Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get perks!

Sadly my betas' seemed to be busy, so this chapter might have some mistakes... I'm thinking I might need to get some new ones.

"What?"

Saiga, Miu, and Kenichi stared at each other in shock and surprise. For Miu and Kenichi, they were not supposed to meet Saiga for roughly another year, right before their third year in Koryo High. Miu was supposed to 'officially' meet him at the island north of Hawaii in the invasion against Yami while Kenichi would meet him at Tidat.

For Saiga, he was shocked to see her daughter standing in front of her, at the village of Kuremisago. Especially this specific village, as it where Miu was born. However, Miu shouldn't have even known about this village, let alone the Kuremisago! He had made sure there were no leaks about that clan to Miu, and vice versa. He first suspected Kenichi as being part of the Kuremisago, an undercover agent of from Senzui. Saiga dismissed that theory as he knew his father would've weeded any undercover agents from Kuremisago from Ryozanpaku long ago.

'It still didn't explain why or how Miu knows this place, though,' thought Saiga, 'Did father give her hints or did she find out by some other means?'

He also cursed himself for not wearing his disguise, but he didn't want the risk the chance of his Okamoto disguise being blown or connected to the village.

The three stared at each other for a good while once more while Choju Giga frogs and rabbits hopped on by.

Finally, it was Saiga who broke the silence by attempting to slowly walk away.

'Perhaps she doesn't know who I am,' thought Saiga, 'I can avoid this confrontation just for a -'

He suddenly felt his dress coat being tugged by the edge and looked down to see Miu's hand on it.

"Father," whispered Miu.

'Well, there goes that path,' thought Saiga before coughing into his hand.

"I believe you're mistaken. I must go," stated Saiga as he tried to pull his dress coat away from Miu's grip. He wasn't ready to face Miu yet.

Suddenly, Saiga felt Miu let go of his coat, only to suddenly hug him at his waist.

"Daddy," cried Miu, tears now falling out of her eyes, "I missed you... Please... don't leave me like mom did. I know it was Senzui."

Saiga felt his face and heart cracking at this statement, and couldn't help it. He hugged Miu tightly, afraid that if he let go that Miu would disappear from his arms.

Kenichi was left standing at the side, looking around to make sure Yami didn't have spies around to witness this scene.

"Miu... how do you that name? How do you know me? What's going on?" asked Saiga as he managed to pull Miu back to look at her face. As he did so, his heart almost broke once more as he saw her face. It was like looking at her wife's face again.

"I think it's time we had a heart to heart talk with all this," spoke the Elder, surprising all of them. Kenichi swore out loud. He knew the Elder would bound to be somewhere near them, acting as a supervisor for their safety... as well as monitoring their date in case they went too far. However, despite his best efforts, he hadn't been able to sense the Elder at all until the Elder landed right next to them all to talk. Who knows if there was somebody else watching?

"Nobody else is here," stated the Elder, reading Kenichi's mind through his body language, "I believe this would be a good time to move to one of your friend's safe room before we continue this conversation. Is there one near here?"

"Ah let me ask," blinked Kenichi as he quickly flicked his phone open, texting Niijima for a location. He received a text back of a general location while asking why he needed such a thing. Kenichi merely replied that he would tell him in person later.

The four of them soon relocated to a nearby city where Niijima had texted them. Then, using various clues that Miu and Kenichi knew Niijima would leave around to point to where the entrance was, they found themselves in a secured room at one of the various Japanese business buildings that was ten stories high.

"I'm not even going to ask how you managed to find such a room," sighed Saiga as he sipped on some tea that Miu had made. He looked around to see a fully stocked cupboard and a hot water boiler at the side, as well as various other items, such as a boombox that was currently playing music to prevent anyone trying to listen in via vibrations through the walls. Of course, there were no windows as Niijima purposely bought the area without it.

"I'm sorry for breaking down like that earlier," blushed Miu as she finished serving tea and was now grabbing some snacks for them all.

"It's not your fault, it really was unexpected to see your father in front of us," placated Kenichi as he helped cut the apple into bite-size pieces for them all.

"Alright, how does he know me, too?" pointed out Saiga, "How does Miu know me? Or Senzui? I have a lot of questions, and I want to have some answered today."

"It's a long story," chuckled the Elder as he sipped his tea, "By the way, the tea is very nice."

"Don't change the subject," snapped Saiga as Miu replied in thanks, "While I don't exactly deserve the answers, I would like to have some of them answered."

"And you will," assuaged the Elder, "Though you will need to keep an open mind on just what we're about to tell you. The rest of Ryozanpaku already knows."

"After what I've seen and been through, I'm sure I won't have trouble believing what you're about to tell me," fired back Saiga with his eyes narrowed, "Hit me."

"Alright," nodded Kenichi as he took a seat with Miu right next to him. The two looked Saiga straight in the eyes as they uttered the truth.

"We're time travelers from the year 2002. We came back in time to the year 1992."

Well... that certainly wasn't what Saiga expected as he spat out his tea.

"The Eternal Sunset? That's what Senzui and Kushinada want?" asked Saiga as he managed to write down some notes while sipping his tea, albeit his hands were shaking a bit.

"They want to bring about another world war," nodded Kenichi.

"But why?" whispered Saiga to himself, "We fought the elders and conservatives of the Kuremisago to break those traditions, to break free of the curse that plagued them. To free themselves from having to kill their own loved ones just to be respected. And why kill Shizuha?"

"From what I remember during the confrontation between you two, Senzui mentioned that a small sacrifice was needed for the greater good. That due to him, the Kuremisago became one again with little casualties. That with the war, they would be able to find freedom in a fight," said Miu.

Saiga and the Elder looked to Kenichi, who could only shrug. While Senzui and Saiga were fighting, he was a bit busy focused on his own battle and couldn't afford to listen to what the two had been saying.

"That's why my wife died?" growled Saiga, "That's why Shizuha was murdered by someone who I believed to be our best friend? I trusted him when there were rumors of a traitor disguised as me. I believed him when he told me the traitor killed my wife and escaped. A bare-faced lie right at my face and I never considered it a lie until at a much later time!"

The bloodlust and anger emanating from Saiga was so overwhelming that Miu and Kenichi, despite having experienced such Ki from Grandmasters and even a controlled amount from the Elder, had to concentrate a little to prevent themselves from panicking, though cold sweat was building up.

"Stop," snapped the Elder, breaking Saiga out of his brooding.

"I'm sorry," apologized Saiga as he glanced at Miu and Kenichi, knowing that he had just terrified them with his lack of control.

"It's alright," stuttered Kenichi as the two took deep breaths to control their breathing.

Saiga took another breath as he sipped on the delicious tea that his daughter had made.

