Kyōju kara yakuza e

The training went by relatively fast, Teika just gave a rough rundown of how he activates it, that being he pushes all of his emotion into his hand, and pushes further to get it out of his fingertips.

It was tiring but after around 5 hours Atar got it.

10 Hours Later

"Chang, we don't have long left! It isn't that difficult!" Atar shouts out, Xavier just repeats the same movement trying to shoot something out, but nothing ever does. "Hey, Shi, ya' think he just can't get Heat?" "Shut up! I'll get it!" Xavier shouts back, "Woah, it's alright to not be great at everything." "I said shut up!" Xavier keeps on doing the same repeated movement, "I'll get it, I'll show you."

2 Hours Later

Teika and Atar are sprawled out on the floor, asleep. Xavier continues the motion, having done it over a hundred thousand times today, but he is now very tired. 'I'll put all my effort into one last punch, and if I don't get it then, I'll go to sleep.' He vows to himself.

He winds up his fist, and lets it go, putting his whole mind and body into it. He feels something magical happen in his fist, and he starts to get happy, but he is too exhausted and it quickly goes away.

"Fuck~!" he shouts out as he falls down on his knees. He sits there for a minute before he hears a voice, "Are you trying to learn the Heat technique too?" he looks to his right to see 42, he instantly stands up and gets on guard, "Woah, I would never attack you, me and 2 became good friends in the special training." Xavier relaxes a little after hearing this.

"Well? Do you have any tips for me? If not, then leave." Xavier tells her, "I do actually." She sits down on the floor, "You're trying to just push all your emotions out in an attack right?" "Right?" "Yeah." "Well, I can tell from your eyes, they're just like 17s, that you don't have much emotion to draw upon." "What do you mean?" "I can tell you've been through some pretty fucked up shit in your life, that means that it's harder for you to express anger, sadness, etc. The exact things that you need to unlock Heat in the first place." "Well, how come Atar was able to get it so easily?" "I've only ever fought the guy and I can tell that he gets very angry." "So? What should I do?" "In your case, I would think about the absolute saddest moment that happened in your life." "The saddest moment." Xavier thought back, back to 1946.

September 1946

Xavier's dad, a respectable American man John Willock, started unpacking his suitcase. "아빠, 우리는 왜 한국에 있는 걸까요?" [Daddy, why are we in Korea?] A five year old Xavier asks his dad, "당신은 행복해야 합니다. 당신은 아직 영어를 할 수 없습니다." [You should be happy, you can't speak English yet.] his dad responds, "그래도 아빠, 왜 그런지는 모르겠어. 미국이 더 좋아!" [That still doesn't tell me why daddy. I like America more!] "창, 넌 그걸 처리해야 할 거야. 네 엄마는 전쟁이 시작된 이후로 네 할머니와 할아버지를 보지 못했어. 그래서 우리가 방문할 거야." [you're going to have to deal with it, Chang. Your mommy hasn't seen your grandma and granddaddy since the start of the war, so we're visiting.] His dad finishes unpacking and goes into the kitchen.

"AHHHHH!"

His dad runs back into the bedroom and grabs Xavier, jumping through the window. "아빠, 뭐가 문제야!?"[Papa! What's wrong!?] his dad doesn't respond, 'BANG' Xavier's dad collapses onto the ground, "창... 달려라" [C-Chang… run…] just as he says this, pitbulls descend on his father and start eating him.

Xavier ran away with tears in his eyes, "Hey, catch that kid! We could get some good cash for him!"

2 Hours Later

Xavier returns to his grandparents house, after he lost his hunters, and enters the kitchen. He finds his mom and his grandparents charred corpses, as if burned, all in a pile.

8:03 AM 18th December 1951

Xavier screams and punches the wall, and as he does, his arm is coated in a blue aura, and when his arm connects, the wall blows up and crumbles. "I DID IT!" Xavier shouts out, Atar and Teika jolt awake, and 42 starts clapping.

"Finally, so now we can go beat the shit out of 17 when he's out… Why the fuck are you here?!" Atar points at 42, "I'm gonna get you now!" Atar rushes at 42, but suddenly he is stopped, and starts floating in the air. She is manipulating the Heat into hands that are holding him in the air.

