The Seventh Master
Part Two: The Will of a Viking's Pride
Morning: Unknown Regions of china
High up in the mountains within a remote location, an old and abandoned temple plays host to a group of fighters. In the courtyard of this temple, a group of six people all cloaked and hooded, sit around a large empty fountain with a large statue of an ancient warrior. Then another figure walks into the courtyard wrapped in a black leather robe. She had jet black hair reaching down to her back. She wore white eye shadow and red lipstick. This woman was Artemis.
One of the hooded figures out of the group lowers his hood, revealing him to be a Scandinavian man in his early thirties with short black hair and a medium build. "Well Artemis, I'm guessing that you failed in your mission". "You talk too much, Beowulf. My orders were to locate the Kamikaze and evaluate the strength of History's Strongest Disciple. It seems that Kamikaze has joined Ryozanpaku."
Another member of the group lowers their hood. This time it was a Japanese woman who wore a red blind fold. She toyed with a set of knives between her fingers. "You have done well, my disciple. But what of the boy. What of the successor to the Katsujin Ken?"
Artemis then kneels before the woman. "Yes Master Pandora. His skills are exceptional, although at first glance he appears to be weak. Had I had more weapons with me at the time besides my Naginata, then I would have—"
"It's of no consequence. You performed your duty well, that is all that matters to our leader" Artemis then looks around at the six masters. "Where is Gilgamesh?" Just then a hooded man jumps out of nowhere and kicks the statue in the center of the fountain off of its pedestal. The statue falls to the ground and shatters to a thousand pieces. On the pedestal, the man stands above the rest of the masters.
They all kneel to him at his presence. "Lord Gilgamesh", said everyone. "Ryozanpaku is a threat. Now that the Kamikaze of the North has joined them, the situation has become more dire should he choose to train the Disciple. Beowulf, I want you and your disciple to go after Kamikaze and Shirahama".
"Yes my lord", said Beowulf. "I have no hope that he can defeat the Kamikaze, but he must take out the Strongest Disciple", said Gilgamesh. And with that, Gilgamesh disappears in a flash with amazing speed, leaving the six masters and Artemis alone in the courtyard.
Then all the masters leave the area except Artemis and Pandora. Artemis then walks up to her master. "Master, is it ok that Beowulf and Grendel get to Ryozanpaku before us?", asked Artemis. "I care nothing for Shirahama, but Alastair must not come to harm by those two idiots. That is a task reserved for both you and me. Follow them and make sure that their plans do not succeed", said Pandora.
"But cant Alastair take care of himself if he's a Master at Ryozanpaku?", asked Artemis. "You may be right. It has been six years since we've seen him. Then only monitor Beowulf and Grendel. Intervene only if you must", commanded Pandora. "Yes, my master."
Friday Evening
It's been two weeks since Alastair moved into Ryozanpaku and became its Seventh Master. Just like he asked, everyone just calls him Kami. He doesn't talk about his past, which is natural among the rest of the masters, but I can't help but feel a little curious about him.
At Ryozanpaku, Apachai is giving Kenichi instruction in Muay Thai outside. Hayato and Akisame are watching while playing Shogi. Sakaki is watching while drinking, and Kensei is taking pictures of Shigure while she and Tochumaru are cleaning her sword. She then cuts through his camera to make him stop.
"Ok Kenichi, that's enough for today", said Apachai. "Really. Ok then". Kenichi looks around and doesn't see Alastair anywhere. "Hey have you guys seen Kami?" Everyone looks into the room behind them and see that his sword is still resting against the wall. "He still has to be here somewhere. His sword is still here", said Sakaki. Shigure then sets her own sword down and goes to pick his up. She then begins to unsheathe the sword. She notices an Oni insignia forged into the base of the blade. Before she could fully take the blade out of the sheathe, a pair of hands stops her. She looks up and sees Alastair looking at her with a smile.
"Were you worried about me?" Alastair then takes the sword from Shigure and fully sheathes it. He then carries it out with him. Shigure then turns around and placed her hand on his shoulder to stop him from leaving. "I'm…Sorry".
Alastair turns around and faces her with a smile. "Sorry for what? You didn't do anything wrong. It's just that this sword is special to me. When other people handle it, it makes me uneasy". Kenichi heard this and starts to think to himself: Well that explains why he went through all the trouble of getting it back from Nijima. But I wonder what's so important about it.
He then continues to walk out of the room until Miu come into the room from the kitchen. "Everyone, dinner is ready". She sees Alastair leaving with his sword and about to turn a corner. "Kami, where are you going? I have dinner ready".
"That's ok Miu. I'm not very hungry tonight". He then makes his way out of the house and to the Dojo gates, where he leaves. Kenichi looks at the entire scene with confusion. "I wonder where he is going." Shigure then walks over to Akisame and squats down to him while he's sitting. "Did I…do something wrong?"
"Oh I don't think so. Are you worried about him Shigure?" "N…No". Shigure then gets up to leave for the dining room. As everyone gets up to go into the dining room, they all voice their opinions on the Alastair's behavior. "Kami's acting pretty strange. Hell, he makes Shigure look normal", said Sakaki. "How…Rude", replies Shigure.
