Hello, Striker56 here. Chapter 28 is finally here. This makes me think chapters will be a bit longer from now. Well, stay tuned for the next one, because it will feature the first match of the second round.

Don't forget to leave your review.

Breakfast time was ending soon and the cafeterias were almost empty. After visiting the med bay, Kenta took the medicine that was given to him and decided to go to the cafeteria before he missed the first meal of the day.

Filling a tray with the food and drink he thought was the most filling, he sat at a table near one of the walls. He will look for Taaru later. Kenta was just about to start eating when someone stood in front of the table he was at.

"Excuse me, do you mind if i sit here?" Kenta looked up and noticed it was Asuka. Feeling slightly better thanks to possibly having someone to talk, Kenta gave her a weak smile and motioned for her to sit.

After a short silence, Asuka decided to start a conversation "Drank too much?" Kenta looked up and replied with a bit of tiredness "Yeah, why are you having your breakfast so late?"

"Had a bit of trouble sleeping, i am pretty nervous for the next round" She answered with a thoughtful look. Kenta nodded, agreeing with her, none knew what will happen next, every fighter was different and victory could be in the grasp of even the one that was thought to be the weakest.

After hearing some footsteps approaching their table, they turned their heads toward the sound and found Kenji(?) and Alia, both with trays full of food. The two sat at the table and greeted them. Confused, Kenta asked them both "Why you guys are having breakfast so late?" Kenji(?) looked a bit ashamed and, while rubbing the back of his neck, he answered first "Well, i forgot to set my alarm"

The trio chuckled a bit and Alia was next "I just didn't feel like eating until now. Don't bother explaining yourselves, we overheard your little chat" Asuka raised an eyebrow and with a small grin said pointing toward Kenji(?) "So, it wasn't because you were waiting for him?" Alia blushed and looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment, but failing.

After eating for a bit and feeling with better mood, Kenta finally decided to ask the trio "How did you meet your, well... 'partners'?" Asuka smiled and was the first to answer "Well, Kenji saved my life once. You see, we promised that we would start to develop a new game, but until recently we had no idea of what to do. People started to spread rumors about a 'Super videogame' that we were making since we had been silent for a bit. TeraQ Games had a bad relationship with us, i think they disliked us because they were a big company and weren't as successful as us, who started as a small indie developer team. They hired some assassins and sent them after me, but Kenji killed them in an instant. After that i knew he was my ticket to have a chance at winning the tournament and save the company, although after seeing him i had the ideas i needed to start developing a new product, so at least for me it's technically a win-win situation"

Kenta thought on how similar his first meeting with Taaru was to Asuka and Kenji(?)'s story, minus the killing and assassins. Alia remarked with excitement "Damn, that's amazing! I actually didn't meet my employers, it's more like they 'raised' me" they gave her confused looks and she sighed before explaining "My parents were selected for some sort of genetic enhancement research program by the Yauger University. Don't ask me when or how the modifications started, because my parents and the research team refused to tell me, they always say 'it's very complicated'. But it can be said that i had my DNA edited even before my brain started to develop. The program's goal was to find out what genes would be the ones to edit, remove or add in order to raise someone with peak human capacity or higher. The first stage was identifying what genes were the ones that needed to experience a change, in theory. The second was, you guessed it, my mods and raising"

Kenji(?) looked excited, Kenta was shocked, but Asuka had a look of pity. Noticing this, Alia frowned and said "It's not like they kept me isolated or something, i went to study like any normal person, though i had to skip some grades. Aside from the periodical tests, physical and mental excersices, i had a very normal life. After some time i found some decent masters of both chinese and japanese martial arts. The guys from the program told me about the tournament and how they said it was the best place to test my capacity. So basically i came here for the lulz"

Asuka felt embarrassed for her assumptions. Feeling even more confused, Kenji(?) asked "But i thought Yauger was doing a research on a cure for HIV. Wait, where are your parents?" Alia reclined in her chair and answered nervously "Well, it's technically true. Immunity to most, if not all diseases is one of the goals, but is mostly a cover up since it is supposed to be some super-secret stuff. And my parents think i am in some Karate tournament, they are too busy to be here."

A new doubt assaulted Asuka's mind "But if it's top secret information, why are you telling us?" Alia sighed and answered with clear annoyance "Duh, cause i trust you", then she gave them a toothy grin and said jokingly "And aside from Ken, i can kill ya in just a snap" Kenta and Asuka paled and started to sweat, so Alia tried poorly to assure them she was joking.

After giving up, she tried to lift the mood by asking Kenji(?) "Hey Ken, what about your reason for being here?" The young man put his hands behind his head and replied "Well, i heard about the tournament, so i asked my parents for a flight. I was wandering around, looking for an employer and... well, you know the rest." After this, everyone had the same question "But where are your parents then? You said they were on their way here" Alia asked.

Kenji(?) looked up from his plate "Yes, but i haven't seen-" the young man was interrupted by a pair of arms surrounding him by behind and the voice of a woman saying "Surprise!"

All the people at the table turned to look at the source of the sound. It was a tall woman, even taller than Alia, she had a dark skin tone, red irises, long black hair and a muscular physique much like Alia. Next to her was what could only be described as Kenji(?)'s clone. The individual's only differences were that he was some inches taller, had a less muscular physique and looked more mature.

