Author's note: Howdy. We're back in business! If you're reading this now, it means the update I posted days ago is now deleted, as I no longer need that up. Can't believe I had to post that. Anyways, the conditions have gotten better, but it's still got a ways to go. But don't worry, I'll do my best to spare time to write up chapters for you all!
Also, for Christ's sake, regarding the "incident", can I ask you guests in your reviews to NOT insult him? There were 3 of them I had to decline. I appreciate the support, but insulting him is unnecessary, and I'm not going to tolerate that.
Enough of that, enjoy the chapter! :)
Chapter 33: Along Came A Spider
Meanwhile, Chris and Kenji were at the door of the former's house, with the latter knocking on the door. They patiently awaited a response.
As they waited, Chris received a text message on his phone from Skylar, that read, "I'm here at the Kanker's trailer, just wanted to let you know."
At the end of the message, Skylar inserted a winking face, which made Chris smile a bit.
"Gotcha, I'm positive you know that I'm helping my father our currently, but I'll be there soon!" responded Chris.
"Sure thing sweetheart. Love you. XO." said Skylar, with the last part of her message confusing Chris; as he had no clue that meant. He then turned to Kenji to ask him.
"Kenji; when someone sends you XO, what does that even mean?" asked Chris.
"The XO terminology typically represents the phrase, 'hugs and kisses'. That would be the answer in regards to what Skylar is attempting to convey to you." explained Kenji.
"Oh. I see..." said Chris, as he looked down, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
"Do you wish for her to cease and never make use of that phrase?" asked a naive Kenji.
"No dude, it's fine... it's just odd to me, being a stranger and all to this stuff, you know what I mean?" responded Chris.
"I do. Keep your mind open in regards to this new territory you're approaching. Besides, I'm positive Skylar will not grow frustrated with your lack of understanding regarding her approaches." stated Kenji.
"I hope so, but she's been very open-minded about everything we've talked about, so you're most likely right there." said Chris, staring off into the distance.
Chris then decided to propose a question related to their current plans.
"How do we plan to convince this guy to not join Cassie's father and his insane quest for revenge?" asked Chris.
"Hmm..." said Kenji, taking a moment to think. "We shall first have to take a more conventional solicitation of his attention and credence, which will lend us his confidence in our presence. Afterwards, we shall attempt to details everything regarding the current dilemma we're presently facing. However, the two of us should make absolute certain that the explanation we provide is not one of absurdity, but of logic and proper reasoning."
"I get what you're saying, just explain it in a manner that doesn't sound ridiculous." stated Chris.
"Precisely." said Kenji.
Chris took a deep breath; as he knew that explaining this situation to someone was the equivalent of attempting to sign up for a vocalist position, while having no knowledge of vocals whatsoever. Nevertheless, he and Kenji had to attempt this, regardless of the odds being against them.
"Alright fine, but when my father comes here to answer the door, give me a minute or two to get some extra things from my room that will help us out." said Chris, staring directly at Kenji.
"I presume that you're planning on bringing along more utility appliances for our mission?" asked Kenji.
"Yes, as I think a smoke bomb, flash, and so on, might help us more than we think. Always be two steps ahead my friend, haha." responded Chris, sharing a small laugh with Kenji. "You know what, I'll even bring along a couple of shurikens, but trust me, I don't plan to use them dangerously."
"Thank you for still upholding the standards set by our sensei. But even so, I must question why you desire to bring shurikens to this?" asked Kenji.
"Distractions my friend, that's what I plan to use them for, more than anything else. Trust me, I'm not going to use them for harm." explained Chris.
Once Chris wrapped up his statement, the door opened to reveal Zoltan, who was wearing a brown robe and flip-flops.
"I apologize for being late to answer your call at the door, I was occupied with showering. But it's good to see you two!" said Zoltan, happy to see Chris and Kenji.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Zoltan. However, I have some news to bring to you today." responded Kenji, shaking Zoltan's hand as he did so.
"Really? Whatever do you require Kenji?" asked Zoltan, curious.
"In short, we require your assistance in making our way to a location that is of utmost importance." explained Kenji, keeping his explanation short in the sake of time.
"I see. Two things however, what is the place, and how far away is this place that you two wish to go to?" stated Zoltan.
"Shouldn't take more than 5 minutes to arrive." said Kenji, as and pulled out his phone from his right pocket and showed Zoltan the address.
Zoltan paused for a brief moment to think, and ultimately concludes that he'll be able to bring along the boys. However, while willing to bring them there, Zoltan does wonder why they want to go to this location.
