This story has been beta by TheReader2011 and Steven Badner. Enjoy!
It had been a few days since the attempted kidnapping of Freya as life began to settle down a bit. Everything seemed normal, though Kenichi and Miu did notice that Freya and Takeda would keep glancing at each other before turning their heads away quickly when the other noticed their target doing the same, blushing constantly during the Shinpaku meetings.
"GYAAAA!" screamed Kenichi as he endured the newest tortur… training device from Akisame.
This special device had been requested from Shigure herself, though. Inside, he was sparring against four wooden dummies with targets on them. Kenichi had to use his three-sectional staff to fight against the dummies while they tried to punch him. Not only that, but every two minutes, Kenichi had to somehow create space for himself to switch weapons from his staff to the meteor hammer and continue the fight and vice-versa. The reason for this was to allow him to change weapons on a whim, just like Shigure could in her fight, where she alternated between her sword and every other weapon she stashed on her person.
"PLAH!"
Unfortunately, Kenichi was punched in the face when he tried to switch weapons, only to epically fail when one of the dummies got through.
"Koetsuji-shishou... didn't you say we were starting at reasonably strong?" cried Kenichi as he landed in front of the control panel of the training device, only to notice that it had been placed onto the strongest setting.
"An honest mistake," whistled Akisame. The truth was that during the whole training, he had it on a timer that would crank it up a level after Kenichi landed a certain amount of hits on the dummy, something he chose not to mention.
"Kekeke, training hard as usual," laughed Niijima as he walked into the dojo with his PDA, "Anyways, I have an update from my Shinpaku Alliance Web Squadron. It's about Eternal Sunset. The word about it has been spreading on the webs, though we're trying to find the source of the rumors. Most of it has been pointed to Yami. And of course, it's been confirmed through my little virus that there's a Yami base in Okinawa. Specifically, inside the American base in Okinawa."
"Can't you somehow just hack into the computers there from here so we don't have to go there," moaned Kenichi as he managed to push himself up.
"Unfortunately, the database in there is too secure even for me to hack into," sighed Niijima, "I have to personally get closer to do so."
"Meanwhile, you shouldn't get distracted," said Akisame lightly.
Kenichi just noticed that the chains he had his ankles started to retract, pulling him back towards the training device.
"Your training isn't finished just yet," chuckled Akisame, "I've implemented a new feature to make sure you finish it up."
"NOOOO!" cried Kenichi as the chain viciously dragged him back. He had thought the chain was there to make sure he didn't escape the first time, not pull him in until he finished.
"So then we're in agreement that we head to Okinawa?" declared the Elder.
"Agreed!" replied all the masters, their eyes glowing with Ki.
"So in the end, we're heading towards Okinawa?" sighed Kenichi as he began packing his clothes into his suitcase.
"Fu fu, even if you complain that it's because of Yami, we're still going on a small vacation," giggled Miu before looking around for a bit.
"Not to mention, I have a new swimsuit I want you to see," whispered Miu.
Kenichi's face turned crimson at the thought of that.
Soon enough, the members of Ryozanpaku had arrived at Okinawa, thanks to the tickets courtesy of the Japanese police headquarters. Even Apachai had coaxed on, though not without difficulty and bribery.
"It's good to be able to relax every now and then," admitted Kenichi as he laid on a beach chair, enjoying the sun with his male masters doing the same.
"Kenichi! Come play with me!" shouted Miu, holding a beach ball above her head.
"Hai, coming!" exclaimed Kenichi as he rushed towards her.
In the end, somehow Shigure and Sakaki had been roped into playing a game of beach volleyball, though to make it fair, it was boys vs girls.
Inside the American base in a luxury building was Agaard, taking deep breaths to sharpen his focus before rushing through an obstacle of strings hanging from the ceiling. In a few quick movements, he managed to tie all the hanging threads in a few seconds with the threads barely even moving. Next to him was Tirawit, going through some forms while attempting the same thing his master had done with just one string for now.
"Excellent!" complimented a voice while clapping his hands, "You managed to tie all the hanging strings while hardly shaking them. Your attacks aren't just powerful, but you even refined the clarity of techniques! Now let me..."
In a second, a spear flashed forward toward all the strings that had been tied. In a few seconds and thrusts, the strings all unraveled without even being cut.
"I thought the unarmed martial artists were nothing more than child's play, but it seems like you're quite powerful. The Demon Emperor of Underground Muay Thai, Agaard Jum Sai, " commented the spearman as he stepped forward, revealing himself with his hair tied into a high ponytail and a scar over his right eye. Behind him were two more armored masters with spears, too. They were the Spear of the Core, Spear of the East, and Spear of the West. The West Spear favored European style armor while the East had Eastern style armor.
"Well, if it isn't the Three Spears of Kurokonoe," grinned Agaard, "Isn't that a surprise? And here, I thought those who used toys like weapons were always the farthest from the 'reasoning of martial arts'! It seems there are still some with some backbone, though."
In the past timeline, the Shinpaku Alliance barged into the Okinawa trip to try to help, but in the end, only Niijima had gone with Ryozanpaku to invade the American base, and even then, he had been accidentally kidnapped by Apachai. So while the Elder, Kensei, and Akisame planned their attack, they were greeted with a surprise.
