"You thief! You overcharged me!"

"I-I did not, sir. The price clearly says three for 5 dollars."

"But you charged me the same amount of money for three rotten oranges!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but you were the ones who chose the oranges, not me."

"Say that again, pal, and I'll sue you for customer harassment!"

"Yo, calm down!" a pair of large palms appeared between the two arguing men. "There ain't no need to argue. Just buy some more oranges to replace the bad ones and that's that."

"Shut up, you cap-wearing, braided-pig-tailed brat! I ain't gonna waste any more money on this jackass."

The angry customer turned to leave when he tripped over an outstretched foot. He landed flat on his face with a loud splat. Growling, he kippuped. "You'll pay for that punk!" he cried, rushing in for an attack.

His face collided with an outstretched fist. Instant KO.

Yang came upon this scene to see his beloved older brother punch another man in the face. Sighing, he shook his head and placed his hands on his hips. "Again...?"

But his soon-to-be reprimand was promptly cut short by Makoto. "Honestly!! Can't you go without fighting for a few more hours after what *we* went through?? Do I have to drag you off by your hair??" And with that, she dragged Yun off by the pigtail.

Rin-Rin glomped Yang's arm. "Is your town always like this, darling husband?"

Glancing slighly sadly his brother's direction, Yang sighed.

In a matter of moments, Makoto dragged Yun all the way home with Yang and Rin-Rin in tow. Yun opened the door.

"Hey, gran, we're home!" he announced.

No answer. Yang politely pointed out a message taped to the door which stated their grandmother went out shopping. Shrugging, Yun tossed his things aside and beckoned for everyone to follow him upstairs.

"I could use a good shower," Yun commented, scratching his head. But instead of entering as he opened the door, he turned to Makoto. "Ladies first. And 'sides - " he continued before Makoto could cut him off, "you wouldn't want to shower after me anyway."

Makoto accepted the invitation. "Yun, no peeking!" she glared.

Yun laughed, waving his hands. "Of course, of course. Just wash off the soap first - Yang was in there last and you don't want to know where he washes last."

Yang's expression was priceless.

Makoto's expression was obvious. "Eww! YUN NO BAKA!" With her outcry, she hurled the 'unsanitized' soap Yun's way.

Laughing again, Yun caught the soap and tossed Makoto a new bar. "Towels are in the closet. Extra clothes are in Yang's bottom drawer."

Yang's expression changed from a priceless blank to a priceless "why me?" look.

"I wouldn't dream of taking Yang's things!" Makoto hmphed. "I'll just use my spare outfit."

Yun closed the bathroom door behind him. Grinning, he turned to his brother. "Yang, she said your clothes are butt-ugly."

Yang looked puzzled.

Makoto promptly opened the door. "I did not!" she frumped, whanging Yun on the head with a back-brush, then closing the door.

Yun was more amused than anything. He promptly went to his room.

Minutes passed. Yang waited patiently outside with Rin-Rin still clinging to his arm. The silence kept in the foreground while the background sounded the shower, Yun typing away on his computer and randomly laughing. Some odd moments later, Yang glanced at his brother's bedroom door only to have it opened up by Yun.

"My new friend said you should lighten up." Yun grinned.

Yang blinked quizzically. He shot a quick look at the open bedroom to find the computer off - therefore no clues. "Who said that?"

Makoto, fully dried and clad, left the bathroom door. She had heard Yun mention something about a new friend. "What are you talking about Yun-kun?"

Her answer was Yun entering the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

"New soap, new soap," Yun called and just as loudly tossed the bar Makoto used in the trash - an indication that Yun wasn't planning on using Makoto's soap any.

The water rained down. The bathroom was soon filled with sounds of running water, strange singing of ad-libbed music, and random rude noises.

"Dashing through the snow, with a rifle and a gun. Over the fields we go, shooting everyone." Yun belted. "Killing all the way, taking all the deer. What fun it is to kill all day while Yang is nowhere near."

Yang was used to it after putting up with his big brother for seventeen years, but he couldn't help but smirk at Makoto's wincing.

Of course, Yun was hiding his feelings. He loved the attention he knew he was getting, and that cheered him up.

