Dust flew about as Alice fell down on the dusty, sandy ground of the training pit. As she lay there on her stomach, her eyes got watery because of the dust which irritated her eyes and because of the pain she experienced. She caughed the dust out of her longs and she felt her dark- brown hair, which reached to above her shoulders, stick to her face thanks to the sweat which stained her forehead. Alice was a very beautiful, very smart girl, but because her poor parents, she wasn't able to finish her study, though she so badly wanted to. She had heard of a man called Long, who wanted a pupil to educate martial arts. She had met with him and he had agreed to pay for her study if she would become his pupil. Long had seemed a friendly man, with his glasses and his black ponytail at the back of his head, but he was merciless regarding training. Alice looked up at the man who had just tackled her hard by kicking her legs in an unhealthy angle. Long stood with his arms in his sides. He was wearing his green fighting outfit. "P... please, master Long. J... just five minutes break." Alice said as she noticed her lower lip was burst. The sand on it was painful. "No." Long said. "If you want to be the best, you have to suffer." he continued stern. At that moment, a young man walked past the entrance to the training pit, which looked more like an arena from the Roman ages. His attention was drawn by the scene. He walked into the arena, a towel wrapped around his shoulders and his white t-shirt was soaked in sweat. His light- brown hair was seemingly uncombed after his obvious workout. "Cut her some slack." he said to long with his daring voice. Alice sat up on her knees as she looked at the young man. She estimated him a few years older than herself. She noticed how handsome he was, strong arms and broad shoulders included. She also noticed a cross-shaped scar right above his nose. "Mind your own business, kid." Long said, looking at him. "You call this training?" the young man asked. "You're beating her half to death." he said as soon as he stood next to Long. "I have my own methods of training." Long commented. "I don't doubt it. Leave her alone." the young man said as he walked to Alice. He sticked out his hand to her. "Hi there, beautiful. I'm Yugo. With who do I have the honor?" Alice chuckled as she took Yugo's hand and he lifted her up her feet. It gave him a moment to study her. She wore a white mini-skirt, which went all the way till her midsection and which allowed her to move freely. She also wore an unzipped jacket in the same color under which she wore a blue t-shirt over the upper part of her odd mini-skirt. She wore white boots and whit, fingerless gloves. Yugo studied her fantastic legs the longest. "I'm Alice." Alice said, flattered by Yugo's appearance "You okay?" Yugo asked. Alice nodded. "I'm fine. Just a few scratches."

"Your lip's in a bad shape."

"It hurts a bit." Alice said. "Excuse me!" Long said out loud. "Don't flatter this girl, she needs to strengthen up!" Yugo turned to Long and pressed his finger against the man's chest. "Better adjust your training, pal. Or it gets nasty." Having said that, Yugo turned to Alice one more time and gave her a smile which made her heart melt. He turned around and walked to the exit of the arena. "Yugo, wait." Alice said, hurrying herself to him. Yugo turned around to her. Alice folded her hands behind her back as she looked down to the dusty ground. "Ehm..." she started. She looked up at him again. "Will I see you again?"

"Sure. I'll be around here most of the time. You can train with me if you want."

"Wait a minute..." Long said, trying to interrupt the two. "That would be great!" Alice said, letting her arms fall to her sides. "How about tomorrow?" she said enthusiastic. "Fine with me." Yugo said. "Alice..." Long started. "You can forget about your study if you go with him." Alice turned to her teacher. "But, master Long..." Alice tried. "No buts." Long said stern. Alice looked down. "Study?" Yugo asked. "Master Long pays for my study as long as I am his pupil." Alice explained, looking sad. "What do you study?" Yugo asked. "Psychology." Alice answered. "Wow. Tough stuff. Must be pricy. You know what I'll see whether I'm able to get the necessary funds." Alice looked up at Yugo with a mixture of surprise and admiration in her eyes. "That won't be necessary, I..."

"It's no trouble. And besides, it's an honor to be able to do something for the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." Yugo said as he blinked at her. Alice was well underway to complete meltdown as soon as he had spoken the words. To hear that from such a handsome guy! "I'll see you around." Yugo said before he turned around and left the arena. "Good rideance." Long said, but Alice kept staring at the exit, completely in thought. Long noticed it and charged Alice before he bashed into her with his shoulder. Alice hit the ground for a second time as dust flew about. She slowly turned around and kept seared, placing her hands behind her back for support, closing her eyes and whishing the terrible pain would go away. "Why did you do that, master Long?" she asked, her eyes still closed. "Always be on your guard." Long said, feeling no compassion for Alice. Compassion was for the weak. "Get up so we can resume your training."

The next day, Alice had gotten a few minutes break from training, which gave her time to explore the compound. There were two types of rooms: The arenas and the fitnessrooms. In one fitnessroom, she saw just two man: Yugo and a smaller guy. Alice's heart skipped a few beats as she saw Yugo. He was rapidly punching a punching-bag. He hit it constantly with a continuing pace and strength. He was wearing a sleaveless leather shirt and black pants. Alice noticed the same type of scars on his arms as the one on his face. She carefully stepped into the room. Would Yugo remember her? A guy like him would have all the girls at his feet. How could he possibly remember her? The smaller guy, who wore a strange suit and had dark-brown hair, noticed her and walked to her. "Sorry, lady. No autographes. Leave the champ at his training." Alice was surprised by this. Champion? She was disappointed. Had she finally met a great guy and then he appeared out of her reach. She wanted to turn around and leave. Perhaps cry her eyes out, but much to her delighted surprised, Yugo said: "Hey, Alice. Good to see you! Don't mind my little brother." He walked to her and stopped right in front of her. Closer to her than Alice thought comfortable, but she didn't mind. Not at all. "He's a bit of a nut." Before Yugo's younger brother could say a thing in defense, Yugo continued. "You're looking great, Alice." Despite her fierce attempts to hide it, Alice blushed a little. "Thank you." was all she could say. "Hey, I got the money." Yugo said after a short time of silence between the two. Alice gave him a surprised look. "Is that why we fought yesterday?" Yugo's brother asked. "We?" Yugo said. "Okay, okay. I just hope the money will be spent well."

"It WILL be spent well. It's for her study." Yugo said. "Excuse me." Alice started. "What is going on here? How did you get that money?" Alice asked, getting suspicious. "We sometimes go to rough bars and Bakurio here bets that I can beat the strongest men in the place and that's how we get out money." Yugo shortly explained. "We sometimes loose the bet, though. That's rather humiliating." Yugo said, chuckling. "Alice had definetly fallen for Yugo. She knew it. What a fantastic guy was he. Sweet, handsome, strong, brave... He was perfect! Little did she know at that time that Yugo held a dark secret. A mark from days long gone. A secret that would influence her life and test her love for him.