"No, if we attack from there, quite a few people will get injured," Akisame interjected.
"Hmm, true, we don't want to damage the American army too much," nodded the Elder as he took a bite of his shaved ice.
"Hoho, still thinking of a plan?" asked Niijima as he suddenly popped into the planning session.
"Are the other members of Shinpaku with you?" questioned the Elder with a sharp gaze.
"No, I sent them to another part of Okinawa as a distraction," waived Niijima.
In another part of Okinawa
"Where the hell are they?" asked Takeda as he looked around the shoreline.
"I'm sure they'll show up soon, Niijima said he booked hotel rooms all around the Ryozanpaku rooms," shrugged Kisara as she laid down on her beach towel, "Ukita, can you put some sunblock on my back?"
"Haii!" huffed Ukita in excitement.
"C'mon, I rented us surfboards for us," said Freya as she suddenly pulled Takeda's wrist, gesturing to the surfboards waiting for them.
"Wait, I've never surfed!" exclaimed Takeda.
"It's easy, I'll teach you," pressed on Freya as she pulled Takeda with him.
Meanwhile, Thor and Tsuji were busy creating the manliest and sturdiest sandcastle.
Back with Ryozanpaku
"And him?" asked the Elder, pointing to Siegfried who was currently composing a song, being inspired by coconuts and other various things.
"He swore he wouldn't leave my side," replied Niijima, "He's very stubborn on that."
"Lalala, I would never leave my demon lord's side," sang Siegfried.
"So about your plan," hummed Niijima, returning to the important topic, "I have no intention of being dragged in there by you lot again. However, you will need my expertise once again when it comes to retrieving the data. Which is why I have already made my own plans for infiltrating the base."
When he explained his plan, the Elder, Kensei, and Akisame couldn't help but glance at each other. Truly, the most dangerous one of the time travelers was Niijima with all the connections he was cultivating because of his knowledge of the future. Luckily, Kenichi and Miu were there to ground him.
Hours later
Tirawit walked through the American base, reading another book about Mah Jong as well as carrying another book about analyzing the human body during gambling.
"I'll get her someday," grumbled Tirawit as his mind flashed back to Kaede and her damn smirk when she cruelly denied his every tile.
"Welcome, welcome! It's so good to see Japanese youths interested in learning more about America to foster a more friendly relationship with the two countries," welcomed a captain in the US Army.
Tirawit overheard it and was about to ignore it when...
"Keke, ahem, I mean, I've always wanted to learn more about foreign cultures and relationships so as to expand my horizons," cackled a familiar voice.
Tirawit's head snapped towards the source of the voice to see Niijima walking with a captain, talking as they did so while Siegfried loyally followed behind.
'How the hell did they get in here?' thought Tirawit before his eyes narrowed. If members of the Shinpaku Alliance were here, then it wouldn't be long until Ryozanpaku infiltrated the area. They had already gotten reports that they were currently checked into a hotel closest to the base. And if Ryozanpaku here, that meant the Strongest Disciple would be coming... and as much as Tirawit hated to admit, he wasn't ready yet. But if he did come, he'd still fight!
Which only begged the question... how did the non-martial artist with no sort of rich family connection get in the base? As Tirawit went to inform his master, he couldn't help but place Niijima in a special section in his list. One that was not a threat as a martial artist, but still a threat in general.
Sometimes, the best plan is the simplest plan. A complicated plan that can go wrong by misfortune or mistakes, thus leading to even more complications. And since Ryozanpaku had been told it had worked the first time, the Elder saw no need to change it.
"NNNNUOOOOOOOGHHHH!" shouted the Elde... correction, Garyu X as he smashed open the front gate, ignoring the warnings that were blaring in the loudspeakers.
Once inside, he started to use one of the Invincible Superman's 108 techniques, shedding off his kimono as he did so.
"Ryouzan Blast!" shouted Garyu X as he used a combination of a Ki attack and wind pressure to send the American soldiers flying. Then he started to liberally use it to distract everyone while the others quickly made it to Yami's base. Anyone who somehow managed to hang on and point their gun found their rifles crushed by Garyu X.
At the top of the base, both Agaard and Tirawit prepared themselves for battle. Agaard grinned as he looked forward to his match against Apachai.
"Come, Apachai. Let me see how much you've grown!" grinned Agaard.
As Ryozanpaku made their way to the base, each master faced the same opponent as the last timeline. Shigure was attacked by the Black Knight, the Spear of the West. Sakaki stayed to deal with the Spear of the Core. Akisame and Kensei went to fight the Spear of the East and a female assassin named Kyouken No Izayoi.
Kenichi and Miu glanced at each other, nodding in agreement before Miu quickly got off, heading towards the third floor to where a certain control room was. Soon enough, Apachai and Kenichi made it to the top floor, where Agaard and Tirawit were waiting.
"Yo," waved Agaard with a grin as Kenichi and Apachai entered into a room full of statues that were reminiscent of the Thai culture.
