The first time she met the man called Hanma Shuji was on a day when she had decided to visit an old friend. But Draken lived in a brothel, and whether it was a mild form of embarrassment or what she did not know. But he didn't exactly like people just showing up. She never questioned it, but today she had wanted to visit him and so she was texting him as she walked towards the building he called home. The flip phone in her hand was a pain to text on. She should have just called him but she didn't for some reason. Instead she was looking at her phone as her fingers typed repeatedly at the numbers to write out the message that she was nearby and would be waiting outside.

She never got the chance to hit send as she found herself walking into what she thought was a wall. The phone clattered to the ground and she was rubbing her nose as she cursed. It wasn't till she looked up that she paused. It apparently had not been a wall she walked into but a young man. He looked about seventeen or eighteen if she had to guess. And he was fucking tall. She had to crank her head back to look up at his face. The first thing that caught her attention was the long earring in his left ear. His eyes looked golden in the bright sunlight. The side of his head was shaved short while the top was left long and gelled up in an almost small mohawk like style. It was mostly dark but had a blonde stripe down the front. She had to resist the urge to laugh when it instantly reminded her of the stripe down a skunk's back.

He was standing outside the front door to the brothel that Draken called home. Had he just left the brothel? Was he a client of one of the girls there? If so he looked a little too young to be legally allowed to pay for sex. Then again with Draken living on the site would anyone be able to prove this guy was here for sex?

All the while she was thinking this over in her head the tall man had leaned over to pick up her phone that had hit the ground. Not having any issues with being rude he looked at the device and read the contact name and the message itself.

"You Draken's girl?" He asked, looking down at the young woman who was just standing there staring at him. "I thought his girl was blonde?"

The question shook her from her mind as she frowned at the stranger who still had her phone in hand. She tried to reach out and grab it but the man just simply moved it out of her reach. Which was not hard to do as he had at least a foot of height on her.

"Just a friend, now give me back my fucking phone," she said, still trying to reach for her cell phone which he was holding out of her reach as he held the device above his head. The grin that was growing across his face was almost sinister.

It was a childish move but Hanma found it entertaining to hold the phone up above the girl's head and just out of her reach even as she jumped around trying to reach for the phone. He found it entertaining watching this stranger curse at him while he held the phone out of her hand like some child.

"You sure have some mouth on ya," he teased with a deep chuckle as he listened to the stranger cursing at him as he held her phone up just high enough that her short stature could not reach it even as she tried to jump for it.

Though his fun was cut short when the phone was suddenly snatched from his hand by a much taller body than the girls. One he had been waiting for.

"What the hell is going on?" Draken asks as he glanced unamused between the two familiar faces. One of which he had not expected to see when he had walked out of the brothel that morning.

"Draken," was the simultaneous greeting he got. One more high pitched and happy to greet him. The other an almost bored droll. Said blonde was looking back and forth between the two, not caring too much for the greeting. It did not answer his question and he kept his unimpressed look on his face to get across that he was still waiting for an answer.

"This asshole took my phone," She growled as she jabbed a thumb over at the tall man who had moments ago been holding her cellphone above her head like a petulant child.

At the mention of said phone Draken looked down at the device in his own hands now that he had snatched it from Hanma once he had spotted the man holding up the device. Glancing down at the opened flip phone he could see the almost complete text that had his name in the contact it was to be sent to.

"You're the one who ran into me, girl. Maybe you should learn some manners and not walk and text at the same time," Hanma sneered down at the girl who was glaring up at him. It was a bit of a sight to be hold. This short girl was nearly a full foot shorter than Hanma. And yet she was not scared of him.

Draken had to admit it surprised him a bit. It didn't take a genius to look at Hanma and know he was trouble. This young man was tall, his hair gelled up and was slightly dyed. The top of each hand is decorated in a tattoo. Even without reading them Draken would bet people would avoid someone like that. Draken knew all too well himself being a tall man with visible tattoos. It only aided in the stigma of how delinquents look.

Maybe she had been hanging out too much with a few of the guys from Toman since looking at Hanma did not have her scared. She was just lucky Hanma was not the type to pick fights with girls. Or maybe that was a lie as Draken watched as Hanma was grinning down at the girl he was annoying while Draken stood back and watched the two as he was still holding the phone which had seemed to start everything.

"Here take this back," Draken said as he proceeded to toss the phone in his hands towards its owner.

It became a scramble as she realized that Draken had just tossed her cell phone into the air towards her. She felt panic for a second as she scurried to grab her cell phone. Clutching it tightly in her hands she held the device up to her chest.

"Fucking hell Draken. What if I didn't catch it? Don't just throw my phone around," she glared over at Draken as she hugged her precious phone.

"You caught it," he shrugged nonchalantly, without a care in the world he could have potentially broken her cell phone.

"What are you doing here Kokumori?" Draken asked with the arch of an eye brow down at the girl.

"I was just in the area. Figured I'd stop in and say hello." She said flashing Draken a warm smile.

