This story has been beta by ZShaq and TheReader2011! Give them a round of applause for helping out! Also releasing this earlier than planned!
Now, onto the story! Enjoy what changes might happen! Also, after this chapter, I may start reverting to calling Natsu Hermit unless it's a special situation.
Shirahama Honoka was on a mission. A very important mission indeed. She was going find out just where her big brother was currently living!
"Honoka, is it so important that we find where he lives?" Tanimoto Kaeda, her best friend who was accompanying her, asked.
"It is! I know Big Boobs has him under her control!" Honoka hissed, pointing at a picture of Miu that she brought out from her rather huge backpack. She had packed a ton of snacks for her precious brother, including his favorite fish soup stock and a bento box from their mother.
"Honoka, you silly girl," Kaede giggled, "But isn't it risky with just us?"
"That's why your brother's here!" Honoka cheered pointing at Natsu, "To protect us!"
The trio had set off from Kenichi's house to Ryozanpaku on a Sunday morning. Miu had been kind enough to draw a map for them. Of course, the map was drawn in a way that only girls could understand. Natsu looked at the original in complete confusion on how to read it, while Kaede and Honoka could read it perfectly. In the end, they made a translated copy for him to guide them.
"I'm wondering how you two dragged me into this," Natsu grumbled. Though truthfully he was curious to see if his master was here, as well as spy on Kenichi's training.
"Because you don't feel comfortable having the two of us go alone," Kaede stated without hesitation, causing Natsu to sputter. No matter how cold or callous her brother was, she knew she had him wrapped around her pinky finger.
"We've arrived!" Honoka yelled. The trio looked up to see the ominous doors of Ryozanpaku.
"This is where your brother is?" Kaede sweatdropped before coughing a bit once more.
Natsu immediately tended to her, giving her some water and asking if she needed her inhaler. Though Kaede's health had immensely improved, she still suffered small bouts of coughing fits. They had gone to several doctors but the symptoms seemed to linger with no idea about how to cure it. Luckily, it wasn't hazardous to her health.
"Yep, let's go!" Honoka demanded before trying to push the oak door open. It refused to budge, no matter how hard she pushed or pulled. Kaede quickly joined her but the door still wouldn't budge. They knocked on the door several times, but nobody seemed to answer.
"Looks like they're not home," Natsu shrugged, "Let's go home."
"Nii-chan, you haven't even attempted it!" Kaede pouted.
"Yea, you do it!" Honoka demanded.
Sighing, Natsu gave the door a slight push before 'giving' up.
"Harder, you can do it!" Kaede piped.
Natsu breathed in deeply and gave the door a harder push, increasing in strength until the door began to move forward. Finally, the door was wide enough for them all to slip in easily.
'That door was heavier than I thought,' Natsu thought, 'That could be counted as training just opening that door.'
"Hello!" Honoka shouted to the main dojo. Everything seemed silent for a moment, and Natsu was about to guide them away when...
RUMBLE KRRRRRR
Kenichi came flying through the air and crashed into the dirt face first, leaving a large dirt trail as it kept going until he stopped right in front of them.
"This is something I haven't felt for awhile," Kenichi mumbled as he managed to pull his head out. This time he had been sent flying by Sakaki's fist. Sakaki had been showing him a rather complicated Karate stance and move at the time and Kenichi had failed to dodge.
"Nii-chan, are you alright?" Honoka gasped in worry, quickly tending to any injuries she saw.
"Honoka? What are you doing here and why?" Kenichi asked.
"To visit you silly!" Honoka screamed as she slapped him in the head, "I even brought Natsu and Kaede to visit!"
Kenichi snapped his head towards the other two in shock. Kaede replied with a small wave while Natsu look disinterested, but his eyes were quickly roving all over Ryozanpaku.
"Hoo, we have visitors," Ma Kensei said as he suddenly appeared behind the Tanimoto siblings.
Natsu reacted instinctively, swinging his arms like a whip, rotating his hips. He had been caught off guard so badly that he forgot he was attempting to hide his ability from Kenichi.
Kensei easily caught the blow but raised his eyebrows in interest.
"Hikaken style, huh? And I'm guessing you also know Hakkyokuken style in conjecture? Who was your master, boy?" Kensei asked.
Natsu stared at the rather short man, shocked that he had been stopped so easily. The only man he knew that could have done that was his shitty drunk master, Ma Sogetsu!
Seeing her older brother didn't answer, Kaede answered for him, "An old man named Ma Sogetsu! I call him Uncle Ma though. Do you know him?"
"Hoo, so you're the disciple of my older brother?" Kensei asked with a grin, "Interesting, he wasn't one to take disciples."
"...I bribed him with a lot of wine. About 40 crates worth of it and some other expensive alcohol," Natsu admitted, seeing no point in hiding it now, "But the stupid man left before he could finish training me."
"That does sound like him," Kensei chuckled, "As you might have figured out, I am your master's younger brother. I am Ma Kensei."
"So Kenichi didn't learn Chinese Kenpo from my old master," Natsu noted with a bit a relief inside him.
"That would be correct," Kensei nodded.
"Ah, we have visitors!" Miu exclaimed as she came out to see why Kensei hadn't dragged Kenichi back yet.
"Apapapa, visitors!" Apachai cheered as he appeared.
"Kyaaa, giant!" both girls shrieked, quickly running to hide behind Miu.
That sent Apachai into a spiral of depression as he huddled in a corner while Miu quickly tried to explain that Apachai was a gentle giant.
"Feh, I guess this means you get a small break," Sakaki grunted as he turned around from a corner to see what the holdup was.
The girls shrieked again when they saw Sakaki until Kaede started to go into a coughing fit once more. Natsu was instantly by her side to help her. However, Kensei suddenly also appeared beside her and grabbed her wrists, checking her pulse. A few seconds later, he nodded as he made his diagnostic.
"This cough has been rather persistent, hasn't it?" Kensei asked.
"Yes, why?" Natsu replied with suspicion.
"Want to try acupuncture? I can get rid of this cough permanently so she no longer needs an inhaler."
Natsu gazed at the man with caution before slowly nodding his head. The only reason he felt like trusting this man was because he was the brother of his master. He remembered all those time his shitty master would get drunk and sleep talk, bragging all about his younger brother.
