"Hah... Hah... Hah..."
"Who said you could stop?! Keep! Going!"
Yamatachi barks at Ryuji from across a luxurious room in a large penthouse. He watches his newfound protégé pound away at a punching bag from a homely office area. Balancing off the hind legs of his chair at a cluttered desk with a scowl.
"Is that the form you use in a fight? Quit swinging your arms like that too! What're you doing with your feet? They're too wide, you're asking for your balls to be busted, fucking nimrod!"
Ryuji snarls as he hits the bag hard as he can trying to remember his last two encounters. That untapped power he knows that's in him. Having watched the video of him doing the impossible, in his own eyes he had blacked out, he just needs to know how to use that strength on command.
"What the hell are those, love taps? You trying to massage my bag? Wanna kiss and fuck later too, I bet! Stupid faggot."
Yamatachi's cruel and vulgar tongue lashing didn't help in the slightest. He has had enough and turns to him.
"Hey, asshole! I'm working hard as I can just as you told me! All you're doing over there is stupid paperwork! What do you work for a bank or something?!"
"My job ain't your focus. Your thoughts aren't on the fight. Here. I'll show you..."
The adult walks from his chair to the bag rolling his head and shoulders with some pops of his knuckles flexing. The younger man rolls his eyes ready to make a snide comment until his elder strikes the punching bag with two punches. He assumes they were punches, however he never saw the blows come or go, just the bag swinging high in the air. Yamatachi leaps into the air shortly after it with a spin, sending a roundhouse kick to it with a loud impact, the punching bag tilts as it soars down into the stunned delinquent. A distracted stupor in awe of the display of strength and skill leads to him now on his back groaning from being struck by the punching bag. Yamatachi lands on his feet shaking his head as he struts to stand over Ryuji.
"Three hit combo. What I just did is fighting. You were flailing around like a retard."
"How-How did you...?"
"If you can get your ass knocked down by the bag then maybe you're not worth the time."
"H-Hey!"
Both look up to an alarm going off on the desk far away. Yamatachi sighs as he walks over Ryuji's body.
"Okay we'll take a small break. C'mon over to the kitchen table. We gotta talk."
"I'll effing say."
They meet with a surprise filled dinner plate before them both, cooked by Yamatachi himself, they sit across from each other in short silence.
"Hey, kid. You never trained for a fight before, huh?"
"I've gotten in fights before but nothing professional."
"... I'm sorry about earlier. My eyes on the street, the homeless guy named Toru, he made it sound like you knew how to fight already. Maybe what you did was all instinct. You got a gift you just haven't opened yet and I was too hasty."
"You're apologizing that quickly?"
Ryuji smirks until a pair chopsticks bounce off his face, right between his eyes, they're caught by Yamatachi who had thrown them.
"I made a mistake earlier and I'm owning up to it. Ain't that what a man should do?"
Ryuji nods rubbing the bridge of his nose. That's exactly what he thinks. He partakes in the fighter's cooking before pleasantly inhaling the entire meal. Yamatachi watches with his brow raised.
"That good?"
"Y-Yeah...! I haven't tasted anything like that in awhile! Where'd you learn to cook like that?!"
"You ever hear how the way to man's heart is through his stomach? Well, girl's are humans too, so if you cook good for them they'll want to stay with you a little longer."
"For Real?!"
"Yeah. You do good enough in your training and I'll teach all I know about ladies too."
"I don't see a wife or girlfriend around..."
"Lesson one about being a stud. You never take a babe to your place. That's asking for trouble."
"No way! Really? How come?"
"Ah, ah! Wash the dishes and get back to the sand bag. That one was for free."
"I gotta wash the dishes?! Are you kidding me!?"
"Whoever cooks doesn't have to clean. Rules of the house. If you ever cook or order us food, I'll clean, and vice versa. Now get to it. We've got a lot of work to do."
"Ugh..."
Ryuji painstakingly did his chore after his teacher patiently eats his meal. He returns to Yamatachi who stands next to the punching bag and enters a fighting stance as Ryuji draws near.
"Follow my movements. No need to be a mirror but don't fuck it up either."
"Pfft. Whatever. Like this?"
