The following Monday, Izuku woke up feeling better than ever. He turned over to see his phone going off and after responding to the group chat that he and Itsuka made with Momo. Ryoya just didn't have a phone as yet, much to the other girl's surprise but he promised to get one soon. (read, Izuku told Ken about it and after a brief fight with Ryu over not buying the boy a device, he promised to get him one soon).

After messaging the group that he would send their regards to Ryoya, Izuku put his phone in his bag and changed into his Gi. Ryu-sensei told him to eat a lot today and to be ready for the next part of training.

It would've been an exciting day if not for seeing Ryoya laying on the ground, fully spread eagle, panting as if he was about to die. "The ground is safe, the ground can't hurt you." He said softly. That gave Izuku a pause. Especially after noticing how the legs of his Gi were burnt around the feet and his hands were black with soot.

"H - harushi-san?!" Izuku said in a panic.

"Don't worry about him, kid." Ken said with a smile from the side. His Gi was also burnt in some areas but he looked largely unharmed. "He was just a bit eager to start today's training."

"No, I wasn't...you kicked me with fire..." Ryoya droned tiredly, not moving a centimeter on the floor.

"That's right!" Ken said with a smile. Then, without warning, his hands and feet ignited in bright orange flames before stopping. "I figured it would be best to give you a hands on approach to how ki feels and operates! Besides, your eyes are getting better. I almost had to try that time!"

Ryoya still didn't move while Izuku stood there amazed. "...why? Why did you kick me with fire...?"

Ken turned his sight to Izuku and the boy felt himself stiffen. Ken's smile turned predatory. "Before we start with Midoriya, I need to show you the basics."

Oh, no. Whenever Ken-sensei said anything about "the basics" it usually involved someone, usually Izuku, being kicked around for twenty minutes while being lectured. When his whole body tensed, Ken laughed and pulled a paper out of his Gi. "This is just an ordinary paper, but this will tell you everything you need to know about starting ki."

"But before that," Ryu cut in smoothly, coming into the room while giving Ken a glare and holding a first aid kit. "We need to talk about what ki is and what it does. Look at me, and then look at Ken." Ryu started slowly, this time seeing Midoriya pull his notebook out. "Would you say we're both pretty big guys?"

Izuku nodded furiously. He'd never seen anyone with more muscle mass than either of the two, except for maybe All Might and Endeavor. And he could make a strong case that their musculature surpassed even the latter.

"Yeah, well. We don't lift weights." Ryu revealed, stunning Izuku enough that he almost dropped his pencil.

"Y - you don't? B - but how?"

"Ki." Ryu responded. "You remember what I told your mother about ki on your first day?" Izuku nodded before flipping the pages in his book to find the exact wording. "Well, there's a bit more to it. Ki strengthens the body in its entirety. Not saying you'll ever be as bulky as us one day, but you'll definitely notice the changes. You'll get much stronger, faster, grow a bit taller, think a bit faster, put on more dense muscles, all in drastically less time than any other non-ki user would. It basically pushes your body to its natural limits. The healthier body and mind, the stronger ki. And the stronger ki, the stronger body and mind. Like yin-yang."

All of this sounded incredible. But at the same time, too good to be true. "Ryu-sensei. If Ki's this versatile, why don't more people use it?"

"Remember what I said on the first day, all those years ago. Quirks and ki tend to conflict one another." Ryu answered. "While there's some that would work fine with it, like that Kendo girl or Harushi, there are others that simply would cause too many issues. It's… a bit more to explain, but that's for someone else to get into. I'm not the best with words here."

Never before had Izuku ever felt he'd been fortunate to be born quirkless. Never until just now.

"Now, Shotokan is naturally a style that builds the body for ki use. You've even been unconsciously using it for the past month. Maybe even longer. You never found it weird how you can take hits from me and Ken that should, by all means, put down a child? Or how you can hit hard enough to compete with people's quirks? Or how you've recently been able to keep up with Sakura's Adaptability just a little while longer?"

Now that he mentioned it, Izuku did notice that he was moving a bit faster than before, thinking a bit more clearly and overall felt better than he'd ever felt in his life. Izuku could never keep up with Sakura, even without her ludicrous quirk, but recently, he's managed to raise his push up personal record to 254; a far cry from Sakura's completion of the 500, or Ryoya's 277, but much, much better than where he started. He's even managed to complete almost 30 laps around the field!

"Now that that's out of the way, Ken, give him the paper and let's see his ki type."

