Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get perks!
This story has been beta by ZShaq and TheReader2011. Enjoy, leave a review for me to improve!
And so we're nearing the Desperate Fight of Disciple Arc! What will happen muahahah! Also a random cameo, cookies for those who know who I just made up.
Anyways, on with the story!
"So...what do you have to say for yourself?" asked the Elder.
"I'm sowwy!" cried out Kensei as he was hogtied and hung off the Elder's mighty bonsai tree. With the help of Kenichi's book on How To Tie a Person Up So Well That They Can't Escape, Even If They Are Masters!, Kensei actually found it difficult to escape the rope.
"You're lucky I decided to go up there myself," said the Elder, "I shiver to think what Jenazad would've done to Kenichi if he succeeded. We can't rely on luck that the timeline will always go the way Kenichi and Miu said it did."
While Kensei was being punished, Kenichi and Miu were off at the Shinpaku Alliance building to visit the others.
"Wait, what about now?" wailed Kensei, "Who's watching them now? I can volunteer!"
"Sakaki has already taken the shift," chuckled Akisame as he was painting, "Apachai and Shigure are accompanying Honoka and Kaede. Elder, I would appreciate if you did let Kensei down. It's almost time for our shifts."
The Elder looked at the clock to show that their shift was indeed coming up. Due to Niijima's help, the new super well-equipped hospital that had been built near their location hadn't bled Kensei and Akisame's business bone dry. Instead, they had been contracted to work with the hospital. Twice a week they would work inside, helping out the hospital while the other hours they worked in their own clinic. It was a profitable arrangement for both parties. Of course, since Ryozanpaku wasn't going to be bankrupt anytime soon thanks to Miu and Niijima, there had been debates whether to host the children training camp for martial arts, as they did in the past timeline. Some of their actions had helped quite a few children stand up to their bullies, their health got better, etc. Instead, Niijima told them that he had it all covered.
At a certain dojo
"Whew, didn't think this would be this popular!" exclaimed Tsutomu as he looked out into the dojo yard.
Indeed, the yard was filled with children ranging from ages 4-7, all yelling and playing with each other.
"This does help with the income," nodded Tayu as she cuddled with her daughter, "Kairi is starting to get big and eating a lot more, aren't you?"
Kairi giggled as Tayu began playing with her, letting Tsutomu take reign of the class. Next to him were the disciples of the Zanshin Taisha-ryuu, Tsukasa and Kuranda. They had been hired to help maintain discipline, much to their chagrin.
"Alright you two, help me pass out the dougi uniforms," ordered Tsutomu as he brought out a box filled with clothes.
At the Shinpaku Alliance
Kenichi stood in the middle of the room, glancing around at his opponents. Two of them circled around Kenichi, each poised to strike. Kenichi slowly shifted himself, always changing his blind spot as much as possible. In his hands was another weapon that he had yet to truly use against an opponent, the wooden three sectional staff.
Suddenly, Takeda rushed forward, his fist up towards his chest as he went to engage Kenichi. Tsuji charged forward along with him, utilizing the Koppou steps, sliding forward towards Kenichi from behind.
Kenichi swiftly spun his staff around his body, preventing both opponents from easily closing in. Quickly keeping it rotating, Kenichi struck with his staff towards Takeda, who managed to dodge it but was unable to go forward.
"Gotcha!" exclaimed Tsuji as he tried to punch Kenichi, only for him to duck under it and back kick him in the chin. Tsuji managed to sway away just in time but felt his brain get rattled a bit.
With a butterfly kick, Kenichi maneuvered himself so he was facing both opponents, quickly retracting the staff so he held all three of them in one hand. Takeda looked at Tsuji with a glance before charging in once more, weaving his body as he did so. Suddenly, Kenichi thrust his weapon out, the staff extending towards Takeda. Takeda's eyes widened as he quickly put his guard up. The staff impacted onto Takeda's arms, sting his arms as he stepped back. Tsuji rushed in, hoping to catch Kenichi off tempo. Tsuji then had to put both hands up as Kenichi spun in the air, the staff whistling along with him before it aimed for his head.
"Haha, blocke-gah!" exclaimed Tsuji. Tsuji had managed to block the attack to his cranium but had miscalculated the joints of the three sectional staff. The middle part had impacted on his arms, but the last section continued its momentum and struck Tsuji in the back of the head.
Kenichi lifted his staff back up and tried a horizontal swing at Tsuji, only for Takeda to come in and punch the staff away, causing it to fling away and almost slip out of Kenichi's hands.
"Chance!" roared Tsuji as he ran forward undeterred.
Kenichi used the momentum from Takeda's hit to rotate with it and struck Tsuji in the ribs. Tsuji winced as the sectional staff was about to wrap around him, then grabbed the last staff as it came back. His other hand grabbed another part of the staff, causing Kenichi to be stuck. Before Kenichi could force Tsuji to let go, Takeda had jumped off of Tsuji's shoulders and tried to land a meteor straight punch to Kenichi's jaw.
Kenichi quickly grabbed the attacking fist and threw Takeda into the matted floor, causing Takeda to cough in pain. Kenichi flipped over Takeda and then threw him once more into a wall while dodging Tsuji's amateurish attempts to hitting Kenichi with the weapon.
"Ha, let's see how you- OW!" winced Tsuji as he swung the weapon like a flail, only to hit his head again with the weapon during the end of one of his swings. The weapon had wrapped around his head and hit him.
Kenichi used this to his advantage, sliding in an elbowing Tsuji in the chest.
"Alright, that's enough," shouted Sakaki, "Kenichi, you lose again."
"Why doesn't it feel like he lost?" groaned Takeda as he picked himself up.
"Because he's supposed to learn how to use his weapon properly," said Sakaki, "Shigure gave me strict instructions that Kenichi has to learn to use it, and that means not losing it so easily and resorting to empty hand techniques, where he's had more practice with. This also helps doubles as practice against fighting weapons for you all."
As Tsuji and Takeda propped themselves up, Sakaki looked around the Shinpaku base to admire the architecture that Niijima had placed in it. While Kenichi, Tsuji, and Takeda were getting ready to go at it once more in a matted area, Miu was actually sparring against Kisara, Shiratori, and a few other Valkyries. Freya wasn't at the base but had opted to return to her grandfather's dojo to get some advice. It was rather hard for Freya to do so, but the fact was that her grandfather, besides being eccentric, was a powerful person to learn from.