"Perfect. I'll take a look at your body while I'm at it," Kensei said, suddenly dragging Natsu with him. Kaede was lead after them by Apachai, after Miu had finally convinced her that the giant man was a gentle spirit. Apachai lifted her up to his shoulders, much to her delight, while Honoka preferred to spend some time with her brother.
"Wait why?" Natsu asked, somehow unable to pull away from Kensei. He later found out Kensei had stuck his finger at a nerve point to prevent him from doing so.
"Practitioners of Hikaken often develop joint problems in the future that may lead paralysis of the arms," Kensei replied, "Often time it's because the muscles and joints aren't properly trained. Seeing how my brother was the one who taught you, he most likely made sure you wouldn't suffer from that, but I prefer to make sure. I am a doctor after all."
"Bye Natsu-chan, Kaede-chan!" Kenichi waved as he managed to pry his sister off him for a bit.
"Don't call me that!" Natsu snapped, seeing as they were not in class and he no longer needed nor wanted to hide his true personality, "We're not that friendly or close!"
'Ah, there's the attitude I know,' Kenichi smirked as Kaede gave a friendly wave to him.
"Honoka, what are you doing here?" Kenichi lectured as they got into the dojo, "I thought I told you not to come at a whim."
"But I wanted to spend time with you," Honoka pouted, "Ever since you started living here, you haven't played with me except for weekends when you come home. Kaede's nii-chan plays with her every time he gets a chance for a break."
"Fine, fine," Kenichi sighed, "Do you want to go to the park?"
"Na, I want to see what's so special about this place," Honoka shrugged.
'That, and make sure Big Boobs isn't seducing my brother,' Honoka added mentally.
"Oh...your...sister?" Shigure asked as she finally appeared.
Honoka took a quick look at Shigure's figure and already labeled her as another babe that would distract Kenichi, though not as high as Miu.
Back with the Tanimoto family, Natsu and Kaede found themselves with dozens of needles all over their body at the clinic that was a short walk away from Ryozanpaku.
"This...feels weird," Kaede admitted, trying to move a little. She found out her mobility was completely stilled.
"Don't move," Kensei chastised as he was mixing up several herbs, "You'll just hurt yourself more."
"For how much longer?" Kaede whined.
"Just a few more minutes," Kensei replied, "As for you Natsu, I'm glad my brother knew what he was doing when he trained you. He strengthened your joints and tendons in a sensible way that wouldn't harm you for practicing the Hikaken. However, you seemed to have slacked off on your basic training, haven't you?"
Natsu didn't reply, but his face said it all. He had thought constantly sparring against other people would've helped build up the necessary muscles. Apparently, from the look on Kensei's face, it hadn't. Though he had to admit, he had been fighting basically cannon fodder, and there were no real challenges besides his fellow Fists. But the rules in Ragnarok stated that there would be no fighting between the Fists.
"As for you young lady," Kensei nodded to Kaede, "I'll start taking the needles out in two minutes. However, there's something interesting that I want my colleague Akisame to look at. He's currently busy with another patient."
Natsu strained his ear just in time to hear someone scream out in pain.
"Owowowow! I'm starting to think this isn't worth it!" yelled a voice.
"Be quiet. You want to box again, don't you?" replied another voice.
"...That is a cruel questION!" screeched the first voice towards the end of his sentence as a bone cracking sound could be heard once more.
Natsu recognized it as Takeda's voice and pondered about what was happening. He had reviewed the files about Kisara and her gang, as she was one of the candidates to be promoted to becoming the eighth fist. Takeda was counted to be above the usual cannon fodder with just his right arm, but was just that. Without his left arm, he wasn't worth much consideration. From what he could hear, Takeda was undergoing rehabilitation to regain control of his left arm.
"Sorry about that," Akisame said as he entered Kensei's clinic, which was right next door, "My patient was rather...excitable today. I had to sedate him through various means, though I'm sure he'll be happy that he can slowly start easing into boxing. I suggested doing some roadwork to lay out some foundations."
Back at his clinic, Takeda was knocked unconscious due to Akisame pinching several key nerves to force him to rest. One could almost see the ghost of his soul trying to ascend to the heavens, only for a choju giga bunny to drag it back down.
"So what did you want to consult with me about?" Akisame asked.
Kensei passed Kaede's medical records to him in reply, as well as his assessment. All of Kaede's medical records, including pre and post treatment, including the surgery she had to undergo, was listed within the folder. The hospital was kind enough to provide them within minutes thanks to the fact Natsu gave his permission, as well as being well-known.
"Intriguing," Akisame nodded as he finished reading through it.
"What? What's wrong with my sister?" Natsu demanded as Kensei started to pluck the needles out.
"There's nothing wrong, but from what we've read and determined, Kaede's recovery is much better than what was predicted, as well as the time on how long it would take," Akisame answered as he closed the folder, "Kensei's treatment was to have Kaede practice some martial arts, mainly to improve her inner strength and muscles. However, it seems like she's already been doing that for quite some time now."
Natsu whirled around, looking at Kaede in surprise.
"Uncle Ma taught me," Kaede smiled, "He poked at my body for a bit, felt my pulse on my wrist, and prescribed a series of exercises and breathing techniques that I should try to practice often."
"Ah, yes, while it's not very well-known, perhaps because of the fact he loves his alcohol, both of us were trained in the human body especially in anatomy. He's not a doctor like me, but he knows enough that he could spot problems in Kaede's health and prescribe the necessary rehabilitation techniques, just not the herbs. That, he slacked off on," Kensei nodded.
Natsu started to feel like his shitty master may have earned at least 30 crates of wines he had ordered for him for training him and helping with Kaede. There were still 10 crates that he was owed and Natsu intended to find his master and continue to train under him.
They finished up and walked back to Ryozanpaku just in time to see Kenichi fly through the air, only to recover before landing on the ground. Miu was on him in a flash, only for Kenichi to already have constructed a Seikuken around him to block Miu's attacks.
'There it is again! That has to be the same technique as Odin!' Natsu thought, 'But how do they both know it? When I heard the name Kensei from Ryozanpaku, I thought it was the same one who was backing up Ragnarok, but clearly, it's just a coincidence the names are the same!'
Kaede walked over to where Honoka was, who was currently beating the crap out of Apachai in Othello while cheering for her brother.