He lifts his hands up and lowers his shoulders. Yamatachi glances at Ryuji's form and nudges his leg with a harmless kick.
"I told you before that your feet are too wide apart. You'll tripped or worse with your feet like that."
"O-Oh. This?"
"There you go. Now, repeat after me. This is a real punch. It involves the whole body to create a full impact. From your footwork to your waist all the way up the shoulders before exploding at the fist. The kinetic energy is like... Electricity! The better your body the better your flow. The more flow you have the more power you can use to beat down any dickhead in your way."
Yamatachi demonstrates as he speaks, his rear leg acts as the anchor for the body, a twist of his hips synchronizes with his chest as his shoulder jettisoned his fist into the air. An audible whip from the motion. Ryuji studies this as Yamatachi repeats his basic form a few times.
"... So... Like this."
Ryuji adopts the stance and slowly follows through. Yamatachi nods in silence awaiting for the real thing.
"Breathing is important. Take a breath in before you strike, and as you extend your arm, let it out in a quick puff. Like a quick whistle."
"Right. Hah..."
The student takes a few practice punches before he decides to try it for real. His eyes shift to a familiar gaze Yamatachi has seen in few men. A wild glare with a calm stoic face until he hits the bag with all his might. The impact wasn't all that loud and punching bag didn't bend. Ryuji strikes with thunderous force that crumples the surface of the object as it swings so far up it nearly touches the ceiling. Both men stare in awe at the results with Ryuji turning to Yamatachi full of excitement.
"D-Did you...! Did you see that?! Holy shit! That was awesom-!"
Ryuji falls to the ground tumbling as the bag has swung back and struck him with similar force. The elder shakes his head running a hand through his hair.
"Don't take your eyes off the opponent, dumbass... Still, that kind of raw power behind a punch, I guess Toru was right after all."
"Ow ow ow...! I-I never had this strength before though!"
"Yeah you have. You just never had the time to use it until recently... You've done track all your life so the power used to be in your lungs and legs. With my training regimen you'll be working on a balance on building muscle but keeping lean."
"You... You really thought this whole thing through, huh? We're you planning something like this?"
"Nope. This ain't any different to me than having a partner. You just have to play catch up to get to my level. Hm?"
Yamatachi helps Ryuji up as he takes his phone out. Silently texting away. Ryuji would notice that as hours passed. Every now and again during their training, at the end of about most exercises he was familiar with, Yamatachi would start to text away looking rather focused.
"You texting some honey or a business partner?"
"Why not both?"
"F-For real...?"
"No, you idiot. Just a friend. I'll introduce them to you actually if you still got a computer at home."
"... I got my phone!"
"That works. Here, give me your information. After that go home. They'll make sure you'll stay out of trouble."
"Yeah, yeah... I bet it's someone like Toru?"
"You'll see."
They trade numbers and Ryuji leaves the building feeling sore but fulfilled. As soon as he steps onto the train for the way home he takes his phone out with confusion. A message from an unknown number. Not Yamatachi.
"Hello."
He didn't know what to respond with. The icon is some cartoonish looking mouse, or at least that's what it looks like to him, even with a fang filled mouth.
"Who is this?"
"I am Alibaba. I'll be your guide for tonight."
"Guide? What for?"
"You're still a walking dead man. Your identity is known. The men who want you gone won't be satisfied until you're at least in a coma if not outright deceased."
"You're the one Yamatachi talked about? Why the creepy text approach?"
"Scared? You should be. My abilities are more than they appear. Now put on that bandanna."
"They're already here?"
Ryuji mumbles a series of curses under his breath as he quickly dons his mask. He looks back to his phone irritated at the reply.
"Not yet. I do know that they're sending young thugs like yourself after you. Better to be in character for the battle experience."
"This isn't a game!"
"It's easier if you think about it that way. You barely survived the two mid-bosses. Shouldn't you grind away at the small fry to build yourself up? You can flee from battle too if you want."
"Wait? Wouldn't Kuma be a super boss? The guy's still alive after I blew his face open!"
"That's insane isn't it? Better put that into perspective. There are guys that eat Kuma up like fish eat worms. So don't get lazy and die now."
"This is insane..."
