Legend Of The Strongest Delinquent

by streetlife34

The City of Koryuu is full of Thugs and Delinquents to many to even count them all, whether they act by themselves or with gangs. But among them there's one certain Delinquent who isn't apart of any gang and always fights alone, yet is hated or feared by other thugs. He is Shirou Tsukiharu and he has one goal to be the Strongest and use his fists to beat down anyone along the way

9. He Who Rules Left Will Rule the World

Hey everyone, and welcome to this chapter. This chapter will cover two different acts, the first being training and the other being a fight. The main fight for this will be a big one for the story as it'll be the first time Shirou actually struggles to win. It'll be one where he can't just bulldoze the other guy, so it took a while to finish the whole thing.

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.

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"Shirou" Regular speech.

"Shirou" Thoughts.

SEIKUKEN Attack names.

(Shirou) Words said previously.

[Shirou] Words said in unison.

---

He Who Rules With His Left Will Rule The World

---

—

It was a quiet morning at Ryozanpaku Dojo as Apachai stood tall and prepared to strike. In front of him were a total of eight stone statues craved by Akisame that were being used as training dummies. Shigure stood at the side to watch the results.

"Begin!" Shigure raised her hand.

"APA!"

Upon that signal, Apachai rushed in and attacked the statues: Punch, kick, knee, elbow, a barrage. Apachai unleashed the full force of his Muay Thai on the statues.

"APA! APA! APA!"

After one last strike, Apachai stopped himself and dashed past the statues. He then looked back to see the results.

CRACK!

Apachai became nervous when he heard that sound.

BREAK!

It was at that moment that all the stone statues broke apart and shattered to pieces as they were all reduced to piles of pebbles.

"APAAAA!" Apachai yelped in horror and dismay after seeing what he had done.

Akisame was watching from the porch and sighed. "They should have asked if they could use my statues."

Miu walked by while holding a laundry basket and stopped by Akisame.

"What exactly are they doing other than making a big mess?" She asked curiously.

"Well, it was supposed to be an exercise in self-restraint." Akisame explained. "

"Hate to say it, but I don't think it's working." Miu noted.

Apachai then got down on his knees and was loudly berating himself with regret.

"Stupid! Stupid! Apachai don't know how to not kill opponent!" Apachai cried out, ashamed of himself. "My fists won't listen to my Brains!"

Shigure went up to him and pointed to his left. "…Hey, look…"

"Apa!" Apachai looked and saw, to his amazement, that one of the statues remained unbroken and undamaged. "It lives! Apachai didn't kill it to death!" Apachai cheered as he started jumping for joy in celebration while Shigure stayed beside him and stoically clapped. "I did it! This is first time I made broken pieces of everything in my way! I can now teach Kenichi Muay Thai without killing him!" He raised his fist in triumph as he shouted into the sky. "APAAAAA!"

CRACK!

Unbeknownst to Apachai, though, Shigure noticed a crack appear around the statue's neck.

---

—

The next day at Koryuu High School, it was now lunch break, and the students were enjoying their free time outside of their classes. As for Kenichi, though, he and Miu were enjoying their lunch on top of the school building. They sat on the upper part of the roof, which was the top of the roof's entrance beside the water tank.

"Man, this sucks." Kenichi let out a tired sigh. "How much longer am I gonna have to sneak around like this?"

"You just need a little more training. Once you're able to show those bullies who's boss, you'll be able to relax." Miu reassured him.

"Hold on, so you're saying I can't relax until I've fought every bully in school?" Kenichi asked miserably.

"Well, either that or until Shirou defeats everyone in Ragnarok." Miu summarized not seeing the problem. "Whichever comes first."

Kenichi's head drooped forward in dismay. Miu still smiled at him and went on.

"They haven't been able to find us up here, so you can relax a little." Miu reminded him.

Suddenly a hand appeared on the edge of the upper part of the roof as a person was climbing up the ladder. Miu immediately sensed the approach of a person nearby and sprung into action as she started backflipping to the ladder.

"This training is really starting to wear me out." Kenichi complained before he noticed Miu rushing forth. "Miu?"

Once Miu arrived at the ladder, she tried to stomp down on the hand of whoever was there, but they moved their hand to the side faster than she could step on it. When she tried to kick down on their head, they used their other hand to grab her kick and stop her.

"Stop, Miu! Please!" Niijima, who was at the bottom of the ladder, shouted at her to snap her out of it.

"Huh, Niijima?" Miu finally became aware of herself and looked to see that the one who stopped her kick and was right beneath her was Shirou. "Shirou?"

"Hey, Miu." Shirou casually greeted her. "Nice underwear."

When she heard those words, she suddenly realized that standing right above his head beneath a ladder gave him a clear view of what was beneath her skirt, and she quickly pulled back her leg and pulled down the hem of her skirt with a blush of embarrassment.

As Shirou arrived on top of the roof with them, Niijima soon climbed up to join them as well.

"Well, your hair-trigger reflexes are on the mark as usual." Niijima noticed as he greeted Miu. He then looked at Kenichi. "You can run, but you can't hide, Kenichi."

Kenichi cringed when he saw him. "Well, I wouldn't have to hide if people like you would just mind your own freaking business."

"You, of all people, have no right to say that." Shirou reminded him.

Kenichi looked away. "Ah, never mind." He then had an annoyed expression as he thought of Niijima. "Every time I get Miu alone, he shows up."

Niijima then started to snicker. "There are severe implications to my discovering your hiding place. If I can find you, so can Ragnarok." He informed him with a smug expression.

"Yeah, except you didn't find him. I brought you here." Shirou pointed out.

"Oh, details, details." Niijima waved it off.

"What?! Why would you bring that freak of nature here?!" Kenichi loudly complained.

"Because he's got the info I need." Shirou answered as though it was obvious. "And you need to hear it, too."

"Ha! I've got the info everyone needs. Even Ragnarok trusts my intelligence." Niijima bragged.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you their spy or something?!" Kenichi accused him.

"I'm not a spy. I just work the angles." Niijima casually defended himself. "But I recommend you find a new hiding spot. Information is a valuable commodity, and this hiding place of yours should fetch me plenty of worthwhile intel in return." He said with an evil smirk. "Don't worry, though. You'll be long gone and safely hidden in some new spot by the time they come looking for you. This con should work a few more times before they catch on. Hahaha."

"Wow, I guess you really do know how to work the angles, don't you?" Miu noted, almost impressed.

Kenichi looked completely irked while Shirou grew impatient. "Forget about all that. Just tell me about the new intel you got."

"Ah yes, the information on Ukita the Thrower and Takeda the Puncher." Niijima brought out his PDA. "I've got it all right here."

With that, they all sat down and looked at the screen on Niijima's PDA. First, he typed some stuff down and made Ukita's face and data appear onscreen.

"Alright then, this fellow here is Ukita Kozo. He was expelled due to his highly competitive and aggressive nature." Niijima explained. "His specialty is the shoulder throw which he used on a teacher who flunked him. Technically his fighting index is around 80. By compression Kenichi's is just around 62, hope that gives you a good idea of how strong this guy is." He elaborated.

"Come on. You can't rate a fighter's ability with statistics." Kenichi argued.

Miu looked at him with a pleased expression. "I'm so proud of him. He's finally getting it."

Shirou seemed to disagree, though. "That's up for debate. If the statistics are based on their physical limits, the feats they've performed, and their win-loss ratio, then they can at least give you a general idea of their ability."

"My thoughts exactly, but the worst of your worries is another Senior." Niijima changed it, so now Takeda was onscreen. "Takeda Ikki. Not only is he ruthless, but I hear he's a former Lightweight Boxer."

"He's a Boxer?" Kenichi gasped in shock.

