We stopped on the bank of a river across from an old coal factory. Akisame set me gently on my feet and pointed to the building.
"They're fighting in the factory," he asked the teenager. "It is abandoned, right?"
"Yes, sir," the boy replied from his perch on the clinic bed.
"Where's all the smoke coming from?" Kensei asked. I watched Miu and Shugure set up for the picnic but remained at Akisame's side. I had been feeling clingy lately and couldn't wait until we were all seated so I could cuddle in his lap.
Akisame was gazing out across the lake, one hand shielding his eyes from the sun while the other rested on my hip.
"Let me see," he said. "They're a lot of people there."
Apachai set the bed down on the ground and the boy looked over at Akisame.
"What?" he asked. "Really?"
"Yup," Apachai chirped. "A bunch of people."
Kensei pulled out a massive, high tech telescope and began to assemble it.
"Well," he said to the boy. "I know it's hard to see, so I brought this for you." Miu moved next to him, her eyes narrowed.
"Where'd that come from, huh?" she asked, angrily. "You wanna tell me what you use that telescope for, Kensei?"
Kensei laughed nervously and avoided Miu's eyes.
"I have a passion for bird watching!" he exclaimed.
"You had better not be using that to spy on my Koibito," Akisame said in a casual tone, though I could tell he was angry.
"Of course not!" Kensei exclaimed. "You'd kill me!" Akisame smiled at his friend, though his aura was dark.
"I wouldn't kill you," he said. Kensei shivered and quickly handed the teenager the telescope.
I heard the boy cry out and jerk back from the telescope. I looked across the river and saw the Elder speeding towards us. I smiled at him, watching as he jumped on shore and quickly snatched an onigiri and the thermos of tea before standing next to the tree near us and relaxing.
"It's been awhile," he said casually. "So, how is everyone? Did you all miss me?"
"I did!" I said with a smile. "There was no one to save me from Akisame when he got too protective." Hayato laughed and gave me a tender smile.
"We're glad you're home, Grandpa," Miu said around a mouthful of food.
"Apa!"
"Who is this old man?" the boy asked in surprise. "I've never seen anyone move so fast before! How'd he do that?"
"I saw you on my way back to Ryozonpaku, so I thought I'd drop in," he said. "I wasn't expecting such a fancy picnic."
"Where's Kenichi? Is he coming too?" Miu asked. "How'd training go? Do you think he's ready to face his friends?"
"Geez, Miu," I said, laughing. "One question at a time."
"Kenichi's back?" the boy said. "He should be over there helping the other Shinpaku."
The Elder suddenly looked upset.
"Kenichi…" he moaned in a distressed voice, "I accidently dropped the boy…into a deep ravine."
We all looked at Hayato in horror. Hayato laughed at this and popped the rest of the onigiri in his mouth.
"I'm just messing with you," he said. "I dropped him right in the middle of the battle field. He should be there now."
"Old man, joking around like that's not cool," Sakaki snapped. "Are you sure the kid made it over there?"
"What if you dropped him in the wrong place?" Kensei asked. "His life is at stake. Do you want him to get hurt?"
Hayato calmly poured himself a cup of tea from the thermos and sighed.
"How I've missed you tea," he said, "so good." He took a careful sip of the liquid and hummed in contentment.
"Why don't you guys take a look for yourselves?" he asked. "He's across the river by the smoking warehouse."
"How can you see over there?" Miu asked. "All I can see from over here is shadows."
Hayato smiled and took another sip of his tea.
"He's all pumped up and ready to fight," he said.
Shugure handed me a stick of dumplings and I nibbled on them, curling around Akisame. He smiled and wound his arms around me.
"Feeling clingy?" he asked.
"Does it bother you?" I questioned.
"Not at all," he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. He reached in his pocket and handed me a small telescope. I took it from his hands and looked at it.
"And why do you have this?" I asked.
"I fulfill my own perverse desire to watch my beautiful woman undress from a distance," he murmured in my ear. I laughed.
"You could always watch up close," I said.
