This story has been beta by TheReader2011 and Steven Badner. Enjoy!
"Why am I here?" asked Sho blankly as he found himself with most of the Shinpaku Alliance and Chikage, walking to Inspector Honmaki's home. He had been dragged by Chikage to come with her when he had been having a perfectly peaceful time with Izumi. The ones going with Miu, Kenichi, and Niijima were Takeda, Ukita, and Kisara.
"Young detective squad," replied Chikage blankly, currently in her child mode.
"That doesn't explain anything!" huffed Sho.
"We're investigating a certain case in regards to Ryozanpaku. It just so happens that when I said we were going to that, Chikage overheard me while speed reading a detective novel," said Niijima whimsically.
"Oh, that's why," hummed Sho as he pondered about that statement. He had heard about Ryozanpaku breaking into the American base and stealing data that could push Yami out of the Japanese government. But the last he heard, the data had been stolen back and destroyed, and the Armed Division of Yami used this incident to pin Ryozanpaku as terrorists. So if the Shinpaku Alliance was going to investigate that would mean...
"Hey, wait, why should we help you!?" shouted Sho.
"Because as the leader of the Unarmed Division of Yomi, you are responsible for Chikage's safety. And if Chikage wants to come, then you, as the current supervisor and responsible one at Koryo High, have a duty to make sure she's alright, or your masters will be unhappy," replied Niijima, subtly applying his special brand of Niijima Brainwash. He had been improving it lately.
"Well if you say so," hummed Sho, looking away in slight embarrassment, not even remembering that he currently wasn't the leader of Yomi.
"So evil," whispered Kenichi to Miu, "Last time he implicated Chikage. Now he's getting Sho into this as well?"
Miu couldn't help but agree. Her mind wandered to where the masters of Ryozanpaku were. If she recalled correctly, Akisame was at some studio restoring priceless paintings for museums. Kensei had managed to drag Apachai with him, most likely heading to Yokohama, China town. The Elder disappeared faster than she could even track him. What surprised her the most and yet made her smile was Shigure and Sakaki disappearing together.
Soon enough, they had made it to the inspector's residency, only to hear his voice from behind the building. They quickly rushed over to see the inspector with his gun out, surrounded by what seemed to be monks wearing baskets over their heads.
"Don't move!" shouted Inspector Honmaki as he fired a shot in the air, "You're under arrest! You're a damn mistake in this era!"
One of the monks smirked underneath his helmet as he threw a needle at the inspector's hand, disabling him from using his pistol. Before they could close in on him, though, they found themselves under attack from the Shinpaku Alliance. Takeda, Ukita, and Kisara easily took out the attacking monks. And unlike the last timeline, Chikage did not need to help Ukita.
"So what should we do with these ones?" asked Kisara, "Interrogate them for information or turn them over to the police?"
"It's useless," gritted Inspector Honmaki in anger, "With the police now, no matter what we do, it's useless!"
"So the data didn't arrive," hummed Niijima, much to Honmaki's shock.
Miu quickly suggested that they headed into the inspector's house before anything else, as to prevent from being overheard.
When inside, the students, except the time travelers, were surprised that the inspector's daughter, Hisami, was also a secret member of the Shinpaku Alliance and mail friends with Niijima. Taking the proper precautions, Niijima had Hisami close the curtains to the windows and turn up the stereo to prevent anyone from listening in. Meanwhile, Sho and Ukita were watching Chikage in horrid interest as she began to put more and more sugar cubes into her tea.
Honmaki thanked them for their help but guiltily admitted that it was because of his plans that Ryozanpaku had been framed. The information they had taken from the American base that could've been used to boycott Yami out of the government had been stolen in the transport where he had been in charge.
"If not for that mysterious interference, four government officials and two policemen would've died!" shouted Honmaki in anger.
'Oh yea, I heard about that,' hummed Sho to himself, making himself as scarce as possible, 'The Yami Armed Division had been ready to kill them when a bunch of ninjas suddenly swooped in and attacked. Though they failed to grab the data, it seemed to be a more secondary objective to them as they retreated as soon as they procured the bodies.'
"Though why would Yami have a database with so much disadvantageous information about them?" asked Kisara, looking over to Sho.
"Don't ask me, I never really bothered with that stuff!" waived Sho frantically.
"Wait, is he?" questioned Honmaki, glaring at Sho.
"It's not what you think! I'm part of the Unarmed Division of Yomi, and it has no interest in this whole scandal. It was purely the Armed Division," said Sho quickly.
"He is right. Kano Sho has never shown interest in the inner politics of our organization despite being the one to inherit the One Shadow," commented Chikage.
The comment cemented Sho's innocence, but it was also a harsh rebuke as her words pierced through Sho's chest, causing him to spin and spit out metaphoric blood.
"I see," hummed Honmaki, still glaring at Sho suspiciously while Niijima explained how the information was both a shield and spear for both sides.
In the end, Honmaki fervently apologized for this failure. While Miu wasn't as offended, it still rankled Kenichi enough that it reinforced his ideal of learning martial arts to fight evil that others pretended not to see. Honmaki could not help smile when he heard Kenichi's declaration. He could see just why Sakaki liked him enough to take him as a disciple despite Sakaki's reputation for not ever taking disciples.
