What the hell was he thinking?

Making a girl a Toman member?

And it's the meek, unsure Karina Maya.

Mikey clenches his fists at his sides. First, he tells the girl that he doesn't like her, and then he shows up at her door and teaches her how to fight. And now he makes her a member of their gang.

Again, what the hell was he thinking?

Should he stop this and tell the group that it was a bad decision? The girl couldn't be one of Toman?

No.

The girl's already involved in the fight between Mammon and Toman. Hadn't she been singled out and injured by the other group? And her bully, that Aiko girl, is aiming to join Mammon. Maya needs to be protected. And being in the same group as him is the only way for her to be guarded.

Mikey can't believe he's doing this much for a girl. And he doesn't even like her.

"E-excuse me... Sano-san—"

"What?" He sounds angrier than he really is but the girl is no longer afraid of him.

Maya fidgets. "Me? As a Toman member? I'm not so sure about that..."

I'm doing this for you, his mind was saying. Instead, he silently asks her, "Can you think of another way to protect yourself?"

"I don't want to be a burden to you." Maya is looking straight into his eyes and he sees the raw strength within her that he's been noticing since spending time with the girl.

"Then, be our limb, too," he tells her. "And you need this to defeat Aiko. Don't you want to properly face her?"

The girl falls silent as she thinks.

"Mikey! We cannot accept that!"

"A girl? You've got to be kidding me!"

"She's not joining Toman!"

The members are in a frenzy, clearly not in favor of Mikey's latest decision.

Draken steps up and shouts, "Shut up! Mikey already made up his mind!"

"No," the Toman leader says. "Let's do this: all who are against my decision go to this side." He gestures to his right and a great number of their members walk toward it. "First to three. Choose your representatives. Maya will fight each one by one. If you win three fights first, Toman will not accept Maya as a member. But if she wins three fights, no one should be against welcoming her as a new member." He looks at the girl, "This will prove that you can be helpful to us, too."

The girl's eyes sparkle. In the short time that they've been training, Mikey realizes that she's a born fighter. A natural. Her newly learned techniques, plus her tolerance for pain, turn her into a formidable foe. If she loses, she can train more. But if she wins, it's a win for Toman and she'll gain even more confidence. Mikey smiles inside.

"Bring it on!"

"We won't lose to a girl!"

"Fight me!"

"Is it alright to strike a girl?"

Mikey tells them, "If you're thinking you can't hit a girl, that's good too. Just remember, if no one fights Maya then she'll automatically be accepted as one of us."

Silence ensues until Maya breaks the ice, "I-I'll fight. Who will be my opponent first?"

The crowd looks at each other. A hand raises and they see a lanky boy with a buzz cut step out of the group. He's Fukuyama, a fairly new member of Toman. "I'll fight you first. But don't expect me to hold back."

The people empties a circle between them, inside were Maya and Fukuyama only. Mikey sits on top of the stairs of Musashi Shrine, the moon and the stars giving bright illumination with the lamp posts all around. "First one to lay on the ground loses. Begin!" he shouts.

"AH!" The boy is immediately on the offensive. With all his might, he sprints toward Maya with his fist raised.

Mikey sees Maya exhale. As the boy reaches her, she adjusts her stance and balance. In a quick move, she dodges the punch and attacks her opponent with a reverse kick. Her foot powerfully slams against Fukuyama's face, hurtling him against the ground.

"Down!" Mikey bites the corner of his cheek to stop himself from smiling. "1-0."

Gasps fill the air. The Toman members couldn't believe what had just occurred. This girl, seemingly weak and shy, had defeated a member with just one blow. They already know she's out of the ordinary. Even Draken has his mouth hanging open.

"Who will fight Maya next?" Mikey asks.

"I will!" A boy as thick as Pah-chin steps up. His name is Nobunaga and he's one of the best fighters in Toman.

Mikey worriedly looks at Maya. She's looking as weak and as gentle as a dove but he knows she's simmering with fighting spirit inside. He shouts another "Begin!"