"Give me a couple minutes to get changed, and we shall head to my car." said Zoltan, as he went upstairs, and Chris also made his way to his room to go grab extra utilities for their mission, while Kenji sat down in the couch and patiently awaited both Chris and Zoltan's return.
Two minutes later, Chris came back to the couch, and asked Kenji another question that would be important to this operation.
"Where should my dad drop us off at? I don't think it's a good idea for him to park in front of the house itself, as it'll appear very conspicuous, and draw attention, should the father already be there." said Chris.
"The address I showed your father is one that is a parking lot three blocks away from the authentic location we are heading to. Therefore, I expect no possibility of being labeled as conspicuous." stated Kenji, earning a surprised look from Chris.
"That's... smart dude. Wow." said Chris, whose eyes were widened.
A mere second later, and Kenji heard his ringtone going off. He checked it and found that it was Cassie again; showing Chris the screen for a brief second. Chris signaled to Kenji that he would be silent by pointing to himself and putting his index finger over his mouth, while Kenji would answer the call himself.
"Yes Cassie?" said Kenji.
"Kenji, are you making your way to Akira's house now?" asked Cassie.
"Precisely that, we are currently just awaiting for Zoltan, Chris's father, to navigate us there. Is there a stumbling block that you have discovered?" responded Kenji.
"Yes, my father just called me a moment ago that he would come home later, as he had to wrap up business with someone, and was heading there now." explained Cassie, which made Kenji raise his eyebrow, which was also noticed by Chris.
"Don't fret, we shall make it there, and attempt our best at convincing Akira that he shouldn't join your father." said Kenji, trying to reassure Cassie.
"Best hurry, as I don't know how long Akira will be thinking about joining, especially if my dad offers money or something like that." stated Cassie. "Call me when you have an update."
"I shall. Take care of yourself." said Kenji, as the call ended.
Chris then took a moment to convey his thoughts to Kenji.
"Do you actually think we're going to beat the father before he gets to Akira?" asked Chris.
"Unlikely. Should we be unsuccessful in arriving there ahead of him, we shall have to observe how events unfold." responded Kenji.
"Damn. Alright then." said Chris, feeling slightly unconfident in the current situation.
Afterwards, Zoltan made his way downstairs, putting on his usual attire, and trading in his flip-flops for regular shoes. The two boys then followed him outside to the car, with Zoltan going into the driver's seat, Chris into the passenger seat, and Kenji into the backseat that was directly behind the passenger's seat. Zoltan then inserted the keys, and the engine started up, and so they began their trek to the location.
While en route, Zoltan asked the boys a question.
"Would the two of you mind explaining why you desire to come to this location?" asked Zoltan, which made Chris and Kenji look at each other with looks of concern.
Ultimately, they realize that the two of them will fail at weaseling their way out of this question, so Chris decided to explain the entire situation to his father; from the day that he and his friend encountered Cassie, to the investigations they have conducted, to the plan that he and Kenji made today, he explained all. When finished, they still had a bit to go before arriving, which allowed Zoltan to give his thoughts on the situation.
"This is all a very complex and complicated situation... hmm..." stated Zoltan.
"Yeah, but trust me when I say, this is very important to do, as it could make a difference." said Chris. "Actually no, it WILL make a difference."
"Have you told anyone else that you plan on doing this?" asked Zoltan.
"We have not informed anyone, as there was a family gathering for the Kankers earlier today, and we concluded that intruding on such a situation would've been eminently the very contrast of an optimal approach." explained Kenji.
"I see. I'm glad you decided not to disrupt the family meeting with this news. However, once you get a chance to explain everything, be sure you do so, as leaving them out of the loop in regards to what you two have been doing is doomed to be messy." stated Zoltan.
"Don't worry dad, we'll handle it, and tell them once it's actually the right time." said Chris.
Zoltan then got his car inside the parking lot. While the parking lot was medium-sized at best, to the benefit of Zoltan, it contained very few cars, due to this lot being used very rarely. Zoltan found a spot in the middle of the lot, and turned off the car engine, in order to park.
"When you two are finished with your plan, contact me as soon as possible. I shall be here. Please be careful." stated Zoltan, with a hint of worry in his voice.
"Dad, have more confidence in us man, we didn't get trained for several years for nothing!" said Chris, trying to bring light to the situation. Zoltan couldn't help but crack a very small smile at his son's statement, and share a fist bump.