"There's defiantly something off about that kid. We hardly know anything about him beyond where he was trained and who his masters were", said Kensei. Everyone sits at the table and begins to eat. Kenichi listening to what the masters are saying about Alastair. "It seems to me like you don't trust him".
"That's not the case Kenichi. The fact is that this news of Makai coming after us is somewhat disturbing. We know nothing about them except the fact that Kami has some sort of relationship with them", said Akisame with unflinching eyes, until he sees diced green peppers in his food. He suddenly gets sick at the sight and smell of them. "Master Koetsuji?" "Oh, I'm sorry Akisame. I didn't have anything to spice up the food and forgot that you hate green onions", said Miu.
"That's ok. I think I'll take a page out of Kami's book and not eat tonight", said Akisame. He then gets up and leaves with a sad, but hilarious look on his face. Sakaki and Apachai then begin to fight over who will eat Akisame's food.
The Elder takes a drink of tea and sign in relief. "Kami may be odd, but he isn't any more unusual than the rest of us, Kenichi. Although he may have the skills of a Master, he still lacks the wisdom of one. I feel that he is trying to work through some sort of trouble and that his relationship with Makai isn't unrelated to this", said the Elder as he takes another sip of tea.
Kenichi thinks to himself: Some sort of trouble? But he always looks cheerful and happy. Is that some sort of act to hide some sort of deeper darkness within him, or it is to hide some sort of wound. "Apa!" Kenichi then comes back to his senses when he realizes that Apachai is stealing the food off of his plate.
"AHHH! Apachai!" Apachai still continues to eat off of Kenichi's plate. "Apa! If Kenichi worry too much, Apachai will eat all of Kenichi's food". Kenichi then tries to guard his food from him and everyone around the table laughs…minus Shigure.
Saturday: Afternoon
At the Shinpaku Alliance building, Kenichi and Miu are all hanging out with the rest of the Shinpaku Alliance. Kisara and Freya are both training. Takeda is practicing his punches and Ukita is lifting weights. Nijima is sitting with Kenichi and Miu.
"So Kenichi, how is the training with that freaky new master", asked Nijima as he prepares to type in new information into his PDA. "He hasn't trained me at all. In fact I barely see him". Takeda hears the conversation and walks over to join the conversation. "But that guy was crazy strong being able to knockout Siegfried with a single punch. At least he wasn't seriously hurt".
Freya stops practicing her staff techniques to talk to Kisara. "So, what kind of guy was he?" Kisara stops practicing her Taekwondo for a moment to answer. "Besides his power, he was extremely cute". As both of the girls laugh, Ukita hears Kisara says this while he's bench pressing and looses concentration. The weights crash down on his chest and he comically tries to get them off him. Takeda rushes to help him out while everyone else displays unbelievable looks on their face at the sight.
"Oh calm down Ukita. I was only kidding". Kisara then winks at Freya and she responds with a silent "OK" in understanding. While Takeda and Kenichi try to get the weights off Ukita, Alastair jump into the room through the open window behind Kisara and Freya and stands behind them both as they look at the spectacle. When Kenichi saves Ukita with Takeda's help, he notices Alastair standing behind Freya. "Oh, Master Kami, you're here".
Freya then turns around and comes face to face with Alastair. She then begins to blushes with embarrassment and becomes completely petrified. "Hey Kenichi", said Alastair, who then notices Freya in front of him. "Something wrong?" Freya then slowly shakes her dead. He moves is face closer to Freya's with an inquisitive look and she begins to blush even more. He then pulls back and smiles.
"The greatest female martial artists are always the most beautiful." Freya then passes out. "Freya!", screams everyone as they rush towards her. Kisara then looks Alastair square in the eye. "What the hell are you doing? How did you even get in here?" Alastair points to the window behind him." It was open, so I came in". Kisara then looks dumbfounded. "But, we're on the third floor?" said Nijima. "Kami, you can't just jump into an open window like that", said Miu. "The dairy cow's right you can't just do that". "But it was quicker than taking the stairs". Miu then stands in front of Kisara looking a little angry.
"Wait a minute, who are you calling dairy cow?" Kenichi then tries to calm Miu down. "Eh…she's only kidding Miu she didn't mean it". Kisara ignores Miu and focuses all her attention on Alastair. "Besides, what's that with the 'female martial artists are beautiful' crap? You didn't say that the last time you were here. You find me unattractive or something just because I don't have big boobs bouncing around on my chest? Are you sexist?"
Alastair then gives her a blank stare. "I don't think you're ugly and I don't even know what a sexist is", said Alastair. "It's when men think they're better than women in every way." Alastair then thinks for a moment. "Oh! I get it, you're a feminist! Right". Kisara then gets a smug look on her face. "That's right, and I believe that Women are superior in every way". "But doesn't that make you sexist, only the men and women are in reversed roles?" answered Alastair. Kisara then gets a blank look on her face. She's unable to come up with an argument to refute Alastair's claim. Everyone is thinking: Holy crap, he's right!
