Chapter 1: A Normal Life

An ant crawled out of a hole and tried to find its way to the colony. It couldn't recognize the scent of its surroundings, but it still pushed on anyway, hoping to find the place it belonged. The ant is alone, weak, and tiny, but that won't stop it from feeling around. It crawled up a wall, into a crack on the cement, then back out until it found its way on a flat wooden surface. Is it a table? Perhaps it wondered. Regardless it trekked on, determined to live the best it can be with whatever resources it had.

Crunch!

A human hand landed right on the ant, its life ending immediately. Why!? The ant was just doing its best, what could the human have against it?!

"Finally! I've finished this month's chapter!" Kenji Harima cheered as he put down his drawing hand onto the desk. His trusted fishbone pen tossed neatly onto its custom built holder.

It turns out; The human didn't have a reason to kill an ant, he never even noticed it all.

Harima stood up from his chair and stretched, yawning quietly and looking at the clock. It was already 12:45 at night, he better get to bed so he can submit his manuscript tomorrow.

As he turned off the lights and laid on his futon, he looked up to the ceiling and remembered the past few years…

After Tenma-chan flew to the United States to be with the love of her life, his life had been a rollercoaster. He was depressed and regressed back to being a lone street fighter, going back to the days where he had no one but himself. Deep down, he knew that a two-bit thug like himself had no future, he accepted that he would either end up dead in an alleyway or jailed for a crime he committed. Maybe Tenma-chan was his one chance to have a future, a life where he seriously attended school, he got along with many people, and had someone to dedicate his entire life to; But he threw that opportunity away. As long as Tenma-chan is happy, then he is all too glad to let go and be back on the streets.

Harima was ultimately saved by three people. Before he knew it, he found himself engaged to Eri Sawachika and living in the Tsukamoto household with Yakumo Tsukamoto and Sarah Adiemus. Just what kind of twist is this? He had no idea how he got himself in this situation, but he might as well see it all through to the end. Living in the house of his former crush made him a bit more… domesticated? 'Can he even use that word to describe himself?' And going on business meetings posing as Eri's fiance turned his "brash and loudmouthed" nature into "confident and eloquent" aptitude.

He helped around the old Japanese house; he would sweep the outdoor area and the veranda daily, occasionally fix the air conditioners, check for loose floorings, broken pipes, and leaking roofs. Doing these chores was meditative for him, and there was a sense of fulfillment in maintaining the house, proud that Tenma and Yakumo can come back to their proper family home anytime. That was another thing, Yakumo has done so much for him that he felt it would take decades of helping her to fully repay his debt, but he'll do it, he'll be there for her just as she'd been there for him.

Living with two ladies who treated him like family taught him lessons that the streets can't teach. Sarah often guided him into thinking more for others, and not just himself, saying it was part of his rehabilitation or some such. He didn't really get it himself, but she seemed happy whenever he helped the local kids from the average kid hijinks like getting stuck in fences or falling from dangerous heights. There were also times of the month when Yakumo and Sarah were both in justified foul temper, he quickly learned that those are the days he steps up to be the sole cook and housekeeper. Making sure that they are comfortable becomes his priority, so he gently asks Yakumo and Sarah to relax and let him know if they need anything. Sometimes the girls would complain about cramps so he earnestly gave them medicine and tips that he learned from the streets to treat muscle cramps, they simply giggled and thanked him. When it was explained to him the hows and whys days after, he simply murmured to himself, "I don't think I've ever seen Itoko get something like that before." Sarah and Yakumo stared amused at him.

So the routine of Harima's daily life is set even after he graduated school and worked as a manga artist for Dankosha. Waking up to assist Yakumo with morning chores, then do whatever his work is that day ranging from school, to working on his manga, to Eri picking him up for missions. Although he and Eri did resolve their arrangement in an interesting way, when he proved to her ailing parents that Eri is perfectly capable of handling the business even without a male leading the company. Harima broke off the engagement before they turned 18 and left the Sawachika business for good, he and Eri split off in a friendly manner and he even got business skills to show for it. When evening comes he works maintenance on his beloved motorcycle, now with an attached sidecar used for grocery runs or passenger seats for Sarah and Yakumo when they go on weekend outings. He reasoned to himself that his motorbike, the symbol of his former solitude, would find much more purpose in life if his family can make use of it too. It had a ton of ups and downs, but this was his life now, and he is determined to live the best he can be with whatever resources he has.

