Hey everyone, and welcome to this chapter. This chapter will be both about character progression and action. Both Shirou and Kenichi will get into a fight in this chapter, and though they'll be short, their main purpose will be to show how much the two of them have improved. The bigger fights will come later. It will also be about helping Kenichi's character grow. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody. History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi is owned by Funimation and Syun Matsuena. Please support the official release.

"Shirou" Regular speech.

"Shirou" Thoughts.

SEIKUKEN Attack names.

(Shirou) Words said previously.

[Shirou] Words said in unison.

Learning And Growing

—

It was the middle of the night, and Niijima was running through the streets and heading toward an alleyway with an excited look on his face. He brought out his PDA. When he went into the alley and hid behind a corner, he stealthily watched as a fight was going on in the middle of an empty loft.

The one fighting was a gang of ordinary thugs facing Ragnarok's Takedown Trio. Takeda, Ukita, and Koga were easily defeating their enemy, each using their individual styles of punches, throws, and kicks, respectively.

Niijima took notes of their fighting and battle levels as he hid.

"They are quite the trinity of skill." Niijima gleefully thought. "With Koga's swift kicks, Ukita's throwing strength, and of course, Takeda's fearsome fists. Now the question is are they enough to challenge Shirou?" He had a look of triumph as many plans swirled in his head. "Looks like things are going to get even more interesting."

Once the three of them finished thrashing their opponents, Takeda and Ukita stopped and accepted their win, but Koga proceeded to kick at his beaten enemy while he laughed with amusement. No one bothered to stop him.

"Huh?"

Takeda suddenly felt as though he was being watched and turned his head to look. But even as he looked at the spot where Niijima was hiding, there was no one there as Niijima had already fled and was running away. When he ran far enough from that place, he grinned widely.

"So this is Ragnarok, huh?" Niijima thought to himself. "Here's hoping they don't break my valuable Pawns! Hahahaha!"

RING!

Suddenly, Niijima's phone signaled he was getting a call, and he smiled because he knew who he was.

"Ah, look, here's one of my Pawns now." He said before he answered. "Is that you, Shirou?"

"Did you get the data?" Shirou asked through the phone, getting straight to business.

"Well, of course I did." Niijima proudly replied. "The info that Ragnarok members from Kisara's gang were going to start something tonight was completely on the nose, I recorded and logged all of it."

"That's good. Show it to me tomorrow." Shirou instructed him. "I wanna know how strong they are or if they're even worth my time."

"Then I'll see you in the morning." Niijima finished as he hung up.

—

The next morning at school, Kenichi was back at the Gardening Club's Greenhouse and was happy watering plant sprouts. Izumi was standing beside him and also tended to some plants.

"Yep, yep, you're sprouting just fine." Kenichi continued watering the sprouts.

"Aha…" Izumi quietly and pleasantly laughed.

"Izumi?" Kenichi noticed her.

"I always thought you were quiet and glum…." Izumi admitted while smiling. "But you seem so lively when you're here."

"Sure!" Kenichi happily agreed. "Well, it's just so relaxing." He then looked down and closed his eyes. "It's the one place where I don't have to worry about some jerk trying to fight me." He then raised his fist in triumph. "It's like a total paradise~!"

"You don't have to be that lively about it." Izumi pointed out, surprised by his actions.

Kenichi cringed and thought to himself. "If only she knew. I'm being hunted by that Ragnarok gang 24/7." He then dismayed. "And then every other second of my life goes to training." He thinks of all the rigorous training he's had to endurance thus far at the dojo, which makes him feel worse. He then blushes and has a campy smile. "Although, there are some good times here and there." He thinks back to literally every time he was in the same room as Miu. "With encouragement like that, I can't just up and quit, hahaha!"

Not knowing his thoughts, Izumi smiles fondly at him. "You know, Kenichi?" She gets his attention. "I've heard rumors that you're a pretty ruthless fighter, but I don't believe it. You put so much thought and care into nurturing these flowers, and you somehow tolerate that weird friend of yours. So you gotta be a decent person, right?"

Kenichi rubbed his head, feeling flattered. "Hahaha, yeah, sure, except if you're talking about Niijima, in which case I think I've already told you that I'm not actually friends with him. He's more like a demon who's trying to possess my friendship." He pointed out. "Besides, Shirou's much better at tolerating him than me."

CHILLS!

Suddenly, Kenichi felt a chill go down his spine. Even some of the plants reacted to it.

"What's the matter?" Izumi asked, slightly worried.

"I don't know?" Kenichi admitted. "I just got this weird sensation, like I felt an evil presence or something."

—

Outside the Greenhouse, a truly evil presence was lurking nearby as Niijima watched him from a distance and grinned.

"How sad, Kenichi. You must be delusional. Too busy smelling the flowers to realize your life's in danger." Niijima mocked while pushing buttons on his PDA. "But if you want to spend your time pushing daisies, help is on the way, wahahaha!"

"If you're laughing, that means all is wrong with the world."

Shirou gave him his usual jive as he approached Niijima. Seeing him made his grin widen.

"I'm so glad you made it. Do I have some juicy information for you!" Niijima cheered as he showed him the screen of his PDA. "Behold, battle data of the Takedown Trio."

Shirou looked to see both images and recordings of the fight Niijima had been watching and recording last night. Shirou watched intensely, making sure not to miss anything important or even minor details.

"So, what's the verdict?" Niijima asked with great interest. "Can you beat them?"

"….…" Shirou kept watching for a bit before he was done and knew his answer. "One-on-one, definitely."

"Hahaha! I'm glad to hear it!" Niijima laughed, delighted at Shirou's answer. "So now you just have to go and beat the pants off of them!"

"It's weird, though, unlike usual Delinquents, it looks like they're real Martial Artists." Shirou noticed. "They must have taken some serious training."

"Well, yeah, that's kinda their thing." Niijima reminded him like it was obvious. "A lot of the stronger members of Ragnarok study Martial Arts. Remember Tsukuba?"

"Tsukuba was just a dumb Karate-Jock. This is different." Shirou informed him. "Especially that last guy, Takeda. No doubt he's a cut above the rest." He then smirked. "I'm actually looking forward to this one."

Shirou walked away and toward the Greenhouse.

"Hey, where are you going?" Niijima called out.

"To get Kenichi!" Shirou answered without looking back. "We're getting back to training."

—

Back in the Greenhouse, Kenichi and Izumi were looking over all the plants that had started growing, but there was still one that was still just a stem with two leaves that had barely risen from the dirt in its flowerpot. The pot had a label with Kenichi's name written on it, signifying that it was his plant.

"It doesn't seem like your 'Snow-King Orchid' is growing much." Izumi noticed.

"Nope, I chose it because I like its name, but it seems pretty stubborn." Kenichi complained.

"All of the other plants are growing, though. Maybe we should try a different bog moss?" Izumi suggested.

"I guess some plants just can't grow as quickly as others… No matter how hard they try…." Kenichi said with sadness, referring to more than just the plant as he bit his lip. "It's not like it doesn't want to grow, it's not slacking off or anything, please just one time say that it can grow."

([No.])

"Aaaahhhhaaaa!" Kenichi cried out in dismay, thinking of all the berating the Masters gave him, and proceeded to have a nervous breakdown.

"Hellooo~?" Izumi called out to him, snapping him out of it.

"Why does it feel like every time I show up, you're always whining about something?"

They both looked at the door to see Shirou enter the Greenhouse with an annoyed expression.

"Oh, hey, Shirou." Kenichi looked sheepish. "I was just remembering some things I wish I could forget."

Shirou walks up to them. "That doesn't explain anything." He looks at Izumi. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Well, it's just that Kenichi's plant is the only one that doesn't seem to be growing." Izumi answered him. "Not sure why, though."

Shirou looked at the plant that she was referring to. "The one with the strangely large stem?"

"I think I can relate to what this plant must be feeling." Kenichi confessed with an upset smile. "Not being able to grow and all."

Izumi looked a little amused. "Wow, you must have a lot in common with it." She then had a smile and confessed herself. "But, I kinda feel like I can relate to it as well. I'm a bit slow, you know? It just takes me a lot longer to improve than most."

"What, no way?" Kenichi sounded like he didn't believe it. "But, maybe there are some of us who aren't meant to do great things no matter how hard we try."

"And maybe you two are reading way too much into a plant." Shirou chimed in, being blunt.

"Grr, you wouldn't understand! You're someone who grows too fast!" Kenichi snapped at him. "How would you know how it feels to not be able to grow!?"