"Th-that's beside the point. If you don't find me ugly and you're not a sexist, then what's the problem?" The room the falls silent and all eyes are on Alastair. Nijima thinks to himself: Is Kisara jealous of Freya. Well, I can see why. She may have matched her in skill, but she's still a few cup sizes behind her… Kenichi then thinks to himself: This is bad. Kisara going to attack Kami if he gives her the wrong answer, but he isn't who I'm worried about. Ukita then thinks to himself: What's going on? Why does she care? Is she offended or…does she like him. Takada then thinks to himself: I was hoping for a cat fight between Kisara and Miu. Oh well. A guy can dream… Miu then thinks to herself: I wonder what I should cook tonight. Beef or chicken?
Everyone waits in anticipation on what Alastair is going to say. Alastair then reaches behind his back, and Kisara readies herself with a fighting stance. Alastair then pulls a kitten out of nowhere. Everyone is dumbfounded. Kisara stares with a blank look till it meows. Her eyes get big and then she grabs the cat and cuddles it, totally forgetting the issue at hand. "Your sooooooo cute!", Kisara says to the cat. Everyone falls to the ground in surprise.
"Geez is that all it took", said Kenichi. I really have to be careful around him. He can exploit the weaknesses of anybody. Alastair then turns around to the window and prepares to jump out. "Kenichi, Sakaki is looking for you. Hurry up and return to Ryozanpaku", said Alastair. He then jumps out. "That was weird. Is that all he came here for? What do you think, Miu?" Kenichi looks around and sees Miu cuddling the kitten Alastair gave Kisara. I should have known....
In the town, there was a young man walking around standing about six feet talk. He was foreign, marked by his blond hair and blue eyes. He we muscled to the teeth. He looked like a real monster. As people passed him on the street, they parted themselves away from him, scared by the sheer size of his body and steely, murderous look his eyes. He then reaches a crosswalk where his phone begins to ring. He answers it, and on the other end was a man whose voice sounded sinister and full of bloodlust.
"Where are you?", said the man on the other line. The young foreign man then responds with a deep, Scandinavian accent. "Master Beowulf, I am here in this town where Shirahama and Kamikaze lives". "Good. Go ahead and commence with the plain. I will meet you shortly. Do not fail me Grendel". The call then ends, and Grendel began to cross the street.
Saturday: Evening
Later that evening at Ryozanpaku, Kenichi is sparing with Miu while Sakaki watches. Kenichi is facing Miu and they dodge every kick and punch. "Come on kid, what's up with you? Press the attack, don't stop", said Sakaki as he instructed. As Miu came with a frontal attack, Kenichi spins to her back. Miu then tries to kick him. Kenichi sees the kick coming and with pure instinct, flips over Miu to dodge. Miu is surprised by this, as well as Sakaki. He land in front of Miu, but as he tries to attack, she spins around his back and gives him a sharp reverse elbow in the back. Kenichi falls helplessly.
"Ah, damn it kid. You should have expected a counter attack like that. After all, she used the same move Apachai taught you months ago. Miu, the next time you get him with a technique he knows, just save us the trouble and kill him". Sakaki then gets up and walks out of the room. He begins to think to himself: Wow. I didn't expect him to pull off a move like that. That had to have been the Elder's training, because for a split brief second…he moved like Miu.
Back in the room, Miu helps Kenichi up. "Wow Kenichi, that training my grandfather gave you is paying off". Kenichi then displays a look of helplessness. "But it didn't help me at all!" "Don't worry Kenichi, you're a lot stronger then you were when you first came here". Miu then thinks to herself: To tell the truth, if I hadn't push myself at the last second, Kenichi would have hit me. I hope he really sees that he's getting stronger.
Inside another part of the house, Kensei and Shigure were waiting for Miu to start dinner. Sakaki comes in to joins them at the exact moment where Shigure throws shuriken at Kensei for taking obscene pictures of her. Sakaki then sits down in the corner and sighs heavily. "So, how was Kenichi today", asked Kensei. "He's getting better. At the last moment, Miu had to push herself even further to beat him. At this rate, they'll be equals in no time.
"It seems that our talented disciple is almost at the end of a long journey…where the road becomes even steeper and the danger increases immensely. He's not going to like that", said Kensei. Just then, Alastair walks into the room to go to the Kitchen.
"Hey Kami, where you been all day", asked Sakaki. "I've been out training. I'm just going to get a glass of water", said Alastair. Shigure then gets up and faces Alastair, who greets her with a smile. "Something wrong?"
"I'm…sorry", said Shigure. "Sorry for what? You didn't do anything to me", said Alastair. "For your…sword. Earlier". She points to the sword he always carries with him in his hand. "Oh, don't worry about it. Like I said, it means a lot to me, so I don't fight with it or typically let other people handle it. I don't hate you or anything of the sort, if that's what you're worried about?"
"Uh…no", replies Shigure. "Then everything is alright", said Alastair with a smile. "Uh…you practice…swordsmanship…right", asked Shigure. Then for a spit second, Alastair's composure quickly shifts to that of one filled with dread. Kensei, Sakaki, and Shigure all notice it before he reverts back to his usual self. "Y-yes. I've mastered it, but I haven't practiced it in a while".
