#and i love how ichiban treats kids <3

[tamayokny]

why did the ending of this substory make me bawl my eyes out omg

[bmaxwell]

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

I’ve loved turn-based RPG’s for most of my life. I’ve loved Yakuza since 2018. I’ll admit I was a little apprehensive when Ryu ga Gotoku announced that the new Yakuza title would be an RPG. Yakuza’s combat is so fun and fluid and stylish, what will it be like to have turn-based combat out in the city streets? And there’s a new protagonist? I can understand how longtime fans would be turned away; this is a LOT of changes all at once. 

Like a Dragon could have been a major setback for the series, but instead it was a breath of fresh air. I love to see established franchises take risks and get weird with it. After 7 (SEVEN) mainline Yakuza games, all crime dramas starring Kiryu Kazuma and featuring real-time beat ‘em up combat, Yakuza: Like a Dragon would star a new protagonist in Ichiban Kasuga and a turn-based JRPG combat system. 

First of all, I LOVE Kiryu and Majima. They’re some of my favorite characters in video games. Kiryu is as strong as an ox and nearly as smart. He’s stoic and obtuse but has a heart of gold. He is the perfect straight man to play alongside both the melodrama of the main story and the batshittery of the side stories. He’s tired and vaguely annoyed, but he wants to help everyone - even the freaks and weirdos. He’s also an excellent foil for Goro Majima’s manic shenanigans. It’s a formula that worked, and there was no reason to change it up, but I’m glad they did. 

Years ago Persona 3 gave me what I never knew I wanted: a turn-based RPG set in the modern day. With Yakuza LAD, this happened again - this time, a modern day turn-based RPG with actual adults. I’ve never thought about it much, but nearly every RPG I’ve played has protagonists that are teens or young adults. It’s not inherently a bad thing, it’s just been so omnipresent that I became blind to it. 

With Like a Dragon, you have a protagonist and party members with some years behind them, and they have been through Some Shit. It all starts with new protagonist Ichiban, a kid who is rescued by the leader of a smalltime Yakuza boss and swears his allegiance to the family. This ends with him taking the fall for someone in the family and going to prison for 18 years. His loyalty is unwavering, and upon his release from prison he seeks out the boss of the family he serves and is promptly betrayed. 

I won’t spoil the details of the story here, but let it suffice to say that it’s full of the sort of melodramatic, over the top plot twists that the series is known for. It did not disappoint me one bit. Likewise, the side stories are made up of the weird, off-the-wall nonsense I’ve come to expect from the series. It also has the huge variety in minigames fans have come to expect: there’s karaoke, a business management sim, kart racing, and lots more. 

The charisma of Ichiban as the lead in this game cannot be overstated. He’s got Kiryu’s heart of gold, but that stoicism is replaced with hotheaded energy. This makes him a terrific anime protagonist, always rushing headfirst into danger with the best of intentions. The game does have its dark moments, and our happy-go-lucky protagonist does lose his way. The game handles this beautifully. Silly doesn’t have to be the opposite of serious always. And make no mistake, Like a Dragon is silly.

The entire premise feels like something that someone like...well, someone like me would have dreamed up on a late-night bender. Ichiban Kasuga is a huge fan of the Dragon Quest series. He loves that old Japanese RPG series so much that he sees the world in those terms. That’s a good enough reason to have turn-based combat in this game, right? It’s good enough for me. The game also has job classes like Chef, Barmaid, Musician, and uh, Homeless Guy. More about that last one in a moment. You change job classes by visiting the city’s talent agency. You can do RPG-style summons with your cell phone. It’s all the best kind of dumb.

My only real beef with the game is how it treats homelessness, which is inconsistent. Your first party member is a homeless man, and the game goes out of its way to treat the homeless as human beings and not as a punchline, or a scourge, or an embarrassment. Well, the game’s story does that. It does a wonderful job of it. The combat mechanics however, let your homeless guy call down pigeons, or breathe stinky breath onto an enemy, or pull out a hunk of cardboard and fall asleep on the spot. It’s just a weird clash with the rest of the game’s writing. 

It’s a small wart on an otherwise perfect package. The studio took a chance and got the best possible outcome. It reminds me of the old Super Mario RPG from the SNES days. This shouldn’t work, but it fucking does. I came late to the Yakuza series, 2017′s Yakuza 0 was my first brush with the series. Like a Dragon feels like it’s mine in a way the rest of the series doesn’t. The game is fun to play, it’s smart, it’s funny, it’s got drama and - most importantly - it has heart. Where Grand Theft Auto is smug and jaded, Yakuza feels earnest and genuine. Every character has a backstory, and I ended up loving this motley crew of weirdoes and castoffs. I can’t wait to play the next one. 

[joy-returns-in-the-morning]

hey friend! if you're feeling up to it, can you answer #2 from each section of the ask game? ^-^

Thanks for asking! ^_^

A2) Favorite game(s)?

For the longest time it was Yakuza 0, but lately Yakuza 7 has been a real strong contender. Yakuza 0 is always going to be the nostalgic fave for me, but Yakuza 7 is just a really solid game too. It's so expansive and fun. I think the story is a little more coherent too, but maybe that's just because I haven't had enough time to knitpick yet. 😅😅 Out of the Kiryu saga though, it's definetely 0, then 5, then 3. And I'll give Yakuza 5 a special shoutout too because despite its bizarre and somewhat confusing plotline I really do have a deep fondness for it. It can't say it's my favourite because I'm not convinced it's THE BEST by any means, but it's just so wacky, I love it. Plus it's the one with Okudera. That's gotta count for something. 😅😅😘

B2) What's a scene that never fails to make you cry?

There's just something about the last scene in Yakuza 5! I dunno, the combination of the music and the fighting just really gets to me.

C2) Which game had the worst plotline?