"Agaard Jum Sai... are you still using Muay Thai for evil?" stated Apachai with narrowed eyes.
"So we meet in battle today," greeted Tirawit as he tightened his bandages, "Do not think victory will be so easily obtained from this fight. Though you may be stronger, I have become much stronger than before."
The master and disciple pairs stared at each other for a bit before Tirawit made the first move, charging towards Kenichi. Kenichi responded by doing the same. As the two ran towards each other, they both spun before using their elbow, Ti Sok Klab, to attack. Their elbows crashed into each other, each trying to overpower the other.
At the same time, Apachai and Agaard jumped into the air and attacked, their elbows crashing into each other's elbow.
"So you made it," greeted Niijima as he was busy hacking into the system with his computer. In the back, Siegfried was singing while composing a song. The two of them had been quickly escorted into Yami's building when the Elder 'invaded' for their 'safety'. After the captain left them in a room, it was a simple task to navigate through the building to the control room, especially having memorized the layout of it.
"There weren't as many guards this time," replied Miu as she entered the control room, "Is everything going as planned?"
Truth be told, there were the exact amount of guards that she had encountered in the last timeline. The only reason she felt like there was less was that she overpowered all of them faster than last time, oblivious to the truth.
"Yep, and this time, I'm much more prepared," cackled Niijima as he produced a USB flash drive with a flick of his wrist. He had not enjoyed using his hidden technique, taking out the hard drive of another PC and using it as a way to save the data. It was crass and left too much evidence of someone tampering in the area. Niijima preferred not to draw too much attention, thank you very much!
Sadly, there was nothing he could do when he triggered the alarm that caused the lights to fail. He had to trigger it to get further into the system, though it didn't take him long to bypass that.
When Niijima finally reached the last part of the security system, the fingerprint verification system, he merely grinned. Copying from what he learned from Akisame, Niijima soon lifted the previous fingerprint remaining on the system and used it to bypass it.
As for the rest of the masters besides Apachai, the fights went just like the old timeline, with Ryozanpaku being victorious. As for the Muay Thai disciples...
Hiran Muan Pandin
Tirawit tried to push through Kenichi's defense, swinging a sideways elbow towards Kenichi's neck, only for Kenichi to block it with his forearm. Before Tirawit could try to push through, he had to jump back to dodge a roundhouse kick to the ribs.
'So far, I haven't landed a clean hit, but nor has he,' analyzed Tirawit, 'Perhaps the distance between isn't that far. But he's yet to utilize that monstrous Ki yet.'
'He's stronger than the old timeline,' thought Kenichi as he raised his arm to guard himself, 'He must've thrown himself into training like Kano Sho said he did.'
"Hoo, that's an interesting and good disciple you've taken, Apachai," complimented Agaard as he threw a punch, to which Apachai blocked, "Kokin, you haven't realized it yet, have you? In this fight, he's only used Muay Boran against you. Though it may seem even, he's yet to use that monstrous Ki I've heard about. Not to mention despite being able to use Muay Boran, he's not as well-versed in it as you are. Feels like it was beaten into him, which makes sense considering who his teacher is."
Apachai could only blush at this truth. While Kenichi was much stronger when he began training under Apachai again, Apachai misunderstood this as a chance to 'not hold back'. It was thanks to the fact that Akisame and Kensei were masters in their respective fields of medicine that they could 'revive' Kenichi every time Apachai tried to train Kenichi in Muay Boran.
"In short, you're ahead in technique, but it feels like he's far ahead in experience," concluded Agaard as he landed behind Kenichi, getting a good look at him before placing his hand on Kenichi's shoulder gently, "I thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I'm glad that Apachai found a disciple like you. But please, don't hold back against my disciple. This will be a learning experience for him too."
Agaard quickly jumped away, landing behind his disciple with a grin, "A master teaches the pupil, and the pupil teaches the master. That is martial arts!"
The masters and disciples clashed against each other once more.
"You guys will try to beat us without killing us, and we'll win by killing you both! Let's fight under these conditions!" grinned Agard as he flipped upside-down, his knee aiming for Apachai's head.
Sonbun Yan Erwan
The fight continued with Apachai and Agaard in a bit of a stalemate while Kenichi slowly began to dominate the fight against Tirawit.
'It's like fighting Sho, but with a much stronger heart,' gritted Tirawit as Kenichi threw him into the floor with a Jiujitsu throw, 'Less variety of styles, but at a higher level.'
Not that Sho's heart, or guts, was weak to begin with, but Tirawit could see when he first met Sho that he had doubts within himself. He was talented for sure, but without spirit, Tirawit was confident if they ever fought, he would win. Though that seemed to have changed a lot after attending Koryo High. He was aware of who just was the catalyst of this change, but he wasn't going to reveal that to the Kuremosago clan, otherwise, they might involve the innocent.
"Haha, you're the first one alive after that," chuckled Agaard as he and Apachai landed simultaneous punches to each other's cheek.
"You too, Agaard. You're still moving after my 'Might Be Better Off Being Dead' punch," commented Apachai with a grin.
"Then it seems our fight will end before our disciples!" shouted Agaard as he and Apachai kicked it up to a higher level.
