Path to Strength

4 months ago.

Yuji's life has always been very lively.

As a child, he grew up in an abusive environment, with a father and mother who regarded his existence as a mere whim, keeping him with them only because they could not simply abandon him in a dark alley on the streets of Tokyo, as the government would likely find out.

This led to him being treated like a slave, being forced to do everything to please them, that at the slightest mistake, a beating would await him. In this kind of situation, it did not take long before he could no longer stand living this way, and in an attempt to escape from home, he ended up in front of an academy, where various martial arts were taught by different teachers.

The people at the academy eventually took him in, and curious about what the people there practiced, Yuji began to attend the classes.

It was not long before he became addicted to fighting.

Yuji was eventually considered a prodigy, no matter how difficult the technique might be, the boy absorbed and implemented it into fights as easily as he drank water. He became the asset of the academy and during his childhood and adolescence, he spent most of his time in a ring or tatami.

The teenager's parents didn't mind him disappearing, as long as after a week or two he returned so they would know he was alive and wouldn't have to deal with the government.

Although he enjoyed fighting, his teachers at the academy advised him to pay attention to his studies, and although reluctant, he decided to listen, for none of his teachers ever wanted his harm in any way.

In this way, Yuji became one of the best students in his school, although he never participated in school competitions or anything of the sort.

Although his life improved, his relationship with his parents only seemed to get worse, considering that at the age of 15, the beatings from his father became just a nuisance. At 17, Yuji was eager to turn 18 and leave, as he had enough money to support himself after winning numerous tournaments and even underground fights.

That was until the moment that after one day of school, he had just returned home.

...

"Just because you've put together a shitty gang, don't fucking think you're so fucking cool." Yuji walked into the house, his cheek showing a red mark, but that didn't seem to bother the teenager as he walked to his room.

After forming a group with a few people, some bullies that Yuji insulted decided that they were going to get revenge. Confident, they intercepted him as he was walking home, but the situation did not go as planned when Yuji started beating each of them.

He went into his room and threw his backpack on his bed, sat down at his desk and took a deep breath. He couldn't wait to turn 18 and get out of this cursed city.

His hand grabbed one of the shelves and pulled it open, revealing an envelope.

"Finally my account has been validated, now I'll be able to keep that money." He smiled and grabbed the envelope, his eyes narrowing as he felt the weightlessness. "Uh? I don't remember being this light."

The smile vanished from his lips, his fingers gripping the envelope and ripping it open, nothing but two coins falling on the desk. Yuji stared at the coins expressionlessly, his eyes closing as he understood the situation.

"So that's it, huh." He sighed and stood up, his head turning to the bedroom door as he walked past.

Walking through the house, he quickly found his father in the living room, who was watching a movie while drinking a bottle of beer. Yuji stared at the back of the man's head for a few seconds before he stood in front of the TV, baring his view of the screen.

"Trash! Get out of the way!" His father growled, his eyes turning to meet his son's face with his eyebrows frowning in an expression that could only be described as: Anger.

"Old man, where's my money?" Yuji asked calmly, the man not changing his position with his tone.

"Old man? Kid, I am your father! Have some respect!" He growled, but Yuji just ignored it as he continued.

"Don't play games with me."

Yuji knew his father very well, and knew that when he mentioned respect, it was because he just wanted to avoid the subject. He wouldn't fall for it, not when the subject was his money.

Father was silent for a few, a mischievous smile appearing on his face. "Your mother wanted some jewelry and I needed to change the dashboard of the car, and since we didn't want to spend our money, we decided to just take some from your room."

Yuji's eyes widened, his fingers tightening against his palm as a vein popped out on the teenager's forehead.

"You bastard, I spent years gathering this money."

The man narrowed his eyes and stood up quickly, his hand grabbing Yuji by the neck and pushing him against the wall.

"Disgraced? Watch what you're talking about, brat! I put you in this world and supported you, so good watch your tongue, or I'll cut it out." As those words left his mouth, a dangerous smile formed on his face, the man squeezing the teenager's throat hard. "Are we clear?"

Yuji was silent, his expression unreadable as he stared into his father's eyes with intensity.