"You're right. I don't know, but you know what I do know?" Shirou asked rhetorically before answering. "People aren't plants!"

"That's not the issue!" Kenichi snapped again.

"Actually, it is. You were comparing yourselves to a plant, but you're just off the mark. Unlike people, plants have a set time on when they grow, and while there are plenty of different types, a plant that's been given the right amount of care will always grow when it's supposed to." Shirou explained rationally. "Meaning, the reason this hasn't is that it's supposed to take this long."

"Come to think of it, it is true that Orchids are very particular types of plants, and it is the only one we're growing right now." Izumi remembered. "Kenichi, how long does it normally take for a 'Snow King Orchid' to grow?"

"Huh, I only chose it because of its name. I don't know anything about it?" Kenichi informed her.

"Well then, you're a terrible gardener." Shirou pointed out.

"Okay, I guess I deserve that one." Kenichi slumped.

"Besides, don't assume the growth rate of a plant and a person are the same. Humans don't have a set time for when they grow." Shirou reminded him. "For a Human, how and when they grow depends entirely on them."

Both Kenichi and Izumi looked up at him, slightly surprised by his words.

Shirou then turned around and headed for the door. "Anyways, let's head to Dojo already. I rather not have Akisame on my case for being late."

Shirou didn't wait for him as he walked out the door, and Izumi looked at Kenichi.

"Hey, was he trying to make us feel better?" She asked curiously.

"Well, who knows?" Kenichi wondered, collecting his school bag. "I can never really be sure." Kenichi then heads for the door and waves goodbye. "I'll see you later."

"Bye." Izumi happily waves goodbye and sees him off with a smile as she pleasantly mutters. "They really are good friends."

—

Later that day at the Dojo, Shirou, and Kenichi were in the middle of their individual training routines, with Shirou training with Sakaki outside and Kenichi training with Akisame inside. And right now, Kenichi was trying to throw a human-sized jizo stone statue that was wearing a gi. Kenichi was pulling at it and trying to throw but was unable to.

"How am I supposed to throw this thing?" Kenichi complained through his struggle. "It's heavy!"

"Sure, it's heavy. It's a statue." Akisame reminded him. "We've been at this for a few days now. You should know this."

"Yeah, but it hasn't gotten any easier!" Kenichi retorted.

"Try to focus on its center of gravity." Akisame advised him.

"It's what?" Kenichi stopped.

Akisame went over to the statue to demonstrate. "The point in which the weight of an object is balanced." He clarified. "On a human body, it's a little bit below the navel. If you simultaneously attack an opponent's center of gravity and throw off their balance." Akisame did just that to the statue and threw it in the air. "You'll easily overcome their size." He then caught the statue and landed it on its feet.

Kenichi gasped, impressed. "Amazing."

Akisame waved it off. "It's just basic physics."

Kenichi sweated a bit. "Or sure, it's common sense to you."

—

Meanwhile, outside, Sakaki was instructing Shirou on the correct way to throw a punch in a Karate-stance, and Shirou was against the air.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"Good, just like that!" Sakaki observed.

"Ha!"

"Make sure your shoulders and straight, and don't move your thighs apart!" Sakaki instructed. "There's right; align your striking fist with your blocking fist; keep doing what you're doing."

"Believe it or not, this is actually a training exercise in a lot of fighting styles that involve striking!" Shirou informed him which punching. "I pretty much get the basic idea, so teach me something more!"

"Hmph, alright, punk, you want something more?" Sakaki smirked at him. "I guess you're ready then. I'll teach you one of my favorite Karate techniques."

Shirou stopped punching and looked at him with much more attention than a moment ago. "Seriously?"

Sakaki nodded. "It's just a striking move, nothing fancy, but in Karate, landing the first blow is always key, and I can't think of a better first blow to land than this one." He clenched his fist as his fighting spirit increased.

Shirou was obviously very interested in what he planned to teach him. "Show me."

—

Back inside, Kenichi was still struggling to throw the statue even though they'd been at it for a while. He was currently struggling to throw it over his shoulder. Unfortunately, he could only barely lift it off the floor. It then tipped over and fell on top of him.

"Ugh! My back!" Kenichi whaled in pain.

"Is something wrong?" Akisame rhetorically asked, standing over him. "Are you giving up?"

Kenichi looked surprised by that suggestion but then steeled his determination and stood. "No, never!"

"I have to admit. You're doing alright, kid."

Before Kenichi tried again, he looked at Shirou and Sakaki standing by the door.

"A lot better than I thought you would. To tell you the truth, I thought you'd run home crying after three days." Sakaki admitted giving him props.

"Thanks!" Kenichi graciously accepted. "Wow, that was kinda nice."

"In all fairness, Kenichi almost did." Shirou inwardly noted.

"What are you guys doing here anyway?" Kenichi asked.

"You don't notice?" Shirou raised a brow. "The allotted training has passed. It's time for us to switch."

"Yeah, meaning it's time you train with me." Sakaki informed him.

"Already?" Akisame asked before letting out a sigh. "That's a shame. We couldn't accomplish much today."

"Yeah, I haven't been making much progress." Kenichi sheepishly confessed. "I'm still pretty weak, so I'm having trouble with this statue."

"Haha, not so bright, are ya, kid?" Sakaki commented amusedly.

"Huh?"

"Haven't you noticed that statue seems a little weird?" Sakaki pointed out.

[Weird?] Both Kenichi and Shirou took another look at the statue.

"Sakaki, mind your own business!" Akisame reprimanded him.

"Now that you mention it…." Kenichi began to take notice. "Akisame-sensei, I don't remember the statue being quite this big."

Kenichi was right. When they had first begun this training exercise, the stone statue was at the same height as him, but as of right now, it was a whole head and shoulders taller.

Akisame looked away and coughed. "Ahem, it must have magically grown to challenge you."

"You're just joking, right?" Kenichi narrowed his eyes. He then noticed a door on the side of the room that was slightly open and curiously went over to it.

"No! No! Don't look in there! That room's off-limits!" Akisame desperately tried to stop him.

"Huuuh!"

However, Kenichi did open the door, and what he saw inside the room made his jaw drop as the inside of that room was filled with countless stone statues that looked exactly the same as the one he was training with. Except some were the same size as Kenichi, some were a few inches bigger, and more still were much bigger, their sizes varied.

As Kenichi stood there dumbfounded, Akisame stood behind him and closed the door. "It's not how it looks."

"Really?" Shirou stood behind them, looking unconvinced. "It looks like you were swapping the statue every day for a bigger one."

"…Okay, it is how it looks. But it's not what you're thinking." Akisame attempted another excuse.

Kenichi angrily grabbed Akisame by the collar. "You made it bigger and bigger every day, didn't you?!"

"Yes, but think how easily you could throw that first statue now?" Akisame defended his actions. "Listen, Kenichi; your opponents will vary in size, so it's best that your practice reflects this inevitability."

Kenichi crossed his arms. "Alright, but it sounds to me like you're dodging the point."

"That's because he is." Shirou pointed out. "That whole reason was just something he came up with on the spot."

Akisame coughed again. "I have no idea what you mean."

"Guess what, kid?" Sakaki addressed Kenichi with a smirk. "Today's your lucky day. I'm gonna teach you a special technique. A little something to use in case you run into another idiot who wants to mop the asphalt with your face."

Kenichi's expression brightened up. In contrast, Akisame smiled and stroked his mustache. "I'm shocked. You're teaching him and Shirou a new technique on the same day. You must be feeling generous."

"This is a one-time-only thing." Sakaki defended as he started to sweat. "'Cause today happens to be a special occasion… It's uh… Well, it's the…." He desperately tried to think of something. "That's it! It's the anniversary of the day Judo was first created!" He attempted as he grabbed Kenichi by the shoulders. "So, in its honor, I decided to teach special techniques on this day. Now come on."

"Uh, sure!" Kenichi obeyed. Sakaki began to walk away as Kenichi followed. "I wasn't expecting this. Maybe I was wrong about Sakaki? He might not be such a scary guy after all."

As they were leaving, Akisame cringed. "That was by far the worst lie I've ever heard."

Shirou glared at him with annoyance. "Like you're one to talk, mister 'The statue must have magically grown'."

Shirou then walked away as well as Akisame processed his retort and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, he's got me there."