"Interesting in sparring with Kenichi?" Kensei asked with a knowing smile.
"...very much," Natsu gritted, not voicing his primary reasons for why. Besides learning how to defeat the first three fists in the future, he still wanted revenge for Kenichi making him sit through the Talk.
"Well you'll have to wait," Kensei said causing Natsu to almost fall down, "I still need to prescribe the proper basic training to make sure your body doesn't suffer. Come back in a week and you should be up for a spar. Also, no fighting for the while!"
Natsu grumbled in compliance but obeyed, putting a mental note in his head to tell the others at Ragnarok that he would be busy.
The next day, right before lunch, Natsu walked up to Kenichi with his princely smile.
"Kenichi," Natsu smiled, "Do you want to have lunch together? It would be good to know the brother of my little sister's best friend a bit more."
Kenichi blinked for a few seconds before replying, "Sure. Miu and I tend to eat on the roof. Do you want to come with us?"
"Sure!"
Lunch soon arrived, and the trio rushed to the roof to avoid Natsu's usual gaggle of fan girls. As soon as they got to the roof, Natu's fake personality was quickly thrown away as he got close to Kenichi.
"You didn't tell anyone about my visit did you?" Natsu growled, "Because if you did, I'll-"
"Relax Natsu-chan," Kenichi said calmly, "I-"
"Don't call me so familiarly!"
The two boys had a small squabble until Miu told them to stop and just enjoy lunch. Kenichi immediately obeyed while Natsu looked like he was struggling to acknowledge the order before plopping his butt down to sit, grabbing the bento box his little sister made for him.
"So...want to explain why you seem to have two personalities?" Kenichi asked curiously, though he already knew the answer.
Natsu scoffed, remaining silent for a bit before explaining how becoming a model student was a method to rule the public's heart. The fact that Kenichi and Miu believed that there was justice in this world grinded his gears, but he said nothing of it.
"Just to be clear, you two will not tell anyone about this," Natsu threatened, "I have a reputation and experiment to keep. If you blab, I will find a way to end you."
"Well, well, looks like the secret prince has finally revealed his true colors!" cackled a voice.
The owner of the voice popped his head from the ladder, only to duck from Natsu's sudden sweeping kick to the head.
"You already told someone!?" Natsu hissed, only to see two shaking heads to deny his accusation.
"They had no need to tell me, the great Haruo Niijima!" Niijima cackled as he popped his head up again, "I could tell from a single glance!"
This time, Natsu was able to land a punch into his face as Niijima let his guard down.
Moments later
"HAHAHAHAHAH!"
Niijima was rolling around and laughing when he was finally on the same floor level as the rest of them as Kenichi told him how Tanimoto ended up at Ryozanpaku.
"Shut up alien bastard! Now tell me how you knew!" Natsu growled as he pulled Niijima up by his collar.
Before Niijima could reply, the bell rang to signify the end of the lunch period.
"Well, too late, gotta go!" Niijima grinned as he suddenly slipped out of Natsu's grip on his uniform by shrugging it off and running away.
"Get back here!" Natsu shouted.
"Careful perfect student, you don't want to let others know do you?" Kenichi teased as his eyes turned round, as if mocking him.
"You're really going to milk this aren't you?" Natsu growled, "I can't wait until Doctor Kensei gives me the go-ahead to kick your butt!"
A week and one day later, Natsu was standing in front of Ryozanpaku, eager to begin his duel with Kenichi. Natsu had a feeling that Kenichi was stronger than him. However, his master always told him that it was not the stronger person who won, but rather the person most tenacious towards victory. And there was nobody who was more tenacious than him. Not since his sister almost died in his hands. The strange letter that he received had come just in the nick of time for him to hire a real doctor to cure Kaede.
Speaking of which, Kaede had invited Honoka, Shigure, and Apachai to their house to play Mahjong. Normally, he would be wary of the two adults that were invited, but after a few days of exposure to them while visiting Kensei for further treatment, he had learned that Apachai was a kid stuck in an adult's body, though a very powerful body at that, and Shigure was just as awkward. Both of them were innocent enough by his standards to not take advantage of Kaede, and the fact they served as bodyguards helped.
Speaking of them...
Back at Kenichi's house, Honoka was getting ready to go out on Sunday morning.
"I'm heading to Kaede's house!" Honoka shouted.
"My my, you two have gotten close, haven't you," Saori smiled.
'Finally...It's a Sunday...' Mototsugu came out of his study with a grin.
"How about I go with you?" Mototsugu suggested, "I can see if that boy Natsu is home to make sure everything is safe before heading to the dojo Kenichi is at on the way!"
This seemingly innocent suggestion was obliterated and replaced with suspicion as Mototsugu was wearing a rather large and thick overcoat in the middle of the summer, while clutching a rather large suspicious package within his coat.
"Dear, if you're going to go out, leave Sebastian behind," Saori demanded as she grabbed his coat with an iron grip.
"Sebastian? I don't have Sebastian with me, I left him at the gun store for a complete cleaning, remember?" Mototsugu replied while beginning to sweat, whether it was from the warm weather or his current predicament with his wife was arguable. Though it was true that his hunting rifle Sebastian was at a store for a complete cleaning.
"I'm heading out!" Honoka yelled.
"Wait! Daddy will take you by car, it's safer!" Mototsugu shouted as he attempted to bulldoze out of his wife's grip with apparent failure.
"Sorry dad, but I have a better ride," Honoka smiled before putting her fingers up and whistling out loudly.
A second later, Apachai appeared from the sky, ready to take Honoka to Kaede's house.
"Monster!" Mototsugu screamed before grabbing the package inside his coat to reveal a hunting rifle, "Let's go Maximilian!"
He had already cocked his rifle, ready to fire before his wife smacked him on the head with a frying pan to prevent him from doing anything drastic.
"Have fun!" Saori waved as she held her husband, who was bleeding from his head now, "Make sure to come back before dinner time!"
Natsu entered the dojo to see Miu and Kenichi doing laundry for the day. He looked around and frowned as he failed to see any of the masters here that could possibly be the judge for the day.
"Where is everybody?" Natsu politely inquired, before adding that he already knew where Shigure and Apachai were.
"Koetsuji-sensei and Ma-shifu went to their clinics for the day," Kenichi answered.