His message didn't send. His next few messages didn't send either. He tried to call the number but finds himself on a dead line. The number didn't exists anymore. Just what he needs. An anonymous faceless observer watching over him like an obsessive stalker. However, he began to notice strange looks from unruly teenagers and drop outs, no good street punks that followed him around. Then they began cutting him off. He would have to take a different route. Every couple of streets, a far away wall of delinquents would be hanging around casually watching him. In truth he would have been none the wiser if it weren't for his phone. He had receive constant texts from Alibaba. A list of messages.
"No not that way."
"Go left from here on or you'll be cornered."
"Stop. Go back a few steps. There's a clear alleyway. It's short so if you walk fast you'll exit before they can close you off."
"Don't take that taxi that rolled up to you. One of them is inside waiting. The driver thinks you're friends going to the same place."
"Go right and go into the convenient store. You'll lose the ones on your tail. They'll find you again soon so move quick."
"Don't go that way. There's an ambush."
Ryuji grows frustrated and begins texting back.
"How do you know all of this?"
Alibaba's replies were always the same.
"Stop talking back and get moving. Unless you want to fight. Don't forget you're wearing that bandanna because of social media to keep your face hidden."
He puts the phone away rolling his eyes. He's close enough to home. Just one more train ride. He had to get off the last one after seeing the same faces of his pursuers getting on after him. He runs through the Station Square of Shibuya trying to blend in with the crowd. He has failed though. Out of the corner of his eye he watches them follow him from afar, but something stops them, and allows him to slip away.
"Oi! Asshole! What the hell is your problem?! You got a death wish!?"
"H-Huh?"
Yuuki Mishima is just a lowly freshman student of Shujin Academy. He has a rather plain face, simple hair and an generic if not underwhelming build, even his clothes are so standard that he often goes invisible. Generic. His most defining trait is his new involvement into the volleyball club. It's where one would find renown in the school, especially with their gold medalist coach Suguru Kamoshida, but things haven't gone his way. Rarely do they ever. First off is the intense training in school being pushed to agonizing limits as he and his classmates would more or less destroy themselves by stretching too far or too poorly with no correction. Then there would be practice with volleyballs. Kamoshida himself would throw the balls at his students with full force. From Mishima's own experience it's no different from being punched by an adult.
Which is alot like now as he stumbles back from being struck by a boorish looking man scowling him.
"You trying to get killed getting in our way?! I was already in a bad mood but now... Bumping into me like I don't exist... You can get fucked, shithead! Waste this guy!"
Mishima grows fearful and scrambles to his feet just in time to run away. He doesn't know where to, and as he tries to take his phone out to call the police, he drops it in a panic. He can't shout due to his asphyxiation from his lungs stricken with terror. Even his young foolish mind has him running to an isolated park. One by one the thugs approach him as they warmed up for a brutal hazing.
"There you are you shitty rat! Gave us quite a run but you're finished now!"
"Hey! Look! He pissed himself! Even with pants that dark you can see it on his shoes!"
"Stupid cocksucker ended up in the perfect spot for us."
"We're not getting paid for this... But I hate kids like this one. I'll pound him for free."
"Boss Jin won't even care since he's got everyone else on the hunt right? It ain't so bad to unwind...!"
Mishima takes step after step back trying to find an escape route. If the men were distracted just long enough, he could bolt to the other end or even around them, but there's nothing allowing him that option. He could fight back... With a weapon. He just needs to look around for one! He trips stepping onto an unseen item. An idle steel pipe rolls from under his foot and at the feet of his assailant. The leader of the group picks it up with a sneer.
"Just perfect for bashing skulls and busting nuts with! Luck just ain't on your side, huh?"
The men begin to laugh as they revel in Mishima's utter despair filled whimpers and whines. He was just chased from the very street into this location. Everyone saw that. The police would be on their way any second now. He'd be saved any second now... This... Couldn't be his life right now! Right?! This is just a bad nightmare, right!? Curling up into a ball as he's ruthlessly kicked down whilst a weapon forces pained howls from him every strike. Is this the cruel reality of his existence? To be the very bottom of the bottom of society?
"STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!"
The grunts all look in the direction of the yelling expecting the cops or even a crowd of nosy adults. They start to laugh at two school girls who glare at the from afar. A blonde foreign looking girl with a black haired one. The blonde points a finger at them.