The two Grandmaster Class Muay Thai fighters clashed once more, destroying the terrain around the building. They soon destroyed the ground that Tirawit and Kenichi had been standing on, forcing them to fall down a level. As the fight continued just like the previous timeline, the two fighters stared at each other, with Ki glowing in their eyes.
"Finally, it's here!" declared Agaard cheerfully, "We've finally arrived here! Even though Katsujinken and Satsujinken have their differences, we now fight for the seat of the best!"
"Apa, Agaard!" agreed Apachai.
The two of them began to perform a series of Muay Thai katas, their Ki clashing against each other. This caused Tirawit to lose focus when he failed to block a punch from Kenichi. Tirawit gritted his teeth in preparation for the blow, only for it to never come. Tirawit blinked before noticing Kenichi had stopped short before quickly pulling back.
"You're being affected by the heavy atmosphere," whispered Kenichi as he raised his arms up, "I won't take advantage of that."
Tirawit mentally huffed but prepared himself once more. He winced as he felt his liver seize up from the knee that Kenichi had landed, but forced himself through the pain.
Apachai and Agaard finished the Wai Khru Ram Muay with their hands coming together in a folded hands position.
Bolisud Look Mai
"It's been a long time until now! Now is the time to unleash the technique that we inherited from our master!" roared Agaard as the two took a step forward, cracking the ground with the amount of force they put into it.
The two titans clashed into each other in a flurry of fists, kicks, elbows, and knees, each trying to outdo the other.
"Apachai-san!" shouted Kenichi in worry, remembering the results of this fight. Though Apachai survived it before, there wasn't any guarantee he would still live through it. It haunted Kenichi for days, seeing that gaping hole in the left side of his stomach.
For an instant, it seemed everything would go the same way. Apachai was landing hits that would disable Agaard when Agaar threw that right straight at Apachai's stomach. The punch made contact and began to break through Apachai's skin when...
APAPUNCH!
Apachai threw his signature punch that he had first learned from Agaard, and polished it up year after year, right into Agaard's face.
Agaard had not been expecting such a basic but powerful attack within the hidden technique of Bolisud Look Mai. Thus, was woefully unprepared for the punch to land straight into his face, sending him flying back into a wall. The only thing Agaard could do was roll with the punch as it made contact, trying to minimize the damage.
As Agaard was sent flying back, his foot attacked on reflex, though barely touching Apachai. However, it was enough to land a rather deep cut from the waist up to his shoulders. In the end, Apchai had a puncture hole in his stomach area that didn't go too deep as well as a cut from the said hole up to his right shoulder. A damn sight better than what Kenichi had to witness last time.
The reason for such a change in the conclusion was that Kenichi had confessed to Apachai what had happened in the last fight. Apachai may be childish, but he didn't want Kenichi to suffer such a deja vu. So ever since Kenichi came back the first timeline and met them, he had been training his punch just for this fight and merging it into his own Bolisud Look Mai. And the end results revealed itself.
"To think you would use that punch I taught you," coughed Agaard with a laugh as his body fell down from the wall into the ground, "Magnificent, Apachai. To think you would use that punch in our fight."
"Apapa, you taught me how to use it," sighed Apachai as he walked to Agaard, wincing at his wounds, "But I learned how to use it to save people. I knew that if anyone could live through it, it was you."
"It's your win," admitted Agaard as he laid on the floor, trying to move his body, only to discover that Apachai had landed such precise hits that he wouldn't be able to move for the next 48 hours.
"Apapa, now I'm... I'm...," stammered Apachai before collapsing onto the ground.
Agaard looked at Apachai and chuckled, seeing Apachai was now taking a nap. Even with all his injuries, he was sure Apachai would live through it.
"Khruu Agaard!" shouted Tirawit in shock before rage filled his mind. With clenched fists, Tirawit charged at Kenichi, fists flying at him. In his rage, he began to ignore some of the hits Kenichi was landing in favor of landing some of his own.
Han Ko Erwan
Tirawit tried to land a knee and elbow combo on Kenichi, only for Kenichi to block both, using Ryusui Seikuken. Taking advantage of Tirawit's lack of defense, Kenichi slammed a brutal punch into his stomach. Tirawit coughed as he landed on his back, quickly rolling away to give himself some breathing room.
Agaard was surprised to see Tirawit fly into such a rage, as he was normally so composed. Though lately, he had seen Tirawit looking upset and angry while he had been attending Koryo High, but was unable to pinpoint exactly why.
Kenichi saw the weak points in Tirawit's defense despite his barrage and quickly exploited it. With a knee to the weak point, Kenichi quickly extended his leg out, as if to hit Tirawit with Korui Nuki.
Tirawit quickly thrust his leg out, intending on countering Kenichi's attack and pouring all of Kenichi's attack back at him. However, before Kenichi's kick even made contact, Kenichi pulled back, leaving Tirawit's attempted counterattack to flounder.
'Shit a feint?' thought Tirawit as Kenichi grabbed his foot, leaving Tirawit at his mercy. Tirawit gritted his teeth, knowing that this might be the end of the fight when Kenichi suddenly pushed Tirawit's foot away, sending him back a little.
