Dragon Ball Z Uncensored

[Vinny]

Violence 16: The Divine Leg, Iga Hibashira
Violence 17: Farewell
Violence 18: Memory
Violence 19: The High School of Demons
Violence 20: The First Day

VOCABULARY:

Bancho: The gang boss of a high school.

Gumi: A Yakuza family.

*Like before, the first four promos were intended for the last month's PPV, but I never got around to writing them. That's why they aren't in the table of contents!

[Vinny]

“I don’t give my name to smart-mouthed pieces of shit like you,” Kenjiro says with his hands in his pockets like a badass. Hibashira kicks Yoneji out of the way easily and marches towards Kenjiro. The two come face to face, Hibashira with his flame-colored spiky hair and Kenjiro with his heroic pompadour. The Chiyoda High Bancho raises his head and sneers.

“Where’s Arakaki Bunzo?” Hibashira mutters. Kenjiro doesn’t say a word, doesn’t flinch. The staredown breaks when Hibashira cracks a smile before running a hand through his hair. “So this is how it’s gotta be, huh?”

FWOOOOM! Hibashira’s LEG SNAKES OUT and STRIKES the WALL BEHIND KENJIRO. With PLASTER FLYING, Kenjiro goes for a SWEEP KICK that Hibashira easily dodges. He lands on top of a nearby desk that is quickly turned to SPLINTERS by a swift kick from Kenjiro. Hibashira hops from desk to desk as Kenjiro tears through one after the other to get to his opponent.

“You’re not bad!” Hibashira laughs as he stomps on the edge of a desk, sending it FLIPPING through the air. Using his heel, he LAUNCHES the DESK AT KENJIRO but Kenjiro merely EXPLODES IT with a well-timed STRAIGHT.

“These guys … are demons …” Shigeuji mutters from his prone position.

VIOLENCE 12: The Gang of Four

Hibashira back flips from Kenjiro’s attacks up beside a random student. He snatches the student’s satchel with his leg, opens the latch with his foot, and hurls the contents towards Kenjiro. But unfortunately for Kenjiro, the contents are a bunch of SUPER SHARP PENCILS. SPRT! Kenjiro CHARGES forward, ignoring the pencils as they jam into his face. Using the wall as a springboard, HIBASHIRA BOLTS off and nails a SPINNING DRILL KICK into KENJIRO’S CHEST.

“GUH!” Kenjiro groans as blood trails from his mouth. He crashes through the student’s desks and onto the teacher’s desk. Hibashira, hopping from foot to foot cockily, rubs his finger across his nose like Bruce Lee.

“Don’t tell me it’s already over!” Hibashira says. Kenjiro kips to his feet and BOOTS a desk towards HIBASHIRA. Hibashira catches it as THE BURNING HEART SLIDES FORWARD on ONE HEEL, prepping the ETERNAL LOOP!

“ATATATATATATA!” KENJIRO SHRIEKS as his MACH KICKS STRIKE the DESK HIBASHIRA is HOLDING. Hibashira is pushed back further and further before KENJIRO’S FOOT breaks the DESK and DRIVES ITSELF into HIBA’S STERNUM.

“GUOOOH!” Hibashira spews. He is FLUNG backwards through the classroom window and sent careening five stories down.

“YEAH!” the Jijiji Trio shout while lying on the ground. Kenjiro slowly steps towards the window and looks down. He sees no one on the ground below, no body. Slowly, Kenjiro begins to sweat as a OMINOUS PRESSURE slowly pushes down on him. TMP TMP TMP Kenjiro looks UP to see Hibashira sitting on the ledge above, smoking a cigarette.

“!!” Kenjiro emotes! Hibashira drops HEELS FIRST on KENJIRO’S HEAD, sending him TOPPELING out of the WINDOW and causing both men to FREE FALL. Kenjiro hurls a KICK UPWARDS but Hiba easily BLOCKS it with a KNEE. In a desperate final attempt, Kenjiro hurls both LEGS forward which are stopped by HIBASHIRA’S HANDS. With his arms free, he DRIVES BOTH OF HIS FISTS into HIBASHIRA’S FACE and DRIVES HIM into the second story window.

Grip! Kenjiro pulls himself up slowly with one arm and peers into the classroom. Students stand around, confused at the red-clad man that just burst through the window. Hibashira rubs his head and slowly climbs to his feet.

“That was some move …” Hibashira cracks his neck, his body littered with shards of glass. Kenjiro hops into the classroom, his eyes shadowed over. However, his murderous intent is disrupted when he hears a familiar voice.

“Kenjiro?” Asuhara Reiko says as she looks over to Kenjiro. While Kenjiro is stunned, Hibashira gracefully appears before her. Taking her hand, he brings it to his lips and kisses it gently.

“No one ever told me Junction Star High contained such a beauty,” Hibashira says as blood streams down his face. Reiko just stands there stunned as Kenjiro plods forward. “I guess it would be unsightly to show barbarism in front of such a delicate flower as you.” Hibashira relinquishes Reiko’s hand and turns to Kenjiro.

“Now that I know your name, we’ll finish this fight some other time,” Hibashira smiles. “I’m sure the Gang of Four will be interested in you, Kenjiro.” Mulekicking the classroom door, Hibashira quickly retreats.

Kenjiro falls to a knee and holds his broken ribs. “That bastard …” Kenjiro mutters to himself.

-----

The towering Andy walks through the halls of Tezuka Memorial Hospital, lumbering over the diminutive nurses that scurry from room to room. He is wearing his traditional attire: a bucket hat, a Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts, and a pair of sandals. However, his ribs are covered in thick bandages, protecting the wounds he received in his fight against the Edogawa Bancho, Maeda Akira.

Andy ducks under the doorframe into Arakaki Bunzo’s room. Bunzo has his feet propped up on the metal railing of his bed, a tropical drink in his hand.

”This really is serious, eh?” Bunzo says, slurping his drink.

“The guy that attacked Kenjiro … he’s from the Gang of Four,” Andy mutters with SHADOWS over his eyes.

”The Gang … of Four?”

“Yes. You’re a Bancho, right? You should have heard of them,” Andy replies.

T-This guy …, Bunzo thinks to himself, chomping on the straw to his drink in frustration.

Suddenly, the room grows dark and a spotlight hits Andy, bathing him in shadows as he begins to discuss some serious shit.

“The Gang of Four. A group composed of the Banchos of Tokyo’s four strongest schools,” Andy mutters as he imagines four silhouettes above him. The one on the right is shaped like Maeda Akira while the one on the left is shaped like Iga Hibashira. The two in the center lack a defined shape as if the author hasn’t decided what they look like yet.

“The Gang of Four is the only authority in this land. In an effort to stop the constant warring between schools, the Gang of Four formed. It’s a shaky alliance at best, but the fact that they’ve reunited once again to come after us …”

Entering the room is a slender nurse with dark brown hair pushing a trolley. She goes about her business, checking Bunzo’s charts and monitoring medical stuff, as Bunzo and Andy continue their conversation.

“I see … so it was one of those guys that attacked Kenjiro?” Bunzo asks.

“That was probably Iga Hibashira, Bancho of Chiyoda High,” Andy replies.

Bunzo looks down at his hand, and slowly clenches it.

“Is there any chance we could defeat them? I mean, you did defeat Maeda Akira, after all!”

“Even so, Maeda Akira … was most likely the weakest in the group.”

DO~ONG! Bunzo slumps down in his bed, staring out the window as he shakes in fear. Although he never actually met Maeda, he heard he was one bad dude.

“But we have no choice. They are making their move, and we have to prepare to make ours …” Andy says as he puts on his sunglasses. The nurse grabs her dolly and exits her room. Once in the hallway, she reaches into her shirt and yanks out a cell phone. Quickly flipping it open, she presses send and holds it to her ear.

“We have a problem. Andy is here with Bunzo, boss,” the nurse speaks into the receiver. However, her voice is distinctly masculine …

And what’s the problem, Tsuneo? a very mysterious, very confident, very distorted voice emits from the phone.

“B-Bunzo we can take care of … but Andy, too?!” the nurse becomes disheveled. She begins clawing at her uniform. Her press-on nails snap off and her wig begins to slide off the top off her scalp, revealing short, jet-black hair underneath.

It’s being taken care of, Tsuneo. Don’t I always know what’s best?

The nurse slinks off into the restroom. Furiously, the nurse rips off her uniform, pulling out balled up tissues from her bra. The intense sweating causes his make up to smear, black streaks of mascara coursing down her cheeks. Tsuneo stares at himself, admiring his figure with splotches of lipstick around his cheeks, his wig clenched in one hand and the cell phone in the other. Slowly, he raises it back to his head.

“I’ll kill them both. Anything for you, boss,” Tsuneo mutters.

THE BOSS’S ASSISTANT: HAYASHI TSUNEO


That won’t be necessary. I’ve sent #2 to handle the job, the mysterious voice says.

“N-Number t-two?! But you can’t trust that Sumida High bastard! He’s not efficient … his b-bloodlust …!”

Don’t question me, Tsuneo. He’ll handle this situation.

“Y-Yes sir,” Tsuneo says, dejectedly.

-----

Just outside the restroom, Andy is standing in front of the doorway as he adjusts the bucket hat resting on his mop of blonde hair.

“I’m going to see Kenjiro now. One of us will probably call you later,” Andy tells Bunzo as he exits the door. Suddenly, a LARGE, LOOMING FIGURE appears before him. Before Andy realizes what’s happening, the man’s palm strikes Andy firmly in the chest, knocking him backwards.

“Guh!” Andy utters as blood SPILLS from his mouth. His sunglasses fall from his face and he crashes against the window. As Bunzo watches on, terrified, Andy brings his fingers against his lips and gazes on at his own blood.

In the doorway is a man wrapped in a black trench coat, fastened together with numerous silver buckles. His face is almost completely shrouded in the billowing collar of his coat, a pair of black goggles obscuring his eyes. His skin is littered with scars and veins and a nest of thick, black hair hangs down onto his shoulders.

FWOOSH! Andy fires off a titanic right … and it misses! The statue-like intruder remains unflinching as Andy shoots a blinding jab but that too misses. After a flurry of jabs and straights aimed for the opponent’s skull not so much grazing him, Andy’s fists drop. Bunzo’s mouth hangs agape.

“Is he … that fast, Andy?” Bunzo mutters.

“No, that’s not it …” Andy pants as sweat pours down his chin. Drops patter against the tiled floor.

“You’re right, your punches are dead on … but they aren’t pointed at my head,” the cloaked opponent mutters is an absurdly low, creepy voice. “Your vision is getting blurry now the poison has made its way through your blood stream. Hand-eye coordination has been severely reduced.”

Poison?! Bunzo thinks. He then watches as the intruder raises a finger. His fingernails are jet-black and sharpened into points, a bead of clear liquid hanging from the tip.

“BUNZO! Get out of here!” Andy shouts, “Warn Kenjiro! You have to-“ BOOOM! The intruder buries a fist into ANDY’S CHEST. Andy lifelessly slumps down onto the intruder, his arms gripping his coat weakly.

“Can you even see?” the intruder asks. Andy falls face first, his head cracking against the floor as the giant drops.

Click The intruder shuts the door slowly as he turns to Bunzo. Quickly, Bunzo reaches for the button to alert the nurse but the intruder throws a small dagger and severs the line.

“So then,” the intruder raises his arms and cracks all the joints from the tips of his fingers all the way to his shoulders, “Let’s get started.”

SUMIDA HIGH’S BANCHO: IZANAGI DOKU

NEXT ISSUE: The Gang of Four’s #2 vs. Junction Star’s #1 Loser! And the result … ?!

[Vinny]

“What the hell did you do to Andy?” Bunzo says as he stands perched in his hospital bed, wearing only his gown and bandages.

Izanagi Doku, the #2 of the Gang of Four and Sumida High’s Bancho, is hunched over in the corner of the cramped hospital room. Doku looks more like some sort of scarecrow than an actual person. Clad in his black tattered trench coat with various trinkets and chains scattered all around, Doku cocks his head to the left and peers through his goggles towards Bunzo. He takes a few steps and kneels down beside the unconscious Andy.

“It was a poison derived from the Tetraodontidae family … pufferfish,” Doku mutters, his mouth covered by the oversized collar on his coat, while lifting Andy’s head with his pale, almost ivory-white hand. “Tetrodotoxin … his nervous system is being assaulted as we speak.”

“Is he … going to die?” Bunzo asks, his lips quivering.

“No. It was … a very small dose, less than a milligram. I did not come here intending to kill him as I was not ordered to.”

Bunzo slowly slides his feet across his bed, preparing himself to leap towards the door.

“Then why did you come?” Bunzo asks, his knees shaking.

“To kill you … Arakaki Bunzo.”

VIOLENCE 13: The Blight, Izanagi Doku

“K-Kill … me?!” Bunzo jumps back in surprise. “What the hell did I ever do to you?!”

