Brake Up Call

Roseholics District

11:43 a.m.

Aiffel rushed to the Brake Up Call workshop, where he used to work. The owner of the workshop, Shinichi, was working when Aiffel arrived.

"Boss! Boss!", Aiffel panted, "I need a ride."

Next thing. Aiffel drove off with a motorcycle as Shinichi looked on and thought, "...God, what has he become? Once upon a time, he was blood-boiled. He had raging hormones at their best... He favored me a lot of times...including saving my life... But that day...it changed everything... Lord, I hope Grate is safe... Aiffel... Try as hard as you want to act strong, but you cannot hide it from me. I know that deep down, you are broken. Stay strong, Aiffel... "

Aiffel was riding as fast as possible. His destination was Sixxity. Aiffel was worrying for Grate and grinding his teeth over the fact that he was going to the place where he had promised himself that he would never go again. Then he remembered what Richard told him back in Ophelia Pond Nightclub.

"So, you sure you still don't wanna commit any murder?", Richard asked while drinking a glass of whiskey in the bar.

"...Yes, I do.", Aiffel answered, "But, too bad. Only a day left. And I don't even know where to find them."

"I know where to find them...", said Richard.

"...You do!?", Aiffel was startled, "Tell me where!"

"The place where you made a name for yourself... Sixxity.", Richard revealed.

After thinking about his conversation with Richard the previous day, he decided to call someone while riding the bike at full speed.

In the meantime, Hunting Party Territory Officer Marquis Roosevelt, who was out on patrol in the city, pulled over a speeding driver. The driver happened to be a young lady.

"Ma'am, the speed limit is 40 km/h, although you are driving at 75 km/h. You do realize you were going over the speed limit. Didn't you see the sign?", Marquis asked the lady nicely.

"Yes, officer. I did see the speed limit sign.", said the lady in a flirty manner, "I just didn't see you."

"Is that so...?", Marquis acted like he flirted back, "Well, in that case." He brought out a book and was writing a fine for her. It looks like he didn't buy it, to the lady's dismay.

"Wh-what are you doing?", the lady asked in disbelief.

"You're getting a 150 Vowels fine.", Marquis replied. [Vowel is the name of the currency that's used in Holy Sin World.]

"Officer, my zodiac is Virgo, which means I'm always in a hurry. Please try to understand.", the lady tried to convince.

"That's too bad. Because my zodiac is Scorpio...which means I don't give a *beep* so here's your fine.", said Marquis as he handed her the fine. Then the lady drove away slowly as Marquis got a call, which he picked up.

"Hello?", said Marquis.

"Yo, Scorch. How's it going?", Aiffel asked.

"You sound...suspicious. What are you up to this time?"

"...I'm going to Sixxity."

"*stunned* What!?"

"They got Grate. Trying to pull me in. What a dirty move, huh?"

"What do you expect from the people of that place? Grate again, huh? *sigh* I wonder when he'll learn to protect himself. So, who kidnapped Grate?"

"An Alkali."

"*dumbfounded* What...? Alkali...?"

"Yes. An Imperian as well. Do you know someone who studies at Imperial while working for Alkali?"

"*dumbfounded even more* Have you gone nuts? Do you even know what you're talking about?"

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't. It's Alkali we're talking about. You were supposed to eliminate every member of Alkali! That was the deal!"

"Well...I don't know, man. I didn't do the killings, remember?"

"I know you don't do that. You only beat 'em up. Ronnie did all the killings... Are you sure Ronnie finished the job and killed every member of Alkali? ...did anyone get away?"

"*tensed* I... I don't know, man."

"*exhaled* That idiot!"

"Let it be, Marquis. Ronnie is dead."

"Yeah, but do you understand the consequences when Yakuza finds out that an Alkali is still alive?"

"I don't wanna know... What matters right now is Grate. I gotta save him.", said Aiffel as he hung up the call.

"Aiffel? Hello!", Marquis uttered, but he realized the call had ended, "That... *beep*!"

Aiffel was riding at full speed when he remembered his sensei, Shady Roseholic, once told him, "Under Iron Club's wing, the whole nation...Locria...is yours. Just one condition, and always keep that in mind...that No matter what happens...no matter what goes down...you'll never go to this one place...Sixxity."

"I'm a guy full of curiosities...", Aiffel thought, "When someone warns me not to do something, I go even further to see the outcome so that I may understand exactly why they advised against it. My sensei didn't know that. If he knew, I'm certain he'd have never told me not to go there... These days, I began to understand that it was the root...that it was the beginning of the end. Because if he had never told me about Sixxity, I'd have never gone there. And if I'd never gone there...My sensei would've lived even to this day."

