"WHERE IS HE?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"DON'T PLAY DUMB! I KNOW HE GOES TO THIS SCHOOL I SAW THE UNIFORM! WHERE IS HE!? SO HELP ME GOD IF YOU DON'T ANSWER I AM GOING TO BEAT YOU INTO THE LOCKER!"

"You're insane!"

"There he is! Grab him!"

"LET GO OF ME!"
"Don't let him go! He's already put half the student body in the hospital as it is! We let him go and he could end up hospitalizing the whole school!"
"LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

His eyes snapped open when the van hit the bump, and he blinked as he yawned. A dream? Of course it had to be 'that'. Maybe because of how recent it happened. He looked out the window watching unfamiliar scenery go by. They had moved, from their small apartment in Kentel city to the sprawling county of Rhydin, specifically to Riverson City, one of eight districts that made up Rhydin as a whole, and they were driving down a street in Riverson's suburban area where many of its residents lived.

"You awake Sdaz?" the voice of the driver asked. Sdaz's father was behind the wheel, a man in his late 40's with reddish brown colored hair with a grey streak down the side and brilliant green eyes. He was well built for his age and was wearing a rolled up buttoned shirt and tan colored slacks as he made a turn down another street. "We're almost there you two."

"That's nice." was Sdaz's reply. 14 years old , and after summer ends he'll be starting high school here in Riverson. Rhydin is a fairly large county with an average population of about 2 million people. The County is divided into 8 city districts; Riverson City, the Kurukai prefecture, known as Rhydin's China town. Hawthorne City, affectionately nicknamed the 'Theatre district', The Rohan district, the Yamato district, the Samson Slums, considered to be one of the worse places in Rhydin to live, the Serenaida prefecture, known by many as the "sports center.", and last but not least the Ganbare District, where the wealthy elite sit 'atop the world' and look down at the rest of Rhydin with arrogance born of pride and money. Of the 8 districts, Riverson stood out the least among them. Aside from a specialty shop that was frequented and well liked by the kids in the county, there was nothing really special at all about Riverson that helped it stand out from the others, and as such was considered plain and ordinary. The van pulled into the driveway of a two floor house with attached garage and a modest front yard with a single large maple tree on the edge of the lawn by the sidewalk that was taken good care of by the previous owners. Sdaz's father got out, along with a woman in the front passenger seat, she was also in her 40's maybe a little younger than Sdaz's father, she had reddish color hair and brown eyes and wore a simple blouse and skirt with stockings and sensible shoes. She was also about a month pregnant and was due sometime in late fall early winter according to the doctors. Sdaz looked out the front of the van at the house, before undoing his seatbelt and getting out. He had striking red hair and the same green eyes as his dad. His complexion was slightly tanned which made him stand out from the rest of his family, as his father, Benjamin, was slightly lighter than him, and his mother, Allison had a normal skin tone. Also getting out was a girl 4 years younger than Sdaz, his kid sister Meagan, with boyish short reddish brown hair and those same green eyes that seemed to be a trademark of his father's side of the family along with the red hair. While both his father and sister had the red hair, it didn't stand out as much nor was it as brilliant as his own, a trait he seem to share with the ancestor he was named after, who also apparently had similar blazing red hair that made him stand out.

A moving van was parked along the sidewalk, and the movers were already working on bringing furniture in.

"I better head on in, and make sure everything is going in the right place." Allison said with a smile as she made her way up the drive to the walkway and the front door.

"Well kids what do you think?" Ben asked looking over at Sdaz and Meagan.

"I guess it's okay." said Meagan as she looked around.

"Looks boring if you ask me-OWW!" Sdaz winced and rubbed the back of his head, his father giving him a nice solid crack upside it. "What was that for?"
"For one thing there is nothing boring about this place." said Benjamin. "like it or not you two this is our home now. My job aside the doctors said the fresh air out here compared to the city would help your mother with her pregnancy, or have you forgotten the two of you are going to have a new sibling this winter?"

The two of them said nothing, and Benjamin sighed. "I get it your both upset, we moved from Kentel out to here and you had to say goodbye to all your old friends. But you'll make new ones you'll see."

"It's not about that." said Sdaz. "And you know it." he turned and walked toward the sidewalk.

"Sdaz where are you going?" Ben asked.

"Just for a walk around the block." said Sdaz. "Don't worry I won't try to run away, that's Meagan's job after all."
"HEY!" Meagan scream, twitching. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

Sdaz just waved his sister off and continued on down the sidewalk. Meagan's eye twitch and she started to go after Sdaz, but Ben put a hand on her shoulder. "I know a better way to get back at him."

