The sweltering sun beats down on Brandon's face. Sweat drops begin slowly rolling down his face as he lies on the rooftop. He sits out and lets a sigh out in defeat.

“It'll take weeks to get back to Master Wu, not only that, but I haven't completed his training either. So even if I make the trip, he will refuse to talk with me until I'm done training. But where the hell am I going to get a student to train? Am I supposed to just walk up to some random person and ask them?” He contemplated to himself.

Suddenly, the commotion of people yelling from a nearby alley fills the air. Brandon could hear a couple of men yelling and the sound of trashcans being knocked over. He quickly stands up and begins searching the nearby alleys from the rooftops above. After jumping between roofs, he finds a couple of men chasing a younger woman with a kid at the end of an alley. They were street rats, their clothes ripped and worn out over the years. Skin darkened from the layers of dirt and grime, hair dried out and in knots. One was a girl and the other was a boy, the girl was taller, she was a few years older than the boy. Her hair was black and just slightly past her shoulders in length. They wore matching beige rags, which were just enough to keep them partially covered. The girl held out a wooden staff with small white quartz at the end of it. She readies the staff in front of her, grabbing the boy and shoving him behind her. The boy was nearly the height of the woman, just a couple of years younger than her. His hair was short and light brown, covered in similar filth to the woman. His eyes filled with fear, he cowers behind the woman.

“I should help, but I want to see how she handles herself. I'll step in if things get out of hand.” Brandon thought to himself, watching them closely as he sits on the edge of the roof.

Two men slowly walk towards them, blocking the alley with their bodies. Each man had a small knife in their hand, trying to intimidate the woman. One of the men lunges for her, trying to grab the staff from her hands. She quickly dodges the man, moving to his side. With a swift movement, she sends the end of her staff crushing down on the man's head. His lifeless body crashes to the ground, blood slowly leaking from the back of his head onto the cold stone alley floor.

“You stupid bitch!” The other man yelled, readying his dagger.

The woman aims her staff at the remaining man and the quartz begins to glow a soft reddish-orange hue. In a flash, a small fireball shoots from the end of her staff. Wind from its blowback sends dust and nearby trash flying into the air as the fireball speeds towards the man. In an instant, it collides with the man's chest, burning a giant hole into his torso. The smell of burning skin fills the air, along with the sound of it sizzling from the heat. The man drops backward onto the ground, smoke rising from the burnt hole on his chest.

“This is a lot more interesting than what I was expecting. I assumed I would have to get involved, but it seems like she can take care of herself. She might make a good student.” Brandon thought to himself, swinging his legs over the edge.

Sweat begins rolling down the woman's face as she struggles to catch her breath. The concrete beneath their feet becomes stained from blood. She barely manages to stand as her legs tremble from exhaustion.

“She's at her limit, she probably hasn't eaten in days. Magic is no joke on an empty stomach.” Brandon thought to himself.

“Come on, let's get out of here.” The woman said to the boy in between breaths.

Before they even make it past the first body, they see a third man standing before them.

“You're not going anywhere Missy, I'm going to have my fun with you then make you my slave. Then I'll sell the brat behind you to the highest bidder. We were just going to have some fun with you two before leaving you alone, but after what you just did to my men. I'm going to make you wish you were dead.” The third man said, grinning ear to ear.

The man was covered in different tattoos, from his arms to his neck and even his bald head. Wearing a gray tank top to show off his tattoos and muscular arms, he flexes them slightly with each step he takes toward the woman. Brandon watches this man closely, and his eyes widen as he spots a tattoo on the man's head. The image of a dagger with a lightning bolt was tattooed on the man's head.

“Time to make my entrance.” Brandon thought to himself as he jumped down from the roof.

Brandon lands between the woman and the man, and both nearly jump backward in shock.

“Pardon the interruption, but I was watching from above and I noticed that tattoo on your head. You wouldn't happen to be Lightning Jack by any chance? I heard he's the fastest criminal in all of Rodon, faster than lightning apparently, and he wears a tattoo atop his head just like that one.” Brandon said, pointing to the top of the man's head.

“That's exactly who I am, glad to hear my name is starting to get some fame to it.” Lightning Jack said, letting out a laugh.