Izuku cocked his head to the side. "Ki type?"

"Yeah, ki is different per person. Everyone has a natural affinity towards something, but no one is good at everything. This paper is special in that it'll allow you to find your unique ki affinity." For example, Ryu took out a second piece of paper and held it between two fingers. Then he closed his eyes and Izuku watched as an black, inky substance built up around his hand before the paper started to glow a bright blue before crumpling up. "That was two affinities in one, Light and Electricity. You can have more than two types, but not more than three. Give it a go."

Izuku does. He grips the paper between his fingers and concentrates. He strains, and fights, feeling the pull of something that he can't quite place, before it breaks.

"You can't, right?"

"N - no, sensei. I can't. Am I doing something wrong?"

"No, you aren't. I would've been frankly amazed if you managed to do it on your first go, without any guidance." Ryu explains. "There's a lot that goes into this, but I might not be the best person to explain it. For now, we're going to focus on some different things. The -"

"Wait!" Sakura says, suddenly bolting into the room. Her hair's a mess and her gi is a big disheveled, but she's sporting a wide smile nonetheless. "Don't start without me!"

"Sakura. You're late." Ryu says plainly.

"Sorry, sensei! I was with my mom and, uh… was busy with something."

It takes Ryu all of five seconds to realize what the girl means, and awkwardly nods. He mutters something under his breath that none of the three can parse before letting the children talk.

"Hi, Kasugano!" Izuku chirps.

"Hi, Midoriya! What did I say about calling me 'Kasugano'? Sakura's fine!"

Izuku seems hesitant at first, but nods.

"And hello to you too, Harushi!"

Ryoya nods wordlessly, but Sakura can see the faint amusement in his eyes.

"Now that that's over, as I was saying -" Ryu cuts in. "You're all at that age where it's time to make some important distinctions within the style. As you know, Shotokan is a style that values its simplicity. But there's a bit more to it than that. It's separated into two philosophical approaches, like most martials arts are: Dō, in this context, meaning path/way. And Jutsu, as in method/technique."

Ryu pauses to make sure all three are on the same page, and isn't surprised at all to see Midoriya has his notebook out.

"I myself tend to focus more on the jutsu aspect. The Hado. And that translates into my being very skilled with ki." As if to prove his point, he waves his hand and the students watch, amazed, as a trail of black, inky energy follows it. "I tend to do most of my damage in single strikes and between me and Ken, I have the stronger, more concentrated Hadoken." Ken is off to the side, and if the students expect some form of denial or snarky comment, they don't get one. He just smiles and shrugs.

"You may have the stronger Hadoken, but it's just not my style." Ken explains. "I focus more on the dō, naturally. Fits my personality better and is just as fierce as I am! Most of my attacks are focused on quick, multi-hitting strikes. Ryu has the stronger Hadoken - I've made peace with that -, but I have the stronger Shoryuken. Ryu's ki control is better, and his affinity is more 'electric', God knows why. My control ain't bad by a long shot, but it's not the best, and mine is more fiery, as Harushi here would know!"

"I still haven't forgiven you for that." Ryoya says dryly. Ken pretends he didn't speak.

"Right. We say all of that to point something out. Midoriya here is clearly taking parts of myself," Ryu states. "It's impressive how close he is to emulating me, and while I would normally advise against it, it seems to be working for him. Harushi seems to be a strange mixture of both philosophies, which is… usually not seen." He sounds strange towards the end of the sentence, but quickly shifts his gaze to Sakura. "And Sakura here is the most interesting. I'm not sure if we've ever said it, but she's 'unofficially' recognized as the heir of the style. She takes both and forcibly fits them to work for her. She bends them both, but breaks neither. That's the kind of adaptability we Shotokan haven't seen for centuries really."

Sakura looks sheepish at the praise, but nods happily nonetheless.

"As for how this relates to ki; it comes back to who you are as a person. The element or "thing" you most sympathize with. I can't really explain it all that well, but I can tell you that the steps for attaining it will be equally long and exhausting. I doubt that will sway any of you, but a heads up is always nice." Once Ryu confirms that none of his students seem afraid of the challenge, he smirks at them. It's nice until it isn't. Ryu has a look in his eye that promises pain for the next twenty minutes. "Now then, get ready, you three. We have to go over the basics of how to parry."

Izuku gulps audibly. The basics of anything usually resulted in getting beat down in some way by two grown, large men who seemed just a bit too eager to beat up children.

