Chapter 3

Two and a half hours have passed since the events back at the apartment. I don't think the authorities have been notified yet. Even if they did it wouldn't matter, cops have little to no work ethic. Over one hundred cars are stolen in this city each day and over one hundred innocent lives are cut short. Do the police do anything about it? Do they care? No.

I have traveled about fourteen blocks into the city's underbelly. The sun has risen just twenty minutes ago so there is little to no people on the street. I'm not counting the homeless sitting against the walls.

"Spare some change?" Each one asks periodically.

I don't reply to any of them. Don't go thinking I'm cruel and don't go thinking I'm smart either. Some of these people deserve money while others do not. There is no doubt some of these forgotten members of society are trying to regain their life and return as a model citizen of life but you also have the bums who scrounge with no self respect merely to buy a shot of vodka. Unfortunately no one can really tell which one is which, so it's best to avoid them all. Life's a horrid bitch.

I am now inside a tiny corner shop; the place has almost no customers and sells only second brand materials. I'm here to get my prescription for my medication, luckily I know the guy providing them very well.

"Antonio." I say as I approach him. "I'm out, I need more."

"Ah, if it isn't my favorite customer." The ass kisser praises with a cheerful exterior.

"Cut the brown nosing, I'm in a hurry." I speak sternly.

"Not in a cheery mood are we? Maybe I shouldn't give it to you." He speaks like he has power over me.

I grab him by his throat and squeeze ever so slightly; if I went with my full strength I'd snap his neck like a toothpick. He starts gagging violently, luckily there's no one else in the store.

"Okay, okay." He chokes out.

Releasing my grip I glare at him as he regains his breath. He knows better then to fuck with me, he's one of the few people who knows what I am capable of and is still alive.

"Sorry but I haven't gotten any new AB since your last visit. Looks like you gotta go to the source."

"Great." I say blankly. "As if I didn't do enough traveling already."

"Oh, but a trip to the south will do wonders for you… you look absolutely pale. You should catch some sun."

"Whatever."

Before I leave I must say one more thing, it's the same thing I say every time I see this bastard.

"You're not selling this to anyone else right?" I say in an ominous tone.

"Of course not, you are my only customer." Antonio replies fearfully.

"You're not lying to me are you Antonio?" I ask in a threatening manner.

"Nope."

"Cause you know what happens when you lie to me."

"How could I forget." He response as he raises his right hand to me.

Looking at his hand I give him a smile that says "Exactly". In case you're wondering he's missing his middle finger. Long story short; when we first met he lied to me setting me up for a hit, I gave him a warning, he flipped me off, I cut off his finger as a reminder.

"There's a good boy, you keep your nose clean." I pat his cheek and turn to leave.

I can guess what some of you are thinking. What's AB? What kind of medication can only be given to me? The rest already know. But I suspect you already know that AB isn't medication to begin with, I just call it that to make myself feel better about my flaw. I've been pulled into something I'm not proud of… I'd rather not say how.

AB is an illegal drug; it's called "Angel Blood". Ever heard of it? If you haven't be glad, if you have you know the trouble I'm in. If it's ever offered to you, I strongly advise you not to touch it, unless you want to end your life on multiple levels. Angel Blood gives you a high more powerful then any other drug available and that's why it sells so well, what they don't tell you is that a buyer can only get two maybe three hits max before they die. The human body cannot sustain the chemical imbalance once it comes in contact with the iron in the blood. After the third hit the body collapses in arrest and the heart stops beating. This is why I make sure no one else touches the stuff.

I'm the only acceptation. Because of my heightened immunity system I'm the only person on the planet who has lived past three douses. It's a curse of the greatest proportions because now I crave for it like no other.

I guess my plane leaves in three hours now. But what to do with the hours that remain? I guess I could…

Oh, I have a shadow… make that ten. I can see them at the corner of my eye. Some are following on the street, others on the roof tops. Its best I don't deal with them on the open street, what few civilians might get in the way or worse get the cops to get in my way.

I turn my walk to the alley passage, heading past the trash bins and graffiti marked walls. The shadows continue to follow as they move more openly; I think they know their presents has been felt.

Just by watching them I know they aren't the bottom of the barrel losers I fought just before. They're actually members of the Damnation; they can actually provide useful info that I need.

Now I'm standing in an open block hidden behind the buildings. The section connects alleys together, and provides landing grounds for the fire escapes on the apartments. I turn to face the group they have now come out of hiding; they are spread out in front of me.

"So my message has been received, I finally get a challenge." I say to them as I eye each one individually.

With my words said each pulls out a weapon.

"Well come on guys, let's look at this. There's ten of you against one of me, you all have weapons and I don't. You call this fair?" I say in an enlightening fashion.

The group of fighters exchange glances of confusion. I toss my cell phone at the nearest one who instinctively grabs it.

