Chapter thirty six, god damn! And we aren't even done with the Ragnarok arc yet. We still got a whole series to fill and then some. Woohoo, I love this story. It's my baby.

Chapter 36

Thrown Into the Pit

Kenichi picked himself out of the dirt as Miu stood over him, her hands still up in a fighting stance. The first disciple whimpered at the pain of his back having hit the ground. He may have trained here a month by now, but sparring with Miu always hurt, though not as much as with Miyako. For some reason his girlfriend got some sort of guilty pleasure in beating him up. It looked like fun to her, and kinda hurt Kenichi's feelings each time. Though Miyako was always quick to give him a kiss on the cheek to reassure him of her feelings.

Miu may have been a ten times more skilled than Miyako, but the goth girl went much harder on Kenichi because she was training too as Kenichi was so Miyako didn't hold back as much as Miu did. It was evident that Miyako was quickly reaching Miu's skill level without much effort which served to make Kenichi and Taka furious with jealousy.

The blonde stood over him, exhaling deeply without a sweat to show on her face while Kenichi was drenched in it. "Stand up!" Miu shouted still in fighting mode. The disciple whimpered as he threw himself to his feet, but his back was turned and he found his hand immobilized by the blonde. "Don't turn your back to your opponent!"

Kenichi was airborne and in less than a second he went from upside down over Miu's head to flat on the back with the wind knocked out of him. All he could manage to yelp was a slight. "Ow!"

The fight was over for a fifth time in a row with Miu having a flawless victory over the poor boy. Though upon seeing Kenichi's look of exhaustion Miu dropped to her knees and started fanning him off with panic. "Oh no! Did I go too hard? Kenichi, say something!"

He whimpered and sucked in a deep breath to regain himself, and in no time he was breathing normal again and sat up. His back ached as always, but one simple stretch had him smiling again. "I'm fine, Miu." He smiled with enthusiasm.

"Kenichiiiiii!" Screamed a panicked voice behind him. Both teenagers averted their attention to Nijima who as usual had a chain wrapped around him upon entering the dojo, though Shigure was not standing over him, claiming her dominance. Instead the bowl haired alien was being dragged back toward the side of the main building. "Help meee!"

Kenichi and Miu raced around the corner just as Nijima disappeared and as soon as they did the alien stopped and was sat up by none other than Taka. A wide, proud grin spread across his face with his master standing right beside him. The spiky haired teen looked rather proud of his work and flashed Shigure a wide smile. "Did I do it right?"

Shigure merely nodded in amusement while Kenichi and Miu raced over to scold Taka, but he had already released Nijima before they got close. "Taka, don't do that!" Miu waved her finger. "It's bad enough Shigure does that to poor Nijima, but you don't have to do it too!"

Taka merely shrugged in amusement at Miu's scolding. "Hey I learned how to catch a slippery man in a chain. That's just training, my dear." He chuckled as Kenichi lended the alien a hand.

"Oh. Thank you, Kenichi." Nijima panted as he stood straight up and caught his breath.

"What are you doing here now, Nijima?" Kenichi folded his arms in annoyance.

"I have another plan." Nijima held up his hand, but Kenichi had already turned around and was walking away. Nijima flicked his tongue and bolted forward, standing right in front of him. "Wait! Here me out at least! Please!"

"I'm not interested in your stupid Shimpaku nonsense." He brushed past his friend. "And I'm not gonna go looking for a fight."

"But don't you think it's about time you stand up and fight them? They're dangerous people, Kenichi!" Nijima jumped back in front of him with a demanding glare. "You know this better than most."

Miyako stepped out into the yard and saw Nijima's hilarious begging. A cheeky grin instantly filled her face and she flipped her hair out of her face. "Hey, guys." She passed Taka, throwing her fist at his arm only to have it hit air. She bobbed her head in amusement. "Ooh, finally missed little bro."

"Miyako! Talk some sense into your boyfriend!" Nijima stood up with a commanding glare, instantly causing her eyes to flash with a daring grin. "Don't you think it's about time we start fighting Ragnarok."