Hmmm how to put this delicately. They are all bad in their own way. 😅😅 I do think that the plotlines in Yakuza 0 and Yakuza 7 are FAR more coherent and engaging than the rest, which is why I rank them highest. But there are definetely many issues in these games too, and the more I think about them the less sense they make. Like is that whole counterfeiting thing in Yakuza 7 REALLY the only way to keep the peace? Instead of lining the polices pockets, why not put it into social services that will render criminal organizations useless? idk. And did Kazama REALLY mastermind the whole plot of Yakuza 0? How can you predict all that? What made Majima so special that they'd dedicate a group of people to surveilling him 24/7? WHY IN THE WORLD is there a secret underground fightclub beneath the river? How did they install that? It's all just so weird. 😩 And these are the games that actually made sense!! The plotlines only get messier from here. But I suppose I have to say the worst is Yakuza 6, if only for the fact it's actually the only one I never managed to finish. I watched about half of it, then skipped to the end to see if it got any better and then completely gave up. Maybe at that point I was just getting yakuza fatigue. But I found the premise so fundamentally flawed that I was just too frustrated to watch any more. Why would Kiryu and Haruka leave the other kids? It never should have happened! At this point, I've basically just erased this game from my memory. They are all living happily together in Okinawa….

D2) Who's the most underrated character?

Hmm I'm always suprised that Ryo Aoki (from yakuza 7) isn't more popular. He seems like the kind of character that Tumblr would absolutely love. He is a poor little meow meow. A terrible awful pathetic sort of man. <3 Maybe it's because Yakuza 7 seems to get less content in general. But hey, Zhao gets lots of art! And to be fair, Zhao is cool. But I don't think it's an overstatement to say that Aoki is far more narratively important. Like is no one else seeing this?? He's such a great antagonist to Ichiban! They are equals, but not equals. They are the same, but different. The symmetry! The duality! The shifting power imbalances! The devotion! The contempt! AAGGHH

E2) Haruka Sawamura, T-set, or Dream Line?

Dream Line! I loved their single, so sad that they broke up. 😢 I think it's such a lost opportunity because I would have loved to see Haruka and T-Set interact more as friends. I think there should have been a scene where T-Set visits Kiryu in the hospital with Haruka - it would be funny because they'd probably also run into Saejima and Majima and like, what would they do? I want to see the looks on their face as these hapless girls run into one yakuza legend after another. 😂😂😂

F2) Which restaurant would you like to try? Would you treat anyone to a meal?

Hmm there's this one restaurant in Sotenburi that I was always sort of sad we couldn't go into: HUNGRY TOM. I'm like Yeah! I'm hungry! I want to go in HUNGRY TOM! But we couldn't 😔

However, I can't overstate how much I love eating food. I want to go to all of the restaurants. I would not treat anyone to a meal; I'd collapse in front of them like that one hungry girl from yakuza 5 and make them pay for me lol.

---

Yakuza ask meme by @kulemii (do I tag you in this? do you get notified if I answer your ask? idk how it works. Anyway thanks for writing all these great questions!! 😊)

[deltaengineering]

Fall Anime 2019 Part 4: also, he has a gun for a head

Beastars

So here’s the CG anime that everyone for some reason decided way in advance would be the best show of the season, more or less by default. I was very skeptical of this for a multitude of reasons. First of all, that is a bad name for a show and you can’t convince me otherwise. It’s actually even worse because you’re supposed to write it in all caps, but I refuse. Second, it has a terribly on the nose conceit in which all sorts of animals live together in a high school setting and it’s all metaphorical ‘n shit. The main character is a wolf but get this, he’s actually all sensitive and quiet! Yeah, this is definitely rated D for Deep. And finally it’s by Orange, the CG studio that got an inordinate amount of acclaim for making Houseki no Kuni, the show that everyone thinks looks great and finally made CG anime worthwhile (actual real fact: HnK does not look great most of the time and CG anime was worthwhile well before it). 

But enough about my preconceptions since Beastars is... pretty good, actually. If you ignore the setting, which is indeed terribly on the nose. And there’s not much else to say about the story so far besides it. However, it looks significantly better than Houseki no Kuni because it actually has really good character animation throughout instead of a one-minute action scene with flashy spinny camera tricks every other episode. The directing’s strong too, even if the show conspicuously mainly consists of obvious manga panels. I’m still not too hot on the animal stuff but the general writing seems to be sufficiently competent it would work simply on a character level. So I don’t love it, but it seems solid enough to see if it goes somewhere with its “Zootopia but also Beverly Hills 90210 but also they eat each other sometimes″ plot.

Rifle is Beautiful

Remember the whole “anime about some assorted anime girls joining a club doing an oddly specific activity” thing? This is another one of those, and now it’s about air rifle sports shooting. Except it’s not about air rifle sports shooting because that’s apparently way too violent, so they use rifles that look like exactly like air rifles but are actually based on lasers or really bright flashlights (they can’t keep their bullshit straight between scenes, sorry) instead. I just don’t think “girls doing activities” anime should blatantly misrepresent their subject matter like that, you know? With the possible exception of idol anime that is, ain’t nobody who wants to hear about that shit. Apart from that it’s nothing special, so if you are really into air rifles and wish to watch an anime that’s not about those, knock yourself out. It goes through a whole “club needs 5 members” arc in the first half of the first episode, so I really can’t say where it goes next. Nowhere much, I would guess.

Oh right, there’s one more thing: They frequently render the bodies in CG and the heads in traditional drawings, and they do it every time when they’d actually have to draw a rifle otherwise. It’s a weird effect that I think I haven’t seen anywhere else before, and it’s not great but also not terrible. And it’s the most interesting thing about the entire show.

Kabukicho Sherlock

“Let’s take a bunch of public domain characters and put them into a hip modern setting” seems to be its own genre at the moment, and not only because the BBC did that with S. Holmes, Esq. already. Obviously this show is influenced by that (besides other public domain namedroppers like Bungou Stray Dogs), mostly in Watson and his relationship with Sherlock, but Sherlock-san is rather different here; he’s neither the classic Victorian bohemian nor the abrasive sociopath of the BBC version, and tends more towards a bumbling 90s pop culture version of autism and/or general wackiness here. These two are surrounded by a bunch of campy transvestites for some reason, and I’m not quite sure whether I’m supposed to find this particular stereotype offensive or empowering this week, but it sure is annoying. And it has the same character designer as Joker Game, so if you like chiseled, angular anime men, you’re in for a treat here - even if they tend to wear a lot of makeup and dresses sometimes. I don’t know man, it seems sort of okay-ish for the most part but it’s neither as funny as they think, nor as weird as they think, nor is the murder of the week intriguing at all. Oh yeah, he’s hunting noted public domain character Jack the Ripper. Because of course he is.

