Daniel thought “snooze” would’ve woken him up ten minutes later — not an hour later, when Mr. Stone had to pound on his and Rafiq’s door. The jet lag and differing timezones knocked them both out cold like a double-heavy combo. In a rush, Daniel shook Rafiq awake and got dressed in a hoodie and sweatpants for training, keeping his durag over his dreads. Mr. Stone told him and Carmen to keep their hoods on as they stepped into the elevator, to hide their identities and protect against any stray challenges.

Rafiq was the only one exempt.

He pumped his fists in celebration as they stepped into the elevator. “Ha! Y’all really gotta hide your faces? Couldn’t be me.”

“You really don’t have a single fight against someone popular? Couldn’t be us,” Daniel said.

Rafiq’s eyes never left his phone after that.

Standing behind him and Mr. Stone, Daniel reached over to grab Carmen’s hand.

“Do I look as tired as I feel?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Not as bad as during the South City tournament.”

“So I don’t?” She squeezing his hand. “Great.”

The first order of the day was to jog over to Ichiran Shibuya, a nearby ramen place. As soon as ramen was in the conversation, Carmen led the way, and Mr. Stone’s cane tapped behind them on the sun-warmed sidewalk.

Daniel had only ever seen this many people and stores close together during his rare mall trips with his parents. Here, they’d walked for blocks, and he’d lost count of the number of stores hidden in the folds of buildings, underneath dazzling yet unintelligible advertisements.

By the end of their mile jog, a morning bowl of ramen from Ichiran Ramen hit the spot. The first slurp brought him back to his first time ever having instant ramen, before he ever knew what cheap food was, when he only took delight in the warmth and flavor.

Carmen’s love for her bowl made his even better. She plucked out a white and pink fish cake, reciting another anime ramen scene, a smile on her face.

And Carmen loved it, too. He didn’t watch much anime himself, but watching how much she enjoyed it and brought up ramen scenes from different shows she’d watch made him really happy.

After that, they jogged down to Yoyogi Park, the central park of Tokyo, like all the best parts of humanity tangled in a single tree. As they jogged down the concrete path under the eyes of the bright morning sun, a frisbee flew between a father and son, another between a woman and her tiny dog. People dressed in black with gelled hair danced to loud music, and Carmen got a selfie next to a cosplay group.

They changed paths to dodge the crowd around a fight blocking their way. As Mr. Stone explained, in Japan's culture of trying to hide fights from the public, parks were fair game, especially for the others doing their own strength training in the grass.

The hard morning had to continue. Once Mr. Stone laid out their blanket, they got to work with pushups, situps, and squats, before then starting their individual exercises. Rafiq had his lateral jumps and pistol squats, and Carmen practiced with Chip while Daniel practiced dodging his barrel-like punches. The entire time, Mr. Stone quizzed them on commands and battle scenarios, adding more or less reps based on their answers.

When the workout was finally done, they rode the bus to Shibuya Parco. It was already the greatest mall Daniel had ever seen, before they even walked in. Akane met them at the door, spinning her motorcycle helmet on her finger like a basketball.

The entrance revealed a map of all ten floors. Ten floors of restaurants, fashion, art — even a theater. As soon as Carmen saw the description of Cyberspace Shibuya, though, she chose there. She went on and on about everyone she heard about it online, all the way up the crowded escalators.

Between four choices, sheer awe paralyzed the three of them. In one corner , the official Nontendo store. In another, the Capsule Creature Center, and across from that, a store for Shonen Hop magazine. Each had their own groups of shoppers, but all three paled in comparison to the store for Capcam, the company behind the most popular fighting simulation game in the world — with more customers than a packed movie theater.

“I knew you would love it here, Carmen,” Mr. Stone said over the chatter filling the room. “You three did well in your morning training, so we do not have to leave soon! You have an hour. Don’t spend more than a hundred dollars.”

As Mr. Stone and Akane strolled away, Carmen immediately hopped away to the fighting game store. Meanwhile, Daniel and Rafiq met each other’s grins.

“Birthday gift?” Daniel said.

“Hell yeah! Lead the way, bro!”

----------------------------------------

Carmen would’ve been lost in the store forever if it wasn’t for her phone ringing with a call from Mei. Once she finished paying for a figurine, she found her way to a quieter aisle, ending up sandwiched between a section of t-shirts on one side and figurines and mugs on the other.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Carmen! Have you touched down already? I tried to wait until I thought you’d already be there,” Mei said.

