Here is the next chapter in our epic tale. Dante is now discovered by Yami and will soon become known by a large number of Kenichi's friends and family.
Chapter 10
Dante and Shigure got home very late that night. Almost everyone was asleep in the dojo and the sound of the gate opening sounded like it was in front of a microphone. The two travelers entered the old dojo, both with signs of extreme sleepiness. The red shirt that Dante wore was still damp from the rain, but Shigure was perfectly dry due to the Coat given to her by Dante. He yawned and made his way to bed and Shigure did the same. Her footsteps could only be seen underneath the long coat that went down to her knees. Suddenly Dante heard the sound of plates moving inside the main building and went to see what was causing the noise. He slid open the door only to find the Elder meditating in the middle of the room. The noise continued and Dante looked right to the source of the noise and walked toward the kitchen. He could see a bright light lighting up the room and could smell freshly made food that made his mouth water. Miu stood in front of the sink washing the dishes from dinner. Dante looked at the counter and saw two plates of food filled with rice balls and each with it's own bowl of noodles. His stomach growled at the delicious smell alerting Miu and causing her to turn around.
"Oh." She said cheerfully, "Dante-san you're back."
Dante waved at her trying to pry his eyes from the food to his left. "Hey, Miu."
"I made you some food." She said pointing at the plates, "Did Shigure go to bed already?"
Dante nodded making his way over to the plates and picking them both up, "Yep." He yawned, "I'll bring one to her."
Miu nodded smiling, "Thank you."
Dante turned out of the kitchen and made his way to the building's front door when the Elder spoke.
"So." He said, "You two came back unharmed?"
Dante stopped with the plates in each hand, "uh huh. Her more than me though."
The Elder nodded with his back still turned, "And the Enemy? Who was there?"
"Some guy from Yami." Dante answered remembering the target of the trip, "He didn't give a name. Shigure took care of him though."
The Elder nodded again, "So is he still alive?"
Dante thought back to the aftermath of Shigure's battle. He remembered seeing the man badly cut all over, but still breathing.
He nodded, "Yeah. Yet he didn't seem to be in very good shape."
The Elder stood up with an eager grin on his face and turned to face Dante, disturbing him slightly at the expression.
"That's good. That means, the fight with Yami will speed up a little."
"But wouldn't the smart thing be to avoid people like me?"
The Elder nodded, "Yes. But Yami isn't one to run from fights. The entire martial arts world is about finding out if you are stronger than the other person. Even between friend matches are made to see who is the better fighter. I am glad you are here, Dante. You can help end this pointless fight."
Dante smiled at the compliment, "Thanks. I won't let you down. Anyway, I've got to get Shigure her food. Night."
The Elder was left standing in the dark room with a peaceful smile on his face. Miu walked into the room to find her grandfather with the biggest smile on his face in a long time. Her eyes widened at the sight causing her to smile as well.
"Grandpa?" She said inching closer to the Elder, "Is everything alright?"
The Elder hugged his granddaughter with his right arm and held her tightly. "Everything is more than alright. That man... will be the one to save us all. Kenichi will be safer than ever with him in the dojo. Shigure is also in much higher spirits since he arrived."
"You think he can defeat Ogata at his level?" Miu asked, "Dante I mean."
The Elder smiled more than ever, "Oh, Miu. Dante was able to defeat even me with only his raw strength alone. We are only refining his skills. Ogata will not stand a chance."
Miu smiled in comfort and hugged her grandfather back.
Dante stood in front of Shigure's room with his heart racing. He gulped at the thoughts running through his mind, most of which were none too clean.
Here it goes. He thought to himself, Into her bedroom.
He wrapped his fingers around the edge of the door and pulled it open. Before he started to enter he then remembered what had happened when the Elder brought him there. To no surprise spikes shot out from the doorway.
Shigure glanced down at the doorway from her spot on the beams above. She could only see the lower part of the person who tried to enter. She then looked down and saw that she still had not taken off Dante's coat causing her to fluster and begin to remove it.
"Shigure?" Dante whispered, "You in there?"
"I'll disable... the traps." She said hurriedly pulling on a fresh white kimono and tying it.
Dante could hear the sound of a switch being flipped and the spikes in the floor began to retract. Once they were fully in the floor Dante saw fit to enter carrying both plates of food.
"I brought you some food." He said looking up expecting Shigure to be on the beams again.
Shigure looked down at Dante still lying on her back. "Thank you... you can put it... over there."