 Shin Chuuka Ichiban!

I am told this is the sequel to episode 19 of a 52-episode anime TV show from 1997. Okay. I am also told to not dare watch this without the important setup therein, which makes me think I should pay less attention to what I’m told because understanding Shin Chuuka Ichiban and its backstory is not hard at all. Kid is superawesome cooking champion in ancient China and goes around clowning on lesser cooks, got it. It’s not a complicated setup and it’s not a complicated genre either: This seems to be mostly about sick shounen cooking duels. Besides the setting, the main difference between this and Shokugeki no Soma seems to be that SnS goes for ridiculous and Chuuka Ichiban goes for epic - which is to say that it fancies itself emotional as well. Apart from that it’s what you’d expect from a cooking shounen, big moves, big reactions, huge twists and so on. One notable thing is that this show looks really, really nice. Production I.G seems to be establishing a sideline in taking stuff from the 90s and updating it with smoother animation and shinier lighting, while keeping the overall look intact; They did it for Mahoujin Guru Guru, and this looks much the same. Still, I’m just fundamentally not really interested in what appears to be a very straightforward cooking shounen from the 90s.

Assassins Pride

Straight from the Department of Chuuni, we have this light novel masterpiece about a cool as fuck teenage assassin who teleports behind u and nothin personells fools all day. He then meets a princess he’s supposed to off but just kinda decides not to, probably because she seems to be smitten by his m’lady act. Now he has to use his sick skillz to keep them both alive. It’s awful and terrible and no good and also kind of adorable. This truly is the most 13 AND A HALF MOM years old anime in a while, and it’s not even isekai! The writing’s just so amateurish and corny you can’t help but smile when princesses exposit their backstory for no reason while being accosted by pumpkin monsters (without knowing that Awessassin McCooldude happens to be listening in, which is certainly convenient). Or when the episode ends with the man just reading the synopsis of the show out again, in case you were too fascinated by this plot to pay attention to what it’s about. Yeah I’m not going to watch this in a thousand years, but it sure made me chuckle. Your mileage may vary.

Mugen no Juunin - Immortal

Speaking of 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔱𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔢𝔡𝔤𝔢, another anime adaptation of Blade of the Immortal appeared! You know, the manga for the cultured and historically minded guro fan. The first episode of Blade of the Immortal runs with this and is an arthouse production that someone most definitely directed the shit out of. I don’t think I’ve seen this much directing since, well, Sarazanmai, but “Ikuhara amounts of directing” is pretty much the idea here. And most of the time it even works! The quickly edited, disorienting style gives episode 1 a feeling closer to horror than to a cool swordmen action show, and that really brings out the best in the material, which is grotesque splatter bordering on the comical - It’s somehow a better Junji Ito anime than the actual Junji Ito anime. I think it tries too hard in a few places, but at least it does try.

But then I watched the second episode and that one’s a fairly conventional splatter-comedy swordin’ anime. I am not at all pleased with this development. The third episode was better again and seemed to split the difference between 1 and 2, even if it mostly uses the tricky editing to save on effort in the action –  I would much prefer actually readable fights and the wacky mannerisms in the more psychological stuff, thank you very much. Based on episode 1 I thought we might have something special here, but as of episode 3 I’d already merely call it pretty decent. I guess I’ll still stick with it but man, that’s a real bummer.

No Guns Life

No Guns Life is a neo-noir thriller about a guy who has a gun for a head. That’s fuckin rad and exactly the kind of silliness I am totally down for. He also has a gun for a hand, and there’s also some battle nun’s who carry revolvers with two cylinders, so in short I think the title is false advertising. This sounds very wacky (and it is), but it also takes its noir very seriously, down to details more wannabe neo-noirs tend to neglect (like being set right after a big war). The look and feel is pretty excellent, with sharp design and high-contrast artwork, and the music goes all in on the moody saxophone as you’d expect. And there’s some really adorable “look mom, I’m writing” stuff about how Man With Gun For A Head really “needs someone to pull his trigger” and so on (which is, as the astute reader might remember, at the back of his head). It feels like a throwback but then I can’t really think of many 80s/90s shows like this, so it’s actually more like the sort of faux-retro idea Trigger/Imaishi would come up with on a lark. Trigger/Imaishi would, of course, make a far worse anime out of it, so it’s all good. Well, it has some pacing problems and as always it’s a fine line between amusingly camp and not so amusingly camp anymore, but No Guns Life seems to have enough real qualities that it can probably stand on its own even when its conceptual gimmick eventually doesn’t suffice anymore. I give it a two gun’s up.

Hoshiai no Sora / Stars Align

And finally, here’s an anime about middle schooler softboys playing a tennis just as soft as themselves, while being henpecked by the elites on the girl’s team. This is not an “actual” sports anime though: for starters, it’s not based on some shounen manga and is an anime original with quite some staff pedigree instead. It’s also more of a character drama that already goes to some surprisingly real places by the end of episode 1, reminiscent of the recent and quite good Run with the Wind. Furthermore, it looks delicious, with minimalist but distinctive and varied character designs and animation that’s both extremely detailed for a TV anime and also not trying to shove that fact into your face with flashy stunt cuts. In short, this show seems very simple at first glance but every aspect of it just oozes quality. If nothing else, it’s already worth watching just for the excellent ending sequence where the characters show off their “best” dance moves and the chunky student council president dunks on everyone. This one caught me by surprise and it’s an easy pick for most promising show of the season.

[osakaso5]

Momo King Pudding Rabbit Chat Part 5: Love Towards Pudding, Towards Your Partner

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Tsumugi: Momo-san, good work! Have you also received the Ichiban Kuji merchandise samples? 

Momo: Maneko-chan, good work--!! 

Momo: We have--! I'm looking at all sorts of stuff with Yuki and Okarin! (*´ω`*)+。

Tsumugi: That's good..! They're all very cute, aren't they. 

Momo: They're super cute!! The lying down King Pudding plushie is perfect for Yuki!!! 

