This story has been beta by TheReader2011 and Steven Badner. Enjoy!
Kenichi tied his belt while adjusting his gauntlets, ready for what was expected to come. He and Sakaki would be heading out to rescue the Yami engineer defector while clashing against Hongo and Sho. Making sure he had everything, Kenichi's tongue unconsciously flicked over the fake crown with the tracker in it. It was quite shocking that Niijima had access to such stuff, but put off such worries for now.
"Are you ready?" asked Miu as she tightened her glove before adjusting her hair.
"I am, but are you sure you want to come?" asked Kenichi, "It might be safer if you stayed behind."
Miu shook her head as her hands clasped onto his, her fingers curling up and interlocking with Kenichi's fingers.
"I would beset with worry that I would end up going anyways," whispered Miu, reveling in the warmth of Kenichi's fingers, "At least together, we can delay Jenazad until Grandpa comes. I won't let you go without a fight."
The two embraced each other, enjoying each other's warmth and comfort for the while.
"You know, it's weird. If you include from the previous timeline and this one, we should be around 28 now," murmured Miu.
"Technically, we're older than the Tanaka couple, and maybe even Shigure," chuckled Kenichi, the thought of being older than his master invoking a giggle.
"I always wondered about the future. Would we still have been dating if we succeeded in the past timeline? Would we have gotten married? Would we have had a child? Or parted ways to find others," sighed Miu, "But I know for certain now, I love you, and I won't let you go on this alone. My father made the mistake of distancing himself from my mother and me, hoping to push away the rumors that he was the one killing his allies, only to have it bite him in the back. My future is with you."
Kenichi's heart pounded at this confession, looking into her face, his other hand slowly stroking Miu's face. The two began to draw closer, their eyes closed as their lips were getting closer and closer until…
"Ahem," coughed the Elder, causing the two to quickly separate in embarrassment, "While I know this is a heart-touching moment, it is time to go."
Nodding in agreement, the two finished suiting up and left.
The Elder could only look up in the night sky and sigh, "It's getting harder and harder to make sure these two don't break the Fuurinji dating guidelines. But then again, they're not typical teenagers, are they? They're not dating to see if they are compatible, they already know they are. Miu has already decided on Kenichi, and Kenichi is the same way. I can only hope they don't make me a great grandfather too soon, I suppose."
The Elder closed his eyes as he remembered his own wife. All of a sudden, he felt the weight of his age and loneliness just for a bit before dismissing it. He had a mission to do.
Sakaki, Kenichi, and Miu soon made it to the location Niijima had traced to.
"Stay here," ordered Sakaki as he made his way into the building.
Kenichi and Miu nodded, staying in the alleyway as Sakaki barged through the door without a care. It didn't take long for Kenichi and Miu to spot Nakaharu Osamu, the Yami defector, walking towards the same building, carrying a bag of medical supplies. Upon being spotted, Nakaharu tried to run but was easily caught by Miu. Though upon closer inspection, Nakaharu realized that the two weren't from Yami. Before he could go any further though, the building complex's windows exploded, followed by Sakaki tackling an armored knight and using him as a cushion to land on a vehicle while carrying a bodyguard that had been injured and recovering from his wounds.
"My car!" cried the owner in tears as his precious car that was covered with car stickers, all about the latest Hocaloid, with his personal favorite idol, Muku. All of them were precious collector items that had cost him a lot.
Sakaki ignored him as he punched the knight through his helmet, indenting it as well as knocking out the knight before tossing him to the side. Sakaki jumped off the vehicle and strode towards Kenichi and the others, ignoring the explosion from the vehicle.
"Noooo," wailed the owner now. If it hadn't exploded, then he could've salvaged as much merchandise from the vehicle as he could, but now, with it turning into ashes, there was little chance.
He was largely ignored as Sakaki passed the barely conscious bodyguard to Kenichi before turning around to deal with the slightly bigger threat. A whole squadron of armored knights came marching forth, glaring at Sakaki. People were naturally confused to see western medieval knights in the middle of the city in Japan. If people were going to film something, they'd surely use the Japanese culture of medieval knights, the samurais, right?
Up on top of a building stood Hongo, Sho, and the leader of the squadron, the Chivalrous Order, wearing a bird-shaped helmet and wielding a broadsword, looked down at the situation.
"If you had done your job properly in the first place, the situation would not have become this big, God Hand," lectured Lashay, giving Hongo a sharp look.
Sho growled, as if to retort, only for Hongo to stop him with a wave of his hand.
"Please do consider that in the future," finished Lashay as she turned her attention back to her squadron, "Draw your swords!"
The knights obeyed, wielding their swords in a threatening manner as they approached Sakaki in a line, holding their shields up to defend themselves.
"This is a waste of time," scoffed Hongo as two knights attacked Sakaki from the side.
"Do you really believe that?" huffed Lashay, displeased at the disrespect Hongo was showing, "We are a mercenary group. We won't let him get away that easily."
Naifuanchi
In a few moves, Sakaki obliterated his two opponents, breaking through the metal shields, cutting the swords in half, and sometimes sending his opponent flying so hard that their armor remained in place while their body went flying out of it.
"Impossible!" shouted Lashay in disbelief at her soldiers being decimated by one lone karate master.
"He's definitely master's rival," chuckled Sho as he focused on Sakaki's movements.
"Come out, Hongo Akira!" shouted Sakaki, his eyes glowing with Ki as he kicked another knight away.
Hongo shifted to move forward, only for Lashay to stop him with her hands out, saying that he had promised to let her be in charge.
"Do it now," ordered Lashay into a hidden mic inside her helmet.
"Roger, securing the target," replied another knight named Tristan as he charged towards Kenichi and the others, intending to capture Nakaharu and killing anyone in his way, even if they were children.
'This is going to be easy,' thought Tristan, glancing over at his fellow knights to see them body blocking Sakaki from helping.
In hindsight, he shouldn't have taken his glance off Kenichi and Miu. He had heard all the rumors about Ryozanpaku's disciples being monsters, being far more experienced than anyone in their age group, and successfully taken on some masters together. He dismissed them as exaggerated rumors from the Unarmed Division of Yami, done to make it so their side wasn't so pathetic.
He was proven wrong when he suddenly found Kenichi's knee slamming into his chin, denting his helmet when he looked back. With a growl, Tristan tried to slice Kenichi in half, only for Kenichi to use Shiraha Nagashi to parry the slice and attack once more, knocking the helmet clean off. With a roar, Tristan raised his other sword, only for Miu to suddenly lock down his arm, wrapping her leg and body around the offending arm before quickly twisting her whole body and Tristan was thrown into the ground.
