Mori looked surprised at the unexpected appearance of the purple-haired man. - Reikan... -
Why would he come to help him? If they barely knew each other, some sense of responsibility for being the new guy? The former Monkey King couldn't understand it at all.
Yamamoto smirked as he approached Reikan, the obese young man had removed his jacket from his school uniform. An action the would-be monk imitated, it was best not to soil his robes with dirt ... Or blood.
"Hey, Reikan!" Mori called out to him, but was intercepted by the henchmen accompanying Yamamoto.
"Take it easy, Mori. This will be over soon." Reikan said calmly, while looking at his opponent with seriousness and clenched fists.
"Of course it will, I don't expect you to last too long." Yamamoto scoffed, stepping into a fighting stance.
"I could say the same about you." Replied the purple-haired man, also taking a fighting stance.
"Come on, Yamamoto!"
"Show that monk!"
"Thus begins the rebellion! Suzaku is going to overthrow the other gods!"
Was what Yamamoto's companions were saying arrogantly, their words made the turquoise-haired man frown, not expecting that the situation could escalate so quickly.
'And I ... As usual I just stood by and watched... ' The Fallen God lamented seeing how useless he had become.
No ... If he reflected a little on his entire life as Sun Wukong and Jin Mori, he had always been like this, it was only now that he was cut off from his world that he was aware of his greatest weakness.
He was always unaware of the most important thing.
"Come, little dragon!" Yamamoto exclaimed, lunging at Reikan with a powerful left hook.
However, the young monk of Ryuudou Temple was able to dodge it with relative ease, although he was aware that receiving a single blow from his opponent would be dangerous.
In a different sense from his older brother, while Seiryu's blows were precise, Yamamoto's were heavy. Therefore, he should take advantage of his superior speed to win.
After dodging that hook, Reikan sent a direct blow to his opponent's face, which barely made him blink showing his firmness, something that the purple hair put to the test by throwing several direct blows to Yamamoto's face, but the latter didn't even seem to stagger, which was a problem if in the end he couldn't knock him down.
"Huh? What's wrong? Your punches barely tickle me." The obese young man scoffed, barely a trickle of blood trickling from his nose, though he seemed more amused than worried about it. "Hmph, I was hoping that by training with the great acclaimed Seiryu you'd be stronger, but you're nothing but a joke. Suzaku hits a thousand times worse, I guess in the end the "two strongest in Fuyuki" are nothing but a joke."
Reikan looked at Yamamoto in annoyance. "Don't you dare to insult Souichirou-san you don't even know him."
"Reikan... Don't get carried away. - Mori muttered seriously looking at the exchange.
"Yamamoto is right!"
"Suzaku will be a better Seiryu!"
"She'll take that Byakko's little princess down a peg or two, she'll be a house cat!"
"See? I'm going to be right in the end." Yamamoto said with a smile.
"Shut the hell up!" exclaimed the purple-haired man, rushing at his opponent with one goal in mind, his fist straight at the obese young man's jaw.
No matter how strong or resistant you are, no one should resist a blow in a sensitive point of the body that would automatically lead the strongest to unconsciousness.
But the bad thing for Reikan is that it was something Yamamoto was looking forward to, before the punch could hit, the purple-haired man's fist was caught with the big hand.
"You think you're the first one to try that? So many have tried it that it's even boring, Suzaku is the only one who has succeeded and he doesn't even need it." Yamamoto said with boredom. "Well, it was fun."
It was the only thing he said before delivering a direct blow to Reikan's stomach, which completely knocked all the air out of his lungs, making Mori grimace at the terrible sight.
"Well done, Yamamoto!"
"You show who's boss!"
"Suzaku's group will dominate all of Fuyuki!"
Yamamoto's companions cheered, while Yamamoto scoffed looking at Reikan kneeling in front of him trying to recover the air in his lungs while panting.
"I want to hear it Reikan, I want to hear how you agree with us, Suzaku will be the best Seiryu of Fuyuki." Said the obese young man expectantly.
"Say it! -
"I want to hear it!"
"Let's make him say it in front of the whole school!"
