Japan
An older business man named Kazuo Yamashita was walking home after yet another long day of work through a busy part of the city when he noticed something
A blind spot on a dazzling neon lit street, the shadow of a building no one even notices, that's where he casts his gaze
Down an alleyway he saw two large men staring each other down, one was an absolute giant standing far over the other at 6'5
The taller man was in a long sleeve shirt and sweat pants while the shorter man was in a suit but he was also well over 6 foot
Without another soul to be found, the curtain rose on a death match
Kazuo walked into the alleyway and ducked behind a wall to see what was happening, it was clearly a soon to be fight from the energy they were giving off
Kazuo:*a fight? Between guys that big? One of them will be killed for sure...*
Shorter man:who are you?
Giant:that's the million dollar question isn't it...let's just say I'm someone who's definitely on your side.
Shorter man:mmm you must be nuts. You'd better be careful, I'm not a fair fighter and and your slight height advantage won't matter here. So your size isn't gonna help you here. Picking a fight with me was a bad idea.
Giant:oh? Sounds to me like your stalling.
The shorter man gritted his teeth
Shorter man:alright that's it!
He grabbed his collar and ripped off his shirt, his body was absolutely shredded
Kazuo:*o-one of these guys are gonna get killed!*
Shorter man:you've gone too far!
His form, it's like Nio, the guardians of Buddhist temples, in fact upon this man's back rested a tattoo of a Buddhist guardian
Kazuo:*what kind of body is that?! Is he the terminator or something?!*
The shorter man tossed the rags that were once his shirt at the giant he called an opponent and it went right into his face
The shorter man closed the distance and threw a right straight but his opponent ducked under it and slipped behind the shorter man
Giant:*a street brawler.*
The shorter man turned and threw a left hook as the giant pushed his opponents wrist and made the blow miss
The shorter man threw a right jab as the giant slipped under the shorter man's arm again
Giant:*this was a mistake.*
Kazuo:he's so fast! And with a body like that! Being that size and that quick! He can't be human!*
The shorter man threw a haymaker and the giant used his forearm to divert the blow, the shorter man lost his footint and stumbled towards a dumpster
The shorter man crushed a beer bottle and kicked the shards towards his opponent who swatted them away but the shorter man lunged at him and went to use his left leg to Spartan kick the giant in the stomach
The giant side stepped to the shorter mana left side and grabbed the shorter mans ankle with his left hand
Giant:*this was a mistake, this wasn't even worth my time.*
He raised right arm and slammed his elbow down onto the shorter man's knee causing the leg to break backwards
Kazuo:*so-so brutal!*
The giant let go of the shorter man's ankle and he dropped like a sack of potato's
Shorter man:you son of a bitch!!!
He used his remaining leg to lunge at his opponents with his arms open for a grapple
The giant stepped right and grabbed the shorter mans left wrist with his left hand, with the shorter mans momentum keeping him going, the giant pressed against the back of the shorter man's left shoulder with his right hand
As the shorter man fell down and slammed to the ground, the giant kept his grip and knelt down on the shorter mans arm
Kazuo:*he's...good.*
Giant:if you wanna keep fighting, I'll dislocate your shoulder. Doesn't take much force from this spot.
Shorter man:not...not yet!
The giant pushed down on his opponents shoulder and Kazuo heard the sound of it breaking
The giant started getting up as the shorter man started gasping from the pain
Giant:amateur. This was a waste of time.
The shorter man started trying to get up so the giant raised his right fist and delivered a straight downward punch to the back of his opponents skull
Kazuo:*I-I think I heard bones cracking! And with such a brutal strike to the back of the head!*
The giant sighed as he removed his fist from his opponents head and started walking off when he noticed Kazuo who froze
Giant:hope at least someone found the worth while.
He didn't even stop to talk as he walked past
Kazuo snapped out of his daze just before the giant left the alleyway
Kazuo:yo-your name! I need to know your name!
He stood at attention as the giant fighter paused and looked over his shoulder
He'd blurted those words out in the heat of the moment, to a man who was young enough to be his son, he spoke briefly but with the utmost reverence
Giant:...it's (Y/n). (Y/n) Yu.
Kazuo:o-oh...you want m-my name?
(Y/n):No, my last name. It's Yu, Y-U. But...go ahead, tell me it.
Kazuo stammered for a moment as he began sweating nervously
Kazuo:MY-MY NAME IS KAZUO YAMASHITA!