Sakaki continued to look around, hearing Tibetan chants coming out from a room. Siegfried had yet to leave his room and was still spinning on a boulder. In another section was a row of computers with the other members of Shinpaku using them, gathering information off the web. And of course, at one corner, sat Niijima on his throne, though he was on his computer too. Thor was still absent, as he had decided to follow Tsuji's choice and train at the mountains for a bit.
'Hmm, how do I make this more interesting?' pondered Sakaki. He allowed himself to wallow in the memories of his past for a bit when Ukita entered the building, his hair full of dirt.
"Yo, what happened to you?" waved Takeda.
"Was trying out a new move before Yamamoto-sensei threw me into the ground head first," grumbled Ukita, "Freaking brat of his kept laughing, asking me if it was cold underground. The only good thing was that a second later, his head was also buried underground."
'Underground'
That word rang around Sakaki's mind for a bit before he gave a huge smile.
"Everyone, stop what you're doing!" shouted Sakaki, causing everyone to actually stop, "I got a class assignment for you all! We're gonna go on a little trip."
"Will we be safe for this trip?" asked Kenichi, a bit scared.
"Oh, don't worry," grinned Sakaki, "It'll be a surefire way to make you guys improve!"
A few hours later
"Welcome to the underground duel arena, where anything can happen! The rules when you fight... there are few to none! No protection gear, just a pure, all-out brawl! In this place, anything can happen!" shouted an announcer as people cheered.
"... Sakaki-shisho, why are we here?" blinked Kenichi as he, Miu, Takeda, Tsuji, Niijima, Kisara, and Ukita stood in the entryway of the underground arena. Siegfried had decided not to come, as he was still training via spinning.
"To train!" declared Sakaki before adding in a whisper, "and to get me some extra spending money."
"Gahahaha, don't worry, we'll be here to watch!" laughed James Shiba, who had decided to accompany them on the 'little' trip, "Anyways, boy! I expect you to win! I'll give you permission to take off the restraints"
"Yes master!" saluted Takeda.
"I'm feeling a bit... whelmed," said Ukita nervously, "I think I'll pass on this."
"Nope, you're getting at least one battle in," stated Sakaki.
"I haven't even landed a single blow against my sensei, and I still have yet to win against the master's brat!" exclaimed Ukita, "There's no way I'm going to win!"
"Stop your griping brat," yawned Sakaki, "Just get in there!"
"Why don't you fight then!?" yelped Ukita as Sakaki grabbed him by the collar to stop him from escaping.
"I would have done so if I could," explained Sakaki before pointing at Shiba, "Same with him."
"Holy shit, that person in the sunglasses is Sakaki!" shouted one passerby, who had taken a random glance at Sakaki before doing a double take.
"It's the 100th dan karate master, run for your lives!" screamed another as a crowd began to flee.
"Isn't that guy with the mustache James Shiba, the God of Destruction of Underground Boxing!? Why is he here? Run!"
"See, that's why I don't fight," sighed Sakaki, "Even in this place, nobody really wants to fight a master class, especially Grand Masters at my level."
"Hehehe, so you've returned, master Sakaki," grinned a middle-aged man wearing a white suit, his face adorned with an evil smirk.
"Oooh, haven't seen you for a long time, Boss," smirked Sakaki back, "Surprised to see you're still alive."
'Oh good, maybe we'll be kicked out!' thought Ukita.
Suddenly, the Boss got on his knees, crying while crawling back, begging Sakaki to not ruin his business. "Kenichi, what the hell did your master do?" gaped Ukita, as did everybody else in the disciple class.
"I don't know, but I don't think I want to find out," chuckled Kenichi.
"Relax, Boss, I'm not going to fight," stated Sakaki, "Instead, I'm on supervising duty today. Kids, meet the Boss who'll help you get your fights."
Suddenly, death glares from all sorts of fighters pinned down the disciple group, causing them all to squirm a little. Even Kenichi, who was basically around the Expert Class now with Miu, squirmed, but that was just his usual personality. Soon, laughs filled the arena as they didn't expect much from the group. This obviously ticked Tsuji and Kisara off and was eager to prove them all wrong.
"You think this is safe?" whispered Kenichi to Niijima, "I think we're here earlier than before when Sakaki shishou took me here."
"Should be," muttered Niijima, "I don't see the Stanley twins here yet. So that means we have a bit of free reign here."
'Not to mention I'm going to make a fortune here,' snickered Niijima in his mind.
Soon enough, matches were prepared for them all. While Tsuji, Kisara, and Takeda were excited as they were called into different rings, Ukita was quivering as he was in the ring.
"Come on, do I have to do this?" wailed Ukita towards Sakaki.
"Oy, kid, pay attention, the match started," lectured Sakaki.
Ukita snapped his attention forward just to see a flying knee to his face from his opponent.
"Oh crap!" shouted Ukita as he ducked under the knee, rolling away from his opponent.
"What's wrong brat, scared?" sneered the man, "Just stand still, and I'll send you flying to a world of dreams... in the hospital!"
The man launched a barrage of attacks, which Ukita kept dodging. It was then that Ukita noticed something peculiar.
'Why does my opponent... seem so much slower than the brat?' thought Ukita, referring to the time when he sparred with Naoki.
"Urgh, stop dodging!" cried out the man as he kept missing. He then tried to punch Ukita, but overstepped it too much.
Ukita snapped back into reality and reacted, grabbing the man's wrist with both hands. Ukita then jumped up, wrapping his legs around the man's head and shifted his weight towards the ground, forcing his opponent to fall to the ground.
Armlock Twist Takedown!
It was a move that Naoki and Taiki had used to take him down repeatedly. This move set was so ingrained into Ukita that he had no trouble performing it against his opponent.
"Oh, and a surprise takedown from Child U! Will this be the match!?" shouted an announcer.
Ukita firmly grasped the arm, not allowing his opponent any opportunity. Soon, the man tapped out, allowing Ukita to win.
"Ukita, you did it!" cheered Kenichi as Ukita got back to the corner.
"Yea... I guess I did!" smiled Ukita.
"Have more confi... Ukita duck!" shouted Kenichi. Ukita instinctively obeyed just to dodge an attack.