"So what can we do now?" asked Takeda.
"I'm not sure," sighed Honmaki, "With the data lost, the faction leader opposing Yami can't do anything. He's currently taking refuge in a mountain villa."
As one, Miu and Kenichi turned to Niijima, knowing just exactly what he had. The others saw them turning to Niijima and followed, wondering what exactly could Niijima do.
Niijima grinned as he pulled out a CD from inside his jacket, "I have a backup of everything that we took from the base."
"Hey, wait, how'd you end up getting that data!?" shouted Sho in confusion, "I thought it was one of the members of Ryozanpaku or a technical analyst that managed to sneak into the lab!"
"The details of how I got this is none of your concern," sneered Niijima, "Just know that I have it."
"Excellent! If we hurry to the mountain villa, then there is still a chance to expel Yami from the government!" exclaimed Honmaki in excitement, "I'll make the call rig-"
"I would suggest against that," interrupted Niijima, snatching Honmaki's phone before he could dial it in.
Right before their eyes, Niijima disassembled Honmaki's phone before pulling a small electronic device that definitely wasn't a part of the phone's original design.
"A transmitter attached near the charging port of the phone that was recording endlessly," grinned Niijima as he dropped the transmitter into a cup of water that Hisami brought to him, "This'll make them think that the Inspector accidentally dropped his phone into the bath or something. It wouldn't be too out of character for a man who was just attacked to just sink into the bath as soon as possible and toss his clothes into the washing machine full of water without care."
"I can't believe that they put a transmitter on me while I was in the police department!" gaped Honmaki in shock, "It was even paid for by the department recently! I'm mortified that I never thought that Yami's reach was that far. But that means we can use another phone to call Diet Member Ishida!"
"About that…," drawled Niijima, sneaking a peek over Sho and Chikage when Ishida's name was mentioned. To his surprise, the two didn't even react to that name. Chikage was currently in child mode, admiring how Niijima managed to find the transmitter with childish eyes.
"Niijima, are you sure about this?" asked Kenichi in a whisper as he leaned over.
"..." Niijima sat silent, trying to think whether or not to reveal Ishida being an actual Yami Armed Division member. He had been banking on Sho or Chikage showing some sort of reaction to Ishida's name being revealed, only to see none. He couldn't actually accuse Ishida of being a Yami member so blatantly with no 'real' proof besides being a time traveler. Despite his efforts, Ishida had been very careful in hiding his tracks, though as expected of a master politician.
'If I can just manage to convert him to the Shinpaku Alliance, then I could have someone to learn from so I can dive into the field of politics,' thought Niijima before disregarding that plan. He'd probably be killed before anything else.
With no choice, Niijima opted for a different tactic.
"We know your phone was bugged. It could be possible that his is too," theorized Niijima, "We should just go and… surprise him?"
"If we do, then he'll have no time to prepare a possible attack to expel Yami," argued Honmaki, "We should at least inform him that we may have a way."
"Then do it when we arrive at the mountains?" suggested Miu, inputting her voice in, "We can't drive all the way there, can we?"
"I… suppose that should give us enough time," conceded Honmaki as Niijima managed to reassemble his phone and passed it over to him, "Let's go!"
Honmaki, Miu, Kenichi, and Niijima quickly took one car while Ukita, Kisara, and Takeda hailed a taxi. Chikage ended up going with Ukita and the others while Sho drove his own motorcycle that he had parked nearby since he had brought Chikage over upon her request. The trip itself had gone smoothly, and unlike the last timeline, no warrior monks attacked them on their drive. Upon arrival, Honmaki quickly called Ishida informing him that they had vital information that could expel Yami. Right after he finished the call, though, Niijima saw several cars heading their way.
"Impossible! They couldn't have reacted so fast and located this place!" gasped Honmaki, "Were they staking this place out beforehand? Does Yami have a deeper reach into our government than I thought? Or did…"
Honmaki trailed off as he turned to glare at Sho.
"Don't look at me! I had nothing to do with this!" exclaimed Sho.
"He's telling the truth," piped in Niijima, "The Unarmed Division and the Armed Division aren't really friendly with each other. Even if Sho did tell his master, none of them would pass it over to the Armed Division if not to spite them. And if Sho told any members of the Armed Division, they'd most likely ignore him."
"... I'm not sure how I feel that you seem to know more about the inner politics of Yami than I do," commented Sho after a few seconds.
"Still, we should do something," suggested Kenichi, "Should we stick together and run towards the goal?"
"We all head towards the villa. None of us are injured," ordered Niijima, knowing what Kenichi was hinting at. They had separated in the last timeline because Kenichi was still recovering from his injuries. In this timeline, he was perfectly healthy, and so there was no point in separating the group. Not to mention if Ishida revealed his true colors while Kenichi and Miu weren't there, the other members of Shinpaku could be in danger. Specifically himself.
With that, they all quickly ran up the mountain as fast as possible.
'Why am I still running with them again?' thought Sho as he ran next to Miu and Kenichi, 'Oh right, because I promised Chikage I'd accompany her on this trip when she started spouting 'young detective group' and begged me. It didn't help that he used Kaede as a backup.'