Kenichi blushed from Nijima's use of his title, getting a smile of satisfaction from it. Miyako simply nudged him out of his bashful behavior with a simple nod. "Well he does have a point, Kenichi. Look at what they did to Honoka. What if they do something like that again, or worse?"

Kenichi folded his arms and shook his head with a thoughtful gaze. "I don't know. I'm not sure I approve of looking for a fight." His eyes fell on Miu, looking for guidance from the most experienced martial artist there. "What do you think I should do, Miu?"

"Well grandfather and I used to pick a lot of fights when we were traveling the world." The blonde admitted and shrugged her shoulders. "And Nijima does have a point about Ragnarok being dangerous. It's up to you."

Miyako wrapped her arms around Kenichi's chest, trailing her fingers affectionately along his pecs. "I'm with you." She hummed with a smile as she rested her chin on his shoulders.

"I would be too, but I have to stay here." Miu replied with a disappointed look. "Someone has to keep this place running."

"Thanks anyway, Miu." He replied in slight disappointment, then he looked back to Nijima who's look of plea was like stone. He looked over his shoulder at his black haired girlfriend who nodded with a cheeky smile then back to Miu who put a thumb up in approval. Kenichi took a deep sigh then looked to Nijima with a determined grin. "Okay. I'll go with you, Nijima."

"Yesss!" Nijima cheered. Suddenly both the alien and Miu started laughing as Miyako hopped onto Kenichi's back and held on.

"Tally ho, to Ragnarok!" Miyako pointed forward while Kenichi easily held her onto his back, but groaned from her shaking his head around forcibly.

"Woah woah woah." Kenichi felt himself getting dizzy and stumbled a bit. "Could. you. please. stop!"

Miyako let go of his head, but instead threw her arms over his shoulder, not dropping from his back. "Fine." She gave a pouty look. "But I'm not getting off, so you'll have to carry me."

Kenichi chuckled a bit in amusement and looked back to Nijima who wiped away a light tear of hysterical laughter. "So what sort of plan is this?"

"Well my sources have told me that Ragnarok's seventh fist, Thor anually goes to an underground fight club every night." Nijima paced back and forth with a wide genius grin present. Taka carefully observed his informant from afar, but kept Shigure in front of him as to make it look like they were in conversation. "This should be easy, Kenichi. All you have to do is fight him and he'll quit."

Kenichi looked over his shoulder and shared his disbelief with Miyako. They quickly looked back to the pointy eared teen. "What makes you think that?" They both said in unison.

"He's a sumo fighter. So if you make an agreement with him, he will most likely honor it. He seems to care a lot about his art, more than the gang." Nijima smiled brightly with happiness.

Miyako hopped down from his back and sling an arm with Kenichi's. "That sounds great!" She insisted at Kenichi's disapproving look. "Come on, great man of mine, this'll probably be your easiest fight to win. We should take advantage of it."

Nijima perked up at the Goth's enthusiasm and pointed at her. "See your girlfriend gets the big picture!"

Sakaki appeared behind them with a hearty grin. "Sounds like one hell of a convenience. People can be really feeling stubborn sometimes. You should go before Akisame finds out and lectures you." He laughed, hearing a loud sneeze in the other room as he said it.

Kenichi was surprised that even a master rooted for the plan. Given Sakaki's morals were a little more loose than his own. Kenichi didn't like the idea of picking a fight. Martial arts weren't meant for violence, but getting Thor to quit Ragnarok would do well to serve peace.

They all had a point and Kenichi took a deep sigh. "Okay. I'm in."

Miyako pumped her fist in excitement. "Hell yeah!" She cheered as Sakaki patted Kenichi on the back, causing him to whimper on impact. Then suddenly she stepped around behind him again and hopped onto him, pointing ahead. "Onward to... uh..." She pointed to the pointy eared Shimpaku alliance leader. "Nijima, where are we going?!"

"The place is downtown, hidden in a warehouse." Nijima waved them forward, tossing Kenichi a sweater as the sun continued to lower. "I'll lead the way."

