Kensei
Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer applies
"You were very persistent about coming along, aren't you?" Lowe asked.
"You've been leaving the house for a whole week now; don't I deserve the chance to come along?" Lowe's daughter, Lou said.
"Hehe, well, I suppose." Suddenly, their limousine screeched to a halt.
"Driver? What's wrong?" not sooner did Lowe ask that their driver suddenly pointed a gun at them, "Get out of the car, now!" said the driver with a sneer.
Lowe and Lou left the car. Suddenly, two cars arrived, also with men armed with guns.
"What is the meaning of this?" Lowe demanded.
The driver walked towards the father and daughter, and explained the situation, "sorry Mister Roux, you see, we've actually been hired by some of your employees, they say you've been workin' them up the wall, not a very good way to treat your workers, I'd bet."
"They'd never do that!" Lowe protested.
"Be quiet!" then all the men aimed at the Rouxes.
"Our contractors said we'd get a fair share of your fortune if we'd get rid of you, now, even though we haven't said much, you already know too many. You shouldn't take any of this personally, especially from us, it's just business."
"Daddy!" Lou hugged her father, as he tried to protect her fro the inevitable gunshots.
"Ho ho ho! What do we have here?"
"Huh?" Everyone suddenly turned their attention to an old, yet physically well-built, man, wearing a dull blue karate gi with the sleeves removed walking down from the bridge's large suspension cables.
"Who are you?" asked the hitman.
"Me? I'm just an old man taking a little nighttime stroll, and what are you guys doing with those things? Only the police ever carry around those around."
"Well, all right then. Unfortunately, sir, I'm afraid that the price for stumbling into this whole charade will have to be your death."
The old man looked at them with a puzzled look, "My death? I've never heard such a jest spoken to me in a while," then the man turned his back towards the assassins, "Go ahead, let's see if you can make my night."
"You asked for this. Boys! Take him down!"
"Aah!!" Lou closed her eyes as gunfire blazed, she didn't dare open them for fear of what she would expect, but when she did, it wasn't what she expected.
Lowe was also surprised, "How did he-?"
And so were the bewildered assassins, for after all the shots they fired, the old man turned about face, completely untouched by a single round from their firearms.
The old man then looked at the men with a grim expression, "You're really quite the lousy-shots, aren't you? Boys!"
Suddenly, a trio of blonde-haired boys jumped on top of one of the cars of the assassins, "Yes sifu?" they said in unison.
"Clean these guys' acts," he ordered.
"Yes, sifu," Then the boys immediately scattered into the crowd of gunmen.
One of them, wearing blue, moved quickly through the crowds, sailing and striking at their vulnerabilities as fast as a hummingbird's wing beats.
Another, dressed in red, didn't move as fast, but he grabbed one gunman by the leg and started swinging him around with a strength that defied his youthful appearance, and thrashed his way through his attackers.
"Eeeyaah!" Lou screamed as the leader of the attackers grabbed her and pointed his gun at her.
The last of the three, wearing white, approached the hitman.
"Don't come any closer kid!" then he pointed his gun at him.
"No need to be all paranoid mister," the kid said reassuringly.
"Don't! Stay away, get back!!" then he fired his gun, however, the moment he fired, the boy had already reached in close-quarters distance, and then he did a jumping uppercut which loosened the man's grip on Lou.
"And another!" then in midair, the boy did another uppercut that sent the man flying then landing back down with a thud, knocking him out.
"Daddy!" Lou returned to her father, and they embraced thankful that that harrowing experience was over.
They then called the police, and Lowe turned towards the old man.
"Thank you sir" said Lowe, looking at the old man.
"No need to worry. Be thankful that me and my pupils were around at the time."
Lowe turned to the boys, "Again, I can't thank you enough for helping me and my daughter."
"It's all right sir, we're just doin' our jobs," Said the boy who saved Lou.
"Thanks," said Lou.
Then Lowe realized something, "Oh right, we never even asked what your names are. My name is Lowe Roux, and this is my daughter, Lou."
The old man spoke, "My name is Sheng Long, and these are my three star pupils, and might I add, my only pupils so far."
