I just want to give a thanks to Frayner and the guest reviewer. Your reviews mean a lot to me! Thanks again, and enjoy chapter 8!

Disclaimer: Beelzebub belongs to Ryuuhei Tamura, not me.

Chapter 8- The Art of Letting Go

After taking a walk, I arrive back at the kalari and change into my training clothes. I had woken up very early this morning, so I decided to have my bath and say my prayers at the temple early, before getting ready. On my way outside, I notice Furuichi, already dressed.

"Good morning," I greet.

"Morning," he greets, sounding a bit distracted.

"Is something wrong?" I ask. "You seem troubled by something."

He sighs. "I just have a lot on my mind, that's all," he says.

"Well, whatever's on your mind is troubling you quite a bit," I say. "Mind telling me what's wrong?"

Furuichi turns to me. "I've barely been here for a week, and I'm already having this one annoying little voice in my head, telling me to just give up and quit, that I'll never be as good as Oga, that I'll always be a pervert, no one likes me, and basically just really putting me down. Even worse, some bad memories came up."

"Like what?"

He looks down. "The times I've constantly been called creepy or pervert by the girls, the times that Hilda-san has harshly rejected me, times when I've been beaten up, all that," he replies. "In all honesty, the main reason why I accepted was because I thought that if I could master these martial arts, I could impress everyone and earn their respect."

I listen to him speak the truth, and I give him a soft smile. "If you don't let go of those thoughts, then you won't progress much. It's still early morning, so how about I help you let go of such thoughts," I offer. "Let's meditate."

We sit down on the ground and straighten our backs while crossing our legs and putting our hands on our knees. "Okay," I say. "I tend to do this during finals when I feel stressed out during studying. Keep your back straight, and your breathing even. Now, close your eyes and block out those thoughts."

I close my eyes and start doing some breathing exercises. "Okay, Furuichi," I say. "Breath in. Breath out."

I hear him do the same, and soon, we start meditating. After a while, I open my eyes, and so does he. "There," I say. "Feeling better?"

He nods, smiling slightly. "A bit."

"Good. Now let's go get started."

(Hilda)

Today is the start of our training, as well as the school break, so we're all meeting at the outdoor swimming pool in Himekawa's luxurious apartment building. The pool is a perfect one to use. It's large, rectangular, and deep enough to swim in. Why are we doing swimming? To improve our speed and reflexes. Right now, I'm wearing a white bikini with a blue bow in the middle.

"Da buh!" Young Master declares bravely, looking so bold in his blue Gohan-kun swim trunks. I smile at him.

"That's right, Young Master!" I praise. "You're looking so strong already! I'm sure you'll do well!"

"Oi, Hilda!" I hear Oga call. "We're ready!"

Sure enough, everyone comes and sits by the pool in their swimsuits. "Alright, everyone," I instruct. "Today, we're going to do fifteen laps, treading water, and diving."

"Hold on," Nene-san interrupts. "What does this have to do with getting stronger?"

"To improve speed and core strength," I reply. "You'll need that when facing against these people. So, I'll divide you all into groups for swimming laps. The first group going will be Oga, Miki, Izuma, Yuka, and Kanzaki."

The five of them stand at the edge of the pool, assuming diving stances. "Start!" I call, and they all dive into the water, all of them immediately doing front crawl. I notice that during the laps, Oga, Izuma, and Miki start switching to other swimming strokes such as back crawl and breaststroke, while Kanzaki and Yuka stay in front crawl.

By the time they all finish fifteen laps, all are extremely exhausted. "Damn…" Oga mutters. "I don't think I've ever been so tired before."

"That was pretty exhausting," Miki says, trying to catch his breath.

"But think about this," Kunieda suddenly chimes in. "Ayaka and Furuichi are all the way in India, learning some ancient martial art, right? Imagine how much more strenuous and challenging that must be."

"Speaking of Creepichi," Yuka suddenly says. "I'm kind of curious as to what he's doing right now."