"It seems your knight is having trouble," said Hongo in an amused tone as Sho chuckled from behind.
Lashay flushed in embarrassment before deciding to personally intervene. Jumping off the building, she charged towards Nakaharu, intending to kill him.
Kenichi quickly rushed to Nakaharu, blocking Lashay's path.
"Foolish child, I'll finish you off!" boasted Lashay, splitting her attention on Kenichi and Nakaharu.
Her attention snapped right back to Kenichi as soon as she felt Kenichi's Ki skyrocket to Ki No Shouka. Shocked at the level of Ki control Kenichi was displaying, Lashay felt like the rumors had some merit.
Lashay slashed at Kenichi's face, only for him to block it fully with his gauntlets. In the same breath, Kenichi raised his leg to kick Lashay's torso. Lashay quickly raised her other arm to block the kick, wincing at the impact. With a roar, she began to rapidly attack Kenichi, who was managing to parry her attacks. Lashnay let out a shrill cry like a hawk as she pressed her attack, getting closer and closer to landing a hit.
"Gotcha!" shouted Lashay as her sword managed to pierce through his defense, cutting into Kenichi's shoulders. However, she noticed there was no blood upon cutting, and the curious sound of metal clashing against metal. A second later, she had her answer.
"Tch, chainmail," muttered Lashay, inspecting her sword, noticing nicks on it, "That chainmail isn't normal….. This blade has been forged by the top metallurgist and blacksmiths, and yet it lost against that….. Perhaps that chainmail has the 'secrets of steel' that not even Yami's top scientists have been able to recreate!"
Now interested in claiming the chainmail for herself, she let out a shrill cry as she attacked Kenichi once more.
"Tristan! Come help me with this child!" ordered Lashay, wanting to pry the chainmail off and take it as her prize.
Tristan, who had been busy fighting Miu, grunted as he took a hit to the chest from Miu, using the force of her kick to propel himself towards Kenichi. He drew a sharp breath as he felt his ribs rattle from the kick despite wearing armor.
Lashay glanced over Sakaki, noticing that her squadron was left to one man standing, and he wasn't going to last very long. Quickly wishing to finish this, she rushed towards Kenichi in hopes of killing or kidnapping him. Not being able to recover the Yami defector was painful, but the prize of gaining armor that had the 'secrets of steel' in it was a worthy side prize.
Before she could even reach Kenichi though, Hongo intervened, jumping right in between Kenichi and Lashay. His hands halted Lashay's sword path without effort, stopping her from moving.
"What is the meaning of this, God Hand!?" shouted Lashay, "Do you intend to break the alliance between the Armed and Unarmed Division!?"
Hongo snorted as he replied, "The One Shadow Nine Fists allied with Yami's Armed Division. We never intended to rely on a group of low-lives that intended to rely on a little girl, especially one that would rather plunder from the young."
Lashay hissed in anger, looking over to Tristan to see if he could help, only to see him being double teamed by Miu and Kenichi now.
"Tristan, aim for the engineer instead!" ordered Lashay as she managed to jerk her sword back.
Tristan turned to aim for him, only for Sho to suddenly land on top of his head. With a roar, Tristan tried to swing his sword upwards, only for Sho to easily dodge as he jumped off Tristan's head. Then, as soon as he landed, Sho performed a thrust kick into Tristan's chest, caving in the armor. Tristan felt his breathing starting to shorten due to his chest not having enough space to breathe, but couldn't be focused on that. Miu and Kenichi wrapped their body around Tristan's arms, and with a twist, threw Tristan into the ground head first, knocking him unconscious.
Lashay growled at that sight of this, but before she could do anything, her back bumped into Sakaki, who had finished up with the cannon fodders. Lashay turned to fight Sakaki, only for Sakaki to take a step forward, duck under Lashay's blade, and kicked her in the face while yelling "Natto!".
Lashay joined Tristan in the land of unconsciousness as her body was sent flying into a concrete wall.
"Long time no see, Hongo," grinned Sakaki as Ki began to gather and glow in his eyes.
"We finally meet again, Sakaki," replied Hongo, the same happening with him, though his sunglasses blocked out the glow.
"Kenichi, don't close your eyes and burn this fight into your memory!" said Sakaki as he raised both arms up, setting into the Maeba stance, a stance of absolute defense.
"You too, Sho. You're not to engage in a fight against Sakaki's disciple for now," ordered Hongo as he shifted his body, raising his left arm up while lowering the right, taking the Tenchi Jouge stance, a stance of overpowering annihilation.
Both karate masters took one single step forward, and instantly Dou and Sei Ki clashed violently between the two. Passersby who had been watching the whole situation quickly fled in fear from the after-effects.
As the two began to approach even closer, their minds could not help but flashback to the past, when the two had first sparred, with a close friend being their judge.
The disciples immediately activated their respective inner eyes in order to see the shockwave orbit battle the two masters were having. In just a few seconds, they could see Sakaki and Hongo's attack trails. Compared to Kei's attack trails that Kenichi and Sho had dealt with before, this one was drastically on a whole other level.
The two masters stayed still for a few seconds before Sakaki's left fist began to slowly push forward towards Hongo's waist. The disciples could see that out of all the attack patterns, Sakaki's fist was the only sure-fire one to reach his opponent.
Motionless Sand Cloud Bomb
Sakaki's slow thrust suddenly turned into a devastating attack, only for Hongo to be able to predict the attack and intercept it, intending to destroy Sakaki's left arm with Kyouha Kumikizushi. Sakaki noticed this attempt and quickly drew back his power and tried to land a high roundhouse kick, only for Hongo to react and counter with his own high kick. The kicks connected to each other, pushing them back upon impact. With the first action finally fired, Sakaki and Hongo began to fire a barrage of kicks and punches, each attack never landing a vital hit.
Their clash took them up towards the top of a five-story building, scaling the walls as if they were stairs. Sho, Kenichi, and Miu quickly jumped up, scaling the wall at a slower pace to catch up with the fight.
"What's wrong, Sakaki?" hummed Hongo as they landed on the ceiling, "I expected your full concentration on our duel. Something has you slightly distracted."
"Tch, so you noticed," grumbled Sakaki, "Nothing to worry about. Just making sure we don't have any interference."
Hongo's eyes narrowed before widening at that, taking a quick look around. There was nothing that he could see that was suspicious, but considering Sakaki's words, there had to be something more. He knew that several Yami masters, especially Jenazad, were interested in Kenichi, and lacked the moral compass that he had.
