Monotonous, cruisin' on this and I got rhythm goddamn,

  Confuse the funk music, rock the jam,

  Pack the stand, stack the grands and mack the female fans,

  At the local the-ater, the vocal creator,

  Slash I shall blast because you can't fuck with me,

  I guess this is the way your luck will be,

  Frontin' much nerve with a rep that you can't preserve,

  Step to I in '95, you gettin' served.

  InI - "Center of Attention"

  For the next couple hours, the impromptu party had been in full swing, with funky tunes, good food, dance-offs, and at least one Soul Train line thrown together by Luzia. Sean had the best time he had in a long time, and his guests were enjoying themselves as well. Of course, all good things eventually have to end; thus Garlend and Leon left to go back to their training camp around 3PM, with a promise to link up with Sean and Enzo after the fight. Currently, Sakura and Elena were helping the Matsudas clean up the leftover food and dishes on the backyard table.

  "Thanks again for letting us hang around on such short notice," Elena said gratefully to the jiujiteiro as she helped Laura gather up some of dishes.

  "No worries! You two are more than welcome to visit," Laura replied with a smile. "You're always welcome in our home. I know first hand how Karin can act, so I don't blame you two for leaving."

  "Honestly, I wanted to kick her head off today," Elena admitted shamefully. "And I probably would have, if Sakura didn't stop me."

  Laura shook her head. "You can't be faulted for that."

  "Still, that's not in my nature," Elena replied. "I agree, my anger was righteous, but I shouldn't have let my temper get the best of me like that."

  Laura patted Elena on the back gently. "Listen, even the nicest people have their breaking points, and what she said and did was messed up," she said. "I'm not saying violence is the solution at all, far from it. But when you say some seriously fucked up stuff to someone like she did, you can't cry foul if someone responds by cracking you on the spot."

  "I guess," Elena murmured, still unsure about herself. She tried to be a positive influence, even in tough situations; so letting herself slip into anger, even justified anger, was a sign of weakness.

  "Hey, don't beat yourself up," Enzo interjected as he carried a stack of chairs. "Kanzuki deserves to be knocked down a peg or two, but if me and Sean had cooler heads last night, none of us would be caught up in all this mess."

  "And we wouldn't be shackled to the shop for the summer," Sean groaned, also carrying a stack of chairs. "Of all times for me to finally unlock my inner strength, it had to be right then."

  "At least they won't be so quick to piss you off next time," Enzo said. "Goes to show that your training's paying off."

  "And that I'm gonna be paying off that hole for years to come," Sean replied sardonically. He and Enzo walked over to the backyard patio, and set the chairs down near the windows. "Anyways, what're we all gonna do 'til the arena doors open? We're grounded, but we got too much time to kill until then."

  "Good question," Enzo said, scratching the back of his head. Unfortunately, as he did so, the musk from his armpits wafted into his nostrils. The strength of the stench was enough to cause him to stumble back a couple feet in a brief stupor, before catching himself.

  "Buurrhhh, goddamn! I think a shower is in order before we do anything else!" He waved his hand in front of his face, trying to push the stench of his body odor away.

  Sean laughed at his cousin's exaggerated antics. "Yeah, we're overdue for a shower after all that fighting and dancing," he agreed. Sean thought about how the last twelve hours played out up to that point, and how it landed him and his brother a quasi-date with two of the best female fighters in the world. "Today's been a hell of a whirlwind."

  "No kidding," Sakura agreed as she put a stack of paper plates into the trash. "Who would've thought us crossing paths would've lead to all this craziness?"

  Sean just shrugged. "God works in weird ways. At least it should be smooth sailing for the rest of the day."

  About an hour later, after everyone had showered and changed into fresh clothes, all of the young fighters had migrated into the living room to relax. All but Sean, that is. The fledgling martial artist had taken longer in the shower, thanks to overthinking how the night's events would go. How would people react to him hanging out with Karin's friends after the fight? Would Karin herself be there, and cause a scene? Would he somehow get wrapped up into another fight at the event? Would Karin put out a bounty on him? Sean tried to shake the last one off as ridiculous, but he also knew Karin had more than enough money to send the whole world after him for a piece of the Kanzuki fortune.

  Putting those thoughts aside as he stepped out of the shower, Sean's mind drifted to Elena and Sakura. He really didn't want to think of going to the fight with them as a date, but Laura just had to implant the thought in his head. Enzo, he knew, would have no such problem going along with the idea; he caught him trying to mack on Elena during the barbecue, and Elena didn't shy away from his flirting. While Sean would give his cousin his due props if the night went well, he had no intentions of trying to get close to Sakura like that. He knew he likely wasn't her type, on top of every other guy out there probably trying to get with her; it just wasn't worth it.

  Sean had just finished drying himself off, and began putting on his underwear when he heard an alert go off on his phone. Quickly slipping on a pair of white shorts, and a sleeveless red t-shirt, he picked it up, and turned on the screen to read his notifications. He immediately frowned when he saw a picture of Ken on one of the notifications, but his moodiness gave way to confusion when he saw the headline next to it.

  "'Crypto Ken' Masters' hotel chain goes all-in with crypto investments"? The headline left Sean puzzled. He admittedly had little knowledge about cryptocurrency stuff beyond the bare basics, but Fabio had dabbled in it, and told him crypto's overall value was extremely unstable compared to traditional types of currency, so he knew enough to know that it'd be a risky, if not straight up dangerous investment for a person to put all of their weight into it, let alone a business.

  I really hope Ken knows what he's doing, Sean thought to himself as he made his way downstairs, not taking his eyes off the article. But on the other hand, he is a businessman, and a pretty good one at that. He's probably forgotten more about running a big business than I'll ever learn.

  Sean soon made his way back downstairs into the living room, with his cousins and guests, who were all seated on the sofa. Manuela was the first to greet him. "'Bout time, boy! We were beginning to think you snuck out on us!"

  "Yeah yeah, whatever," Sean dismissed absentmindedly, still not tearing his eyes away from his phone, trying to make sense of the news article on his screen. "By the way, do y'all know anything about this NFT shit?"

  The fighters on the couch looked at each other in bewilderment. "What brought this up?" Elena asked.

  "There's this article about Ken Masters' company going hard in crypto investments," Sean explained, handing the Kenyan princess his phone. "And one of the things mentioned was this stuff about 'non-fungible tokens', or whatever. I'm not a tech guy, so I can barely make heads or tails of this stuff."

  "Karin told me about those," Sakura spoke, glancing over Elena's shoulder to see the article. "She was looking into into crypto investments not long ago, but she decided they were too volatile to be worth it. She also said most of those NFTs that are out there have no real value; they're just bad drawings that you don't even really own when you buy them."

  "I heard they're prone to getting hacked, or being a front for scams, too," Manuela added. "According to Fabio, anyway. He's the more tech savvy guy in the family."