Indeed, when Sho had initially refused, Chikage used her phone and called Kaede. In a few seconds, Chikage passed the phone to Sho, who took it with an amusing face. That face turned pale after hearing Kaede's choice words that Sho refused to tell anyone.
'Speaking of which, how is Hermit's little sister so damn scary and threatening despite that innocent look of hers!?'
His thoughts were interrupted when he sensed someone coming close at a very high speed. Quickly turning around, he saw Rimi rushing towards them all. In an instant, Rimi passed by Ukita, Kisara, Honmaki, and Takeda, patting their whole body in one go before they could even react. Chikage, Kenichi, and Miu managed to deflect her probing hands before she went for Sho.
'Damn, she's a lot faster than I thought!' thought Sho as he deflected her hands before grabbing her wrists.
"Whoa, I don't consent," smirked Sho as Rimi's eyes widened in shock at being caught, "Plus, I don't think Ryuto Asamiya would be pleased that his girl was touching other guys."
"Rimi is loyal to Ryuto-sama only!" huffed Rimi in anger, "I am only looking for the disk that Kensei-sama asked me to find when the Armed Division got information that there was a backup made! Our super secret double agent got info about it just a few minutes ago."
Silence pervaded the area as Choju Giga monkeys trotted in the background.
"EH? Did Rimi accidentally reveal information that I shouldn't have?" gasped Rimi, "Sho-sama, you tricked me! How could you!?"
"Me? I didn't tell you to say shit!" shouted Sho in anger, "I just only told you not to touch me! Who told you to blab that out!"
"How did you get that information!" demanded Honmaki, "I've only told Diet Member Ishida about it!"
"Well we-" started Rimi, only for Sho to quickly place his hand over her mouth.
"You do know you don't have to respond to everything, right?" hissed Sho, "Just… go home, Atlante."
"Rimi can't do that until she finds the disc that Kensei-sama told her to find," replied Rimi before looking around, "But nobody seems to have it?"
Sho looked around, knowing for sure Niijima had it. Speaking of which…. where the hell did that alien go? He hadn't noticed Niijima using his technique, the Niijima-style Presence Elimination: Becoming One with a Tree. Before Sho could point out that Niijima was missing, Rimi's eyes locked onto Miu, as if noticing her just now.
"You!" hissed Rimi in anger, "You're too late now! Rimi has Ryuto-sama all to herself!"
"And I said I don't care about him," sighed Miu before blocking Rimi's attacks, "You're clearly outmatched here! Just go away!"
"Rimi won't lose this time!" growled Rimi as she barely blocked a kick, "Rimi has been training for this fight! When it comes to speed, I won't lose! When I undress, Rimi will become wonderful!"
"Context!" coughed Sho.
With a flourish, she kicked off her shoes, throwing them to the side, slightly bragging about her golden shoes that were used for her training.
"Now… die!"
Rimi rushed forward at speeds unheard of in the Disciple Class… and completely missed her punch as Miu went chasing after the golden shoes.
"Golden shoes! Come back!" sang Miu as she leaped away.
Rimi began crying tears of rage as she chased after Miu, to fight against her 'love' rival while completely forgetting about her main objective.
Niijima, after releasing his secret technique, could only glance at Kenichi, for a second, his eyes asking, 'Well that's one problem down. Did Miu chase after the golden shoes on purpose, knowing that Rimi would chase her down? Or…"
Kenichi merely wriggled his hand in return, "Eh, 50-50. You know how she is when she sees gold or other valuables that people carelessly toss. It shows how rich Yami is."
"That's… a new side of Miu I didn't expect," blinked Sho, wondering that if he knew such a side, he could've lured Miu by placing gold nuggets on the ground for her to follow. He somehow doubted that would truly work, though.
The group continued upward towards the mountain villa without Miu for a while, finally arriving to see Ishida being held hostage by bald warrior monks. Behind them, more warrior monks that had been chasing them arrived to surround them all.
"I'm sorry!" coughed Ishida as a stream of blood fell from his mouth, "You came here with the data, but Yami somehow tapped into our conversation and are now holding me hostage."
"Diet Member Ishida! We'll get you out soon!" exclaimed Honmaki as he held up his pistol, trying to get a good aim, only for one of the monks to hold Ishida by knife point, threatening Honmaki with a hostage.
"Give us the data or else," threatened a warrior monk, pointing his weapon at Niijima.
Before anything could be said or done, they all heard someone singing.
"Falalala! To my beloved general!" sang Siegfried as he came flying down from the skies, with Freya, Thor, and Tsuji.
Feeling it was too slow, Siegfried stripped himself of the parachute, aiming for the trees before quickly spinning in the air.
"Veloce!" shouted Siegfried as he seemingly hit every branch possible as he fell until he landed face flat onto the floor.
"Did… he fail his landing?" asked the same warrior monk who had pointed his weapon at Niijima as he hesitantly kneeled down to poke Siegfried's body, "I'm sure he's-"
He didn't get to finish his question as Siegfried's hand suddenly grabbed the warrior monk's wrist with an iron grip.
"To point your weapon at my beloved demon lord… I, the immortal composer Siegfried, will punish you!" shouted Siegfried while the warrior monk began to freak out at this seemingly invincible man.