“We in the Gang of the Four decided that you have become … a hurdle to be overcome in our operations,” Doku says as he stands back up. “I did not kill Andy as I was not told to kill him. I’ve only come for you … Arakaki Bunzo.”

The Gang of Four … I’ve should’ve known, Arakaki Bunzo thinks to himself, Looks like things are getting really dangerous.

“Go to Hell, you ASSHOLE!” Arakaki Bunzo grabs his pillow and HURLS his PILLOW towards Doku. Doku raises a black-clad arm to block the pillow spinning towards him.

KABOOOOM! THE PILLOW EXPLODES on DOKU’S ARM, RELEASING a HURRICANE of SCALPELS INTO THE ROOM. As the dust clears, Bunzo is pressed against the wall, his mattress in front of him acting as a shield.

“Tch, you guys severely underestimated me! Like I wouldn’t be prepared for an ambush while I was in the hospital. They don’t call me Bunzo the Genius for no reason, you know!” Bunzo says, slapping his ass and flipping the bird and all that shit. The smoke surrounding Doku clears to reveal his arm filled with scalpels but the rest of his body unharmed.

“D-Damnit …” Bunzo shouts. While Doku is stunned, Arakaki Bunzo grabs Andy and leaps onto the ledge of his now shattered window. “Why do you have to be so fucking heavy?” As Doku reaches his arm out towards Bunzo, Bunzo and Andy topple over the edge and begin FREE FALLING. They both crash into the awning below and bounce onto the lawn outside the hospital with minor injuries.

“Hey, what the fuck happened in here?” some muscular male nurse in pink scrubs shouts at Doku. Doku nonchalantly brushes by him and begins slowly walking through the hallway.

”Oy, I’m talking to you, prick!” the nurse grabs Doku by his arm. As he pulls, NEEDLES suddenly burst through the flesh on his hand. The nurse falls back, stunned, and soon begins to convulse from the poison hidden within the needles.

-----

“Help this man. He’s been poisoned with Tetrodotoxin!” Bunzo shouts, dragging Andy in through the front door of the hospital. Orderlies rush Bunzo and grab the white behemoth and carefully lifting him onto a gurney.

Arakaki Bunzo, his head bleeding from the fall from his room, limps over to the receptionist’s desk.

“We got to get the police here,” Bunzo screams at the receptionist, “There’s this bastard dressed all in black and he’s going to kill me! He’s got poison and-“

KA-TINK Bunzo peers over his shoulder to see two, metallic canisters roll in through the front door and slow to a stop at Bunzo’s feet. KASHSHHH! The canisters begin spraying a thick, yellow fog.

Poison gas?! Bunzo thinks as the cloud of yellow washes over him. Through the entrance steps Izanagi Doku, plodding steadily through the thick clouds. He peers at the hospital staff collapsing all around them, the poisonous gas rendering them unconsciousness. Looking around, Arakaki Bunzo has seemingly vanished.

BRRRING! The fire alarm sounds. Doku looks up and notices the ceiling tiles bulging, as if someone were climbing on top of it.

”I see …” Doku says, before walking in the direction of the bulging tiles.

-----

S-Shit … the police sure are taking their time! Bunzo thinks as he hides in an empty hospital room. Most of the patients and staff evacuated upon hearing the fire alarm that Arakaki Bunzo heard. Bunzo tears a strip off a hospital bed sheet and uses it to bandage his head.

Clop. Clop. Clop. Bunzo peers through the hospital room window to see the unnatural looking Doku slowly plod through the hallway. He stops in his tracks, raises his head, and begins sniffing the air.

“What were you doused with earlier … Arakaki Bunzo … was KOLOKOL-1,” Doku mutters as he continues pacing slowly, sniffing the air in short intervals. “It is an … incapacitating agent developed by the Soviets at Leningrad in the 1970’s. It’s impressive that you could manage to take a direct blast without succumbing to its effects.”

Panting heavily, Bunzo looks around for a weapon to defend himself. Attempting to crawl, he places his hand down on the floor and attempts to kneel forward. His arm buckles and he falls forward. Bunzo looks forward at his hand and attempts to make a fist, but nothing happens.

“But I imagine that although you retained consciousness, the agent had some impact on you … Arakaki Bunzo,” Doku says.

Damnit, I’ve lost feeling in my hands and feet … Bunzo thinks to himself, I’ve breathed in too much of the anesthetic. I can’t wait around any longer!

“Nevertheless, I can clearly smell the fentanyl on you. Hiding is useless … Arakaki Bunzo,” Doku says in his cold, calculating tone as he approaches a hospital room. With the sound of MECHANICAL CLICKING, he raises his left arm in attack position as his right grabs the DOOR HANDLE.

”Die!!” Doku shouts as HE SLIDES OPEN THE DOOR, ONLY TO FIND BUNZO’S DISCARDED HOSPITAL GOWN. IZANAGI DOKU’S EYES WIDEN UNDERNEATH HIS BLACK GOGGLES.

“EAT THIS, SHITHEAAAD!!” BUNZO COMES RIDING IN ON THE HOSPITAL BED from the OPPOSITE ROM, wielding the PADDLES of a PORTABLE DEFRIBBILATOR while his DICK FLAPS IN THE WIND. Doku spins around and attempts to BLOCK THE ATTACK but can’t GUARD HIMSELF IN TIME.

KACHOONG! THE DEFIBRILLATORS LAND PERFECTLY ON DOKU’S CHEST and UNLEASHES 1000 VOLTS INTO HIS BODY. INSTANTLY, DOKU IS HURLED BACKWARDS FROM THE CHARGE and SENT CRASHING THROUGH THE HOSPITAL ROOM WINDOW.

The cowardly hero slumps down against the wall and pulls a cigarette out from nowhere. Lighting it, he places it in his mouth.

“Shit … what a day,” Bunzo sighs as he takes a drag.

BEEP! Bunzo’s head bolts up from the noise. BEEP! Bunzo slowly raises his head and peers through the window Doku flew through. BEEP! Doku is SPRAWLED ACROSS the HOSPITAL BED, the EKG MACHINE beeping beside him despite Doku not being connected to it or anything.

“So that’s … what it’s liked to be electrocuted?” Doku says as he sits up. “Thank you for the experience … Arakaki Bunzo.”

F-FUCK!, Bunzo thinks. With a CLICK, DOKU raises his ARM and a SPRAYS FORTH A YELLOWISH-BROWN GAS in a SHORT BURST. BUNZO RAISES HIS ARM to PROTECT HIMSELF and the GAS IMMEDIATELY BURNS HIS ARM, FORMING LARGE BLISTERS ON HIS SKIN.

“GAAAARGH!” BUNZO SCREAMS as he CLENCHES HIS LEFT ARM. Izanagi Doku leaps through the window and GRABS Bunzo by his THROAT, AIMING the HAND that SPRAYED the GAS at Bunzo’s skull.

“Well then, Arakaki Bunzo … I have a proposition for you,” Doku says as Bunzo squirms in agony. “As you continued to flee from me, it became quite apparent that you aren’t quite the threat that the Gang of Four perceived you to be.”

”What the fuck are you talking about?” Bunzo says through gritted teeth.

“Killing you is pointless. Instead, I’ve decided to trade your life for one of your comrades. With Andy in my reach … Arakaki Bunzo … I want to use you as bait … to lure Kanzaki Kenjiro to this hospital.”

“K-Kenjiro …? N-Never, you bastard!”

Doku shoots another small burst of the gas on Bunzo’s thigh, instantly causing the flesh bubble and boil into thick, water-filled blisters. Bunzo continues to SCREAM to punctuate his MISERY.

“This is L E V I N S T E I NM U S T A R D, a type of sulfur mustard composed of dry ethylene and sulfur monochloride,” Doku says, running his black fingernails along Bunzo’s thigh. “What I applied was just a small sample … Arakaki Bunzo … and with enough I can turn you into a writhing, bulging mass of endless agony. But all of that can be avoided if you make a phone call.”

Doku brings a phone to Bunzo’s ear, but he slaps it away. Doku takes his fingernails and DIGS INTO THE BLISTERING FLESH, CAUSING BUNZO TO SHRIEK.

“Call him!” DOKU SHOUTS, pressing the PHONE AGAINST BUNZO’S FACE. Arakaki Bunzo hangs his head, and single tear rolls down his cheek.

“That Kenjiro … before he arrived at Junction Star High, I was the king of that school. But then he defeated and humiliated me,” Bunzo whimpers, “and now I have to follow him around, as his … LACKEY.”

“Do it … Arakaki Bunzo …”

“Ever since then, everything has gone bad for me, and now I’m being hunted down by … high school assassins! It is all his fault …” Bunzo says, his voice growing serious.

“Yes.”

“And yet … I refuse!!” BUNZO SAYS DRAMATICALLY.

“W-WHAT?!” DOKU SHOUTS, STUNNED.

“Despite all the trouble he caused me, he HAS DEFENDED ME! When I was just a good-for-nothing, worthless piece of shit … HE SAW IN ME A FRIEND! And that’s why I’ll DO ANYTHING TO PROTECT HIM!!” BUNZO DECLARES DEFIANTLY. Doku trembles in anger.

“ARAKAKI BUNZOOOOO … you’ve made a FATAL MISTAKE!” DOKU SAYS, LIFTING HIS ARM.

BANG! A jet of blood courses through the air from Doku’s shoulder. Turning around, Doku sees a group of police officers aiming their guns at him.

“Drop the hostage!” a police officer shouts. DOKU RAISES HIS ARM AND FIRES A STEADY STREAM OF THE MUSTARD GAS DIRECTLY AT THE COPS. BUNZO KICKS FREE AND BEGINS LIMPING AWAY AS THE POLICE COLLAPSE IN HEAPS, SCREAMING AS THEIR SKIN BOILS.

Doku rises to his feet as he watches the nude Bunzo limp off towards the morgue. Doku yanks an empty canister from within his sleeve and loads his arm with a fresh batch of gas.

-----

Kicking open the door to the morgue, Izanagi Doku carefully paces through the room, aiming his mustard gas-expelling hand in front of him. He passes body after body, laid out on a cold, metal operating table, covered in a thin white sheet. Reaching the center of the morgue, he lifts his head and begins sniffing the air.

“The pungent aroma of the sulfur mustard is unmistakable. This game of Hide & Seek ends here … Arakaki Bunzo,” Doku says.

On one of the tables, a body’s fingers twitch ever so slightly. TMP TMP TMP. Doku pauses, catching the movement out of the corner of his eyes. SUDDENLY, THE BODY SPRINGS FORWARD AND LEAPS STRAIGHT TOWARDS IZANAGI DOKU.

“Predictable, Arakaki Bunzo!” DOKU SAYS, SPRAYING BUNZO WITH THE MUSTARD GAS. HIS SKIN BEGINS BUBBLING AS HE SOARS THROUGH THE AIR. THE SHEET DROPS FROM HIS BODY REVEALING … THAT IT’S NOT BUNZO AT ALL. Doku is shocked!

Light GLINTS off the STRINGS attached to the BODY’S LIMBS. THE STRINGS MOVE UP AND ACROSS THE ROOM TOWARDS ONE OF THE DRAWER’S CONTAINING BODIES IN THE MORGUE. AS DOKU STANDS THERE CONFUSED, BUNZO BURST FROM THE DRAWER WITH A CIRCULAR SAW CLUTCHED IN HIS HAND. FWOOOOOOOOOM!

“ORAAAAAAAA!!” BUNZO SCREAMS, DROPPING THE CIRCULAR SAW INTO DOKU’S FACE! THE BLADE TEARS THROUGH DOKU’S GOGGLES, KNOCKING THEM OFF HIS FACE AND REVEALING HIS BLOODSHOT, BULGING EYES. THE BLADE SINKS INTO THE BRIDGE OF DOKU’S NOSE, SPRAYING BLOOD INTO THE AIR. WITH ONE ARM BLOCKED BY BUNZO’S LEGS AND THE OTHER POINTING AT THE BODY ACROSS FROM THEM, DOKU IS HELPLESS!

UNTIL A *THIRD* ARM BURSTS FROM HIS COAT, GRABBING BUNZO BY THE THROAT!

“You always need a trump card … Arakaki Bunzo …” Doku smiles, opening his cloak to reveal that his LEFT ARM was a mechanical appendage strapped to his shoulder, his real left arm tucked away inside.

“You’re right,” Bunzo begins to smirk. Doku looks down to see a clear LIQUID dripping from Bunzo’s circular saw!

“I’m a doctor’s son, you know. It would be an embarrassment if I couldn’t whip up a poison of my own,” Bunzo laughs. Doku drops him to the FLOOR and STUMBLES BACK. DOKU’S VISION BECOMES BLURRY, HIS HEART BEGINS RACING.

“W-What did you inject me with?!” Doku stumbles back, crashing through the MORGUE DOORS. He reaches into COAT and begins GRABBING handfuls of SYRINGES that contain ANTIDOTES to POISONS, but he drops them and they burst against the floor.

