**FAMILY GROUNDS**

**JUNE 24, 2010**

"AHHH, I'm tireddd!"

"This is a total chore."

"You two are as hopeless as ever."

8 years have now passed since the birth of the Heads' sons; their names, Jamal Sanjuro and

Tarik Yamaguchi. The two were quite intelligent children, having started the Academy at

the age of 5; the youngest among the year group. After completing 3 years of education, the

time for Graduation finally arrived. Most kids spent the evening celebrating, having fun

with each other. These two, however, spent the evening in training, with Emir and Fudo in

supervision.

Things didn't seem to be going as smoothly, though.

"Good grief...I knew from the start, but this still is annoying sometimes..."

Fudo let out a depressed sigh as he recalled his conversation with his Father, 8 years ago.

The night the two were born...

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**SANJURO MANSION**

"He's...what?"

"You heard me, Fudo. Your baby brother, Jamal, lacks one of the energies."

In the living room, sat Gado and Fudo. Gado recited to his son what the nurses had told him

and Tenchi earlier that night.

"Then...that means..."

"Yeah. It's pretty much a disability."

"He has Physical Energy, but he absolutely lacks Spiritual Energy. Meaning, he can't focus

properly, can't perform magic, et cetera. Basically, he can't become a fighter, that's

impossible."

Fudo leaned back into the couch and let out a sigh, saddened by the unfortunate state of his

newborn brother.

"Honestly, I've never heard of this ever happening in our two families. But, it's probably not

uncommon among the general population. They don't even fight, so it's not like it would be

of much concern to them anyway."

"He won't die, y'know."

"I know...but, we're a family of fighters."

"I mean...there has to be if even a slight possibility..."

At the same moment, Fudo noticed a shadow in the corner of his eye. Going to check, he

found his young twin siblings. They had heard the conversation, and were in a somber

state.

"Big-Brother Fudo...will our kid brother be ok?"

He then comforted and reassured them, saying,

"Don't worry, you two. He'll be just fine. Now, go get some rest, it's late."

"Ok, Big-Brother."

Going back to his father, Fudo couldn't help but ask:

"So then...what about Tenchi-sama's son? How is he?"

"...Same."

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**YAMAGUCHI MANSION**

"As I've explained, Sato, your little brother Tarik won't be capable of fighting when he

grows up."

"He lacks Physical Energy, meaning his body is weak, and lacking that basic physical

strength, he can't even build himself."

Tenchi sat in his son's room, explaining the situation to him. However, Satoru answered his

father with a very responsible question:

"...But, that's fine, right?"

"It's sad that my brother can't fight, but if that's the only problem, it's ok to me. He's still my

little brother."

That's my boy, Tenchi thought to himself with a smile.

"Alright, go get some rest, my son."

"Yes, Father. Good night."

As Tenchi walked away to his own room, he was still concerned about something in his

mind:

...I hope this goes well, Gado...

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Back to the present, Emir smacked Fudo in his head.

"You didn't hear a word I was saying, did you?"

"I was saying you have to admit, they've grown a little over the years; Jamal's focus and

enthusiasm comes and goes, and Tarik's still weak but, his strength is at the bare

minimum."

"Oh...yeah, I guess things aren't as bad with them now."

"Look, it's Big Sis!"

Tarik directed everyone's attention to someone approaching: her name was Hayami Ooriki,

one of Fudo's long-time friends, and a High-Ranking member of the Night Hunters Squad, a

group of fighters formed between the Two Clans assigned to capture any havoc-wreaking

Dragons of the Big Three.

She had stopped by to greet the 4 after finishing a small evening mission.

"Good evening Fudo-kun, Emir-sensei."

"What's up, Hayami?"

"I just wanted to give those two an early congratulations."

She turned to the boys who were exercising:

"You two are hard at work, I see!"

Jamal, who was a little into it earlier, was now completely disinterested.

"Yeah but this is so boooring though...can't we do something else?"

"how does his mood change so quickly?"

Tarik tried to encourage Jamal again as he hopelessly lifted a 20LB dumbbell:

"Come on Jamal, you're the stronger one between us! Stop getting bored already!"

"Training is tiring."

“I can't believe Fudo-san is your brother!!” he yelled in annoyance.

The three adults watched them fight each other.

"Jeez...is it always like this?" Hayami asked.

"Some days are good, while some aren't. At the very start some years ago, Jamal was

actually thrilled. But his condition gradually got ahold of him."

"I see...but, what's their goal?"

For a few seconds, Emir and Fudo went unresponsive at Hayami's question.