'That's… actually impressive. He spun in a way that when he hit the branches, it not only slowed his fall but he barely took any damage, rolling away from a full impact until he hit the ground,' thought Sho as his mind replayed the event.
"Hahaha, that looks fun!" grinned Tsuji as he unclipped his own parachute, sending him plummeting down towards the earth.
One thing Tsuji overlooked that the location he was landing had no tree branches to cushion his fall. A fall from such height would seriously injure, if not kill him. Luckily, he did have an object to cushion his fall. Or rather… someone to cushion his fall.
The warrior monk that was currently holding Ishida hostage was too busy making sure his 'act' was on par that he was distracted when Siegfried first fell into the ground. He failed to notice a shadow over his head until Tsuji collided onto him. Luckily, he was wearing armored plating to take most of the shock. Unluckily, he acted as a cushion for Tsuji, and took most of the impact meant for Tsuji.
"Haha, let's fight!" grinned Tsuji, pointing his finger at the man he just landed on.
'And that one's an idiot,' sweatdropped Sho.
Seeing reinforcements for the Shinpaku Alliance arriving, the warrior monks launched an all-out attack. Though they were strong, they ended up being fodder for the Shinpaku Alliance to grow. As the warrior monks were knocked out one by one, one of them became desperate that he attacked Sho without regard.
"Whoa, friendly here!" shouted Sho he dodged several dagger swipes at him, only to be ignored. Getting a little tired of being attacked and being ignored, Sho attacked. He grabbed the offending arm, breaking his opponent's wrist to disarm the weapon. The warrior monk shouted as he tried to attack with his other hand, only for Sho to use a crane fist to deflect the attack, using the rebound to hit the man's chin to disorient him. He quickly followed up with a clinch and a Kao Loi, his knee smashing into the man's face, before using the cinch to quickly throw his opponent into the ground. Using the momentum, Sho flipped in the air and body slammed the man into the ground, knocking him unconscious.
Sho was tempted to finish the man off with either a phoenix stomp to the head or Pencak Silat, but chose not to so as not to offend Yami's Armed Division or the Shinpaku Alliance. Still, he hoped this wouldn't bite him in the ass.
Soon, all the warrior monks were knocked out, leaving Honmaki free to free Ishida. It was at this time Miu returned to them, holding a pair of golden shoes as her prize with a big smile.
"Miu, where's Rimi?" asked Kenichi.
"I left her somewhere at the dam," shrugged Miu, "I beat her and took the shoes as the prize."
'That's the logic of a thief,' thought the majority of the Shinpaku Alliance while Chikage became distracted by Siegfried using a blade of grass to play music.
"You all really surprised me!" said Ishida as he straightened his suit, "Who on Earth are you children? I heard that Inspector Honmaki was bringing reinforcements, but to think a group of children would defeat the Armed Division of Yami."
"We are the group of justice… we are… the Shinpaku Alliance!" declared Niijima as Siegfried provided background music.
"So where's the rumored disc? As long as we have that, then we can turn this situation Yami has created back at them," asked Ishida.
Niijima took out the CD from inside his jacket and tossed it over to Ishida. While the disk was in the air and drawing most of the attention, only a few saw Ishida subtly twitch his finger. A moment later, an arrow pierced through the center of the CD case, the momentum taking it away from them all.
"What!?" shouted Ukita, Takeda, Freya, Thor, Kisara, and Tsuji as they quickly looked towards the source of the shot to see Elfreda standing on top of some trees, grinning as she blew a kiss towards them. Before the others could try to get the CD, they saw Hayase quickly scooping up the CD and running off with it.
"We have to get them!" shouted Tsuji, only for the loud rumble of a helicopter to appear above them. Seconds later, they could Hayase dangling off a ladder from the helicopter, flying away from them all.
With a small smirk, Hayase waved goodbye to them while holding the CD in the air victoriously. Elfreda jumped and caught onto the ladder, too, allowing them to escape.
"Nooo! Our only chance to expel Yami, ruined!" cried Honmaki as he fell to the ground in hopelessness, "Now, we can't even help Ryozanpaku!"
While the other members slightly despaired at the ruined chance, Sho couldn't help but slightly feel bad for them. Sure, they were the enemy, but to have victory snatched away right before the goal was heartbreaking. Chikage seemed sad, not because of the CD being stolen, but for the case to remain 'unresolved'. He did, however, notice Kenichi and Miu acting quite calm, though, as if they knew something. Sho turned to Niijima, who also didn't even seem panicked.
"Meh, it doesn't matter, considering the CD's a fake," shrugged Niijima as he tapped his head, allowing a USB stick to suddenly fall out from his ear, "The real data is here."
"What?" asked Sho blankly at the sudden object appearance.
"Kekeke, you really think that I wouldn't carry such important stuff without backup? The CD merely has 3 hours of my evil laughter and taunting, as well as a virus!" cackled Niijima.
In the helicopter
"Now, let's open this up and see what we can get," suggested Elfreda as Hayase popped the CD into a laptop with the latest encryption breaking software.
However, as soon as the CD loaded, they instantly knew something was wrong when they heard laughter coming out of the computer. Taking a look, all they saw was Niijima laughing and taunting. They tried to close it, only to find it impossible to close the computer and program until Elfreda got impatient and shot the computer with an arrow, destroying it.