"So, he's a Pro?" Shirou asked, more interested than worried.

"Yep, he's a professional fighter." Niijima confirmed. "Word is he was the premier rookie until he dropped out of the league."

"That's why his punches looked so sharp." Shirou thought back. "But, there was still something weird about how he fought."

Kenichi lost his composer and started shaking Niijima by his shoulders. "What's a guy like that doing fighting for Ragnarok?!"

"How should I know that?" Niijima replied after Kenichi stopped shaking him. "What makes any man give in to evil? It happens all the time, no matter the cause. You know the effect, and that's all you should be concerned with."

"What do we do?!" Kenichi cried out in dismay.

"We need to do what we always do." Shirou told him. "You need to calm down for once, and I will think of how I'm going to handle this. But for now, let's head to the Dojo." He decided as he went for the door.

"But Shirou, what about our afternoon classes?" Miu reminded him.

"Fuck 'em." Shirou responded as he left.

---

—

As the three of them arrived at Ryozanpaku, while they were walking on the porch to head for the training hall, Shirou noticed something strange on one of the nearby trees.

"Wait a minute, what the hell is that?" Shirou questioned as he pointed.

The thing he was pointing at was a straw voodoo doll that was nailed to the tree.

"Oh yeah, Apachai keeps doing that." Kenichi explained. "He takes a weird voodoo which he says is me, and nailing it to that tree is supposed to be a good luck charm."

"Isn't that basically a curse?" Shirou argued.

Kenichi groaned. "I know, personally, the whole idea of voodoo creeps me out. But he did say it would protect me." He then smiled. "He's actually a pretty nice guy, you know?"

"Yeah, I've gotta agree with you." Miu smiled at him. "He's one of the nicest guys that I've ever met. He just doesn't know how to control his own strength." She joked.

They then opened the sliding doors to the training hall. To their surprise, though, Akisame, Kensei, Sakaki, and Apachai were in the center of the room, standing in a circle, and all of them were giving off an intense aura as though they were preparing to attack.

"They look so intense. What are they doing?" Kenichi thought as he felt a chill.

"Now, Rock!" Akisame shouted.

"Paper!" Kensei shouted.

"Scissors!" Apachai shouted.

[GO!] They all shouted together.

"Oh wow! This is the most extreme game of rock-paper-scissors that I've ever seen." Kenichi said, taken aback.

With that, the four of them stuck their hands out a revealed which choice they made in their rock-paper-scissors match. The result was; All of them chose rock while Apachai chose scissors, and thus, Apachai was the winner.

"Ha, there goes my theory of strategy." Akisame commented with a laugh.

"Tch, yeah." Sakaki clicked his tongue with annoyance.

"Apachai just stuck his hand out without thinking." Kensei figured.

"Apachai never won paper hand game before!" Apachai cheered happily.

"If you guys hadn't kept changing your hands, this wouldn't have happened!" Sakaki accused Kensei and Akisame.

Kenichi clenched his fists and became frustrated at them. "I'm glad you're having a good time, but we're in some serious trouble over here."

"Well, that's up for debate." Shirou didn't seem to mind them playing around.

"We weren't just playing some stupid game! Moron!" Sakaki snapped at him angrily. "WE WERE TRYING TO DECIDE WHICH ONE OF US IS STUCK WITH TRAINING YOUR SCRAWNY ASS NEXT!" He roared.

"You're playing rok-paper-scissors to decide who's going to train me?!" Kenichi yelled angrily while banging his hand against a support beam.

"Oops." Sakaki immediately realized his mistake.

"Sakaki, I thought we had agreed to keep that one our secret?" Akisame reminded him.

"I'm confused. I thought the training order was decided by a rotational schedule?" Shirou pointed out.

"Well, some of us got bored of waiting for our turns, so we decided to try it like this for today." Kensei explained.

"Kenichi! Shirou! Apachai, the lucky one to train you next!" Apachai celebrated, still excited.

"Gah—" Kenichi was about to scream and bash his head again.

Fortunately for him, though, Shirou stopped him by grabbing him by the back of his neck. "Would you stop throwing a hissyfit already?"

"This could be a good thing, though. Muay Thai is very effective in competitive fighting." Miu informed them. "And it'll definitely help Shirou prepare for that Boxer."

"A Boxer?" Akisame zoned in on that information. "That's quite a dilemma."

"Uh, yeah, that's why I'm freaking out right now." Kenichi admitted.

"What? Why are you freaking out when I'm the one fighting him?" Shirou asked, confused.

"Well, what if he decides to fight me before you?" Kenichi pointed out nervously. "It could happen."

"Well, assuming you only have a short time to prepare, Muay Thai is your most reliable option." Akisame stated, agreeing with Miu.

Kenichi looked up at Apachai with a serious expression. "Is that true, Apachai? If we start learning Muay Thai, do you think we'll be able to beat him?"

Apachai excitedly locked his fists together. "Of course you can! Muay Thai is the only way to kill a Boxer!"

"I should trust him." Kenichi thought with a smile. "Throughout all my failures, he's continued to believe in me. He trusts me, so I'm gonna trust him." He then walked up to the tanned giant and held out his hand. "Just try and take it easy on me, okay?"

"Of course I will!" Apachai exclaimed happily as he clasped Kenichi's hands. "I'll take it easy on you as the mountains are high and the oceans are deep! The statue didn't die, so you won't either!"

"What statue?" Kenichi asked, concerned. "Okay, Apachai, you're kinda hurting my hands. You can let go now."

While they were talking, the same statue that Apachai was training with was the only one that didn't break—Cracked even more until the head fell off. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, Miu was the only one who noticed.

---

—

Later, everyone gathered outside as Kenichi changed into a Muay Thai outfit. Just as he finished wrapping bandages around his arms and legs, he put on a pair of boxing gloves to complete the outfit.

"Shirou, I thought you were going to go first?" Miu noticed him standing by the porch.

"I have two reasons why I'm not, and one of them is that Kenichi needs this more than me." Shirou told her. "The other reason is that I'm not interested in learning the basics of Muay Thai, considering I already know them."

"Kenichi! Are you ready?!" Apachai shouted.

"Yeah, ready as I'll ever be…." Kenichi answered, sounding unsure.

"Muay Thai is the art of barehand man-killing!" Apachai told him loudly. "It'll help you kill your way out of any fight!"

"But, I don't want to kill anyone…." Kenichi quietly argued. "I just want to protect my body against a Delinquent… So that everyone is all safe and sound if possible…."

"Hahahahaha!" Shirou just laughed at that.

"You don't have to laugh, you know!" Kenichi snapped at him.

"Yeah, I think I do." Shirou argued, still amused. "Even if you ignore the fact that you're learning Muay Thai—The most brutal Martial Art there is, can you name even one time we've dealt with Delinquents that didn't end someone being horribly beaten to a pulp?"

"It could happen… Probably… I hope…" Kenichi sounded less sure with each word. He then looked back at Apachai. "So Apachai, can you just teach me how to defend against him?"

Apachai then got in his face as he sneered as held back his eyebrows to create a sharp glare. "You think about complicated stuff like that after your opponent is dead! Use your thinking for killing, or it will get you killed." He said in a fake voice. "That was my impersonation of my Master!" He finished with a smile. "So, were you scared?"

"I'm starting to have second thoughts about this." Kenichi thought with a cringe.

"Apachai, before getting into technique training, why don't you explain the history of Muay Thai first?" Akisame suggested.

"Well…It was invented for killing people." Apachai summarized.

"Knock it off with the killing talk, will ya!" Kenichi snapped at him.

"Well, he's not wrong. Muay Thai is called the Art of Death." Shirou informed him.

