Chapter 12

Takehiro stretched on his couch, eating rice as he watched the latest news.

"More chaos. Those superhuman criminals really don't have a filter, do they?"

He remembered the first sighting of Justice. "And to think, it all started with him? If only we could get those good old days back, man, I wish."

His phone started ringing. "Oh, it's Kumiko."

He picked it up. "Hey, Kumiko! What's up? Sure, I can do that. I'll grab Kurumi, we'll meet up at your house."

He put his rice on the table and prepared to head out. "Mom, Dad, I'm going out with Kumiko and the others!"

"Alright, son!" his dad answered back. "Make our neighborhood proud!"

"Will do!" he replied.

He left the house, heading into the street. After walking down a few blocks, he made it to an ordinary-looking house, knocking on the door. A large, older boy answered the door.

"Takehiro," he recognized. "Here for Kurumi again?"

Takehiro nodded.

"Kurumi!" the boy called. "Your friend is here again!"

In no time, Kurumi was down the stairs, nearly tripping as she got to the front door. "Phew. Hey, Takehiro!"

"Hey, Kurumi. Want to join me and the others today? Kumiko asked to hang out."

"Sure thing!" she said.

Her brother closed the door and went back inside as Kurumi stepped out. "I'm guessing we're going to pick up Kumiko and Mykhail?"

"Yep," Takehiro said, as he started walking. "Do you think they've been acting weird lately, though?"

"Hmm?"

"Like, that man came up to us last week. He seemed suspicious of them. Mykhail's been missing school, and Kumiko's almost seemed a bit more…strange. Do you think something happened to them?"

"Something like what?" Kurumi asked. "Are you suggesting they could have become superhumans? No way!"

"No, no!" Takehiro shot down. "I don't think they're superhumans, but maybe a family member or something could have been affected? I mean come on, Kumiko's usually so open, awkward, and kind, but now she seems more…reckless. And Mykhail, he's always gone somewhere. That guy asked about them, maybe something's off…"

"Well, we'll just have to trust they have their reasons," Kurumi stated. "After all, what good are friends for if we distrust each other?"

"You're right," Takehiro agreed. "I'm just worried."

"Hey, there she is!" Kurumi pointed.

Kumiko was waving to them from the porch of her house, and she stepped down to greet them. "You two! Took you long enough."

She hugged them both. "You guys ready to hang out?"

They both nodded.

"What should we do today?" Kurumi asked. "Go swimming? Attend an after-school event? Help out some struggling fast food businesses?"

"Let's go check one of these fight clubs!" Kumiko suggested. "They've become a hot trend lately."

Both Takehiro and Kurumi appeared taken aback. "Fight…club…?"

Kumiko nodded. "The best entertainment in town! Let's grab Mykhail and go visit!"

Kurumi and Takehiro shared a look.

"If you insist," Takehiro relented.

"Awesome!" She basically leaped off her porch and walked in the direction of Mykhail's house, with Kurumi and Takehiro walking behind her.

"Okay," Kurumi whispered. "She might be a LITTLE off."

"I told you!" Takehiro whispered back. "Hopefully it's just a phase. Please be just a phase…"

He was talking more to himself than Kurumi at this point, even as he followed behind his friend. In a couple of minutes, they were at the door to Mykhail's house, and Kumiko knocked on it.

Mykhail's mother answered the door. "Hey, children! Come for my son?"

They nodded. She left and walked into Mykhail's room. Once she came back out, no Mykhail was standing next to her.

"It seems he's gone out again," Maria remarked. "You all can wait inside, or you can come back later for him! I'm sure he's not too far—-!"

To their shock, they watched as Mykhail secretly jumped through the back window, before running into his room and locking the door.

"Miss—-!" Takehiro stammered, pointing.

"What is it?" she asked. "Oh dear, the stove! I forgot I left the food too long! Silly me!"

Takehiro and Kurumi stood there with their mouths open, Kumiko just appeared slightly confused.

As soon as Maria turned around, she bumped into her son, who had a duffel bag on his back as he attempted to reach the door.

"Mom!"

"Son! There you are! Your friends are here to see you!"

"Yeah, I see that, Mother."

She put her hands on his shoulders. "Go have fun!"

"Mom…"

She kissed him on the forehead and went back to her stove, leaving Mykhail to confront his equally confused friends.

"What's up, guys?" Mykhail asked.

"Why did you jump through your window—-?" Takehiro started to ask.