"We were tricked," summarized Hayase, looking back at where the Shinpaku Alliance was.
"Should we head back to try to get it again?" asked Elfreda.
"... No. They won this round, at least. If they can fend off Ishida, then it's their victory. No need to complicate it," concluded Hayase, "We should pick up Rimi Kokorone at the dam as well."
Back at the mountain villa
"Here you go. The database on Yami from the American base that we made sure to protect and deliver to you," proclaimed Niijima as he cautiously handed it over.
"With the password that you know, we can finally chase them into a corner," cried an overjoyed Honmaki.
Ishida nodded as he made a gesture to retrieve the USB drive before asking, "Have you made backups of this? Don't misunderstand, it's just that this knowledge shouldn't be publicly known even if it's unfavorable to Yami."
"I agree with you that copying important data too much isn't a good thing. This USB stick is the only physical copy that I had just in case," replied Niijima, already knowing what was to come next.
"I see, so that really is the last one," said Ishida in a low growl.
Niijima immediately jumped backward, letting go of the USB stick as it was suddenly cut into pieces.
"Diet Member Ishida! What are you doing!?" shouted Honmaki in shock as Ishida's, whose eyes had been narrow to the fact that they looked closed, suddenly opened up wide. With a flick of his wrists, weapon parts flew into his hands. With ease, the pieces were assembled into a bladed staff.
"Bastard, are you really Ishida!?" accused Honmaki as he quickly fired a shot at him.
"You idiot, did you really think that Yami wouldn't have people in the National Diet as well?" taunted Ishida as he easily dodged the shot and cut the offending gun into pieces, "I'm the same man. I just happened to be a Master Class as well."
Without hesitation, Ishida destroyed the surrounding trees, trapping them all in the area.
"I won't let anyone escape through this fence. I'll let you perish with the data as well," declared Ishida.
"Yo, friendly here still!" pointed Sho to himself and Chikage.
"It doesn't matter. You offended us by coming here. The Unarmed Division shouldn't have shoved their noses in places where they don't belong," said Ishida, "I'll just say you two were traitors. I'm sure the Kuremisago wouldn't mind your death."
Sho felt a vein burst on his forehead at that statement.
"If you're a member of Yami, that means… then Yami knew everything about the operation beforehand!" gasped Honmaki.
"Correct," nodded Ishida, "It was a plan to reveal the good-for-nothing politicians who wanted to sever the unbroken traditions of Yami."
"Meaning the operation was bait to find the members against Yami, and Ryozanpaku was used as a decoy," growled Kenichi, "Meaning you're the mastermind of this plan, aren't you?"
"Children, you must flee," pleaded Honmaki, quickly standing in front of the Shinpaku Alliance, "Go, I'll hold him off as long as I can, even for a second!"
Kenichi shook his head as he and Miu gently pulled Honmaki back, taking the lead. In an instant, Takeda and the others surrounded Ishida, ready to fight. Sho for some reason decided to join in the fight. He reasoned later that it was due to Ishida's statement from earlier that rankled him.
Though nervous, Takeda, Ukita, Kisara, Freya, Tsuji, and Thor thought they stood a pretty good chance, especially with Kenichi and Miu taking the lead.
"We'll attack on your signal," said Kisara, looking over to Kenichi, "Start whenever you're ready."
Kenichi glared at Ishida as his Ki skyrocketed to Ki no Shouka, as did Miu's Ki.
"So, rumors of Ryozanpaku's disciples reaching such heights in Ki control is true," hummed Ishida, "But no matter. Death to those who have no right to vote!"
Ishida tried to aim his attacks at the others, only to divert them to Miu and Kenichi when their attack paths threatened to knock him out before his attacks could reach his victims. However, it wasn't just those two that he had to pay extra attention to. Sho's attacks also threatened to disable him, as not only were they strong, but due to all the different styles they had each learned, they came at unexpected angles.
'I can't let these brats get the better of me!' thought Ishida as he managed to push back.
One attack was aimed at Sho at a speed and angle that would've killed him.
'Shit!' thought Sho as he tried to maneuver himself in midair to dodge the attack, 'Gotta use Seidou Goitsu!'
Ishida couldn't keep his attack path as an acorn suddenly came hurtling at a high velocity, aiming for his eyes. With this distraction, it allowed Sho to dodge the attack without having to use Seidou Goitsu. Ishida gritted his teeth as he tried to speed up, only for a couple more acorns to come spiraling towards his eyes.
The distraction was enough for Kenichi and Miu to land two kicks into Ishida's stomach. Ishida clenched over in pain, though still conscious enough to dodge several more attacks before Sho's fist smashed into his face. Getting ticked off, Ishida decided to confront the source of the acorn shots.
"Who are you!" roared Ishida in anger as he shrugged off Tsuji and Takeda's attacks, destroying a tree trunk.
"Hehe, guess you found out," grinned Sakaki as he lightly tossed a few acorns in the air, "This log is in the way!"
With a kick, Sakaki punted the tree trunk into the air.
"You! You were the one who was helping from the shadows!" accused Ishida.