"To think you'd be attached to your disciple," chuckled Hongo, "Weren't you one to never take disciples? Then again, when one has such a genius, even you would capitulate."
"Hehe, you don't know the real story," grinned Sakaki, "But enough of that. We have a duel to finish!"
Sho felt his eyes straining to keep up with everything that was going on. Sure, he knew his master was awesome and one of the best in the One Fist Nine Shadows. And surely someone whom he viewed as his rival was just as good, though if not below his master, though. But the staggering amount of technique, power, and speed being performed was somewhat beyond him. He was tempted to use SeiDo Goitsu to keep up, but shelved that away. He needed the training anyways, and to use such a thing as a crutch would ruin him. Instead, he focused on pushing his insight to its limits so he could comprehend the battle before him.
Taking a peek over to Miu and Kenichi, he frowned as he saw that their insight still surpassed his, though he shouldn't be surprised.
'Focus!' lectured Sho to himself as he turned his full attention back onto the fight, moving just in time to dodge several shards of glass from Sakaki's punch towards some LED lights that had been falling down. The three of them were standing at a building away from the roof, but close enough to analyze the fight.
Despite a water tank falling down with an exposed electrical wire hitting the water, the two masters ignored the electrical shock as they continued to fight on. Hongo's sunglasses had long been tossed aside from the fight, both master's eyes glowing with Ki as each sent a barrage of fists to each other.
"You still put your life on the line without trying to kill me! No matter the situation, you're still a selfish man!" growled Hongo as he parried a fist.
"You always complain about the logic behind the way to fight other people, you boorish man!" boomed Sakaki as he pushed away a knife-hand thrust.
"Do you want me to kill someone that has no intention of killing back!" shouted Hongo.
"You conceited idiot, nobody is going to die today!" roared Sakaki back.
Metsujou Raigou Nukite
Hongo rapidly sent a series of knife-hand stabs at Sakaki, who parried them all until one got through his defense, aiming for his stomach. With a fierce thrust, the knife hand pierced through Sakaki's stomach.
"Sakaki-shishou!" shouted Kenichi in worry.
Hongo, however, noticed something was immediately wrong. His thrust had pierced through the torso, but he noticed the lack of organs that was supposed to have been pierced.
"You raised your internal organs!?" questioned Hongo.
"Haha, you noticed it too late!" grinned Sakaki as he coughed out blood, "Take this!"
Morote Seiken Hasami Geri
Sakaki slammed his fists together while launching a devastating kick to Hongo's face.
Immediately, Hongo used Dakki Kuzushi Gawashi, disrupting Sakaki's attack for a split second as he shifted his body. Sakaki's kick ended up cutting into Hongo's shoulders, but it didn't knock him out. However, Sakaki had expected this already.
"I'm already familiar with your way of fighting! Now that you've lowered your guard, eat this!"
Morote Enpi Tobi Hizageri
A dual elbow strike to the face and a knee to the chest slammed into Hongo, who had no way to dodge it.
"Hongo-shishou!" shouted Sho in worry at this attack.
The two masters landed on top of the small roof where the door leading to the roof was, still standing while the surrounding area was filled with electrified water. Upon a clearer look, Sho could see that despite Hongo taking the hit, he had countered with an elbow strike to the face at the last second, dodging one of the elbow strikes from Sakaki. The two masters stumbled back from the damage done to each other, with Hongo's knife fist pulled out of Sakaki's torso. Despite the blows knocking them unconscious, the two began to furiously fight once more, ignoring their injuries.
However, what shocked Sho the most was that despite that the two masters were now just a great lump of martial artists with karate as their main style, despite the fact that his master was still aiming to kill, was that Sakaki, even when unconscious, wasn't aiming to kill. He imagined that if unconscious, a martial artist would fight to kill with their heart removed from the equation. A heartless fist, just like Yami and the Kuremisago Clan had taught him. Yet right now, Sakaki proved that even when unconscious, his heart was still in control of his attacks.
The two masters continued to fight until they both landed a simultaneous hit on each other, causing them to stumble back once more before falling to their knees, regaining conscious as they did so.
"C'mon master, you can get up!" shouted Sho before noticing Kenichi and Miu weren't giving any encouragement. Taking a look, he saw that the two had turned away, as if noticing something. A second later, he felt it too.
"Someone's looking at us with killing intent," muttered Sho.
Just as he finished that statement, several figures appeared before them. Sho immediately recognized some of them as a part of the Kuremisago Clan, with a total of 7 from that clan and 5 other strangers.
"What the hell do you guys want now?" growled Sho.
"Kano Sho. The one said to inherit the leadership of the One Fist Nine Shadows. However, some of the elders feel that your lack of mercilessness should have disqualified you, if not killed. You should have been terminated earlier, but you were fortunately under God Hand's protection. However, since God Hand is preoccupied and currently unable to protect you, we will take this chance to eliminate the mistake," declared one of the masked members.
Sho narrowed his eyes, looking at the leader of the members before recognizing him.
"You're Baka's idiot cousin, Yari, aren't you?" said Sho as he narrowed his eyes, "You got the same stupid eyes and hair as he does."
"His name was Bagaye!" shouted the now-identified Yari as he pulled his mask down, "And I'm going to kill you for killing him! I don't know how you did it, but you must've cheated when you killed him! Your master probably did the dirty work!"
"Hey, he attacked me with his damn goons! I fought fairly and beat them all up before killing Bagaye," defended Sho, "It's not my fault that he bit off more than he could chew. And then his stupid master tried to kill me, only for my master to kill him within seconds!"
Yari's face turned crimson for a second before one of the other members laid a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Regardless, your death warrant has been signed," declared Yari before pointing to the other two, "We will be bringing Furinji Miu back with us, as she is a part of the Kuremisago Clan. It is high time she is returned to us, as we cannot let such talent roam free without restraint. Like her mother, she has excellent genes and should be matched with the best within our clan. In time, she will give birth to excellent warriors, like her mother should have instead of running away with an outsider. As for Shirahama Kenichi, it is known that you are currently dating her. We have been given orders to kill you to ensure that another power does not claim the maiden and threaten our clan. In time, she will see the wisdom of our actions."
Kenichi and Miu looked disgusted and furious at the same time. They were unaware that the Kuremisago Clan had this much interest in them now. In the past timeline, that clan barely paid any attention to them. Now, it seemed they had a more poignant interest in them, specifically on Miu.
'Where are the Zanshin Taisha-ryu reinforcements?' pondered Kenichi as he raised his arms in preparations.
In another location
"Drive these invaders back!" shouted the grandmaster of the Zanshin Taisha-ryu as he blocked a kick from a rival ninja clan.
