Kenichi sat on both knees. His head was bowed down in concentration. It had been fifteen years since that faithful day when he had first arrived at Ryozanpaku. Back then he had been young and ignorant. He had faced many trials since that day and though at times he had desperately wanted to quit he hadn't. When he would lose a fight he would just train harder and harder. Despite Akisame-sensei's dangerous and somewhat insane methods of training he could no longer deny that it was all worth it in the end.
"Kenichi, it's time." Miu's voice called out to him. His eyes slowly opened and he nodded. "Thanks Miu." He said with a small smile as he rose from his position. As he rose he couldn't help but notice how much his body had developed since he had first began training. His body had packed on quite a bit of muscle, reminding him of Sakai. Though he would never be that bulky it was still nice to be able to relate to his masters.
He turned to where Miu stood in the door way with a small smile on her face. Much like Kenichi, Miu had changed over the years. She had recently graduated from a prestige university and was aiming to become a teacher. Her long hair was a few inches shorter as she had complained it had begun to become a hassle to deal with it. Her hour glass figure had only improved to the point where Honoka had been making watermelon references whenever the younger girl got frustrated.
She had a gentle smile on her face as Kenichi approached her. "Nervous?" She asked as he sighed. "That obvious?" He asked his gaze instantly falling to the floor. "Well to anyone else no but I like to think I know my husband better than anyone else." She told him to which he chuckled. They had only been dating for a year when Kenichi had proposed. Most people would've thought this was rushed but considering he had to wait three years to get permission to date her it wasn't really rushed at all.
"Don't worry Kenichi, you'll do fine." She told him as he nodded. He took a deep breath as they stood before the door that held his ultimate fate. He pulled the door open to reveal the courtyard where the masters of Ryozanpaku stood waiting for him. The years had treated his masters well and if he hadn't known any better he would say they looked exactly the same as they did when he had first begun training.
Akisame stepped forward to greet him. "Kenichi I can honestly say that this is both a day that all of us have been looking for and one that we thought you wouldn't live to see." He said causing the former disciple to groan. "Thanks for the bode of confidence Akisame-sensei." He muttered as his masters laughed. "Never the less, today is the day where we see if all that training has gone to waste or… has been used to its fullest potential!" Akisame finished with the glow of a master in his eyes.
"Are you ready to jump from the cliff of disciples into the pit of masters?!" Akisame asked with a little to much passion if you asked an innocent bystander.
Taking a deep breath, Kenichi straightened his posture and stared back at the blind master. "I am!" Kenichi declared taking a step forward. Akisame smiled at his response before raising an arm in Apachi's direction.
"Then we will begin with Muay Thai!"
Apachi smiled and began getting all jittery. "Finally, APachi gets to fight Kenichi without holding back. Apachi has been waiting a long time for this. Apachi will do his best! Good luck Kenichi!" Apachi cried excitedly. Kenichi smiled gently as he shifted into a stance similar to Apachi's. He had decided that he would face each of his masters using mainly the style that had taught him but incorporating some his own style as well. "Thank you Apachi, I can tell how long you've been waiting for this. I can only hope I won't disappoint you." Kenichi said staring at the kind hearted master.
As the two waited for Akisame to start the match, Kenichi couldn't help but remember the first time he had used the Ryozanpaku Rhythm. He hadn't had to use it in years but for some reason it brought back memories of that fight with Ryuto.
"Begin!"
The Death God of the Muai Thai underworld Apachi Apocha
Apachi charged Kenichi like a bull. Only instead of horns Apachi had something much more lethal….. His hands! Before Kenichi would've ran screaming his head off. This time however Kenichi ducked under the punch Apachi had expertly thrown and threw a kick of his own. As expected Apachi expertly blocked it by raising his knee. And so the fight began.
They traded blows with neither giving an inch. Apachi was truly going all out and wasn't holding back in the slightest. To Kenichi it was the greatest compliment that Apachi could give him and so he too gave it his all!
"Apachi Round-house!" The two exclaimed landing simultaneous roundhouse kicks. Kenichi struggled as he felt the full force of Apachi's kicks, he almost faltered but instead concentrated on sending Apachi flying as the master had done to him so many times in the past.
