A few hours later—
Yang limped toward his cell, every step heavy, his vision blurred as if the world itself had melted. A high-pitched screech rattled in his ears, piercing through the fog that clouded his mind.
Why not head to the infirmary? Simple: he was afraid. The thought of trusting anyone here with his body felt like a death sentence.
Yang's biggest mistake was believing that the guards would actually do their job.
That mistake carried heavy consequences.
As he approached his cell, he spotted him—
that narrow-eyed officer.
Yang already suspected he was behind all of this, but seeing him now, waiting just outside the cell, left no room for doubt.
The officer's lips twisted into a crooked grin as he raised his hands theatrically.
"Ohoo~! Look who we have here."
He stepped closer, looping an arm over Yang's shoulder with a mock familiarity.
"The star himself… Yang-kun," he said, squeezing slightly. "Still alive and kicking, huh? How's life without that little friend of yours… what was his name again? Ahhh, yes Yu chan"
Yang didn't respond. His thoughts were already blurring, a dull numbness creeping in and muffling everything else.
"Hm. I shouldn't have expected anything from a bunch of lowlife delinquents," he muttered.
He tapped Yang's forehead with his knuckle.
"Yoo, Yang. You still there?"
Yang's body went completely limp, all his strength drained in an instant.
"Hop," the guard said, wrapping his arms around Yang's waist to prevent him from collapsing. "There, there… let's take you to Koi-chan."
_______________
One day later.
What exactly is this specimen I'm looking at?
Yang was lying in the infirmary face wrapped in bandages, one leg crossed over the other on the bed, staring at the thing in front of him.
"Th-that's a woman," a voice said from the bed beside him.
…Oh.
I didn't realize I was speaking out loud.
Yang turned his head.
And—okay, this is getting ridiculous.
Another bald guy.
Though this one was different.
There was something strange about him.
That look…
Pure innocence.
Like a lost puppy.
Yang's gaze dropped to the badge pinned to his chest.
Red.
Ah.
'So this puppy's killed someone.'
The image in Yang's mind shifted instantly.
The harmless little pup vanished, replaced by something grotesque—a puppy tearing into its own mother, jaws slick with blood.
The woman Yang and the puppy were staring at sat casually on the edge of the window, a cigarette hanging from her lips.
She was tall, with long black hair falling past her shoulders—much like Yang's. Her brown eyes were rimmed with dark circles, giving her a tired, sharp look. She wore the standard white doctor's coat, loose and unbuttoned.
Revealing...yang averted his gaze
"So, what are you here for?" Yang asked him.
"Who did you kill?"
Asking a killer who he killed was an idiotic move—but Yang's curiosity betrayed his better judgment.
After all this is the first guy he sees with a red badge
The puppy didn't answer. He simply looked away, biting his lip.
Judging by his condition, he was no better off than I was. His neck was covered in bruises, his eyes bloodshot. Even his bald head bore marks of abuse—someone had torn out his hair when he had hair, ripping away a chunk of his scalp along with it.
And honestly, it was a terrible idea to openly admit who you'd killed.
If Yang casually confessed to murdering a doctor, the very doctor examining him right now might decide to poison him instead.
Some truths were better left unspoken.
So
Yang lifted his hand.
"Yo, doc—if me and this pup are probably getting killed the moment we step outside… can we have threesome with you "
"T-THREESOME?!"
The puppy beside him jolted in shock.
The doctor didn't even look impressed—she simply raised her middle finger at Yang.
"Drop dead."
Ouch. That was harsh
"If you two clowns are already healed," she said, taking a drag from her cigarette, "then stop wasting my time and get out."
I tilted my head, confused.
"Already healed? All I did was sleep. You really think that's enough? I could've just slept in my cell, for fuck's sake."
"I gave you some pills, didn't I?"
"You should've shoved them instead."
___________
Now I stood outside the infirmary, one eye swollen and bruised—courtesy of that bitch of a doctor.
She was the first woman he'd met in five years.
Five years… or was it more?
Yang placed a hand on his chin, then casually grabbed the "puppy" by the right shoulder as he tried to sneak away.
"Eek!"
Even the sound he made was like a puppy's yelp.
"C'mon, where do you think you're going?" Yang said lightly. "Let me walk you to your cell."
The truth was simple—Yang was scared.
He didn't want to get ambushed again.
You might ask, what could this scrawny, bald guy possibly do to protect me?
Nothing.
He just didn't want to die alone.
"What's your name? " Yang asked " calling you puppy like this...feels a bit gay "
"R–Ryu Narushima."
"Wait."
The door behind them cracked open, and Koi leaned halfway out. "Before you go—take this."
She extended her hand toward Yang.
Yang opened his palm.
Two pills dropped into it.
"Just two?" Yang asked, staring down at them.
"I'm not getting my salary docked because some subhuman decides to kill himself with my meds," she said flatly. "Now be off with you."
The door slammed shut in Yang's face.
"Okay… damn," Yang muttered. "I just asked a simple question."
_____________
Three months later
Karate Thursdays were gone.
Apparently, after losing to Yuzuru, the master started suffering from serious health issues. And with no master, there was no dojo—no guidance, no structured way for me to improve or grow stronger.