His daughter

Those words warmed his heart. It had been years since he could really call Miu his daughter despite never having able to raise her. Saiga slowly looked over to Kenichi in curiosity as Miu placed her head on his shoulder.

"Um...," started Kenichi, not sure how to address Saiga.

"Just call me by my first name, Saiga," motioned Saiga, "No need for formalities."

"Saiga," nodded Kenichi, "You walked both Katsujinken and Satsujinken, choosing the latter to save your friends, right?

Saiga nodded, "Yes, though I seemed to have lost track of that... Shirahama Kenichi... is it? What does Katsujinken mean to you?"

Kenichi blinked, surprised at the question before responding, "Oh, umm I'm not sure I'm qualified to say this, but if it was up to me, even if I somehow fall into Satsujinken, I'd try not to kill even if it cost me my life. It would be great if there was a style that could break the darkness that resides in hearts... or that's what I believed in the whole time."

Saiga could only stare at Kenichi before chuckling. The chuckling soon changed into booming laughter as Saiga grinned, "You know, I've always thought this when I first saw you, but this confirms it. You are way too much like my old man!"

"That's a good thing, right?" grinned the Elder.

"So, Niijima Haruo is your friend that owns this place, right?" asked Saiga as he managed to calm back down, "You realize the Japanese government has their eyes on him, right?"

"What? Why?" asked Kenichi in surprise.

"Despite using his parents' name, it was easy to see just who was raking in money on stocks," explained Saiga, "At first, we all thought that maybe he was doing some illegal inside trading. When it was obvious he wasn't, we tried to investigate just how he was earning all that money, looking into the black market. Nowadays I work with the Japanese government. The truth that Niijima has future knowledge of stocks would certainly explain how he's so lucky with his stocks."

"Will you report him?" asked Miu in worry.

"And get laughed out of the office?" chuckled Saiga, "Plus, it's not 'illegal' to say. Just... unprecedented. We've never had time travelers before."

The rest of the time was spent just talking. Miu managed to find out more about her mother and father, something she had always desired to know more of. Despite all the Elder's attempt to describe her mother, it was nothing close to what her father could say. After all, she was his wife and spent the most time with her. The Elder only met her a couple of times.

As Saiga was getting ready to leave, he looked back to the time travelers.

"Will you tell your other friends about your... time displacement?" asked Saiga.

"Someday," replied Kenichi, looking to the side while rubbing his arm.

"You'll have to cross that path soon," advised Saiga, "Maybe not now, but in the near future. You can't keep them in the dark forever, they'll get suspicious."

"I know," sighed Kenichi, "Just... not now. Not with what's coming soon. We've had Niijima help us keep track."

"Not to disrupt too much of the timeline to have important information relevant," nodded Saiga, "But don't keep too many secrets inside. And don't worry, even with the information you've given me, I'll play it careful with the Japanese government. Can't risk it becoming useless when the time comes."

As they were about to separate, Miu and Saiga hugged each other once more, knowing that they would not be able to meet for a long time once more. So they conveyed all their emotions in their hug that lasted for at least a few minutes. Once separated, Saiga turned towards Kenichi and kneeled down to look into Kenichi's eyes at eye level.

"I've wanted to say this when I saw you protecting Miu," smiled Saiga, "A man like you is worth trusting. Please, continue to protect Miu from what I couldn't do."

"Of course!" nodded Kenichi, "I'll always protect her."

"Kenichi, do remember that in the Fuurinji dating law that in order to marry Miu, you'll have to defeat me," chimed in the Elder, causing Kenichi to pale and fall to his knees. The only way to beat the Elder was to probably wait for old age to kick in, but considering his health, that was not going to happen for another forty years.

Then Saiga whispered something into Kenichi's ears, to which the Elder couldn't hear because Saiga was using the Obstructive Lung Voice technique.

"Really?" asked Kenichi.

"Really. But don't get too hasty. I don't want to be a grandfather anytime soon even if you two are mentally older than you should be," smirked Saiga.

"Son, what did you say?" asked the Elder wearily.

"That's something for us to know only," laughed Saiga as he stood up, "It was great to see my daughter once more. I don't know when I'll be able to step out into the light once more, but when I do, I promise I'll make everything right and come home."

Saiga stepped out, making sure nobody was looking before dashing away, disappearing from sight.

"Come, I'll take you two home faster," said the Elder, picking up Miu and Kenichi. The two hold onto the Elder without complaint, making sure they had a firm grip on the Elder.

In the next moment, they were gone with dust drifting up from where they had been. Nobody saw any signs of them, leaving Yami in the dark.

Soon enough, it was time for a new school semester. Niijima took the news about Saiga learning that they were time travelers rather well. Well... was a matter a perspective as Niijima had to lock himself a panic room for about a whole day before coming out. Even then, when he came out, he had several more elaborate plans that he had created.

Yami, and by extension, Yomi, had been silent throughout the whole month of March. This allowed all of the Shinpaku Alliance to take their finals peacefully. Well, those who were planning to take it, anyways. Tsuji had already gone back up to the mountains to find the old mountain man with a bearskin to beg for some more training, proclaiming that he didn't need any high school education.

"It's time for a new semester!" smiled Miu as she walked with Kenichi.

"Those peaceful days are now gone," sighed Kenichi, knowing what was most likely going to come.

"Who knows, maybe they won't come?" suggested Miu.

"Nope, I've gotten confirmation that we have several transfer students coming in," piped in Niijima from behind Miu.

Niijima hadn't been paying attention to just where he was walking and ended up being tossed into the air by Miu.

" #$# #!" cursed Niijima as he was sent flying into the air. Luckily, Kenichi ran up and caught Niijima before he could hit the ground.

"Niijima, you know you're not supposed to walk behind Miu," scolded Kenichi.

"Sorry if I'm not paying attention to where I'm walking while organizing my valuable data," cursed Niijima.

"You said for sure that there are transfers?" asked Miu.

"Yea, though they didn't give me a number," shrugged Niijima, "Just that there are."

"It seems Yomi has arrived then," sighed Kenichi, "And here I was hoping they wouldn't come."

"It's not all that bad," giggled Miu, "True they are part of Satsujinken and rivals of Ryozanpaku, but other than that they are pretty nice."

Kenichi nodded as he closed his eyes. Out of all of Yomi back in the future, Ethan and Satomi were the two he was sure he could have been good friends with.

"We've had the calm. Now it's time to dive into the storm," stated Kenichi as he opened his eyes once more. The other two nodded as they walked towards Koryo High.

"Yaa, we're in the same class," smiled Miu as she and Kenichi gave each other a high five.