—

The two of them moved outside and stood a few steps apart as Sakaki prepared to begin his lesson. Since Kenichi typically trained with either Kensei, Akisame, or Apachai, this was actually his first time doing technique training with Sakaki.

"Listen up, kid." Sakaki began. "You may have been able to get by until now, but you still only have the bare minimum. You'll need more than that if you're gonna win some real fights. So those are the thing I'm gonna teach you."

"Do you, uh…" Kenichi nervously muttered.

"What kid?" Sakaki questioned. "Spit it out."

"…It's not; kid." Kenichi nervously corrected. "My name is Kenichi, kay?"

"Haha, really?" Sakaki rubbed his hair. "You want me to call you by your name, huh? Kinda forgot you were human, but even dogs have names, so sure." He agreed to it. Then Sakaki pointed to himself. "Well, in that case, you can call me Sakaki-sensei. Okay, Kenichi?"

"Sure, Sakaki-sensei!" Kenichi answered with enthusiasm.

"Dah, it's nothing." Sakaki grumbled as he looked away and closed his eyes with a smile. "

"Well, I… What I was gonna ask you…." Kenichi looked at him thoughtfully. "Do you really believe that I can become stronger? I'm so worried that if I lose after this training… That I…"

"That what?" Sakaki questioned before he guessed the answer. "That you'll never become strong enough?"

Kenichi looked down, confirming his suspicion.

"Tell me, just how strong do you want to be?" Sakaki asked curiously.

"Well, um, I uh…." Kenichi nervously fiddled with his fingers. "I actually have two ideas in mind."

"Well, what are they?" Sakaki became more curious. "If you already have something in mind, it'll be easier to work towards it."

Kenichi took a deep breath and confessed. "Truth is, I wanna be strong enough to protect the people I care about."

"Hmm?" Sakaki merely processed his answer. "And what's the other one?"

Kenichi seemed unsure about this one. "Promise you won't laugh."

"Of course, what kinda man laughs at another man's goals?" Sakaki sounded as though it was obvious.

Kenichi then had a determined smile. "I want to become stronger enough that I can surpass Shirou!"

"You wanna beat the punk?" Sakaki's eyes widened a little before he started to chuckle a bit until it became full-on laughter. "Hahahaha! HAHAHA!"

Kenichi narrowed his eyes at him. "Hey, I thought you said you wouldn't laugh at another man's goal?"

"I'm not!" Sakaki stopped and looked at him. "A man would've said that he wants to be the Strongest in the World."

Kenichi remembered those words as he had heard them just the other night. "But that's Shirou's goal."

"It is, huh?" Sakaki crossed his arms. "All the more reason, if you wanna surpass him, then it's your goal too."

After hearing that, Kenichi gasped as his eyes widened. Sakaki continued.

"Listen, Kenichi. Life isn't about what can and cannot be done. It's about doing it or not doing it!" He raised his fist.

"Right!" Kenichi nodded.

"So, are you finally ready to do something!" Sakaki question questioned loudly.

"Yes!" Kenichi answered with energy.

"Alright then, let's teach you something worth knowing!" Sakaki prepared himself.

"Alright!" Kenichi prepared himself.

—

"Hiya!"

Shirou was kicking intently while training with Kensei. It was as though he was fighting an imaginary opponent in front of him.

"Yeah, keep going." Kensei instructed him. "Don't force it. Keep your body relaxed."

"Ya! Hiya!" Shirou kicked different kinds of kicks, speeding up every few seconds.

Kensei looked pleased with the rate of his training, but then he noticed something. The longer they went on, the less Shirou kicked in a variety of angles and seemed to focus on kicking in a straight path—Striking.

"Stop!" Kensei shouted.

The suddenness of it surprised Shirou and almost knocked him off balance, but he kept himself up.

"What?!" Shirou questioned, irritated. "I'm doing it like you told me."

"You seem distracted." Kensei accused him, which got his attention. "What's going on?"

Shirou sighed. "It's just Sakaki taught me a new technique earlier, and I'm trying to make sure I don't forget the feel of it."

"Ah, I see." Kensei had a new understanding. "In that case, why don't you show it to me, and we can try and base your training with that in mind."

"Alright." Shirou then got into a Karate stance. "It was basically—"

BAAAAAAMMMM!

"AAGGGHHH!"

They were interrupted by a loud noise in the distance that sounded like a large solid object being destroyed which was followed by the shriek of a familiar voice.

"What was that?" Kensei looked in the other direction.

"I think I have an idea." Shirou muttered.

—

Back with Kenichi and Sakaki, we see that Sakaki had just punched the stone wall beside him with a Karate punch, and the result was a big chunk of the wall was blown off and reduced the rubble, which shocked and frightened Kenichi.

Sakaki looked back at Kenichi. "See."

"I CAN'T DO THAT!" Kenichi snapped at him. He started patting Sakaki's biceps. "Let's take a minute and compare arms. Why don't we? Your freaking muscles are the size of my upper torso! I mean, come on! They're unbelievably huge!"

Suddenly Miu appeared beside the two of them and immediately became frustrated when she saw the damaged wall. She became so angry her hair rose up. "FOR THE LAST TIME, SAKAKI! STOP SMASHING EVERYTHING!"

Neither Kenichi nor Sakaki seemed to notice her, and Sakaki only responded to Kenichi. "So what? You don't need guns like mine to throw a proper punch." He then looks at Miu. "Hey, what's up?"

Miu mellowed out and looked at him with half-lidded eyes. "You didn't hear a word I just said."

"Hey, what's going on!"

Now Kensei, along with Shirou, arrived as well, and when Kensei saw the wall, he quickly grasped the situation.

"Ah, now I get it."

Sakaki then thought of something. "Miu, you show Kenichi how to throw a punch."

At that point, Miu stood in front of a nearby tree and got into a fighting stance in order to demonstrate the proper way to throw a punch that Sakaki described. Her expression showed that she was completely fed up by now.

"Happy to help." She said sarcastically.

As they followed her arms, Sakaki spoke to Kenichi. "You've actually got more muscle mass than Miu does, but watch."

Miu held her right arm in front and kept her left arm back.

WHOOSH!

Then, quick as a flash, Miu's left arm struck forth and punched at the leaves on the tree with such great speed that her arm blurred out into three different striking paths. All this happened in the span of 1 second.

Shirou narrowed his eyes. "Fast."

"Now, how many punches did you just count?" Sakaki questioned.

"Wow, awesome, that was three!" Kenichi gasped in amazement. "Three punches in one second."

"Actually, it was six." Shirou stoically corrected.

"He's right." Sakaki confirmed.

"Huh?" Kenichi became astonished.

"There are two primary elements in Karate. The first—Naha-te, relies on weight, strength, and muscle. But the second—Shuri-te, relies on arm rotation and speed." Sakaki explained clearly. "You've gotta learn both to master Karate. But we'll just stick with Shuri-te for now."

Kenichi looked down at his fist. "Are you teaching the same thing to Shirou?" He asked.

"The punk's actually got a good grasp on both Naha-te and Shuri-te right now. He's just got to work on both until he masters them." Sakaki explained. "But he's got more strength and control than you, so it's natural you'd start off differently."

"That said, Miu's punches were fast, but I'm aiming to punch faster." Shirou admitted. "Truth is, when it comes to my punching speed, I've had a goal in mind for a few years and how fast I can make them."

"Really?" Miu became curious. "What goal is that."

"Well, you being able to throw six punches in a second was impressive, but those were only direct strikes." Shirou started. "It's much harder to maintain that speed when throwing a barrage of punches that go in different directions."

"So you want to throw fast barrages?" Miu asked, now more curious. "How fast do you want them to be?"

Shirou smiled before he answered. "Muhammad Ali threw four consecutive barrages that were each six punches that each took less than a second while in a temperature of over 100F. I want to be able to do that." He said, completely serious.

"Are you insane!" Kenichi shouted at him like he was stupid. "That's a ridiculously high bar! It's not possible!"

"Not possible, and yet it's been done." Shirou pointed out before he clenched his fists. "I say if you're gonna set a goal for yourself, that makes it a huge one. The ones who reach for the stars are the ones that become great." He then smirked at him. "Besides, if I can't do that much, I can't go around saying I'll be the World's Strongest."

Kenichi dismayed. "I forget. He always takes things to the extreme without listening to reason."

"Hahaha!" Sakaki laughed good-naturedly. "Gotta admit, punk, Kenichi's right. That is a crazy high bar. But you're right. If you wanna be the best, you gotta reach for the stars." He stretched a bit. "Just be careful not to mess up, or it'll be a long fall back to the ground."