Shigure pointed at a small table at the back of the room with several shuriken lying on it. Dante walked over to said table and set down the plate in his right hand. He then turned around to walk out the door. When he got there he turned around to take one last look at his master only to look too closely and make out what she was wearing. Shigure lay on the beam wearing nothing but a small white kimono, Dante even began to question weather or not she was even wearing underwear. He leaned to his left to check and grew extremely red when he did not see any. Shigure raised her eyebrow at Dante's strange behavior.
"What are you... doing?" She asked curiously.
Dante's face grew even more red, "OH! um nothing... goodnight."
He turned around and walked out the door feeling quite embarrassed and perverted. He walked down the hallway to his own room when he was suddenly stopped by Kensei.
"So what happened?" Kensei asked, "Did you catch a glimpse of heaven and hell?"
Dante chuckled at the question. He opened his mouth to answer but then his eyes drifted to see Shigure approaching behind Kensei. She held in her hand Dante's coat and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Kensei began taking rapid pictures of Shigure form all angles.
"Thank you... for letting me borrow... your coat." She held out Dante's coat.
Dante grabbed the coat with his right hand and smiled at Shigure, "No problem."
She began to walk back to her room but stopped and looked over her shoulder, "I would like... to bathe with you... again... soon."
Kensei stood with his eyes as wide as they could be and his jaw nearly reaching the floor. He lowered his camera and then put his arm around Dante after Shigure started to walk again.
"Okay." Kensei said deviously, "You just have to tell me what happened. And don't be afraid to use very good description."
Dante chuckled and walked through his bedroom door, "Sorry old man. I can't find the words."
Kensei was left alone in the hallway in shock and with numerous thoughts as to what might have happened. Most of these thoughts were very inaccurate and very dirty.
Several weeks passed. Dante spent every day sparring with Shigure. After they got back from their trip to Fukui Dante no longer had a weapon to practice with against Shigure. And he was not about to use any of his inhuman weapons against her. Those weapons were all too strong and would surely hurt her or even break her sword. As a replacement for the red Katana they began to practice using wooden katanas.
He also got a chance to practice his unarmed skills. However, the practice for unarmed combat was no where near as challenging as his armed practice, since he had to spar against Kenichi. The Elder said it would help Kenichi increase his power. Every day Kenichi would try his hardest to even bruise Dante, but had no luck. The challenge of having Dante as a partner caused Kenichi to use his full power to try and hurt him. Even though Dante always won the matches by a mile, Kenichi's power continued to grow every passing day.
One afternoon, Ryozanpaku got a visit from a little girl no older than twelve years old. She entered the dojo eager to play with Apachai after a long time without doing so. She looked around the dojo wondering where her brother was but assumed that he was training in the dojo building, so she made her way there to find him. She opened the door carrying her usual Go set but dropped them when she saw the sight within. Kenichi was getting beaten up by someone she had never seen before. He had his back to the door where she stood and appeared to be blocking and counter attacking each of Kenichi's attacks. Kenichi punched twice only to get hit by the retaliation. Suddenly he let out a powerful kick to the man's head only to be thrown backwards.
Dante stood over Kenichi waiting for him to get back up. He lifted his foot to send a finishing kick at him but lowered it when he felt a thumping on the sleeve of his kimono. He looked down to see a small girl hitting him in the arm with a plastic hammer.
"Hey you white haired bully!" She shouted through her swings, "Leave my big brother alone!"
Brother?
"Honaka... stop it." Kenichi said picking himself off the ground.
"But this big bully is hurting you." Honaka explained, "So it's my duty as a little sister to help you."
Kenichi glared at Honaka annoyed, "But you don't have to protect me from him. Because he is a master here."
Honaka's eyes widened as she looked up at Dante who looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. She folded her arms and turned around.
"Um... Hello." Dante said awkwardly, "I'm Dante."
"Hm. Whatever pretty boy. But I'll be watching you."
Honaka picked up her Go set and walked off to find Apachai. Dante looked back at Kenichi with his eyebrow still raised.
"Did... she just call me pretty boy?" He said pointing with his thumb toward the door.
Kenichi rubbed his head nervously, "Yeah. I'm sorry. She's my little sister."
"What is she doing here?"
"She must be here to play Go with Apachai or Shigure." Kenichi explained getting back in his fighting stance.
Dante returned to his own fighting stance and continued to spar with Kenichi.
After that day Honaka went back to going to Ryozanpaku every day. She wanted to make sure Dante didn't hurt Kenichi. Which usually meant hitting Dante every time he and Kenichi sparred together. She would also watch eagerly when Dante went up against Shigure, cheering whenever Dante lost.