"Hey, hey, don't get distracted," said Sakaki as he sipped on his beer the Boss had brought for him, "You four are going to be doing continuous matches until you forfeit, whether by choice or knockout."
"You said one battle only!" cried Ukita.
"Yeah... that is one battle," smirked Sakaki, "Just continuous matches. I'll let you out if you really seem tired, but not before. C'mon, I heard you say that you didn't want to be left behind. If you don't do this, you'll really be left behind. The other three are already past their 2nd match."
Ukita's ears perked up to hear that it was true. Child T (Takeda,) had just finished his 3rd fight, Child K (Kisara) was in the middle of her third, and Child S (Tsuji) was beginning his 3rd fight. Ukita grit his teeth as he turned to face his opponent, this time a determined visage painted onto his face. With a roar, Ukita charged forward.
"Urrrgg that was tiring," groaned Ukita as he held an ice pack to his head, though he felt proud of himself. He had managed to win three fights before losing the fourth one.
"Yeah, but it gave us a lot of experience," grinned Kisara, who winced as she gently poked her thigh. She had five consecutive wins before she decided to stop, her legs feeling a bit sore. Her last match had been especially challenging.
"Hmph, I want to go up again!" pouted Tsuji, his face rather bruised. He had won four matches and tied his fifth match with a double knockout.
Takeda was still continuing his sixth match, though he was very tired now. He narrowly won with a cross counter before calling it quits for now.
"Hey, Kenichi is going up," noted Ukita, getting Kisara and Tsuji's attention.
Indeed, Kenichi was now up on stage, holding his three sectional staff.
"Err, are you sure this is alright?" gulped Kenichi.
"You'll be fine!" said Sakaki confidently, "Now go out there and play!"
Six battles later
Kenichi was lightly panting as his next opponent dove into the ring. He had sustained light injuries, most of which were actually self-inflicted. He was still not used to the new weapon, and some of the fights had been harder than he thought. Miu was by his side, cheering him on, so Kenichi bravely soldiered on. Despite Sakaki's 'trial by fire', Kenichi had to admit that the constant fights against other people he was not familiar with forced him to learn faster.
Kenichi whipped out his staff, blocking his opponent's wooden sword slash. Then, in the same motion, he trapped the sword within both sections of his staff. His opponent struggled, trying to tug his sword away. Kenichi held it firmly between the staff and kneed his opponent's chest. His opponent coughed in pain and once more pulled the sword back with all his strength.
Kenichi grinned as he suddenly opened both sides, allowing the man to regain his weapon. However, the man had not expected his weapon to be released so easily and lost his balance. Kenichi swiftly spun, swinging his three section staff around his leg and slammed it into the man's back, sending him flying out of the ring.
"And Child A wins another match!" shouted the announcer, "Can anybody stop his winning streak!?"
'Hmm?' noted Sakaki as he peeked up the stands, 'Looks like expert level fighters want a piece of him. Perhaps I should stop it? It would be good to have him face some stronger people though.'
Suddenly, a man in a pink gi jumped into the ring, eager to fight Kenichi.
"I'm Gan Tibiki, and I, with my Kyoryokuna style (self-proclaimed powerful style), will beat you!"
Kenichi blinked as he saw this rather flashy dressed man posing with his fist in front of him. Suddenly, the man jumped towards him with a right roundhouse kick while in the air. Kenichi blocked the right kick, then had to lift his other staff part to block the left kick that suddenly shot out. And yet, Gan wasn't done. Gan swiftly withdrew his right leg while still in the air and lashed out once more, this time going for a thrust kick. Kenichi lifted the middle part of this staff to block it and was pushed back a bit.
"He's skilled," noted Takeda as he finished up his water.
"Yea, it takes a lot of balance and skill to launch all those kicks," nodded Kisara, her legs feeling a bit better, "Especially a variety too."
"Think Kenichi's met his match?" asked Tsuji as he observed the fight.
"Mmm, I wouldn't say so," piped in Niijima suddenly, scaring them all, "With just his weapon, Kenichi probably doesn't stand a chance. Without it, though, I'd say he's got a good chance."
The four of them blinked before remembering that Kenichi was much more skilled in empty hand combat and that the weapons training were a more recent thing.
"An Expert Class?" observed Miu from the side of the ring.
"Roughly," acknowledged Sakaki, "Kinda on the low side of it, but yea."
Kenichi struggled to keep up with Gan. The man, despite his bloated ego, knew how to fight, at the very least. Then it happened.
"WATAAA!" screamed Gan as launched a crushing blow to a specific point on Kenichi's staff that he had been hitting several times.
The wooden staff cracked under all the pressure and splintered in half. Kenichi was now left with a broken weapon.
"Haha, now that your weapon is useless, you might as well give up!" boasted Gan, posing once more with his fist up in front of him, "No way you can fight without your pwecious wittle weapon."
He was greeted with a swift punch to the face, followed by two elbows and a kick to his face.
"I can't believe he actually took his eyes off his opponent," snickered Kisara as Gan staggered backward, his nose bleeding.
"Gah, what the hell, I thought you didn't know how to fight without a weapon," groaned Gan.
"Never said I couldn't," grinned Kenichi as he blocked a fist from Gan and threw him into the ground. Gan quickly got up, only to get a knee right into his face.
As Gan flew backward, his last scream before falling unconscious could be heard.
"BABAAAA!" (Old Lady)
The ring fell silent as the man laid unconscious on the ring.
"Well, that was a thing," snickered Niijima as Kenichi got out of the ring. Without his weapon, there was no real point in continuing. Not to mention he had already attracted an expert level fighter and defeated him with 'ease'. To tell the truth, Gan had been too overconfident and never thought Kenichi could still punch him. If Gan had kept his guard up, then the fight would've been much more difficult.
"Well that was a good experience," clapped Sakaki, "Let's get you brats home. I've got some business to get to."
"Mmm fine," said Miu before putting her hand out, "But first, the money."
"What money?" said Sakaki innocently, trying not to break out in a cold sweat.
After a few seconds of Miu glaring, Sakaki reluctantly passed all the money he gained from betting on the matches. After a short lecture about betting, Miu gave him 50% of the cut, which was more than enough for him to spend on what he wanted. The rest would be going to the budget for Ryozanpaku. Shiba laughed as he had all his money for himself and some for Takeda.
'Glad I had all my transactions handled through wiring,' snicked Niijima as they all left the arena.