Long presented his first, the one in blue, "This is Boomer, the fastest of the three, as you clearly saw; his movements make his appearance quite hazy."
"Yo," said Boomer.
Then Long presented the one in red, "And this is Jimmy Lee, one of my more boisterous students. He has the strength of ten men even though he's just a boy."
"Howdy do," Jimmy said.
"And last but not least, my rather personal favorite, Hana Asakura, he's got a lot going for him, with the will to win and a brazen spirit, he's quite the star," Sheng Long said rather proudly.
"Aw shucks" Hana just shrugged.
Lou approached Hana and grabbed his hands, "Thank you so much Hana, I'm forever indebted to you!" she said cheerfully.
"H-hey, no need to rub it in" Hana looked down bashfully, his partners just stifled a giggle.
Suddenly, police sirens could be heard, and Sheng Long turned back towards Lowe, "Well, then, I suppose this is where we part ways for now."
Lou faced Hana again, "I really wish there was something I could do for you…"
Hana just looked at her and replied, "I'm all right, you don't have to do anything."
Lou looked kinda sad, "But…"
Hana just placed a finger to her lips, "Shush, you'll think of something eventually, this isn't gonna be the last time we meet, I'm certain of that."
Lou silently nodded, then watched as Hana, his friends, and Sheng Long left her sight.
Years Later…
On the distant island of Okinawa, Boomer ran through the woods, with rocks tied on his arms, legs and on his back, yet even with all of these weights, he sprinted through the woods as fast as a deer. Soon he found himself heading into a sloped clearing, and headed further down.
Jimmy, on the other hand, was pounding of several boulders careening down from a waterfall, they all came down faster than a band of marching ants, but with just one punch on each one, the boulders broke into naught but pebbles as they fell into the water around him.
Boomer then jumped near a bank next to the small lake where Jimmy was training, and he started jogging in place, "Jim, where's Hana and the old man?"
Jimmy punched one last boulder to bits before replying, "Over there by the glade."
Hana, on the other hand, he was special, at least, as far as the rest of his friends were concerned. In a secluded glade in the deep jungle of Okinawa, Hana and Sheng Long were sparring, for as Sheng Long saw it, there was no better training than engaging one's self in a good spar, especially if you're opponent was your equal or even better.
Hana lunged forward with a punch, but Long blocked it and attempted to strike with an elbow, but Hana dodged and then attempted to swipe Long off his feet, but the latter somersaulted over this assault and was about to give a heavy hand-chop to his bold student until Hana quickly made for an uppercut, but quickly cut short as both master and student reached only inches away from hitting each other.
The two breathed deeply, staying in position, and then, it was over, "You've improved tremendously, Hana, you really are my best pupil."
Hana smiled and replied, "Thanks, sifu."
Long then assembled his students together near the lake, then had them line up side-by-side. He looked at how much Hana, Boomer and Jimmy had grown over the years, and now, he saw that they had become fine martial artists in their own right.
"You boys, when you were younger, you were as strong as many as 30 men, but after today, you look as though no man or beast could ever stand against you in this lifetime."
The boys stifled a chuckle, and then straightened themselves again.
"After this moment, I have nothing left to teach you, but know that I will always be at your side when you are in need of guidance." Then Long pulled out three tickets.
"These will take you back to your respective homes, do me proud in what you do boys." Long then clasped with his pupils and smiled proudly towards them, and then he turned and returned to his hermitage, bidding his pupils farewell for now.
Hana then turned to his two friends, who had been with him ever since their tutelage with Long began, "Well, this is it guys, I guess we'll be seein' each other again sometime?"
Jimmy softly punched his arm, "We're never far for long, that's what buddies do, buddy."
"But it will be great to see our families again after so long, don't you think?" Boomer asked.
Jimmy looked up into the sky, "Hehe, it'll be nice seeing my bro Billy again."
Boomer turned to Hana, "What are you gonna do Hana?"
Hana sighed, "Oh you know…"
Jimmy turned to him in realization, "Hey that's right, you and your parents are bodyguards now, aren't cha?"
Hana sighed, "Yeah…"
Boomer gave Hana a nudge, "Good luck with that."
