"The Flesh That Shouldn't Exist"
"They called me a freak. A machine. A cheater.
But I was just... born like this.
And I hated that more than they ever could."
Scene 1 - National Champion at 17
Shojiro Momo had broken every national wrestling record by his second year of high school.
He didn't just win - he dominated.
3-second pins. One-arm throws. Grapples so forceful they cracked the mat.
When his high school, Eiyuu Academy, published the results of the National High School Wrestling Championships, it wasn't pride that filled the halls.
It was whispers.
"There's no way he's clean."
"He has the build of a 30-year-old Olympian."
"I heard his dad injects him with horse steroids after practice."
"You sure he's human?"
Scene 2 - Accusation
Mandatory drug tests were run three times during the year.
Every single one came back negative.
Still, online forums tore him apart.
"Genetic anomaly or government experiment?"
"Is this even fair in youth sports?"
"He's ruining wrestling for real athletes."
It got so bad, his school almost banned him from competing altogether - only backing off after Tetsuro Momo, his father and a national legend himself, threatened to take the story to the media.
But Shojiro never addressed it.
Not in interviews. Not at school.
Not even with his teammates.
Because what could he say?
He was built different.
He just didn't know why yet.
Scene 3 - Training Beyond Reason
Most athletes trained 3-4 times a week.
Shojiro?
Dojo sparring every morning at 5:30 AM
After-school wrestling club until 6 PM
Gym workouts solo until 9 PM, often with a weighted mask to restrict breathing
Protein, rice, eggs, raw liver - his diet was pure performance
His classmates would sometimes catch him walking into the gym with ankle weights and a 40 kg vest, ignoring everyone.
"He's already a monster. Why does he need more?"
But Shojiro wasn't chasing victory. He was chasing control.
The power inside him - the way his muscles reacted, how his strength always felt slightly too much - scared him more than he admitted.
Scene 4 - The Lonely Idol
Everyone wanted Shojiro.
First-years would sneak pictures of him at lunch.
Girls left confessions in his locker weekly.
Even upperclassmen athletes flirted openly, giggling when he ignored them.
But Shojiro only ever gave polite nods or cold indifference.
He didn't feel like he belonged among normal kids. And in truth, he didn't.
Scene 5 - Dojo Discipline
The Momo Dojo was infamous in Tokyo.
No casuals. No hobbyists.
It was where fighters went to suffer.
Tetsuro Momo - Shojiro's father - trained him using pain as education.
Push-ups on knuckles until they bled
Suplex drills repeated until vomiting
Arm-resistance weight ropes tied to trees
Cold plunges. Broken fingers. Dislocated shoulders set mid-match.
But every time Shojiro fell, his father said one thing:
Tetsuro:
"Stand up. Even gods respect that."
The dojo wasn't just a place of pain. It was home.
And in the fire of its training, Shojiro became something more than human...
though neither of them knew what that meant yet.
Scene 6 - Foreshadowing
One night, Shojiro stood in the locker room after another win - soaking, bruised, but calm.
As he looked in the mirror, he flexed his arm out of instinct.
But this time...
he heard something inside his own body shift - like muscle tearing, and rebuilding itself instantly.
He didn't flinch.
He only whispered:
Shojiro:
"...What am I becoming?"