11 PM.
Yang and Ryu stood in front of a vending machine near a row of closed stores.
A faint smear of dried blood lingered near Yang's nose, like he had wiped it off earlier.
Ryu leaned against the wall, his eyes opening and closing slowly.
This is the worst day ever, Ryu thought.
He had never been beaten like that before.
That bastard Daichi had dislocated every finger on his left hand. If Yang hadn't shown up, he probably would have broken his arm too.
Thank God Yang was there.
Ryu didn't even want to imagine what his parents would've done if they had seen him come home in that condition.
He looked over at Yang, who was tapping the vending machine so hard that a soda bottle finally dropped with a clunk.
"Oh, nice… lucky me!" Yang said, grabbing it.
He opened the bottle, then walked back and sat beside Ryu.
"Sorry, bro," Yang said casually. "I don't have money for two bottles, so we'll have to share this one."
Eh?
Didn't he have thousands from Haruya?
"W-what about the money from that time?"
"I gave half to my master," Yang said, raising the bottle and gulping down a long drink.
"And kept the other half to Haru."
"Why?"
"Haah… that was nice." Yang handed him the bottle.
"'Cause he's a single father. He needed it more than me."
"Oh… I see."
Ryu took the bottle. He stared at it for a moment, then looked back at Yang.
"By the way… my name is Ryu Narushima."
"I know."
"Wha—?"
"My name's Yang," he said. "Forgot the last name."
How do you forget your own last name…?
Ryu sighed.
At this point, it's pointless questioning anything about you.
"Oh… I see."
He took a sip from the bottle.
"Augh—what is this?" His face twisted in disgust.
"Malt drink. What's wrong with you? It's delicious."
"It's disgusting."
He handed the bottle back.
"Alright, guess the rest is for me."
Ryu glanced at Yang as he gulped down the remaining drink.
"…Are you a martial artist, Yang-san?"
"Wanna see what I can do?"
"Y-yes, please."
Yang smiled and tossed the empty bottle into the air.
As it descended, his hand blurred.
A sharp motion
The bottle split cleanly in half.
The pieces dropped.
The top half immediately slid off and clattered to the ground.
Yang frowned slightly.
"My master and his son can slice a bottle so precisely the top part doesn't even fall," he said. "Guess I'm still nowhere near their level."
"…What the fackkk?!" Ryu stared at the pieces on the ground. "How?!"
"If you wanna learn, come to Shinshinkai," Yang said casually. "You only have to pay thirty dollars for a year."
Thirty dollars a year?!
Isn't that way too good to be true?
"Yang, what's your goal in life?"
"You're asking too many questions, my man," Yang sighed, staring up at the sky.
"You could say I wanna be number one… so I can survive to see a better tomorrow."
Ryu's eyes widened. I can't believe this! We both share the same goal.
He had been studying his entire life, and Yang must've been fighting and training his whole life too. Yet, even if they used the same words—number one—it didn't mean the same thing.
"Watcha about you?" Yang asked.
Ryu blushed. "I wanna be number one to—"
BLARRRRRHHH!!!
The gagging sound ripped through the alley, snapping both Yang and Ryu's heads toward it.
They peered around the corner. Yang craned his head above, Ryu below him.
A giant man in a white suit stood there—Yang flinched, memories of Hanayama flashing through his mind—but this wasn't the same man. This one was heavy, his body fat giving him the bulk of a giant, unlike Hanayama's chiseled, muscular frame.
The man was vomiting an enormous amount onto the ground. He grabbed a flask from his coat, poured it into his mouth, swirled it around, and then spat it out, adding to the mess
"Whoof," the giant man breathed out, then glanced at the duo peeking around the corner. A bright smile spread across his face.
"Eeek! He saw us!" Ryu yanked his head back in panic.
But Yang didn't flinch—he stepped out, revealing himself.
"Nice night, isn't it?" the big man asked, still smiling.
He's strong… really strong, Yang thought, returning the smile. "Yeah… it's fresh, I guess."
"Yang i dont think he was asking you "Ryu grabbed Yang's shoulder, his face pale and tense, pointing behind him.
Yang turned to see five men. Four towering figures flanked a bald, short man in front. The man in front had his hands in his pockets, his expression annoyed. The others all held weapons: a bat, an iron rod, a hand in a pocket that clearly hid a knife, and the last one had a gun in his jacket pocket
Yang could tell immediately—just from the way the cocky confidence radiated off the man's face.
They were Yakuza—Yang was 300% certain of it.
"Go home, kids," the bald man in front said, not even sparing them a glance, as he and his men approached the giant man in white.
As they reached him, they surrounded him.
"Hey, man… you know you're way past your due," the bald man said, raising his hand.
Then the man behind him, gripping a bat, swung it at the giant man's head.
Pack!
But the man in white didn't flinch.
The bat shattered in the attacker's hands.
The man in white smirked. He opened his right palm wide, then swung it at the man's head.