  Elena hummed as she looked over the details of the article. "The article says it's a pretty risky investment, especially with the amount of money he's put into it," she said. "But Mr. Masters is a shrewd businessman from what I know, so he probably knows what he's doing."

  Sean blew a stray lock away from his face, and flopped down on the sofa next to Sakura. "Eh, it's whatever to me; I don't know much about crypto. I'm more worried about surviving tonight with what's left of my rep intact."

  Sakura smiled sympathetically, and patted Sean on the shoulder. "You'll be alright, Sean."

  "Yeah, we'll get past this crap, bro," Enzo reassured.

  Sean simply gave a noncommittal shrug, and replied, "Anyway, what're we gonna do til the fight? We can't go out without drawing more attention, and there's not much me and Enzo can do here since we're on punishment."

  "I mean, we got the bluetooth speaker in here," Manuela pointed out. "We could always throw some more music on."

  Sean chortled as he got his phone back from Elena. "As long as it's not Enzo picking the music, I'm down for whatever."

  Enzo groaned in annoyance, and waved a dismissive hand at Sean. "Man, you and Laura are haters, I swear!"

  "Maybe if you stopped listenin' to trash, we'd give you less of a hard time, son!" Manuela chuckled as she tousled her brother's hair. Enzo managed to grab her wrist, and forced her arm away from him.

  "Yeah yeah," Enzo replied. "Like the rest of y'all ain't got any guilty pleasures."

  Elena shrugged. "Can't say I do. I'm not ashamed of any of the songs on my playlists. I tend to listen to a lot of different stuff; classical, enka, reggae, afrobeats, jazz... It all depends on my mood, really."

  "That makes sense, though," Sakura replied. "You travel a lot, so you're bound to hear all kinds of different sounds."

  "What about you, though?" Manuela asked Sakura. "What do you usually like to get down to? I only know a little bit about Japanese music from what Uncle Yuichiro shows us once in a while."

  Sakura hummed in thought for a moment, before replying, "Lately, I've been listening to Illmatic a lot. I've never really listened to Nas a lot before, but he's an amazing lyricist."

  Sakura's answer drew surprise from everyone, especially Enzo and Sean.

  "I didn't think you listened to rap music like that," Elena said, surprise audible in her voice. "I rarely ever hear you play it."

  "Because I don't play it whenever I'm around Karin," Sakura replied, rolling her eyes. "She hates it. But when I used to fight a lot in high school, A lot of the guys I fought on the streets with were part of the b-boy community in Shibuya, and I ended up befriending some of them. That's how I got introduced into hip-hop music and the culture as a whole. Never looked back since."

  Sean was absolutely floored, to say the least. He looked at the veteran fighter next to him with a stunned expression, trying to wrap his head around the revelation. He knew Japan, especially Tokyo, had a strong hip-hop scene from his trips there with his father, but never would've expected someone like Sakura to be deep in the culture.

  "So you do breakdancing, in addition to fighting?" Manuela asked.

  "Breakdancing and rapping," Sakura clarified. "I'm not the greatest, but I can hold my own in a cypher."

  "Oh, you spit, too?!" Now Enzo was starting to get excited. "Y'know, me and Sean rap too; how 'bout we have a li'l cypher right now?"

  Sean could immediately feel his whole body burning in embarrassment. He had no idea how good Sakura truly was at rapping, but there was no way he was going to embarrass himself in front of her more than he's done already. "Yo, hold on! How you gon' drag me into a cypher, when you know I can't rap?!"

  "Cut it, cuz," Enzo said. "We've been over this last night; you got the talent. You ain't gotta be modest about it." He winked knowingly at Sean. The Ansatsuken fighter groaned in exasperation.

  "Still, I hate it when y'all put me on the spot like this," Sean complained.

  "Well, if you don't feel comfortable, I don't mind going first," Sakura offered, giving Sean a gentle smile. "Gets all the awkwardness out the way."

  Sean thought about it for a moment. He didn't want to rap in the first place, but hearing Sakura do it was too good to pass up. He nodded in agreement. "Ight, lemme hook up a beat for ya."

  "I think I'll sit this one out," Elena chuckled. "I'm not really a rapper myself, so I'll leave it to the professionals."

  "Hey, you're a crazy dancer though," Manuela said. "You should definitely teach Enzo here a few moves, he needs the help."

  "Haters, all y'all!" Enzo grumbled, shooting his sister a dirty look. Elena just laughed.

  Sean rolled his eyes, and made a few taps on his phone to connect to the speaker, and selected a random beat to play. "Shadowboxin'" by GZA began to blare out the sound system that gets everyone's heads nodding. After a few moments Sakura got into her groove, and began flowing to the beat.

  "I bring the pain like Johnny Blaze

  Leaving foes dazed

  Redefining this whole street fighting craze

  Don't underestimate, I can punch above my weight

  Sent Bison to a terrible fate

  Second rate dictator got hit with the fader

  Then Karin came, and I laid her out

  Wannabes always challenge me for the clout

  Talking loud, acting proud, but in no shape for a bout

  Dan Hibiki types always seek me out for a fight

  Out to prove that Cherry Blossom ain't nothing but hype

  But I wipe the joint clean in the dojo and on the mic

  Sniping emcees, brawling with Blanka, it's second nature

  Battle me, I'll make the crowd hate ya

  Break ya in two, Go ahead and bring your crew

  Just be sure to protect your necks, like the Wu

  Cause there's no telling what crazy shit I might do."

  Sakura finished her verse, and glanced at Sean for his reaction, only to catch him staring at her bug-eyed in stunned silence. Confused, she turned to look at Elena and the others, only to be met with the exact same reaction. Suddenly, she began to feel extremely self-conscious, and scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

  "...M-m-my rapping wasn't that bad, was it?" An embarrassed Sakura squeaked out, her face turning a deep shade of crimson.

  After a moment of awkward silence, Elena finally spoke up. "Pardon my language, but where the hell have you been hiding that?!"

  Sakura gave the princess a perplexed look. "Excuse me?"

  "Sakura, you just murdered a Wu-Tang beat," Sean interjected, getting her attention. "I honestly didn't know what to expect from your flow, but you're nice with it."

  Sakura's expression changed from confusion to surprise. "Really?"

  "Girl, you could put most of the emcees in the city to shame!" Enzo agreed. "No cap, you should be on the L.A. Leakers show in the U.S. with those freestyles; or even Sway's Universe."

  "Can't say they're wrong; those were some good rhymes," Manuela added. "Elena's right, why you hiding these skills?"

  Sakura shrugged. "It's more of a hobby for me, honestly," she says. "And I doubt most people outside of my b-boy friends would take me seriously."

  "If they heard you freestyle just now, I think there'd be all kinds of bedroom producers trying to give you beats," Sean remarked. "You got bars for days."

  Sakura smiled shyly, feeling relieved that her freestyle was well-received. "I appreciate it. It's not often I get to do any hip-hop outside of my circle back home. Even my friend Kei never hears me rap, and my mom doesn't approve of it."