Now this drew Hanma's attention back to how he had seen she had been texting Draken before she walked into him. This girl had been so busy texting Draken that she had not even been paying her surroundings any attention. She wanted to see him. And he knew that look on her face. One of someone harboring a crush. He thought back to his earlier comment of asking if she was Draken's girl. She had said no, and if Hanma remembered correctly it was a blonde that had been with Draken the night they met at that festival fight. She wasn't Draken's girl, but she wished she was.

That was comical to Hanma. Poor little thing was chasing someone who would never return her feelings.

"But uhm it seemed you have company waiting for you already," with that comment of hers both sets of eyes turned to look over at Hanma who had been standing back just watching the girl and trying not to laugh.

"Oh don't worry about me girlie," Hanma said flashing her a toothy grin that he knew often unnerved weak people.

"Don't call me girlie," she hissed at him. Which only had Hanma's grin growing wider. She didn't seem to cower from him. Did she not find him intimidating? Then again if she was friends with Draken maybe she would not find a tall man with tattoos as scary. How interesting.

"Then what should I call you instead girlie?" Hanma nearly coed at her as he was doing it to irritate her.

"Kokumori Chuya," she spit out her name at him. Unhappy about how he suckered her name out of her.

"Oh I think I'll call you little Mori," Hanma was just trying to get a reaction out of her now. It was fun watching her cheeks flush with anger. He watched as she stomped a foot before she stormed towards him.

"No you will not. I am not girly, or little Mori. You will call me Kokumori and nothing else," she said as she stomped till she stood before him and had to crank her head back to look up at him as he nearly curled over her.

"Hanma," the warning came from Draken as Hanma had felt an almost feral grin starting to pull at his lips and Draken knew that would only mean trouble for her. And he was not sure if she could handle the reaper.

Hanma let his grin drop back down to something more passive. He raised his hands up and stepped away from the girl.

"Now now no need to growl at me Draken. I promise I won't hurt the girl," Hanma said as he glanced from Draken back to her. He watched the confusion cross her face. She had no idea how dangerous he was, nor what trouble he could bring with him.

"Uhm am I interrupting something? I didn't know you were already gonna be hanging out with someone," she said, turning her attention away from Hanma and back to Draken.

"Nah you ain't interrupting anything. Hanma just shows up every Sunday looking for a fight," Draken said as if that was a completely normal thing. Then again for someone who fights on a nearly daily basis maybe it was normal for them.

She did not seem very fazed by such comments. She simply blinked her eyes at the blonde and nodded her head at him.

"Ah okay. Is he part of Toman?" She asked. Those dark eyes of hers looking between the two men.

"No," both men answered her with the simple word.

"Oh. Okay," she said simply and then dropped the subject of him.

"Well if you're busy maybe I'll just be on my way," she said as she started to fidget with the edge of her shirt. Clearly she didn't want to leave.

"Nah. There's no need for that." Hanma said as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and popped one between his lips as he lit it up,

"I am sure we won't be long. Why don't ya just come with?" Hanma said simply. Though it didn't sound as much like a question as it should have.

A little uneasy she glanced quickly at Draken who looked bored. Well if he was not worried then it should be safe for her. Right? Yeah she should have known to say no. Going to a secondary location with two men was not the brightest idea. Yet she shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay,"

She was a moron with a death wish. But she trusted Draken. He had been a friend of hers. Or at least she felt like they were friends.

"Come on then," Hanma grinned as he turned on his heel and started to lead the small group away from Draken's home.

"I still feel like I am missing something here?" She asked as she noticed both men start to walk away before she had quickly trotted after them.

"Huh! What the fuck you talking about?" Draken asked as he looked over at her.

"Well are you two really gonna start a fight? And you're not in uniform," she pointed out. She had a slight understanding of how gangs worked. She was under the impression that gangs wore their uniforms when fighting with one another. And Hanma wasn't a fellow Toman member and he was here to fight Draken.

"Oh. Hanma shows up every Sunday looking for a fight. These fights are also not related to Toman or gang stuff so I don't bother with the uniform," Draken said simply as if it was common knowledge and she was an idiot.

"Every Sunday? Why?" She was surprised by the knowledge.

"Cause it's fun," Came Hanma's reply with a wide grin tossed over his shoulder as he grinned at her before leading the way into a small empty little garden-like park. Her eyebrows pulled together as she looked confused at him. Fun, he thought fighting was fun. Was this guy crazy? Her face must have betrayed her thoughts cause Hanma started to laugh.

"Where did you find this chick, Draken?" Hanma asked as he laughed.

"We were classmates in grade school," Draken answered simply.

"We still are you idiot. You just never come to class. We won't be classmates for long if you get held back a grade," she grumbled as she followed the two guys into the empty park. Looking around she could tell the place was unkempt. The grass was more weeds than grass. A broken bench was covered in spray paint. There was clearly a reason why they had come into this area. It was clear only people up to no good would hang out in this park.

She was busy looking around unsure at the clearly rough park. She missed that Hanma dropped his cigarette butt and watched as Draken shifted away from her. After all, neither of them wanted to drag her into their little fight. Draken was cracking his knuckles as he shifted away from her.