"Yeah!" Honaka cheered, "Get him, Shigure!"
Apachai mimicked her clapping his hands and feet, "Apa! Apa!"
"Why does that kid hate me?" Dante chuckled through a swing and miss.
"I don't... know."she answered
Shigure retaliated with a bullet fast swing that cut Dante's practice sword in half.
"Fuck." Dante said holding up the wood hilt of the stick. "Not again."
Shigure handed Dante another stick and got back into her stance, "Keep... trying."
Not many days after Honaka's first visit Ryozanpaku got another visit. This time it was from Haruo Nijima. He creeped through the gate and started to make his way across the dark dojo. He turned around the corner to the main building and held his ear to the door.
"That bastard, Kenichi has been gone for weeks." He said angrily, "I have to find out what he is doing."
He could hear the sound of tableware in the room beyond and the sounds of people moving. Suddenly he heard the sound of a click and peeked into the room to see what it was. He could only see darkness in front of him and then, the floor. A hand reached out and pulled Nijima into the room. He could feel a knee on his back and pushing down. Suddenly he could feel cold steel against the back of his head.
"Speak." Said the attacker, "Who are you?"
"Kenichi!" Nijima shouted, "Call off your weapon mistress and Muay Thai demon."
He could only see into the kitchen and could not even move his head.
"Dante!" Kenichi shouted, "Are you crazy!? Don't just shoot whoever walks in here!"
The knee let off Nijima's back and the steel retreated. Nijima painfully picked himself off the ground and brushed himself off.
"What are you doing here, Nijima?" Kenichi said annoyed.
"Well I came here to check on you." Nijima then pointed behind himself, "But your masters her as always wouldn't let me."
Nijima turned around expecting to see Shigure or Apachai, but his eyes widened to see a stranger pointing a pistol at him. Nijima screamed fearfully and retreated behind Kenichi's back.
"W-Whoever you are!" Nijima said, "You are no match for history's strongest disciple! You thug!"
The stranger was now in front of Kenichi with his face and gun close to Nijima's.
"I kind of like the way this little shit cowers in fear." he said with an almost evil sounding tone, "Can you do it again?"
"Dante, Stop it!" Kenichi protested, "Put that away. Before you freaking kill somebody!"
Dante rolled his eyes and stood upright holstering the silver pistol behind his waist.
"I wouldn't shoot a human." Dante said walking back to the table, "I only wanted to scare the information out of him."
Nijima stood up still shaking in fear and standing behind Kenichi to keep away from Dante.
"K-Kenichi." Nijima whimpered, "Who is that?"
Kenichi turned around, "He's our newest master. Now what are you doing here?"
A sort of twinkle could be seen in Nijima's eyes as he sprinted toward where Dante now sat at the table. He put his hands on Dante's shoulders and began to study him.
"Another master?" Nijima said, "He must have hidden qualities, because he doesn't look that strong."
In his mind Kenichi could only think, Bad move. He began to sweat.
Dante reached behind him frowning in anger and pulled Nijima down putting Ebony on his head.
"Oh! O-Okay! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" Nijima pleaded.
Dante rolled his eyes and let Nijima go, who stood up and continued to study Dante. He cupped his hands to his eyes then jumped back in fear. He crawled backward until he hit the wall.
"OH NO!" Nijima said trembling, "Y-You are much stronger than I thought. S-Scary strong. I-It's unbelievable."
Dante unknowingly was letting loose his demon Ki which was the cause of Nijima's fear.
"Just go home, Nijima!" Kenichi shouted.
Nijima stood up and walked over to Kenichi keeping his eye on Dante in fear. Dante grinned evilly and flinched at Nijima causing him to run faster.
Dante laughed, "HA HA HA! That kid's pretty entertaining.
Nijima made his way to Kenichi, "Okay, I'll go but only if you visit tomorrow. And bring your new minion with you."
Kenichi rolled his eyes, "Fine. I'll come and visit. Now get out!"
He shoved Nijima out the door then turned around to see the masters who had silently watched the whole time only stare at him.
"Your friend seemed worried about you." Akisame said, "You should go. You too Dante. It will provide a good opportunity for each of you to get out of the house."
"Can't I wait for another two weeks." Kenichi pleaded, "After all we start School again soon."
"Yeah." Dante agreed, "Plus I have training with Shigure tomorrow."
He looked over at Shigure who silently ate her food.
"Nonsense." Akisame said, "You need to get out of the house more often."
Dante was ready to protest when, "I'll... go... too."