Before Tirawit could question why Kenichi had done so, Kenichi jumped back just as Tirawit saw a sword swing right down where his foot and Kenichi's hands were, splitting the ground on impact.
"Huh, that's weird. You two were supposed to lose your limbs. It seems I haven't been up to scratch ever since I got beaten up by that old man using a pole," grumbled the Banto master before looking at where Agaard and Apachai were, "The Unarmed Division's Kentei Chuuou (The Sovereign of Fists and Emperor of Elbows), Agaard Jum Sai. Why is a man such as yourself groveling on the ground?"
As the Banto master looked around, he saw Apachai's body.
The Banto master had managed to escape being locked up by the government due to Yami, and had been sent to the Okinawa base to heal, though he was still covered in bandages with some going over his left eye.
"Someone from Ryozanpaku huh... and you ended with a draw? No, you can hear him breathing, meaning he's still alive. So you lost, huh?" smirked the Banto master as he lifted his sword, "Then perhaps I'll be the one to take one of Ryozanpaku's head!"
"Don't even try," growled Agaard, releasing a powerful aura that promised death despite the fact he couldn't move.
"Hmph, pretty powerful for someone who can't even move. Maybe I'll cut off your head too. It's not like anyone can stop me," boasted the Banto master.
"Then you're vastly underestimating the people in this room," replied Agaard, causing the Banto master to blink.
Ryuusui Mubyoshi
The Banto master just remembered that there were two other people in the room that had just been fighting, and one of the people he had just dismissed earlier was now releasing a monstrous amount of Ki as well as attacking him. The only reason he hadn't noticed it was because Agaard had done it first, thus covering Kenichi's own Ki.
Kenichi's fist slammed into the Banto master's stomach, causing the Banto master to cough in pain as he stumbled back. He had steeled his stomach in an instant, but he wasn't able to fully shrug it off.
"Brat, that's the only shot you're going to get," growled the Banto master before his instincts blared off once more.
He quickly kicked out towards where his senses told him to kick, only for Tirawit to jump and dodge the kick, grabbing the limb with one hand.
Ruushi Fann
The Banto master quickly blocked Tirawit's punch with the flat side of his blade. With a flick of his wrist, the Banto master sent Tirawit flying away, though he landed on his feet next to Kenichi.
"Pretty brave and foolish to attack me like that. Aren't you supposed to be enemies with the brat next to you? Why aren't you two fighting?" taunted the Banto master, "It's part of Yami's orders to fight any of those Katsujinken idiots."
"You tried to dismember me and taunted about killing my master. Why would I bother following your orders?" replied Tirawit with disdain.
"Guess I'm taking four heads with me," threatened the Banto master as he swung his blade around.
Tirawit and Kenichi glanced at each other before nodding, facing the Banto master.
'It feels like I'm teaming up with Yomi members a lot more often in this timeline,' pondered Kenichi before he went on the attack, with Tirawit following his lead.
"Foolish!" shouted the Banto master as he began swinging his sword at Kenichi first.
To his shock, Kenichi began parrying the slashes with his gauntlets.
'What the hell is that gauntlet made of, and how is he seeing my slashes!?' thought the Banto master as Kenichi and Tirawit began to advance towards him.
Much to his anger, the Banto master found the match in a bit of a standstill. He had to focus most of his attacks on Kenichi, allowing Tirawit to get some potshots in, and yet if he tried to focus on Tirawit, it allowed Kenichi to close in with explosive speed much faster than the boxer he had met.
"Die!" shouted the Banto master as he tried to stab Kenichi with a downward jab.
Due to his haste, anger, injuries from before and current, along with his depth perception a bit off with one eye covered, he stabbed the ground instead. Before he could pull his sword out, Kenichi performed a maneuver that no possibly sane man would do.
Shirahama Seriousness
Kenichi locked the Banto master's sword between his body and arms, utilizing the chainmail and gauntlet to protect him.
"Let go of my sword!" growled the Banto master as he tried to jerk it away, only to find it stuck. The Banto master raised his other arm to punch Kenichi away when he noticed his mistake. Due to tunnel vision, he had focused on Kenichi and forgotten about Tirawit.
He was forcefully reminded of Tirawit when he kneed the Banto master right where Kenichi had struck the first time.
Tabien Fan To
The Banto master coughed in pain as he stumbled backward, his hand going towards the injured spot on reflex as Kenichi let go of his sword. Tirawit and Kenichi glanced at each other before both charging forward.
Muay Boran Barrage
The Banto master found himself being attacked by a barrage of elbows, knees, kicks, and punches by Tirawit and Kenichi. Then Kenichi managed to clinch, wrapping the Banto's head underneath his right arm and body. Before the Banto master could try to escape, Tirawit came flying in with a knee to the face. Upon impact, the Banto master's head flew back out of Kenichi's grip. Before the Banto master could try to readjust himself, Kenichi slammed an Apapunch into his stomach. The Banto master's body bent forward from impact, spit flying out of his mouth. The Banto master tried to use his sword to slice Kenichi in half when he felt something slam onto his head.
