8 PM

At a busy sushi restaurant.

Ushiyama Kito sits at the helm of the table. Kasumi Murobuchi, the professional bodybuilder sits on Kito's right hand side. Robert Baskerville, the foreigner, sits on Kito's left hand side. Bara Shibukawa, the giant, sits across from Kito, taking up half of the table's side. And finally, Daiki Sugimoto, the kid or rather, the mass of moving scribbles and blotches, sits next to Bara with whatever little space was left on that side.

Kito sits and stares, stroking his chin.

"You called us over, boss?" Asks Bara.

"Yes. I wouldn't call it an emergency meeting this time. Rather, a level below that. Call it... a 'heads up' meeting more than anything."

Robert rolls his eyes.

"Well, what's the news, boss?" Asks Kasumi.

"First of all, can any of you believe who came knocking at my door the other day?"

Most of them look around at one another, seeing if anyone has an idea. Robert is the only barely paying attention.

"It was a government agent." Says Kito.

All of them stare at Kito confused. Even Robert.

"Now," continues Kito. "This happened the morning the former mayor passed away so, you can connect the dots. Long story short, I can assume he was a part of the Ordinance Academy. He coated himself with magic and ki, he let a small spirit loose to get my attention, and I could feel the crosshair of a sniper aim directly at my head. However, your leader, being- your leader, I successfully passed every test he threw at me. I could sense I was off the hook for the most part. However, something tells me that he's going to flip through some file on me, and continue to investigate."

Silence. Daiki eventually asks, "so what do you want us to do, boss?"

Kito shakes his head and smiles. "For now, nothing. But as your leader, I do think its my responsibility to let you know this happened. All of you are my associates, meaning big or small, you all are known to the public. And if the government finds out you all have powers, then you will get a knock on the door too. If this escalates, then we're going to have to watch each other's backs. But for now..." He shrugs. "Just a heads up."

All of them murmur in concern.

"Is there anything else you wanted us to know about?" Asks Robert.

"Yes. Now, for the news that actually matters: the race. I've been paying close attention to the race and I hate to break it you, its not going smoothly. Overall, I a majority of my support comes from the older demographic. However, my other running mates are pretty neck and neck. One of them has the support of the younger people, and another has the support of the elderly. For the former, I don't care too much since that's the opposite of the demographic I'm aiming for, but the latter, I'm pretty annoyed about. Even though that's MY demographic, it seems some old people aren't too trusting of a new face running their province. They prefer someone they're used to and that...annoys me."

Kasumi ponders. "So what do you want us to do? Do you think we should kill them?"

The table right next to them gives Kito's group an odd stare. Kito instinctively waves back with a smile.

"First off," whispers Kito. "Keep your voices down. Second, and more importantly, I'd rather not resort to that."

Confused, Daiki asks, "why not?"

"Because, though conflict is important, and winning is the only thing that matters, one must do it in a clever way. If we were as brutish as we seemed on the outside, then we would have overrun this entire province in less than a week. But, the ordinance academy exists, and more importantly, that would be sloppy. Professionals have standards after all. We're strong, but forcing people at gunpoint to vote for us would only get a target on our backs. As for the voting portion though... we're Japanese, not communists. Political assassination is a last resort."

Daiki continues to ask, "but what about the former mayor?"

"That one I'll admit, we got lucky. To be fair, he was the one who admitted to the contract so that's not directly on our hands. And to be frank, that one was easy and believable. If every opponent starts dropping like flies, then that's more suspicious. You don't need to be a political scientist to realize something's up. Even more so if the government smells us and puts a target on our back- without asking this time."

Daiki and Bara shake their heads in amazement.

"But for now, my competitors and I are only off by mere single digit numbers. A group of friends get to decide who gets to be mayor. We have a bit of time but, I have faith."

Kito grins. "The joy of competition. What is a man if he accepts defeat over the smallest bumps in the road? Is he going to cry? Or is he going to try harder? That's what I thought."

Daiki raises his hand.

"Yes, son? You have a question?"

"Mr. Kito sir... do you by any chance believe that boys can cry?"

Kito strokes his chin and grins. "Mmmm...yes. There is this stigma that boys can't cry. They do cry. They can cry. That's the thing-"

He stares at Daiki in the eyes. "We are no boys, for we are men. Be it loss or victory, pain or joy, crying has no place. The only thing we can do, is accept, and adapt. Nothing more, nothing less. There are other ways to express the soul. Hence why magic is a tool. You all are strong in your own ways. Dare I say, what better way to show who you are, than through your fists. Need I say more?"

"I understand now," says Daiki with a smile. They all raise their glasses of water and cheer.

"One last thing, I might add," announces Kito. "Though I enjoy having meetings here, I believe an actual base of operations would serve us well. If we do my place, that's too suspicious. So I say we might as well use the factories in the harbor late at night. It'll serve well as a discreet place. Any oppositions?"