The head spun—once, twice —before coming to a halt. His neck had twisted unnaturally, yet the head ended up facing the right way.
The man dropped to his knees.
"Aaah! Yang, he just killed that guy!" Ryu whispered, his voice trembling. Yang just stared, eyes wide, frozen in disbelief.
"Let's call the police," Ryu added, but Yang didn't move.
The men surrounding the man in white didn't even look shocked—they looked annoyed.
"Oi, what was that?" the bald man snapped.
The man in white only shrugged.
The bald man glanced at the man to his right.
He nodded, pulling a wakizashi from his coat.
Seeing the knife, the man in white sighed, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket. "All this for half a million dollars? If I knew you guys were this cheap, I wouldn't have asked."
He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. "Boy, don't call the police. We're just doing normal business here." His words, calm as they were, carried an unmistakable order aimed at Ryu—and Yang knew it.
The man in white slipped his hands behind his back and drew a machete.
He raised it high, bringing it down toward the bald man's head.
The bald man raised a hand defensively, sweat running down his face—but the machete sank deep into the ground instead.
"HAHAHA! DON'T BE A FUCKING COWARD NOW, IGA-SAN!!"
the man in white shouted, his fist lancing forward and connecting with the bald man's jaw, launching him several meters back.
Yang stepped closer and caught him mid-fall, his frown deepening as he inspected the damage. The man's jaw looked almost torn from his face.
"Nice catch, cool boy!" the man in white snapped, clapping his hands, then pointed at Yang. "Hundred points for that… hahaha."
He turned back to the remaining three and extended his hands toward the one in the middle. "Give me the gun."
" die !! "The man pulled a handgun from his jacket and aimed it at him.
The man in white pinched the tip of the barrel, squeezing the gun's muzzle shut as if it were made of clay.
"Don't pull the trigger," he said calmly. "It'll backfire."
Plank!!!
The barrel snapped back violently. The shot fired straight backward, the force driving the twisted metal into the man's forehead.
It dug deep into his skull, and he collapsed onto the ground.
Eyes blinking
"Welp i warned you.. now you and you " he held the remaining two shoulder " give me your money all of it "
" just a second sir "
" loud and clear "
As he robbed the two yakuza he turned toward the duo staring in shock then walked toward them
" now is he going to rob us too ?" ryu whispered
" tsk be quite " yang hit him with his elbow to his arm slightly
The man in white stopped infront of yang looking down at him " its so quite and a fresh night isnt it ?"
Ryu didnt know why but that mysterious line felt like a hidden threat
He tapped on both ryu and yang shoulder " ight boys time to go home you have to get up early tomorrow " them he walked back to the yakuza who were still bowing to him " you guys go home too "
_______
Haruya was strong.
Yang was strong too.
But what I saw that night…
That was a level of strength unlike anything I'd ever witnessed.
Now, the entire school was assembled in the gymnasium.
They all faced the stage where the principal stood, a giant man at his side.
"Today, I would like to introduce a new teacher," the principal said into the microphone. "His name is Shizuka Kiriu."
What?! Are you kidding me?
The man in white—the one I'd seen last night.
The man who had literally robbed the yakuza and killed one with a single blow.
Is a teacher now? And in this school?
"As you can see, Kiriu takes excellent care of his body ..aahh who am i kidding, ill be honest with you all Mr. Kiriu used to be a professional sumo wrestler."
A sumo wrestler? Sumo wrestlers can be that strong?
"Well, Mister, would you like to introduce yourself?" the principal asked, stepping back.
Kiriu stepped closer, his eyes scanning each student… until they landed on Ryu, making the boy flinch instinctively.
Kiriu smiled, looking away. "I'm sorry, what was the question again?"
"Eh?" the principal tilted his head.
"I'm sorry, I was so nervous I wasn't thinking at all, haha. Just to be here and stand in front of you all, I had to quit drinking for a month, hahah."
The students started chuckling" is he for real ? Why is he telling us that "
" he sounds so chill i hope well have him as our new teacher "
That's bullshit he was drinking yesterday i saw him
"I didn't even leave my house yesterday, I was so nervous."
Lies. All lies.
Kiriu jumped down from the stage and walked toward Ryu like he heard his inner thoughts. The students parted to let him pass.
Eh?! Is he… no way. He remembers me?!
"About las—"
"What's wrong with you, son? You've been sweating like crazy. Are you sick? Want me to take you to the infirmary?" he interrupted Ryu, the words carrying a hidden weight of threat.
" No im fine " Ryu closed his eyes.
The man stuck out his pinky toward Ryu. "is that so ? Then Promise me that you'll take care of yourself."
"Oh, okay," Ryu said, interlocking his pinky with his.
Without warning, Kiriu brought Ryu's hand down, flipping his body before setting him back upright.
He adjusted Ryu's glasses, tightened his school uniform buttons, and said, "That's a promise between men." He patted Ryu's head and walked back to the stage.
If I talk about him… I'll be killed.
Just why is yang absent today ?
___________
Shizuka kiryu