"I'll tell you what. I'll wait here while you call eight or nine of your friends to come here and then maybe it will be fair." I finished my tone entered a mocking fashion.

My cell phone got shattered as the man dropped it and stomped it with frustration.

"Are you sure?" I ask still sardonically.

The start to approach me, weapons held in combat position.

"Last chance, guys."

They are now charging at me, battle cries blaring.

"Your call."

With powers summoned I initiated my opener. You may remember me performing this move before, I first did it during my first visit to Yamanuchi, it was finisher I used on Fukushima. But of course then it was a weak little tap on the ground, now with full potential I can really make some noise.

My short hair starts to lightly float as the mystic monkey power starts to pulse through my veins. I bring my foot up then bring it down hard on the concrete pavement. The entire ground vibrates in a miniature earthquake strong enough to knock all the members off their feet, rattle the windows on the buildings and even bring a few loose bricks crashing down.

With them slightly scrambled this makes them attack individually or in pairs.

The first up is right at me with a morning star, deadly for the run of the mill person. Side stepping his first swing I spin trip him sending his legs up into the air as gravity begins to bring him down. Before he comes in contact with the ground I turn away from him grabbing his ankles, my arms arched behind my back, in an instant I use all my strength to swing him down onto the concrete floor. The man is either dead or in a coma, the upper half of his body is immersed deep in the body imprinted formation which has just been fashioned.

Standing up I look back at the remaining members, another is coming to make a futile attempt. This one has a katana, using it to as much potential as he can.

Sensing his actions ahead of time I raise my arms up in sequence to meet his swings before they come down. The wounds on my limbs form quickly as my blood scatters across the air. As I move back I notice the fire escape is right above me. My plan soon formulated I shove the katana wielder back. Following my prediction he stumbles back then he grabs the handle with both hands preparing to thrust forward. One step ahead of him I side-punch the building wall making the escape drop. With perfect timing it falls, the attacker's arms going through one of the holes. Before he can react I back flip kick the bottom of the ladder with such power it launches up bringing him with it, now he's dangling helplessly by his arms. Catching the blade as it falls, holding it handle down, so the steel angles with my arm I jump up spinning, slicing through his midsection like tissue. Landing in a kneeling position another set of legs lands with me, as well as a pound or so of internal organs, unfortunately the upper half doesn't follow as the man gurgles in shock before going limp.

Finally realizing a one man attempt will not work on me two of the members are on the offense, one with sai and the other with a bow staff. The one with the bow staff behind me flips behind me while the other makes for harsh attack. Making quick movements back and forth between them maintaining defense I feel a few painful blows from the bow staff. Open palm thrusting the sai character back I turn to the one with the bow staff and axe kick downward onto his stick, breaking it in half. With his chest unprotected I give a punch that sends him flying about twenty feet, smacking against the alley wall. Hunching over while clenching his chest I full body kick the concrete garbage bin sending it rolling at a high velocity. His scream is silenced instantly as it crushes his body like an insect.

Returning to the warrior with the sai I avoid his attempted stabs. To my left another fighter is charging at me with hook swords. With above human reaction I grasp the base of the sai and snap the points off, instantly hurling the broken tips towards his face. The points plunge deep into his eyes. Squeals of pain echo in the alley before death captures him.

With sai handles thrown down we start going hand to hand. I force him back further and further past a sewer lid. The muse speaks again. Forcing him into a pinch he goes for full strength punch. Stomping the ground with extreme pressure the lid spins up obscuring his fist's path. His hand slams painfully into the lid's surface breaking his knuckles instantly. The man crouches doubling over in agony. With the lid now spinning downward I grab it on the rim giving it extra force as it lands on the back of his neck snapping it off his shoulders.

Still holding the lid I see the next contestant coming at me with wire blades. Spinning around I toss the lid like a frisbee, it smashes into his throat snapping his head back.

With four left I slide over to the just fallen man, grabbing his wire blades I hook the edges onto each side of my pants and clench the ends extending the thin wires. Two of the remaining members are charging about a foot apart from each other. Jumping spinning at them with arms held out they have run right into the wire decapitated instantly.

Still moving I put a full punch to one of the two remaining guy's upper body. He collapses to the ground as he quickly suffers from internal bleeding.

Cracking my neck I look over to the only other person still alive in this alleyway. He is pretty much given up any hope in fighting me as he drops his weapon and falls to his knees. I walk over to him and grab him by his collar hoisting him up to eye level.

"Now that it's just the two of us, what say you and I have a little talk about the whereabouts of your boss?" I say coldly.

Unexpectedly I feel a powerful kick to my side that makes me drop the captive man and sends me to the ground. Turning to see what was responsible my eyes lock on to a new problem, something totally unexpected.