4 years ago.

Age 1996

Helveltica High School

Roseholics City, Locria

Aiffel Roseholic - 14 years old.

Classroom C3. The entire classroom stopped chitchatting in intimidation when Aiffel arrived. He appeared to be wearing his school uniform, which consisted of a tucked-in white shirt, a black button-up vest, an unbuttoned coat with the sleeves pulled up close to his elbow, a belt, and white shoes. The boys in the classroom were trembling in fear to see him, whereas the girls were cheering and whistling for him as their eyeballs turned into hearts. Aiffel didn't care about any of them.

Marquis, Grate, and Ronnie approached him as he took his seat. They were wearing school uniforms, black gakuran. Ronnie was very skinny and wore glasses. He had long hair but braided it.

"Ready for the basketball match today?", Grate asked.

"Yeah, whatever.", Aiffel replied, "Don't have to worry about us. Tell them to learn better."

Marquis laughed and said, "Don't worry. We will own them yet again." Jack and his friends were hanging out in the corner. They glared at Aiffel's gang. "When is your sensei gonna return?", Marquis asked.

"Well, he went on a mission. It's gonna take some time.", Aiffel answered.

"How was your weekend?", Ronnie asked.

"Well, it ended.", Aiffel replied, "Fastest time in the world." And they laughed.

"See you in the game, buddy.", said Marquis before he, Grate, and Ronnie left to take their seats.

Aiffel sat on his chair, got his earphones on, played some rock music, and chilled as he kept his legs over his table. A girl approached her and offered her some sweets. Aiffel wasn't listening to her, as he was listening to the music loudly.

The girl got annoyed and yelled, "Aiffel!!", and looked like she finally got his attention as he took one of his earphones off.

"Yeah?", Aiffel asked carelessly.

"I've brought some sweets for you.", said the girl nicely.

"Huh?", Aiffel looked at the sweets, took one, and tasted it before saying, "Put more sugar in it next time.", and returning to what he was doing. The girl got heavily irritated and left.

The girl returned to her friends and raged, "His attitude is so annoying!"

"But I envy you, Sherlyn.", said the girls, "He at least tried one of your sweets. Aiffel is quite popular with the ladies."

"Well, he has a cute side."

"But he is just a guy who gets flaming mad at times. That's why the boys are afraid of him."

"They are too scared to talk to him."

"Overall, he is nice, although he is a bit narcissistic, and his attitude is annoying."

"That didn't sound nice at all."

Irene and Twinkle approached Aiffel.

"Hey, Aiffel!", said Irene.

"...now what do you want?", Aiffel asked.

"Don't act so arrogant, doofus!", said Twinkle annoyingly.

"Did you just ignore Sherlyn like that who brought sweets for you?", Irene chuckled.

"What about her?", Aiffel asked as he looked at Sherlyn. Sherlyn was laughing with her friends.

"That was rude of you, you know?", said Irene.

"But it's classic Aiffel, right?", Twinkle joked before she and Irene went back to their seats.

The teacher arrived and said, "Good morning.", As everyone stood up with respect, Aiffel was still listening to music. It seemed like he didn't see the teacher coming. So the teacher approached him and twisted his ear.

"That hurt!", Aiffel yowled, "Why did you do that for!?"

"Because I'm here!", the teacher barked.

Aiffel immediately stood up with respect and apologized, "Good morning, Mr. Tanaka! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The girls laughed. The boys laughed too, but Aiffel stopped them with a glare. A red-haired girl with a nose piercing looked at him. Aiffel looked at her and smiled. The girl smiled back. That girl was Madusa; 16 years old. Yup, she was 2 years older than Aiffel.

Later, after the lunch break, Aiffel and his friends Grate, Marquis, and Ronnie went to play basketball with Jack and his friends Miles, Duke, and Ranse. The gymnasium of the high school was filled to capacity. Aiffel's group was popularly known as 'Free Birds' in Helveltica while Jack and his friends were known as 'Inner Clique'. Aiffel was the point guard for Free Birds, Marquis was the shooting guard, Grate was the small forward, and Ronnie was the power forward. Free Birds believed they could defeat Inner Clique.

Both sides traded baskets as the game got off to a close start. But after that, Inner Clique went on a run, and at halftime, they were up by 10 points.

Score: Free Birds 16-26 Inner Clique

In order to have a chance of winning, Free Birds understood they had to start the second half strongly. Aiffel took the lead in the charge, scoring some rapid baskets to reduce the margin of victory to five points. In response, Inner Clique made a basket of their own, but Free Birds soon started making another run. Ronnie blocked a shot and started a fast break that resulted in a layup; Grate stole the ball and dunked it; and Marquis made a three-pointer.