"Maybe I'm a bit of a voyeur," he said. "Plus, unlike Kensei, I actually do enjoy a bit of bird watching." I put the telescope to my eye and focused on the battle, seeing the blonde teen from before fighting the boy from Miu's school, Tanimoto. I watched as the blonde teen refused to stay down, no matter what Tanimoto did to him. It seemed crazy and almost suicidal.
Tanimoto finally won the battle and Opera Boy began to cheer. I saw Kenichi move forward to engage in his own battle.
"Let's see what your disciple has learned," I said.
"I hope he doesn't disappoint you," Akisame said.
"With masters like you, never," I told him.
I watched as the battle between Kenichi and the purple haired boy, Odin, began. It became more and more intense and at some points, I tensed in worry for Kenichi's safety. Akisame would smooth one hand down my back while the other rubbed my rounded belly. I was amazed at the skill of the boy's movements and the strength behind them. However, it seemed that no matter what he did, Odin was winning.
I saw Odin's lips form the words; "Your idiot masters should have set you straight."
"Apapa?!"
"That wasn't nice!"
"Very rude!"
"His masters aren't idiots!" I snapped, gripping the back of Akisame's kimono tightly.
"What? What's he talking about?" Miu asked. "I hate not being able to read lips! Will someone please translate for me? It's not fair! I wanna know too!"
"Odin called the master's idiot's," I said.
"How is it you can read lips too?" Miu huffed.
"It's not hard," I said. "The mouth forms a serious of basic sounds. Just sounds them out in your head and you can see what someone is saying."
I watched as Odin and Kenichi fought on a long, thick pipe that joined two of the buildings. Kenichi slipped, but caught himself and flipped back up on the pipe. He stared at Odin for a moment, then dropped to his knees and banged his head on the hard steel of the pipe.
"Why the hell did he do that?" I asked.
"Who knows," Akisame laughed.
Kenichi laughed and swayed, panting a bit. I saw his body change, his back straightening as he became determined.
"Alright," he panted. "If any attacked of mine…is pointless…that leaves one option…"
He stood, swaying a bit.
"Let's see how you handle it…what the attacks come from somebody else!"
Odin looked confused.
"Somebody else?" I parroted. I watched as Kenichi took a Muai Thai stance and began jabbing at the air with his fists.
"Apaaaaa!" Apachai cried. "Look at him move! Do you see what Apachai sees, Shugure?"
I giggled as Kenichi made a few more jabs, then spun around, crying;
"APAA!"
Kenichi bounced easily on the balls of his feet, facing Odin. He charged the boy, landing a solid punch then jumping up and aiming his knee at Odin's face.
"APAPAPAPA! Apachai is the best!" Apachai exclaimed, pumping his arms. "Apachai is fighting bad guy from way over here!"
"He copied him exactly!" Miu said. "He even looks like him!"
"Well, if martial arts don't work out for him," I said. "He could always get solid work as an impressionist."
"Apa!" Kenichi cried. "The Death God of the Muai Thai underworld, Apachai Hopachai! I'm here to take you straight back to hell with me, bastard!"
Kenichi attacked Odin who was forced to try to block the attacks. He moved back, carefully avoiding the punches and kicks Kenichi sent his way.
Finally, he put up his Seiguken and threw a punch. Kenichi's demeanor changed again and he quickly blocked the attack, countering with a solid punch. He knocked Odin back with an upper cut, taking a familiar karate stance.
"And I'm the 100th degree street fighter," Kenichi said, "known as Shio Sakaki!"
"EVERYBODY LOOK!" Apachai cried in excitement. "NOW KENICHI IS BEING SAKAKI! SEE HOW HE'S STANDING! HE'S FUNNY ANGRY LIKE SAKAKI ALWAYS IS! EVEN HIS LAUGH SOUNDS LIKE YOU! IT IS YOU SAKAKI!"
"THAT IS NOT HOW I SOUND, THAT IS NOT HOW I LAUGH AND I'M NOT FUNNY ANGRY!" Sakaki barked. I giggled.
"See," Apachai said. "That's how he looks now?"
"NO IT ISN'T!" Sakaki yelled.
