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August 14th, 1988

In a doctor's office, Oodaka laid out on a bed with her tentacles slumped over the sides, two on her larger belly and one wrapped around her husband's wrist. A monitor showed a black-and-blue vision of their future child, a kappa stroking her tummy with a wand to show the fussy foetus wrapped in a shell.

"Issat them?"

"Sure is," said the doctor, "that's your baby boy."

"Awwww!" whimpered Oodaka. "Lookit his liddle ears, jus' like his daddy!"

"Quite unusual, most kids take after their mother biologically."

"Howzat?" the father looked up.

"Generally speaking you got live births an' egg births. Mammals almost always birth without eggs so if you'd been one, yer kid woulda definitely been thuh same as his mother, but cuz yer both egg-laying sorts, you got a coin flip."

"Damn, I never thought o' that."

"Well lucky fer you, egg births're always easier than live, got that extra layer to protect yer kid."

"Thanks doc," the mother sighed laying back, "whut happens next?"

"Well your nausea should be less than before," said the kappa looking at the screen, "if you start getting short of breath, that's perfectly natural, your blood vessels are just shifting to accommodate your son. Sometimes you'll get nosebleeds, or gumbleeds, don't worry 'bout that."

"Whut should we look out fer?" asked Gonji rubbing her belly.

"Persistent abdominal pains, along with fevers or chills. Also severe headaches, changes in eyesight, swelling in the face or hands, burning sensation when you piss an' any vomiting. Anythin' like that happens, you git back to me soon as you can."

"Alrigh'." She looked to her child on the screen. "Awwww his widdle ears are flappin'."

"That means he's happy," gasped Gonji leaning down to her stomach, "heeey li'l guy, you doin' alright? I'm yer daddy, an' this is yer mom."

"Hi babyyyy!" the octopus wrapped her arms round the bulge. "Now you better not cause too much trouble, I got a degree to work on an' if yer a good li'l guy, momma'll buy you ice cream every day."

"Hey-ey, don't start bribin' him, least not before I do!"

They laughed as the doctor grinned at seeing the happy couple, letting them watch their son fumble inside the womb with tiny little limbs, and a blind head with giant ears that flapped awkwardly. After she was checked over, Oodaka left with her husband onto the streets of Okinawa.

The end of summer was fast approaching, a slight chill trickling through the day as a clear blue sky welcomed them. Obara stretched his arms and wrapped one around the octopus, her blouse doing little to hide her son as they wandered back to their beachside home.

"When do we start buyin' baby stuff?" he asked.

"Reckon next month'll do," she nuzzled him, "now that we know he's a boy."

"You got a name fer 'im?"

"Naaah, not yet. More focused on my studies, ya mind cookin' tonight while I freshen up?"

"No prob babe," the reptile smooched her cheek, "You wan' summa that taco rice?"

"Oooh yeah I love when you make that stuff...ooh, actually mind if we grab a drink?"

"Anythin' fer momma."

Strolling up towards the Lucky M next to the cabaret club, Oodaka bought some tomato juice whilst Gonji considered a beer before switching to lemonade.

"Afternoon Obaras," the old tiger bowed from the counter, "how are you doing?"

"Great!" Gonji grinned. "Just had our baby checked, can we tell 'im Ooda-chan?"

"Issa boy!" she squealed clapping her tentacles. "He looked just like his daddy with them ears all flappin'."

"Awww congratulations!" Byakka-han smiled. "I still have some old things from my little tykes, if you want them."

"Really? Damn that's mighty kind of ya, thanks Byakka-han!"

"Just call it a gift for all your hard work," the tiger grinned leaning forwards, "both inside AND outside the ring."

"Mmhmm," Gonji tapped his snout, "I do pride mahself on my work, I'll be in tomorrah."

"Thank you so much," the mother bowed, "we don't need that baby stuff righ' now, we still gotta arrange thuh room first."

"Of course," the old cat bowed in turn, "let me know when you can take it off my hands, I'll dust it down nice and clean."

Heading back home, the husband started making taco rice in the kitchen, whilst Oodaka went to her studies, sitting on their bed with pen and paper. Her stomach growled throughout the exam, her hunger sharpening her mind as the sizzling of the pan teased her.

"Heeere ya are," Gonji put down her plate, "extra rice fer baby."

"Thanks Gon-chan," she blew a kiss, "this paper's kickin' mah ass."

"You wanna take a break?"

"Mmmm no I really shouldn't-"

"Babe you been writin' fer an hour, I think you should take a break."

"Gonji c'mon-"

"Well lessee whut baby boy thinks."

He sat down beside her with his plate, pressing his long ear against her belly with hums and nods of agreement as she giggled.

"Mmhmm, ahuh? Yeah, yeah, oh really? Well thas mighty interestin'!"

"Gonjiiii!"

"A-ah, hold up, baby's havin' a discussion, oh he got your smarts definitely, he makes a very good point."

"An' whut point is that?"

"That you can't be smart if yer brain's all outta juice." Gonji lifted his head. "You leave yer car runnin', you run outta fuel, gotta turn it off sumtimes."

"Like you?" she tapped his nose. "When's yer brain ever been on?"

"Thuh day I fell in love with you."

Oodaka stiffened with a blush, sputtering until he hugged her with a smooch before they had their dinner and watched TV. A sitcom about flight attendants was showing with hijinks in the aisles, along with a few jokes that would turn inappropriate in twelve years. Their minds shut off briefly to savour the evening, until a news bulletin came.

"In local news," said a manicured wolf, "assaults are continuing upon voters of the Empire of Mu, as witnesses have claimed that several masked vigilantes have been prowling the streets. A statement has been made by Dr. Mantarou Daija, in what he calls 'an act of uncivilised violence, propagated by cowards who would rather solve problems through thuggery, then by spirited debate'."

"Can't believe this," Oodaka shook her head, "you hearin' this?"

"Yeah," Gonji rolled his eyes, "them Mu boys callin' other creatures cowards, thassa laugh."

"No, I mean gettin' attacked out on thuh street, that ain't right no matter who you are."

"Mmm, well, they are vashers Ooda-chan, they ain't exactly good folks."

"I know, I hate 'em too, but creatures can't just start attackin' each other cuz they don't agree on stuff, we're not savages."

"Yeah, yer right," he nodded, "IF they ain't done nuthin' to nobody else."

"Whut you mean?" the octopus squinted.

"I mean, if a vasher were attackin' sumbody then yeah, you fight 'em."

"Well, yeah course I mean, I'm talkin' about beliefs, not actions Gonji."

"Right, heh." He smiled pulling her close. "Sorry, just wanna test yer debate skills when you become a teacher."

"Mmhmm," she chewed her rice methodically, "I bet you were a model student."

"Whut, me? I got gold stars all thuh way, in gym class, cooking-"

"Didn't you once tear up thuh hockey pitch when you went tunnellin' on a bet?"

"Yeah but I got a new vidyagame out of it!"

"That yer momma banned you from playin' a whole month."

"Ehhh," he shrugged leaning back, "sumtimes you gotta take thuh bet, you gotta risk it fer thuh biscuits!"

"I hope our son don't follow that," she tapped his chin with a warning tendril, "you better not start teachin' him tunnel tricks."

"Ooda-chan, if he learns by himself it is my duty to make sure he do it right an' he don't hurt hisself. Look on thuh bright side, he won't be able to get cookies off thuh top shelf, like you did."

"Wha-don't turn this round on me Gon-chan!"

"I know whut you did, yer mom told me everything!"

"Oh that gotdamn BITCH!"

Oodaka gasped before she started laughing, the two falling back into memories of their childhood that they reshared, until the mother fell asleep. Gonji waited an hour, darkness falling soon as he turned off the TV, got up from their bed, and crept towards the laundry room where he found a secret box hidden behind the washer. A gold mask stared back at him, along with his silver belt as he headed into the night.

The next morning, Oodaka woke up next to her husband with a long stretch of her arms. He smiled lazily at her, shared a kiss and murmured some lewd things to make her blush, but she was too drowsy to be in the mood. Gonji rolled out of bed, turned on the TV, and went to make breakfast, taking the leftover rice from last night and whipping up a chicken-flavoured curry.

"Whut's on?" he asked setting down plates.

"Sum science thing," she murmured, "this company makin' robots that're gonna do minin' and shit."

"Oooh, robots?! Like fer real robots, like in thuh movies?!"

"Seems like it!"

They sat down together to watch the conference, a young golden dragon with wavy horns and a sharp green suit standing upon a stage with a big tarp behind him, upon which was the symbol of a wheel with eight spikes.

"Good morning, creatures and patrons! My name is Rai Tanaka, and I am the director of Eight-Point Industries. Over the past ten years, my company have been studying robotics, with a brilliant young team of inspired minds. Some of those robots are even here in this auditorium! No wait...that's just how some of you feel until you get some coffee."

A small laughter rippled through the audience.

"I know, it's always difficult in the mornings, my OS requires four cups every start-up."

Laughter increased as Oodaka joined.

"My OS? Oh that's not my operating system, it's my ornery self, don't touch it, very sensitive before 9am."

Gonji started cackling with the crowd as Rai put up his hands.

"Now, seriously, I am here to offer you my latest product. As some of you may know, Eight-Point has been responsible for more basic appliances, such as the roomba, the filo-fax, and the PhoneRod. But you're not here for that, frankly you're just hoping someone finally invents a printer that actually does use up the entire ink cartridge."

The crowd chortled again as Oodaka laughed a little too hard at this.

"I regret to inform you, we have still yet to reach that level of technical mastery. BUT until then, I have the next best thing! BEHOLD! My newest friend, MOGUERA!"