"How?" Meagan asked.

Ben grinned. "Well one advantage of moving to a bigger house is that you two will have your own rooms now, and he's not here."
Meagan blinked, then her eyes lit up. "I GOT DIBS ON THE BIG ONE!"

Sdaz rubbed the back of his head as he turned the corner looking around, it was vastly different from Kentel that's for sure, this wide open suburban area with its many different and varied houses, compared to Kentel with packed together apartments and brick houses that nearly touched the sky. Sdaz looked up at that sky, clear blue as far as the eye can see, unlike in the city where you were lucky to see it among the vast skyline of the city itself unless you were on the roof. Sdaz smiled as he looked back down. 'maybe this place ain't so bad after all.' he thought. 'but so far it's still boring as hell. There doesn't seem to be anything fun to do.' He rounded the next corner, letting out a yawn as he walked. 'and once summer is over, school will begin. What a way to begin high school, as the new kind not knowing anybody. Well I have the whole summer, I might run into a couple of local kids.' he hopped once or twice on his feet as he walked down the road, moving about to limber up after being in the van for 2 hours. He started to shake out his hands, and would snap his fist out once or twice in a punching motion. A jab here, a short hook there as he slipped into a shadow box as he walked. 'one things for damn sure, my skills will probably start going to waste, I don't I'd find anyone whose into fighting. Maybe I could join a local martial arts school...' he stopped when he thought this, his right arm trembling suddenly. He held it with his left, shutting his eyes. 'what does that say of sensei's teachings if I join another school?' Sdaz gritted his teeth, shook his head. 'no, don't dwell on the past. Sensei would want me to move on. I've already mastered most of the techniques, and there's always room for improvement, a new discipline could help me refine what I know.' He let his arm when it stopped trembling, and he smacked his face once or twice with his hands. 'This is a chance to start fresh after all. I could even just self train to keep myself in shape, house that big the backyard ought to be pretty spacious.' He smiled as he rounded the last corner and made the approach to his house, feeling calm now as he bobbed and weave down the road, stopping in front of his house he quickly went into a practice drill, throwing punch after punch and kick after kick, turning, ducking and making parrying motions. He was pretty flexible, so he can get his legs up high for good solid kicks. For the first time since the incident, Sdaz was starting to feel good as he stood there on the sidewalk performing these drills which his sensei taught him, and in a flourish, he spun around to deliver one last punch, and was surprised when it got caught.

"Eh?"

"Nice technique, never seen a form like that before." the voice, and the hand that caught Sdaz's fist belonged to an attractive girl same age as him, though it was hard to tell that from looking at her, standing 6 feet, 4 inches tall with short strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes, with a cute, round face and soft pink lips. She was currently wearing navy blue training shorts with a black stripe down each side of her hips and a navy blue tank top that showed off a slim but muscular body that had been carefully, and lovingly trained to peak physical condition, from her biceps down to her visible abs, and further down into her long powerful legs that could probably do some damage if she hit you with a kick. The muscles however did not take away from the girl's beauty however, from that cute face down to large breasts that pressed tightly against the tank top. Her waist line curved in gently, and her hips were wide enough that she had a decent swing in her step when she walked, her body glistened in the light, covered in sweat which she was wiping with a hand towel, was she working out or something?. Her strength was evident in her grip, standing there almost casually holding Sdaz's fist, and Sdaz found himself unable to budge or move.

"Damn, your strong." Sdaz said, having to tilt his head back to meet her eyes. Her eyes damn it! Her eyes!

"Thanks." she said, releasing her grip, Sdaz took his hand back, and shook it once or twice. Was it just him, or did it feel like he hit a steel wall when she caught his fist?

"My name is Elaine, Elaine Joyce." she said with a smile. "I'm your next door neighbor. I saw you strutting down the street shadow boxing, and thought I'd say hi."

"Sdaz Varence." he said.

"Nice to meet you Sdaz." Elaine said. "So do you always shadow box down the street rather than walk normally?"

"Only when I'm bored." Sdaz said with a grin.

"Oh that's too bad." said Elaine with a grin of her own. "There is so much to do in Rhydin you won't ever be bored, especially with a lot of the fighting that tends to happen."

That made Sdaz perk up. "Fighting?"