Momo: I'll send you a pic of him  already about to fall asleep with it right now (∩´ ∀`)∩

Tsumugi: Isn't he fast asleep  here..!? 

Momo: Not just yet, Maneko-chan... Because if you talk to him, he'll still respond with a "What?" after 3 seconds, lolol

Tsumugi: You may be the only person who can tell the difference! lol

Momo: Yuki opens his mouth a little when he's completely asleep~! The fact that it's shut is a sign that he's still awake, lolol

Momo: Ah, Okarin woke him up so he won't fall asleep on our agency's sofa, lol Yuki's really hard to wake up, but he does it pretty fast whenever Okarin wakes him up (;´・ω・)

Tsumugi: Okazaki-san is amazing..! 

Momo: He's real stubborn~ \(^o^)ノ

Choices/outcomes:

1. I want to know his secret to being so strong...

Momo: You must train your heart to stay strong even when faced with a workload, Maneko-kun... Just kidding, you should try asking Okarin! You might learn something from him, lol

2. I'm glad Yuki-san seems to like the plushie!

Momo: I get the feeling it'll start tagging along for our car rides~!

Since Yuki tends to stick close to the things he likes (*´ω`*)

3. You should try how the plushie feels, too!

Momo: I just touched it and it was really doughy!!

But because Yuki said it feels like my cheeks, I have mixed feelings about it, lolol

Momo: I've been thinking, don't you think King Pudding sort of resembles Yuki..? 

Tsumugi: I think I know what you mean..! The dripping caramel on his face is a bit like Yuki-san's beauty mark! 

Momo: I know, right!? What should I do, I'm about to explode from my affection for him... 

Momo: Maybe I should learn about King Pudding from Tamaki and start collecting the merch... 

Tsumugi: I think Tamaki-san would like that! 

Momo: I just looked up some stuff about King Pudding, and apparently they're releasing a mobile puzzle game based on him! \(^o^)ノ

Tsumugi: I hadn't heard of that..! I wonder if Tamaki-san knows? 

Momo: I'm sure he does! Me and Tamaki are gaming buddies, so we'll probably have fun with it (*´艸`*)☆彡

Momo: Yuki doesn't play those kind of games, after all >< But he'd probably like a game where you make pudding, lolol

Tsumugi: That would be adorable! I want to collect eggs and milk to make all sorts of King Puddings... 

Momo: The puddings in my colors or Yuki's colors look poisonous, so I'd at least like to  make a cute one, lolol

Tsumugi: The two colors are meant to mesh together, after all! 

Momo: That's true~! Well, I still think Yuki's going to treat this pudding well! (*'ω'*)

Tsumugi: I see! 

Momo: Yuki's gone from sleeping on the sofa to snoozing at the desk, and he's got our King Pudding costume plushies in this hand (・´3`・)+

Momo: I can feel his love for the pudding and me ☆彡

Momo: He just asked if we should put them up in the toilet which was a shock, though lololol

Tsumugi: He should treat them better than that! lol

Momo: When I see Yuki all defenseless like this, I feel like I have to protect him. Because he's really suffered through a lot. 

Tsumugi: Momo-san... 

Momo: Juust kidding! (●´ω`●)

Translator’s notes..? 

next up: iori’s sweets chats! 

[noodleswithsoba-blog]

A Silver Whirlwind Chapter 3: Midnight Eyes and Starry Eyes.

The S.S Kengan, a luxury liner! A massive palace for the war-weary fighters of the Kengan Annihilation tournament. But, for young Ichiban Tokita, a place for relaxation. Chiba was proud of his young protege. Yoshiro was practically aglow with joy. Yet…

Ichiban had never seen so many fancy things all in one place. He was quietly shocked, hovering near his master's side and looking out at all the people in fancy suits and ties and pretty dresses that he didn't get. He was wearing one of those suits and hated how much it constricted his movement. It was sharp and white, but he didn't like it. Why were the dresses so skimpy? Why was everyone treating this like it was normal?! The room was MASSIVE. He'd never seen the crystal chandeliers or the spread of food from all over the world. He didn't feel hungry at all.

"Oh? I see you're a little shell-shocked, don't worry!" Yoshiro dismissed, "Just let it all flow,"

"Flow?" Ichiban asked, "Like… my style?"

"If you'd like to think of it like that," Chiba commented, "Just follow my lead," Ichiban nodded, seeing so many things he'd never would if he stayed with Ohma. Either that or he would just not be as strong as he was now. Chiba noticed his student's discomfort and tapped him on the shoulder.

Ichiban dropped into his stance, "Whoa! It's just me, Ichiban, calm down," Chiba soothed, "How about you go outside and get some fresh air?" he suggested. Ichiban nodded and left the overly-opulent room, going out to the balmy veranda with a sigh of relief. He sighed and looked out at the faded purple robe of the sea.

Then, he saw a girl around his age, wearing one of those dresses but with odd leg-wraps on her legs, her long black hair was a high ponytail and she took off a pair of high heels. She looked at him with startling black and white eyes. Ichiban blinked mutely, he'd never seen someone like her. Someone with those oddly haunting eyes. She was sizing him up and he was sizing her up, his eyes inexorably pinned on hers. She ditched the heels.

"Fwahhh…! It's so good to be out of there!" she commented with a bright smile, making Ichiban's heart go BOOM. The eyes were on him again and he felt something burn up his cheeks.

"Yeah…" Ichiban mumbled, "You're tired of it too, right?"

The girl nodded, stepping closer and peering into Ichiban's eyes. She smiled and Ichiban looked down at his formal shoes in embarrassment. He remembered feeling those eyes on him before… a few months ago.

"Aw! You're blushing! What, have you never seen a girl before?" she taunted a little.

"Well… uhm…" Ichiban's articulation was dying, his master's lessons died in his mind, "I'm sorry for staring! I'll… I'll just… g-go," he stammered. The girl tilted her head to the side, the long swath of hair swinging a little like a hypnotist's charm.

"Back into the breach, huh?" she asked.

