A/N: The song was used in the Clinic is the OP for "Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed" is "True Story" by Luna Haruna. I'm not even sure if the lyrics are correct...

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise/Hokuto ga Gotoku: (c) SEGA
Fist of the North Star/Hokuto no Ken: (c) Buronson & Tetsuo Hara/NSP 1983, Approved No. GA-217
Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed: (c) ACQUIRE/XSeed Games/Marvelous USA Inc.

Chapter 2: Eden's Freedom Fighters

Kenshiro and Nanashi left the cathedral and walked down the steps. Nanashi turned to Kenshiro and asked, "Mr. Kenshiro, have you ever thought of settling down with Yuria?"

"Each and every day." Kenshiro responded, "The last time I saw her, I told her in times like these, especially in times like these, that we need to help each other get through this chaos. And we would find somewhere to live in peace."

"You and your friends have that luxury. I have yet to seek it, but I recognize it is also within my grasp. I just have to take that chance."

"You know I have my full support for you, Mr. Kenshiro." Nanashi said, "I wish I could be there to meet Yuria myself. But I have Shizuku and my friends to protect as well."

"Speaking of which, we should check on them. Who should we start first?"

"Hmm…" Kenshiro thought, "Nana might be at the Clinic at this time, so I can start there. I'm not sure how I feel about Shion, but she did ask me to mix something for her at the Rusty Nail Bar. Tohko is hanging around the Colosseum… Perhaps I can give her a show. Rin is at the square near the big bell near the Bazaar with her songs, hopefully serenading a crowd… Kati is at the Casino, although I'm not sure if the maid outfit will work to perfection… Where's Shizuku, though…? She didn't tell me where she is going specifically…"

"Actually, can we stop by a food place?" Nanashi asked, "I'm getting hungry and I sure don't want to feed on a life force in Eden…"

"OK. We can do that." Kenshiro replied, "I know a place in town. So let's head there."

"I will follow you." Nanashi replied

Both guys ran down the stairs and headed west into the Neon District of Eden, into a restaurant known as the Paradise Bar.

Kenshiro and Nanashi entered the bar and it was slightly packed with people, from regular merchants to big, brutish thugs. On the other side of the bar is a massive man with an apron and a bandana over his head.

Kenshiro walked over to the massive man. The giant spoke in a voice that's befitting an old lady. "Hehehe… Here you are again. Take your time."

"I'll take some Fried Bugs." Kenshiro said,

"Coming right up." The Huge Old Lady replied

A few minutes later, the fried bugs were served on a plate in front of Kenshiro. He paid with the currency, known in Eden as Internal Dollar Loans or IDL for short. He then gave them to Nanashi.

"Thank you, Mr. Kenshiro." Nanashi said after receiving his food

Nanashi thought as he looked at the bugs, "Eeewww… They look like badly fried shrimps! Oh well… bottoms up."

He began to chew on one of them. He then thought, "Hm! Not bad at all! They could use that extra oil, maybe some hot sauce, but they are kind of good though!"

The Huge Old Lady cried to Kenshiro, "Oh? Going home already? You better come again!"

Unbeknownst to both Kenshiro and Nanashi, a group of bullish thugs were harassing a citizen at a nearby table. The citizen cried, "Please. Don't."

"You got a problem, huh?!" A bullish muscled thug cried,

The thug with a blue mohawk yelled, "What's so funny? You were laughing at me, weren't you?! I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!"

"What are you talking about?" The citizen, who is wearing a blue vest asked, "I didn't even chuckle."

"Don't lie!" Another thug with a mask, that is made to look like a catcher's mask in baseball, cried out, "I could tell you were laughing at me."

"N-No." The citizen cried, "How could I…?"

Then, they noticed Kenshiro standing near them. The thug with a purple mohawk cried, "What're you smirking at, chuckles? Oh… I get it."

Nanashi, as he kept chewing the Fried Bugs, observed the incident Kenshiro butted in. "Bastard!" The purple mohawk thug yelled, "You were laughing at me, too! Admit it!"

"Go on, keep laughing at me!" The blue mohawk thug taunted, "Laugh it up and die!"

Kenshiro took the bait… "Ha. Ha. Ha." He laughed, in the most snark and deadpan of manners one can think of. Nanashi nearly choked on the Fried Bugs, while trying to hold his laughter.

"I knew it!" The blue mohawk thug cried, "We'll see how funny I am when you're DEAD!"

Outside, the three thugs put their fists up while Kenshiro did the same. Kenshiro connected on a few punches, which blew up one of the thugs' heads.