He looked over at Shigure who was now looking straight at him. He felt his heart race and his face begin to fluster. He hesitated and everyone else awaited his response. Sakaki and Kensei grinned entertained by Dante's reaction.
"Okay." Dante said causing Sakaki to chuckle.
"Knew it." Sakaki said under his breath.
The next Day Dante and Kenichi sparred a single time to warm up then went to their rooms to change. Dante returned with his usual coat, pants, boots, gloves, and t-shirt. Kenichi returned wearing a yellow striped t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. They stood outside waiting for Shigure to be ready. It wasn't long before she did.
"Alright lets g-"
He stopped in mid sentence when he saw what Shigure was wearing. She had on a white skirt and a brown sleeveless top that was zipped down slightly showing much cleavage. As usual she had her Katana wrapped up and slung over her back. Dante's face flustered and Kenichi almost gained a nosebleed.
"Miu said I should dress... normal." Shigure said blankly, "Miu picked it... herself."
Dante shook off his gaze and tried not to look at her chest.
"Um... Okay then." Dante said, "Lets go.
The trio then set off for the Shimpaku Alliance headquarters with Kenichi leading the way since he knew its location the best. Dante could not stop looking at Shigure's chest which confused him since he had already seen her naked.
Oh man. Dante thought, I know she doesn't mean to, but her seductive outfits are almost unbearable. Should I act on it? I mean I do know her pretty well by now, but it still might be too early.
He looked at Shigure as they walked through a lightly wooded park. Yet again the sun shined off her face causing Dante to fluster as he walked.
Wow. He thought. To think a month ago I was battling giant demons and fighting my brother. Now I am living peacefully in a different world with an incredibly beautiful master. I shouldn't waste it.
A large smile formed on his face and he looked at his master in great happiness. Shigure felt his gaze and stared back at him.
"What is it?" She asked curiously.
Dante did not drop his smile. He simply looked ahead still smiling, "Nothing."
Shigure raised her eyebrow and continued walking. It was not long before the trio was standing in front of a large five story building with the smiling image of Nijima's face on it. Above it were kanji letters that Dante assumed to be Shimpaku.
Kenichi took a deep breath and walked forward. "Lets see how everyone's doing."
He walked up to the door which was a large metal door with a small slit on Kenichi's eye level. He knocked on the door causing three loud thuds to sound in the room beyond. Not long after the slit opened and two eyes peered through. Suddenly the door swung open and a teenage boy ran through carrying a large flag pole.
"Assault commander Kenichi! He shouted, "It's so great to have you back, seriously I cannot find the words to describe my happiness."
Kenichi edged past the kid, "It's nice to see you too Matsui."
Dante and Shigure made to walk past Matsui and follow but only Shigure made it past. Matsui held the flagpole against Dante's chest threateningly.
"Only Shimpaku members are allowed in." Matsui said.
"Oh and Shigure is a member?" Dante asked skeptically.
"Well no. but she is Kenichi's master so it's alright."
Kenichi pulled Matsui back just in time for Dante's inevitable punch to miss.
"Hey asshole! I'm her disciple too. I am also Kenichi's master too. So shut your trap before I put my foot in it."
Matsui watched fearfully as Dante walked past him. He stopped by Shigure and looked back at Kenichi who was apologizing to Matsui.
"Sorry." Kenichi said, "But he is a master of mine."
Matsui's eyes widened and he looked a Dante with a sense of great surprise.
"Really?"
"Yes." Kenichi said, "And he is just as dangerous as Shigure if not more. So please don't anger him.
Matsui nodded and bowed at Dante causing him to raise an eyebrow.
"I apologize Sensei." Matsui said.
Dante chuckled at his first time being called sensei and nodded. "It's fine."
Kenichi smiled and walked past Matsui with Dante and Shigure following him. The trio made their way up several flights of stairs before Kenichi lead them through a door. Once they entered Dante could see many teenagers practicing their various fighting skills in many different ways. There was a group of armed girls that were attacking a large sumo wrestler wearing a sleeveless green kimono. There was also a boy using boxing techniques against a punching bag and a girl kicking at another girl who wielded a large staff. Finally there was a girl in a red Chinese outfit kicking at a large man wearing only a white Gi. Nijima could be seen at the back of the room in front of a large monitor.
"Hey." The boxer said with a grin, "It's Kenichi-kun."
All eyes in the room were suddenly fixed upon Kenichi. Kenichi smiled and made his way across the room with Shigure and Dante following him.
"Hey everybody." Kenichi said cheerfully.
