Chapter 30 - One February Morning 2

(Cont'd)

"I know that she was just a lowly servant to you, but she was my friend. You don't even remember her name, do you?" Fumio asks rhetorically as he twists Hideki's collar, almost choking the man.

It is not hard for Hideki to connect that one of the two non-superiori servants he forced himself into and murdered, was Fumio's friend. This connection between Fumio and his victim makes him beyond just worried.

"Do you think we looked at you in disdain because you were weak? No. Everyone gave you that look because you were lazy and simply thrown your powers and status around to those who have no hopes in fighting back." Fumio says, tightening his hold on Hideki's collar further.

"*Ack* W-what are you doing?" Hideki is filled with apprehension and he is fueled by fear as he throws punches and kicks to Fumio.

Fumio however simply takes them.

While Hideki is still a superioris, he is weakened and his attacks are only comparable to that of an average non-superioris'. Fumio therefore is not worried of being injured anytime soon.

"I'm not gonna kill you." Fumio starts, making Hideki stop struggling.

Hideki however wishes that he should have continued to struggle due to Fumio's next actions.

Fumio slams Hideki to the ground once again. Fumio this time, does not let up and he immediately mounts Hideki on Hideki's chest. He takes out his handkerchief and forces them down Hideki's mouth and after that, he cups his hand on Hideki's mouth to keep them shut.

Hideki, having his mouth stuffed can no longer scream for help.

The lessons about the human body from Red immediately start flooding in Fumio's mind and he immediately proceeds with his plan. He then opens his right palm, straightens them for a karate chop, and chops down on Hideki's left forearm, then left bicep, then left shoulder joint, and finally left underarm.

"*UUUUUUFFFFFFF*" Hideki screams in pain but the only one who can hear him is the cause his pain.

The next moment, the pain fades and he can no longer feel his entire left arm, or even move his fingers. Soon, a tear falls down his eyes as he realizes what Fumio had just done and what Fumio will do next.

"*uuuffffff*" He then tries to beg for Fumio to stop, but Fumio emotionlessly assaults his right arm just like what was did to his left.

Hideki thought it cannot get any worse but Fumio flips him around so he lies on his stomach and suddenly, *crack*, he feels and hears his spine crack from whatever Fumio just did.

"*UUUHHHHHHH*" He tries to get away but in addition to the intense pain coming from his spine, his legs are no longer working either.

He wishes that his legs can no longer feel anything because the next moment, he feels Fumio assaulting them just like what Fumio did with his arms.

At this point, whether it is real or not, he can only pray to any angel or demon who would listen, to be saved.

Soon, Fumio is done with his job.

"How do you feel?" He asks rhetorically with a satisfied smile on his face as he flips Hideki back to the supine position.

"…" Even though Hideki wants to rain threats, curses, or even pleas for forgiveness, his mouth is still stuffed and Fumio's hands are still cupped on his mouth.

"You were right. I don't have it in me to really kill you. But my conscience can afford leaving you here for dead. Whether you die or not, you're doomed either way." Fumio says and he unties his extra kimono belt from his waist and wraps it around the lower half of Hideki's head to keep the man quiet.

Hideki is almost relieved that he is spared, but Fumio is not done. Fumio then searches Hideki's pockets and soon he pulls out Hideki's phone and wallet.

To Hideki's horror, Fumio chucks his phone and wallet to the non-frozen part of the river, practically leaving his last hope of calling for help gone too.

"Don't worry. I'll make a call an hour or two later." Fumio says as he kneels beside Hideki.

"Hideki. What goes around, comes around. I just wish other members of the clan would be here to see you like this too… If you ever get to live to see tomorrow, and if you ever get to become healthy again, I'll come back for you." With that, Fumio stands up and walks away to leave.

Hideki, while watching Fumio's back recede to the distance, is relieved that the demon finally left. In only five minutes, his life is ruined by the person he thought to be dead.

Soon however, he forces his fears of Fumio down to the back of his mind, and his anger surfaces once again.

'If I live through this...' .

Fumio on the other hand, slowly walks with heavy steps and he cannot help the tears from falling from his eyes.

'I did it… I finally did it...'

.

.

A few minutes later, Fumio is now at a nearby wooden bridge where him and Red agreed to meet.

"Boss." Fumio simply nods at the already waiting Red, the things he did earlier is still replaying in his mind.

"How did it go?" Red asks despite having seen everything from a distance.

"Good." Fumio does not know how else to describe everything.

"Wanna take the day off for relaxation?" Red offers.

"No." Fumio shakes his head. "Instead. I want some answers." He says, his focus back in the moment and he looks Red in the eyes.

"What exactly happened to me, boss? I didn't think it would be that easy." He asks, still not understanding how he was able to overpower Hideki. "You said I was ready to fight him, but I didn't want this."

"What exactly did you want?" Red asks.

"A fair and equal fight. You did something to me boss. I know that you somehow did something to boost my strength. Did you drug me?" Fumio accuses.

"Heh…" Red simply chuckles. "It was all you." He says.

"Doesn't it feel weird when you woke up feeling light today?" He asks.

"I did notice. But I suspect you did something to me while I was asleep." Fumio says.

Red then puts his hand on Fumio's head and activates the seals he secretly carved and activated daily on Fumio's body.