The tall fighter began looking Kazuo up and down
(Y/n):Kazuo...Yamashita. Are you looking to fight?
Kazuo felt his skin go cold as his breath escaped him
Kazuo:*th-those eyes and manner is speaking...I-I don't think he's joking...! If I say "yes"...I'll probably die...! I-I can't breath!*
He managed to inhale just enough to utter one work
Kazuo:n-no...
(Y/n):I see...Hao.
He put his hands into his pockets and turned away
(Y/n):picking pointless fights isn't my style.
He walked out of the alleyway and disappeared into the crowd as Kazuo fell down and started gasping for air
Kazuo Yamashita, a 54 year old businessman. A straightforward family man. A man who in his prime avoided drinking, fighting, and prostitution.
After this event he was unable to comprehend the cause of his own actions.
Because for the first time in 15 years, he was with a woman. What could've roused his manly urge?
His survival instincts!!
The instinct of a man who has never experienced killing. A strong feeling of purpose surged through him all at once and instantaneously, he is aware of his mortality.
Because of this overwhelming instinct, he was prompted to preserve his genes as expediently as possible.
There is only a single way he could've been certain of fulfilling his desire.
He performed the reproductive act!
Following the prior night of Kazuo's adultery actions, he found himself in his supervisors office bowing his head getting chewed out yet again by his supervisor
Supervisor:mr.Yamashita, so once again you've missed your quota for this month.
Kazuo:please forgive me sir, I'm so terribly sorry. N-Next month for sure though, I promise you.
Supervisor:"next month", huh? Do you realize you say the same thing every month? You know I have to be honest, your words don't carry much weight anymore.
Kazuo's colleagues could overhear their conversation and took pity on their coworker
Coworker:here we go again, the chief is picking on mr.yamashita.
Coworker:he gives all of the hard jobs to mr.yamashita. He makes everything his fault.
Supervisor:ARE YOU LISTENING?!
Kazuo:y-yes sir! I completely agree with you.
Kazuo:*damnit! This rich kid is up on his high horse! If...if I were strong like that guy from last night...I could make sure that the chief would give me some respect!*
He took a deep breath and let his temper settle
Kazuo:*who am I kidding? I'm lower my head again like an idiot because I can't do things like that.*
A very obese man in a suit walked into the supervisors office, he was the office president
President:sorry to interrupt.
Supervisor:m-mister president! I wasn't expecting you sir!
He quickly stood up
Supervisor:I could've just come up to your office instead sir!
President:I'm actually not here for you.
He looked towards Kazuo
President:mr.yamashita. There's someone special who has requested to speak with you immediately.
Kazuo:huh? With me?
President:it's an urgent matter so please go see him.
Supervisor:hold on, they wanna talk...to him? Not me?
Kazuo looked at the president as confused as his supervisor was
The president looked mortified
President:yamashita...what have you done yamashita?
Kazuo:wh-what?
The next thing Kazuo knew was that he was taken to the headquarters of his business, The Nogi Group
Kazuo was taken to the office of the chairman, Nogi Hedeki
Nogi:thank you for coming.
Nogi was an older man who had the appearance of a gentleman with grey hair that had been brushed back and his face was wrinkled
Nogi:I apologize that it was dury such a busy time.
Kazuo stood at attention shaking like a leaf
Kazuo:wh-what? No problem at all sir.
He gulped as he began sweating like a dog as Nogi's cold gaze lingered on him
Kazuo:*an ordinary employee of the company was called in to speak with the chairman directly?! What in the world have I done?!*
Nogi:a conflict...
Kazuo:huh?
Nogi:the optimal method to resolve a conflict. Tell me, what do you think that is?
Kazuo:uh...you said, a conflict?
Nogi:that's right. There are countless words that express a means of resolution. Arbitration, negotiation, persuasion. One that's especially effective...is violence.
Kazuo:wh-what? What do you mean sir?
Nogi:suppressing an opponents hostile force with violence that exceeds their own.
He placed a box onto his desk and pulled out a cigar from it
Kazuo:*tha-thats not a good way of resolving conflict.*
Nogi's Secretary, who was an attractive blonde woman in a red dress and glasses, cut his cigar and gave it back to him
Nogi:very insightful. You see, violence serves as an effective security blanket. However that's more of what you'd call managed violence. Chaotic violence on the other hand, will never lead to anything. Only tyrannical rampages.