  "It never hurts to spread your wings more, Sakura," Elena said. "There's probably a lot of people out there who'd appreciate your musical talent just as much as your fighting."

  "Starting with us," Sean said, smiling as well.

  Sakura nodded, and began to relax again, glad she could figuratively let her hair down around Sean and his family, instead of having to hide one of her main passions all the time.

  "Well, in that case, who's going next in the cypher?" Sakura asked, her smile instantly turning brighter.

  A few hours of rapping and impromptu karaoke later, Sean was back in his room, finishing freshening up and changing clothes again for the event. Enzo had gone back to his house to change and get his car, and the ladies were waiting downstairs to take off. Now wearing black jeans, with a matching sleeveless undershirt, a yellow button-up shirt, and black Air Force Nikes, Sean was finishing twisting up his dreads in front of his mirror, when he heard a knock on his door.

  Probably Laura again, he thought to himself. "It's open!"

  The door slowly opened, and as he predicted, Laura peeked her head inside. "Are you ready?" she asked. "Enzo just came back, and everyone's waiting outside for you."

  "Just about," Sean replied. "I'm almost done twisting my hair. We haven't had any nosy reporters come through here or at Enzo's house, have we?"

  "Only a couple, but I've turned them all away," Laura said, walking into the room. "Same with Uncle Pedro down the block." She walked over next to her brother, glancing at their reflections in his mirror. "So... excited for your date tonight?" She gave her brother a teasing grin.

  Sean turned around, and gave her a dirty look, but said nothing.

  "Listen, I'm not trying to force you to anything you don't want to do," She continued, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But like I told you earlier, just talk to Sakura, and be yourself. You two found some common ground earlier just by doing that."

  "I'm more worried about getting through the night with no bullshit happening," Sean muttered, continuing to twist his last dread. "I'm not gonna try and read between lines for messages that ain't there."

  Laura sighs, and rolls her eyes in annoyance. "You're gonna hopeless with women acting like this."

  "Says the she-hulk who breaks the back of any man who comes her way." Sean cracked. He proceeded to wipe the beeswax off his hands with a towel, and gave himself a once-over in the mirror. "I'm not gonna get my hopes up; we both know that it never ends well when I do."

  Laura sighed again. She knew it was going to take a lot to pull Sean out of his self-hating mindset, but hoped that tonight would at least set him on the right path. "At least stay out of trouble for Ma's sake, okay?"

  Sean snorted. "No promises; trouble comes looking for me. But if anything bad happens, me and Enzo will call you guys."

  "You better."

  With that, Sean and Laura exited the room, and headed downstairs towards the front door, where his mom and grandfather were waiting for him. Kinjiro appeared calm, but Brenda looked worried, which Sean quickly picked up on.

  "What's the matter?" he asked.

  "I'm just worried that Karin girl will show up and give you and Enzo grief at this event..." She began.

  "Ma, you got nothing to worry about," Sean replied, flashing a smile. "Even if Karin's there, she's likely going to be in one of the executive suites, not at front row with us; and she's not going to do anything that would make her look bad, or get her banned from the stadium."

  "Still..." Brenda sighed.

  "Have some faith," Kinjiro spoke up. "I'm certain Sean and Enzo won't go out of their way to cause problems. They need to rehabilitate their reputations, and hanging out with Kanzuki's friends in public is the best way to do it."

  "I promise we won't end up in lockup this time," Sean reassured.

  Brenda let out another sigh, and pulled Sean into a hug. "You two better not; I don't want to give your father more to worry about when he comes back from his business trip."

  "I promise, Ma."

  Sean broke the hug, and waved his family goodbye as he walked out the door to join his cousin and friends. It was 7PM, and the sun hadn't yet begun it's descent past the horizon, so it was still bright and sunny outside.

  "'Bout time, son; we were about to leave your ass behind," Enzo joked as Sean trekked down the driveway. By now, Enzo had changed into white slacks, sandals, and a baby blue T-shirt. A yellow sash was tied around his beltline in place of an actual belt.

  "Whatever, you'd probably crash on the way there without my help," Sean bats back humorously. He glanced over at their companions for the night, who had also taken the opportunity to change. Elena wore a white bikini-styled top similar to her usual fighting outfit, but wore white pants instead of bikini bottoms, and her signature colorful bands on her arms and neck. Sakura, for her part, now wore a leather jacket, with a white blouse, black skirt, and matching sneakers.

  "Gotta say, you ladies are looking fantastic," Sean compliments, earning a blush and shy smile from Sakura, and a giggle from Elena.

  "Well, you and Enzo cleaned up pretty nicely, too," a still-blushing Sakura replies. "Let's get going; I can't wait to see the fights!"

  Within a minute, the quartet were driving down the street to the arena. Elena had gotten in the front seat next to Enzo, while Sean and Sakura rode in the back. Traffic was surprisingly sparse, but neither of the Brazilians were complaining, as they knew how terrible S?o Paulo traffic could get, even on good days.

  "Ginásio do Ibirapuera... I haven't been there in ages," Sean said, reclining in the back seat. "Last time I was there was for that state-wide youth dance competition."

  "Yeah, that was around... 2014, I think?" Enzo replied, looking at Sean through his rear-view mirror. "It was you and Manny competing that year in duos, and I had to sit out cuz I got hurt. Y'all came in third, but that was still pretty good, considerin' you were an 11th hour replacement."

  "Your family seems to do it all," Elena observed. "Accomplished fighters and dancers, running dojos, a shop, music..."

  "Heh, as flatterin' as that is, the whole fam owes our rhythm to my mom," Enzo said. "She's actually a dance instructor, and taught us all how to dance as kids. I think that's how I was able to find my rhythm when I started doing capoeira with my dad."

  "Was dance also how you got into music?" Elena asked.

  "Kinda," Enzo shrugged. "We always loved music and partying in general, but Fabio was the one who had the deeper interest in music; how it sounded, how to make different grooves, and so on. He's a big record collector, and he taught me and Sean how to make beats on his drum machine when we were kids."

  "Yeah, he had an MPC-3000 back then," Sean said, smiling nostalgically. "That was when he was on his Dilla and Madlib shit. He used to play 'Donuts' nonstop, trying to figure out Dilla's technique."

  "Are you guys familiar with Nujabes?" Sakura asked curiously.

  "I love Nujabes," Sean said. "I met him once."

  Sakura stared at Sean wide-eyed. "What?!"

  "Yeah. My dad had taken my family to Japan when I was around eight or nine," Sean explained. "I forget exactly what happened, but I had gotten separated from my family in Shibuya, and one of his rapper friends, Substantial, had found me wandering around the bus stations, and took me to where Hydeout had its offices at the time. Nujabes was there, as well as Shing02, Funky DL, Pase Rock, and I think Uyama Hiroto."

  "Oh wow!" Sakura gasped.