Score: Free Birds 49-47 Inner Clique

With only a few minutes remaining in the game, Free Birds were in the lead, and the audience was wild. But without a fight, Inner Clique was not going to give up. They scored a basket to tie the game, and after that, they snatched the ball.

Score: Free Birds 49-49 Inner Clique

Jack and his friends had a chance to win the game with just a few seconds remaining on the clock. Jack drove toward the basket, and that's when Ronnie fouled him. Jack was awarded two free throws, which he completed to give them a two-point lead.

Score: Free Birds 49-51 Inner Clique

Aiffel and his buddies still had a chance to draw the match. Aiffel dribbled up the court after obtaining the ball. He requested a screen from Grate before pulling up for a two-point dunk. The crowd erupted as the ball swished through the net.

Score: Free Birds 51-51 Inner Clique

Only a few seconds remained in the game, and it was deadlocked. Inner Clique regained possession of the ball, but they were unable to make a shot before the buzzer sounded. There would be overtime in the game.

In overtime, Aiffel and Jack began to show off their true powers, as it seemed, and continued to trade baskets. It's like only those two were playing the game at that moment. They had equal speed and strength. One wasn't better or worse than the other. The game was once again deadlocked, with only a few seconds remaining. Aiffel dribbled up the court when Free Birds had the ball. He was aware that he needed to fire the final shot. Aiffel pulled up for a three-pointer, and Free Birds prevailed after the ball went through the net! Free Birds stormed the court to rejoice as the audience went berserk. They had won a thrilling game against Inner Clique

Final Score: Free Birds 118-115 Inner Clique

Inner Clique approached Aiffel. There was an intense stare-down until Jack offered a handshake, which Aiffel accepted after taking some time. Then Inner Clique left the court. Aiffel kept celebrating and saw Madusa looking at him. Both stared at one another for a while until Madusa smiled and left. Free Birds did their signature combination: Up High, Down Low, Fist Bump, Sign of the Horns, and contact.

Later.

After school, Aiffel went to 'Brake Up Call' for work. There, he worked as a mechanic.

"Hey there, Boss.", said Aiffel as he got to work immediately.

"Hey, sports. How was school?", Shinichi asked.

"*sighed* As usual. Guess what? *crowed* We beat Inner Clique once again."

"*rejoiced* That's amazing! You Free Birds are something else. A clique of your own. It feels like you boys are unstoppable!"

"*with a smug look* ...comes once in a lifetime. *laughs*"

Suddenly, a sumo car pulled up, and then some thugs, like five of them, came out of it. The thugs entered the workshop like a group of insolents.

"Hey, old man.", said one of them, "Is the car done?"

"Yes.", said Shinichi as he handed over the keys to them. Aiffel stared at them, stopping his work.

One thug noticed and asked, "Any problem, kid?"

"...Talk nicely to your elders.", said Aiffel with a serious tone.

"What did you just say to me!?", the thug rasped at him while the other thug stopped him, "Let it be, homes... It's just a little brat."

"Aiffel! Be nice to our customers!", Shinichi scolded him.

"Ya, old man! Teach him some goddamn manners!", said the thug. Then they were making their way out with the car.

"Um, excuse me, sir.", Shinichi called them, "The payment, sir?", and he got their attention as they approached him.

"Whatcha say to me?", the thug asked.

"The payme-", said Shinichi, but he got slapped hard by the thug.

Aiffel, enraged, rushed to beat them up, but Shinichi stopped him by grabbing his hand tightly.

"We are the Yakuza!", said the thug, "I hope you know." Aiffel didn't care and told the thugs to back off and leave before asking Shinichi if he was alright. The thugs didn't like his answer, so one of them grabbed a large steel pipe and hit Aiffel's back as hard as he could. The pipe broke into two pieces. The thugs laughed, but it didn't last long as they realized that Aiffel didn't flinch a bit while he turned to them.

"You sure you wanna do this?", Aiffel smirked while Shinichi was trying to stop him.

"Heh! You should listen to your boss, kid.", one thug grinned.

"You don't realize that my boss is stopping me because he is only trying to protect you...from me!", Aiffel said with a smug look on his face. Then the thugs attacked Aiffel but they couldn’t touch him at all. Aiffel beat each of them down using his Iron Fists and Iron Kicks.

After he was done beating them down, he collected the key from them and said, "I'm keeping the car for now. Bring cash, pay the bill, and then you can take your car. But for now, just get lost..."

The thugs ran away in fear while one of them barked, "Our boss is going to get you for this! You are finished, mechanic! ...You're finished!"

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