**The Next Day, at a Cafe**
Setsuo and Noriko were already seated beside each other when Taejin walked up, holding a strawberry milkshake in one hand and a latte in the other.
"Got your strawberry milkshake and latte here," Taejin said.
"I asked for a black coffee, not a latte," Setsuo grumbled.
"I know. But I prefer a latte. It's less... serious," Taejin replied.
Noriko thanked Taejin and took a sip of her milkshake through a straw. "Delicious."
Taejin sat opposite Setsuo while Noriko remained beside him. As Taejin sipped his drink, Setsuo glared at his latte. "Is it too late to get a refund?"
Noriko offered, "We can share my milkshake if you want."
Setsuo shook his head. "No thanks, I'm good."
Noriko held the milkshake in front of him. "Oh, come on. Just a sip won't hurt," she teased, trying to get him to drink.
Setsuo strongly resisted. "Not happening. You know I don't have a sweet tooth."
"Just this once," Noriko pleaded.
The door to the cafe opened, and Taiki walked up to the table. "Sorry for being late. I had to finish up some chores before I could come."
He sat next to Taejin and noticed the strange behavior between Setsuo and Noriko. Setsuo was still resisting, but finally, Taiki intervened. "If he doesn't want it, I'll take it."
On instinct, Setsuo grabbed the milkshake and took a sip using the same straw Noriko had used. "Not bad," he admitted.
Everyone looked at him, surprised. "What?" Setsuo asked, confused.
They pointed to the straw. Noriko's face flushed furiously, and she almost fainted.
"Is she okay?" Taiki asked.
Taejin reassured him. "Relax, she's fine. Anyway, let's get back to the reason we're here. Captain?"
Setsuo took another sip of the milkshake. "Isn't this supposed to be an outing?" Taiki asked.
"It was, until this came up," Setsuo replied.
"Till what came up?" Taiki asked.
Taejin brought out his tablet and opened a video link. "This," he said, showing them a news report.
**Video of a News Report**
The reporter spoke urgently. "We're here live in downtown Tokyo where a murder was just reported earlier today. We received claims that only half of the victim's body was found at the crime scene. The death is said to not have been caused by a normal murderer but an unidentified creature."
Images of the crime scene were shown as the body was taken away in an ambulance.
"The real question everyone is asking is what creature could be so ruthless and deadly to have caused such a death," the reporter concluded.
Taejin ended the video.
Taiki looked confused. "So we're here because of a murder mystery?"
Taejin answered, "Yes... and no."
"I'm confused," Taiki admitted.
"This is not the first time this has happened. Several similar deaths have recently been reported all over Tokyo," Taejin explained.
Setsuo added, "What makes these deaths stand out is how all the victims show no signs of struggle during the encounter. They didn't even run or fight back."
"With such a ruthless death?" Taiki asked, incredulous.
"That's what I don't understand myself," Setsuo said. "Who in their right mind would just stand by as they were about to get killed?"
"No idea," Taiki replied.
Taejin interjected, "Don't put too much thought into it. It's not our job to solve this mystery. We only focus on ghouls, not murders."
"But what if it's a ghoul?" Setsuo challenged.
"A ghoul leaving human remains? Now you're just imagining things. I'm sure the council will send out some teams to deal with it," Taejin dismissed.
At that moment, a giant ghoul fell to the ground outside and was quickly tied up by a spirit rope as three members of a different group appeared and sealed it up.
Taejin smirked. "See? I told you. We're good."
Taiki received a message on his phone. "Who's it from?" Taejin asked.
"It's Gene. The ring's holding a tournament tonight, and a special fighter will be attending. He wanted to know if we'd be attending," Taiki explained.
"An underground fighting tournament? Count me out," Taejin said.
"That leaves me, Noriko, and Setsuo. I'll tell Gene to save us some tickets," Taiki decided.
"Guess I'm canceling my plans for tonight," Setsuo remarked.
Taejin teased, "You had plans?"
They all teased him.
"Hardly. Just a late-night walk," Setsuo said.
Taejin persisted, "Anyone special in mind?"
"Yes," Setsuo replied.
The three looked at him with expectant eyes. "So who's the lucky girl?" Noriko asked.
"Or boy. We won't judge," Taiki added.
Setsuo frowned. "Simple. It's me, myself, and I."
Their faces dropped in disappointment.
"Seriously!?" Noriko and Taejin exclaimed.
"You almost had us hooked," Taejin said.
"Almost?" Setsuo teased.
"Just almost," Taejin replied.
Setsuo noticed Noriko had regained her composure. "When did you regain consciousness?"
"About the same time you canceled your plans to attend the tournament," Noriko said.
Taiki cheered, "Underground tournament, here we come!"
**Later that Night, at the Underground Ring**
The area was packed as the three made their way through the crowd.
Setsuo asked, "So what was it that made you faint earlier today? Because you were out for quite some time."
"I told you. I was simply tired from last night's training, that's all," Noriko replied.
"Right. So it had nothing to do with me taking a sip from your milkshake? Because I'm sure I did nothing out of the ordinary," Setsuo said.
"Nothing out of the ordinary? How is drinking from the same straw normal?!" Noriko retorted.
"So you admit I was the reason you blacked out?" Setsuo teased.
"You did not just say that," Noriko fumed.
Gene walked up to them. "There you are. I was starting to wonder when you'd show up," he greeted. "The tournament already began."
**Scene at the Fighting Arena**
They arrived in the middle of a fight.
Taiki exclaimed, "Sweet! We got here just as things are getting heated up."
"Did the so-called great fighter already participate?" Setsuo asked.
"Nope. Just a few more rounds till the big match," Gene answered.
"Shouldn't he at least qualify in order to proceed to the finals?" Setsuo questioned.
"For a normal fighter, yes. But in this case, he automatically proceeds because of his high ranking position in the world of underground street fighting," Gene explained.
"I don't get what makes this guy so special. He seems like an ordinary fighter to me," Setsuo said.
Noriko and Taiki gasped. "What?! You don't know who The Smash is?!"
"Am I supposed to?" Setsuo asked, bewildered.
"The Smash is one of the greatest fighters to have ever existed. He has never lost a single fight in the ring and was the one to have promoted underground street fighting," Noriko explained.
"He's also a master at boxing, judo, and most forms of martial arts," Taiki added. "And altogether he is—"
Noriko and Taiki came together and struck a pose. "The Super Majestic and Undefeated Supreme Hero!" they exclaimed in unison.
Setsuo looked at them blankly. "Undefeated begins with a 'u,' not an 'a.' And did you say 'hero' at the end?"
"He is a hero, to all street fighters, especially the rookies," Noriko insisted.
"All that for a mere street fighter?" Setsuo questioned.
"Hey!" Noriko and Taiki retorted, clearly offended.
"I'll have you know The Smash is an inspirational figure who encourages us fighters to grow stronger. You're talking to fellow Smashers, you know?" Noriko said.
"Smashers?" Setsuo echoed.
Gene sighed. "Don't ask."
"No wonder Taejin bailed on us so last minute," Setsuo muttered.
At that moment, The Smash passed by, followed by his fan club. Noriko and Taiki got easily distracted and rushed up to him as he was giving autographs. Noriko presented him with a bunch of stuff to be signed, and The Smash obliged.
Setsuo sighed. "This is gonna be one long tournament."