He then followed it up with two punches and a flip, while grabbing the head. As Kenshiro did this, he struck a part of the thug's eyes, which blinded him. The thug waved his arms around, trying to regain his vision until…

"Don't bother struggling." Kenshiro said in front of the thug and smacked his fingers on the his head

"HOKUTO BONE CRUSHER STRIKE!"

Kenshiro removed the fingers. The thug slumped down while still standing. His eyes opened and he screamed as the skeleton ripped itself out of his body!

Kenshiro went to work on the last thug, who began to cry, "No! Let me go!"

Unfortunately, Kenshiro chose to kill him by hitting a channeling point on the head and it exploded in a puddle of blood, with the thug crying out… "SHIT BALLS!"

Back at Paradise Bar, the citizen was happy Kenshiro disposed of the thugs and said, "Whew… You saved my life! Thank you very, very much!"

Kenshiro was given a Golden Bell. He then walked towards Nanashi and said, "You finished?"

"Yes." Nanashi replied, "Let's head towards the clinic."

As Kenshiro and Nanashi walked to the clinic on the northeast part of Eden, the younger of the two men said, "That fight was good theatre. Just as I expected from the Successor of Hokuto Shinken!"

Kenshiro didn't respond. Not that it mattered to Nanashi, since he read Kenshiro's tales. To Nanashi, he knew that Kenshiro is usually not the type to really be social towards others.

"Anyways, let's head to the clinic." Nanashi said, "My sister is waiting. And to tell you the truth… She can be a bit much, but I still love her."

Both guys eventually reached the clinic on the northeast side of Eden.

Inside the clinic, a young black-haired woman with a medical jacket checked on Nana. "Very interesting." She said, "I guess I could prescribe some medicine for you, but the bandits took all of our medicine… All we can do is wait for Dr. Kenshiro."

"Wait…" Nana said, "You mean, Mr. Kenshiro is a doctor in this clinic?"

"Ah, yes!" The young woman replied, "You should see his method of treating patients! I can definitely ask him to show you."

Then, they heard the door open. "Ah, speaking of which…" she said before turning towards a familiar figure

"Good afternoon, Mao." Kenshiro greeted, as he and Nanashi walked in

"Good afternoon, Dr. Kenshiro." The young woman replied, "Your patient is here. She is reporting a headache, after a long travel with her companions. I told her that I would have prescribed her some medicine, but she is curious about how you operate on the patients…"

"I see…" Kenshiro replied, "Please give me a moment."

Kenshiro changed into his outfit, consisting of a thin, white lab coat and a grey undershirt. He then walked towards Nana. "Hello, Nana." He said, "The first thing I'm going to ask you is to take off… I guess your overcoat?"

"It's a hoodie, Doctor." Nana said, "And only for you and my Brocessor."

She took off her white hoodie to reveal her long black hair. "Thank you, Nana." Kenshiro said, with a bit of a smile on his face, "Now please hold still."

Kenshiro then channeled his hands calmly over Nana's head. His body and hands were glowing in a green colour. Nanashi thought as he watched on, "Wow… This must be the healing part of Hokuto Shinken! I know about his brothers, Toki, Raoh and Jagi… I think it was… Toki, who is a master of healing people and taught Kenshiro this?"

After a minute, the green glow disappeared and Kenshiro moved his hands away from Nana's head. He then asked, "How do you feel?"

Nana grew amazed and cried, "Wow! I don't feel a headache anymore! Thank you, Doctor!"

"It is my pleasure." Kenshiro replied,

"Actually…" Nana continued, "I heard from Mao that you also do treatments in a style that is unheard of by many?"

"Why, yes…" Kenshiro replied, "It is called "Musical Therapy". I'm not sure if you noticed, but there is a public address system in this clinic, that plays music when I treat patients. I do it in a rhythm to the music. It's worth seeing to believing."

"Perfect." Nana said, "Then… Mission: Perform Musical Therapy to a song I have on this cassette." He handed Kenshiro a cassette tape

Kenshiro gave a slightly shocked expression. Nanashi noticed it and said to him, "I would just go with it, Mr. Kenshiro. It'll be fine."

"In that case," Kenshiro began as he took the tape from Nana and turned to Mao, "Mao, please insert this cassette in the system and send the patients in."

"Yes, Dr. Kenshiro." Mao replied, and then she took Nana's tape and walked off to make preparations.

Just then, Kenshiro, Nanashi and Nana heard the door open. A group of big-muscled outlaws arrived. The outlaw with a lime-green mohawk cried, "Oh, hey, doc. Mind takin' a look at me? My head's poundin'… Think I need some meds."