"... N ... Never …" Reikan muttered seriously. "S ... Souichirou-san ... He's the... Strongest person I know! And no one can change my mind!"
As a consequence he received a direct hook to the face courtesy of Yamamoto, the such a blow was so strong that you could actually hear Reikan's nose breaking with a noise that echoed throughout the alley.
"No, no, wrong answer, Reikan-kun." Yamamoto said in a mocking tone before realizing that in fact the purple-haired man was unconscious at his feet. "Oh, well, you don't listen to me."
"Way to go, Yamamoto!" The obese young man's companions celebrated his victory.
"Well, I guess we can leave Seiryu a message with this." Yamamoto said as he gave a sinister look to the unconscious young monk, and then looked at his companions. "What do you think, chi... Hey, what are you doing here?"
His question alerted his companions, who realized that in front of Yamamoto was Mori, who was holding his arm with a steel grip. That event surprised everyone, especially those students who stood in his way, as they had not seen or felt the moment he moved.
"You've made your point, that's enough." Mori told him with his eyes shadowed by his blue hair.
"I decide when enough will be enough." Yamamoto retorted with annoyance, he was only following Suzaku, not a dwarf that barely reached his chest.
"I'll pay you whatever it takes, but stop it." Said the turquoise-haired man to the surprise of everyone present.
However, Yamamoto let out a laugh at his words. "I think that ship has sailed, maybe the fare is higher now."
"I'll pay it." Mori said seriously.
"Well... It's going to be a beating!" Declared the obese young man before giving a tremendous hook to the young man in front of him straight to his face.
The blow hit shockingly, and for a moment his companions thought he might have torn his head off but to their surprise it still remained attached between his shoulders, but the most disconcerting thing was that ...
"... I think my nose is bleeding, is that enough?" Mori asked him still conscious and still grabbing one of Yamamoto's arms as if it was nothing.
A blow that would have knocked out almost any man ... And this skinny guy had resisted it like it was nothing!
"Don't act tough!" Yamamoto exclaimed with annoyance, jumping out of the turquoise-haired man's iron grip and starting to throw punches at Mori's face as if he were a punching bag.
All under the sight of his companions, who watched with fear the exchange, no, what should be a one-sided beating looked more like someone who hit the biggest and sturdiest oak tree in a forest, because no matter how much his partner hit, the blue-haired young man still remained completely standing, without staggering or any sign of pain.
A process that came to extend to a point where Yamamoto was exhausted from so much hitting without any result, in fact, now that the adrenaline was leaving his system he noticed a sharp pain appearing in his knuckles, when he inspected them he couldn't help but wince at how shattered they were, he may have even broken something because of the blood and the pain that went through his limb, it was as if he had been hitting a concrete wall for hours!
On the other hand ...
"I think this time my nose is really bleeding, is that enough for you?" Mori asked him seriously, who was impassive after the great amount of blows he had received.
Those present could not believe how unharmed the turquoise hair was despite the cannonballs that represented Yamamoto's fists, while Reikan had been defeated after two blows, after countless attacks, Mori was unperturbed.
"Hey... How is it possible?"
"How is it that he resists Yamamoto's blows?"
"Is he... Even human?"
These were the comments of Yamamoto's companions, who could only witness the scene with amazement and awe, because what Mori was doing ... It was not even a little bit within their assumptions.
Perhaps the young man's face is a little red, and in fact, his nose was bleeding as he had previously commented, although it was just a trickle of blood without importance, but what really alerted Yamamoto, was the front row view that he had the privilege (or perhaps misfortune depending on how you look at it) of witnessing.
Those eyes shadowed by the young man's bluish hair became present, and instead of seeing curious eyes with golden pupils, there were only cold golden crosses that pierced Yamamoto's soul as if he were nothing more than an ant that came to irritate a giant's picnic.
The obese student could only see reflected how insignificant he was in Mori's eyes.
Just an absolute waste of his time.
Yamamoto began to tremble, his body filling with pure frustration that made him visibly shake in front of everyone.
"You... You... Don't make fun of me!" Exclaimed the obese young man, who would be Suzaku's right hand man, preparing to throw one more punch no matter what, putting what would be all his fury, frustration and even fear, though he wasn't going to admit it, as fuel for this punch that should knock down, nay, kill his opponent without giving any importance to the consequences of a kill or even that he might break his hand.