"huh?"

"...are you two serious?"

"Well, at one point they agreed to be strong like me, but..." Fudo trailed off.

All along, the two had been trying to improve without a concrete goal in mind.

Tarik overheard Fudo's statement, and paused in the middle of fighting:

"Yeah, that's right! Fudo-san is super strong, right Jamal? Remember the tournament 5

years ago?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Elder Brother's like the strongest besides Father."

Every 7 years, the two clans host a Martial Arts Tournament for all persons

under 20 years old. The last tournament took place 5 years ago, and the Final spot for the

15-19yo group was between Fudo and Katashi. After a lengthy and rough battle, Fudo came

out on top.

"heh, hear that Emir-sensei? i'm stronger than you."

"no way Foddero, you're not near my level just yet."

"whatever you say."

When Hayami saw that the two were hardly making any progress, she decided to step in:

"At this rate, they won't progress at all, y'know."

"...Jamal, Tarik. I'm giving you two some homework."

"huh? but school is gonna end! Big-Sis!!"

"Listen. Do you really want to become strong? You guys can't push yourselves without a

clear goal in mind."

"But, we want to be strong like Fudo-san! Right, Ja-"

Jamal was daydreaming.

"PAY ATTENTION, BAKA!"

"As I was saying…I get that you guys have set Fudo as a goal. But, that's not good enough.

You have to aim for something even beyond that. Are you two trying to limit yourselves to

Fudo, or Emir?"

The two were caught by Hayami's words.

"Jamal, you're already physically gifted, so all you have to do is strengthen your focus.

Visualise your goal! Do you intend on being a slave to your situation?"

"Tarik, you may be hardly as strong as the average person, but your spirit blossoms within

you! Let that burning passion drive you to high heights!"

"I believe in the both of you...so, aim even higher than that, aim for the very stars! Become

the strongest of the strongest! If you promise me that, I promise I'll be there for you two, no

matter what hardships, struggles or sadness you face."

As she was leaving, she turned and gave both of them a thumbs up:

"Be the very best you can be!"

Emir and Fudo looked on in amazement.

"she always was a good motivator."

"seems she likes you, Fudo-kun."

"shut up sensei, we're friends."

"Anyway, Sensei and I have to run a few errands tonight. You two can head on home, make

sure you're rested for tomorrow."

"Ok, see you Big Brother, Emir-sensei!"

"Later Fudo-san! Emir-san!"

While they left, Jamal and Tarik stayed on the training ground for a little while; Jamal took a

seat on the ground, surprisingly in deep thought over Hayami's instructions.

"So, we'll be graduating tomorrow...we're still kids, but we really are gro-"

"Have you thought about it, Tarik?"

"Eh?"

"What Hayami-nee said."

Tarik paused for a moment. He was shocked to see Jamal actually focused on something.

"Well...I'm still not really sure. My goal was Fudo-san but..."

"Hayami-san's words...sparked something in me, Tarik. I've...never felt this feeling within

me before..."

“…I’ve decided. I don’t want to be strong like my brother.”

As he stood up...the words that followed from Jamal's mouth, would change the lives of the

two boys forever:

"I want to be, the strongest of all!"

"Stronger than my brother...than Hayami-san, than Emir-sensei, than even Father...I want to

become the strongest!"

Tarik's eyes lit up brightly...to see his friend, who's generally so disinterested and mentally

low, become so ambitious for the first time ever. So much so that Tarik even began to shed

tears.

"That's...so cool!!"

Wiping away the tears, he responded to his best friend with the brightest smile:

"In that case, the same goes for me! Let's both get stronger together, Jamal!"

"Alright, it's a promise, Tarik!"

As they sealed their promise with a fist-bump, two persons called out to Jamal; they were

his twin siblings, Gina and Ilmar.

"Yo, Jamal! Let's go home together!"

"Oh, it's my Brother and Sister. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Tarik."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow!”

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**SANJURO MANSION**

When the 3 children arrived home, they were met by their father, Lord Gado, at the door.

"Oh, you're heading out, Father?"

"Yeah, I'll be out for a little walk."

"Make sure you all sleep early, and be well rested. Tomorrow's your guys' graduation."

"Yeah, yeah."

As they were going inside, Jamal remained and spoke to his father. He clenched his fists and

bowed his head, and declared to him,

"...Father."

"I've decided...my goal...is to be the strongest martial artist! I won't let you down!"

There was a moment of silence.

With a small smirk, Gado responded to his son,

"...I see."

He started walking away...and while doing so, said:

"I look forward to that, Jamal."

