, with Karla and Miu looking at me with worried eyes. They also glared at the kids who called Shouko weird, mainly because over the past year, they'd met her and they got on quite well, honestly. Even if Shouko does get slightly jealous when Karla or Miu hug me too much. But other than that, they get on like a house on fire.

. . .

Right now I was currently standing outside my sister's classroom, keeping my mental state clear and controlled so I didn't burst in like some kind of bull.

I slid the door to the side and no one looked my way. I looked around and I saw my sister sitting with a girl. She had black hair cut into a sort of tomboy-ish style which suited her, and she had light-yellow eyes which overflowed with gentleness. She was around the same height as my sister, and was sitting next to her, seemingly asking her how to sign some word.

Unlike my sister who was dressed in a pink top and some denim shorts, the girl next to her was dressed in more boy-ish clothing, with a long-sleeve top and some jeans. Of course this wasn't very tomboy-ish, but most girls in the class wore shorts or skirts, making her seem like an odd one out.

But I couldn't care any less about that. She was being nice to my sister, so she could wear whatever she wanted.

It didn't take long for Shouko to see me, her hazel eyes widening before she smiled joyfully and stood up before bounding over to me. Her pink-ish brown bob cut hair bouncing up and down as she skipped toward me.

"Yu-kun," she said her voice still slurred but clear enough for me to understand what she was saying, "Whhy a-are youu he-re?" she got out, her notepad being back at her desk, so she decided to rely on speaking and sign language in tandem to get her message across. Hearing her and seeing how happy she was...cleared all my earlier annoyance aside, a smile spreading across my face.

"To see my older sister, of course," I smirked, ruffling her hair, as despite her being the older sibling, I was still noticeably taller than her, "Why? Am I not allowed to come see you?" I teased with a playful smile on my face.

But despite it being a joke, Shouko instantly looked really worried and rapidly shook her head, her hair going from side to side along with her head, "Uh-huh," she quickly said before hugging me, "Yu-kun c-can comee to visiiit m-me whenever," she mumbled as her head was practically buried in my chest. I smiled, looking down at this cute older sister of mine.

My smile dropped off my face as I looked up at the rest of the class, searching for some people's faces.

It didn't take long to find them.

Shouya Ishida. Naoka Ueno. Kazuki Shimada. Miki Kawai. Bullies of my sister. Especially that Naoka bitch. She makes that tomboy girl leave the school because she was friends with Shouko. Shouya...he hurts Shouko.

If they hurt Shouko, I'll hurt them. I don't care if it's childish or immature, or even if people say 'They're just kids, leave them alone!' I don't care. Shouko is one of the only true family members I have other than my mother. I'll never stand by and let her get hurt. This world is one where the saying 'eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth' is paramount if it's backed by someone with strength.

As long as I'm strong enough, it doesn't matter about the morals of what I do. That's something Yujiro has taught me.

I want that freedom for me and my family. The freedom from whatever could hurt them.

"Okay, I'll come over here whenever I can, Shouko-neesan," I said, while still looking at the class, no doubt a coldness burning in my eyes. But that coldness faded as I looked down an separated from Shouko, looking down at her face, "Why don't we go over to your desk and you can introduce me to your friend?" I asked gently.

Shouko seemed to remember her friend and instantly an excited smile came over her face and she grabbed my hand, dragging me over to her desk.

She was probably excited to show me her first friend. I'm excited to meet her.

This time, I'll change what happens.