A day later, a blushing Sakaki could be seen returning home with Shigure right behind him. He refused to say what happened, though.
A few days later
"And the Tokumei Kibou (18 years old) beats the odds once more! She is now 14-0, and it seems like she has run out of opponents to fight!"
Rachel Stanley scoffed as she saw nobody coming up to fight now. She had come here to burn some time before her master, Carlo Diego, began the Desperate Fight of Disciples. Everything had been prepared, and the only things left to do was to have the invites sent out. She, of course, basked in the light as everyone's attention was on her. After kicking one of the guards in the head for cockblocking photos despite there being a wire cage in between them, she decided she had had enough fun and jumped off the ring.
"Had enough?" asked her younger brother, Ethan Stanley.
"Yeah, for now. Why don't you go up in the ring? Have some fun, loosen up! As my co-star in the upcoming event, I'm expecting you to help me put up a big show!" whined Rachel.
Ethan merely sighed at this, as this reason for this sort of attitude was clearly due to her master. Granted, out of all the masters in Yami, Diego was one of the more light-hearted ones that he did not mind talking with. While letting his older sister playfully beat on his arms, his hearing perked up as he heard one of the fighter talking with another fighter.
"Man, what's with all these kids kicking our asses?"
Ethan focused on what the two fighters were saying, getting as much information as he could glean.
"Are you even listening to me now!?" huffed Rachel.
"Yes sister," replied Ethan, "I heard you loud and clear about shining above the others like diamonds, but hold on for a bit, I heard something that might be important."
Rachel pouted but kept silent as she also strained her ears to hear what Ethan was talking about.
"Excuse me, who are you talking about?" asked Rachel as she picked up the conversation from the other fighters.
"Oh some boy named Child A," replied the fighter, slightly edging away from Rachel in slight fear, "We didn't get a name. He won a buncha fights with a weapon, and managed to actually defeat one of our top fighters here."
"Hmm, and if you were to compare the two of us, who would be stronger?" demanded Rachel while bending down a little, giving the fighter a good view of her cleavage, which wasn't hard as her Lucha Libre uniform barely covered it.
"Errr you are strong and flashy," said the fighter with a gulp, "But I think Child A might be stronger. He did take out one of the bigger fish here."
Rachel frowned, unhappy that there was someone who was shining more than her.
"Could you describe the person?" asked Ethan, coming into the conversation.
"Eh, medium length brown hair, kinda plain looking, wears a bandage under his left eye."
Ethan pondered for a second before pulling out a crumpled photo, quickly smoothing it out and asked, "Did he look like this?"
It was a photo of Kenichi that had been snapped a while ago. While Rachel threw her copy away, Ethan had kept his.
"Yea, that's him!"
"Thank you for your help," bowed Ethan, allowing the two fighters to quickly leave.
"So, he thinks he can outshine us, does he?" growled Rachel, "We'll show him that we Luchadores are bright as diamonds, as will smash him to pieces!"
While Rachel was swearing vengeance for being outshone, Ethan was shelving this information in his mind. From what he heard, Kenichi had fought mainly using weapons. And yet, from Ogata's information, he was much more skilled in CQC. Perhaps Shirahama Kenichi was someone to be wary of.
On a certain island
Carlo Diego, the Smiling Steel Fist, had woken up in a luxurious bedroom. Whistling, he headed towards the showers and began to strip off all his clothes except for his mask, to which he never took off. The mask was a custom job that he himself did, the cloth made with special materials. It could be washed with the face soap that he used, and even if and when he needed to deep clean the mask, he had several backups ready.
"Because it's DIEGO QUALITY!" said Diego to no one in general as he finished washing his face and mask. Yet somehow, whenever someone heard him yell out this phrase, they swore they could somehow hear it all in caps.
Soon enough, he was sitting on a chair out on the balcony, enjoying breakfast as he looked through the news, taking in the scene before him. Soon, the D of D would be here, and he, as the host, would bring entertainment to the world. The construction of the arena was already done, the invites sent out.
"Sir, we have received confirmations from most participants that you have invited!" said Diego's secretary.
"Mm, excellent! I'm guessing the rest that has yet to reply hasn't received it yet?" asked Diego.
"Errr...," said the secretary nervously, "There was one that rejected the invitation. The Tenchi Mushin Ryuu."
"Wait!? Why?" asked Diego with a frown. He was really hoping that they would've come. They would have been excellent entertainment material!
"They said that they have a child to take care of, and couldn't afford to leave her behind. Nor did they want to take her here," replied the secretary.
"Did you tell them that we have the latest state of the art nursery, equipped with the finest toys and lessons, all with a 24-hour guard and one of the world's best babysitters, all of them DIEGO QUALITY approved?" asked Diego, stressing his name. They really did have such a thing, as Diego insisted it. He wanted nothing left to chance.
"Yes sir, but they insisted that they wanted to devote their time to their family and home," gulped the secretary. Diego was silent for a minute, standing up and staring out into the scenery before closing his eyes. The secretary himself was getting nervous, as he didn't want to be near Diego in case he reverted from Smiling Steel Fist to Angry Iron Fist.
"Fine," sighed Diego after opening his eyes, "Go down to the next list. We'll have to pull from the reserves. Or... we could get some more of Yomi's members in here! Oh wait, I have another idea! Let me write this down and send it out! This'll be even more fun!"
The secretary let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he would not have to order new furniture. Truth be told, Diego had been angry and disappointed that the Tenchi Mushin Ryuu had rejected the offer, but he understood why. Family was important, after all. And not to mention, they would be bringing their child to a dangerous place where the vast majority... or rather 99% of the audience had their hands in something illegal and were dangerous.
Despite all the security, if one of them managed to hire someone to kidnap their daughter and hold her hostage, then they would control the parent. Then they would control how some of the matches went, limiting the fighter's ability. That would not be DIEGO QUALITY. Of course, Diego would have dealt with such poisonous acts in the line of entertainment, but it was still a possibility. He did not need entertainers that would go into the fight without DIEGO QUALITY energy.
He quickly jotted down his invitation and had it sent out via express. If they agreed to come, then the D of D would become an even bigger spectacle!
"Speaking of which, did those two accept it?" asked Diego as he finished his letter, giving it to his secretary.
"Yes sir," bowed the secretary, "The latter has replied saying they will be coming with the former."