"Walk with me." Red then says as he retrieves his hand and starts walking, confusing Fumio.

Soon, Fumio immediately feels how heavy his movements have become; as if he is walking through mud. Not only are his legs feeling the resistance but even the tiniest muscles in his body feel sluggish.

"W-wh…" Fumio is mystified as he lifts his hand in front of him with some difficulty. Seeing Red gaining distance, he fights the resistance and catches up.

"Fumio. When did you achieve a breathing cycle in all 16 poses?" Red asks as soon as Fumio is in earshot.

"December, I think? Why?" Fumio asks.

"After you completed the 16 poses, I also gave you some strength training… But did you ever wonder why you never felt stronger?" Red asks again.

"eh… yes.." Fumio nods while slowly getting used to the resistance on his body. "I've gotten buffer and more ripped, but I feel the same as when we started." He reports.

"Resistance seals." Red says.

"Resistance seals? What?" Fumio tilts his head in confusion, but soon enough, things connect in his head. "When you say seals, you mean the seals you use to lock the storage room and my training room in the shop? Or the illusion seal in my kimono I use for disguises?" He asks.

"Yes. But unlike those, resistance seals are used to suppress your movements and perceptions." Red explains.

"Oh… That means it's like I have weights on my body." Fumio, feeling exactly what Red just described, immediately understands what resistance seals are.

He then checks his clothes, the only place he can think of that those resistance seals can be placed. He is already familiar with how spirit seals look like because Red showed them to him while explaining what seals are.

Soon however, "I see none though…" He says after finding nothing that looks like seals on his kimono and haori, and looks at Red in skepticism.

"Well. Forgive me, Fumio. I carved them on different parts of your skin." Red simply admits.

"W-ha-!?" Fumio then pulls up his sleeves to find seals once more, but just like with his robes, he sees no seals on his skin.

"Feel them. Your skin is unusually rough in some places." Red says.

Fumio does so, and with the tip of his fingers, he feels that there are indeed some patches with strange textures on the skin of his arms. Fumio compares the texture to the finer surfaces of a computer microchip.

"The reason why you never felt stronger is because I adjusted the strength of those resistance seals in accordance to your strength and the growth of your perception." Red explains as he touches Fumio on the head once again to deactivate the seals.

"AH!" Fumio suddenly getting all his strength back, loses control and he flies forward before falling face flat to the ground.

"I-is this really my strength?" He says in disbelief as he stands up.

"Yes." Red confirms. "After you've completed a breathing cycle in all those 16 poses, you were able to open up the access to the potential of your body. That also means that the limit of your body has gone up and is still going up depends on you. The speed of which your body grows stronger also increases as you train until you reach that potential." He explains.

"Why didn't you just tell me, boss?" Fumio asks, while feeling thankful, is confused that Red was not more forthcoming.

"Because I want to see what you will do with a sudden gain in power." Red replies.

Fumio, while still feeling conflicted, feels that Red's response makes sense. "So... You were watchin... Did my actions disappoint you?" He asks in worry.

"Yes." Red admits.

"I see." Fumio is embarrassed and guilty.

"If I were you, I wouldn't have spared him." Red says, however.

"W-Why?" Fumio asks, his blood running cold in surprise at Red's words and how casually Red said it.

"I know you hate your blood family, but are you sure you no longer care for them?" Red asks.

"…" Fumio immediately gets what Red is saying and he stops in his steps, tempted to go back to Hideki.

"Changed your mind?" Red asks.

The more Fumio thinks about it however, he is more certain that cannot snuff out a life with his own hands even if it is Hideki's.

"I-I'd rather hope that he freezes to death of someone finds him before he dies." He shakes his head.

"And. If somehow he survives, who'd believe that I did that to him? Not even his father, the clan head would. Even if the clan head would hire a superioris who can read Hideki's memories, it is still too ridiculous a thought to consider that it was really me who did it.

"Even if somehow the clan head will believe it, the others won't and will just brush off Hideki's memories as that of a broken mind of a broken man." He rationalizes.

"I see." Red nods in approval that Fumio's decision to spare Hideki involves some thinking instead of pure morals.

"Besides. Why would I worry about my family? They're superiori. They can take care of themselves. My father especially. He's a B-Class superiori and a valuable asset to the clan." Fumio adds.

"Good. If that's what you want then." Red says, but he notices the small worry in Fumio's eyes.

"Do you want to spar?" He suggests.

The worry in Fumio immediately evaporates and is replaced with fear.

"N-no thanks boss. I-I've had enough fighting today. I-I've also not had enough time processing the flaws in my fighting style the last time we sparred." He can only plead.

"Fine. But you have to get used to your new strength. You're now just a shy away from a C-Class physical type superioris after all." Red says.

"I-I am?" Fumio is surprised at Red's comparison, but soon, he accepts it. "Yeah. Hideki is an average D-Class physical type and I overpowered him." He mumbles.

"But boss… Is there any other way than sparring?" He asks.

"Yes. Let's race back to Nerima. Let's see if you can catch up." Red says, bends his knees, and pushes his feet off the ground, making him shoot off like an arrow.

Before Fumio can realize, Red is already tens of meters away from him.

"Boss! Wait up!" Fumio is excited to see how fast he can run with his newfound strength.