"I guess those must be the guys who stole the medicines…" Nana said,

"I agree." Kenshiro said, "Must be a case of terminal stupidity."

"Huh?!" The outlaw cried, "Is this how a doctor treats his patients?! Well… then, either you treat me or we might just have to kill you!"

"I don't have any medicine for you, but I'll gladly give you treatment." Kenshiro replied,

"Huh?!" The outlaw cried

"I'll need all the patients to line up." Kenshiro cried, "No need to be shy. The doctor is in."

The song began with a melody that is played on a piano, not that anyone in Eden knows what one is… And then the accompanying guitars and drums kicked in. As soon as those beats kicked in, Kenshiro began to hit channeling points of the various sick patients, ranging from members of the Watch to men of various ages, and healed them nicely to the beat of the song.

Then he went to work on the the bandits, hitting their channeling points, and making their heads explode. For some of the bandits, Kenshiro rapidly punched them a few times, and smashed them in the air, also killing them.

The song's lyrics went something like this:

"Your smile is so innocent

To tell the beginning

The back of the chest is tightening

Beyond the night that does not reach

Breath of start moving love

In a world dyed to your colour"

Kenshiro, as the lyrics continue to blast through the room, continued to work at a fast pace, healing the citizens and roughing up the bandits, with his precise and effective channeling.

The song continued, now the lyrics sounding sad yet romantic:

"As feelings overlap

Do not be afraid to hurt them

But I want to tell you now

I love you"

As soon as that last lyric is read, the strobe lights inside the clinic came on and spread of various colours, as Kenshiro kept working, with both speed and efficiency on the patients and the bandits.

The lyrics continued

"Turn around and look only at me

I do not want to lie anymore to you

I'm really afraid of strength, even though I want it

Reflected in the chest

All the feelings

Wrapped gently"

As soon as "wrapped gently" was said, Kenshiro went to work on a wild, red-haired bandit wearing a mask, and rained punches on him like a machine gun, screaming out "ATATATATATATATATATATATATA!"

He finished the attack with one punch on the head, while screaming out "OWA-TAAAH!"

Kenshiro turned around and said, "You… are already dead."

…

"What?" The bandit cried

And then… His body rocked around slowly, sped up and his head exploded!

Kenshiro yelled, "PROCEDURE COMPLETE!"

The crowd of healed patients cheered behind Kenshiro, who raised his finger on his right hand in the air and bending his body to the left. Nanashi and Nana clapped, with Nana crying out, "Yay!"

"Take two and call me in the morning." Kenshiro quipped

"I have come to a conclusion…" Nana began,

Silence then filled the room as Kenshiro, Mao and Nanashi listened. For Nanashi, he is used to this in his old home of Akihabara. If his sister asked him to go fetch something for her, he would do it. Even if his sister doesn't like the idea of going out. But he also recognizes that she is very perceptive, when it comes to assessing a number of situations, like the incident that Nanashi was involved.

"My Bro-Oh was right to look up to you." She said to Kenshiro,

Kenshiro didn't say anything. "I expect you take good care of him when he needs you the most." Nana said,

Kenshiro then smiled a bit and said, "Sure."

"Well done, Dr. Kenshiro!" Mao cried, "You made the patients very happy! I'm impressed with your work and I'm sure Nanashi and Nana feel the same way!"

Nanashi smiles at Kenshiro, and said, "You're just what I thought you are… Amazing at what you do."

"Anyways, let's head somewhere else. I'll see you later, sis?" He said,

"Sure, Brotician!" Nana replied, "I'll head back to Mr. Kenshiro's room."

"Sounds good." Nanashi replied, "See you soon."

"Let's head to the Rusty Nail." Kenshiro suggested, now back in his usual blue leather jacket and silver shoulder pads, "I get the feeling that Shion… if that's her name…"

"Likes you?" Nanashi said, "Oh, don't worry. I was a little taken aback as well, but she's like that with every one. Especially men like us."

Both guys walked south along Respite Street and into the Junk District. Soon, they came across a building with neon lights that read "Rusty Nail" and a picture of a bottle, and next to that, the word "Bar" is all capitalized. Kenshiro turned to Nanashi and asked, "Are you OK to enter? I'm not sure if I can serve you or your friends, outside of Shion."

"It'll be OK." Nanashi replied, "I'm very curious about how you mix and serve your drinks…"

"If you are sure." Kenshiro replied and then, they both entered the door.