"Jingle bells, grandpa smells, a million miles away. He blows his nose in Cheereos and eats them right away-- "

"Brother of Roshon! You done yet?" Rin-Rin yanked the shower curtain open and stuck her blue haired head inside. She blinked.

Yun's expression of surprise quickly melted into his typical collected cover-up. "Wait your turn, cutie, I'm almost done."

"Not good enough! You have to hurry! Hurry, hurry!"

"What the -- " Yun yelped as Rin-Rin yanked him by the arm out of the shower. Yun shut off the water with his foot and barely had time to throw on clothes - which all became rather clingy on contact with his still-wet body - when the door opened.

"Rin-Rin, what...?" Makoto started.

Rin-Rin smiled. "Rin-Rin think that brother of Roshon go on date with Xian. You two go out and have a nice night. Now out you go. Out-out-out!"

Pushing with force no one knew an Amazon woman had, Rin-Rin shoved Makoto and Yun out the house. She smiled, waved, and shut the door behind her.

Makoto blinked more in shock than outrage. "The nerve of her!"

Yun shrugged. "What's done is done, good lookin'. 'Sides, I know a good all you can eat place down the road." Winking, he added, "Bill's on me."

Rin-Rin smiled triumphantly. Now she had the whole house and her darling Yang all to herself.

"Here we are," Yun gestured to a rather large, showy building, "the Mayflower Restaurant. Best all you can eat place in town - next to my brother's cooking, of course."

"Is he really that good?" Makoto wondered aloud. "It's hard to tell with the cup ramen and stuff we had to eat on the trip..."

Yun held the door open for Makoto. The restaurant was busy - as any all you can eat place would be. The atmosphere was quiet, serene, and reminded Makoto a little of Yang. The building itself was furnished with dark woods with gold-coloured linings and randomly placed dragon statues. On one area were aquariums of fish, some local, some exotic. Yun needed not a long wait as the staff knew him - and both he and Makoto were promptly given seats.

Makoto skimmed the menu. "Hmm. I'll have this, this, this, and the buffet."

"*And* the buffet?" the waiter sweated. "Um, yes, ma'am.."

"I'll just have the buffet - everything on the menu is already there." Yun shrugged. "But I will have a side order of this, this, and this, and two of this, plus the usual..."

The waiter gulped. "Uh... please enjoy." He took their menus and left.

The next few minutes were spent:

Munching, chewing, gulping.

Eating, slurping,

"Oops, excuse me. Didn't mean to slurp the soup." Makoto wiped her mouth. "Yun, pass the stir-fry, please?" She quickly demonstrated an anything-goes-devour on a plate of wings while using her free hand to flag down the waiter. "Oh, and waiter? Can I have another glass of water please?"

The Waiter shook his head, stupefied. "There's... another like the Lee kid..."

Yun loudly *BELCH*ed. "Sorry, good lookin', did you say somethin'?" He tossed the finished pop can with the rest of the 15 empty ones. He then finished off the stir fry himself and left Makoto with a few pieces. "Here you go." he gestured, leaving for more food.

"Oii!! You know quite well I expected half of that to arrive intact when I asked for it!" Makoto frumped.

The plates piled up...

And piled up...

And piled up...

Makoto smirked evilly to herself. "Okay, time to try that move Rin-rin's been nagging me into training for..."

Makoto poised her chopsticks for when Yun arrived with his food, then...

"KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN - REVISED!"

Her hands became a blur. She didn't quite manage the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken, but food started vanishing from Yun's plates at an alarming rate regardless.

Yun shrugged, unfazed, left and returned with more food. "It don't matter how fast you eat, it's how much you eat counts." he commented. He ending up finishing the food the plates he's carrying from oversnacking just as he sits down. He placed the empty places with the rest and promptly left again.

(Much later...)

Makoto let out a small burp. "Ahh, that felt good." she sighed happily, patting her full stomach. "You're right, Yun - this place is great. We ought to recommend it to any Amazons that follow you here!"

"Told ya this place is great." Yun pointed out. Unlike Makoto, he was still eating. He left for more food. Ate. Left for more food. Ate.

Left for more food.

Ate...

