Once upon a time,
In a castle lived a queen and her two beautiful children—
one a girl,
and one a boy.
The queen loved them dearly.
And she, in turn, was loved by everyone for her kindness.
You couldn't go anywhere without hearing something good about her.
She was an angel.
Under her rule, the kingdom prospered.
Then—without warning—
A disease spread through the land.
It devoured its resources,
killed its citizens,
and left the kingdom unrecognizable to those who once called it home.
Those in high positions weren't spared. With the kingdom consumed by disease, nearby nations cut all ties with it.
Even the queen was forced into poverty.
Still, she endured—doing everything she could for her kingdom, for her two children.
And slowly… things began to return to normal.
Then, one day—
A devil appeared in outside the queen's bedchamber.
The queen opened the door—
And found herself face to face with the devil.
It smiled.
And just as things had begun to return to normal…
Everything took a sharp turn.
"The devil took her children hostage, saying he'd return them… if she gave him an unimaginable amount of gold."
"…Let me guess," Yang said flatly. "I'm the devil?"
"No. You're the queen."
Aqua looked at him, deadpan—then his expression shifted, his eyes lifting toward Yang, something raw breaking through.
"Yang-san… is my sister alive?"
…
"I already know the answer."
He held Yang's gaze.
"I just want to hear it from you."
"What happened to your mother?"
Yang already told him—he didn't remember what the original owner had done to him or his family. There was no point in answering.
"…She died," Aqua said, his lips starting to quiver, his eyes glossing over. "From stress… not knowing that i managed to escape."
Just what did the original owner do to make him keep it this vague?
Yang sighed.
Sighing was the only response he could give.
The station door opened, and Doppo stepped out.
Yang glanced over his shoulder. "Took your time."
"Be quiet. I was begging the chief not to put this on your record." Doppo's eyes shifted to Aqua. "A friend of yours?"
Aqua quickly wiped his tears with his sleeve, then stood and bowed at a full ninety degrees. "It's nice to meet you, sir."
"Hahaha, what a polite young man." Doppo walked up and gave his back a light pat. "Yang, you should learn something from him."
"Master, if I showed you any more respect, I'd have to start kissing your feet."
"We wouldn't want that, hahaha." Doppo laughed, slapping Aqua on the back. "Oho? You're pretty frail for a young man. How old are you?"
"I'm thirteen."
"No good. When my son was your age, he was pulling an elephant around the circus."
Doppo pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to Aqua. "Here. If you ever want to join my dojo."
Aqua smiled politely. "Yes, sir. I will."
Doppo glanced at Yang.
"What?" Yang shrugged.
"…Are you sure he's your friend?"
...The two stared at each other for a moment before Yang's gaze shifted toward the entrance.
"Look who decided to join us."
Katō came running up, sweating profusely. "Keep it to yourself, I'm not in the mood." He tossed a black shirt at Yang, who caught it.
"What were you doing inside?" Doppo asked.
Kato wiped the sweat with his sleeve then look at his master straight in the eye and said "I was shitting"
!!!
"That's it? You look like you just came out of a fight," Yang said as he put the shirt on.
"There was no toilet paper, alright?! ...Heh"
Yang narrowed his eyes.
The shirt clung to his back.
It was warm.
"Why is the shirt—"
"I told you there was no toilet paper."
___________________
The three karateka returned to Shinshinkai.
Or rather—Doppo dragged the two former yakuza by their collars before a fight could break out.
He kicked the door open.
Inside, Suedō was standing before a crowd of students, leading practice.
Everything came to a halt the moment Doppo barged in.
He tossed the two inside, and before either of them could lunge at each other—
"GROW UP!!"
Doppo's voice thundered through the dojo, echoing off the walls, making the very building seem to shake.
Both of them immediately dropped to their knees.
"Huff…" Doppo exhaled.
The moment his eyes closed—
Smack.
Yang slapped the back of Katō's neck. "You fuckin—"
"You two are grown men acting like middle schoolers!" Doppo snapped, cutting him off. "Have some respect—for yourselves, and for this old piece of shit standing in front of you!"
