The hotel room was quiet. Just the hum of the mini fridge, the distant sounds of Brazil's World Cup nightlife, and the glow of Touya's phone screen. But his mind wasn't in the present. It had drifted — back, nearly a year ago.
He could still hear Max's laugh, rough and loud, echoing in the back alley near their high school gym. Jeff's sarcastic tone cutting through.
"Bro, lifting this barbell feels like it's trying to kill me."
That was the day they decided to start working out — seriously. Not for looks, but for strength.
Touya leaned back on the hotel bed, staring at the ceiling.
It had been Max's idea at first.
"We're getting older," Max had said, tossing a basketball in the air. "We need to start taking this seriously. What if one day you gotta protect your sister, or your girl? You gonna just stand there like a weakling?"
Jeff scoffed. "You? Talking about protecting girls? You still get winded after chasing the ice cream truck."
They'd all laughed, but deep down, it hit Touya.
They weren't strong. Not really. And strength wasn't just about lifting weights. It was about standing between danger and someone else.
The next day, they hit the gym — badly. Touya nearly threw up after ten minutes. Jeff pulled something in his back, and Max tripped over the leg press.
Still, they showed up the next day. And the next.
By the end of the week, they were complaining together.
"My arms feel like noodles," Jeff groaned.
Touya winced. "At least your chest doesn't feel like it's been run over."
But then Max said something that stuck. "You know… I feel like we're getting somewhere. Like, my posture's better. I feel… stronger."
They all nodded.
They didn't know it, but something had changed that week.
That change became a pact.
One evening, sweating and sore, the three of them sat on the curb outside their gym, drinking cheap energy drinks.
Jeff leaned back. "I never thought I'd say this, but… I like how it feels. Getting stronger."
Max nodded. "Same. It's not just about lifting. It's about being able to fight for what matters."
Touya looked down at his callused palms. "Then let's make it a promise. We get stronger — not for ego, not for show. But for the ones we want to protect."
They all bumped fists.
"Stronger and stronger," Max said.
The memory darkened.
One week before Touya left for college, everything changed.
He had been walking home late, when he heard something in an alley — a girl's scream.
He didn't think. He ran in. Five guys, towering and laughing, had cornered her.
Touya didn't hesitate. He fought. He screamed. He hit one, then two — but it wasn't enough.
They beat him until he couldn't move.
The girl escaped. He didn't.
He woke up in a hospital bed, bruised, broken… ashamed.
"I was weak," he muttered that night.
Max and Jeff were waiting when he got out.
The hospital room smelled like antiseptic and stale food. Touya's ribs ached with every breath, and one eye was still swollen shut. But worse than the pain was the feeling that gnawed at his chest — helplessness.
Max was the first to speak. "You fought five guys, bro. You didn't run. That's not weak."
Touya shook his head. "I didn't stop them either. That girl could've died. All I did was get beat down."
Jeff sat down, quiet for once. "That's not on you. But… it does mean something. If five guys can take you out like that — we're all still weak."
They sat in silence for a moment, letting the weight of those words settle.
Then Max leaned forward. "Then we don't stop here. We take this as proof. We're not strong enough yet… but we *will* be."
Jeff nodded slowly. "We go to college. We train. Every day. We get stronger — mentally, physically. Until no one can challenge us."
Touya looked at them, eyes still bruised, but alive. "You really mean that?"
Max extended his hand. "Stronger and stronger."
Jeff put his hand in. "No backing down."
Touya forced a smile and gripped theirs. "Until no one can stop us."
After that, everything changed.
The three of them doubled down. While their classmates spent their last summer before college partying or gaming, Touya, Max, and Jeff were running laps at dawn and lifting weights at dusk.
They trained in public parks, community gyms, even back alleys. They studied fighting styles, read about nutrition, learned discipline. Touya focused on stamina and speed. Max, on brute strength. Jeff honed agility and flexibility.
Each drop of sweat felt like armor being forged. Each cramp and bruise was a reminder of what they were working toward.
They weren't chasing power. They were building a shield.
On their final day before college, the three of them met on the rooftop of their old school. The sun was setting, casting gold across the skyline. It felt like the closing scene of a chapter.
"I can't believe we're really splitting up tomorrow," Jeff muttered, kicking a stone off the roof's edge.
Touya leaned on the railing. "We're not splitting up. We're leveling up. Separately, for now."
Max grinned. "You better not go soft, though. I expect to see you with abs next time."
They all laughed.
Then Max got serious. "Promise me… we keep going. All the way."
They stood there a while longer, saying nothing, watching the sun dip behind the buildings they'd grown up around.
"I don't know what's waiting at college," Touya said softly. "But I know why I'm going."