"Y-Yeah! You guys can't just do that! You really think the law is going to let you get away with this?!"
Her friend speaks firmly and in a strict tone unbefitting her rather gentle appearance.
"We already called the police! You better start running now unless you want to be in handcuffs!"
To their dismay the group begins to approach them now despite their words.
"Is that right, sweet sister? Then... We'll just have to leave them a mess to clean up to make their trip worth it!"
Mishima could have stopped them. Tackled one, called out by calling them an obscenity, honestly anything would have worked. These girls barely saved his life right now. The least he could do is repay that. However, this only registers in his brain after he has already run from the scene, his cowardice fully on display for his saviors as he vanishes into the distance.. The blonde takes a stand regardless. She only needs to hold out until the police arrives. This will prove difficult as she trips into a wall after being savagely backhanded.
"Ann!"
"S-Stay awat from Shiho, you bastards!"
Ann shakes her head with blurry vision from her head bouncing off the stone wall from the initial blow. Even so, she could make out the pipe wielding thug raising his weapon to assault her friend. Shiho raises her arms in defense and readies herself to brace for the pain. Her eyes shut tight unaware for a short while of a hand that catches the pipe.
"Hey dickhead. Picking on the weak is one thing. Hitting girls?"
Ryuji kicks the man's knee forcing him down. Before he can react, the masked blonde uses his own pipe against him, shoving the metal rod against the kneeling man's head. The vulgar man leans back releasing his grip on the pipe. Ryuji, now having stolen the weapon, swings at the head to finish the man off before approaching the others as he adjusts his bandanna.
"I can't stand by and watch that happen. You wanted me anyways right?"
"R-Rush him!"
The remaining men shout as they try to crowd around him. Ryuji isn't sure why but he feels it. That 'mode' he enters now in a fight. He's familiar with it now, when Kun Woo Li ambushed him or Kuma threw him into a store, even when training with Yamatachi. This fight 'mode' he enters makes the world seem so clear and slow. Is it adrenalin running through his body? He isn't scared like before. These thoughts and more...
Didn't matter to him or even enter his mind in the slightest.
They had nothing to do with right now. All that matters is himself and these men about to bludgeon him with their bare hands. With one mighty swing he gain some distance between him and them... As well as breaking one of their hands in the process.
"F-Fuck this I'm out!"
The wounded man runs off leaving Ryuji with two out and three still in the fight. The remainder watch him cautiously. Ryuji doesn't give them the courtesy of a break and advances with another swing. His target steps back with a lean evading it, but falls back as Ryuji follows his motion with an uppercut to the chin, a thrust with the pipe into his gut before swinging it back up to his chin again knock the ruffian out cold. That leaves only two left. His penultimate opponent makes a grab for him and seizes his weapon. The two struggle for it before Ryuji relents, giving into the pull so that he can send a flying knee into the waist of his foe, elbowing him in the neck as the man doubles over with a cough. Ryuji finishes him off with a stomp on his head as he falls to the ground. He glares at the last man standing.
"Y-You... Piece of shit...!"
He pulls out a pocket knife before turning to Shiho. A hostage. If he can take her for a hostage, even the police would have to listen to him, it was the only way to win! For that man, all went black after he grabs the girl's wrist, Ryuji sighs having thrown the pipe against his target's skull from behind.
"Could've just ran away. Ah-!"
The masked vigilante notices the bewildered girls staring at him. He looks between them before rubbing his neck.
"What're you two staring at? I'm not going to hurt you after all that."
Silence, interrupted soon by a distant voice closing in, the cowardly Mishima sounds off.
"Th-This way officer! It was this way! Hurry!"
Ann gasps before taking the pipe from the ground and shoves it into Ryuji's chest.
"I don't know who you are but you better get out of here! Now!"
"Y-Yeah! Don't get into situations like this again!"
He runs off into the other end of the narrow street. After discarding the pipe in a dumpster at an alley just some blocks away he receives another text.
"Aren't you the hero?"
He scoffs with a scowl under his mask.
"Don't tell me you're watching me through the street cameras..."