"Why?" asked Shigure. "I prefer the use of the special martial arts I developed. I concentrate more on those than anything else." Alastair then leaves the room and heads of the kitchen. "I wasn't the only one who saw that, right?", said Sakaki. "No, I saw it. His composer changed when Shigure asked if he practiced swordsmanship."
"The elder said that he…might be going through some…trouble", said Shigure as she looks in the direction Alastair left. "The Old man did say that, and he might be right", said Sakaki. "It doesn't matter. It's not right to pry into something so personal. On another note Sakaki, are you going to tell me how he beat you a couple of weeks ago", said Kensei.
Sakaki then shrugs at the idea. "He caught me off guard with a technique he used. Every time he hit me with it, it felt as if my inner strength was being eaten away, until the point I could no longer stand. I don't fully understand the idea or principles myself, so you'll have to ask him", said Sakaki. He then sighs heavily again before speaking.
"But from what I figured out, he uses the flow of Ki to inflict true damage, not with the physical strength of punches and kicks. That's why he caught me off guard: because I thought he was physically weaker than me, but I know now that was a mistake.
Shortly after dinner, Renka Ma, Kensei's daughter comes to visit her father. After severely trying to scold him because of his lechery, she is invited by Shigure to join her and Miu for a bath in Ryozanpaku's hot springs. As they walk through the small forest, they hold a conversation till the reach the hot springs.
"So Miu, How's my Kenichi doing", said Renka. "Your Kenichi!?! He isn't yours Renka", answered Miu. "Well he sure as hell isn't yours Furinji", said Renka. Both of them fire up their flows of Ki as they argue between each other. "I should have invited Kenichi here alone so we could spend some alone time together", said Renka. This, of course, angered Miu even further till Shigure finally decides to speak. "Miu, you kissed…Kenichi…right?" Both girls are rendered dumbfounded at the notion and both their levels of ki dissipates.
"SHIGURE!!!", screams Miu. "You…kissed…Kenichi…before me?" said Renka. Just then, Shigure notices a presence up ahead at the hot spring. "Get down", commanded Shigure. The two girls snap into action as all there then begin to duck and crawl on the ground. "What's wrong?" asked Miu. "Someone…up ahead" said Shigure. "What do we do? Attack them", asked Renka. Shigure then partially unsheathes he sword on her back. "No. Capture them".
The girls make their way to the hot spring and hide behind the bushes to spy on whoever is there. As they peer beyond the bushes, they see Alastair standing on a rock in the middle of the spring doing breathing exercises shirtless. "Oh, it's Alastair", says Renka with sparkling eyes at the very sight of him. Miu then notices the scars he has all over his torso. "I wonder where he got those scars from?" asked Miu. "Battle scars…from a sword", replied Shigure.
Alastair then stops his breathing exercises. He closes his eyes and concentrates for a moment, and his muscles begin to greatly enlarge and look overdeveloped. A surge of ki emanates from his body which dissipates the steam surrounding the hot spring. He reopens his eyes and they are glowing, just like the masters of Ryozanpaku. The girls look on in awe.
"I-I have never felt such strong ki before", said Renka. "Is this his true power?", said Miu. "No. Not…even close", answered Shigure. Alastair then begins to move his body in fluid like motions on top of the rock. With every motion, the water surrounding him shifted accordingly to his flow of ki and physical movements.
Meanwhile, Kensei and Kenichi are making their way through the trees and to the hot springs. "Master, we really shouldn't be doing this", said Kenichi. "If that's how you feel, then why are you looking like that?" Kenichi was wearing a perverted smile on his face. The very thought of him seeing Shigure, Miu, and Renka bathing together was almost too much to bear.
Kensei suddenly stops in a tree as sees the girls looking at Alastair while he's training. Kenichi soon catches up to him. "Master, what's wrong." With a stern expression, he points to Alastair. Kenichi looks and sees him in his super powered state. "Is that really…Kami?" "He's using some form of Tai Chi", said Kensei. "Tai Chi? I think I heard of that."
"Tai Chi is an internal Chinese martial where it is typically practiced for health reasons. It's most notably known for the slow motion routines you might see people practice in parks or during the morning. However, many disbelieve it to be a true martial art when it actually is… and it's very versatile. It can redirect an opponent's momentum and power against them like Jujitsu and Judo, while having striking blows like Muay Thai and Karate."
Kenichi thinks to himself: Wow, I heard of Tai Chi, but even I didn't think it was a true martial art. Only an exercise. "Sakaki said that Kami specializes in using Ki to inflict damage using a special technique he developed, and Tai Chi must be a basis for it", said Kensei. "But why Tai Chi?", asked Kenichi.
"Tai Chi is practiced as a means of controlling one's Ki, so if Kami can control this much Ki with this much precision, then it becomes clear as to why Sakaki couldn't beat him", said Kensei.
Everyone then watches as Alastair moves with fluid motions so precise, they seem to cut through the air like a blade underneath the night sky.
Saturday: Late Night
Late in the night in an underground fight club packed with spectators and low-lives, Takeda the Puncher stands in the center of the ring over his recently concurred opponent. The crowd all cheers as the announcer speaks over the microphone.
"We have our winner! Still the undefeated champion of the ring: Takeda the Puncher!", says the announcer, as his words echo over the crowds of cheers and jeers. Takeda then walks back to his corner where his master, James Shiba is standing ringside.