When Kenichi had punched the Banto master in the stomach with his right fist, his left arm had swung backward, his hand open. Tirawit immediately grabbed his wrist, causing Kenichi to do the same. Then, with a monstrous swing, Kenichi brought Tirawit in an overhead throw, with Tirawit's knee aiming for the Banto master's head again.
Yan Erwan
Tirawit's attack slammed into the Banto master's head, sending him careening into the floor. The Banto master quickly pushed himself up in time to see Tirawit hurling Kenichi towards him. Kenichi's arms were quickly raised, Dou Ki flooding his body.
Shuto Muzandachi
"Enough of this shit!" roared the Banto master as he quickly put his blade up, blocking Kenichi's attack. With all his strength, he deflected Kenichi upwards into the upper level through the hole Agaard and Apachai had made.
With his decision made, the Banto master opted to kill Tirawit first. Tirawit quickly backed away, only to stumble on some stray rocks, falling onto the floor. Agaard tried to help by grabbing a piece of rock into his mouth and spitting it towards the Banto master, but he easily deflected the rock.
'Sorry.. Khruu Agaard,' thought Tirawit as he saw the sword aiming for his head and with no way of defending himself. Though he was going to die, he was going to stare death straight in the face.
Suddenly, a dark-skinned hand wrapped in Muay Thai bandages caught the sword mid path, halting it in its path. Though not perfectly as the blade cut into the catcher's palm, causing it to bleed profusely, but enough to stop it.
"What the?" gaped the Banto master in confusion.
"Who...?" murmured Agaard until he realized that there wasn't a body laying next to him anymore.
"Apachai... will... protect!" growled Apachai, standing up despite his injuries, "Apaa... won't let anyone... die! Even if I die... I will protect everyone! Agaard's first disciple... I will also protect!"
The Banto master quickly leaped back, jerking his blade back as Apachai let go, his legs shivering for a second.
'W-what an aura. It's like the Grim Reaper staring at me,' thought the Banto master as he stared at Apachai, his eyes zeroing in on Apachai's wounds on his stomach, chest, and hand, 'But with that amount of damage... living is hard enough. Hell, he won't be even able to attack me. This is my chance!'
With a roar, the Banto master jumped into the air, intending to cleave Apachai in half. However, there was one giant miscalculation in his conclusion. Though Apachai's hands were injured, his legs were not. Apachai's eyes glowed with Ki as he took a deep breath and roared.
Chai Kick
The kick obliterated the Banto master's sword before impacting his face. The resulting aftermath sent the Banto master through several walls and out the building, landing right next to Shigure and the Lance of the West, who was currently guiding Shigure towards the base after having lost his fight. Shigure prodded the motionless Banto Master, who could only wheeze out in pain after being poked.
"He's alive," proclaimed Shigure as she continued to walk towards the base.
She walked into the base just in time to see Sakaki turn around, who's face suddenly turned red. The reason for that was due to the fact that when opening the door, a gust of wind came out, blowing Shigure's tattered kimono up to reveal her bountiful chest and nipples that she didn't even bother covering up. Being the gentleman, he quickly offered Shigure his jacket to cover up.
"So this is Katsujinken... this is the path of power you've reached?" chuckled Agaard from the floor, still unable to move, "To think you could still stand up and fight after all the injuries I've inflicted and protect my disciple. It's just like you. It's your victory."
With that, Agaard finally fell unconscious, knowing his disciple was safe.
"So do you want to continue the fight?" asked Kenichi, who had safely landed back on the ground.
"... No," sighed Tirawit, "As my pride as a martial artist, this is my loss."
He recognized the fact that if the Banto Master had not interfered with the match, Tirawit would've been thrown into the ground from Kenichi's feint, possibly knocked out if not put in an even more disadvantageous state.
In the end, despite Apachai's victory over Agaard, they couldn't take him out of the American military base and into Big Lock as it would attract too much attention from the government of both sides. So instead, Ryozanpaku quickly fled the scene. Niijima had already gotten all the data they needed, and had been escorted back to the safety room they had been in, thus the captain of the base that had been leading them never knew they left the room.
Inspector Honmaki had a private jet ready for Ryozanpaku to flee in the middle of the night, allowing them to safely return back to their home.
Several days later
Satomi put his hand over his mouth, pondering about his next move. Directly across from him was Natsu, who kept a neutral expression as Satomi repeatedly tapped the table with his finger, trying to figure out his next move. All was silent...
"C'mon, just put out a tile!" complained Sho as he rocked around in his seat.
"Don't rush him," hissed Hatsuki, the curvaceous bodyguard of Satomi, with her petite sister Natsuki standing behind her and nodding in agreement.
"Feh, you're only saying that because you're losing to my team," pouted Sho.
The four of them were playing Mah Jong inside a Yomi base. Satomi had invited Natsu to participate in some sort of game, considering he had just defeated Chikage in shogi and Rachel in chess, and wanted to get to know Natsu a bit more.
Natsu was silent in reply until Sho intervened, stating that Natsu was good at MahJong and Othello. It was there that Satomi suggested playing MahJong, waiving at Hatsuki to bring it out. He had seen Tirawit and Chikage reading up on it, and decided on a whim to play. Sho volunteered to be on Natsu's team while Hatsuki went on Satomi's team. Now... he found himself under heavy pressure.
