Chapter 105: Chapter 26
Renji stood before the skeletal remains of what was once a source of fierce pride and devastating betrayal: an abandoned and dilapidated boxing gym.
The paint was peeling, the windows were boarded up, and a faint, stale odor of dust and decay drifted from the broken entrance.
This was the place that held the most profound significance to him—a knot of triumph, treachery, and, ultimately, unexpected salvation.
Back in his middle school years, this gym was his kingdom. The coach, a gruff but discerning man, had spotted Renji's natural, explosive talent.
"With your speed and footwork, Renji," the coach had often said, his voice husky with pride, "you can surely challenge the world championship."
Renji had lived up to the hype, completely dominating the middle school circuit and winning the national championship title twice in a row.
Back then, he felt like he can take over the world. As if he was unstoppable. His opponents couldn't even last a few rounds before getting knock down by him.
He was so dominant that he was even hailed as the strongest middle school boxer at the time.
But everything changed during his third year of middle school.
He was training intensely for his third national championship match, confident of an easy victory, when the darkness arrived, and all that he knew and believed in, crumbled before him.
A week before the match, he was approached by the slick, predatory coach of his final opponent.
The coach offered him a briefcase stuffed with cash—a hefty sum that could have changed his family's life—for him to simply throw the fight.
Of course, Renji and his coach refused on principle, and the opponent's coach left with a sneer.
They thought that was the end of it, but they were wrong.
The very next day, the police swarmed the gym, and Renji can only watched in stunned horror as his coach, along with several other boxers, was arrested on suspicion of selling drugs and using performance-enhancing boosters.
The evidence was manufactured but appeared so solid that even Renji at that time, in his shock, was ashamed to admit that he had momentarily suspected the coach.
But everything didn't there, as the following days were a nightmare.
Every boxer who hadn't been arrested abandoned the gym, leaving only Renji as the sole member due to the gym holding many good memories for him.
Then, thugs—obviously hired muscle—arrived and vandalized the ring, slashing the heavy bags and spray-painting insults across the motivational murals all the while Renji was in school and unaware of the damages.
By the time he found out, it was already too late.
For the next few days after that, Renji would try and fix the gym, but would always ended up in the same state.
Not only that, the days leading up to his match, many other various, well-timed incidents occurred that made it impossible for Renji to concentrate and train.
And by the time the champions starts, he was already exhausted, sleep deprived, and completely out of shape.
And just like that, he lost the match. As expected, after all, he was not in any condition to fight.
The loss stung, but his competitive spirit prompted him to be a good sport.
He went to his opponent's room to congratulate him, but paused outside, overhearing a conversation that turned his stomach cold.
"Our plan worked perfectly," he heard his opponent's coach gloat. "Getting that dirty evidence planted, getting those low-life boxers to testify—it was seamless. And the best part? Renji's coach is ruined."
At that moment, Renji finally realized the chilling truth: everything that had happened that week was a calculated, brutal plot orchestrated by his rival's team to ensure his defeat.
Overcome with a blinding, righteous fury, Renji decided to take immediate, physical revenge.
But knowing his opponent was highly influential and protected, he decided to target him last.
He first hunted down his fellow gym mates who had actually been bribed to frame his beloved coach, beating them senseless until they were hospitalized.
He then proceeded to track down and savagely beat the thugs who had vandalized the gym.
Once he was done, he tracked down the mastermind and observed them, and finally after a few days, he found his opening: his opponent and his coach alone near the rival gym.
Renji cornered them and began unleashing a storm of fury. They were no match for him, but before he could deal the kind of serious, debilitating damage he intended, the police—summoned suspiciously quickly—arrived and began chasing him.
Knowing he couldn't escape, Renji ran toward the one place that still felt like a sanctuary, a grave for his ambition: this abandoned gym.
He wanted to reminisce one last time, to think of the what ifs. What if he accepted the bribe? What if his opponent decided fight fair and square?