The crowd cheers, seemingly equally divided with those who don't want Maya to join Toman and those who are cheering for her.

The fight starts.

This time, Maya makes the first move. She raises her legs and aims at Nobunaga's big head. He's able to dodge the attack. He punches Maya's stomach but the girl's able to put distance between them. Then, they size each other. Walking slowly, they watch their opponent keenly.

How will Maya overcome this obstacle?

Suddenly, Nobunaga advances and kicks her sheen. Maya was not able to predict the attack and now kneels on the soil of the shrine. With one of his big fists, Nobunaga punches Maya straight in the face.

She yells in pain.

"Oi, Mikey. You suggested this," Draken is saying beside him.

"Huh?"

"You look like you're about to murder someone."

Mikey checks himself. His fists are clenched tightly and he's slightly trembling. This is exactly how he feels when he's about to fight all out.

Damn that Nobunaga.

He wants to hold his face and punch it hard over and over again.

Should he just call the fight off and accept the fact that Maya cannot join his gang?

But, the girl stands up again, fire in her beautiful brown eyes. "1 all. T-the fight's not over," she proclaims.

How can he be stupid?

This is Karina Maya's fight and she's not giving up yet.

"Who's next?" he asks his group, though still reeling inside.

Taguchi raises his hand. Maya wipes the blood flowing from her wounded lips and adjusts her stance in front of her new opponent.

"Begin!"

Maya throws the first punch. Taguchi blocks it using his lean arm. Another punch and another. Taguchi seems to be forever in the defense, but it doesn't look like he'll be defeated soon. He adjusts his balance and hugs Maya by the waist. The girl keeps on hitting his back but he's determined to make them fall to the ground. Maya grunts and when it looks like they're already about to fall, she uses her knee to hit Taguchi's groin. The boy howls in pain and falls to the ground alone.

"That's 2-1." Draken is grinning. "This is really interesting."

The crowd is louder now. Maya is only one step away from officially being a Toman member. Who will want to fight her now?

It takes quite a while before one of their members raises a hand. Burly Joe walks to the circle. He's been a member of Toman for a long time but not always present. He's a tough opponent.

"Begin!"

This time, Maya wastes no time. She runs toward Joe with no fist or leg ready. Without expecting the move, Joe freezes in a defensive position as Maya slams her whole body into her opponent. She ends up sitting on Joe's chest as he lies on the ground. Maya punches him not so hard once.

And the fight is over.

Karina Maya won.

The side that's been cheering on her laughs and celebrates. The other half of Toman is silent.

"It's decided, Karina Maya will be one of us! She's officially a Toman member!" Mikey happily announces. Proud, he looks at the girl.

"Please take care of me!" Maya says with teary eyes.

When that first issue about Toman is settled, the group is all ears for the next topic of their gathering.

It's, of course, about Mammon.

They discuss how Mammon is expanding. It's already a big group--consisting of almost 200 high school and college boys. But now they're welcoming middle schoolers, too, and girls. And they're so interested in Toman that their members attack Toman members wherever and whenever. It's becoming extremely dangerous for Toman members to be alone outside.

Mikey had declared war against Mammon and wanted to finish them in a fight once and for all. But Isamu Itsuki, the group's leader, didn't want to fight head-on against them fairly. He said the fights of their members are merely little squabbles although everyone knows he really wants to destroy Toman.

This is Mikey's solution: "From now on, we go in groups. Those in the same school will look after each other. Same with those living in the same neighborhood. Don't go to places alone and beware of Mammon."

"Oi, oi. Are we seriously just defending ourselves? Isn't that just cowardly? Like we are running away?" Mitsuya asks from the crowd.

Mikey responds, "It might look like that way now but we don't need more injuries in Toman. Not until we finally finish them off. For now, I have another solution." He points a thumb to his chest. "I will fight Isamu Itsuki by myself!"

The crowd roars and says his name.

"Mikey!"

"Mikey!"

"Mikey!"