This story has been beta by Steven Badner. Enjoy!
"What did you say?" demanded Takeda as he held up Sho by his shirt.
The Shinpaku Alliance were currently at the Shinpaku base, where Sho, who had been reluctantly allowed in, told them the news a week after the incident.
"I said Shirahama and Miu have been kidnapped," said Sho clearly, "I was knocked unconscious before they were taken, but my master and I believe Jenazad Silkwat took both Shirahama and Miu. Right now, we're investigating all possible locations he's at, but most likely he's retreated back to the Tidat Kingdom."
Sho grabbed Takeda's wrist, forcefully making Takeda let go first before letting go of the wrist before continuing, "My master was not in on this kidnapping plan, and he vehemently voiced his objections to the One Shadow Nine Fist. The Demon God Fist has yet to reveal himself in the meetings to justify himself, so I believe my master will be proceeding shortly to rescue the two himself. However, it is unsure whether Miu is actually captive by Demon God Fist, as when he left, he was only carrying Shirahama."
"And you think you just explaining that to us justifies everything!?" roared Takeda, raising his fist, only to be quickly stopped by Freya.
"No," admitted Sho, "If everything, this was my fault to begin with. I was too weak to help them. Jenazad targeted me first to shock them. I only lived thanks to pure luck and Shirahama's gauntlet that I borrowed."
Sho clenched his fist before staring Takeda and the others straight in their eyes, "That's why I'm going, too. I can't let this debt be unpaid. That's all I wanted to tell you."
With a huff, Sho turned around and left.
"We should go too," growled Takeda, "I ain't got anything planned for this month."
"Nothing important here," nodded Ukita, pounding his fist together, "Let's rescue them ourselves!"
"I can take a break from college," nodded Freya.
"Alright, field trip!" grinned Tsuji.
"No," rejected Niijima, suddenly appearing before them all.
"What do you mean 'no'?" shouted Kisara in anger, "They're our friends! Kenichi and Miu were willing to risk their lives when Freya was kidnapped, and would easily do so if any one of us was in that situation. We should be able to reciprocate that!"
"It's too dangerous," explained Niijma, "Too many obstacles and things that could go wrong. The first part being the language barrier. Do you really think the Tidat kingdom would speak Japanese like us? And are you guys able to speak English fluently?"
The whole group fell silent, knowing full well their limitations on a second language. Only a few of them could do so.
"Not to mention the Tidat kingdom is a war zone. When Freya was rescued, it was still inside the city, where Yami had to be careful not to expose themselves. There is no such limitation at the Tidat kingdom. In addition, I wouldn't be able to have the Zanshin Taisha Ryu to support you lot in case of emergencies."
"Then what can we do?" asked Freya in frustration.
"Believe," sighed Niijima, "Ryozanpaku won't take this lying around either."
"Easy for you to say," scowled Kisara, "You don't even look worried."
Niijima remained silent before turning back towards his private room without a word.
"See, he-" began Kisara, only to stop when Siegfried held up his hand.
"Falala, my Demon Lord is also worried. The musical tone around him has turned rather furious and depressed. But instead of moping, he has channeled that energy towards doing something constructive he can do. From what I can tell, he's been expanding his information network and influence much more rapidly so as to deal with Yami when the time comes," sang Siegfried.
"I didn't want to say anything, but when I was passing by his room, I heard things crashing onto the floor as well as some sort of eldritch chant. I was too frightened to even ask if he was alright," admitted Thor.
"Then what do we do now?" asked Ukita helplessly.
"We get stronger," replied Takeda fiercely, "Stronger so we don't have to sit on the sidelines again."
The others nodded in agreement, using their despair to fuel their training and effort to overcome this trial.
"It might help if you lot studied a bit more too," added Chikage, who had come with Sho, "Otherwise, the language barrier will really hinder you."
Those words stabbed through most of them, causing them to spin in shock and spit out blood. Out of all of them, only Freya, Siegfried, and Niijima were capable of communicating in another language.
'Day number… Something' thought Kenichi to himself as he continued to breathe while chained up to a wall, 'How long have I been here?'
Kenichi was in some sort of dungeon he didn't recognize, completely secured to a wall while a candle burned in front of him. He had refused any food or medicine from his warden, causing them to try to force it into his throat. Still, he refused to submit.
Yet, it felt like it was getting harder and harder to control his will. Sometimes, his eyes blurred, unable to register what was happening before he shook his head to clear it up.
'Can't… fall into a trance… like Miu did,' thought Kenichi as he kept his will up.
Outside, Jenazed grinned at his newest 'disciple' with his mask off, revealing a young face that did not belong to a man over 90.
"Such focus and strength of will. Even with the medicine, he refuses to give into the darkness. Even with my 'kind' face, he refused to believe in me. Almost as if he knows who I really was. But even the strongest of steel will rust and bend to me," murmured Jenazad to himself, glancing at the candle.
The candle itself had a chemical makeup that hypnotized people who continued to breathe its fumes. It was a slow process, but a necessary one as Jenazad didn't want to wipe Kenichi's mind and start from scratch. Something in his instincts told him that it was a bad idea, and he trusted it.
"Still, it will be sweet when he becomes the antithesis of his Katsujinken," grinned Jenazad as he bit into persimmon, "Speaking of which, my spies should have information on where the other brat is."
Meanwhile, with Miu, she was currently meditating, following Kushinada's teachings for the moment. A second later, Miu felt herself being lifted into the air. She felt as if her legs were jumping on her own without her input before she managed to forcefully disengage from what was throwing her.
"Good, good, you're learning fast," commented Kushinada, "This is Kushinida style Jiujitsu, where we use 100% skill and no strength. Unlike other Jiujitsu styles, it doesn't require a person to build up unnecessary muscles so as to throw the opponent. By utilizing Ki attacks and feints, along with key understanding of your opponent's center of gravity and their next moves, there is no need for power. By skill alone, we dominate our opponent's body."