He swept off the tarp to reveal a large robot taller than him, thick with chunky thighs and clunky arms that ended in drills. Resembling a horned beetle, its eyes of wide golden slits stared across the audience with stiff turns of the head, making the crowd gasp.

"Now, I could introduce him myself, but I feel it's best that...you, do the honours."

"GREETINGS." A highly-synthesised voice came from it. "I AM...MOGUERA."

"And what does that stand for, Moguera?"

"MOBILE...OPERATIONAL, GRAND, UNDERGROUND, EXCAVATING, ROBOTIC ALLY."

"Goodness, that's quite a mouthful! Can we just call you Gary?"

"NO."

The audience cackled at Rai's face looking startled.

"Well that's fair enough, tell me, Moguera, what is your function?"

"EXTRA...TERRITORIAL, MINING. ENHANCED SAFETY PROCEDURES. OPERATING TASKS, IN UNINHABITABLE DEPTHS."

"Very good!" Rai clapped his hands. "I'm sure you'd all like a demonstration, but of course I'd rather not damage this lovely auditorium. So here's one I made earlier."

The curtains at the back of the stage revealed a giant TV, showing recordings of a mining expedition where several Mogueras were digging through burning rock. A thick magma floe coursed under their feet as they splashed and stomped through the molten river.

"These are some of Moguera's friends having a nice vacation in Sicily, excavating some prime basalt underneath Mt. Etna, after which they returned unscratched."

"BUONGIORNO," the machine bowed.

"Moguera also had a lovely time in Stromboli, where he picked up some basic Italian."

"VA FA...NAPOLI."

"Moguera, please don't insult the audience!"

"SI. SCUSI."

The mining demonstration combined with the strange comedy between the robot and his creator, made it a fascinating conference to watch. Rai went through some various schematics and took questions from the audience concerning upkeep, complications in the depths, and whether these robots would replaced existing workers. It was during this that Moguera started to droop and flicker his eyes.

"OH, I'm terribly sorry, my friend seems to have the same problem some of us have without our coffee!"

"ZZ-Zzz-zz-zznnn."

"I told him not to stay up last night reading Electronics Monthly. Luckily, I have a little something."

From his pocket he pulled out a non-specific can of beer, as he opened a port in the body and poured it all inside. The robot shot up awake with a chirrup and looked to his master.

"GOOD MORNING, RAI-SAMA."

"Good morning! You dozed off a bit."

"SI. SCUSI."

The crowd fawned with a simpering laugh at the loveable robot, who bowed as Tanaka explained.

"Some of you have asked before about Moguera's fuel usage, and what requirements they possess. My company have struck upon the idea of ethanol to power our machines. Yes, what you just saw, was my friend being entirely fuelled by a simple can of alcoholic beverage. In an effort to strike for a greener future, Moguera, and all his friends, will be entirely reliant upon any alcohol that you possess."

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?"

"Moguera, no, remember where we are!"

"I DO NOT...HAVE A PROBLEM, YOU DO."

"Mogueraaa!" Rai stood in front with a wagging finger. "If you keep talking like that, I will switch you to the cheap wine that you hate!"

"...SI. SCUSI."

"Thank you. Now, not all of his friends are as unique as Moguera here, this one is more of a prototype with advanced AI for the sake of diplomacy. We're still working on that."

Another ripple of giggles filled the room as Tanak grinned clasping his hands.

"Thank you all for coming to my tech talk, my name is Rai Tanaka, and I hope you all have a lovely year. Moguera, any last words?"

"VA FA NAPOLI."

"MOGUERA, what did I just say?!"

The crowd laughed at the creator's outburst, before Rai took his bow with Moguera in turn.

"Gotdamn," the octopus chuckled, "you hear whut he said? A robot that runs entirely on beer!"

"That's crazy!" the reptile shot up his ears. "But damn if that ain't a sight better than fossil fuels, though why don't they just run 'em on plutonium like everythin' else?"

"Cuz we need that plutonium fer ourselves! Alcohol's plenny easier to make than plutonium, saves on resources."

"Heh, if I could live on alcohol, I'd get me a six-pack so I's energised all week."

"You ain't been drinkin' as much I noticed," her eyes smiled at him.

"Well...just," Gonji rubbed his arm, "I don't wanna make it a habit, when we got thuh kid around."

"Whut, whut you mean?"

"I don't wanna be one of those dads who upsets their kid smellin' of drink every night an'...blowin' up at them cuz they got a little tipsy."

"Gon-chan come on you ain't never been like that, not even once!"

"My daddy wuz." He turned with a hard look towards her. "I ain't givin' up entirely, I'm gonna just...keep it under control, there been plenny times out there I got pissed up, maybe I done sumthin' stupid once in a while, an' I don't want our son to be like that. You said it yerself, you don't want me encouragin' bad habits."

"Awww babe is this about thuh tunnellin'?" she wrapped an arm round him. "I wuz just ribbin' ya."

"I know you were," he shook his head, "I just wanna be a good father, an' it's best to start early, yanno, moderation."

"Alright." Oodaka smooched him again. "Yer a real diamond, you know that Gon-chan?"

"Not as presh as you, Ooda-chan."

After finishing up their breakfast, they walked down to central Ryukyon together, hand in hand and waving to various locals who congratulated on the new upcoming baby. Gonji kissed her farewell at the Lucky M, slipping behind the counter after he changed clothes in the back, with a green shirt and a plastic orange apron.

The day was slow and easygoing, just as he liked it under a cool blue sky with scuttling white clouds. The worst customers were flashy middle-aged folks who never had exact change, forcing his brain to do some serious on-the-fly math that he practiced with Byakka. Sometimes an elderly kaiju would come in and require help, but for the most part he had time to sit down and read his Neomitsu magazine.

The current issue had a fascinating exposé on the company Nintengu, whose latest release of a toaster-shaped console known as the NES struggled to get off the ground, after the Stega Mega Drive dominated Asia and Europe to lock them out completely.

It did however manage to find a small foothold in South America, as well as Korea oddly, whilst North America and Africa were still the biggest buyers of SNK.

"Ooooh!" Gonji pricked his ears. "JohannesBRAWL tourneys still going down Mapungubwe...dang I wish I could go, Gonji Obara, thuh King of Fighters, now that's got a real ring to it, show all them kiumbe folks whut a REAL player is!"

He shot up from his seat when two youths came in, a brown mantis with bladed arms in a soccer strip, and a scaled bull in a yellow top. They wandered aimlessly through the aisles, checking over prices with an odd laborious pace.

Gonji turned suspicious when the mantis picked up a sports magazine and briefly flicked through the pages. The bull slinked over to the back where the chilled drinks sat, as the clerk gave the young insect two minutes warning.

"You wanna read more, you buy it kid."

"UM, s-sorry, I was jus-OH JEEZ!"

Throwing himself back, the boy slammed against the shelves and threw down boxes of toothpaste.

"Shit you alright?!" Gonji rushed out from the counter.

"SORRY, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, long as you ain't hurt."

"Please, s-sir, let me help you pick them up."

"Yeah you do that, just try to be more carefuuuu-W-WAIT, HEY!"

It was the perfect crime, the bull having snatched two bottles of cider and dashed out the door during the distraction as Gonji shouted:

"HEY, BYAKKA-HAN, WE GOT A RUNNER!"

"What?!" the tiger peeked out the back room.

"KEEP AN EYE ON THIS KID, I'M GON' CATCH THAT THIEF!"

"G-GON-KUN, WAIT!"

Charging out onto the street, Obara caught sight of the bull hurrying south and raced after him with pounding feet. Creatures dodged out of the way as the robber suddenly turned east, jumping on a parked car to set off the alarm and startle locals into stepping in front of Gonji.

The worker dodged past them to keep up the pace, until the bull saw a cougar on a bicycle and suddenly slammed his foot against the wheel. The biker started to wobble, then suddenly careened straight for the lizard with a panicky yelp as Gonji grabbed the handlebars to help steady him.

"You alrigh'?!"

"Y-yeah, thanks!"

"GIT BACK 'ERE YA GOTDAMN CIDER THIEF!"

"FUCK OFF JJOKBARI!" the bull laughed giving the finger.

"THUH FUCK YOU CALL ME?!"

The robber hurried southwards, heading for the mall across from an intersection as the lights blinked red. He charged across the road and made it just in time before the cars started moving, cackling as he turned back to taunt his would-be pursuer. But Gonji wasn't there, surprising the young bull who snorted in Korean.

"//Huh? Musta given up, stupid Japanese bitch...wait, is that a hole?//"

Across the road near the pavement, was a pothole that had been dug in the tarmac he had not seen before. Something came burrowing towards him, the smallest of cracks bending the asphalt until an explosion of gravel shot up in front of his face.

"//POWER DUUUNK!//"

With a mighty uppercut from below, Gonji Obara burst from his tunnel to crack the bull's jaw and send him flying back still grasping the bottles. Rolling across the cobbles of the open mall, startling the locals and tourists nearby, the robber stumbled up and tried to make a run for it until Obara grabbed his arm.

"GOT YOU CIDERBOY!"

"F-FUCK, I'LL GUT YOUR FUCKING EYES, WAE-GU!"

Rolling one of the bottles away, the bull grabbed Gonji's arm and suddenly twisted his body, sweeping the clerk's legs to trip the reptile and wrench his other hand free. But Gonji grabbed the thief's leg mid-fall, tripping him down and forcing him to the roll the other bottle away.

Kicking each other back, the bull stood up and waited for the first strike as Gonji threw a haymaker, the thief ducking to parry with a sweeping hand then rushing forth to hook his leg behind Obara's knee. With a hard shove he tripped him on his back, Gonji rolling upright to avoid a a brutal axe kick before shoulder-charging the bull against the wall.