(Furuichi)

"Hah!" I shout as I aim a kick towards Mohan, or Guruji, as I've started calling him. I suddenly find myself being flipped backwards, but I manage to land on my feet. After being punched and sent flying by Oga, Hilda-san, and practically everyone, I've kind of learned how to land on my feet when I land.

"You seem to be doing better," Guruji tells me. "Your kicks are definitely a bit stronger than yesterday, and your balance has improved quite a bit."

"Thanks," I thank.

Ever since Ayaka had helped me let go of my worries and bad thoughts this morning, I've been feeling a lot more relaxed and at ease with myself. I'm able to concentrate on training even more, which I'm slowly getting better at. As Guruji helps me with my form and stance, I start wondering what Oga and the others are up to. Perhaps I should send an email… depending on how tired I am.

"You know, Takayuki, you never did answer my question about Ayaka," he reminds me. "What do you think of her?"

I stop and stare at him. "Why are you asking me this?"

He gives a small chuckle. "Well, I think that you'd make a good grandson-in-law," he replies. "Ayaka would be a good wife to you."

"Huh?!" I exclaim, my jaw dropping. "I'm still a teenager, I have my whole life ahead of me!" And it's true! I haven't even thought about marriage! Most likely because of all the times I've been beaten by Hilda-san. Fortunately, Guruji leaves it at that and resumes our training. However, I can't help but think about his question. I don't know much about her, but she's a nice person. Apart from Angelica, she's one of the few girls who doesn't find me creepy. Maybe I should get to know her a bit.

(Ayaka)

I'm in the middle of a mock fight with Arjun, after he had taught me how to do flying kicks and strikes. I manage to quickly end the fight with a flying kick. "Good job, Ayaka," he praises. "You're getting a lot better. We're done for the day now."

I do a bow. "Thanks, Arjun," I thank him.

That night at dinner, Furuichi and I have conversations about a lot of things. "So," I ask. "How do you like the food here?"

"It tastes good," he replies. "Although, I'm having a bit of a hard time adjusting to only vegetarian."

I giggle. "Well, this is a kind of sacred thing, hm?" I say. "In traditional Indian cuisine, there is no beef, since the cow is considered a sacred animal. We have no problem in eating chicken, though."

Furuichi nods. "I'm starting to miss eating croquettes," he comments.

"Croquettes?"

"They're the best thing ever," he explains. "Oga and I love croquettes. It's been something we've enjoyed eating since we were kids."

I nod. "I'd like to try some one day," I say.

"Hey, Ayaka," he suddenly says. "I don't know much about you. Mind telling me a bit about yourself?"

I smile. "I was born and raised in Madurai to a Japanese father and a South Indian mother," I begin. "My mom works as a university professor, and my dad worked as a social worker. I grew up speaking Tamil mainly, but my I taught myself how to speak Japanese from watching anime and movies."

"You referred to your dad in the past tense," he notices. "Why?"

I look down sadly. "He died," I say, my voice trailing off in a whisper. "I was only five when it happened. He was coming back home from work and he was killed by a drunk driver. His death really shocked us all, since he was a really nice person. Mom was especially heartbroken. I was extremely saddened, because I knew I would never feel him hug me, give me kisses, and spend time with me anymore."

Furuichi gently touches my shoulder. "I'm so sorry," he apologizes. "It must've been hard, especially since you were pretty young when you lost him."

I nod. "Yeah. Although, we had to accept it and move on eventually. However, I'll never forget him." I turn to him. "Well, let's move on from this. Tell me, how was training today?"

"It was pretty good today," he says. "Because of you helping me let go of those thoughts and ignore that voice this morning, I was able to focus a lot better today. Thanks, Ayaka."

For some reason, when Furuichi thanks me, I find my face heating up. "N-No problem…" I stammer slightly, hiding my face.

That night, as I get ready for bed, I can't help but recall the conversation that Furuichi and I had earlier. It may not have been much, but I enjoyed exchanging culture facts with Furuichi. Already, I can trust him, since I told him about my late father. If anything, I'm starting to enjoy his company, and I look forward to more training with him.