Just as they had been prepared to set out, they had suddenly been invaded by a long-time rival ninja clan. With all hands on deck, they had no way to aid Kenichi. This had been a part of Kushinada's plan with Jenazad. She had predicted that they would try to intervene, considering they were now considered a part of the Shinpaku Alliance and had intervened on multiple occasions. So to prevent them from helping, she convinced the rival clan of the Zanshin Taisha-ryu to attack them at this specific time and day.
The Tanaka family had been at their dojo, with Tsutomu helping the grandmaster on negotiating some insurance policies for their dojo, and so were also occupied in helping them out while protecting their daughter.
Back to the original location
"Attack!" ordered Yari as they all charged. Several of them pulled out sharp weapons that originated from Tidat. Kenichi and Miu recognized that these people were a part of Jenzad's group of loyal soldiers.
Gritting their teeth, the trio leaped forward to meet the enemies.
"Sakaki!" shouted Hongo.
"Yea!" agreed Sakaki as the two managed to pull themselves back up. Nobody was killing their disciples while they drew breath! Before the two could jump forward, both suddenly felt killing intent directed towards them and dodged. A second later, a scythe cleaved through the air where they had been.
"Damn, I missed," sneered Mihai as he brandished his scythe, "I was hoping to spill your blood today. But I still got more chances, seeing how you two are so injured. I still owe you for all those punches to my face. Seeing as you already have a scar there, I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I added a few more!"
"Try it! I'll cave your face in some more," growled Sakaki.
Hongo had been ready to intervene, stating that this was an in-house argument and that he would handle it, when he had to dodge a palm thrust to his chest. Looking at the attacker, he noticed it was a Kuremisago Clan master. One that was related to Aeka, the master he had killed for trying to kill Sho.
"So this is an official order from the Kuremisago Clan, or is this just for revenge?" snorted Hongo. His opponent didn't answer but instead glared at him with killing intent.
"Sakaki, it looks like our duel will have to be postponed," sighed Hongo.
"We'll call it a draw," replied Sakaki, "I'll vent my frustration on this asshole!"
What was unknown to them all was that Sakaki and Hongo had held back very slightly to preserve their strength. Hongo figured something was going on and held back a little when he saw Sakaki did too.
With Sho, Kenichi, and Miu, the trio were getting tired. They had cuts all over the place, but no real debilitating injuries yet. The Kuremisago Clan and Jenazad's soldiers had managed to separate Miu from Kenichi and Sho, but the main focus of the attackers were killing Sho and Kenichi. Out of the 12, only three of them were attacking Miu, all from the Kuremisago Clan, with the intention to capture, while the rest aimed for Sho and Kenichi.
'Where the hell is the capture team?' thought Yari as he charged at Sho, 'They should've been here now.'
Another location
"Who the hell is this guy!?" shouted a master as Furinij Saiga, disguised in his Mr. Okamata facade, kicked another master in the face.
"His style... Doesn't it seem familiar? But from where?" asked another assailant.
A total of 3 grandmasters who specialized in speed had been ready to kidnap Miu and take her to a secure location, but before they could, this man suddenly showed up and proceeded to fight them.
Saiga, however, wasn't able to finish up fast, mostly delaying them. He couldn't afford to have one escape, so he had to have them focus on him. This meant that he couldn't finish the fight easily, as they tried more than once to have two distract him while the other tried to run for it.
'Miu, Kenichi, I'll be there soon!' thought Saiga as he dodged a kick with a knife in the shoe.
Top of a building from Kenichi and others
The Elder gritted his teeth as he stared at his opponent. This was someone he couldn't easily take his eyes off.
"What are you doing here?" proclaimed the Elder, his fists clenched.
Standing in front of him was Yogi Oganosuke, the leader of the Yami Armed Division.
"Just enjoying the moonlight," was the reply. The obvious answer was that he was here to restrain the Elder with his presence alone, "I'm mostly babysitting Mihai."
"Did Jenazad put you up to this?" growled the Elder.
"Mihai asked me to come," hummed Oganosuke, "Which in turn, Jenazad asked him if he wanted a chance to kill Sakaki, so I guess in an indirect way, he did ask me to come."
"And you agree with his plan?" rumbled the Elder, his Ki slowly growing as time passed.
"Plan? I was uninformed of any plan," replied Oganosuke honestly, "But since this is the younger generation's fight, it would be rude of us to interfere."
The Elder huffed as he sat helplessly. Though if given the chance, he would intervene, even if he had to lose a limb or his life.
"Guff," spat out Sho as a punch landed into his ribcage. With a shout, he elbowed Yari, who had landed the attack, only for him to block it. Sho tried to follow up, but ended up having to dodge the head cleaver.
"I've analyzed all your movements! You prefer to attack and attack, and so there are gaps in your defense that I'll viciously exploit!" taunted Yari from a safe distance.
"Asshole!" grunted Sho as he used Gamaku to trick his opponent into thinking he was going to kick right when in reality he kicked left.
"Sho, catch!" shouted Kenichi as he tossed a gauntlet to Sho, who immediately caught it and put it on, using it to block a dagger.
"I need to ask sensei to get me one of these," muttered Sho in appreciation of the gauntlet.
Kenichi and Sho were soon rounded up and pushed back to back. Kenichi had managed to knock out two of them and disable another while Sho barely got one, much to his discomfort. Still, that meant five more to deal with, and most of them were in the expert realm, if not closing to master, as they were all much older.
"Looks like this is the end of the line for you, traitor," sneered Yari.
"Like hell it is," growled Sho as he raised his hand, taking the Tenchi Jouge stance while Kenichi took the Maeba stance. Having witnessed their masters in action, both couldn't help but assume their respective master's styles.
As the group started to approach closer and closer, a sudden gust of wind seemed to blow through them. Though the attackers weren't affected at all by this, Kenichi and Sho suddenly felt something grabbing their hands, as if guiding.
"You're just like your masters!" laughed a mysterious voice that nobody else could seem to hear, "Using a style that isn't best for you. You two should switch up styles, just like your masters did when they took my advice."
Sho and Kenichi didn't resist as an invisible hand guided them, adjusting their postures. Soon, Sho took on the Maeba stance while Kenichi assumed the Tenchi Jouge stance.
Sakaki grunted as he dodged a spinning swing from Mihai, his injury from his fight with Hongo acting up. As he landed next to Hongo, the two of them felt a wind graze past them as well as a familiar voice.
"Told you so!"
Hongo and Sakaki glanced at each other in shock before directing their attention to Kenichi and Sho in time to see them changing their stances, just like they had done before.