Elsewhere, on Japan's mainland island Honshu, Lou waved to her adoring crowd as thousands of fans cheered on her.
Over the past couple of years, Lou had been building up her fame as a famous pop star, and now her labor was bearing fruit, for tonight was her first big gig and it went off with a bang.
After waving goodbye to her fans and admirers, Lou stepped onto her limousine parked in the back, and drove off to her penthouse apartment.
Once there, she greeted her father and the Asakuras, Yoh and Anna.
"How was your concert dear?" Lowe asked.
"It was great Dad, as always," Lou replied.
"That's great dear" Lowe rubbed his daughter's head proudly.
Lou turned to Anna and Yoh, "Oh, hello too, Mr. and Mrs. Asakura, have you heard anything from Hana?"
Anna just pointed behind her, "Ask him yourself."
Before Lou could respond, a pair of arms wrapped around her and soon enough, Hana was snuggling her.
"Missed me?" Hana said softly
"Hana!" Lou giggled as Hana continued snuggling her.
Hana and Lou then entered Lou's room, where Lou got them some iced tea, "So how was your final training Hana?"
Ana took a sip before replying, "You wouldn't believe how insane it was," he said in a way that showed he was very excited about it.
Then Lou asked, "What happened?"
Then Hana started talking about their training: Breaking boulders with their bare hands, running through all of Okinawa with rocks strapped all over their bodies, doing push-ups over hot incense sticks, balancing eggs on bamboo poles using all their fingers, noses and tongue, killing ten sharks in 20 minutes, meditating under a freezing cold waterfall while sitting on a block of ice wearing only their boxers and the list goes on…
"Oh my, that sounds intense!" Lou said surprised by the extreme conditions for their training.
"I know, but now look at me" Hana then unbuttoned his shirt and revealed his rock-hard muscular torso.
Lou then started feeling her way around Hana's chest, and it really felt hard, it was still kinda soft, but it was like Hana was made of rocks with a layer of skin over him.
"Wow, you're body has definitely improved," Lou said teasingly.
"Aye, but it's still nothing compared to your silky-smooth skin," Then Hana wrapped his arms around Lou, and snuggled her again, smelling her lavender hair, and caressing her sooth, soft skin, Lou tried to shove him away gently, but he had a firm yet gentle, grip on her, Lou giggled as Hana continued touching her.
Suddenly, Anna barged in, "Hana… oh."
"Mother!" Hana suddenly felt flustered by the intrusion.
"I'll leave you two alone first," then Anna left, leaving Hana red in the face, and Lou all giggly.
2 months later…
"Lou, I've bought some of that root beer," Hana entered Lou's room and saw her sifting through mail.
"Fan mail?" Hana asked.
"Yup, oh yeah, I also found this one mail here for you Hana." Lou then handed him a letter as she took a can of root beer to drink.
"A letter for me?" Hana looked puzzled.
"That's right, apparently, it's from one of your old sparring partners I think," Lou replied.
"Hm… I wonder what they're calling me for?" Hana opened and read the letter, apparently it was made by Boomer.
"What does it say?" Lou asked.
"It says here that Boomer wants me to come over to his hometown of Townsville in the US, says he wants me to come visit him for a little while."
"Oh, Townsville? You're friend comes from there?" Lou asked.
"Yeah, hm… I wonder why he wants me to visit him?" Hana wondered.
"Oh who cares? It's your best friend isn't it? You should go take up his offer," Lou said with a smile.
"But… what about you?" Hana asked.
"What do you think? I'm coming with you, you silly." Lou poked his arm softly.
"Wha-?"
So, within a couple of days, Hana and Lou left Japan and arrived at Townsville International Airport.
"Well, here we are," Hana looked around the terminal, and watched various American people walk about and doing their business.
"Hana?" A voice called out to Hana.
"That voice… Jimmy?!" Hana turned and saw a familiar face, Jimmy Lee.
"Hana it is you! How are you old pal?" Jimmy said cheerfully, then he noticed Lou, "Oh, this must be your girlfriend?"
Hana and Lou blushed, "Jimmy, I'm just her bodyguard, don't jump to conclusions now."