“Is it lethal? I even don’t know the answer. My brain isn’t so good, you see,” Bunzo chuckles.

“Y-YOU BASTARD, HELP MEEEE!” DOKU FRANTICALLY SCREAMS as HE STAGGERS BACKWARDS. He CRASHES through a WINDOW and FALLS OFF THE SECOND STORY. DOKU LANDS AND CRASHES ONTO THE ROOF OF A COP CAR.

Arakaki Bunzo limps up the front window and looks out at the possibly dead Doku. He runs a bloody hand through his hair and exhales.

“It sure is tough being a hero …” Bunzo smirks as a stiff wind flies back and causes his dick and balls to flap around.

NEXT ISSUE: Only two Gang of Four left! And Kenjiro begins training … ?!

[Vinny]

One day after the incident at Tezuka Memorial Hospital, at Junction Star High. It is time for gym class for Kenjiro and life is starting to return to normal.

Examining the scars on his fist from his battle with Iga Hibashira, #3 of the Gang of Four, Kenjiro remembers a time with his hands were softer, unaccustomed to combat. Like everything else, fighting came naturally to Kanzaki Kenjiro. It took minimal effort on his part to destroy. His limbs seemed to move on their own, exploding faces without a second thought. But now, Kenjiro has faced his first stumbling block. A man he cannot defeat.

“OYYYYY!” a deep, gravelly male voice shouts. Kenjiro whips his head around to see a BASEBALL HURDLING TOWARDS IT. Kenjiro’s hand darts up and he catches the ball with his bare hand, the ball spinning for a few seconds in his hand until it comes to a complete stop.

“Uwohhh, that was amazing! That was Itagaki’s signature homerun swing!” one voice calls out.

“You’re supposed to use the glove, Kenjiro!” another shouts.

As Kenjiro weakly tosses the ball to the pitcher, apologizing for his ignorance, a rugged man in a red tracksuit watches attentively. His brown hair is disheveled, his eyebrows are powerful and manly, and a cigarette hangs from his lip despite there’s no smoking in school. He bounces his wooden katana on his shoulder playfully before he spits onto the grass.

“He’s an interesting one,” Kaibara Haruo, Junction Star High’s gym teacher says with a smirk.

VIOLENCE 14: Kaibara Haruo

Once the game ends, the students leave the field and begin heading back to the school. Kenjiro looks up at the sky as he walks, lost in another world. Suddenly, a hand drops onto his shoulder, snapping him back to reality.

“Ooh, just as expected. Your body is really hot,” Kaibara Haruo utters.

“W-What?” Kenjiro stammers, pulling away from the gym teacher.

“There’s a lot of heat pouring out of you,” Haruo replies, “Your body temperature must be a degree higher than normal.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“So, you’re the kid that caused so much trouble yesterday, eh?” Haruo says, shooting two jets of smoke out from his nostrils. Kenjiro turns away from the gym teacher and continues heading back to class.

“I’ve already talked to the principal and the police and all that,” Kenjiro replies, his hands in his pockets. “He attacked me. That’s it.” Kaibara Haruo’s wooden katana drops softly onto Kenjiro’s shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

“Hey hey, that’s not what I’m interested in, kid,” Haruo says. “I don’t care who’s fault it was or whatever. I’m interested in what happened. You messed up the school real good …”

“And?”

“But you didn’t defeat Iga Hibashira,” Kaibara Haruo smiles. “You’re not strong enough.”

Lifting his arm, Kenjiro grips the wooden sword resting on his shoulder tightly with his left hand. Kaibara Haruo can feel a pressure slowly emanate from Kenjiro’s frame, and he sneers in response.

“I don’t care if you’re a teacher,” Kenjiro utters through clenched teeth, “but if you keep this up … I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Go ahead, kid!” Haruo’s grin gets super wide, his gritted teeth almost chopping his cigarette in half. Dust SPINS ON THE GROUND like a TORNADO after Kenjiro’s FEET as he TWISTS on his HEEL. Kanzaki hurls his fist OVER HIS SHOULDER, his ENTIRE WEIGHT BEHIND THE PUNCH. The fist closes in on HARUO’S SMIRKING FACE as he remains FIRMLY IN POSITION.

CRAAAACKK! KENJIRO’S FIST IS FIRMLY PRESSED AGAINST HARUO’S FACE … but HARUO IS UNAFFECTED. Kenjiro’s hand drops weakly from Haruo’s still grinning VISAGE as his knees buckle. The pompadoured hero looks up at Kaibara, his hand firmly clenching his wrist, as the sun shines behind Kaibara Haruo.

“My fist … it feels like it’s broken …” Kenjiro groans.

“Now you know the difference between you and Iga Hibashira, kid,” Kaibara Haruo says, not a single scratch on his face.

-----

Minutes later, in the empty Junction Star High gym, Kanzaki Kenjiro sits on the bleachers wrapping his busted left hand in bandages while gym teacher Kaibara Haruo drags his wooden katana against the ground. Taking a few steps away from Kenjiro’s position, he raises his sword and strikes the gym floor. The katana, despite being made of wood, etches a clear cut on the floor. Haruo raises his weapon and points it at Kenjiro.

“So kid, you wanna beat that Hibashira prick? Here’s lesson one,” Haruo says. “Get down here.”

Kenjiro scratches the back of his head and lazily leaps to the floor.

“What am I supposed to do?” Kenjiro asks.

“Simple. See that line 5 inches behind me?” Haruo points with his sword. “Push me past it using any method you can think of. It’ll be like sumo.”

“Any method?” Kenjiro raises his head and smiles. Kaibara Haruo nods and KENJIRO BOLTS FORWARD. Immediately KENJIRO CONNECTS with a ROUNDHOUSE on HARUO’S NECK that, despite its power, DOES NOTHING. However, Kenjiro doesn’t hesitate in his attacking and DROPS TO THE FLOOR. Spinning quickly along the ground, Kenjiro nails a VIOLENT KICK to the back of HARUO’S KNEE. But just as before, HARUO doesn’t budge!

Damnit, he’s tough, Kenjiro thinks, I don’t have any choice …

KANZAKI SHIPPUKEN: ETERNAL LOOP

“ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!” KENJIRO HOWLS as a THOUSAND FISTS RAIN DOWN ON KAIBARA HARUO. BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM! Kaibara Haruo’s ENTIRE BODY VIBRATES from the EXTREME SPEED of the punches, but he STILL DOESN’T BUDGE A SINGLE INCH!

How the fuck is this even possible? Kenjiro thinks as his fists begin to bleed. Even the top of Haruo’s tracksuit begins to tear apart from the volley of fists, but the chiseled musculature underneath is completely unaffected!

“And now that I’ve shown you defense, how about OFFENSE!” Kaibara shouts. In the MIDST of the FIST STORM, Haruo slides his SWORD forward while dragging the tip along the ground. Quickly, he JAMS the handle of the WEAPON into KENJIRO’S JAW.

As quickly as Kenjiro’s brain was rocked, he finds himself AIRBORNE. He ASCENDS FIFTEEN FEET in the air from that SMALL BLOW before FALLING BACK DOWN. Kenjiro’s EYES SNAP OPEN to see KAIBARA holding his SWORD like a BASEBALL BAT.

”H O M ER U N ! !”

CRACK! The SWORD drives into KENJIRO’S RIBS, sending him HURDLING across the gym. He somersaults backwards repeatedly before he can finally stop himself. Kenjiro raises his head, his pompadour drenched in sweat, panting heavily while Kaibara Haruo smirks like a smug asshole.

“If I wanted to, that last blow would have torn you in half, kid,” Haruo says. “That’s the power of ki.”

“Ki?” Kenjiro repeats.

-----

So, Izanagi Doku has been defeated? These men seem to be stronger than we originally anticipated … a mysterious-sounding voice emanates from a cell phone. Clutching the cell phone is the Gang of Four’s #1’s assistant, Hayashi Tsuneo. Characteristic of him, he’s hunched over, breathing intensely as he speaks in a phone. He’s ducking behind a trash can in an alleyway, observing Junction Star High from afar. He’s been waiting here since class began, and now it’s almost night time.

“Kanzaki Kenjiro still hasn’t l-left the school, b-boss,” Tsuneo stutters, “Andy and Bunzo haven’t been seen since the failed attack at Tezuka Memorial Hospital …”

I see. So that leaves just Hibashira, you, and I against Andy, Bunzo, and this Kenjiro.

“I can k-kill Kenjiro for you, boss. Anything for you, boss,” Tsuneo sweats.

That won’t be necessary. I have a feeling that he and Hibashira will be going after him very shortly …

“And if fails?”

Then I suppose I’ll have to get involved. I have business to attend to now, Hayashi.

Click. The diminutive Hayashi snaps his phone shut and slides down against the wall, exhaling heavily. He pulls down the bill of his cap and shoves his hands into his pockets as he begins to leave the alley, but SUDDENLY a FOOT CRASHES DOWN ON THE BACK OF HIS NECK.

“Grk!” Hayashi grunts as his face meets the pavement. Standing above him, with his hands COCKILY in his pockets is Chiyoda High’s Bancho, Iga Hibashira. Hibashira runs a hand through his flame-colored hair and spits on the back of Hayashi’s head.

“There’s no reason for you to be here, Hayashi,” Hibashira says, “Kenjiro is mine.”

“I-I understand,” Hayashi says as he writhes under Hibashira’s foot, “I was j-just leaving.” Hibashira lifts his foot and Hayashi pulls himself up. Just as Hayashi is about to round the corner, Hibashira grabs him by the shoulder.

“So you were speaking to him again, weren’t you?” Hibashira asks.

“Y-Yes. If you excuse me I have somewhere I m-must be.”

“Hey, wait a second, Hayashi. I was just thinking the other day, while me and Izanagi and Maeda were running around, that guy has been hiding in the shadows, directing us around,” Hibashira says as he leans in to the retardedly nervous Hayashi. “You know, it certainly isn’t fair that we’re his partners and we don’t even know his name.”

“The b-boss cherishes his privacy above all else, senpai, and-“

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU SNIVELING SHIT!” Hibashira yanks Hayashi up by his collar, “I will never call that man ‘boss’! There’s only two of us left in the Gang of Four now, Hayashi, so things have changed. I’m not risking my ass any longer if he’s not going to make his presence known! Give me a fucking name!”

“I c-can’t do that … the b-boss … he’ll-“ BAM! Hibashira SOCKS Hayashi with a RIGHT HOOK. A cell phone slides out of Hibashira’s pants pocket and clacks against the ground. Tossing Hayashi aside, Hibashira reaches down and grabs the phone. Opening it up, he looks for the last received call.

“It won’t do y-you any good, senpai … the boss only contacts me from pay phones,” Hayashi mutters. Hibashira tosses Hayashi’s cell phone and strikes him in the face.

“This isn’t over. I will find out who he is,” Hibashira says as he strolls off into the sunset.

-----

“I don’t get it. I only thought ki existed in like anime, right?” Kenjiro says puzzled as he scratches the back of his head. Pulling another crumpled cigarette from his back, Haruo walks over to a heavy bag hanging from a wall.

“I don’t care what you call it, kid, but it exists as plainly as that goofy puff of hair on your head,” Haruo mutters as Kenjiro frowns. Pulling back his left fist, Haruo throws a quick jab. The bag moves slightly.

”That was just me, just my muscles working together. But now, add a little bit of ki,” Haruo says, as he pulls back his hand again. FWAP! His hand goes CLEANLY through the bag, spilling sand onto the floor.

“UWOHH! How did you do that?!” Kenjiro exclaims, leaping to his feet.

“The basic principle of ki is that it hardens your body,” Kaibara Haruo says, “I’ve seen your grades so I think this won’t be lost on you. The way ki works, is that is brings order to your molecules.”

“Order?”

“The only thing stronger than diamonds is carbon, right? But they’re basically the same thing. The difference is carbon’s molecules are ordered in a different way. How molecules are ordered dictates how strong their bonds are, and how strong the bonds dictate how strong an object is,” Haruo says as he walks over to the heavy bag.

“The fundamental flaw in the human body is that we’re fragile,” Haruo says, prodding the hole in the bag with his wooden sword. “That first punch my fist was just a fist. It was susceptible to breaking like anyone else’s. That second punch, however, my hand was made of steel …”

“S-Steel? I don’t quite get it,” Kenjiro says.

“Think of your body as being filled with sand,” Haruo says, as an extremely retarded graph appears above his head. “When I punched through that bag, my hand easily passed through that sand as if it weren’t even there. However, if each grain of sand was arranged in a certain way, it would’ve been as hard as stone. That’s how the body works. If the molecules are ordered in a precise way, it can achieve results thought to be unattainable by humans …”

“But how can you do this? You can’t just force your body to polarize molecules.”