"Understood?" He grabbed the man's wrist and squeezed it hard, which caused the man to cry out in pain and loosen his grip.

"Let me go, let me go!" The man screamed as he went to his knees from the pain.

Bam!

A thud sounded as a kick pushed the elder's head against the ground, the same instantly passing out from the impact.

"Now we're clear."

Sweat ran down the teen's forehead, the same slowly walking towards the bathroom as he took a deep breath. He walked in and turned on the faucet, quickly washing his face as he turned his gaze to the mirror.

"Shit, shit, shit." He cursed several times. "When he wakes up, I sure as hell won't get away with it."

The boy's breathing was ragged, his vision going blurry for an instant as his eyes landed on his hands. Everything around him shook, as if reality itself was changing in that instant, an event that Yuji, due to his worry, didn't even notice as he thought about what to do after attacking his father.

"Damn, I don't even have money to run away."

He clenched his fist and turned his gaze to the mirror again, not expecting to see someone else staring back at him.

"Huh?"

...

Currently.

"Moebius."

In his room, Yuji was sitting on the bed as he thought about what the delinquent he knocked down said, his eyes staring at the floor as his expression seemed lost.

"Moebius, that's the delinquent gang from the anime Tokyo Revengers, isn't it?"

Yuji discovered animes after a friend from the academy recommended a few fight-focused works for him to watch. These were Baki, Kengan Ashura and Tokyo Revengers. There were several, but these were the ones Yuji was most interested in, spending more of his time on the manga and anime.

"Wait, that gang might have actually existed in the middle of this year..." Yuji clutched his chin.

Sure, that gang could have really existed, but if that was the case, he probably would have found clues while looking for information about the anime.

"So I really am in another world, where the characters from Tokyo Revengers exist?" He scratched his head, his gaze full of doubt. "Well, I won't know until I find some of them, I can leave that for tomorrow."

"For today, I'll focus on training."

He stood up and looked at his fists. His endurance was incredible and after a few hours, the bruises on his body were already healing. Yuji was fascinated by his new body, understanding why his former owner had survived for so long in the face of so many beatings.

"This body heals faster than anyone else, it's almost superhuman." He touched his nose, the pain almost non-existent even after receiving several punches to the face. "That's amazing, someone like that where I come from would almost be a comic book hero."

A smile appeared on his lips, fading as quickly as it appeared. It was true that this was incredible, but if he was really in the world of Tokyo Revengers, something like this would barely give him an advantage against the people of this place. Mikey could dent the hood of a car with one kick, Draken could push a person meters away with the force of his punch, and Kisaki was able to spin a body in the air with a single blow. An accelerated healing factor was nothing compared to these monsters, that alone was not enough, even with their stamina.

"In that case, I'll need to put in a lot more effort."

He smiled, his eyes sparkling as he walked toward the bedroom door.

. . .

Next day.

In his classroom, Yuji was sitting at his desk watching the outside through the window. His mind wandered on various topics, but always returned to thinking about his new body. Yesterday he bought some equipment and started his training. He found it amazing how after a session and a rest, his body seemed to get used to it extremely fast, as if he had been doing the same exercises for a week.

He didn't know why, but his body could adapt and heal itself faster than anyone else. He didn't know if his growth was accelerated, because he needed to train for at least a whole month to study the results.

One of the reasons Yuji did not become the best in his country, was his body, which seemed to grow slower than his companions. Even though his learning speed was that of a genius, his body could not be classified in the same way.

At 15 years old, Yuji was only 165 cm tall, much shorter than his classmates who passed 170 cm. Not only in matters of height, but in strength, Yuji was always inferior, but with his knowledge of martial arts, he could crush any kid his age in a fight.

But with this body, he felt that growth would no longer be a problem. His stamina alone made him an opponent to be feared, but if his growth was accelerated like his healing factor, in no time his strength would reach monstrous levels.

"But for now, I mainly need to get this body to memorize every move I've trained for my entire life."

He whispered, his eyes roaming the room and stopping at three empty chairs. Yuji knew who these tables belonged to, and he didn't mind the absence of the three bullies one bit. From his memories, even if Yuji broke his arms and sent them to the hospital, it would still be little compared to all the physical abuse they had caused him.