Soon, he arrived, panting, ready to be caught, ready to surrender to the consequences of his rampage.
But at that moment, Kageyama Seijirou, a local delinquent infamous for cruising around various dojos and gyms looking for a fight to relieve his boredom, coincidentally chose Renji's gym as the next place to challenge.
Renji simply stared at him. He have heard of Seijirou of course, they go to the same middle school, but as someone who is popular and can even be considered as a model student, Renji has always avoided him, lest he got into trouble.
But now? Renji couldn't even be bothered to pay attention to him, he simply stared at the gym that was once like a home to him.
Seijirou stood at the entrance, his hands jammed casually in his pockets.
"Heh, what a shabby gym. I heard the people here uses performance boosters, no wonder they were trash and has been saying been abandoned."
Renji, already enraged and now feeling a fresh wave of protective fury for the spirit of the ruined gym, immediately argued, his voice hoarse. "This gym is the best in the world! I will not allow some pathetic delinquent to insult it!"
Seijirou simply grinned at the sight of the enraged, desperate boy, his eyes twinkling with genuine interest. "Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it, trash?"
Renji roared in anger and attacked, unleashing the full, devastating power of his national-level training.
But within a short few moves, Renji was defeated, his punches deflected, his footing broken, and his body slammed into the dusty floor.
"Trash." Seijirou smirked.
But Renji didn't give up. He stood back up, charging Seijirou again while the delinquent continued to mock him and the gym with casual, cruel precision.
No matter how many times Renji was put down, he stood back up, fueled by the conviction that this gym deserved respect.
But then, after what felt like an hour of ceaseless, brutal effort, Renji found a microscopic opening.
He poured every last ounce of his strength into a single, desperate straight punch and managed to clip Seijirou on the cheek.
It did nothing, barely tilting Seijirou's head.
Seijirou turned toward him, rubbing the spot with a thumb as Renji retrieved his hand, ready for the counter-attack.
But Seijirou simply smirked, a genuine, appreciative look in his eyes. "You know what, boxer? I take back my words. This gym might be special after all."
At that, Renji grinned, the first true smile he'd worn in a week, before his eyes rolled back and he passed out from exhaustion and injury.
Seijirou stared at his unconscious form with newfound interest.
At that moment, the flashing lights of the police finally arrived.
Seijirou, however, simply stood out, intercepted the officers, and, using the quiet, terrifying power of his family's influence, made the police retreat with stern warnings about violating private property.
Renji soon learned that his former opponent's coach was arrested for real, but his opponent was merely put into house arrest since he was a minor and his parents were also highly influential.
Seeking to thanked and make a deal with, Renji went to find Seijirou, begging him to use his influence to secure his coach's release, offering to follow him for the rest of his life in return.
Seijirou waved his hand dismissively. "There's no need for that, Renji. Your coach and the others have already been released...but there is a small problem."
Renji soon learned that his beloved coach had suffered a severe, debilitating mental breakdown while in prison, and was now confined to a mental hospital.
He was devastated. If he has been faster, if he had found out the truth earlier, his coach would've never suffered such fate.
Seijirou asked if Renji wanted to visit him, but Renji refused. He couldn't bear to see his mentor in that state.
Seijirou shrugged. "If there's nothing else, I'll leave. You're an interesting fella, Renji. We should fight again sometime."
Renji stared at his retreating back. And although Seijirou had explicitly said there was no need for him to become a follower, Renji still honored his word, silently following Seijirou for the rest of the day, and every day thereafter.
Seijirou didn't complain about the shadow, and Renji never mentioned the word 'subordinate.'
But deep inside, standing in the ruined gym, Renji reaffirmed the oath forged in pain: he would always help Seijirou, just as the arrogant delinquent had, without asking, helped him reclaim his honor and his life.
Now, standing in the abandoned gym, the spiritual anchor point was clear: this was the place of Betrayal, Redemption, and Owed Loyalty.
This was where he fell, and where he was saved.
The spirits would hear that weight.