"Don't tell me that!" Kenichi complained.

Akisame coughed before explaining things himself. "Muay Thai is an accident Martial Art that was originally developed to train soldiers in the protection of the Siamese Kingdom—Before they became known as Thailand… I believe that is what Apachai meant to say."

"Yes! That is what Apachai meant!" Apachai shouted with enthusiasm.

"It sounds like it was created as a very practical means of defense." Miu joined the conversation.

"Not exactly. Muay Thai's main purpose is complete offense. The original Masters used it not only on people but used it to defeat savage animals in the wild." Shirou explained, correcting her. "A Muay Thai Master can use any part of his body as a means of attack."

"Yes, that's right! My Master would tell me story from long ago!" Apachai went on with excitement. "When King named Naresuwan was captured by soldiers of his enemy! But they told him if he could defeat their Strongest soldier, they would let him go free! But not only did he defeat best fighter! He also defeat all their fighters and return to his country! And, of course, he beat them all using Muay Thai."

"Ah! That's awesome!" Kenichi couldn't hide his excitement. "Okay, I'm sold. Please teach me!"

"Great!" Apachai and Kenichi cheered together. "I first teach you, Tan Garde Muei! APA! APA! APA!"

Shirou smirked, also impressed by that story. "Guess Naresuwan wasn't a King in name only. Though, it only makes sense that the King of the birthplace of Muay Thai would know it himself." He then looked over at Apachai. "But, I'm guessing Apachai left out the part where he not only beat his opponent but also killed him."

"True; I doubt Kenichi would be so gung-ho if he learned that little detail." Akisame agreed.

After the two of them calmed down, Kenichi and Apachai stood side-by-side as they prepared to begin.

"So, what is this Muay Guard ten thingy?" Kenichi asked.

"Tan Garde Muei!" Apachai corrected him. "It is the basic stance of Muay Thai!" He demonstrated.

Kenichi fixed his stance so his arms were up and his legs were shoulder-wight apart. "Like this, right?"

"That's it! Now Soku!" Apachai shouted as he threw an elbow strike. Kenichi did the same as Apachai continued his lesson. "The use of knees and elbows is very important in Muay Thai!"

"Which, in fact, is rather rare as most contemporary Martial Arts have banned the use of knees and elbows in tournament fighting." Akisame informed him.

"Really?" Kenichi was unaware of this. "How come?"

"If you use them wrong, you could KILL your opponent!" Apachai answered.

"Transportation; knees and elbows are the most solid parts of the limbs and have the most crushing power." Shirou explained. "Even kids can do a lot of damage attacking like that, and an adult can cause a fatality."

"That's right. However, in Muay Thai, they specifically focused on these moves." Akisame continued.

"Yeah, and why's that?" Kenichi asked more nervously this time.

"Because if you use them right, you can KILL your opponent!" Apachai answered.

"He's not wrong. Among all the sanctioned competitive Martial Arts, the one with the highest amount of death in the ring is easily Muay Thai." Shirou added.

"Uwaaa!" Kenichi cried out as he fearfully cowered behind Sakaki's back. "There's too much killing in this Martial Art!" He whined.

Sakaki's eye twitched with annoyance. "You're never gonna be a man acting like this."

"That's true. You really need to get your act together." Shirou removed him from Sakaki, also annoyed.

At that point, Hayato came out to the porch and joined the conversation as well.

"All Martial Arts are built around the premise of conquering your opponent." Hayato told him peacefully. "Misused and any of them can become simply a means for violence. Their lethal nature is basically a question of conscience."

"Question of conscience?" Kenichi repeated, confused.

"If one chooses to use it for his own selfish desires, then it becomes nothing more than brutish violence." Hayato explained it clearly to him. "However, if you genuinely intend to use it to protect yourself and others and only when it's necessary, then even the most lethal Martial Art can be honorable." Those words sparked a reaction from both Kenichi and Shirou. "You must look deep into your heart and ask yourself—Do you want your skills to bring misfortune and pain to others?"

Kenichi immediately shook his head. No, of course not!" He insisted.

Hayato smiled. "Then you have nothing to fear from Muay Thai. It's not the technique that harms others. It's the desire in one's heart to do so." He assured him. "Now, carry on with your training!"

"Right!" Kenichi's vigor was restored.

"APA!" Apachai prepared himself to go again.

Shirou seemingly lost interest and started to walk away. Only Miu seemed to notice, though.

"Shirou?" She muttered.

Hayato noticed as well as he stocked his beard.

---

—

On the other side of the Dojo, Shirou was stretching and preparing himself for a bit of self-training as Hayato appeared behind him.

"Something on your mind?" Hayato asked casually. "You looked dissatisfied."

"It was that stupid speech you gave." Shirou didn't bother training to hide it. "That sort of stuff just makes me want to groan."

"Oh, you disagree with my thoughts on Martial Arts?" Hayato seemed interested in this.

"That sort of stuff might resonate with a boy scout like Kenichi, but I'm of a different breed. I don't want to protect others. I want to be strong." Shirou told him.

"I didn't know there was a difference." Hayato replied, still calm.

"There is a difference. When I fight, I don't think about defending the person behind me. All I care about is crushing the person in front of me." Shirou clarified. "All Martial Arts are built around the premise of conquering your opponent. That's what you said, right? That premise is what got me into Martial Arts in the first place."

"Yes, but I also said that Martial Arts can become nothing more than brutish violence if misused." Hayato reminded him.

"I'm a punk-ass Delinquent. When have I ever minded brutish violence?" Shirou reminded him. "Besides, Martial Arts, at its core, is about defeating your opponent. Things like honor or conscience aren't really a factor when you get right down to it unless you beat your opponent. The rest of it doesn't really matter much."

"I suppose there is some truth to that." Hayato admitted before asking. "But tell me, son. From what I've gathered, you have a good sense of right and wrong, you don't use your strength to abuse others, and you are there to defend your friends or acquaintances when they need you. Abandoning them never crosses your mind." He summarized. "In fact, you once reprimanded Kenichi for trying to ignore a cry for help. So despite all that, why do you have no desire to protect others?"

"It's something I call…Aesthetics." Shirou answered honestly.

"Aesthetics?" Hayato repeated, intrigued.

"It's something I based my entire identity as a fighter around." Shirou began to explain. "That means not worrying about things like good or evil, righteousness or maliciousness. My main focus is just to become the Strongest me that I can be. I fight in order to gain more power, and I gain more power in order to fight. But all that means nothing if I'm not strong enough to beat them because winning against the strong proves that I'm the Strongest." He finished with a look of determination. "In simple terms, I don't want to protect; I want to win."

Hayato quietly looked at him, more specifically, the look in his eyes. He then felt a sense of nostalgic tranquility as he remembered seeing that gaze before someone else.

"He really does resemble him…." Hayato thought before turning around. "Well, you can always choose to ignore the ramblings of this old man if that's what you want, but remember this. There are many different kinds of strengths and ways to achieve them. Sometimes, honor can aid you more than aesthetics."

With those words of wisdom, Hayato started to walk away. Shirou gave his words some thought but decided not to dwell on them.

---

—

Meanwhile, over at another part of town, there was a meeting taking place at Kisara's hideout. Right now, Kisara was sitting on her large chair and playing a handheld game console while a few of her guards were around the room.

Standing before her was a tall guy with slightly tanned skin, long flowing mop-cut styled dark-brown hair, and a rough face with a sharp glare in his eyes. He was a few inches taller than Takeda and had a slightly more muscular build than Ukita. He was wearing a long dark-blue coat with long pants that were the same color, brown wrist guards on his arms, and flat-soled flop shoes.

This was Shinnosuke Tsuji. Like Kisara, he was an executive member of Ragnarok.