Jimmy just looked at him with a sly face, "Riiight…"
Lou extended her arm to shake with Jimmy, "Hello, nice to meet you again, Jimy."
Jimmy reached out and shook hands with her, "Hehe, it's been a while."
"A pleasure to meet you, again" Lou remembered the night when Hana, Jimmy, and Boomer saved her and her father from those assassins, she's been extremely grateful to them since.
"Anyway, what brings you here to the States, Jimmy?" Hana asked.
"Boomer gave me this letter here to come over and see him." Jimmy then produced a letter.
"Huh, I was asked to come here by a letter sent from him too." Hana then presented his letter as well.
"I wonder what Boomer is calling us over here for?" Hana asked.
"Beats me" Jimmy replied.
Lou then pointed to someone in the distance, "Hey guys, look!" There, running towards them, was Boomer, who immediately tackled Hana and Jimmy, "Hey Guys!"
The three boys got back on their feet and gave each other hearty laughs, before going over to Boomer's limo parked outside the Airport.
Once inside, Hana asked Boomer about the limo, "Wow Boomer, I never knew you could afford this stuff."
"Ah, me and my bros are practically loaded, but this isn't all we've got."
Then Jimmy asked, "What do you mean?"
"You'll see," Boomer replied.
After a few minutes of driving, the limo passed through a gate, and it drove into a narrow road surrounded by a large, forested area.
"Whoa, this is some garden…" Jimmy commented.
Boomer jokingly corrected him, "Jimmy, this is our front yard."
Jimmy seemed surprised, "No way!"
Boomer and Hana just gave a small chuckle.
Finally, the limo arrived in front of a large mansion and the four passengers exited out to be greeted by several maids and butlers.
"Boomer, you never told us you were some kind of tycoon!" Hana said, looking at the rows of servants lined before them.
"Actually, neither me nor my bros were as rich as this, you wouldn't believe that my dimwit of a brother, Butch, actually won the lottery a month ago, and we've been busy for a while." After ordering the servants to return to their duties, Boomer invited Jimmy, Hana and Lou into his mansion.
"It's like a palace in here." Jimmy complimented, taking in the splendor of his old friend's mansion.
Suddenly, a German shepherd came into view from the top of some stairs.
Hana noticed the animal, "Hey, I never knew you got a dog too, come here boy!"
The German shepherd, seeing Hana, made a mad dash for the boy, seemingly ready to attack him.
"Eek! Hana, watch out!" Lou shrieked.
The dog pounced on Hana, but rather than attack him, the dog licked him affectionately.
Boomer looked impressed, "Whoa, Hana, you really seem to have an affinity for dogs. Ol' Serb there has never been friendly with outsiders much."
Hana got back up after getting Serb to get off hi, "Yeah well, let's just say I have an affinity for animals."
Lou faced Hana and started hammering his chest, "Don't scare me like that, you oaf!"
Hana stroked her hair and kissed her on the forehead, "I'm sorry, Lou."
Boomer then brought them to the guest room, where they left their luggage, Boomer then brought them to the dining room, "You guys are probably hungry after your trip, why don't you have something of a snack while you're here?"
"Ok" Hana looked as several maids brought them several pastries, leftover chicken, and other goodies for them to eat.
Boomer spoke, "Oh yeah, tonight, Jimmy, Hana, I'm gonna take you someplace special."
"Where?" Hana asked?
"You'll find out eventually" Boomer replied.
"Can I come?" Lou asked.
Boomer replied, "Sorry, but, you can't come with us Miss Roux."
"Mou!" Lou pouted over the fact she couldn't come, Hana went over to try easing her, "Relax, I'll get you a souvenir if I can, ok?"
Lou still pouted, but acquiesced, "Ok, but it better be something cute!"
Hana nodded, "Sure."
Later that night, Hana, Jimmy and Boomer rode out on Boomer's Sports car into town, where they partook in the lights, sights, and other delights (Hey, that rhymed).
Jimmy took note of how the place looked while at night, "Wow, Townsville sure looks lively."
Boomer replied, "That isn't the half of it, especially when I take you there."