  "I was there for only about an hour and a half, but I got to hang there, and watch Nujabes and them make beats and record music," Sean continued. "They were really nice dudes. Eventually, Substantial got in contact with my family, and they came and got me." Sean began to laugh. "I tell you, when Fabio realized he was in Nujabes' studio, he began floating a good two feet of the ground. He felt like he was on sacred ground."

  "He was starstruck," Enzo cackled. "Laura said he stayed like that for the whole trip home."

  Sakura shook her head and laughed. "I swear, you and your family are full of surprises, Sean."

  "Says the woman who went to to toe with M. Bison, and lived."

  Soon, the group arrived at the arena, and Enzo parked close to the building. People were starting to trickle in early to beat the line up, so it didn't take long for them to get to the entrance, and get inside. After grabbing some food from the concourse, the quartet made their way to their assigned seats.

  "Ahh, ringside seats," Sean said as he sat down in his seat with armfuls of food for himself. "Hopefully I don't have to end up wrecking a wrestler's shit this time."

  "I remember you telling me about that back at the World Warrior tournament," Elena said, holding a bag of popcorn. "Some guy named Hulk Hogan went on a rampage?"

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  "Pulk Hogen," Sean corrected. "And yeah, Zangief threw him out into the crowd during a match, and Hogen went nuts on everybody; even threw a chair at someone. Ryu deflected the chair, and I knocked Hogen out."

  "Seems like you have a habit of getting into bad situations," Sakura noted as she sat down with her own armfuls of food.

  "Hey now, I don't go out of my way to find trouble," Sean replies. "Trouble waits in the bushes for me."

  Sakura giggled. "I believe you. Just be careful, he's on the card for tonight, so who knows what might happen if he recognizes you."

  "Hold up, what?!" Enzo exclaimed. "He's not blacklisted no more?"

  "Huh? Why was he blacklisted?" Elena asked. "I don't really follow wrestling, so I don't know much outside of what Sean told me."

  "A sex tape he made got leaked a couple years ago, and he said some wild shit on it that made everyone turn on him," Enzo explained. "A lot of hateful and racist shit."

  Elena humphed. "Sounds like he'd get along with Karin just fine," she remarked, causing everyone to laugh. Out of the corner of his eye, Sean noticed someone approaching. Turning his head, he saw it was a photographer headed in their direction.

  "Ayo, paparazzi incoming!" Sean said, getting everyone's attention.

  "Sean Matsuda, right?" the photographer asked. "I'm with Folha de S?o Paulo. May I get a photo of you and your friends?"

  "No problem!" Sean said, smiling. "Say cheese, y'all!"

  Everyone in the group posed in their seats for the camerawoman, who took took two photos of them.

  "Thank you!" The photographer said as they reviewed the photos. "These should be in the print edition tomorrow."

  "We appreciate it!" Sean said as they walked away.

  "Hopefully that'll help turn the tide against Karin's BS," Enzo said to his cousin.

  "We can only hope," Sean replied.

  Before long, the event fully gets underway. Initially, the undercard mainly consisted of local MMA fighters, and UFC rejects most of the crowd weren't interested in. One particular fighter caught Sean's attention, however. A bulky, black South African fighter he recognized as Gerald Golby. A former collegiate American football player, he transitioned to MMA, and began a promising career, winning several matches, but often faltered in big tournaments. Sean had met Golby in the ring during the U.S. tournament qualifiers, but got beaten senseless by the more seasoned fighter. Golby proceeded to tear through the rest of his opponents, only to be floored by a single Shoryuken from Ken in the finals in less than thirty seconds.

  Sean quietly seethed as he watched Golby decimate his opponent in the ring. Sakura and Elena noticed his angry demeanor during the fight, but decided not to bring it up, not wanting to possibly trigger the Satsui No Hado in him.

  After a couple more MMA and boxing matches, Pulk Hogen's wrestling match was scheduled to begin. The group had grown tired from the mostly lackluster fights up to this point, and were bored out of their minds.

  "Man, if I had of known there'd be this many cans on this card, I'd have suggested going elsewhere," Enzo muttered.

  "I kinda have to agree," Elena yawned. "Most of those fighters were pretty lousy; except for that Gerald Golby guy. He seemed pretty good..."

  "He's an asshole!" Sean spat venomously, surprising everybody. "Fuckin' cocky bastard..."

  Both Elena and Sakura gave Sean incredulous looks, not anticipating his outburst. Enzo decided to speak up.

  "Gerald Golby was the guy who two-pieced Sean in the Pan-American tournament qualifiers," he explained.

  "Oh no!" Sakura gasped, covering his mouth. "No wonder he looked so mad during that fight!"

  Sean merely grumbled unintelligibly, still feeling angry.

  "But why hold a grudge after so long?" Elena wondered.

  "It wasn't necessarily because of the fight, but what happened after," Enzo explained. "After the match, Golby publicly shat on Sean's skills, and called him 'Ken Masters' rent boy,' among other things, which hurt Sean's rep in addition to the fight. He's had it out for him ever since."

  Confusion spread across Elena's face. "'Rent boy'?"

  "Basically a guy who whores himself out to a rich guy," Enzo clarifies.

  Elena's face contorted in disgust. "Gross! Why would he even say such a thing?"

  "'Cuz he's an asshole," Sean grumbled. "I'mma get him back one of these days."

  Sakura rubs Sean's back sympathetically. "Forget him, you can do way better than fighting him."

  "Assuming I can even get a sanctioned fight," Sean muttered. He let out a deep sigh. "I really shouldn't be letting this affect my mental. We came here for a good time, right?"

  Sakura smiled. "That's right."

  Soon, Pulk Hogen's music hit the speakers, and his entrance video filled up the arena screens. Instantly, the entire audience started booing to such a degree, one could swear the building was shaking. The boos only intensified once Hogen himself walked out. Some even began pelting him with food.

  "Wow, everyone really hates him!" Sakura shouted over the noise.

  "No kidding!" Elena exclaimed. "This is intense! I've never heard anyone get booed this hard!"

  Eventually, Hogen made his way inside the ring, and the booing had yet to die down. Hogen stood inside, microphone in hand, waiting for a chance to speak, but the S?o Paulo crowd wasn't having it. Each time he lifted his microphone to his lips to speak, the crowd would boo harder. Hogen normally had the crowd in the palm of his hand, but it was clear nobody respected him after his offensive comments. Hogen looked like he wanted to hurt someone, but managed to maintain his composure. After nearly ten minutes, the booing died down enough that Hogen could speak.

  "Ladies and gentlemen of S?o Paulo," Hogen bellowed into the microphone. "Tonight, I was supposed to face off against one of those punks from the Crapcom Wrestling Association, but lo and behold, the jerk pussied out at the last minute; claiming he got food poisoning! I guess the food here is a hazard to people's health, but you Brazilian morons keep stuffing your faces with it!" Hogen's comments elicited another round of boos from the proud S?o Paulo crowd, and even enraged Sean and Enzo.

  "Yo, fuck you, colonizer!" Enzo shouted.