Kensei then stepped forward. "You know, if you want those fists to fly faster, then I've got the perfect Chinese training method in-store." He offered. "I must admit, I'm impressed by how far you intend to test your limits, and I know you enough to know you fully intend on committing to it, so I'll help you." Kensei assured him. "Our long-term goal will be making you and Kenichi capable of reaching that level of punching speed."

Shirou nodded with a willingness to begin right away. "Perfect."

Kenichi cringed. "What?! How did I get roped into this!?" He inwardly whined.

Kensei then walked over to Miu. "Miu, I need you for a demonstration." He waived.

"No way!" Miu angrily responded. "You're hands aren't getting anywhere near me!" She then walked away in a hump. "Creep!"

"Agghhh!?" Kensei was dumbfounded by her response and became depressed as he kicked away a pebble. "Sorry, I've lost my motivation."

Shirou glared at him hatefully. "Then find your motivation, pronto." His tone was threatening.

Kensei sighed before he composed himself and raised both his arms above his head. "Now, hold your arms up like mine." Shirou did so. "Drop your shoulders and swing your arms from one side to the other." He instructed him before demonstrating. "Relax them completely as they make their rotation." Shirou does so as Kensei moves to the walkway by the Dojo and watches him while reading a magazine. "Now, alternate while you walk."

"Like this, right?" Shirou swung his arms back and forth while taking small steps.

"Uh-huh." Kensei confirmed he was doing it right. "You should be able to feel your joints stretching, almost like your arms are about to fly off." Kensei then focused more on his erotic magazine.

Shirou looked at him with half-lidded eyes. "You know there's actual porn on the internet, right?"

"Ha!" Kensei laughed. "You honestly think we can afford a computer?" He reminded him. "It's a treat to even be able to get my hands on these."

"Why do you sound so proud when you're admitting you're broke?" Shirou pointed out.

"Gugh!" Kensei coughed at that comment and looked back at him. "Anyways, keep that up, and your hand speed while increasing. It'll so effect after you complete a full circuit."

"A circuit around where?"

"The whole neighborhood."

Shirou stopped and stared at him. "What, why not just do multiple laps around the Dojo?"

"Because… I prefer to read in solitude." He answered.

Kensei's response to his logic was utterly illogical. It was one of these times when Shirou had to resist the urge to just walk away.

—

Now Shirou was standing outside the front door with Kensei behind him. Kenichi was there too after changing from his training clothes to his casual and held his arms up as well.

"Swing your arms in line with your hips, and no cheating!" Kensei warned them.

"Hold on, why am I doing this too?" Kenichi questioned.

"Since you're done training with Sakaki, I figured I'd call two birds with one stone and have you train together." Kensei explained before he went back inside. "Best of luck to you."

After that, they both began walking through the neighborhood while swinging their arms around; while it wasn't very difficult when you get right down to it, the training seemed pretty uneventful as all they were really doing was walking around.

"Hey, you really think this'll help us punch faster?" Kenichi asked him.

"Well, the only way to know for sure is to try it." Shirou reasoned.

Suddenly the two of them heard another set of footsteps behind them and turned around to see someone had followed them. Miu, who was also in her casual clothes—Which were simply her purple jumpsuit and a red jacket—Was walking while swinging her arms as well and had joined them on their circuit.

"Hey, Miu?" Kenichi addressed her.

"What brings you here?" Shirou asked, though not sounding that interested.

"I know you guys aren't too familiar with the area, so I figured I'd come with you just to make sure you don't get lost." Miu explained.

"Who the Hell gets lost walking in a circle?" Shirou pointed out a hole in her logic. "On another note, why are you swinging your arms, too?"

"I just thought it wouldn't hurt to try this training as well." Miu answered, still smiling.

"By the way, do you even know what this is for?" Kenichi asked her.

Miu laughed pleasantly. "Haha! Sure, it's to help you loosen up your muscles."

Kenichi raised a brow. "Really? But how?"

"When you swing your arm in one direction as hard as you can, like when you punch, you can't help but tense up the other arm as well." Miu began to explain. "And that slows down the movement of your next swing. It's a basic reaction that protects your joints and muscle fibers from straining. You could say it's the body's own natural limit, but it's more psychological than physical."

"So this is going to help me loosen my arms so they'll move faster?" Kenichi asked, starting to feel the strain on his shoulders.

"Yeah, so it's important you visualize your arms swinging further and further away each time." Miu advised him. "The idea is that if you make these large swings smaller, they become compact striking moves; makes sense?"

"Whatever you say." Kenichi asked her, starting to sweat.

"Miu, anyone ever told you that your way of thinking is too encyclopedic?" Shirou told her, still fresh.

"Huh?" Miu was surprised by his sudden comment. "What are you talking about."

"This whole thing about loose muscles and relaxation, it might work for some who want speed of style, but it's meaningless without having the power to match." Shirou then smirked as he said. "Striking is about the release of power, and you can't release it without some tension first."

Kenichi gulped a bit from hearing his friends. "Shirou usually gets like this when he's in a fight. What's getting him so psyched up?" He wondered before he asked. "Hey, um, Shirou—"

"Nobody told me there was a parade today? I'm not in your way, am I?"

The three of them stopped when they heard the joking-toned voice of someone who stood in their path. That person was Koga, a member of Ragnarok's Takedown Trio who appeared before them. Not only that, a group of eight extra grunts appeared behind them. Each one had weapons, metal pipes, and chains and looked ready for a fight.

"Lucky coincidence bumping into you guys here." Koga spoke in a taunting manner. "We've been looking for you all over the place."

Kenichi gasped, recognizing Koga's appearance. "I've seen him. He was at the school that one time." He thought to himself.

"Oh great, this one." Surprisingly, Shirou just looked disappointed. "After seeing that video, out of the three of them, I've gathered he's the weakest. The only one I could beat without trying." He thought with little concern.

"In case you don't know, my name is Taichi Koga." Koga introduced himself as his grunts surrounded them.

"I already know you." Shirou informed him. "You're the kicker from the Takedown Trio."

"Oh, you've heard of me?" Koga sounded smug. "I guess you're actually pretty smart. I need you both to come with me. Since Kisara told us to squash you guys, my buddy, Takeda, became interested, and he really wants to meet you, and I don't want to disappoint him." Koga then stops and stares wide-eyed at Miu—More specifically, her chest. "Hey, check out blondie. Her boobs are huge!"

"Huh?!" That got Miu's attention as she brushed and covered her chest, becoming flustered.

"Okay, Shirou, I admit that I'm impressed. I never thought you'd have such a cute girlfriend." Koga proclaimed intently.

"Nobody said we were dating!" Miu heatedly denied it. "He's my friend. That's it!" She shouted before covering her chest with both arms. "And I don't enjoy being ogled, so why don't you go away?"

Shirou looked at her as he thought. "You don't enjoy being ogled, yet you see no problem wearing that skintight jumpsuit?"

"Is it weird that I'm disappointed he didn't assume Miu was my girlfriend?" Kenichi thought to himself.

Koga seemed to ignore her and went on. "Takeda said he wanted me to bring you to him, but I've got a better idea. Hahaha! I'm gonna beat the crap outta you in front of your girlfriend and show her what a loser you are, then I'm gonna steal her from you." He declared with certainty.

"What is with this guy?" Kenichi thought with a frown.

Miu now became steamed and yelled at him. "I'm not an object!"

Again Koga ignored her. "I guess I'm just gonna have to deliver you guys to Takeda in body bags."

Shirou just looked bored and stepped forward. "Listen, buddy. I'll forgive you because you don't know what you're talking about, but get the Hell out of here."

That made Koga slightly annoyed. "Do you even understand the position you're in?" He then looked smug again. "We've got you outnumbered 3-1, and you guys are unarmed."

"He's right. We're surrounded." Kenichi started to sweat as the grunts all prepared themselves. "Ah man, this is not good, 9 against 3? Even if Shirou and Miu are with me, they're all carrying weapons. There's no way we can take all of them." He panicked.

"Alright, just try and escape, haha!" Koga dared them mockingly.

Shirou glared at him. "We don't run."

STOMP!

"Hey, it looks like you guys are having a little party over here."

Hearing the sound of an unfamiliar voice behind him, Koga turned around to see who it was. All of them saw the towering figure of Sakaki standing there with a plastic bag in hand, indicating he had just finished shopping and looked completely relaxed.

