Just outside of the boxing gym stood Raymond, who desperately tried to ignore the commotion going inside by pressing his phone harder to his right ear, while he stuck his finger in his left. There was literally no spot around the school where one could have a decent phone conversation. There were either fights going on or there were the overzealous students who were thinking of enlisting in this famous tournament. Even in the dorms, which were supposed to be private shelters, you'd be waken up at 3 a.m by someone enthusiastically shouting his name or listing all his daily achievements. It was a place even Willy Wonka would brand as weird.

Following a succession of beeps, a voice was heard on the other end of the line. "[b]Yo, Ray![/b]", the man pronounced excitedly, hints of an Asian accent detected. While initially not vocal about it, Ray was seemingly pissed off by the man's buoyant attitude. He went silent for a while, before echoing the man's word back as loudly as possible [color=ed145b]"Yo Ray? YO RAY?!"[/color] His facial expression got ugly by the second, and his tone got so intense that a vein bulged out of his head. He then proceeded:

[color=ed145b]"You leave me in this god forsaken place and YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO BE ALL CHEERY WHEN I CALL YOU?!"[/color]

"[b]What's wrong, son?[/b]", the man, now revealed to be Ray's father, Yosuke, replied after a brief intermission, his tone now showing concern instead of optimism. While he would never admit, Yosuke's happiest day was the day his son joined Kagetora. He was so committed to creating a decent human being out of his son that both he, and his wife, forgot to live their own lives. Even now, when they had the chance, their misfit son was going to keep bothering them. He was understandably concerned.

"[b]I thought you'd like the place. I thought it would be like home to you[/b]", he continued.

[color=ed145b]"[b]NOTHING[/b] in this place even slightly resembles home. People fight here for no reason, and most of them are way out of my league. Heck, there is one who is rumored to be a God of sorts. A God, Yosuke!"[/color], Raymond exclaimed, stepping a few feet away from the Boxing gym due to the noise becoming significantly louder.

"[b]Good, right? You'll finally put your abilities to a test.[/b]", Yosuke said.

[color=ed145b]"Did you even hear a word I said?! This place isn't like any other High School! Besides, I thought you wanted me to stop fighting once and for all."[/color], Raymond shot back, visibly annoyed by how lightly his father treated the entire situation.

"[b]I-I've changed my mind[/b]", Yosuke stammered. "[b]Turns out some people have made careers off your back. Besides, can you guarantee me that you'll stop punching people if I pull you out of there?"[/b]

His father's last sentence proved to be an armor-piercing question for Raymond. Surely, he would never cease fighting, not with his current mindset. To be clear, Raymond was not someone who would beat people indiscriminately. He just had a very short fuse and, much to his dismay, there were plenty of assholes who were willing to light that fuse. His parents made no mistakes either. His father was retired, so he spent a lot of time with him, while his mother had nothing to give him but love. They had enough money to fulfill all of his childhood wishes, and everything was dandy. That is, up until he reached seven years old. That's when something clicked on his head and he became the violence obsessed yellow haired monster he is now. 

After a silence, which appeared to last for ages, when in reality it was merely seconds, Raymond spoke, his tone getting calmer. [color=ed145b]"No, I can't."[/color], he lowered his head in desperation, almost as if submitting to his fate, when something in his head popped. [color=ed145b]"Wait, wait, hold on a minute! What do you mean with 'people made careers off your back?"[/color]

[b]"Oh yeah, remember Timothy? The guy you beat up in Elementary because he gave you an origami rose, and you considered that to be an insult to your manhood? He actually became an anti-Bullying advocate, and is holding awareness tours throughout schools in England."[/b], Yosuke recapped.

Raymond raised his head up, still holding his phone against his ears. [color=ed145b]"[i]Timothy, Timothy..[/i]"[/color], he couldn't quite recall who the kid was. There were a lot of guys called Timothy who fell prey to his wrath, but only one flamboyant enough to give the guy with the worst impulse control an origami flower. Truthfully, even Ray was of the opinion that Tim didn't deserve the punishment he got, but he was still a kid back then. His anger wasn't as refined as now.

As soon as he visualized the kid's face, Ray nodded to no one in particular, glad that he could remember one of his victims. Well, as glad as a socipath can be. Then something dawned on him. [color=ed145b]"I'm certain I broke Timothy's jaw, though. How the hell can one speak in front of people with a broken jaw?"[/color]

Yosuke snickered, a snicker which then would evolve into a faint colorless laugh. "[b]Y-yeah, you're not wrong. I've heard his sister does the speaking, and he writes the speeches.[/b]", the man stammered.

[color=ed145b]"Oh."[/color], Ray replied, only now realizing that his Dad was trying to avoid the main topic. With that in mind, he decided to get them back on track. [color=ed145b]"So, what's it gonna be? You gonna pull me out of here, or leave me here to deal with these rejected Cirque du Soleil mascots?"[/color]

"[b]Sorry buddy, but I can't. You left me with only two choices; a teenage correctional facility or this school. This seemed like the best option. Try and have fun while you're at it, join these clubs, kick somebody's ass and who knows, you might even make friends. And when the time comes that I'm sure you're past those violent outbursts, I'll come by myself and take you home. I promise.[/b]". Finishing his final pronouncement, Yosuke hung up the phone, leaving a distraught Ray with the typical beeping sound that the phone makes. He pulled the cellphone away from his ear and glared at it for a split second, before taking a deep breath and violently slamming it down the tiles, effectively shattering it to pieces.

[color=ed145b]"GODDAMMIT!"[/color], no longer withholding himself back, Ray shouted as much as his vocal chord would allow it. This had never happened before. He had this deep rooted feeling on his heart that he was unwanted by his parents, but he always convinced himself otherwise. Now though, it was painfully obvious.

Sliding with his back down the wall, on the verge of tears, he took a seated position on the ground and decided to assess his situation. He was a freshman, with no friends and a school where simply beating people to assert dominance wasn't an option - in other words, a fish out of water. There were clubs he could join, but most of the clubs didn't suit his style. He disliked guns, he hated boxing mainly for promoting fairness in a fight, his skills as an archer were lackluster and he considered cooking to be a waste of time. The only club that would fit him was the Fighting Club, but that one was too chaotic for his tastes. His only option left; [b]The Kagetora Rumble[/b]. That was where he could prove his might.


[b]TL;DR - Ray asks his Dad to get him out of the school via phone call, he refuses, Ray slams the phone down and decides to participate in the Kagetora Rumble[/b]