"Yes… Grandma," murmured Miu.
Kushinada's hand twitched for a second before schooling her face.
"During our lessons, you must call me 'Sensei'," scolded Kushinada lightly, "Continue meditating while strengthening your toes."
"Yes, Sensei," nodded Miu as she went to meditate, putting Go pieces on the Go board with her toes.
Kushinda left the room, going to a private room before taking a deep breath, her whole facial expression morphing once more.
"It's like living a dream where Hayate chose me instead of that bitch," fluttered Kushinada, imagining Miu to be her real granddaughter. She quickly pushed her emotions down, ready to check up on Chikage. It wouldn't be fair to shift all her attention away from her adopted daughter, after all.
Sho was cleaning up his desk, readying for his trip to Tidat Kingdom. Despite Ryozanpaku not having the same financial power as Yami, he was still amazed how Akisame's influence could let Miu, Kenichi, and his absence be excused for some sort of education trip.
"Sho, are you leaving?" asked Izumi, suddenly appearing beside Sho's desk with her hands behind her.
Sho almost jumped away in shock before calming his nerves. Somehow, Izumi could always slip into his sphere of awareness despite his best efforts.
"Yea, just for a bit. Got some stuff happening back at home that I need to take care of," sighed Sho, scratching the back of his head.
"You'll be back, right?" asked Izumi.
"Errr," hesitated Sho, "Depending on the circumstances, most likely?" He couldn't exactly guarantee that due to the fact they would be heading into the Demon God Fist's territory, where all his supporters were more likely ready to kill.
"Oh," said Izumi, seeming sad for a little before cheering up, "In that case, a gift for you!"
Izumi brought out a potted plant containing a blooming flower Sho not native to Japan.
"Hey, this looks like a bird!" exclaimed Sho.
"This is Strelitzia reginae, otherwise known as the bird of paradise flower. It symbolizes paradise and freedom," explained Izumi, shocking Sho a bit at the symbolism, "I've noticed that you tended to stare up in the sky longingly, and you always seem excited to see any sort of bird. So I figured that you always liked freedom, so I thought this plant would be perfect for you. It's not too difficult to take care of either."
When Izumi looked up, she saw Sho remaining silent, the bangs covering his eyes.
"Did I… assume too much? I'm sorry, I'll take this plant back. I should've asked before I went and got this," sniffed Izumi as she went to take back her gift when Sho suddenly clasped his hands over hers.
"I love it!" exclaimed Sho excitedly, "This looks so cool! I've read and saw pictures of this, but I never really gave it some thought until now! Thanks!"
Sho then noticed Izumi slowly turning red before looking down and realizing that his hands were clasped around hers.
"Oh, shoot! Sorry, was I too forward?" asked Sho as slightly blushed.
"No, no, it's alright," blushed Izumi.
Both of them stood there for quite some time, not letting go of each other's hands until the bell began to ring, signaling the end of class.
"So why can't we just call in a private jet?" asked Sho as he sat in an airplane, not used to sitting in economy class. Every time he had flown, it had always been a private jet with first-class amenities.
"Because Ryozanpaku isn't rich like you lot in Yami," growled Sakaki, "Now shut up and take a nap, or I'll make you take one."
"Shutting up," replied Sho automatically.
He had noticed that as they were getting closer and closer to Tidat, Sakaki's mood grew worse. No doubt it was because he was worried about Kenichi.
Despite the trackers they had placed in Kenichi's and Miu's mouth, the satellite that Niijima was piggybacking off of wasn't giving him a clear signal, due to environmental interference. Luckily, he had made two receivers for each tracker. Sakaki would take Kenichi's while the Elder took Miu's. So far, the only clue they had for Miu was that she was still in Japan for some reason.
Soon, they made it into the Tidat Kingdom, where Sakaki took the lead on the search. His keen and sharp instinct soon had them both arriving at a local pub.
"Err, you don't just happen to want a drink, do you?" asked Sho.
"Idiot, this is a prime place to get information," scoffed Sakaki, "You're aware of the status of this place, right?"
"Since Jihan died, some of the military and royalty aren't supportive of the latest successor, Jihan's sister, Radin Tidat Lona, there's been talk of a civil war," nodded Sho.
"Good, good. Now the thing with civil wars is…" started Sakaki before opening the doors to the pub to reveal a bunch of foreign mercenaries, "Is that mercenaries from all over flock to it to make some money."
"And with that, they're bound to have information about the target!" concluded Sho, "But only if they're willing to give it to us."
"Now then, it's time to show you how to get information from people like this lot. There's a certain etiquette to it," explained Sakaki as he quickly approached the bar, ordering two beers.
'Is he going to get them drunk so they spill more information?' thought Sho as he watched Sakaki approach one of the mercenaries, 'I suppose it's one way, but it'll be a slow process.'
His hypothesis was completely thrown out the window when Sakaki dumped a beer onto the mercenary's head while drinking the other cup with his left hand.
"I'm in a shit mood, so you better tell me everything I want to know," growled Sakaki.
The mercenaries in the bar tried to attack Sakaki, only for Sakaki to obliterate them with a few moves, smashing the empty jug into someone's head, all while still sipping on his beer. With all but one still conscious, Sakaki slammed his right fist into the table, instantly breaking it in half in front of the conscious mercenary.
"Now, I won't order you to tell me anything… but if you want to tell me something, I don't mind listening," threatened Sakaki, one of his eyes glowing with Ki as a shadow covered half of his body.
"I would be very pleased if you listened, sir!" gulped the mercenary.
'That makes more sense,' thought Sho, though still a bit shocked at how violent Sakaki went at this.
There wasn't much information from the said mercenary, though. There had been no signs of another Japanese foreigner running around, and anything dealing with Jenazad was only met with fear.
"According to legend, Jenazad fought against western invaders, saving the country single-handedly. Over here, he's revered as a god," commented Sho.