"What's the deal, Kisara?" Tsuji asked with his arms crossed. "You sure are taking your sweet time trying to recruit new fighters. This thing's gonna go down any day now, and you're acting like it's no big deal."

"Shut up, Tsuji." Kisara drawled, more focused on her game.

Tsuji looked fed up and snapped at her. "This isn't a joke, Kisara! We need a group of tough guys, A.S.A.P!"

"I told you to shut up." Kisara looked up at him with irritation. "You got my character killed." She complained.

"You know the problem here?" Tsuji sounded completely annoyed. "It's him! None of this would be happening if you let me handle things instead of that Boxer wannabe—"

"Hey, Kisara!" Tsuji was interrupted when Takeda and the other two walked into the room. "We just found out that Shirahama kid hangs out on the school roof during lunch, and odds are Tsukiharu is bound to be with him." Takeda reported as they stopped in front of her chair. "Give us one more day, and we've got them."

"Hey, what's your problem, Lightweight?" Tsuji reprimanded him. "You're not gonna say hello to an executive member?"

"I could have sworn I said 'Hey Kisara' when I came in." Takeda responded sarcastically.

"You gotta respect your higher-ups." Tsuji glared at him. "You may not work for me directly, but I'm an executive member, and you're just a grunt. Say hello, punk."

Takeda glared back at him. "I said hello to the one who matters."

Tsuji then got in his face. "Oh yeah, you really think you're pretty slick, don't you?"

CLASH!

In a second, Tsuji threw a right punch at Takeda's head, and Takeda intercepted it with his right arm. The result was both of their arms locked in a struggle which ended when Tsuji casually pulled his arm back.

"You sure are jumpy. I was just stretching my arm." Tsuji casually defended himself. "Oh, by the way, do you need this?" He opened his hand and showed him he was holding a button. "It's the button from your sleeve."

Takeda looked and noticed his button was taken. Though Tsuji had a smug expression, Takeda returned it with his own. "No thanks, I've got plenty." Takeda opened his own hand and showed him he had five buttons, all of them from Tsuji's coat.

With the buttons gone, a part of Tsuji's coat opened, but Tsuji just chuckled. "Heh, not bad, Lightweight. But y'know something? Just 'cause you're fast doesn't mean you can save yourself in a fight."

As the two of them were in a faceoff, no one in the room dared to make a sound due to the pressure they were both giving off.…. Except for one person.

"Daaaahhh! Dammiiiiiiiiit!" Kisara let out an angry roar that got everyone's attention. "If my character dies one more time, then you're all dying with him!" she threatened them.

---

—

Later that day, back at Ryozanpaku, Kenichi, and Apachai were still in the middle of their training. Kenichi was practicing the basic moves while Miu and all the other Masters watched. At some point, Shirou came back when he decided their training was almost over.

"All right! Kenichi, you are doing basic moves great!" Apachai praised him as he put on punching mitts. "I think you are ready to move on! Let's practice with punching next!"

"Sure." Kenichi followed respectfully.

"Come on! Shoot me with your best it!" Apachai held up the mitts.

"I guess Apachai really did learn how to restrain himself." Kenichi thought. "He doesn't seem to be as crazed as he was before."

As those thoughts entered his mind, he felt Apachai was releasing an extreme amount of pressure, as though he was preparing to attack rather than waiting for an attack. "What's the matter, Kenichi?! Come on. I can take it! Punch me with all you've got!"

Kenichi almost instinctively fled again, and this time he cowered behind Miu as his gloved hands were clinging to her boobs and her butt, which she clearly didn't like.

"I don't care how scared you may be, Kenichi. You're not allowed to cop a feel!" She snapped before flipping him onto the ground as he lay flat on his back.

"My fight or flight instinct took over. It told me it was time for flight. I'm sorry~" Kenichi drawled while lying painfully on the ground.

"Are you ever not a pussy?" Shirou groaned as he walked over to him. "Tell me, have those "instincts" ever told you it was time for something other than flight?"

"I can't change my nature." Kenichi defended himself, looking away.

"What are you, a leopard who can't change his spots?" Shirou sarcastically brushed off his argument. "Everyone can change their nature. That's what defines us as humans. Just look at George Foreman. That guy was an animal back in the day, and now he's completely mellowed out. That's a change in nature."

"What's wrong, Kenichi? Apachai thought punching was fun! If it's not fun, you just hit harder!" Apachai insisted.

"No, you're right. Punching is fun to some people." Shirou assured him before looking back at Kenichi. "Kenichi, give me the gloves."

"Huh, why?" Kenichi asked, though he was already removing them.

"Mitt punching is also an exercise that is related to boxing, so I'll use this to prepare myself." Shirou explained as he put the gloves on. "Let's get started."

"Are you sure about this, though? You don't know if Apachai can really hold back." Kenichi warned him with concern.

"AAHHHHH!?" Apachai cried out at that accusation before crawling into a ball of depression. "You made me so sad. The statue didn't die. Apachai try so hard. I practice so much to control strength! But I can do nothing right. I lose confidence! I can't do it anymore. I give up!"

"No way." Kenichi immediately felt guilt. "I was just kidding, Apachai. I didn't really mean it!" He assured him desperately.

"Really!?" Apachai immediately cheered up.

"Hey, big guy?" Shirou got his attention. "That the statue you were talking about?" He pointed to a nearby stone statue whose head was held on by a rope.

"Yes, that one!" Apachai happily went up to it and tapped it. "Apachai trained so hard and didn't kill this one!"

CRACK!

After tapping it just once, the head of the statue snapped off its neck. The rope didn't help at all. Both Kenichi and Apachai had a loud reaction to this.

"AHHH! OH NO! THE STATUE'S DEAD!" Apachai screamed.

"I THOUGHT YOU PRACTICED NOT KILLING!" Kenichi screamed.

After a lot of time passed for the two of them to pull themselves together, Shirou and Apachai were now prepared to begin mitt punching. Apachai held out his hands to hold the mitts in front of Shirou, and Shirou got into a stance to get started.

Once they began, Shirou was punching away at the mitts while Apachai was facing Kenichi. "Now you see, hitting isn't scary. It's fuuuun!"

Kenichi still sweated a bit. "Yeah, it really is fun."

"It's definitely fun, more me." Shirou added while punching.

"Now, you try to dodge one!" Apachai instructed as he raised his arm. "APA!"

SWISH!

As Apachai swung his arm at him, Shirou stepped back and swayed back as Apachai's arm sailed past him harmlessly.

"Careful." Shirou reminded him.

"Oh…" Apachai sounded as though he did that subconsciously.

"Whoa?!" Kenichi gasped in amazement. "You actually dodged Apachai's attack?! I didn't think that was possible."

"When you've been hit by the big guy as many times as I have, you learn how to get better at dodging." Shirou shrugged nonchalantly. "That said, try not to use your knees, elbows, or legs when trying to counterattack."

"But why?" Apachai appeared confused.

"Because I want to emphasize boxing technique during this training." Shirou explained to him. "If I'm going to fight a Boxer, I want to face him like a Boxer."

"I've been meaning to ask this: Shirou, have you also trained in boxing?" Miu asked curiously.

"Well, I saw a lot of it growing up." Shirou answered, looking back. "Countries in the Pacific have a lot of different Martial Arts, but boxing was something we found everywhere. In Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Korea, there was never a shortage of Boxers. And every now and then, my Dad would have us watch a few matches, saying it'd help to learn how Boxers fight."

"Why's that?" Kenichi asked.

"Actually, it makes sense." Akisame chined in. "The truth is that many Mix Martial Arts fighters tend to base their styles around other Martial Arts that they draw inspiration from, and quite a few based themselves around boxing."

