"Huff!!!" With this, he fell to the ground. He was having a little trouble breathing, but he would recover in a half-minute. The other kids looked at him from above, giggling. "Well, nothing changed after all. You began taking Karate Lessons, but still, you get your ass kicked up pretty bad, don't ya? Heh... Let's get outta here... It ain't fun to beat someone who's already on the floor!" The fallen boy would slowly get up, after the bullies left, hanging to a wall that was near. He had a few bruises, and only after he got up, he could breathe normally. "Why?", he asked himself. "Why does this happen to me...?"
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Chapter 1: Bullies
His name was Fontes, and he lived in Portugal, where he was born. The city where he lived was called Torres Vedras. He was 8 years old, and since 1st grade, he was marked by Antonio and his group. Very frequently, they would give Fontes a beating, for their own enjoyment. Of course Fontes was not the only one. A few other kids were mistreated by this elementary school gang. All of this was done outside of school, so no school staff would see it. Fontes' parents always asked about the bruises he eventually had. Fontes, afraid of Antonio, simply replyed that he tripped on something and fell, or that it was done playing, during recess. Because of this, his parents were constantly nagging on him, asking for him to be more careful. He did wanted to tell the truth... But Antonio's possible reaction scared him to constant silence.
One day, Fontes asked his parents to start taking Karate lessons, under the excuse that he would like to be like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. His old folks were ok with it. It was a good way for their son to do some exercise, and it could be fun, for him. Of course, Fontes' true reason was to learn how to protect himself. He was tired of getting his ass handed to him by those bullies. Didn't took much time, till Antonio heard about this. "So, he thinks he's Goku, now? Let's teach him some tricks of our own, guys..."
Fontes' beatings got more frequent, as Fontes continued with his Karate lessons. Antonio's intentions were to make Fontes give up on it. "See, you little shit?! No matter what you do, you'll get your ass kicked all the time, so quit it!!! Stop wasting your parents money on something that doesn't do any good to you! Go play with dolls, instead!"
So, Fontes kept carrying bruises, across his body. One day, during Karate, his master noticed how frequently Fontes' body had marks. "Fontes... May I ask why do you have these? I hope it's not due to my teachings..." The teacher began to worry, if in any ways, he was going too hard on the boy. "No..." , he replyed, "... it's nothing. I'm just a clumsy one, and I fall pretty easily." His sensei looked at him in the eyes, as he heard this. "Xavier, could you guide the class for a minute? Me and Fontes will be right back." "Yes, sensei!"
They got outside the dojo. It wasn't exactly a dojo, but a gymnasium room, inside a fairly large sports association building, where many types of sports could be practiced, from basketball, swimming, fencing... and Karate. His sensei asked him to sit on the chairs, in the corridor, just outside the "dojo". The sensei kneeled down, in front of him. "Fontes... I'd like to ask you something." Fontes' sensei looked him in the eyes. "... Why did you choose to practice Karate?" The sensei was a short man, about 1,65m (5'4'') tall, and thin. At first glance, most people wouldn't take him for a Karate teacher, due to his small frame. His head was shaven, and his age was surely above 30.
It took a while, for Fontes to move his lips. "I... I... want to... be stronger..." The sensei nodded slowly, and he made another question: "Why?" his voice was soft, trying to leave Fontes at ease. Fontes never heard his sensei talk like this. He was always so serious, during class... Still, Fontes was afraid to answer. He knew that, if he told her the truth, the sensei could eventually speak to his parents. And after Antonio got to know about this... who knew what would happen. "Because... I..." Fontes voice began to tremble, and he looked down, to the ground, not facing his teacher. The sensei placed his right hand on Fontes left shoulder. "You're tired of having these marks on your body, isn't that right?" After a few seconds, Fontes nodded, still looking down, not saying a word. "Don't worry... I won't tell your parents." With this, Fontes immediately looked back to sensei, who was smiling to him. "... what... sensei?" The sensei chuckled, at Fontes' surprised look. "Hahahaha... Well... I thought it could be something like this. There are many reasons to start practicing a martial art. Some wish to know the limits of their bodies, while others just want to be like Sam Gowku, or whatever that monkey is called..." Fontes couldn't avoid to chuckle, with the last statement. "... However... There are those who wish to practice it just so they get new ways of harming others... And sometimes... Those others wish for a way... to protect themselves... That last one is you... am I right?" Fontes looked down, again. The smile he gained, from hearing his sensei, was now gone. The sensei placed now both hands on Fontes shoulders, and asked him to look him in the eyes... like a real man. Fontes did as he was told...