"Let me down! I'll get you this time!" He shouts, "Bit of advice for you three, the second that the military finds out that you have Heat, you'll probably be put into Special Training." 42 says. "I don't care about Special Training let me down! I'll destroy you in one punch!" Atar continues to scream. "Atar please shut up." Xavier asks, "You want some of this too Chang!?" 

"Well, Bea, why can't you help us with 17?" Teika asks, "Bea? You know her name?" Xavier says, "I told you 1, we became friends in the special training facility." "You traitor shijima! LET ME DOWN! I'LL DESTROY YOU ALL!" Atar continues shouting, "He means well." "Well Teika the reason is because I'm scared, I'm scared of a lot, but I hate being hurt." "Really? You seem so confident." "It's because I know none of you can hurt me." "YOU CALLING ME WEAK!? LET ME DOWN, I'LL SHOW YA'!!!"

42 suddenly falters. Her expression shifts from playful confidence to one of deep sorrow. "You think you know what it's like to be scared?" she says, her voice trembling. "You think you can just shout and threaten people into submission? You don't know what it's like to feel powerless, to be at the mercy of someone who wants to hurt you."

Atar, still suspended in the air, looks at her with a mix of confusion and concern, almost realizing that he might've gone too far. "What are you talking about? Just let me down, and I'll show you what real power is!"

42's eyes glisten with unshed tears. "You don't get it! I thought I could be strong enough to protect myself and those I loved. But then… I was taken. I was just a kid, younger than even now, and they used me. They hurt me in ways I can't even describe. I thought I was strong…"

Xavier, who had been quietly observing, steps forward. "Hey, 42, listen to me," he says, his voice steady and calm. "You're not alone in this. We've all faced our demons. We've all been scared. I've seen things that would make your skin crawl, things that haunt me every day. But you know what? We're still here. And that means something."

42 looks at him, her expression softening slightly. "But what if I'm not strong enough? What if I fail?"

"As my father told me, 'failure is part of the journey,'" Xavier replies, his tone firm yet encouraging. "'Every time you fall, you learn something new. You grow. You become stronger.' I've failed a lot, but each time, I've picked myself back up. And you can too. You're not defined by your past; you're defined by what you choose to do next."

Atar, still floating, nods in agreement. "Yeah, 42! You've got this! You're not just some weakling; as much as I hate to admit it, you're one of the strongest people I know. If anyone can take on 17, it's you!"

42 wipes away a tear, her resolve slowly building. "You really think I can do it?" she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I know you can," Xavier assures her. "You just need to believe in yourself. We all do. Together, we can take him down. We'll win. Strength isn't just about being tough; it's about knowing when to ask for help. It's about having people around you who care and who will fight alongside you."

Atar, finally released from 42's grip, stands beside her. "T-thanks for letting me down… I guess." "We're a team now. That's what makes us strong." Teika chimes in.

42 looks at all of them, her heart swelling with gratitude. "Thank you, all three of you. I didn't realize how much I needed this. I've been so focused on my own pain that I forgot about the people around me. I won't let that happen again."

"Good," Xavier says, his voice filled with encouragement. "Now let's get ready. We have a fight to win!"

"That was really corny guys." Atar says, "Can you not let a good moment just be a good moment!?"

"It really was corny"

They look behind themselves to see 17 standing there, "You're really going 4v1 me?" "Yeah." "Well, that's okay." 17 clicks his fingers, and almost immediately, 22 drops down beside him. "You see, me and 22 had a rematch, and that's when we both unlocked Heat." 17 explains.

"We didn't hear about 22 from 23, what the hell?" Atar says, "you want to know why?" 17 clicks his fingers and 23 jumps down beside him, "It was actually a 2v1 battle, in which we all unlocked Heat."

"But 23 came to us after you unlocked Heat 17! What's going on?" "What's going on, 1, is I just simply ran away from the guards to misinform you, it isn't that complicated."

"DAMN YOU!" Atar shouts out, charging at 23, "Haha, I didn' think you'd take it this personally!" 23 manages to block most of Atars attacks but one punch connecting and sent him flying into the floor.

"GET OFF OF HIM!" 22 flies in and slams Atar, but Atar takes it without budging. He grabs 22s face and throws him through the canteen. 23 tries to sneak Atar, but Atar dodges and stomps 23s head.

"23 has been eliminated."

"RAHH!" 22 jumps at Atar again, but Atar punches 22 harder than ever.

"22 had been eliminated."