"Sakaki-san went to buy beer, and my grandfather is still in the South for business," Miu finished, "No worries, I'll be the judge for the match today. The others suggested I do so as part of training."
"Fair enough," Natsu nodded as Kenichi dropped the laundry basket and quickly went to go change.
Natsu was tempted to wear his Hermit gear, but he had no desire to let them know he was part of Ragnarok. That they already knew he could fight was enough.
The trio moved to the main dojo, where Kenichi was wearing Ryozanpaku's official disciple clothing while Natsu opted for a Chinese Kung Fu uniform in black. Natsu looked at Kenichi in slight curiosity as it seemed to be a mesh of different style uniforms from different martial arts, but opted not to say anything.
As they got into fighting positions, Miu was already explaining the rules when she reminded Kenichi he was only allowed to use Chinese Kenpo.
"Wait, what!?" Natsu shouted in outrage.
"Ma-shifu ordered me to do so to test out my understanding of Chinese Kenpo against yours," Kenichi answered, "He wanted to see how his disciple fared against his brother's disciple."
Frowning but understanding, Natsu still made a request.
"I want you to fight with that strange technique I saw earlier along with your Chinese Kenpo, where you seemed to construct a...zone around you that didn't let attacks go through. You used it against Takeda, and again against Miu. It's a technique that looks exactly like...one of my acquaintance's techniques. I want to know what I'm going up against."
Natsu purposely left out that it was Odin, or rather Ryuto Asamiya, as he was still hiding his connection with Ragnarok. He didn't know that Miu and the others already knew the truth, but they decided it would be better to let Natsu think they didn't know.
Kenichi agreed to the additional term, and Miu raised her hands in the air.
"Star-"
"COME OUT RYOZANPAKU! I, GONZUI KUMATORI OF THE SHIKEN ODARI KARATE SCHOOL, AM HERE TO ISSUE A DOJO CHALLENGE AND TO TAKE YOUR SIGN DEGOZARU!"
The voice rang throughout Ryozanpaku, causing all three of them to pause in their position before quickly walking out to see the front gates open up with a slam. They had not put the bar on the door as they had expected Natsu, thus allowing the door to be opened with relative ease. Several men quickly marched forward before forming two lines to welcome their master. And from the cloud came a tall man with face paint styled like a Kabuki mask, complete with the Kabuki pose as he introduced himself once more. His hairstyle had parts of his hair sticking out like little wings, four in total.
"Ah, that's right...it was roughly this week our next jackpot came in," Miu whispered.
Natsu was starting to steam up as everything seemed to be out to delaying his fight against Kenichi.
"Either way, making them wait will be rude," Miu said as she quickly walked out.
"Wait, what about our duel!?" Natsu asked.
"This won't take long," Miu smiled as she greeted the challengers.
They all found themselves sitting at the main dojo, where Miu quickly served tea to Gonzui. Natsu was left simmering, but also decided it would be interesting to see how a Ryozanpaku master fought before remembering they were all out. He decided to see how this played out.
Miu quickly took out a registration book, stating that the challenger had to write out his name, address, and school while also handing out Ryozanpaku's official rule book to challenging the dojo. Natsu took a quick glance and almost face planted at the rules.
On the very first line was the rule stating any dojo hunters had to pay ten thousand yen.
"I've heard of intruders extorting dojo's, but you guys are extorting the intruders," Natsu hissed to Kenichi.
"It's one of Ryozanpaku's main ways of funding," Kenichi sighed, already used to this, "This is only the beginning."
"It's...well I guess it's a smart way of gaining money from dojo hunters," Natsu nodded, "Your dojo is...quirky to say the least. But I'm not happy about this interruption."
"You two, shut up!" Gonzui shouted in irritation as he read through the rules
"For an additional ten thousand, you can fight as a group!" Miu smiled.
Gonzui merely hummed in acknowledgment before giving a stack of Yukichi, causing Natsu to almost spit take.
"If I give you this much, that means I can fight Sakaki Shio a hundred times, correct?" Gonzui reasoned, "I've heard there are so many masters here, so it would be best if I fought someone who practices the same martial arts! First blood will be mine!"
"Ah sorry, Mr. Sakaki Shio is currently away right now," Miu apologized, "I'll take you on in his stead."
"You impertinent brat!" shouted disciple A.
"Show respect to Master Gonzui!" screeched disciple B.
"YOU...YOU LITTLE WENCH!" Gonzui screamed in anger, smashing the table into pieces, "I WILL NOT BE UNDERESTIMATED LIKE THIS DEGOZARU! DIE!"
Gonzui launched a punch towards Miu, who dodged it easily.
"TEACH THEM ALL A LESSON!" Gonzui shouted, pointing to Kenichi and Natsu, "SHOW THEM WHAT IT MEANS TO UNDERESTIMATE THE SHIKEN ODARI KARATE DEGOZARU!"
"Why am I being dragged into this?" Natsu as grumbled he dodged one of the disciples grab and kicked him in the head.
"Because you annoyed him earlier?" Kenichi suggested as he blocked a punch with a crane fist, letting it bounce right into the attacker's chin.
"So did you!" Natsu shot back as he elbowed another disciple.
"Come little wench!" Gozui growled as he began to steel his body to prepare for any attacks, "I'll show you the true might of the Shiken Odari Karate. The power of my spirit! My body is like steel, just like my unwavering spirit!"
Miu dashed towards Gozui, who prepared himself for any frontal assault when she seemingly disappeared. Then he felt two swift kicks to the back of his knee, causing him to fall down and relax his muscles unintentionally. Then Miu kicked him in the chest, causing him to fall backward. Taking advantage of this, Miu jumped to the ceiling and shot down hard, pouncing on him like a tiger, using Pencak Silat. The force of the impact caused Gozui to spit in pain before succumbing to the attack.
"Ouch that's got to hurt," Kenichi noted as he grabbed his opponent's wrist and twisted the arm, causing the attacker to flip before landing on his back and getting a swift kick to the head to knock him unconscious.
"That's Silat isn't it?" Natsu asked as he finished another opponent, using his arms like a whip to slam into his opponent's ribs.
"Yep," Kenichi answered as he finished another disciple with a high kick to the head.
All the challengers, master and disciples, were soon knocked unconscious.
"Hoo, nice job," Sakaki said as he came back from his beer run, "I'll do the rest and take them to Akisame's clinic, where he'll heal them nicely."
