A tense air surged around the pair, Nishi's declaration unsettling Keiji, "I'm a simple man," Nishi began calmly, holding a hand out with a casual gesture.
"Ever since I was young, those with power and authority over me day in and day out reminded me of their simple truth," Nishi paused as he crossed his arms, "They owned me."
Keiji stood bewildered for a moment, his eyes widening in surprise, before finally he spoke, "S-someone... owned you?" He spoke hesitantly.
"We're all owned at some point in our lives, that's merely human nature," Nishi added with a nod, before scratching the back of his head, "Some merely never promote to a greater sense of independence."
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Nishi spoke after some thought, "I think I was 15?" Nishi pondered only briefly, adding, "My father was the type of man who always was grasping onto the coattails of others, never having his own achievements and merely coasting off of others."
"Reminds me of my dad..." Keiji said with a pained expression, "...After I sided with you, last I heard he'd disowned me," Keiji said with a shallow chuckle.
Nishi smirked as he continued, "Then you have an idea of the utter frustration that brings," Nishi spoke calmly.
Nodding, Keiji tilted his head to the side, "How'd you change so much then, what turned you into... this?" Keiji said as he gestured to Nishi.
Standing in calm silence, only the occasional passerby of the village, Nishi responded in a plain and casual tone, "I killed him."
Keiji flinched as he heard this, apprehensively asking, "Y-you killed him?" Keiji paused as he continued, "I mean... the current you, I could see doing that, but-"
"You misunderstand, the current me and the past me... nothing is different," Nishi added with a stone cold expression.
"Huh?" Keiji replied briefly and with utter confusion.
Looking to the clouds, Nishi's gaze softened as he smiled, "Truth, to be honest to oneself, that is an important aspect of the strong," he said in such a matter-of-fact tone.
"Is it?" Keiji asked as he looked to the clouds, "I notice you sometimes space out and look up at the clouds," Keiji commented as the both of them stood in silence for a moment.
Looking back at Keiji slowly, Nishi shrugged, "When something is beautiful, you want to look at it, just as when people are strong, you want to admire them," Nishi commented as he sighed contentedly.
"I killed my father to attain my truth," Nishi spoke calmly, adding, "If I'd never killed him, I would've been shackled in countless chains my whole life, but now, I am truly all of myself."
Keiji looked on bewildered as he dryly laughed, "I never really understand everything you say..."
"In time, if you take the same steps I did, you will," Nishi said with a smirk.
A silence befell the two of them, Keiji and Nishi standing at odds, a strange tension between them.
"You want me to leave these people alone, don't you?" Nishi said, his hands stuffing themselves back in his pockets casually.
Flinching at the sudden comment, Keiji scratched the back of his head, "I-is it that obvious...?" He said with a sheepish chuckle.
"Painfully so," Nishi retorted with a brief chuckle of his own, seemingly amused.
Keiji hesitated, before finally speaking, "In the last month, you've entirely changed my life, I feel... both indebted and thankful for the life I have now, I feel like my destiny in this world is finally in my own hands, which is why..." pausing with a bead of sweat forming on his forehead, Keiji took a deep breath as he continued, "...I-I can't endorse this, these people are living their lives peacefully, they aren't hurting anyone, at least my village had people I hated but-"
"You don't know them and because of that, you see them more as people," Nishi finished Keiji's sentence for him, "I get what you're saying, make no mistake of that."
"T-then does that mean we can maybe go about this differently?" Keiji asked hopefully.
Nishi thought for a moment, sighing, before rubbing the back of his head, "You aren't getting the core of my guidance it seems, I never was a good teacher," Nishi said with a chuckle.
Looking on nervously, Keiji seemed to bite his lip, not speaking.
"Keiji," Nishi said with a cold gaze.
Flinching, Keiji swallowed his spit nervously, clenching his fists as he replied promptly, "Y-yeah?"
"If you want people to do things your way, you have to make them," Nishi said as he took his hands out of his pockets, the air thickening.
"Make them..." Keiji said, his fingers twitching as he picked up what Nishi was putting down.
"W-wait you mean fight you?!" Keiji said, utterly shocked.
Nishi sighed as he seemed to flare with intensity, "Like I said, in this world only those with strength can change anything."
Keiji froze as he nervously looked on, before he could speak, Nishi added, "At the start of this conversation, you asked me a question, do you remember it?"
Frozen, yet not petrified, Keiji swallowed yet again as he replied, "Y-yeah..."
Smiling, Nishi retorted calmly, "The reason why I do all that I do, is because it is what I desire..." Pausing to hold his hands out, he chuckled, "...Control, power, wealth, fear, respect, all of these things are qualities only attainable by the strong, if you want anything in this world, you MUST take it," Nishi said as he shrugged, "Otherwise, you are nothing more than someone else's pawn."