Kenichi smiled as he looked around for a bit. Then he saw Ukita and Takeda walking towards them, though not wearing high school uniform than compared to the last time they saw them in this timeline.

"Hey, how you guys doing?" grinned Takeda as he waved at them.

Thanks to certain pressure from various friends and teachers, Ukita and Takeda managed to barely graduate High School with enough credits. As for college, though... they would be taking a gap year before applying. And hopefully not become a four-year ronin. Though they did hear rumors of a specific university that was more sports-focused than academics, also known as idiot university that was near Tokyo. Another choice was En_a university, where apparently they lacked the student population in some years so they accepted anyone that applied.

Still, the duo decided to do a gap year to not only train and dive deeper into the world of martial arts, while also getting a part-time job to get some experience while also earning some pocket money. Ukita was working with his old judo teacher being an instructor while Takeda was working as a bouncer and fighting in the underground duel arena.

"How's it feel graduating?" grinned Miu.

"To be honest, weird," admitted Takeda with Ukita nodding in agreement, "Didn't think I'd pass or get enough credits. Gotta thank Ukita here for kicking my butt into overdrive at the final semester."

"Thank Yamamoto-sensei for pushing me to pass my tests," shrugged Ukita, "He forbade me from training unless I passed, and also forbade his son from bothering me while I was studying."

"Hmm, and here I would've thought you failed," teased Kisara, "If you did, we might've been in the same class."

Ukita momentarily froze up on this before coughing into his hand to avoid embarrassment.

"Yaa, we're in the same class!" cheered Renka as she hopped onto Kenichi's back, causing him to momentarily flail his arms before regaining balance.

"Must you always be so annoying?" growled Natsu and he grabbed Renka off of Kenichi, only for her to cling onto him, "Get off!"

"All four of us are in the same class!" exclaimed Renka with a smile, her strands of hair moving like cat ears once more, "Plus, other people are watching Mr. Model Student."

"It's so good to be in the same class!" stated Natsu with a fake smile, lowering the arm he had been raising to chop at Renka's head. Niijima was busy cataloging all the information he had. He was also with Kenichi and the others while other members of the Shinpaku Alliance that attended Koryu high were spread out amongst the other classes.

"Ah, Kenichi, we're also in the same class," waved Izumi, who was also a member of the gardening club that Kenichi was in. Or rather, the only other member.

"Same as always," huffed Makoto, who was best friends with Izumi.

With everyone knowing that Kenichi and Miu were dating, Izumi did not end up having a crush on Kenichi but rather viewed him as a good friend and a fellow plant lover.

A couple of punks tried to deliberately walk into Kenichi in an attempt to intimidate him, only for Niijima to summon his 'minions' and reverse the intimidation. Needless to say, the new delinquents quickly fell into line.

Soon, they were gathered in the auditorium for some public announcements before the semester started. Ukita and Takeda said their goodbyes and left the school while Kisara decided to hang out with Kenichi, Miu, Renka, and Natsu. Why Natsu decided to stick with them was something he couldn't even answer himself.

"Huh, I'm still in shock that Ukita and Takeda managed to graduate," chuckled Kisara with Shiratori standing behind her, "Thought for sure they would be held back."

"That's not nice to say, especially since you helped him study while Freya helped with Takeda," whispered Shiratori.

"Shut up!" whispered Kisara harshly with a blush.

"Ahem, attention everyone, the opening ceremony has begun," announced the Vice Principal of Koryou High, "By the way, we have good news! Our school has accepted an exchange program, and so you will be having some foreign classmates for a period of time from Thailand, Russia, and America! Please give a warm welcome to your new classmates!"

Much to the surprise of everyone within the Shinpaku that was not a time traveler, up on the stage stood several members of Yomi. What did surprise the time travelers was that besides the original four of Boris, Tirawit, Ethan, and Rachel, Sho had also appeared on stage.

Before the Vice Principal could introduce them, Rachel had already grabbed the microphone while flaunting her body, making sure her already very short skirt drifted up a bit to showcase her legs.

"Hi everybody! We're the exchange students! I'm first! I am the extremely charming girl from America! Rachel Stanley and I'll be in the second year!"

The Vice Principal managed to somehow wrestle back the microphone back from Rachel before continuing the introduction, "Ahem, well you all know Rachel now. Now let me introduce the rest. First, from Russia, Boris Ivanov! Then from Thailand, Tirawit Koukin! Next, he is well more of a returning student. From America, though he was born in Japan, Sho Kano! Then lastly, from America, the fraternal twins, Ethan and Rachel Stanley! All of them will be officially joining the second years, so do be kind to them!"

All of the male transfer students seemed bored, just gazing out into the audience while Rachel was eagerly waving towards all of them.

"Psst, governor-general Niijima! What should we do?" hissed Matsui in shock.

"Nothing for now. We can't touch them... for now," replied Niijima with a calm voice.

'So calm! No wonder he's our leader along with assault commander Kenichi!' thought all the divisional members of the Shinpaku Alliance attending Koryou High.

Meanwhile, the rest of the students were gazing in admiration at the new students. Rachel had already bewitched most of the male population with her figure and attitude, which only grew when she declared that she was single, was looking for a boyfriend, and loved Japanese men. Her popularity with the male population was inversely proportional to the female population. Though most of the female population was instead gazing at the male transfer students, admiring mostly Tirawit for his mysterious air that he projected and Sho for his exotic looks.

Principal Fukujiro Yasunaga was too busy crying tears of joy that his precious school had the chance to experience different cultures.

The Vice Principal finally managed to drag the microphone back from Rachel, who had stolen it once more, to make one last announcement.

"Finally, we have one new faculty member that I'd like to introduce you all to. Our physical education teacher is getting into his years, and we can't always burden our other teachers to fulfill the role. So please welcome our assistant physical education teacher whom I hope will take on the role of a regular, Mr. Taiki Yamamoto!"

Kenichi and Miu whirled around to the new teacher who was waving at the crowd. The female teenagers were screaming noses of "Kyaa!" and such while single female teachers were giving Taiki a quick scan and liking what they saw. Standing there was Ukita's master and Naoki's father, wearing a suit for a change, though keeping his headband. The two whirled to Niijima, who was cackling.

"You think I'd let Yomi have a free reign here? It just happens that Taiki has time now that his son is in school, and could use the cash while integrating himself with today's world. I may have helped him a little to get the job, but with this, we have a leash on Yomi."

Kenichi and Miu could only nod in reply, slightly scared and impressed at Niijima's countermeasures.

School continued for the day while Kenichi and Miu could only thank their luck that none of Yomi was in their class.