'I should've taught Sho the Maeba stance,' scolded Hongo to himself, 'He's like Sakaki, prone to be on the offensive.
"Changing stances won't change the outcome!" shouted Yari as he rushed forward to attack Sho. Swiftly attacking, Yari targeted places that should've been Sho's weak points in his defense. However, upon going in, he found all the weak points had suddenly been shored up by Sho's new stance. Sho was easily parrying not only his attacks, but from the others, too.
Kenichi found himself finding more chances to attack with the new stance, taking advantage of openings in his opponent's stance he had never realized before.
The two glanced at each other, nodding to each other before putting their backs against each other. Both of them were entrusting the other to watch over their backs.
"[Mati]!" shouted one of Jenzad's assassins, aiming for Kenichi. Kenichi easily warded off the warped dagger, hurling his opponent to the side.
"Gotcha!" grinned another assassin, thinking Kenichi was open, only to receive a kick to the head from Sho.
The two seamlessly cooperated with each other's moves, never hesitating to help each other.
'What's this feeling?' thought Sho in confusion, 'It feels like I'm fighting alongside myself! Is it because he knows different styles? Or is it because of those wings I saw on him, the same ones on myself? Whatever it is, it feels like… I'm flying in the endless sky with someone!"
"What's taking them so long?" hissed a fighter, taking her eyes off Miu to look at Kenichi and Sho.
It was a vital mistake that Miu capitalized on. Quickly rushing at the distracted fighter at speeds surprising and surpassing her other opponents, Miu quickly jumped up, wrapping her legs around the attacker's head. With a quick twist, Miu threw her attacker into a head-on collision with another, knocking two out. The third kidnapper began to panic as he began to hurl shurikens at Miu, only for Miu to swiftly dodge them before dropping down on all fours. With a hiss, Miu sprang forward, aiming for her kidnapper's joints, coming in at a difficult and weird angle for her opponent to defend against. With a few quick Silat Supreme hits, her last kidnapper was left defenseless. Using this moment, Miu threw the last kidnapper into one of the assassins aiming for Kenichi.
"What the!?" shouted the surprised assassin, causing the others to be distracted.
Kenichi and Sho grabbed this moment, quickly knocking out the Tidat assassins. Sho used Seidou Goitsu to make sure the ones he attacked were put down.
"No… Impossible! I can't fail here!" shouted Yari as he jumped into the air, intending to kick Sho from behind.
Another assassin was doing the same, aiming for Kenichi, though.
Without hesitation, Kenichi and Sho stepped forward to deal with the other's attacker. Their high kicks crossed paths, skimming past each other's head and striking at the enemy. The assassins were unable to dodge, having been too focused on their target that they missed the fact the target had backup.
With a shout, Kenichi and Sho finished their attack, stomping their feet into the ground, thrusting their right fist into the ground.
Sakaki and Hongo couldn't help but smirk as Kenichi and Sho finished the last of their opponents. In true style, even the finishing stance was their own karate stance.
"Tch, so that brat failed?" scoffed Mihai as he licked his scythe, relishing the taste of blood that had splattered onto it.
"He's my disciple. He's not going to fall to some crappy assholes," replied Sakaki, flipping Mihai with his right hand, "And now that I don't have to worry about him, I'll start by kicking your ass!"
"Rude, I'll chop your middle finger off!" shouted Mihai.
"Looks like we're in the clear now," huffed Sho as took a deep breath as he took off the gauntlet Kenichi had tossed him, letting his guard down. He was a little surprised that Miu and Kenichi kept their guard up, but decided to follow their lead. Unfortunately, because he had let his guard down for that second, it made all the difference.
Jenazad suddenly appeared behind Sho, having leapt out of his hiding spot. Before Sho could really react against the fact that Jenazad was here and leaking killing intent, Jenazad stabbed him in the torso just as Sho turned around.
"Sho!" shouted Kenichi and Miu as they witnessed Jenazad stab Sho in the stomach.
Sho spat out blood as he was sent flying over the roof. Gravity took hold of him as he began to descend down into the city floor without even being able to recover.
Hongo saw crimson as he witnessed his disciple brutally murdered in front of his own eyes.
"You're open!" shouted his opponent as he tried to stab Hongo's stomach with a sword.
Hongo mercilessly thrust his arm forward at his opponent's stomach, who quickly raised his sword to block instead of attacking, only to see his thrust cut the blade in half and into his stomach. Quickly tossing the future cadaver, Hongo rushed over to see if he could save Sho's body from at least splattering on the ground when…
"NUHHAAA!" shouted the Elder as he caught Sho's body. The Elder landed on the ground, quickly inspecting Sho's wound before looking up in anger and slight confusion. He had expected Oganosuke to intervene when he took action, but the man just sat there without doing anything. Perhaps it was because he disapproved of Jenazad's action that he didn't do anything. The Elder didn't have any time to ponder about that, though. He had people to save!
Kenichi and Miu stood in shock at the seemingly brutal murder of Jenazad's own disciple that they didn't have time to react to his next move. Without hesitation, Jenazad's fists slammed into Miu's temples.
Boushinha Shougeki
Jenazad grinned for a second before frowning. He would've thought that someone so young suddenly seeing someone killed would've frozen them, but it seemed like it wasn't the case for Kenichi and Miu. Miu had managed to get her left hand up to slightly block the attack while Kenichi stuck his right hand with his gauntlet still on in between the other fist. While the attack had gone through, it wasn't a complete memory wipe like he wanted it to be. More likely she would have several holes in her memory, but still retain her identity somewhat. Still, Miu went down unconscious.
However, seeing Kenichi sticking out his hand gave him the perfect opportunity. WIthout mercy, Jenazad grabbed Kenichi's outstretched arm and twisted it, dislocating his wrist and shoulder in one move while also ripping off the gauntlet.
Kenichi howled in pain at the sudden twist, but gritted his teeth as he began to raise his left leg up.
"Hmph, a desperate kick," scoffed Jenazad as he raised his other hand to block it.
Then he noticed something was off. As he was holding onto Kenichi's right arm, he could feel Kenichi's whole system. That his oblique muscles were making him shift his weight to the other leg. But he was holding his right arm hostage, with his weight distorted, a right kick wouldn't have much power to it, due to his positioning.
What Jenazad underestimated was Kenichi's tenacity. Kenichi was ready to sacrifice his right arm to get a good kick at Jenazad to prevent him from kidnapping Miu. Even if his right arm became permanently disabled, it would be worth the sacrifice.