Makoto could only watch him, stupefied. {I thought *I* had an appetite!}

The waiter tapped Makoto on the shoulder, whispering quietly so only he and Makoto could hear. "Um, excuse me for the intrusion, ma'am, but Mr. Lee is eating us out of business again." he said, not wanting to add that Makoto was adding insult to the injury in fear of getting on her bad side. "Can you please excuse him somehow?"

Makoto nodded. She stood. "C'mon, Yun-kun, let's go."

Yun looked up with a full, messy mouth. "Go where?"

"The movies! You said you wanted to see the Garou Densetsu film festival, didn't you?" the karateka asked, exasperated.

"I said I already saw the dang things and..." he was interrupted by being yanked out of the restaurant by the pigtail. The last anyone saw of them was Yun throwing money on the table and yelling, "I didn't finish eating, yet!"

The waiter sighed. Business didn't look too promising this week.

The theatre was nearly empty. Only a few people - random otaku - sat in front. Makoto and Yun sat in the back for the best view. Accompanying Yun were a few bags of popcorn, some candy and two giant sodas.

Makoto shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder if you convert food directly into *chi* or something, and just store it for future use."

The lights dimmed. Garou Densetsu 1 started. Yun had seen it already but apparently Makoto hadn't. The movie began with the stealing of mysterious scrolls. Then, the killing of Jeff Bogard by a jealous Geese Howard - right in front of Jeff Bogard's sons. "The secrets of the Hakkyokuseiken School will be mine." Geese laughed.

Yun sipped his soda. "Never heard of Hakkyokuseiken."

The movie carried on, with the elder of Jeff Bogard's sons - Terry Bogard, growing up, and meeting Muay Thai champion Joe Higashi by chance. It turns out that Joe was a friend of Terry's younger brother, Andy. Joe mentions the King of Fighters tournament to Terry...

"Oh please." Makoto chimed in. "Don't they have a *single* female fighter in this movie??"

"Just wait for the next movie." Yun stuffed half the popcorn bag in one gulp. The movie continued with the King of Fighters tournament. His eyes caught Terry Bogard throwing off his hat in his typical victory pose.

"Hmph, at least that Lilly girl had the guts to refuse to kill Terry there." Makoto paused briefly, recalling when Lilly - an associate of Geese's who Terry was infatuated with - refused to give Terry the ordered poisoned wine. But to her dismay, she watched as Lilly fell off a building and landed, head-first. "AAK! She died??"

"Yep." Yun gestured to Master Tung, the wisened old master. "There's gramps without his wig."

Makoto giggled. She watched intently as Master Tung demonstrated the final attack of the Hakkyokuseiken school - Senpuken. "Okay!! *Now* I see how Sa-chan could do that beam thing!! She draws power from around her just like the Senpuken does!"

"You didn't know that?" Yun commented, which made Makoto wonder - did Yun figure it out himself?

Finally, the movie came to the last scene where the three heroes - Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, and Joe Higashi - departed and walked into the sunset. "Ryu Hoshi x 3." Yun grinned.

Makoto groaned. "Whatever," she sighed as the second movie began.

A good 3 hours later, Makoto and Yun left the Garou Densetsu film festival, laughing over their own MSTs.

"Finally, a girl fighter but she wore a tacky outfit! ...and she's a NINJA?" Makoto shook her head. Her mind couldn't get over the scantly-clad ninja, Mai Shiranui. "Man... Ibuki gets *all* the luck. Ninjas are supposed to be mysterious, how come they get all the publicity?"

'Who *is* this Ibuki person anyway? I gotta meet her one day. Bet she's cute.' Yun mused. But aloud, he said, "'Cause ninja babes're cute, unlike those violent karate girls."

Makoto chased him all the way down the street.

The sky was now bathed in darkness with only the stars to keep it company. However, the bright street and store lights kept the town aglow. Even at this time of the night, the tiny Hong Kong town was still quite busy. Makoto noted that unlike her native Nerima, Hong Kong was still active at night as noted by the many people she passed by. Still, her main attention was on the young man accompanying her.

"...Yun?"

Yun spun around on one foot, glancing back with open curiosity. "Yeah, whassup?"

Makoto held her hands behind her back to hide that she was rubbing them nervously. "...I just wanted to thank you. You know... for coming along... risking your life and stuff... and for helping me when I was ready to fall apart when we first got to your house. I..." she trailed off.