"To get stronger," Jeff finished.
Max clenched his fists. "To make sure we never stand back while someone suffers."
They bumped fists one last time.
"Stronger and stronger," they all said together.
And just like that… the past faded, and Touya's mind returned to the hotel room in Brazil — where his real journey was just beginning.
The next morning after that rooftop promise, Touya stood in front of his mirror at home. His bags were packed. College was waiting.
He traced a faint scar above his brow — a souvenir from the alley fight.
His body still carried the bruises, but something inside had shifted. He wasn't afraid anymore.
As he zipped his final bag, his mom peeked in. "You sure you have everything?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I'm ready."
But in truth, he wasn't just bringing clothes and books. He was carrying a vow — one made with blood, sweat, and brotherhood.
Outside, Max and Jeff waited by the car. Max wore a hoodie that barely hid his wide frame. Jeff leaned against the trunk with his usual half-smirk.
"You forget your dumbbells?" Jeff asked. "Can't let college steal all your gains."
Touya chuckled. "They're in the bag… under the notebooks."
As they loaded the car, there was an unspoken tension. Not sadness, but seriousness. They knew this was goodbye — for now. But it wasn't an end.
Max slapped Touya's back. "You're gonna be the first of us to step out there. Make it count."
"I will," Touya said. "For all of us."
The ride to the station was mostly quiet, the kind of silence between people who know words aren't needed.
As the train arrived, Touya turned to them. "Next time we meet, we'll be stronger. Not just ripped. Strong *everywhere.*"
Max crossed his arms. "We'll hold you to that. No excuses."
Jeff grinned. "You get soft, and I'm flying over to punch it out of you."
Touya laughed. "Fair deal."
They exchanged a final fist bump.
And then Touya stepped onto the train, not just heading to college — but stepping toward destiny.
He found a window seat and pulled out a small black notebook.
On the inside cover, he had scribbled the words:
"Strength to protect. Strength to lead."
He flipped to a blank page and began outlining the first phase of his plan — starting small, but thinking big.
He'd turn pain into purpose. Failure into fuel.
The world didn't need another student. It needed a leader. A shield. A king.
And Kojiro Touya would become just that.
Even if it killed him.
The train cut through the countryside as Touya leaned back and closed his eyes.
He saw flashes of the alley fight… the gym sessions… Max's promise… Jeff's smirk…
"Stronger and stronger."
It echoed in his chest like a heartbeat.
He smiled faintly.
The next chapter of his life was about to begin — but this memory, this flashback, was the fire that would keep him burning.
And as the train rolled forward, so did the legend of the boy who would someday be known to the world… as a king.
College hit Touya like a storm.
New faces. New rules. New pressure. Gone were the familiar laughs in the gym and the predictable banter in classrooms. Here, everyone was trying to prove something — to professors, to their peers, to themselves.
But Touya wasn't here to impress. He was here to transform.
He found the gym on his second day and started lifting before unpacking the rest of his room. His body still carried soreness from the summer grind, but it was a familiar pain. It reminded him who he was, and why he came.
For Max. For Jeff. For the promise.
Touya quickly realized that not everyone came to college to grow. Some came to coast. Others to dominate.
He had no interest in competing with anyone… yet.
Still, he kept training. Early mornings. Late nights. Push-ups in his dorm. Runs around campus. Stretching between lectures. He was building himself — quietly, steadily.
He also started reading more — on psychology, leadership, philosophy. What made great men rise? What broke them?
And in his notebook, he scribbled ideas.
One stuck out: "True strength isn't just power — it's direction. Purpose."
Weeks passed. Touya kept his circle small but attentive. He observed people — who they were when no one was watching.
He saw leaders and cowards, liars and quiet warriors. It fascinated him.
He called Max and Jeff when he could.
"Still holding the line?" Max asked.
"Stronger than ever," Touya said.
"Good," Jeff replied. "Because next time we meet, we're testing each other. No holding back."
Touya smiled. "Looking forward to it."
The call ended, but the fire stayed lit.
One night, while walking back from the campus library, Touya passed a student getting bullied by three upperclassmen near the dorms.
He didn't hesitate.
"Leave him," Touya said calmly.
They turned. "Who the hell are you?"
Touya didn't answer. His stance said enough.
A short scuffle. One bruised knuckle. Three guys walked away nursing egos.
The student stared at him, wide-eyed. "Thanks, man. You didn't have to—"
Touya cut him off with a smile. "Yeah, I did."
Later, back in his room, Touya washed the scrape on his knuckle and looked at himself in the mirror.
Still not strong enough. Not yet.
But getting there.
