Battle Bond Chapter 1

Battle Bond

Kenichi and Matakara are childhood friends, and the two faced a terrible ordeal together. Matakara was driven to get stronger. He joined Ryozanpaku and under the guidance of Sakaki he got stronger. He’s there for Kenichi to assist him in becoming stronger. Kenichi/Sakaki/Matakara/Harem

Chapter 1 My Friend

Matakara Asamine had a rough life. His brother Mitsukuni had raised him after their parents had abandoned them. He did his best to stay out of trouble as to not cause more trouble for his brother. He didn’t have any friends, that is…

Kenichi Shirahama moved to town. The boy had been bullied in the past, him and his friend Ryuto both. They had a fight before moving but Kenichi was able to make up with him before his dad took him away. Little did he know Ryuto had changed both from their fight and Kenichi leaving.

Mitsukuni encouraged Matakara to meet and play with Kenichi, thinking the boy could use some friends. Kenichi was very sweet, he loved to read, and was a big brother to his little sister. The two hit it off.

Kenichi talking about how he wanted to become strong, learn martial arts. Matakara admired him for that. Kenichi helped him study, while the two discussed taking Karate together in highschool. There were different kinds of martial arts, but karate stuck out for Kenichi as his favorite.

The two grew closer and Mitsukuni was happy his brother had someone to connect and bond with. Matakara would come over and visit with the Shirahama family, even spending the night on occasion. There he saw Kenichi write and send letters to Ryuto, and even get a few in kind. However…

Once Kenichi started writing about his new friend Matakara, the number of letters Kenichi got dried up. Shirhama just thought Ryuto was busy and that it was fine, they both had lives to live. That didn’t stop Kenichi from writing letters to him.

Knowing they had to train to get stronger, and agreeing to get stronger together, they went out into the woods to train and exercise together. It was going fun until a couple of drunkards walked about, making a mess and treating nature like a trash heap. They were each carrying a huge bottle of booze, one was smoking and tossing his used butts all over. Their path was littered with food wrappers and used bottles. “Stop it!” Matakara snapped.

“Huh...whdya shay ya fittle szit!” The man was slurring his words. He reeked of booze. Instead of going home and sleeping it off, he went off with his drunk buddies and were causing trouble. “Somone aught zeech yo soma manfers!”

He grabbed Matakara. “Let him go!” Kenichi snapped and went at him. The guy wailed on Kenichi, but he was scrappy and caused the guy to drop Matakara. “Run!” Kenichi grabbed his hand and they took off running.

“Gest dem!”

Despite their best efforts they were caught. “Yous shitty punk…” He took a drink of his beer bottle and threw it right at Kenichi striking him in the head. Shirahama got knocked out, this being the second time he’d been struck in the head, causing him to lose a couple of gaps in his memory.

“Kenichi!” Matakara struggled. Because of his height he was able to headbutt the guy holding him in the balls.

“Why you little?!”

Matakara grabbed Kenichi and covered him with his body. The men punched and kicked him and Matakara did his best to protect Kenichi. “Yus littl facks I’ll teazh yo sum mannars!” The drunkard removed his belt planning to beat them with it, but this caused his pants to fall down.

He stumbled forward and ended up hitting one of his buddies with the belt. “Dude!”

“Ugh fuck it!” The last one moved to smash the bottle over the boys.

“Hey!” A large man appeared, snatching the bottle. “Thought I smelled the scent of booze in the air.”

“Who the hell are…” The man began to whoop some ass, moving with such ease and skill. The guy who had taken off his belt was put over the man’s knee and spanked with his own belt.

“I’m taking these kids to the hospital, and if this place isn’t cleaned up I’ll be burying you!” He threatened with an intimidating aura.

He took Kenichi and Matakara to the hospital and left. The boys would be fine but Kenichi wouldn’t remember what happened. Matakara did remember, he felt weak at not being able to protect Kenichi that much, and remembered how Kenichi fought like a beast to protect him.

Ember feelings he had for Kenichi ignited and became a strong flame. He’d want to spend more time with Kenichi, but then…

His brother had gotten mixed up with some bad people. Even if he was doing good work, these people made him take the fall, promising to take care of his brother if things turned south. So Matakara’s brother got locked up and Matakara was left without his brother or anyone to care for him.

He came home and his brother’s associates ransacked the place taking anything valuable they could. Their only mercy was living Matakara’s room alone. That was how they “took care of him” leaving his room untouched. Matakara felt broken, he didn’t know where to go and didn’t want to be a burden.

As if fate played a hand in his misery it began to rain. Matakara was walking around, unsure of where to go. He’d have loved to stay with Kenichi, but his anxiety about being a burden gripped him.

He ended up in a strange place, in a place with massive doors. The door opened and things were gonna change again this time for the better. He moved into Ryouzanpaku and dedicated his time and energy to training.