Yun shrugged. "Yeah. No big deal."

"Stop that! It *is* a big deal." Makoto loudly protested. "I don't know how you grew up so caring, in a place so bustling. Most cities seem to... I don't know... dehumanize people?" Her voice quieted down as she looked around somewhat curiously. "But this does feel different somehow..."

"This place is my home." Yun said softly. He looked to the starry sky, eyes shimmering along with the light. As he spoke, images from his mind seemed to materialize into Makoto's.

"Yang 'n' I... grew up living in these streets," Yun continued, "Some hate this town - the illegal hit squads, the grumpy customers, and whatnot. But I love this place. Apart from Yang, I got nothin' else in childhood 'cept..." He gestured to the surrounding buildings - the town. "This is my refuge. I'll protect it with my life."

Yun turned to face Makoto with both the nostalgic look of an old soldier and the smile of a young boy. "So I knew what it felt like to want to protect your own village. That's the real reason why I came to Jokuzetsu... nuttin' big," he shrugged. Quickly realizing that somehow, his inner emotions were seeping through his hardened exterior, he quickly covered eyes with his hat and grinned. "Didn't mean to get all gushy like that back there. Sorry."

Makoto returned to grin, slinging her arm over his shoulder. She knew one thing for sure - with Yun pouring his heart out to her, she had his trust. "As you might say: no big deal."

Yun's grin melted into a soft smile. His arms enfolded Makoto close to his body. She welcomed him with her arms draped around his neck to hold herself closer. Their eyes were locked in mutual desire. Ever so slowly, Yun leaned over, and Makoto raised her head.

Their lips met.

In that ellipse of time, they were in their own world. Makoto melted in his warmth, feeling feminine - and vurnerable, but safe in Yun's arms. Yun, in turn, gave her love. She was special, and he wanted her to know it.

Then, a sudden tingle caused them to push away simultaneously. Their danger senses screamed.

"Look out --!" Makoto cried and ducked under - at the same time as Yun vaulted over - a rocketing metal pole. The missed projectile flew into a wall behind them. From the shadows came a trio all too familiar to Makoto - Bru Xhu, Pur-Fum, and Roshon.

"What's your problem?" Yun demanded them.

Makoto scowled deeply. "Remember I mentioned the folks I had a run-in with back at the village when I went there a while ago? These're they. I'm kind of surprised Bru Xhu's alive, but I guess she was tougher than the rapids were. I don't know why you're here, but it's probably for a fight, so," Makoto tore off her clothes to reveal her *gi* underneath, "come on!"

Roshon was the first to step forward. He shrugged nonchallantly in a way so familiar, Yun nearly believed he was looking in the mirror. "Oh, I'm just here to show that even the males of Jokuzetsu are Warrior enough to get back at *violent*, *unattractive* *tomboys* with *no* self-control." he smirked. "Especially ones who would get so mad over such a complete waste as that spiky-haired crybaby Rin-rin seems taken with."

"NANI?!" Makoto clenched her teeth. Basking in her fury, she was totally unaware of an even angrier aura building behind her.

"I mean," Roshon continued, "that loser wasn't much as a fighter, that's for sure. His training must have been pretty worthless. And bearing suffering? Don't make me laugh! He lost one match - he hadn't even lost it, even - and he was crying! So tell me, Violent Girl... is that pathetic or just worthless?"

Makoto clenched her fists. "*Violent* girl? And just *what* did you say about Yang?! You're *so* going to pay for tha--"

Yun shoved her out of the way.

"Yun-kun!! Wha -?" Makoto cried, then her breath caught in her throat.

An aura of white - that of the hottest flame - blazed over Yun, emitting energy of pure strength and anger. Yun's presence was strong, but even moreso in his raging fury. His head was lowered as to have his cap covering his eyes. Even the Amazon elders found themselves trembling. But Roshon, who was both too smug and unaware of what he did wrong, was unfazed.

"You have a problem with the truth, pretty boy?" Roshon grinned.