"When I say go, I want you all to rush me as fast as you can." Ryu says while closing his eyes, placing one hand behind his back and raising the other in a defensive stance. "Harushi, use your quirk."

Ryoya looks surprised and Izuku can understand. This is the first time that Harushi has been directly told to use his quirk in a long time.

"When Ken says 'go' everyone run at me."

"GO!" Ken suddenly shouts. All three kids stay completely still and look around in confusion. "Don't just stand there! There are no countdowns in street fights!"

Once the confusion passes, Izuku and Sakura bolt at the man while Ryoya takes a second to adjust to his quirk.

Despite their best efforts, the entire ordeal goes exactly how you'd expect it to. Sakura, being the fastest, closes the gap first and tries to punch Ryu in the ribs but his hand snaps down like a viper to swat her hand away hard enough that she sails past him and onto the floor. Izuku has worse luck. He attempts a leg sweep but the man's leg seems to just appear in time to block before it extends and foot meets chest. Ryoya charges forth in the end and, surprisingly, lasts longer than a single exchange. He spins on his heel and throws a roundhouse kick, which Ryu's hand snaps down to block. But the kick never connects as Harushi seemed to have seen that coming and missed on purpose, using his spinning momentum to throw another kick towards his legs.

He too is parried and sent reeling to the floor.

"What did we learn?"

"...that you apparently have no qualms with kicking kids with your rock hard feet?" Harushi says, laying flat on his back and staring at the ceiling while his quirk deactivates.

"Ten laps around the track later, Harushi." Ryu responds dryly. "But no, what we've learned is that parrying is vital. Had we been closer in skill, it would've been more apparent, but what it usually does is set up for a counter hit. It'll come easier when you awaken ki, especially you, Harushi. With your quirk, you'll be a nightmare."

"Why did Sakura only get a light swat while Midoriya and I got kicked in the chest?"

Ryu chooses to ignore the question. "Anyway, take ten, students. Ken, come with me."

As Ryoya recovers and Sakura opts to get them all some water, Izuku sits to take some notes about what happened until he hears a confused sound. He peaks up and sees Ryoya with Visionary activated looking at his hands with his head tilted.

"...you're very wordy."

"H - huh?"

"I can follow your hand movements. You've made a minor mistake. I didn't dodge because of my quirk; my quirk doesn't work like that. My quirk," he says, gesturing to his eyes, "only gives me -"

"It gives you incredible clarity of perception, right?"

"Among other things, yeah. But that's all you wrote. I still had to dodge, y'know?" Ryoya says with a small pout. "It may not be obvious, but just because I can see things better doesn't mean I'm always able to react to it."

Stars appeared in Izuku's eyes and he gasped. "I was wondering that!" He says excitedly before flipping the pages in his notebook to several blank pages. "I'll have to put them in the right book later, but that's good to know! You don't talk about your quirk enough, Harushi-san!"

Sakura seems to materialize at Izuku's side with a matching expression. "Yeah! Your quirk is really cool! It might be better than mine!" She reaches forward and pinches his cheek. "You don't tell us enough about yourself, Harushi."

Ryoya awkwardly coughs and turns off his quirk before swatting Sakura's hand away. "I - uh - hm."

Before anyone could say anything else, the door to the dojo swings open.

"Aha!"

The person in question is none other than the rabbit girl from before, Rumi Usagiyama. She's dressed in a different gi this time, white and torn in different places with a purple belt around her waist. "I'm back! Like I said I was going to be! I demand my rematch!" She yells, pointing dramatically at Ryoya.

"... why aren't you wearing shoes?"

"Not the point, pretty boy!"

"Yeah!" Another voice says as a large, muscular man with light brown hair barges in right behind her. He's wearing a wrestling mask that covers most of his face, with a plain white, tattered t-shirt and dark pants. "Get ready to give 'em hell, Usako."

"Rappa! Usagiyama!" Yet another voice echoes through-out the Shotokan dojo, but this one distinctly feminine with an even pitch.

The man - who the kids assume is Rappa - frowns. "Here comes the otter lady. Ruinin' our fun again." He says with a small frown. "Hey. Can't ya see that she's trying to get a good fight with… - actually, which one is it? All you kids look ready to rumble."

"The one with the eyes I told you about! Him!" Rumi says dramatically pointing at Ryoya again.