"You mean it's part of the rules that you put, that you give treatment after a fight?" Natsu asked, feeling the price of the dojo challenge wasn't too bad now. He knew Akisame was a top-notch doctor.
"Pfft, you kidding me?" Sakaki laughed, "Injuries sustained here and treatment is two totally different things. Akisame may knock down the price a bit, but these bastards still have to pay for the treatment!"
"That's just how it is," Kenichi whispered to a shocked Natsu, "Ryozanpaku is a place where masters who stand at the pinnacle of their martial arts gather. They get challenges so frequently that the Elder decided to make a profit out of it. There's even a waiting list sometimes."
"I'm starting to see just how my master, Ma Sogetsu, is related to your master, Ma Kensei. Both loved to extort money out of their attackers, playing the innocent victim," Natsu sighed, "And your dojo is full of people who share the same ideals. I can't even say whether this place is corrupted or just smart."
"Oyoy, you two brats have your fight yet?" Sakaki asked, "If not, I want to watch."
"That's right, we haven't," Natsu said with a gleam in his eyes before he struck without warning.
Kenichi almost didn't dodge it, but after already fighting a few people, his engine was already warmed up and ready.
"Ah, hold up I still need to take these people to the clinic," Sakaki said before making a decision. He gathered all the unconscious folks, tossing them haphazardly into a cart before kicking the cart into the air, launching it in the general direction of Akisame's clinic.
"Sakaki!" Miu screeched at his behavior.
"Relax, I punted them towards Akisame," Sakaki yawned as he put his pinky in his ear, "Akisame recently constructed soft landing pad to save time by throwing them there instead of dragging them. I'm pretty sure I got the correct aim."
Natsu had backed off only to sweatdrop at this attitude.
'Why do I feel like the stronger the master, the more insane they are?' Natsu thought before resuming his fight with Kenichi.
Natsu went for a low high combo, trying to trip Kenichi into a vulnerable position. However, when he landed a low kick to Kenichi's ankle, he felt like he had been attempting to kick a boulder stuck in the ground. Natsu grit his teeth as he dodged the downward punch from Kenichi, reassessing the situation. He swung his arms for an overhead strike, but Kenichi shot forward, allowing it to land on his shoulder while halving the power of his strike.
'Shit!' Natsu cursed mentally as he backed away, but Kenichi had placed two palms on his chest.
Sotenshu
Natsu felt the impact as he was blown back from the attack. Managing to land on his feet, he looked up to see Kenichi already upon him, his fists up. Natsu aimed a direct right elbow strike to Kenichi's face, to which Kenichi caught it with his right fist.
'Gotcha!' Natsu thought as he extended his arms out at the moment of impact of the elbow, making a two-step attack. However, his extended arm was caught by Kenichi's other hand.
"Not yet!" Natsu yelled as he swung his left arm to attack. Before it could land, a kick landed on his ribs and forced him down. As he coughed and quickly regained his fighting position, he saw Kenichi with his leg raised up. Kenichi had kicked Natsu just as he blocked the extending arm strike.
'The gap...can't be this far apart!' Natsu thought as he switched tactics, raining down rapid blows.
All his rapid strikes were blocked by the palm of Kenichi's hand. Kenichi had activated his Seikuken.
"This technique...I will break through it!" Natsu roared as he rushed forward, trying to push into the dome of defense. He received multiple punches to his body and a possible concussion, but he pushed forward. For it was not the strongest person who won, but the most tenacious one!
Natsu launched a straight whip punch right through the dome and at Kenichi's face!
"Gotcha!" Natsu grinned as the blow connected, only to frown the next second. The impact didn't seem as solid as it should've been, but he did see Kenichi falling backward. Then his lights went out as he felt something slam into his chin.
Kenichi had been surprised to see Natsu rush in to throw a punch and break through, but he focused and swayed backward just as the hit was about to connect, doing the same thing Siegfried had done before. Within the same breath, he snapped a sharp kick up into Natsu's jaw, who had been too focused on attacking that he hadn't seen it coming.
"Winner Kenichi!" Miu shouted as she saw Natsu's eyes roll up. Sakaki grabbed a bucket of cold water that was on the side, counted to twenty, and tossed the cold water onto Natsu.
"You lost kid," Sakaki stated bluntly as Natsu woke up from the shock of cold water, shaking his head to clear the confusion and concussion.
"...Dammit," Natsu cursed, "How did I, a man with talent and hard work, lose to you?"
"Well you have skimped on basic training," Kenichi noted, forcing Natsu to glare at him in anger.
"...I'll be back to challenge you again," Natsu growled as he picked himself up, "Right now, I have to go home and help prepare dinner with Kaede."
"Go see Ma Kensei before you do so," Sakaki grunted, "He'll patch you up for free since you're his brother's disciple."
Natsu was about to argue against that when he thought about it. It would ease Kaede's worry if he came back home all patched up, and he could also ask for some advice about more basic training.
"Aww Sakaki, you never showed that much softness before," Miu giggled.
"Shaddup, it...it...it was just my lucky day, and I was a good mood," Sakaki huffed, causing Kenichi to giggle.
"Kenichi, we're going to make sure you learn the Gamaku," stated an irritated Sakaki towards Kenichi, causing him to cry. That stance was still something he had trouble with, and Sakaki intended to drive it in to be able to use it.
"Hooo, so Ragnarok has decided to expand to the Eight Fists?" Niijima grinned at another hidden base he had made.
"Yes my demon lord," sang Niijima's faithful servant from the shadows, "There have been debates whether it should be Kisara Nanjo or Shinnosuke Tsuji, but Kisara is more likely, just as you predicted."
"Excellent, and the lynching?" Niijima asked.
"So far it's been delayed due to Tsuji's complaint about Kisara's promotion over him. He intends to fight Kisara so as to see if Kisara is truly worthy, but Odin will intervene. For some reason, he seemed interested in Kenichi when he heard that Kenichi easily defeated Kisara's Technique Trio. Loki provided him with Kenichi's information and picture."
"Damn, that might come back to bite us," Niijima muttered, "Didn't think he'd attract that much attention, but no matter. Well done, my faithful servant! Soon, the Shinpaku Alliance will rise, and you will be able to reveal your true colors. What about your friend?"
