Twelve chimes sound. A guard wakes Sakolomé and Yuki, each dozing on their cot.
"Get up, you guys! It's courtyard time," the guard announces.
Sakolomé emerges, followed by Yuki.
"Courtyard time?" Sakolomé asks, confused.
Yuki explains quickly, "It's our only escape from prison boredom. We meet up with prisoners from different clans, get to know each other, sometimes even more..."
"Ah... I understand," Sakolomé replies.
The guard unlocks the cell, signals the two to come out, handcuffs them, and orders them to follow him in silence.
Sakolomé inwardly muses: *This place full of clans doesn't bode well. These clans gather infamously known figures, individuals who have marked history with their misdeeds. Deep down, we all belong to a clan, a kind of family.*
"We're here," the guard announces, freeing Sakolomé and Yuki from their restraints. "Have fun, haha. Back to your cells at 5 PM, and bath time at 6 PM." He walks away laughing.
Sakolomé scans the courtyard teeming with people.
"Wow, there's a crazy crowd!" Sakolomé exclaims.
"Come on, Sakolomé, I'll introduce you to someone," Yuki offers.
"Uh... okay," Sakolomé replies, following Yuki closely, avoiding the dark looks directed his way.
Distracted, Sakolomé violently bumps into an inmate.
"Who wants to die?!" roars the man Sakolomé hit. A muscular giant, with a shaved head and his body covered in tattoos.
Sakolomé quickly apologizes, "I'm sincerely sorry, sir!"
The behemoth stares down at Sakolomé, and the palpable tension immediately attracts the crowd's attention.
Yuki, realizing Sakolomé is missing, turns around and finds him surrounded by a pack of men.
"Shit!!" Yuki curses, forcing his way through the crowd.
Sakolomé, still facing the giant, senses the danger emanating from the man's tense face.
"Hey, kid, how dare you bump into me and look me straight in the eyes without lowering your gaze?!"
Sakolomé, seeking to defuse the situation, bows his head and murmurs, "I'm sorry, sir!"
A satisfied smile spreads across the man's face. An ego victory in this ruthless prison world.
"Well, look who's become a good boy," he sneers. "Why don't you become my buddies' and my little girlfriend? What do you say?"
Sakolomé, stunned, struggles to understand the insinuation.
Yuki, finally arriving, steps in front of Sakolomé, spreading his arms and defiantly looking at the giant.
"Listen to me, Virus, you don't impress anyone!!"
The man furrows his brow.
"Yuki, do you want to become our little woman here too?!"
Yuki lowers his arms, visibly disgusted, "You guys are pathetic. The lack of women is driving you crazy to the point of wanting anyone..."
Sakolomé finally understands Virus's disgusting proposal.
Yuki opens his prisoner jumpsuit slightly, revealing a white t-shirt concealing a tattoo on his right arm.
"Virus, I'm going to count to three. If you're not gone, I'll wreck your jaw!"
The crowd holds its breath. The tension is at its peak, adrenaline is pumping, fear and excitement mingle. Anything can happen. The size difference between the two protagonists is striking.
Virus, towering at six-foot-ten, dominates Yuki, a teenager of five-foot-seven.
Virus sneers. They're surrounded, no way out. A brutal confrontation is brewing, or worse, an outburst of violence against a young boy.
"Fine, kid, you asked for it!!!" Virus yells, clenching his massive fist with destructive force.
But, faster than a lightning bolt, Virus is thrown over seventy feet, mowing down the crowd in his path.
General amazement. Even Sakolomé didn't see it coming.
The crowd, frozen, didn't have time to react. How could Virus be ejected without anyone touching him?
The crowd instinctively moves away from Yuki, leaving Sakolomé behind.
Yuki is stained with blood, a dark red blood that cannot be his own. Virus's blood. Yuki's tattooed arm is also covered in blood.
The ground is littered with splashes. How could Yuki defeat Virus without anyone understanding how?