"Rappa." When the woman comes into view, the students raise a brow at her appearance. She has medium length, dark brown hair with white bangs that both frames and falls over her face. There are a few unruly white strands that shoot off in random directions; which match her long, white eyelashes. Interestingly, her ears are barely visible on the side of her head, but they're rounded and furry, giving the woman a pretty, yet unique overall visage. She wears a brown wrestling singlet that hugs her form and matches her hair. "What did I tell you about waiting?" The woman says firmly. "Ryu and Ken were nice enough to invite us over so please. That goes for you too, Rumi." The twitch of her nose and the dangerous glint in her honey brown eyes makes Rumi stop moving. As if to emphasize her point, her massive tail slams on the floor hard enough to make everyone flitch.

"Blah. Always such a drag, Otsu. Can't you see the little kid's heart in it? I say let her go. She's speaking with her fists - er, feet!"

Otsu scowls. "I'm not about to let two children get into a bloody brawl in here."

"What about outside?" The look Rappa gets makes all the kids take several sets back, but the man himself remains innocently oblivious.

Sakura uses this moment to interject, lest the man called Rappa be killed right then and there. "U - um, excuse ma'am. But - but, who are you, exactly?"

The woman doesn't answer immediately, instead opting to glare at Rappa for several painfully awkward seconds longer. Then she clears her throat and smiles gently. "Sorry about that, little lady. Those two are just a bit… excited." She says in a soothing tone, contradicting the way her tail sways dangerously in Rappa's direction. Sakura sweats nervously. "My name is Otsu Kawauso. I'm your sensei's friend."

"Hello, Kawauso-san." Sakura says slowly. "Are you looking for either of them? I can go in the back and get 'em, if you want."

"That'd be nice. Please and thank you, dear."

As Sakura nods and bolts away, leaving Izuku and Ryoya to fend for themselves. Izuku glances over to Ryoya, who seems to be looking anywhere but the tanned rabbit girl currently circling him like a vulture.

"Get ready! I've been training for this!" Rumi says aggressively.

"Bunny-san -"

"I'm not a bunny!"

Ryoya says with a long-suffering sigh. "Fine, Usako-san.. -"

"That's not my name! My name is Rumi!"

"I'll call you your name when you can beat me." Ryoya mutters dryly. Rumi's ears twitched.

"I heard that!"

She dashes forward from his side, intending to tackle him, but she doesn't expect for his head to snap down towards her in surprise before he leans backwards just enough for her to shoot past him. As she goes by, her slightly larger than average feet hit his, and cause her to stumble and fall, but before she can hit the mat face first, Ryoya's hand reaches out and grabs her by the arm.

It was then that Sakura returned with Ryu and Ken in tow. "Aww! Are you guys fighting without me!? I was only gone a minute!"

Izuku, who's just been standing there this entire time, cannot believe what his life has turned into.

"Uh - it wasn't really a fight, Kasu - Sakura." Izuku says nervously.

"Whatever the case," Ryu says before anything else can happen. "Hello, Kawauso. How are things?"

"Yo, Otsu!" Says Ken.

Otsu gives a two fingered salute to the two men while Rappa grins like a madman. "Ain't those the two guys you told me about?"

Ryu and Ken share a look before looking down at the kids, who, sans the rabbit girl, looks equally confused by this man.

"Who are you?"

"I ain't no one special. Just a guy who likes to fight! I'm the Rapper! Kendo Rappa! Otsu over 'ere told me that you guys are fighters yourselves."

"That's right!" Ken says with a smile. "Best fighters this side of the Eastern Hemisphere, if I do say so myself!"

"I like this guy already!" Rappa says while punching his fists together. "You like real fights too, huh? No weapons or anything like that. That ain't a real fight! We're -"

"We're meant to fight with our hands and fiery spirits!" Ken says while bouncing up and down. "Ryu! Can -"

Ryu gives Ken a dirty look while Otsu simultaneously pinches Rappa's side.

"Not now. She's here for a reason, after all. After that, sure."

Rappa and Ken made sounds that sounded like they came from excited children being told they're going to the park before Otsu clears her throat.

"What is the reason, Otsu?" Rappa says with a tilt of his head. "You just had me look for that weird guy who calls himself 'The King'."

"'The King'," Otsu stresses. "Is the reason we're here." She casts a glance towards Ryu. "He's been found. Rumor has it that he's been running the few underground fighting tournaments around Saitama. No one really notable shows up, to my knowledge, but that's where he's been apparently."

Ryu and Ken share a look. "Hmm, good to know. We'll be sure to pay him a visit sooner rather than later."

