The warm aroma of cooked rice and vegetables lingered in Lee's nostrils as he thanked the kind restaurant owners, Mr. and Mrs. Yamada, for their generous meal and hospitality. Though lost in an unfamiliar land, their kindness had rekindled Lee's hope that he would find steadier footing in Tokyo.
Stepping back out into the chilly night, Lee pondered where to lay his head. Most of the salaries he had earned that evening doing odd jobs for the Yamadas wouldn't last long in this expensive city. Spotting a neon sign up the block, Lee followed his instincts toward the glowing kanji characters of "Sunrise Inn".
A brass bell jingled above the door as he entered the small reception area. Behind the vintage oak desk sat a stout middle-aged woman, puffing absentmindedly on a cigarette.
"Welcome, how can I help?" she asked in slightly accented English after exhaling a cloud of smoke.
Lee replied in stilted Japanese, "A room for one night, please. All I can afford."
The woman's eyes widened in surprise at his language skills. "Your Japanese is excellent! Where did you learn?"
Struggling to explain his cryptic arrival, Lee gestured vaguely and said, "It's a long story. Do you have any vacancies?"
She studied him pensively through the smoke, then nodded. "Lucky for you, we just had a last minute cancellation. 7,000 yen for a single. Cash up front."
Lee paid gratefully from the modest earnings in his pocket. The woman introduced herself as Akiko and handed over an old-fashioned metal room key. "It's the last door on the right. Let me know if you need anything else."
Weary from the day's strange turns, Lee climbed the creaking stairs and found his sparse quarters. A full-size bed, small table and lamp, plus an adjoining toilet-shower suite were all the cramped tatami room contained. But after the harrowing cross- dimensional journey, it felt like the lap of luxury.
Within minutes of collapsing onto the threadbare blankets, Lee drifted into a deep slumber. Unbeknownst to him, strange metamorphosis was occurring in the darkness...
Visions of distant places assaulted Lee's sleeping mind. Red desert dunes stretched as far as the eye could see, that same ominous spired temple rising in the distance like a lone sentinel.
Then an ethereal forest came into focus, filled with geometric purple trees that seemed to pulse and breathe. Alien constellations glittered overhead while strange bio-luminescent plants lit the pathway.
As Lee drifted amongst these surreal dreamscapes, a burning sensation began to spread throughout his body. His temperature spiked to a feverish degree, nightshirt clinging with sweat.
Below the skin, subtle changes were taking shape. Lee's muscles gained definition and size as if undergoing rapid cellular regeneration. Even his bone structure seemed to subtly alter, joints contorting in bizarre ways before re-solidifying.
The shard pulsated furiously against Lee's heaving chest, glowing red-hot. Whatever cosmic energies it contained were altering his very physiology on a fundamental level.
When dawn's rays finally broke through the thin curtains, Lee woke completely drenched and disoriented. His enhanced body no longer felt entirely familiar. Glancing around in confusion, Lee noticed a strange black residue pooled all over the tatami floor and futon.
"What in the world...?" He murmured aloud, noticing his voice was deeper and clearer than before. Removing his soaked nightshirt revealed an entirely altered physique - tall and powerfully built where once he had been average.
Rushing to the tiny sink, Lee glimpsed his reflection and gasped audibly. Chiseled jawline, high cheekbones, and piercing amber eyes stared back where soft features had been. His glistening black hair even seemed more lustrous, falling in waves to his broad shoulders.
"This can't be real..." Lee whispered in disbelief, gently touching his face as if not quite believing the vision before him. But the evidence was irrefutably etched into his transformed physique. Something momentous had happened during the night, catalyzed by the shard's anomalous energies.
Remembering the mess downstairs, Lee hurriedly cleaned up the black fluid staining the tatami. A knock at the door startled him mid-scrub. "Housekeeping!" Called Akiko's muffled voice outside.
Taking a calming breath, Lee opened the door in a hotel bathrobe, hoping it concealed his dramatic changes sufficiently. Akiko's jaw nearly hit the floor when she caught sight of the new mysterious stranger within.
"Well hello there, handsome!" She exclaimed with a playful grin. "You clean up nice! I don't recall renting to any male models yesterday."
Lee smiled bashfully, running a hand through his shimmering hair. "There uuuh...I was tired yesterday. I appear to be quite changed now that I got my sleep."
Akiko's eyes roamed appreciatively over his sculpted physique before catching herself. "Well, don't you just clean up so nice. Are you sure you're in the right line of work?" She teased with a wink. "Anyways, I just came to see if you needed fresh towels. Let me know if there's anything else...or if you need help adjusting to your new you."
With a flirtatious chuckle and flutter of eyelashes, Akiko sauntered down the hall, leaving Lee mystified by the interaction and his new unfamiliar allure. He chuckled to himself as he closed the door, "Guess there are some perks to this strange transformation after all."