  "Eat a sack of donkey dicks, you soggy old motherfucker!" Sean yelled.

  "However!" Hogen continued. "I'm nothing if not a man of my word, and I gave my word that I would put on a showstopper, brother! And Pulk Hogen is a man who can put on a five-star classic with anybody! So I'm issuing a challenge! I dare anyone in this arena to step up, and take on Pulkamania! If you can knock me out, or put me down for the three-second tan, I'll give you $100,000 in American cash! Who wants a piece of the Pulkster, brother?!"

  The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves. There were a few fighters among the audience, but nobody wanted to risk getting into the ring with Hogen. Enzo and Sean shot knowing glances at each other, but silently agreed not to take the bait, having promised their family to stay out of trouble.

  "Come now, don't tell me that a city full of strong fighters suddenly has no balls to face the Pulkster!" Hogen goaded. "Who wants to go one on one with the great one!? How about you?" Hogan singled out a fairly average-looking man from the crowd. "You might be decent entertainment for a few minutes! Or how about you, fatboy?! Or maybe not, you might have a heart attack from throwing a single punch. Doesn't anyone in this joint got the balls to..." Hogen trailed off when he locked eyes with Sean, immediately recognizing him.

  "You!" Hogen growled, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

  Dread began to wash over Sean like a tidal wave. "Uh-oh..."

  "Oh, crap," Sakura whispered.

  "I remember you; you're the punk who sucker-punched me in Oakland four years ago!" Hogen continued, his face turning red with anger. "Sean Matsuda, Ken Masters' lapdog! What's it like being that playboy's little bitch?"

  The crowd, despite booing Hogen earlier, erupted into laughter at the dig towards Sean. At that, Sean's dread gave way to anger, and nearly leapt out of his seat, but Sakura and Enzo held him down.

  "Aw, look at that," Hogen said mockingly. "Your friends are trying to protect you. As they should, considering how badly you got your ass handed to you at the US tournament by that darkie from Africa. You should've stayed your little ass home."

  "I knocked you on your ass before, and I'll do it again, you bald bastard!" Sean shouted loud enough for Hogen to hear him.

  "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME, BOY?!" Hogen shrieked, his ego clearly punctured by Sean's crack at his nearly nonexistent hairline.

  "You heard me, white boy!" Sean said. His eyes began to take on a red tint that didn't go unnoticed by Sakura. "Go back to making sex tapes; assuming your soggy ass can even still get it up!"

  "You got a big mouth on you, you black bitch!" Hogan growled. "Let's see you back it up in the ring! I'll even double... no, I'll quadruple the wager! $400,000 American if you can beat me in a one one one match!"

  Sean tried to get up again, but Sakura and Enzo continued to restrain him. Elena quickly joined in keeping Sean in his seat.

  "Don't do this, bro," Enzo urged. "We promised to stay out of trouble, remember?"

  "It's not worth it, Sean," Sakura added, sensing his ki beginning to become dark. "He's only looking to get under your skin!"

  "Don't let this jerk ruin your night, Sean!" Elena said. "He's an old washed up man trying to get attention."

  "I don't give a damn!" Sean yelled, breaking of their combined grip, and leaping out of his seat. "I'm sick of getting shit on! I don't give a fuck about the money, I'mma beat his ass like a snare!" He immediately charged the ring, despite protests from his cousin and friends.

  "Shit!" Enzo exclaimed. "Even if he wins, we're still gonna get in trouble when we get back! What do we do?"

  "I don't think there's much we can do now," Elena said as she watched Sean climb into the ring. "Let's just hope he can win against this blowhard."

  Sakura, however, was worried for another reason entirely. "Sean, please don't give into the Satsui No Hado," she whispered to herself. Her hands were on her chest, trying to slow her heartbeat. "Please..."

  Hogen smirked as he watched Sean step into the ring "Well, I guess the golliwog has some balls after all!" He cracked. "Maybe this prize money will do you better than being Ken Masters' little fuck toy from now on; if you can even win it!"

  "Shut up and fight, you bald son of a bitch!" Sean shouted, getting into his fighting stance.

  Hogen glowered at Sean for the bald remark, and motioned for a referee to get in the ring. As soon as the ref entered, Hogen spoke, "I'll give you credit where it's due, jack; I know you're a World Warrior-calibre fighter, so we're gonna set some ground rules for this fight. Rule 1: None of that hocus-pocus ki stuff y'all use, brother. Rule 2: You have to win by knockout or pinfall; No submissions count here. Other than that, it's no holds barred. Got it?"

  Sean banged his fists together. "Enough talk, let's go!"

  With that, the bell rung, signifying the start of the match. Hogen dropped his mic, and immediately lunged at Sean for a grapple; but Sean, having anticipated it, leaped up, and hit him with a Tornado to the head. The impact made Hogen stumble back, and he dropped to one knee.

  "Urgh... Not bad," Hogen said as he pulled himself back up. "But this isn't gonna end like last time, jack!"

  "Prove it, bitch!" Sean retorted!

  Hogen lunged at Sean again, and the martial artist moved out of the way, delivering a stiff kick to Hogen's liver, causing him to double over. Sean then slid over and tackled Hogen to the canvas, and began pummelling his face.

  "WHO'S! THE! BITCH! NOW?!" Sean shouted as he pounded on Hogen.

  Hogen managed to shove Sean off him, and get back up, despite his dizziness. A quick shake of his head later, and he was back on fresh legs, much to Sean's surprise.

  Sheesh, this guy's definitely upped his game during his blacklisting! Sean thought. Something tells me a quick knockout won't be possible with this dude this time.

  As the match continued, Sean's prediction turned out to be right; Hogen would lunge at him for a grab or telegraphed attack, and Sean would either counter, or move out of the way. But no matter how many times he managed to knock Hogen down, or put him into a chokehold, Hogen would either immediately get back up, or break his grip. This sequence would largely continue for a solid fifteen minutes, slowly irritating Sean, who kept trying to decisively put down the aging wrestler. At one point, Sean had Hogen down on one knees, and began pummelling his head once more.

  "Stay down, you bald bitch!" Sean shouted as he threw haymakers on Hogen's head.

  Suddenly, Hogen began to shake uncontrollably as Sean pummelled him. Confused, but undeterred, Sean threw another haymaker at his head. This time, Hogen leaped to his feet, now shaking even more violently. Sean was even more perplexed, until it dawned on him exactly what was going on.

  Shit, he's Pulking out! Sean mentally panicked. I gotta knock him out fast! Here goes...

  In one swift motion, Sean threw a left roundhouse kick that sent Hogen spinning. Sean grinned, thinking he finally felled the old wrestler, only to watch in horror as Hogen not only remained standing, but finished Pulking out. All the while, the crowd, who had hated Hogen earlier, was now white hot for him. Because, love him or hate him, everyone was always eager to see his signature five moves of doom.