“Oh, you can’t?” Haruo mutters as he approaches Kenjiro. Taking his hand, he places his index and middle finger at the top of his neck, just below the skull. “This is the secret.”

“The secret?”

“Everyone can and uses ki, they just don’t know how to control it. It just sort of happens. We’ve all heard of stories where people are in deadly car crashes where they just walk away with minimal injuries. Or even feats of strength that was chalked up to adrenaline. The ‘L U C K YP U N C H’ in boxing, exactly how much does ‘luck’ have to do with it? It’s all the result of the secrets locked within our bodies, within the brain stem …”

“B-brain s-stem?”

“One of the most primitive parts of the human body is the brain stem and is found in all vertebrates,” Haruo blows a ring of smoke out while an X-Ray photo of a brain floats above his head. “Whereas mammalian evolution developed the highest sphere of the brain, the brain stem is mostly untouched from animal to animal. Its greatest secret is that it can process ki from regular energy, the kind that is extracted in our food. Perhaps like the tailbone, the ability to create ki was an evolutionary leftover, no longer necessary in a world were survival isn’t just for the fittest.”

“But how do you make ki? How do I use it?”

”Tseh,” Haruo spits, “That’s like asking me to imagine a color that doesn’t exist. The brain stem is like a muscle, so if you process ki enough soon it’ll become second nature. From the heat pouring off your body I could tell even now you’re processing ki as that heat is the energy you’re wasting in the process.

“Although there’s no way to tell you how to make ki, there may be a way to teach you,” Haruo says with a stern expression, “But the path to harnessing this energy is a dangerous one, kid! You may lose your life …”

Kenjiro looks down at his open palm and then slowly balls it up into a fist.

“Alright! Let’s do it!” Kenjiro says confident, posing in a quasi-gay, completely awesome pose where all his trinkets and accessories sparkle.

“As expected!” Kaibara Haruo says, slapping his sword against the ground. “Let’s not waste any more time!”

NEXT ISSUE: The training begins! The confrontation between Hibashira and Kenjiro draws closer!

[Vinny]

The sun sets on Junction Star High as Kanzaki Kenjiro begins his training to harness the mysterious force known as “ki”! Will he able to obtain it? Will he able to use it to defeat Iga Hibashira and the rest of the Gang of Four?

Clack clack clack. Kaibara Haruo rhythmically drums his wooden sword against the gym floor while Kenjiro stands at attention. Spitting out the butt of his cigarette, Haruo whips his sword up and strikes it, obliterating it to nothing in a movement so quick that Kenjiro was barely able to catch it with his eyes. Haruo cracks his neck, sighs, and steps towards his student.

“Any last words, Kenjiro?” Haruo says with a sinister grin growing on his face.

“Huh?” THWACK! Impossible to see, impossible to hear, Kaibara Haruo slid behind Kenjiro and struck the tip of his spine with his wooden sword. Kenjiro’s pupils fade out as he drops to his knees, his gym teacher standing behind him, bouncing his sword on his shoulder as shadows obscure his eyes.

“Finding it hard to breathe, eh kid?” Haruo utters. Kenjiro falls down on all fours and desperately attempts to suck air into his deflated lungs. Beads of sweat cascade down his skin and collect in a pool on the floor. His legs and arms quiver uncontrollably, his mind losing its reign over his body.

“Y-You … w-what did y-you dooo …” Kenjiro slurs, the commands his brain is sending to his body lost somewhere along the way.

BOOMPH! Haruo’s sneaker drives into Kenjiro’s rib, sending him airborne for a second before he crashes back onto the ground. Desperately, Kenjiro struggles to stand but his legs don’t have the ability, buckling after only a few seconds.

“Damage to the brain stem is usually fatal, you know,” Haruo says as he paces towards the white-clad Kenjiro, “but it’s not like I didn’t tell you there was a risk involved in this training.”

“T-training?” Kenjiro manages to utter.

“Yes. Now let’s begin Stage One.”

VIOLENCE 15: Stage One

“If there’s real only four like they say, then we’ve only got to worry about that Hibashira prick and one other,” Arakaki Bunzo’s voice rings in through Andy’s cell phone, “Who is that guy, anyway?”

”A year ago, when I first became the Bancho of Joto High, I was approached by the Gang of Four …”

With his school satchel slung over his shoulder, a slightly younger-looking Andy walks through an alleyway in his school uniform. As he passes a few buildings, he reaches the Koto Park that he has walked through countless times. Andy reaches the stairs to the Koto Shrine and a mysterious-sounding voice rings out in the night air.

“Andy, is that it?” a shadowy figure leaning up against the shrine, his arms folded as the moonlight shines against his back, causing him to silhouette.

”There … at the top of the stairs was a man like none I’d ever seen … eyes so cold it felt like he was invading my heart. Golden hair … and skin so white it almost seemed transparent. But most of all a dubious sensuality … the kind you wouldn’t expect from a man.”

“So … I hear you’re quite strong,” the man uttered while maintaining a ridiculous pose. “It would please me … if you would grant me a small … demonstration.”

”Somehow his words calmed my heart. That was what scared me – the dangerous sweetness of his voice.

“You want a demonstration?” Andy says, trying to display confidence. Immediately the IVORY GIANT begins ASCENDING the stone STAIRS. Three steps below the figure, Andy stops. He’s frozen. He wants to lift his leg, he wants to bash this pompous faggot in the face, but he can’t move. Cold sweat seeps out his pours as he trembles to move forward.

“What are you waiting for, Andy?” the figure mutters.

”And that’s when I ran. For the first time in my life, I was frightened. It was only later that I learned that this man was the #1 of the Gang of Four.”

“W-Who is he … ?” Bunzo says, his voice trembling.

“No one knows, not even those in the Gang of Four themselves,” Andy replies, eyes obscured by his bucket hat. “I’ve heard him called by a name though … Muteki.”

“I-Invincible?” Bunzo utters.

*Note: “Muteki” means “Invincible” in Japanese.

“Anyway, it’s time to stop being afraid. I’m going to look for information regarding who this man is.”

“Be careful, Andy. Since we don’t know who our enemy is, we can’t see them coming.”

As Andy leaves his house, his host-mother, Mrs. Tachibana, watches him with a worried expression on her face.

-----

I’m going to die … I’m really going to die, Kenjiro thinks as he crawls along the floor. He can hear the repeated drumming of Haruo’s sword tapping along the ground as he paces behind him. Grabbing onto a bleacher, Kenjiro desperately attempts to yank himself up but his muscles won’t expand and contract to make that possible.

GOOON! A swift uppercut with the sword sends Kenjiro crashing along the bleachers. Kaibara Haruo pulls another cigarette from his pocket to keep up his chain smoking.

“I have attacked your brain stem, rupturing the complicated highways that carry information to your body. I can tell by your expression that your pain sensitivity is out of control, and by your short, fast breaths that your respiratory system is failing,” Haruo says as Kenjiro tries to flee from his gym teacher. “You feel like your dying … but death is not an inevitability! That brain stem of yours keeps you alive. It is unaffected by your consciousness. It handles it duties automatically. To truly surpass humanity, you must control your body to its fullest extent. Overcome and conquer your body! DEFEND YOURSELF!”

CRACK! Haruo’s wooden sword crashes down on Kanzaki Kenjiro’s forearm, but that was not his intended target. Down on one knee, Kenjiro protects his face with his arm, a fiery passion burning in his eyes. At the base of the wooden sword, a small crack has formed.

Impossible. I’ve been pumping my ki steadily into my sword, strengthening the wood’s molecular bonds,” Haruo thinks. ”He must have finally learned to control it …

His entire body shaking, Kanzaki Kenjiro rises up. Lifting his head slowly, Kenjiro slightly smirks. With one trembling hand forward, he gives Haruo the finger.

“Let’s fight …” Kenjiro says. Haruo cannot restrain his bemusement.

T-This kid …

-----

Elsewhere, in the Nerima prefecture. It is nighttime now, and a loud and surly commotion can be heard from a local pachinko parlor.

DING DING DING can be heard from the rows of machines, never more than a few seconds passing without the sound of an electric chime. A haze of cigarette smoke fills the tightly-packed room, garish signs and blinding lights serve as the backdrop for the throng of sweaty players. In one corner is a man wearing a grey school uniform, a powerful orange Mohawk atop his head. His outfit is adorned with numerous rabbit’s feet and horseshoes and gay Japanese luck charms. He sneers and curses as he loses another game.

“Ehhh, what happened to my luu~uuck,” says the student, slamming his fist into the machine.

THE NERIMA HIGH BANCHO: KABAYAMA KOTOSHIRO


Kotoshiro inserts some more yen and watches the ball bounce from peg to peg, his fingers crossed as he bounces up and down impatiently on his stool. The ball drops into a hole and the slots spin. BZZZT. He loses, again.

“Aiyeee, my chopsticks broke this morning during breakfast. I knew it was a bad omen,” he steams. Suddenly, two other Nerima High students appear at his side.

“Sir, we have to speak with you,” one of the goons says.

“AH TAH TAH! I’m gambling here! You know it’s bad luck to talk to me when I’m playing!” Kotoshiro howls.

“But sir, this is very important,” the other chimes in.

“It can wait!” Kotoshiro mutters before shrieking after losing another game.

CLUNK! The two goons’ heads are slammed together, sending a bolt of blood splashing onto Kotoshiro’s jacket. The delinquents fall and standing behind this is the towering Andy. Before the Nerima High Bancho can react, Andy grabs him by his throat and hoists him up into the air, Kotoshiro’s Mohawk slamming into the ceiling.

“Ah ah ah ANDY! What the fuck do you want?!” Kotoshiro screams, “I have connections to the Iwaki-gumi, you know!”

“I want to know who the boss of the Gang of Four is, Kabayama,” Andy says stoically.

“Hah! You’re out of your fucking mind, Andy! Like I would even know that informa-AH AH SHAAA!” Kotoshiro howls as ANDY EAGLE CLAWS HIS NUTS. “NO ONE KNOWS, ALRIGHT!”

“Wrong. Someone has to know,” Andy replies. He tightens his grip.

“WAH WAH WAH WAAAAIT! Maybe there’s someone who knows. This one guy …”

“Who?”

“HA-HA-HAYASHI TSUNEO … from KATSUHIKA HIGH!”

Andy tosses Kotoshiro into his pachinko machine and walks away. Kotoshiro, slumped on the floor, looks up and watches the slots turn on his machine. 7. 7. 7. Coins spew from the machine and shower Kotoshiro.

“L-Luu~uucky …”

-----

The clashing of fists and flesh resonates through the Junction Star High’s gym. Ducking Haruo’s sword, Kanzaki Kenjiro drives his fist into the gym teacher’s ribs. Haruo’s cigarette fires from his lips as this is the first attack that has penetrated his rock hard frame.

“Good!” Haruo shouts, knocking Kenjiro upwards with the swing of his sword. Bending his KNEES, HARUO FIRES UPWARD with a POWERFUL LEAP to CHASE KENJIRO DOWN. Kenjiro, his eyes lit up, COUNTERS with a AXE KICK on the top of HARUO’S HEAD. Haruo rockets DOWNWARD but LANDS FEET FIRST, the gym floor cracking ever so slightly from the impact. Kenjiro comes SCREAMING DOWNWARDS with his FIST COCKED BACK but Haruo GRACEFULLY CLOCKS him in the THROAT with his WEAPON, knocking him back a safe distance.

Picking up the cigarette that rocketed from his mouth, he flicks his fingers and produces a spark to light it. Looking at Kenjiro, he gives a HEARTY THUMBS UP.

“Congratulations, kid. You’ve passed Stage One,” Haruo says. Kenjiro’s knee gives out and he drops down.

“R-Really?” Kenjiro says, panting heavily. Haruo turns and heads for the double doors of the gym. Reaching over, he hits the lights.

“Go home, it’s time for Stage Two.”

“Wait, what? You aren’t training me for Stage Two?” Kenjiro says, barely able to catch his breath.

“There’s nothing I can do, kid. It’s all up to you.”

“I don’t get it! What I am supposed to do?”

Haruo halts his exit, and turns his head slightly.

“Feel your cheek. Notice anything odd?” Haruo utters coldly. Kenjiro obliges, but senses nothing out of the ordinary. “You’ve stopped sweating.”

“S-Sweating … ?”

“Your body is processing ki at an incredible rate. Your temperature has probably raised another two to three degrees. Slowly, all of your energy will be converted to ki unless you stop it. Stage One was about opening the dam that unleashed that power, Stage Two is about closing it.”

The door shuts, bathing Kenjiro in darkness.

-----

Moths buzzing around the street lights illuminates Kenjiro’s path home. He walks with a limp, a grocery bag full of bottles of water as he downs one after the other, tossing the empty bottles in trash cans lined along the street. He looks exhausted but he’s never been filled with more energy. The ki floods all the way to his extremities, burning him from the inside.

I need a shower … Kenjiro thinks, Or maybe a bath in a tub full of ice.