"Yes it is," I muttered, earning a glare from the Karate master.
Kenichi flew through the air, landing a kick that Odin was barely able to block.
"You may be able to predict all my moves," Kenichi barked, "but you don't know anything about my masters!"
He hit Odin with a powerful kick that sent the boy flying back. His style changed again and he took a Kenpo stance.
"Let me introduce you to the Master of all Chinese Martial Arts, Kensei Ma!" he said and darted forward, hitting Odin in the stomach.
"Hey! Not nice," Kensei huffed. "I don't really sound like that."
Kenichi changed again, his hand slicing through Odin's shirt as if it were a blade.
"Now face the Maiden of Weapons, Shugure Kozaka," Kenichi said. "I know I'm not nearly on Shugure's level, but I can handle her double…slash…"
I burst out laughing, doubling over and hitting my knee.
"I'm gonna pee my pants!" I cried, gasping.
"Look, now he's meeeeee!" Shugure cheered, jumping up.
"I can't breathe!" I wailed, clutching Akisame who laughed and held me up.
"This is ridiculous!" Odin snapped. "Why don't you pick a style and stay with it! Or…are you just a copycat after all?" Odin lunged forward, throwing a punch at the disciple.
Kenichi's demeanor changed once again and I immediately recognized the person he imitated.
He dodged Odin's punch and gripped his wrist, winding his arm around his own and flipping him into the air.
"Philisophical Judo Master Akisame Koetsuji!" he said. "Sheer ignorance! All fighters know that to study martial arts, one must always begin with the art of imitation."
I collapsed against my lover, laughing so hard tears were slipping down my cheeks. Behind me, the other members of the dojo were in a similar state.
"I'm going to wet myself!" Kensei cried.
"I must admit," Akisame said. "That is a pretty good imitation and an excellent philosophy."
I sighed and reached up, kissing my lover sweetly on the lips.
"Your disciple has been taught well," I said. Akisame smiled and petted my hair, giving me a tender look.
Odin stood back and did something that upset the masters.
"No!" Hayato breathed. "He's combining his Sei and Dou powers together!" I looked around, confused.
"He activated his Seiguken in midair just now!" Miu exclaimed. "Is that even possible!?"
"By using both the outward powers of Dou and the inder powers of Sei, it is," the Elder said, gravely. "But it is very, very dangerous. And not a choice most fighters would make, regardless of the situation."
Akisame tightened his grip on me and I heard him growl. I looked up and saw his expression was dark.
"Ogata," he sneered. "Are you proud of what you've led your disciple to?"
I had never seen my lover so angry. I laid a soothing hand on his chest and he pulled me closer.
I continued to watch the fight, wincing when Kenichi took the hits from the seemingly more powerful Odin. Whatever the boy had done to his body, it had made him stronger, but I could tell from the way his nose bled and his pupils dilated that it was having a horrible effect.
"It's happening already," Hayato said. "Look, do you see?"
"Yes," Akisame sighed. "I see."
"What?" Miu asked, "What's happening?"
"It's the Dou and Sei," Kensei explained. "The two opposite forces are competing for ultimate control over his body. Releasing them at the same time is like releasing simultaneous explosions in a sealed bottle. The payoff is that you get almost limitless power while the explosions are contained, but the consequence is that the bottle inevitably must break."
"Yeah, right!" Sakaki barked. "Like that's the worst of it! What happens to your body is just a part; it's what happens to your mind, it's what happens to your soul we should be worrying about right now!"
"And that is Ogata's plan," Hayato said. "To wait and find out exactly what does happen to the boy."
"Yes, of course," Akisame said. "He's using his disciple as a test subject!" I gasped and gripped the front of Akisame's kimono desperately.
"You have to stop him!" I cried. "He's just a kid!"
"There's no stopping it," Hayato told me. "It's already begun." I looked at Akisame who shook his head sadly.
I noticed a man in a white cloak darting towards the warehouse and felt myself lifted off my feet. I was suddenly on the roof of the warehouse, my hands still twisted in Akisame's kimono while he held my weight with one powerful arm. He knelt down, his eyes glowing as he glared at this lilac haired man that I presumed to be Ogata.