Afterwards, Chris and Kenji leave the car through the passenger door, as the car only contained two doors for the driver and passenger. Once they left, Kenji then led Chris outside the parking lot, which split off into three different directions.
"So, which way do we go?" asked Chris.
"We must head to our left, as that will lead us to the residence of Akira. Let us not waste time, we must get going." stated Kenji, as he began making his way to the residence, with Chris following right behind.
Once they get within 10 feet of the residence, Kenji signaled Chris to stop, as he saw a car pull up to the entrance of house, and four people came out from the car. Chris and Kenji immediately walked away into a alleyway to give themselves cover.
"Shit, we're just late... but I got an idea." said Chris.
"What do you have in mind?" asked Kenji.
"Follow me, we're gonna go around." responded Chris, as he pointed to the other side of the alleyway.
The two of them then headed towards the back of the house, which had a 4-foot fence blocking the entryway into the backyard. Something that the boys took note of was a large-sized tree with notably large branches, which still had its leaves intact. Chris and Kenji made it to the fence, and the two of them already knew what they had to do. Chris decided to go first; as he kneeled down, and jumped up to grab the top of the fence, pulling himself up, leading him inside the backyard. Kenji followed soon after, having no difficulty getting over the fence. Chris ran on over to an electrical box that caught his eye; as something told him that it might came in handy.
"Do you think the tree will make for a good vantage point to look inside?" asked Chris, as he opened the box, and took notice of the eight switches positioned in a 4x4 position.
"That will be determined based upon the stability of the branches. Also, I must mention that the leaves will assist us in appearing concealed, but we must remain cautious." responded Kenji.
"Copy that..." stated Chris, as he then kept in mind that there was a switch above the regular eight that was notably larger than the others.
Chris then made his way towards the tree, looking upwards as he determined if it was a good place to watch what happens between Akira and the group of four men.
"Well, why don't we climb up to see if it's safe?" asked Chris, as he jumped up, and grabbed onto a branch that was within reach. Kenji sighed slightly at his friend's display of carelessness, but nevertheless, decided to do the same thing.
The two boys managed to get up top with little issue, however something that they kept in mind was that the branches were not going to sustain their weight for a long time. To keep their balance, they leaned onto the main part of the tree, which assisted them well. As an added benefit to their position, the roof of the house was very easy to jump towards, should the tree's branches fail to keep their weight.
Meanwhile, inside the house, Akira was busy inside his living room, with research regarding possible clients who could use assistance in regards to crafting and repairing certain appliances. The living room was accompanied by a couch that was L-shaped, and a chandelier that emitted a yellow-like light inside the living room, however it was currently shut off. Around the couch area were windows in a similar L shape, which emitted the sun's bright light through the living room. On the opposite side of the couch laid a table with a lamp on for extra illumination, along with a chair in the front of the table. Akira is soon interrupted by knocking at the door, followed by a doorbell.
"Who the hell could that be?" stated Akira.
Akira got up from his seat, and went to go answer the door. The door opened to reveal a crew of 4 people, which surprised Akira.
"Um, greetings? What do you all want?" stated Akira, somewhat concerned.
"You are the blacksmith Akira, yes?" asked Nolan.
"Uh-huh, do you all wish to discuss a job or...?" said Akira.
"Something along those lines." responded Cassie's father.
"We merely wish to discuss you becoming a part of this crew we've got going on, and a couple other things, that's all." explained Taven, who stood next to Nolan.
"Okay then, come inside, sit on the couch.." stated Akira, as everyone came inside.
To the benefit of Chris and Kenji, all five of the men inside were in clear viewing distance. The tree's position was perfect for not only watching the meeting; but also for keeping them out of sight, as the couch had all the men with their back towards the tree. From what they saw, it was hard for them to recognize who was the father.
"Ugh, there's so many. It's hard to tell which is the father..." commented Chris.
"Not to mention, the circumstance that Marie and Lee are the only daughters to have an eye or two covered in no way helps us distinguish the father." stated Kenji.
"Crap." said Chris, as he looked to his left, and noticed the electrical box to the house. "But I think I have a plan, should Akira be somewhat convinced."
Kenji turned to face Chris, as the latter pulled out a star-shaped shuriken.
"In short, I think a small distraction related to his house should probably divert his attention." explained Chris.
"It is a very dangerous approach to a distraction however, and we run the risk of possibly disabling the electrical passage throughout the house permanently." said Kenji.
"Electricians exist Kenji." stated Chris with a small grin, while Kenji narrowed his eyebrows in slight annoyance at his friend's statement.