Beep beep beep

It's 7 in the morning, plenty of sunlight already in November of 2004. He stood up and readied himself for the day. 21 year old Kenji Harima walked out of his room and greeted Sarah and Yakumo who were doing radio calisthenics together on the veranda. That was unexpected, he's never seen them do morning stretches before, nevertheless he joined them.

"Alright! Let's get that blood pumping!" He belted with the same passion he had as a highschooler.

"Geez Kenji, some of our neighbors are still waking up, you know." Sarah chided with a smile, she did find his energy overwhelming at times, but she appreciates how much it brightens the entire house.

The Tsukamoto found family followed the radio guy's instructions to the rhythm of its music. It felt nice, like some kind of clog was being removed from their spirit and they felt more limber. Even their snobby cat, Iori joined in and stretched in his own catty way.

…

"So you guys are starting a new routine with morning stretches?" Harima asked as they ate breakfast together in the dining room, a modest meal of roasted mackerel and miso soup.

"Yes," Yakumo replied as she also put down a filet of mackerel on Iori's bowl. "I've been feeling a bit lethargic lately, probably because I haven't been as active as we were in highschool. So Sarah suggested I step back to childhood and try out radio calisthenics again."

"And I joined her so she won't feel lonely, plus it's nice to feel so awake this early. Hehe, maybe you should join us every morning too?" Sarah proposed.

"Sure, I never actually did morning stretches as a kid so that was a first for me. It felt great though." Harima grinned, rubbing his head in embarrassment as he basically admitted he didn't have a proper childhood. To bury the embarrassment, he chose to focus on Yakumo's health. "More importantly, how are you feeling, Yakumo? If there's anything I can do to get you out of the funk, let me know."

Yakumo nodded with a smile, she does feel much more animated than she had been for the past week. Her smile was coupled with a fierce blush though, as Harima's concern for her still flustered like before. In the corner of her sight, she saw Sarah throw a knowing grin at her direction. "Thank you for your concern, Kenji, but I feel better already." Yakumo said softly.

"Gotcha, oh how about we all go to the zoo this Saturday, I'm sure our friends would be happy to see you guys."

"Ah that sounds great, right Yakumo?" Sarah agreed and looked to Yakumo, who also nodded. "Oh look at the time, we've gotta get to class. Do you have any plans for today, Kenji?" Sarah stood up and spoke, causing everyone else to stand and clean up the dishes.

"I'm submitting my manuscript after I drop you two off, then I'll go and buy a sack of rice, we're almost out, right?" Harima informed them. Whereas Harima immediately found a full-time job after graduation, the girls chose to go to the local college instead. That tracks really, Harima was never academically gifted but Yakumo and Sarah had outstanding grades that it would be a missed opportunity to not pursue higher education. Fortunately the money they'd been earning together from jobs and royalties is enough to pay for tuition.

The trio got on Harima's tricycle and he drove off to Yagami Community College.

"Thank you for the ride Kenji-kun, we'll see you later." Yakumo and Sarah hugged Harima before turning to walk towards the campus. Harima bid them a good day before he took to the road again.

…

"This is a great chapter once again, Tazawa-kun." Harima's editor praised him. "This might actually be great enough to put your series on the front page for this issue!"

"Hehe, that would be awesome, wouldn't it." Harima replied, happy to know that his passion for drawing manga is still going strong, years after his original inspiration left Japan.

"Alright, this here is your salary from the previous chapter, keep up the good work, Tazawa-kun." The editor handed him an envelope and a pat on the shoulder for a job well done.