"Like I said, I will not tell your parents, so, you do not need to worry. However... You must be the one to do so. If you keep your silence, I will not interfere, since that is not my job. But if you keep it like this... Things can get out of hand. Did you understood what I just told you?" Fontes nodded, in response. "Good. Let's get back into the dojo, now, shall we?"
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Chapter 2: Preparations
Eventually, Christmas vacations arrived. Two weeks without seeing Antonio, nor any of his friends. Fontes had kept himself shut, about the matter. However, for a very diferent reason as before... After all, what could happen to Antonio was that he could get transfered. Of course, Fontes would finaly be free from his almost daily beatings... But Fontes wasn't the type of boy to think on himself, only. He knew that, wherever Antonio went, he would do the exact same thing. Something had to be done... His sensei went to spend christmas season away, so, no classes, for a while. But that didn't stopped this 8 year old... Even with his sensei away, he practiced hard, on his bedroom, or in a small park, near his house, after dinner. On Christmas Eve, he got late for dinner, due to training, and on Christmas day, he spent most of the day practicing oi-zukis. Most of the times, he practiced with one of his karate classmates, who was a red belt. It was fine for him to practice with Fontes. After all, even with a white belt, training is still training. Plus, it would be a good chance for Fontes to learn something a bit more advanced. But for some reason, Fontes only wanted to spar, and didn't seem much in the mood for doing katas, even if he managed to do it right.
"Hmm... Don't you practice kumite a little too much? Maybe you should do kata more often." "No, I wanna get better, at combat. Please, can we spar one more time?"
Finaly, Christmas vacation came to an end. It was time to go back to school. Usually, Fontes would be scared, fearing what would happen... But this time, he had no fear in his eyes. He felt like this time... things would turn out diferent. And what surprise: Antonio and his friends were right in school's entrance. "Hey there... If it ain't our favourite punching bag. Come on, get over here... We didn't get the chance to give you OUR Christmas gift, yet..." All the kids around just KNEW what was about to happen. As they aproached Fontes, they noticed something... unusual. No shaking... no backsteps... no tears... Fontes didn't show any signs of fear. Instead, he was smiling.
"Hmm... Couldn't this wait? Class is already starting, and I hate to be late." Antonio twitched his right eye, as he noticed that Fontes was somehow teasing him. If that was truly the case, it didn't matter. To Antonio, he was being teased by the kid he most used as a punching bag. Antonio aproached Fontes, and grabbed his shirt, with the riht hand. "Are you stupid, or something?! I'm gonna shove my fist down your throat, you freak!" With this, all the kids around walked away a few steps. Fontes' reaction, however... He slapped Antonio's right hand, with his left one, off his shirt. Everyone was surprised, by such a response... But not as surprised as Antonio, who never had a response like this. Before he could say anything, Fontes spoke: "You and me... At this very place, after class. Don't be late." With this, Fontes passed by Antonio, who was still shocked, with Fontes' behaviour. Not only him, but everyone around was surprised. Fontes was always known among the kids for being the one getting beaten most frequently by Antonio... And now, Fontes faced him, just like that. Only a few kids knew Fontes was taking Karate lessons... But even those felt surprised.
During class, his classmates asked him if he was sure about what he told to Antonio... Some others asked if his brain didn't get too scrambled, with all the beatings. Fontes only answer was... "Don't worry about me..."
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Chapter 3: Payback
Finaly, class was over, and Fontes had to do a little errand, for his teacher. As he finaly got out of the school building, there he was... Antonio. And about half the school kids, too, looking at Fontes, who seemed surprised, to see so many people. "So... I was starting to think you ran home..." Fontes merely aproached Antonio, until there was a 2 meter distance, between them. The students began forming a circle, around them. Fontes placed his backpack on the floor, tossing it to the grass, about a meter away from him. He looked Antonio in the eyes... "You first... or me?"