"W-well… no. I… just don't want to keep my master waiting! Yeah, yeah… that's it!" Ichiban exclaimed, "That an' I… I uh… have to…"

He was searching for an excuse to get out of this. He'd never seen such a pretty girl before. Of course, Ichiban had no idea who she was connected to. Not many went far in the underworld without hearing the name of Kure. Ichiban was one of the lucky few who didn't. Yet, someone was watching them. Ichiban couldn't shake that feeling but the girl took his wrist into her deceptively strong hand and led him away. He didn't even know her name.

"Okay! We're alone!" she exclaimed.

"Is… that a good thing?" Ichiban asked. The girl smiled and winked at him. She sat down on one of the deck chairs and Ichiban couldn't help but feel tense. She looked up at him with her white and black eyes, letting her hair loose.

"Depends. If I was an assassin going after the new challenger, I'd wait until they were alone," she said, "Besides, that's low,"

In the shadows, a figure darted out towards Ichiban, "And that… my dear fighter is a newbie assassin," the girl said, feeling the uncertain and undefined aura change into a fierce one and those dull silver eyes flare with starlight, he backhanded the unlucky assassin with a fist, making the guy stumble backward.

"Underestimation is common," the girl stated, "You have to prepare,"

Ichiban snarled, "Listen, Bright Eyes, I don't need the commentary! So shut up! TAIYAH!" he finished the guy off with the Steel Claw. The girl grinned widely up at him.

"I see now…" she breathed, the next two assassins were still amateurs. Ichiban was caught off guard and got nicked by a blade, he thumbed the cut and looked down at his hand. It was stained a little red.

"Heh, you got me!" he exclaimed, "But now I got you!" He rammed his knee into the assassin's gut, the second one smashing his fist into Ichiban's face. He stumbled back and the two assassins ganged up on him. He slid between them, acting woozy before slamming their heads together while ducking. He popped back up, "I did it! Hell yeah!" he squealed, pumping his fists in excitement. The girl smiled.

Ichiban's eyes dulled, "Man… Did I knock 'em out? Aw! But I wanted to try out my improved Steel Claw!" he sighed, "Dammit…" The girl was a little surprised about how normal he sounded when he just snapped at her earlier. Then it hit her… This was the boy she saw with the oddly undefined aura, she didn't exactly pay him any attention… but now? He was getting her full attention. Something about him screamed that he was strong, other than his oddly ever-changing aura and fighting style. His overly-long nails were a testament to the level of dedication he had.

The girl shook, shooting up and hugging him, catching the poor boy unawares and they landed on the deck, "I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!" she squealed, "Give me my children! No, no, marry me! Then let me have your children!"

"Uhm… sure!" Ichiban exclaimed. He was so confused. One second the girl was staring at him and the next she pinned him?! What the hell was happening?! The girl kissed him passionately, pulling away at just the right moment to stare into his pretty silver eyes.

"My name's Karla Kure… It's nice to meet you," she sighed, kissing him again, "You're so powerful…"

"Uhm… great? I'm… Ichiban… T-Tokita," he mumbled.

"Ichiban… cute…" she sighed, "Such a cute name…"

"Uhm… can ya get off me?" Ichiban whined a little, trying to wiggle out of Karla's hold.

"No… I don't wanna leave my love…" she sighed, "I just met my soulmate…"

Ichiban wiggled and squirmed, being vice-gripped by the cute girl with those strange eyes. He had to break free, so the only way he could was… doing the mouth thing that she did to him. She was surprised, but leaned into it, with Ichiban rising and setting her down, running away with his fear on overdrive.

'Gotta find somebody! Master Chiba! Mister Yoshiro Yoshitake?! SOMEBODY WHO I KNOW!' he thought, still running until he slammed into his cabin door, yanking it open and shutting it tightly, shuddering. 'What… was that? Why did I… like that?' he thought.

In the morning, Lihito noticed the little Tokita eating alone with his eyes darting around. He sighed and sat down next to the poor kid. Ichiban jumped and almost beaned the superhuman on the head with his tray.

"Whoa! Calm down, Lil' Man! It's me! It's Lithito!" the man yelped, the kid blinked and smiled.

"Oh! Lithito! S-sorry… for a second there I thought you were… her," Ichiban determined. Lithito's eyes widened at the mention of a her, 'Did he run into that Rino chick? Or maybe one of those creepy-ass Kure Family members?' the man thought, seeing that Ichiban's food was annihilated when he swung his tray in a desperate attack.

"Wow, the pressure's already setting in…" Lithito sighed.

"No, you don't get it! Last night, I met this girl, right? And one second I'm fighting assassins, and the next she's on me and did some sorta weird mouth thing that made my pants feel weird and my cheeks got all hot an' stuff!"

Lihito snickered, "Go on," he said.

"And she was CUTE and I don't know what to do and her eyes were weird but also hot in a cool way and she was talking about babies and marriage and I agreed because I was scared!" Ichiban fretted, "Now I gotta worry about fighting on top of that little chestnut!"

Lihito grew serious, "Did she have white and black eyes?" he asked.

"Huhn? What's that got to do with anything?" Ichiban wondered, "She… well… she…"

"Answer the question," Lihito said flatly, "Because I don't wanna see your body turn into… kid, don't turn around, don't even think about moving,"

Ichiban felt someone's arms lock around him, "Good morning, Ichi! Sleep well?" Karla asked cheerily, leaning over him to stare right into those silver eyes of his. Ichiban looked impassive, but inside he was the epitome of freaking out.

This couldn't get any worse, Karla swung around and plopped herself on his lap, cuddling up with her new boyfriend, "Hmmm? What were you two talking about?" she asked.

"Uhm… GUY THINGS! Lithito, you saw that action movie on TV last night?!" Ichiban snapped, panicking.

"Oh yeah! That movie was awesome!" Lithito played along, the two men were nervous, and Karla could tell, she was an assassin after all. She pouted a little.

"You were talking about me, weren't you? Don't worry! I haven't told my grandfather about us yet…" she assured her reluctant boyfriend. Ichiban flinched and Lihito started to whistle idly.

"Gr-Grand… father?" he mumbled, "Why… why did she… have to… uuuurrrrhhhhhh…" Ichiban laid his head on the table, he was trying to keep a low profile, but of course his acquaintance Lihito and One-Sided Girlfriend Karla had to shoot that down.