Finally making a decision, he threw out the nine bamboo tile, carefully gauging Natsu's response. When Natsu didn't react, Satomi couldn't help but breathe out a mental sigh of relief. Most of their losses were due to Natsu's cunning or viciousness in the game.
"Hu! I win!" grinned Sho as he suddenly tilted his tiles forward, revealing that he had been waiting for that tile, "Did you forget about me?"
"Amazing Sho-sama!" praised Hayame and Seto from behind.
Satomi grumbled as he had indeed forgotten about Sho, his focus mainly on Natsu.
"I lose," admitted Satomi with a wry grin as he leaned back on his chair, "Man, I didn't expect you to be this good."
"My little sister is a savante in this game. I picked up a few tricks from playing with her," replied Natsu dully as he began to help clean up the tiles.
"Is that why Chikage has had that pout every time she seems to come back from your house?" asked Satomi, causing Chikage to jump in surprise. She had been nearby reading another book when Satomi mentioned her name.
Natsu merely kept silent, not bothering to respond to it.
"So Kano Sho, I've heard about the incident with Bagaye," said Satomi, suddenly changing subjects to Sho, "Nicely done, dealing with him and four others. I've heard that the Kuremisago for the most part has withdrawn their complaints about you."
Natsuki and Hatsuki both nodded, having heard the whole situation from their own master.
"Eh, Baka was annoying," shrugged Sho, "Good riddance, I say."
"Your heart has certainly become stronger," noted Satomi, "And speaking of strong hearts, here comes the other man with such a strong heart, back from his loss."
Tirawit had just entered the room. He had only done so to report to the others that he and his master would be heading back to Thailand for now until further notice.
"So how was your fight against Ryozanpaku's Strongest Disciple?" questioned Satomi, "I don't see any serious injuries."
"Our battle was interrupted, but in the end, it would've been my loss," admitted Tirawit, "After finishing my analysis of him, in conclusion... it seems I don't hate him. He's an interesting case."
"Oh? That's something," hummed Satomi.
"If that's all, then I'll leave you all," finished Tirawit, "You still have to deal with Sho for losing."
As Tirawit turned to leave, he paused to look at Satomi.
"What?" asked Satomi, noticing his gaze.
"... nothing," replied Tirawit as he left.
'For some reason, despite Shirahama Kenichi being a genius, he reminds me of Satomi, who worked his way up to his position, defying his destiny of dying at 20 due to a weak constitution,' thought Tirawit, 'Not to mention that last move of his against the Barbarian Master of the Armed Division. It feels quite similar to his Shinogidachi. But the two have never met, according to our records. And Satomi himself has no memory of ever meeting Ryozanpaku's disciple. Could it be a move taught from the Furinji side of the family? But it feels more derived from the Kuremisago style.'
Tirawit decided to push those thoughts aside for now. But first... he had a mission to accomplish
.
Few hours later
"Pon!" shouted Tirawit as he snatched a tile from Kaede's discard.
'Good, I'm in a good spot!' thought Tirawit as he looked at his tiles, 'Been dealer for seven turns straight, but I can do this! Won a few rounds with it, too. I can win and beat her finally!'
"Richi," declared Tirawit as he threw out a green dragon tile, thinking it was safe. After all, Kaede had tossed it out two hands earlier. As soon as it landed, he immediately knew something was wrong when Kaede smirked.
"Fu. I win," declared Kaede as she flipped her tiles forward to reveal her waiting tile to be the green dragon tile for her eyes with the rest of her hand solely composed of purely green bamboo tiles.
Tirawit cursed as he saw her hand. Her green dragon discard earlier had been a trap, and he fell for it! However, it seemed illogical to rip her eyes apart earlier!
"Not really," smiled Kaede, as if reading Tirawit's mind, "By doing so, I raise my chances of victory by fooling you. And so if we calculate the points right... I win again."
Tirawit slumped onto his chair as his partner, Chikage, patted his back in sympathy.
"It's a shame you'll be gone for a while. I was enjoying myself with a new opponent," continued Kaede as she began to clean up the set, "But I suppose with Chikage here, I won't be bored."
Chikage glared at her, swearing that she would beat her one day.
"I suppose it's goodbye for now," said Tirawit as he stood up, "But I will be back to knock you off your throne."
"I'll be looking forward to that day... which will never come," snarked Kaede lightly with a grin.
Kenichi yawned as he woke up for another day. Takeda and the others had visited yesterday, a bit upset that they hadn't been able to help. Though that changed when they heard that Ryozanpaku invaded the American military base. As much as they hated to admit, they weren't ready for that kind of stunt, even if it had mainly been the Elder doing all the distraction.
"I hope Inspector Honmaki managed to get the data safely this time," murmured Kenichi as he quickly got dressed.
As soon as he stepped out, he gave a deadpan stare at what was in front of him.
"Clearly not," muttered Kenichi as he saw police tape in front of Ryozanpaku's doors as well as several policemen and police cars.