"Great, we just made a butt load of money. No one's crazy enough to challenge you tonight, so let's call it a night", said Shiba. "Sure". As Takeda and Shiba prepare to leave, a mysterious hooded figure walks over to the announcer's booth.
"What da ya want?", said the announcer. The hooded figure hands him a note and a wad of cash. He then points to Takeda, and the announcer instantly understands. He gets on his microphone and grabs the crowd's attention. "It seems we have a challenger for our Champion, what do you say Takeda the Puncher?"
The crowd roars loudly and Takeda and Shiba stop what they're doing. "Should we leave", asked Takeda. "Nah, you could probably take him. Just make sure you end it quick", said Shiba. Takeda the turns around to the crowd and gives a thumbs up. The crowd cheers.
"It's official folks, we have a fight! We all know our champion so let's introducing the challenger". The hooded figure jumps into the ring. He takes off his cloak and throws it to one of the post. The man wore wrestling tights and stood near six feet tall. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and muscles everywhere on his body. The challenger was a real monster. The monster was Grendel.
"Standing Six-foot-two, 236 pounds…Grendel!", said the announcer. The crowd mostly boos. The odd are 10/1 for the Champion, 1/5 for the challenger, so let's get this fight started", says the announcer. A bell suddenly rings and then Takeda steps up to Grendel and each of them circle each other.
"I'll try not to damage that mug of yours any further as a courtesy", said Takeda. Grendel said nothing as each other circled around the ring. Shiba, watching from the sidelines, thinks to himself: This should be a piece of cake, but why am I so worried?
Takeda then steps forward and unleashes a furious combo of punches to Grendel's torso and head. Everyone looks in amazement at the spectacle. The crowd is cheering while calling for blood as it appears that Takeda is winning the fight. Takeda then ends the combo with his trademark left strait. Grendel slightly reels back for a moment, but his composure never changes. He stands up straight once more and looks at Takeda. None of the punches had an effect on him.
"What? My punches aren't working?", said Takeda. Everyone awes at the spectacle. "Hey Kid! Time for the trump card!" yelled Shiba. He thinks to himself: That guy wasn't even affected by Takeda's punches, not even his left straight. I have a bad feeling about this…
Takeda then charges his way up to Grendel. Grendel doesn't move. "Auto-Rhythm!", screams Takeda. He then punches Grendel in the center of the chest. Grendel then hunched over in pain. Everyone begins making a ruckus over the sight of the technique, but Grendel stands up right and his composure hasn't changed a bit. Everyone is shocked.
"What the hell are you? Doesn't matter, I can do that move twice!" Before Takeda charges forward, Grendel steps forwards face to face with Takeda, too fast for him to react. "By the will of my Viking pride, I must brake you", said Grendel with a deep accent. He then grabs Takada by the midsection and slams him to the ground hard enough to briefly stun him. Grendel picks him up and slams him across the ring into a corner post. Takeda hits it with a heavy thud and bounces off it and lands on the ground. Grendel walks over to Takeda and picks him up by the hair.
"The Strongest Disciple will die by my hands", said Grendel. He then punches Takeda in the face while still grabbing his hair. Takeda then flies off out of the ring and lands on a table. He is out cold. The crowd is stunned. "The champion was defeated! The Champion was defeated! The winner is Grendel!", yells the announcer.
By this time, Grendel had already left the ring with his cloak and walk out of the arena. Shiba is tending to Takeda. "This doesn't look too bad, but you might have a broken rib. And your jaw is broken as well. Whoever that guy was, he wasn't some ordinary fighter", said Shiba as he picks up is unconscious disciple and carried him out of the Arena.
Outside, the fight club, Grendel comes across a man in a hooded cloak. The man was Beowulf, one of the masters in Makai. "Is the message sent?", asked Beowulf. Grendel kneels before him. "Yes master Beowulf", replies Grendel, as he's grabbing his chest. Beowulf notices this.
"Why are you holding your chest, don't tell me your hurt", asked Beowulf. "That person's punch was—"Before he could finish his sentence, Beowulf slaps him across the face. "You idiot, Vikings do not feel pain. Don't let me see you clutching your chest. Endure it", commanded Beowulf.
"Yes, master", replied Grendel. "Then let us be on our way". Both of them leave the building of the fight club and walk off into the night. From far away, they were being watched and tailed by Artemis. "Hmmm. Sound Interesting…"
Early Sunday Morning
At Ryozanpaku, it's four in the morning. Kenichi is sound asleep in his room. Just then, Miu walks into his room to wake him up. "Kenichi wake up!" yells Miu as she furiously shakes Kenichi up. Kenichi then begins talking in his sleep. "No Miu, you don't have to wear that. In fact, you don't have to wear anything at all…"
Miu then gets mad and picks up Kenichi and throws him across his room and through the door to the hallway. He hits the wall and falls on his head waking him up. "What's going on?" He looks up and sees Miu looking mad with her ki flowing like crazy.