"Excellent!" grinned Diego, "No matter what, even if they are possible cannon fodder, as long as they put up a DIEGO QUALITY show, then it'll be fun!"
At Ryozanpaku
"So... it's arrived," said Kenichi nervously.
Yami's invite to the D of D had arrived at Ryozanpaku, and naturally, they had accepted. After all, this was the perfect opportunity to swoop in and arrest many underground criminals, something they couldn't avoid. Not to mention, they were still following the timeline. According to the invite, the beginning of the tournament would be hosted in two days.
"Indeed, did you all take your end-of-the-year exams already?" asked the Elder.
"Yes grandfather," replied Miu.
In the last timeline, they had barely made it back to school in time to take the test. Miu had been fine, being the straight A student, but that was probably the first time she had gotten a few Bs. Kenichi had suffered through B and Cs at that time, and Niijima had somehow surfed through with Bs. Ukita and Takeda had it the worst, not compiling enough credits or having good enough grades to graduate thanks to their gangster ways, even with Koryuu's rather lax policy.
Now that they had taken it, Miu would keep her straight A grades, and with her help, Kenichi would also maintain the same grades.
"Ah, does that mean we have a better plan now?" asked Kenichi excitedly, as they were more informed about the island's defenses, etc.
"Ah yes, we do," nodded Akisame.
"It's called 'Enjoy the mood of the Southern Islands first, then make a big mess and leave, revised!" explained the Elder.
"That's still the same plan!" cried Kenichi.
"Relax Kenichi," chuckled Sakaki, "Even with all the extra info, we can't depend on it. There might be a few key changes in the timelines, and if we depend on the old info and find it wrong, then we doom ourselves. It's nice to have it, but as long as we know the existence of a trap and other stuff, we'll be fine."
"That does not make me feel better!" cried Kenichi.
"Regardless, we should avoid bringing your friends," stated Akisame in a serious tone, "Though they might have come before, we cannot ask nor force them to come."
Kenichi and Miu nodded, actually agreeing with the statement. Though they both knew that if anyone could somehow get Shinpaku Alliance to come, it would be Niijima.
Two days had passed without a peep from Niijima, allowing the residents of Ryozanpaku to think Niijima had agreed with their arrangements. Soon, they were all walking to where Ryozanpaku's hand-crafted boat was waiting at the pier, where they would take it to the island. Noir, the cat, was being carried by Miu. She didn't want to leave him behind, and hiring someone to catsit for Noir wasn't an option. Plus, Noir knew how to defend himself thanks to Tochumaru, and so it was decided that they would take him with them. However, awaiting at the pier was a surprise to all of the Ryozanpaku masters.
"Kekekekeke did you think you would be leaving us behind!?" laughed Niijima as he and the rest of the Shinpaku Alliance members were there waiting. Surprisingly Natsu and Renka were also there with them.
"Yeah, you didn't think we went to the underground arena to train and not come to this D of D!?" shouted Takeda, gesturing to himself, Kisara, Tsuji, and Ukita, who nodded in reply.
"I trained with my grandfather once more to throw myself into the world of martial arts, and rediscovering myself in the process," stated Freya as she twirled her staff around, "After what Ryozanpaku's weapons master had said, I followed her advice and became a master of my own body, with my staff as a true extension of my body."
"This is the perfect opportunity to spread word of combat sumo!" exclaimed Thor, "As a martial artist, I cannot let this chance get away!"
"This is one of the biggest events in the world of martial arts! How could I know about it and not want to come!?" cheered Renka, "I'm going to show the world what the Phoenix Alliance can do!"
As the masters gaze landed on Natsu, he shrugged and answered, "I got information that my master may be on that island. I'm going to drag him back home to have him finish up training me. Plus, Kaede wants to see him again and get her 100th win off him."
"Well that's all very good reasons, but the D of D is an invitation exclusive offer. If you wanted to fight, you would have to prove in some way that you are directly under Ryozanpaku. Only my daughter and my brother's disciple could have any standing on that," frowned Kensei, "Just saying that your group is allied with us gives no real standings."
"Kekeke, you don't need to worry about that," cackled Niijima.
"Oh? And why do you say that?" asked Akisame curiously.
"Because of yours truly, the Shinpaku Alliance has been invited to the D of D!" cackled Niijima as he pulled out an invite with the Shinpaku Alliance's name on it. Everyone's jaws dropped as they saw the legitimate invite, complete with Diego's signature.
"HOW!?" was the question ringing through everyone's mind except for Apachai, who was just clapping.
"We earned enough rep to get his attention," giggled Niijima, "With the defeat of the Zanshin Taisha Ryu and Spark of Yomi, not to mention Ogata mentioning our name during their meeting, I'm guessing Carlo Diego thought we were entertainment material."
'Not to mention my investments has made Shinpaku quite rich,' Niijima added mentally.
"So, you gonna take us to the island with you?" grinned Niijima at the Elder.
The Elder closed his eyes, taking a deep breath while he did so. After what seemed to be hours when in reality was just a few minutes, the Elder opened his eyes once more.
He jumped over all of them, standing in front of the boat now. He then brought his hand up, having it positioned knife-hand strike, and slashed the ground. Instantly, there was a line in between the Shinpaku Alliance and the boat.
"Please understand that during this time, we will not be able to protect you all," declared the Elder with a firm but gentle tone, "However, if you are determined to come, step forth beyond this line. Come if you are not afraid of what lies beyond this point."
Everyone in the Shinpaku Alliance hesitated at this, including Niijima. Niijima knew that just because he had knowledge of the future, it didn't mean that it was set in stone. Too many variables could come into play.
"Don't feel pressured," reassured the Elder, "Even if the Shinpaku Alliance doesn't show, I'm sure Yami will not care. They are only interested in those who have immersed themselves in the underground world of martial arts. At most, they will give you a passing glance, as they are more focused on Ryozanpaku and Kenichi."
Suddenly, a foot stepped over the line, the impact of a foot slamming down over the line echoing the pier. Everyone looked over to see Mizunuma had been the first one to do so.
"I... won't run away," stuttered Mizunuma, slowly gaining strength in his voice, "My master, Alan Subishi, was attacked and sent to a coma just to protect me. I want strength to stand by my beliefs, like Kenichi and everyone else does. Even though I'm the weakest one out of all of us, I still want to step into this world!"