Everyone kept asking to each other what was this kid doing! Antonio couldn't avoid to start laughing like a lunatic... "PFFFAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! WHAT?! Hey, guys, did ya hear this?! He sure gained some guts. But guts alone..." Antonio charged towards Fontes, with his right fist clenched, pointed to Fontes' face. His left hand was opened, suggesting that Antonio would grab Fontes' shirt, before punching. "... GUTS ALONE WON'T SAVE YOUR ASS!!!" When scared, anyone could get hit... But now, after Fontes' intensive training (for an 8 year old, of course... he didn't turned into a ninja.), he could only think:
"... (How could I be scared of something this predictable...?)..."
Fontes twisted his body to the right (clock-wise), and lifted his left foot, up as he could. Then, as fast as he could, he shoot his foot directly to Antonio's stomach. Receiving this blow, Antonio went back a meter away, falling on his back. Fontes remained with his leg stretched for a few seconds, before withdrawing it, and placing his foot back to the ground. He just performed a Yoko Geri Kekomi, one of karate's basic kicks... But for a basic technique, it has quite a lot of pushbach power. Fontes dedicated 3 days of his Christmas vacations, practicing this kick. Antonio was now getting himself up, with everyone still questioning what just happened. "Did Fontes
just kicked Antonio to the ground?" "Wow, that was incredible!" "COOL!!!" Fontes didn't reacted to the other kids' reactions. All he cared about right now was Antonio, who got up by now.
"You... Oh, now you've done it. I'm gonna KILL YOU!!!"
Antonio charged at Fontes once more, with both his hands opened, with the intention of grabbing Fontes' neck. One could tell that Antonio just got out of control. His move was even more predictable, now. It was time... For Fontes to use the technique that consumed 5 days of training... Not because it took that much for him to do it... But because he wanted to use it on Antonio, and so, it had to be perfect. Unlike all other techniques he learned so far, in karate class, and with his red-belt friend, during vacation, this technique was learned some place else... A place that at first glance, has nothing to teach us... But sometimes... videogames can give us the best advice we could ever need.
Fontes waited till Antonio's hands were almost grasping him, and then... To Antonio's eyes, he just vanished. Fontes had just ducked, his legs bent, being the left one in front, and the right knee almost touching the floor. His right hand was closed as tight as he could, placed by his waist. his left forearm was in front of his chest, horizontaly. "... (this is it!)..." , Fontes thought. With all the strenght in him focused on his left leg, and his right arm, he jumped up. He jumped with all his might, bringing his right fist up, rising it as far as it could go.
"SHOOOORYUUUUUUUUUUUKEEEENNNNNNN!!!"
His fist met with Antonio's chin, and as soon as it did, it sent Antonio just as high as Fontes' jump was. After the upward punch, Fontes rotated in mid-air, counter-clockwise, landing on his feet, facing Antonio, who, by now, was laying on the floor, fully conscious, but barely able to move. He was still hurt from the Yoko Geri Kekomi, and this last blow did just the trick. Everyone was completely shocked, about what just happened. Fontes, known as the school's biggest punching bag, just knocked out the school's biggest bully.
"Huff... Serves you right...", Fontes said, not loudly.
After a few seconds, Fontes went to get his backpack. He picked it up, and walked away, asking for permission to pass by the small croud of kids. As soon as he got home, his mother asked "Hello there, Fontes! How was your day at school, today?" "Just fine, mom..." he replyed, with a smirk on his face. "Just fine..." When he entered his room, he couldn't avoid to hold his right hand with his left one...
"OWWW!!! That hurt... Damn you, Capcom!!!"
Seems like Fontes just overdid himself, back there... Nothing that can't be recovered. The next day, every kid in the school congratulated him, for his victory. Fontes didn't mind, since finaly, he got some respect. Truth is, Antonio gradually stopped picking on other kids, after his defeat. He was afraid Fontes would give him another beating. School bullies are always like this... They act all tough, but by the time someone stands up to them, they turn to crybabies.
