"NOOOOOO!" Rin cried until she made herself sick- even as her bags were being packed and she was being forced to a waiting car. Trembling, crying hysterically, she didn't understand why this needed to happen. Not only was she leaving Sunny she had also became great friends with Toriko, Coco and even (had a mutual respect/understanding) with Zebra.
She felt pain in her chest; like someone was ripping her heart out. That someone was Mansam, the head of animal research. He ran an exclusive school for talented future scientists. Rin, at the age of 7 would be at least 5-10 years younger than everyone else, but for what it was worth, both Ichiryu and Mansam felt she was somehow worthy. Either that or they just wanted her out of the way.
"SUNNY!" she held on to him as the men in suits dragged her away. Her brother tried to console her with his magical hair power, but it was no use.
"I'm sure you'll make lots of new friends" Coco said. This made it worse. She didn't want new friends, if it meant loosing the friends she had now.
Then Toriko appeared. In the 4 years she knew him he had lost any and all baby fat and become as muscular as an action figure- yet with the same kind, innocent face.
"it will be ok- the next time we see you, you'll be a super genius." he gave her a hug. He held the hug as he added one more comment, "Master Ichiryu...and Mr Mansam belive in you- and so do I."
His words caused Rin to look up through her tears. Toriko smiled and released the hug. She was then quickly dragged in to the car to avoid any more drama. She opened the window and waved goodbye one last time.
It would be years before any of the children saw Rin again- in the battle arena.
Sunny, Toriko, Coco and Zebra were ages 16 and 15 when they were first presented to the VIP audiences of the battle arena. The battle arena was usually for the ranking of various gourmet animals, but today was different. Today was the dawn of a new era. No longer would the IGO need teams of soldiers to capture animals; these 4 boys could take down any animal, no matter the level- on their own.
The boys were paraded out to a skeptical audience. They would be put in one on one matches against animals who were previously tested as level 20 or higher.
"They don't think we're worthy," said Sunny as he watched the crowd. The high-class audience were too polite to boo them, they just focused on their food or engaged in small talk, wondering when the real matches would start.
Still the youngest and smallest, he was now 6'1" with a sense of elegance and class not unlike a ballet dancer. "Let's give them a good show." As they left he made sure to flip his hair, creating a massive rainbow of sparkling color that caressed the arena from floor to ceiling. At least that caught some attention.
Meanwhile Rin had been interning as tech at the arena. Even at the age of 11 she knew how to use pheromones to provoke the animals to put on a show. But as she saw her brother and her friends enter the arena, she was filled with fear. She had seen what those animals could do; were the boys strong enough? They looked different. They were all taller and more muscular; like superheroes, but all she saw were the 4 little boys she grew up with.
Battle Fragrance; a plant derived pheromone that induces attack. There was a panel for it; one button to start and one to add more. Mansam had the mercy to assign another tech to that role.
First in to arena was Zebra; he was vicious against the Shark Box Turtle (a super fast turtle with a shark fin); the battle was fast and vicious with a gruesome victory.
Next was Sunny against -a Snake Leech? That was an aquatic creature, how was that going to work. First Sunny was pushed in to the arena, then, without warning the arena was filled with 10 feet of water. It was a small Snake Leech, no older than 2-5 years of age (but the largest Rin had ever seen) and her brother had just gotten sucked under water- she was more than a little afraid.
Rin looked at the control panel; there was button for 'Super Relaxation Fragrance'; a cancellation for the 'battle fragrance'. She didn't move or even lean in, when Instructor Mansam appeared by her side as if he could read her mind.
"Do you believe in him?" he asked in a genuine tone, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"yes," she forced herself to say. In her heart she knew that was the truth. Sunny had worked so hard; this was his moment to show how far he had come.
After getting over the initial shock of being sucked under water-Sunny used his hair to float back above the surface. He did a massive hair flip that not only created a magical optic rainbow effect, but also dried his hair on one motion.
He wished he had known this was going to be an aquatic creature; now all he wanted was to finish this match quickly so he could go change clothes. Zebra had taken it upon himself to kill his opponent, but they were told that knocking would be acceptable as well- as long as the crowd was impressed.
He started by trapping the creature in an invisible net of hair, scooping it out of the water. He flung it so far in the air; it hit the top of the arena. But as it fell, it changed directions in the air catching Sunny off guard. Sunny took a direct hit but his hair bounced backward, so make sure he wasn't smashed in to the wall. He did not want to have to fight the creature in the water but it seemed he had no choice; he would need to get creative.
He extended his hair sensors to touch the bottom of the arena, while he tried to keep his balance standing in the surface of the water. This was the first time he was going to try this particular move, but it was based on actual science- kind of. The hair sensors vibrated under water making the creature confused. Sunny forced the sensors to circle the creature, cutting off its range of moment until he could get close enough to simply hit a pressure point and get the win.
After his win was official, the exit opened and Sunny was finally allowed to go dry off and change.
Coco's match was against an air gorilla. Rin suddenly realized she had never actually seen Coco fight before. His match was very straight forward; he was able to use what could only be described as a 'poison touch' to subdue his opponent without killing it.
Lastly, Toriko faced an ice jaguar. The match was brutal, only because he was trying his best to avoid hurting the creature. He allowed himself to take direct hits, for the chance to get closer and knock the animal for a clean win. It was his personal motto, to only kill what could be eaten. He was not about to kill this creature just to entertain an audience.
Immediately after his win, the 4 were paraded back in. Toriko and Coco had not been given any time to treat their injuries and Sunny was only half dressed.
"THEY ARE THE FUTURE! THE 4 DISCIPLES! THE FOUR HEAVENLY KINGS!" said an overly zealous announcer.
"The what?" Zebra rolled his eyes. That title seemed to have been made up on the spot, with no real meaning. But the press ran with it; the 4 gorgeous teen idols with super powers. But the end of the week every girl in the country had their favorite.