Kenji(?) sat up and went to hug both of them. The man asked him with a smile "How you doin' little champ?" They separated and the young man replied "Great. Wait, i thought you were busy" the older man replied with a toothy smile "Well, it just happened that i could finish it on time and asked for a free week."

The woman turned to look at a confused Asuka and said while extending her hand "You must be Asuka, the employer, right? I am María. It's nice to meet you" Asuka was left agape for a moment. Taking the woman's hand and shaking it she replied "Y-yes, it's also nice to meet you" The man did the same as he said "Oscar, it's a pleasure" After the handshake he turned to Kenta and Alia and said "It is nice to meet you all."

Kenta and Alia, taken aback, were only able to mimic the gesture and say their names. After that, the woman and the man told Kenji(?) that they will be waiting for him at the hotel's entrance and left the cafeteria.

Dumbfounded, Alia gave Kenji(?) an incredulous smile and said "T-there is no way they are your parents. They HAVE to be your siblings or something." Kenji(?) shrugged and replied with a neutral expression before sitting "Well, they are my parents." Asuka, still processing the event, remarked "B-but they look too young to be your parents" Kenji(?) chuckled and said "You can blame genetics."

After an uncomfortable silence, Asuka decided to point out something "Wait, Kenta. You still haven't told us how you met Taaru."

The aforementioned widened his eyes in realization "Oh, that's right. Well, it was like how you met Kenji. But i wanted to have my own company to stop being the shadow of my father and siblings, so i went out looking for my own fighter. I found Taaru in an alley with three other people, he was looking for someone and they attacked him. Taaru easily defeated them and after a bit i convinced him of making a deal: he stays in my house and i look for whoever he is looking for. That person happened to be Shibo and i knew he would be in the tournament as a fact. So i made another deal with Taaru: He becomes my affiliated fighter to enter the tournament and thanks to that, he can kill Shibo"

This answered many questions, but now a new one appeared. Curious, Kenji(?) asked Kenta "But why does he wants to kill Shibo?" Kenta gulped and said nervously "Well, the thing is-" but he was interrupted by another voice "Revenge."

All the people at the table turned to look at the newcomer. It was none other than Taaru, having a serious look on his face and a tray with some steak. He approached the table and said "He killed my father." They stayed quiet for some time. Taaru was about to leave when Alia said "I think i talk for everyone here when i say 'we are sorry for your loss'. But was he the only family you had?"

Taaru stared at her for some time before taking a seat at the table and starting to talk "I was an orphan, i don't have any memory of who my parents were or anything related to them. I used to live in The Inside since i can remember." Alia was confused and asked raising an eyebrow "The Inside?"

Kenta turned to her to answer her question "I have heard of it. It is a massive territory of Japan. Law enforcement has no sway there, thus it is full of drugs, violence, prostitution and many other crimes. There is only a principle there: kill or be killed. Basically a lawless hellhole where people have to fight to survive on a daily basis"

"And you are damn right." remarked Taaru before resuming his story "One day i met Kuma. He was a wandering martial artist. He told me he could take care of me if i became his disciple. The training was pretty hard, but it was totally worth it. Kuma was the nicest person i met and he never failed to impress me..." Taaru had a small smile while he remembered all those good times, but suddenly, his smile vanished and turned into a scowl "Until that day. Kuma told me trouble was following him and that we needed to go far away, not only from the Inside, but as far away we could from Japan. He never told me what kind of trouble was, but after being some time in Alaska i found out. Shibo came one day and fought Kuma. You can guess what happened."

It was a sad story and none said anything for some time. Then, Asuka tried to lighten the mood by persuading Taaru to talk about the nicest times he had. He strongly refused at first and was about to leave, but he stayed and started talking. After that, all of them started to talk about the same topic, exchanging some of their stories, some embarrasing, some sadder and some happier. They finished their meal, Taaru and Kenta left to prepare for tomorrow, Kenji(?) went to meet with his parents after he convinced Asuka to go with him and Alia tagged along. It seems telling Taaru and Kenta about the danger to their lives would have to be done later.

It was nigh bed time and Gou was in his room with Kia and Denji. The older man sighed and exclaimed "I really should just talk to Kenta." Denji approached his father and said with worry "Father i don't think that would be a good idea. Do you remember how he reacted the day he told us he would become a member of the Kengan Association? And he already made it clear that he will go against us no matter what."

Gou stood in silence before turning toward Kia "Do you know where Seto is?" Kia sighed and answered annoyed "No, but he said he had to take care of 'some things'. Hmph, whatever that means by this point." Gou couldn't believe this and exclaimed with disbelief "But all of us are in this island and we arranged everything to focus on the tournament!" Denji sighed and told his father with pity "Father, he ALWAYS has to take care of 'some things'. It has been like this for a long time. He barely has time for us, even when something like the Annihilation Tournament is happening. Let's just get ready for tomorrow. Kia's fighter will go against Kenta's." Kia then added with a bit of anger "Seto can catch up later. He ALWAYS does."

They wished their father a good night and left him in the room. Gou reclined in his chair and gazed at the ceiling while muttering "Should we really take away Kenta's company if he loses? He must have worked so hard for it." With bitterness, he got ready to sleep. His sons were right, tomorrow is an important day and he needed to be ready for it.

TBC