Julian was caught completely off guard, literally and figuratively.
Physically he was kept off balance in a bad position to land a solid hit. The pain in his body was unimaginable. Each of Kendo's strikes hit with the force of a tank shell, though to Julian they felt more like firm slaps. Very few strikes were remarkably painful, put the speed, placement, and sheer volume of blows caused microfractures, lacerations, and bruises to build up all around his body.
The repeated head blows messed with his balance and vision, and nausea built up from the trauma.
But none of that compared to the emotional assault he was experiencing because when he looked at his adversary with defiance he did not see Kendo Rappa, a strong, but ultimately human fighter that would should be utterly demolished by someone with a Viltumite's powers. Instead, he saw Hiroshi Ryukazi, a man who left him cowering in fear all the time. A man he would never dare to hit.
So in that moment, Julian Ryukazi felt weak, afraid, and helpless to the onslaught that was slowly killing him.
I'm so fucking stupid. Julian thought to himself as he failed to reduce the number of impacts by any significant margin. I should've never tried to become a hero. He admonished as a brutal strike landed at a terrible angle, shattering his jaw, and sending bone fragments and blood flying into his mouth.
Desperately, he searched his memory for something that could inspire him. His mother's bright smile and encouraging words brought him comfort and resilience.
Resilience to try to stay alive, to try to stay afloat in the ocean of blood he seemed to be drowning in. Resilience to survive, and endure.
It did not bring him enough resilience to fight back. It did not empower him to stand up to the monsters of his past.
So he struggled as another brutal made progress towards bringing his end. The softened and micro-fractured bone of his left floating rib was broken as one of Kendo's hooks slammed into Julian's side.
THUD THUD THUD
Julian gasped in pain and horror as Kendo hammered his broken rib deeper in his body, puncturing his lung.
Tears returned to Julian's face as he thought about the pain, he wanted it to end so badly, to stop hurting.
He just couldn't find it in him to fight back.
The punishment continued.
"WHY ARE YOU HOLDING BACK!" Kendo Rappa screamed in Julian's face as a powerful blow landed on Julian's shoulder, brutally ripping it out of the socket.
The words seemed to snap Julian from a trance, "Glugh-ahh hluh" Julian tried to answer but between his choking tears and blood filled lungs he couldn't muster up an answer.
The fear that had been paralyzing Julian was batted back for a moment as Julian tried to calm himself for a moment in the heated onslaught.
Spots formed in Julian's vision as he tried in vain to catch his breath. The blood filling his lungs made it nearly impossible to breathe. His thoroughly broken nose was impossible to breathe through. That left Julian only able to desperately gasp for air through a mouth with a broken jaw.
Panic returned to the boy as he realized he couldn't breathe properly.
Adrenaline surged through Julian's body at the realization he was truly facing death. Fight or flight instincts overshadowed both Julian's fear and reason as he flailed his arms through the air. What might've been brutal glancing blows against anyone else were blocked, countered, or dodged by Kendo as he weaved through the thoughtless whirlwind of movement, not slowed by the minor inconvenience.
"You're not even trying" Rappa growled as his blinding anger simmered into a refined cold hatred.
"I'll just kill you then" he announced, rage flaring back up, as he started targeting his blows more precisely. What would have been a jaw strike hit the neck, a punch to the nose aimed for the throat, a block turned to an attempt to break joins, and Julian's damaged lung was stuck again and again.
An expert combo threw Julian further off balance as a ringing sounded in his ears. Julian felt confused as he was suddenly facing the ceiling.
Kendo dashed forward like a bullet and used the opening to leverage his entire body weight into a punch to Julian's throat, slamming the young boy into the floor with the grown man's full body weight on his throat.
Julian tried to gasp for air as his windpipe was crushed.
This time there were no desperate dregs of air, he was truly suffocating. His left lung had been utterly crushed at some point and his other vital organs didn't feel much better.
Julian's neck shook at the force put on it as his vision started turning black.
Why am I doing this? He asked himself.