"Thor has agreed to join me when I leave," sang the shadowed figure as he began to play the tambourine, "He does not hold any connection with anyone else but me. And I have received word when Kisara and Tsuji will attack Takeda!"
"Excellent!" Niijima grinned as he cackled evilly, the first steps of his dream coming to fruition.
Weeks passed by as the school hit June, where there was a weekend holiday. The entirety of Ryozanpaku had visited Furinji island to relax for a bit. It was there that Kenichi was working more on his Dou Ki for a bit, even sparring with Miu while using it, as well as something else.
"Dou Ki really feels weird to me," Kenichi noted as he felt it run through his body, "Exciting my spirit instead of keeping it calm."
"Most people are more attuned to one nature over the other," the Elder lectured as he carefully watched Kenichi, "Even I had a difficult time learning Sei Ki by myself. You're lucky I'm watching over you to make sure you don't strain yourself."
They came back from the island just in time for Niijima to inform them that Kisara's induction to becoming the eighth fist of Ragnarok was complete with the code name Valkyrie. With the induction done, as well as quelling some other local gangs that were trying to break away and make a name for themselves, and kicking out intruders from their turf, Kisara would be turning her attention inwards. Meaning Takeda would be in danger soon.
"Takeda-senpai, please be careful," Kenichi pleaded, though knowing that Takeda would just ignore his warnings, "If you're in trouble, please call my cell."
Takeda was at Akisame's clinic for treatment as usual and had already received the ok signal from Akisame weeks ago to ease into boxing.
"Mmm, alright," Takeda nodded as Kenichi snatched his phone to input his number. Then he walked over to Miu and smiled, "But I'd like honey's number to call instead."
"Takeda-senpai!" Kenichi yelled in slight anger before handing back the phone, "Please, if the Ragnarok jerks are trying to lynch you, call me! Miu and I will run over to help!"
"Alright, alright," Takeda smiled tiredly while putting the phone in his right pocket, but still with gratitude, "Thanks again."
As he left, Kenichi's phone rang, prompting him to take a look. It was a message from Niijima.
"It happens tonight."
"Miu, ready to go out tonight?" Kenichi asked as he tightened the belt on his gi.
"Yea, let me grab my jacket," Miu nodded before turning to Akisame, "I have dinner almost ready. The rice has been cooked, as well as the soup. Can you and the others make the side dishes for tonight?"
"Of course. Just be careful and have fun," Akisame waved as he turned towards the dojo.
Takeda was waltzing through an alleyway near train tracks, his left hand in his pocket while his right arm carried his bags, as it was the fastest way home. And yet, it was also dangerous as there were no other passersby that took this path, making it perfect for ambushes...such as now. Not to mention they weren't doing a good job at hiding.
"Come on out. No use in hiding," Takeda declared.
At this, he soon became surrounded by Ragnarok grunts, led by Kisara and Tsuji.
"Takeda the Puncher," Kisara announced ominously, "Care to explain why you haven't reported back to me in weeks? And why you were seen leaving the enemy's territory?"
Ragnarok grunts had managed to follow where Takeda kept going, tracing it back to Akisame's clinic. While they were spying, they had spotted Kenichi and Miu with Takeda several times, leading them to believe it was enemy territory.
"Well to answer the second question, I've been seeing a doctor for an injury, Kisara," Takeda grinned.
"That's Kisara-sama!" Shiratori snapped.
"For what?" Koga sneered from a wall.
"Come down and find out," Takeda grinned, "As for your first question...well that's pretty simple. I quit Ragnarok."
"So this will be a lynching group then," Tsuji mused, "Called it!"
As the grunts slowly surrounded him, Takeda tossed his bag to the side and tossed his cell phone on top of it. He couldn't involve Kenichi in this fight. He'd endure it alone, otherwise, he would regret it if anything happened to Kenichi.
"Alright, let's stomp the crippled boxer," Koga grinned, "Let's make him more worried about the rest of his body!"
Koga was ready to jump in to attack when Ukita intervened, stating he would take care of it. Ukita started off stating how he always thought Takeda was weird, with all the sportsmanship he would show after a fight and how it ticked him off. Takeda merely gave him a sad smile before waving his right hand, ready to fight. Ukita roared and took one step...and grabbed Koga instead, using him as a human bat to attack the other grunts before chucking Koga as a projectile at Kisara and Tsuji. Kisara dodged, but Tsuji quickly caught Koga in midair.
"HAHAHA!" Ukita laughed, "I, Ukita the Thrower, am now cutting ties with Ragnarok. So if you got a problem with that, come on down and fight me!"
"Ha, what can you do against all of us?" Koga sneered as Tsuji put him down roughly, "Your only ally is a crippled boxer. Get them!"
"Well, that was true months ago," Ukita snickered as Takeda nodded before he flourished his left hand up.
"Your left hand is working!?" screeched a grunt.
"Calm down, we have overwhelming odds!" said another while charging forward, "Plus, it's probably just a bluff! No way he can use it so quickly."
Takeda gave him a one-two punch, knocking him out instantly.
"Ok, maybe he's not bluffing," gulped another grunt.
"Sorry for dragging you into this," Takeda said as he gave his 'handsome' smile with a twinkle.
"Idiot, I'm not doing this for you," Ukita denied, "I've decided to become a Judo student again and not a delinquent! Now let's crush all these punks!"
"Hmph, disgusting," Kisara sneered, "But we'll grant your wish of a beating. Everyone, crush them!"
The grunts charged, wielding sticks, nunchucks, or their fists. As Takeda and Ukita got ready for the fight of their current lives, the attackers were suddenly assaulted with pebbles that accurately hit their hands, as well as a loud voice, "Leave them alone!"
They all quickly looked to the source to see Kenichi tossing up some pebbles to show he was the one responsible for it while Miu stood next to him. Thanks to Shigure taking a rather more active role in his training during the third year of middle school, Kenichi was able to make accurate throws. Though he refused to wield weapons and/or sharp objects when Shigure pushed for it, stating that weapons were scary. Still Shigure wouldn't give up and was currently plotting something though she had shelved it for now.
"Well, well, looks who's here," Tsuji grinned down at Kenichi, "The man of the hour!...and woman!" Tsuji hastily added as he noticed Miu.