His legs were shaking as he declared this, but nobody mocked him. Instead, his courage was what boosted the morale of everybody else.
"Heh, I can't be shown up like this," grinned Tsuji, "It's not manly if I don't step up!"
Tsuji slammed his foot forward, eager to join in the fight.
"This is going to be Shinpaku Alliance's big debut! There's no way I can't miss this!" declared Niijima as he stepped forward.
"Lalala, if my Demon Lord wants to go, then I, as his loyal servant, will go with him!" sang Siegfried as he too stepped forward. Niijima was more thankful that he didn't have to summon him from halfway across the globe. Matsui, who was the designated flagbearer of the Shinpaku Alliance, strode forward without hesitation.
"Hahaha, if my friends are going, so am I!" shouted Thor as he stepped forward.
"Freya-nee and I trained our ass, so no way we're going to miss this," smirked Kisara as she and Freya stepped forward. Shiratori, being Kisara's shadow, also stepped forth.
"I've been fighting day and night to try to catch up to Kenichi! Even if we're miles apart in terms of skill, I'm willing to go the distance! This tournament will help me catch up!" said Takeda as he stepped forward.
Renka and Natsu said nothing as they were already immersed into the underground world, but stepped forward anyway.
Ukita was left shaking, not knowing what to do. Sure, he had also gone through hellish training, finding a master and learning new judo moves from video games, but was it enough? He knew that he had a lot of catching up to do. Could he do it? His mind flashed back to during his spar against Taiki Yamamoto, while Naoki was at school.
Flashback
"I can see that you've decided to test something new," said Taiki as he threw Ukita into the floor for what seemed to be the thousandth time.
"Goddammit, why can't I get a decent grip!?" complained Ukita as he picked himself up off the floor, "I swear, it goes better in my mind and when I test it out on dummies!"
"That's because I'm an actual person who will respond against your moves," chuckled Taiki as he sat down next to Ukita, "But you didn't answer my question from earlier. One of those new moves isn't something from my style, but something from Judo."
"Ehehehe," laughed Ukita nervously. He wasn't sure how Taiki would react to him taking in his Jiu Jitsu style and sublimating it into his own judo style.
"Don't be nervous," smiled Taiki as he put his hand onto Ukita's head and ruffling his hair, "I'm not mad. I had a feeling that would be the case when you started learning for me."
"You're not?" asked Ukita in surprise, "Aren't I stealing from the dojo technically?"
"Martial Arts has always been something used to help others. If you're using my school's moves to aid others while getting stronger, then I don't mind. Plus, Naoki will be the successor of my school style. But it wouldn't hurt for my son to have someone to push him. He's been getting a little too big-headed for his own good," explained Taiki
"But I can't even beat him," blinked Ukita.
"True, but he's been working harder than ever," smiled Taiki, "He doesn't want his junior to surpass him, so he's been throwing himself harder into training. And you've been making good progress too. So I have you to thank for that. Even in the future, when you leave my school to work on your own martial arts, you are always welcome back here for training."
Then Taiki gave a small troll grin as he put on a pair of sunglasses he had taken from Ukita, "Plus, you have nice shades."
Flashback ends
Ukita took a deep breath. If Mizunuma was willing to step forward, then why couldn't he!? With that, he took his step forward.
The rest of Shinpaku Alliance were hesitant to step forward due to multiple reasons. The Valkyries all attended a private female school that was rather strict about attendance, unlike Koryo High. Kimoto and Kamioka were a bit hesitant as they were not fighters. Instead, Niijima instructed them to stay back to watch over the Shinpaku Alliance base while they were gone, and to continue information gathering on the internet. Thankful for that opportunity, they quickly left to do so.
"Hmm, so you all insist on coming," said the Elder, stroking his beard, "Kenichi, you certainly have some good friends."
"Yeah... I do," smiled Kenichi.
Minutes later, and they were all on the boat with Sakaki and Apachai deciding to be the engine power for the trip.
"So, Kimoto and Kamioka aren't coming," whispered Kenichi to Niijima, with Miu looking out for them.
"I decided it would be better," whispered Niijima back, "They wanted to come, but last time it was really risky for them. Kimoto confessed to having nightmares for weeks. It would be better to put that time into helping expand Shinpaku."
"Speaking of that," said Kenichi, glancing at Natsu, who was leaning against a wall alone, "Why is Natsu here? Wouldn't he be unwilling to leave his little sister alone for so long?"
"Kekeke, that's been covered," smirked Niijima, "He asked your parents if she could stay with them while he was on a trip, and they agreed. Also, thanks to me, he hired bodyguards to watch over her."
Meanwhile, back at Japan
Kaede was humming her favorite song while skipping on the sidewalk.
"That's our target," said a man with a scar on his cheek, "We take her, and the Tanimoto corporation folds to us. We all know the boss dotes on his little sister, and if we hold her hostage and blackmail him, we will never need to work for the rest of our lives again."
"She looks delicious," said another man with a perverse grin, his tongue flicking out, "Can't wait to break her in."
"Now's our chance, let's do this," said the third companion of the trio, a female.
Before they could move, they were pinned down to the ground by several kunais. As they tried to free themselves, a figure appeared before them.
"You will leave her alone and never attempt such a thing again," said the figure, his eyes glowing with Ki, scaring the shit out of the trio, "She is under my protection, and anyone who tries will be met with swift punishment."
"HAAIII!" screamed all three before fainting.
"Haaa what a sad day this is for the Zanshin Taisha-ryu," sighed the figure as he stepped into the light to reveal himself as the Grand Headmaster of the Zanshin Taisha-ryu, "For me to work as a mere bodyguard for a girl."
"My brother paid you good money for this," said Kaede without missing a beat, "If it wasn't for him, you'd be scrounging at the soup kitchen for the next meal. So don't complain, or I'll put that in my report to him."
The words pierced the martial artist right through his heart as Choju Giga bunnies hopped around him. He couldn't understand how a small girl like her, with minimal martial arts training, could hurt him so badly with just words.
Elsewhere
In another location at a hospital, Kano Sho was inside a room, wearing nothing but briefs and sensor nodes while being studied. He was being tested for his reflexes and was doing exceptionally well. The doctors there who majored in sports science were ecstatic at such a test subject while being accompanied by Ogata and Hongo themselves. Hongo was irritated that they were here, stating that such toys would be unable to grasp a true martial artist's ability. Though curiously, he was still wearing shades even in the middle of a darkened room. Ogata tried to placate him, saying that it was orders from the top to see if they could get some data.