A voice suddenly ruptured the thick atmosphere, "Excuse me, I heard there was a pair of men matching your description who assaulted a young boy?"
Keiji's head jerked to his right, sweating as he noticed the officer, meanwhile Nishi calmly looked over.
"Oh good, they finally responded," Nishi commented, "Guess we can get started."
A sudden punch to his chest forced Nishi to slide back a few feet, Nishi standing still for a moment, his eyes drifting back to meet Keiji, before his mouth widened into a grin, "Desperation gives birth to action."
Keiji froze, looking down at his hand as he quickly retorted, "I-I don't know why I did that, I'm sorry!" Keiji said shaking his head profusely.
Nishi licked his finger, wiping his cheek lightly as the officer spoke, "I'm going to have to ask you two to leave, especially if you're just going to cause a scene in the street, I'll have no choice but to-"
Nishi glanced over, his eyes piercing into the officer as his red heat huffed and puffed across his body, "I have to educate my pupil, if you don't shut up I'll break you."
The officer froze as an unsettling wave of fear pricked at his skin, little did he know, cursed energy rushed past him in excess, Nishi's provocation laced with evil.
"N-nishi..." Keiji spoke slowly, sweating as he kept his fists clenched.
Finally looking back to Keiji, Nishi was smiling happily, "To be honest, I'm glad you finally showed me this side of you."
Keiji was taken aback by the sudden comment, scratching at his neck as he replied, "Really...?"
Nodding lightly, Nishi continued, "I knew that you had this limiter, so I'll do you a favor and tear it out of you," Nishi spoke with a snide grin.
Before Keiji could speak, a punch blasted into his gut, lifting him off the ground from the impact as Nishi was directly in front of him. Without hesitation, Nishi slipped two quick jabs at Keiji punching his shoulders as he cocked his arm far behind his back.
Like a cannon, Nishi fired his fist straight into Keiji, who narrowly blocked what felt like a truck smashing directly into him.
So heavy!? Keiji thought in shock as he was sent flying backwards.
Smashing through a building, he slid to a halt as he looked down at his arms, "O-oh my god... I still have my arms, it felt like he blew them off," Keiji said panting and wincing in pain.
Looking around the empty room, Keiji didn't have a moment to rest as Nishi stepped into the opening, "So, are you gonna get up, Keiji?"
Slowly rising, Nishi's eyes followed him the whole way up, Keiji putting his fists up, "N-nishi please..." He said sheepishly.
"Don't beg," Nishi said as he scowled, "Fight," he said as his eyes widened and smile grew vile.
Rushing forward, Keiji shouted out noises of effort as he swung rapidly, Nishi pushing his fists out of the way as he parried each attempt.
"Much better, sharpen yourself even as you battle against an insurmountable opponent," Nishi said as his eyes grew crazed.
With an abrupt kick to his side, Keiji's teeth gritted in pain, flipping through the air as he bounced off of a wall, smashing straight into a small fountain as water poured over him.
As Nishi slowly approached, Keiji went to speak as he held his hand up, before he could, a punch to his cheek sent him sliding across the ground as he did a cartwheel into a rock wall, smashing against it as dirt tumbled over him.
"Only the strong reserve the right to talk during combat, weaklings must give 100% of their essence to win, wasting time speaking merely dulls your edge," Nishi guided as he held his hands out to his sides, his red heat pouring from them.
Keiji's eyes widened as he exhaled the tension in his body, springing from the wall with his battered arms and quickly bruising cheek, his eyes narrowing in frustration at Nishi.
Diving straight forward, Keiji kicked up a rock at Nishi, who easily swatted it away, catching Keiji's leg as he punched square into his chest, Keiji blocking it with his already battered arm as he shouted in pain.
"Much better, get more desperate, fight for what you want, fight for control, fight to fight!" Nishi shouted as he bolted forward, grabbing Keiji by the collar of his shirt and spinning rapidly, sending him arcing through the air into an open field.
Nishi put a hand over his brow as he looked to where he threw Keiji, "Mhm, not bad if I say so myself," he said smiling.
Glancing around, Nishi saw a few eyes on him from nearby windows, which quickly receded upon his gaze, earning a scoff from Nishi, "Amateurs..."
Keiji slowly dug himself out of the small crater he was in, coughing profusely as he was covered in dirt and injuries, he glanced up, seeing Nishi strutting towards him with his hands in his pockets.
"This is insane... the gap between us is terrifying," Keiji thought aloud, his fist balling up in the dirt, "Why did I hit him... Why..."