"They do? But why is that?" Kenichi now seemed interested.

"Though many consider it just a combat sport, boxing is considered by some as a genuine Martial Art, and it holds many techniques that are very formidable no matter what one might say." Akisame explained. "Even Muay Thai shares some of its properties with boxing." He informed them before looking to Shirou. "Tell me, what was the most important lesson you learned from boxing?"

"That's easy." Shirou punched with his left hand. "My Jab."

"A Jab?" Kenichi repeated with a blink. "Isn't that just a left punch?"

"It's more than that, Apachai. Tell us how a Jab is used in Muay Thai?" Akisame requested.

"A Jab is mainly used for setting up kick." Apachai answered.

"But that's where the two styles differ." Akisame began to explain. "Muay Thai has five options of attack, kicks, heels, knees, elbows, and fists. On the other hand, Boxing only has one of those five: fists. So with a majority of all other options of offense sealed off, Boxers created a variety of ways to attack using only their fists, especially their Jab."

"In boxing, the Jab is the weakest punch, the easiest punch, the simplest, most basic punch, but it should always be your best punch." Shirou added the explanation. "Why? Because it sets up every attack, it's sharp, solid, and the faster blow you can think. A Mastered Jab can move faster than even a mastered reaction time. Basically, a Jab is potentially faster than any other blow in any other Martial Art, faster than a Karate punch, a Kung Fu kick, or a Judo tackle."

"Is that true?" Sakaki asked Akisame.

"It is." Akisame confirmed, without a doubt. "Truth is, I once met a Boxer, and as far as I can tell, his Jab was faster than anything I've seen around here. Also, it's no exaggeration to say that when two truly great Boxers fight, the superior Jab can sometimes be the deciding factor on who will win. Some of the greatest fighters throughout time were defined by the caliber of their left."

"My Dad also met a strong Boxer at some point. I never saw the guy, but he said they had a pretty good fight once." Shirou went on. "I remember him telling me that Boxers had a specific line when it came to left Jabs—He who rules with his left will rule the world."

"That's amazing." Kenichi muttered, truly impressed. "I didn't think boxing had the kind of depth or finesse. All this time, I thought boxing was just all about brute force and strong guys punching each other with power."

"Tch, keep up, would you? That's the kind of boxing they did back in the 1920s. It's what it is now because it evolved beyond that ages ago." Shirou informed him. "Modern boxing is filled with skill, strategy, and high fighting IQ at rare times." He then narrowed his eyes. "Of course, nowadays, a lot of students in Japan just think boxing is a sport for Delinquents."

Kenichi sheepishly tried to look away, not wanting to admit that he was also such a person until right now.

"But didn't Niijima say that this Boxer used to be a pro and a strong one at that?" Miu reminded him. "Are you sure it's a good idea to fight him using only boxing techniques? Will you be able to beat him despite being only self-taught in boxing?"

"Miu, it's because it might not be enough that I'm looking forward to this fight." Shirou clarified with a look of determination. "Facing an opponent where I don't know if I can win or not. For me, nothing is more exciting."

His words were filled with both courage and confidence, but also a longing desire to fight someone who could truly challenge him, something he hadn't had since ever before he arrived at Ryozanpaku. It was something all the Masters could see.

Though, Kenichi thought differently. "How can a fight where you'll possibly be beaten up be fun?!" He inwardly whined.

---

—

The next day came, and it was once again lunch break at Koryuu High School. Right now, Takeda and Ukita were on the roof looking for Shirou and or Kenichi—Or, more specifically, Ukita was looking while Takeda was lying on his back and staring peacefully at the sky.

"Hey, check out that hawk." Takeda noticed in a laid-back mood. "It's so peaceful and quiet up here. Kinda nice for a change, huh?"

"Come on, will you take this seriously?" Ukita insisted. "This is where the kid's been hiding during lunch, right? So why haven't either of them shown up? We've been here an hour. Someone must have tipped them off."

.

.

.

When Takeda wasn't responding to him, Ukita looked closer and saw that, at some point, Takeda had dozed off and was now sleeping.

"Zzz…"

"Don't fall asleep on me!" Ukita snapped at him with frustration.

Takeda woke up annoyed. "…Ugh… Geez, would ya take it easy, man?"

"No, I won't take it easy! It's already been a month since Kisara told us to take out these punks, and so far, we've got squat!" Ukita was angrily pacing around as he complained. "It's ridiculous! And our rank in Ragnarok is on the line here!" He punched the water tank. "Why can't we find them?! I mean we go to the same school! Do they even exist?! It's insane! Yeah, sure, the school is huge, but it's not huge enough to hide in for a month! They've gotta be made of camouflage!"

As he kept punching the water tank, Takeda continued to just lay there, not letting the situation bother him, when soon enough, the door opened, and someone approached them.

"Excuse me, gentlemen." Niijima scurried up to them with an excited expression. "I believe I have some information that might please you."

---

—

Half an hour earlier, at a different part of the school, Kenichi and Miu were having lunch together while hiding inside the equipment shed and sitting on a futon. Right now, Miu was pouring tea into Kenichi's cup.

"Thanks for hiding out with me." Kenichi said with gratitude.

"No problem, so how are you feeling, you still sore?" Miu asked, referring to his training from yesterday.

"Nah, I'm fine; I think I'm gradually building a tolerance to it." Kenichi noticed about himself.

Miu looked around at the shed. "This place is nice and quiet, even if it is a little musty." She noted. "I thought it was kinda depressing at first, but now that I'm used to it, it's actually kinda cozy."

"It is cozy." Kenichi thought while drinking his tea before a thought came to him. "The two of us here, no interruptions, just us, alone~" He started to blush. "Why am I just now realizing how awesome this is, and why am I totally frozen?"

Miu noticed Kenichi's face was turning red. "Hey, you're red. You okay?" She asked before placing her hand on his forehead. "Come here."

Kenichi blushed harder as his heartbeat increased. "So close."

"Oh, good, I was worried you had a fever." Miu smiled with relief. "I can't go one-on-one with someone who's sickly."

"Ahhhhh~! Hahahaaaaa~! Ahaga~!" Kenichi was happily flailing around as his arms and legs turned to jelly. "Awaaa~! Agwaaaa~!"

"Uh, I was talking about training." Miu clarified while looking at him with confusion.

Kenichi wasn't listening as he slapped his cheeks. "This is my chance! Don't blow it, Kenichi!" He then sat back in front of her and held up the tea. "Miu, you look kinda tense. Why don't you sit down and relax~?"

"Thanks? I've been sitting here for a while, you know?" Miu let him pour her some tea while still feeling confused.

"Uh-huh?" He still ignored her. "And don't you think it's nice? The two of us here, aloooone~."

Unfortunately, when he looked again, he noticed that he was actually pouring tea into a cup held by Niijima, who appeared out of nowhere and was sitting between them. "You're so generous."

"Arrggghhhh!" Kenichi immediately started smacking Niijima upside the head with his backpack with frustration and disappointment. "What is it with you?! Is there no such thing as privacy on your home planet?! I can't have a single moment alone without you interfering!"

"Do you have some kind of condition where you'll die if you don't bitch and whine at least once a day?" Shirou complained as he also appeared out of nowhere.

"Shirou too?!" Kenichi gasped.

"Oh, is this lunch?" Niijima took some food from Kenichi's boxed lunch. "Thanks."

"Go ahead, help yourself." Miu didn't seem bothered by his appearance.

"Where did you guys come from anyway?" Kenichi asked, still upset.

"Shirou got here just a few minutes ago, and Niijima's been standing in that corner the whole time we've been here." Miu informed him, pointing to a nearby concern. "I'm surprised you didn't notice them."