"Tch, nothing that I already knew. Let's hit the next place," scoffed Sakaki as Sho followed him.
While following him, Sho looked down to his arms, where he was currently wearing Kenichi's gauntlets. He swore that he would return these to their rightful owner, but until then, he would be carrying it. His hand touched his pocket, remembering the Yin-Yang pin inside there too. For some reason, the masters of Ryozanpaku told him to carry this with him. Though a cheap pin, Sho shrugged as he took it with him. It had to mean something to Kenichi for him to wear it all the time.
He suddenly paused, his eyes narrowing as he sensed someone following them.
"Come on out," demanded Sho, turning around to where he sensed others.
A second later, a sandaled-foot stepped out into the light, followed by the rest of the body to reveal Spartacus of the Pankration team from DFOD.
"Aren't you Fortuna's ex-son?" asked Sho, "What are you doing here?"
"I was told that Shirahama Kenichi was in trouble," replied Spartacus, "So I volunteered to help and hopped onto the next plane here. The others wanted to come, but I forbade them."
"Well, if it isn't another one of the brats," chuckled Sakaki, "Aren't you a little young to be coming to a hot zone like this by yourself?"
Spartacus shook his head, "I came here with my guardian. She's actually just over there in the local mart, getting some items."
Sakaki froze up on that. Quickly running through his memory, he recalled Spartacus and his siblings ending up following Jennifer Gray, his 'supposed' fiance, back to America to help them get back onto their feet. So if Spartacus was here, that meant….
"Alright, gotta go!" gulped Sakaki as he quickly picked up Sho by the scruff of his shirt.
"Hold it right there, Shio!" shouted a voice, followed by a gunshot that landed right in front of Sakaki.
"Oh, dammit, why are you here?" muttered Sakaki as he turned around to see Jennifer holding a Desert Eagle at him.
"My charge here got a damn message from the Shinpaku Alliance about what happened to Kenichi, and he refused to do anything else unless he was allowed to help rescue him," snarked Jennifer as she marched up to Sakaki, "That damn alien of yours is a real pain in the ass."
Then her facial features softened, "Then again, nobody deserves to be held hostage by Silkwat Jenazad. Not to mention, it allowed me to see you again."
"That's nice, so can you let me go now?" asked Sho grumpily, causing Sakaki to drop him.
"Fine, are there any other surprises that I should be waiting for?" asked Sakaki up in the air.
A few seconds passed as Choju Giga animals scuttered around them until…
"Well, guess that's it then," shrugged Sakaki, "Now onto the next pub."
"He's just asking for it," muttered Jennifer as she motioned Sho and Spartacus to follow.
Later that night
"You had to jinx it!" shouted Jennifer as she ducked behind a wall, avoiding enemy fire.
"You kids, get down and protect yourselves!" shouted Sakaki as he charged forward, weaving past the bullets.
"Tch, these guys aren't that well-trained," scoffed Sho as he dodged a stray shot before rushing towards another mercenary who had been trying to flank them. Sho immediately kneed the mercenary in the stomach before kicking him in the head, sending him unconscious.
"Alright, let's see why these punks attacked us," grunted Sakaki as he lifted one of the attackers up.
"All I wanted to do was get some info on the Demon God Fist Jenazad, and what do I get? A damn bullet storm! That's enough to make the normally gentle me go berserk!" threatened Sakaki.
'Gentle?' thought Jennifer, Sho, and Spartacus simultaneously.
"So you going to tell me why you normal village type people are carrying around these toys that's usually carried around by mercenaries?" continued Sakaki.
"To us, the citizens of Tidat, Lord Jenazad is a hero! There's not a soul who would betray him! All hail Lord Jenazad!" praised the attacker as he pulled out a hand grenade, pulling the pin and ready to take out Sakaki with him.
"Gimme that," grunted Sakaki, confiscating the grenade before pulling the metal pin that contained the flint and other vital parts apart from the grenade.
The attacker could only look in shock at that before Sakaki threatened to do the same to his neck.
"Why does it feel like we took out a whole village just to find some information?" questioned Sho.
"Because we might have just done that," replied Spartacus, brushing the dust off him.
"So, you gonna finally show yourself now?" asked Sakaki towards the general area.
A second later, Sham, the maid of Jihan revealed herself. None of them recognized her until she explained to them that she was Jihan's maid who saw that Jenazad had killed Jihan, and that she wanted them to meet a certain person connected to Jenazad.
Sakaki and Jennifer looked at each other before nodding in agreement, following Sham, who guided the four into the ruins of the old capital.
"Not bad. To think you'd get this close without me noticing your presence," commented Sakaki, surprising the other three before they felt a presence too.
Quickly reacting, Jennifer and Spartacus threw themselves to the side while Sho and Sakaki turned to meet their opponents, ducking under a sword slash. Sakaki caught his opponent's Javanese kris, only for him to let go to draw another weapon immediately.
Sho parried a thrust, grabbing the opposing arm wielding a hidden weapon before stepping in close, his foot right behind hers. Then, utilizing Pencak Silat, Sho tackled his opponent's chest and into the ground, quickly snaking himself behind her and grabbing her arm behind her, ready to dislocate it if necessary.
"Princess!" shouted Sham in worry as she began to run towards Sho's opponent.
The weapons master looked over to the disciple's fight with worry. Sakaki took advantage of that distraction, landing a punch that the weapons master managed to block, though not before blowing off his feet and into a tree.
"You know, if you don't have any motivation old man, you should call it quits," drawled Sakaki as he watched the weapons master kip-up himself back on his feet.
"What do you mean by that?" accused the weapons master with a glare, "What an odd thing to say."
"Heh, you looking down on me?" scoffed Sakaki, "You hardly have any intent to strike at me."
Seconds passed before the weapons master finally laughed out loud, sheathing his sword behind his back.