"Hey, it's Big Boobs!" Koga grinned, "This time, we definitely have the superior numbers and quality!"
"Yea, so why don't you leave the girl here?" demanded a grunt with a lusty look on his face, "I'm sure she can entertain us by (insert X-rated insults and stuff that would cause the rating to become M)."
After the grunt was finished, Koga was nodding his head in agreement while Tsuji and his crew looked in disgust.
"This is what you allow in your gang?" Tsuji growled in disgust towards Kisara.
"Of course not," Shiratori snapped, "You can expect that man to be severely punished."
Kisara was too busy looking at Miu and her body. The picture of her in a school uniform did her an injustice. Her 3 sizes were things to be envious, especially her breasts. Kisara looked down at her own chest with envy before labeling Miu as Dairy Cow. Of course, she later agreed with Shiratori that the grunt would be punished for such disgusting behavior. Koga would be punished for seemingly agreeing with the said grunt.
"Now then, die!" laughed the grunt as he charged forward with a pipe.
Kenichi stared at him and released his Ki, sending an overwhelming tension everywhere. Everyone except Miu froze at this while the grunt started shivering.
Kenichi didn't move, but to the grunt, he seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, his eyes glowing with power and his body surrounded with a blue aura.
"Get lost!" Kenichi snapped.
"KKKKKYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAA!"
The man gave off a high pitched scream as his leg muscles gave way, as well as his bladder control. He fell down to the ground unconscious while a rather prominent stain started to surround him.
"Did he just knock someone out with just a glare alone?" Ukita gaped.
Takeda gulped. "I had a feeling he was going easy on us, and now I'm glad he was."
While many of the grunts were slowly backing away, one man stepped forward with a grin.
"HAHAHAHA!" Tsuji laughed with a maniacal grin, "That's more like it! Shirahama Kenichi! I challenge you to a fight. Let's face each other like men!"
While Shinnosuke Tsuji had indeed been frightened by whatever Kenichi unleashed, another part of his spirit roared to meet this man head on in battle, even if he would most likely lose.
Kenichi frowned a bit before nodding slowly, getting into a fighting position. Tsuji was ready to go barreling forward when someone rushed past him.
Kenichi ducked under Kisara's sudden roundhouse kick and moved left just as she stopped her kick midway and tried to heel stomp him.
"Hoo, not bad," Kisara said as she saw him dodge, "You're definitely someone worth recruiting. Let's make a deal. You lose, you join my gang. You win, I'll leave you alone."
"Err, I refuse," Kenichi said blatantly, making some grunts facefault.
"What!? Why? Are you a coward?" Kisara shouted.
"Sorry, but it's against my principles to hit a woman," Kenichi stated.
Silence took hold of the area as the fighters stood still. Kisara was starting to get so angry that steam was leaking out of her ears.
"Eh, I also have that same principle, but I don't think you should be holding on to that for this fight!" shouted Takeda nervously. It was very rare to see his ex-boss this mad.
"Well, I don't give a rat's ass!" Ukita shouted as he charged forward towards Kisara. He grabbed her shirt, which she let him, and threw her towards the wall. Kisara didn't even struggle and let him do it, before flipping in the air to land feet first on the wall and bounced off it.
"Eat this!" Kisara smirked as she spun a bit and used her left foot to kick Ukita in the face.
Or she would've been successful if Miu hadn't suddenly kicked Ukita in the back of his knees, forcing him to kneel down and dodge Kisara's kick by a centimeter, though he did feel his nose burn from her jean scraping by him.
"Please be careful," said Miu as Kisara landed before turning around to face her, "I'll deal with Kisara, since Kenichi doesn't want to fight her because of his principles."
"...Damn Dairy Cow," Kisara muttered as she now got an even closer look at Miu, "Size isn't everything!"
Miu winced at this insult, remembering that Kisara used to call her that until they became closer. She decided to ignore it for the while.
"Everybody else, get them!" Kisara shouted.
Tsuji was already charging towards Kenichi, eager to test his strength. The others began to gang up on Takeda and Ukita, who were fairing pretty well.
"RAAAA!"
Tsuji was trying to land his attacks against Kenichi, but faring poorly. He was already using every dirty trick up his sleeve, from tossing sand in Kenichi's face, to clapping to distract him, even aiming for dirty spots. Kenichi swiftly disabled each attempt and even distracted Tsuji by thrusting his fist to Tsuji's right side, where he looked at it before getting hit on the left.
Still, he wouldn't give up! Not until he was forced into unconsciousness.
"Surprise attack!" Koga screamed as he tried to kick Kenichi's head from behind.
"Koga you bloody coward!" Tsuji roared, "I didn't ask for your help!"
Tsuji dashed forward, hoping to stop Kenichi from being hit, but it seemed like there was no need. Kenichi grabbed the offending leg, and with a roar, tossed Koga into the nearby chain link fence.
"Well, you certainly know how to handle yourself," Tsuji grinned as he assumed a fighting position once more, "Let's continue this fight!"
Knowing that trying to use logic to talk down Tsuji would be pointless, Kenichi prepared himself.
Meanwhile, Kisara was unable to land a hit at Miu at all, only increasing her jealousy. Not only did Miu have a bigger chest, but she seemed to be even stronger than her.
Takeda and Ukita were slowly pushing back the wave of grunts when Ukita decided to go for Shiratori. Shiratori kicked towards Ukita's head twice, but Ukita blocked both attempts with his forearm before diving forward to grab Shiratori's shirt. It would've been a successful grab had he not tripped on one of the many rocks Kenichi had thrown. Instead, his hands ended up grabbing Shiratori's chest.
Both of their minds blanked out at this as Choju Giga birds flew around them. Shiratori's face was starting to bypass red and proceed into crimson while Ukita was frozen.
"Ukita, what are you doing? Hurry up and throw him or something!" Takeda shouted as he cross-countered a grunt.
At his voice, Ukita's hands clenched down a bit, eliciting a moan from Shiratori.
'So soft and firm,' thought Ukita, 'But isn't Shiratori a dude? Why would he have boobs? He doesn't look fat, and I'm pretty sure he works out. Unless..."
Ukita's train of thought was derailed when Shiratori screamed.
"PERVERT!"
Three simultaneous kicks slammed into Ukita, two from Shiratori and Kisara, and one from Miu, who decided Ukita needed punishment for groping a girl's chest.