When Obara tried to grab his neck, the bull grabbed his in turn and locked his foot behind the clerk's, throwing him down with all his might before trying to make a run for it. The flop-eared kaiju grabbed a store sign and hurled it at the bull's legs, knocking him in a hard trip for the reptile to catch up again.

"I ain't lettin' no gotdamn thief get away with SHIT!"

"FUCK OFF!" the bull rolled back upright. "You don't get paid enough to give a shit!"

"Whut would YOU know about gettin' paid you sunuvabitch, I care about my job dammit!"

"Well I care about NOT starving on the street!"

The bull charged him this time, his bronze horns ramming Obara's gut at the same time the reptile grabbed him by the neck. With a mighty heave, he lifted the punk's throat to choke him, then spun his body round to throw him onto the pavement. Straddling the would-be thief, he tried to punch the bull who blocked with his wrist and scratched at his eyes with a devious slap, causing Gonji to yell and recoil.

The robber forced him off with his knee, jumping up with a palm-strike at the throat then grabbing Obara's shoulders to drive his knee into the stomach. Gonji blocked him in time with his arm, before the thief tried to punch at his head which Gonji also blocked using his large ears.

When the bull tried to punch a fourth time, Obara smacked him away with a strong ear-parry, shooting his flame to startle the thief and send a wild punch through his skull. The bovine fell with a black eye, as Obara grabbed the two cider bottles from nearby.

"HEY, INA-HAN!"

"YEAH?!" the rabbit called from the bakery.

"Y'ALL MIND CALLIN' THUH POLICE, I GOTTA GET THESE CIDERS BACK!"

"Ahll help ya." Wanikama from the knick-knack store lumbered out. "Jes' to make sure this li'l bastard don't think about runnin' again."

"Get the FUCK OFF ME!"

The bull tried to kick him before the old crocodile grabbed his throat, lifting him with such strength that his single arm flexed a powerful pulsing vein. The robber gasped with suffocating cough, his eyes rolling back before he was dragged over to a drainpipe and was tied up with Obara's help.

"What the FUCK, you almost choked me to death you fucking wae-gu!"

"Shut yer damn mouth!" the croc slapped him. "In mah day kids lahk you got beaten deaf an' mute fer shit lahk this."

"Jeez Wani-han," Gonji cringed, "don't hafta be that harsh."

"Kids lahk him're all thuh same, a good belt an' a night in thuh cell oughta put 'em right."

"Maybe not thuh belt, I already gave him an ass-kicking." Gonji turned back to the bull. "You got sum moves on ya kid, whut style wuzzat?"

"Taekkyeon," the bull snorted, "better than your judo shit, jjokbari."

"Alrigh' fuck you then, I'm takin' this cider back an' if you think you gonna shop at Lucky M again, you got another thing coming."

"Your mom had another dick coming."

"SHUT YER FUCKIN' TRAP!" The crocodile raised his fist at the bull. "ONE MORE WORD OUTTA YOU, AN THEY GONNA ARREST ME NEXT FER THUH GOTDAMN WAR CRIME AHLL FUCKIN' DO TO YOU, YA HEAR ME?!"

Wanikama's eyes burned with a deep fury that terrified the thief, cowering before the gator who walked back into his store much to the shock of everyone around him. Obara looked inside briefly to find that his friend was not in.

"Where's San-kun at?"

"Supply run," said the gator, "gotta get more glue, ah ran outta googly eyes."

"I thought you made them yerself!"

"Ah don't just magic 'em outta thin air, ah still need glue an' shit!"

Rolling his eyes, Gonji headed back to the Lucky M with the cider, where Byakka stood waiting with the young mantis.

"I got 'em back!" the reptile crowed. "HOO, that li'l bastard gave me a run!"

"Wh-what happened?!" gasped the bug. "Is he-um, a-are you hurt?"

"Nah, but he put up a good fight, he's tied up outside Ina-han's bakery waitin' fer thuh police."

"Thank you Gon-kun," the tiger nodded, "though you really shouldn't be running off after thieves."

"Why thuh hell not?!" Gonji spread his arms. "Thieves gotta know not to fuck with us!"

"I know but if I'm not here and you go running off, the store's just left unguarded."

"Well I wuzn't gonna if you weren't around."

"Um, can I go now?" the mantis stood up. "I need to uhh, get back home."

"You ain't gonna buy sumthin'?"

"OH, yes sir, I'll uh...take this!"

He snatched up a cheap lollipop and paid before leaving, racing off down the street as Obara cocked his head.

"Woulda thought he wanted thuh magazine...alrigh' well, back to work."

"Thank you again," Byakka walked back behind the counter, "but remember, running after thieves is what the police do, not you."

"Whut about it bein' one o' them citizens' arrests?"

"I just don't want you to get into trouble and end up fighting some gang."

"Byakka-han." Gonji leaned on the desk with a grin. "I'm thuh great Buster-Gon, I can handle a couple o' thieves."

Sitting back on his chair, the reptile flapped his ears like a gentle fan as he went back to his magazine. By the time work was done, Sunset was on the horizon as he made his way over to the outdoor mall to see what had happened to the wanted thief.

Roadworks had been set up to stomp down the gravel he had shifted during his tunnelling, Obara trying to look nonchalant as he walked on by with a guilty grin as he saw Sanjin back at the knick-knack store.

"Ey, Wani-han!" Gonji waved. "Everythin' good?"

"No," scoffed the gator pulling down the shutter, "that gotdamn thief managed to slip away."

"Whut?!"

"Wait whut happen?" Varan looked between them. "We get robbed?!"

"Yer boy wuz chasin' a thief," Wanikama pointed, "came peltin' down thuh road an' tunnelled under that intersection."

"Whuh, Gon-chan?! Why you tunnellin', you know that ain't allowed!"

"I had to catch that thief!" Obara gasped flapping his ears. "Li'l bastard ran across afore thuh lights changed so I dug under an' slammed his ass!"

"Shit...wait, how'd he get away?"

"I dunno, Wani-han tied him up!"

"An' sum bastard cut him free, look!" the croc pulled up a severed rope. "Prob'ly had sum help, ah didn't see nobody."

"I woulda thought he'd stay put to not piss you off," Gonji crossed his arms, "you gave 'im a real tongue-lashing."

"Ah hate thieves, they're thuh fuckin' worst scum on this earth."

"That's a li'l much," Sanjin cocked his head, "whut about murderers?"

"You can't kill whut's already dead, but you can steal from 'em plenny. Only crime you can commit on thuh livin' an' deceased, rapists're thuh same."

"OKAY WELL!" Gonji clapped his hands. "You wan' sum pinball, cuz?!"

"MMMHMM!" the two bumped fists and took off. "Later Wani-han!"

"Later."

The croc waved them off with a snarl as they headed down to Aquasky. The sounds of the pinball machine rattled once again as Sanjin hunkered down for another hour, ordering drinks and playing darts whilst chatting up Rhep-tin Yun on a quiet night.

"Place is kinda empty," Gonji looked round, "there a funeral or sumthin'?"

"I wish," the stego rolled her eyes, "then there be more creatures, love to drink when grief."

"Well on a happier note, me an' Ooda-chan got to see our baby on that there scanner, he's a boy!"

"AWW!" she clapped her face. "So good, congrats Gon-chan!"

"Me an' her were sayin' that, when thuh baby's old enough, you can bring yer boy down to thuh beach an' they all could play together."

"Thank you, you very sweet!"

"How' is that li'l rugrat doing?" Sanjin called from the machine. "Givin' you any trouble?"

"Oh he fine, well, he burn a curtain last night."

"Whut?!" the plink of the ball rattled as he looked up. "You alright?!"

"Aw no, is just little fire," she waved her hand, "Sy-kon try burping him and little Yong-ga go BREP, flame all over curtain!"

"Shit that's a li'l scary!"

"Is not so bad, now his ammonia allergy, OOH, scary, have to check every food for it!"

"Awww he's allergic too, shit that sucks! But I still think thuh fire's scarier."

"It ain't that bad," Gonji leaned back in his chair, "baby fire ain't that much long as ya pat it out real quick, I used to burp fire all over thuh walls as a kid."

"Don't that hurt yer throat when yer young?"

"Naaaah it's pretty lukewarm fire when yer li'l, don't even leave a mark 'til yer well in yer teens."

"He ain't gonna get in trouble with them Serizawa laws is he?" Sanjin returned to flicking the paddles. "I dunno whut thuh rules are fer underaged kids."

"I look them up," Rhep-tin nodded astute, "only apply to over sixteen years with energy power, and all us with powers go to doctor every six months."

"Wait, they just check you up?"

"Yeeep," Gonji shrugged, "we get put on a register, an' if we used our powers too much, then we get investigated."

"Shit, that sucks cuz!" Sanjin finished his last ball and stepped back. "That's fuckin' discrimination, they judgin' you two cuz o' whut happened at them Tokyo Olympics?!"

"It not so bad," the stego shrugged, "I no need to use fire breath often, only if stove being a bitch."

"Yeah but they like, treatin' ya different from those like me who just fly."

"But you not need licence to fly?"

"That's different, that's...ech, I dunno, these laws don't sit right with me."

"You just gotta be careful," Obara stretched standing up, "don't use yer powers too often, you hit above a certain level o' rads, they take you in fer questioning where you gotta account fer whut you did."

"I don't like it," Varan gulped down his drink, "punishin' y'all cuz of a buncha terrorists, it's bad enough Koreans get treated like shit cuz a buncha freaks superheated sum athletes an' then melted them all-"

"NO!" Rhep-tin Yun jabbed a finger at him. "You know nothing of what I go through, don't speak like you know!"