"Your definitely new here." said Elaine. She turned toward her house, motioning him to follow. "Come with me."

"Huh? Where?" Sdaz asked.

"My backyard, I need a new sparring partner, Ken is about to pass out.."

That made Sdaz interested as he picked up the pace to catch up to her. "Sparring?"
"Yup." said Elaine. "In Rhydin, Fighting is everything, martial arts are prevalent throughout the county, and just about every student in the 8 city districts can fight in some form. Everyone is freakishly strong in some form or another, as because of that the schools tend to settle disputes among themselves, not getting anyone else involved unless necessary. It's at a point where the Police don't even bother to intervene unless things get out of control and goes beyond a 'school matter'."

"Really?" said Sdaz. "I did a lot of fighting back home in Kentel, I had to protect my friends from bullies as well as from kids from the Neriubi College who liked to harass us."

Elaine blinked. "Neriubi? Did you say Neriubi?"
Sdaz looked up. "Huh? Yeah, why?"
"Er, nothing." Elaine said, waving it off. "Don't worry about it." quickly changing subject Elaine opened the fence door as they went down the side of her house. "So you protected your friends huh? Sounds like you'd make a great school guardian."

"School Guardian?" Sdaz raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like something out of a manga."

"No I'm serious." said Elaine. "They're a staple in Rhydin. Every school has one and are responsible for protecting their district, settling disputes within their districts, and well as being a representative of their school."

"That actually sounds pretty nice." said Sdaz. "sounds like quite the responsibility though."

"It is." said Elaine. "but it's also a great honor as well, it shows that everyone has their utmost faith in you."

"So, who is Riverson's guardian?" Sdaz asked.

Elaine stopped at the back yard gate, looking down at the floor. "We...don't have one. Not anymore. Our last guardian was Takeshi Momori, but he graduated 2 years ago."

"Didn't he name a successor? Or wasn't there an election or something?" Sdaz asked.

"He did." said Elaine. "But at the time, she was too young and foolish to know better."

Sdaz stared, a little shocked by that comment. Was she talking about herself?

She looked up and smiled. "Anyways, enough about that. You're here to spar with me after all."

"Ah, right." Sdaz said with a grin, hoping to try and cheer her up, she seemed really sad for some reason, but he wasn't going to press it.

Elaine's backyard was pretty spacious, spacious enough that she had out training mats on the grass, the small patio was home to a small weight rack, and there was a deck that connected to the kitchen and dining room. All in all Elaine's property was slightly larger than Sdaz's.

"Wow." said Sdaz. "You even put out your own training mats?"

"Only during the Spring and summer when it's warm." said Elaine. "and even then we only keep them out for the duration of the training session as not to harm the grass. In Fall and Winter when it gets cold, we use the basement which is also a small gym."
"That's smart." said Sdaz. He looked over to see another kid his age slumped in a chair. Unlike Elaine, it was easily for Sdaz to tell they were the same age. He had messy, sandy blonde hair and was half a head shorter than Sdaz. Sdaz could only imagine how he felt next to Elaine. He was dripping with sweat, panting and guzzling water from a water bottle. He wore similar track shorts to Elaine, and a Men's tank top which showed off his skinny though lean body. The kid was deceptively weak, but the fact of the matter that he was training with Elaine, who was practically an amazon, is a testament to how strong he actually is.

"Thats my boyfriend, Ken Watanabe." said Elaine as they walked over. "He may look scrawny, but he can take a beating." She'd pat him on the shoulder. "Hey Ken, you okay?"

Ken looked up, and smiled. "I'm fine." he looked at Sdaz. "You have my condolences strangers, for getting dragged into one of Elaine's sparring sessions."

"HEY!" Elaine twitched, putting Ken in a headlock. "What is THAT suppose to mean huh?"

Sdaz couldn't help but laugh. "It's okay Ken, I don't mind. My name is Sdaz by the way, I'm Elaine's new neighbor."

"New neighbor?" Ken blinked looking at Sdaz through the headlock. "Why would anyone want to move to Rhydin?"

"Well, long story short, my dad got a promotion, he's CEO for Jaiga Corporation's branch offices here in Rhydin."

"Whoa really?" Elaine looked surprised. "That is one hell of a promotion."

"On top of that, my parents had wanted to move for a while." said Sdaz. "two kids with a third on the way means not a whole lot of room in a small apartment like the one we lived in back in Kentel. Plus out here in countryside, it's a lot better for mom."

The two nodded. "So when is the baby due?"