The three of them exited the gate, with Nijima flinching at Shigure's lingering sharp stare, causing him much fright. He tried to open the door, but Miyako stuck out an arm over Kenichi's head to help the strange looking boy. Nijima ignored the less than dignifying look that he gave off in front of Taka as a former assassin, though he didn't get very far apart from the typical climbing and stealth that Ruby and Hidaka strangely knew. Perhaps it would be a good idea to continue the training, just for the sake of having some hidden skill to use in case of emergencies.

The trio stopped as soon as the gate slammed shut and the Ryozanpaku students looked to the left to see none other than Takeda and Ukita along with the flag baring, Matsui, all waiting for them right outside. Both the blue haired boxer and the big thrower had bruises present and fresh which caused Miyako to hop off Kenichi's back and rush forward with her boyfriend to see.

"Takeda, Ukita!" Kenichi shouted worriedly, studying their injuries. "What happened?"

"Some Ragnarok lackies got cocky and decided to try and attack us again." Ukita grumbled, slightly embarrassed.

"Don't worry, honey." Takeda winked at Miyako, jerking his face away from the worried goth girl. "We got them good."

"What did they want?" Miyako put her hands on her hips. "Didn't they learn not to mess with you two several times?"

"Koga." Ukita simply grumbled with a troubled frown. He shook his head with a sigh. "He's been missing for a long time."

"They think we did it." Takeda added with a shared annoyed look. "Petty idiots."

Nijima shook briefly at the information which they refused to give him despite his persistence. Koga was missing, and for how long, no one knew. He could only think of Shimpaku's dark ally and his mind automatically assumed the worse. The young boy did have a pretty ruthless attitude, but for him to be missing? Surely Taka couldn't have killed him. He was just a boy after all, and scare tactics would surely work on him...

Maybe...

He would have to talk to Taka about that.

When the five of them reached the Pit, it was already night time out, and they could see the bright light seeping through the cracks in the fighting ring's entrance. Nijima stopped and turned around to see his subordinates looking ready to fight. "Alright. Thor should be right in there."

"Hey hey! Lets do this!" Takeda pumped his fists with enthusiasm.

Nijima stuck out his arm and stopped the boxer and the thrower. "Actually, I need you both to watch the entrance. Just in case things get ugly and we need to surprise them." He turned his heads to the two more skilled fighters. "Are you ready, Kenichi?"

Kenichi shared a look with Miyako who gave a warm smile and nodded at him. "Go for it." She grabbed his hands and forcibly placed them on her hips. "I'll be watching, so win for me, alright?" The goth girl pulled him toward her and locked lips with his, causing him to blush madly and shake him into his senses.

Their relationship had always confused him a bit from the start. Why any girl would want him, was beyond his understanding. Miyako was always pushing him to be more asertive in the relationship, and he had been slowly getting used to it. He simply didn't know what he was doing, but now that things were getting more heated in the fight against Ragnarok it felt a bit different.

So far the word boyfriend was just a title that Miyako gave him that made him more comfortable. Now that he and Miyako had shared their second kiss his heart lifted a bit. Less like it was just a meaningless title. He and would be fighting, and yet Miyako would be fighting along side him. She fought beautifully and easily surpassed his own abilities. On the surface she looked like a normal girl with beautiful looks even with her dark style. It worked for her and it was clear that she was a broken spirit which he had only recently discovered. Though Taka was the one to fix that, not him, even though it was Kenichi's job to give her comfort during that situation.

Everything she did to force romance between them had made Kenichi feel happy, but now he wanted to return the favor.

They broke away and Kenichi immediately gave her a warm smile with a new change of heart which caused Miyako to smile victoriously. Takeda smirked a bit at their new display of public affection, though he didn't remark like he wanted. He actually felt quite proud of the all too passive Kenichi.

"Let's do this." Kenichi smiled at her happily, causing Nijima to smile brightly as they marched on in.

The place was crowded with Ragnarok members, but upon their entrance they didn't seem to notice them. They all stood around a deep, square shaped hole, padded clean with concrete as two men fought below them. There was a lot of noise for a long time, and once the victor was decided they only got louder, until suddenly...