"A-alright, sorry, I'm just sayin' you got enough on yer plate!"

"Fucking Janjamari ruin things for Korea! They kill whole Japanese fencing team, shootout in stadium, fire everywhere because they want make Japan suffer for Kankoran! But those athletes innocent, they not make Kankoran, they not fight war back hundred years ago, and now my family get threats! I live here for twelve years, but I still get called outsider no matter what I do!"

"Alrigh', alrigh' let's cool it." Obara put up his hands. "It's too damn late to talk about politics cuz, let's just have a good time."

"Right...sorry," Obakimura bowed, "didn't mean to speak outta turn."

"Is fine," the stegosaur rubbed her eyes, "I know you care."

"RRRRHEP-TIIIIIIIN!"

A voice dramatique flared through the bar as in waltzed a luxurious old firebird in a wondrous blue gown. The countess had arrived as Sanjin rushed down from the second floor to meet her.

"Heheyyy Zharmina!"

"OH, Sanjin my dear favourite boy," she clasped his cheeks with warm wings, "how are you faring?"

"I'm farin' good thanks, howsit going?"

"Marvellous, SIMPLY marvellous, and your partner in crime is here too, helllo Gonji!"

"Zharmi-han," Gonji bowed, "yer lookin' fine an' beautiful as ever."

"Ohohoh, thank you thank you, you are too kind. Have you boys been up to any trouble?"

"Just the usual, wrasslin' and such."

"Ahhh yes, the theatre of muscle," the bird flexed her sagging wings, "rippling with promise like the gladiators of old, brimming with sweat and HEAVING with testosterone!"

"Why you gotta make it sound like a porno?!" Sanjin winced tightening his lips.

"Well it's not that far removed is it? Acting with the body, imbibing the audience with DESIRE and ambition through your naked forms-"

"ALRIGH' STOP y'all makin' it kinda weird!"

"Whut's wrong San-chan?" Obara smiled nudging him. "You don't think our audience is thinkin' that?"

"I know whut they're thinkin', I just don't need it spread out in front o' me, you don't wanna know whut yer audience is thinking, do ya Zharmina?!"

"Oh absolutely!" she reached up to the stars. "I relish knowing every thought that crosses their mind in RAPTURE at my performance, whether they desire an encore, or desire...me."

"Well, that ain't my style," Sanjin shook his head, "that's why I wear a mask, so I don't get harassed out in public as Varan the Unbelievable, which by thuh way, only a select few such as yerselves are privy to knowing."

"Of course. Anyways I'm here for Rhep-tin-chan, I have a favour to ask."

"Yah?" the bartender strolled up. "What you need Zharmi-han?"

"I have a production going on at the local theatre," she brought out a stack of flyers, "I was hoping you could advertise my illustrious talents at your fair little tavern."

"Hah, okay sure, what's it about?"

"A classic tale of love's labours lost, a bold and heroic child must rescue his beloved sister, the oracle of the world who is trapped in a dreamland!"

"Damn!" Sanjin slapped his knee. "That sounds a fine story, can we come?!"

"Yes, tickets are on sale!"

"You can't give us a discount?" Obara smirked.

"Ohhh come now dears," she patted their cheeks, "much as I would love to offer you a taste of our Faustian diaspora, I need to bring in revenue for the theatre."

"Fair do's, maybe Ooda-chan might like it, she ain't been to a theatre in a while."

"I'm glad they keep it running," Obakimura grinned, "we barely go but it's nice to have folks get a choice between yanno, thuh cinema an' that."

"I no time for movies," Rhep-tin shook her head, "Gon-chan, be warned, once you have baby, you never go out again! I not leave house except for work ever since little Yong-ga was born!"

"I'll uhh keep that in mind," Obara winced stepping out, "thanks fer thuh drinks, me an' cuz better get back to Dragon Quest."

"Oh shit that today?!" Sanjin rubbed his hands. "Fuuuuck yeah, let's do it cuz!"

Heading over to Sanjin's house, the boys set up the PC Twingine and readied themselves for Dragon Quest IV. They took turns plowing through the treacherous dungeon of the dreaded Estark, the lord of the underworld. One player had the controller, the other referred to a guide that was compiled from various sources as well as their own experience.

Things started to escalate as monsters mixed up their weaknesses, Sanjin tearing through with brute strength and numbers, whilst Obara experimented with different status effects and methodically ticked off who was weak to what.

"Alrigh', that fella's weak to poison."

"Come on cuz just smash 'em!" Sanjin cried.

"Naaah nah nah we gotta experiment!"

"Longer this battle drags out the more items we gotta use!"

"I got 'em guarding!" Obara gestured. "Now, that bastard's weak to sleep, he'll die last."

Picking off his opponents one by one, the stub-nosed kaiju worked through each battle with a careful strategy, weaving through the halls of darkness. Then came the battle against Estark, a vile horned beetle with three eyes and two swords.

The battle was long and fierce, with things made easier when Obara noted a weakness he had to sleep. But the true pain came towards the end, when Estark made a pre-programmed fatal move to lunge with the last of his strength, and drive both swords into their character. But one of their allies, an armoured pink crocodile, suddenly appeared in front of them with a horrifying set of damage numbers.

"WHA-NOOO!"

"S-SUNUVA, he...he just-did he just take that hit?!"

"Estark fatally wounds Crocodyne," the pixelated text read, "Estark has been defeated."

"N-...no, NO!" Obara whimpered. "NO NO!"

"CHECK THUH GUIDE!" Sanjin shouted. "IT WON'T LET ME IN THUH MENU!"

"I'M TRYING, THERE'S NOTHING HERE!"

"Hero," gasped Crocodyne's text, "this...I have found it. My finest hour."

"They're not gon' kill 'im are they?!" gasped Obakimura.

"Do not mourn for a soldier. Our lives...our souls are forfeit, the moment our blades are stained."

"C-crocodyne noooo!" Gonji pulled his ears. "C-come on don't do this!"

"All that matters...is honour. I hope...we meet again, when you are old and grey, in this underworld. Farewell."

Crocodyne has been defeated. Those four words, along with his fading image caused Gonji's hands to shake, and Sanjin's eyes to start watering with tears.

"He...h-he's gone?"

"He ain't in thuh party," whimpered Obara, "he...n-no! S-sanjin no!"

Gonji broke first, covering his eyes with his ears as he sobbed form the shock with Sanjin hugging him. He was struggling not to cry too, but eventually he broke in turn as they rocked together.

"TH-THEY, THEY FUCKIN' KILLED HIM!"

"C-CROCO-CHAAAAAAN!" Varan howled. "GOT, DAMMIT THEY KILLED MAH FAVOURITE BOY!"

"F-FUCK DAMMIT, FUCKING DAMMIT!" Obara slammed his fists. "THAT AIN'T FAIR, THAT SHIT AIN'T FAIIIIR!"

They sat together in despair, the end of the dungeon in sight as their party stood marching in place, minus one. Struggling to compose themselves, they found a place to save before turning off the game and sat in silence.

"I can't believe he's gone," whimpered Gonji drooping his ears, "they...h-he always said about standin' up fer honour but-"

"That sunuvaBITCH!" Sanjin slammed his fist. "Why'd they hafta kill him, HIM of all creatures, he wuz mah boy, MAH BOY! Whut'm I gonna do cuz!? Wh-whut, how can I go on without 'im?!"

"I know San-chan...I..." Obara crossed his legs, "it ain't even thuh final dungeon whut...shit got serious cuz."

"Yeah...d-dammit...wh-why'd he have to die? W-we were so close..."

With low drooping ears and a soft whimper, Gonji sniffed back his tears as they read through old magazines, whilst sharing their favourite moments with Crocodyne in a small wake. It was a solemn affair, and despite the news of upcoming games, their hearts were just not into it. They sat in silence until it was time to leave, as Gonji returned to his house after saying goodnight to Sanjin.

The next morning came with a terrible welcome, a special guest arriving ahead of the November elections. Working at the mall, Sanjin read the latest Neomitsu as tourists shuffled to and fro perusing bric-a-brac, with Wanikama churning out more from driftwood and stone.

The roadworks had been cleared to smooth the asphalt before a small parade would come travelling down the street. Sanjin rolled his eyes as the sound of a blaring politician came through the mall, a crowd both cheering and booing on opposite sides.

"CREATURES AND PATRONS! MY NAME IS DR. MANTAROU DAIJA, AND I HAVE COME ONCE AGAIN TO ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT! OUR ISLAND CONTINUES TO BE PLAGUED BY STRIFE, AND INEQUALITY, BROUGHT BY UNWANTED INFLUENCES OF A WAR WE NEVER WANTED!"

Obakimura snarled heading out the shop, stepping through the crowd to see the large bus in brilliant white colours, where snowflakes and crystals adorned its sides. On the top of this fairytale carriage, a long-necked turquoise dragon stood with a smooth hairless face, and a bald scalp.

"THE EMPIRE OF MU DEMANDS THAT JAPAN COMES FIRST!" he cried with loudspeaker in hand. "OUR CULTURE IS UNDER THREAT, OUR BEAUTIFUL OKINAWAN HISTORY IS BEING SLOWLY FORGOTTEN, BURIED BENEATH AMERICAN BASES AND KOREAN BARBECUES! IS THAT THE JAPAN YOU WANT?!"

"YEAH IT FUCKIN' IS!" shouted Sanjin. "ONLY CREETS NOT WELCOME ROUND 'ERE ARE VASHERS LIKE YOU!"