She had turned her attention back as she watched the two men walk away from her just a little ways away before the two of them were jumping at each other. They were fast. She had seen Draken fight before. It had been a while. She had watched him pick fights in the school grounds when they were still young kids. She could remember an older kid trying to bully the blonde when he had been young. He had dyed his hair blonde for the first time and it gained him a lot of attention. Before he had even gained his head tattoo and kept his sides shaved. Draken always seemed to find himself in fights in the school yard every grade ever since he was tiny or smaller, since Draken has always been tall for his age.

But watching him now she could see how he had become stronger. He was faster than she remembered. The sound of his fist colliding with Hanma's left arm as he tried to block the blow, yet the sound of the collision of blows made her stomach turn. She was amazed they were not breaking bones. Bloody noses, busted lips, and bruised cheeks only took a few minutes to acquire for both of them.

Finally Hanma let out a crazed laugh. Both guys paused in their punching of one another. Draken chuckled softly before they both moved to sit down on the ground as they pant and tried to catch their breaths. At some point they had come to an agreement. Who won she did not know. Maybe they didn't know either? It didn't matter she was not about to ask.

"Are you two Neanderthals done?" She asked with a tilt of her head as she slowly started to walk towards them.

"Yeah we are done," Draken said as he was wiping some blood that was still running from his nose. She let out a sigh. What a mess they had made of each other.

"And you two do this every week?" She asked as she walked towards them and stopped between the two.

"Yeah," Hanma answered with a chuckle as he lit up a new cigarette.

"Why," she asked, looking down at Hanma. Though he was so tall she was barely looking down even as she was standing in front of him.

"Why not? It's fun," she did not get it. What was fun about beating the shit out of each other. It had to hurt. So why? What was fun about pain? She would never understand guys.

Surely they were just idiots. Missing one too many brain cells from getting knocked in the head too much. That had to be it. And yet somehow she found this type of stupidity hot. She really needed to have a talk with her hormone rattled brain.

"Is this where you always come to fight?" She asked, looking once away at Hanma even as he lifted his head and proceeded to exhale his lung full of smoke towards her. She hated the stink of tar from cigarettes. She gave out a cough as she waved a hand in front of her face trying to clear the air.

"Just full of questions ain't ya," Hanma teased before taking another drag.

Cursing under her breath she stepped away from Hanma and closer towards Draken not wanting to get another face full of smoke.

"Just trying to understand how the two brainless idiots think," she hissed at Hanma who only chuckled at her.

"Why were you in this side of town Kokumori?" Draken asked as he was pretty. Sure she lived in a different district.

"Was gonna do some shopping and found myself in the area. And since I never see you in class I figured I'd stop in. See if you were even still alive," she said as she moved to sit on the ground. Sitting closer to Draken than Hanma.

Draken didn't really get it. Why did she want to see him? They were friendly with each other for sure. They had shared a lot of classes together throughout the years. And he couldn't deny if it wasn't for her notes from class he probably would have failed a long time ago. But he would not say their friendship was strong enough that they hung out regularly or anything of the sort.

"Yeah well I'm still alive clearly," he said simply as if he did not live a dangerous life.

"How could I know? You never text. And the last time I had not seen you for a few weeks you had gone and gotten yourself stabbed," she pointed out with her little snarky remark as she reached over and poked Draken in the stomach close to his scar.

Hanma let out a little snicker as he watched the two sitting across from him as he puffed on his cigarette. His snicker had drawn the attention of both the chick and Draken.

"I like her. She don't take your shit Draken," Hanma said as he just watched Draken roll his eyes as if he was accustomed to being teased about girls chasing him. Then again maybe he was. First that blonde chick that was Mikey's sister. And now this new one. The guys in Toman probably have a hay day teasing the tall blonde about his little group of lovers. If it wasn't blatantly oblivious that Draken did not notice this girl's feelings he would have asked Draken which one was better in bed. But it was clear Draken either noticed the girl's feelings and chose to ignore them, or he was to stupid to see them. No Hanma could not imagine a teenage boy living in a brothel could not spot flirting and a girl chasing him.

Hanma almost felt sorry for her. Key word almost. It was her own fault for chasing a moron like Ryūguji Ken who would never return her feelings. But it was entertaining to watch. Like a car crash. He could not bring himself to look away. He also wanted to see if the car would start to burn at any point. Which was why he was still sitting there at that moment. Usually once he had caught his breath he would have left. He came to fight, he got that, he should leave already. But he was too invested in this wreck to look away now. Still he could not watch forever.

"Well this was fun. But I got places to be. See ya," Hanma said as he finished his smoke and climbed to his feet. Stuffing his bruised knuckles into his pant pockets she watched as the man slunk away leaving Kokumori and Draken alone.

"What the fuck is up with him?" She asked, looking over at Draken.

"Who knows. I am sure there's a list," Draken said, shrugging his shoulders at her.

That was how she fell into the routine of joining the guys on Sunday mornings to watch them beat each other up. And how she had met the man called Hanma Shuji.