Arrival at Cielo Rojo! The Unmatched Skills of Mei Akamura!

The sun blazed high over Cielo Rojo, its golden rays glinting off the town’s terracotta rooftops, what a nice view it was.

The air vibrated with excitement, the streets alive with vendors hawking their wares and other things. Everything from training weapons to tournament posters. Taizen and Miwa weaved through the crowd, taking a look at everything they could.

“Wow, look at that!” Miwa exclaimed, pointing at a stall displaying ornate martial arts uniforms. “And over there! They have fried squid on a stick!” She tugged at Taizen’s arm, her eyes wide with excitement.

Taizen looked at what Miwa was pointing at. “Oh! I love fried squid!”

They then dashed at the vendor with the intent of buying some fried squid, but then, they stopped before reaching it.

They came to a terrifying realization… they, in fact… had no money.

“Uhhh, hey Miwa.”

“What?”

“You wouldn't happen to have some money with you, would you?”

“You idiot! You dumb, Tin Can moron!” She said as she knocked on his metallic skull. “You really expect someone who was living the way I was to have any money!?”

“Oh… Ohhh yeah!” He laughed awkwardly. “You're right! We're tied! Because I'm also broke!” He laughed out loud while Miwa looked unamused.

After he finished laughing, Taizen’s eyes scanned the towering banners that adorned the streets, each one showcasing fighters from past tournaments, scary people, not gonna lie! But his gaze lingered on one in particular.

He saw a fiery image of Mei Akamura, her intense, vivid pinkish red eyes staring down at him as if daring him to step up.

“Mei Akamura, huh?” Taizen muttered, scratching his chin. “She looks tough.”

Miwa glanced at the banner and crossed her arms. “Tough? She looks terrifying! And not very approachable. Are you really sure about this whole ‘befriending her’ plan? She doesn’t seem like the type to play nice.”

Taizen grinned. “Nah I'd rather see more of her first. Have patience, you're counting the eggs while they're still inside the chicken's ass. Besides, she’s gonna be my friend, she just doesn’t know it yet.”

Miwa then stopped to process the chicken eggs analogy Taizen made, after giving up trying to do so, she rolled her eyes but followed him as he headed toward the tournament grounds.

“Ok Miwa, let's find Mei!” He grinned widely.

“How are you gonna find her, Tin Can?”

“We're gonna ask every single person in this town where she is!”

“What!?”

Taizen laughed. “I'm joking, I'll just detect her Soul Energy.”

“You can do that?” Miwa's eyes lit up with curiosity. “You didn't tell me you could do that.”

“I didn’t? My bad, but now you know!” He grinned. “I saw that she had a crimson sun marking on her forehead, so I assume her Energy feels warm or fiery.”

“Wait, you can feel the traits of Soul Energy? So you can differentiate people based on their Soul Energy alone?” She inquired.

“Yeah, pretty much… Wait, I think I feel it, that Energy is pretty powerful.” Taizen muttered, as his expression got more serious. “Let's go, Miwa!”

“I smell trouble.” She muttered.

“Nah, that's just fried squid.” He replied as they started walking towards the outskirts of the town.

It didn’t take long for them to find Mei. Her presence was impossible to miss, even if Taizen couldn't detect Soul Energy.

In a quiet dojo on the outskirts of town, they spotted her practicing alone. Each strike she delivered echoed through the building.

BAM!

Miwa flinched and gasped quietly.

The sheer force of her punches created shockwaves that shook the wooden walls.

“Whoa…” Taizen whispered, watching her in awe.

Mei’s movements were precise, almost surgical in their execution, deep down, Taizen knew that his own hand-to-hand skills were no match for hers.

Her black hair swayed with each motion, her sun-shaped marking glowing faintly on her forehead. The intensity of her training left both Taizen and Miwa momentarily speechless.

Mei paused, her fiery, piercing gaze locking onto them, causing Miwa to flinch and hide behind Taizen. “What do you want?” Mei asked, her voice sharp and dismissive.

Taizen stepped forward with a grin. “Name’s Taizen, the coward behind me is Miwa. I’m here for the tournament and I heard you’re the strongest around! Thought I’d see what the hype’s all about!”

Mei scoffed, crossing her arms. “If you’re here to gawk, go somewhere else. I don't have time.”

Miwa tugged on Taizen’s sleeve. “See? She’s scary. Let’s just leave her alone.”

But Taizen only laughed. “Scary? Nah, she’s just got a tough exterior. You’ve gotta be that way when you’re the best, right?”

Mei narrowed her eyes. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere, dumbass. Now, if you’re done wasting my time, leave.”

Taizen wasn’t the type to back down. “How about a spar?” he asked, cracking his knuckles, his titanium bones making metallic noises. “I wanna see how I stack up against you.”

Mei raised an eyebrow. “A spar? With you?” She looked him up and down.

She stared at him for quite some time, then looked at his face, unimpressed.

“Yeah, I could kill you in five seconds if I wanted.” She looked away from him. "You don't stack up to me, you crumble."

Miwa started trembling. “Taizen… let's go… leave her alone…” She said gently.