"Doctor's predict either December or January, February at the latest." said Sdaz.

"Good to hear." said Elaine, letting Ken go. "So, about that spar?"
"After you." said Sdaz.

"Elaine go easy on him." said Ken. "You scared enough boys as it is before we hooked up, and after."

"I did not!" said Elaine. "It's not my fault they can't handle a girl like me." she smiled, playfully flexing her arm as she stepped onto the mat, Sdaz just chuckled as he got on the mat, taking off his sneakers before crouching down and doing some stretching.

"Don't let her hit you!" said Ken. "She hits like a garbage truck."

"KEN!" Elaine said, going red. "That's not something you say about a girl!"

"It's true!" said Ken.

Sdaz laughed as he stood up, shaking his legs. "I think Ken is worried I'll get hurt. I don't blame him. I'm new around here and I don't exactly know what you're capable of."

"Well, if you want me to go easy." said Elaine.

"You kidding?" said Sdaz. "I'll be disappointed if I don't feel like I'm being hit by a garbage truck, make me think Ken is trying to hype you up or something."

"He's always hyping me up." Elaine said. She tensed up her body, and for a brief moment every muscle on her body became visible, pressing against her clothes before she relaxed, she smiled and slipped into a modified wrestling stance. "and that's what I love about him."

"Well, ladies first." Sdaz said.

"Aww, how sweet." Elaine said, before dashing in, catching Sdaz off guard with a tackle and grab, holding him in place as she began to deliver several knees into his gut.

Ken winced with each hit as he watched, calmly sipping water. "I warned him."

After finishing the knee strikes, Elaine adjusted her grip, and with little effort, lifted Sdaz up over her head.

"WHOA!" said Sdaz, flailing and trying to break free. "Just how strong are you?"

"Only the strongest woman in all of Riverson." Elaine said. "I can even give some of the girls over in the Serenaida Prefecture a run for their money!" She'd turn and slamed Sdaz to the mat, and he found himself actually bouncing back up into the air from the strength of the impact as Elaine through a kick into him that sent him flying THROUGH the wooden fence that divide his yard and Elaine's yard.

Ken just stared in disbelief, and Elaine blinked.

"Oh crap, mom is gonna kill me." Elaine said, running to the hole and peering in. "Sdaz you okay?" her answer came in the form of a fist through the hall, catching her in the gut as Sdaz dove through with a grin. Elaine reeled back from the hit as Sdaz quickly went on the offensive delivering his own hits to her, he had a few scrapes from going through the fence, but was otherwise okay.

"Wow, and I thought I was tough." said Ken watching.

Elaine tanked through Sdaz's blows before going for an uppercut, Sdaz leaned back, barely avoiding the uppercut before he came back up and delivered a head butt right into Elaine's forehead. The two staggered, holding their heads.

"Ow Ow!" Sdaz said rubbing his head.

"Ow that hurt!" said Elaine. "are you crazy?"

"Yeah, pretty much." said Sdaz, he took a step back before charging at Elaine.

"Not this time!" Elaine said, going for another gut punch to stop Sdaz, only for Sdaz to stop just short of the blow, throwing Elaine off. "Huh?"

Sdaz smiled, planting his foot down suddenly as Elaine found herself off balance as Sdaz through a quick punch into HER gut, and Elaine found herself gasping for air.

"What the hell?" Ken sat up in his chair surprised by that, it was a simple hit, so why was Elaine reeling?

Sdaz quickly stepped to the side, again planting his foot down as he spun into a kick, Elaine, quickly regaining herself, brought her arm up and caught the kick, being pushed back a few inches. Sdaz winced, for some reason just now it felt like he hit a steel beam as Elaine adjusted her grip and threw him over her shoulder by his leg onto the mat.

"Oof!" Sdaz let out a gasp of air as he hit the mat, before picking himself up, staggering a bit. He shook his leg, and smiled looking at Elaine.

"Had enough?" Elaine asked.

"Are you kidding?" Sdaz asked? "I'm still ready to go a few more rounds!"

"Glad to here it!" said Elaine. "I might actually be able to get serious for once!"
"Way to make me feel useless!" exclaimed Ken.

Sdaz and Elaine took a step toward each other, and we're about to throw another punch when suddenly...

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OUT HERE!" The loud booming voice made the two stop as Elaine turned, seeing a tall towering man, about the same height as Elaine, in his late 40's with dark blonde hair with signs of grey, brown eyes and a mustache standing behind Ken. Wearing Jeans and what looked like a Hawaiian shirt, the short sleeves showing off the rather impressive biceps, the guy was huge.