After dressing in a newly tight-fitting shirt and jeans, Lee descended to the reception desk in search of Akiko. "Those errands you needed help with yesterday, are they still available? I'd be glad to earn my keep."
She studied his incredible physique appraisingly. "For you handsome, I think I can find some work. First, could you run to the market and pick up some supplies? Here's a list and cash - try not to get too distracted along the way." She teased.
Lee set off down the bustling street armed with Akiko's list, drinking in the vibrant city sights. Though fascinated by the foreign culture, unease prickled at the back of his mind. His enhanced abilities were uncharted territory - who knew what sorts of dormant skills might emerge?
Rounding a corner toward the market, muffled voices caught Lee's attention drifting from a narrow alleyway. Peering cautiously around the edge, he glimpsed a group of thuggish men clad all in black, crowding menacingly around a young Japanese woman cowering against the grimy wall.
"Come on baby, don't be like that" slurred one with a lecherous grin and half-empty sake bottle. "We'll show you a real good time." His meaty hand seized her wrist as she tugged helplessly away.
Lee frowned, instinctively wanting to intervene but unsure if it was wise given his strange new enhancements. Better not to cause trouble and draw unwanted attention, he reasoned. Just as he started to turn away though, the girl's pleading gaze met his.
"Please...help me..." she whispered so softly it was almost lost amid the jeers and catcalls of her assailants. Something in her terrified eyes struck a chord deep within. Memories of his late mother surfaced, catalyzing Lee's protective drive into action.
Striding purposefully into the alley, Lee stated calmly but firmly, "The lady said she's not interested. I suggest you leave...now."
The thugs whirled drunkenly to face this intruder, sneering as they sized Lee up. "Oh yeah? And what's a pretty boy like you gonna do about it?" One cockily retorted.
Before he realized what was happening, Lee's fist shot out with blinding speed, crunching into the man's nose with a wet crack. Blood and fragments of bone sprayed across his companion's startled face as the assailant crumpled boneless to the pavement.
A shocked silence fell over the alley as the thugs registered what had just transpired. Then, with a guttural roar, one whipped out a switchblade and lunged at Lee. His adrenaline surged, triggering strange preternatural instincts.
Lee swayed fluidly aside from the attack, grasping the man's wrist and twisting sharply. Bones snapped audibly as the blade clattered away. A well-placed kick to the temple dropped the would-be stabber unconscious to join his friend staining the alley with their losses.
The last gang member froze in terror, then turned and fled for his life. The young woman stood agape, equally stunned by Lee's unexpected martial prowess. He turned to her with a reassuring smile. "Are you all right, miss? Can I walk you somewhere safely?"
She nodded mutely, still in shock, allowing Lee to escort her from the alley. At the corner they paused, color returning to her deathly pale complexion. "Thank you so much, Mister. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come. Please, let me repay you somehow."
Lee smiled gently. "No need for repayment. Just promise me you'll be more careful from now on, okay? Now you'd best hurry home
--
With the young woman safely on her way, Lee exited the alley deep in thought. These strange new abilities seemed tied to the shard's power, but controlling them would require careful study. For now, he had errands to complete before Akiko's patience ran out.
Rounding the final corner to the market, Lee spotted a familiar figure emerging from the crowd - the leader of the men who had attacked the young woman in the alley. Though battered and bruised, his face was unmistakable.
Lee ducked behind a fruit stall, watching cautiously. The man glanced around furtively as he spoke in hushed tones to two other thugs. It seemed they were arguing about what to do after their humiliating defeat.
Filing this concerning encounter away for later, Lee focused on completing Akiko's shopping as quickly as possible. The bustling market bazaar soon pulled his mind from such worries.
Arms laden with ingredients, Lee hustled back to the inn. As he turned the corner, dark clouds on the horizon foretold an incoming storm. Lee picked up his pace, anxious to deliver Akiko's supplies before the downpour.
Little did he know that within the inn, sinister forces were already gathering that would alter his journey's course. But for now, the raging storm overhead seemed a graver concern than any lurking in shades beneath the City of Light.
--
Trudging back toward the inn, storm clouds seemed to match Lee's brooding mood. First rainfall spattered as he rounded the final corner, only to pull up short in disbelief.
Through steamed windows, unmistakable silhouettes against lamplight betrayed the thug's figure to Akiko's establishment. Lee watched helpless as one backhanded her across the mouth, other drawing a pistol from within a black coat.
Not again. Never again would he stand by while the weak were preyed upon. With a wordless shout, Lee slammed through the doorway like an avenging deity. His entrance shocked all to frozen stillness, words failing in face of primitive rage.