Brandon signals with his hand for the woman and kid to stay behind him as he readies himself.

“Rodon may never be a decent place, but it'll be a lot nicer once you're gone,” Brandon said, readying his fist.

“There isn't a man or woman who has faced me and lived, you're not going to be any different. You hardly look like a man yourself, still wet behind the ears.” Jack said, removing a dagger from his belt.

The woman grabs the boy, and they duck down behind a nearby dumpster. Trapped in a dead-end, they pray that Brandon will get them out safely. Brandon lowers his hood, letting his dark brown hair out. His hair was thick and reaches down to his shoulders. Without the draping hood, the details of his face were much easier to make out. His eyes were silver and glued onto Jack, watching his every movement. Jack shuffles his feet slightly forward, dagger pointed right at Brandon's chest. The tension could be felt in the air, each man ready to kill the other.

“It's over for you!” Jack yelled, lunging forward.

The concrete cracked underneath the pressure of Jack's feet. In the blink of an eye, he was already on top of Brandon, thrusting his dagger toward Brandon's heart. Brandon jumps backward, landing next to the woman and kid.

“That's some impressive speed magic, destructive to the ground you're standing on, but impressive. However, your speed isn't as fast as mine.” Brandon said, giving a cocky grin.

Brandon lunges forward with such speed, that both Jack and the woman lose sight of him. Suddenly, Brandon is right in front of Jack, grabbing him by the wrist, and causing him to drop the dagger. With each passing second, Brandon squeezes Jack's wrist tighter and tighter. Too scared to make a counterattack, Jack drops to his knees in submission.

“Stop! Just stop already! You're going to break it!” Jack cried.

“After all the people you killed, you're going to beg just so I won't break your bones?” Brandon said, looking at Jack with cold eyes.

“I'll pay you however much you want, five million, ten, you name it!” Jack called out.

“I want people like you to stop existing,” Brandon said as he tightened his grip.

With a swift action, Brandon bends Jack's wrist in the wrong direction. The sound of his wrist cracking fills the alleyway. Jack begins to yell in agony but is soon silenced as Brandon punches him in the face, knocking him out. The woman and boy come out from behind the dumpster and make their way next to Brandon.

“Thank you for saving us, I didn't think we were going to make it out of this alive.” The woman said, looking up at Brandon.

“Not a problem, ridding the world of people like this is always a pleasure,” Brandon said, giving her a slight smile.

“What happens to him now?” She asked, standing over Jack.

“Now? Now I turn him into the authorities. Rodon might not be the best place, but the cops do place bounties of criminals who start getting a bit of a name for themselves. Look, I'm just going to ask this flat out, how would you like to come with me and train in magic?” Brandon asked, rubbing the back of his head.

“That's a random and sudden thing to ask a stranger.” She stated, watching Brandon.

“I'll be honest, I was watching you two from above when you were handling the first two men. I was going to help right away, but then I saw your staff and wanted to see how you would handle things. So I waited to see what you could do and to see if I would even be needed. While I'm being honest, I'd honestly rather travel by myself. However, I'm currently training under someone and my next training session is to train a student of mine own.” Brandon said.

“So you want me to come with you, just so you can finish your training. Seems a tad bit selfish if you ask me.” She said, crossing her arms.

“Look, yes, I ultimately want to do this to get my training over with. Just think about it like this, you say yes, you'll get to leave this shithole. You'll learn how to fight better and how to use your magic more. Once done training, I'll even take you to a new and safer city with money for you to start a new life. Chances like this don't happen often, so what is it going to be?” Brandon questioned.

The woman looks at the boy, then looks back at Brandon with pleading eyes.

“That sounds great, but I will not leave unless you take both of us. He's my younger brother, we've been orphans for nearly ten years now. So if I'm to train with you, he's coming with us.” She explained.

“That's fine with me, long as he's also ready to be trained. Training will not be an easy task.” Brandon stated, looking at both of them.

They both look back and Brandon and nod in agreeance.

“My name is Nozomi and my brother is Kaito,” Nozomi said, extending her hand out to Brandon.

“Name's Brandon.” He said.