-x-

Kenichi wasn’t told the details but Matakara’s home was put up for sale, and Kenichi feared he’d lost his friend again. To his surprise he received letters from Matakara. ‘There’s no return address.’ It was weird, and Kenichi asked the postman but there was no postage on it either.

He didn’t know who was delivering the letters. One time he thought he caught the deliverer but only found a strange mouse. “Oh man.” He missed Matakara.

Kenichi wrote him letters but didn’t know where to send them so kept them with the friendship stone Matakara had given him. One night he had left a letter on his window, and it had vanished the next morning. “Ehh?”

He thought he lost it, only to receive a response letter soon after that. So Kenichi set the stack of letters at his window. They would be gone when he got home from school, and he’d receive a response on each one. Kenichi had no idea what was happening but he was so happy to hear from Matakara.

Questions like where are you and what happened seemed lost to him, he was just glad that Matakara was okay. They would continue to exchange letters, but Kenichi would keep some things from him. Like how he was bullied all through school for being weak, he got books on training and practiced at home with some results.

Unknowingly training the vessel that housed a sleeping beast. This continued into High School where Kenichi told Matakara he was joining the Karate Club just like they had always planned. “I wish you were here…” Kenichi whispered. He wrote it down without thinking.

-x-

While he spoke of the karate club as a great thing, it kinda sucked. The upper classman took priority over the equipment and didn’t let the first years do much outside of practice and clean up the club room. Makoto Daimonji was the exception because of his massive body and muscles he was recruited by the captain of the club Tsukuba. So he got special treatment, which included picking Kenichi to be his personal punching bag.

Despite getting beat up and wailed on Kenichi kept showing up every day, trying to learn and grow stronger. When things got tough he thought about Ryuto and Matakara. He sent Ryuto a letter about what had been going on seeking his advice. Then he also sent a similar letter to Matakara though admitting the troubles. He didn’t want Matakara to worry.

The thing is he did worry…

Matakara may have left the house but he was still in the vicinity, staying and living at the dojo he got training for. His training was strict, but his worry for Kenichi drew the attention of the other masters. “What’s so special about this Kenichi guy? You in love with him?” His master Sakaki said with a laugh.

“Yes!” Matakara said without hesitation. He loved Kenichi, though he couldn’t say it in any of his letters. It was something he wanted to tell Kenichi face to face. The training at Ryouzanpaku was insane, giving him very little free time, which he used to check on his brother. He was given a pass to write to Kenichi, with Apachai, Shigure, and Tochumaru delivering them.

Sakaki was stunned. Matakara gushed about Kenichi, talking about how amazing and special he was which pique some of his master’s interests. So sometimes while out and about they observed Kenichi.

Kenichi sometimes got the feeling he was being watched but thought it was his imagination. The boy was bullied a lot, but despite it he didn’t seek strength for revenge, just self improvement and being able to stand up for his ideals. He had a good heart and while he didn’t have a direct talent for martial arts, that didn’t mean he was worthless, he had potential.

Akisame believed a boy like Kenichi could be chewed up by the cruelty of the world, tearing him up until there was permanent damage. Like someone with a good work ethic getting taken advantage of by a toxic work environment until they either got burn out or an injury.

There were also shadows moving in the city as of late.

Sure enough Kenichi crossed Daimonji’s ire one too many times who was planning to break Kenichi in a fight so he could never be a martial artist again. This fight was approved by Tsukuba who said the loser would have to leave the club.

Kenichi was given 3 months to prepare, until then he was banned from using the club room.

Shirahama felt pushed into a corner, so he finally wrote to Matakara and told him things at the club weren’t going well and he had to win a fight in three months against a big bully named Daimonji. “I really tried to get stronger but...I don’t think I’m cut out for this.” He wrote and rubbed the yin yang pin on his collar.

Yes he was weak he knew that, but how could he get stronger like this? “I wish I was stronger.” He said, writing it down without thinking. The letter would be gone in morning and that settled things.

-x-

Ever the sportsman(sarcasm)

Daimonji decided to jump Kenichi after school. “There’s no point in letting a useless worm like you live!” Daimonji cracked his knuckles.

“Are you crazy!” Kenichi snapped.

The guy went at Kenichi throwing a punch only to…

Catch!

A tall young man appeared, blocking Daimonji’s punch. “Who...who the heck are you?!”

Kenichi stared up at the dreamboat. Matakara was tall and handsome, broad shoulders with firm pecs and abs, a toned figure with well honed arms and legs. “His friend!” Wham!

Matakara punched him hard and knocked him flat on his ass. The young man had years of karate training under his belt, Daimonji didn’t see it coming. “M...Matakara?!” He blushed and smiled.

“Kenichi!” He was hugged into the taller male’s chest, Kenichi got smothered by the brunette’s beefy pecs.

‘Oh wow!’

Their bond was about to become even stronger.

To be continued...Disciple