"Shut up..." Yun whispered, dangerously quiet. He raised his head. His eyes, which were tell-tale of his emotions, burned with seething fury. "Just *SHUT* the *FUCK* up!!" The elder dragon's fist slugged Roshon square in the face, sending the Amazon boy hurling a good fifteen feet backwards. "Don't you *EVER* talk about my brother that way again!!" he roared, bolting off after Roshon.

The three who had been left behind all sweatdropped.

"Well, not quite what I had planned, but it will have to do," Pur-Fum commented.

"But Grandmother, your plan was for Roshon to draw the Rindou girl into our attacks!" Bru Xhu protested.

Makoto had to chuckle, although somewhat bitterly. "Who'd have thought? Yun has more of a temper than me sometimes!" Turning to the two renegade Amazons, she took up a combat stance. "OK, so which of you wants to try me first? Oh, and as far as you're concerned, the name *should* be Xian Pu," she taunted them, using her status as a Warrior to tweak their egos.

Pur-Fum gave Makoto back a bitter chuckle of her own. "Both of us, of course, dear. Did you think we were going to give you a chance?" she asked, setting Makoto back on her heels as both women charged her.

The next few minutes seemed like an eternity to the young girl. The two Amazons fought as a team, Bru taking the forefront with her staff and speed attacks, while Pur-Fum kept to the rear of her granddaughter, bouncing in and out of the battle for quick sallys.

Almost four minutes into the fight, Makoto caught sight of a pattern developing in Bru Xhu's attacks. {She always seems to fully extend on the final thrust of an Amaguriken with her staff,} the karateka noted. Suiting action to thought, the girl stepped in at Bru Xhu, an action which had invited the speed-strike attack twice before. Sure enough, the staff began to blur, and Makoto blocked the flurry of thrusts with her forearms, grunting away the pain from the inevitable missed block. Instead of blocking or parrying the final blow, though, Makoto simply dropped, taking her body down out of line with the final power-thrust Bru used to finish her Amagurikens.

Makoto only stayed down long enough for the staff to whiz outward. Torquing her hips, she began a roundhouse kick, letting the motion pull her back upright as her leg swished around to clock Bru right on the temple with the ball of the foot, stunning the Amazon for a moment. A perfect setup for the Karakusa...

A blur from the side was Makoto's only warning.

Frantically twisting away from the new attack, Makoto only partially succeeded: the jabbing fingers poked into the side of her wrist at a shallow angle. The agony that spread up the arm, however, reminded Makoto that Pur-Fum was not to be taken lightly. {Damn! Some kind of pain pressure-point! If she'd gotten me fully...}

Pur-Fum's words came as an odd echo of Makoto's thoughts. "Good dodge, child: I thought the battle would be over if I caught you in the Nerves Afire pressure point. The pain from that would likely have left you curled in a ball on the ground."

Makoto flexed the arm, drawing a blink from the Amazon. "You shouldn't be able to do that... the pain should be more intense if you move," the disgraced Elder commented.

Makoto's smirk was definitely wobbly. "Elder, I've been through one particular training exercise that nothing, and I mean *nothing,* will ever compare to for sheer pain in nerve and muscle. You'll have to do better than a pain point if you want to beat me."

Inside, the girl was considerably less cocksure. {It sure messed me up, though,} she mused. {If she gets me like that while Bru's still attacking... admit it, girl, you'll end up dead. Or beaten and wide open for whatever they want to do to me. I need to even this up somehow: I can't take on Bru *and* Pur-Fum, not and hope to win at all! If I can just catch up with Yun and Roshon,} she planned, casting a glance down the road at the trail of wrecked shop-fronts and overturned carts the two had left behind them, {we could hammer Roshon down and them have a two-on-two with this pair. But I'll never get enough of a lead to catch them on foot,} she despaired.

Then she got a look at the wreckage - or more accurately, at the spilled marchandise. There were melons, oranges, and other produce: there were hammers and hoes and tools: there were models and other toys...

...and sitting on its side, between a spilled basket of tomatoes and a hacksaw handle, was a skateboard.