"Ichiban!" a familiar voice snapped him out of his slump, seeing the familiar eyes of Kazuo Yamashita and seeing the middle-aged man waving to him. The silver-eyed and silver-haired boy sighed in relief at seeing the timid man run up to him with his former master Ohma and Miss Akiyama in tow.

Ohma looked at his former student, brown eyes scanning him, 'Hm. He's grown… but… that girl's… making him uncomfortable.' he thought.

"Hey you, you're making him uncomfortable," Ohma warned.

"By the way… who is that girl, Lihito?" Kazuo wondered Lihito swallowed his food as Karla tried to feed Ichiban but he was resisting.

"She's part of the Kure Family… a whole dynasty of assassins," Lihito said.

"Kure Family?" Ohma and Kazuo asked in unison.

Karla smiled, finally getting Ichiban to open up, "See? Not so bad now, is it?" she asked.

"Mmmm…." Ichiban groaned, looking at the others, the plea for help was clear in his eyes. Ohma smirked a little bit.

"Already finding trouble I see. You leave me for a month or two, pick up a new master and employment at Lihito's old position and now have a girl hanging off you?" Ohma taunted a little bit, ribbing his old student as Karla growled, shoving closer to Ichiban.

"Eeeehhhh…. Assassin? Family? Family of… assassins?!" Kazuo gasped, "That means… oh, poor Ichiban… he must've fallen into the wrong crowd!"

Karla gritted her teeth and buried her face into Ichiban's chest. He wanted to leave and just try to never speak to her again, throw himself off the ship and swim to a deserted island where it's just him and a ball he named Wilson.

"Uhm… Karla? Can I… get up?" Ichiban asked.

"Is it important?" she wondered.

"Yeah," Ichiban stated, Karla let go, kissing him on the cheek.

"Come right back, okay?" she instructed, Ichiban shakily nodded and booked it for the bathroom, going into a stall. He slammed it shut and started to breathe heavily. Why was he panicking? Was it because she strong-armed him into being with her?

Whatever happened to taking it slow? Meanwhile, Karla sighed. Maybe she was too forward with what she wanted? She was pent up due to her Great Grandfather being her most ardent 'Guy Repellent' Plus Ichiban was strong, and around her age, too. Being only a year apart.

So here they were. Karla Kure trying to think of ways to win Ichiban's heart the real way and Ichiban trying not to have a total mental breakdown.

Kazuo decided to talk with the young man to try and assuage his worries, while Karla just got up and left, embarrassed, and scared that her pent-up affections drove Ichiban off. The small, timid man scooched into the bathroom, finding that his fighter's former student had locked himself in the stall.

He rapped his knuckles on the door and he heard Ichiban's breath hitch, "Ichiban, it's alright, she's gone now," Kazuo assured.

"Why?" Ichiban asked.

"Because she feels bad," Kazuo reasoned. Ichiban opened the door and Kazuo smiled. He looked haggard and tired when he first saw him once they boarded the S.S Kengan after the preliminaries last night. It'd only been a few months and a few days since he last saw the silver-haired young man.

"See? It's okay now, do you have any questions?" he wondered.

"What's… marriage?" Ichiban wondered, "Karla said that she wanted to marry me… and… have my kids?"

"Oh! Oh… w-well, which one would you like to hear about f-first?" Kazuo wondered.

"Marriage," Ichiban stated, "It sounds nice, is it nice?"

"Well, yes! When you see that girl of your dreams walk down that aisle and grab your hands and go through the speech and the vows and all of that… you two stay together forever…" Kazuo muttered that last part reminded him of how his wife up and left after his son shut himself away.

"Forever?" Ichiban asked, Kazuo nodded with a fond smile and reached up to ruffle the boy's mop of silver hair.

"Forever, Ichiban. It's important that you choose someone you can be happy with," Kazuo said, "Let's go ahead and talk about what you like in a woman, that way if anything matches up with Karla you can be a little happier about it,"

"Okay…" Ichiban sighed, "They gotta be strong. They… they gotta understand that I'm not the best man in the world, but I'll try. They gotta understand that every blow I take and every hit I deal is for them and whoever else I'm attached to,"

"Okay, okay, that's good, any others?" Kazuo wondered.

"She's… gotta be proud to… be with me. The only thing I'm good at is fighting… and I know I can't do much else. I can't even READ but… If they want me to do anything I can do in my power to help them? I'd be there no matter what," Ichiban sadly smiled, "I'd be there to nurse 'em back to health, I'd be there when they're scared… I'd never abandon her…"

For the first time, Kazuo saw Ichiban cry. He patted Ichiban on the shoulder, this time they were outside, somewhere in private so he could air his grievances in peace.

"I'd protect her. I'd take care of her. No matter what. I'd even die for her! As long as she's happy… I'd do anything," Ichiban sniffled. Kazuo smiled.

"There… Do you feel better?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks, Kazuo Yamashita," Ichiban said, walking off to go find Karla to talk to her. Kazuo smiled, seeing the young man start to walk away. Kazuo smiled a little bit wider, Karla and Ichiban were young, and it was natural that a boy like Ichiban being raised on the streets and just now forging a path through romance to be horribly in over his head.

Karla felt bad for forcing herself on Ichiban. She was in her room, burying her face into her pillows and screeching into them while kicking her feet in frustration. Ichiban was EVERYTHING she liked in a boy. Quiet, Good-Looking, Cutely Unaware of how pure he is.

Her other relatives had never seen her that frustrated before, but many of them knew to stay out of her way when she was. She grabbed her favorite book and went outside to think. She hated herself sometimes, but when she found somewhere quiet to read, she heard something.

"HWAH! HAIYAH! DO-YAH!"

Someone was training out his frustrations. Someone familiar and cutely familiar too. She saw him teetering and tottering into a fierce barrage of punches, flowing into a slashing movement with his hands. She did notice that he looked angry. His eyes were shining in the light and his hair was messy. Almost like he was nervous, he'd play with his hair or glance around. Yet this Ichiban was more than just frustrated.

He fell to the deck, panting and gasping, "Not… Good enough yet…" Karla looked over her book at him as he got up and walked over, he was muttering.

"Gr-Raa-Sss-Hooper?" he muttered, "No, no… that's… Grrr-aasssss-hoooppperrr?"