"THE KAIJU OF OKINAWA BELIEVED IN US FOUR YEARS AGO! SINCE THEN, WE HAVE STOOD FAST AGAINST AMERICAN ATTEMPTS TO TAKE OUR LAND, PROPPED BY A WAR STARTED BY KOREAN TERRORISTS, THAT MURDERED DOZENS OF INNOCENT KAIJU!"

"OH YEAH?!" The clerk ran through the crowd. "WHUT ABOUT YOUR MEMBERS BEATIN' THUH FUCK OUTTA MONSTERS, HUH?! IT'S ALRIGH' WHEN YOU BASTARDS DO IT?!"

"DURING THE KANKORAN WAR, I STOOD WITH OUR GREATEST MINDS AND DEVELOPED POWERFUL METHODS TO HALT OUR ENEMIES, BY A COLD CHILLING FORCE! I ONLY ASK THAT YOU STAND WITH ME, JUST AS I STOOD FOR YOU, AGAINST THE ENEMIES OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE! WE SHALL RISE FROM THE SEA ONCE AGAIN! WE, SHALL MAKE OKINAWA GREAT AGAIN!"

Police corralled on both sides of the street, pushing back supporters and opposers of the party as Sanjin roared with pounding fists until the bus would finally depart. A few fights broke out, but were quickly resolved by cops who warned them against further action until creatures departed, leaving the street in a mess of littered trash and fluttering tape.

Returning back to the store in a huff, Varan sat down with a pointed look from Wanikama, the old croc rolling his eyes as he kept on whittling in his workshop. The sound of a knife shaving through wood gently filled the air, the radio muttering on about sports in the back until Wanikama spoke.

"Yanno whut's thuh best way to fight hatred?"

Obakimura looked up to him.

"Doin' whut yer doing now. Bein' nice to folks, helpin' 'em out, even if it don't feel lahk much cuz you ain't throwin' hands, you'd be surprised how a smile an' a thank you makes sumbody's day."

"Why are YOU tellin' me this?" the young triphibian sneered.

"Cuz ah seen thuh worst of creatures. A part o' me always wondered if they'd been different, if sumbody had just been nice."

"You ain' tellin' me I should be nice to VASHERS, are ya?"

"No, no, they made their choice already. Ahm talkin' 'bout thuh creatures who come in our store, thuh monsters an' beasts an' kaiju. Look at Zharmina, you always bring a smile to her face."

"Yeah...I guess."

"So keep doin' that. Vashers can't win against a community that stands together, whole point of 'em is tryna sow chaos an' distrust among yous. Don't let 'em win. Don't forget about thuh li'l creatures round you."

"...yeah. Alright." Sanjin smiled. "Thanks Wani-han."

The gator patted his head, minding the spikes before he went back to his craft. Fewer customers than usual marked a slow day, as they closed up shop and Sanjin headed south to check out the fish market. Amongst the thinning crowd of creatures swarming between the stalls, one creature looked especially out of place that caught his eye.

A lion-dog in a black suit, his long canine ears framed his snarling leonine features as his elegant claws perused the fish on display. Pinching the hairs of his chin, he grasped a cane in one hand that he tapped the ground with each step, oblivious to the young mantis who sneaked his hand into the kaiju's pockets, and pulled out a wallet.

A smile crept over his mandibles, his heart pounding so hard in his chest that it made his soccer strip flutter, with a warm sickness in his stomach. He tried not to look behind him when he scarpered, desperate to be out of sight as he almost turned the corner when a hand grabbed his arm.

"Give it back." Sanjin stared down upon him. "I saw you, give back thuh wallet."

"UHH...oh no, no no no, I'm sorry, sir please don't-"

"Kid, come on, you can't do this," Sanjin shook his head.

"B-but, but," the mantis stuttered, "I, I-i, I wasn't, please!"

"Excuse me."

The voice of the lion-dog came as both looked up towards him, the sound of his cane tapping briefly.

"Is something wrong? I noticed you handling that child."

"Yeah." Obakimura nodded. "You might wanna hear this sir."

When he looked back towards the boy, his eyes were flickering with desperate tears and the wallet still hidden in his hands. The smallest shake of his head, pleading Sanjin not to tell, made his heart soften as he noted how awfully thin he looked, even for a mantis.

"The uh, this boy, he...found yer wallet."

"H-huh?!"

"I wuz just pointin' him out to you, so he could give it back, ain't that right kid?"

"Uhhhh...y-yes! Right!"

His wide golden eyes grew in surprise as he shuffled forwards and gave back the wallet.

"I um...I-i found it, on the floor s-sir."

"Oh, thank you so much." The lion-dog took it back. "Would have been quite terrible if I lost that, you're a good lad to return it, and you as well sir for telling him."

"Nawww he woulda figured it out," Sanjin waved, "just made it easier."

"Please, let me reward you."

"Naw naw, you give it all to thuh kid, he's thuh one who found it."

"Are you sure?" The suited kaiju opened his wallet. "Well, alright if you insist, here you are my good lad."

He handed two yen bills to the mantis, who struggled not to cry when he saw the numbers displayed under a proud-looking phoenix in imperial clothes.

"Th-tha...thank you!" the boy bowed. "Thank you SO much m-mister, both of you!"

"No problem," the business kaiju bowed, "have a good day."

As the child ran off and the lion-dog went back to browsing, Sanjin went upstairs to the cafe to sit down and grab an alcopop for that fruity buzz. After resting his haunches, he headed off towards the Lucky M where Gonji would still be working, skirting through the back lots near the river directly south of Aquasky.

It was then he saw the young mantis once again, scurrying off into a tight-looking passage on the other side of an abandoned hovel. Curiosity beckoned him when he heard a pair of voices shouting Korean on the other side.

"//Byul-ga, BYUL-GA!//"

"//What, what's up?!//"

"//You won't believe what happened, I-i-i got money!//"

"//Wait, you actually did it?//"

"//No, well, yes, it's, um, lemme explain!//"

Squeezing through the passage, he spied upon the mantis in his soccer clothes sitting down in a patch of dirt that was surrounded by crumbling iron walls. The other voice belonged to a very familiar young bull, with sharp bronze horns, scaled skin and a yellow shirt as the bug showed off his money. It was only when he heard them side by side, even in Korean, that Sanjin was surprised at how polite the mantis sounded compared to the bull.

"//Woaaah, he just GAVE you that?!//"

"//Y-yes! Someone caught me, but didn't tell on me, just said I found the wallet and the guy in the suit gave me money as thanks!//"

"//HAH, holy shit you lucked out Jim, we're fuckin' rich!//"

"//What should we get?//" Jim the mantis asked. "//Maybe some new clothes, some tonkatsu?//"

"//Nah fuck that,//" Byul-ga waved his hand, "//it's a lot easier to steal those, we save this money up for a ride outta here.//"

"//But...where do we go?//"

"//Anywhere that's not full of jjokbari!//"

"Weeeell lookie here."

Sanjin stepped out as Byul-ga stood up, Jim backing up with the money in hand.

"HEY!" The bull shouted in Japanese. "Fuck off, this is our spot!"

"WAIT!" the bug cried. "He's the guy who didn't tell on me!"

"What?!"

"Sure am," Obakimura spread his arms, "so maybe don't start callin' me jjokbari, you mochi-robbing shit."

"Mochi?! The fuck you talkin' about?!"

"Come on, remember last month? Your boy bonked me on thuh head with a ball an' you swiped mah mochi."

"OHHHH YEAH!" the bovine snapped his fingers. "Right, hey thanks fer the food, it tasted great!"

"Yeah I bet it did, you know I can still report you fer theft."

"So?" Byul-ga shrugged. "We'll just hide the money, you'll never find it."

"Besides that guy gave me it!" the bug cried clutching the yen. "Please don't tell on us, sir!"

"I wuzn't going to," Sanjin shook his head, "even if yer bullheaded friend's makin' me reconsider."

"Fuck you jjokbari!" said bull flipped him off. "We earned that money fair and square!"

"No, your buddy earned that money cuz I didn't rat him out, YOU done jack shit!"

"Whatever, why you bothering us, you want a cut?"

"No." Varan pointed to Jim. "I wuz worried about him."

"Me?" The mantis shook his head. "Why?"

"Cuz you look like a fuckin' rake, when's thuh last time you eat?"

"Uhm...two nights ago." Jim rubbed his bladed arms. "I had a half-eaten bento, just so I can sleep. I can't sleep when my stomach's growling."

"I woulda gotten you those burgers," Byul-ga looked back at him, "you know the ones out of Maui's dumpster?"

"I get sick off those, I can't eat trash food like you can."

"You gotta start eating it eventually, toughen up your stomach, give it about five years like I did and you'll get used to it."

"Are you two seriously livin' outta thuh dumpster?" Sanjin sat down in the dirt. "You ain't got families?"

"No, dumbass," scoffed the bull, "you think we'd be on the fucking street if we had a house to go back to?!"

"We have the orphanage," added Jim stepping forth, "but Byul-ga's too old, you can't live there once you turn eighteen if nobody's adopted you."

"Who the fuck said you could tell him my life story?!"

"Well that's a gotdamn shame," said the adult offering his hand, "I'm Sanjin Obakimura, whut're your names?"

"I'm Jim!" the insect bowed. "Jim Mantisson, this is Byul-ga Sa-Rhee."

"DON'T tell him my fucking name!" the bull crunched his fist.

"That's an American name ain't it?" Sanjin asked Jim.

"His mom was Japanese!" Byul-ga thrust a finger. "Don't you fucking think my friend ain't a kaiju, he's as much one as I am!"