“Yeah! I’m actually in Parco right now. Where are you?”

Mei sighed. “I thought I’d be in Japan with you, too, but I had to leave for a few days for a business trip. Our supplier for the vials is giving us a bit of trouble. It’s perfect you’re in Parco, though. I left something there for you!”

Carmen gasped. “You did?”

“Yep! What store are you in?”

“Sixth floor, in the Capcam store.”

“I knew it! Okay, okay. Get to aisle B2, with the shirts and some mugs. On the second aisle from the bottom, reach into the yellow mug with Phasestorm on the front.”

Carmen followed her directions to the tee and crouched down, reaching into the yellow mug and pulling out five vials of pink liquid. She swirled the vials around in her hand; it was no thicker than water, and the same shade as the lines along the Memory Mints.

“Is this it?”

“If you found four samples of the experimental Memory Shot, yes! Like I said back in Paris, your results helped us further concentrate the solution. We couldn’t keep it within those nice mints, anymore, so I left you four samples of it!”

“Is it gonna be stronger?”

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“A lot stronger. It should further enhance your mental aptitude by ten percent, and I personally added more strawberry flavoring, so it should taste even better! Go ahead and try one.

Carmen glanced left and right to make sure no one was watching — especially not Daniel — before twisting the cap and slurping it down. If strawberry soda and an energy drink had a baby, it would’ve been the sweet and spicy fizziness burning down her throat. The fireworks started in her brain twice as fast. Her mind moved at a mile a minute, bringing back the familiar and pleasant sensation.

“Wow. You weren’t kidding about the concentration! This feels like eating two of the mints at once!”

“Great! Try to make those four other samples last. I should be back in a few days.”

“There aren’t gonna be any weird side effects or anything, right?”

Mei was silent for a moment before answering. “Well…it shouldn’t be much worse than a Beast. You might feel a crash, or feel a period of fatigue after using one. Oh, and don’t spill it! It’s almost impossible to get the stains out!”

“I’ll try not to. How did you even know to leave these here?”

“Do you want the short answer, or the long one?”

“Short.”

“Well, just in case I wouldn’t be in town when you got there, we used a neural network algorithm to predict where you would most likely shop first, from your interests and likes on your social media, and it turns out it was right!”

“And that’s the short explanation?!”

“Not really. I’m used to picking the long one. I don’t even know why I asked.”

After they said their goodbyes, Mei hung up, leaving Carmen with a fresh batch of four doses of the memory shot, and one running wild through her electric bloodstream. She rose to her feet and instantly sighted Rafiq and Daniel past the store, scanning the crowd for her.

The Memory Shot had banished her useless guilt away. Even if it was a genuine question, it was wrong for her to bring it up during their celebration party. The entire time since, she wondered how badly she ruined his night. Not anymore. Apologizing would have to come later, however.

There were too many people around. He deserved a proper one.

As she approached, Daniel handed his bag to Rafiq, who hid it behind his back. “Kon'nichiwa!” Daniel said, butchering the pronunciation. “Are you done with your shopping, yet?”

“Yep!” Carmen held up her own bag. “Do you guys know where Mr. Stone went?”

----------------------------------------

Jonathan enjoyed a deliciously sweet strawberry ice cream cone at the Shibuya Mobile eSports Cafe & Bar. The bar had neutral tan and cream walls, with TV’s streaming eSports tournaments and live fights being streamed, yet still contrasting the chaos outside.

Yet, when Akane sat down on the other side of the table, his stomach plunged. His ice cream lost some of its sweetness. He knew this conversation would have to come sooner or later, and mentally prepared himself, but he didn’t expect such happiness on her face for the topic.

“I love the fresh strawberry chunks they leave in the ice cream. It reminds me of home.”

Oh. I misread the situation.

“I can confirm, it is very delicious.”

“Can I try some?”

“Do you have a—”

Akane raised a plastic spoon. By that point, arguing was no use. He leaned his cone forward enough for her to sample it for herself, deciding on a satisfied hum. “Just like home. The taste is still fresh on my mind, anyway.”

“When did you last visit?”

“Last week. The Blackcloaks at the gate wouldn’t let me through, initially. They didn’t believe I was of Mage blood until I showed them I could fly over the gate myself.” Akane danced a spark between her fingers, flashing in the air around her hand. “I wish I could’ve stayed for West Gale’s funeral, though.”