  Without warning, Hogen lunged at Sean faster than he had before. Sean tried to move, but ended up eating a flurry of punches that sent him into the ropes. As soon as he hit the ropes, Hogen grabbed him by the arm, and fiercely Irish Whipped him into the ropes on the other side of the ring. Sean proceeded to ricochet off the ropes, and back towards Hogen.

  The last thing he saw before blacking out was a giant yellow boot headed towards his face.

  "NO!" Enzo leaped out of his seat as Sean was knocked down to the canvas by Hogen's signature move, the Lightning Bazooka. "Get up, Sean, GET THE FUCK UP! Don't let this old asshole beat you!"

  "Oh, nononononono..." Elena covered her mouth in fear. Sakura, having watched the match in worry the entire time, didn't say a word; knowing something wasn't quite right with this situation.

  At this point, Hogen was posing above Sean's prone body. He was preparing for his finisher, the Atomic Leg Drop. He looked down at his felled opponent with a shit-eating grin.

  "You had a good run, but it's time to send you back to the jungle, boy!" Hogen said to the unconscious Sean. "You're lucky I took it easy on you, but let's face it; you're just a second rate Dan Hibiki." Hogen then ran over to the ropes, bounced off and ran back towards Sean, and leaped into a sitting position over him, intending to crush his ribs with his leg.

  Suddenly, Sean's eyes snapped open, and began fully glowing red. In a flash, Sean rolled out of the way, and back into a standing position; causing Hogen to land on his tailbone. Once again, a purple aura surrounded Sean.

  Sakura's eyes widened in horror, realizing what was happening. "Oh God..." she breathed. "Sean, no..."

  Meanwhile, Hogen groaned in pain as he got up from his failed finishing move. He turned around to face Sean, only to see him with a completely different demeanour, but unable to see the aura surrounding him, due to his lack of ki awareness. Sean bared his teeth in a vicious snarl.

  "KNOW THE TRUE MEANING OF PAIN, HOGEN!" Sean shouted in an uncharacteristically deep, menacing voice; charging at the old wrestler again.

  Hogen, seeing this, attempted to go for the Lightning Bazooka again, but Sean was much quicker, and leaped over it with ease. In a flash, Sean executed a picture-perfect Tatsumaki on Hogen, striking him in the head. But instead of stopping there, Sean continued to spin around rapidly like a copter, sending himself and Hogen high into the air. Eventually, Sean stops spinning, and the final kick sends Hogen flying into the stands - straight towards his friends.

  "Gangway!" Elena shouted as everyone in their section ran out of the way. The wrestler proceeded to land just above where Sean and co. were sitting.

  Sean, for his part, landed back down on the canvas in a stylish three-point landing. As he straightened himself up, the purple aura disappeared, and his eyes returned to normal. For a moment, Sean didn't know where he was, and looked around in confusion, until he saw Pulk Hogen's mangled body in the stands. His eyes widened in shock at the sight.

  The match's referee quickly ran out of the ring, and over to Hogen, and began to count. "1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10!" The ref waved his hands, signalling the end of the match.

  For a moment, aside from the bell ringing, there was dead silence in the arena. The entire audience, many of whom knew of Sean as a bad fighter, was in disbelief. Even Sean himself couldn't believe it. It didn't take long for the silence to be broken, though; namely by Enzo cheering wildly and rushing into the ring to ring to embrace his cousin.

  "Yeeeeeeeah! That's right!" Enzo shouted, wrapping Sean into a tight bear hug. "That's my brother right here! Matsuda and Da Silva representing up in this bitch! He ain't no fuckin' Dan Hibiki, he's Sean Matsuda; and you better recognize!"

  Elena was next to join in, cheering and embracing Sean and Enzo in the ring. Sakura, meanwhile, stared at Sean with mixed feelings. She was happy he won, but now she had first hand proof that Sean was giving into the Satsui No Hado, albeit unwillingly. She was unsure what to do about it, since her only experience with it was barely keeping Ryu from killing someone in cold blood. Deciding she didn't want to ruin Sean's moment, she smiled, and jumped into the ring as well, joining the rest of the group in hugging Sean.

  Gradually, the crowd began cheering for the young Ansatsuken fighter, who was still trying to piece together what happened. Once again, he had no memory of using the Satsui No Hado; only being knocked out, and suddenly being back on his feet. However, a win was a win, and he quickly decided to milk the attention while he had it.

  "Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer bellowed. "Your winner by way of knockout, Sean Matsuda!"

  The cheering quickly became louder, and louder in the arena, and the quartet began making various poses in the ring for the crowd and photographers. High up in the skyboxes, however, there was one particular blonde man in a suit who had watched Sean's match with great interest. Quickly, he pulled out a cellphone and dialed a number.

  "Hello, Kolin? Hey, this is strictly a business call, so don't get snippy with me, bitch! Is Gill watching the card tonight? Then tell him we might have to make some slight adjustments to our upcoming tournament ASAP..."

  Back on the main floor, Pulk Hogen was being carted off on a stretcher as the quartet continued celebrating in the ring. Sean felt like he was momentarily on top of the world, finally having the respect he craved, even if it was only for a moment. Enzo, for his part, couldn't be prouder of his cousin for handling his business, and shutting Hogen up.

  "You know Aunt Brenda is probably gonna grill you for wylin' out again, right?" Enzo said to his cousin.

  "I mean, I didn't wreck any walls this time," Sean replied, smirking. "Only Hogen's oversized ego."

  "True enough." The cousins began to cackle.

  "You've definitely earned some due respect tonight," Sakura said. "But we should probably get back to our seats now; the main event's probably starting soon."

  Sean nodded. "Right, let's bounce."

  No sooner than the quartet had stepped through the ring ropes, a middle-aged black American man with a thick beard approached the group. He was a bit stout, but carried the swagger of a longtime combat veteran. "Sean Matsuda?" he asked.

  Sean gave the man a once-over as he got off the apron. "Can I help you?"

  The older man extended out his hand. "I'm Sayf Abdulsamad, Garlend's other trainer. He told me about you, and I wanted to personally congratulate you on the match."

  Sean smiled, and shook Sayf's hand. "Nice to meet you in person. He and Leon spoke highly of you."

  "Mhm, he told me he helped you and your family out of a tight situation earlier," Sayf replied. "I keep telling him to stay away from street fighting, but at least he had noble intentions this time."

  Sean nodded. "Yeah, me and my cousins would've gotten wrecked if he didn't help us." He motioned over to Enzo. "This is one of my cousins, by the way; Enzo Da Silva."

  "Pleasure to meet ya," Enzo greeted.

  "And these are our friends, Elena and Sakura," Sean continued, gesturing towards the ladies. Sakura bowed respectfully, while Elena simply waved.

  "It's nice to meet all of you," Sayf replied. "The other reason I came out here is because Garlend said he wanted you to all walk out with him for his fight; if you were interested, that is."

  "I definitely am, but that's up to the rest of my friends," Sean said.