"Hahaha, so you found me out? I expected nothing less from one of the famous masters of Ryozanpaku. That was, indeed, very rude of me. I am Batuan," introduced the weapons master, "Now, if I could, please have the young man let go of his opponent. Otherwise, I will be very displeased and introduce my blade to his arms."
Sakaki glanced over to Sho and nodded, who responded by gently pushing his opponent away from him.
"Princess, are you alright?" asked Sham worriedly.
"It's a first to see someone other than my people practice Pencak Silat. As expected of the leader of Yomi, whom my brother was in," coughed the princess as she stood up, removing her hood, "I apologize for my behavior earlier. I had to find out the level of strength you had, and the willingness to oppose Jenazad. I am Radin Tidat Lona, the younger sister of Jihan, and the legitimate successor to the throne of the Tidat Kingdom. I hereby request you to be our allies. I believe we have similar motives."
They soon moved into the old ruins, where Lona sat on a throne looking down at them. Sham and Batuan kneeled in respect to Londa while Spartacus and Jennifer bowed in respect. Sho and Sakaki merely stood there, standing tall, much to Batuan's irritation. He tried to force them to bow, with Jennifer hissing it was impolite to not at least bow to a ruling monarch, but Sakaki stood his ground. Batuan only stopped when Lona told him she didn't mind it at all. Sham was insulted when Sakaki asked why Lona was living in an old dilapidated fortress instead of luxury, but a stare from Sakaki made her cower. Sadly, Sakaki hadn't even been trying to glare, but his natural looks made him very intimidating to little children.
There, the trio explained to the group about the current situation of Tidat, and how Jenazad ascended to his title as a hero and Demon God Fist of Tidat. How even though Jenazad achieved peace for his country, he was unhappy with such a thing, and so began to turn his subordinates against each other before finishing them off himself. Soon, respect for him turned to fear, though they still praised him for pushing back the UN forces when the kingdom had no real military forces yet.
"I heard that you have come here to retrieve a person he had kidnapped, correct? Then we should fight together for we share a common foe," suggested Lohan.
"You say all that, but it doesn't feel like you're a legitimate successor," shrugged Sakaki, shocking Spartacus and Sho at his bluntness, "Those mercenaries you hired are mere decorations, and you reside in this crumbling castle. If you're thinking about using us for your struggle for power, then I refuse, lil' princess."
Sham shouted at him for such impudence, only to cower once more as Sakaki turned his glare at her.
"True, when my brother fell in the foreign lands, Jenazad's influence grew more and more," confessed Lohan, "Now, his followers hold all the power in this land while I'm left with this castle."
"But it isn't power that her highness wants," explained Batuan quickly, "Jenazad has planted the seeds of conflict in this country! He despises peace as he believes it doesn't make use of his strength. But if he does this, then the people will be in danger. The princess is worried about her citizens and doesn't want them to be dragged into this conflict. However, if the citizens began to gather under her banner, then I fear Jenazad will kill her as he did with Jihan. Peace had been almost achieved under the elder brother's rule until Jenazad came into the picture. I am sure that my master, who once belonged to the Armed Division of Yami, who fought with Jenazad back-to-back, was killed by him in his descent to madness! Though I desire to avenge him, I know my strength is far from being able to touch him."
With that, Batuan pushed his pride away and kneeled to Sakaki, "I wish to borrow the strength of the famous Ryozanpaku."
Before anyone could respond, Lohan pushed herself off her chair, taking her crown off.
"Batuan, raise your head. There is only one person that needs to lower their head."
Without hesitation, Lohan kneeled down before Sakaki, bowing her head.
"Once this fight is over, if I still live, then I swear I will not try to succeed the throne by force," swore Lohan.
"Shio, you are helping this lady!" demanded Jennifer, pulling on Sakaki's arm, "Otherwise, I'll… I'll…"
"Alright already, don't look at me as if I'm the bad guy," groaned Sakaki, "Let's fight together."
Jennifer smiled at Sakaki's declaration. Despite his rough looks and attitude, he was still a kind person underneath that exterior.
While Lohan smiled at that, Sakaki suddenly turned around, "Though if we're going to fight him...:"
In an instant, he punched the wall next to Batuan, who jumped aside in surprise at his sudden movement.
"You need to be more careful," stated Sakaki as the wall crumbled to reveal a man jumping back from Sakaki's thrust. Without hesitation, the man jumped into the jungle to flee.
"Was that a spy? We must chase after him!" shouted Batuan.
While Sho and Spartacus had been ready to chase after him, Sakaki shook his head, "Don't bother. He's probably been trained in speed, and with the jungle being his homeground, we'd just lose him. We'll wait for the proper opportunity. Now let's get to another location."
Jenazad stood over the arena, looking down with a slight frown. In the arena stood Kenichi, his eyes empty as he practiced Supreme Silat. He had the basics down thanks to his body and knowledge of other martial arts, but when it came to the more advanced techniques, Kenichi was lagging on that.
'Not the genius I was exactly hoping for,' thought Jenazad, but merely shrugged. Kenichi's family history had shown no known martial artists at all. A few sharpshooters from the father's side, but nothing of value.
Another thing was that trying to 'stain' this 'white cloth' was proving to be a lot harder than he thought. Despite all the mind-controlling medication and fumes, Kenichi refused to kill. It was as if he was a coward at heart when it came to life.
'Still, he does have superior Ki control when compared to a lot of grandmasters,' thought Jenazad to himself, consoling himself at that point. Especially that last kick that had hit him in the ribs. He had spent a good day recovering, even with all the secret medicine that Tidat had to offer. Jenazad couldn't help but prod his ribs, still feeling a bit sore at the spot. At the very least, he was forcing Kenichi to use Seidou Goitsu more often now.
"Skills and physical strength can come with time, but mental fortitude and character aren't something that can be easily changed," muttered Jenazad to himself, "So all the sweeter when they finally breakthrough."
"My lord, we have a report from our spies in Japan," reported one of his followers, suddenly appearing before him, "We have found the girl, and are currently extracting her."