The new students easily gained popularity due to their looks or attitude. Rachel easily socialized with the other students, as did Ethan, Boris, and Sho to a degree. Tirawit coldly strode past others, yet attracting girls with his attitude, until he was next to Kenichi. The two stood in silence for a bit, with Tirawit bristling with Ki. Kenichi merely shrugged it off before replying back in spades, causing Tirawit to let out a cold sweat before regaining calm. Even with the height advantage, Tirawit was no fool, knowing Kenichi was stronger than him.

"What do you want?" spat out Renka with a hiss, ready to fight if needed.

"So this is your school?" said Tirawit whimsically, "Looks smaller than I expected. Roughly 800 people inside. We would need about one hour... no since half of the population are female, we would only need only half an hour to annihilate everyone in this school."

"Bastard!" growled Mizunuma from behind Kenichi. He had still not forgiven Tirawit's cruel beating to his master that sent him into a coma. It was only recently that Alan Subishi had woken up from it.

Tirawit ignored him, deeming him not even a threat nor worth his time to deal with. Mizunuma could only gnash his teeth as he himself knew he was no match against Tirawit, much less anyone from Yomi.

"This is a school, so we're only here to study. In addition... we're here to teach you that we, the Satsujinken from Yami, are the strongest!"

"Indeed, this is a school, not a place where you can fight to your heart's content," voiced in Taiki, surprising Tirawit.

Tirawit immediately whirled around, his elbow aiming for whoever decided to sneak up behind him. Taiki easily caught the offending elbow, halting its path without any recoil, and gripped it firmly. Tirawit tried to jerk it back, only to find it stuck.

Taiki gave Tirawit a small glare before lecturing, "I would prefer you and your Yomi friends to not try to kill people here. This is a peaceful school that has no real connections to the underground of the martial arts world. Do you understand? I want no fights here from either side."

"We got it," said Sho, suddenly inserting himself into the conversation, "Won't happen again. Tirawit was just introducing himself and messing around... right?"

That last word was spoken with a special emphasis as Sho looked at Tirawit with a small glare. Tirawit slowly nodded in reply, allowing Taiki to release his hold on his elbow.

"I do hope we all get along here at this school despite our differences, alright?" stated Taiki before leaving.

The others all decided to also head back home. Chikage, who had entered into the school via entrance exams as a first year, joined the rest of Yomi to go home.

"Well played," chuckled Boris, "They knew we were coming, and had a countermeasure set up already. With a master as a teacher that's part of Katsujinken, we will not be able to move as freely as before."

"We'll figure something out," shrugged Sho, "For now we'll live a 'normal' life. Feel free to do as you do."

The next few days, Yomi integrated themselves into school life quite easily. Rachel joined random clubs to gain attention, mostly hanging out with the gymnastics club to try to steal the spotlight from Miu while also gather information from her. A task most apt for her and also not easy, as, despite her beauty and grace, Miu had just the same, if not more on the grace part. Yet it was a challenge Rachel wasn't going to back down.

Boris easily became the teacher's favorite student, a 'teacher's pet'. Nobody dared to call him that or confront him about it as his militaristic attitude scared the delinquents themselves. Tirawit mainly went home after school, though he could be seen carrying books as he did so. Chikage joined the Go club, though she could be seen carrying a book about Mah Jong. Ethan joined the Library club if only to solve jigsaw puzzles and watch movies. His stoic but polite attitude and willingness to let girls play dress-up made him popular amongst all of the student population.

Which left Sho, speaking of which...

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" blinked Sho as he was walking down the hall. He had no clue how to really blend in. Sure he was popular with the girls with his looks, but he wanted Miu only. He wasn't that desperate to join the gymnastics club, as it was dominated by girls and already had Rachel in it. That would earn him a one-way ticket to being labeled a creep. Sure, Sho managed to convince his usual bodyguards Seto and Hayami not to join him at Koryo high for some freedom, but now that he had it... he was clueless what to do with it. Nor did he want to join the karate club at this school, as it was frankly an embarrassment to karate.

"Guess I can find something to do, like maybe check on Hermit in the theater club," mused Sho as he absentmindedly opened a door.

What greeted him immediately was the fresh scent of plants as well as a sea of green leaves.

"Ah, Kenichi you're... you're not Kenichi," said a gentle voice.

Sho turned towards the source of the voice to see Izumi standing there with a watering can in hand.

"Kano Sho, right?" asked Izumi timidly, "Can I help you with something."

"Ah, no, just looking around," blinked Sho, "You said something about Shirahama? You looking for him? And what is this place?"

"Ah, this is the gardening club," smiled Izumi, "Kenichi is a member of the gardening club, along with me as the president of it."

"Shirahama is in this club?" questioned Sho. Perhaps he could get some more information from this girl about Kenichi.

"Yes... though sadly it's only the two of us," sighed Izumi, "Still, almost all these plants were planted and grown by the both of us. He's quite dedicated to taking care of the plants, though he's been busy as of late."

"Hoo, that's curious," noted Sho before looking around a bit, "Mind if I chill out here a bit? I promise I won't do anything stupid."

"Of course!" nodded Izumi, gesturing towards a chair near a corner, "Please, take a seat. If you're interested, you could join the gardening club. We could always use more members."

"I'll... think about it," said Sho hesitantly as he took a seat.

As Sho sat there to relax, he heard Izumi humming a song as she watered the plants. Soon enough, Sho's eyes began to droop as time passed/

'What's happening? Why do I feel so... relaxed?' mused Sho as he closed his eyes. For some reason, this atmosphere and the music made him feel... at peace.

Sho was a child of the Kuremisago Clan, chosen to succeed the One Fist himself when the time would come. Yet he was always criticized not only by others but by his own clan members. For never having the 'correct' or 'strong' heart. That he wasn't mercilessness enough. There had even been talks about disposing of him while he was still just a child and had just begun training with his master Hongo. Even to this day, he knew there were mutterings about how he wasn't worthy despite having proven himself over and over again. Only Hongo truly believed in him, even when he tricked a few of the elders into believing he killed a chick he had found. He took care of the chick, where it grew into a mighty bird and flew into the endless sky. Hongo never cared about what the Kuremisago wanted.

It was because of all this pressure that despite his carefree attitude, he was always tense even if he didn't show it. His nerves were always bundled tightly, never having a chance to truly relax, even while sleeping. And now, somehow, he could feel those tightly bundled nerves slowly unraveling, allowing him to feel... safe. Free.

Even a bird flying in the endless sky needed to rest its wings. For Sho, it felt like he was a bird standing on a branch of a tree, where he was protected while being able to rest.

"...-o. Kano-san. Kano!"

Sho woke up in an instant, ready to strike at the voice for it sounded too close for his liking, especially since he was just napping. Before he could even jab his hand at the throat of the person who disturbed his nap, he completely froze.