"Hey! It's the Shimpaku Alliance!" One of them pointed with a hostile tone as every other eye fell on the four of them.

"What?! How did they find out so quickly?!" Nijima cried, then suddenly he looked to his right and saw Matsui swinging the Shimpaku flag back and forth happily and proud. "Matsui no! Put the flag down!"

"I can't commander! That would dishonor the Shimpaku. Shimpaku!" He cheered as they were suddenly surrounded. On all sides. Kenichi and Miyako immediately went back to back with Nijima trying to get in between them as best as he could.

Miyako stood sideways, ready to take down the first one who attacked and Kenichi raised his fists, all shaky fear now gone with the presence of his new found responsibility.

"Halt!" Came a deep thunderous voice from beyond the crowd. As soon as it sounded every Ragnarok member backed off and looked to the highest point in the room. There stood probably the largest male Kenichi had ever seen apart from Apachai. He was huge all over, and looked just like he would expect a sumo to look. Large and stout, and he wore a huge sleeveless kimono. This was Thor, and he immediately stood up with a commanding glare at the much smaller fighter. "Kenichi Shirahama, and Miyako Oyama." His eyes trailed to each of them under his bushy eyebrows. "Why have you come here?"

"I've come to challenge you!" Kenichi stepped in front of Miyako, forcing himself to look protective which made Miyako smile in satisfaction. He pointed up at the seventh fist with a daring grin. "And if I win you have to quit Ragnarok!"

"Ah, so it's revenge then." Thor nodded in annoyance.

"No." he waved it off. "Loki is responsible. I simply want to fight you, Thor. I heard you're an honorable fighter."

Thor raised his eyebrows at the compliment and the attitude that was not suited for someone with the nickname Weak knees. This guy was actually alright. He admired his spirit already. "Very well." He immediately agreed. "But if you lose, I have some conditions of my own."

Nijima gasped and turned to Kenichi with a panicky look. "Kenichi, don't do it. This wasn't supposed to happen."

"I accept." Kenichi nodded.

"You haven't even heard my conditions." Thor chuckled darkly and shook his head. "Are you really that much of an idiot?"

"I don't care what your conditions are. I'm confident in my abilities." He grinned at him.

"Hahahaha! I like you, kid!" Thor laughed then shook his head. "Very well, if you lose then you must quit martial arts and become my full apprentice!" Kenichi immediately gasped at the thought of himself quitting Ryozanpaku and putting on weight. He could imagine Miyako's less than attracted reaction at his change and it really worried the disciple. "Together we will change the standard of society. Big and healthy will be considered beautiful!"

Miyako cringed inward at the thought herself, but Kenichi wouldn't lose. Every day he proved his strength to her and to Miu, even though he couldn't defeat either of them.

"I accept the terms!" Kenichi shouted with determination, reminding himself of the urgency of his victory. He now had two reason that he couldn't break.

He had to admit he was a little worried, especially once he reached the bottom of the ring and the ladder was pulled back up. He cursed his fear that didn't seem to ever go away. Thor was massive and powerful, and his size told him that none of his attacks would affect him very much simply because of all that cushioning he had. Such a huge opponent made him think of Taka and how he fought Kensei's brother Sogetsu who was just as powerful as the master.

What would Taka do in this situation?

Kenichi's eyes studied Thor as he landed on the concrete floor with a confident glare. Mere punches and kicks wouldn't hurt Thor at all, so he would need an alternative. He looked up at the not at all padded head of Thor and nodded to himself. He would have to somehow kick above Thor's defenses and strike him in the head. This was when he wished he had Taka's agility to jump that high. He would most likely have to jump off the wall in order to get that high.

He chambered his left fist and stuck out his right arm in a ready stance, taking one quick glance up at Miyako who was already hyped up about the fight. Thor touched both of his hands to the floor and crouched real low, ready to charge with an overwhelming force which was scary just to look at.

"No way out, Shirahama!" Thor cried as he charged forward. Kenichi gasped and took a quick step to the right, but the sumo managed to grab him anyway and throw him over his head toward the opposite wall.