"What if someone finds us out?" Asks Robert.

"We simply say we have overnight management duties. You and I work at the harbor after all."

"And if they don't believe us?" Continues Robert.

"My friend," says Kito. "The ocean is right there."

Robert nods, realizing what Kito is insinuating.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, at the Academy.

Naoki and Yamada are at the gym. Naoki has a portable whiteboard right next to him. Yamada sits on the ground.

"Ok so, as you already know, techniques are the expression of who you are, and that all depends on your specialization."

"Correct." Responds Yamada.

"I doubt you do but, do you know what your specialization is at the moment?"

Yamada ponders. "I mean, I think I've gotten a decent grasp of Ki, at least the basics of it. Other than that, I'm still struggling with the PsychoPower and Sorcery part of it."

"Mmmm..." Naoki strokes his chin and ponders. "As you already know," starts Naoki. "Techniques are the way you express each element. Ki for what you value in the physical world, Psychopower based on the way you think or think about often, and Sorcery is based on your ego and how you view yourself. I'm assuming you have no real idea about any of these, right?"

Yamada shrugs. "I mean I'm still just learning so no, not really."

Naoki sighs. "Well, there's no use in rushing these things. And you know yourself more than I do so, you're the only one who has a real direction when it comes to your abilities. Any ideas pop up in your head?"

Yamada blankly stares.

"Alright well...yeah I got nothing. For now, just meditate on it. Don't rush it, just really look within yourself, have an idea about yourself, and then have an idea of how you want to express it. Once something solid comes by, just let me know and we'll go from there. I'll be in my room so just shoot a text when you got something."

Naoki walks away and leaves the gym.

Once again, all to his lonesome, Yamada sits patiently.

"..."

After 45 minutes of closing his eyes, slowly breathing in and out, meditating, he comes to a conclusion.

He rests his chin on one of his hands. "This is boring."

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

He scoffs, continuing to talk to himself. "And they told me math was boring. 'Oh why study graphs, you'll never use them in your job!' Tch. Its not like that's all I ever did back then. I mean, it can be tedious but its not ultra boring. I mean think about it, with graphs you can read the stock market or just see where the money goes. It's not like you can just blindly point at a company and go 'yes, I'll throw my money at it and I'll get something in the future for it.'

...

Now that I think about it, I think some people just make do with that. If a company sounds like they're going to be around for another ten years, then you might as well invest in it."

Author's note: do NOT listen to me; I am not responsible for any economic advice you get from this fictional character.

Yamada grumbles. "All those years at college wasted...And yet, if people just took the time to THINK for a while then they could...see...

Wait.

Think...For a while..."

Yamada folds one set of arms and uses the other two to simultaneously stroke his nonexistent chin and bald head. "Hey wait a second, what was that one thing that Saizo used on me? It's an ability that got me intoxicated without having to drink anything. There's no real way of confirming it but, judging by how instantly hammered I was, and the fact that he drank a lot in that fight, I'm assuming it transferred his intoxication to me. It could've been a magic ability...which again, I have no real point of reference to judge from. But I didn't feel anything other than the effects going to my brain so, though it could be magic, I'm leaning more into thinking it was a PsychoPower technique. I don't know the exact conditions, but I think it involved me looking at him..."

Yamada grins from antenna to antenna. He grabs his phone. "I have an idea."

.

.

.

Ken and Saizo are out in the school's sandy field. It's a bright and beaming day. A little humid too. Saizo is wearing clothes modeled after his spiritual version.

Saizo pants. "You know, after having a body again I realized... I don't miss the heat."

Ken wipes his forehead. "Yeah. The physical sensation part kinda sucks." All of a sudden, Ken asks a question out of nowhere. "Say... what're your plans in the end?"

Saizo gives an odd stare. "What do you mean? Like I have some secret plan or something?"

Ken gives him a glance. "I'm not stupid. There's no way you're smart enough to pull some large scale attack on the school so I'm not worried about some severe secret. And I highly doubt you're just going to live here for the rest of your life without wanting something. So what is it?"

Saizo grimaces. "I ain't telling you nothing."

Ken rolls his eyes. "Dude I'm literally like the only guy on your side. Is it another spirit?"

Saizo doesn't say anything.

"You know, we could invite them too. Even without the whole fighting part."

Saizo looks at him. "...Really?"

"I fuckin knew it."

Saizo furrows his brow. "Were you being serious or just wasting my time."

"No, no, I was being serious."

Saizo sighs out of relief. "Well, yeah. Something like that. It'd be hell if I lived through this school alone."

"But I'm right her-"

"With you."

Ken purses his lips. "Rude but, understandable."

"He was my best friend so living him alone kinda sucks. I only ever had him in my after life so, its obvious I want him with me again."

