~ Friend at the other side~

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MC's POV

Except Dean's fainting spell this morning, nothing much happened in school.

Obviously, no one wants to start shit in Arcadia as long as the Wards or New Wave is in its walls. It's basically their unofficial territory in Brockton Bay.

If Winslow High is the gang's feasting ground for future recruits then Arcadia High is the heroes bastion for future generations.

Too bad not everyone can afford it here.

When the day ended, I just went home straight.

Sounds boring right? Of course it does but it's better than running around a city filled to the brim with gang members and the eventual cape fights.

Home is safe. It's my little safe haven.

Mom isn't at home for now. She comes home late from her work in Medhall. Of course, this is an opportunity to test my new power and skills.

No time than the present after all.

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Next Day

Yesterday was productive.

For the rest of the afternoon, all I did was practice Katas, familiarizing myself through the motions and various forms.

I also found a very grim discovery.

Ansatsuken is not fit for takedowns or non-lethal fights.

The Martial Art itself is brutal, every blow is calculated and maximizes efficient lethal takedowns.

Good thing I practiced first before going straight on a patrol for having a cool power.

For my second power, Ki, I didn't get much practice. The substance is just too foreign to me and practicing with it is more akin to a chemistry lab experiment. Any room for error is just too high and might cause a volatile reaction which is not ideal in my room in my own house.

So what I did was take notes in the evening.

What? I got an entire Martial Arts and Ki mastery knowledge jammed into my head and you expect me not to write it down when the clock strikes midnight? You're crazy!

The notes will be useful for me.

Ansatsuken is an extreme Martial art so the training regime for it is all about body conditioning in order to handle the techniques in its arsenal. How am I supposed to do a Shoryuken if my fist breaks first before my opponent's jaw?

Furthermore, Ki isn't unique to the King of Fighters (power). Everyone has it and the King of Fighters just amped up mine. The notes are for Ki awakening and exercises so even if one day I get a non-combatant power, I still have a backup plan.

Except for Death (power), the King of Fighters (power) is the one that gave a lot of blessings.

With this, I can now prepare myself for Leviathan.

Then the next day arrived after falling asleep on my own notes.

And it looks like I got a new power.

Voodoo Lord?

Then I began to hear it.

Drums.

Suddenly, the entire room turns dark even though the morning daylight is shining through the window. As if the entire room turned dark.

As fast as it happened, the quicker it faded away. I blinked in confusion. Did something happen? What was that?

Voodoo Lord huh? What does it do?

Going through my head, I began collecting the new pieces of knowledge that replaced my Martial Arts knowledge as I began my day.

Curses and Rituals? This is nasty!

I grimaced as the knowledge how to make a sacrifice to an Old God filled my head. I think I'm gonna hurl at the thought but somehow, I'm unfazed. Like the knowledge is just another Tuesday for me.

Which is freaky? Do my powers provide mental changes or tweaks on me? That's like a self-Master.

Which is scary and stupid. Why would I Master myself?

I sighed. Looks like this day would be an unproductive one. Might as well start practicing my Katas while picking some of the Voodoo Lord's arsenal of curses and rituals. There gotta be something useful to note down. The nasty stuff can stay in my head.

So I began my day going through my Katas while going through hundreds of ways to skin a pig.

All the while not noticing my own shadow moving on its own, practicing advanced versions of my Katas.

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Mindscape

"Hooo? We got a very interesting addition today." Wolf grinned looking down at the interesting fight currently happening in the drowned depths of Brockton Bay while perched on a nearby building, sticking to the sides of said building like a certain spider and defying gravity as he looked down.

Meanwhile, on the streets below. It was littered with violet explosions coming from its user. Akuma grinned, eyes darting wildly as he searched for his new opponent. Their host lucked out in this one, being so unique and useful.

The ability to come in and out of the mindscape is very valuable.

Suddenly, his hardened instincts screamed at him to dodge. Ducking low, he felt the entire building behind him crumble as the entity punched through its foundations with one attack.

All done by a shadow, Castilian's shadow.

"It already copied and mastered my skills." Akuman grinned, before launching himself at the shadow currently suspended in a wall. Being an entity stuck in 2D, attacking it was all but impossible but he is Akuma.

He is the Raging Demon.

"Hah!" With an almighty slam, his fist empowered with his ki slammed into the shadow's guard. But instead of blocking,the shadow molded itself so his fist would pass harmlessly.

Akuma smirked, it didn't take into account his ki.

They were soon enveloped by an explosion of Ki as Akuma released his power on the poor thing.

Wolf laughed. The shadow is interesting. Too bad it decided to copy Akuma's style. Akuma hated copycats but if the shadow is part of the boy and capable of helping him in the physical world, then Akuma would make sure it Masters the entire Ansatsuken minus the Ki.

Wolf smirked. They are in for an interesting time indeed.