Kenjiro then hears the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Turning around, he sees none other than the red-clad Iga Hibashira sitting on a parked car with his legs crossed.

”Kenjiro! It’s been awhile? Well, not really,” Hibashira smirks. “Anyway, I’ve got an itch I have to scratch and I really couldn’t wait any longer.”

Kenjiro, his eyes shadowed from the light from the street lamp pouring on top of him, stands hunched as bubbles of wet breath hits the cold, night air. Hibashira hops to his feet, one foot propped up on the hood of the car.

“So then, how about it Ken-kun? Let’s fight!” Hibashira smiles.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear!” Kenjiro smiles.

NEXT ISSUE: Their war final comes to a conclusion! Hibashira vs. Kenjiro, round two!!

[Vinny]

Oh, did I mention that Kanzaki Kenjiro is also a CAT?!

[Vinny]

[Magic Juan]

Hahahahahah

[Rice]

Fuck!

[Vinny]

On a night just like in any other, in this quiet Japanese neighborhood, two high school titans begin their fateful battle!

“So then, how about it Ken-kun? Wanna fight?” Hibashira stands, perched on the hood of a parked car. Kenjiro runs a hand through his pompadour and sports a confident smile.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear!” Kenjiro shouts. Hibashira flips his thumb against his nose and takes a fighting stance, bouncing from foot to foot. In response, Kenjiro brings up his fists. However, in an instant, the fiery Hibashira is gone!

VWOOOM! His eyes glaring, white orbs, Hibashira APPEARS behind and below the Junction Star High student, swinging his KNEE towards Kenjiro’s neck. KRCK! Raising a FOREARM, the ATTACK is blocked and Kenjiro returns the favor with an ELBOW. The orange-haired Chiyoda High Bancho catches it easily with his fist, but the sharp blow sends him skating backwards on his heels.

Flipping beside a car, Hibashira grabs the passenger side door and yanks it open. With a kick from his whip-like leg, the door window is SHATTERED and the GLASS SHARDS hurdle towards Kenjiro. Unimpressed, Kenjiro swats his arm and deflects the glass easily.

PAH PAH PAH! A flurry of RAPID KICKS against the DOOR breaks it loose from the car. Leaping over the car door, Hibashira tilts his leg back and hooks his foot through the window. With a flip, he HURLS THE CAR DOOR LIKE A DISCUS towards Kenjiro. Kanzaki Kenjiro merely leaps into the air to dodge, but HIBASHIRA had counted on that! RUNNING on the STONE WALLS blocking off the houses, he DIVES towards Kenjiro with a FLYING KICK.

GOONG! Hibashira’s kick SLAMS into Kenjiro’s chest, twisting his uniform around the point of impact. Kenjiro’s pompadour, obscuring his eyes, whips up to reveal KENJIRO was COMPLETELY UNAFFECTED. Hibashira SPRINGS off of Kenjiro and lands on the ground. A bead of sweat runs down his cheek.

This isn’t the same Kenjiro I fought yesterday!

VIOLENCE 16: The Divine Leg, Iga Hibashira

Hibashira rushes forward like a red blur, spinning along the ground and unleashing a series of Capoiera-style kicks. Kenjiro is equally as fast, however, and bobs and weaves between the blows. Bending his elbows, Hibashira springs OFF THE GROUND and LANDS a DRILL KICK on KENJIRO’S FACE. A jet of blood fires out of Kenjiro’s nose but he merely SHRUGS the ATTACK OFF, STEPPING into Hibashira’s range to LAND a VIOLENT HOOK into his RIBCAGE.

“GUAAH!” Hibashira GROANS as he is knocked over a stone wall. Suddenly, the BRICKS in the wall begin FIRING, flying towards Kenjiro. The stone EXPLODES as Kenjiro DODGES each BRICK. Hibashira continues to break the bricks from the MORTARS with precise kicks, launching them as weapons, as Kenjiro scrambles away. BRKK! A brick nails Kenjiro in the chest, exploding off his ki-hardened body. Two more fly forward, striking him in the shoulder and leg and KNOCKING him into a nearby car.

“YOU’LL FIND THIS ONE FAMILIAR, KENJIROOO!” Hibashira SHOUTS as he FLIES FORWARD. Before Kenjiro can react, Hibashira BEGINS STRIKING him with MACH KICKS while he’s pinned helplessly against the car. “ATATATATATATATA!” he screams!

BAMBAMBAMBAMBAM! Kenjiro’s FRAME CONVULSES from the FLURRY as blood begins to spill from his mouth. The steel of the car behind him crumples a little more with each blow. Kenjiro tries to lift his arms, but can’t, the storm of kicks pinning his body down firmly. As more and more BLOOD spills from his BODY, Kenjiro’s eyes begin to LIGHT UP WITH A FURIOUS RAGE. And with that, he cranes back his neck …

BOOOOOOOOOM! The BONES in HIBASHIRA’S FOOT EXPLODE. Kenjiro just COUNTERED his KICK with a GODDAMNED HEAD BUTT. STEAM and BLOOD SPRAYS into the AIR.

H-How … he countered … with a head butt of all things?! Hibashira thinks, waterfalls of sweat running down his head.

Kenjiro LIFTS himself up off the battered car and slouches forward, his arms and head hanging limply. Hibashira hops back on one foot, attempting to CREATE DISTANCE BETWEEN HIMSELF and KENJIRO.

Shooooo. A heat distorting aura surrounds Kenjiro as he lurches towards Hibashira. The Chiyoda High Bancho can feel Kenjiro’s murderous intent, the overwhelming pressure coming off his body.

This c-can’t be … this isn’t the same Kenjiro at all! Hibashira thinks.

Kenjiro’s head bobs up and his PIERCING GAZE hits Hibashira. Hibashira SWALLOWS his FEAR and becomes ENRAGED at the prospect of DEFEAT.

“KENJIROOOOOO!!” he says CHARGING FORWARD. Pivoting on his BROKEN FOOT, Hibashira UNLEASHES a SCREECHING ROUNDHOUSE KICK. But as the foot closes in, Kenjiro is no LONGER THERE. Iga Hibashira’s eyes drift downwards in time to SEE KENJIRO’S FOOT JAMMING ITSELF UNDER HIS CHIN.

“GUOOOOH!” HIBASHIRA MOANS as a RIPPLE of FLESH travels up through HIS FACE FROM THE IMPACT. Kenjiro is crouched below him after throwing his lower body upwards like a spear to execute that powerful kick.

The dazed Hibashira goes airborne. When he opens his eyes, he sees the night sky. THEN HE SEES KENJIRO FLOATING ABOVE HIM after MIRRORING his ASCENT by PERFORMING A BACKFLIP. At the APEX of the BACKFLIP, he uses ALL THAT MOMENTUM TO DRIVE HIS FUCKING FOOT INTO HIBASHIRA’S FACE. HIBASHIRA IS SENT ROCKETING DOWN, CRASHING THROUGH A STREET LAMP BEFORE BOUNCING OFF THE HOOD OF A CAR.

KANZAKI SHIPPUKEN: 360º

Kanzaki Kenjiro descends to the ground and falls to a knee. The severely damaged Hibashira lies on the street, looking up at the starry sky.

“So now … I finally know … defeat,” Hibashira says, hacking up some blood.

“Is this … over? These attacks?” Kenjiro repeats. Hibashira weakly chuckles.

“From me, yeah. But all that’s left … is our boss. There’s no telling what he’ll do.”

Kenjiro stands up and turns away from Hibashira and continues to head home. However, in only twenty steps he collapses entirely from exhaustion. Standing in the shadows of a building with his arms crossed is the Junction Star High gym teacher, Kaibara Haruo.

“So, he’s mastered Stage Two,” Haruo mutters to himself. “All that’s left is Stage Three.”

-----

It’s the next day in the Koto Ward, and Arakaki Bunzo is relaxing and enjoying an ice cream cone while wearing sunglasses for some reason. Amidst the crowd of people going about their daily lives is a towering, white foreigner. He, too, is wearing sunglasses to accompany his bucket hat, green Hawaiian shirt, and swimming trunks.

“Did you get the information?” Andy asks. Bunzo reaches into his uniform’s inner pocket and pulls out a photo. It is of the Gang of Four’s #1’s assistant, Hayashi Tsuneo.

“This is the only Hayashi Tsuneo my sources could find. I couldn’t get much info on the him, but it’s certainly weird that a guy like him would be associated with the Gang of Four,” Bunzo utters, licking up a dollop of ice cream. “Do you think that guy was feeding you bullshit?”

“No. And if so, why would he pick a guy like this?” Andy replies. Bunzo nods his head in affirmation.

“Regardless, as big as you are, you’re not going to be very inconspicuous. I hope you get to this Tsuneo prick before the Gang of Four gets to you, Andy.”

Andy shoves the photo in his shirt pocket, pulls down his bucket hat, and walks off.

-----

Hours later at the Tachibana household, Andy is eating with his host mother, Mrs. Tachibana. Andy diligently eats the steak and rice prepared for him while Mrs. Tachibana watches him from across the table, worry in her eyes.

”Andy … you haven’t said anything all meal,” Mrs. Tachibana asks. “Is there something wrong?”

“No, Mrs. Tachibana,” Andy replies, never resting his chopsticks.

“Are you sure? As of late, you look like something has been troubling you. You know you can tell me.”

“I’m all right, Mrs. Tachibana.”

Clink. Andy’s chopsticks clatter against the empty bowl as he rises up from his seat. Walking towards the door, he pulls his hat off its rack and drops it on his head. Mrs. Tachibana comes up from behind him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m leaving for a little while,” Andy says. As Andy turns the knob, Mrs. Tachibana’s grip on his shoulder grows tight and he stops.

”You’re going to fight again, aren’t you, Andy?” Tachibana asks. There is a long, somber silence between the two. Andy turns his head slowly and nods.

“I could never lie to you, Mrs. Tachibana,” Andy says.

“Why are you doing this? I don’t understand. Why do you insist on fighting?”

Andy looks down at his mammoth fist, and turns it over, examining every inch. Faded burn marks streak across his palm as if it were grilled. For a brief second, Andy imagines his father. When he’s found his answer, he locks eyes with Mrs. Tachibana.

“For someone like me, fighting is all I have. Before these fists only brought me shame, but now … I realize that they’re actually something to be proud of. I’m using them for the right reasons now … to protect my friends.”

Mrs. Tachibana hangs her head as Andy opens the door. As he steps out, he turns back one last time and smiles.

“Goodbye, Mrs. Tachibana. Or should I say … mama.”

The door closes. Mrs. Tachibana waits pauses for a few moments, watching the door, before returning to the kitchen to clean the dishes.

-----

The familiar sound of Big Ben plays outside of Katsuhika High in the Katsuhika ward of Tokyo. A throng of orange uniformed students exits through the front gates of the high school. In the middle of the crowd is meek looking student, shorter than his peers, with short, jet-black hair and his books held tightly against his chest. He seems to compulsively sweat while avoiding eye contact with people around him.

As he exits through the front gates, a meaty hand drops on the top of his head.

“Let’s talk, Hayashi Tsuneo,” Andy says stoically.

NEXT ISSUE: Andy corners the boss’s assistant! And the identity of the leader of the Gang of Four is … ?!

[Vinny]

“Let’s talk, Hayashi Tsuneo …” Andy says, his pale, blue eyes transfixed on the diminutive student Hayashi Tsuneo. Upon seeing the giant, Tsuneo begins to sweat at an increased rate. His teeth start to chatter. His hands tremble. His knees start to buckle.

Hayashi Tsuneo knows exactly why this man is here! He’s looking to discover the identity of the leader of the Gang of Four!

“I c-c-can’t talk … sir … I’m going to be late for c-cram school,” Hayashi stutters as he tries to flee but Andy merely grabs him by his collar.

“This won’t take long. I just want to ask a few questions,” Andy utters.

VIOLENCE 17: Farewell

“L-Look … I’m a just a student. I d-don’t know what you want with me,” Hayashi Tsuneo sweats, struggling against Andy’s grip. “If y-you want to bully me, I’ll just g-give you my money.”

“That’s not it at all. I just want to know about a certain person …”

TMP TMP TMP. This has confirmed it for Hayashi Tsuneo. It heart strains against his chest. He knows the answer that Andy seeks!

“I don’t know … anyb-body. P-please, I need to get home … !”

FWIP! ANDY’s hand CLAMPS DOWN on HAYASHI TSUNEO’S NECK. HIS FINGERS DIG INTO THE SIDES OF HIS THROAT. As Hayashi chokes, he can FEEL THE INTENSE PRESSURE EMANATING FROM ANDY.

“You just said you were headed to cram school,” Andy mutters. DO~ONG! Hayashi digs his fingers into Andy’s hand but attempting to break is completely futile.

“I-I-I need to g-go home first!” Hayashi Tsuneo kicks the air as he’s slowly lifted off the ground.