Because no matter what, he was going to prove that he was not insignificant in the eyes of god!
"Hey... Have you finished your testosterone contest?" Came a female voice with coldness that stopped the whole conflict.
Everyone froze before turning their eyes to the source of that voice, and could only sweat at the person who had just appeared.
The strongest and most feared woman in all of Fuyuki, the second goddess of the winter tree.
Fujimura Byakko, with her personalized shinai casually over her shoulder with a weak grip of her right hand.
She casually started to approach towards the duo of Yamamoto and Mori without a care in the world, not even seeming to give a glance to her friend Reikan who was lying unconscious on the ground which she almost stepped on his hand by a few inches. But she only focused on her target ...
It was not Yamamoto, but Mori.
The obese student, Suzaku's right hand was brutally pushed away by an invisible force exhibited by the brown hair around her that was reflected in her icy gaze, Yamamoto felt a similar but different fear than the one she felt with the turquoise hair coming from the Yakuza princess, which made her instinctively move away.
None of his companions had the courage to comment on the matter with the tiger lurking.
Taiga stood in front of Kiritsugu's adopted son, unable to believe that someone he admired so much would have such a son, whom he looked at with disappointment.
"I understand perfectly well that you refuse a fight without any objective, but …"
And for a moment, the Fallen God could see it, that same pity that Xuanzang had looked at him thousands of years ago at the beginning of his journey to India, when he was still an insensitive king who had lost his way in the lust of combat.
"How can you stand by and do nothing when someone fights so fiercely for you?" the young woman asked him sadly.
Mori looked down, unwilling to answer Taiga's questions.
"Y-You ... You ... Don't ignore me!" Yamamoto shouted in exasperation at how he had been left in the background like an annoying fly.
The obese student pounced on the Yakuza princess, which gave the graphic description of a bull falling on a small kitten ... But unfortunately for Suzaku's right-hand man, that kitten was nothing more than a tiger whose claws and fangs were always sharp and ready to attack.
Before even Yamamoto could attack the large Byakko, the renowned Fuyuki Tiger turned slightly to deliver a single blow with her infamous Torashinai directly to his face, and resounding was the sound of the obese young man's nose being broken that could even have been heard throughout Shinto.
Then, Yamamoto had fallen with a thud to the ground unconscious with a sound just as resonant as that of his broken nose, and so someone who had been impossible for Reikan to defeat had not even been a warm-up for the White Tiger.
Taiga looked at the companions of his downed opponent. "Take him away from me, I don't want to see him for the rest of his days in Homurahara."
Instantly, the other followers of Suzaku ran at once to grab as they could their obese companion and drag him with all their might out of that alleyway ignoring any glances from the passing passersby. An action that the other pedestrians imitated, although they were curious to see what was going on in that alley, when they saw an unconscious young man and Fujimura Taiga herself, they decided to move away as far as possible and not to get involved with her or any unfortunate person who could have problems with her.
It should be noted that the wretch was none other than Mori.
"Well, aren't you going to answer anything?" The brown-haired woman questioned him again.
However, the turquoise-haired one didn't seem at all willing to give an answer, at the non-verbal refusal the Yakuza princess received, Taiga lowered her gaze.
"I see... So that's your answer." Then, she gave him a serious and fierce look, however, to the former Monkey King's surprise, she still retained that hint of pity that simply grew deeper with every moment. "In that case, I will give you my answer."
...
It was what seemed like an ordinary day in the residence of the Yakuza Fujimura group, specifically in a dojo located in a place a little further away from the entire residence.
In that place there were only two people, the only ones with the authorization to enter without the permission of the leader Fujimura, no one but Raiga himself and his beloved granddaughter Taiga.
Both were fighting with wooden swords, bokken instead of the traditional shinai, although with a notable difference in conditions.
While Raiga fought as expected in a traditional kendo bout, his granddaughter suffered from a great disadvantage with her eyes obscured by a blindfold tied behind her head and her right arm, her dominant hand, tied behind her back.
