Six minutes earlier.
After finishing at 'ぼんべる' Takoyaki. Hoang and Takahashi Isao were heading west toward Senriyama Station.
"Ahh... Takoyaki is humanity's salvation. I'm stuffed!"
Hoang rubbed his belly as he walked, his steps relaxed through the nighttime streets still steeped in the smell of fried batter and that signature sweet-savory sauce. After days cooped up in the research room with dry Kanji texts, and then exhausting himself on the baseball field, a hot box of Takoyaki was the most luxurious reward.
"See? Told you I'd treat you to a real feast. You get me now?"
Takahashi Isao walked beside him, the baseball bat slung backward over his shoulder, his glove dangling and swaying. He was grinning ear to ear, his sly eyes making no secret of his ulterior motive.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You keep saying it. But you offered to treat me, so no holding it over my head!"
"Of course I offered! But hey... when are you gonna introduce me to your little sister? Hehe."
Hoang paused mid-step and laughed. So that was it. This guy was really taking his shot.
"Leave her alone, man. She's got enough on her plate with her studies." Hoang shot him a sidelong glare. "And you should be studying too. Since when are you Japanese guys this forward?"
"Mind your own business! As long as I've got a 'brother-in-law' like you vouching for me, I'm sure I'll score major points with An Nhi. I swear!"
Isao said it straight out, his eyes shining like a kid about to get a present. Ever since he'd accidentally seen a photo of Tran An Nhi—Hoang's younger sister, studying for her Master's at the prestigious Kyoto University—Isao had resolved to become a "Vietnamese son-in-law." He'd only seen her on a phone screen, but Isao believed in fate.
These siblings... they were something else.
As for why Tran Nhat Hoang didn't choose Todai or Kyodai like his sister? Simple: Hoang preferred the gritty, warmhearted vibe of Osaka.
"Help... someone help me...!"
A scream ripped through the night.
A shrill, trembling, broken sound, echoing from deep within the alley. Hoang stopped dead, his pupils contracting. It wasn't a premonition or a hallucination. He and Isao were both slowly realizing: why was a usually bustling street—still full of ambient noise—now eerily, deathly silent? Except for that one sound.
Someone was in danger. A girl.
"Hey, Isao-kun, you hear something?"
"I think... over there! Just past that intersection! Come on!"
Without waiting for an answer, they both bolted. Sneakers pounded the pavement, ragged breaths mingling with the wind screaming past their ears. They tracked the lingering echo of the cry for help.
At the intersection near the Takoyaki shop they'd just left, under the sickly yellow glow of a flickering streetlamp, dark figures moved with brutal intent.
One.
Two.
No. Three.
A girl lay curled up on the cold ground, a hulking man stomping repeatedly on her head. Another man stood with his arms crossed, watching with cold eyes as if enjoying a cheap play.
"What... what the hell is this..." Isao froze, his shoulders trembling as he witnessed real-life violence for the first time. He fumbled for his phone, hands shaking so badly he nearly dropped it.
"Isao! Call the police! Now!"
"I know! I know! I'm calling!"
Hoang's voice was a sharp whisper, but his eyes had turned uncharacteristically icy. Without a second's hesitation, he reached into his jacket pocket.
A baseball.
It was an old ball he'd meant to keep as a souvenir, but now it was his only weapon. Hoang's fingers dug into the leather seams.
Distance: 20 meters.
Wind through the alley: Light.
Visibility: Poor.
Hoang was drenched in sweat. If he missed, that girl could die under the next stomp.
He didn't need to aim for long. Every ounce of throwing technique he'd drilled over the past year surged into his right arm. He twisted, planted his foot, and let it fly.
A flash of pink light flickered in the blink of an eye.
WHOOOOSH!
The ball screamed, tearing through the night with the velocity of a Shinkansen train. It carried all the fury and strength of a bookworm fresh off the practice field.
CRACK!
A dry, heavy impact resounded. The throw was millimeter-perfect, slamming directly into the jaw of the man assaulting the girl. He didn't even have time to grunt. His hulking frame toppled backward, crashing to the ground like a rotten tree trunk.
Hoang stepped forward, his breathing steadying, but his gaze was ice-cold.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Let her go, now!"
His voice rang out, no longer that of the mild-mannered exchange student eating Takoyaki moments ago, but of someone ready to crush anything in his path.
---
Back to the present...
"Where the hell did these punks come from?!"
"How'd they even get in here? Don't tell me... don't tell me that hag ALONE's power is glitching out?!"
The man in black gnashed his teeth, his face twisted with frustration. His perfect kidnapping plan had been ruined by two random kids. He stood rooted to the spot, his feet inexplicably trembling. He'd been in the hunting business for years, yet here, in front of a bookworm who'd just thrown a ball at Shinkansen speed, he was stammering like an intern on his first day.
He glanced at his partner lying unconscious on the ground. His hand shook slightly, his eyes a mess of confusion and terror.
"Help! Please, help me!"
Minamoto Misaki snapped back to her senses. She scrambled to her feet, eyes glistening with hope, breath ragged. She dashed toward Hoang and Isao like she'd just spotted Santa Claus in the middle of summer. The fear of those sick men evaporated, replaced by overwhelming relief. A handsome savior and a weird curly-haired guy—she didn't hesitate, throwing herself straight into Hoang's chest and burying her face in his shirt.
"Are... are you okay?" Hoang stammered, heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out. He stood frozen, face flushed bright red at suddenly being embraced by a beautiful girl.
Beside him, Isao's eyes widened as he stared at his friend, inwardly screaming: "Oh my god! Why not me?! Where is the justice?!"