The armed one recovered first, leveling his weapon with a curse. But between trigger pull and report, Lee disappeared. A meaty thwack resounded as the thug collided face-first with the far wall, pistol clattering away in pieces.
His partner gaped in horror before lunging at Akiko with raised fist. Lee intercepted with a brutal chop, catching the opponent square in the windpipe. Eyes bulging, he collapsed coughing and clawing at his crushed trachea while Akiko scrambled away in tears.
The first regained feet unsteadily, swaying between fight and flight instincts. Lee advanced measurably until backed against the wall, eyes burning with a wrath that chilled to the bone.
His serene tones betrayed an imminent violence held barely in check. "Leave. Now. And don't come back."
They needed no further encouragement, fleeing into the storm like the devils on their heels. Akiko collapsed sobbing into Lee's embrace, relief and trauma overwhelming her stoic facade.
Gently stroking her hair, Lee gazed out at the downpour with a grim resolution taking hold. Someone, or something, had marked him for collisions with darker players in this realm's unseen machinations. But no more would the weak be left defenseless in his presence. His purpose had found new focus amid the tempest.
--
As Akiko's sobs subsided, Lee held her gently, stroking her hair in a soothing motion. When her breathing slowed, he asked, "Who were those men? And what did they want from you?"
She took a shaky breath before answering. "They work for the Watanabe family. A local yakuza clan that controls this part of the city. A few months ago, I fell behind on payments to them. They've been threatening me ever since, demanding more and more money."
Lee clenched his jaw. So it was the local mafia extorting this poor woman. "Don't worry, I'll take care of them. No one will harm you again."
Akiko grabbed his arm desperately. "No! You don't understand. Now that you've interfered, they'll be out for blood. Please Lee, for your own safety, you have to leave tonight before they come back in greater numbers." Her eyes brimmed with fresh tears.
Lee saw the fear and knew she was right. He sighed heavily. "Alright, I'll go. But where will you be safe?"
She thought a moment. "I have an uncle in Kyoto. He can hide me until things calm down here."
Lee hugged her reassuringly. "Then go to him as soon as you can. And if you ever need help, send word to me somehow."
Akiko nodded quietly, mustering a small smile. "Thank you, Lee. You've been too kind to me. I hope one day our paths cross again under better circumstances."
With a comforting squeeze of her hands, Lee gathered his few belongings and ventured back out into the stormy night.
--
Meanwhile, across the city in Beppu's hot springs district, the atmosphere inside the exclusive Takasaki Bathhouse could not have been more different. Steam rose fragrant and thick, blurring the division between private pools where high-ranking members of the Watanabe clan relaxed.
Two battered henchmen stumbled through the front entrance, drawing questioning stares. They made a beeline for the largest pool, where a single dark silhouette sat smoking amidst a bevy of half-dressed beauties.
"Boss, we gotta report," said the one with a swollen nose. As they recounted the stranger's overpowering strength and prowess, alarm crept into their tones.
The shadowed figure took another slow drag, considering. Then he began to chuckle, a low rumble that built into outright maniacal laughter. The females shivered and edged away subtly.
Just then, two more grunts burst in, out of breath. "Boss, some outsider took out Masaru and Shuto single-handed at the Sunrise!"
This outsider's interference was spurring the hidden crime lord's rage and intrigue in equal measure. Slowly, he turned to face the henchmen fully, sinister grin split by the ember at his lips.
"It seems we have an unwelcome guest disturbing my operations. Hashi and Kwon," he indicated to his personal guards, "Find this guy', I wish to meet the man daring to oppose the Watanabes."
A dark glint flashed in his shadowed eyes. Tonight, this interloper would learn the high price for meddling with the Tokyo underworld.
The figure known as Tojiro Watanabe rose from the steaming waters, his muscular form rippling with scars earned over many brutal years. Bald head and sharp features bore down on the henchmen cowering before their intimidating boss.
Tojiro dismissed the women with a careless wave, their slack-jawed awe at his naked dominance giving way to haste. He strode purposefully from the bath, its heat no match for the flames of fury within.
Wrapping a towel around his waist, Tojiro signaled two of his close henchmen Hashi and Kwon to follow. "Find me this foreign dog before sunset. I will deal with him personally." His cold eyes promised a painful demise.
Meanwhile, Lee hurried briskly through bustling sidewalks, weighed by unease. The pulse of strange energies within called out a warning, instinct sharpened by recent transformation. Halting at a junction, he scanned for the source, fingers closing protectively around the crimson shard.
In the shadows of an alley mouth, shadowy silhouettes shifted, trailing him unnoticed until now. Lee slipped quietly into dark embrace of narrow walls, every sense attuned for confrontation. Emerging threats demanded answers, and here in solitude those answers would come.
---
Lee walked briskly down the crowded street, shoulders tense with a nameless unease. Pedestrians bustled past in their own worlds, unaware of the undercurrents swirling beneath the lively midday veneer.