However, in spite of that, the fifteen year old girl was showing off her great skill and demonstrating why she was worthy of bearing the title of Byakko, the Celestial White Tiger of Fuyuki by being able to fight on equal terms and even dominate her grandfather with only her sense of hearing and the strength of her left arm, her clumsy hand, accommodating her stance and getting used to these new conditions without any problems.
On the other hand, Raiga if he was willing to admit that he had to make a visible effort to keep up with his granddaughter, although he accepted that age was taking its toll on him, he knew perfectly well that even in his golden age it would be just as difficult for him to face Taiga without any hindrance.
And she was still fifteen, she still had a long way to go, and with Mori in the mix ...
True, he was the reason for this match.
"My daughter, you can't continue with that attitude towards that boy." Raiga told her after a long exchange of blows that seemed to have no end in silence. "And it seems that the conversation you had with Kiritsugu didn't help at all, you even look more anxious than before."
Suddenly, Taiga stopped every move, calling an end to the practice match, the frustration he had prevented him from being able to enjoy the match.
The brown-haired girl, showing off her strength, broke the tie that restricted the use of her strong limb with ease, and then with the same hand she removed the blindfold and saw her honorable but criminal grandfather with a fierce look worthy of a tiger. In fact, that had been one of the reasons why he had been called Taiga, because of his fierce eyes.
"How can I calm down! It's been days and I still can't think of a way to light his spirit!" The girl exclaimed, letting her feelings out carelessly. "At this rate I'll become Seiryu before I can face him... And it's virtually impossible to defeat the current Seiryu!"
"You won't make it with that attitude of course." Her grandfather told her carelessly, receiving an annoyed look from his granddaughter, but to him it was nothing more than a cute pout from his little girl. "But the answer is simpler than you may think, Taiga."
The aforesaid frowned. "And what could be the answer?"
"Hmph, haven't I taught you anything? Even though you look so much like your mother, I can tell you got your ineptitude from your father."
"Get to the point!" Byakko exclaimed angrily, ready to resume the skirmish but without any restraint.
Raiga sighed before shaking her head at her granddaughter's attitude. "Taiga, I taught you to breathe, to walk, to really use a sword as more than just a weapon and to make it a simple extension of your body."
The young brown-haired girl kept looking at her grandfather expectantly, waiting for him to tell her something important in this little lecture beyond what he had told her cyclically the last years.
"And most importantly ... You must step aside for a moment to see the rest of the things, so you can see everything." Finished saying the older man with seriousness.
Although to many the old tiger's words would make no sense at all, the last thing his grandfather had said seemed to make Taiga think, if the young woman's thoughtful frown was any indication.
"See it all…" Said the brown-haired girl thoughtfully looking at what seemed like nothingness for a long period of time without moving and showing no signs of doing so. "See it all…"
Raiga looked at her granddaughter with seriousness and at the same time with concern, it was not common for her to fall into long reflections, and apparently this would be a rather long one if the way she mumbled "see it all" over and over again was any indication.
The old man sighed and decided to give the young woman some privacy to make her own decisions, it was about time she had responsibilities, especially to accept the responsibilities of her decisions, and although he felt bad for the poor boy, Mori was the better choice.
By the time Raiga left the training dojo, leaving the Fuyuki Tiger unattended and wandering her thoughts filled with kendo and food, but if the older man had lingered at least a few seconds longer to leave the building she could have seen the way his eyes shone like shooting stars in the sky, which depending on the situation would be a good ... Or a worse omen.
"See it all!"
...
"I need to see the rest so I can see it all. - Taiga said suddenly after a few seconds of silence surprising the turquoise-haired man standing a few feet away from him. - So I'll tell you what I see now! -
Dan Mori saw her with expectant but serious eyes, still with his body and mind reluctant to fight after so many hardships like Sun Wukong and Jin Mori, even though the flame of his soul still longed to fight for one more second.