Ken agrees. "It's been too long. And for what I've been hearing, some… unlikable people have been around. He's gotta know a few things about that."

Otsu raises a brow. "Unlikable like who?"

"We'll talk about that another time. Not in front of the kids." Ryu says plainly. "Speaking of," He turns to the four students currently awkwardly standing around each other. The rabbit girl has her arms crossed and is glaring death itself at Ryoya, who is looking everywhere but directly at her. Sakura and Izuku seem to be whispering to each other about the rabbit girl herself, if their not-so-subtle glances at her are anything to go by. "Usagiyama, right? It's nice to see you make do on your previous promise."

Rumi giggles like a gremlin. "Of course! I would never run away from a fight!" Rappa cackles like a madman in the background. "I've been training since that day to come back to beat Magic Eyes!"

"A week isn't that much -"

"Zip it!"

"She sure is lively enough to fit in." Ken says with a thumbs up. "Anyway, come up here, Ha -"

"Actually, sensei… can I be the one to fight her?"

Izuku and Ryoya's eyes go a bit wide at Sakura's question.

"Huh?"

"She seems like she'd be fun! And for whatever reason, I've been feeling great since this morning!" Sakura says, excitedly bounding in place.

Rumi grins like a maniac. "Hell yeah! Eyebrows! Start the countdown!"

Ryu gives the girl a flat look, and Ken barely contains his chuckles.

"I meant you both!"

Ken stops laughing.

"Rumi…" Otsu says with a long suffering sigh.

"Ready? Round 1. Fight!"

The fight could barely be called a fight, really. Rumi, as expected, lunges forward with a kick but Sakura was both faster, and far too skilled to be hit by it. Quick as a flash, Rumi finds herself being slammed on the ground with much more force than Sakura should've been able to produce.

"You weren't being serious there, were you? Your kick was really easy to evade…" Sakura says innocently. The face Rumi makes after the wave of confusion passes and realization dawns on her is something spectacular; a cross between anger, frustration and glee at the idea of a challenge. "Are you angry or smiling? Can you just tell me clearly, please?"

"Round 1 goes to Sakura."

"I could've told you that was going to happen, Usako-san."

"Sakura's so cool." Izuku says with a wide smile and stars in his eyes.

"Wait - Shut up! - I wasn't ready…!" Rumi says, getting to her feet again. "I wasn't expecting her to be that fast."

"You didn't really try to hit me though. You just swung! You have to slow down and aim first!"

Otsu waves her hand. "Don't worry, it's a work in progress. Old habits die hard."

"Round 2. Fight!"

This fight went slightly differently from the first. Rumi charges again, slower this time, and instead of trying to haphazardly kick Sakura in the face, she opts to feint high before sweeping low. Sakura sees this coming and jumps backward, but is unprepared for how quickly Usagiyama can bounce from a standing position. The second attempt at an attack - a wild tackle - is successful in knocking the air out of Sakura's lungs.

Due to her bigger size and steady stance, Sakura remains standing long enough to wrestle herself out of Rumi's grasp. Once she does, Rumi throws a wildly telegraphed punch. Sakura swats it to the side, grabs Rumi's arm at the forearm and shoulder and immediately tosses her over her hip and onto the hard mat.

"Round 2 goes to Sakura. Sakura wins."

"You need to brush up on the basics if you want to tough it out in a long bout." Sakura says earnestly with a smile before reaching out to help the girl stand.

Rumi swats her hand away. Sakura is confused until she hears a sniffle. Rumi uses her other hand to wipe her eyes.

"Hey. Don't make a sad face like that. All you have to do is try again!" Sakura tries, but Rumi doesn't hear it. She makes an angry face with small pricks of tears in the corner of her eyes.

"Don't pity me!" Rumi shouts. "I - I don't want your pity! I want to win and I - I will! I'll come back again and I'll beat you Shotoclones!"

"Er, it's Shotokan."

"I don't care!"

"Okay, kit." Otsu says gently while sticking out her massive tail for Rumi to grab onto before pulling her away and behind her back. "You tried and that's all that matters. What did I tell you about learning from mistakes?"

Rumi pouts and balances herself in her seat on Otsu's tail before crossing her arms stubbornly. The woman shakes her tail a bit and nearly causes Rumi to fall before the girl begrudgingly relents. "...I haven't failed. I just found another way that won't work."

"Exactly."

Rumi grumbles something under her breath, but stops when Rappa steps forward.