Jonathan nodded. “Is it true that Mage Country funerals are the largest in the world?”

“Depends. When a Mage dies, everyone who knew him must attend. We believe the deceased and our ancestors live in the afterlife until they’re forgotten, so everyone who knows of you must come to refresh their memory, even if they just delivered your mail.”

“Oh. So for a Fifty like West…”

“The whole nation must’ve lined up on that river. I don’t think such a gathering will ever happen again…” She sighed. “Are they your only students?”

“The first new class ever since the School of Flow was the Monsoon Arts Academy.”

“That long? Oh…now I feel bad.”

“Why?”

“Jonathan, when I first heard the news of a small branch of your dojo still being open, I was so hurt at the time, I hoped it would fail. I didn’t want to be right.”

A match ended on the TV, and the referee’s familiar K.O. shout rang through the entire cafe.

“How did you even keep the dojo that long?”

“By living as frugal as I could, with the money I still had left. In the final year, I was only afloat by debt.” Despite his words, he couldn’t feel nostalgic as he thought of what came next. “And then I met Carmen and Daniel.”

“They saved you.”

“Not only emotionally. When Haruki burned my dojo and impaled me through the stomach, they were the reason I reached the hospital. I would not debate that description.”

Akane shifted in her seat. “I already felt that you were different when you greeted me at the hotel.”

Jonathan raised an eyebrow over his glasses.

“I froze because I expected you to yell. But then you didn’t, and I saw the kids, and…” Akane sighed. “I let my emotions overtake me at dinner. I—”

“No. It was fair for what I did to you. I apologize myself, Akane, for not giving you the respect you deserved all those years ago. I should’ve never pushed you away.” Jonathan balled the rest of his cone up in a napkin. “I didn’t yet believe that other people could save us from our own darkness. They changed that for me, and I realize I was wrong. In a way, you got your wish.”

“How?”

“Flow and the Monsoon Arts Academy died so that Mr. Stone and the School of Flow could live.

“I’m glad to hear that, now. Do you still Fight?”

“Unfortunately not. The doctor said, because of the torn nerves from Haruki’s impalement, I may never be able to fight again without reopening the wound.”

“Right, but that’s the doctor. Do you Fight?”

“I—” Jonathan pursed his lips. “I don’t follow.”

Akane shifted forward in her seat, placing her warm hands over his. Her soft palms always carried heat, like pulling a cooking sheet from the stove too quickly, or dipping his finger into grease to check the heat. Yet, it had been too long since he leaped from the frying pan into the fire.

Jonathan let her hand remain as she closed her eyes. “I can feel it in your spirit, Jonathan. You say that they saved you, but I still feel a wound that has not healed — a wound in your soul.”

“No. It cannot be. I have already accepted that I’m worthy of continuing to teach.”

“But you never truly accepted that it wasn’t your fault.” Akane opened her eyes and met his gaze. “You accepted being worthy of teaching, but you also accepted not being able to fight as a worthy punishment for your failure.”

“My failure?”

“For failing to guide Haruki on the right path. For failing to get the truth to the public. For failing to keep Daniel, Carmen, and Rafiq safe when she burned the dojo,” Akane said. “When the doctors told you that you would physically reopen the wound if you fought again, it confirmed your lie to yourself.”

Daniel told him it wasn’t his fault. Carmen said the same. But, every time he remembered the sincerity in their voices, he thought back to that night in the dojo. He saw the lack of empathy, the insanity in those eyes every night. Not being able to fight again was a worthy punishment for releasing that into the world.

Did he really lie to himself?

“Mind is stronger than matter, Jonathan,” Akane said, squeezing his hand before pulling back. “We need to convince you, before we then purge that wound in your spirit.”

“We?”

Akane nodded. “My family has a ritual passed down from generation to generation that may be perfect for you. Your students aren’t the only ones that need to get stronger. Oh, speak of the devils.”

Outside the cafe, Daniel, Carmen, and Rafiq happily paced towards them, bags in hand. Jonathan felt himself in a trance as he stood and they approached. As they ranted and joked about the figure Carmen bought, he had to pretend worse matters weren’t on his mind.

In his years, when a mage said they had a ritual to cure an ailment, they were always right. But, that couldn’t truly be all it would take for him to fight again.

…right?