- What I see is ... A man larger than life itself! - exclaimed the young woman without caring that she could be heard even on the other side of Fuyuki. - No matter how much you hide it, I only see the one worthy of being illuminated by the sun, the one to be praised by the earth, the one who makes the seas tremble ... The one who is greater than eternity and I just want to see you shine! -
At this point, Byakko had shouted out everything she had been holding inside her since the fateful day she had met her greatest and most beautiful obstacle, a Martial God incarnated back on earth ... How could someone like her not praise and at the same time curse her contradictory existence?!
But the question was, how could Mori remain indifferent to his words? No, it was impossible for him to do so, at this point the former Monkey King was biting his lower lip to the point where he felt the metallic taste of her blood in his mouth. His fists were clenched so tightly that his fingernails had drawn some blood from his palms.
All the while the words of his grandfather and Xuanzang kept assaulting his tormented mind with distorted scenes of Park Mubong and Tathagata killing respectively the people he had loved the most.
But hope arose for this man.
"However …" The brown-haired woman spoke again, snapping the Fallen God out of his negative thoughts. "That image is fuzzy ... Covered by a layer of fear, frustration, pain, sadness and hopelessness …" Then the Fuyuki Tiger raised its trusty Torashinai pointing it at Mori. "I don't know what happened to that exuberant and brilliant Mori, but I assure you that I will bring him back no matter what!"
The aforementioned blinked at the White Tiger's words before blinking again and again as if trying to process his words spoken in another language, something impossible since Mori was able to understand, speak and even write in all the existing languages on the planet the moment he regained his power as the Great King of the Heavens ... But at that very moment Taiga's words were so distant and fuzzy to him that he genuinely wondered what he was saying.
"Hehe ... Hehehehe ... Hahahahahaha! - Until he suddenly broke into a bitter laugh at the young girl's words in front of him, though his action did nothing to affect the Fuyuki Heavenly Tiger's confidence. Then, Mori looked at her with golden-crossed eyes full of regret. "I'm sorry to tell you but that man ... Has died."
A sepulchral silence spread throughout the alley to the point that a pin dropping to the ground could be heard clearly, the only constant sound was the soft breathing of the unconscious Reikan who still lay on the ground forgotten as if nothing.
Then a fierce smile came across the beautiful brown-haired young woman's face.
"In that case ... I'll use you as a sacrifice to bring him back!" Was the only thing she said to then launch herself against the turquoise hair with a horizontal attack with her Torashinai straight to the neck of her opponent, ready to break his neck with a single attack.
... Or at least that was the plan, until she felt a kind of sting on the side of her neck, specifically where her carotid artery was, and then felt her whole body paralyzed causing her attack to be stopped in half, although in reality there was no one to hit.
Due to her initial shock of finding her whole body paralyzed, she could barely notice that Mori was no longer in front of her.
What had happened ... ?
"Tell me you are okay please ... I didn't destroy your circulatory system by accident, did I...? Jeez, my fingers are so stiff, I could have damaged your nervous system if I hadn't meant to."
Taiga heard Mori's voice ranting right behind her, brushing aside the paralysis issue as if it was nothing and more worried about having damaged her in the process.
Meanwhile, the turquoise-haired man looked at his hand with his fingers numb from the use of acupuncture, one of the reasons why his body was in bad shape, he never thought he would use those techniques again in the short term but it was necessary to save the conflicts ... But he knew he would never use the Limit Remover again.
After all, he no longer had any potential to dispose of with his body in such a bad state and without divine power.
The blue-haired young man turned his gaze to Byakko who was trembling on the spot, something that sincerely impressed him, as he expected that the artery blockage would remain for longer ... Unless ...
Fuyuki Tiger's heart began to pound, her blood pumping like a pressurized hose through her veins and stimulating her muscles with a force that no one else but her possessed ...
In the end, all is nothing, therefore, she is invincible.
Regaining all her mobility in record time and with impressive speed, Taiga had turned around to attack Mori again with a downward attack with her shinai.
"Only death will be the cure for your stupidity!" roared the brown hair before her attack hit.
Death is the only thing that cures stupidity.
Then, a sad smile appeared on the turquoise-haired man's face.
"Yes, you're absolutely right... Look."
[Sword of Lunar Light]
[Swordless Style]
A single horizontal hand movement performed by Mori made the brown-haired girl stop completely in her attack, who was staring wide-eyed at her opponent, processing what had happened a few seconds ago before her eyes.