"Very well, but please allow sometime for the upcoming discussion to unfold before you decide to commit something that will be very unpredictable." responded Kenji.
"You got it, let's see what happens..." said Chris, as he and Kenji stared at the meeting once more.
Akira took a seat to face Cassie's father and Ezekiel, with Nolan and Taven being to the right side of him. He began asking questions in regards to their arrival.
"So, I'll ask again, what brings you all here?" asked Akira.
"We are here to enlist you for an operation that is very important to me. I shall compensate you greatly. You will understand once you arrive at our main meeting area." responded Cassie's father, which drew a raised eyebrow from Akira.
"Hold on a minute, what is the basic explanation for this operation? I must know that before I accept any payment, or even think about signing up for the project." stated Akira, who was tapping his foot.
"Come on, you'll be able to crate marvelous wonders, probably create big spectacles, oh it will be fun!" said Nolan, in an attempt to encourage Akira to join them, but it only resulted in a nudge from Taven.
"What will these... wonders and spectacles be exactly? You need to be more detailed beyond the bare basics for me to understand." responded Akira.
"Ho Ho! You're only limited to what your imagination can do! Anything goes during this-" stated Nolan, before being cut off by Taven.
"Gah, you're useless when it comes to this." said Taven, facing Nolan. Taven then faced Akira. "Seriously tough guy, you ain't gonna think about much, aside from the pay and your ability to deliver on the job. That's all you gotta do."
"I get what you want, but what about the bigger details? Why do you need me? What are we doing? Why are you paying-" said Akira, before being cut off by Cassie's father, who slammed the armrest part of the couch, scaring Akira.
"Listen you! Everything will make more sense once you agree to this operation! Stop asking, otherwise you will miss a good payment for work that should be a cakewalk to someone of your experience!" yelled out Cassie's father.
Ezekiel felt uneasy facing the rage of Cassie's father; as knowing what he knows regarding his plans, witnessing his rage regarding the current situation can't end well. However, Akira, while uncomfortable, decided to retaliate.
"Okay, you have nothing to tell me that will convince me. All of you, bugger off and begone now!" said Akira.
This ended up being an ineffective move for Akira to do; as Cassie's father grabbed him from the neck of his shirt, which makes the other men, minus Nolan who was sheepishly smiling, somewhat uneasy.
"You will listen closely if you value your reputation right now." stated Cassie's father.
Meanwhile, Chris and Kenji adopted expressions of concern; being worried for Akira's safety. The former already knew what he was going to do to break up the commotion.
"Yeah, I ain't risking this. Ready for me to show off?" said Chris.
"Whatever do you mean?" asked Kenji, curious.
"Watch." stated Chris, with a small smile across his face.
Chris took a deep breath, before he performed a backflip off the tree branch, and threw the shuriken into the direction of the electrical box, with the shuriken going in a 180 degree arc. This resulted in the star hitting the switch that controlled the power to the entire house. Chris landed onto the grass with a notable amount of impact on his feet and left hand; but he got up with seemingly zero difficulty.
Kenji couldn't help but facepalm at his friend's bold action, however he found the stunt quite impressive at the same time, despite it's risky nature. He watched as his friend got up from the ground.
"If only Skylar was here to see that, huh? Haha." said Chris, chuckling slightly.
Meanwhile, inside the house, the power being shut off created a noise similar to a explosion of electricity, resulting in several things beings shut off; air conditioning, sources of light, TV, and so on. Cassie's father dropped Akira, who landed onto his seat, while he looked around.
"Hmph. Looks like fate has decided your consequences. We're done here, let's get out of here everyone." stated Cassie's father.
Everyone (minus Akira) got up from the couch, heading towards the door. However, Nolan taunted Akira by telling him one last thing.
"You've really missed out buddy! Perhaps you'll see it once we're done?! Who knows!? Hahaha!" said Nolan, which made Akira get a feeling of unease.
Once the men went out the door, Akira sat on the couch contemplating what he just witnessed. It was hard for him to believe the approach that they took to attempt to convince him into joining. Regardless, he was thankful that they didn't do anything else, such as destroy his property, or cause physical harm to him.
"Fucking hell! Bugger me sideways!" yelled out Akira, frustrated.
Despite the fact that Akira was very obviously distressed, Chris and Kenji considered the entire operation a success. To further seal the deal, the two of them mutually agreed to explain and talk to him regarding the entire ordeal. They both carefully jumped on top of the roof, and walked slowly as to not attract Akira's attention and worsen his distressed mood. The two boys also observed the car that contained the four men driving away, presumably towards their base of operations.