Standing in front of him while leaning down towards his face was Izumi, looking at Sho with a concerned face. The sun was already setting as its orange rays shone through the window. Its rays hit Izumi's face and body at just the right angle that she looked dazzling in Sho's eyes. That vision, combined with the sense that Izumi could, or rather would never harm him no matter what was what stopped Sho from jabbing her throat, instead of freezing in a rather awkward position.

"Are you alright, Kano-san?" asked Izumi with a smile, "You slept quite soundly here before I woke you up. You have a weird waking up posture."

"Ah," said Sho as he slowly put his arm back down, "Sorry, you surprised me."

"I would've let you sleep longer, but the school is about to close," stated Izumi as she straightened her posture once more, "We should get going."

"Yea, sure," nodded Sho as he stood up, stretching out his back. He looked at the clock and noticed it was already almost six. Quickly grabbing his items, he followed Izumi out of the class, walking with her until they were out on the school grounds.

"Well, I'll see you later," waved Izumi as she began to split off to walk home.

"Yea... see you later," replied Sho as he watched Izumi walk away. It only took him a second before deciding what to do. He quickly ran towards his motorcycle that he kept within the school, quickly kicking the engine before driving it down the road, catching up to Izumi in no time.

"Wanna hitch a ride?" asked Sho as he stopped in front of Izumi, "It's a bit dangerous to be walking alone at this time."

Izumi blinked at the sudden appearance of Sho with a motorcycle before asking, "Is it legal for you to have such a motorcycle?"

"Yep," replied Sho with sincere honesty, "Got a license and everything. C'mon, I'll take you home. I promise I won't do anything else."

Izumi was hesitant to accept a ride, especially from someone whom she had only met for a day. Yet something in Sho's eyes told her that he would never seek to harm her. And so, she accepted the ride. What she didn't know that quite a few students saw her getting on the motorcycle with one of the new transfer students, thus making up for some juicy gossip later on.

Of course, having Taiki as a teacher of the school helped control Yomi, and as a side bonus, any delinquents and bullies. He was quickly making his way up as one of the more popular teachers in school, always gentle but firm in a variety of cases.

In one instance, Tirawit had been taken to a hidden alleyway by an old bully of Kenichi, Makoto Daimonji, during lunchtime. Despite being beaten by Kenichi several times, Daimonji never learned from his lessons and continued to try to bully students weaker than him. With him was his new partner, Koga the Kicker from the disbanded Ragnarok. Koga never joined Shinpaku, deeming them as unworthy when the reality was that he was terrified of them that he didn't want to join them. Koga was the same age as Ukita and Takeda, and just like them, was an idiot when it came to academics. Unlike them, he didn't study for the finals despite not having any real big events, like the DFOD, and failed to graduate, thus holding him back for the year.

"Do a jump," demanded Daimonji.

Tirawit remained silent for a second before asking Daimonji to clarify just what he was trying to ask.

"Pssh, just jump, you could say it's a traditional Japanese way to say hi," laughed Koga.

Both Koga and Daimonji were ribbing each other in laughter at their joke when Tirawit jumped... all the way up to the second floor of the school before landing. Naturally, they missed his jumping prowess, which would've sent alarms to any normal person's senses. The minions that they brought with them, however, did not miss it and were already slowly backing away.

"Gahaha, I knew you had change, now hand them over!" guffawed Daimonji.

"Yea, unless you want a taste of my kicks," heehawed Koga, "And while you're at it, get me that Rachel girl's number. She looks hot! Her tits are like Fuurinji size, maybe even bigger than Ma size!"

Tirawit ignored their useless chatter as he pulled out four coins in his pocket, ranging from 50 to 500 yen. As his coat lifted up, none of them noticed the stack of Yukichis still within his pocket, showing that he was carrying a fortune with him.

Before he could lift up the coins, a voice rang out.

"Hey, what do you kids think you're doing?"

Taiki walked into the alleyway with his immaculate suit and a briefcase.

"Oh shit, it's the new teacher, let's bolt!" whispered one of the grunts, quickly running away.

Koga and Daimonji tried to do the same, only for Taiki to grab them by the collar of their clothes and easily lifting them up.

"I've heard rumors of you two bullying other students. Well, that's going to change now," declared Taiki while the two flailed in the air, trying to get free, "You'll be reporting to detention after school. If you have so much energy in committing these acts, you'll surely have enough for what I have planned for you."

"You can't make us," grunted Koga, "I'll just kick your ass!"

Taiki merely smiled while flipping Koga towards his face. Before Koga could even try to get Taiki's face to get rid of that smug look, he was suddenly looking at the skies.

'Wow the sky is so blue,' thought Koga absentmindedly before realizing his dilemma. He began to scream, only for his voice to be cut off as Taiki caught him once more.

"Now are you going to listen?" asked Taiki, with the same smile on his face.

"Uh-huh," whimpered both Koga and Daimonji, who was looking at Taiki in fear.

"Good, now get back to class. Lunch will be ending soon," nodded Taiki as he dropped the two, who immediately scampered away.

"That wasn't necessary," stated Tirawit with a bored look.

"Perhaps not, but even if you are part of Satujinken and under Yami, I can't let children be bullied. They need to mature a bit more before they can understand what they shouldn't do," replied Taiki.

"Me, bullied? Ridiculous," scoffed Tirawit.

"Who said I was protecting you from the bullies?" said Taiki with his eyebrows raised, "I know full well you could've easily handled that. But I'd prefer my students to not be harmed either way. Now then, lunch is ending soon."

With a wave, Taiki put on some sunglasses that Tirawit had no idea where he hidden them and left.

"Fine, I had better things to do," mumbled Tirawit as he walked away, intent on heading to the library to see if they had a book on a specific subject. He could always subjugate the idiots some other time.

"So it's that time," hummed Niijima as he watched Miu and Kenichi spar within Ryozanpaku.

Miu wasn't as consistent as Kenichi was using Ki no Shouka, and so was practicing using it against Kenichi. Kenichi himself was using the meteor hammer to practice using a weapon and was losing quite badly at the moment.

"Are you referring to the assassination of Russia's Colonel Urakikov by One Shadow Nine Fist, specifically Alexander Gaidar?" asked Akisame.

As much as he wanted to prevent that, Akisame knew that even with future knowledge, there were some things that they couldn't change. Especially so far out in Russia. They didn't have the influence as Yami did.

"Yes, and their next target will be a Russian Congresswoman who has hidden information about Yami," nodded Niijima as he winced, seeing Kenichi go flying from a well-placed kick.

"If that's true, then what we should do is have two masters follow along," hummed Akisame, "I assume we brought Kenichi along to experience more of the underground world of martial arts last time?"