"He was busy thinking with his lower head." Shirou commented.

"But you shouldn't have such a long face, especially with the dirt I dug up for you guys." Niijima added.

"You've got new information about the Boxer?" Miu asked with interest.

"Yep, it's the best I've gotten yet." Niijima bragged.

Kenichi sulked in the corner while comical tears were streaming down his face. "If they hadn't shown up, I'd be making out with Miu by now~" He whined.

"Hate to break it to you, but no, you wouldn't be." Shirou argued with him before taking out his phone. "Here, I record your entire conversation with her. Now that you're actually in a calm state of mind try reviewing it in hindsight."

Kenichi looked at the screen on Shirou's phone as he started the recording, and Kenichi watched himself. As Kenichi saw how he looked and heard the words he was saying, he cringed, which kept getting bigger the longer it went on before he buried his hands in his face.

"Uhh, what's wrong with me? I was acting like a total dork back there?!" He whined while looking away.

"Well, that's normal." Shirou put away his face. "Now, onto more important matters."

"My love life is important!" Kenichi argued with him.

Shirou ignored him and looked back at Niijima. "What kinda intel do you got?"

They all sat on the futon as Niijima started his explanation. "Supposedly, this Takeda fellow was quite the name for himself as a Boxer. He won the Pro Rookie Of The Year Tournament using an attack called the Lethal Left. Heard of it?"

"The Lethal Left?" Kenichi repeated, surprised.

"Yeah, evidently, his left arm is the one you need to watch out for." Niijima went on. "From what I've heard, it's unlikely you'd even see it coming. Every opponent who's faced him has all been asked what kind of punch it is, but every one of them all said the same thing; it was too fast for them to see."

"That's nuts." Kenichi exclaimed in astonishment.

"Not exactly, though this confirms he's an Outboxer." Shirou pointed out.

"Outboxer?" Kenichi repeated.

"It's the type of Boxer who specializes in light, fluid movements, high-level technique, and is always quick and slick." Shirou explained. "If a Master Outboxer throws a punch that is not only fast, but also sharp, precise, and on point, and makes sure there are almost no wasted movements, he can throw a killer punch that can give off the illusion that's it's too fast for the eye to see. The Lethal Left must be that kind of punch."

"Seriously, his punch is so perfectly on target that it looks like his arm is invisible?" Kenichi summarized, clearly impressed.

"Yeah, but you don't just learn a punch like that overnight. In order to get a punch like that and make it so you can use it whenever you want, he probably spent years standing in front of a mirror throwing the same punch while checking and correcting his form hundreds of times every day." Shirou figured, impressed in his own way. "No doubt, his dedication toward boxing must be crazy."

"He who rules with his left will rule the world." Kenichi remembered the line about boxing he had heard the day before. "I guess this guy is also a master of lefts."

"Still though…" Niijima continued while eating more of the food. "One thing I couldn't figure out is why he dropped boxing in exchange for a life of crime. Lousy trade to me."

"Hey, Niijima, I need you to do something." Shirou requested before he whispered something in his ear.

When Niijima heard it, he put on a wide and demonic grin as he became excited. "Hahaha! Well, if that's what you want, then I'm glad to oblige!"

After saying those words, Niijima ran off while laughing constantly, leaving Kenichi and Miu baffled.

"What did you ask him for?" Miu asked.

"Nothing big." Shirou waved her off. "You find out later."

---

—

After school, they went back to Ryoanpaku, though once they arrived, the Masters were in the middle of something themselves. Right now, Apachai was squaring off against Hayato while the rest of them watched. They began when Apachai unleashed a flurry of punches.

"APA! APA! APA! APA! APA!" Apachai let loose his punches.

While Shirou could barely see them all, the Masters could follow his moves clearly, and Hayato was perfectly blocking each and every one of his punches like he could see them coming from a mile away.

"HAH!"

POW!

Apachai ended it with one final straight-cross that he threw at Hayato's head which he caught, though the impact of the blow created a gust of wind that blew around them. Hayato lowered his arm as he let go of Apachai.

"I'm afraid that's still too much." Hayato informed him.

"Apa!?" Apachai was taken aback in shock before falling to his knees and putting his hands on his head with regret. "Why am I so stupid?! I try so hard, but I can't do it! Apachai put all of his strength into trying to hold back, but his punches are still too strong!"

"Looks like that was another failure." Kensei commented, not surprised.

"I know he's trying, but it takes more than a few days to break a bad habit, and in this case, it's less of a habit and more like his personality is hotwired to make every blow a killing blow." Shirou pointed out.

"I'm afraid that can't be helped. For as long as he can remember, Apachai has risked his life fighting ruthless opponents in the underground Muay Thai circuit." Hayato explained with understanding. "He's unable to control his strength because any sign of restraint would have gotten him killed. Despite this, there is true gentleness within him. That is the defining quality of his nature."

"I agree with you, but at this rate, it'll be impossible for him to train Kenichi." Akisame pointed out.

"Yeah, the punk might be able to take it to an extent, but if he tries training Kenichi like this, he'll be seeing stars before he learns anything." Sakaki agreed, stumped.

"Well then, we'll just have to find an alternative training method." Hayato decided with an idea.

---

—

Later, Kenichi was now in the training hall in his training gi and wearing gloves again as he was squaring off against Miu while Apachai, Sakaki, Hayato, and Shirou observed. They were supposed to be sparring, although Kenichi was reluctant to fight her.

"So, what are you waiting for?" Miu asked impatiently. "Just attack me. You can't hesitate in a fight."

Kenichi had an uncomfortable smile. "Yeah, I know. It's just that it goes against my principles to fight a girl." He explained.

"Huh? Since when are you a caveman?!" Shirou dissed him with annoyance.

"I'm not! It's just my mother told me not to hit girls!" Kenichi angrily defended himself.

"We're in High School, you dork. We've already grown out of the phase where you follow everything your "Mom" tells you to do." Shirou became more annoyed.

"Yeah, Kenichi, that is chivalrous of you, but we're supposed to be sparring, so come on, attack me." Miu urged him again.

"Hey!" Sakaki called out to him. "You still spouting off that chivalry crap?!" He also sounded annoyed while chugging a bottle of alcohol. "Miu can handle it. She's got gloves. Even if you didn't, I doubt your punches would have any effect on her."

"Gugh!" Kenichi cringed as he felt an arrow pierce his self-esteem. "Oh, come on, you guys don't have to insult me!"

"Just fight!" Sakaki ordered, ignoring him.

"He's right. You've got to punch!" Apachai attempted to convince him as well. "You've got to have sparring practice with a person before you can move on to next level of Muay Thai!" He then had a sheepish smile. "Apachai would do it, but I would KILL you, and that would not be good practice!"

"We're all too advanced, so it would be pointless to spar with us, and the punk has his own training, so he's also out." Sakaki explained. "So whether you like it or not, Miu is your only option." He then got right behind him. "Now Fight!"

"Alright! But I can't just bring myself to hit a girl. It's just not right!" Kenichi insisted.

Miu was both surprised and somewhat touched. "I've never met anyone with such a strong sense of what's right and wrong. He honestly believes it's more important than anything else." Her smile soon faded, though. "But fighting can be ruthless, and his enemies won't feel that way."

"What's it going to take to get it through your head? What's not right is that way of thinking!" Shirou was losing his patience. "The idea that guys shouldn't hit girls is an outdated notion that has basically died out in this day and age. The only people who still think like that are behind the times or plainly ignorant. Or what, are you saying you won't fight girls because you think they're too weak."

"No! Of course not!" Kenichi hastily shook his head. "I'd never say that!"