Makoto's mind flashed back to the last day or so of their journey into Hong Kong, when they were back in civilization but not wanting to use a bus or cab. {After I mentioned I used to use a skateboard back in grade-school, Yun made me practice with his - he joked about it, saying 'no girl with me'll be anythin' less than competent on her board!' Yun and Roshon went off downhill - If I can just -}

Makoto jumped backward, away from Pur-Fum's jabbing finger and Bru Xhu's staff attacks, and landed near the skateboard. Quickly she snatched it off the ground and gave it a quick shake to clear any debris off the wheels, then set it skittering downhill. As the two renegades moved in on her, unsure of what she was doing, Makoto turned away from them and faced the skateboard before launching herself after it.

"HAYATE!"

She almost missed, but managed to stab down with her lead foot and perch herself on the skateboard, in the process transferring most of the Hayate's momentum to the board beneath her feet.

And then she was off, rocketing down the hill, a whoop that was part elation and more pure terror echoing back to the two renegades dashing after her in pursuit.

"Get *back* here! I'm not finished with you!" Yun cried.

Roshon found himself farther away from his Amazon cohorts than he would have liked. Things weren't going as he planned either - instead of joining in on a 3-on-1 attack versus Makoto "Xian Pu" Rindou, he found himself being chased by a tempermental young man who looked so much like himself. Although Roshon didn't want to admit it to himself, was running for his life. Roshon could sense Yun's raw power. Not like his ego would ever show fear. "What's your problem? You got a bug up your behind?" he called back, narrowly missing a palm strike. 'Well, no matter. Not like he can keep up with my speed anyway.'

Noticing, with wide eyes, an omnious blur fly his way, he jumped to the side, missing a Zesho Hohou only by a hair's width. Yun followed up with reaction time faster than Roshon could set up his guard - a side kick which sent Roshon a good twenty feet away. The Amazon boy skidded to a halt. Roshon grinned at his look-alike foe.

"You're faster than I thought. I like that." he grinned, placing his hands on his hips. "But I don't have time for games. It looks like I have to finish you off quickly and get back to that violent steamroller girl. And besides," he tilted his head, "what got you so worked up about me talking about this spikey-haired brat anyway?

"Because he's my little *brother*, that's what!!" Yun dashed forward with an EX Tetsu Zanko, sliding along the ground with incredible speed. Roshon jumped, however, still caught the brunt of the shoulder bash. The elder twin dragon immediately followed up with a heavy punch to Roshon's gut which sent the Amazon boy flying another few feet away.

Once again, Roshon skidded to his feet. His shoes will definately feel the brunt of that later on. Yun vaulted Roshon's way. Roshon held up his arms to ready an attack parry. However, instead, Yun's hands landed on Roshon's shoulders, to which he immediately vaulted away. Stunned, Roshon didn't even have time to blink, let alone turn around. Yun flared his chi through his hands in a Kobokushi strike. Once again, Roshon was sent flying backwards and into a nearby wall. On the rebound, Yun retialiated with an elbow strike, then another, chained to a quick kick in the shins, then *another* elbow strike. As Roshon was still reeling, Yun quickly raised his shoulders upwards in a non-moving Tetsu Zanko. Then, as Roshon was *still* in the air, Yun summoned his chi through his body for his most-used finishing attack -

- the You-Hou.

A rising knifehand upwards, another quick Tetsu Zanko, but instead of launching Roshon in the air as usual, Yun hopped up and sent his chi-powered punch *downwards*, straight into Roshon. The Amazon boy smashed into the ground and rebounded high into the air. A few seconds later, Roshon's body fell to the ground.

However, Yun wouldn't let him touch ground just yet. He 'tapped' Roshon with a ducking palm strike. Then another to bounce him like a ball, and a third, then a fourth. And finally, a quick Kobokushi to send Roshon flying into the wall once more. When the Amazon boy's body struck the ground, he failed to move. Even breathe. To Yun, he was unconscious.

Yun exhaled, forcing a grin on his face. His anger subsided. Yang had been avenged. As a tribute, Yun tossed his cap Roshon's way. "Oh-kay!"

The cap landed in Roshon's hands.

Yun's ego, too, will not allow him to show any kind of surprise. Roshon dusted himself off and stoof, abeit shakily. Returning the grin, he placed the cap on his head.

"Ah, I see." Roshon nodded. "You must be the elder brother my wife, Rin-Rin told me about. Well then, my time here is certainly not wasted." He cracked his knuckles. "You look like a decent challenge and you ain't so bad lookin' either. Bring it on."