Note from the writer: Shoryuken is a move took from the "Street Fighter" videogame series, produced by Capcom. It's a move Fontes does, quite oftenly. Of course, Fontes' version doesn't have such a high jump, and there are no flames coming out of his fist. For obvious reasons, that is... However, with some practice, just about anyone can perform the shoryuken's movement perfectly. And it's kinda fun to do, too-----------------------------------------------
Chapter 4: Growing up
Some years have past. Fontes was now 15 years old, and he was now a blue belt. He could be higher, if he didn't had to leave Karate, 2 years ago. His little sister was born, and his parents could not afford Fontes' Karate lessons, anymore. He understood, but leaving Karate didn't stopped him from training. he saw this as a chance to learn moves from other fighting styles. Also, it wouldn't hurt, to start practicing with a weapon... It took him a while to decide on each one. until one day, when he was playing Soul Calibur, with a friend of his, he played close attention to one of characters... he was called Maxi, and his weapon was a Nunchaku. He was fascinated with the moves, as well as the weapon's balance of speed, and power. Of course, he noticed this weapon would be hard to master... but he was young. He had a lot of time. Plus, it was not his intentions to use a weapon in real combat. He only wished to increase his knowledge. So, he went to Lisbon (Portugal's capital), which is about 53km away from Fontes' hometown. He knew of a martial arts shop, near the bus stop. He would see if he could get something, in there. Luckily for him, there was lots of diferent types of nunchakus, to choose from. Following the advice of the store employee, he choose a padded nunchaku, for begginers. And so, he went back home, with his new... "toy".
He went to look for some nunchaku tutorials, on the internet. He downloaded a few demonstration videos, and payed close attention to them. As any other rookie, Fontes began with basic vertical passes. From there, it would be a matter of time, and a lot of bumps in the head, elbows, and eventually in his "privates"... But after a year (16 years old, now), he was finaly looking like something. Also, this is when his hair began to grow long. He was a bit popular, in school, not because of his martial arts skills, but because of the drawings he usually does. He began drawing at the age of 14, and he seemed to be getting good at it at a fine pace. Also... It was now that Fontes developed most of his personality.
Due to moments of lazyness, when he had to push a door open, he didn't feel like taking his hands out of his pockets, so he did it with his foot. This would eventually become a habit of his. Also, some thoughts of his, regarding anything in general, crossed his mind. He stopped believing in God, at the age of 14, and now, he began to think on how to carry out his fighting skills... Why can't he attack an opponent from behind? It's the opponent's problem, if he can't keep himself/herself looking straight to the enemy. Kicking in the privates... It hurts like hell, but it can be easily blocked, so, not Fontes' problem. And for using objects around us, to protect ourselves... In a real fight, our enemy won't give a dime for honor... why should we, then? This was the start of Fontes new fighting morals... or a complete lack of them. Every once in a while, someone would challenge Fontes for a match, most of the times bringing their girlfriends, for them to see how tough their man was. Little did they know how dirty Fontes would get, on those show-offs. Soon, he was no longer known as a martial artist, but a street fighter,
instead. Also, since his 12 years old, he developed a passion for japanese comics, and animation. And it was now that he began to develop even more his other passion for videogames. After all, he got himself free of Antonio, using a move he learned through playing Street Fighter II. Because of these new habits, he began to be known as a weirdo... But a harmless one, at least. He didn't share the common customs of the portuguese people. He hated soccer (watching, not playing), and at the age of 14, many kids begin to go to bars, or clubs, and have some drinks... While Fontes, at the age of 16, had never set foot on any of these places. Also, his beard started to grow. He usually shaved, but with time, he had less and less pacience to do so, deciding to shave only once per month.