"Oh? So easily? Is Bewitching Fist not there?" asked Jenazad with curiosity.
"She is currently occupied by the Invincible Superman himself. Additionally, it seems the Kuremisago has also sent a few over," replied the spy.
"Hoo? I am quite curious how Hayato found her, but nonetheless, excellent work. Perhaps this girl will be the final piece that will break this boy, or prove a replacement for him as a more suitable disciple," grinned Jenazad.
Meanwhile, back in Japan
Kushinada-ryu Sen-Nen-Naga (Kushinada 1000 year throw)
A gigantic silhouette of Kushinada formed behind Kushinada herself before it mimicked her movements. Kushinada slammed her palm into the ground, forming multiple copies of her arms and hand that sprouted from the ground which she stood.
"What the hell is this!?" shouted a Kuremisago master.
The Kuremisago sent three masters to Kushinada's private residence where she was housing Miu and demanded her back. Kushinada refused, stating that she was still in the middle of training and 'brainwashing' Miu. The Kuremisago didn't take kindly to that, insisting that Miu come back with them to assume her rightful place as 'holy maiden' of Kuremisago when the Elder suddenly barged into the conversation quite literally by suddenly showing up out of nowhere.
The Kuremisago quickly assumed that Kushinada had betrayed them or was a double agent and attacked her. Which of course led to this current situation.
"Release your Ki! Those hands can't affect us if you let your Ki explode and fight against it!" shouted another master.
That overconfidence cost him as he found himself being grappled into the ground despite his suggestion. Before Kushinada could use the Ki arms to snap the trio's neck, the Elder swooped in.
Fuurinji Rescue!
The Elder grabbed the three masters, breaking them out of Kushinada's grip.
"Naive! Now's our chance!" shouted one of the masters, trying to attack the Elder.
"Ungrateful brat," snorted the Elder as he tossed the three of them into the trees head first, knocking them out.
"Now we have the interlopers out of the way… Where is my granddaughter, Mikumo!" shouted the Elder, his eyes glowing with Ki.
"Always in such a rush," scoffed Kushinada, "We haven't seen each other in how many years, and you don't even have the courtesy to greet me properly."
While she stated that, the Ki arms began to travel towards the Elder, who shrugged them off with ease.
"Enough, I have no time for games," growled the Elder as he shoved right through the mass of Ki limbs, grabbing Kushinada by the arms and holding her close to him, "I want my granddaughter back!"
Seeing the Elder so close to her face, along with Miu calling her grandmother that caused deep fantasy long forgotten to suddenly spark, made Kushinada shout something that shocked her and the Elder.
"She's my granddaughter too!" shouted Kushinada.
The two of them stared at each other as time ticked by, with Choju Giga bunnies hopping all over the place.
"I mean… She's currently training under me," blushed Kushinada, trying to recover from her sudden confession.
"Ok…" drawled the Elder slowly, "But she's not your granddaughter."
"But she could be," whispered Kushinada, drawing closer to the Elder, "Don't you remember all the times we had, that passion, those hot fires blazing between the two of us when we fought together?"
"Those 'hot fires' were fortresses and tanks that we destroyed!" swore the Elder, pushing Kushinada away.
"So you say, but there was a time when our bodies were intertwined with each other," breathed out Kushinada, "Don't you remember the one night in that cave. Our naked bodies pushing against each other, our breaths becoming one."
"You were suffering from hypothermia as well as bleeding from a reckless encounter with another grandmaster, and the only way to keep you alive was to share body heat," coughed the Elder, "Stop trying to give such misleading ideas!"
"Aha! So the granddaughter the Invincible Superman is also the granddaughter of the Bewitching Fist!" accused a voice out loud.
"I thought you knocked them out?" frowned Kushinada as the two of them turned towards the still conscious master.
"Apparently not hard enough," growled the Elder as he swiftly let go of Kushinada, suddenly appearing behind the master.
Shockwave of Forgetfulness
In an instant, the master forgot what had happened in the past 10 minutes.
"Now then, back to the more import-" started the Elder, only for Kushinada to suddenly attack him.
Kushinda hurled him to the ground, only for the Elder to quickly brace himself. He was ready to bounce back onto his feet when he saw Kushinda use a move that was… tactfully questionable.
In short, she threw herself on top of the Elder, straddling over the Elder's waist.
"Indeed, the important part," purred Kushinda, "Even though you say that, you can't say you didn't… enjoy it."
"Alright, that's enough," commanded the Elder sternly as he swiftly flipped over, pushing Kushinada into the ground, towering over her, "What's gotten into you? You were never this pushy in the past. Even after my wife died, you neve pursued me this badly."
He was tempted to ask if menopause was the cause of this, but opted to not say that out loud.
"...alled me grandmother," muttered Kushinada shyly.
"Say that again?" asked the Elder.
"She called me grandmother, all right!?" blushed Kushinada, her whole face red, "Your granddaughter didn't lose all of her memories, but she still doesn't remember a lot of things. She still recognizes you, but when she saw a photo of me draping myself over you, she… assumed I was her grandmother. And I… didn't bother to correct her."
"And by doing so, it played into your fantasy and bleed over," groaned the Elder, "You really should get a grip on reality."
"You're not helping with our current position," replied Kushinada.
The Elder looked down and noticed he still had Kushinada pinned down, his body towering over hers while her legs were parted. Not to mention her kimono, which had always been loose that it showcased her impressive cleavage, was now pulled down so that it barely covered her chest at all, with the pink areola around the top of her nipple showing. Not to mention the mentioned part was now standing stiff.
"If she hadn't fallen to the path of Satsujinken, would you have dated her? Mom told me to tell you to remarry if she passed away earlier than you."
The Elder groaned as his son's question came back when they watched Miu and Kenichi's play came biting back. He wasn't ashamed to admit the Kushinada was a beautiful woman, and even after all these years, she had barely changed besides her chest growing larger than before and her hair was much longer. And the said woman was now throwing herself onto him thanks to his granddaughter mistaking her as her grandmother.