“You’ve already lied to me once, Hayashi Tsuneo,” Andy says, his voice growing even more serious as SHADOWS OBSCURE HIS EYES. “Now I’m going to ask you one question and one question only … and you best not lie to me.”

TMP TMP TMP! TSUNEO’S BREATH BECOMES SHORT, HIS EYES SLOWLY BULGE FROM THEIR SOCKETS.

“WHO IS THIS THE LEADER OF THE GANG OF FOUR?!” ANDY SHOUTS. “WHO IS MUTEKI?!”

FWOOOOOOOM!

-----

In a small café in the Junction Star ward, Bunzo sips some gay tropical drink while his feet are propped up on a table. A bell set above the entrance to the establishment chimes as the door is opened. Entering is the Jijiji Trio, Arakaki Bunzo’s lackeys, with a few books under their arms.

“We got the information you wanted, boss!” Shigeuji, the blonde pompadour’d goon says singily.

The pile of books land in a heap at Bunzo’s feet. Sitting up, he takes off his sunglasses and reads the cover. KATSUHIKA HIGH YEARBOOK 2005-2006.

“Good! Maybe we can actually get a little bit of info on this bastard,” Bunzo says, flipping it open. He flips page after page, finally reaching the Juniors section. Tracing this finger down the page, he passes goofy portrait after goofy portrait of Asians smiling with crooked teeth, unable to find Hayashi Tsuneo.

“What the hell, where is this guy?” Bunzo says, sneering.

“We couldn’t find him in the yearbook, boss,” Yonenji, the bald goon, adds.

“What, did he transfer to Katsuhika High this year?”

“No. This is the current yearbook. It was printed just last month,” Katsuji, the red afro’d goon says.

Bunzo flips through it repeatedly, looking for his name or his face, only to find nothing. He isn’t in the yearbook at all. It’s as if he were a ghost!

“The directory, give it to me,” Bunzo orders. The Jijiji Trio can only shake their head.

“We looked through that to, and we can’t find his name listed whatsoever,” Shigeuji tells him. “It’s like he’s not even a student!”

Not even a student … Bunzo thinks, beads of sweat surfacing on his skin. What the hell is going on? Was my information wrong?

-----

“WHO IS MUTEKI?!” ANDY SHOUTS. Hayashi Tsuneo trembles at the name, and Andy sees it. There was a distinct reaction to that word, and try as Tsuneo might to hide it, Andy now knows that he knows. This is the man who knows who the boss truly is.

”M-M-Muteki … I’ve never heard of him!” GRRKK! ANDY’S GRIP TIGHTENS on HAYASHI’S THROAT. A tinny, garbled scream rises out of Tsuneo’s throat. Tsuneo rasps with every breath as Andy slowly chokes the life out of him.

“WHO IS HE?!” ANDY SCREAMS ONCE MORE.

BRRRING! BRRRING! Hayashi Tsuneo freezes at that noise, that sound of a cell phone. The boss? he thinks. Only it’s not his phone. Andy reaches into his pocket and retrieves his cell.

“Yeah?” Andy asks.

“Andy, there’s something strange going on that I need to tell you about,” Bunzo tells him as Andy continues to strangle Hayashi.

“I don’t have the time. I have Hayashi Tsuneo right here,” Andy replies.

“You … do?” Bunzo mutters. As they speak, Hayashi’s hand slowly moves towards his pocket …

”Look, I’ll have to talk to you about this later, Bunzo. I have to-“ Andy is CUT OFF when TSUNEO SLASHES HIS WRIST WITH A KNIFE. Blood FIRES INTO THE AIR as Andy drops both his phone and Hayashi Tsuneo. Falling to a knee, ANDY grips his wrist and GRITS HIS TEETH as the boss’s assistant flees through the crowd.

Ripping a section of his Hawaiian shirt, he uses the fabric to act as a colorful bandage to stop the bleeding. Yanking his bucket hat down, he mutters a curse to himself and begins the chase!

------

“Fuck!” Bunzo shouts, slamming down his phone.

“What’s wrong, boss?” the Jijiji Trio replies in unison.

“Andy went to Katsuhika High and found Hayashi Tsuneo …” Bunzo mutters.

”So, what’s the problem? That’s good, right?” Katsuji asks. Bunzo rises from his seat and heads for the door.

“Something is going on … and I have to stop it!”

-----

Scrambling between the cramped houses in the Katsuhika ward, Hayashi Tsuneo desperately flees from Andy. The unathletic Tsuneo crawls desperately over fences, doing everything in his power to get away from his American pursuer. With his lungs about to give out and a sharp, stabbing pain in his side, Tsuneo ducks behind a trash can to catch his breath.

Then his cell phone rings.

“B-Boss?!” Hayashi screams into phone.

Relax, Tsuneo. It looks like you’re in some trouble … the deep, mysterious-sounding voice of the boss rises out of the phone.

“That Andy guy … h-he’s after me, boss! He wants to know your identity!” Hayashi says, the phone jittering in his trembling hand.

I know. I understand. Just relax.

“B-But I can’t relax … he’s going to kill me!”

There’s nothing to worry about, Tsuneo. I’ll be taking care of things directly.

DONG! Hayashi Tsuneo cannot believe what he just heard. The boss is going to show himself?!

“Directly? Y-You’re coming here?!” Hayashi shouts.

I already am there … Tsuneo.

Clop clop clop. HAYASHI TSUNEO TURNS HIS HEAD TO THE APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS. In the ALLEY a GROWING SHADOW MOVES TOWARDS HIM.

“B-Boss?!” he speaks out. From around the corner appears THE GIANT, ANDY.

“EYAAAARGH!” Hayashi HOWLS. With a SNAKE-LIKE WHIP OF HIS HAND, ANDY REACHES OUT … but MISSES! Hayashi Tsuneo scrambles quickly along the ground, crashing through garbage cans as ANDY TAILS CLOSE BEHIND.

The horrified Tsuneo bursts out through a BUSY CROWD, attempting to HIDE HIMSELF among the mass of Japanese. Andy follows behind, towering over the crowd as he wades through them.

-----

Lying in his bed, Kanzaki Kenjiro looks up at his ceiling fan. His battle with Iga Hibashira and the training he underwent has taken a toll on his body. Even after sleeping for an entire day, he finds it difficult to move.

Kenjiro’s phone rings as he snatches it off his nightstand. Rubbing his eyes, he weakly answers “Hello?”

”Look, Kenjiro. Something strange is going on,” Bunzo tells him.

“What are you talking about Bunzo?” Kenjiro asks, yawning.

“There’s no time. Just meet me in front of Katsuhika High.”

“Fine fine, I’ll be right there,” Kenjiro says, snapping his phone shut. “What a pain …”

-----

Scouring the crowd of identical Japanese, Andy has seemed to have lost him. That is before he sees a blob of orange – the uniform of Katsuhika’s male students. Pushing through the crowd, he moves closer and closer towards Tsuneo. His long arm moves over the dozens of black-haired heads towards his target. Closer and closer!

“Tsueno …” Andy says to himself. He grabs Tsuneo by the shoulder and whips him around.

FWOOOM! Only it’s not TSUNEO he grabbed, but just another Katsuhika High student!

Suddenly, the color drains from Andy’s face. He releases his hold on the student, his hand trembling wildly. His pupils slowly fade …

“You wouldn’t let it rest, would you, Andy?” a chilling voice whispers into his ear.

Andy looks down to see a GIANT GAPING HOLE DRILLED THROUGH HIS MOTHERFUCKING TORSO!!

The American Andy drops to his knees, blood gushing from his wound and down onto his legs. Behind him is a man walking away, clad in a purple school uniform. A man with golden hair and ivory skin …

-----

In the Koto region, at the Tachibana home, Andy’s host mother scrubs the bowl he ate from earlier in the day. Rinsing the soap from the bowl, it suddenly cracks.

-----

“Mama …” Andy mutters as his bucket hat sails gently from his head. Kneeling in a pool of his own blood surrounded by horrified Japanese, Andy’s head slumps down and his eyes close. Andy has died.

NEXT ISSUE: Muteki makes his appearance, claiming Andy’s life! Fighting for his friends and for his family, the foreign hero takes his last breath!!

[Vinny]

It’s early morning at a dock in New York City, and laborers quickly unload a shipment off of a barge. Massive crates are hauled from the ship to a truck by tired men with weathered faces. However, one of the workers is only just a boy. A blonde teenager covered in soot or something.

Despite his young age, he can carry the crates twice as quickly as his coworkers. His hands are rough and worn as there’s no gloves for hands the size of a boy’s. When the job is done, this blonde boy sits on the dock and watches the sunset, wondering what life is like in far-off lands …

“This is all I can pay you this week, Andy,” the blonde boy’s boss says as he adjusts the green visor strapped to his greasy head. “Times are rough, kid. I mean, I’m doing you a big favor just letting you work there.”

The boy doesn’t say a word, he just closes his calloused fist around the few bills and shoves it in his pocket. He was never much for words, or expressing his emotions. He is resigned in his fate.

Walking home through a damp and dingy alleyway, a common sight in the Japanese perception of New York, some tough looking BLACK GUYS slide down fire escapes with switchblades in their hands.

“G I V EU ST H EM O N E Y , H O N E Y !” one of the African-American goons says. The two lunge forward at the motionless boy, jabbing their knives into his arms. The blonde boy bares his teeth and flexes his muscles, snapping the blades off their handle. The boy swings his arm but the black’s advantage of instantaneous movement allows him to avoid his attack. The goon kicks the boy’s head into a nearby dumpster, splattering his blood across the metal. As the blonde boy slips into unconsciousness, the criminals rifle through his pockets.

VIOLENCE 18: Memory

Hours later, the boy is awakened by a steady stream of rainwater pouring out from an overflowing gutter onto his face. He pulls himself up and continues home until he reaches his apartment complex, which looks like the shittiest thing in the world. Climbing four flights of stairs, he reaches his door and slowly opens it. His father, a huge asshole, is sitting in a recliner with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and the remote to his black-and-white television in the other. A mangy dog lies beside him as the father runs his fingers through its matted, coarse hair.

“Where’s the meat?” the father asks, not looking at his child.

”Huh?” the boy asks.

“Meat, for the dog. What’s wrong? Hurry up and get it,” the father says.

”I was … mugged … on the way home …” the boy replies.

CRASH! The bottle of whiskey EXPLODES over the top of the boy’s head, staining his blonde hair with BLOOD and LIQUOR. The father grabs his son by neck and hurls him into the apartment’s only window. The dog yips incessantly as thunder crashes outside.

“YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!” the father screams, grabbing the BOY’S HAND. Despite his struggling, despite his pleas, the father takes the boy’s hand and places it on the hot radiator. His flesh sizzles as searing pain jolts through his arm, into his shoulder, and up his neck into his head. The boy slips into unconsciousness again.

-----

The next day, at the docks, the boy unloads the shipment with a bloody rag wrapped tightly around his fist. His boss watches from a distance, letting out a deep sigh.

“I can’t let you work here anymore, Andy,” the boss says. “You’re injured now, too. I was sticking my neck out before because of your age, but I can’t have this, too.”

The boy opens his mouth to speak up but cannot force the words. He grabs the small amount of cash on the desk with his good hand and leaves.

On the way home, he walks by a rundown, seemingly abandoned factory. From within the building he can hear a faint sound. The sound is rhythmic almost, a loud, slapping sound that enchants the boy. Looking through one of the broken windows, he sees two boxers circling each other in a ring. BAM BAM! A one-two combination sends the boxer on the right reeling. FWOOSH!His counter uppercut misses, leaving him wide open for a body blow. The losing boxer crumples from the attack, and the victorious boxer raises a fist slightly before removing his headgear.

-----

“Keep your chin up and your left fist down,” says the owner of the gym, a surly middle-aged man who chomps on a cigar, often as men of his economic station in life do. The blonde boy surveys his opponent, a lanky Mexican with muscles that strain against his slender frame.

Once the bell sounds the boy’s face goes numb. Carefully, the Mexican nails jab after jab on the boy, sufficiently blinding him. Although this is his first match, it seems the Mexican has interest in making him pay his dues all at once. With the boy flailing desperately in an attempt to push away his opponent, the Mexican slide across the canvas and intends to put him down for the boy’s first K.O. with a chopping right. However, as his fist hits only air, the Mexican is surprised to find his BRAIN ROCKED by a TRIUMPHANT short UPPERCUT. The Mexican falls for the 10 count.

-----

The boy quickly climbs the ranks in the amateur boxing circuit, using his unnatural strength to quickly obliterate his opponents. It was here the boy discovering his longing, his purpose. He truly discovered his strength and put good use to it. He found a way to funnel his anger by destroying those foolish enough to face him.

With a right hook, blood splatters against the referee as the boy’s opponent’s head makes a sickening thud as it bounces off the canvas. That’s enough for the referee and he calls the match, awarding it to the boy. Taking his prize money, he leaves his trainers without saying a word and makes the walk home he’s made so many times before.