So I had no choice but to rely on the Sambo book Yuzuru gave me.
Sambo roughly translates to self-defense without weapons. It's a martial art built from techniques borrowed from older disciplines—boxing, judo, jujutsu, and Muay Thai. It focuses heavily on strikes and wrestling, but kicks, elbows, knees, soccer kicks, headbutts, and even groin strikes are all allowed.
The problem was that Sambo demanded constant leg movement
Like any martial arts
And leg movement was exactly what Yang struggled with the most.
By the second month, driven by frustration, I used a sharpened toothbrush—stolen from one of the guys who had attacked me—and stabbed myself between the adductor longus and adductor brevis.
Was it extreme? Yes.
Could I have lost my ability to walk? Also yes.
But fortunately for me, the act worked.
The stiffness eased.
Could I have achieved the same result through constant exercise and proper recovery? Yeup
But I didn't have that kind of time.
Dai's condition had been getting worse by the day.
His skin had started turning red, his veins bulged unnaturally, and blood leaked from every opening.
I asked the doctor about it.
She said these were symptoms of steroid withdrawal—and that there was nothing she could do about it
The guards, however, didn't take me stabbing myself very well.
Thinking i wanted to off myself
They replaced our lace-up shoes with Velcro, and their patrols near our cell became even more frequent than before.
It didn't sound like something worth worrying about.
But in a place where power is the only virtue
even something as trivial as wearing Velcro shoes was enough to brand you
a silent mark that said you tried to off yourself.
Weakness.
And weakness led to this.
A fist slammed into yang stomach.
"Gaaah—"
The air was violently forced out of Yang's lungs, his body folding inward as pain exploded through his gut.
He was inside the gym hall now.
Surrounded.
One man restrained him from behind, gripping him tightly and keeping him pinned, this time yang cant use his hands to crush anyone testicles. In front of him stood two others, taking turns—one after another—driving their punches into his body without mercy.
No rush.
No hesitation.
Just the old cowardly tactic of ganging up on a single man
One of them was looking out the window, a cigarette resting between his lips.
He had short, spiked hair and a wide, solid build.
The mastermind behind every attack directed at Yang.
Yellow badge—Tarou.
A very cunning man.
He was here for robbery…
and attempted rape.
"EYES HERE!"
A fist smashed into Yang's face.
His upper body folded forward as spit mixed with blood, dripping in a thin trail onto the floor.
The man on his left grabbed his hair and yanked his head up.
Yang began whispering something—broken, unintelligible words.
"Khaha, what? Is the bastard praying?" one of them laughed.
"Hold up—let me hear."
The man in front leaned closer.
Yang's head snapped forward, teeth bared, aiming to bite his ear clean off—
—but before his teeth could sink in, a kick slammed into his ribs from the side.
Biting was Effective, sure
But predictable.
They already knew Yang's habits—his obsession with weak points, his tendency to bite when someone is close to his range
And this time, they were ready
As Yang gasped for air, the man in front of him slipped his right hand into his pocket and pulled out three pills.
"Ahem."
Tarou coughed once.
Every neck snapped toward their leader.
Without a word, Tarou dragged his hand across his throat—a urgent gesture ordering them to stop immediately.
The man behind Yang loosened his grip, causing Yang to drop to his knees.
One by one, they filed out of the gym
Tarou leaving last.
He paused, threw Yang a brief, unreadable glance, then spat his cigarette straight into his face before walking off.
Moments later, Koi stepped inside. Her eyes swept over the gym, lingering back on the bully squad before settling on Yang.
…
Who was doing push ups ?
A smirk tugged at her lips.
"you know ....I saw you get beat up," she said. "There's no point acting cool now"
"Nah, that was just part of the training."
Yang pushed himself to his feet, surprisingly steady despite having been beaten down from every direction earlier.
She let out a small chuckle. "Seriously?"
"Nah." Yang pinched the bridge of his nose, letting the blood drip onto the floor. "So… what do you want?"
"the doctors at tokyo hospitals agreed to conduct a neurological check on Daimonji. He'll be leaving tonight and will be gone for a few months."
Yang lifted his head and met her gaze. "Why are you telling me this? I'm not his mother—I don't get to make decisions for him."
Koi let out a quiet sigh. "I could put in a few words with Mr. Kano… have him schedule a checkup for you as well."
"Don't need it."
Yang dismissed the offer with a casual wave of his hand.
Koi's face tightened into a scowl. "They're going to get you killed, you idiot."
Yang was actually glad that a pretty girl was worried about him. For a split second, he almost thanked her.
But something caught his eyes
Then he glanced at the window.
Smoke was rising outside.
He was certain of it—someone was spying
"Mind your own business," Yang muttered as he gave her shoulder a light shove and walked out of the gym without looking back.
If someone with bad like tarou or that weird guard found out she was involved with him, he wouldn't leave her alone.
He had seen Tarou spike the trays , forcing some of weak ones to swallow strange pills.
Afterward, they would lose themselves—reduced to something closer to obedient dogs than people.
How did he even get drugs in here?
Yang didn't know.
But he was certain of one thing: that officer—the one with the narrow eyes—was involved
Tarou's strange hostility toward him couldn't be a coincidence.