In order to try and get his mind off the recent situation, Akira went back to the restroom to relive himself, and then once finished, went back to his computer. However, he failed to realize that the power being off meant that the machine was completely off-limits.
"Great... at least the power outage drew them boys away..." stated Akira, sighing.
However, he hears knocking at the door once again, and gets freaked out. Before opening the door, he decided to grab a baseball bat for self-defense. To his benefit, it's Chris and Kenji, who made their way to the door via the roof, and jumped down carefully onto the front steps.
"Who the bloody hell are you two?!" asked Akira, with his hands holding the baseball bat shaking a bit.
"Relax, we're not involved with those guys that just left." responded Chris.
"What?! How do you know about those that just left?! Are they gone?!" asked Akira.
"Yes, they're gone, we watched them leave, so we're fine." stated Chris. "Mind putting the bat down? We're not here to convince you to join them at all."
Akira exhaled deeply at that statement.
"Thank the gods, anymore pressure from anyone to do something and I'd be lost! But you two appear much more reasonable then those lot, come in quickly." said Akira, as he placed the bat down against the wall, and Chris and Kenji made their way inside.
All three of them sat on the couch, with Chris and Kenji sitting on the edge of the couch, while Akira sat on the other side of the couch, staring directly at them.
"Nice place, looks professional, yet pretty good in the visual department." stated Chris.
"Thanks, hard work pays off indeed. But two things, first of, your names, and second, would you two be able to explain what the hell is going on?" asked a concerned Akira.
"My name is Kenji, and over here is my good friend Chris. In regards to your inquiry about the situation, unfortunately, it's anything but a straightforward explanation due to the various circumstances that lead up to this revenge plot." explained Kenji.
"What the fuck do you mean? Revenge plot?" asked Akira, confused.
Chris and Kenji spent around five minutes explaining the most important details regarding everything that has occurred up until this point. Akira couldn't help but feel as though time had frozen at the mention of the Kanker family.
"Wait... Kanker?! You mean, Jane Kanker!?!" exclaimed Akira.
"You know her?" asked Chris.
"From high school, yes! She was the worst nightmare I've ever encountered in my whole life!" responded Akira, which made Chris and Kenji confused.
"Might I question what you mean by those proclamations?" asked Kenji.
"Blagh! Listen, I'll save you the unnecessary details, but when she learned in 9th grade that I was applying to a smithing job, it's almost as though a fucking Cupid's arrow hit her in the arse! I don't even know if she completed her high school years, as after that year, she was gone thankfully." explained Akira, surprising the two boys.
Chris and Kenji found it incredibly obvious where the Kanker sisters had gotten their manner of handing the Ed boys. It was the textbook definition of the apple not falling far from the tree.
"Thanks for stating the obvious narrator." said Chris, putting on a sarcastic smile.
"Have you ever been in contact with Jane Kanker in the recent days?" asked Kenji.
"Are you crazy?! Absolutely not! I'll never go near her! For all I know she still might be under that influence!" responded Akira. "But with all that gripe being spat out by me, I still hope she does well for herself..."
"Listen, that's not important, what's important is that you rejected that guy's offer, as believe me, you wouldn't be able to sleep well for a long time." said Chris, making Akira gulp.
"Right, plus, the man was being stingy with the details, and that's important when discussing the details for any job." said Akira. "But now I've got to worry about the power, at least it made those men go away, as I don't think they were leaving wouldn't trying to push even more..."
"You're welcome." said Chris, which made Akira raise his eyebrow.
"Wait... were you two responsible for that?!" asked Akira loudly, which concerned Kenji.
"Hold that horse of yours pal. Yes, I, not Kenji, was responsible for that, but trust me, I'm positive you can fix it easily. Or hire a dude to help, either way, you'll be fine." responded Chris.
"Look, I'd throw you two out just for destroying the electricity, but here. I can repair the electricity, but if you two help me repair it, I can repay you with some weapons or outfits that you'd like. Would you agree to that?" asked Akira.
Chris and Kenji found high potential in the offer; but they unanimously agreed that they needed to know more details.
"What can you make?" asked Chris.
"Well... shite, I don't have any of my work here, as I do not operate from here. There is a separate place I work, and that's where all of my work is contained. I'd rather show you, than tell you, as it's better in my view." responded Akira.
"Later you can show us, just give us an idea of what to expect." stated Chris.