"Maybe I'm clairvoyant, or maybe I'm following you among the crowd, get moving. The sun is coming down and you let one get away. The mobs are only going to be gunning after you now."
"Can I seriously go home after all this? What's stopping them from going after my house. Or my mom!"
"Your mom will be fine. Anything happens to her and there will be an investigation. Even though you're making a lot of noise, no one knows who you are, and even they want to keep it that way. If you die then they can make up a story and keep things underwraps."
"For real? As long as she's safe then..."
"You're almost there. Just follow my directions. And keep up the good work. Finding a quiet place like that to pound on those level one goons was a good idea."
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever."
Just as Alibaba began typing his phone starts to ring. Hastily he answers it without thinking.
"Y-Yo? Who's this?"
("Already forgotten me, Sakamoto-kun?")
"Niijima...? Oh yeah. We did trade numbers. What's up?"
("I'm at the Police Station and apparently there's report of a masked vigilante assaulting men in streets with a pipe. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that... Would you?")
"You alone? Kinda stupid to be talking to me about this at the place filled with cops. What're you even doing there?"
("My sister... She's a prosecutor, remember? She works with the police quite well for quite a few cases.")
"Huh... Still. Why ask now?"
("I had just heard about it. You... You're not hurt are you?")
"No, not this time. Got away pretty clean actually."
("Good. I was doing some digging when no one was looking. Nothing on Kun Woo Li. It's possible he's going under a new identity legally speaking. The name we know him by is Korean after all.")
"What else you got?"
("Kuma Kobayakawa and Fujibayashi Takamata. Principal Kobayakawa gave us a rather small summary. The man you barely beat really is quite vicious. He's killed twenty eight people with his hands alone. As for the other name you mentioned. He's a former doctor who was convicted with several murders done in the guise of surgeries.")
"Hey... Reading up on stuff like that isn't good for you. You're doing a bit much for someone not too involved don't you think?"
("I just don't want to hear about your corpse being found in some ditch or the like and have that gnawing feeling I could've done something... But you're right. I'll try to keep you updated on anything so keep in touch.")
"Take care of yourself first, Niijima. Oh! Coulf you do me another solid?"
("It depends.")
"Check on Haru for me? This all started cause I tried to be her friend. If what we were told is true... She must be really lonely. I don't know about you but that feeling is shit."
There's a prolonged silence between the two. Ryuji glances at his screen to make sure Makoto hasn't hang up yet.
("O-Of course. When you explain like that it only makes sense. Stay safe.")
"I will. Thanks, you're pretty reliable."
He hangs up leaving Makoto to her thoughts. She didn't know how much she needed to hear that.
' Thanks, you're pretty reliable. '
She shakes her head scoffing to herself. Of course she was reliable. After all why else would her sister, a professional and perfectionist, ask for her help tonight?
"Oh, you got my lunch Makoto?"
She turns to her sister before holding out a hot box with a proud smile.
"Here you are, Sis! I got just what you wanted."
"Good. Go home now before you get in the way."
... Makoto sighs as Sae walks away without so much of another word with her lunch in hand. This is about as much as she would do for her. In order to get the information she gave Ryuji, she had arrived at the station early, and used her sister as an excuse to enter before sneaking around best she could. Thinking on it now still causes her heart to pound like thundering drums. She hadn't actually just looked up the men after Ryuji. There is the matter of Yamatachi. There were quite a few names but none fit the man she knew. She had nearly been caught searching so intently and came out with nothing. As she leaves the police station, she looks to her phone again, thinking of calling Ryuji once again. Unaware of the penthouse or even the affluent the strange man holds. She only now thinks of asking about him to Ryuji. Unfortunately, she is still a diligent student of Shujin Academy, and exams weren't too far away.
The next day, Haru sits at her desk eating lunch and idly eyeing her phone, idly mumbling to herself incoherently. Although she has Ryuji number and they became friends online, he hasn't replied to her message, it confuses her to no end. Anxious and held in suspense, she jumps at a voice addressing her, rather formally so.
"Okumura-san?"
"Y-Yes?"
Makoto smiles sweetly at her with a slight bow.
"Makoto Niijima. Do you mind if I eat lunch with you today?"
"Not at all, Niijima-san! Please!"