Both Jimmy and Hana were curious as to where Boomer was taking them.
After a few minutes of driving, Boomer parked his car next to a dark alleyway, then he had Jimmy and Hana follow after him into a secluded entrance nearby.
"Boomer, what's this about?" Hana asked.
"Patience Hana, wait until we're inside" Boomer knocked on the door, the bouncer inside peeked through the door, in which Boomer presented him with a couple of bills.
"Three please" asked Boomer.
The bouncer opened the door and let the three boys in.
"Boomer, is this place what I think it is?" Jimmy asked.
"Yup, it's an underground fighting arena."
"Why did you bring us here Boomer?" Hana asked.
"Well, after I learned of this place, I thought this was the perfect place to try out our skills in, besides, I think it's time we got some real opponents to fight against, don't you think? So c'mon, I say we give it a try."
Jimmy and Hana thought about it, and decided to give it a go.
Boomer went over to the receptionist and signed them in for some rounds.
Jimmy went up first, as he stepped into the ring, his first opponent was a rather tall, bald guy with scars all over his body.
"Let's see how he fares, Hana" Boomer said to Hana, taking their seats near the ring.
The tall guy charged for Jimmy, but he easily jumped and gave hi one good kick in the face, and the fight was over.
The crowd was stunned at how Jimmy easily devastated him, but they quickly went into loud cheering as Jimmy raised his arms in triumph.
Next was Boomer.
For his opponent, Boomer had to face off against some really fat biker thug with a mohawk, "What a dumb haircut."
The fat guy tried grappling Boomer, but the latter easily overwhelmed him with his outrageous speed, and Boomer knocked him down after a few blows to the head.
Next was Hana, and his opponent was a luchadore wearing a black crow-themed mask.
The luchadore moved around quite fast, and was almost overwhelming Hana.
"C'mon Hana, you can knock that maniac out!" Jimmy cheered.
Hana stayed his ground, then, when the luchadore attempted to sweep his feet off the ground, Hana quickly stomped his face, then punched him into the corner of the ring for a knock-out win.
And so the battles continued and the crowd started cheering for the boys, and now, it was coming to the final round.
"Who's the opponent for the final round?" asked Jimmy, since it was gonna be his turn next.
"Apparently, it's some guy who's been the undisputed champion around here for quite some time, He's called Biarce." Boomer replied.
Suddenly, puffs of smoke and ominous glowing lights gave way to the undisputed champion of this arena: Biarce, wearing only black shoes, black pants with black leather chaps, he walked forward with his dark, unkempt hair but his most distinguishing feature was his pure white skin, pale as the moon.
Hana looked at this new opponent, and for some reason, he felt as though the theatrics of his appearance was more than a shallow presentation of his arrival; Biarce was exuding an indescribable aura of immense power.
Jimmy prepared into his fighting stance, and looked at Biarce, his expression was a completely empty, cold one, his eyes transfixed in an unfeeling, callous stare.
"This guy, he's no ordinary fighter… it looks like I finally get a decent challenge." Jimmy stood still while Biarce simply kept looking at him.
After nearly a minute of standing still, the crowd demanded action, unable to wait any longer, Jimmy charged for Biarce.
No sooner had he charged did Biarce perform a powerful rising Genocide Cutter in Jimmy's face, sending the latter hurtling off stage and onto the bench where Hana and Boomer were sitting.
The crowd stood temporarily stunned as Biarce, as always, conquered his foe in less than two hits.
Hana and Boomer also stood stunned at how Biarce easily defeated Jimmy.
Boomer came up next, as he struck his fighting pose, he looked cautiously at Biarce, and readied himself for his attack.
Boomer then lashed out at Biarce, throwing a light punch, which Biarce dodged, then followed by a kick to his left, which he also blocked, then Boomer was about to jab his back, and Biarce quickly countered, blocking Boomer's attack and hitting Boomer with a mighty palm strike, before throwing him off-stage, and out of the ring.
Jimmy, Boomer, and now Hana, the crowd was eager to see if Hana could fare any better than his two friends.
However, the moment Hana stepped into the arena; Biarce looked at him with a genuine look of recognition.
"What?" Hana asked.