Ken nods.

Saizo looks at him. "No unfunny remark now?"

Ken shakes his head. "I understand that feeling. Its only in our nature to huddle back up with the ones we care. Besides, I couldn't think of anything funny to say as a response so, have that as your respite."

Saizo groans, rolling his eyes.

They stand around, enjoying the breeze.

"Say, what do you think of Yamada?" Asks Ken, out of nowhere.

Saizo stares at the vessel for a couple seconds, before asking. "Who?"

"The cockroach guy."

"Oh." Saizo shrugs. "Don't care about him. Really annoying. And whiny. That's about it. Why do you ask?"

"Oh." Ken shrugs and smiles. "Just curious."

Saizo turns to Ken. "What is this. I know you're hiding something."

Ken shrugs. "I mean... yeah. I don't think you'd find it too important though but, there's a rumor running around that he wants to fight you again. He's taking it pretty serious."

Saizo squints. "Oh." He turns away. "That's retarded."

Ken chuckles. "So you don't care?"

"Of fucking course not; why would I? If he has a problem he can just come up to me. Hell, if anybody wants to fight, I won't back down. I ain't no bitch."

Saizo hacks up a mean loogie and spits on the ground.

Ken squints and gives Saizo a weirded out look. "Unnecessary but, ok."

"You got a problem?" Asks Saizo.

Ken rolls his eyes. "Yeah. You come back from the dead for a couple of days and you don't remember to brush your teeth."

Saizo wrinkles his nose. "Clever guy, huh?"

"I know my way around a joke." Ken smiles while slowly backing away. He kneels for a second and pats the ground.

Saizo walks up to him and gets all up in his face. He whispers, "who do you think you are?"

"Hey I can whisper too..."

Saizo pushes him. "Is that what you wanna do huh? You tryna look for a fight?"

Ken gets pushed back. He looks at the ground he just patted, and where Saizo is stepping. "Oh yeah, we're here to spar after all."

"Call it whatever you want," says Saizo, taking off his jacket. "You're in for a beati-"

K-SHNK.

Saizo feels sharp pains all over himself. Blood slowly leaks from his body. He can't move, at least not without immense pain. Looking down, he sees a large circular sigil with markings on it, as well as thirteen swords that shot straight up, into his body. Though spread out, the blades capture him, puncturing through his skin. One in his throat, some in his legs. One in his stomach. Its a miracle that his nether regions weren't stabbed through. His arms are caught as well.

Choking on his blood, the only thing he can say is a gargling "GGGKKKKHHRRFFF."

Ken claps and laughs in coy fashion. "I can't hear yo-"

"GRYAH."

Flexing his Ki, Saizo forces himself to move, snapping the blades off of their stems. With blades sticking through various parts of his body, he runs forward. Red in his eyes, he breathes in as much air as possible, while concentrating his Ki in his neck to stiffen the wound.

Ken backpedals as the gangster runs after him. "Oh. Hmph."

As Saizo swings his fist, he sees Ken crouch extremely low to the ground, and blur right in front of his eyes. Saizo turns around. Ken is behind him, with a long sword coming out of his forearm. Fresh blood seeps down Ken's arm.

Immediately afterwards, Saizo's Achilles tendons are cut off, leaving him to fall to the ground. Ken saunters over to Saizo's body, grabs his hair, and whispers in his ear: "are you ready to calm down now?"

Saizo then latches on to Ken's hair and headbutts him straight in the nose. Ken backs up, fresh blood coming down his nose. "Guess not."

Despite the newest wounds coming from his tendons, Saizo feels something off. Yes, he can feel his Ki deplete due to his own management, as well as Ken's damage to him. But he also feels his mind feel "fuzzier", and his soul a bit weaker.

Brute forcing his strength to crawl back up, Saizo uses his Ki to stiffen up his legs, and use them as makeshift peg legs.

Ken gives an annoyed smile.

.

.

.

An hour passes.

Ken, with bruises on his face, and blood drenching his clothes, comments. "You're really fucking stubborn. Don't take that as a compliment in any shape or form."

On the ground is Saizo, gutted, with his hands and feet lopped off, struggling to breathe through the slit on his throat. Several gashes are on his muscles. Despite this, Saizo is still able to move, at least somewhat.

"By the way," says Saizo. "Since we're ghosts, all this physical damage to the body doesn't really mean much. The Ki part matters sure, but like... the body is just a puppet, ya know? As long as the puppets limbs are attached, you're good to go. If you find a way to reattach the limbs, good for you. Sure you can leave the puppet too but...its like a crab without its shell. After living in it for so long, you're a little vulnerable, ya know?"

Saizo gargles in response. It's most likely a string of cuss words.

"Glad you get it. I'm telling you so just in case they ask, you can at least say I taught you something."

Ken dusts himself off and thinks to himself.