With a deafening yell, Kenichi launched Apachi towards he wall of Ryozanpaku. The impact formed a large crater in the hole. Kenichi stared in awe at the power of his kick. Sure he had meant to send Apachi flying but he didn't think he'd actually do it! However before he could do anything else, he felt a presence behind him and swiftly turned using a karate block to protect himself against the punch thrown by his karate master
And I'm the hundredth degree street fighter known as Shio Sakaki
"No rest, huh?" Kenichi asked staring into the eyes of his master. "Course not, it's not a real challenge if you get a break in between!" Sakaki exclaimed throwing another punch that connected. Shaking off the surprise of Sakai, Kenichi switched stances as to better fight off the karate master. "That's true. Bring it on!" Kenichi declared confidently much to the pleasure of his masters.
The two then began to exchange blows just as he and Apachi had only this time he had extra careful. He had taken the full force of Apachi's kick and he knew he couldn't take a lot of hits like that or else he wouldn't make it through the challenge!
As they clashed, Kenichi couldn't help but admire his karate master even now. The man had originally stated he didn't take disciples yet here he was taking part Kenichi's final test. It definitely meant a lot to Kenichi and he was determined to make it through.
The two backed up from each other taking a moment to catch their breaths. The two then rushed at each other once more. Only this time Kenichi used the very first technique that Sakaki had ever taught him.
"Yamazuki!"
The technique managed to catch Sakaki by surprise only because he hadn't expected Kenichi to use it on him. It caught him off balance for but a moment and that was all Kenichi needed as he landed a punch to the chest that threw Sakaki back a few yards.
Kenichi barely had time to dodge a kick that came from above. Then there standing in front of Sakaki was Kensei.
"Hey, I wasn't done yet!" Sakaki complained as Kensei shook his head. "To bad, he knocked you back exactly four yards with a single hit and you remember the agreement." Kensei said with a small smirk. Sakaki grumbled about the stupid agreement as Kenichi stared down the shortest master
Now let me introduce you to master of all Chinese martial arts Kensei Ma
"Time to see the progress of your training, Kenichi. If you fail, I'll mail all of these naked pictures of Miu to boys around the world!" Kensei said flashing a handful of pictures. Miu growled upon seeing the pictures in Kensei's. "Lecherous pervert! I'm going to kill you!" She yelled grabbing her signature broom.
Just as she was about to chase the little pervert, the pictures all fell into pieces. "My pictures!" Kensei declared just barely dodging the backhand Kenichi had swung at him. Thus began a clash of all Chinese Martial arts. Kenichi was forced to defend himself as Kensei attacked him by bouncing around off of various objects.
Tell the truth Kenichi wasn't the least bit surprised that Kensei had chosen to begin their match in such a manner. It was exactly the kind of the thing the vertically challenged master would do. However he knew that Kensei had merely done it to try and add some lightheartedness to this serious day. Kenichi appreciated it even if it did mean that his wife was going to be living with an extra dose of paranoia for the next two weeks.
Unfortunately for Kenichi he had glanced to check on his seething wife and that had been a costly mistake. He had been forced to take a full on barrage of Kensei's attacks barely able to back away so he could formulate a plan. Then it hit him with a smirk that reminded everyone of Nijima he pulled out some pictures of his own.
"Oh Kensei-sensei, lookie what I got. It's all those pictures you had stored under your pillow!" As expected Kensei lunged for the pictures only to be intercepted by a kick from his disciple! The kick launched Kensei much like a football towards the wall where he only barely managed to deflect off of. In his hands he held what he thought were his prized pictures only to discover they were pictures of Nijima in various poses!
"That's not nice! You tricked me!" Kensei declared pointing at Kenichi from his perch. Kenichi merely shrugged. Then with quick instincts Kenichi managed to dodge one of Shigure's ninja stars.
"Damn. I. Missed." She muttered drawing her sword.
Now face the maiden of weapons Shigure Kusaka
And so the next fight began with Kenichi expertly deflecting and blocking Shigure's blade while using some of the various techniques she had taught him. Such as the double slash. As they fought Miu happily watched from her spot beside Akisame.