Biarce smiled, then pointed at Hana, and spoke for the first time since the battle against him began "You have a lot of skill, but you lack polish, I'll take you down in five hits." Biarce said boldly and assuredly.
Hana thought, "Who the hell is this guy?"
Hana decided to stay completely still, not wanting to risk being countered by Biarce, but the latter didn't see to want it, "Don't wanna move huh? Fine by me." Suddenly, Biarce disappered in a haze.
"What the?!" No sooner had Hana enough time to register as Biarce suddenly appeared right in front of him, Biarce then pummeled him with a powerful jab to his gut.
"One"
Then Biarce did a powerful high kick which sent Hana being dislodged from the ground.
"Two"
Followed by Biarce slamming both palms on the floor, causing the massive shockwave to send Hana flying into the air.
"Three"
Biarce then jumped up and did a karate chop on Hana, sending the latter flying downwards.
"Four"
Finally, Biarce descended down as quickly as possible and formed a pair of fists with his hands, connecting both hands by the thumbs, Biarce waited… then struck Hana, sending the blonde boy flying out of the arena and onto Boomer and Jimmy.
"Five…"
The crowd cheered wildly as Biarce, once again, conquered the arena, and left the three boys down a bloody mess.
However, Biarce helped Hana up, and commended him despite the fact Hana didn't even so much as throw a punch, "You got skill kid, but you need to become even stronger if you want to even stand a ghost of a chance against me…"
Hana, Boomer, and Jimmy left the arena, feeling utterly humiliated.
Except for Hana, who remembered Biarce's last words to him.
"Become even stronger…"
Morning came on the mansion, and the boys found themselves bound in bandages, having been pretty roughed up from the fight.
"Not even a finger on him huh?" Lou asked Hana.
"Yup, he totally roughed us up…" Hana replied.
Boomer sipped a cup of tea as he contemplated the night before, while Jimmy was exercising to try and get the painful sensation of that kick out of his body.
"I guess we're not as strong as we figured we'd be" Boomer said somewhat dejectedly.
"I suppose…" replied Hana, who stared out the window with Lou and Serb by his side.
"After that, I don't think I ever want another royal ass-kickin' from Biarce again" Jimmy said as he stretched his limbs.
Then Boomer looked at Hana as he contemplated by the window, "What's up, Hana?"
Hana simply replied, "We need to get stronger."
"What?"
Hana faced Boomer, "Biarce showed us that there are other fighters in the world other than us, and not only that, they are also stronger than us, why can't we become stronger too?"
Jimmy stopped his rounds and turned to Hana, "Yeah man, I've never seen someone fight like Biarce did, but the question is… how do we get stronger?"
The three boys contemplated over this, then, Lou provided them with the answer.
"The Saint of Fists Tournament!" Then she threw a newspaper with an article about a worldwide mixed martial arts tournament.
Boomer looked at the article curiously, "Saint of Fists?"
"Exactly!" Lou added, "It's been buzzing around lately, some filthy-rich tycoon decided to make a massive martial arts show and to add to the fun, people from all over the world are gonna fight in it, all around the world too."
Hana looked at the article and read what little info it had about the tournament, "This looks interesting, says here, the preliminaries are already underway in Bangkok."
Hana, Boomer and Jimmy looked at each other with grins on their faces, then Boomer spoke, "All right, once we're up and at 'em let's go join this 'Saint of Fists' tournament!"
Jimmy jogged excitedly, "We'll become stronger than anything the world's ever seen!"
Lou turned to Hana, "Everybody looks pumped… what about you?"
Hana turned to her with a smile, "I'll still come out as the strongest, you can count on that."
Lou then stood up, "Well then, it's decided!"
Later…
Hana, Boomer and Jimmy then boarded the next plane flying for Bangkok, Lou decided to stay behind because of certain "business" she had to do, but assured Hana that she'll be at Bangkok as well.
Hana looked outside the window of the plane, and watched as the sun rose above the puffy white clouds.
It was the dawn of a new journey…
END
(Author's Note: This story's going to be a oneshot, but if I get good reviews, I might consider going further with this, just tell me ok?)