"Wow, that was easier than I thought." "Damn you all!" 17 tries to fight Atar, but Atar dodges all of them, and breaks his arm in half. "AGHAHHAHAGHH!" 17 squirms on the floor, holding his crippled arm.

"Why'd we put this much effort into this bum?" Atar goes to kick 17s head. "DAMN IT! I DIDN'T WANT TO USE IT THIS EARLY! MUGENKA!" 17 transforms into a towering beast, 4 stories tall, he lost all semblance of humanism, only being a beast is left over. "I WILL become the strongest here. Gost Disk!" 

A disk of pure Heat is thrown at Atar, who manages to dodge it, but the disk easily chops through everything in its path. "What the-" He is cut off by being slammed into the floor, his body recoils off the ground and is punched by 17. Atar coughs up blood on the floor, and spits out a loose tooth.

"Do you get it now? Mere humans can't defeat me!" Xavier and Teika charge into the fight. "Teika! Can you turn into that!?" Xavier asks, landing a punch on 17, but he shrugs it off, "No! I have no clue what this is!"

"I AM A PRODIGY! LIGHT CANNON I!" From his mouth a massive barrel of Heat is released, Teika is hit with it, and falls to the ground, coughing up blood as his entire chest was charred. "B-Bea, go fight him…" Teika tells 42. 42 stood there, with a grimaced face, her entire body shaking, "I-I can't, n-no." "Please Bea, you and Chang are all we have left!" "No! You have me!" Atar says, standing up, even though his body is battered, "I'm gonna show this monster who's the real prodigy!"

Atar jumps into the air, "I can do that too!" He cups his hands into a ball, they are enveloped in Heat "1 JUDGEMENT!!!" A massive beam of Heat is shot out, it hits 17s right arm, and his arm is sliced off. "AHHH! DAMN YOU 0!" 17 whips his tail around and slams Atar back into the floor, this time Atar's unconscious.

"PLEASE! BEA!" but she just stood there still shaking, but then she mumbles under her breath, "Forgive me Father." just before she charges forward, "1! Do your most powerful attack!" "Got it!" Xavier starts channeling all the Heat into his palms.

42 releases 10 'Heat Hands' that hold 17 in place, "AIM FOR THE HEAD!" She shouts at Xavier. But Xavier's body has trouble containing this much heat, and he starts to go limp, his arms lower, but he still releases the attack, it hits 17s lower right stomach, it is completely eviscerated. 

"Damn it!" 42 shouts, "HAHA! I'M STILL ALIVE!!!" 17 shouts out, but 42 jumps up, "LIGHT CUTTER!" She releases the attack, and it connects with 17, who is flung into the floor, the only reason he wasn't cut in half is because he released a Light Cannon I to slow down the cut.

42 falls on the ground, and 17 stands up, now in his base form, with a massive slash on his stomach, "Heh, still alive, and now I've won!". Xavier gets up, and has an opening to attack 17, but 17 goes to stomp 42s skull.

"Chang! Save Bea! Please!" Teika begs. But the only thing Xavier thinks about is how he can kill 17 right here, right now. Does he listen to his friend, or listen to himself.

…

17 falls onto the ground, dead, he falls on top of 42s corpse, who no longer has a head after 17 stomped it. Teika starts crying, "W-why!? Why didn't you save her!?"

.

..

.

"This is the first sign of what Xavier ends up turning out like, a C.I.A lapdog who abandoned his friends wishes and only cares about getting the mission done." Zero informs. "I'm going to stop this now!" Kazama shouts out, "There is absolutely nothing wrong with what Xavier did there! And sure, I have a lot of questions, but I'll leave them until Xavier feels comfortable enough to tell me."

Xavier's face lights up, while Zero's turns bitter, "What do you know, huh!?" Zero shouts out, "I know that Xavier is my friend! And I can make my own judgements! There is no sign that I've seen that indicates that Xavier abandons his friends! Maybe you were just bad friends!" "I'll kill you!" Zero shouts out, charging forward at the two men.

Xavier jumps in and blocks Zero's attack, "I'm going to deal with him by myself Kazama, just sit back and watch!"

.

..

.

The beast of a man, Travis Mckinley, charges and, with ease, punches, and destroys, Amani. Amani falls to the ground with 20 broken bones, coughing up blood. Teika clutches his missing side, 'Is this really the end? Bea, Beccie, Al, what would you all do?'

…