Why did I want to be a hero? He questioned as Kendo Rappa stood over him, dripping in his blood.
This was so stupid. He chided himself. How could I be so arrogant? I KNEW that my enemies would be stronger.
What the fuck happened to me? Julian thought as brief flashes of the anger he fought so hard to free himself rose up in defiance of his impending death.
Deafened, blinded, delirious, and on the verge of death Julian recounted the events of his past life.
...
(flashback)
A young Julian Rodriguez was walking to his table with a beaming smile as he looked at his shitty school lunch like it was the best meal he had ever seen. He locked eyes with two of his friends and made a gesture with his chin to an empty next to some of their other friends.
Something registered in the corner of Julian's eyes causing him to move his head and tray back and to the left barely dodging the hand that tried to smack him.
Before Julian could respond another hand came from the direction he wasn't looking and smacked the tray out of his hand, covering him with baked beans, mashed potatoes, and mystery meat.
"I told you he was a fuckin pussy" an older kid said as he pushed Julian into another table. A sharp grunt sounded from Julian as the metal of the table hit his rib.
"What was all that shit you were talking earlier? Fucking pussy ass wetback" the older kid said as he stood over Julian and smacked him in the mouth.
The oohs and ahhs sounded from the lunchroom as two of Julian's friends and his cousin started running towards him, only to be blocked but some friends of the guy who had pushed Julian.
A tear nearly escaped Julian's eye as he looked at his food. He was so hungry, the single egg's worth of huevos con weenies left him just as hungry last night as it did every night that week. Missing school breakfast that morning made the hunger worse. He was tired, having stayed up late to work on a project, one that he ended up failing anyway. He was mad. Mad at his teacher for failing him, mad at his mom for spending his dad's paycheck for that week on a single night out with her stupid friends. Mad at the kid that just spilled his food, stained his shoes, and got his clothes dirty.
Julian's face started getting hot as he stared at his spilled food and dirty shoes.
"Not gonna say anything? You're just as fucking lazy as your dad" the older kid said as turned to walk away.
Julian didn't remember swinging on him, he barely remembered the fight at all. He only remembered waking up on the couch, concussed and covered in bruises and filled with broken bones.
His opponent faired better then him. Julian had undoubtedly lost the fight, yet something about it lit a fire in him.
That first fight was a loss. The first loss of many, but it was also the catalyst to his first win, and by the time he died the wins outnumbered the losses tenfold
(end flashback)
...
Julian cried as he thought about the memory, it was the start of a bad time in his life when he was lost and angry. By the time Julian was a senior in high school he had been working with a councilor and priest. The counselor recommended that he find an outlet for his anger, and the priest recommended that he work as a volunteer with the Red Cross as a way to make amends with his life. Working with the Red Cross sparked Julian's desire to help others, become an EMT, and give back to the community if he had caused violence. The councilor's recommendation also sparked another passion of Julian's, one that let him bring balance to his life once he started college.
Julian thought back to the passion he felt in his first year of college. Those memories felt so distant from him now. His life as Julian Ryukazi didn't have anything that came close to the adrenaline rush he felt. Ryukazi spent his young life scared and afraid, whereas Julian Rodriguez had spent most of his life impulsive and angry, only finding peace near the end of his short life.
Memories of that passion flooded his mind. The flight wasn't working, and Julian didn't want to die.
He needed to move, now. He needed to fight back, to channel that inner desire to fight no matter the cost. Determined, Julian redoubled his efforts as he tried desperately to get up. For a second he struggled against all odds as he sat up.
But he had been without air too long. Julian's mind screamed in agony as his muscles went limp against his will.
In that room, it appeared that Julian Ryukazi's story had ended before it ever began.
][
I think the backstory might have felt a bit weird/out of place but idk. lmk if you think I should re-write it or put it in another chapter or what. This is another little piece of information that establishes Julian's past life but is in no way the full story. One thing I was thinking about was moving the conversation Julian had to a later chapter or rewriting it to make some things about his past more clear. lmk which you would think would be better.