Taiga felt something hot on her cheek, when she took her hand to check, she realized it was blood, her blood was dripping from a cut made without a sword, then the young woman turned her gaze and witnessed the greatest act performed as a swordsman that she had been able to see throughout her years practicing kendo.
The walls of the alley had a slightly deep cut mark made evenly by what looked like a sword, which followed the hand movement Mori had used earlier.
How was it possible... ?
"You saw it, didn't you?" It was the voice of Kiritsugu's adopted son that brought her out of her thoughts.
She blinked like a confused owl at his question, before nodding mechanically in response, it had been blurry but Taiga saw it ...
A young woman with a sword, a warrior enshrined in countless battlefields ... The moonlight bathing their bodies ...
"So, you've seen it all." Mori said with a slight smile full of melancholy before turning around and approaching the poor, forgotten Reikan.
With relative ease he picked up the boy who was much bigger than him with one arm around his shoulders and the other holding his body against him, ready to carry him home so he could rest.
"Hey…" The brown-haired girl called out to him again, again catching his attention.
The former Monkey King looked at her with animosity, no longer in the mood to discuss meaningless things. But he was surprised to realize that the Fuyuki Tiger's eyes no longer had that frequent ferocity and there was only the curiosity and gentleness of a kitten.
"Do you know where Reikan lives?"
That question left Mori stunned ... Metaphorically speaking, even if she hated that word there was no better way to describe her stony expression that made Taiga let out a few laughs.
How could there be a girl who tries to stab you and then laugh with you as if nothing happened? It had already happened once with Mira, but already this second time started to worry her ...
"Not really …" The blue-haired young man had to admit, hiding his embarrassment.
"Well ... As compensation for everything that happened and for showing me something so incredible, I think it's only fair that I help you to take it home." Byakko said smiling slightly. - Besides, he is my friend ... And it won't sit well with him to know that I left him lying unconscious for so long in the street ... Although for now we're safe, that fat guy seems to have given the poor guy a good one." Taiga showed a thoughtful expression for a moment. "I wonder if Seiryu attaches any importance to this event ... Though I doubt it."
It was the last thing he said before approaching the Fallen God and his unconscious old friend, then positioning himself on the opposite side of Mori, that is, on Reikan's unoccupied side and imitating the blue-haired young man by bringing one arm over his shoulders and the other arm to his side to keep the purple-haired man more upright and stable when he was moved.
For a second, Mori shuddered as Taiga's fingers had brushed his arm in the process of carrying Reikan. However, the blue-haired youth attributed it to the after-effects of using acupuncture after so long even with a battered body in its current state.
"Well, let's go!" Taiga exclaimed pointing forward with his Torashinai in his free hand.
The Fallen God stared at him for a few seconds without understanding. "Why?"
"Eh... ? Well, even if Seiryu is very distant, we'll be in trouble if he finds out that Reikan doesn't arrive on time for dinner time, he's very strict with the rules." The brown-haired girl explained, but Mori shook her head.
"No, I mean you used to hate me... And now you act so friendly, I don't understand..."
Taiga looked straight ahead with a serious expression before smiling in a carefree manner. "Because I already saw the rest I was missing, I can already see everything, Nothing under the heavens is hidden from me now!"
It couldn't be for such a childish reason... Couldn't it?
"Besides... I was right and you were wrong." He said suddenly to the turquoise-haired man's confusion.
"How am I wrong?" questioned the former Monkey King.
"The Mori I spoke of... He is still alive." Fuyuki's Heavenly Tiger affirmed so confidently, she could have said that the sky was red and no one could make her waver with her resolve that even Mori wavered. "He just needs a reason to come back, So wait!"
Then, she started walking, causing the blue-haired young man to have to keep up or Reikan might fall, which no one wanted. And together they led the monk-in-training to his home at Ryuudou temple.
"Oh, by the way, I need help with my English homework."
"Huh?!"
Unaware of particular red eyes watching the Fallen God walk the streets of Shinto.
"So... There are still gods among us ... Interesting."
...
Beta: Old man of the mountain/Darklord331