In a nondescript alley, the boy is approached by two goons wielding pipes. Upon closer inspection, the boy recognizes these men as the very same men who jumped him months ago. The black criminals lick their lips for some reason while slapping their rusty pipes into their hands while snickering.

“M O N E Y , B I T C H !” one of the goons says. The boy stands there, his blonde locks obscuring his eyes, his gorilla-like arms hanging at his sides. His lips curl into a faint smile.

“You’ll have to take it,” the boy says. The goons look at each other briefly before rushing the boy their PIPES HELD OVER THEIR HEADS. With a quick flourish, the BOY RAISES his PALM and strikes one of the goon’s PIPES, SENDING IT HURDLING THROUGH HIS TEETH and DOWN HIS THROAT. The other goon strikes the boy in the shoulder, doing nothing, as the boy SPINS on HIS HEELS. Grabbing the goon by the back of his head, HE HURLS HIM with ALL HIS STRENGTH into the BRICK WALL. Blood sprays into the air, some of it coursing down the mortar pathways on the wall.

The boy washes the blood off his hands using rain water spilling out of a gutter before heading home.

-----

Opening the door, the boy sees his father stumbling around drunk, the whiskey sloshing around in the caramel-colored bottle with each step. The father kicks his dog, sending it flying into an oscillating fan with no metal cage around it, causing the dog to explode into bloody bits. He turns to his son, a thick stream of drool sliding down his chin.

“If it isn’t the CHAMP,” the father slurs as the boy stands there, motionless. The boy walks over to the coffee table, moves away the numerous ash trays, and sets his winnings down. As the father rifles through his money, the boy begins to head to his room. As the boy opens his door, the father speaks up.

“Boy,” he says, staggering towards him. “Do you think you’re tougher than me?”

The boy doesn’t move, doesn’t respond. After a second, he twists the knob to his door. The bottle of whiskey explodes against the wall right behind his head.

“Do you think you’re tougher than me?” the father repeats. The boy slowly turns around and locks eyes with his father.

“Yes,” he says solemnly.

The FATHER SCREAMS as HE CHARGES FORWARD, his FIST COCKED BACK. Unleashing the straight, the boy merely tilts his head to the right, causing the father to punch through the door. With one HAND, THE BOY PUSHES ON HIS FATHER’S CHEST, sending him REELING BACK. Farther and farther the father stumbles, unable to gain his balance. He continues to clumsily stagger backwards like Liu Kang slipping on Sub-Zero’s ice until he reaches the window. CRASH! The father falls from his apartment, his SKULL bouncing off of a brick wall before the TOP OF HIS MOUTH catches the railing on a FIRE ESCAPE, knocking out ALL HIS TEETH. Finally, he falls into a trash compactor and is turned to BLOOD SAUCE.

Andy watches emotionlessly from his window before picking up the phone and dialing 911.

-----

“This really is an odd situation we have here, Andy,” a police officer says to the boy at the POLICE HEADQUARTERS. “You don’t have any known relatives living in this city. Hell, even if this country.”

The boy looks over his fist. The fist covered in burn marks from the radiator. The fist that killed his father.

“What we have found is a distant relative living in Japan. She said she’s willing to take you in.”

-----

In the Koto region of Japan, Mrs. Tachibana and the boy kneel across from each other in a small room, a bowl of rice in front of both of them. Slowly, the boy picks up the wooden chopsticks at the bowl’s side and awkwardly attempts to hold them. Once they’re steady, he brings them down to the rice. Pinching down on a hunk of rice, the chopsticks suddenly spring from his hand.

Mrs. Tachibana rises up from her seat and walks over to the boy. Moving behind him, she grips his hand and moves them towards the chopsticks. He picks them up, and she holds his hand steadily. Slowly, together they grab a ball of rice and bring it to the boy’s mouth.

“You’ll get used to it soon enough,” Mrs. Tachibana says with a warm smile. For the first time, the boy feels something he’s never experienced before. Kindness.

“This rice … is the best …” he replies.

-----

“ANDYYYYYYYY!!” ARAKAKI BUNZO CRIES, PUSHING through the CROWD. Once he finally gets through, Bunzo sets his eyes on the sight he feared most. Andy is kneeling in a pool of his own blood in the of this Japanese street, his eyes closed and a large hole bored through his stomach.

Bunzo’s lip quivers, tears welling up in his eyes. Bunzo falls down on his hands and knees and BEGINS CRAWLING towards Andy, tears flowing down his cheeks.

“You bastard! Why did you have to get yourself fucking killed!” Bunzo sobs as he wraps his arms around the giant. “Damn it … ! Why did you have to die, Andy!”

Standing behind Andy is, amidst the crowd of onlookers, is KANZAKI KENJIRO. He is trembling, shadows hiding his eyes and a small streak of blood running down his lip from his incisor puncturing his flesh. Kneeling down slowly, he grabs Andy’s right hand.

“Those bastards … those fucking bastards …” Bunzo whimpers as he shakes, unable to cry any further.

“Andy left us one last message,” Kenjiro says solemnly. “We can’t let it go to waste.”

“What are you … talking about, Kenjiro?” Bunzo says as he looks up. Kenjiro pulls a small piece of purple fabric from Andy’s hand. On the fabric is an emblem for a high school.

“T-That’s the emblem f-for Yomi High, in the Minato ward!” Bunzo shouts. “DO YOU THINK THAT BELONGED TO THE KILLER?!”

Kenjiro RISES to his FUCKING FEET, MURDEROUS INTENT SMOLDERING OFF OF HIM. Clenching the FABRIC in his FIST, he turns to BUNZO revealing the TEARS CASCADING DOWN HIS CHEEK AND AN EXPRESSION OF UNBRIDLED RAGE.

“I’M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM.”

NEXT ISSUE: In his final moments, Andy has revealed the location of Muteki! Kenjiro travels to Yomi High to take his revenge!

[Vinny]

Also, from now on, promos will deal with more silly things happening involving explosions and chainsaws, so the five people that read FTUW promos can safely read mine from now on.

[Vinny]

“Despite how … unusual … your request is, it is possible,” the principal of Junction Star High says with a stern look, his hands cradled on his desk. “However, you have excellent grades, almost the top in the school. Even that incident a few days back has barely tarnished your record. At your rate, you could graduate here and go onto a prestigious college, even Tokyo University!”

The principal sighs and wipes the sweat from his brow.

“The question is: why?” the principal asks. “Why would you want to transfer and to that school of all places …”

Kanzaki Kenjiro sits across from the principal, his legs crossed and shadows hiding his eyes. He reaches into his uniform pocket and pulls out a cigarette. The principal watches him light it and take a drag, too unnerved to object.

“I’d like to broaden my high school experience, Mr. Ito,” Kenjiro stoically utters.

VIOLENCE 19: The High School of Demons

Put put put put put. Arakaki Bunzo’s motorcycle sputters to a stop as he turns off the engine. Kanzaki Kenjiro, his foot propped on the sidecar, pulls down his cap. It is morning in the Minato ward and Bunzo and Kenjiro are at the entrance to Yomi High, the most dangerous high school in the world.

The paved road had faded to dirt half a mile ago. The soil below their feet is arid and dry, the only vegetation in the area is the occasional dead tree sprinkling the landscape despite that its springtime. In front of them is stone wall that is drenched in graffiti with barbed wire and railroad spikes lining it and a giant iron gate barring their path.

“So … Yomi High,” Bunzo says, taking a drag on his cigarette. “Somewhere in those walls is that fucking bastard.”

Kenjiro is stoic as the wind flutters his numerous trinkets.

“So, how do think we should do this, Kenjiro?”

“We aren’t doing anything, Bunzo. I’m going in alone,” Kenjiro mutters. “I’ve already made the arrangements. I’m transferring tomorrow.”

“T-Transfer?! What the hell are you doing?” Bunzo leaps off his bike so he can scream in Kenjiro’s face. “Do you have any idea what goes in that school?!”

Suddenly, an image appears over Arakaki Bunzo’s head, an image of a school with the appearance of a prison and a group of shadowy men with glowing, white orbs for eyes hovering above it.

“In this school, the law of combat reigns over all!” Bunzo says, his head superimposed over a bunch of muscular men standing on top of more muscular men standing on top of muscular corpses. “It’s a school where only crazed warriors thrive! The graduation rate is less than 1%! A terrifying high school where a student, upon reaching the 11th grade, must battle a hundred men!”

Kenjiro still doesn’t respond, so Bunzo yanks him by his collar, tears starting to well up in his eyes.

“GODDAMNIT, KENJIRO! The school you are headed to is HELL ITSELF! The floors are soaked in blood, the students are monsters and the teachers are yakuza! IT’S A HIGH SCHOOL OF DEMONS!”

“I have to do this alone, Bunzo. I can’t let what happened to Andy happen to you,” Kenjiro mutters, his gaze steely. “I will not lose another friend.”

“Y-You can’t do it alone, Kenjiro! I can help you,” Bunzo shakes Kenjiro while sobbing. “I’m not the same coward you used to know!”

“You are a good friend, Bunzo, but this is my fight.” Bunzo relinquishes the hold and plops down on his bike, hanging his head.

-----

Rattling through the streets of the Minato ward at 8 in the morning is a jet-black bus splattered with spray-painted Japanese curses. Once a bus to shuttle new inmates to prisons, it is now the bus to Yomi High where it serves essentially the same purpose. The steel has been reinforced, the windows are bullet proof, and inside is a dozen of the surliest goons one could lay eyes on. They are new students for Yomi High, a group of thugs that have been expelled from every school in Tokyo. Their faces are littered with piercing, scars, and tattoos, their heads topped with the most disgraceful of hairstyles.

And in the back of the bus is the 13th new student, Kanzaki Kenjiro, who watches the drab scenery go by as the scenery goes by.

Creaaaaaak. The iron gate to Yomi High slowly open, separated by burly, bald guys pulling the gate open with chains. The bus enters the campus of Yami High, a desolate stretch of road surrounded by what looks like a burned down forest. Slowly but surely, the grey morning sky turns to an unnatural red hue the closer they get to the school.

Flaming oil drums and wrecked cars little the area. From the dead woods rushes out a PACK OF GOONS wielding STICKS and blunt pieces of metal. They BEAT on the bus, screaming nonsensical gibberish while the bus driver (a guy with an pompadour and three cigarettes in his mouth) STEPS ON THE GAS. A few goons roll up on the hood and one delinquent hurls a Molotov cocktail that explodes harmlessly on the side.

A few minutes into the ride the bus finally arrives at its destination, Yomi High. The school can be described best as a large, black, stone box. Surrounding it is a twenty foot wall, of course covered in barbed wire and graffiti. Two guard towers are within the wall’s limits and can only be assumed the guards are armed with rifles.

Clackaclackaclacka. The giant slabs of steel that act as the gate recede into the wall, pulled by machinery like cogs and chains and things like that. As the gates separate, the first sight the new students set their eyes on is a massive negro with skin as dark as coal holding a student high above his head. BOOOOM! With a vicious powerbomb, the STUDENT is buried in the ground, only his feet still sticking out of the dirt. The bus comes to a stop and the students are led into the school.

-----

“Strip, boys! We gotta begin de-lousing!” utters a yakuza-turned-teacher wearing a sharkskin suit and an eyepatch and wielding a billy club. He incessantly rubs the vertical scar from the tip of his forehead down to his Adam’s apple.

YOMI HIGH TEACHER: KADONO AKIO

As Kenjiro walks to the showers, Akio grabs him by his collar. The yakuza sneers as he looks Kenjiro over.

“Geh heh, a Junction Star High student?” Akio rasps, pulling on the Junction Star emblem on Kenjiro’s jacket “You’ve fallen quite the ways, kid.” With a quick whip of his billy club, Kenjiro drops to a knee.

“Eh, get your hand off me ya fucking faggot!” shouts one of the new students as he pushes away a member of the school staff. The man is 6’4” and must weight nearly 250 pounds in sheer muscle. Sporting slicked back, blonde hair and a deadly glare, his attitude seems even imposing amidst the hardened Yomi High faculty.

HIGH SCHOOL DELIQUENT: ISHIYAMA RYU

“W-wait a minute, that’s Ishiyama Ryu, the All Tokyo Karate champion!” one of the new students whispers.

”Look at how huge he is! Monstrous!” another adds.

Spinning his billy club around, Kadono Akio struts to the defiant student. He leans over the props his chin on Akio’s shoulder, looking up to the karate champion with a goofy smile.

“Hey, come on. What’s the problem?” Akio says. “We all have to take showers.”

“I don’t have fucking lice, you little shit,” Ishiyama Ryu replies.

“Now now, no need to be testy,” Akio mutters, prodding Ryu’s cheeking with his billy club. FWAP! The KARATE CHAMP grips the club with his FIST and LOCKS EYES (or eye, rather) with the YAKUZA TEACHER. As the students gasp at the CONFLICT, Kenjiro can feel a pressure emanating from that direction.