Suddenly remembering about Miu, the Elder shoved these thoughts aside as well as pushing himself back to his feet, ignoring Kushinada's small whimper before pulling out the receiver for Miu's tracker. He had been extensively tutored by Niijima how to use it so he wouldn't accidentally break it.
"Is that a tracker? You put a transmitter on your granddaughter?" asked Kushinada as she adjusted her wardrobe malfunction, though she didn't really mind, "How did you even get the money for that?
"Ever since Silkwat tried to kidnap Kenichi the first time," replied the Elder, "We put it in somewhere you wouldn't find it easily, not that you'd expect it."
"It was the Shinpaku Alliance, wasn't it?" questioned Kushinada. She had heard about the young martial arts group that was starting to make waves, but none of them expected them to have any real financial power. Kushinada, however, suspected that not all was what it seemed, especially with who was leading the group. The boy named Haruno Niijima exhibited no martial art skills at all, and yet was able to gather others, meaning the boy had talents in other fields, with finance being one of them.
The Elder didn't bother responding, but instead, held the receiver up high. He frowned when he saw the dot moving very fast.
"Is she training in your private dojo over there?" asked the Elder, pointing in the direction of the transmitter.
"No, it's that way," replied Kushinada, pointing left to where the Elder pointed out.
In an instant, they figured out something was wrong.
"Chikage!" shouted Kushinada in concern, realizing that someone might have attacked where Miu and Chikage were while the two were distracted with each other and the Kuremisago clan.
"Go, I'll get my granddaughter!" ordered the Elder, his knees already bending down.
In an instant, the two launched themselves forward, leaving a crater in their wake.
Kushinada rushed into her dojo, checking every room until….
"Ah, master!" exclaimed Chikage nervously, swiftly putting the magazine of sweets she had been looking at under her zabuton, making it seem like she was training her toes by placing go pieces on the board behind her, "What brings you-"
Without warning, Chikage found herself being hugged by Kushinada.
"Wh-wh-wh?" stuttered Chikage, only for Kushinada to quickly let go before assuming her usually stoic face.
"I felt intruders coming in while I was dealing with some brats outside," said Kushinada, looking out the window.
"Why would they come here?" asked Chikage curiously, "If not for me or you, then who else?"
"It is… not something you need to know," replied Kushinada as she closed the window. She had never told Chikage that she had kidnapped Miu, and had always placed them far away from each other.
Chikage looked at her master with suspicion before pushing it away, opting to meditate instead.
The Elder quickly rushed towards where the tracker was, quickly catching up to the dot that he saw on the screen. Just as he burst out of the bushes, he saw Miu knocked unconscious and already being strapped into a seat in a cargo plane that had already lifted off with its backside still open.
[Distract him for Lord Jenazad!] shouted the pilot as he gunned the engine.
[We offer our lives to him!] shouted the loyal minions as they charged at the Elder without care.
The Elder counted 5 people before noticing that not only were they grandmasters, but their eyes and Ki were devoid of regular human emotion. Instead, they attacked, putting their lives at risk without caring about themselves.
"Tch, I don't have time for this," growled the Elder as he began to fight the insane masters, recognizing the style they used was Supreme Silat. The Elder managed to incapacitate them all without any risk to their lives, but the plane was long gone by then.
"Damn you Silkwat," growled the Elder as he pulled out a mobile Nokia phone that Niijima had supplied him with, "Let's see, he said to just hold the two button until the screen changes."
Not knowing he had speed-dialed Niijima, he held the phone up to his ears and heard the phone start to ring until….
"How'd it go?" asked Niijima swiftly, "Any idea why Miu was still in Japan?"
"Apparently Mikumi had taken Miu and trained her, only to be kidnapped by Silkwat's agents. They're most likely headed to Tidat kingdom with her now," replied the Elder.
"Tch, then it's time for Plan D," growled Niijima, "I've got a private plane booked for Tidat in 22 hours. I'm sending someone with you. I'm sure you'll recognize him when you see him. Meet back at Ryozanpaku."
With that, Niijima hung up, causing the Elder to look up in the sky.
"Kenichi, Miu, don't give up hope. We'll be there to save you soon," swore the Elder as he rushed back to Ryozanpaku.
Back with Niijima, he walked into a rather famous ramen shop that had exploded in popularity with Siegfried behind him. He had, of course, bought shares before it had changed into a chain store, then to a successful trading company. The original store, however, was still in its original spot as the owner still liked to cook, though the store itself had from a single floor to a three-story building.
"Welcome to our restaurant! Do you have a reservation?" asked the greeter. Due to its popularity, they were only serving people with reservations.
"Yes, one VIP room and a meeting with the COO of the company," nodded Niijma, "Should be under Shinpaku Alliance?"
"Ah yes, the COO has been expecting you. Please follow our waitress here," nodded the greeter as a waitress appeared.
The waitress guided them to the second floor before stopping in front of an impressively designed door.
"Our COO is right inside, please do come in," said the waitress as she opened the door.
Inside the neatly designed Tidat style room was Raden Tidat Jihan, wearing a suit.
"Please, help yourself," smiled Jihan as he waived to the steaming bowls, "I took the liberty of ordering for us since you already gave us your preference. Along with this mysterious alien drink you love and a bottle of the finest champagne. So what can I do for one of our biggest shareholders of our company?"
"Well Mr. Tadan," began Niijima, using the fake name that Jihan had come up with, "I wanted you to see if you recognize this photo."
Siegfried immediately took out a photo from somewhere and tossed it towards Jihan, who easily snatched it out of midair. Taking a look, he slightly stiffened as he saw a picture of a Goberian. How could he forget the rescue dog that had found him and given him supplies to get off the mountain?
"What an interesting dog," hummed Jihan with a convincing smile, "Is this perhaps one of your pets?"