"But that's how it looks based on how you're acting." Shirou pointed out. "When you're a fighter, you don't have the luxury of being picky about who you fight, especially with something as meaningless as gender."

Deciding she wasn't going to wait anymore, Miu rushed in and kicked at his head, which he barely dodged by decking.

"Woah, you almost hit me!?" Kenichi exclaimed.

"Hit him, Miu!" Hayato loudly instructed her.

Miu then moved into a cartwheel kick, which hit Kenichi in the face and knocked him to the floor. Kenichi got up and tried to defend himself with his guard as Miu hit him with an elbow strike.

"Listen closely, Kenichi. Your concern is admirable. But as Shirou said, though you don't say it with your words, your actions are a sign of condescending more than anything else. Refusing to acknowledge your sparring partner is not a sign of respect." Hayato wisely advised him. "You should never take a deferential attitude toward a rival who is attempting to help you improve your skills. That is not an expression of kindness but rudeness."

While Hayato was talking, Miu was knocking Kenichi around by landing more hits. By the time he finished, there was a small distance between Kenichi and Miu, and Kenichi fixed his stance as he smiled at her.

"I'm sorry if I was rude." He had a more determined expression.

Miu had a relieved smile as they got ready to go again.

"Okay, I'm gonna attack you from the side!" Kenichi announced as he was shuffled to the right.

"Go for it!" Miu encouraged him.

Shirou watched them with half-lidded eyes. "Well, it's a start. But if he's gonna go on the offensive, he needs to stop announcing his next attacks."

Things went on relatively uneventfully after that as Miu continued seeing through Kenichi's attacks, breaking through his guard, and having all her hits land on him before long. Things ended when he fell to the floor and was lying flat on his back in a daze.

"Ugh~!" Kenichi groaned painfully. "I couldn't even get close enough to touch her."

"And Miu was moving much more slowly than she usually does!" Apachai harmlessly informed him.

After hearing that, Kenichi could barely even make out words as he was just letting out high, squeaking moans. Shirou just sighed and got up. "As much as I love seeing Miu give you the run-around, I have somewhere I need to be."

"Hmm, you have plans, with what?" Miu asked curiously.

"I'm going to meet with someone." Shirou told her as he headed for the door.

Kensei then appeared from the ceiling and sounded interested. "Oh, and who's that? Do you have a hot date planned?"

"Hmph…" Shirou smirked at him. "With where I'm going, I'll be doing something more fun than anything a woman could offer me."

With those parting words, he walked out the door and headed for the entrance gate as Kensei watched him go and thought. "That sounds like something my brother would say."

---

—

Things moved on. We returned to the school, and Takeda and Ukita were once again on the roof, waiting for someone to arrive. Takeda was relaxed as usual, but Ukita looked impatient.

"You sure about this? How do we know we aren't wasting our time?" Ukita questioned.

"Relax, big guy, he'll definitely be here." Takeda assured him.

"What makes you sure? Any sane person wouldn't show up, considering it's the same as literally walking into a trap." Ukita pointed out. "Besides, if it were this easy to draw him out, we would have done so a lot sooner."

"You're overthinking things." Takeda brushed off his concern. "If he's the guy I think he is, there's no way he won't show up."

"What's with this guy?" Ukita wondered in his mind. "From the start, he always thinks differently than me."

By that point, the door to the roof entrance opened, and the person they were waiting for arrived. That person was Shirou himself.

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting." He greeted them while confidently strutting up to them.

"Heeey, there he is. What did I tell ya?" Takeda noticed with satisfaction.

Ukita just looked surprised. "He's definitely an idiot."

"We got the message from your alien-looking friend, you told us to wait on the roof after school, and you'd show up to fight us." Takeda addressed him confidently. "Maybe you should have thought twice about being so smug because now you're in a whole heap of trouble." His gaze became sharper and much more cold.

"His eyes changed?" Shirou noticed. "He's already psyched up for a fight." He then clenched his fist. "Good."

Ukita approached him, also ready for a fight. "It's about time we met, Tsukiharu. We went through a lot of trouble finding you, and now that you're here, I can finally let out all of my frustrations."

"Ukita the Thrower, right?" Shirou addressed him unconcerned. "I hear you use Judo. Think you can actually lift me off the ground, third-string?"

Play OST — Baki 2018 — Battle Start

"Why don't I show you?!" Ukita yelled.

Ukita charged at him with his hands forward as he went in for a throw. Shirou dodged him by squatting down as Ukita's hands grabbed empty air. Shirou followed by moving up and shifting forward until he was behind him and slammed his elbow into Ukita's back, damaging him enough to make him move forward and fall down.

Ukita brushed off any pain and stood back up, looking more pissed than hurt as Shirou gave him a smirk filled with smugness. Ukita charged again and, this time went in for a tackle, but Shirou responded by charging at him as well. When they met in the middle, their arms were locked in a power struggle as both were pushing against each other. But, due to being heavier, Ukita was the victor and grabbed Shirou by the shoulders and lifted him up, preparing for his patented Shoulder-Throw.

After lifting him off his feet and over his shoulder, Ukita threw him to the concrete roof floor as hard as he could, but his move was unsuccessful as Shirou skillfully positioned his body so that instead of hitting the ground head first, he landed on his feet and saved and tightly gripping Ukita's arm.

Now deciding to return the favor, Shirou mustered up his strength, and this time, he lifted Ukita off the ground. To the larger man's shock, Shirou lifted him with relative ease, Ukita being light compared to all the heavy objects he'd been lifting and throwing since meeting Akisame. Shirou threw Ukita above his head before smalling him back down on the ground on his back.

The impact of this throw shocked Ukita as he felt his vision becoming hazy, but unfortunately for him, Shirou was done as he jumped up a few inches and came back down in order to stomp the sole of his foot on Ukita's throat.

"GUGH!" Ukita gagged.

That last blow was the finisher as Ukita's head slumped down, and his body became limp. No doubt he was unconscious.

Music Off

"I guess my throw was better." Shirou declared to his beaten opponent.

"Not too bad." Takeda admired his handy work. "Never seen anybody man-handle Ukita like that."

"That's not all. I'm full of surprises." Shirou bragged.

"I'd hope so because you're gonna have to pull a rabbit out of your hat to make it through this." Takeda warned him almost threateningly. "It's just you and me now, Tsukiharu, and I hope you're ready 'cause I'm gonna have to hurt you for what you did to my buddy, Ukita."

Takeda then started rummaging through his pocket until he took out an alarm watch and a piece of chalk. He then kneeled down and used the chalk to start drawing lines on the ground until he finished. He drew a large square on the ground that was the shape of a boxing ring, complete with four round circles over each corner to act as posts.

He stood up. "All right, you ready?"

Shirou wasn't fazed by this and nodded. "Sure, I'll box with ya."

Takeda decided to finish it with a demonstration of skill, and he tossed the chalk in the air and threw a sharp right Jab at it, which was so on target it hit the chalk and resulted in the chalk being completely obliterated into a cloud of white dust.

"A right Jab?" Shirou blinked, both impressed and confessed by that move. "He's not left-handed. Is he a switch-hitter, or did he train both his hands to Jab like that?"

"Heh, you do realize I was a professional Boxer, right?" Takeda bragged while smugly holding up his fist. "But I'll go easy on you. I'm gonna take you on using only my right arm." Takeda stepped into his makeshift ring. "You ready to take it to the ring?"

Obviously insulted by his declaration, Shirou tucked his left hand in his pocket. "Is that how you want to play it? In that case, I'll fight you one-handed as well. Let's both put aside our lefts."

"And here I was trying to be nice." Takeda gave him a condescending expression. "First, you came here knowing it was a trap, one which you instigated, I might add, and now you're fighting a Boxer without only one arm. If I had to describe you with one word, it'd be stupid."

