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Author’s Note: Hello there. Welcome to the world of Pink Rose, which so happens to be my first original story. Writing this has been a great challenge, you may even be able to relate to the characters. I hope you do. The theme of this story is internal healing, which is a common theme in many shojo manga. This is my martial arts love novel. Though technically a love story, martial arts still plays a huge factor in the overall all plot. (In Japanese, the story would be Pinku Roze which is pronounced pēn-kū·rō-zā; peen-koo·roh-sey).
-Ryu Ematsu, 2005
Side Note: The names in this story are in Eastern Order. This means that their surnames (last names) come before their given name (first name).
Terminology
bu·do 武道 (bū-dō; boo-doh) budo: Budo is the term for Japanese Martial Arts. It is often translated as “The Way of War”. This was established before the Meiji Restoration.
chan ちゃん (chän; chahn): Chan is an honorific term, used in Japan meaning little or my dear. This is often used for small children, or people who grew up together. If it’s used by adults who didn’t grow up together, it shows a sign of intimacy, less for women than for men.
do·jo 道場 (dō-jō; doh-joh) dojo: A dojo is a martial arts training hall.
GI 戯 (gē; gee): A GI is a uniform that a martial artist wears.
Ja·pan 学 (jə-pǎn; juh-pan) Japan: Japan is an East Asian island country located in the Pacific Ocean, east of China, and Korea, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north of the East China Sea in the south. It is composed of over 3,000 islands, the largest, of while, are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Many of Japan’s islands are mountainous, and many are volcanic; the highest peak is Mount Fuji. Japan is sometimes referred to as Nihon, and/or Nippon.
kan·ji 漢字 (kän-jē; kon-jee) kanji: Kanji are Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system.
Mai マイ (mī; mahy)
Nagasaki 長崎 (nä-gə-sä-kē; nah-guh-sah-kee)
Nagasaki Style: Fighting Karate 長崎流喧嘩空手: Also know as Nagasaki Style: Brawling Karate, Nagasaki Style: Fighting Karate is a fictional Martial Arts style used within the story. It consists of powerful, fast movements; great aerial strikes, and powerful ground-based attacks; making it an all around art. The Japanese name for the attack would be Nagasaki-ryu: Kenka Karate..
sa·ku·ra 桜 (sä-kər-rə; sah-koor-uh) sakura: Sakura is the Japanese word meaning Cherry Blossom. Actually, the word itself refers to the ornamental tree, and their blossoms.
sen·sei 先生 (sěn-sā; sen-sey) sensei: Sensei is an honorific term used in Japan for a professional.
shi·han 師範 (shē-hän; she-hon) shihan: Shihan is an honorific term, used in Budo, meaning Master. Sometimes, they’re called Hanshi. People have to be 9th, or 10th Dan to achieve this rank.
To·ky·o 東京 (tō-kē-yō; toh-kee-yoh) Tokyo: Tokyo is the capital of Japan. It is also one of 47 metropolises. It has a highly urbanized downtown area formerly known as “the Great City of Tokyo”. In the early 1900’s, it was formerly called Edo. It resides on the island of Honshu, which is the largest island in Japan.
Introduction arc
Episode 1: A stranger at the dojo! A challenger for Mai!
It was a clear, sunny afternoon in Tokyo, Japan. The end of summer grew near. As the sakura resonated in the wind; a boy approached a house at the edge of town. He wore a black, hooded-jacket; black jeans, and black tenna shoes. His finger gloves were blue. His outfit had golden trims on the sides. He walked to the entrance and knocked on the door. The house was white, and had a brown roof.
Side Note: Summer in Japan only lasts one month, which is ‘usually’ the month of August. Teachers’ presence are required during the students’ summer vacation. Within this story, it does take place in August.
“Mai!” he yelled. No one answered. “Maybe she’s in the back,” he thought to himself.
He walked around the house and stumbled across another building. It was larger, brown building with a red roof.
“This must be the Nagasaki dojo,” he said to himself. “It’s a lot bigger than I thought.” He put his ear to the dojo door. Inside, he heard clatter. “Sounds like people are inside. Mai… I hope you’re ready.”
He kicked open the door. He saw numerous students and only one instructor. She was a tall, beautiful woman with long; black hair, tied into a ponytail. She wore a black GI and had a red belt around her waist. On her back, she wore the kanji for beauty 美. The kanji represented all she saw as beautiful and not only her.