One day, he met his Karate sensei, on a coffee shop. "Hey, Fontes... Long time, no see. I've heard you began practicing with nunchakus." "Oh, hi, sensei! Yeah, I did, but I still train my bare-hand techniques." Fontes was glad to see his sensei, again. He did see him, sometimes, but it has been long, since they actually had a conversation. "So... Are you ever coming back to Karate?" "Hmm, don't know... I'd like to, but my parents have been a little short, on cash... After all, I left your teachings because my sister was born..." His sensei nodded. "Yes, I see... Fontes... I would like to know how have you been doing, without my teachings. Maybe we could spar, one of these days?" "Hey, sure. whenever you want!"
So, on a Sunday, they met in the city's park. it was a large grass field, with dirt trails crossing it, and some trees, here and there. and of course, it had benches, for people to sit down on. It was located on the city's limits, which was just across the street, from Fontes' house. Fontes had his old Karate Gi on him, with his blue belt, while his sensei had a sleeveless shirt, and his Gi pants. Some people around them stopped, to look at what was going on. They boed, and each assumed a stance. His sensei had turned sideways, the right side of him facing Fontes. His legs were slightly bent, and his feet were spreaded, matching his shoulder distance. His left forearm was in front of his chest, horizontaly, with his hand slightily closed. His right hand was a bit up to his face. To Fontes' prespective, he was covering his face. As for Fontes, his legs were on Kibadashi leg stance, his body weight being destributed 50% on each leg, giving him a nice balance. Like sensei, he was also facing his opponent
with the right side of his body. His arms position were also similar to sensei's, however, Fontes' hands were more opened, and his right hand was slightly up. To sensei's prespective, Fontes' right hand was between his eyes. They stood like this for about a half minute, looking at each other. By now, most people understood what was about to happen.
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Chapter 5: Teacher VS Student
They got a few steps closer to each other, and the sensei dashed towards Fontes. Only at the last milimeter, would him reveal his attack: a punch at Fontes left cheek, using his right fist. Fontes managed to see this, and swipped sensei's fist, using his right palm, in a right-to-left motion. In response to this defense, the sensei lifted his left leg, aiming his knee to Fontes' right kidney. Obviously, a hit like this would be incredibly painful, and sensei knew that, so he wasn't going to apply full strenght on it. He was sparring a kid who was young enough to be his son. Even if Fontes was a bit taller (remember, sensei has about 1,65 meters, the same as 5'4''), sensei was still in better physical shape, due to having a lot more years of training. As his knee almost reached Fontes' kidney area, it was intercepted by Fontes' right elbow, coming downwards, after the punch block. Sensei was a bit surprised, to see how Fontes managed to block two attacks so distant from each other, using just one limb. Seems like he didn't slack off. But sensei wasn't going to give up, on his offense. With his left hand, he aimed a punch, at Fontes' right cheek. This time, Fontes caught sensei's left fist with his left hand, right in front of his face, holding it tight. As sensei's foot landed, he moved up his right leg, with the intention of kicking Fontes's chest, with his right foot's instep. Yet, Fontes would manage to block that fourth attack, with his right fist. His sensei was quite pleased, already... Managing to block four consecutive strikes, just like that, isn't that much of an easy task. The way he used his elbow, to block. Sensei didn't thought him that... he did quite some progress, since he left the dojo. But this was no time to contemplate his former student's progress. He had four of his strikes avoided in a row, he should come up with something, now...
However, Fontes moved into offense: sensei's left fist was still being hold by Fontes' left hand. Now, Fontes pulled sensei's hand to the left, dragging sensei along. This caused him to rotate, clockwise, his left torso facing Fontes, completely exposed to any possible attack. But this wasn't Fontes' target... Fontes' right leg near sensei's right leg, which was the only one on the ground, the left one still in mid-air. And Fontes' right arm was stretched, due to countering sensei's kick. Fontes moved his right leg to the left, swipping sensei's right leg, and moved his arm, completely stretched, to the right, bumping on sensei's stomach, and pulling him behind. Fontes' two limbs would kind of perform a scisor-like movement. Sensei was now falling, and at the same moment his back touched the ground, he would see the back sky suddenly turning dark, as something appeared above him... In a flash, he would feel Fontes' left fist passing near sensei's face, hitting the floor, producing a compleatly hearable *thud*, and at the same time, Fontes would release a loud kiai shout, perfectly proportional to this last punch's strenght...