Akira put his hand to his chin, and walked on over to his desk, and picked up a book of several ideas that he had written down; but were only concepts to prototypes, as he carefully considered what he'd work on, in order to avoid wasting time and utilities. He took a look at the first page, while coming back to the couch.
"There is a concept for a 20-inch carbon steel sword, with a handle made of steel, but covered with a leather material for grip purposes." said Akira. "Another idea is a set of armor, made with light materials on the outside, yet should the coating and everything be right, still proving to be durable, yet still allow the user to move more freely than your average suit."
"Hmm... I'd be interested in the armor. Will the material bother the person wearing it?" asked Chris.
"No, it shouldn't, but to make certain this is never the case, I'd recommend wearing a long-sleeve shirt. It's layer will cover your skin from the material, should it be bothered." explained Akira. "However, we can discuss it in more detail."
"I have interest in the sword, so I shall be requesting that, should it be manageable for you." said Kenji.
"It shall, just need some time. I don't work on this alone mind you, I work with a group of three other people, as while yes I am capable of doing the process alone... for the sake of time, I work with others." stated Akira.
"Perfect! So will you be willing to support us once we finish up with repairing your electricity?" asked Chris.
"Yes. Plus, I imagine you two are concocting a plan to stop that madman?" responded Akira.
"Yeah, the rabbit hole goes deep. But let's get to work, shall we?" stated Chris.
The three of them then made their way outside through the back door, however Kenji stopped in his tracks as he received a phone call from Cassie. Chris and Akira understood that he was going to take the call, so the two of them get set up for the repairing process.
Kenji decided to go back to the living room to take the call.
"Greetings Cassie, we have an update regarding our progress." said Kenji, walking around whilst talking.
"So do I, father called me a couple minutes ago that the process was unsuccessful. You two did it, yes?!" stated Cassie, sounding optimistic.
"Indeed, but I believe that the success should be mostly attributed to Akira's common sense speaking for himself. Me and Chris had minimal input." explained Kenji.
"Don't really care how it happened, I'm just happy it happened. What are you doing now?" asked Cassie.
"Well, while Akira was unlikely to accept the offer presented to him, Chris had decided to give your father and his assistants a reason to leave." responded Kenji, which made Cassie curious.
"What do you mean?" asked Cassie.
"In brief, Chris performed a maneuver to temporarily halt the electricity current throughout the residence, and currently we are assisting Akira in repairing the source of the electricity." explained Kenji, making Cassie laugh a tiny bit.
"He had a reason for that, yeah?" said Cassie, trying to contain her laughter.
"That he did." said Kenji, sighing.
"Just fix the guy's electricity, and then call me when done, okay?" asked Cassie.
"I shall. Thank you Cassie for providing the information further ahead of time, we wouldn't have be able to do so without your assistance." responded Kenji.
"Kenji, don't worry about it. We're in this together, to stop my father. We shall talk later okay? Take care." said Cassie, after which the two of them hung up.
Kenji then made his way outside to join Chris and Akira in repairing the electrical box. When he got outside, he witnessed Akira and Chris taking a look at the damage, with the latter explaining to the former how he managed to cause that.
"A show off eh? Also, a shuriken?" said Akira, taking the shuriken off the box, and analyzing the star-shaped tool in detail. "Hmm... you two chaps are ninja pupils or what?"
"Nah man, it's just martial arts training in various categories. Weaponry included, but I tend to stay away from using anything sharp." responded Chris.
"I see now. How long have you two been at it?" asked Akira.
"6 years for both of us, with a one week difference between when we started." stated Chris, which made Akira chuckle.
"Why in the hell does that matter?" said Akira, curious.
"It's mainly, as most would describe it, an inside joke between us." responded Kenji, walking on over to the two of them.
"Gotcha. Well, wait here, I must get my tools." stated Akira, as he made his way towards his desk to grab some repair tools. This gave Chris and Kenji a small window of time to discuss recent developments.
"This went more effectively and promising than I had anticipated." said Kenji, making Chris laugh.
"That's what I was thinking too. The more hilarious part was how, I think the guy cared more about how I cut off the power. That's saying something right there, haha." stated Chris.
"Let us keep our focus on repaying our intervention by repairing Akira's electricity, please?" asked Kenji.
"Calm down man, we'll get it fixed. How long could it take?" said Chris, with a grin.
Akira then returned to the boys with a toolbox in preparation to repair the electrical current to the entire house.
"Ready to get started?" asked Akira.
The boys nodded in agreement, and all three of them got to work on repairing.