He lit his cigar as he then started sucking on it
Nogi:it was the 5th year of the shintoku era. The world was at peace. But, in its shadow...the merchants blood for blood conflicts ran around the clock. Their objectives were to climb to the highest position any merchant could acquire.
He took the cigar from his mouth and blew smoke towards yamashita
Nogi:which was attendant to the imperials. In order to reach such a rank, the merchants would threaten, scheme and even assassinate. They would use any and all means to defeat their business rivals. This chain of widespread violence quickly ran out of control. So much so that even the merchants who were committing the violence were effected. The world had transformed into the Buddhist realm of Ashura. A new era was needed. One who's chains would control the spear. The 7th generation Shogun, Ietsugu Tokugawa, summoned the merchants who were the routes of this madness...and he passed down an order.
Ietsugu Tokugawa:To resolve your conflicts, you must decide fairly among you, who is superior.
Nogi:it was such a simple and straight suggestion from a child. But among them, none of them were hindered by this childish conclusion. Violence allows order. The merchants formed unions, and when interests collided, they went through these unions to prepare the encounters. The method of battle was straight forward. A One-on-One uninterrupted fight to the death. Each side chose a combatant who's skill they took pride in, to fight in place of the merchants in order to determine the victor. Eventually violence came to embody the art of war.
This rant had completely lost Kazuo
Nogi:as it just so happens, my ancestors were among those in the unions. You could say that the Nogi Group's current progress is thanks to the valiant efforts of those merchants.
He rested his cigar on his ash tray
Kazuo:*what is he talking about? And what does it have to do with me?*
Nogi:do you have any idea why I am telling you all this?
Kazuo flinched out of his daze
Nogi:that story was not just come folk tale, you know. Even today, this method of battle is an ongoing tradition. One that's passed down by the merchants.
Kazuo:o-oh come on...your pulling my le-leg right? Something like that couldn't...
He noticed the cold glare nogi was staring him down with
Kazuo:*the look on his face says otherwise! Could...could it really be true?*
Nogi:even after the Takugawa Bakufu fell, the merchants were able to keep this form of battle alive as a method of resolving conflicts. It was a system that never seemed to fail them. Entrust your wishes to the competitors fists. A Kengan Match.
Kazuo:*wh-what is a Kengan Match?!*
Nogi:and truth is, our company is wagering its privileges in a match a few days from now. However, a slight problem has occurred. The man our company had hired, has become unable to compete for various reasons. We are finding ourselves in need of a substitute competitor.
Kazuo:pl-please don't say...you thought I should fight for you...
Nogi:hmm?
The president couldn't help but chuckle
Nogi:that's actually not a bad idea. Unfortunetly I don't think you'll be playing that role here. During my search to find us a new competitor, we found the man who'd put our previous competitor into a coma and it didn't take much to convince him to compete for us in the match.
Kazuo took a sigh of relief as the door to the room opened
Nogi:he's here now.
Kazuo turned around as (y/n) walked in the door wearing a long sleeve compression shirt and grey sweatpants
Kazuo:*HUH?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!*
(Y/n):your that guy from the alley, huh?
Kazuo:*th-this man is the competitor?!*
Their represented fighter walked over to the desk
(Y/n):what was your name again? Kaneda Yamamoto?
Kazuo:K-Kazuo Yamashita...
Kazuo:*WHAT KIND OF COINCIDENCE IS THIS?!*
Nogi:oh? The two of you are already acquainted? Well that actually makes this quite convenient for me. Kazuo Yamashita, I would like to give you the task of being (Y/n) Yu's caretaker.
Kazuo:what...?
Nogi:Yu, if there's anything you need at all. Feel free to call on him.
(Y/n):whatever you say, Onogi.
Nogi chuckled to the fighter getting his name wrong
Nogi:you two can decide the arrangements together. Just be sure to inform me of the specifics.
After they left, Nogi's secretary, Akiyama Kaede, made him a cup of tea and placed it onto his desk
Akiyama:was it a good idea...putting our trust in that man?
Nogi:hmm?
Akiyama:the one who hospitalized Komada The Guardian.
Nogi:oh yes, that's the exact reason I've employed him. How many men in this world do you think could actually comatose, let alone bring down a man like Komada? (Y/n) Yu. I think we've struck gold with this one.