"HEAAAAAHHHH!!!"
At this time, Fontes and sensei were looking at each other in the eyes, sensei surprised with Fontes' performance. Everyone around, kids with their parents, old folks, young couples, and the like, seemed to be enjoying what to them, seemed like some kind of show. "Heh... Seems like I should have taken you a bit more seriously. Should that punch land on me, and I wouldn't be speaking to you, right now, I'm sure." Fontes' left fist was still on the floor, now being used to support Fontes' weight, so he would fall over his former teacher. He was right above sensei, each leg on each side of sensei's hips. "Still... Your strikes were as sharp as they should be, even if you were holding back..." Sensei chuckled, at Fontes' response. "But there is one thing you should know... You need to be always careful!" With this, sensei raised his left knee, hitting Fontes in his privates. With his left palm, sensei pushed Fontes to the right, preventing the boy from falling over him. As sensei got up, Fontes was still on the ground, with his hands by his groin. By now, everyone around was laughing at the situation. Most men were feeling sorry for the youngster, while all women were laughing their hearts out. About fifteen minutes later, Fontes began to get up. His sensei gave him a little help, pulling him up. "You should always be alert, and never drop your guard. Your punch would get me unconsious, most probably... But you missed it, even if it was on purpose, so I was still a threat to you. Your best option would be to either get away from me, or to deliver a real blow. Understand?" Fontes was a little annoyed with what happened... but he nodded, in agreement.
"Yes, sensei... Ouch..."
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Chapter 6: Goodbye, Portugal... GO TO HELL!!!
Right now, Fontes was 17 years old, and he was living his life on his own way. He became a bit of a lazy student, which means his grades aren't anything to be proud of. He spends most of his time playing videogames, drawing, training, and pulling a prank here and there. Though he's 17, he was still on 11th grade, since he didn't had much interest in studying. Not that he was stupid, or anything... just unmotivated.
One day, his father returned home, with news. Fontes was playing Shenmue, on a Dreamcast emulator called Chankast. He paused the game, as his mother called him, to hear the news, as well. His sister was playing with their neighbour's daughter, so, she wasn't home, at the moment. "I got promoted!!!" Fontes' mother almost fell, with joy "Oh my God... Are you serious?!" Fontes'reaction wasn't as exagerated as her mother, only showing a smile. But obviously, he was happy. "But wait, there's one more thing... I received an oportunity from my boss. Our company wants to expand, and they want someone to work overseas. In America, to be precise... In other words, they want me to go work to New York!" To Fontes, things started to get... not so funny, anymore. "Wait a sec, dad... does that mean we ain't gonna see ya for a while?" "Well, son... I was thinking on bringing all of us... Moving to another country, and live there. Obviously, I'd like to know your opinion on this, before I give a conclusive answer to my boss. I'm not going to accept something as big as this without telling you, right?" Fontes' mom decided to sit down, by now. "It will be hard to leave our relatives, and friends... But if that means to bet a better living, it's just fine... I mean, we can always come back, once in a while to visit them. My brother Julio lives in Switzerland, and he comes to Portugal quite often." Her husband kissed her, as a way to thank her for being ok with the trip. Then, he asked Fontes: "What about you, Fontes? Are you fine with this?" Fontes had his arms crossed, and his eyes closed, for a while. One could tell he was pondering on the matter. "Dad... I've always told you I'd love to get the hell outta this crappy country. But America, of all places... Well, it's still better than Portugal. I'll go, though, there's one thing I'd like to check, before dinner."