"What's up, Kenichi? I didn't know you and the punk had so many friends." He casually greeted.

"Sensei, you're just in time!" Kenichi quickly became relieved.

"Seems like you guys are having a little fun." Sakaki noted.

"Well, no, not really." Kenichi nervously argued.

"That little jerk there was harassing me, grrr!" Miu complained with a growl.

One of the grunts with a wooden Sword got behind Sakaki. "Alright, old man! Beat it!" He yelled before he charged.

All Sakaki had to do was stare back at him with a glare, and the grunt froze. It was like a frog being paralyzed with fear was being faced with a vicious snake and losing control of his body. But this went a step further as his body was blown back like he was hit was a punch.

"Aaaggghhh!" He cried out before hitting the ground.

"Ah, man, how'd he?" Koga asked taken aback. "He knocked him down just by glaring at him?" He started to sweat.

"Hmm, tell me, was that intimidation?" Shirou asked, clearly interested.

"Kinda. It's something I'll teach you about some other time." Sakaki informed him before turning to Kenichi. "Kenichi!"

"Uh, Sensei!" Kenichi responded before thinking. "I'm glad he's on our side. This guy's not human."

Sakaki went over to Kenichi and fixed his stance. "Keep your thighs closed. There you go, kid, that's a good stance." Once finished, he moved back. "Good enough. Oh, and Apachai's been waiting on you. Try not to take too long."

"Tell him to wait a little longer." Shirou requested of him. "Miu and Kenichi are gonna handle the grunts. I'm facing their boss one-on-one."

"Sure, I'll pass it along." Sakaki waved as he walked away from them.

.

.

.

"Wait… What…?" Kenichi watched him leave, agape with confusion. "He's just… Leaving?"

"Of course he is." Shirou answered him like it was natural. "Asking him to fight here is like asking a teacher to take part in a playground fight."

"But now we're right back where we started!" Kenichi snapped at him. "We're closing at a disadvantage!"

"We'll still win." Shirou told him with no concern as he faced Koga. "Watch and learn."

"Ha! I don't know what just happened, but who cares!" Koga prepared himself. "It's time for me to put you in the dirt."

Shirou just put his hands in his pockets and stood in front of Koga without any kind of defense. "Then here, have a free shot."

Both Miu and Kenichi were shocked by what Shirou was suggesting.

"Shirou, no!"

Miu tried to stop him. But she was stopped cold when two of Koga's grunts held her back, one holding her arm and another wrapping one arm around her neck and another over her shoulder.

"I wouldn't if I were you." The one holding her neck advised.

"Koga's kinda crazy. He'd probably kill you if you got in the middle of this." The one holding her arm warned her.

"And I'd hate to see a cute girl like you get killed." He then reached out and groped her breast. "Whoops, my hand slipped."

Miu then reached her breaking point and broke free as she shouted. "You'll regret you have hands!"

Kenichi kept his attention on the fight and thought. "What's he thinking? I can't even count how many times Sakaki's told me how important it is to land the first blow, and he's just handing it to his opponent?"

"Hahaha!" Koga laughed. "If you're just gonna give up, then fine, I'll finish it with one kick!"

BAAAM!

Koga spun his body around and shifted his balance on one leg to put all his power into his other leg for a full-powered roundhouse kick. After Koga's kick made contact with Shirou's body, the impact resulted in him taking great damage and being knocked off his feet before being blown away several meters….… Is the outcome Koga was expecting.

Instead, however, to the shock of both Koga and Kenichi, who were watching, Shirou still his ground as unmovable as a brick wall, and completely unfazed by the kick he had just taken, he absorbed the damage with his hands still in his pockets and his guard still none-existent as his expression remained calm.

"W-Wha…?" Koga was completely flabbergasted, seeing the move that never fell to the floor. His opponents did relatively nothing. "How?"

"How? That's my question?" Shirou responded, looking down at him. "How could you possibly waste your free shot like that?"

"Grr, quit bluffing!" Koga stepped back angrily. "What kinda trick did you use?!"

"Trick? Isn't it obvious?" Shirou then gave him a smug grin. "Your flimsy kick just couldn't break through my rock-hard abs."

"Is it really that simple?" Kenichi wondered, still surprised. "This guy definitely isn't weak, so is Shirou really that tough?"

Shirou then took his hands out of his pockets. "Alright, I guess this is a good time to try it out."

Shirou then entered the same Karate-stance that Sakaki showed Kenichi, he quite his thighs tight and moved one foot forward. However, he held his dominant hand back with his fist rotated down so his palm was facing upward while his non-dominant arm was held forward and pointing directly at his target—Koga. He made a fist in both hands. He did so by extending all four fingers and then pressing them together tightly.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Now, Koga became confused.

"That's a Karate-stance, but?" Kenichi inspected the stance. "I don't recognize it, though it looks like it's meant for striking."

"Focus…" Shirou thought, breathing in and flexing to harden his muscles. "Don't force it; don't rush."

"Tch, if you're just going to stand there, then fine!" Koga rushed in for a second attack. "This time, I'll aim for your head!"

Shirou thinks back to what Sakaki had taught him earlier.

—

Flashback...

Sakaki stood in front of Shirou outside the Dojo and was already in his attacking stance as he prepared to demonstrate. First, he began with an explanation.

"This move is from Okinawan Karate, but its power and versatility make it usable in pretty much all forms of Karate." Sakaki began. "It's not all that hard to learn because a lot of Karate practitioners use it, so how strong the technique mainly depends on the user, in this case—You."

Shirou nodded in understanding, following the explanation as Sakaki continued.

"First, get into your stance." Sakaki demonstrated each time he instructed. "Next, make align your striking hand with your blocking hand. Try to imagine they are connected by an invisible thread. Next, extend your fingers and make a closed fist, keep your thumb on the outside, and fold it across your two front fingers. After that, rotate your striking hand so the palm is facing upwards." Now he was ready. "And now, rotate your fist and PUNCH!"

The Karate Master punched at the air as he rotated his fist, and the speed and power of his blow were enough to create an impact as well as kick up a small gust of wind. Seeing the strength of this technique, Shirou whistled a bit to show he was impressed. Sakaki turned to him and smiled.

"Now, if you're punching a guy instead of the wind, keep your wrist straight to extend the right angle formed between the front and top of your fist. This will enable you to transmit the maximum amount of force on impact." Sakaki explained before pointing to his fist. "And the strongest knuckles are the two front ones on your fist, so make sure to concentrate power on them when you strike." Sakaki put his hand down and pointed to him. "Now you try it. If you wanna master it, do 100 each day."

Before Shirou did just that, he asked. "This technique, what's it called?"

—

POOOW!

Once Koga was in range, Shirou extended his fist so fast that Koga could barely even notice it before it hit him. Shirou rotated his fist to get greater speed, focused his power on the knuckles of his index and middle fingers, and fully extended his dominant hand. The result—Before Koga's kick could reach Shirou's head, Shirou's punch hit Koga dead-center in his face.

THUD!

After being hit, Koga's body fell backward and hit the ground with a thud. Now he lay there, unconscious, flat on his back, and having a large round bruise in the middle of his face with a trail of blood trickling from his nose.

"Proper Fist—Seiken." Shirou recited the name of the technique Sakaki taught him. "Speed and power, my kind of punch."

Kenichi jaw-dropped at what he had just witnessed before reacting. "That was amazing!" He ran over to Shirou. "You beat him with just one punch! How did you get so strong in just a few days?!"

"It wasn't just an ordinary punch." Shirou clarified. "It was a special Karate punch that Sakaki taught me. It packs more of a punch than my usual hits. Though…" He looked down at the beaten Koga. "It ended in one shot partly because this guy wasn't all that tough."

"Agh!" As if he had just remembered him, Kenichi gasped and knelt down to look over Koga's condition. "Oh my gosh! Is he okay?"

Shirou groaned. "Are you really doing this again?"

Kenichi picked up his arm and looked relieved. "Thank goodness. His pulse is steady; he should be okay."

"Forget him. We're not done yet." Shirou reminded him, turning around. "Remember, he brought his grunts, you take—"

Before he could finish talking, both he and Kenichi looked to see all of the remaining seven Ragnarok being trashed by Miu, who was in the middle of finishing off the last one. After slamming him into the ground with a suplex and knocking him out, Miu was done with the fight without even breaking a sweat. She looked over to the other two and smiled.

"Oh hey?" Miu had finally calmed down. "You won, congratulations."