Harima bowed and exited his cubicle, as he walked out of the building, he began brainstorming ideas for the next chapter of his series, 'Samurai of Rock Bottom' After Tenma-chan left, he struggled to find something new for his action, comedy, and romance story for a while. However, his continued interaction with Yakumo, Sarah, and Eri made him realize just how weird his life had always been and that there's plenty of stories he could tell his audience just from his life experience. Fortunately, his artistic ability and comedic storytelling combined with hard-hitting drama paid off with this job. But he'll have to end the story sooner or later though, it's been running for 4 years now and he'd want his story to have an ending to make it memorable.

…

He parked his tricycle at an empty dirt lot wedged between a bunch of tall buildings, he'd known this spot since he was a middle schooler. This is where he often parked his motorbike when he wanted to hang around Yagami City downtown without the hassle of finding spaces or paying for parking, it especially comes in handy these days. He opened his envelope and found more than enough to pay this month's utility bills and even buy the rice and some cooking essentials.

"Hell yeah, I can work with this." He smirked as he strutted out of the lot, putting on his shades to feel more at ease with so many people walking around the outdoor market. "Hmm?"

Harima looked behind him, at the empty lot, for some reason he thought he heard something coming from that direction. "Eh, I have more important things to do."

"Oi, buddy with the shades! You look like you just had a payday!" Harima walked past an alley when he heard some thug call him out.

"What kinda punk is that perceptive? Have you ever considered improving your life with that skill?" Harima turned around with a snark as he made eye contact with the thug, he had two more fellas following him.

"Hehe, you see I would, but it's not as fun as shaking people down for their money." The nondescript thug chuckled, his followers laughing after him. "On that note, hand over that cash, shades!"

"Try me." Harima stared down the upstart boys. From the looks of it, they seem to be fresh out of high school, probably had no luck for jobs and are now just hounding people to get by. It is a pitiful state of affairs, but Harima has nothing but knuckle sandwiches to give to punks like these.

The thug looked surprised, then he got angry, taking up a fighting stance. "Don't say that I didn't warn you, asshole." Harima simply squared up, each hand curling tightly into solid fists.

Street Punks

Harima took the time to remember how he used to fight. He had his usual combo of five consecutive light punches, but he can choose to go for a heavier attack after each light punch. He can punch, then a gut punch to stun unsuspecting enemies. He can punch, punch, then sweep with his leg, knocking down enemies that aren't defending their legs. He can punch, punch, punch, then an uppercut to their jaw, sending them flying. He can punch four times, then follow up with a roundhouse kick, that's his strongest attack. However if he punches five times, he doesn't have a heavy follow-up for it, he feels that it's missing, but maybe he'll think of something if only he trained harder.

Pow! Pow! Pow! Wham!

He immediately knocked out Thug #1 with an uppercut. He then moved onto the next thug.

Thud! Thud!

This asshole is blocking his attacks. In that case, he can grab enemies with his left hand. When grabbing an enemy, he has multiple options to go for, either pummel them with his right hand, throw them to the ground, or perform Heat Actions. He doesn't feel inspired enough to try doing a Heat Action yet, so he settled on throwing Thug #2 to the ground, immediately knocking him out.

"What the hell kinda monster are you?!" The remaining thug yelled, scared out of his mind that he began unleashing his desperation move.

Harima can either block the attack or sidestep it, both options have its benefits. If he wants to counter it, he'll sidestep it. If he wants to gain inspiration then he'll block it. So he tried blocking it, however the attack proved very desperate and he staggered back. He could be in a tight pinch, then he remembered a very important lesson of street fights.

'Anything in the streets can be a weapon.'

He picked up a beer crate from a nearby stack and threw it at Thug #3, then he picked up another and ran towards the distracted punk.

Essence of Armed Pummeling!

Harima had sufficient inspiration and unleashed a Heat Action onto Thug #3, continuously whacking him over the head with the beer crate, and ending with a smash to the chest so hard that it broke the crate and sent the thug flying, ending the battle.

"That was a good warm-up." Harima quipped as he adjusted his sunglasses and left to do his errands.