"And the fact that those two are allowed to participate in D of D, is that also from the top?" asked Hongo.
"Ah, if you're talking about the Stanley twins, Castor and Pollux, Castor's master is the one to blame for that," chuckled Ogata, "If I suggested to hold them back... well you know how that person is. He loves to be flashy."
It was then that Kano Sho managed to stick himself onto the windows where they were viewing him, "Hey, hey, hey sensei! That D of D is the freestyle tournament for those under 20 years old to fight, right? I wanna enter!"
"Just get back to the arena," commanded Hongo, "It's better if you don't enter in such a show.
"But that guy's been called in, right?" asked Sho, "Ryozanpaku's number one disciple, Shirahama Kenichi."
It was then that Kano Sho did something completely unexpected of his behavior, surprising even his master. After letting go of the edges of the window, flipping back to the ground, he actually bowed to Hongo, his back going low enough to make a 45-degree angle.
"Sensei, please, let me join the tournament, or at least view it."
Hongo blinked in surprise, knowing the boy's nature and how out of place this was.
"You're not doing this just to see that girl that you've been raving about, are you?" asked Hongo suspiciously. Though Kano was a martial artist, he was still a teenage boy with hormones.
"Wait!? Nononono!" exclaimed Sho, waving his hands in a panic, "Well, alright that might be 20... no 30% of why. The other 70% is to see what type of man Shirahama Kenichi is."
Hongo gave a small hum as he pondered about Sho's request. His mind did muse if Sho swung that way, but threw that idea out, considering how he kept talking about the girl. Somehow, this boy had gotten Sho's full attention. He absentmindedly raised his hand to touch the vertical scar that his rival, Sakaki, had given him. Perhaps here was a rival that could push Sho further, as Sakaki did for him.
"Actually, I was going to suggest that," commented Ogata, "Ryozanpaku's disciple really is something. As I mentioned in our meeting before, I don't think our disciples can win one on one as of now."
"A fight does not consist of only power and skill," retorted Hongo.
"Yes, yes, but it would still do wonders for them to observe him at the very least," replied Ogata, "They could all learn something just by watching. According to Demon Fist, his disciple was apparently easily defeated by Ryozanpaku's disciple, though he claims that his own disciple was not very strong, and can easily raise another one. I have already spoken to other members of Yami about letting Yomi at least take a trip to the D of D to see how Ryozanpaku's disciple fights."
Ogata took a small breath before continuing, "Agaard Jum Sai, Alexander Gaidar, Mikumo Kushinada, and Jisei Ro have already agreed to let their disciples head to the tournament, though only to view, not to fight. Apparently, Alexander's disciple, Boris, had eagerly agreed to this and mainly asked Tirawit Korin and Chikage Kushinada to come with him. I myself plan to have my disciples to go and watch. The only one who hasn't said anything is One Shadow himself."
Hongo merely pondered about this once more while telling the doctors to raise the pace, switch on the rubber bullets and electric shock, and lower the oxygen levels. After quickly complying with the orders, the doctors were amazed to see Sho's brainwaves, heart rate, and other data skyrocket to a point that it couldn't be normal.
"Sho, if you can endure this for 20 minutes, you have my permission to go with the other members of Yomi to VIEW only. Hayami and Seta will be accompanying you, as usual," said Hongo, giving his condition.
"Hai!" saluted Sho as he grinned, adrenaline rushing through his body.
An hour later, Sho was walking with Hongo to a helicopter, much to his distaste. He preferred airplanes, as they looked so much smoother.
"Was there anything else you wanted to add?" asked Hongo.
"Err," hesitated Sho.
Hongo glanced at Sho, lowering his sunglasses to look at him directly in the eyes.
"Heh... I can't explain it really well. When I met Miu Fuurinji, I could feel her Ki. It was like a feather in the wind, her movements similar to mine. After digging around a little more, I found out that she's from the same village as me, the Kuremisago, or rather from her mother. She had these beautiful wings that felt like they could fly in the sky with me," sighed Sho, knowing it was impossible to hide anything from his master, "However, for some reason, Shirahama Kenichi had something similar. It was very familiar... almost like they were my own. I don't remember ever meeting him throughout my life. I researched his family history and found nothing even remotely related to the Kuremisago."
"Then he may be from another family," frowned Hongo, "Though the Kuremisago is well-renowned, there are others, such as the Fuurinji family and the Kushinada family."
"Yea, I thought so too, but there's no connection to any known martial arts family within in his family. Nada. Zip. Nothing."
"Then a prodigy, like Ogata said," shrugged Hongo, "It does happen in common families. One of my old rivals was born from a nondescript family, and yet his skills and ability to analyze moves were impressive. If not for his sickness, I might have lost against him. Do not dwell on what family he is from, focus on becoming stronger than him."
"Hai!" saluted Sho, some of the burden slowly falling off of his shoulder, "So does that mean..."
"Yes, you can go," sighed Hongo.
"YATTA!" cheered Sho as the helicopter lifted off.
Soon, Ryozanpaku's boat had arrived at their destination, Fortuna's private island, where the D of D would be held. Among the private pier were rather large cruise ships that could hold up to 5000 passengers, but no guards or personnel on the pier at all.
"Why is it so empty?" asked Matsui as the boat was tied to the dock.
"Due to the terrain," explained Akisame, "It's an easily defendable terrain that's hard to attack, so they feel no need to post guards here."
"This pier is... the only place... to dock," continued Shigure as Tochumaru hopped onto her shoulder. Freya stayed as far away from her as possible.
Apachai wanted to test out its defense, only for the Elder to quickly pull him back before he did anything stupid. Soon, they arrived at an ominous looking metal door that towered over them.
"Guess this is it," gulped Thor, "This is where we take our step into the underground world of martial arts."
"Quite fitting, like the gates of hell," commented Freya.
"Whatever, let's get going!" said Kisara impatiently.
"Yea, yea!" cheered Renka.
The doors suddenly swung open, and with that, the Shinpaku Alliance members walked in, ready to face whatever was to come.
They were not ready to see what seemed like paradise within those gates of hell.
"OOOH!" exclaimed Tsuji, Thor, Takeda, Ukita, Matsui, Niijima, and Kensei.