Kenichi was taken aback by how easily and quickly she dispatched those opponents when he previously thought it would have been too much for all three of them and realized the situation was nowhere near as difficult as he first assumed. Shirou, however, looked fed up as he clenched his fist.

"As if I need to say it again…." Shirou said, stressed and annoyed at her. "You were supposed to save some for Kenichi!"

"Oh my gosh!" Miu immediately realized her mistake. "I'm so sorry, Kenichi. I just got carried away again!"

"Ah? Don't worry, it's fine." Kenichi closed his eyes and brushed it off."

"Don't just let it go!" Shirou reprimanded him before going back to Miu. "You can't keep doing this, Miu. How are we supposed to improve if you just keep snatching all of them for yourself."

"It was an accident!" Miu defended, still apologetic. "I'm just not good at holding back!"

Kenichi looked away and thought. "I don't think I'll ever get used to this."

—

Later that afternoon, the sun had set as the sky turned orange, and the three of them returned to Ryozanpaku and entered the training room at the door where all the Masters were currently inside, and they reported the results of today's fight. As Shirou was sitting next to Sakaki, the Karate Master laughed happily at what he heard.

"Hahaha! You hear that, Kensei?" Sakaki clasped his hands on Shirou's shoulders. "Our Golden Boy defeated their leader just like I predicted he would." He proudly proclaimed. "I knew you could do it. I wasn't worried or anything."

"Why would you be?" Shirou asked nonchalantly.

Kensei sat nearby and read his magazine as he thought. "Sure, sure. I guess I shouldn't bring up how worried you were for Kenichi, considering you spent all afternoon pacing the garden, muttering about how worried you were."

"So I guess all those straight punches and maneuvers I taught you came in handy, did they not?" Sakaki bragged with his arms crossed.

"Pretty much, but the truth is I one-shotted him with the Seiken." Shirou informed him. "He was out before he hit the ground."

"Hahaha!" This time he laughed proudly. "You used the move I taught you today and beat someone with it!? Guess I'm a pretty great Sensei after all!"

"Wouldn't this be the case of him just being a fast learner?" Akisame pointed out.

"True. I doubt you can call yourself a great Sensei if all you did was teach someone how to throw a punch." Kensei added some snark.

"Mind your own business!" Sakaki snapped at them before turning to Kenichi. "By the way, what's up with Kenichi?"

Kenichi looked down at the floor, seemingly disappointed. "Huh? It's nothing, really. I just feel like I haven't been making much progress lately."

"Are you still upset about not being able to contribute to today's fight?" Akisame asked. "I understand it's disappointing, but you're partially at fault for not paying attention and not taking the initiative yourself."

Kenichi felt like his self-esteem had taken a blow. "Did you have to word it like that?"

"Apa!" Apachai stepped forward. "Is okay, Kenichi! Apachai will help you make great progress in your training! Apa!"

"Ah yes, it's Apachai's turn to train Kenichi right now, isn't it?" Kensei remembered.

"Aaaaaggggghhh!" Kenichi screamed in terror, knowing what was to become of him.

—

The next morning a meeting was taking place within Kisara's hideout, and many of her members, along with the Takedown Trio, were present as Koga reported the results of his fight with Shirou. After hearing them, Kisara kicked him across the check, which knocked him into a wall.

"What's the deal?" Kisara sat back in her seat. "Are you that much of an idiot, or do you really expect me to believe you when you say 'you have no idea what happened'?"

"It's not a lie, I'm telling you!" Koga insisted as he got back up. "I was right in front of him and all ready to attack, but then suddenly everything went blank, and when I woke up, my nose was bleeding, and I was all dizzy. On top of that, he just took my kick without even flinching. He's like a monster!" He explained. "You should have seen it. He's gotta be some kind of mutant or something!"

Kisara turned to her second in command and principal lieutenant, Shiratori. Shiratori is a tall young man around Kisara's age with distinctively slightly wavy waist-length blonde hair that has a few hair strands hanging over his face, light purple eyes, and a lean build. He is typically seen wearing a white button-up shirt, dark pants, and a long blue coat that reaches down to just above his ankles.

"So what do you make of this?" Kisara asked him.

"By my account, Tsukiharu must have defeated Koga in a way where he'd win quickly without revealing anything about his fighting style." Shiratori speculated. "Given Koga's retelling of the fight, it seems pretty likely."

"Hmm, well, it's not like I expected him to lose to Koga, but I guess I might have taken him too lightly. He wouldn't give me a hint on how he did it." Kisara complained, though she sounded more interested.

Now Shiratori stepped forward. "Alright, this is the only chance any of you are going to get. Takeda, you and Ukita are to find Shirou or Kenichi and defeat them if you face them. Take Koga with you." He ordered them. "You won't be forgiven if you lose, understood?"

Ukita nodded as he held Koga back. "Yeah."

"I'm telling you, he's got supernatural powers! He's not Hu—" Koga still persisted on the matter but was cut off when Ukita covered his mouth with his hand.

With that decided, Takeda walked away, and the other two followed him. As they left the room, Kisara smirked as she thought. "Shirou Tsukiharu, you're full of all sorts of surprises."

—

Meanwhile, at Ryozanpaku. Kenichi and Miu were sparring with each other. They each use one hand for striking and one for blocking. They both go back and forth, striking at each other and blocking every strike, slowly since this is all just practice to help Kenichi correct his form. Sakaki is overseeing them.

"Too slow!" Sakaki reprimanded him. "Offense and defense are not two separate things! You have to use your entire body to concentrate moves into one form!" He watched Kenichi continue to try and fail, which made him groan. "You haven't improved at all! Come on, are you ever going to learn?"

"I'm starting to wonder that myself?" Kenichi thought to himself with depression.

"Kay, Miu, listen up." Sakaki instructed her. "Next time you notice he's let his guard down like that, just go ahead and kill him." He told her, fed up as he turned away.

"You got it~" Miu pleasantly responded.

"No, it's fine. Go on and kill me." Kenichi encouraged with comical tears streaming down his eyes. "I'm too slow to live."

With that done, they moved on to training with Akisame, and right now, Kenichi was learning how to throw a person, substituting the stone statue with Miu. They started with Kenichi holding Miu's hand over her head.

"That's right, now Kenichi, swivel downward and take Miu by the arm." Akisame instructed him.

Kenichi did so, and now Kenichi got behind Miu and held her arm behind her back with her forearm and hand pointing downward. One hand held her wrist the over held her bicep. Akisame shook his head.

"No, your upper hand is far too weak." He corrected him. "You would normally use your leverage on her arm to pull her backward for the next step. But if you grasp her that weakly—Well, Miu."

Instead of explaining, Miu demonstrates what would happen as she broke free from Kenichi's hold and flipped him over her shoulder before slamming him onto the floor, landing him on his back.

"That's what happens." Akisame finished. He then placed a hand on his head and sighed. "Ah, you've got plenty of time to learn."

Kenichi cried his comically streaming tears again as he kept his head down, eyes closed, and spoke depressed. "I'm just entirely hopeless, aren't I? I haven't made any progress at all."

At that moment, Apachai walked in. "Apachai doesn't believe that even if it is true."

"STAY AWAY!" Kenichi immediately sprung to life.

"APAAAA!" Apachai roared with wild energy and spirit.

Kenichi screamed and ran for dear life as Apachai chased after him, screaming as well. Kenichi hastily opened the door to the room where all of Akisame's stone statues were and proceeded to pick them up and toss them at Apachai, who followed up by destroying everyone that came his way with kicks and reduced each one to rubble. Oddly enough, Shigure stood behind him and watched.

"APAAAAA!"

BANG! BAM! BREAK! WHAM!

"Perfect, he's destroying my statues." Akisame noted with stoic dismay.

Kensei soon arrived as well. "What's going on in here?"

"Kenichi made the mistake of showing fear, and you know what happens when Apachai smells fear." Akisame explained as he kept watching. "Quite a sight."

"So this is where he went."

Akisame and Kensei looked to see Shirou arrive this time as he stopped beside them.

"What brings you here?" Akisame asked.

"I was training with Apachai, but then he just suddenly took off." Shirou explained as he watched the giant kick stones into pebbles. "What the Hell is he doing?"

"Well… Right now, he's showing Kenichi some pretty good training." Akisame summarized. "He can witness Apachai's techniques without getting killed."

"You think so?" Kensei argued with doubt. "Can observing this do that much for him?"

"APA! APA! APA!"