He jabbed a thumb at his own chest " or at least have some respect for your school name" then his gaze shifted to Yang
"And you! How are you still alive!"
"…Is that… a question?"
"You almost gave me a heart attack, boy. Fighting someone on Kuga's level—what are you, a honey badger?"
Now Yang was a bit confused.
Was he angry… or impressed?
"What, is this Kuga guy supposed to be the ultimate badass?"
"I'm shocked your head is still attached to your shoulders."
Yang grinned. "Actually…" He grabbed his throat and twisted his Adam's apple slightly. "Hello…" A distorted, squeaky voice came out. "I was about to lose it."
…
"He told me in the cell to focus on dodging—or find a way to increase my durability to withstand more hits… or I'm going to die in the tournament."
Hearing that, Doppo placed a finger on his chin, looking up in thought. "If you two fought to the death, then he understands your limits better than I do… Let's see… I could teach you a few defensive techniques, but I doubt you'll learn them all in a month…"
Then his eyes widened.
"Train together while I'm gone. I've got something to take care of."
And just like that, he turned and walked out.
The moment he left—
Katō lunged at Yang.
Yang simply raised a hand. "sit…"
"Do I look like a dog to you?"
"Nah. You're just too weak to be useful practice."
"What?!"
"Didn't you hear Master? I fought Kuga and came out alive you stand no chance against me"
"And I'm supposed to know who the hell that is?"
"You're entering a tournament?" Suedō stepped in, the other students gathering behind him. "When? Why didn't you tell me?"
Yang blinked. "Master didn't tell you?"
Whoosh—TAK!
The sound of air tearing snapped everyone's heads toward the source.
At the far left corner of the dojo—
A sandbag hung in tatters, split clean in half.
Standing beside it, back turned to the group, was the one responsible.
Katsumi.
The moment his gaze met Yang—
"...Tsk."
He took down the torn punching bag and replaced it with another one.
This one had Yang's picture taped to it.
"Hey…" Katō tapped Yang lightly on the shoulder with the back of his hand. "What did you do to him?"
Yang ignored him and walked straight toward Katsumi.
"What do you want?" Katsumi asked without turning around.
"First time seeing you use that stance." Yang raised his hands slightly, signaling no hostility.
"Just say what you want."
"…Teach it to me."
Katsumi's eyes widened—then narrowed into a frown.
"…Why ask me?" His voice turned sharp. "Go to my brother and ask him to teach you? He's the 'real man,' right?"
"Here we go… acting like kids again."
"Just leave me alone." Katsumi returned to his stance.
Yang studied him.
Loose posture. Right leg planted forward, left shoulder leading.
"…Then fight me."
Katsumi closed his eyes, exhaling. "You're annoy—"
He dipped down.
Yang was already moving.
A jumping kick tore through the air—but Katsumi barely slipped past it. Yang's leg slammed into the punching bag behind him, blasting a hole through his own picture as sand poured out.
"Are you sure you want this?" Katsumi stepped back. "You look roughed up."
Around them, the other students quickly moved to the walls, clearing space for the fight.
Yang yanked the punching bag off its hook and kicked it straight at Katsumi.
Katsumi caught it
But the torn hole burst open, sand spilling out and splashing across his face.
He dropped the bag immediately, his eyes stinging as they began to tear.
Yang's right hand shot forward, gripping katsumi's face. His leg slid behind his knees—
And in one smooth motion—
He slammed him to the ground.
The crowed looked at the scene in shock
What just happened?
Yang defeated katsumi in in few moves !
In their minds, what Yang did was dirty.
Unfit for a karateka.
But it worked—on someone like Katsumi.
"Wanna go again?" Yang stood over him, grinning.
Katsumi's eyes were red from the sand, lips trembling, veins bulging across his face.
Yang bent down, grabbing his hand—helping him up.
Or at least… that's what it looked like.
The moment Katsumi rose
Yang drove his knee straight into his stomach.