Side Note: In Budo, they don’t emphasis on belts like the US. They have a special ranking system. Beginners start off as Ky·u 級 (kē-yū; kee-yoh) kyu. Kyu go backwards numerically, usually starting from 10. Kyu-level practitioners wear a white belt and hold a rank below the black belt. Kyu-level students are traditionally called mu·dan·sha 無段舎 (mū-dän-shə; moo-don-shuh) mudansha, which means ‘one without Dan’. Dan 段 (dän; don) is the rank of a black belt. To reach Dan, a mudansha must go up in rank (via. 10th Kyu, 9th Kyu, etc...).
Although most Western schools have some form of the kyū ranking system, the number and color can vary between schools. What seems to remain constant is that the lowest kyu wears a white belt, whereas the highest wears brown. Additionally, the majority of Japanese Martial Arts schools use ten ranks of kyū below black belt. A noteworthy exception is the majority of aikido schools, which use only six. Some schools, especially those that primarily teach children, will sometimes use many more. Each Kyu has a name.
10th Kyu Jū·kyu 十級 (jū-kē-yū; joo-kee-yoo) jukyu
9th Kyu Ku·kyu 九級 (kū-kē-yū; koo-kee-yoo) kukyu
8th Kyu Ha·chi·kyu 八級 (hä-chē-kē-yū; hah-chee-kee-yoo) hachikyu
7nd Kyu Na·na·kyu 七級 (nä-nä-kē-yū; nah-nah-kee-yoo) nanakyu
6nd Kyu Rok·kyu 六級 (rōk-kē-yū; rohk-kee-yoo) rokkyu
5nd Kyu Go·kyu 五級 (gō-kē-yū; goh-kee-yoo) gokyu
4th Kyu Yon·kyu 四級 (yən-kē-yū; yuhn-kee-yoo) yonkyu
3rd Kyu San·kyu 三級 (sän-kē-yū; sahn-kee-yoo) sankyu
2nd Kyu Ni·kyu 二級 (nē-kē-yū; nee-kee-yoo) nikyu
1st Kyu Ik·kyu 一級 (ēk-kē-yū; eek-kee-yoo) ikkyu
When they reach 1st Kyu, they go to 1st Dan. 1st Dan is a 1st degree black belt, so they stop wearing the white belt, and start wearing the black. Someone who becomes a 1st Dan has the option of furthering their training to become a 10th Dan (via. 1st Dan, 2nd Dan, etc...) practitioner. Much like Kyu, each Dan has a name.
1st Dan (1st Degree Black Belt) Sho·dan 初段 (shō-dän; shoh-don) shodan
2nd Dan (2nd Degree Black Belt) Ni·dan 二段 (nē-dän; nee-don) nidan
3rd Dan (3rd Degree Black Belt) San·dan 三段 (sän-dän; sahn-don) sandan
4th Dan (4th Degree Black Belt) Yon·dan 四段 (yən-dän; yuhn-don) yondan
5th Dan (5th Degree Black Belt) Go·dan 五段 (gō-dän; goh-don) godan
6th Dan (6th Degree Black Belt) Ro·ku·dan 六段 (rō-kū-dän; roh-koo-don) rokudan
7th Dan (7th Degree Black Belt) Na·na·dan 七段 (nä-nä-dän; nah-nah-don) nanadan
8th Dan (8th Degree Black Belt) Ha·chi·dan 八段 (hä-chē-dän; hah-chee-don) hachidan
9th Dan (9th Degree Black Belt) Kyu·dan 九段 (kē-yū-dän; kee-yoo-don) kyudan
10th Dan (10th Degree Black Belt) Ju·dan 十段 (jū-dän; joo-don) judan
Acquiring the rank Judan is different from obtaining other ranks. To rank 10th Dan, the practitioner has to win a tournament.
The highest dan ranks are sometimes reserved for the founder or leaders of a style and other high ranking students can only be promoted by them. This has led to upper level ranks becoming extinct in some arts. In other styles, the dan ranks are not the highest level you can attain, with instructor certification and judge authorization being understood as higher-level or more sophisticated.
When someone reaches 10th Dan, they can get a Men·kyo Kai·den 免許皆伝 (měn-kē-yō·kī-děn; men-kee-yoh·kahy-den) menkyo kaiden, which is a Japanese term meaning “license of total transmission”. This is a certification that means they’ve learned everything there is to know. Sometimes, the student can become the shihan of their very own dojo.