Where did he teleport him?
A myriad of questions assaults Sakolomé.
What is Virus's condition? His clothes are torn to shreds, his stomach open, letting out a flood of blood. His breathing is shallow, but the worst is yet to be discovered.
The prisoners, examining Virus's body, discover with horror that his internal organs are missing.
"How... how is this possible?"
"Virus... Virus..."
"He has no organs left!"
Sakolomé, suddenly frightened, stares at Yuki.
What did he do to Virus? And above all, where did his organs go?
Yuki turns around and meets Sakolomé's gaze.
"Are you okay, my friend?" Yuki asks.
Sakolomé swallows hard, "What did you do to Virus?"
Their eyes meet.
Sakolomé suddenly distrusts Yuki, realizing that he may be far more dangerous than he appears.
"I just hit him, that's all!" Yuki replies.
"What kind of blow can make organs disappear?!" Sakolomé insists.
Yuki, pressed by the questions, is about to answer when a guard interrupts them.
"Everyone on the ground!!!" the guard yells.
The prisoners, including Sakolomé and Yuki, lie face down on the ground.
About thirty guards burst in and inspect the scene.
One of them, after feeling Virus's body, declares, "This prisoner is dead!"
Sakolomé is astonished by the lack of surprise from the other guards.
"Another death in this clan section of the prison!" a guard comments.
"They settle their scores here!" another adds.
Two guards carry away Virus's lifeless body.
"We should raze this clan section!" one of the guards suggests.
"No, let's leave things as they are," another replies. "They must learn to live with fear, understand that they can die at any moment. Fear is the best lesson!"
Once Virus's body has been removed, the guards allow the prisoners to get up.
Yuki removes his t-shirt, revealing an athletic teenager's body, with abs as defined as Sakolomé's, and a tattoo adorning his chest and right arm.
Sakolomé suppresses his doubts and questions, preferring to avoid making the situation between Yuki and him worse.
Yuki, using his t-shirt to wipe off the blood, then throws it on the ground in disgust.
He picks up his jacket and ties it around his waist.
"Ugh, I'll never get used to having blood on me, it's disgusting!"
Sakolomé agrees, "I second that!"
Yuki, surprised, inquires, "Have you killed people before too?"
Sakolomé: "No, never. But when I eliminate mutants, it often happens and it's very unpleasant!"
A smile lights up Yuki's face.
"You kill mutants too!" he exclaims.
Sakolomé nods.
A boy the same size as Yuki interrupts them.
Yuki and Sakolomé turn to him.
Yuki, smiling, says, "There you are finally, Grafay!"
Sakolomé observes the newcomer. A nonchalant boy with yellow eyes and gray hair, wearing an orange prisoner's outfit.
Grafay, pointing at Sakolomé, asks, "Who's he?"
Yuki replies, "This is Sakolomé Satsujin Otoko, my new friend!"
Grafay widens his eyes, "A Satsujin Otoko?"
He approaches Sakolomé and stares intently at him.
Sakolomé, uncomfortable, lowers his eyes.
Grafay sneers, "Pfff, a shy killer, what a shame!"
Sakolomé blushes slightly.
Grafay extends his hand to Sakolomé, "Hi, killer man, I'm Grafay Chūingamu, from the Chūingamu clan!"
Sakolomé, astonished, exclaims, "You... you're the one who annihilated his own family? His entire clan?"
Grafay bursts out laughing, "Haha, yes, that's me! Yet, it was the clan with the most exceptional martial arts techniques!"
Sakolomé, incredulous, retorts, "Impossible, how can you be so young? The Chūingamu who committed this massacre must be at least a hundred years old!"
Grafay: "Who says that's not the case?"
Sakolomé is stunned.
How can Grafay contain such an old body in a child's body...?
Grafay: "I am the last of my clan, the very last!"
Sakolomé: "I don't understand... why did you do such a thing?"
Grafay: "It's a long story, which I may tell you someday..."