Inside the bar is very quaint and nice, with two tables on the south end of the bar filled up nicely, with citizens and law-abiding bandits alike. There was also a second bar with a number of men, held a conversation about stuff they did during the day and the arrival of Nanashi and his group. All of this is going, with an accompaniment of a nice jazzy song in the background, playing in the entire facility.

Speaking of Nanashi, he and Kenshiro walked up to the main bar with the neon signs and various wine bottles in the back. Standing on the other side is an old man with a white shirt, covered by a black vest. He noticed Kenshiro and said, "Always a pleasure to see you, Kenshiro. Ready to get to work today?"

"Certainly." Kenshiro replied,

A few minutes later, Kenshiro appeared in a black tuxedo, with a white shirt and an accompanying black bow tie. Nanashi looked at him and thought, "Wow… And here I thought Zenya Amo was the better dressed. Kenshiro topped him by a long shot!"

Kenshiro took his place at the counter, standing still. He noticed Shion coming in, with a smile on her face. She walked up to the bar and Kenshiro said, "Welcome."

Shion looked at Kenshiro and said, in her usual seductive voice, "I'm rather impressed! Not many men I worked with in the past can wear a suit just like you can. Not even my former subordinate, Koma Sakaguchi."

"But enough about that." She continued, "I want to test if you're just as good as people say you are mixing drinks. I'll take a dry one."

"Certainly." Kenshiro replied, and lifted a gigantic ice block with his one hand. He picked up an ice pick on the other.

Nanashi looked on and made a shocked expression. "Whoa!" He thought, "I knew he had super strength, but I didn't think picking something as heavy as a very cold ice block would be a skill to have!"

Kenshiro then carved the ice slowly, and then he sped up considerably, ensuring the big ice block is smaller, but perfectly round like a sphere. And then…

…

Kenshiro sped up his carving at Mach speed, until… he carved the perfect ice sphere at a size to fit in a glass, and he cried "Order up!"

He then poured some wines and cocktails into a glass, and gently dropped the sphere into the glass. He presented the green drink to Shion, and he simply said,

"Hokuto Hundred-Proof Rush."

Shion took a sip of the drink Kenshiro made. She cried, "Delicious!"

She continued, saying "You are just as they say you are. A hot guy like you, mixing drinks with Hokuto Shinken? I feel like I'm in love."

Kenshiro didn't say anything as Shion finished her drink. "Tell you what. Maybe I'll ask a little more about you when I get the chance next time… See you soon." Shion said, and dropped a tip, worth of IDL, near Kenshiro. She then got up and left the bar.

A short while later, Shizuku arrived and saw both Nanashi and Kenshiro. She walked up to Nanashi, and gave him a short kiss and said, "I heard both of you were here. I'm actually thirsty. We should get a drink together."

"Are you sure, Shizuku?" Nanashi asked, "I'm not sure if a Nighteater like yourself, can hold liquor…"

"I can at least try." She replied and walked up to the bar where Kenshiro is situated. Nanashi followed her.

"Welcome." Kenshiro began,

"Umm… Mr. Kenshiro." Shizuku began, stoic but nervous, "I never been to a bar back home in Akihabara… So, I don't know what drink you would recommend to me…"

Both Kenshiro and Nanashi looked at Shizuku. Kenshiro asked, "What do you think she should try?"

Nanashi responded saying, "Well… Knowing myself, I have never drank anything but I can at least hold my liquor if I did. I think something strong for the both of us… just to try. If anything, I'm here as her boyfriend."

"Certainly." Kenshiro replied and got to work by lifting a gigantic ice block with one hand, and picking up an ice pick with the other

He carved the ice block slowly to start. Then, he sped up his carving, making sure the ice block can be as round as a ball. And then…

…

Kenshiro sped up his carving at Mach speed, until… he carved the perfect ice sphere at a size to fit in a glass, and he cried "Order up!"

He then poured some wines and cocktails into two glasses, cut the ice sphere in half, and gently dropped the half spheres into the glasses. He presented the golden drinks into a glasses. He then simply said,

"Inebriation of Souls."

Both Nanashi and Shizuku took a sip of Kenshiro's signature drink in their respective glasses. "Wow…" They both cried

"If there was a first time trying a drink that is mixed by someone I never knew about," Shizuku began, "I'm glad it's you, Mr. Kenshiro."

"I agree." Nanashi replied, "It's the first drink I've tried in my entire life. And it's just as delicious as it sounds. Well done, Mr. Kenshiro."

Kenshiro said nothing, but gave a slight smile at how good Nanashi and Shizuku are together. He wished to be the same with Yuria, but he recognizes that he has a long way to go before that can happen, with everything going in Eden and the Army of Ruin.