"So how far along are you now, Miu?" Akisami asked as he watched Kenichi's fight. She smiled and placed a hand on her stomach. "Almost three months." She said with a fond smile. Akisame smiled. "I see and how did Kenichi take the news?"
"He's happy that were getting to start out family but I think he's worried about how dad and grandpa are going to take it, knowing that they wanted to castrate him before the wedding." Miu said as Akisame chuckled. When Saiga had first come back he had been supportive of the two's relationship but once they had started dating he seemed to take on the philosophy of his father: that no man is good enough for Miu! In fact, if Miu hadn't beaten her father into the ground, the two probably wouldn't have gotten married when Kenichi had asked.
"I see and what do you think?" Akisame asked as Kenichi narrowly avoided a slash from Shigure's sword. "I'm happier than I ever thought possible." She said rubbing her belly stomach gently. Akisame watched with a smile as he stood up and began stretching his limbs.
"Well it seems it's my turn." He stated just as Kenichi had broken Shigure's sword with a well-timed 'double slash'.
The philosophical Judo master Akisame Koestuji
"Prepare yourself Kenichi!" He cried lunging at the young man. The two then began a brutal battle as Miu was left to watch. "Hmmm, Akisame already, huh?" Hayato's voice called out from behind her. "Grandpa!" She declared giving him a hug. He smiled as he pat her head. "Looks, like it'll be my turn soon enough, huh?" He said watching as Kenichi fought against Akisame using all of his skills.
"Uh huh, he's really gotten strong." Miu commented as she watched him land a punch to Akisame's stomach. "The lessons may have been tough, but he certainly learned them well." Hayato replied as he watched Kenichi end the match signaling for Kenichi's final opponent to start the fight. Hayato did not disappoint as he stepped into the courtyard. Unlike the other Masters, he would not be going all out but he would definitely be sure to give the former disciple a challenge!
"Thank you for having us." Kenichi and Miu said in union as they exited the Ryozanpaku dojo. They had stayed long after the match so they could eat with Kenichi's former masters. Much to Kenichi's surprise Saiga had taken over Miu's cooking duties once she had moved in with him. Though it wasn't Miu's cooking it was still delicious and it gave them a chance to sit back and talk to the masters. He couldn't help but smile as he remembered their comments when he had asked about how well he had performed.
'Apachi couldn't have done it better if Apachi had done it himself!'
'Let's just say I'm glad I took on a disciple afterall'
'You played your opponents weakness perfectly though please don't mess around about those pictures again'
'Hmmmm. You were. Good. Though it's a shame, you're still breathing.'
'I think I speak for all of us when I say that; all that training didn't go to waste after all.'
'You demonstrated what it means to study martial arts.'
"What are you so happy about?" Miu asked glancing at her husband. He chuckled as he turned to her. "I'm just thinking about the comments the masters made about the fights." He told her to which she smiled gently. "Well they were excellently done and you definitely held your own." She told him to which he shrugged.
Before he could say another word though a group of thugs surrounded them. "Hand over the valuables!" One of them exclaimed. Miu's muscles tensed but relaxed when Kenichi placed a hand on her shoulders. "Don't worry Miu, I'll take care of this. You've got to worry about the baby after all." With that said he took off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.
"And who might you be punk?" The leader asked as Kenichi's eyes began to glow showing the power of a master.
"I'm-"
'The death God of the Mua Thai underworld.'
'The hundredth degree street-fighter'
"The master of all Chinese martial arts'
'The maidan of weapons'
'The philosophical Judo master'
"The Dragon's Fang, Kenichi Shirahama!" He declared while flexing. This action proceeded to destroy his shirt as he then proceeded to show the would-be muggers what happens when they mess with a master.
The end. I know crappy ending but I think it's better then the mangas -.- I did a lot of refrencing from the Ryozanpaku Rhythm in fact I based most of this fanfict off of the Ryozanpaku Rhythm. I wrote this because i hated the manga's ending not because of the quality of the ending but just the way it ended. I hope you enjoyed this and I hope it was decent quality. till next time Ja Ne