"Ouch," Takeda winced as he saw Ukita slam into a wall before slowly trailing down, "But what was that for?"
"For groping a maiden's chest!" Miu huffed while Shiratori was covering her chest with her hands.
"Wait, but isn't Shiratori a guy?" Takeda asked in confusion, along with 1/4th of the lynching group that was still conscious.
"I never once stated that I was a man," Shiratori stated as she glared at Ukita.
Any further conversation was halted when another voice was heard.
"Beware, Ragnarok! For the Shinpaku Alliance has come!"
Up from the walls stood Niijima cackling with the other members he had recruited, standing at ready. Matsui was once again waving the giant flag with the Shinpaku logo on it.
"Shit, it's a new gang!"
"Run!"
"Retreat!"
Kisara could only grit her teeth as she called in the retreat. Tsuji was all for staying, but even he knew when it was time to retreat to protect his men.
"Shall we pursue?" asked Kimoto, a loyal member who was once again part of the group.
"No, we'll let them go!" Niijima cackled evilly, "We'll show mercy, and they'll help us spread word of our group and fear us!"
The members of the newly formed Shinpaku alliance quickly went down to see if anyone needed help.
"We're good," Takeda shrugged, "Just a few bruises. We have no casualti...well almost no casualties."
He glanced at the unconscious Ukita, who was being put on a stretcher.
"But how'd you know I'd be attacked?" Takeda asked.
"Oooh I have my sources," Niijima grinned, "After that, I sent a message to Kenichi alerting him about this lynching."
"Takeda-senpai," Kenichi started, "I told you to call me if you were in trouble."
"Sorry, but-" Takeda began, but was interrupted by Kenichi.
"No. I know you didn't want to entertain the possibility that I would end up like you did when you went to save your friend, but if I was given the choice, I would rather lose my arms than not save my friends. I started practicing martial arts because I wanted to defend people from bullies and become a true hero. I wouldn't be that if I didn't come to your aid."
Seeing the resolute conviction in Kenichi's eyes, Takeda could only look down in slight shame before looking straight at Kenichi and nodded in understanding.
A few days later
Takeda was sitting at a cafe, sipping on some tea while he was waiting for someone he hadn't met for a long time.
"Takeda!"
It was Akeshita, Takeda's...ex-best friend. They hadn't been in contact ever since Takeda's left arm was crippled. Their paths diverged when Akeshita continued on his path of being a pro boxer while Takeda was left drowning and involving himself with gangs.
"Akeshita, it's been awhile," Takeda smiled as he waved with his right hand, his left still in his pocket.
"Yea, I've been busy with road work and all that," Akeshita apologized, "Sorry I didn't have time to talk with you at least."
"I heard you're getting a title match soon, aren't you? Looking to take the Japanese Lightweight belt? "
"Yea, it's open season on that right now. That Mashiba vs Sawamura match was bloody and ended with both fighters unable to fight, the former being suspended and the latter unable to participate in matches anymore. Since I'm second in the Japanese rankings for Lightweight, I get to duke it out with the fourth ranker, as I just beat the third ranker months ago. That belt will be mine!"
"Good luck man!"
"So what else is this about? You couldn't have called me out here just to talk," Akeshita questioned as the water he ordered arrived.
"I'm here to tell you that I'll be going back into the world of boxing soon," Takeda grinned.
Akeshita almost choked on his water, coughing it out to the side quickly.
"Say what?" Akeshita coughed as soon as he evacuated all of the water from his lungs, "Are you planning to box with only one hand?"
"Nope. I went to a doctor and he said that my left arm isn't permanently crippled like I thought."
Akeshita looked around before leaning towards Takeda, telling him to do the same and whispered, "Takeda, you sure? We went to that expensive doctor who specializes in injuries like this, and he told us it wasn't possible. You sure this doctor your going to isn't just conning you?"
Takeda smiled and placed his left hand on Akeshita's shoulder, before replying, "I'm pretty sure he's telling the truth."
Akeshita looked at the left hand in shock before smiling at Takeda, congratulating him on the potential recovery.
The two were about to separate when Takeda quickly warned him, "Oh, and that doctor we went to? Don't go to him anymore, I think he's a quack."
"I'll keep that warning in mind," Akeshita nodded and left.
Takeda watched him leave before walking away to a corner and talked to the shadow of a pole.
"I still don't know why you had me talk to him," questioned Takeda, "I wasn't even planning on telling him, considering we haven't been in contact for a long time. That and since he kinda abandoned me after that fight. I only did what you told me to because you said you were Kenichi's best friend."
"That's his worst best friend," Niijima chuckled as he appeared from the shadow.
"I...don't quite get that," Takeda sweatdropped.
"Nevertheless, I've had some suspicions when I heard your story," Niijima explained, "Not everything seems to be what it appears. Watching your friend Akeshita's face certainly confirmed some of them."
"Confirmed what?" Takeda asked confusedly.
"I'll follow up more on it, don't worry about it," Niijima waved him off, "But in the meantime, are you interested in joining the Shinpaku Alliance?"
"I'm not going to be a delinquent anymore!" growled Takeda.
"Ohoho, but the Shinpaku Alliance isn't one," Niijima grinned as he put one hand on Takeda's shoulder. Two antennas suddenly sprouted from his head and latched onto Takeda's head.
"We are a small elite group of martial artists," Niijima explained as he began to brainwash his newest victim, "We aren't looking to be delinquents, but rather a group of people looking to push and dive into the path of martial arts. You seem like a talented and determined man. You would fit in well with us! Kenichi is a part of the group, as is Miu! I can promise you once your rehabilitation is complete, I have contacts with a boxer who is a master in the art. He makes all those world title champions seem like chumps!"
Takeda never stood a chance against Niijima's brainwashing technique as Niijima continued to pile mounds of logic, reasoning, and persuasion on him.
Off in the distance, Akeshita looked up into the sky before punching a fence in anger. He would have to make a few calls and make sure that Takeda never made it into the boxing ring.
Ohoho what's this? A conspiracy? Find out more next time! Might come out faster! I've always felt like Takeda's injury was somewhat suspicious. Again, still a somewhat steamroll going on. Also, kudos to those who figure out the Easter Egg I dropped in.
Thanks for reading, leave a review!
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