Jenazad then sensed killing intent, one specifically aiming for his hand. Quickly pulling back, he saw three shurikens fly right past where his arm was, sinking into the ground. Looking to the source he saw Yamamoto Taiki from afar, quickly rushing over to help. Calculating the speed, Jenazad knew that he could deal with Kenichi and escape before the man could arrive. Quickly looking back at the boy, he saw him raising his right leg fully up for a kick to his torso. Jenazad raised his right arm to block, only to wince suddenly, momentarily stopping his move for just a millisecond. Then he noticed something else about Kenichi's Ki right now.
'Sorry, Elder, for breaking this promise. But I have to do this!' apologized Kenichi mentally.
Seidou Goitsu Gamaku
Kenichi was well-aware of Seidou Goitsu and its harsh consequences. Having utilized both Sei and Dou as well as fighting Ryuto and Sho who had used this technique, he was aware of how to activate it.
Using Seidou Goitsu as well as Ki no Shouka, Kenichi slammed his mid-kick into Jenazad's torso. Jenazad froze for a second before suddenly lashing out, his left index and middle fingers stabbing into Kenichi's neck, knocking him unconscious. The attack knocked Kenichi's Yin Yang pin off his collar.
"That was surprising," hummed Jenazad as he lifted Kenichi's unconscious body onto his shoulder, "But it just shows me how much potential there is! Now for the girl before it's too…."
Jenazad turned to where Miu should've been only to see it gone. Blinking in shock for a second, Jenazad's nose suddenly picked up the scent of rosewood.
"That bitch!" seethed Jenazad. Kushinada had promised both would be his! Though why she was interested in the girl was another thing. Was she doing so in return for favor with the Kumesago?
Having no time to think about it, Jenazad decided to cut his losses and run. He had his main prize anyways.
"Don't think you'll escape!" shouted Taiki as he dove forward, only for Jenazad to easily dodge past him.
"Get back here, asshole!" shouted Sakaki as he punched Mihai away, jumping after Jenazad.
"You're open!" shouted Mihai with glee, only for Hongo to intervene, grabbing the back end of his scythe and pulling him back, using him as a projectile against his opponent.
Sakaki was getting close to Jenazad despite his injuries when even more assassins popped up to distract him.
"Kakaka, despite your injuries, you're able to fight with such vigor! I really want to fight against you, but with my prize in my hand, it would be a shame to lose it. I'll fight you when you're at your full strength once more!" laughed Jenazad.
With that statement, Jenazad disappeared into the night sky with Kenichi.
Seeing the mission objective accomplished, all Kuremisago Clan members and Tidat assassins retreated. Mihai scoffed as a Yami member reminded him to retreat, but decided to follow orders for now. He had only gone with Jenazad's plan because it would: A) screw Sakaki over and give him a chance to chop his head, B) screw Kenichi for beating his disciple, and C) screw Hongo over because he really disliked his whole non-killing policy against those who weren't martial artists.
Jenazad soon arrived at his destination. After walking into a private airplane and quickly ordering the pilot to take off, Jenazad placed Kenichi onto the ground. After doing so, he plopped himself right onto a cardboard box, leaning back against the metal wall. After taking a deep breath, Jenazad coughed hard, spitting out blood that he had been holding back.
"That hit really got me," muttered Jenazad as he prodded his side, feeling the bruising. Kenichi's hit had almost made him, of all people, almost fall to his knees.
"Not to mention that damn thing," added Jenazad as he stared at his right hand. Specifically, his middle and ring finger, which was bruised, as if he jammed it into something hard. Taking a deep breath after he finished coughing, he looked over to Kenichi, wondering what to do.
"If I take away his memory….. there might be a chance I lose his ability for such Ki control, especially being able to use Sei and Dou," mused Jenazad, "Then again… I don't have to resort to such methods. There are more than one way to skin a cat."
Jenazad grinned as he began to plan his methods of brainwashing.
"Shit!" cursed Sakaki as he collapsed onto his knees in anger, punching the rooftop of the building he was on. Down below several floors, innocent office workers wondered why dust was falling off from the ceiling.
"This misconduct is of the One Fist Nine Shadows," said Hongo as he gritted his teeth, "I'll go after him and return your disciple back to you. I also need to avenge my disciple."
"Your disciple is alive," informed the Elder, landing next to Hongo, "He was very lucky."
Hongo looked in shock as he saw an unconscious but breathing Sho. Looking down to where Jenazad should've brutally punctured Sho's stomach, he saw only three holes in his stomach. They had gone in deep, but it made no sense. Where were the two other holes, and why wasn't there a giant hole in the stomach?
"Your disciple was saved by this," explained the elder, holding up the gauntlet Kenichi had loaned to Sho, "I believe when Jenazad tried to kill Sho, this got in the way by luck. Due to its construct, Jenazad's attack couldn't go deeper."
Hongo breathed a sigh of relief that his disciple would live. But even then, the wounds were still quite serious. And he could no longer trust any of Yami's medical centers as the Kuremisago Clan might try to finish the job. Speaking of which, he would need to speak with the One Fist in regards with the internal politics of that clan. Thinking quickly, he knew he only had one choice.
"Could you… take care of him for me?" asked Hongo, knowing that Ryozanpaku had two of the best doctors in the world. Added to the fact that there were several masters and the Elder himself, the Kuremisago Clan wouldn't dare attack Ryozanpaku so brazenly.
The Elder nodded, allowing Hongo to walk away.
"In return, I'll stake my life that your disciple will be returned unharmed," declared Hongo.
As he prepared to leave, Sakaki called out to him.
"Today, we're at 125 wins, 126 losses, and 1 draw in your favor."
Hongo remained silent before jumping away.
'Fool, it's your favor. I failed to kill you on that day, so it should be my loss,' thought Hongo.
After he left, Taiki landed next to them, apologizing for his delay and the fact he was unable to help. The Elder waived it off, saying that it had been completely out of his circumstances to help. As Taiki helped bind Sakaki's wounds, the Elder looked up to the moon, noticing his son Saiga remaining hidden in the shadows. With a nod, Saiga disappeared, already planning his next move. As far as the Elder knew, Jenazad had Kenichi while Kushinada had Miu. While it was worrying why Kushinada stole Miu, he was more concerned about Kenichi. The man would stop at nothing to get back at him, while Kushinada was, a term he used very vaguely... a friend. She wouldn't be as drastic... or so he hoped.
Picking up the remaining gauntlet and the Yin Yang pin, the Elder jumped back to Ryozanpaku with Sho in hand, rushing to Akisame's clinic.