Akiyama:I see. So then...Kazuo Yamashita, why chose a company employee...and reveal the existence of the Kengan Matches to someone like him. If you wanted a caretaker, there were plenty of others qualified for the job.
Nogi leaned back in his chair and clasped his fingers behind his head
Nogi:oh...just a whim I suppose.
Akiyama:ch-chairman?
Nogi started chuckling as he leaned forward and put his forearms onto his desk
Nogi:it's alright, don't get so annoyed. As a precaution I've also arranged surveillance to accompany his caretaking. There's nothing to worry about.
Akiyama:*that doesn't qualify as a reason for choosing him, does that mean he's just gonna dodge the question?*
Nogi:*(Y/n) Yu...if you are affiliated with her...then you are absolutely someone I need for what's to come.*
Meanwhile (y/n) was walking down the street at a fast pace that Kazuo had to run after to keep up with
Kazuo:wa-wait up!
(Y/n) suddenly stopped and Kazuo ran into his back and stumbled
(Y/n):what is it?
He looked over his shoulder as he older man started gasping for air
Kazuo:li-listen, Yu. Why don't we just turn down this proposal? I-I mean fights are criminal acts aren't they? I-I mean what is the chairman even thinking anywa-
(Y/n):can we talk later? I need to do something first. So let's go.
Kazuo turned pale
Kazuo:Okay.
"Let's go", these words struck fear into the heart of the elderly man despite them being so casual
Within the hour Kazuo Yamashita was following (y/n) up the steps to a large building that looked like a temple
Kazuo:*what's this? A Judo Dojo?*
He followed (y/n) through the front door, the dojo was nearly empty except for a group of 3 Judo practitioners standing at the center of the room
Kazuo:*who are these people?*
(Y/n) slipped off his shoes as Kazuo looked at their belts, one was a black belt, the others were brown and blue belts
Kazuo:I-I'm sorry, but what're we doing here?
(Y/n):what other reason do you think, to fight.
Black belt:you actually showed up. After that cocky bullshit from last night I thought you'd run off.
(Y/n) walked up to the Judo practitioners, most of them were athletically built under their martial art uniforms and fairly tall, at least by Japanese standards
(Y/n):so which one of you are the strongest?
Black belt:hu-huh? You an idiot or something? Me obviously, damn foreigner.
(Y/n):hmm I see...
He raised his arms over his head as he started stretching
(Y/n):we can do Judo rules if you wa-
Black belt:forget that, I'm knocking your ass out. My way. No rules.
(Y/n):heh, fine by me.
The black belt suddenly grabbed (y/n) by his shirt and turned while pulling (y/n)
As (y/n) was pulled off his feet and in the direction the black belt wanted
The next thing Kazuo Yamashita saw was...
(Y/n) had his right knee planted in the Black belts stomach and his left elbow in the back of his head
Kazuo:*su-such a quick counter, and that blow to the back of the head...*
The black belt let his opponents go and fell down
(Y/n):eh jeez...is Judo the only you do? From how you talk, I thought it'd be more.
The black belt went for an obvious uppercut and (y/n) side stepped to the right and threw a right jab that grazed the black belts chin
The judo practitioner slammed to the ground out cold
Kazuo:he-he's down? From a shallow blow like that?
(Y/n) sighed and started walking away from the other two judo practitioners who just stood in shock and didn't try to advance on him
(Y/n):I thought he'd be half decent at judo, but you barely get a passing grade.
He signed as he ran his hand down his face
(Y/n):my bad, thought this would be worth while. Uh...Kazuo Yamashita...was it?
Kazuo:u-uh yes! That's right!
He started sweating profusely as the fighter walked past him with a disappointed expression
Kazuo:*he won so...why does he always look so annoyed?*
The next morning, Kazuo was preparing breakfast in his kitchen
Kazuo:*good morning everyone, my name is Kazuo Yamashita. I've been with Nogi Publications for 34 year straight now. I'm a 56 year old still at the peak of my working year. All is well in my private life, although I can't say my days are...filled with excitement.*
A few minutes later Kazuo was walking up the stairs to the second floor with a tray of food and placed it in front of the door closest to the steps
Kazuo:breakfast is ready. I'll leave it here.