But the romantic atmosphere didn't last long. The night air suddenly turned frigid, the metallic stench thickening in the wind. The man in black had regained some of his vicious composure. He couldn't return empty-handed to him.
"GIVE HER BACK!"
He roared like a madman, clutching the apple in one hand and pulling a gleaming dagger from his coat with the other. His eyes screamed: "I'll slice you all to pieces!"
"He's got a knife! OH CRAP, RUN!"
All three turned tail and ran for their lives. Hoang grabbed Misaki's hand, pulling her along in the chaos. The man had completely lost it now, chasing after them, howling like a vengeful specter in the dark alley.
"Give her back! Give her back, you brats!"
Four figures dashed through the moonlight, sprinting with all their might around every corner. Footsteps hammered against the cobblestone street.
"Give what back? She's... she's mine!" Hoang yelled back over his shoulder, still gripping Misaki's hand, completely oblivious to the fact that the girl running beside him was now blushing furiously at his slip of the tongue.
Their footsteps pounded on toward the endless darkness of the neighborhood. Isao screamed for help, but strangely, the usually crowded streets were utterly deserted tonight. Not a soul in sight.
"Help! Anybody out there?! Did all of Osaka go to bed or what?!"
Only the wind, the whistle of the dagger slicing air, and the frantic heartbeat of those racing against death. They ran toward Senriyama Station. The police box was just ahead.
"Wha... what... what the hell?!"
A choked cry of disbelief. All three had slammed straight into an empty void right in front of the Senriyama Police Box.
They couldn't move forward. It was as if an invisible wall blocked their path. That invisible barrier curved in an arc connecting from 'Hankyu Oasis Senriyama' to 'Senriyama Ekimae Dental Clinic,' trapping them with no way out. The only option was to turn back.
They shouted for help right in front of the police box. But no one answered. No officer rushed out to see what was happening. No one, even though the lights inside were on.
"Just what the hell kind of place is this?! Why... why is this happening?!"
Their ragged breaths mingled with the cold of the shadows.
"You brats... you sure can run."
The man in black's voice slammed into their eardrums, thick with the smug satisfaction of a hunter who'd cornered his prey.
The only sounds now were the drip of sweat and the dense killing intent radiating from the blade.
"Damn it! Why can't we go any further?!" Isao muttered, the tip of his baseball bat tapping dryly against the ground.
He stood his ground in front, hands trembling but holding a clumsy sword stance. "Let's just fight! What's there to be scared of? There's only one of him!"
Isao tilted his head, looking at Hoang with an unprecedented firmness in his eyes. "Hoang, I'll hold him off. You get the girl out of here. Remember, you gotta get her to safety for me!"
"No way! We all run together! That guy's completely insane!"
"It's fine... I'll be fine." Isao smiled—a lopsided, gummy grin under the flickering streetlight.
"Don't. There has to be another way."
But the assassin gave them no time for goodbyes. He lunged forward like a toppling domino, channeling all his resentment into the tip of the blade, aimed straight at Misaki and Hoang. His speed was such that it felt like he'd crossed the distance in just a few strides. He was no longer human, just a rabid dog carrying out a final order.
"DIE! GRAAAAAH!"
THUNK!
Hoang instinctively threw up his arm to shield himself, eyes squeezed shut, bracing for the pain. But nothing came. In the murky darkness, he saw a back crumpling to the ground.
Isao had lunged forward.
The blade was buried deep in the curly-haired boy's stomach.
Hoang's pupils shrank. A deathly silence fell. Misaki clamped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide with horror at the blood-soaked scene.
The bastard yanked the knife out as if he'd just gutted an animal, his eyes gleaming with sick pleasure as he watched the crimson blood begin to pool and spread across the cold asphalt.
"Is... Isao? Hey... this isn't funny... get up, man." Hoang's voice trembled violently. He tried to force a strained smile, hoping that curly head would pop back up with another lame joke.
But Isao lay motionless.
The fear inside Hoang was instantly incinerated by a blaze of pure rage. Adrenaline surged through his veins like magma about to erupt.
His face darkened.
Now... what the hell am I supposed to do? Kill this bastard... or just obliterate this whole damn place and be done with it?!
The man charged again, the knife hurtling toward Hoang like a blood-crazed bull. He wanted to slaughter everyone to sate his madness.
Whoosh!
Hoang decisively pivoted, dropping his center of gravity into the stance of an elite pitcher. There was no ball in his hand, no bat—just his bare right palm. The same hand that had endured countless sleepless nights studying Japanese until it ached. The hand that had thrown wild pitches and swung misses. The hand that held all the failures and dreams of five long years. That hand had done so much for him. And now, it could do one more thing: smash that bastard's face in.
"Only the right action can turn fantasy into reality!"
The words rang in his head like a wake-up bell.
Distance: 2 meters.
1 meter.
Point-blank.
Hoang's open hand suddenly clenched into a fist so tight it felt like the bones would shatter.
FWOOOSH!
A burst of pink flame suddenly engulfed his fist, blazing brilliantly like cherry blossom petals falling in a triumphant cascade.
He poured every ounce of fear, rage, hatred, and even his shattered dreams into this single strike.
"GET THE HELLLLLL OUT OF MY WAAAAAAAY!!"
The punch slammed directly into the assassin's face with the force of a handgun at close range.
BOOOOOOM!
The impact echoed as if it had cracked the silent space itself. The man was sent flying backward, tumbling into a row of trash bags left out for collection.
On the dark street near Senriyama Station, the bookworm exchange student was gone. All that remained was a mad "Don Quixote" knight standing there, panting heavily on the razor's edge between reality and legend.
---
"—END OF CHAPTER 1—"