His instincts had grown finely attuned since arriving in this mysterious land. Now they sensed unseen eyes tracking his movements from somewhere close. Casually scanning windows and alley mouths yielded no obvious stalkers, yet that prickling sensation persisted at his nape.
The shard pulsed faintly against Lee's chest, reacting in kind to his guarded emotions. Coming to a junction, he paused as if checking a map, swiftly surveying reflections instead. Nothing amiss showed in darkened storefront glass or passing cars. Yet some primal worm of intuition writhed that he was not alone.
A deserted side street afforded the perfect vantage for covert surveillance. Lee turned purposefully into gaping shadows between close-packed buildings, senses fully awakened. His follower's mistake was giving chase.
The narrow alley absorbed ambient noise, heightening each footfall and breath upon close walls. Lee halted, statuesque but coiled to explosive motion. "Show yourselves. I've had enough."
Twin shuffles answered, resolving into hardened silhouettes blocking the sole exit. They sized Lee up derisively, hands caressing thigh-holstered weapons.
"You've caused trouble for our boss. He wants to meet you before the sunset," sneered one.
Lee held their predatory gazes unyielding. "I've no quarrel with your 'boss' who only likes harming the innocent. Leave."
They grinned viciously. "Too late for that, foreigner."
Blades hissed free as they separated, circling in a calculated pincer. Lee shifted fluidly to equalize distances, shard blazing warning crimson through his dampening shirt. Persuasion failed; violence was all that remained to slake the yakuza's wrath, and his own.
Meanwhile, at the exclusive Takasaki Bathhouse, wrath took a different form. Tojiro Watanabe toweled off brusquely, scowling tattoos rippling over scarred muscle. Emerging into his private chamber, he began yanking on yukata and hakama with sharp, angry tugs.
"Fetch Korega and Hyato" he barked at quailing subordinates. "And have my car brought round front. I'll find this outsider dog myself if those useless pups fail again."
The henchmen scurried to obey, hastened as much by barely contained fury in Tojiro's every brutal motion. This foreign upstart had made a grave miscalculation in defying the Watanabes' authority. Soon he would learn the true meaning of suffering at their all-powerful oyabun's hands.
Back in the alley's close confines, taught anticipation stretched taut as drawn blades. Hashi lunged first with a snarling overhand slash, seeking to overwhelm through brute force. But Lee swayed aside fluidly, shard flaring crimson as some strange instinct took hold within.
His answering chop battered Hashi's wrist, numbing tingling fingers just long enough to twist the fallen blade from unfeeling grasp. Kwon was swifter, slashing two-handed in a flurry that tested even Lee's burgeoning reflexes. Sparks showered brick as he palmed the alley wall, vaulting a high backflip to land balanced between pressed combatants.
They came on again regardless, underestimating their lone opponent's skill and rapidly diminishing options. Lee flowed between them elegantly as a dancer, deflecting Kwon's swinging pommel while delivering a Punishing open-handed strike to Hashi's solar plexus. The thug collapsed retching even as Lee wheeled to catch Kwon's follow-up in an arm-lock.
His adversary struggled futilely, panic mounting in brutal eyes. Lee maintained implacable calm. "Leave in peace, as I offered at the start."
Kwon cursed and spat, then nodded once in taut surrender. Lee released him instantly, snatching up the fallen knives and tossing them ringing into the gutter. The yakuza stumbled away nursing injuries, glares swearing a blood debt that could only be paid in kind.
Lee exhaled slowly, coming down from battle's edge. Victory had been achieved without serious harm to his attackers, cementing his path of restraint even in darkness' depths. Now he emerged onto the streets none the wiser.
--------
[Chapter End Notes]
Lee Gallagher
Age: 28
Height: Originally 176cm, now 193cm after transformation
Build: Muscular physique from his new enhanced state
Eyes: Once brown, now glowing ember orange
Hair: Long and black, falling in waves past broad shoulders
Ethnicity: Half Korean from his mother's side, half Irish from his father
Occupation: Previously an auto mechanic, now embarking on a quest to find the Origin Shards
---
Tojiro Watanabe
Age: 45
Height: 200cm, towering over most with his impressive stature
Build: Broad-chested and heavily muscled physique, rippling with scars and tattoos
Eyes: Piercing black, often express a cold, predatory gaze
Hair: Bald head marked with intricate tattoo designs
Ethnicity: Full Japanese heritage
Scars: Numerous scars criss-cross his body, testaments to decades of violence in rising through the yakuza ranks.
Tattoos: Traditional irezumi designs of demons and ferocious beasts cover much of his skin.
Occupation: Oyabun (boss) of the notorious Watanabe yakuza clan, which controls much of Tokyo's criminal underworld through fear and brutality.