"Damn they really struggled with you? I mean granted, I kinda cheated at the beginning. And matchups do exist but like...I mean thanks for the alcohol but, it's gonna take more than two swigs to really get me anywhere. But I guess that's hard when someone's swinging a sword at you so... fair enough."

Saizo stares at Ken.

"Well, would you look at that," continues Ken. "Sun's setting. I'm tired. And you're about to die so-" He walks up to Saizo's limp body, and carries him over the shoulder. "Let's go get a medic." As he walks, he asks the muted Saizo "By the way, I hope you don't take these too seriously. It's a fight but there's on real emotions here, ya know?"

Ken eventually walks into the medical office, sees a half filled vat, and drops Saizo in there.

After five minutes, Saizo pops out of the vat.

"About the fights," he starts.

"Oh?"

"You're right. I don't keep grudges. If I win or lose, that's that. I'm not some loser who keeps grudges just because I lost. The stronger man won, and its simple as that."

Ken smiles. "So you're not mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you because you won. I'm mad at you because you're an insufferable prick."

Ken blinks. "That's fair."

Saizo eventually asks "By the way, you forgot my hands and feet."

"Oh you'll grow them back."

"...But wouldn't it be quicker if you got them for me?"

"Yeah."

"...So won't you get them for me?"

"No." Simply responds Ken.

"..."

"..."

.

.

.

A couple days pass

A couple of students, as well as Ken and Saizo all gather around the sandy field. Most of them are just playing soccer, whereas others are just enjoying the day.

Naoki walking alongside Yamada says to him "are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Yes Naoki. I think you've taught me well enough within the short amount of days I wanted to get this done."

Naoki purses his lips. "Alright. Just be safe. I..."

Naoki pauses.

Yamada turns to him. "What's wrong?"

Naoki shakes his head. "No. I have no right to say." He turns to Yamada, looks him in the eye, and slaps him on the back. "Good luck."

Yamada turns to him, and smiles. "Ow."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqqb0LGVKiI

Walking forward, calmly yet slowly, Yamada stands in front of Saizo, who was simply smoking a cigarette.

Saizo looks at him up and down, and scoffs. "You're blocking my sunlight."

"I have qualms with you. You may not have any with me, but I don't care. After today, I won't think about you at all."

Ken and Saizo look at eachother with confused looks. Ken makes a goofy expression as he shrugs. Saizo simply stands up and says "Ok."

He takes off his jacket, and exposes his naked chest once again.

Yamada backs up and readies his fists near his face.

"You said you won't think about me at all after this, right?" Starts Saizo.

"Yeah."

Saizo grimaces. "So you obsessed with me or something?"

"I guess that's one way to put it."

"...Why?"

"..."

Yamada stunned, stands there.

Saizo scoffs. More people gather around the two. "Look at you," says Saizo. "You say that but you're still trembling. It doesn't matter what you say. I'll always live rent free in your head. You'll always be a pussy, and you'll never be a man."

Yamada drops his arms and stands there. He makes a noise under his breathe.

"Is he whimpering? Oh come on you're gonna cry AGAIN?"

The noise becomes louder.

"h...hehhheh...."

Confused, Saizo stares at him.

"Heheheh...hehehhaha!"

Yamada cackles. He continues to laugh. And laugh. It comes to a point where he tries to stop laughing yet, he couldn't stop. Yamada stumbles to the ground, holding onto his stomach, as his body possesses him.

Saizo looks back at Ken. "I'm this close to leaving dude. What is this?"

Yamada slowly gets up, and slows down his cackles. "You know Saizo, I think I get it now. Thank you. You really are a funny one. And I appreciate you for helping me. Genuinely. This really was silly to begin with. I have nothing to prove. Not to you, nor to anyone..." Yamada shrugs. "But here we are. And a man sticks to his promise."

Saizo tilts his head, tired of the cockroach. "And what's your promise? That you'll beat me?"

"No. To come here and fight. That's it."

They both stare at each other. Bodies pulse. Muscles tense. The crowd silently feels bloodlust. Saizo is calm; Yamada feels liberated.

For some reason, a certain lightness envelopes Yamada's stomach. The weight of something, or rather, someone is lifted. His shoulders are free. His wings aren't chained anymore. Freedom is the greatest feeling in the world. He chuckles one last time, and miniscule, insect-sized tear falls down his eye.

Be free.

Yamada grabs the smallest student right next to him, and launches them towards Saizo. Saizo quickly slaps them down and looks up. The surprised crowd stammer, too shocked to react. Saizo yells "YO, WHAT THE-"

Yamada bursts forward and attempts the meanest right hook against Saizo's face. Saizo, seeing the telegraphed punch, ducks underneath the hook.

Only to be met by a hook from Yamada's second pair of arms, knocking one of Saizo's teeth into the crowd.