The Chinese girl sprinted across the room and jumped at Kenichi smiling.
"Kenichi!" She said excitedly.
A bead of sweat rolled down Kenichi's head, "H-hey Renka."
Renka's eyes suddenly widened at the sight of Dante standing not too far away. She glared at him in anger and let out a furious kick.
"Who the hell are you!?" She said in mid kick.
Dante easily dodged the attack by leaning back. Renka however continued to kick at Dante with everything she had.
"Renka stop!" Kenichi protested.
The Chinese girl obediently seized her kicks and stood in front of Kenichi keeping herself in front of him and Dante. The other Shimpaku members were suddenly interested in the scene and surrounded Dante curiously. Takeda, the boxer, grinned a sinister grin and cracked his knuckles.
"So who do we have here?" He asked.
Dante rolled his eyes at everyone's suspicion, "Dante, little man. And who are you?"
Takeda did not answer for a few moments then suddenly broke out in laughter causing everyone to stare at him strangely.
Thor, the sumo wrestler looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "That guy sure has a strange sense of humor."
Kenichi suddenly broke in, "Okay everybody give him room."
He broke through the crowd and stood by Dante, "Everyone. This is my newest master. Dante, meet the Shimpaku alliance." He stretched out his hand and pointed it at Thor and began to switch to every other person Dante followed his hand, "Thor. Freya. Takeda. Ukita. Kisara. Renka. And the Valkyries."
The five females known as the Valkyries widened their eyes at the sight of Dante's face and all they could think was, Wow.
All five of the Valkyries suddenly turned their backs giggling and blushing at the same time. Both Dante and Shigure raised their eyebrows at the giggling teens.
"Hey buddy." Nijima said, "Glad you came." Nijima's eyes drifted to Dante causing him to shake in fear, "o-oh. g-good he brought you. t-t-too."
Dante grinned at Nijima's fearful reaction and flinched toward him causing Nijima to take a few steps backward. Takeda started to break out in laughter once more.
"What is this about, Nijima?" Kenichi asked rolling his eyes.
Nijima shook off his fear and pulled Kenichi toward the monitor, "Well actually my informants have found out Yami's recent movements."
Kenichi's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? What have they been doing?"
Nijima turned on the monitor and showed footage of armed Yami killing a helpless man. Nijima pushed a button and the video changed to another. He did this again and again and Dante quickly saw a similarity in each of the videos. Every victim had long white hair and were very old.
"Did you notice it?" Nijima asked Kenichi.
"I did." Dante broke in, suddenly all eyes were on him. All the other Shimpaku members looked at Dante strangely.
"Every victim had white hair. Obviously Yami is looking for someone."
"Exactly." Nijima said, "And now I know who it is."
Dante nodded awaiting Nijima's answer.
"It is you they are looking for." Nijima said.
This much made sense. During his trip with Shigure a while back Dante let a lot of Yami live and even escape unharmed.
"Yami must be looking... for some sort of... confrontation... to learn your skills." Shigure said.
Dante nodded in agreement then grew a sinister grin, "Then why don't we give them what they want?"
Shigure shook her head, "We don't... go on the... offensive... against Yami."
"Oh come on!" Dante protested, "I mean I know it's a matter of honor. But you and I both know I can take them all down single handedly."
Shigure nodded while the Shimpaku members shook their heads in disbelief, "Still... They haven't tried to... attack us... yet... The videos only look... like a price on your head... Not directly Yami."
"Well what do you suggest we do until then?" Dante asked.
"Nijima suddenly broke in, "Um, Why don't you attack one of their bases?"
Dante rolled his eyes, "Didn't she just say we couldn't do that?"
Nijima nodded," Yes but I do recall Ryozanpaku being called by the government when a Yami base was found."
Kisara glared at Dante, "Well tough guy. Why don't you fight them all by yourself like you just said? Or are you only able to say that?"
Shigure nodded in agreement. "We could... talk to... the investigator."
Dante raised his eyebrow, "Investigator?" Shigure nodded, "We should... talk to the others... first."
Nijima nodded in agreement, "Good you two do that. And in the mean time, we will try and find bases ourselves."
Shigure nodded and took Dante by the hand escorting him out of the building, leaving Kenichi in the Shimpaku headquarters.
There you have it. Shimpaku seems to be suspicious of Dante because he is new. But they also seem to have a small amount of respect for him mainly due to the fact that he is considered a master.
Next chapter the first attack is discussed, Dante shows off to prove to Shimpaku that he is powerful, and Dante starts to develop his name for himself.