“When will you let us speak to them?”

“When they are ready.”

Master Wen shooed away another reporter, this one a perky young lady. She had been around the gym since the fight, silently waiting. Only today had she finally spoken up. Her attempt to talk to the Taijitu was unsuccessful just like everyone else's.

Master Wen slipped away finding her two boys already training outside the scrap yard that had become their new training ground. Training inside the gym was no longer an option if they wanted to remain anonymous.

Her eyes drifted between the two of them. She sensed they both had something on their mind. It was difficult to meditate properly when you had something prominent in your head. It looked to be especially eating at Antony who was sweating just trying to clear his mind. He had made no attempt to cover up the new scars. The bruises on his face that had shown up out of the blue proved he was not getting much of a rest outside of his training. Master Wen’s best guess was the family was responsible for the lashes, the bruises probably a result of a school bully. It looked like he was taking her instruction of not using the martial arts outside of the ring seriously, for that she was grateful.

For Uvo, the pain looked to be more mental, his intense catch-up schedule for school was taking its toll. She could see the bags under his eyes where he had stayed up late studying or training. She cursed herself for only now noticing.

She picked up her chin, steeling herself for a slightly different kind of training session.

Uvo returned home with a new outlook, a new perspective and more importantly, some time to sleep. Training had involved a very intense 45 minutes of exercise designed to tire them out. It had worked wonders as before Uvo had even hit the mattress he was asleep. The same could be said for Antony who had completely ignored personal hygiene for once and fell into a deep and nourishing sleep. The next morning arrived as a surprise to both boys. They had slept through dinner and on through the night, waking up at their usual time they went about their usual routine with renewed vigour. Unsure of what was causing the drastic change, whether it was the workout or the enlightening words Master Wen had spoken. They were both in school earlier than usual. Uvo still had no one to talk to so ended practicing his mathematics, which was improving at a much faster rate than the rest of his subjects. Antony spent the time drawing, he was still waiting for an answer from his agent on the results of the competition so he drew a piece for a comic he was currently working on with an author on planet Effer, the next populated planet with a naturally breathable atmosphere.

Uvo felt the presence of someone taking up the chair behind him. Smiling, he recalled the girl's face from the one time he had turned around to look at her. Her eyes had no pupils betraying the fact that she was not human. He head was resting in her hands, her disheveled hair falling to one side, a slight smirk haunting the side of her mouth, her eyes fixed on his.

Antony’s pen brushed the screen, applying another black stroke to the action pose of the main character. Uvo’s equation was approaching completion and for a blessed period of time, the two troubled boys were at peace.

Guranahan paced back and forth in his office. The ICT Rookie League was currently taking place. His team was 5th and rising. The next fight was against the current 1st placers, his excitement could not be contained. Not only that but Taijitu were part of the lead-up fights. He would get to witness the fighters for himself, completely hoping that they would fail miserably. He had already bought the opposing team and provided the fighter top quality training in order to fully annihilate any hope for Taijitu to advance in the rankings. If he could not have the name, then no one could.

Tracy had finished today’s paperwork. Her variety of work experience was starting to show its merits, her positive attitude and determined personality had helped her get to grips with the required tasks. She was busy cleaning the gauntlets the boys used when from a hole in the floorboards came a man she had never seen.

Her immediate reaction was to fight, she raised her fists in an attempt to show her combat ability.

“Ms Tracy, please relax, it’s me, Jerefiah.”

The man raised his hands in surrender. Unfortunately for him, he looked nothing like the big-headed alien he had just named.

“Right…”

“No really, I am, here I’ll prove it. If you get Monty here he will vouch for me.”

“So how come you have such a normal sized head then?” It was true, not only had his head shrunk but he had grown taller, he retained his slightly mousy face and he still had no ears. He was also very, very dark skinned.

“Yet another unique feature of our race. We base our appearance on what would be the best for survival, although, no matter how hard I try I can’t grow ears. It has become the bane of my life.”

“Nifty ability.”

“It is barely scratching the surface, my dear. I doubt even Jeeves could track me down now, I have changed my genetic code completely.”

“So, how would Monty be able to tell.”

“He is a Rel’lar my dear, and I highly doubt Jeeves is.”

“Look, would you mind waiting in a chair or something. Even if what you say is making sense, I have no idea if you’re telling the truth or not.”

“Of course, I’ll wait for Master Wen, I am sure she will vouch for me.”

“Right..”

Tracy turned her chair so that she could work on the glove whilst keeping an eye on the morphed man before her.

Master Wen rolled in around midday, she was equally shocked to see the new man sitting opposite Tracy, unmoving and infinitely calm.

“Who are you?”

“Wen Daiyu, I am Jerefiah, I have morphed to allow me some freedom from the cellar, not that I am complaining.”

“Alright. Are you ready to help then?” Tracy was caught off guard at Master Wen’s instant acceptance of Jerefiah’s transformation. Her knowledge was still very much limited.

“I have a job for you, now that you are liberated from your previous appearance.”

“It is the least I can do.”

“We need a sponsorship for the boys and the gym. We lack the money to expand and while they still have many things they can do to improve, eventually the facilities that we currently provide will hold them back. That can never happen.” Jerefiah nodded intently, agreeing with the statement wholeheartedly. He had also noticed their potential in their first fight. He was also committed to this gym thanks to the agreement.

“You can count on me, although, it would be a lot easier if the boys were to win a fight.”

“That should be no problem, this coming weekend will be their first official win. I guarantee it.”

“Perfect, then I can try and get one beforehand but can also guarantee one when they win.”

Tracy kept up with her work until the gym closed. Her meeting with Monty was brief today, apparently, he had things to do, he still paid her the same amount though, for reasons she could only make assumptions about.

Uvo and Antony sat next to each other, finding themselves again in the waiting room. Their hearts pacing this time in excitement rather than fear. Each of them was already changed. They both wore brown trousers with no shoes. Their bare chests revealing their scarred bodies and their mask hiding their face from the public. There had initially been slight hesitancy to retake the stage but it was quickly washed away after Master Wen instructed their meditation. They heard the announcer take the stage. Again, there were the first ones on as they were still one of the lowest ranking teams. Their initial failure was expected and therefore did not garner much attention. The disgracing of the name in the future was the real worry for longtime fans. Antony and Uvo were not the same as they were in their first official fight. The crowd outside did not know this.

“Ready?”

“Yeah, you?”

“You bet,”Antony replied. All inhibitions out the window.

“Please welcome to the arena, Taijitu!”