Kenichi stumbled upon landing and hit his back against the wall. By that time Thor had already turned around and charged right at him. Kenichi's pupils dilated and he went into the urgent stat of mind that only Apachai managed to give him when he ran away. In an instant, Kenichi tucked his foot up and kicked himself off the wall. He managed to jump higher than expected and instead of going for a kick, he launched himself up with a powerful uppercut, that caused Thor to stumble a bit, but he merely rubbed his chin with a grin.

"You'll have to do a lot better than that, kid." he chuckled and stuck out his arms. "This is my domain!"

Kenichi took a deep breath and shook his head at Thor's lack of reaction. His punch didn't do anything, as expected. His strategy failed, but thankfully Miyako was entertained by violence. She continued to cheer for him.

"Hell yeah! Nice one Kenichi!" She cheered. "Get him again!"

"Just face it, Shirahama. You're my apprentice now!" Thor cried as he charged forward and threw him across the pit again, once again slamming him against the wall painfully. He looked up and saw Thor standing right over him intimidatingly.

Kenichi immediately pressed against the wall and slid himself through his legs and stood up once he crossed the ring. He glanced up at the still excited Miyako and grinned to himself once Thor's words sunk in.

"If this is your domain..." Kenichi replied as he spun around. Suddenly he touched his knuckles to the concrete floor and dropped down as he kicked off his shoes. He now mimicked Thor's sumo stance and looked quite confident. He needed to use brute force, he needed Akisame's training for this one. The Strongest Combo number one, was what he needed. "Then I'll have to fight like its ruler."

Thor smirked at the much smaller teen's unexpected change of style. Though it made him proud to see someone so small mimicking the sumo style, even if he wasn't committing himself to the style. It sort of felt like a compliment.

"I like you Shirahama, but I'm afraid this fight is over!" Thor charged once again, but this time Kenichi jumped straight up, sticking out both of his arms, striking him in the center of the chest and face. Then he caught himself on the sumo's strong neck and kneed him in the mouth.

Thor grunted in pain from the knee and covered his mouth, suddenly he felt Kenichi's arms wrapped tightly around his upper leg and it only got tighter. He looked down in disbelief and saw Kenichi's head buried in Thor's stomach as he strained to actually lift him.

"What are you doing?" Thor shook his head in disbelief. "It's not gonna work, kid."

"Come on Kenichi!" Miyako cheered from above him.

Suddenly Thor found himself being lifted several inches from the ground, then a foot. Kenichi shouted and strained with all his might as he lifted the massive fighter over his head then with a last little bit of strength he heaved upward and threw Thor into the air, sending him out of the ring, landing head first. Thor lay on the floor briefly unconscious as everyone looked down at Kenichi in disbelief.

Nijima rushed around the ring and let down the ladder for Kenichi, unable to make words of the joy he was feeling. "Kenichi, you did it!"

The disciple reached the top and was bombarded by Miyako throwing her arms around his shoulders as they both looked over at the angry Ragnarok members who closed in on them.

"Stop!" Thor shouted as he sat up. His men immediately stopped and looked at him in disbelief. "He won. He got a ring out." he looked around at his men as Kenichi was let through. "A sumo always honors his word. Though I guess I'm done with that now."

"What are you talking about?" Kenichi replied with a kind smile. "I said you had to quit Ragnarok. I never said anything about quitting sumo." Thor looked up in disbelief, but also relieved. "I love your dream. I think it's a wonderful idea." He stuck out his hand. Thor gasped and looked up at him. "You should continue your dream, but stop the useless violence."

Miyako smiled at Kenichi's kind words that inspired her greatly. Then even more so when Thor took Kenichi's hand and shook it in agreement. That was one more fist down, and many more to go.

Chapter end.

Major thanks to Holy Sheet for the support. Love the name by the way.

A/N: Also, I've been thinking about a new project to start. If any of you have even played the video game, Bully, I was thinking about starting a bully fanfic in Cannon with this story. So a Bully and Attack of the Creed crossover. But what would you all think? Would you read it? Send me your thoughts in the comments below.

Arigato