  "I think we should do it!" Elena said cheerfully.

  "Seconded!" Sakura added.

  "I'm down, if Sean's down," Enzo agrees.

  Sean chuckled. "I guess the vote's unanimous. Lead the way."

  A few minutes later, the group were walking back out towards the ring as part of Garlend's entourage. Roy Jones Jr.'s "Can't Be Touched" blared out of the arena speakers as the people cheered for Garlend.

  "For your first fight in Brazil, the crowd already seems to love you," Elena noted as he observed the crowd's reaction.

  "It might be more because I'm rollin' with y'all, honestly," Garlend replied. "Especially after what Sean did to Pulk Hogen earlier."

  "Old fool had it coming," Sean said. "But this night ain't about me; it's about you becoming the top contender."

  Garlend nodded in agreement. "Trust me when I say this fight ain't goin' the distance."

  "I hope you make it more entertaining than the last few fights we had to watch."

  Before long, Garlend's now-expanded entourage had entered the ring, and were greeted by his opponent and their respective entourage. As Sean observed the rival group, he noticed a certain pink-haired woman in a black cocktail dress standing right behind Garlend's opponent. Something about her felt familiar to Sean, but he couldn't couldn't place it, and her dark sunglasses hid any distinguishing features.

  The ring announcer, Michael Buffer, stepped forward. "Ladies and gentlemen... tonight, in the Ginásio do Ibirapuera, here in Sao Paulo, Brazil, somebody's '0' must go. Ladies and gentlemen..." the announcer took a deep breath. "LLLLLLLLLLLLLET'S GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!"

  The crowd cheered wildly, now fully pumped up for the fight.

  "twelve rounds of boxing for the right to be the World Boxing Council's number-one contender for the world middleweight title!" Buffer continued. "Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner, wearing the black trunks, with yellow trim; and weighing in at one-hundred, sixty-three pounds. This speedy young prodigy has a professional record of thirty-five wins, all by knockout or TKO within the first five rounds of his bouts. Tonight, he puts his perfect record on the line. From Los Angles, California, by way of South Central, Garlend Jones!"

  The crowd cheered loudly as Garlend's handlers took off his robe. The young fighter raised his gloves into the air, his expression confident.

  "And his opponent across the ring, fighting out of the red corner. Wearing orange trunks, with grey trim, and weighing in at one-hundred and sixty pounds. He brings his own impressive record of forty wins, without a loss. He has scored 19 KO's, and one draw. And while compiling that record, he had captured the welterweight title, before moving up to middleweight. From Metro City, New York, Paxton "Two-P" Powell!"

  Two-P yelled loudly as he pumped his fists in the air. The crowd cheered for him as well, but nowhere near as loudy as they did for Garlend. Soon, the fighters' respective entourages left the ring, as the fight was ready to get underway.

  "Any idea who that Two-P dude is, Sean?" Enzo asked his cousin as they got out of the ring.

  "Ken told me about him," Sean said. "He's an ex-Mad Gear goon who eventually went straight, and started boxing. He's a pressure fighter, and a good counter puncher, but he's nowhere near as fast as Garlend. I guess we'll see how he handles himself in a moment."

  The bell rung, signifying the start of round one. Two-P immediately went on the assault, trying to smother Garlend, but the younger boxer was much faster, managing to keep out of Two-P's range, before leaping in with a lunging left hook to the body that sent the former Mad Gear thug reeling back a couple feet. Two-P didn't relent, however. He kept his defense up, and continued to pressure Garlend, who continued to keep his distance with quick left jabs and hooks, and shoulder rolled the occasional punch that did make it inside.

  Eventually, Two-P managed to maneuver Garlend near the ropes, and quickly swarmed in with body shots. Garlend tried to move away, but felt his back hit the ring ropes. Quickly, he grabbed Two-P's head, and tried to move away from the ropes, but his opponent wasn't letting up on the body shots. Each one shook his insides, but he refused to give in, and stood his ground as he tried to get off the ropes.

  "Punch, and get out!" the referee barked at the clinching fighters. "Punch, and get out!"

  After some effort, Garlend managed to push off the ropes, and forced Two-P back into the middle of the ring. He released the clinch with a double hook combination to his opponents body and head. The next minute of the round would continue on with a similar pattern: Two-P would attempt to pressure Garlend and position him near the ropes, while Garlend would continue to hit him with quick combos; while using his superior speed to avoid his counter punches, and keep his distance.

  "That's right baby, stick and move!" Leon shouted at Garlend. " Control the tempo, and make him come after you!"

  "Get him on the ropes, P!" Two-P's trainer shouted. "Slow his ass down with your body shots!"

  Before long, it was down to the final minute of the round. Garlend, figuring he had Two-P figured out, decided to spice things up with a trick he learned from watching Roy Jones Jr. Evading more body shots, he leaped back towards the ropes, and began gyrating his hips at his opponent. The women in the crowd instantly went wild for Garlend's antics. The young boxer then moved back to the center of the ring to face Two-P. But instead of throwing a punch, he quickly knelt and leaned forward with his arms spread out; imitating a cockfighting rooster. Garlend eyed his opponent carefully to see if he'd take the bait.

  He didn't have to wait long for Two-P to mockingly throw his taunt back at him. Not wanting to waste this opening, he used the taunt again, causing Two-P to flinch, and lean back. In the blink of an eye, Garlend leaped forward, and landed a quick, razor-sharp left hook to Two-P's temple that sent the older man stumbling backwards, before finally hitting a corner post, and slumping to the canvas in a seated position. The crowd went into a frenzy at the unexpected flash knockdown, and the ref quickly moved in to make the count.

  "1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10!" The ref waved his hands in the air, signaling the end of the bout. Everyone in Garlend's camp began cheering, and they quickly clambered into the ring to embrace the victorious boxer.

  "That's my boy!" Sayf cheered, lifting Garlend off the ground. "Beautiful! You were beautiful out there!"

  "That's how you shut it down!" Leon exclaimed. "We on our way to the world title now!"

  "Hell yeah!" Garlend cheered. "I can't wait!"

  "That was amazing!" Elena complimented the boxer. "Your speed's like nothing I've ever seen!"

  "The way you lured that dude into the left hook was a thing of beauty!" Enzo said.

  "I was a little surprised he took the bait honestly," Garlend admitted. "He's a pretty solid pressure fighter; I was expecting him to try and take advantage of my taunting."

  "But it paid off for ya," Sean pointed out. "Now you're world title bound!"

  "Yeah, with speed and power like yours, you're bound to clinch the title!" Sakura said.

  Garlend motioned to speak, but he was suddenly approached by several reporters and analysts who wanted to ask him questions. Some of them also approached the others, wanting to ask about the fights with Karin and Pulk Hogen, but they awkwardly tried to decline comment, to no avail.

  This is gonna be a longer night than I planned, Sean groaned internally.

  Later, after attending Garlend's brief press conference, and dodging more reporters, Sean and his group strolled through the backstage area with the boxer, as the rest of his camp was still packing up things for him.