"Bi. Ant-Toon? Ch-che-check? Hove?" Ichiban guessed. Karla saw him sit down cross-legged on the deck next to her.

"You can't read?" she asked.

"I try," Ichiban stated, "Just uhm… lemme try again,"

Karla smiled a little bit, "If you don't get it, I can help," she said.

"No no, I got it this time… Anton… Checkhove! Graaaaassssssshhhhhhoooooppppperrrr?" Ichiban was still struggling, but wouldn't admit it.

"You have one part right," she stated.

"Ugh! It's not like fighting! But I know I won't have someone around to read everything to me! Grrraaah! I'm so frustrated I might just hunt down an assassin and beat the shit outta him!" Ichiban roared, making Karla laugh aloud.

"What's so funny?" Ichiban asked.

"It's cute how angry you get! It's like a pufferfish! You puff out your chest and get all red-faced!" she chuckled, making Ichiban furiously blush.

"Well I'm not the one that got full-speed tackled by the prettiest girl I've ever seen," Ichiban taunted, smirking a little.

"Touche," Karla admitted.

"What's that mean?" Ichiban asked, tilting his head to the side.

"It means you made a fair point," she explained, "What're you here for, anyway?" she wondered.

"I… just wanted… well… uhm… you know how to read and all that… and… well… can you… read to me?" Ichiban asked, "I'm okay with it if you don't want to, but if I hear it maybe I'll get better at reading it?"

Karla grinned and started from the beginning, watching Ichiban slowly start to slide closer to her to look over her shoulder at the words, sounding them out quietly next to her. She continued,

Ichiban was quietly listening and getting better, she noticed something about him that she never saw long on the younger members of the family. It was that wonder-struck, innocent look that just screamed that he was liking what he was doing.

He was figuring it out, and he was so close she could smell the odd smell of sweat and the salty air from the sea. The way his eyes seemed to follow and dance across the page, slowly, like a waltz.

She didn't notice that his arm was resting around her, leaning against her because he was getting sleepy. Then, she heard a quiet sigh and he… was out like a light. She looked around hurriedly for any of her relatives, she couldn't be SEEN with him! This would be blown out of proportion and pretty much bombed from the start by her Great Grandfather!

She shoved him up, 'Okay… time to put in all those years of training to work!' she tried to pick him up, "Oof! Damn, what are they feeding you? You're solid mus-"

"Mm? No… No, I don't think… that's flammable, sir…" Ichiban mumbled in his sleep, "Nevermind… I got a… date…"

Karla started to drag him, "Come… on! Come on! If any of the others see me with him, it's game over! I don't wanna scare him with… that… but I gotta get him to his-" she was cut off by seeing a man with a shaggy bob-cut and the same white and black eyes with a serious face all the time.

'Shit! It's Hollis! Okay, just uh…' Karla asked, shoving her comatose friend behind a pillar just as Hollis was rounding the corner. He saw her and she smiled.

"Oh! Hollis, what a nice surprise!" she exclaimed.

"I know you're hiding something, I recorded the whole thing," he stated, "Need some help?"

Karla was shocked, but Ichiban's sleeping body fell to the floor, "And… then… Karla… an' I… had THREE babies… one… on their… own and twins…" he mumbled in his sleep.

"You like him, don't you? I won't tell Grandfather, but… one day you'll have to tell him," Hollis stated.

"Eh?! Well… as long as HE doesn't know… I think we'll be okay, I'm fine with Grandfather knowing. Ichi's not that bad, he may be a little too innocent but it's cute," Karla admitted, "Okay! I got his arms, you got his legs," she declared.

"Or, I could just take him and you can mind your own business," Hollis reasoned, but Karla remained stalwart.

"You don't even know where his room is!" Karla snapped.

"So? I know YOU do," Hollis stated.

"What?! Nooooo…" Karla scoffed, "I don't watch him sleep!"

"You watch him shower, you leave at the same time every night," Hollis stated, "Face it, you're obsessed,"

Karla blushed, "Well it's not my fault he's hot!" she muttered. Hollis smirked a tiny bit but still helped her carry him back to his room. It's the least he could do. She was happy with Ichiban despite what he was. Hollis sighed and watched as Karla tucked Ichiban in, pressing a kiss to his forehead. The pair of Kure walked out of there, but Karla was reluctant to leave. He was just overwhelmed, but she liked how attentive he was, how he'd listen.

"Hollis? Who is he? Or… was he?" Karla asked Hollis sighed.

"Karla, you'll know soon enough, Grandfather does his best to shelter you but… this time you'll see what he is," Hollis determined, "Old stories are around for a reason, they all have some truth to them,"

Ichiban woke up a little woozy, but he was fine. He stretched and noticed it was around lunchtime now. He got excited and ran over to the restaurant, hoping they still had those Tempura Sushi rolls he liked. He ran by a man in classic Japanese clothes, he was old and had the eyes of the Kure. They made eye contact and Ichiban bolted by. He skidded in and grinned, seeing that Lihito had saved him some and he was sitting with a massive muscular wall of a man with shaven hair and a friendly smile.

"Lihito!" Ichiban greeted, sitting down and grinning. The blond smiled and leaned forward on his hands.

"Sooo… you and that Kure girl, huh?" he asked.

"Ooh! A scandal!" The other man supplied, "C'mon kiddo! Tell us!"

"Uhm… what's your name?" Ichiban asked.

"Oh, sorry 'bout that! I'm Naoya Okubo! Lihito here told me you can copy stuff and combine it all in a unique style!" Okubo exclaimed.

"It's not that simple, but that's layman's terms…" Ichiban said, "Still, Karla and I… well…" he mumbled, his face going beet red.

"Huh?! Already?!" Okubo gasped.

"What?! No! No no no!" Ichiban exclaimed, "Nothing like that! It's just… she's… helping me learn how to read and I fell asleep…" he mumbled. Okubo nodded and Lihito chuckled.

"Hope you had a good sleep then!" the MMA fighter laughed, "Man, that's so lucky, cuddling with a cute woman or girl!"