Sakaki smirked as he fired a few acorns with a flick of his thumb, to which Ishida quickly blocked. Sakaki quickly revealed that he had been following them all from a small distance, always remaining hidden, as he was waiting for the true mastermind who was behind the whole incident. Of course, he already knew who it really was thanks to Niijima and the others telling them about the incident, but having proof of such a thing was a different story. Sakaki decided to jump in to attack Ishida, allowing the Shinpaku Alliance, Sho, Honmaki, and Chikage to back him up.
"I decided that I'd give you and the others a little taste of fighting a Master Class again, like you guys did against Fortuna and Gorobe, only this time against one who uses a weapon. You guys didn't do too bad, but some of you underestimated his reach and speed. If it wasn't for Kenichi and Miu directing most of his attacks at them, you'd all been in danger. But Akisame would probably say just like in nature… the lion breaks the legs of a deer before sending their cubs in to train to hunt, right?" grinned Sakaki.
'The logic of a beast,' thought Miu, Kenichi, Niijima, Sho, and Chikage in unison while the others agreed it was good training, especially Tsuji.
"You commoners have no understanding about the state this country is in! It seems you are unable to comprehend that Yami is a necessity to this country!" shouted Ishida as he tried to attack Sakaki.
"Shut up," growled Sakaki as he locked eyes with Ishida, "Just a moment ago, you really intended to kill those brats, right?"
The glare caused Ishida to quickly back up in fear.
"Yami is a necessity, you say? I don't care if you're a politician or some other shit, but no matter how many theories you pile up…. They are never a good reason to kill them!" shouted Sakaki as his eyes began to glow with Ki, his leather jacket ripping off from the expanding muscles and the Ki rolling off his body.
"Interesting, Ryozanpaku karate user!" shouted Ishida, his eyes glowing with Ki in return, "My clan for generations was formed by priests that were both politicians and masters! It's time for you to learn the difference between our lineage!"
"And I'll show you how to separate politics from religion!" retorted Sakaki before turning his head over to Takeda and the others, "Listen up brats! This'll be a good lesson for you all in the future. I'll show you how to fight when you are wounded and can't use all your strength!"
It was then that the teenagers noticed Sakaki's stomach had been bandaged and was slightly bleeding through the bandages. It was a stab wound that he had gotten from fighting the Spear of the Center back in Okinawa.
"Now listen, the first important step is… DON'T LET YOUR ENEMIES REALIZE YOU'RE WOUNDED!" shouted Sakaki all while pointing to his injury to let Ishida know where he was hurt.
'Say what?' gaped Sho, dumbfounded as Sakaki's words contradicted his actions while Chikage looked shocked.
"No mercy to the wounded!" hissed Ishida, focusing on stabbing Sakaki to death.
"The second important thing is… AVOID INTENSE MOVEMENTS!" advised Sakaki as he began dodge at speeds so intense that he was making duplicates of himself, once again contradicting himself.
"And finally… this step is the most important one of all!" stated Sakaki as Ishida tried to use a complicated attack pattern, shouting for Sakaki to die, "No matter what kind of rage burns inside you….. USE THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF POWER NECESSARY IN YOUR ATTACKS TO BEAT YOUR ENEMY AND PRESERVE YOUR PHYSICAL STRENGTH!"
At that last statement, Sakaki threw a barrage of punches at Ishida, all of them landing into Ishida's face and body. From such a furious barrage, Ishida began to fade from consciousness, but Sakaki wasn't done yet as he punched him into the ground and began wailing on him with punches and kicks.
"Ururaraaa! Who's the inferior citizen now? Eat this, asshole!"
Sakaki would've continued his attack if it wasn't for the fact that Miu and Kenichi latched onto him, telling him to stop and that he was overdoing it.
"Huh, really? I intended to hold back a bit," remarked Sakaki before shrugging in indifference and turning towards the Shinpaku Alliance, "Well ok! Lesson taught!"
The Shinpaku Alliance members could only shake in fear at Sakaki's onslaught against Ishida.
"Fool, even though you've beaten me, you no longer have the data," groaned Ishida, prompting Sakaki to remark that he had held back enough, considering Ishida was still conscious, if not barely.
"About that," grinned Niijima, "I scattered the data over the internet!"
"What!? You scattered such important information over the internet? Are you mad!?" shouted Ishida in shock.
"Kekeke, like I would lose pace in this current era? USB sticks and CD drives are a thing of the past! I can easily recall all the information needed from the internet that I've scattered about. This era is different from what you imagine! Don't think that all information is always controlled by the government. Not to mention, even if the information leaks to others, all it'll do is put you into an abyss that you'll never come back from. That's our era now, it's not good or bad," proclaimed Niijima.
"So this is… the current era now," groaned Ishida as he fainted.
As the situation was slowly being wrapped up, Sakaki managed to corner Sho before they all left.
"So, what'd you think?" grinned Sakaki, "Pretty impressed by another Karate master, right?"
"Uhhh, yea," sweatdropped Sho. He had to admit that Sakaki was indeed a powerful karate master, almost on par with his master, if not equal, though he would never admit that. It was just… very different from his master Hongo. He acted upon cold logic while Sakaki was his polar opposite, utilizing emotions.
"What's with that look?" growled Sakaki, noticing Sho guiltily looking away.