Each day, each choice — he was shaping into something more. Not a hero. Not a fighter.
A symbol.
He whispered to himself:
"Stronger and stronger… until I can protect everything I care about."
And with that, he turned off the light and closed his eyes — already dreaming of the empire he would one day build.
Mid-semester arrived faster than expected. Assignments piled up, sleep became optional, and students started showing their true colors. Some cracked under pressure. Others coasted. A few adapted.
Touya? He thrived in the grind.
He stuck to a strict schedule: morning workouts, focused classes, night study, and weekend strategy sessions.
His notebooks were filled with more than lecture notes — they held blueprints. Business concepts. Invention drafts. Quotes from history. Plans.
Every blank page was a step toward his future.
This wasn't just school anymore. This was his kingdom in training.
He began to attract attention — not because he was loud, but because he moved with purpose.
People noticed he was always composed. That he listened more than he spoke. That when he did speak, people listened.
It wasn't charisma. It was clarity.
That's when he met Aaron, a fellow software engineering student. Curious, sharp-tongued, and relentless. Then Zaid, a chemistry major who liked fixing problems with precision. Then Alani — business savvy, bold, and allergic to mediocrity.
Bit by bit, Touya was forming a circle — thinkers, doers, builders.
He didn't call them friends.
He called them pillars.
During one late-night brainstorming session, Touya finally said it aloud.
"I want to be remembered," he told them. "Not for fame. For impact."
Aaron leaned back. "Like Elon remembered? Or Mandela remembered?"
"Closer to Alexander," Touya said. "But built, not born."
Zaid whistled. "That's heavy."
Alani smiled. "Then you'd better build something that crowns you."
The room went quiet. Then Touya said the word that would change everything.
"Krown."
From that night on, the idea became real.
Krown wasn't just a name. It was a movement. A vision. A claim.
They worked in silence while others partied. Brainstormed during holidays. Researched instead of scrolling.
They were still college kids — broke, overwhelmed, underestimated. But they had two things the rest didn't:
A clear purpose.
And a leader who'd already been broken and rebuilt.
Touya knew failure. He knew fear. But he also knew focus.
And now, he had a team that believed.
In private, Touya still called Max and Jeff.
"You wouldn't believe what's starting here," he said.
"You keeping the promise?" Max asked.
Touya clenched his jaw. "Every damn day."
Jeff chuckled. "Then don't stop. 'Cause if you build it right, we'll meet you at the top."
Touya stood by his window that night, overlooking the city's skyline.
Everything ahead of him still felt impossible.
But then again, so had surviving that alley.
And he survived.
The king wasn't born yet.
But he was definitely waking up.
By the start of the second semester, Krown wasn't just a dream — it was a system in motion.
They had structured their operations like a real company. Everyone had a role. Weekly meetings. Prototype development. Side hustles to fund the bigger vision.
While other students talked about grades and gossip, Touya and his team were refining plastic into fuel, crafting AI software, and sketching what would one day become The Crown Phone.
Every challenge they faced felt smaller compared to what Touya had already overcome.
And deep down, he knew… the real stage hadn't even begun.
But late at night, when the world was quiet, and the lights were off, Touya still thought about the alley. About the screams. About how powerless he had felt.
Those memories were scars — but also reminders.
He didn't want revenge. He didn't want recognition. He wanted to make sure no one else felt helpless the way he once had.
He wanted to become strong enough to protect dreams. To shield futures. To give the weak a chance.
And he was willing to sacrifice everything to do it.
One cold evening, Touya received a photo on his phone.
Max and Jeff at each of their local gyms — sweaty, smiling, sore and proud.
The caption read:
"Still getting stronger. Your turn to catch up."
Touya smiled. Not a cocky smile. A real one — the kind he hadn't smiled in months.
He tapped out a reply:
"You better not be slacking. I'll need both of you when this kingdom rises."
Jeff replied:
"We'll be there. Just say when."
The semester marched on. Krown grew. Touya sharpened.
But in the midst of code, deadlines, and business meetings, his mind kept circling back to two boys on a school rooftop… three fists in the air… a broken body in a hospital bed… and a promise made beneath a bruised sky.
That memory wasn't pain anymore. It was power. It was why he woke up early, worked harder, aimed higher.
Because Touya wasn't just building a company.
He was building himself
As the chapter of memory closed and the present came back into focus, Touya stood before the mirror in his Brazil hotel room.
Tomorrow, he'd represent Krown at the World Cup.
But tonight, he remembered who got him here.
He whispered their names under his breath.
"Max. Jeff."
"My Friends. My strength. My first gems."
"Stronger and stronger"
And just like that, the past faded into the fire of what was coming next.