"You could say that. He was trained as a rescue dog," grinned Niijima as he clasped his fingers together, "In fact, you could say the two of you share a history together. Isn't that right….. Crowned prince of Tidat, Raden Tidat Jihan."
Immediately Jihan leapt back, assuming a Pencak Silat stance.
"Are you Yami?" hissed Jihan, "I won't go down that easily!"
"Calm down, we're not from Yami," said Niijima as he waived Siegfried down from attacking, "We're the Shinpaku Alliance, an ally of Ryozanpaku. My loyal Siegfried is the owner of the Goberian who aided you. And I'm sure you noticed when you made it down the mountain the tracking device that Kenichi planted on you just in case."
"A tracking device!?" breathed out Jihan nervously. He had never noticed such a thing. He quickly racked his mind until a memory suddenly flashed before his eyes.
Flashback
"Hey Tadan, I found something on your clothes. It looks like some sort of small metal piece. Is it yours and is it important?" asked the wife of the ramen owner.
Jihan had been taking a shower when the wife asked about it and replied from the shower, "Is it gold-colored?"
"No, it looks gray, like a metal piece," replied the wife.
"Then it's not mine, you can toss it," shrugged Jihan, putting it out of his mind.
Flashback ends
"I see you remember it now," grinned Niijima, "Which means, you owe me, prince."
Jihan growled, "Then what do you want? Money? Power? Fame?"
"What I want…. is you to go back to your kingdom and reclaim your throne," said Niijima.
Jihan could only blink at that condition until Niijima began to explain what was going on with his kingdom. At the mention that his younger sister was in danger from Jenazad as well as a coup being formed, Jihan resolved to head back.
"But why?" asked Jihan suspiciously, "What's in it for you?"
"What could be more important than rescuing my two best friends?" said Niijima with a whimsical tone.
"There is more to this, alien," snarled Jihan, "I know your kind. I spent my life around advisers who offered help, but underneath their faces was a cunning snake waiting to sink their fangs into my family's power. Only a few are truly willing to help others without reward, and you are definitely not one of them."
"Hmm, I suppose that's true," grinned Niijima before taking a sip of his alien soda, "That type is for Kenichi. I'm here to make sure that he doesn't suffer too much losses. The other thing I want is….. to be able to invest in Tidat's foreign trade. Especially in medicine. I want Tidat to supply the Shinpaku alliance with medicine."
"How do you know about my country's hidden secret?" hissed Jihan, "The world has never known about how superior our medicine is with the plants grown there."
"Let's just say I'm well-connected and am willing to keep silent about it to avoid foreign powers from trying to procure it," grinned Niijima.
Jihan sighed as he sat down, trying to think of a way to maneuver this discussion to more favorable terms.
"I need to think about it," said Jihan as he pulled a bowl of ramen to him. It wouldn't do to let the ramen cool down.
"Alright, but decide fast. I have a plane ready to fly you to Tidat, and I'll have a bodyguard that even Jenazad is hesitant to act out against," warned Niijima as he pulled his bowl to himself.
At this, Jihan couldn't help but become more interested.
Back at Tidat, Sakaki and the others had relocated to a deeper part of the forest, where a small lake with a waterfall was. This was where Lohan usually bathed due to its clean atmosphere and water. As Batuan introduced the mercenaries willing to help the princess, Sakaki's eyes narrowed on the portly man with glasses named John.
As the two passed by each other, Sakaki slid a USB stick into John's hand. In that instant, John flicked the USB up into his sleeve without anyone even noticing.
"Still got that disguise even in this timeline," whispered Sakaki.
"Nobody has seen through it, so there's no point in changing it. Not to mention this is the first time I've gone as Mr. John," replied the disguised Saiga Furinji before reverting to his 'usual' John behavior.
As the group began to settle down, Sho couldn't help but stare at John.
"What's wrong, brat?" asked Sakaki as he poked holes into a coconut before passing it to Jennifer to drink out of it.
"That mercenary… I feel like he's not what he seems," mumbled Sho.
"Good instincts," complimented Jennifer, "I can't seem to place it, but I also feel something is off. But from what, I can't tell."
"If it helps, I feel like we can trust him," offered Spartacus.
"Good eye, all of you," grinned Sakaki, "But don't worry. If he does mean to harm us, I'll kick his ass."
Meanwhile, Saiga was uploading the data from the USB stick into his own receiver. Due to traveling to another country, Sakaki couldn't bring a receiver into Tidat, as the risk of it being confiscated was too high. Instead, Niijima gave Sakaki the USB stick which contained all the information needed to track Kenichi's tracker as well as Miu's.
Saiga had snuck into Tidat through his own connections, meaning that he could sneak in all the equipment that was needed. All he needed was the information from Niijima. Niijima would have passed it earlier to him, but time constraints, as well as other various obstacles, hindered them from meeting.
"C'mon… Got it!" grinned Saiga as Kenichi's location was finally revealed to them. At the same time, the computer connected to a secure satellite connection pinged, allowing Saiga to know a message had arrived. Quickly looking at it, he almost lost control as he saw that Miu had been kidnapped by Jenazad's men, though he was curious why Kushinada had Miu for the while.
"This just got more complicated," sighed Saiga.
A day passed as the group rested, ready for Jenazad to make a move. They didn't have to wait long when Bataun quickly reported that Jenazad had attacked Nuchald's fortress, who had allied with him for more power.
"Geez, attacking his own allies?" groaned Sho, "Why would he do that?"
"This is madness!" growled Spartacus, unable to fathom how someone could betray another so easily.
"That is what defines the man named Jenazad," growled Bataun, "He has no interest in a stable country, but what rather fan the flames of war so he can massacre all those around him."
"In that case, he has to be stopped!" declared Spartacus as he stood up, "If he is here, then he must know the whereabouts of Kenichi!"
"We can't just rush out there without any preparation," warned Jennifer, cocking her pistol.