"It's just, that… well you and my master act so differently," replied Sho, "Especially that demonstration right now. I'm sure my master wouldn't have acted so… irrationally."
Sakaki snorted, "Try telling him that when he was shot at and suffered multiple bullet wounds to the body, and yet decided to participate in a karate tournament the next day so he could win it."
"My master isn't that reckless… is he?" blinked Sho.
"When it comes to martial arts, his tenacity is quite outrageous," chuckled Sakaki, "Now then, isn't it time for you to leave? You're not exactly on our side."
Sho remembered his current situation and quickly pulled Chikage from her child mode, running back to his motorcycle to escape.
Sakaki looked around towards the trees, smirking as he did so. He noticed several ninjas from the Zanshin Taisha-Ryu hiding among the branches, acting as backup-guards in case there was more trouble. More likely due to Niijima's influence as usual.
"Well, guess that's all wrapped up," shrugged Sakaki as he dragged Ishida's body down the mountain.
While doing so, he was pestered with questions from Miu about where he and Shigure hid. He did his best to avoid that question, considering the fact Shigure spent the whole time they were hiding in the forest naked without shame.
Several days later
Sho was busy sparring against Hayami and Seto when he heard Hongo call for him. Quickly excusing himself, Sho was quickly followed by his master to a table with cake and a tea set. As Hongo sat down, Sho immediately began preparing the tea. Despite all his martial art training, he was taught the art of the tea ceremony, something Hongo pushed him through. It allowed him to be taught patience, something he himself knew he lacked a few times.
As Sho finally finished making the tea and poured it, Hongo took a sip of it before grunting that it was passable. The two sat in silence for a bit before….
"So, I heard you were a part of the Shinpaku Alliance that helped expose the mastermind of the operation to bait the Anti-Yami out," remarked Hongo, causing Sho to stiffen and sputter.
"I… umm… well," stammered Sho, unsure what to say.
"Relax, I'm not angry," said Hongo as he calmly picked up a piece of cake, "I was never in favor of that plan in the first place. Such tactics are cowardly."
Sho relaxed a little before admitting that he had been a part of the group, going into a little detail about the whole thing. When he got to Sakaki's rather controversial lesson, Hongo could only chuckle at his rival's behavior.
"He hasn't changed at all. Still reckless as usual," commented Hongo as he took another sip of his tea.
"Hehe, yea, unlike you, right?" nodded Sho, "He told me that you participated in a karate tournament despite suffering bullet wounds all over the body that you had to be hospitalized for a bit, only for you to bust out the next day."
Sho expected Hongo to deny the allegations, only to see his master smirk at that memory.
"I suppose I should tell you a little more about my rival and our past, considering you'll be fighting his disciple," hummed Hongo while he noticed Sho looking shocked, "While it's true I'm more… rational compared to the past, it doesn't change that there were a few close calls. Of course, I was always the logical one in the group. As for Sakaki Shio… we've fought against each other so many times in the past."
Hongo fingered his scar that ran along the left side of his face, "Though it's been many years since our last fight, I have a feeling our next fight will arrive soon."
"Master, how many times did you two fight?" asked Sho in confusion. If they had fought, then shouldn't Hongo have killed Sakaki upon winning? That was the way of Satsujinken, wasn't it?
"Our fights in the past were closer to spars, or like current karate tournament formats, where whoever landed the 'critical' blow won. We had a friend who would be the judge of our fights. It was our last fight that made us fight each other seriously. The current record between us is… 125 wins, 126 losses, in his favor."
While technically being the last man standing, Hongo never considered his last fight against Sho a real victory. He failed to kill Sakaki in the last duel, and he was still alive and kicking. He was, of course, aware that Sakaki felt like he had lost that fight, but they could both agree to disagree.
They would surely finish this fight one day, and that day would come soon.
Kushinada was meditating inside a pool, having sat at the bottom of it for what seemed like hours. Her hair was floating up in the water as she wore a skimpy white kimono that barely covered her chest and only went down just past her butt. Not to mention because she was wearing white, it made the kimono see-through, clearly failing at its job covering the body. Which had to be asked… why she even bothered wearing it.
She sensed Jenazad entering the room, though not by normal means, but rather crawling along the ceiling and wall like a lizard. Still, she chose not to acknowledge his presence as he flipped onto the ground with his apple, calling out to her.
"Hey, Bewitching Fist!" called out Jenazad once more, getting a little peeved at Kushinada's blatant attempt at ignoring him, "I said, did you call for me!?"
Jenazad kicked the air in front of him, forcefully parting the waves, reaching to the end of the pool while interrupting Kushinada's meditation.
"Well, well. Youth these days have such short tempers," sighed Kushinada before suddenly pushing herself up before the water collapsed back on her. As soon as the water filled back up, Kushinada put her foot down on top of the water surface. Before she could even sink, she began to dash forward, never sinking down into the water until she reached the end of the pool, halting her steps on dry land.
"To you, I'm being treated as the youngster?" snorted Jenazad, "I've always wanted to know the secret in your Kushinada style that's responsible for your longevity that maintains your body to a 20-year-old woman despite your true age. So what did you call me here for?"
"I heard that you weren't interested in Laughing Fist's disciple despite the fact she currently lacks a master," said Kushinda as she began to shower at the built in shower, allowing the warm water to cleanse the pool water.