With this, he went back to his room, leaving his parents somewhat concerned. What is it that he needed to check on? In his room, FOntes was searching for something, on google... "Shit... I knew it." At dinner time, as Fontes sat on the table, he noticed his sister looked quite happy. Seems like she knew, by now. Then, his father asked: "So... Did you checked on whatever did you need to check?" "Yeah...", Fontes replyed. "... Nunchakus are forbidden, in the state of New York, just as I suspected." His father didn't seem much surprised. "Well, son... Your nunchaku, even if you use it only for training, it is still considered a weapon. And you know how americans are, regarding security..." Fontes laughed, a bit, as he had his left hand holding his chin, and his left elbow placed on the table. "Nah... It's just because they're plain stupid. You can have a shotgun, if you want. And unlike Portugal, practically anyone can have a gun in the States. However, you can't have either a nunchaku, nor a katana. That seems more like descrimination, to me. If those weapons were created by them, they'd surely allow them." "Well, son... I know how you feel, about that, but... It's the law, and you need to obbey it." Fontes nodded, in agreement: "Yup... It's like they say: They may be stupid, arbitrary and irritating, but God help you if you break 'em..."
About a week later, they were fully packed, and ready to go. Everything was arranjed. They said goodbye to everyone, and then, off to America. Their new house was bigger, the view was nice, and Fontes could finaly find manga comics as easy as pie. It was like hell, in Portugal, to find anything, AT ALL. Not to mention that merchandising is nearly impossible. He seemed to be getting along quite well. As for his nunchaku... He didn't checked about it to see if he had to leave it behind... He checked it to see if he had to hide it. He wasn't gonna leave his weapon just like that. He knew he would be checked in the airport, so he couldn't simply put it in his pocket. So, he took another aproach: He opened his 8-bit NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), and hid his nunchaku inside it, covering the chain with duct take, to prevent suspect noises. Too bad he wasn't able to practice outside, anymore... At least, with the nunchaku. He got his head working, for a minute, and he came up with a fine way to dodge the law... By making a weapon which didn't looked like a nunchaku... But it's use would be practically the same. So, he took a piece od steel cable, in a junk yars, as well as two alluminum beads. He attached each bead to each end of the cable, and covered it with rubber. And the "bead flail" was born. Now he could practice with his weapon as much as he wanted, without having the risk of having trouble with the cops. Every now and then, a policeman would ask him to inspect the bead flail, but since it didn't matched the visual features of a nunchaku, they just let him go... Sometimes, with a warning, not to use it for wrong doing.
There was something Fontes had to do, now... attend to school. He lived near one, called "Public High School #552". For the sake of not getting late to class, he agreed with his parents that it shouldn't be a bad option. Of course, he got to know about the corporal punishment law, but as long as he behaved according to the norms, nothing should go wrong. However, there was a thing... He had to do high school from the beggining, again. As soon as he knew this, he threw a loud "WHAT THE FUCK?!", with his parents right near him. Though they got annoyed with their son's manners, they understood his reaction. By the time the new school year started, he would be an 18 yeah-old freshman. No need to teel how screwed up that was. Still, either that, or going to work in some random supermarket...
So, this is how Fontes began attending to Public High School #552... "At least we got some cute asses, in here..."
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Chapter 7: The #552 days...
(What it's written on this chapter may not be 100% accurate, but it gives a fair idea of what happened...)
Fontes didn't stay much time on Public High School #552. Something like 6 months, no more than that. Still, he happened to experience a lot, for the time he has been in there. He joined a group called "Defenders", which holds the objective to help those in need. However... there was a person who turned out to be very special to him... A geeky girl, who God knows why, always seem to get in trouble. Her name...
... Hannah Pierce.
This was one of the first people Fontes knew on #552, and he practically fell for her from the day they've met. She liked games, anime, she was an artist... just like Fontes! He just had to ask her out... and he did... However, he used the excuse that it would be a gaming session. And so, Hannah possibly didn't understood Fontes' true intention. Truth is, after he asked, and before they went on that... "gaming session"... She met other guy... who had very little, or ANSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with her! He was a drunk, drug-addict, british punk!
Obviously, Fontes and the punk, who called himself Twitch, would meet each other someday... And no need to say how would that end up. Yes, they fought, and... Fontes won, with a single hit, on the back of Twitch's neck. Fortunately Hannah wasn't in there, and Fontes will keep that one a secret, for as long as he can.
Then... Chrynos. Also known as Carlos Khundar, this turned out to be Fontes' tutor, training him in rather harsh ways. Carlos had given a pair of weights, so Fontes would wear them for training, and up until today, Fontes still has them! They've sparred once, so Chrynos would get an idea of how experienced was Fontes. Obviously, the nerd was no match for one of the school pillars!