BAM! BAM! BREAK! GON! BANG!

Apachai continued to roar and rampage as Kenichi reached his breaking point and whaled at the top of his lungs.

"JUST GO AWAY!"

—

A day later, they were back in school, and Kenichi was in class, lying his head on his desk as he wallowed in lament at his inability to see any results to his training.

"This isn't good. Why haven't I been getting any better?" Kenichi wondered, losing heart. "It was just a fluke. I won any of those fights from before. That wasn't skill. That was just luck!"

Miu stood by his desk and attempted to console him. "Hey, I wish you wouldn't feel so depressed. You're doing great. All your hard work and training is really starting to pay off." She assured him.

"Are you just saying that to make me feel better?" Kenichi asked, keeping his head down.

"Yeah." Miu bluntly admitted.

Kenichi inwardly cringed. "I know that Miu would never tell a lie, but she could've lied about that." He sighed. "So there it is. I won't get any better no matter how hard I try." He then got up and walked away. "I'm going to the gardening club. See you later."

"Maybe I should have lied?" Miu muttered to herself, watching him go.

"Yeah, maybe?" Shirou added, appearing beside her.

"Shirou?" Miu faced him.

Shirou looked at her with an expression one would give to someone they thought was slow-witted. "Tell me, do you do this intentionally, or are you really that dense?"

"I didn't mean to upset him, but it's the truth." Miu defended.

Shirou placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look, babe, if you don't want to upset someone, but you know the truth will hurt them, then don't say anything at all." He then left the classroom.

—

As Kenichi dragged his feet to the gardening club. Shirou immediately caught up with him and walked beside him.

"So, how are things?" Shirou lazily brought up.

"I don't know what I'm doing wrong?" Kenichi was still depressed. "I'm not slacking on my training, and I work myself to the bone, so why can't I improve?"

"How do you know you aren't?" Shirou questioned.

"Huh?" Kenichi's expression changed to a confused one.

"Kenichi, do you know why some Martial Arts have people break boards or tiles during training?" Shirou asked him.

"Uh, to condition their fists?" Kenichi guessed.

"When people pick up a sport, fighting style, or even just physical fitness training, they start off really enthusiastic and get excited just from being able to train. But, after a while, training just for the sake of it makes their enthusiasm fizzle out. What they really want is to see some progress, proof that their hard work is showing results to keep them motivated." Shirou explained. "So, being able to break something they couldn't break before shows them that they are stronger and helps them stick with it."

"Seriously, does every Martial Arts dojo do that?" Kenichi asked, paying full attention.

"In modern Martial Arts, people quit more often than they apply." Shirou informed him. "Everyone wants to know their hard work is paying off. But if you have no way to know whether you're making progress or not, you end up believing that you're no different from when you started." He closed his fist tightly. "It takes nerves of steel and an iron resolve to be able to keep relentlessly training without worrying about things like that. Naturally, not many people have those."

Kenichi stared down at his own fist. "Now that I think about it, I haven't fought anyone lately. I've only been training with Miu and the Masters, and they're at a crazy high level. But what would happen if I fought someone else?" He wondered, now more curious than daunted. "Would it be different from those other times?"

As they walked past the School Building and approached the Gardening Club's Greenhouse, neither of them noticed Niijima staring at them from around the corner and kept typing in his PDA.

"Bad news, Kenichi." Niijima happily thought. "Latest word on the wire is that those three guys aren't the only ones hot on your trail. There's one more wild beast trying to track you down."

As Kenichi opened the door to the greenhouse, he and Shirou gasped—The former from horror, the latter from surprise. The reason was that everyone was a mess. The Gardening Club had been trashed; pots had been smashed and broken; tables had been knocked over, and plants and dirt were all over the floor. It was a mess.

"Aaahhh!" Kenichi couldn't' stop himself from screaming in dismay. "What happened in here?!"

"…Kenichi."

Hearing a familiar voice that sounded frightened. They both looked to see Izumi was here and was being held back by none other than Daimonji—A member of this school's Karate Club that Kenichi had previously defeated. He was dressed in his Karate gi and had two other members of the club beside him who each held a Wooden Sword. They all had smug looks on their faces as if admitting they were the ones responsible.

"Yo Kenichi, I was starting to think you were never going to show up." Daimonji confidently greeted him. "Hope you've been working on your muscles, little guy."

"It's you…." Kenichi's rage built up as he gritted his teeth. "Daimonji!"

"Oops!" One of the Karate club members jokingly broke another pot.

"I don't even care about plants, and even I thought that was distasteful." Shirou narrowed his eyes at him.

"Tell me why you did this?!" Kenichi demanded.

As Izumi trembled with fear, Daimonji casually answered. "'Cause you and me aren't anywhere finished. I can't just accept that you beat me on some fluke." He was referring to when Kenichi fought him and won back at the Karate Club shortly after joining Ryozanpaku. He then points to Shirou. "And Tsukiharu, I've got an ax to grind with you as well."

Shirou raised a brow. "We've only spoken once before. What do you want me for?"

"The thing is, I heard you somehow managed to beat the Captain, Tsukuba." Daimonji brought up. "And you know what people would say about me if I took down the guy that beat Tsukuba—The Strongest member of the Karate Club?" He laughed to himself. "Th-They'd say I'm number 1, that's what! And once word gets back to Ragnarok, I bet they'll ask me to join 'em."

"Interesting idea, but I see two holes in your plan." Shirou spoke like he was explaining something to a child. "Ragnarok is a gang of fighters and punks. You're just a dumb Karate-jock. And more importantly, you couldn't beat me even if there were ten of you."

"That might be what you think, but I'm way stronger than I was before!" Daimonji flexed his arm. "I've put on some more muscle ever since that day, and now, I'll bet I have stronger arms than even Tsukuba."

"Do I look like I care about your stupid plan, Daimonji?" Kenichi responded with cold hatred. "I just want you to let Izumi go."

Daimonji pointed to him. "I'll release her if both of you promise not to run away when I do."

"We don't run." Shirou told him, almost insulted.

"I won't run away." Kenichi assured him, still angry.

"Whatever, fine." Daimonji mumbled as he kept his word and released her.

Izumi stepped away from them and stood at the side to observe what would happen next as Kenichi narrowed his eyes. "Now I want you to tell me, why did you destroy all of the plants like this?"

"What, these plants?" Daimonji jokingly replied.

"I'm asking you a question! Answer me!" Kenichi snapped.

"We just got bored waiting for you to show up, that's all." Daimonji casually answered, not remorseful in the least.

One of Daimonji's goons grinned as he smashed enough potted plants.

"Please stop!" Izumi pleaded, worried for the plants.

"But don't cry yet, punk. We decided to let your favorite plant live for now." Daimonji then held up the put that held Kenichi's 'Snow-King Orchid' plant, which made him gasp. "Of course, you'd grow a plant like this." He mocked.

"Shut up!" Kenichi yelled.

"A plant like this doesn't even deserve to live, no matter how much you want it to." Daimonji ridiculed as he dropped the pot onto the floor, letting it break. To add further insult, he stepped on it to ruin it further. "I'm doing you a favor by putting this thing out of its misery."

That was all Kenichi could take as he roared in outrage. "Raaaaahhhhh!"

Daimonji then charged at him and threw a punch. "Come on!"

Kenichi could see him coming like he was moving in slow motion and moved into counterattack as memories of Sakaki's training flashed into his mind.

—

Flashback...

"Listen, Kenichi, when guys that aren't used to fighting whined up in one, their hands tend to get kinda shaky." Sakaki explained to him. "Their fists go weak, and they end up waiting for the other guy to make the first move."

"Yeah, that's happened to me before." Kenichi agreed.

"Don't be scared!" Sakaki reprimanded him strictly before calming down. "It's…Easier said than done, I guess. So there's only one thing you need to focus on."

Kenichi nodded. "Right."

"You have to land the first attack. That's it; clear your mind of anything else!" Sakaki informed him. "Don't even think about who you'll follow up that first punch, and with this technique, you will win the fight! The first move always wins, Kenichi."

Kenichi then moved in as well and threw his fist attack.

—

YAMAZUKI!

POW!

Kenichi's left arm parried away Daimonji's fist and kept him distracted as his right arm moved past Daimoni's field of vision and struck deeply into the Karate practitioner's Solar Plexus. This greatly damaged him as Daimonji let out a groan of pain and fell to one knee.

"Gugh!" Daimonji cried out in pain.