"She has good qualities, but I'm more interested in the finest quality that I know exists," cackled Jenazad as he began to snack on his cherries.
"In that case, I know of another that may match whom you are thinking," explained Kushinada.
"You're talking about Hayato Fuurinji's granddaughter, Miu, aren't you?" hummed Jenazad, "I'll admit, I am interested in her too. But taking both? Not even I'm sure I could handle that."
"In that case, how about we make a deal?" proposed Kushinada.
"Oh? What did you have in mind?" asked Jenazad in curiosity. When Kushinada finished her explanation, Jenazad could only grin demonically behind his mask before agreeing to it.
Thanks to the data being released, Yami decided to take a more assertive stance and tried to kidnap and threaten politicians into submission. However, with Kenichi, Miu, the members of Ryozanpaku, Niijima and his information network, the Zanshin Taisah-Ryuu still under Niijima's command but also following Katsujinken mostly now, and even more allies such as the Tanaka family and James Shiba with Danki, they were able to counter most of their moves.
Even other groups not allied with Ryozanpaku began to make their moves against Yami. One such group was the Hozoin School of Sojutsu, hired to protect one of Yami's informatics engineers who had recently defected from Yami. However, they were quickly annihilated by Hongo Akira himself within seconds, though he chose not to fight the non-martial artists. Though his allies were annoyed at that, they chose to give chase to the ones fleeing.
"Amazing as usual," commented Sho, as he glanced down at the body, "To be able to tell who was willing to fight and who was a true martial artist in an instant. Not to mention you merely broke the special agent's finger."
"I fight only those who are willing to put their lives on the line for martial arts," replied Hongo, "Something I hope that you will inherit, no matter what the Kuremisago thinks."
Sho eagerly nodded in reply. Though he may be of their blood, Hongo Akira was his primary teacher, and anything he passed on he would always be eager to learn.
Of course, Niijima was able to trace where the informatics engineer, Nakaharu Osamu, would be, and was already passing the information to Ryozanpaku.
"So how should we do this?" asked Kenichi as the Ryozanpaku masters gathered together.
"You two will not be going," declared the Elder, "I don't want Jenazad getting anywhere close to you two."
"But if Sakaki-Shishou's rival is going to be there, then Kano Sho will surely be there too," frowned Kenichi, looking at the Yomi emblem, "He'll be calling out for me. He actually told me during the gardening club that he would be ready for me."
"If he doesn't come, it would be too suspicious," added Miu, "Plus, we don't know if he'll show up this time, since Sho is still alive."
"I know him," snapped the Elder angrily, "When he first tried to kidnap Kenichi back in the mountains, that should've been a sign that he wasn't going to give up so easily. I have no doubt that he'll try to show up again soon."
"Then wouldn't it be better to spring the trap where we know it's going to happen?" advised Akisame, "You said it yourself, he's crafty and cunning. I believe I speak for all of us that we don't like the fact Jenazad has set his sight on our disciple, but if we don't spring it now, who knows when Jenazad will attempt it again. Despite our constant vigilance, he may try to strike at a time that we may not expect it."
The Elder frowned at that thought, but had to agree that Jenazad would do something like that, like even kidnap Kenichi in broad daylight and at school if he felt like it.
"Miu and I will be taking trackers so Niijima can track us no matter what," added Kenichi, "I'm not sure how it works or how he even got them, but they're extremely small and durable. One will be on the back molar of our teeth, which will be covered by a fake crown. Another will be on a personal item. My Yin-Yang Pin and Miu's hair clips will have them."
"So even if they manage to find one, they won't expect another one," hummed Kensei, "Yami won't expect us to have such wealth, considering our position. They might expect the first tracker, but not the hidden tracker in the mouth as it's very expensive to get. Speaking of which, how did your friend even get them?"
Miu and Kenichi could only glance at each other and shrug. Lately, Niijima had been building up a financial and political empire, especially with the release of the data. Even if they did manage to reign in Niijima a bit, he had been growing in power outside the martial arts world. Yet it was needed to combat Yami, who had half a century to grow in power and influence. Not to mention before it was even created, the founders of Yami were wealthy and influential.
"We can't have all of us follow Sakaki in, either, as it is a personal duel between them," added Akisame, "Perhaps if we can have the Elder trail behind them to interfere if necessary, and have other members of the Zanshin Taisha Ryu to help out. As much as I dislike to admit, the Elder is probably the only one who can handle a serious Jenazad."
None of the members of Ryozanpaku had the illusion that could easily defeat Jenazad. Though power may not be the whole factor in a fight, it still remained that the reason Hongo could kill Jenazad in the last timeline was that Hongo's tenacity to martial arts and victory as well as Jenazad underestimating him.
"I intend to have my son come help. He will no doubt want to be involved in this," rumbled the Elder.
Indeed, the last time they had spoken in secret, Saiga had stated that he would be there to try to prevent the kidnapping from happening, even if it meant exposing his real identity.
With all this preparation, one would think they were prepared to handle Jenazad. But unbeknownst to them all, not everything, even future knowledge, could prepare them for what Yami, or specifically, Jenazad, had planned.
What will happen next!? Muhahaha!