"Kid I don't care," Sanjin shook his head, "I'm just a regular guy, I work with monsters an' beasts from all over. Whut happened to yer families?"

"You did." The bull sat down. "You killed my family."

"Wait, whut?!"

"Jjokbari didn't like Koreans living in our street. So you Japanese fucks set my house on fire, mom, dad, my brothers...they're all ashes now, thanks to you."

"...shit." The lizard put his head in his hands. "I...I'm sorry. That's horrible."

"Yeah, so what?" Byul-ga snorted leaning back. "That's why I don't feel bad stealing from you, I'm owed that, you Japanese took away my family, so I take away your money, your mochi, be glad I don't take your fucking life!"

"Byul-ga stop it!" Mantisson marched up between. "Not every kaiju's like that, this guy let me go!"

"He probably thought he could twist your arm for a favour, what're you really here for? You want your dick sucked or something?!"

"Wh-WHAT?!"

"Yeaaaah that's it, I bet he likes little boys. He talks about how young and thin you are, you some kinda kiddyfucker wae-gu?"

"Sooo, Jim-kun." Sanjin crossed his arms turning away from the bull. "Whut's your story out here?"

"HEY, don't ignore me!"

"You're not like him are you? Even when you bopped my head I could tell you were a good kid."

"I'M TALKING TO YOU JJOKBARI!" Byul-ga stood over Sanjin. "Look at me when I fucking talk to you!"

"I'm not here to give you a lecture," Varan put up his hands, "an' I get if you can't trust other kaiju, you don't hafta hear whut I say-"

"Don't listen to him Jim, he's tryin' sumthin' the wae-gu prick!"

"I don't even care that you stole mochi off me, honestly I'd be more upset if it wuz money. Whut I do care about, are two kids that're starvin' out on thuh street cuz vashers burnt down their home an' nobody's helpin'!"

"WE DON'T NEED ANY FUCKING HELP, NOW FUCK OFF!"

When Byul-ga tried to kick the seated Sanjin, the triphibian grabbed the bull's leg and slammed his own foot straight in the punk's crotch to wind him. Twisting his leg, he threw the bull down before laying on top with the leg pulled back, and an elbow on the neck in a submission hold.

"G-GET OFF, JIM, KICK HIS ASS!"

"See whut happens when you don't play nice?"

"S-STOP IT!" the mantis shouted. "DON'T HURT HIM PLEASE!"

"I ain't gonna hurt nobody!" cried Sanjin. "Trust me if I wanted to, we wouldn't be jabberin'. Sa-Rhee, wuz it?"

"Fuck you care!?" snapped the bull. "You bastards made me an orphan, you gonna finish the job?!"

"Listen to yerself. You know thuh kinda folks who killed yer family said exactly thuh same thing you just did?"

"Wh-what?!"

"I beat up vashers every day, they're vile sons o' bitches an' a damn disgrace to all kaiju. They despise anyone who ain't Japanese just cuz they aren't, an' all you doing now is provin' their hatred right, by thinkin' thuh same thing about us!"

"So?!" Byul-ga shouted. "I'm still an orphan cuz it was a bunch of JAPANESE, who shot lightning through my kitchen, and flame-breathed my house until it was fucking rubble!"

"An' that's thuh saddest thing I ever heard." Varan stood up off the bull and dusted himself. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry fer whut we did to you. I don't agree with any of it, but thuh fact remains it wuz my country that did that to you, an' I accept it's a problem we need to face."

"So you admit it," Byul-ga straightened himself, "it's all your fault."

"No, but I am one of those tryna fix it, so other creatures don't suffer like you did."

"What do you mean?" asked Mantisson rubbing his hands. "Are you police?"

"Naw. You heard about them masked vigilantes runnin' around beatin' up vashers at night? I'm one of them."

"Pfft, bullshit!" snorted Byul-ga. "Like hell you are."

"I'll prove it! Tonight, I'll show you, when there's vashers about, I'll kick their ass in your name."

"Heh...alright." The bovine stepped back with arms raised. "We'll see what you got. But if you do anything shifty to Jim, I'll fucking gut you and string your body up on the lights."

"Deal."

Sanjin offered his hand, confusing the bull who sneered at him then looked to Jim who shrugged with a smile.

"//I think he's nice,//" said Mantisson in Korean, "//he could've turned me in.//"

"//Don't trust nobody that's not me,//" said his friend, "//I kept you alive on the street better than the orphange did.//"

"//But not every kaiju wants to hurt us, what about Sukiyama?//"

"//She's just doing what she's paid for.//"

"//But she looked after us!//"

"I'm still hanging here," Sanjin kept out his hand.

"//There are two kinds of Japanese,//" Byul-ga turned to Jim, "//those who're doing their jobs, and those who wanna fuck us over, neither of them actually care.//"

"//I don't think that's true,//" the mantis shook his head.

"//Well I'm older than you, I seen a lot more than you, and I'm the one who's keeping you safe. I'M the one who taught you to steal, I taught you to speak Korean so them jjokbari don't know what we're up to, cuz you and me, we gotta stick together.//"

"//I just don't think every kaiju hates us just because we're foreign, I think...we just haven't met the ones who care yet.//"

"Alright, look," Sanjin nodded with hand still out. "Gimme one chance, to prove I'm on yer side, I'll show you how whut I fight for. If you don't like it, we'll never meet again."

"You gonna rat us out if we steal again?" the bull turned to him in Japanese.

"Only if I catch you." The spiked lizard smiled. "An' you were pretty damn good at not getting caught, Byul-ga Sa-Rhee."

"Heh...yeah." Byul-ga waved and stepped back. "We'll be here tonight. Don't need to shake on it."

"Alright, fair's do." Sanjin stepped back in turn. "I'll see ya then."

As night-time fell, just on the edge of sunset before the stars would come, the streets were now mostly-clean of Daija's passing. A snoutless boar with striped back left the cinema with a buzzard in tow, laughing along the street as they headed west into Ryukyon. Stepping past the southern Lucky M next to the hotel with lockers, the Americans sauntered in front of the outdoor mall and headed north to the open boulevard.

"//Awww criminy,//" the bird scratched his bald head, "//where's the damn hotel again?//"

"//You want I should go fly up?//" the boar ribbed him.

"//Come on dude, I think it's near the train tracks.//"

Wandering across the river, they ended up at the northern Lucky M next to the cabaret club. Scratching their heads they pulled out a notebook with some barely legible kanji.

"//Alright, lessee it's...Sa...koo-uh...fuck.//"

"//Sakoofuck?//" the buzzard snorted.

"//Shut up Bell, now help me read this.//"

"//I can't even fly straight, you expect me to read these squiggles?//"

"//Hey YOU wrote them! Just match the pictures with the road signs, this one looks like a samurai helmet facing left, and that one's like a tree.//"

"//WHAT tree, half of these symbols all look like trees!//"

"//Are you gonna complain or are you gonna help?!//"

"Hey."

The sound of eight feet came strolling up behind as the two turned. A falcon with a flaming mohawk, a shark with a barbed tail, a weasel carrying sickles and a lobster with huge claws came walking up wearing white jackets.

"//Shit, uh hold up,//" the boar cleared his throat with halting Japanese, "HE-LLO! YOU COOL? WHERE IS...SA-KOO-RA, ROAD-GUUH!"

"//HEY, what're ya doing?!//"

The shark pulled out a bat to strike the short-snouted pig, a wheezing gasp of fright when he fell and the bird kicked him with ruthless talons.

"I thought they cleaned the fuckin' trash off the street," said the hawk.

"Guess we gotta do our bit," the weasel snickered, "I got my littlerpickers right here."

"PLEASE, NO!" the boar cried putting up his hands. "NO FIGHT, NO FIGHT!"

"Oh, you don't fight?" the lobster spread his claws. "Thanks fer makin' our job easier you yankee FUCK!"

Cocking his arm like a rifle, he opened his claw to shoot a powerful blast of water that punched the buzzard through the chest, sending him rolling down the street before the weasel jumped at the pig to slash the front of his chest. The boar screamed feeling the tug of his cloth, a line of thin red appearing on his belly as he fell against a railing.

"NO NO, NO, I-I HAVE MONEY!" he dug out his pockets and tossed change. "H-HERE, NO HURT ME, NO HURT ME!"

"If you wanted us to not hurt you," the falcon snarled with flames round her beak, "you shouldnt'a fucking come to Okinawa."

"There's a reason we got an ocean between us," the shark tapped the bat in his palm, "to keep you fucking monsters on one side, an' our home on the other."

"BUT, I DO NOTHING!" the pig put up his hands. "P-PLEASE, NO HURT!"

"Oh don't worry, we're not gonna kill you. But if you don't get the fuck back where you came from in about...a week, you'll wish we did."

"Only a week?!"

A voice called from the west as they saw two masked kaiju stare them down, one bare-chested with a silver-belt B, the other in a black jacket with a golden-belt V.

"You got business here?" scoffed the shark.

"Hold up," the hawk squinted, "they're...they got masks on."

"Good call, eagle eyes!" said the one in the golden mask. "You know these islands belong to all who make it their home!"

"MAKE it their home?!" the weasel snapped. "These fucking foreigners keep takin' our houses fer themselves?!"

"Okinawa belongs to all!" proclaimed the hero in jade. "For the sea shall welcome all, and wash your hatred away!"

"PFFT, what, you think you're some kinda superhero?!"

"Hey-ey, don't underestimate 'em," the lobster tapped her, "these're the guys that're fucking up our buddies, green mask, gold mask."

"Which means," the shark cricked his neck, "we gotta make sure they don't walk again, fer the sake of our buddies."