Lihito sighed, "Man, you don't get it, Ichiban here is playing with fire…"

Okubo blinked, "What's so wrong with the Kure? I mean, yeah, they're assassins, but I don't see why that's the problem! Ichiban's got a cute girl hanging around him!" he laughed a little but saw Ichiban shuffle nervously.

"It's not that I'm nervous about them, what I'm nervous about is what they'll do to him," Lihito sighed, "I don't want such a potentially great fighter being put six feet under," Okubo and Lihito glanced at Ichiban innocently eating his Tempura Rolls, oblivious to their conversation. They didn't see Karla at least close by.

"Oh! Karla! Hey!" Ichiban perked up with a bright smile, waving. Lihito did NOT want a repeat of this morning, so he got ready to bounce. Seeing her look around and then come over to… sit next to him?

"I'm glad you're awake, Ichiban," she said.

"Oh yeah! Sorry about that, it's just… you kinda lulled me to sleep," Ichiban chuckled a little at her expression, "Here, have a tempura roll, they're like tempura but sushi,"

'HUH?! What the- how the- is she… is she respecting Ichi's boundaries?!' Lithito thought, watching the pair talk to each other like friends.

"So… you're a competitor, huh?" Okubo interrupted,

"Oh yeah, I am. Yoshitake Real Estate's Chimera," Ichiban stated with a grin, "I'm excited to fight some strong guys!" he declared excitedly. Okubo nodded and Lihito's grin split his face.

"So we might face each other in the ring if you get far enough! Razor's Edge Vs. Steel Claw, huh?" Lihito wondered. Ichiban nodded, swallowing his food and grinning even wider.

"Too bad we're competitors, I'd challenge you, but then… we're friends so…" Ichiban mumbled, "I don't wanna fight people I like,"

Okubo and Lithito didn't like that Ichiban was still a kid. The second youngest fighter, Cosmo Imai, had some experience under his belt. Ichiban was fresh, new, and so pure-hearted. He was currently listening to Karla reading again and following along, making the older fighters internally squeal at how cute it was.

"Okay, try and read the title again, Ichiban," Karla instructed. He nodded.

"Anton… Chekhocks… The… Grass… Hopper?" he slowly guessed, Karla grinned.

"See? Just one more word, okay?" she assured him, "I brought a lot of books, so you'll be able to read in no time!"

"Okay!" Ichiban exclaimed, "I'll try my best!"

That evening, Karla put her book away, sighing, and looking in the mirror. She had slight bags under her eyes from watching Ichiban's evening routine. He went to his room at seven, showered at seven-thirty, then was out like a light at about eight o'clock. But for some reason, she liked watching him. There was something about him that was so innocent and pure-hearted that also lends credence to his power. His ability to copy other's techniques but blend them into a completely new style was interesting and a good reason why his Aura was ever-changing.

She heard a knock at her door and she went to the door to answer it, seeing Hollis standing there, as serious as ever.

"Hollis? What's up?" she asked.

"Grandfather wants to speak with you," he said and Karla's heart dropped to her stomach. Hollis sighed and plunked his hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe it won't be as bad as you think, your little friend DID run past him at lunchtime today, he's just wondering what he is to you because he listened to the recording I did and he's not exactly angry, just curious," Hollis stated, squeezing his little relative's shoulder in assurance.

Erioh Kure was old. Ninety-three and nowhere near his prime anymore, he enjoyed taking things slow, Kengan matches, and his family's honor was paramount. So when he saw that silver-haired boy rush past him earlier… His aura felt familiar. It didn't fill Erioh with dread or anything of the sort. It just made him feel oddly nostalgic for the last time he felt it… which was years and years ago, a year after his precious Karla was born.

Then he spotted the boy and Karla reading together, and asked his other relatives if they knew about this, to which Hollis produced a recording of them hanging out. Karla and the boy… this… Ichiban fellow were friends.

He heard the door open and Karla stepped in with Hollis with her, "Grandfather," she said.

"Ah, come in, Karla," Erioh stated, a warm smile spread on his wizened face, she stood across from him and he smiled wider.

"Quite the busy one aren't you?" he asked.

"Hm?" Karla wondered.

"With that Ichiban boy, teaching him to read, eating with him, you two are close, right?" Erioh asked.

"Please don't kill him," Karla sighed.

Erioh blinked, "Oh, no… no… I have no reason to yet," he said. 'If that boy ever hurts my Karla I swear I'll hunt him down to the ENDS OF THE EARTH!' he thought, the air around him warping and shuddering as his anger spiked.

"Pahahaha! Really? Wow, old man! Karla gets her first boy toy an' already you wanna break his neck?!" a rough, gravelly voice cackled as a tall man with spiky blonde hair and the same dark eyes as the others came in, a wide smile plastered on his face.

"Raian, do you know anything about him other than what Karla knows?" Erioh asked.

"Psh, he's another competitor for Yoshitake, some Ichiban Tokita kid… he looks like that other clan from those stories you used to yap about," Raian scoffed, "But, it's HILARIOUS! Karla's got a crush on some scrawny puke!"

"Raian! That's quite enough!" Erioh snapped, "Is this true, Karla?" he asked.

"Promise me you won't kill him first!" Karla demanded, "Please, just… hear him out and meet with him," she pleaded.

"Fine, he'll be left alone for now, if he hurts you… you'll be the one to end him," Erioh stated, "Such is the way of the Kure Family. Such is the way of all things,"

Karla nodded, feeling terrible. If he wasn't impressed by Ichiban… she'd never see him again.

"Karla… you know I'm willing to meet with him to make sure he's got no ill will or intentions towards you, even if his family copied techniques and styles from other families and is a disgrace to martial arts…" Erioh sighed, still taking shots at the boy he barely even knows.

"Bring him by tomorrow, he trusts you," he determined and Karla brightened, hugging her Great Grandfather, hearing him chuckle a little bit.

"Easy now, dear Karla, these bones aren't what they used to be!" he joked. Karla went out of the room, and Erioh turned back to ponder what he saw. 'Silver hair…' he thought, 'If he is what I think he is… he shouldn't be too much of a danger.'

Raian snickered, "Nervous, old man? You looked like you've heard a ghost!" he exclaimed. Erioh hummed a little, looking out at the night sky.

'Why have you returned now, Haiironome?'