Niijima took a deep breath when he received news that Kenichi and Miu had been kidnapped despite all the plans he had made. Dismissing his minions, Niijima went into a safe room he had built inside the Shinpaku Alliance for himself. Not even Siegfried, his most loyal minion, was allowed in for the moment. Inside the room was simple old electronic junk that he liked to fiddle around with as a hobby. However, at this moment, he didn't feel like doing so.
"... SHIT!" cursed Niijima as he hurled a piece of junk into the wall. He didn't stop there as he raged around, hurling junk all around, smashing them into the floor. His mouth spewed curses that soon evolved into eldritch curses unable to be understood by man. Not only were his two most important pieces that would pave the way for the Shinpaku Alliance into a global scale gone, but his two fellow time-travelers and friends were missing. Who knew what could happen to them?
"Alright, Yami, if that's how you want to play, then it's war!" growled Niijima as he crushed a cup in his grip.
True, he was unable to match them in terms of physical prowess or martial arts. But he could compete against them in terms of information and finance. Niijima planned to drive them into a corner, utilizing everything he knew about the future and the stock market prices. So far, he had been playing it safe. But for the sake of his friends, all bets were off.
"But first, to make a few calls," muttered Niijima to himself as he walked out of the room. He had connections, and it was time to use them.
"... Shit!" shouted Sho as he suddenly woke up, leaning forward in shock. Unfortunately, by doing so, he aggravated his wounds, causing him to wince.
"Where the hell am I?" blinked Sho as he looked around, not recognizing the wooden structure. None of Yami's bases had such a... shabby design.
"You're at Ryozanpaku, where we're treating your room. And sorry the room feels shabby, but it does just fine," voiced Akisame.
"#$#%#%#!" cursed Sho in surprise and shock, 'Did he read my mind?'
"Wait, why am I here?" asked Sho.
"Hongo asked us to take care of you for a bit," grumbled Sakaki as he entered the room, "Don't forget, your own clan and organization was looking to kill you for stupid reasons. He felt it was safer for you to heal up here instead. He doesn't trust Yami right now."
"And he can trust you guys why?" asked Sho.
"Because it is dishonorable, and we, the Katsujinken, will not take a life, especially someone who is injured," rumbled the Elder, "That being said, you will abide by the rules here and respect your elders."
"Hai!" shouted Sho, sitting up straight in fear. He was still terrified of the Elder, especially after that incident back on Fortuna's island.
Sho looked around trying to organize his mind. He remembered defeating Yari and his bunch. He remembered turning around before killing a huge amount of killing intent behind him. He turned around and saw a familiar mask... and nothing else.
'That mask... it can't be!' thought Sho. Then he looked around once more to see Miu and Kenichi missing. His face paled as he remembered Jenazad expressing interest in Kenichi.
"Tell me the truth," asked Sho as he took a deep breath, "Did the Demon God Fist try to kill me and then kidnap Miu and Shirahama?
Seeing no point in lying, they all nodded, though the Elder corrected him saying that Kushinada had taken Miu. Sho's head drooped down in anger. It was because of him that the Kuremisago Clan attacked them too, and it was because he let his guard down that Kenichi and Miu were forced to deal with Jenazad alone.
"Is my master going to deal with the Demon God Fist? No, of course he is. He would never let someone ruin his match and kidnap children. In that case, I don't have time to lose! I'm already healed up, and ready to go!" exclaimed Sho.
He tried to jump off the bed, only to be paralyzed by Kensei's acupuncture needle being jabbed into his nervous system.
"Not yet, you're still healing," ordered Kensei, "Thankfully, you have a strong core, so you'll heal pretty fast with our special brew and treatment. Not to mention we have to balance that Ki network of yours for now."
Sho tried to move, but found himself completely paralyzed.
"Your master needs to heal as well, and once we've found the location, we're moving in. Niijima already has people looking for them," said Akisame, "Now then, if you want to get moving again, take this medicine. Kenichi takes it regularly when overtrains himself."
The reality was that the medicine was used not because Kenichi overtrained himself, but a good majority of the time his masters pushed Kenichi to the limit, and then easily passed that limit without hesitation, knowing their knowledge would revive Kenichi.
Sho gritted his teeth before nodding. If Kenichi could do this, then so could he! He then changed his mind when Kensei brought in some suspicious concoction that was bubbling despite not being under any heat source. Sho tried to shake his head and keep his lips sealed, only for Kensei to stab another nerve point in Sho, causing him to open his mouth dumbly as Akisame tossed the concoction into his mouth.
Sho's mind began to spout out incoherent words at the taste of the medicine.
Miu Fuurinji slowly opened her eyes, taking in what she saw. She looked around to see a wooden room with some sparse but tasteful furniture. She found herself lying on a futon, surrounded by tatami mats.
Miu blinked before feeling a sharp pain in her head.
"Where… am I? Who... am I?" stuttered Miu out loud. Her brain felt like it had been dunked in fire and stabbed several times before her mind cleared up.
"My name... is Furinji...Furinji Miu," said Miu slowly, remembering that at least. Her mind began to recollect memories. She remembered her grandfather, Furinji Hayato. She remembered snow. She remembered that her mother was dead and her father gone. She remembered bits and pieces of her training, and that was it.
Though Jenazad's amnesia fist had not completely wiped out Miu's memories and personality, it did take a good chunk. Miu couldn't remember that she had time traveled, nor could she remember what had happened in the first timeline either.
Miu looked around to see if she could see any hints about her memories. Her eyes landed on an old photo. In the photo, she saw a tall strong man next to a busty female wearing shorts. She recognized the man to be what her grandfather probably looked like when he was much younger, but the female? She wasn't too sure who it was, but from the way she seemed to cling onto the Elder, she had to be someone important. She took the photo into her hand to get a closer look.
Before Miu could try to dive deeper into her mind for some clues, the door opened up to reveal Kushinada. Miu instantly recognized her as the female from the photo.
"Do you remember who you are?" questioned Kushinada.
"... Furinji Miu," replied Miu.
"Hmm, so the Demon God Fist failed to take all your memories," hummed Kushinada, "What do you remember?"
At the mention of Jenazad's alias, pain spiked into Miu's head once more. That was a name she was familiar with. One that rankled against her deeply.
Looking up, she saw Kushinada holding a cup of tea for her. Thanking her, Miu took it and drank it, savoring the tea's flavor.
"I assume you recognize this man," pointed Kushinada to the photo that had been in Miu's hands.
"My grandfather," nodded Miu, slowly trusting this woman. She had to be a close friend of her grandfather if they had a photo like this. Even if she did look really young and barely even older than the photo in hand.
"This you?" asked Miu, pointing to the woman in the photo.