"Now that that's done," He says ominously with a smile. "We can get to the main event! The Rapper vs… - who are you again?"

"Masters! Ken Masters! Attack me if you dare, Rappa the Rapper! But be warned…" Ken's blinding smile took a shift in such a way that Izuku felt the danger in his very bones. It was a smile that wasn't like All Might's. It wasn't even like Sakura's. It was the smile of a warrior that promised nothing but pain and misfortune for anyone who opposed him. "I'll crush you."

"Oh yeah! I like the way you speak, blondie!"

Without waiting, Rappa charges forward with a flurry of rapid punches that Ken easily evades. The last one almost grazes his chin, and in retaliation, Ken spins and lands a heavy thrust kick to Rappa's midsection. The impact is loud enough to echo through the entire dojo and Rappa's entire frame is sent reeling several feet back.

"Well, at least you threw a punch…" Ken says with a shake of his head. "Anyway, that was -"

"Wow! You really pack a punch there, Ken!" Rappa says as he slowly and painfully gets back to his feet. "That's what I'm talking about! Men are meant to rip each other apart with their own power, right? You feel me!"

Ken leans over and whispers at Ryu. "This guy is a bit… unhinged."

"So are most of our friends."

"...fair."

Rappa blitzes forward again, this time swinging more wildly than before.

"Incredible…!" Izuku says. "I can't even keep track of his arms!"

Sakura blinks before rubbing her eyes. "Oh wow, I can't either!"

They both turn to Ryoya who has Visionary active. His face is contorted into one of concentration and his eyes are narrowed to focus as best as he could. "I…can barely keep up. What the hell is that quirk?"

"He's quick, but I've never seen such terrible technique." Ryu says dryly. "There's nothing there at all."

They don't get an answer as Ken laughs with a thumbs up and smile, "Watch closely children! I'll show you how to really parry!"

Everything happens all too quickly after that. Ken's eyes, which were once blue, shifted to a lighter shade, matching the sky. As Rappa's fists got closer, Ken's stances widened and the students watched in amazement as black, inky ki followed his movements. Ken's arm snaps up like a spring and upon impact, the ki disperses around his entire body in a cloak of white, and the sound of chains hitting ice.

Rappa doesn't slow down in his movements, but Otsu does seem surprised that Ken hasn't budged despite the force of his punches. The second blow comes and, like before, Ken's arm snaps up. Then it happens again. And again. It only lasts a few seconds, and Rappa throws more blows than anyone can count, but Ken withstands the barrage without a scratch.

"Ha! Now it's my turn!"

Not a second later, Ken blurs downward and sweeps Rappa's legs. As the man starts to fall, Ken rising; landing a medium Shoryuken to his ribs and in one fluid motion, ignites his legs. "My Shippu Jinrai Kyaku is faster than the wind!" The first kick that lands hits with such force that a small shockwave of fire erupts from Rappa's midsection. Another spin, and another heavy roundhouse kick that scorches the right side of Rappa's mask and rattles everyone in the room to their core. Ken rotates again, displaying masterful footwork, before landing yet another kick to Rappa's head, effectively knocking the man off of his feet entirely. The last kick, one delivered with extreme prejudice, lands squarely on Rappa's sternum and is almost as loud as a gunshot.

Fire immediately bursts out of the man's back as he's sent flying across the room and into the wall on the other side.

"Well…shit. Might've gotten a bit too into it there." The blonde says sheepishly.

"You think?" Otsu says dryly. "Thanks for making my day harder now."

"No problem!" Ken says with a smile, wink and thumbs up. Otsu gives him a dirty look.

Before his best friend could be killed before his very eyes, Ryu clears his throat. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Nevertheless, yes. That was a good example of how parrying will work when you get ki. You might be wondering how he didn't move despite the force of that guy's punches. And the answer is simple. Focus. Focus is -"

"So you're just going to continue the lesson like you didn't just do that to one of my friends?" The otter woman crosses her arms and scowls at them both. When Ryu and Ken share a look, she just sighs. "You two are unbelievable. Come down, Rumi. Let me grab Rappa and let's get out of here."

"Ahha! You see that kids? That's the power of my Shippu Jinrai!" Ken says proudly. "Would any of you like to give parrying a try?"

"N - no, sir."

Sakura merely squeaks.

"I'd rather die, thanks."

A/N: Sorry for the delay. This chapter was written ages ago, but life has gotten in the way. Thank you for reading.

James Birdsong: Thank you.