"What were you dreaming about Kenichi!", says Miu as she balled her fist. Kenichi's face goes white. "W-wait Miu. I can explain uh…hold on. Why are you here?", asked Kenichi. Miu comes back to her senses. "Ok it's Takeda. He…"
Miu takes Kenichi to the Koetsuji Clinic behind Ryozanpaku. There he sees Kensei, Akisame, James Shiba, and Takeda lying unconscious on one of the beds. "Takeda!", yells Kenichi as he rushes to his side.
"Calm down Kenichi, he'll be alright. He has a cracked rib and a broken jaw, but it's nothing me and Kensei couldn't treat", said Akisame with reassurance. "What happen to Takeda", said Miu. "We were in the underground fight club when this monster challenged Ikki here. He was foreigner, but was built to the teeth. None of Ikki's punches fazed him and that's when he attacked. He slammed him on the ground, into a corner post, and knocked him out of the ring in one hit.", said Shiba.
Just then Alastair walks into the clinic and stumbles onto the scene. "I thought I heard people talking, what happen?" Just then, Takeda wakes up and regains consciousness, struggling to speak. "Kenichi…he's…he's…", says Takeda.
"Takeda, what's wrong?", ask Kenichi as he tries to set him back down. "Grendel coming…for you…" Takeda then passes back out. "Who is Grendel?", asked Kenichi to Shiba. "Ah, that the name of the fighter who Ikki fought. Tough SOB, let me tell you…", said Shiba as he scratches his head.
"Grendel?", said Alastair as he begins to think. "Does the name mean anything to you?", asks Kensei. Shiba then gets a confused look on his face at the sight of Alastair. "Hey Akisame, who's the foreigner? New Disciple?" asked Shiba. "No. He a new master here. His name is Alastair King. He's also called the Kamikaze of the North", replied Akisame.
Shiba then looks at Alastair with a confused look and thinks to himself: This is the Master of All Martial Arts? He still looks like a kid. "This is probably Makai's doing", said Alastair. Akisame, Kensei, Kenichi, and Miu all get serious looks. "The Masters of Makai all take on the names of epic heroes as codenames, and their apprentices take on the names of characters associated with those heroes from the story", said Alastair.
"So if the one who attacked Takeda was named Grendel…" said Kensei. "Then his master would undoubtedly be named Beowulf, from the Old English epic poem", finished Akisame. "This all proves that Makai is behind this", said Alastair. Kenichi then has a helpless look on his face. "What is going on here?", said Kenichi. "You're going to find out. You and Miu get dressed. We're going on a trip".
Elsewhere in town, at the docks inside of a warehouse, Grendel was performing exercises as Beowulf watched. "Do a thousand more. By that time the sun should rise, and we will hunt down the strongest disciple and Kamikaze.", said Beowulf. High up on the roof of the warehouse, Artemis was watching through a rusted hole at the Master and apprentice. She then takes out a phone and dials a number. On the other end was a feminine voice with a stern demeanor. This was Pandora.
"What is your report?", ask Pandora. "I've tracked both of them to the docks. It seems that they're staying in a warehouse. From their conversation, they are planning to take out Shirahama and Alastair this morning. Master, I don't think I'm capable of stopping them by myself", said Artemis. "I know you're not. If you can't stop them, enlist the aid of someone who can", said Pandora.
"But who?", asked Artemis. "I can't think for you. Be creative", said Pandora as she hangs up on the other end of the line. Artemis hangs up the phone and begins to think. "Enlist the aid of someone who can…" She then gets an idea and in a flash, she disappears off the roof of the boathouse with amazing speed.
Sunday Morning
As twilight approached near the horizons, Alastair, Kenichi, and Miu are running through the streets of the town. "Kami, what are we looking for?", asked Miu. "These kinds of people typically like to reside in places where no one would bother them. There are a number of abandoned buildings in this town, so we're going to search for Grendel and Beowulf there", replied Alastair.
The three make their way downtown. All the shops and stores are closed with steel shutters. At they may their way down the street, a barrage of shuriken is thrown at them hitting the concrete in front of them. The three do a series of back flips to avoid the attacks.
"What was that?", asked Kenichi. "Whatever it was, it wasn't aimed to hit us", said Miu. Just then, Artemis falls out of the sky and land twenty feet from the three. "Lucky me. I won't have to go all the way to the other side of town to find you. How's it going Alastair", said Artemis.'
"It's you!", said Miu as she takes up a fighting stance. "If you're here, then that means that you know where Beowulf and Grendel are, don't you? Where are they", said Alastair. "Whoa there. You haven't seen me in a while and that's all you care about?", said Artemis. Then Alastair releases a massive flow of ki around his body out of frustration. "I don't waste my time…traitor"
"Ok, settle down. They're hiding out in a warehouse at the dock, number six. Better hurry, because they're planning to go out and hunt for you and Shirahama soon", said Artemis. "You know, I remember that every morning before we trained, we would hug each other and swear to do our best. Don't you remember Alastair?"
Artemis then takes a step towards Alastair. "Would you like to hug me now and feel my embrace once more…", says Artemis, but Alastair raises his palm in her direction and fires a dense flow of ki towards her. She dodges the blast as it hits the ground and explodes. She then retreats from the scene manically laughing. Miu and Kenichi looks at each other after witnessing the scene.