'Rin-Rin's his wife? So this is that Roshon guy she's always babbling about. *And* the one who made Yang cry.' The last thought rekindled Yun's anger. He pointed a finger to Roshon. "Just three things - One: I'm the better looking one. Two: *Nobody* is allowed to make fun of Yang but *me*. Three: The name's Lee - Yun Lee."

Roshon replied with a bow to show his respect and seriousness. Yun bowed in turn, with his fist clasped in his palm.

Then, the battle started.

The two flew at each other with outstretched fists - double Zesho Hohous. Their clenched palms clashed and froze in place for what felt like minutes. Then, a surge of chi pushed each other away.

Roshon leapt in the air Yun's way and came straight down with an elbow drop. With confidence, Yun stepped under Roshon and pressed his weight on his one arm, ready to execute a classic Senkyuutai.

But somehow, Yun couldn't push himself as high as he preferred.

'What the hell?' Yun wondered as he ungracefully landed on his backside.

"An opening!" declared Roshon who landed first. He clenched his hands together and swung at Yun diagonally-upwards. As Yun was raised into the air, he was juggled by a flip kick from Roshon which sent him flying into the air. And immediately, Roshon tagged in the air after Yun. Yun backflipped in the air to regain his footing only to find Roshon's foot implanted on his chest.

But not for long.

"Hah-hah-hah!" Rosho cried in rapid succession, kicking Yun repeatedly all the way down. Six feet before landing, Roshon pushed off, sending Yun at a hurling pace to the ground. A loud crash shook the earth. Yun found himself slammed *into* the pavement and in a world of pain.

"Don't think I'm done with you yet!" Roshon came down at that same hurling pace, knee-first.

The Amazon boy was in for a rude awakening. Yun launched a side kick *directly upwards*, catching Roshon in between the shins. Clenching his teeth, Roshon bounced off.

"You can't beat me." Yun declared, vaulting back.

"Wanna bet?" Roshon, too, leapt straight in the air. Then, to Yun's surprise, Roshon lead forth a rising side kick which *carried him forward* to Yun's direction. Yun easily parried the blow but was met with the second end of the scissor kick which painfully connected with the bottom of his spine. Wincing, Yun had no choice but to flip over and painfully connect with Roshon's hundred flying kicks.

And now, Yun found himself once again flying in the direction of the pavement, head-first.

'Shit... not even my head's *that* hard!' Yun winced, raising an arm downwards to try and catch his fall. But it looked like he might break his arm in the process. 'This is gonna hurt.'

His subconscious screamed for help.

"Oh... yes, airen! More! More!"

'The pain... it hurt...'

"More, airen... more!!"

'But somehow...'

"Push, airen, harder! More! Harder!"

'It felt good...'

"Yes, oh yes... oh my god, airen...!!"

'I must work hard...'

"Almost there..."

'This high is the sort I enjoy.'

"Enough! Stop!!"

"Ah..." Yang panted.

Rin-Rin's smiled widely. "Airen, you're wonderful - 500 inverted sit-ups without taking a break! Roshon can't even do... how many was it he could do again? Could he even do them? I forget..."

Yang body hung loosely from the pole which hung from his bedroom window. Sweat trickled from his heated body to the ground some twenty feet below.

"Take a little break, then do another 500." said Rin-Rin. "This is fun!"

'She has strange ideas of how to have fun.' Yang commented to himself.

Grandmother Lee opened the backyard door. "Yang, Rin-Rin, dinner is almost ready. Please get ready."

Rin-Rin raised an exuberant hand. "Yes, esteemed grandmother!"

Yang was about to answer with a typical grunt when suddenly, a flash rang through his mind. A danger sense. It lasted only for the briefest of seconds but long enough for Yang to realize one thing - his brother was in danger. He flipped off the bar and landed in front of his grandmother. "Big brother is in trouble."

Grandmother Lee nodded. "Help him, Yang. But be careful."

Rin-Rin leapt down herself to stop him, but Yang already donned his rollerblades and tore off.

"Those boys..." Grandmother Lee sighed.

Rin-Rin saluted. "I will bring them back, esteemed grandmother!"

But deep in her heart, she also had the aching feeling something was terribly wrong.