"We're going to a fight club!" Kumiko interrupted. "Do you want to come?"

His eyes lit up for a second. "Sounds interesting! I'm in!"

Takehiro and Kurumi shared another confused look, but Kumiko grabbed Mykhail's arm and led him outside.

"He's into this too?" Takehiro thought. "Are my friends turning to violence in front of my eyes? No, no. Maybe they're just curious, that's all."

He took a deep breath to calm himself as he and his friends left Mykhail's house, heading into the street. Kumiko made a few twists and turns, checking her phone periodically as she did.

"Kumiko, where the hell are you leading us?" Kurumi asked, after a while.

"Up here!" She pointed to a giant building with a broken sign attached to it, labeled "Hebi no Roji."

"Snake Alley?" Mykhail wondered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kurumi twiddled her thumbs. "I kinda have a bad feeling about this. Kumiko, are you sure it's safe?"

She nodded in response, heading toward the bouncer guarding the door. Mykhail shook his head.

"The old Kumiko would have never run headfirst into things like this, but now she's inviting the danger," he thought. "Is this her, or is it the thing inside her body?"

He gripped the bag on his back even tighter. "Welp, glad I have my trusty blade!"

After a few minutes of conversation with the bouncer, Kumiko waved the others over. "You guys can come in!"

They approached, but the bouncer immediately pointed at Mykhail. "You. You'll have to leave the bag with me."

"What? Why?"

He got right into Mykhail's face. "Because. I can't risk you bringing in anything that could be deemed…illegal."

He pulled a gun from his waistband. "Like such."

He motioned for Mykhail to give him the bag, and Mykhail reluctantly did so. "Just don't open it."

"Yeah, yeah. Move along."

He took the bag, allowing the group to enter the club, where they immediately heard the sounds of fighting, and they saw multiple caged arenas inside, each with two fighters battling ferociously.

"Woah!" Mykhail gasped.

In one cage, a young boy fired a powerful shot of electricity at another, who somehow managed to turn his body into gas and avoid the attack.

In the next one over, a young girl touched an obese man, causing him to float and become stuck to the ceiling.

"A superpowered fight club?" Mykhail blurted out. "Awesome!"

Kurumi and Takehiro stared in stunned silence at the fighters attacking each other, some leaving cages bloody, some broken, some a bit of both.

"If these are all for fighters, then what's that…?" Takehiro asked, pointing to a giant wrestling ring below them, which was currently empty.

Suddenly, the club went quiet, and flames shot out from flamethrowers attached to the walls. The beating of a drum could be heard, and from somewhere, the voice of an announcer could be heard.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Fighters and non-fighters! Weaklings and Wrestlers, it's time for our daily Ring Challenge!"

"Ring challenge?" Mykhail wondered. "That sounds pretty cool!"

"Stepping into the ring, it's the big, it's the brawn, it's the beautiful, Yuuma Yamagichi!"

A muscular young man with blonde hair and light gray eyes stepped forward from a tunnel leading into the ring. He flexed his muscles for a brief moment before hopping over the ring ropes. The crowd cheered.

"Next up, we have the brave, the strong, the champion! Give it up for Kaori Sakuragi!"

A blue-haired girl with blue eyes casually strolled out of the other tunnel, almost gracefully. She ignored the cheers of the crowd as she entered the ring.

"Ugh," she remarked. "This gets old."

Mykhail was leaning over the railing separating them, eager to watch the fight. Takehiro placed a nervous hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, I think we should go…I don't trust this place."

"Come on! Let's just watch them throw down for a FEW minutes, I wanna see what they got!"

Takehiro groaned. "Man, this is such a bad idea."

But he didn't protest. Kumiko and Kurumi leaned over the railing as well, while the two fighters sized each other up.

"This isn't illegal, right?" Kurumi asked.

A referee stepped in, looking at both fighters. "Are you ready?"

They both nodded.

"See? It's got a referee! Perfectly safe!" Kumiko replied.

Then the ref immediately stepped out of the ring, walking away. "Or…maybe not."

Yuuma cracked his neck. "I've been waiting for this! I'll finally be the new Champion!"

"Mhm, sure, whatever," Kaori said, rolling her eyes.

Yuuma instantly grew twice his size, stomping toward Kaori, who barely even reacted as he approached.

"This is gonna be good!" Mykhail thought. "He's like a TOWER!"

As he charged at Kaori, she merely gave a brief smile before extending her hand. "Attack."