"That may be true… but I'm a man who prefers to take action!" grinned Sakaki as he rushed forward, punching through the wall as the others followed him.
"That idiot," sighed Jennifer as she quickly followed up.
Lohan's heart broke when she saw soldiers of Tidat killing each other, all for Jenazad's wish. A young boy who couldn't have been much older than Lohan tried to shoot at one of Jenazad's soldiers, only to hit the bulletproof mask. The masked man tried to attack him, only for Lohan to intervene, pleading them to stop.
Inspired by Lohan's courage, Spartacus stepped forward to protect Lohan. Lohan was momentarily surprised by this action, but appreciated his concern.
"Hahaha, I like what I'm hearing! Let's save every bastard in the fortress. You okay with that, princess?" laughed Sakaki.
"Please do, I beg of you," replied Lohan as she pulled out her kris.
Of course, they could each sense that there were quite a few master class fighters surrounding them. Despite them achieving such a goal, they were all still pupils under Jenazad, as he ruled over them all.
"Not to belittle anything, but can you handle all of them without killing?" asked Sho as he turned to face one of them.
"Maybe, but the worst backup just arrived," stated Sakaki.
Before any of them could register that, Sakaki moved, kicking one of the opponents in the knee. The opponent stumbled back, but before he could get up, Hongo suddenly appeared, smashing his knife hand into his stomach.
"Master!" shouted Sho in happiness that he was alright.
Hongo frowned as he pulled his fist out of the man's stomach. He had meant to kill him, but Sakaki had interfered and saved the man…somewhat. Though he was pleased to see Sho healthy once more. From the helicopter he had leaped off of, Hayama and Seto were quickly trying to land to help Sho.
"Listen up, Hongo! This is my war, so if you kill someone in front of me, I won't forgive you!" shouted Sakaki.
"Like I care," retorted Hongo.
In an instant, the two of them went on the attack, obliterating the enemy masters. Sakaki, of course, had to make sure that Hongo didn't kill in front of him.
"Incredible," uttered Spartacus as he caught an arm aiming for Lohan, who immediately kicked the opponent in the head, followed by Sho knocking him out.
"That's my master for you," grinned Sho.
"So that's Shio-chan's rival," hummed Jennifer as she shot an attacker in the knees, disabling her attackers.
Muten Kendoku-ryu: Jinsou Jion Reppa
Shinchi Nengen-ryu: Chourou Kankuu Juurin
Sakaki and Hongo knocked out 4 masters each with their barrage without even sustaining any damage. Though as soon as they finished, they felt a familiar Ki spike up before it vanished.
"Hongo, I'm going," shouted Sakaki as he finished punching someone into the wall.
"Go," replied Hongo, "I'll take care of this."
As Sakaki left, he quickly turned to give a quick warning.
"Listen up you bastards! This man is normally unable to hold back! If you don't want to die, you should surrender immediately!" shouted Sakaki.
'I'm not sure if you should be saying that,' sweatdropped Sho as various opponents looked shocked that such a man would give such a warning.
Soon enough, the fighting ended as Sakaki came back with disgust on his face. Jenazad had disappeared, but not before killing Nuchald. However, in his mind, he was glad that Kenichi hadn't appeared yet. From the trio's story, Miu had been the one kidnapped and had almost killed Nuchald herself.
'Looks like Kenichi is still stubbornly resisting Jenazad,' thought Sakaki, though still very worried.
"Still no sign of your disciple?" asked Hongo.
"None," growled Sakaki.
As Lohan dismissed the crowd, one of the mercenaries working for her came up, telling them that John was on the communicator, pursuing the enemy.
"How are you tracking them?" asked Lohan in shock.
"Well, I was running around, dodging bullets and stuff when I tripped. The tracker that I had been showing off to Sho before flew out of my pockets, bounced off the wall before rolling on the ground and dropping to a floor below. It landed right onto one of the fleeing guys and shuffled into his cloth that he tied around his body. He was following a guy in a mask," lied the disguised Saiga.
"Wow, that's great! That's the first time you've been useful!" exclaimed Sham, causing Saiga to chuckle to himself mentally.
"Lower your voice, and pay attention to your surroundings," advised Hongo immediately.
"Eh, pay attention to my surroundings? You should've told me that before! I'm terrible at doing that!" exclaimed Saiga before looking up to see himself surrounded, "Oh… Oh no."
He, of course, knew they were already there, but to keep up the disguise, he chose to fake it.
[Get him!] shouted one of the ambushers as they dove for Saiga.
Saiga was ready to let himself be captured when…
"Got your back!" grinned Sho as he suddenly appeared from nowhere, slamming a kick to the ambusher.
"Huh? What are you doing here!?" exclaimed Saiga in surprise. He was supposed to go alone, not be followed!
"I saw you running into the jungle and figured you had something important, so I followed," grinned Sho as he dodged a knife to the heart, disarming the attacker, "Looks like I came in the nick of time!"
"That's good and all…. but can you handle them all?" asked Saiga.
"Err…" faltered Sho looking around to see a lot more ambushers than he thought, "Perhaps I should've exercised more caution in this situation."
"Perhaps," nodded Saiga as the ambushers all jumped them. While he allowed himself to be taken, Sho fought off a few of them quite admirably before being dogpiled and cuffed.
[What should we do with them?] asked one of the ambushers.
[We take them to Lord Jenazad. The boy here knows Pencak Silat despite being a foreigner. He'll know what to do. As for the other foreigner, he might have information about the princess] replied the leader of the group.
Soon, the two were taken away, but failed to see the trail that Saiga was leaving for the others.
So... surprise! Spartacus and Jennifer make an appearance!
A horny Kushinda has appeared hahaha!
Remember, Kenichi isn't a genius when it comes to learning techniques. So of course Jenazad would be confused why his 'newest' disciple doesn't seem to be a genius martial artist as he should be.
Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get perks!