  "Woo, what a night!" Garlend cheered, throwing his hands in the air. He was now dressed in a plain black shirt, cargo shorts, and high-top Jordan 1s. "Number one contender, and in record time! Thanks for coming through, by the way."

  "It's the least we could do," Sean said, fist-bumping Garlend. "You bailed us out big time today, so it's only right we came through and showed some love."

  The boxing prodigy smiled. "It's much appreciated. I wanna go celebrate at one of those Brazilian barbecue joints. Reggie, my cut-man, was telling me about one that's not far from here."

  "Man, we'd love to, but me and Sean gotta head back ASAP," Enzo said. "Plus, Kanzuki probably got an APB out on Sakura and Elena right now."

  "You sure you guys gotta go straight back home?" Garlend asked. "It's only dinner."

  "I know, but we got grounded for that fight last night," Enzo replied. "The only reason we were even able to come here was because Sakura convinced our parents to let us go."

  "Though I kinda failed on my promise to keep you two out of trouble, heh," Sakura chuckled bashfully. "Though, a quiet dinner does sound pretty nice."

  "I'm not sure if it's a good idea to push our luck after I destroyed our store wall," Sean said.

  Sakura hooked his arm with hers, and pulled him close. "Come on, it's only dinner! I'm sure you of all people could use a bite to eat after all that fighting today!" She flashed him a bright smile.

  Sean felt his whole body instantly turn warm from Sakura's touch. "Uh... ah, well, when you put it like that..." he laughed nervously.

  Sakura's impulsive action hadn't gone unnoticed by the others. Enzo and Elena exchanged knowing looks with each other, while Garlend had an amused look on his face.

  "I get you're worried, but you should relax a bit!" Sakura continued. "You shouldn't feel like you're doomed to a lousy fate all the time; because you're not!"

  "Are you so sure about that, Sakura?" A silky, feminine voice asked.

  "Eh?" The group looked towards the exit, and saw a purple-haired Egyptian woman casually leaning against the wall. She wore an Ancient Egypt-influenced dark purple short-sleeved leotard with gold and bright blue accents, and thigh-high stockings, with the toes and heels cut out. A purple sash was wrapped around her body, and a small gold crown adorned her head. In front of her was a glowing, translucent purple crystal ball that floated right above her hand. None of the young fighters were sure what to make of her, and thus immediately put their guards up.

  "Who're you?" Sakura asked warily. "And how do you know my name?"

  "I'm not your enemy," The woman continued, smiling. "Nor do I want to be. But I have one question for you all: Have you ever considered your destinies? Do you believe in fate?"

  "That's two questions!" Enzo pointed out.

  The Egyptian woman rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Technicality! Just answer the question."

  "Well, I've never really bought into the whole 'red string of fate' thing," Sakura said.

  "Me either," Garlend said.

  "I find it fascinating, but I've never really thought too hard about it," Elena said.

  "I think it's all bull, to be honest" Enzo said, which earned him a brief, but pointed glare from the Egyptian woman.

  Sean shrugged. "Honestly, I didn't initially; but considering the path my life's taken, I can't fully rule it out."

  The woman smirked. "Well, what if I told you I could easily see into your future, and tell you whether or not you can change your fate?"

  Sean raised an eyebrow. "You're a fortune teller?"

  "Of a sort," the woman replied. "My name is Menat. I know you all have doubts, and I understand; but if you give me a chance, I can give you a glimpse into where your future may be headed."

  Sean thought it over. He didn't quite buy it, but he also had to remember that he lived in a world where people could use ki to pull off unreal moves, and even his own sister was capable of producing electricity; though whether that was due to ki or something else entirely was something he still couldn't figure out.

  "I suppose there's no harm in humouring you," Sean said. "I doubt you'll see anything remarkable in my future, though."

  "No need to be so pessimistic, Sean," Menat smiled. "Let my crystal ball do the work, and take a look into your future..."

  Suddenly, the crystal ball began to glow purple as Menat looked into it intensely. Her eyes narrowed as she saw images of Sean's future. "Hmm... concerning."

  "Does my future involve me living in a box?" Sean asked sardonically.

  "No..." Menat spoke, still staring intently into the ball. "You desire respect; and crave success, but you feel like nobody will look past your blunders from the past. In the near future, you'll finally get what you desire, and then some, to the point where your past embarrassments will be nothing but a blip to most people. However, there will be obstacles in your way from reaching your goal, and divert you from your destined path, including the darkness that's currently brewing inside of you."

  She broke her gaze from the ball to look Sean in the eye. "However, there is a light, however dim it may be, trying to break through that darkness. Embrace that light, and never lose sight of yourself."

  Sean didn't say anything in response, clearly impacted such a profound reply. He didn't know what Menat meant by "darkness", but if it meant no longer being the world's punching bag, then he was more than determined to face it head on.

  Sakura, who had her own doubts about her future, as well as feeling her own curiosity getting the best of her, couldn't help but ask Menat, "May I see what my future holds?"

  "Certainly," Menat smiled, and returned her gaze to her crystal ball. "You have a desire to settle down, but your competitive spirit, and desire to improve yourself through martial arts continues to burns brightly; putting you at odds with what you really want out of life. Though it may take some time, you'll eventually come to a happy medium between the two with the right person." Menat's smile turned into a sly smirk as she glanced at Sakura. "Though from my current observations, you already seem to be on the right track."

  Sakura was confused at first, until she realized her arm was still entwined with Sean's. Blushing madly, she quickly unlinked their arms. "I-i-i-it's not like that," Sakura stammered unconvincingly.

  "Yeah, w-we're only friends," Sean quickly added, feeling his body burn in embarrassment.

  "Hmm, if you say so," Menat replied, though her continued smirk made it clear she didn't believe them. "Would anyone else like to know their fortune?"

  "I think I'll pass," Elena spoke up. "Although I know you're trying to help, I prefer to take life as it comes."

  "Same here," Enzo said. "If I knew what my future held, it'd make life less excitin'."

  Menat smiled and nodded. "I understand. And you, Garlend?"

  "Can't say I ain't curious," Garlend replied. "Would I-"

  "I already know what you're going to ask," Menat interrupted. "And I can't give you the result of your title fight, unfortunately. Don't want you to get complacent."

  "Dammit!" Garlend snapped his fingers in irritation. Menat giggled.

  "What I can tell you is that your career will be a very successful one," the fortune teller continued. "And you'll also find romance in your very near future."

  At the mention of romance, Garlend perked up. "Really? You sure?"

  Menat smiled again. "Certainly. Check your phone if you don't believe me."

  Confused, Garlend pulled out his phone, and unlocked it, and was greeted with Menat's picture and number already in his phone. He looked up at the fortune teller with a bemused expression.

  "You're full of surprises, ain't you?" Garlend said.

  Menat just smiled innocently. "What can I say, my predictions are never wrong."