"Yep," nodded Niijima, "Now the question becomes whether or not Kenichi needs to go."

"Well, did he do something important last time that may require his presence?" asked Akisame.

"... Shit, he needs to go," sighed Niijima as he reviewed over his notes, knowing Kenichi had saved the Congresswoman.

"At the same time, if he does go, it leaves him open," nodded Akisame, knowing where Niijima was leading up to.

"Yea, but the probability of that happening is quite low," frowned Niijima, "But it's a risk that we'll probably have to take. The Congresswoman is too important to leave up to chance."

"Should we have Miu come too?" asked Sakaki, plopping down next to them while pulling out a bottle of beer.

Niijima shook his head, "Probably not. We can't have all of them in one basket. Otherwise, it might prompt Kano Sho to appear, and we can't have more distractions."

"Well, what do you suggest?" asked Sakaki as he took a sip of his beer before looking at Kenichi, "You're too rough Kenichi! Shigure expects a smooth transition of your forms! Right now, it's looking like crap!"

"It's not easy to use a weapon, especially against- BLEH!"

Kenichi tried to argue that it wasn't easy against Miu, only to be slammed viciously to the ground by an ax kick due to being distracted.

"Oooh, buried underground," winced Niijima before blinking at his words, "I think I have an idea of backup and also at the same time can be used as training!"

Many hours later

Sakaki, Akisame, and Kenichi were walking down a hallway in a hotel before stopping at room 108. Sakaki knocked on the door, only for the door to open to reveal two Russian bodyguards with guns pointing at them. However, they didn't shoot, but rather let them in cautiously.

"So where's the politician we're supposed to escort to the airport?" asked Sakaki as he strolled into the room, wandering towards the wall divider between rooms.

"The Congresswoman is in a different room," explained one of the bodyguards with only the slightest Russian accent in his Japanese, "We don't know what the people from Ryozanpaku look like, so we're trying to get confirmation from the Japanese Police."

"Idiots!" growled Sakaki, "Did you tell them the location?"

The sound of a window breaking into pieces could be heard from the next room... which was promptly followed by Sakaki kicking a hole in the wall just milliseconds after. Sakaki and Akisame had anticipated this already thanks to Niijima, and was much faster to react than the last timeline. Akisame rushed in just in time to see Alexander grabbing the Congresswoman. Akisame immediately jumped towards Alexander, who quickly leaped back.

"Fast response," commented Alexander, currently holding the struggling Congresswoman before quickly pinching a nerve to force her into unconsciousness. It was not as effective as the other move he had planned, but it would do.

"I'm guessing this is the part where you try to escape so you can interrogate her for information, Alexander Gaider!" said Akisame, making an educated guess.

The Russian bodyguard tried to aim for Alexander, but couldn't risk the shot as they might hit the Congresswoman. They had no doubt Alexander could easily dodge their shots.

"Don't worry, when I get what I need, I'll finish her off quite painlessly. She won't even feel a thing," said Alexander quite airily.

"Asshole, you're going to kill a defenseless woman!?" shouted Sakaki in anger.

"We shall annihilate everyone who opposes Yami. If you don't like it... try to stop me, Ryozanpaku!" taunted Alexander before jumping off the building.

Sakaki immediately followed in pursuit without hesitation, followed by Akisame, then to the bodyguard's surprise, Kenichi.

[What are you doing kid!] shouted the bodyguard in Russian, trying to grab Kenichi, only to miss. There they witnessed Kenichi in action. Sakaki landed at another building seven stories below without any harm before chasing after Alexander. Akisame landed at another building before hopping back down to ground level. Kenichi, instead chose to grab on the ledge of each story and drop down. Quite rapidly at that, too. As soon as there were other buildings nearby, Kenichi pushed himself off the ledge, sliding down onto another building before kicking off back to the hotel's wall, utilizing ventilation shades, window ledges, and pipes before landing perfectly on the ground.

"Quite impressive," nodded Akisame as he kicked the kickstand on Sakaki's bike, "You're certainly improving faster than I thought. I should start upping your training even more."

Kenichi could only cry at this.

Sakaki was busy chasing after Alexander, who landed on a very expensive corvette and crushed it upon landing.

"My corvette!" cried a teenager, "I was just borrowing it from my dad! Now he's going to kill me!"

Sakaki landed right behind Alexander, ready to take him in when he had to dodge several attacks, allowing Alexander to flee. Sakaki turned to face his attackers, angry that he couldn't give chase. Standing there were four French assassins that had been hired to delay Sakaki. Two of them were wielding combat knives while the other two were unarmed fighters. All of them immediately tried to kill Sakaki, only for him to dodge/parry their attacks, though their knives managed to nick some of his arm bindings.

"H-how is this possible?" stared Sakaki, his eyes wide in shock.

"Hehe, did you think only the One Shadow Nine Fist were the only members of Yami?" taunted one of the assassins.

"Looks like he's taking us seriously now," commented another with a grin.

"Since when did Akisame know how to drive a motorcycle?" questioned Sakaki, completely ignoring the fact there were four assassins that intending on ending his life. He was more focused on the fact Akisame was driving his precious motorcycle.

"Asshole, pay attention!" shouted another in anger as he threw a punch, only for Sakaki to easily catch the arm before crushing his wrist.

"I think you need to be more aware of your surroundings," grinned Sakaki as he tossed the injured man away.

"It's still 3v1!" shouted the last assassin.

"As I said, pay attention to your surroundings," quoted Sakaki.

Before any of them could understand what he meant, one of the assassins was sent flying up into the air before landing painfully on his back.

"I believe he means watch out for me," declared Taiki as he walked towards the assassin he had thrown.

The one with the crushed right arm stood back up, trying to clench his right hand only to fail.

"Bastard, I'll-"

The assassin stopped as he had to raise his left hand to block a blurring object from hitting his face. As soon as his left hand hit something, he felt hands grabbing his arms and locking it in place while legs locked around his neck.

Armlock Twist Takedown

Naoki quickly shifted his weight and forced the assassin to fall towards his face. Luckily, the assassin put his foot forward to prevent that, widening his stance.

"Brat, don't think it'll be that easy to-"

"Thank you, now my turn," interrupted another voice.

An arm hooked right between his leg, and the assassin felt himself being lifted.

"Brat, you might want to get off!" shouted Ukita as he began to spin.

Naoki quickly did so as Ukita quickly spun, dust quickly kicking up from the momentum of his spin. He then threw the assassin up in the air before jumping to try to knee him in the stomach. The assassin blocked that attempt with his right arm, wincing in pain but blocking Ukita's attempt. He raised his left hand to punch Ukita, only for Naoki to suddenly appear once more, landing on his back and grabbing his left arm, holding it hostage behind his back. Ukita quickly grabbed his other arms, kicking off his chest to swing around, also landing on his back while using his right arm as a swing.