He also helped a few people, saving a guy's life from a canibal who kidnapped him. Fontes managed to rescue the student, and beat the living shit out of the canibal. And he also helped people in more peaceful ways. He managed to cheer up a girl named Kyr Merquise, who seemed to have some trouble with her life. After a few talking, she seemed to feel better... A similar event happened with a female named Lexi. She told Fontes about how screwed her life was... and DAMN, it was pretty screwed, alright! Though, Fontes managed to bring some light into her life, by giving his 2 cents on it. And he managed to recruit a few more people to the Defenders, increasing their numbers. Rhaken Morrison and Leo Levin are examples of who Fontes brought to the group.
Then, there was this time... when Hannah got beaten down by a guy named Geovanni Pitcher. Fontes managed to arrive just when Twitch also arrived, to save his girlfriend. a fight between Twitch and Geovanni broke out, and Fontes took this chance to take Hannah to the nurse's office. She had her nose broken, as well as a few broken ribs. Fontes couldn't avoid to feel the anger building up on him. plus, he knew Twitch wasn't that much of a fighter... So, Fontes took two rolls of bandages, to wrap around his arms, and before leaving Hannah alone with the nurse, he would say what he had been afraid to say her...
"... I love you..."
Eventually, as Fontes predicted, Twitch was defeated. As Fontes' turn would arrive, he would give absolutely NO mercy for what this guy did to the girl Fontes loved so much! And long story short...
i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/BeastBlader/XinGeovanniBtn001.jpg...Geovanni didn't looked so good, in the end. Fontes practically broke every single of his limbs, not to mention some ribs... and who knows what else...
After this, Fontes and Hannah's friendship became deeper... Plus, Twitch got arrested for murder, which pretty much gave Fontes an open path. Plus, it seemed like Hannah had some feelings for the Defender for a good time ago... With that, they eventually got together, and from there, Fontes couldn't have gona happier.
Chapter 8: A tough departure...
Things were going fine with Fontes. He was getting well known, not only for his ass-kicking, but also by his artistic works. He had opened a small art business in one of the old classrooms, drawing requests.plus, Hannah and him couldn't be happier. Their relationship was doing great, and it seemed like nothing could go wrong...
Till one day, when his father came home from his work... He works for a condoms company, by the way.
"Family, I've got something to tell to all of you!"
They all sat down in the living room. Then, Fontes' dad brought whatever news he had to bring:
"It's like this... Our company has decided to settle in Long Beach, Californa, instead of New York... Seems like our type of product has more sales in there. And... they want me to go there. Not on a business trip, but... for good. And this time, it's final. Once there, there would be no more movings..."
This was when Fontes got up from the sofa, and without saying a word, he moved to his room. Once he'd close the door, his parents and his sister could hear:
"FUCK!!!"
Leaving again... It wasn't that hard when he moved off of portugal, since... he never exactly liked it there. But leaving New York... leaving all the friends he made, and... Hannah.
... This was gonna be a tough departure.
The few days before leaving, Fontes would spend them saying goodbye to everyone he knew. It was a tough one to leave the Defenders. But even tougher was bringing this to Hannah. Of course, he wouldn't wait till the last day to let her know about this. The sooner the better, obviously.
They would still be able to keep in touch by IM, or by phone, though it wouldn't be the same as a actually being with each other. They would only be able to see each other about once a year, which would bring a lot of pain to their hearts.
So, long story short, they would still see each other as a couple... However, a distant one at that. They'd spent the night before the departure together. Playing videogames, reading some manga, and... whatever they would feel like doing, together... And yes, that would include what some of you readers might be wondering about.
...
And now, Fontes is living on Long Beach. He got held bach due to his lack of studies, meaning he's STILL a freshman, at the age of 19. Though, as the US has a diferent educational system, compared to Portugal, his parents were already expecting something like this to happen. Now it would be a fresh start for Fontes, on...
... Public High School #259
25 WIS Achievement