For in front of them were plenty of women in bikinis, some not even wearing a top as they sunbathed, all playing around in a pool. While Kensei rushed forward to get a closer look, Kenichi had obediently made sure his eyes did not wander towards inappropriate areas.
"Good boy," patted Miu as she hugged his arm.
Natsu, though slightly startled by the sight, also diverted his gaze.
"Hehehe, and here I thought you would've enjoyed the sights," teased Renka as she glomped onto Natsu's arm, "Would've been an interesting report to your sister. You gazing at women in skimpy bathing suits or even being topless. Though maybe your sister ought to be worried if you're gay. Or maybe... you've seen better and can't get my figure out of your head."
Natsu scoffed, "Oh please, like I'd be interested in those bimbos without a shred of talent besides showing off their body. If I want a girl, I want her to be able to at least defend herself and manage a household."
"Oh like me?" teased Renka, "You still have to take responsibility for what you did to me."
Natsu was about to retort with denial when he thought about it. The usual reaction was them squabbling over again before usually fighting against each other, with him more often losing, much to his displeasure. So he decided to take a different approach.
"Perhaps," smirked Natsu as his face closed towards Renka, "You certainly do know how to handle yourself, and from what I've seen, you at least know how to cook a little. And your body is certainly more attractive than compared to these bimbos."
Renka visibly turned red at these compliments, not expecting such a thing. Not to mention Natsu's face was getting closer and closer to hers.
'Is he... flirting with me!? Is he going to give me a kiss!?' thought Renka, panicking at the thought. As his face got closer, Renka actually closed her eyes in expectation, her lips slightly puckered.
"Too bad you're as dumb as a doornail when it comes to academics and naive," stated Natsu as he suddenly pulled back and flicked her forehead.
Renka froze as Natsu extracted his arm from Renka's grip and walked forward nonchalantly.
"You... YOU!" raged Renka.
"Yes?" taunted Natsu.
Renka couldn't really find anything to say and pouted, keeping silent for now. She would find a way to get revenge somehow later.
Ukita was gazing at the scene of rather beautiful women when he was elbowed in the ribs and kicked in on the back. Coughing in pain, he looked to the source to see a glaring Kisara and surprisingly Shiratori.
"So you prefer those type of girls, huh?" scoffed Kisara as she walked by.
"Disgusting," added Shiratori.
Poor Ukita had no idea what to do in such a situation. He looked over to Takeda in time to see his head being smacked by Freya herself. Thor and Tsuji were smacked back to reality by Siegfried, who had been busy composing a new song than gaze at the semi-nude ladies. Niijima himself was the only one who retained control of himself moments later.
Kensei, who was rushing towards the gates, was only temporarily halted by the guards, who had tried to stop him from entering. Kensei grabbed the crossing spears and lifted the spears and the guards themselves, shouting that he couldn't wait anymore and dashed off by himself.
"Papa, you're embarrassing me," blushed Renka as she saw her father diving for the closest women, "What would mama say about this now?"
Luckily, another man took over the gate duty without missing a beat, asking the others to present their invitations. After verifying both invites from Ryozanpaku and Shinpaku Alliance, he quickly guided them to their assigned room inside the manor, where dozens of cute maids, all wearing different types of uniforms.
Again, Kenichi's will was tested as he couldn't help but look at the maid uniforms before wondering what Miu would look like in one. Just imagining that almost made his nose bleed.
"So, you like this sort of thing," said Miu with a cold tone in her voice and a glare.
"Nonono, I umm," hesitated Kenichi, looking around a bit before quietly whispering into her ear, "Sorry, I imagined you in a maid suit."
Miu blinked before blushing, jabbing a fist into Kenichi's side.
"Ok.. I deserved that," coughed Kenichi.
What Kenichi didn't know that Miu was already formulating a plan, one that involved asking one of the maids if they had a spare uniform to try on.
One by one, they all gave their luggage to the maids, though Niijima kept his PDA and other assortments on his body. Apachai had already grabbed plenty of food and was already eating. Thor eagerly grabbed some of the food off Apachai, as did Tsuji and a few others. Kensei... was enjoying his time with the ladies, burying his face into their chest, who didn't seem to mind.
"Welcome to Paradise on Earth, Despair Island!" said a voice as footsteps could be heard coming towards them. They all turned around to see a beautiful lady with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a fashionable dress that showed all her curves, especially since her right leg was uncovered, wearing a blue garter. In fact, the dress was so revealing that the cut went all the way up to her hip, and due to this, everyone could see that there was no underwear strap. Many of the boys gulped, wondering if she was actually going commando right now or that there was something covering there.
"I am in charge of showing you this island! My name is Jennifer," introduced the hostess.
Sakaki's eyes narrowed as he saw Jennifer. It had certainly been a long time since he last saw her, and yet he would recognize that face despite the years. He had been warned by Kenichi, Miu, and Niijima about her position here, acting as captain of the guard when in reality she was an undercover agent. Well, there was no need to blow her cover yet.
Jennifer began the tour, explaining the rules and regulations before finally presenting where Colosseum where they would be fighting, instructing them that they had to be there before 10 am tomorrow.
"I do hope you'll enjoy your stay here," said Jennifer as the tour was winding down, "Please, make yourselves comfortable. We will be having a banquet tonight, and this would be the perfect opportunity to meet the other competitors. If you need a suit or dress, merely ask the front desk. We have tailors and seamstresses ready to accommodate you, free of charge. You can even take it home with you."
"Really!?" blinked Tsuji.
"Of course," smiled Jennifer, "After all, you will be fighting for your lives for the entertainment of others. It's the least we can do."
Those lines put a small shiver up their spines as Jennifer left. Sakaki was staring at Jennifer as she left.
"Your... fiance?" asked Shigure suddenly, almost causing Sakaki to jump.
"Geez don't do that," coughed Sakaki, "And I told you, I don't have a fiance. She's making it all up."
"Will you tell... her about... us?" poked Shigure.
"Hell no," stated Sakaki, "And we did nothing that night... right?"
Shigure merely smirked as she walked away, her hips swaying as she walked.
"Shigure? Shigure! That doesn't tell me anything! In fact, it's misleading!" cried out Sakaki as he chased after her.
Next up, tournament time! Also, Endgame coming out soon!
And what did Shigure and Sakaki do? Find out in the omake next chapter!