"We thought the same thing!" cried the yellow mask. "To make sure you never walk the streets, for the sake of OUR friends from every land!"

"THIS ONE'S FOR YOU, BYUL-GA SA-RHEE!"

With a roar the jade mask launched towards the fiends, tackling the weasel first who tried to slash with her sickles before Varan dodged in a sliding kick to knock her down, rolling on top to hammer the thug's face. The lobster took aim with his claw and fired his water gun, the reptile rolling out its path to jump and climb up the crustacean's chest, before driving his elbow down upon his head.

Gonji went for the shark who was armed with a bat, a giant swing for the reptile's head that missed by a mile when Obara ducked, then dodged a second cleaving strike from above to clock the vasher's snout. Ducking another swing, the floppy-eared hero bopped him once again, almost jokingly with a cocky laugh to enrage the shark, who tried to make a whirlwind strike for the knees.

Obara jumped over the brutal swing and onto the railing beside the road, then leapt on the shark's back to throw him down with his whole weight and crush his snout into the pavement. The falcon rushed him with a savage kick, scarring Gonji's face and scratching through the mask with her talons before blasting a violent laser of searing heat.

The burly lizard dodged aside feeling the scorching energy lick his cheek, making a daring run to clothesline the hawk and slam her down on her back. During this, the two Americans fled, too panicked to stand and watch with the boar gathering up his money, and hurrying off into the night. Across the road of the intersection, hidden in the dark corners of a three-story parking lot, two young creatures watched the fight with intrigue.

"//Woah,//" Byul-ga muttered in Korean, "//they're really doing it.//"

"//He said your name too,//" Jim gasped, "//it's got to be him!//"

"//So what? Japanese always fight each other, as well as us.//"

"//Byul-ga come on, he could've screwed us over but he didn't!//"

"//They're getting something outta this!//" Byul-ga threw up his hands. "//I dunno what, but it's not for our sake, we only got each other!//"

"//But what if something happens to you?//" said Mantisson taking his hand. "//What if we get separated, and we're all alone?//"

"//I'm not leaving you Jim. We ride together, we die together.//"

"//I don't want to die! Whysit gotta be that way, why can't we have someone look after us?!//"

"//I LOOK AFTER YOU!//" The bull stood up grabbing his horns. "//When everyone else picked on you in the orphanage, WHO STOOD UP FOR YOU?!//"

"//You did,//" the mantis nodded.

"//All the other kaiju shit on you because you're half-American, but I didn't care! Fuck the kaiju, FUCK Japan and FUCK ALL OF THEM! You're my best friend Jim, because you weren't scared of me, you didn't judge me!//"

"//Well I know you wouldn't hurt me. You always played with me, you didn't treat me different.//"

"//So why you suddenly think someone else can keep you safe?!//"

"//I just...I don't want to think all of Japan hates us.//" Jim Mantisson rubbed his dull-bladed sleeves. "//I see creatures out there being nice to each other, like Chinese and Koreans running stalls, they all get along, they don't care about some stupid war, they didn't let that come between them.//"

"//So why are we orphans//" Byul-ga sat down beside him. "//Why'd they burn down my house, why'd they kill your parents fighting in Korea?//"

"//Because some creatures are just bad!//" Jim threw up his hands. "//If they weren't gonna hurt us, they'd hurt somebody else, even one of their own! They coulda chosen not to be, but they did, and I bet you they got arrested!//"

"//Those ones aren't,//" the bull pointed to the fight.

"//Wha-they're getting BEAT UP!//"

"//Not by the cops, it took a bunch of other kaiju to kick their shit in!//"

"//EXACTLY! THOSE kaiju care, because some of them are good!//"

"//Whatever, they're all the same in the end.//"

"//So why don't you hate me too?//"

The bull gasped looking at Jim who stared him down.

"//My parents were fighting in Korea. They were soldiers. Why don't you hate me?//"

"//What?! Dude, you're not them!//"

"//Exactly. We're not who our parents were, we're not what our countries are. Obakimura knows that and he's trying to help, just like you helped me even though...e-even though I'm half-American, even though they called me a half-breed, even though both my parents were killing other Koreans like you!//"

"//Th-they...fucking, stop it Jim!//"

"//If you hate the Japanese so much why are you even friends with me?!//"

"//I DON'T KNOW!" The bull snapped sitting back. "I...I don't know.//"

A hand came over his face to hide the tears trickling down his face. The golden eyes of Jim Mantisson burned in his mind as nothing more was said, and they watched the battle continue.

The shark and the weasel were now ragged with bruises, clutching their weapons whilst the hawk and the lobster had less throbbing wounds in their faces. The heroes stood battered but unbowed, hunched over slightly and heaving with cuts in their masks.

"Not bad," snorted the falcon, "for a buncha race-traitors."

"Says the one assaulting innocents," Gonji boasted, "you ready for round two?!"

"Oh yeah, sure. But uh, hope you don't mind if we tag in some friends."

A sharp whistle came from her beak as the sounds of thundering feet came through. From the roads behind them, five more kaiju strolled up carrying weapons and showing off powers. A kappa with steel knuckles; an ox with a sledgehammer; a pudgy snake with a cheap katana; and two dogs that breathed fire and ice. Surrounded by the vashers all in their snow-white jackets, Sanjin and Obara's masks did well to hide their growing sweat.

"HAH, is that all?!" proclaimed the green mask. "And here I thought you'd give me a challenge!"

"Oh yeah?" the lobster chuckled cocking his arm. "You won't look so smug when I BLOW OFF YOUR FUCKING HEAD!"

"Mind if I cut in?"

Another voice came from the far western street towards the intersection of battle. Sanjin gasped on recognising the stranger, along with Jim hiding in the parking lot. It was the lion-dog from the fish market, his black elegant suit forming a silhouette beneath the night with cane in hand.

"Forgive me for the interruption but, it seemed rather unfair to put nine against two."

"Who the FUCK are you?!" shouted the weasel.

"A concerned citizen," said the shisa, "I wish to put an end to this fight, for the sake of everyone involved."

"What're you the police commissioner?!"

"Hahaha no, far from it," he shook his head with dog ears flapping, "I am a local authority however, so not too far off."

"Well so are we," the shark spread his arms, "you one of the Mu boys up top?"

"Ohohhh no, I would never get involved in politics."

"Hey, sir," Sanjin muttered, "you best skedaddle, this ain't no place fer a guy like you."

"I appreciate your concern, my masked vigilante," the shisa smiled with lion's teeth, "but I am quite capable of handling myself."

"You really should not be here," Gonji added, "go on, git, we got this."

"This is my island as well." The kaiju stepped in front. "My name is Kin Shisahara, and I can no longer ignore the shameless acts of brutality, that have emerged from the Empire of Mu."

"What?! The hawk spat fire from her beak. "Are you gonna fight us, are you fucking DENSE?!"

"No more than you...or rather, no more than the number of dents I will put in your skull."

"You siding with foreigners too?!"

"I side with the good creatures of Okinawa." The lion stomped his cane's tip in the road. "Not only do I detest political lackeys who use violence, but I also detest vashers by principle."

"Well if you want change you just gotta vote, otherwise-"

"I never vote. If you truly want change in a society..."

He swished his cane like a sword towards them.

"You must FIGHT against those who would profit off the weak."

"Oh fuck this!" the hawk shouted. "ALL OF YOU, FUCK THESE THREE UP, BREAK THEIR FUCKING LEGS AN' LEAVE 'EM TO DIE!"

"BRACE YOURSELVES, HEROES!" cried Shisahara. "PICK A GROUP AND TAKE THEM DOWN!"

With the voice of a leader to battle, the lion-dog charged towards the four in front with his cane reared back. The weasel attacked him first, her small vicious scythes reaching for his neck as he struck with his staff and twisted the blades hard to force her body to bend. Kicking out the back of her legs, he slammed a fist from above to send her crunching to the dirt, before the shark came running forth with his bat.

"YER DEAD FANCY BITCH!"

With a roar the thug swung for his head, Shisahara blocking with the cane in a parry that deflected the club, and swept it farther than the shark anticipated. Staggering in a far reach, the vasher roared with a wild haymaker to regain his balance, but the shisa struck his wrist then stabbed the blunt tip of his cane in the shark's eye.

Stumbling back with a howl, the thug suddenly tripped when Shisahara flipped his staff to wrap the hooked top round the knee. He flipped it back again to stomp down with both crushing stab, and immaculate black shoe into the shark's ribs. The lobster came at him with a sweeping claw as Kin dodged back deftly, jabbing the small crustacean face to blind him, then rushing close with a slash of the wooden cane across the soft belly.

The lobster cried clutching himself from the deep grove in his stomach, the hawk lunging from the side with a flying punch to slug Shisahara, and send him staggering on his backfoot. When the falcon followed up with a driving kick, the shisa spun his cane to strike her leg from the side, then cracked her jaw upwards in a rising golf swing.

"GUUH! You think some fucking walking stick's gonna stop me?!"

"It's doing a good job so far," said Shisahara grinning, "now how about you stop holding back, little vasher, and show me your TRUE strength?"

"Oh you wanna DIE, DO YA?!"

"No, I just find you boring if you don't even try."

On the other side of the four-way street, Varan and Buster-Gon split up the five new kaiju between them with a furious charge. The kappa with steel knuckles came driving for Obara's head, as the reptile blocked with his leather ears and parried the second punch to blast fire in the imp's face. They always fell for this trick, much to his delight when he made a driving uppercut before power-dunking the thug straight into his watery scalp.