He walked back down the stairs as the door opened and pulled the tray inside
Kazuo looked back to the door as it closed
Kazuo:*that's my oldest son, Kenzo. I think he'll be 25 years old this year...but ever since middle school he's slowly become more reclusive...now more than ever. The last time I saw his face was 2 yea-...no maybe 3 years ago.*
He walked into the kitchen and began eating his own breakfast
Kazuo:*my second son dropped out of high school last year. He's become completely defiant. He seems to be hanging out with some unsavory friends...and the only time he comes home anymore is, when he wants to steal money from my wallet.*
With a sad expression he looked over to an old photo of himself with his sons and wife
Kazuo:*about 10 years ago my wife ran off. I still don't know the reason why she abandoned us like that...All that's left for me now, is this tiny patch of land with my isolated house built on it. I have 15 years left remaining on the loan. It's the land destined to be my coffin.*
After Kazuo left his house he pulled out a map from his pocket and followed it to a bridge overrunning a river, the area in general was very run down
Kazuo:*huh? He said I could find him here but..I don't see a house.*
He looked at the map again
Kazuo:*did I misread this map?*
He started walking parallel to the river when he noticed smoke rising from by the river
Kazuo:is that him? Why would he be down there though?
He walked down the broken down steps and proceeded to the river
Sitting in a white plastic chair was (y/n) with a small fire in front of him, he was shirtless with cargo pants and sandals on
(Y/n):oh it's you, Yamashita, right?
Kazuo:u-uh yes, what're you doing out here?
(Y/n) reached into the fire and pulled out a fish on a stick but it was incredibly burnt
Kazuo:do you...live out here? Without a home?
(Y/n):what? Course not.
He took a large bite from the burnt fish and looked like he wanted to spit it out
(Y/n):ugh, I live over there.
He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb and Kazuo looked to see an abandoned mechanics shop
Kazuo:b-but that's an abandoned building...
(Y/n):didn't see anyone using it. You want some of this?
He offered up a second burned fish as he choked down the first
Kazuo:o-oh no, I'm not hungry.
Kazuo:*does he not know how to cook? Hard to believe that though, with a body like that.*
He started to admire the fighters physique, his biceps and triceps were large and cut, his shoulders were broad, his chest was wide and his abdomen looked like that of a Greek statue, to top it off he was also covered in scars
Kazuo:*from an aesthetic standpoint he could go pro. He almost reminds of characters from that manga, Baki.*
He started blushing realizing he was admiring another man's body
Kazuo:*wh-what am I thinking?! I'm not of that persuasion!
(Y/n) started scarfing down the second fish and walked over to the river and began drinking from it
Kazuo:um...may I ask why your eating fish and drinking from the river?
(Y/n) wiped the water from his face and looked over his shoulder like he was asked a dumb question
(Y/n):Why do I...well because I need food. How do you get what you need to survive?
Kazuo:*th-that's right...civilization has evolved. We only ever see the end product of our food that ends up in the supermarkets. Without giving a though to the underlying process, we kill and consume on a daily basis. We do it to live, I should've expected such a straight answer!*
(Y/n) tilted his head to the side as he looked past Kazuo
(Y/n):Kazuo Yamashita, did you bring people with you?
Kazuo:huh?
He turned around confused and saw two men walking down the steps towards the river, one was wearing a white hoodie and the other was in a hoodie with a purple splatter design
Kazuo:did you get into another fight?
(Y/n):what? No. That other day was special...
Kazuo glanced at him
(Y/n):don't give me that look!
The man in the white hoodie stepped forward first while the other guy stayed back
White hoodie:what a mess, how do you live in a dump like this?
Kazuo:h-hold on, who are you people?
(Y/n) stepped in front of Kazuo
(Y/n):who're you? You look a little old to be the Girl Scouts.
The man with the white hoodie pulled down his hood, he was a Russian foreigner who had blonde hair and blue eyes
Russian:I'll do it. Don't step in.
The second hooded man sighed
Hooded man:yeah, fine.
(Y/n) raised an eyebrow seeing the killing intent in the Russians eyes
(Y/n):oh? This might be interesting. You might be the first real fighter I've run into in this country.
Kazuo started looking closely at the Russian and went pale
Kazuo:wa-wait hold on just a moment...isn't that...Ivan Karaev?
(Y/n):is that supposed to mean something?
Kazuo:he...recently made a name for himself, he's a kickboxer from Russia. But...what's he doing here?
The kick boxer threw a few warmup punches
Ivan:it's not personal, Only business. I just need to spend some time in the hospital.
(Y/n) started smirking with a crazed look in his eye
(Y/n):alright. Make my day, Igor.
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To be continued