Which one is it? Kenjiro thinks.

SHIP! Akio yanks the CLUB from Ryu’s hand and RAISES it above his HEAD to strike. The BLOW is parried by RYU’S ARM effortlessly as he HURLS his fist towards the teacher. Kadono Akio’s mouth opens in surprise as the FIST CLOSES IN.

GLRRK! Blood EJACULATES into the air as KADONO AKIO catches ISHIYAMA RYU’S FIST with his MOUTH! RYU can only TREMBLE at this turn of events while the YAKUZA’s GOLD TEETH SPARKLE as they SINK into his FLESH.

“Ahh, wah sah raaawf? (Ah, why so rough?)” Akio mutters as he begins PRESSING his teeth into Ryu’s FINGER BONES. “Yah rally nayd ah lahsahn … (You really need a lesson …)”

CHOMP! AKIO TEARS THE FLESH off RYU’S FIST, EXPOSING THE BONE. As the KARATE CHAMP screams in horror, Akio spits out the HUNK of MEAT and quickly SLIDES BEHIND RYU. Taking his CLUB, he begins STRANGLING the KARATE CHAMP until Akio drops down and FLIPS RYU OVER, sending him FLYING into the SHOWER WALL.

Ryu bashes open his head against the tile. The yakuza teacher turns on the shower and Ryu’s blood slowly swirls down the drain.

“Anyone else have any problems?” Akio asks with an ear-to-ear grin.

-----

Kenjiro examines himself in his new Yomi High uniform using a broken mirror hanging in the locker room. His white outfit has been replaced with a purple one with black trim (the most demonic of color combinations. At least in Japan). He barely has any time to affix his silver hearts, male symbols, stars, and other trinkets before armed guards lead him out.

Exiting the locker room, Kanzaki Kenjiro enters the student forum of Yomi High.

“So … this is it, huh?” Kenjiro mutters to himself.

Before him is a raging brawl with no sides or no reason. On the left a student is military pressed from the banister to the floor below. On the right a student bursts through the wall while another student strangles him. Random wreckage and fire is peppered through out the area. At the top of the stairs one of the very few female students is circle jerking a group of guys. While a group of students bully another by extracting his teeth with a wrench, one goon does donuts in a car in the center of the forum while screaming.

“Somewhere in this building is Muteki …”

NEXT ISSUE: What challenges will Kenjiro face in the High School of Demons?! Kenjiro begins his first day in Hell!

[Rice]

Doing donuts in a car while screaming is the epitome of goon activities.

[Vinny]

It is day one at Yomi High. Kanzaki Kenjiro has been assigned to his homeroom class with 34 other students. The class is a ugly, goonish bunch, squatting and sneering from one end of the classroom to the other. The floor is littered with cigarette butts and many of the walls are filled cracks and holes while covered with faint, faded bloodstains. One student is cleaning his teeth with a knife while two students are arm wrestling, trying to pin the other’s hand onto a bed of broken glass.

Entering the room is the first teacher of the day. Despite the rest of the faculty, this man looks fairly typical. He’s a middle-aged man of average Japanese build, wearing brown slacks, a starchy yellow shirt, a black tie, and his thick-framed glasses. He places his briefcase on his table, opens it, and retrieves the math textbook.

“Good morning, class,” the teacher says, adjusting his tie, “Please open to page 157 and we’ll begin today’s lesson.”

YOMI HIGH TEACHER: HAMAGUCHI EIJI

VIOLENCE 20: The First Day

“Let’s start off by giving the new students a challenge,” Hamaguchi-sensei says with a smile. Grabbing his textbook, he begins pacing between the rows of desks. Taking a few steps, he stops and spins towards a half-asleep student.

“Ah, Kato Ryo, is it?” Hamaguchi says, adjusting his glasses. “What is the answer to 23?”

“Ehhh, let’s seeee …” the student mutters, slothfully pulling his book towards him. “Is it … 47?”

The teacher’s glasses flash white briefly. “GOOD!” Hamaguchi exclaims. “Correct!”

Hamaguchi Eiji continues pacing down the aisle, stopping beside a certain pompadour’d student.

“Kanzaki Kenjiro, 11 on page 158.”

“217,” Kenjiro responds without any hesitation. A look of utter delight spreads across Hamaguchi’s face as he effeminately clasps his hands together.

“GOOD! Correct!” Hamaguchi shouts, moving to the next student. “Itagaki Tetsuo? Number three, please.”

Itagaki Tetsuo, a massive student eating a haunch of meat. His face is covered in scars, some as fresh as yesterday, his unibrow divided into sections only by scar tissue. He doesn’t respond to the teacher’s demand.

“Itagaki Tetsuo? Do I have the right student?” the teacher asks.

“Fuck off, pops. I don’t know the answer,” Tetsuo snorts as he cleans his ear with his pinky.

“Oh, come on, Tetsuo. At least give it a shot.”

“Pft, I don’t know,” Tetsuo looks over the question. “43?”

The teacher’s glasses flash white again. “Incorrect,” he mutters.

BOOOOOOOOM! HAMAGUCHI SLAMS THE STUDENT’S FACE THROUGH HIS FUCKING DESK AND BURYING HIS HEAD INTO THE GODDAMNED FLOOR. Hamaguchi’s WARM, SMILING FACE has turned into a MONSTROUS VISAGE found commonly on the pages of GRAPPLER BAKI. HIS EYES ARE WHITE ORBS, THE MUSCLES IN HIS FACE STRUGGLE UNDER HIS SKIN AS HE GRIMACES, and VEINS IN HIS NECK PULSE ERRATICALLY AS IT BALLONS UP TO ALMOST TWICE ITS SIZE.

“43? YOU FUCKING SHIT, ARE YOU GODDAMNED MAKING FUN OF ME?!” HAMAGUCHI SHOUTS. “IT WAS 17! 17!! YOU WON’T FORGET IT!”

He BEGINS STOMPING THE SHIT out of ITAGAKI TETSUO’S HEAD. “ONE, TWO, THREE,” HE SHOUTS AND CONTINUES UNTIL HE REACHES THE NUMBER. The now frightened students raise their legs so the EVER-EXPANDING pool of blood doesn’t touch their SHOES.

“Now, who’s next on the list,” Hamaguchi says, adjusting his tie. “Ah, Hasegawa Yoshimichi.”

“Y-Y-Yes …” a student with a neon-green Mohawk meekly raises his hand.

“Hasegawa, hm? Read any of Hasegawa Yoshimichi’s works?”

“N-N-No … sir …” the student is sweating fucking buckets.

“He has a few interesting books, but enough of the tangent. Coincidentally, the problem you will be doing contains a tangent, heh heh,” Hamaguchi snickers and adjusts his glasses. “Number ten, please.”

“U-uh … uh … I think I have to … go to the n-n-nurse,” the student mutters, clawing at his desk.

“Certainly. But after your answer.”

TMP TMP TMP. The student holds the book in his hands, the book shaking wildly as his sweat stains the paper. The teacher watches on, emotionless.

“S-S-Seventy two?” the student mutters. The teacher’s glasses flash white.

“CORRECT!” the TEACHER BEAMS. “Good, good! That was a tough one! I have something special for you!” As the student convulses, the teacher reaches behind the back. Shielding his head, the student looks confused as a rice ball wrapped in seaweed is presented to him.

“Go ahead, eat it!” Hamaguchi-sensei smiles. The student looks on in horror. Tired of waiting, HAMAGUCHI just SHOVES IT IN HIS MOUTH, thumbing in the last bit. “Delicious, huh? My wife made them.”

-----

Hours later, the students file out of their classroom to head to the cafeteria. Although in traditional Japanese high schools, students eat packed lunches in the classroom. However, students are not allowed to enter Yomi High with anything other than themselves in fear that they could sneak in weapons despite the fact that people are constantly maiming each other with items as varied as maims or blowtorches.

“Tseh, what is this, prison?” a new student sneers, looking disdainfully at his plastic tray as he moves down the line.

“Ho ho ho!” a chef cackles as he mindlessly slices and the dices the meat set before him. He is of Chinese ancestry, and has a powerful black mustache and beard. His white uniform is smeared with dried blood and stained with sweat.

YOMI HIGH CHEF: XIAO BAO

PLOP. The chef drops a medley of meat and vegetables in a heap on the new student’s face.

“A labor of love, a finest dish from my hometown of Chentao Town,” Xiao Bao smiles.

“Ehhhhhh? This smells a little odd,” the new student says, sniffing the food he was just presented with overenthusiastically. Breaking his chopsticks, he scoops a small portion of the meal and brings it to his tongue. “It tastes a little odd, too …”

Xiao Bao continues smiling as the goon meticulously chews his food. A look of revulsion suddenly OVERCOMES the student and spews the minced goo and tosses his tray at the wall behind Xiao Bao.

“This TASTES LIKE SHIT,” the GOON says, leaning over the COUNTER to GET IN THE CHEF’S FACE. “Who told you to serve SHIT to students, EH?”

“Tastes … like … shit, eh?” Xiao Bao says with a wary smile, his slanty eyes closed.

FLNK! BLOOD FIRES into THE AIR as THE GOON’S TONGUE IS IMPALED WITH A FUCKING HOOK, WIELDED BY THE CHEF.

“Tastes like SHIT, you said? That’s impossible!” Xiao Bao says, his wrinkly face TWISTED in RAGE. The student leans forward, mumbling helplessly as he is led by his tongue. “The problem obviously lies IN YOUR TONGUE!” RIPPP! XIAO BAO yanks his FUCKING TONGUE out of his HEAD and tosses it in HIS WOK in ONE SMOOTH MOTION. The STUDENT falls backwards, SCREAMING BLOOD as two ugly fuckers in black uniforms drag him off the infirmary.

Is everyone in this school insane? Kenjiro thinks to himself as he watches the student dragged away.

“You new guys sure are dropping like flies, yeah …” utters a voice into Kenjiro’s ear. Kenjiro whips his head around behind him to see a TINY STUDENT in a purple uniform crouching on the table behind him. He is a RAT-FACED GOON wearing a STRAW PORK PIE HAT.

“Who are you?” Kenjiro says, prodding the meal before him with a chopstick. The student hops up onto the bench beside Kenjiro and leans in real close.

“A friend, potentially. The name’s Denkou Go-en, heh heh.”

YOMI HIGH SNITCH: DENKOU GO-EN

“I know everything about everyone here, yeah,” Go-en grins, his hot canned coffee breath wafting under Kenjiro’s nose. “I can get you the right connections so you can survive. A pretty one like you won’t last too long in Yomi High, you know …”

Kenjiro sets down his chopsticks and turns to Go-en, locking eyes with the miniature coward.

“There is something I want to know,” Kenjiro mutters.

“Heh heh, well, I’m feeling charitable so the first one’s free, yeah.”

“Who is Muteki?” Kenjiro says, his eyes alight with a burning PASSION.

DO~ONG! GO-EN MOVES BACKWARDS, trembling a bit. His PUTRID sweat begins seeping through his leathery face, puddling on the bench below him.

“T-That’s the kind of question that will get you killed. Y-You better not let anyone hear you say that name … yeah.”

STOMP. Kenjiro looks up to see a stiletto heel propped up on his table. Attached to it is a long, slender, well-tanned leg covered in fishnet stockings.

“I just heard this guy mutter something interesting, Jun,” mutters a female student with blonde hair in poofy pigtails. Her piercing blue eyes and brown skin make her immediately stand out amongst most Japanese women, and the fact that she’s not being groped by the 99% male population at Yomi High immediately tells Kenjiro something. Despite wearing the purple sailor suit that is the rarely used female uniform at Yomi High, she hardly seems feminine despite her curvaceous figure. On her shoulder is three baseball bats that have welded together, a weapon that she easily handles.

YOMI HIGH STUDENT: NAKATA KIKU

Off in the corner is another female student. This one is a stark contrast to Kiku. Her skin is an soft white, her hair is long and raven black bound together in a long braid, and she maintains a reserved pose, her hands clasped together as she stands with her head slightly down, as if waiting for an order. She is the symbol of Japanese femininity.

YOMI HIGH STUDENT: YONEMURA JUN

“Oy, get your ass over here, Jun,” Kiku snaps her fingers and Jun quickly rushes to her side. “This guy her just said the word ‘Muteki’ …”

FWOOOOM! The entire cafeteria’s eyes are now on the girls and Kenjiro. It’s clear to Kenjiro that everyone here knows the importance of that name. Muteki is definitely in this school.

“That’s right,” Kenjiro says, not making eye contact with Kiku. “I have business with that man.”

“Heh heh, is that so?” Kiku says. “It’s really such a shame, you know. You’re kind of cute … it’s too bad we have to kill you ”

NEXT ISSUE: Beautiful but deadly! Kiku and Jun vs. Kenjiro!

VOLUME 3: END