Two of the higher-ranked detectives wandered around the area, interrogating both Miu and Kenichi for a little before the one with glasses dismissed the two, thinking the children had nothing of value for their investigation. Fortunately, all members of Ryozanpaku managed to clear out before the police could catch them. Shigure especially made sure several important items were taken with her before the police could try to confiscate them. It was only thanks to their knowledge of the possibility that this could happen again in the timeline that they had everything prepacked for a quick escape.
"Niijima," hissed Kenichi when they arrived at school, "I thought you said you would take care of this!"
"I sort've did," admitted Niijima nervously, "I mean, I couldn't just tell the Inspector that the person whom he thought he was working with to spearhead Yami out of the government is actually a double agent that works with Yami."
"Then what did you change?" asked Miu.
"I had members of the Zanshin Taisha-Ryu follow the transportation of the data. Though they couldn't stop it, they did at least save four government officials and two policemen, as well as protect the others. Last time, they died," replied Niijima.
That stopped Kenichi and Miu cold. They had completely forgotten during the transportation of the data, there had been several people killed. People that Niijima had remembered and saved.
'Of course, with this, I now have more roads into the government to spread my influence... though I won't tell them about that part just yet,' thought Niijima.
"In any case, It's time for the Shinpaku Alliance to truly shine!" declared Niijima, "In any case, we'll be forming the YOUNG DETECTIVE SQUAD AND SOLVE SOME CASES!"
Niijima had shouted the last part of his words loudly, causing Kenichi and Miu to wonder why he had done so. That revealed itself a second later when Chikage suddenly slammed the door open, holding a detective novel she had been reading.
"Young detective squad," declared Chikage, her Child Mode currently activated.
"Ah, that's why," said Kenichi and Miu together.
"We'll go on the adventure tomorrow then," said Niijima with a grin, "Bring someone with you, alright?"
Chikage childishly nodded before leaving.
Kenichi yawned as he walked out of the dojo, getting ready to head towards his room when he heard Miu whisper his name.
"Psst, Kenichi," hissed Miu, causing Kenichi to turn around to see Miu waving him over.
"Is something wrong?" asked Kenichi as he walked over to her.
"No, nothing is wrong per say... but...," said Miu before she started wriggling in her pajamas, shifting her weight from one foot to the other before continuing, "Do you want to... sleep with me... in my room... tonight?"
Kenichi blinked as his mind processed her words. Choju Giga bunnies hopped across his head, leaving a trail of dots as Kenichi continued to process her words until...
"EEEEEHHHHH!" shouted Kenichi, causing Miu to quickly put her hands on his mouth to silence him.
"It's just that it feels so lonely without the others here. I don't want to sleep alone tonight. Plus this might be the only chance we get to cuddle with each other while sleeping," whispered Miu while prodding her fingers together.
"Miu," whispered Kenichi as the two drew together. Without hesitation, Kenichi drew Miu's lips into his own, the two of them making out in the empty dojo. Miu groaned as she felt Kenichi's tongue prod her own lips, to which she quickly opened to let their tongue intertwine. Their hands began to wander about each other's bodies, their sense of touch quickly overloading all of their senses. Just as their hands were about to wander into more dangerous territories that would push them over the edge when...
"Hello, sorry to be interrupting," coughed Mayu, suddenly appearing in front of both of them.
Kenichi and Miu jumped back in shock, embarrassment, and surprise at the sudden appearance of Mayu, Tsutomu, and Kairi.
"What are you doing here?" asked Miu.
"The Elder asked us to come house sit for a little," replied Tsutomu as he put Kairi down, "Though to be honest, I think he just didn't want the two of you alone."
As Kenichi and Miu blushed, Mayu snickered, "I know you two are technically older than the two of us, and want to go at it, but you're still socially and physically young in the eyes of society. So you'll have to be patient and wait."
"Technically Mayu, we graduated from our virginity around their same age, if not younger," whispered Tsutomu.
Mayu jabbed her fingers into Tsutomu's stomach without hesitation nor a change in expression, causing him to keel over in pain.
"We at least had protection," whispered Mayu back, "Condoms, birth control pills, and other stuff. Those two looked like they were about to jump each other without even thinking about it. I'm not against them doing the deed, especially with what they've done to help us, but at least have proper planning. Especially with the Elder being extra careful about them."
As Tsutomu remained in a fetal position for a bit with Kairi gently patting her father's back, Mayu looked back to the couple.
"So, you guys have a guest room, right? If not, then we'll sleep in the dojo. It's not the first time we've slept in one?" asked Mayu.
In the end, Kenichi and Miu ended up pulling extra futons and slept in the living room with the tatami mats with the Tanaka family. Though Mayu and Tsutomu did allow Kenichi and Miu to cuddle each other to sleep in the same futon, knowing they wouldn't dare do anything suspicious while they were around... unless they were voyeurs. But with Kairi in the room, even if they were, they wouldn't pass that line.
I know, a bit short. But it was a good stopping point for me to put as a cliffhanger. Anyways, this'll be the last chapter for this year. Man, 2020 has come and gone... and to be honest, it hasn't been a pretty year. Here's to hoping next year will be better.