"Alastair…", said Miu as she tries to put her hand on his shoulder, but he walks away. "Let's go, we don't have a lot of time", was all Alastair said before they continued running towards the docks.
After ten minutes of running, the three finally make it to the docks and several yards away from warehouse six. "Everyone remain on guard. I'll take care of the master, and you two fight Grendel, his apprentice", said Alastair.
"Two against one? Isn't that unfair?", asked Kenichi. "Usually it is, but he took out your friend without much effort, so he must be someone strong. Honestly, I don't care if you fight one on one, just as long as you back each other up", said Alastair. Kenichi and Miu then nod at each other. "Good, let's go"
As the three make their way towards the warehouse, Grendel jumps off the roof of the building and lands in front of them. "Th-that guy's huge", said Kenichi with a bewildered look on his face. "He must be Grendel", said Miu as she took up a fighting stance. "I suppose your master is inside", said Alastair as he walks towards the warehouse. Grendel then runs for him, but catches a massive flow of ki from Alastair, sending him back several feet. Before Alastair goes inside, he turns back to Kenichi and Miu. "Keep him busy for me."
Grendel then gets up and tries to follow, but finds that Kenichi and Miu are now blocking his path. "Try us if you want, we won't let you pass", said Kenichi. "You think that my master will be defeated by the likes of yours", said Grendel. "Then I shall show you the true terror of a Viking's pride, a pride to crush and slaughter all those who oppose it. Come to me Shirahama, so I can take that title of History's Strongest Disciple from you".
Inside the warehouse, Alastair makes it through the loading area at the center of the place. It's surrounded by crates and lifting equipment. On top of a series of boxes stood Beowulf, wearing some weird type of chainmail suit. "You saved me the trouble of finding you, Kamikaze", said Beowulf. "I take it that you're the master of that freak of nature outside", said Alastair
"Yes, I am Beowulf. And that means that you are Alastair King, the Master of all Martial Arts known as the Kamikaze of the North. Though I have never met you before, I've heard of you. I didn't expect you to be so young", said Beowulf.
"Enough. I didn't come here for my health. I want answers. Now" , said Alastair. "You know how this goes. You must beat it out of me first. But by the will of Odin and my Viking Pride, you will not defeat me", said Beowulf. In an instant he then jumps down from the boxes and tried to grapple Alastair's midsection, but Alastair blocks his arms and kicks him away.
"Glima, isnt it?", ask Alastair. "Oh, you have heard of it. Yes, Glima is the way of the martial arts that I use, used by the Vikings. And you should know, like all Vikings in the past…I HAVE MASTERED THE ART OF WITHSTANDING PAIN!", screamed Alastair as he charges toward him.
Outside, Kenichi is thrown against a container bin which stuns him. "Kenichi!", screams Miu. She then charged Grendel, who tried to grapple her, but she jumps above him and kicks him squarely on the side of his head. She lands several feet behind him, only to discover that he is unaffected by the blow. "No way", says Miu in astonishment.
Kenichi gets up and then charges for Grendel. Grendel is too slow to react and Kenichi performs is trademark deathblow, the Strongest Combo. He opens up with the karate move Yamazuki, and Muay Thai's Kay Loy, then a Kenpo headbutt to the chest, and the Jujitsu move called Kuchiki Taoushi.
Grendel is lifted into the air and thrown several feet across the area and hits the pavement hard. "D-did I get him?", says Kenichi as Miu rushed to his side. She then hugs him at the sight of him being alright. "You're ok! I thought he had knocked you out", said Miu smiling. Kenichi then thinks to himself: She though he knocked me out with a single hit? What does she take me for?
Then surprisingly, Grendel gets up from the brutal onslaught with a bloody nose. Both Miu and Kenichi have a look of surprise on their face. "But…how?", said Kenichi. Grendel then notices his nose bleeding as he wipes it with his hand. He looks at the blood and has a look of madness on his face. "I-I'm bleeding. I'm actually bleeding!"
He then looks at Kenichi and he releases a large amount of ki with an over powering killing intent. His muscles greatly increase and pulsating veins appear all over his body. Grendel went berserk. "I WILL KILL YOU SHIRAHAMA!!!", yells Grendel. "Oh my god, the killing intent is incredible", says Miu. As they both look at Grendel, who is succumbing to his bloodlust, Kenichi think to himself: How come I can never have an easy fight…
Back inside the warehouse, Beowulf tries to grapple Alastair, who dodges the attack and twist his body around him, giving him a reverse elbow to the back of his head. Beowulf briefly reels back from the blow, but manages to get a hold of Alastair. "Damn it!", says Alastair as Beowulf lifts him up and tries to squeeze the life out of him.
Alastair reels in pain and Beowulf constricts his body with his unbreakable grip. "No one has ever broken free from my grip, and you will not be the first. That reverse elbow move was Muay Thai, wasn't it? Too bad, it won't help you now. I spent years training myself to resist pain; none of your vaunted technique can help you now. Say hello to the Valkryies when they come for you." said Beowulf, who then tightens his grip around Alastair.