The mysterious boy pointed his finger at the instructor. “Yo,” he said proudly. “Are you ready to perceive your defeat, Queen of Rats? In our last fight, you took me down easily, but I’m stronger now! So prepare yourself!”
The class stared at him, as did the beautiful instructor. She rose up.
“You seem rather confident; walking in here like you have chance of winning,” she said calmly. “But as the shihan of this dojo and having received second place on the National Budo tournament, I won’t back down.” She gave an innocent, yet sadistic smile. “I’ll go easy on you.”
The hood wearing teenager gave her a smirked. “That over-confidence will be your downfall.” He curled one of his hands and placed it to his side. Then he extended his other in front of himself, with his palm facing to the left. Lastly, he arched his legs, lowering his body.
Mai watched with fascination. “I don’t know who you are, but you’ve obviously practiced Nagasaki Style: Fighting Karate.”
“Hmph…” the boy grunted. “Just shut up and fight!”
Mai’s students slowly walked to the back of the dojo, as the boy and Mai stayed in the front. They spoke among themselves.
“Mai-sensei’s gonna win this,” said a boy.
“Yeah,” agreed another.
“This is great,” said a girl.
“How come?” asked the first boy.
“Because this is one of those rare occasions we get to see Mai-sensei fight,” explained the girl. “She’s just so amazing…”
The two boys shook their heads in agreement and within seconds, silence filled the room.
Mai turned toward the boy, with a calm exterior. “You honestly don’t stand a chance. You should give up now. If not, you’ll regret it.”
The boy chuckled. “You can’t psyche me out with your idle threats.”
The lovely teacher stood there and closed her eyes. “I guess some have to learn the hard way.”
The boy smirked. “Enough talk. LET’S FIGHT!!” He charged toward her, throwing a punch.
The elegant teacher backed away before the blow could make contact.
He spun around, trying to strike with the back of his fist.
She blocked it easily and gave a little giggle.
Knowing that his strike would be stopped, he pulled away and threw a high kick.
She ducked under it as if it were nothing. While low, she noticed something about his movements. Something familiar… “His voice sounds exceedingly familiar and his movements are easy to read. I think he was telling the truth when he said we’ve fought before. His style somewhat resembles my own but it’s more reckless. He’s definitely not one of my students. There’s no way he could fight like me… unless… That’s it!” When her thoughts vanished, she grabbed his leg and flipped him over.
He was airborne only for a few seconds, but when those seconds ran out, he lands. He’d fell on his stomach. For a while, people thought he was unconscious. But they were sadly mistaken. He slow rose to his feet. Though he was able to stand; his body was unstable. His breaths could also be heard as he panted heavily.
Mai gave a playful giggle. “Had enough?”
“Not at all,” he said as he panted.
“He must’ve gotten stronger,” Mai thought to herself. “He’s not holding his abdomen.” She gave a sincere smile and spoke aloud. “You’re clearly outclassed… And you’ve used up too much energy… You should quit while you’re still ahead… Lei-chan. You’re embarrassing yourself.”
Side Note: Though his name is Lei, in Japanese, it’d be Rei (pronounced rā; rey). Both Lei and Rei use the same kanji.
“How’d you know it was me,” he said a little displeased.
He flipped his hood back, so his face could be shown. He had a black ponytail and carefree brown eyes. To himself, he was just an average looking guy. But to many, especially women, they thought otherwise. His face had no markings, scars, or any other deformities. Too many, his face was perfect, but to be unaware of this fact was absurd. Though he’s never noticed, his sister has. Hearts filled the eyes of the female students as though they’ve seen an angel.
Mai sighed calmly, in disbelief as she dismissed her class. Her students reluctantly left.
Lei gave a nervous smiled. “Sorry about the trash talk. I didn’t want you to know it was me.”
“No need to apologize,” she said. “I had fun.”
Lei had a mystified look on his face. “What do you mean?”
She walked to a table and sat down. “The only way I get to fight is if I go to another dojo or spar with my assistant.”
“Assistant?” he asked as he grabbed a seat too.
“Yeah,” she said with a smile. “She’s a bit of a flirt, but she’s harmless.”
“That’s good to know,” Lei said laughing. “The girls at this dojo seemed a little giddy.”
Lei continued to laugh and looked at the door. He saw a girl with long pink hair, and blue highlights walking toward them. In the front of her head, she had a blue bang. She had on blue T-shirt with blue jeans.
“The only reason they were like that was because of you,” she said in an annoyed voice. She pointed her finger at him. “Mai-sensei… Who is this clown?!”