"A master never…interrupts his pupils fight," he growled.
"Ah yes, no surprise," the man said. "It would be the philosophical judo master."
"And he's not alone," I heard Sakaki say. I turned my head and saw all the dojo masters had surrounded this man with Hayato standing directly behind him.
"We won't let you interrupt this fight," Sakaki said.
"When Sakaki is serious, Apachai is serious," Apachai said. "You should be big time scared, yes?"
"Surely even you are not stupid enough to try and fight all six of us," Kensei said.
"Nobody kills Kenichi," Shugure hissed. "At least not until…I do…first."
"Shugure, that's not really the message here," Kensei cried, sweating.
"Might as well sit back with the rest of us and watch how this little experiment of yours plays out," Hayato laughed. "Eh, Ogata?"
I looked up at my lover and scowled.
"Why am I here?" I asked.
"I had to hurry and I didn't want to hurt you by jerking out of your grasp," Akisame explained. "But you're perfectly safe." I glared and allowed Akisame to shift me to my feet while he stood at my side, an arm wrapped around my waist.
"Akisame," Ogata said, amazed. "You've finally settled down. She's very pretty."
"She's none of your concern," Akisame snapped, pulling me closer. I rolled my eyes at the sheer amount of testosterone in the air and turned to watch the fight.
"With every moment that passes, both of them gain strength!" Ogata exclaimed.
"Yes," Hayato agreed, "but unfortunately for one of them, time is up."
"How could you be so reckless as to use a child for your experiments?" I snapped, turning on Ogata. "You want to test a theory, destroy your own fucking body!" Ogata grinned at me.
"Oh, I like her, Akisame," he said. I sneered at him and quickly turned back to watch the fight. Odin's body was failing him and just as Kensei had said, the bottle was starting to break.
"That's what happens when you combine Dou and Sei," Akisame said. "There are tragic consequences. His muscles and joints are responding to the damage he's done to them." Odin struggled harder, but I could see it was no use. The bottle was breaking, he was out of time.
"Our disciple saw, without help, that there was something wrong with that power," Akisame said. "That's why, he's determined to stop his old friend."
Kenichi threw a final punch that sent Odin flying through the air. The boy landed on his stomach and didn't move again. I sighed, relieved that it was finally over. Kenichi smiled and relaxed his stance.
I screamed at part of the roof crumbled and fire shot skyward from within.
"The building!" I cried, alarmed. I let go of Akisame and took a few steps back as he and the other master's vanished, rushing to help the teenagers. Behind me, Ogata calmly got to his feet and stared at the spreading fire.
"Are you stupid?" I asked, angrily. "Go save your disciple! You've already done enough damage to him; the least you could do is keep him from dying!" Ogata chuckled and his hood moved back so I could see his face.
"My My, aren't you the feisty one?" he asked with a smile.
"You use children in your own sick experiments to further your personal goals," I spat. "You haven't seen feisty! You make me sick! Now get your fucking ass in gear!"
He laughed and saluted me.
"Yes, ma'am," he chuckled, darting towards Odin.
I watched as Hayato and Ogata darted away from the warehouse as the other Ryozonpaku masters moved forward. I couldn't see what was going on inside, but I saw Apachai tear off a massive portion of the room and fire shot skyward, diverted from destroying anything else.
They left the building and stood amongst the gathered teens. I walked to the edge of the roof and saw Akisame near me.
"DARLING!" I called. He looked up at me and I smiled, holding out my arms. "CATCH!" I leapt from the roof, freefalling to the ground below. I was snatched out of mid-air by Akisame, who landed lightly on the ground. He set me on my feet and I laughed.
"Was it hard holding back in there?" I asked.
"A bit?" he admitted.
"That was holding back?" a kid with sunglasses exclaimed. I giggled and wrapped my arms around him.
Hayato landed in the middle of the group with a loud thud, Kenichi in his arms.
"I'm back, guys," Kenichi said. "Your number one disciple." I smiled and clapped my hands.