The assassin began to curse as he began falling toward the ground face first. With the kids holding his arms hostage as well as putting their weight on the upper portion of his body as well as no time to think, he had no way to get out of his situation.

Splat

"Think we went too far?" asked Ukita as he got off their opponent's back.

"Na, you should know first hand that this doesn't hurt as much as you think since my dad does it to you almost every sparring session," grinned Naoki.

"Brat," growled Ukita in anger and embarrassment before sighing, "When I said I wanted to learn more about the world of martial arts, this wasn't what I had in mind."

"Well least you're improving," commented Naoki as he hopped off the assassin's back, "If it wasn't for dad training you and the spars against the Tengu, you'd never go this far."

'Kind of sad he still doesn't realize that Tengu is his father with a mask,' thought Ukita.

Before the two of them could do anything, the supposed unconscious assassin suddenly sprung up, rushing towards them. And yet before either of them did anything, another body slammed into the attacker, rendering both unconscious.

"Don't let your guard down. You should never assume that the enemy is unconscious until you are truly sure. Especially since your opponent is a master, even if he is crippled by Sakaki," admonished Taiki,

"Yes sensei," bowed Ukita and Naoki, feeling ashamed.

Meanwhile, with Sakaki, he had just finished punching the other two assassins through a wall.

"Che, these guys were indeed skillful," huffed Sakaki, his eyes still glowing with Ki, "They could hold me up for two minutes! I hope Akisame doesn't do anything to my bike."

Kenichi and Akisame had arrived at a construction site where a half-constructed building was located. Akisame and Kenichi quickly hopped off, knowing that this place was the last place they saw Alexander run in.

"Looks like your schoolmate is here," commented Akisame as they leaped over a gate.

"Impressive, you've already noticed us despite our efforts to hide ourselves from view," commented Boris as he stood up, along with his six companions. They were Boris's private team whom they all worked together senselessly. They were also the poor fools who had attempted to invade Ryozanpaku.

"Don't come any closer, Ryozanpaku," barked Boris, "That is my master's orders!"

Sadly for Boris, Akisame had already moved past him without any of them noticing, jumping up towards the building, though apologizing for trampling on their pride. Boris took out a stopwatch he had been using to time himself and saw that he had only delayed Akisame for 2.64 seconds, something that really stung him. Boris turned to give chase, only to see Kenichi jump past them all before standing in front of them.

"5.63 seconds," whispered D2, his second in command.

If the first failure stung Boris, then the second one burned him.

"My orders are absolute! Nobody must interfere with the master! D2, take the rest of the squad and hold of Shirahama! I'll delay the Koetsuji as long as possible!" barked Boris as he ran, intent on rushing past Kenichi and take the stairs up.

Kenichi raised his hands, planning on stopping Boris when he had to dodge several girders that Boris's squad began tossing at him, allowing Boris to weave through and rush up the stairs. Boris's squadmates then surrounded Kenichi, hoping the fact that he had to defend himself in a 360-degree axis would delay him further.

One tried to punch Kenichi while another aimed for his legs. Kenichi parried the punch while lifting his leg to dodge the kick. Then, in the same breath, he twisted his attacker's arm in a grab while spinning on his other foot. His other leg, that was lifted, swiftly shot out while spinning, kicking two of his opponents in the head. The one he grabbed was promptly lifted off the ground and thrown into the other two, knocking them out as well.

Boris could only look in shock at this, and watching his squadmates down there, he could imagine his fellow Yomi's faces down there if they fought Kenichi, even if they were all stronger than his squadmates. He himself wanted to go down there to test his current level against Kenichi. But orders were orders. Pushing down his desire, Boris ran up the stairs to chase after Akisame.

"Tch, same old Boris," muttered Kenichi before quickly ascending the stairs, hopping and kicking off steel pillars before managing to land in front of Boris.

"I won't let you go so easily," declared Kenichi as he carefully placed his hands up, activating a Seikuken.

Boris growled back, "I will finish my mission!"

Up on the upper floors, Akisame and Alexander were already fighting. The Russian Congresswoman had been tossed to a balcony so as not to be a distraction for both fighters. Though it didn't stop Akisame from trying to rescue her every now and then, much to Alexander's ire. Alexander threw two stacks of steel wires, to which Akisame easily grabbed in the air before hurling them back. Alexander quickly jumped down to the floor, only for one of the stacks burst open, raining steel wires right at his position. It looked as though it would be the end of the fight, only for Alexander to reveal he was unharmed and at the same time, created an angel figure made out of steel wires.

"Phew... art is beautiful," sighed Alexander as he admired his newest artwork, "Only art can bring me back from the abyss of destruction to the normal world. It relaxes me... So here, have it!"

Alexander fired the wire art at Akisame, who not only easily received it but used the wires to create something new.

"I'm a big fan of art, too! So here's something for you," grinned Akisame as he set in the finishing touch, hurling a monk-like figure that shocked and awed Alexander.

"Such a free yet detailed style!" admired Alexander for a second before realizing he was in the middle of a fight. The wires wrapped around him and smacked him in the chest before Alexander escaped the entanglement.

"To think there was someone who's a master in both martial arts and the arts, and yet I have to kill that person with my own hands," declared Alexander, his eyes glowing with Ki, "This is such irony!"

The two clashed once more, parrying or dodging each other's attacks before they began to attempt to throw one another. Each throw attempt led to a counter throw, which led to another, and another, until they were doing it in a vicious cycle. Soon, they separated from each other, both glaring at each other.

Alexander was left pondering why his disciple had yet to make an appearance. Was Ryozanpaku's own disciple that strong that Boris was unable to escape him, or at least drag the fight up to where they were?

Alexander took a peek up at the hostage and froze as soon as the helicopter's light shone on where she was. Standing there, already picking her up, was Kenichi.

"Master! I'm sorry I'm late!" shouted Boris as he burst into the area.

The reason for such a time delay from when Kenichi entered the area to when Boris entered was due to the fight a few minutes earlier with them. Kenichi had effectively blocked Boris from even moving up the stairs.

'Is the difference between us this much!?' thought Boris as he tried to rush from below, only to be denied.

Boris then made a huge mistake as he tried to leap for Kenichi's neck after attacking from below. Kenichi caught both hands, and in a swift movement, spun Boris around for a bit before hurling him back to ground level, into a bundle of tarp. Boris shook his head and looked up to see Kenichi already rushing upwards towards the destination before dashing towards the stairs once more.