Jamal's eyes brightened...and he was happy.

Then their mother, Lady Miri, called out to them saying,

"You're all back. Come on, dinner's getting cold!"

"Ok Mama!"

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**YAMAGUCHI MANSION**

"So, you want to be the strongest?"

Inside Lord Tenchi's personal office were himself and his son Tarik. The child was

expressing his newfound ambitions to his father.

"Yeah! I'm gonna push my way to the top! Me and Jamal are gonna be the greatest!”

"Hm? You and Gado's son?”

"Yup, we made a promise!"

"Well, I admire your enthusiasm, my so-."

"Dummy...you know you don't have to force yourself."

A third person chimed in to the conversation: it was Satoru, Tenchi's elder son. He wasn't

too crazy about Tarik's excitement.

"You don't have to be a fighter. You don't have to push yourself when

you already have a limit."

"So what if you're not the strongest? Are you that greedy?"

These words cut Tarik's heart...and he got angry at his brother.

"What are you saying, Sato? How am I greedy? Don't you want to see me grow stronger?"

"I'm saying it's pointless, dummy."

"Who are you to talk?! Don't put me down just because you were born strong!"

"Hey, I don't mean-"

"I'm gonna show everyone that I don't have a limit, and neither does Jamal!"

With that, Tarik stormed out of the room, and slammed the door behind him.

*sigh*

“Do what you want, idiot.”

Tenchi placed his hand in his son's hair, and said to him,

"Sato...can you stop yourself from getting older?"

"...Huh? Of course not. Even if there was some magic spell, you still-"

"Exactly, son...you can't stop growth."

Satoru was left speechless after hearing this, and he felt guilty for his words.

"Anyway, I'm heading out for a bit. Make sure you two sleep early tonight."

"Ok. Good Night, Father."

As Tenchi left, Satoru remained in the office for a little bit, reflecting on his brother's words.

Damn it...he's such a show off.

-------------------------------------------------

"8 years sure went by quickly, eh Tenchi?"

"Yes, time really flies."

The two Heads walked together outside, killing time and discussing. This was like a

past-time for the two, reminiscing on their younger days and considering different things to

put in place for the Families. Clan members also greeted the two as they walked.

"In a matter of time, a new generation of fighters, doctors, specialists, all manner of skilled

professionals, will emerge."

"Speaking of fighters...we'll particularly need those. The Dragons don't seem to be doing

much...but they're definitely amassing numbers."

"It's all the calm before the storm, after all. We'll call a meeting soon to discuss this with the

others-"

The two Heads reached immeasurable levels of second-hand embarrassment as they

passed a small bar:

There sat Fudo, Emir, Hayami and their friends, drunk as all f*ck.

"I'M TELLING YOU, I'M WAY STRONGER THAN SENSEI. HE'S GOT NNNOOOTTHHIIIIING

ON ME."

"SHUDDUP, FUDO. YOU COULDN'T WIN EVEN IF I WAS A HUNDRED TIMES WEAKER."

"YOU'RE A MEANIIIEEE, EMIR-SAAN. FUDO-KUN IS AMAZING."

"OI, BARTENDER, MORE DRINKS PLEASE."

"are they really the top rankers of our clans?"

"sigh. ignore them."

"don't have to tell me twice."

"By the way, Tenchi."

"...Did your son say anything interesting?"

"...He did."

A gust of wind blew past them at that moment...

*smirk*

"...well."

"Let the show begin."

"...weren't those the two Heads?"

"they didn't see us, right?"

"by a fucking miracle they didn't."

"give me a break already.”

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On the next day, the big moment finally arrived: Graduation Day. The Academy's

auditorium was filled with a huge gathering of proud family members. The main speaker

for that year was none other than Tenchi Yamaguchi, and he left the graduates with nothing

short of a glorious speech:

"Graduates, words can't express my joy and amazement in your achievements up until

today. However, I encourage you all not to stop for a single second. Some of you will walk

the path to become fighters, some doctors, some great speakers. Today, I leave this word

with you all; The World Is Yours. Pursue your dreams, go the extra mile. And I have full

confidence that you will all become the very best that you can be."

"Congratulations to you all!"

Yeah...this is it, Tarik. We've finally graduated, and are about to head into the next stage.

...Hehe, am I actually getting nervous now?

As Jamal looked over at his best friend, it was as if they could read each other's minds

clearly:

Let's show them just how far we can go, Tarik!

I'll show Satoru just how amazing we are...Let's go wild!

**TO BE CONTINUED**