Shirou observed the technique. "So that's what he taught him. Pretty simple, but effective when it works."

Kenichi stared at his fist in surprise. "I hit him. I can't believe it. It's just like Sakaki said."

—

Flashback...

"Here's the thing, Kenichi. People are usually most afraid of getting punched in the face, so they're gonna block it like this!"

Sakaki demonstrated by throwing a punch at Kenichi's face but stopping just before it hit as Kenichi attempted to guard his face against the blow. But to his surprise, Sakaki's other fist was just inches away from hitting him in the stomach, where he was completely unguarded.

"Just like I said, right?" Sakaki proved his point. "Well, unless you've had a lot of training, you're not gonna think of blocking a lower punch as well."

"But I… Didn't even see it?" Kenichi confessed.

"Right, which is why it's going to work on most of those thugs." Sakaki assured him. "You see, most of those chumps don't pay attention to slick moves like this in the free-for-all style of a real fight. And this technique isn't allowed in sanction fights anymore, so not everyone knows about it. That means they won't expect it."

—

Daimonji pulled himself back up and kept one hand on his stomach as he glared daggers at Kenichi, no longer thinking about anything other than crushing him.

"You bastard!" Daimonji charged at him again.

"He's slow?" Kenichi noticed how easily he was tracking his moves. "I can clearly see him. Compared to Apachai, he's not even moving."

Kenichi moved into Daimonji and quickly got behind him before the bigger fighter could even notice. Kenichi grabbed Daimonji's arm and applied pressure on it before he lifted him off the ground and over his shoulder for a Judo-throw.

"This is nothing!" Kenichi thought as Daimonji was overhead. "After Akisame's training and all those statues, I can barely feel him. He's as light as a feather!"

"Agh!" Daimonji gasped in shock over the fact that he was being thrown.

BAM!

Daimonji hit the ground hard, and the impact of the throw was enough to knock him out. Now he laid there own conscious as Kenichi stared at his fist again and thought back to something he had heard before.

(Everyone wants to know their hard work is paying off. But if you have no way of knowing whether you're making progress or not, you end up believing that you're no different from when you started.)

"I see now. I had no idea." Kenichi thought as he opened his fist. "Gradually, I've been improving this whole time."

"Amazing…" Izumi covered her mouth with both hands in shock and amazement. "He's normally so timid…."

Both members of the Karate club that Daimonji brought with him immediately lost their nerves when they saw their leader get beat and tried to run away. But before they could, Shirou grabbed them by the back of their collars and started dragging them away toward the door as they hopelessly struggled to break free.

"I'll handle this." Shirou informed Kenichi as he walked out.

Kenichi's only response was a nod. As the door closed, Kenichi turned to Izumi with a quiet stare before tears started to form in his eyes.

"I'm sorry…." He told her with regret and sadness. "This is all my fault."

Seeing his expression change again from how it was a moment ago surprised Izumi once more as she found herself unknowingly blushing. Kenichi wiped away his tears and knelt down to try and find any plants that were still alive.

"Let's clean up. We need to re-pot the plants that can be saved."

"R-Right."

Izumi also knelt down and joined him in searching for any plants that were still saveable. As they did that, Kenichi used both hands to hold up the remains of his 'Snow-King Orchid.'

"I don't think this one's going to make it." Kenichi figured.

"So sad." Izumi lamented.

"I'm sorry, Snow-King." Kenichi mourned.

"But wait, we should still try to save it." Izumi reasoned.

—

Meanwhile, outside the greenhouse, Shirou was facing the two Karate club members, and he was making it clear that he had no intention of letting them run.

"Look, man, we didn't want to start anything." One of them pleaded. "We were just following Daimonji."

"Yeah, we just did what he told us, that's all." The other one added, also fearful. "We only wrecked the place because he said to."

"Really, you just did what he told you?" Shirou closed his eyes and rubbed his head. "Well, you guys must be psychic or something because…." He then glared daggers at them. "I don't remember hearing him tell either of you to smash those pots."

"Ah—!"

Before one of them could say anything else or even scream, Shirou punched him in the stomach with full strength. This made him double over in pain and crumble to the ground, out cold. Seeing that made the other one so scared his legs shook as Shirou turned his attention to him.

Shirou spoke in a vengeful tone. "It doesn't matter what excuse you have. If you show up and start a fight, then think you can just run away. You better pray that I'm not there. Otherwise, there's only one outcome."

This time, Shirou punched him in the head, immediately making him blackout and hit the ground hard beside his friend. He was out before he even hit the ground. Now both of them were beaten.

Once that was done, Niijima, who never left his hiding place and was watching the whole thing, came out from the corner and walked up to Shirou, looking pleased and satisfied.

"Amazing as always." Niijima praised, patting his shoulder. "I never get tired of watching you kill the opposition."

"You knew about this, didn't you?" Shirou questioned him.

"Well, of course, I'm always in the know." Niijima proclaimed proudly. "I just wasn't in a position to tell you."

Shirou shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. Silver-lining is that Kenichi got to fight again after a while, and this'll probably bring up his morale."

"That's good to hear." Niijima turned around. "By the way, congrats on defeating one of the trio. Hope you do the same with the other two."

After saying that, Niijima walked away and left the scene. Shirou quickly did the same.

—

A few days later, Kenichi was back in class, and Izumi excitedly ran into the classroom. When she saw him, she ran over to his desk with haste.

"Hey, Kenichi!" Izumi addressed him.

"What's up, Izumi?" Kenichi looked up at her.

Izumi held up a flower pot with Kenichi's Orchid that was still growing inside of it and had a new leaf. "Look at this! our plant's grown a new leaf!" She excitedly showed him.

Kenichi immediately exited his seat and stared at his plant before taking it. "You did it, buddy! I knew you could!" He couldn't hide his joy. "You're small, but you've got the persistence of a Heavyweight."

"I think it's more durable because it has such a thick stem from growing slowly." Izumi pointed out. "It never would have survived if it had grown quickly and thin."

Kenichi gave his plant a softer smile. "That's right, just because it's slow doesn't mean it's not actually growing. Real progress takes time." He then raised his hands in excitement. "I'm growing!"

Unfortunately, his excitement caused him to accidentally let go of the pot, which made it fall to the floor. Luckily both he and Izumi noticed in time to dove to the floor, where he caught it before it hit the floor.

"Be careful." Izumi reminded him.

"Yeah." Kenichi replied with a laugh.

—

After school was over, Kenichi met up with Miu and Shirou, and now the three were making their way to Ryozanpaku. While they were walking, Kenichi was swinging his arms back and forth like Kensei taught him with newfound motivation and enthusiasm.

"Wow, you're really fired up today, Kenichi?" Miu took notice of his change.

"You've got it!" Kenichi agreed with spirit. "I'm gonna keep on working until I bloom, just like my Snow King!"

Miu just seemed confused. "Your…Snow-King?"

"It's a plant he's growing." Shirou informed her to help her confusion.

"Oh." Miu understood.

"Shirou." Now, Kenichi addressed him. "I get what you meant now about how the growth rate of a Human depends entirely on them. So I'll make sure I grow stronger even if it takes longer, no matter how long it takes."

Shirou breathed out. "That's great, but I wish it wouldn't take you so long to figure these things out."

And that's the chapter.

As I said, the fights were going to be short. Koga might be one of the Takedown Trio, but against powerful opponents, he typically gets trashed a lot. Heck, later on, even Kenichi was able to one-shot him. So him being fodder for Shirou's new technique is all I could do with him.

As for Kenichi. When most people start learning Martial Arts or any type of fighting, they typically start out believing they're getting stronger right away, but after doing it for a while, they want something more to keep themselves motivated, like beating a sparring partner or outlasting someone in training drills. Some kind of proof that you're improving, or else you'll lose your motivation and start slacking off or just feel like stopping.

But if at some point you are able to see that you have improved and you are better than you were a little while ago, your motivation goes way up, and you start training even harder, more so than you did when you started. Though some people are able to keep their motivation up and never lose it regardless of whether they see results, for amateurs or first times like Kenichi, this is the typical thought process. I know this because I had the same problem when I started learning how to fight. (Don't ask which style I was training in).

This is why Kenichi needed to trash Daimonji, a person he struggled with in the past. To see evidence that he had come a long way from when he started. And since he didn't beat Tsukuba like in the canon, he needed this even more.

Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. If you want more, leave a review. If you liked the story, click the follow/favorite, and as always, have an awesome day.