While running towards the dumpling house he had accidentally run into a young man wearing shorts. He had dark brown hair in a buzz cut and a white long sleeve shirt. He was a very plain looking caucasian man with the only striking feature being an ugly round scar on his right thigh. It was the size of a quarter and had a pinkish color. He was sure it was a gunshot wound.

"You alright there kid?" A deep voice broke him out of his observations and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, I should've been more careful, are you alright Mr..?"

"It's Asher, and don't worry about it, no harm done. Have a nice day kid, I gotta get going, cya later."

The man walked off with a slight limp and soon disappeared into the crowd. Somehow he lost him in spite of his large frame and striking appearance in the crowd of Asians. He didn't know why but he felt as if something was odd about the man. Maybe they would meet again and he could figure out what was bugging him?

Turning around he jogged towards the restaurant where Mary Jane was already waiting for him inside.

"What took you so long, slowpoke?"

The freshman girl teased her friend as she poured them both a cup of hot tea. He didn't want to be rude and gratefully accepted the cup before taking a sip. Yuck, his tongue vehemently protested such an action.

"Sorry, I bumped into someone and we talked for a bit. It was kinda strange."

"What do you mean strange? Did you know them?"

"We didn't really say much, but... I've never met him before, you know, yet he was familiar somehow. I can't put my finger on it"

"Maybe he looks like someone you knew?"

"Maybe"

Before anything else could be said a loud voice called out to them.

"MJ! John! Sorry, I'm late, you wouldn't believe the traffic. Have you guys ordered yet? I'm starving!"

"Hey Henry, we just got here ourselves."

Mary Jane gave a little wave as Henry walked towards us

"We haven't ordered yet, take a seat and let's check out what Mr. Fu has in store for us"

It didn't take long before Mr. Fu came out pushing a small cart over to us with his new experimental dishes. After the incident where he saved him, Mr. Fu and himself had often talked together after his lessons with Shang Chi. Especially since they became business partners for his food cart gig. They had gotten along pretty well and he had even introduced him to his family which composed of his wife Yue Ma and their three-year-old son Chang Fu.

He even often babysat the little bugger.

Sometimes he felt as if the brat was more exhausting than his training with his master. Cute as they were it was truly a difficult task to take care of them.

The cart had 6 different dishes, some being entirely new, and others variations on things already on the menu. They all had a look of expectations for the food as the Fu couples were great cooks and everything smelt amazing.

Even Mary Jane lost the look of tiredness in her eyes as a gleam of hunger replaced it. Henry couldn't hold himself back and soon grabbed a white bun as soon as Mr. Fu had placed everything on the table.

"Woah, this is amazing!"

With a stuffed mouth he sang praises of the food, whether it was actually that good or he was just really hungry was anyone's guess, but it earned a burst of laughter from John and Mr. Fu.

"Henry!" She had admonished her friend for his rude behavior before turning towards the kind old man "I'm sorry about him. Thank you for the food!"

The older man gave a loud laugh before waving off her concern and gesturing towards the table.

"No need, please, help yourself! I'm sure my wife will be glad to hear that you guys like her food so much! Tell me if you think these would be suitable for your cart, Johny"

"Thank you, Mr. Fu, these look perfect. Easy to make and convenient to carry around, now all that's left is the taste test, but I'm sure it'll pass with flying colors!"

Grabbing a bun for himself he gave a loud moan at the taste which was followed by another from his red-headed friend. Man, Mr. Fu was so lucky that his wife was such an amazing cook. Maybe he could weasel the recipe out of her...?

And so the three friends ravenously dug into the food. Taking a small notepad out of the back of his pants pocket and a pen he wrote down their opinions on the food before getting up and heading out the door. Mr. Fu had insisted on giving him and his company a free meal at least once a week. He had originally wanted to make it every day, but he had felt bad freeloading off the man and so convinced him to change his mind. He still regularly ate here almost every day because of the convenient location, to visit and make sure they were alright and the gangster didn't seek further trouble with them, and the of course delicious food.

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Not that he didn't trust Shang Chi, but they could always send out new goons, or something else. He was very fond of the small family.

His other two companions had gone to the restroom, one to use the toilet and the other to freshen up. He had decided to wait for them outside and was heading towards the exit when a sudden kick the face took him by surprise and sent him crashing back onto the table he had just left.

"You! You're the gangster bullying my uncle? Trying to eat and run? Think again!"

He could barely hear her with how hard the head was pounding, but he did see her second attack in the form of a heel drop. She had her leg raised up almost directly above her head showing great flexibility. And her cute Hello Kitty print underwear. Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to enjoy the view before the empty gaze of the cat passed judgment on him with a bone breaking force. Plates and cups went flying and hitting the other patrons in the story who rushed out of the place in a panic and shattering on the floor.