. . .

Some of Yuji's classmates tried to talk to him before they went home, but he just ignored them and left the school as quickly as possible. Yuji just wanted to get back to his training, he didn't care one bit about maintaining a good relationship with his class, not when he was made a punching bag and they just ignored him.

"Hey, motherfucker!"

A not at all pleasant voice assaulted Yuji's hearing, the teenager narrowing his eyes and turning around, only to find the brute from before, who had a bandage on his nose. Yuji found the bruised appearance of the bully funny and cracked a small smile. In the first fight, he just wanted to test his stamina, but now, if the bully wanted to fight, Yuji would see to it that he showed him the inside of a hospital.

"Uhm? Speak up, don't waste my time."

Yuji spoke disinterestedly, his eyes wandering around as they seemed oblivious to the bully's existence. An act done only to make the person in front of him even angrier.

"Arrogant, eh?"

The bully cracked a maniacal grin, his hand pulling a piece of iron from his back. Yuji was surprised by this, his body stiffening at the sight of the object. Even with his stamina, being hit by a piece of metal didn't seem very pleasant, he would have to be careful.

"Yesterday you were very lucky, but today..." He began to slowly approach toward Yuji, the teenager closing his hands into fists and bracing himself. "I'm going to kill you!"

Yuji was unable to react when two of the bullies in his class suddenly jumped on his back, grabbing him by the arm and preventing him from moving. The boy's eyes widened and he tried to shake off the grip.

"Bastards." He muttered and turned his gaze to the lout, who stopped in front of him with the iron bar in his hands, with a frightening smile on his face.

"Hold him tight."

Adrenaline surged through Yuji's system, his senses improving the moment the bully raised the piece of iron to hit him. He knew that if he was hit, he would not come out of this situation well. He would need to get himself out of this situation, or he is not sure if he would survive.

"Die!"

The bully lowered the bar toward Yuji's head, the boy wasting no time and using all the strength in his body to pull the two teenagers holding him down, causing one of them to stumble forward. This made him stand exactly where the iron bar was heading, hitting him hard on the top of the head and making him fall to the ground unconscious.

Startled, the second bully loosened his grip on Yuji, an opportunity that the boy wasted no time in exploiting with a strong headbutt to his nose.

"Bastard!" The bully roared and tried to hit Yuji again, but he was quick to jump away.

Yuji took a deep breath, his eyes staring at the two opponents in front of him with an analytical gaze. He was at a distinct disadvantage, but if he could disarm the brute, his chances of victory would double.

'I need to keep my distance and attack at the right moment.' He thought.

A vein popped out on the lug's forehead and he grabbed the second bully by the shirt, pushing him towards Yuji, who quickly kicked his face hard enough to knock him to the ground.

The lout, taking advantage of this moment, advanced toward Yuji and tried to hit him, but the boy was quick to dodge and counterattack with a strong punch to his face, causing the bigger man to stumble backwards from the pain.

"Using a gun is kind of cowardly, you know?" Yuji caught the bully's eye.

He looked up, only to see Yuji's fist inches from his face. Although he could clearly see the punch, he was unable to react, the fist crushing his nose with such force that it knocked him unconscious in the same instant.

'A monster.' It was the last thing the lout was able to think before he passed out .

Yuji began to blow his hand away. He ended up using too much force on the punch, which hurt his fingers not used to hitting someone.

"Moebius, huh?" Yuji whispered, his eyes staring at the three bullies on the ground. "What losers."

Just as the boy was about to leave, a tingle hit the back of his neck, his eyes narrowing as he looked around, only to see a person in the distance staring at him. The figure wore a black overcoat and had pink hair, and if Yuji didn't know better, he would say that the person was part of some gang, but he couldn't remember any gang in Tokyo Revengers with such a design.

The figure continued to stare at him, but Yuji just clenched his eyebrows and turned to leave. If this person wanted to confront him, then the boy wouldn't deny him a beating, but for now he just wanted to go home and get back to his training.

As the boy walked away, the pink haired figure just stared at his back, a curious look on her feminine features.

"Senju, we have to go."

A voice sounded behind the figure, and she just nodded in agreement.

. . .