Makoto takes a seat keeping her smile. It becomes genuine as she realizes Ryuji's interest. This girl wasn't just pleasant, she was earnest, endearing and just radiated a warm vibe.
"How are your studies coming along?"
"I study often so I'm doing quite fine. I my even catch up to you yet, Student Council President."
Haru giggles despite Makoto's left eye twitching for a moment. The title she has grown proud to bear has grown sour thanks to an unlikely friend.
"We're in the same year so there's no need to be so formal... Why don't we start as friends?"
"Really...? Okay, Mako-Chan!"
"M-Mako-Chan?!"
"Is that too informal?"
Makoto has to take a moment to compose herself. She hasn't been called that since... Ever. It was a first for her! She shakes her head trying to laugh off her flustered state.
"N-No! Not at all. Haru, you were a friend of Sakamoto's, correct?"
Haru nods with a small frown.
"I feel that he's in something dangerous... I just don't know what."
"I know how you feel. He came to school and left early looking like a victim of a hit and run... Still, he's tougher than he lets on, I'm sure he'll come back to help you garden soon enough."
"It isn't just gardening. He hasn't contacted me in a while. I'm not sure if he's busy with his family emergency or of he's..."
She trails off with her growing growing deeper with a dampening mood. Makoto would definitely feel indignant in any other scenario at this. However, not only did she know Ryuji's conflict, but from what Yamatachi said and the police report she understands that he's best away from her. It made her upset and she could only imagine how it must have felt for him. She blurts out.
"He isn't ignoring you."
"Hm?"
"I-I uh... He's... He's just dense is all. How many times have you contacted him?"
"I've only texted him once. Why?"
"Just poke at him a bit more and he'll answer. Trust me, he has a lot of issues, but he'd sooner throw himself in front of a speeding car than abandon someone."
"You sound like you get along quite well with him..."
For some reason as they laugh together, Makoto feels intimidated, as if there were suddenly a threatening presence in the air from an unknown source. There is no one else in the classroom but Haru.
A sound thud blasts throughout the penthouse as Ryuji slides down the wall with a bloody nose. Yamatachi hops in place throwing punches in the air.
"One more time, kid! I know you got it in you! One more time!"
He watches the young man drag himself off the ground and use the wall to help him get back on his feet. He dashes for him with a fist that only met the wall itself. He knows this trick. Ryuji used it on Kun Woo.
"Don't use the same tactic on everyone, kid-!"
He coughs as Ryuji only leans out of the way. He still remains in front of him, thus allowing Ryuji to get in close, baited into a throat punch before the student rains blow after blow on the teacher. Being pushed back after such a reckless yet quick thinking maneuver, even while being punished, Yamatachi grins at Ryuji's steady growth. In a flash he parries both hands away from him before striking the blonde in his chest. Ryuji is thrown against the wall again sputtering up saliva.
"D-Dammit... Three hours of this and I only now just got some hits in?! You're... You're the real deal."
Yamatachi presses a thumb down on one nostril before huffing out blood from the other.
"I'm more than I let on. I'm underestimating you, kid. I might have to take you seriously!~"
"Shut up with the anime cliches! We going another round or what?!"
"Take a break. Three hours of straight sparring is killing me. I swear you're working me to death."
"Sorry, old man."
Ryuji raises his arms in defense as Yamatachi raises a hand with a snarl.
"Yeah that's what I thought... Use my bathroom to clean yourself up. I'll wash your clothes so you won't have to worry about your shitty undies."
"S-Shut up! It's just gross to put on the same pair after a work out!"
Ryuji grumbles and storms off leaving the old fighter alone. Yamatachi wanders to his office desk and pulls out a folder. He had Ryuji's x-rays taken this morning and couldn't help but sneer in delight. Kuma had the strength to break a man with his fists. It was in his name after all. Kun Woo Li had the power make men bigger than him cry with his kicks. These two brutal men gave their all in their attempts to kill Ryuji. Abusing him, destroying him, near obliterating his very being. Imagine then the shock and pleasure Yamatachi feels as he stares at Ryuji's unscathed skeletal structure. Not one fracture.
"Damn kid... I really did happen to find myself a monster...! Things are going to be interesting."