They weren't the only things to break as he was pretty sure one or two of his ribs had cracked and the table beneath him collapsed. It was hard to breathe and he barely managed to roll to the side and get into a stance. The girl didn't give a shit about collateral damage it seems as she hooked her right foot around a char and whipped it at his head with extreme speed, just as he ducked beneath it his face met her knees.

She had rushed forward while the chair had blocked his vision and nailed him good. More ready for it this time he let his body follow the momentum before flipping backward to drain off the force. landing in a crouch he reached towards a nearby table and flung the utensils at her as if they were kunais. Two could play at this game.

Evidently, she played it better than him as she knocked over an entire table and used it as a shield before launching it screaming towards him like a missile. He was so shocked by the sheer strength and unorthodox move that he couldn't move out of the way in time. He was pinned to the back of the wall. While he had a deceptively strong body for a 12-year-old and could probably out power the average man, this girl who seemed only slightly older had a stupid amount of strength, coupled with her incredible reflex and speed and he didn't stand a chance from the start.

He didn't have enough room to muster his strength and was trapped under the table as she approached. She raised a foot about to plant it firmly on his skull and knock him out when a sudden shout made them both freeze.

"Renka! What are you doing?!"

"Uncle! I, ah, I didn't mean to break your tables! I was just trying to stop this bad guy!"

The furious warrior woman who had just beaten the shit out of him was now replaced by a flustered young girl as she cowered away from the angry look of her uncle. It was such a jarring shift that he would've laughed. if a table wasn't currently crushing him and his ribs were crying in pain, that was. She may be cute, but damn could she pack a punch.

"Bad guy..?"

"Yes! I've heard from grand uncle Ryo that gangster had been seeking trouble with you recently. I've come to help!"

"You stupid girl, what gangster?! That's John Doe, the boy who saved me! Release him and apologize right this moment!"

He couldn't understand the rest of the conversation as they had switched to talking in what he presumed was Chinese. Thankfully it didn't take long before the girl understood the situation and lifted the table off of him. She gave him a deep bow and profusely apologized, which showed off a moderate amount of cleavage in her red Chinese dress. Honestly, was there something in the water in Marvel? Why was everyone so hot and developed?! He blamed it on his hormones from being for a lack of a better word de-aged.

"It's alright, just a misunderstanding. I understand being worried and looking out for your family."

She was Renka Ma who was related to Mr. Fu's wife Yue Ma who was the sister of her father. She was currently an exchange student coming from China looking for her father Kensei Ma who had run away from home and abandoned his family. What an asshole. He sounded like a deadbeat and John promised Renka he'd keep an eye out for her.

"Woah, what the hell happened here?"

"John!? Are you alright?"

It was at that moment his friends had left the bathroom and saw the scene of destruction. Plates of food sticking off the ceiling, broken tables and chairs, knives and forks stuck in the walls and tables, broken glass everywhere. It looked as if a gang war had broken out here.

"Nothing much just made a new friend. Renka, meet Henry and Mary Jane, they're my friends from school. Guys, this is Renka Ma, she's Mr. Fu's niece"

"You have an odd way of making friends, bro."

Henry just shook his head as he started to help clean up the place with his friends and the Ma family. While he was sweeping away, Mary Jane had approached John who was lifting some of the broken furniture to be tossed away. She plucked out the make-shift projectiles he had used with a grunt of effort and stared at him with a smirk.

"Why is it everytime I take my eyes off you, you get into trouble?"

"Well, I guess you're just gonna have to keep your gaze locked on me, now don't you?"

"I think instead of calling you Tiger, I should start calling you Tabby cat, after all, you're pretty hopeless and seem to get bullied by everyone in the neighborhood."

With a silly grin, he tried to lay on the charm, which didn't work very well when one has a plate of orange chicken on their head and looked as if they had just gotten mauled by a tiger. Still, he did his best to make a deep and husky voice, which failed hilariously with his preadolescence voice.

"Oh? Looking to take me home and keep me for yourself already, are you? Sorry MJ, but this one sexy beast you can't put a collar on." He pointedly ignored the duck sauce dripping down the side of his cheeks and gave an exaggerated wink.

It earned him a pearl of laughter from her and the nearby Renka and he decided that it was a win in his book.

"Oh shut up you nerd"

The flying chicken leg smacking him in the forehead was a cheap shot. Deciding to avenge himself with a steamed broccoli being sent in return. Soon Henry and Renka joined in and a food fight of massive proportions broke out along with laughter. Nothing like bonding over throwing chunks of food at your friends to break the ice and soon the awkward tension between Renka and the others dissipated.

Of course, they still had to clean everything up at the end which took more time, but it was worth it as everyone got to know each other. Renka had decided to work as a waitress/bodyguard at the dumpling house as it was closer to her school than her grand uncle's own restaurant. She was going to stake out Chinatown while searching for her father. Also to help pay for the damages she had caused.