A massive, black creature that looked like a humanoid shadow burst from her body, slamming right into Yuuma and knocking him out of the ring. His body hit the floor with a loud CRACK.

"Ugh…"

Kaori brushed the hair out of her face as the referee came back over, checking Yuuma before going over to Kaori.

"And the winner is…Kaori Sakuragi!"

He raised her hand and the crowd cheered, and a group of girls entered the ring and swarmed Kaori. "KAORI! KAORI! KAORI!"

"She's so strong!"

"The strongest!"

"No one can beat her!"

"I wanna be like her! It's not fair!"

Takehiro, Kurumi, and Kumiko all watched, shocked.

"Oh dear…we should leave," Takehiro suggested.

"Yeah, you're probably right…" Kurumi agreed.

"The strongest?" Kumiko blurted out. "That's not fair! All she did was fight some overweight scrub!"

Mykhail, meanwhile, was watching her carefully, awe and interest on his face. "Cool power! I guess looks CAN be deceiving! Totally thought she was gonna lose it."

He looked back at the door, where the bouncer was still standing with his sword. "I wonder if she can beat me though. Eh, probably not."

Takehiro tapped Mykhail on the shoulder. "Come on, man. We should leave before we're thrown into this mess next."

Takehiro and Kurumi left, and Kumiko and Mykhail reluctantly did the same. In the middle of the ring, Kaori casually stepped over Yuuma and walked away, taking a microphone.

"I'm leaving this place. Your fighters are too weak. I want a real challenge."

Everyone inside gasped.

"What?"

"She's kidding!"

"But…but I made lots of money betting on her!"

She tossed the microphone away before casually leaving the area. Yuuma slowly got to his feet, holding his head. "Damn woman, I'll teach her to make a fool of me!"

He got up and charged at her, but another black figure emerged from her body and sent him sprawling to the ground once more.

"Hmph," she thought. "Weak."

Outside the club, blocks away…

Takehiro stopped by a nearby fast food restaurant, catching his breath. "Those superhumans are no joke, Kumiko, you really shouldn't see them as entertainment."

Kumiko groaned. "But it's fun!"

"You know what else is fun?" Takehiro pointed out. "Eating food with your friends, so let's grab a bite to eat. I need it after what I just saw. You three in?"

He looked back at them, realizing something was off.

"Wait…why isn't Mykhail here? Where did he go?"

Kumiko and Kurumi gasped.

"I didn't see him grab his bag, come to think of it, I don't ever think I saw him exit the door!" Kurumi realized. "He must be still at that club!"

"Crap," Takehiro remarked. "Come on!"

Back inside the club…

Kaori went upstairs, and the bartender immediately handed her a glass of water. She tossed it away.

"What is this, a kindergarten?"

"Sorry," the bartender stated. "I can't serve you, even with your reputation, Ma'am. Too young."

She scoffed and turned around in her seat. "This place is so pathetic."

A girl with blonde hair and one with red hair both approached either side of her, and the blonde one whispered in her ear.

"There's a pretty interesting fight going on downstairs if you want to check it out?"

"I doubt it's worth my time," Kaori remarked.

"It's that other guy's brother," the blonde girl said. "He's going against some newbie competitor."

Kaori lifted an eyebrow. "Really? Now this I've got to see."

She and her girl gang walked downstairs, where the referee had already taken his place in the middle of the ring, where two fighters were lining up.

"On one end," the announcer stated. "We have Yasuda Yamagichi, filling in for his now-disqualified brother!"

A young boy with messy blonde hair eagerly ran into the room and jumped over the ropes, pumping his fists up and down.

"Hi, everyone!"

Yuuma, sitting in a corner with ice on his forehead, instantly stood up when he saw Yasuda. "What is he doing? That idiot!"

"And on the other end," the announcer remarked. "We have a new fighter looking to prove himself! Give us a name, rookie!"

A young man with a hoodie, gloves, and a ski mask entered the ring once he did, he looked right at the speakers. "Call me Khail."

"Khail it is!" the announcer shouted. "Show us what you've got!"

Mykhail stretched his arms, as the referee looked between him and his opponent. "Ready?"

They both nodded.

"No sword," Mykhail thought. "No problem."

Yasuda extended a hand. "Nice to meet you! Let's have an amazing fight!"

Mykhail took it. "Don't worry, it will be amazing. I'm counting on it."

The referee then waved his hand. "Fight!"

—-