"Uh...Hi daddy." said Elaine.

Sdaz's jaw nearly dropped. "THAT'S your dad?"

The three of them were now sitting on a couch in Elaine's living room, Elaine looking rather sheepishly compared to how strong willed she seemed before. Sdaz took a quick look around, the place was modest, and the only thing that stood out was a trophy case containing awards and various trophy prizes, not Suprisingly, for body building, and apparently from the quick glance of the names, not all of them belonged to Elaine's father. Some of them belonged to the woman standing there with Elaine's father, and Sdaz's parents as well. It was clear this was Elaine's mother, if Elaine got her build and strength from her dad, her looks came from her mother, a very beautiful woman, maybe 1 or 2 inches taller than his own mother, her hair was black, long and straight, framing a stern face that seemed to remain youthful despite her age. She was only slightly bigger than her daughter, her muscles notable under the suit she wore, but she was still slim enough that you can barely noticed, and firm breasts that defied gravity, her arms folded across them. She came off as seemingly classy, sharp dressed, but not too much.

"Do you have any idea how much that fence cost?" Elaine's father, Jonathan Joyce, said. "and on top of that I get a phone call from our neighbors, saying they saw someone crash through the fence, and it turns out to be their son! Do you have any idea how much trouble we could have been in had you actually hurt him Elaine?"

"But daddy, he agreed to the sparing." said Elaine. "and he's really tough too."

"No buts!" said Jonathan.

"Sdaz really, getting into a fight on the day we move in?" Alison asked, standing there with Elaine's mother, Kimberly.

"She asked me if I wanted to spar with her." said Sdaz. "so I said yes, I mean there was nothing else to do around here."

Benjamin sighed, rubbing his head. "Mr. Joyce I apologize for what's happened. Considering it was my son that went through the fence, I'll be happy to pay for the repairs."

"No there is no need to apologize Mr. Varence." Jonathan said. "Elaine has a knack for drawing people into fighting with her."

"Is that so?" Benjamin said. "Well my son happens to have a knack for getting into fights regardless of the circumstances." The two men looked at each other, smiled and started to laugh.

"Oh boy." Alison said, shaking her head. "well, at least everyone seems to be getting along."

"Well that's Rhydin for you Alison." Kimberly said with a smile. "more often than not, people are bonding through brawling, especially the kids."

Alison sighed, giving Benjamin a look. "Didn't we move to Riverson to get AWAY from all the fighting Sdaz got into in middle school?"

"Ah don't worry about it." said Jonathan. "It's mostly friendly, spirited competition, like the sparing Elaine asked Sdaz here to take part of." He'd give Sdaz a pat on the back. "I'm impressed with ya kid, there isn't many who can go toe to toe with my girl and still be standing."

"Thank you sir." Sdaz said.

Jonathan smiled, looked to Benjamin and Alison. "Why don't you have dinner with us? You're probably still moving in and haven't even gone food shopping yet."

"Thank you." said Benjamin. "To be honest we were probably just gonna order take out for tonight and then go shopping in the morning."

"Nonsense.": said Jonathan. "Think of it as us welcoming you to Riverson."

"Indeed." said Kimberly. "It's always nice to have some fresh face around."

"Kimberly is a very good cook, and I'm sure she can whip up something nice and healthy for Alison."

Alison smiled, giving a polite bow. "Thank you Mr. Joyce."
"Please, call me Jonathan." he said smiling.

"Right of course." Alison said. "We'd love for you to have us over for dinner."

"Well, now that this has been settled." said Benjamin, his eyes focused on Sdaz. "Come on you, we still have boxes to unpack."

"Yes dad." Sdaz said, getting up. He'd bow to Jonathan. "Sorry again for the fence."

"Just be careful next time." said Jonathan.

"I will." said Sdaz as he headed for the front door.

"Sdaz!" Elaine got up, smiling. "Let's spar again soon okay?"
"Sure." Sdaz said smiling. "Just don't rely on me too much, Ken might get jealous."

"Who me?" Ken grinned. "Nah." he looked at his watch. "speaking of which, I need to get home." He got up, giving Elaine a kiss on the cheek and running out the door. Elaine blushed, surprised by the sudden kiss, especially since it happened in front of her parents, and Sdaz's parents.

Sdaz just grinned, and he and his parents went out the door.