The snake with the katana was much more dangerous, his tawdry chipped sword come swinging with a warrior's cry and a deep carving slash. Obara swerved a little too late, feeling the superheated steel cut through his shoulder with a fresh river of red that made him gasp before the serpent slashed again. Three diagonal strikes cut through his skin with the very tip, leaving a thin set of gouging streams.

"//POWER WAVE!//"

When the swordsnake reared back for a devastating cleave, Obara slammed his fist into the ground with a belch of flame, crunching the asphalt with a compressed explosive force that sent ripples beneath the snake. The vasher was thrown in the air by a few feet, dropping his sword that Gonji grabbed before hammering the hilt straight in the thug's skull.

During this Sanjin took on the two dogs of ice and fire, one a pale blue and the other burning red as they circled around him like vultures. The flaming dog leapt first, breathing fire on her fist as Sanjin headbutted to take the blow and stab her hand through with spikes, causing her to howl in recoil.

The frozen wolf came from behind with a gasping frost through his leg, a roundhouse kick of shimmering blizzard that cracked the back of Sanjin's head. The ice forming from the freeze guarded the dog from his spikes as Varan turned, then pounced with his hands crossed in an X-chop that slammed the wolf's throat, and threw him down on his back.

"You know if you have a cold," said Sanjin with a smirk, "best thing to do is lie down!"

"SH-SHUT UP YOU SAD BITCH!" The firedog blasted a ball that Sanjin rolled underneath. "I'M GONNA MELT YOU TO A FUCKING PUDDLE!"

"OH good, yer boy needs fluids fer his cold!"

"STOP MAKING JOKES, THIS AIN'T A FUCKING COMIC BOOK!"

"Really?!" Varan scoffed. "The dog shootin' fireballs is telling me to cool it?"

With a roar she shot another fireball, Sanjin rolling aside and jumping on the railing to taunt her again. Shooting another flaming orb, she watched Varan leap over the projectile and spread his gliding wings beneath his arms, then divebombed her head with a deep tackle that ripped her across the ground. The hero then pummelled her thrice across the face, before a looming shadow came down with a whooshing sound.

Rolling fast, he avoided a brutal sledgehammer swing from the massive ox, towering three feet above as she swung it with one hand before reaching back to come down on his head. The crunch of the steel hammer shook the road under Sanjin's feet when he dodged, trying to jump for the railing again before the frost wolf blocked his path with a wall of ice.

Trapped by the frozen obstacle, Varan ducked when he felt the weight of the sledgehammer behind him. The ice shattered like glass as Varan grabbed a chunk to toss at the huge thug and make her stagger. She was then tackled in turn by Obara, who grabbed the ice wolf by the neck, and spun him round to slam in the bovine's gut.

"Best put an ice pack on that bruise!"

"YOU LITTLE SHITSCALE!" roared the ox clutching her belly. "I'LL CRUSH YOUR FUCKING HEAD!"

With a violent kick she caught his skull, throwing him back against the wall as he grabbed the railing mid-flight, then vaulted back forwards like a pinball to roll across the ground straight into the vasher's leg. Stumbling hard on one knee, her head was in sight for a brutal uppercut.

"VAAAARYUKEN!"

With wings spread aloft, Sanjin shot up to the sky and pulled her head with him, a powerful punch that threw her backwards hard across the road. In a daring move Varan swung out his foot mid-air, a twirling tornado kick that spiralling towards the ground straight towards the firedog who was bashed twice across the face, before landing on her stomach to hammerfist her head.

"SPINNING GOD KICK!"

As the two vigilantes took down their group, Shisahara faced down the four who recovered. The lobster cocked open his claw for a brutal watershot, the lion-dog dodging into the path of the weasel who whirled her sickles towards him. The cane swished up front to block one of her arms before he rushed in and palmed her face, tripping her with a foot behind hers to slam her head in the ground.

The shark tried to club him with the bat again, but Shisahara trapped him in a brief swordfight with his staff as they clacked back and forth. The thug became enraged at the almost playful steps Kin made, pulling back to make a lunging thrust with his club that the shisa ducked. He countered with a rising slash that ripped through the vasher's jacket, even with the blunt tip as the punk cried clutching his chest.

"ALRIGHT, FUCK THIS!" the falcon shrieked. "YOU WANNA SEE MY REAL STRENGTH, YOU FUCKING DIE SHISA-BOY!"

With a violent breath, the hawk heaved a dreadsome flame, gasping with shudders of brilliant anger from her crowning mohawk of wreathing fire. With a mighty blast she fired a laser beam that stretched down the road straight towards Shisahara.

"SH-SHIT, WATCH OUT!"

Varan's cry went unheeded as Shisahara smiled, striking a pose with wide legs and open arms as if daring the laser to fight him. The energy beam shot for his head, then suddenly disappeared into his eyes that began shimmering like the sun. A powerful gold trickled out from his pupils, his smile growing wider before the beam shot straight back out of his eyes.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Tearing across the asphalt, none of the vashers could stop the reflected beam that penetrated the falcon's shoulder. Her arm exploded in a violent burst of heated blood, her veins popping and the bone melting like tar as her wing became tatters, feathers scorched to ash with a harrowing screech. The hawk crumpled on the asphalt, clutching her burning vaporised remnant of a shoulder with a heaving sob.

"Woah," Varan gasped, "sh-shit."

"Did he just..." Gonji gulped, "did he just fuckin' reflect that shit?"

Their voices were barely heard over the shrieking cry of the falcon, bawling from the twisted stump of charred bone with sizzling coils of steam she could barely touch. Her eyes widened in horrific gasp, her cohorts stepping back from Shisahara with nervous looks as he walked forth with his cane.

"I warned you," he tutted, "for the sake of everyone involved, I wanted this fight to end."

"Y-y-you...you..." she sobbed, "you f-fucking BASTAAAARD!"

"You fired the laser, madame. It was your own anger that undid you."

"F-fuck, FUCK, FUCKING PRICK! D-daija-san's gonna burn you, ALL OF YOU!"

She grabbed for the lobster nearby who helped her up, as she stared Shisahara down with shivering scowl.

"Your ashes are gonna grit our wheels...just like the fucking Mongols."

"And your ashes?" he scuffed his cane on the black pile to scatter them. "No one can tell the difference between you and your victims, when you scorch the earth with your hatred. Should I ever hear of your assaults again..."

His eyes slitted to a piercing red line.

"You will know no mercy from me."

It was then they saw a small badge on the lapel of his suit. The falcon's face turned pale, not just from the shock of losing her arm.

"F-fuck," the lobster gasped, "he...he's fucking yakuza."

"S-so WHAT?!" she screamed hiding her fear. "You're just one guy, but we're an EMPIRE! You fucked up Toho boy, you won't live to see Okinawa's greatness!"

Hobbling back, the eight other vashers joined her in both fear and fury. They all looked at the ashes where her arm had been, as Kin's smile made them back off quick before they disappeared down the street. As silence returned to Ryukyon, Gonji and Varan stepped up towards Kin who brushed his shoulder.

"Did...did I hear that right? You're a-"

"Yakuza?" The shisa turned with business card in hand. "Kin Shisahara, Azumi Associates."

"Azumi whuh?" Sanjin took the card. "Ain't that thuh group who handle lawyer stuff fer farmers?"

"Correct. I am also the future head of the Toho Clan."

"Wh-WHUT!?" Obara flinched. "Yer...T-toho clan?! Shit, I mean I heard o' you guys but I ain't never met any o' yous."

"We're very good at keeping secrets," said Kin with a bow, "such as your true identities which I will not reveal here when there are eyes and ears on the street."

"Oh yeah?" the spiked triphibian grinned. "Issat a problem?"

"Not at all. In fact, I was rather wanting to meet the two bold vigilantes who have done well protecting our city."

"So whut, you want an autograph'?"

"Hahaha, no no, I am not a wrestling fan. But I would love to discuss something with you, when you both have time next week."

He tapped the business card in Sanjin's hand.

"Come to my office, we shall take it from there."

"You want us to waltz into sum place owned by yakuza?" sneered Gonji. "We don't take kindly to criminals like you."

"Please, Buster-Gon, was it?" The lion-dog tapped his cane. "I would ask you hold your judgement until we have discussed things first. Rest assured, I have absolutely no ill intentions towards you, in fact I have become your most recent fans in facing down the Empire of Mu."

"Well I appreciate it, but we ain't no criminals."

"Of course not." Shisahara pulled out a small black device, a pager that beeped with pixellated kanji. "I must return home, my father is waiting for me. Come at your earliest convenience, I would love to speak with you both, until then, good-night sirs."

With a click of his heels he walked off down the street. Sanjin and Obara looked down at the card, shaking their heads in disbelief whilst Jim and Byul-ga were still reeling from the battle.

"//That...th-that was the guy I tried to rob,//" whispered the mantis.

"//The fuck's this guy's deal?!//" hissed the bull. "//Did he set you up?!//"

"//No...they didn't know each other, I'm sure! What do we do?//"

"//I dunno. Let's figure this out tomorrow, I'm fuckin' tired.//"

"//Okay.//"

They walked back south, down towards the river and to the back of the old shanties where they slept on an old single mattress, beneath a ragged tarp in a shack. Byul-ga slept behind him, wrapping his arms round the young boy in a gentle hug.

"//Jim?//"

The mantis looked back to his friend spooning him.

"//Don't ever call yourself a half-breed again.//"

"//I won't,//" Jim rubbed his friend's fingers, "//if you promise to listen to what Obakimura has to say.//"

"//Heh...fine.//" A smile came across Byul-ga brief. "//But only if it makes you happy.//"

"//Thanks Byul-ga. You're a good friend.//"

They cuddled each other close, sharing their warmth beneath the cold Okinawan breeze until they fell asleep.