"Boris, emergency order! Bring that woman to the chopper!" shouted Alexander as he engaged Akisame once more.

Kenichi hefted the Russian Congresswoman over his shoulder as he quickly jumped away, opting to widen the distance between the masters before trying to descend. A task that wasn't so simple due to the fact Boris was trying to catch him with all his might.

"You lead an honest and reliable disciple on the wrong path," stated Akisame with a tsk, "It's betraying the trust between master and disciple!"

"As long as he has orders, he doesn't need trust," replied Alexander as he threw a backfist.

Akisame couldn't help but express his anger at that as he stepped forward. Alexander, thinking he could read Akisame's movements, tried to punch him, only to be thrown down into the floor.

'What? How is this possible? Did I read his movements wrong?' thought Alexander as he quickly flipped back and tried to regain the offensive, only for his fist to pass through an afterimage before being thrown into the ground again.

Koetsuji Yanagihayurashi (Koetsuji Willow Leaf Walk)

Alexander could only watch in shock as Akisame suddenly became invisible. No matter what he tried, Alexander kept on finding himself being thrown into the ground. However, he managed to decipher what was happening as he was being thrown. Sadly, knowing what was happening and stopping it from happening was two different things. Alexander was forced to admit that Akisame was much better him technique-wise. Perhaps it was time to take a different approach while practicing Command Sambo, he mused.

Alexander felt Akisame grab his shoulder, and used the power of his throw to propel himself further up. Akisame noticed too late that Alexander had allowed him to grab him. While Alexander didn't like it, he knew he had lost this battle, but could still win the war. Alexander quickly kicked off some girders and rushed towards Kenichi.

Kenichi had kicked Boris in the stomach after another attempt to grapple and jumped up, only to notice something approaching fast. Kenichi looked up just in time to see Alexander standing right in front of him.

"Hmm, so this is Ryozanpaku's strongest disciple. Looks like the others were right," mused Alexander out loud as he swiftly grabbed the Congresswoman with his right hand, who had just begun to wake up, "I am forced to change my plan, but I still have to finish my mission!"

Alexander had been planning to throw the Congresswoman into the air at an angle where it would be impossible for Akisame to intercept. Before he could wind up though, Kenichi attacked him.

'Hoo, he's either very brave or foolish,' thought Alexander as he tried to backfist Kenichi.

Suddenly, Kenichi's eyes began to glow with Ki just as he ducked under the attack. It wasn't as though Alexander had been going easy on him. In fact, the backfist was one that he didn't hold back but didn't put too much power or thought into it. Alexander blinked in surprise as he quickly opened his left hand, intending on grabbing Kenichi's gi.

"Just a little closer," whispered Kenichi as both hands were up and pointing at Alexander's stomach.

Ryuusui Mubyoshi

Alexander's eyes widened as he saw those hands up, and quickly abandoned his initial plan of hurling the Congresswoman, instead flicking her up in the air without any real sense of direction besides away from Akisame. He quickly brought both hands to his side as he condensed his Ki within his body, strengthening his inner muscles right before Kenichi's attack landed. The result sent Alexander sliding back a few centimeters as he quickly tried to regain his breath.

"Cocky brat!" growled Alexander as he looked up, just to see Kenichi disappear from his view.

"Kyaa!" cried the Congresswoman as she began to fall towards her doom. Suddenly, she felt strong arms wrap around her.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" shouted Kenichi in fear as he had jumped off, kicking off the girder to head straight for the Congresswoman. Kenichi didn't even bother to see if his attack had worked, only using the valuable seconds he had gained to jump off to save the Congresswoman.

"What are you screaming for?" cried the Congresswoman.

"Just hold on tight," shouted Kenichi as he wrapped his left arm around her waist. The Congresswoman obeyed, clutching onto Kenichi's waist and legs with her own arms and legs.

Kenichi managed to get his right hand into his waist before pulling out the meteor hammer he had kept wrapped inside the belt on his waist. Kenichi threw the weighted end out, where it wrapped around one of the pillars. Kenichi looped the rope around his elbow and hand and pulled. The rope became taught and swung Kenichi back into the building.

"This is going to hurt," said Kenichi as he gritted his teeth. The momentum was too fast for Kenichi to land properly and bleed out the force. Instead, he would just have to land on his back while protecting the Congresswoman from harm.

Just as Kenichi let go of the rope, ready for impact, Ukita suddenly appeared in front of him, catching him and the Congresswoman. Ukita then spun with the impact, slowly bleeding the momentum until Naoki jumped in to help stop it completely.

"Thanks for the help," panted Kenichi as he gently put the Congresswoman down on her feet.

The Congresswoman stood for a second before collapsing onto Kenichi, using him as support.

"Sorry, my feet aren't feeling it tonight," said the Congresswoman weakly.

"No worries, we'll be here to help out," said Kenichi gently.

"Geez, you sure do dangerous stuff," commented Sakaki as he waltzed up towards them, "That almost went wrong. And what the hell were you thinking?"

"Ehehe, I didn't want to have Akisame-sensei's plan to become void nor did I want to have her die, so I jumped without thinking," coughed Kenichi.

"Idiot, think a bit more," sighed Sakaki, "You could have used your rope dart and catch her instead!"

"Ehh, I don't think that would've worked as Alexander Gaider was right next to me," shrugged Kenichi.

"Feh, I guess so," scoffed Sakaki, "Nice job on the save though."

"Indeed, I owe you my life," said the Congresswoman before leaning down and giving Kenichi a kiss on the cheek, "I hope we meet again samurai boy."

Kenichi could only blush crimson at this kiss while Ukita snickered. Sakaki and Taiki looked away from them while whistling while Naoki looked a little jealous.

Meanwhile, Alexander and Boris got on the helicopter to escape. As the two watched Ryozanpaku's victory, Boris could only grit his teeth in anger. He had completely failed his part of the mission.

"Master, I'm-" started Boris, only to hear Alexander cough.

When he turned around to look, he saw Alexander remove his hand from his mouth to reveal that he had coughed up some blood.

"Master!" exclaimed Boris in worry.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious," replied Alexander as he wiped off a trail of blood from his mouth, "That last attack from Ryozanpaku's disciple was just more powerful than I expected. Ogata was right, he is a rare specimen. I cannot fault you for your failure against him. However, you will catch up to him, and we'll show the world that Command Sambo is the strongest!"

"Yes sir!" saluted Boris, eager to start training once more.

And so the timeline keeps changing! And what is Chikage and Tirawit doing with such books? Find out... next chapter when I write the omake for it!

Ta daaa, Takeda and Ukita graduate! Sho is at the school... and what's this? A new couple? Muhahaha! Whether I plan to ship those two together will be up in the air.