Hello there. Striker56 here. We finally reach the current chapter. Stay tuned for the next one and don't forget to review, you are helping both the original creator and me.

Taaru groaned, the moon was high over the island and sweat was falling to the ground from his bruised knuckles, sign of his hard work at trying to peeform his strike to the rock.

"D-damn it" Taaru groaned, looking to the ground and then back to the rock, a look of tiredness and frustration mixed on his face with the anger that was filling him.

"You really should rest." a voice called out and Taaru turned to see Yaju standing in a tree a few feet from him. Taaru's eyes narrowed with caution, "Relax, I'm not here to fight you."

"Then why are you here?" Taaru spat out. Yaju simply smiled before vanishing from sight, only to appear behind him.

"I want to fight your Ursa Style, but I see it's not really yours." Yaju said, enraging Taaru, who spun around to see he was gone again, "Kuma told me this style would be unbeatable once one masters it. But I guess he's nothing but a liar." Those words enraged Taaru and he spun around to try striking him, but Yaju was nowhere in sight.

"No one insults him!" Taaru yelled out as he kept looking around for Yaju, but he was nowhere to be found. Taaru remained in silence, thinking about what Yaju told him moments ago. "A-a liar?" Taaru asked himself. Looking at his bruised hand his sense of frustration grew even stronger. Glaring at the rock, he threw one more punch towards it. When it hit the rock he was soon greeted by a sharp pain coming from his hand, blood ran down the rock while his mind locked on what he had just done. Nothing to this rock, he has been trying for hours and nothing happened to it while he was training. A long sigh escaped his mouth, he fell to the ground and looked up to the sky, gazing at the stars with his eyes locking on both the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. "You're a liar." Taaru said with his eyes closing and tears flowing down his cheeks to the ground.

Nathan walked through the empty halls of the hotel, careful not to wake anyone up while looking around himself to make sure he was not being followed. He soon arrived to a room and entered it. Inside was Seth, sitting at a desk while looking at a computer on it.

"So, were you able to find anything over the last few days?" Nathan asked as he sat on the bed, crossing his arms and watching Seth looking through the computer.

"Nothing we don't already know about." Seth answered as he looked through the information for a few more seconds before looking at his reflection in the screen, "But I did find something that you may find interesting."

"Oh?" Nathan watched a printer turn on, Seth motioned for him to grab the documents. Collecting the papers, Nathan read it before looking at Seth with a hint of confusion. "Are you sure about this?" Nathan asked with a frown and Seth spun around in his chair to confirm his fears.

"Yeah, if I'm right they'll make their move after the second round." Seth had a serious look on his face and Nathan let out a long sigh.

"Then it's a good thing my family is here." Nathan threw the paper away and headed out of the room, Seth remained silent, eyes glued on the computer's screen.

"I hope so." Seth continued to stare at the screen, which had a picture of Kenta and Taaru, "Because the president might not let others get through this alive." But just when Nathan was about to close the door Seth stopped him "Alphonse... How is the kid?" The oldman stopped in his tracks and stood silent for some time, "You shouldn't risk using 'our' true names, otherwise you are jeopardizing the operation... And, that's what i fear, i'm not even sure if he can survive, i was away most of the time he has been training, so i don't really know the full scope of his growth. I will do my job, you keep looking for any information that could help." He closed the door and walked away, leaving Seth.

Kenji(?) sat on his bed wearing only his pants, his eyes were locked on the picture in his hand and a groan came out from his lips while he laid back on the bed.

"I'm not sure what is happening, but I need to get through this for me and Master's sake." The young man said staring at the ceiling and his eyes slowly closed with the thoughts of his possible future about the bet with Alphonse. "Master, I hope you're ready for what is coming." Kenji(?) said as his eyes started closing and a sigh escaped his lips. He mumbled a prayer and his body finally succumbed to sleep.

Kenta was having a rough day, with his little falling out with Taaru and Miyuki seemingly rejecting him out of nowhere. He sat there with a beer in his hand and a hint of a blush on his face, sign that he was drinking more than a few glasses to drown his sorrow.

"W-wha' sshul' i dho?" he asked out loud, looking at the bartender that was in the middle of delivering another drink to someone at the other end of the bar.

"Well, i'm not sure sir," he replied as he quickly cleaned a glass before staring right at where someone else was watching Kenta. "but I think you've had enough."

"Y-yu zink soo?" Kenta asked, leaving his half drank beer and getting up from the counter, turning to head towards the elevator. The bar tender looked at the guy and nodded. The guy got up and began to head after Kenta. Kenta wobbled a few feet before reaching the elevator and standing there, waiting for it, but unknowing of the individual following him. He walked closer and closer, pulling a rag from one of his pockets and pouring something on it before he extended his hands out.

"Whoa, there!" a voice called out before the figure fell to the ground with a thud. Kenta turned confused to see Alphonse holding a guy by the arm, helping him to his feet when he saw Kenta. "Oh, he drank too much and he needs more rest." Kenta gazed at him for a few moments before nodding and heading into the elevator. The oldman lifted the guy up and tossed him over his shoulder, "Have a good rest."

The morning sun rose over the mountain, followed by the residents of the island getting up or visiting the nurses for their hangovers from the night before. Taaru laid on the ground next to the rock he has been using to train with and he was getting a rest of a long day of trying to break it. Slowly opening his eyes, he stared at the tree blocking the sunrays from shining onto his eyes.

"Kuma." he mumbled, sitting up and looking at the rock, small cracks where all over it and his mind focused on remembering the day that started his goal of breaking those kind of rocks.

(Years ago)
"D-damn it." A young Taaru said holding his hands, bruised and bleeding after punching a rock countless of times. A man stood smiling behind him.

"I told you, that's not how the Ursa style is meant to be used." That man was Kuma, Taaru's master. Walking up to the young Taaru and looking over his hands he said, "They are fine, you should finish the striking for today."

"B-but you broke the rock!" Taaru said with tears rolling down his face. Kuma looked at him, wiping away the tears before standing to his feet.

"I know, but you need to understand." Kuma said, facing another rock. Taking a deep breath, he pulled back his arm while his eyes locked on the rock and then he punched it. The rock shattered to pieces and Kuma let out a long sigh, getting out of his stance, "Unless you Master the Five Claws of the Ursa Style, you won't be able to use it. This move will be locked forever to you if you never build the key." Taaru stared at the rubble in awe and looked at Kuma, who had a bit of sweat on his face. "What are you doing?, your run started ten minutes ago."

"Oh, right." Taaru said and began to run down the hill of their mountain cabin. Kuma watched him run, his eyes locked on the young man doing his training, making sure he was doing it right the right way.
(Back to the present)

"And yet here you are," a voice called out and Taaru sat up, looking at Kuma staring at him with a smile still on his face, "Trained for your entire life in this fighting style and you still can't figure out the key to your future."

"That is all you always say." Taaru said, standing up and letting out a long sigh as he cracked his neck, never removing his eyes from the figure in front of him. "You had the key and you died to Shibo."

"You really think that?" Kuma asked throwing Taaru off and he turned to see the figure was gone, "You have all the pieces for the gate key to the Ursa Style's secret, you just need to use them to open it and set a new future to not only you, but to the world." Kuma's words echoed in Taaru's mind, he looked at his hand which was still healing from all the training he had done the night before. He took a long breath before turning his attention to the rock.

"Then I will forge the key my own way." Taaru said, wrapping his hands in tape and performing the moves he was taught by Kuma, his mind locked on what he meant by the gate key to the Ursa Style's secret and what could be the move locked behind it that will change the world.

TBC