Taizen grinned wider. “Guess there’s only one way to find out if what you say is true.” He ignored Miwa.

For a moment, Mei considered ignoring him. But something about his confidence—no, his sheer stubbornness—made her pause.

She sighed, shaking her head. “Fine. But don’t blame me when you can’t get up afterward.”

Miwa’s jaw dropped. “Taizen, are you insane? She’s gonna kill you!”

“Relax,” Taizen said, waving her off. “It’s just a spar.”

Mei smirked, already taking her stance. “We’ll keep it simple. No fancy techniques—just raw fighting. Skill versus skill. Or more appropriately: Skill versus lack of skill. You won’t even see me coming.”

The two squared off in the center of the dojo, the tension was so strong even I could feel it. Taizen rolled his shoulders, his titanium-enhanced frame giving him a slight edge in confidence. “Alright, let’s do this!”

Mei didn’t say a word. The moment Taizen stepped forward, she moved.

Her speed was unbelievable. In a flash, she was behind him, delivering a sharp kick to his side. The force sent him stumbling, though he managed to stay on his feet.

“You’re fast, sheesh!” Taizen muttered, a grin creeping onto his face. “But don't underestimate me.”

“You're tougher than I expected, but don't get too happy, my expectations were the lowest possible anyway.” She muttered, her voice sharp and her glare fixed on Taizen.

“Having a titanium skeleton has its perks.” He said as he charged at her, throwing a barrage of punches. Mei dodged each one with minimal effort, her movements fluid and calculated. When she countered, her strikes were precise, targeting his weak points with pinpoint accuracy. Mei was making Taizen look like the jobbers he defeated on the way here.

“Is this all you’ve got, titanium boy?” Mei taunted, dodging another of Taizen’s attacks. “Pathetic.”

Taizen gritted his teeth, refusing to back down. He swung a powerful punch, but Mei caught his wrist effortlessly, twisting it before sweeping his legs out from under him, causing him to hit the ground hard, ouch.

Miwa winced. “Taizen, just give up already!”

“‘Taizen, just give up already!’” He mimicked her voice in a mocking tone. “Shut up, goofy!” He sprang back to his feet, determination burning in his eyes. “I gotta at least land a single hit!”

Mei rolled her eyes. “If that's your main goal, it proves just how outclassed you are. You’re an idiot for even daring to waste my time.”

The spar continued. It was a balanced fight, one moment Mei was winning, the next moment Taizen was losing. See? Balance.

Mei’s strength, speed, and technique completely outclassed Taizen. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t keep up. Finally, Mei decided to end it. She delivered a flawless throw, slamming him to the ground and pinning him with one hand.

“It’s over.” she said, her tone flat. “You don’t stand a chance.” She let him go. “If you actually intend to participate in the tournament, I feel pity for you.” She started walking away from him, back to her training.

Taizen lay on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. Instead of looking defeated, our Tin Can started laughing. “Man, you’re incredible! No wonder everyone talks about you!”

Mei blinked, caught off guard by his reaction. “What’s wrong with you!? You just got your ass handed to you.”

“Yeah, but it was awesome! Beating up jobbers all the time is boring! I was feeling myself, not gonna lie, I needed some humbling!” Taizen said, sitting up. “You’ve gotta teach me some of those moves.”

Mei turned away, her cheeks tinged with the faintest hint of pink. “You’re so annoying,” she muttered. “Just stay out of my way in the tournament.”

Miwa, meanwhile, was fuming. “‘No, I would win.’” She mimicked his voice in a mocking tone too, reminding him of what he said earlier. “She could’ve killed you!”

“Nah,” Taizen said, grinning. “She was holding back. That means I’ve got a lot to learn from her.”

As Taizen and Miwa left the dojo, Mei watched them go, her expression unreadable. She touched the sun marking on her forehead.

“They’re different,” she murmured to herself. “But that boy… His Soul Energy had something different to it… Could it be one of his Inherited Soul Techniques?”

For the first time in a long while, Mei felt a flicker of something she couldn’t quite place.

That night, Taizen and Miwa sat in a small inn, their conversation buzzing with excitement about the tournament. Taizen couldn’t stop talking about Mei’s skills, much to Miwa’s annoyance.

“You’ve been talking about her ever since you got your ass beat! Do you always get this excited about losing?” Miwa asked, rolling her eyes.

“It’s not about winning or losing,” Taizen replied. “It’s about getting up, learning from your ass beatings and getting stronger. And Mei… she’s truly incredible. If I'm gonna face people this strong, I gotta get stronger! To protect you and every other friend I make, so that they never get taken away from me. I'll never let that happen!”

Mei was standing on the dojo’s balcony and staring out at the night sky. The faint crimson glow of her sun marking reflected in her eyes. “They'll see… These shortsighted old timey mongoloids are gonna see what I'm made of.” She muttered.

She then walks up to a mirror and checks out her clothing. “Hmph, I look just like any other girl, I don't know what their problem is.” She said.

Meanwhile, somewhere deep in a forest nearby, a man with sawblades on his arms was plotting something.

To be continued…