"Yes," nodded Kushinada, seeing no point in lying about that, "I am Kushinada Mikumo, and I am-"
"Grandma?" interrupted Kiu, tilting her head.
The reason for this conclusion was that Kushinada had confirmed that the woman in the photo was her. With her draped over the Elder, Miu thought that this photo was taken when they were dating. And with most of her memories gone, she drew in physical appearances. She had inherited the blonde hair and blue eyes from her grandfather, so perhaps the beauty and chest size was from her? She couldn't really remember what her father or mother looked like either.
"... I will be your teacher temporarily until clansmen from your mother's side will come to pick you up. So until further notice, you will learn from me for a while," finished Kushinada as she turned to leave, "Rest up, as tomorrow, we will begin training."
Kushinada walked out, making sure she was a fair distance away from the room Miu was residing in. They were currently at her private dojo, where only she and Chikage knew where it was located. It was a rather small area and far away from other people.
Suspiciously, the word grandma seemed to hover over Kushinada as it followed her into a room until... it pierced right through her heart.
"Hwwwaaaa?" blushed Kushinada, her heart pounding like crazy as she put her hands to her face.
When Miu called her grandma, she felt like she should've been insulted from insinuating her age. She didn't look like any of those old hags! But for some reason, when Miu said it, it resonated within her, causing her to almost lose control of her emotions.
Did she still carry a flame for Furinji Hayato? Most certainly, and she felt like she had been close to getting him until that bitch, Shizuko, managed to steal him away. Still, despite the years, those flames never really faded away, just hiding underneath her exterior. She swore she would never reveal them to anyone.
Yet when Miu called her that, that dam broke. Instantly, Kushinda imagined a life where she had been married to the Elder, had Saiga as her child instead, and then Miu as her granddaughter.
"Stop it, you're a grown woman," hissed Kushinada to herself, "This is reality, she's not your granddaughter."
'But she could be,' whispered a voice in her head. A second later, a shoulder devil that looked like her, dressed in a red micro bikini that barely contained her chest, showcasing her legs, appeared next to her shoulder, 'It really wouldn't take much to make her think that.'
A shoulder angel popped onto the other side of her shoulder, wearing a white toga that once again barely contained her chest and ending at her mid-thigh, also appeared.
"Don't," warned the shoulder angel, "It's not honorable, and there's no point in living a lie."
"A lie that could turn into reality," replied the devil, interesting both Kushinada and angel, "Just convince Miu to believe that you're her grandmother. That way, when Hayato comes, he'll have no choice to accept Miu's decision, which could lead to more chances of seducing him. Even if you become a step-grandmother, it would symbolically be the same."
"That's... Plausible," admitted the angel.
"Enough!" snarled Kushinada, waving the shoulder entities away. She would shelve those thoughts far beneath her and continue her plan to give Miu to the Kuremisago Clan... though it wouldn't hurt to delay that for a few weeks.
Taking a deep breath, she walked to where she knew her adopted daughter Chikage was training.
Chikage was indeed training, dodging various blades that hung from the roof with ease and calm, never allowing it to even nick her clothes. When finished, Chikage turned to her master, as if to greet her, and froze upon seeing Kushinada's face.
"What's wrong?" asked Kushinada, "Your heart was calm until you saw me."
"Ummmm…" hesitated Chikage, continuing only after her master prodded her to, "You seem to be smiling... a lot more pronounced than usual."
Kushinada quickly turned towards a mirror that was conveniently there and noticed that the ridiculous smile that had been plastered on her face was still there. Quickly schooling her face back to normal, she turned back to Chikage.
"It's nothing," answered Kushinada, "Just a few plans that have gone through."
Chikage nodded, though still freaked out about it.
Dun dun Dunnn! Kenichi's been kidnapped instead, and Miu's with Kushinada! What will happen next! Find out next time!
Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get perks!
Now for an Omake! I almost made this part of the story, but I thought it would be too hard to actually include it into the story, but I didn't want to not type it out.
Omake
Both karate masters took one single step forward, and instantly Dou and Sei Ki clashed violently between the two. Passersby who had been watching the whole situation quickly fled in fear from the after-effects.
All was silent until...
"So, I hear you are dating now," said Hongo all of a sudden, "Quite a surprise when you said you could care less about women."
Sakaki's eyebrow twitched at that taunt, "Yea, well, you and Suzuku had a huge crush on my older sister!"
"Suzuku was the one with that, I merely admired that a lady like her could be related to you," said Hongo a little too quickly.
The two then began to argue with words, causing Sho, Kenichi, and Miu to look at each other in confusion.
"He has a sister?" asked Sho, pointing to Sakaki.
"Apparently, but we've never seen her before," shrugged Kenichi, "Apparently she knows about the underground world of martial arts, but never stepped into it."
The two masters kept arguing until...
"Shio-chan~! Akira-kun!" sang out a familiar voice, causing them to freeze before slowly looking towards the source of the voice.
Standing there in a motorcycle suit that pronounced her fine curves with a helmet on that made her unrecognizable by others except for Sakaki and Hongo stood Sakaki's sister, Sakami.
"Sister? What are you doing here!" shouted Hongo.
"Your dear fiance sent me a letter," replied Sakami, "How come you never told me you were engaged? To an American girl, too! That's so rude."
Sakami took off her helmet to reveal long luscious black hair to fall out before facing them all once more.
Hongo was stunned to silence for a bit at the sight of Sakami while Sho and Kenichi blushed at her beauty. Even Miu could not berate Kenichi for staring.
"I can see why my master likes her," blanked Sho.
"I can't believe my little Shio-chan is getting married before me!" pouted Sakami, "I'm still single and looking, but none of the men that I've met are my type! Though if Akira-kun asked me out, I wouldn't say no to that. You've gotten quite handsome now, even with that scar."
"I… I would be honored?" blushed Hongo.
"Great! It's a date! I'll see you later then, here's my contact number," grinned Sakami as she tossed a business card to Hongo, putting her helmet back on, "I should get going. Have fun you two!"
As Sakami drove off, Sakaki turned to Hongo, who stared at the business card before pocketing it safely in his shirt.
"Oh no you don't!" growled Sakaki, "Don't get any idea about that!"
"She was the one who invited me, and it would be rude to refuse," replied Hongo, "And what's this about an American fiance. From what I've heard, it was the weapons mistress of Ryozanpaku. Are you wooing two women with success? And are they aware of each other?"
"That's none of your business, nor is it true about the fiance shit!" shouted Sakaki, "I'm going to pound the shit out of you so you can't make it to that date!"
The two then proceeded to viciously beat each other up.