"K—aaah!" Katsumi gasped, clutching his chest as he dropped to his knees, his head nearly touching the floor. Bloody saliva dripped from his mouth.
The other karate students exchanged uneasy glances.
This wasn't sparring.
This was a real fight.
"No one interferes," Yang said calmly.
"We're just settling things between us, After this, everything goes back to normal… right?"
He looked down at Katsumi.
Then stepped forward—
His right leg swung in a full arc, aiming to smash into Katsumi like a soccer kick.
As the kick landed, it lifted Katsumi off the ground and sent him crashing into the wall. He twisted mid-air—his feet struck the surface for a split second—
Then he pushed off again, launching himself back toward Yang.
His fist shot straight for him.
Yang didn't move an inch.
His eyes tracked the incoming strike as it got closer… and closer…
Until Katsumi's knuckles brushed his nose.
GRACK!!
A sickening sound echoed through the dojo.
Not from Katsumi's hit—
No.
Yang's hand moved faster.
Even with Katsumi's fist already at his face, Yang's punch landed first—slamming into his chin and dislocating it.
Before Katsumi could fall unconscious, Yang snapped another jab into the other side of his jaw.
GRAACK!
Now Katsumi's jaw hung loose.
"…Oh shit, my bad." Yang stepped closer, grabbing his jaw. He pulled it down—then pushed it back into place. "There. You're good."
He smiled down at Katsumi's stunned face, hands resting on his hips.
Then his expression hardened.
His right leg shot up toward Katsumi's face
Katsumi hit the ground hard.
He stared blankly at the ceiling as blood began pouring from his nose. His red eyes blinked slowly.
"Phew… nice. Seems like someone's tough enough to keep going…" Yang stepped closer—then stomped down toward his face.
Katsumi rolled—
Then shot back up with explosive speed, fast enough to make Yang's eyes widen for a split second.
He lunged forward, his left leg snapping out.
Yang instinctively raised his arm, using his forearm as a shield to lessen the impact—but even then, the force was brutal. Pain tore through it, like the muscles had been ripped apart.
Katsumi didn't give him a moment to recover.
He leapt into the air, flipping—
Caught Yang by the clavicle
And slammed him down into the ground
They were fighting on tatami mats, so the impact wasn't that severe.
Katsumi knew that.
He had something else in mind.
He walked past Yang, took off his gi, and slapped it straight into his face.
Yang pushed himself up, pulling the dirty gi off his face, then looked ahead.
Katsumi was already there.
Standing right in front of him.
In the same stance—
Loose posture. Right leg forward, left shoulder leading.
Before Yang could even process it—
Katsumi was already moving.
WHAP!! TAAAK!!
"Ah—"
A sharp, alien pain tore through Yang's torso—something he had never felt before.
Indescribable.
…Crap.
The thought barely formed—
Before a second wave of pain detonated through him.
Yang looked down at his torso.
There was a clear imprint of a punch burned into it.
They had given way.
The heat from the strike had scorched nearly everything in its path.
The bandages
Skin
His muscles hadn't even resisted it at all.
If anything…
He could even see inside himself—
His guts barely held in place by a few remaining strands of muscle, stopping them from spilling out.
I can't keep going…!
Yang's head snapped back up toward Katsumi.
Katsumi was still right in front of him.
His leg whipped up—
Striking Yang's throat.
…!
Yang's eyes turned bloodshot, veins bulging across his face.
"Don't worry," Katsumi said coldly. "Since we're fellow students… I won't kill you."
"Ghh—ghh…" Yang dropped to his knees, clawing for breath.
Then
He slowly looked up.
His face went still.
The pain twisted expression disappeared, replaced by something calm…
"…Oh really?"
A hand wraped around yang neck
Yang glanced back
It was Suedō, his face drenched in sweat, panic written all over it.
"YOU FUCKING IDIOT, LIE DOWN!!"
"Get off me—" Yang struggled, but Suedō's grip only tightened.
Yang's vision began to blur.
Then—
He went limp.
Katsumi let out a breath and turned toward the other students—
But before he could react, they all rushed him at once, tackling him to the ground.