Then Alastair exhales calming himself down and ignoring the pain. Then his eyes begin to glow and he releases a blast of ki from his body, releasing him from Beowulf's grip. Beowulf stumbles back with a look of disbelief. "But how? That ki…" Suddenly in a flash of amazing speed, Alastair strikes four points on Beowulf's torso with four open palm hits. Beowulf, who is completely caught off guard, finds his muscles beginning to stiffen. He thinks to himself: W-what is this, I can't move. I didn't even see him move to attack range… Alastair then strikes the four points again, doubling the speed, power, and quantity, making a total of eight hits
Beowulf then feels his muscles getting tighter and his body getting weaker. Alastair then performs the attack again with sixteen hits, then thirty-two, doubling the speed and power after every turn. Lastly, he performs it one last time with sixty-four hits, and Beowulf finally crashed to the ground, unable to move.
"Wh-what did you do to me?", said Beowulf, who 's struggling to move his body, but fails. "There are four points on the human torso that binds a person's inner strength. By striking these points with ki, you can erode a person's inner strength, making them unable to move their very body. In my teenage years, I have fought countless foes that were more powerful than me, and the only thing that allowed me to win was this technique. In fact, you're the second person I fought who was able to withstand it for so long. That first was the 100th degree street fighter, Shio Sakaki", said Alastair. "You are unable to fight and have lost this battle. So now is the time for you to indulge me in my questions".
Outside, all of Kenichi's and Miu's attacks are bouncing off of the berserking Grendel. "We can't beat him", yells Kenichi. "Sure we can. I have an idea. He keeps guarding his chest, I'm guessing that's his weak spot, attack when I say", said Miu. She then charges at Grendel who tries to punch her, but she twists her body out of the way while grabbing his arm. She makes her way across his back and grabs his other arm, leaving his chest exposed. "Kenichi, NOW!", yells Miu.
"Right!", says Kenichi. Kenichi then charges towards Grendel who is screaming in agony as Miu is restraining his arms behind his back. Kenichi then stops short of Grendel's chest. He puts his two hands away from him and draws his arms back for a punch to perform is ultimate attack.
"Mubyoshi!", screams Kenichi, as he punches Grendel in the chest. Grendel's eye widens out of the pain, and after a few seconds, he blacks out and falls out on the concrete. Kenichi then sits down on the concrete out of exhaustion. "That was tough", says Kenichi as he's exhaling. Miu then walks over to him and sits down next to him and leans up against him. "You really have gotten stronger Kenichi", says Miu.
Kenichi then goes red. "Really, that means a lot coming from you, Miu", replies Kenichi. Then his stomach begins to growl loudly, making Miu laugh. "I'll be sure to make you a second helping of breakfast". "Sorry, for that", said Kenichi. Then the sun finally brakes over the horizon, and both Kenichi and Miu hold each other close as then watch the sun rise.
Inside the warehouse, Alastair picks Beowulf up off the ground and holds him in the air by the collar. "Within Makai, is there a blind female weapon's master?", ask Alastair. "Yeah, her name's Pandora. What of her?". "Where do I find her?", ask Alastair. Beowulf then beings laughing. "We don't communicate with each other. None of us does until were summoned at once. Other than that, the only way to find a master is through their apprentice"
"Fine, then tell me of Gilgamesh", ask Alastair. "Tell you of who?", said Beowulf with a annoying smile on his face. Alastair then throws him across the room through several wooden crates. Beowulf screams out in pain. Alastair then walks over Beowulf, stepping over the wooden debris.
"Now that your inner strength is almost depleted, pain is a lot more intense, regardless of your training". Alastair then picks Beowulf and holds him in the air by the collar again. "You know who I'm talking about. Your leader, Gilgamesh, the One Shadow…Where is Saiga Furinji", demanded Alastair. Then he releases a massive amount of ki and Beowulf has a look of terror on his face.
"I won't ask again, Beowulf", said Alastair. "I-I honestly don't know. He calls us and we meet him. Other than that, I know nothing else about him", said Beowulf frantically. Alastair then drops Beowulf on the ground and silently leaves the warehouse.
As Miu and Kenichi are enjoying the sunrise, Alastair walks up behind them, completely changing his composer to that of his absent-minded cheerful self. "Are you two enjoying yourselves?" , said Alastair. "Kami, you're back", said Miu. "How did it go?" asked Kenichi.
"Ah, that guy wasn't too tough to handle. Hey Kenichi", said Alastair. "Yeah?", said Kenichi. "Makai was out to kill both me and you today, and frankly, you need more training". Kenichi then gets an angry look on his face. "Hey, I took that Grendel guy down", said Kenichi. "With Miu's help I bet", said Alastair. Kenichi then gets depressed look on his face. "Hey look, all I was saying that I could train you" said Alastair.
"You? Why?", asked Kenichi. "Why not? I'm a master of Ryozanpaku and besides, I'm here to gain the experience of a Master. And through you, I might do that", said Alastair. "Yeah but—", started Kenichi. "Look, we can talk about it back at the dojo. Everyone else is probably worried about us". Alastair then begins to walk off and Kenichi and Miu follow.
Alastair…training me? I mean, I don't deny his skills. He was able to beat Master Sakaki. So why me, and why is Makai hunting him down. Wait, did he say they were trying to kill me too? Oh this sucks!!!!