"Is that right? I think it's the other way around." Shirou disagreed as he gave him the same look. "Even though I said I'd be here, you don't have to show up. In fact, part of me thought you wouldn't. After all, who else but someone stupid would actually wait around for someone they had no chance of beating?"

"Well, aren't you a tough guy?" Takeda sarcastically replied. "Let's see just how dumb you are. I think you might just change your mind."

Shirou stepped forward to enter the ring as Takeda lightly kicked the watch to start the countdown with a ding.

DING!

"You can attack me with any style you've got. Anything goes all right?" Takeda explained the rules as he used his footwork to hop lightly on his feet. "10 counts for a knockdown, three knockdowns, and it's over. So basically, if you go down three times in 1 round, you lose by KO, got it?"

"I know how a boxing match works." Shirou sarcastically told him, hoping lightly on his feet as well.

With everything settled, the fight began as they both went on the offensive. Both Shirou and Takeda immediately closed the distance and met in the center of the ring as they both threw a straight-right Jab at the same time.

POW!

To his surprise, though, even though their reach, timing, and speed of their blows were almost even, only Takeda's punch landed as Shirou to a hard right to the face and was knocked back a few steps.

"What the? Did I misread the distance?" Shirou mumbled in dismay.

Takeda didn't let him think about it as he moved in for another strike. As he threw another right Jab, Shirou tried to dodge it by swaying back, but unlike the usual result with the punch sailing past, Takeda's fist zoned and hit him in the cheek, almost as though it extended.

"Again? He's got fast hand speed but not so fast that I can't keep up, yet I can't follow his punches…." Shirou thought before a thought suddenly hit him. "Wait, is this—"

---

—

Flashback

"Listen, Shirou, what do you think makes a Boxer so hard to fight against?"

Right now, Shirou was currently in Taiwan and receiving training from his father. At this point in time, Shirou was at the age where he'd be a First-Year in Middle School if he was still in Japan. Shirou guessed the answer to that query.

"Their toughness, right?"

"Well, it's true Boxers are great at taking a beating. That's not what I'm talking about." He shook his head. "Toughness, strength, stamina, even experience, all those things can be gained through almost any kind of Art style. But Boxers, what makes them hard to fight against is one thing. It's the lines of their fists."

Shirou tilted his head. "What's that mean?"

"Basically, when you throw a punch, it usually travels in a straight line. You just need to follow its movement or react in time to evade it. Basically, you just have to see it." He explained it. "A Boxer's punches, however, are different. The lines of their moves are sharper and more precise than what you're used to. So much so that they're much harder to follow with your eyes; if they're at a high enough level, you'll barely be able to defend against them."

"What makes a Boxer's punches so different?" Shirou curiously asked.

"Boxing isn't like other fighting styles; you can only fight with your two fists, and they're a limited amount of targets, but because of that, Boxers train themselves to make sure their limited amount of punches are as strong as possible. And, in the ring, there's nowhere to run or hide. You can't go over or around your opponent. You can only go through them, so you need punches that can bring down any man in front of you. Boxing is what it is today because modern fighters from any weight class are capable of throwing punches that have something more than just speed and power. But it takes an extreme amount of training and real experience in the ring to get to that point. That's why when I Boxer facing someone without that same training or experience, it looks to the other guy like their punches can't even be seen."

Shirou processed all this information and pondered it, but it looked as though he was still having trouble comprehending it.

"I still don't get it. It's not like someone's arm can just disappear, right? Besides, in boxing, you only hit someone on their head or body from the front. If they hit here, you block here. If they punch this way, you dodge that way. If you get the general idea of where they're going to attack, how can defending be so hard?"

"Heh, you really don't get it. But I admit it's hard to understand with only words. You'd understand right away if you had an example, like when an amateur takes on a pro for the first time and sees how amazing they are but can't understand why. Well, if you ever do fight a real Boxer, you'll understand."

---

—

Flashback End

After reminiscing about that instance in his life when his father taught him the difference between the punches of a Boxer, Shirou could now finally understand what his words meant and, at the same time, understood why fighting Takeda seemed strangely more difficult compared to the others.

"So that's what's going on." Shirou realized inwardly. "He was right, he could hardly make sense of it through words, but after just one or two punches in the face, it all makes sense. I'm glad you can't see this, Dad. I'd hate to hear you say, 'I told you so'."

"What's wrong? Having second thoughts?" Takeda taunted before thinking about his moves. "Hold on, are you trying to use boxing against me?"

"What of it?" Shirou questioned.

"Heh, come on, haven't you seen any of those viral videos online where amateurs take on pros? Spoilers: Every one of them got their asses kicked badly." Takeda informed him confidently. "I said you can use whatever style you want, but if you think you can beat a Boxer like me in a boxing match, you won't even be able to touch me,"

"You wish!" Shirou moved in.

As the fight started up again, Shirou moved in and used his right to throw more punches at Takeda while moving forward. On the other hand, Takeda dodged every blow while moving backward and waiving side-to-side with a calm and collected expression as each punch harmlessly sailed by.

After dodging a hook aimed at his head, Takeda leaned forward and hit Shirou with a strong body blow in his stomach, which Shirou definitely felt. Following up with that, Takeda moved back up and threw a razor-sharp right hook at the side of Shirou's head, which rattled him to his core, and he was knocked back again.

Shirou stayed on his feet and shook off any dizziness he felt, but he couldn't ignore the numbing feeling he felt creeping up his body.

"Not bad. Not many guys can stay on their feet after that." Takeda almost mockingly praised. "But let's see how much you can take!"

Takeda closed in for another attack as Shirou threw a right Jab at him, but Takeda tilted his head to let it hurtled past him and hit him with a barrage of punches, a hard blow to the ribs, chest, and a liver blow, he ended it with three punches to the cheek with the speed of one and a machine-like accuracy that made them all hit the same spot.

This was finally enough to break through Shirou's defense as he was knocked down and hit the ground, landing on his left side.

"Gonna whiz red tonight." Shirou muttered before he hit the ground.

THUD!

"And he's down!" Takeda announced loudly. "So, are you gonna get up, or should I start counting?"

"Speed and power, less than Apachai." Shirou evaluated as he pushed himself up from the ground. "Grace and finesse, less than Miu." He planted his feet on the ground and stood himself back up. "Fighting spirit and a high fighting IQ…. The best I've seen since I came to this town." Finally, he fixed his stance and smirked with excitement. "I'm so glad I came here today."

"There you go!" Takeda was pleased to see him get back up. "Can't let it end right away."

Shirou fixed his stance and moved in to throw a punch. He got in close range and Jabbed at Takeda's cheek, but Takeda tilted his head to dodge, though Shirou did gaze at him this time.

Takeda returned the favor with a double Jab dead center on his face. Shirou stepped back as a trail of blood leaked from his nose.

"Almost there." Shirou thought while waiting for his chance.

"You know you can use your left if you want." Takeda gave him the option. "Wanna change your mind about it?"

Shirou shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine this way."

"Your funeral!" Takeda exclaimed.

Takeda dashed forth and went in for another right hook, intending to knock him back down. But this time, Shirou swayed back to try and dodge it again, and to Takeda's surprise, it worked, and his punch missed.

Now that he finally had an opening, Shirou threw a straight right that connected with Takeda's cheek, and this time, he was blown back.

"A counter punch?!" Takeda thought, taken aback. "What the hell?!"

Now Shirou was pleased. "I was tired of waiting."

Takeda corrected his footing and shook off the hit. "Was my aim off?"

Now Shirou went on the attack and closed in again. Takeda was more guarded this time as Shirou went in for a right Jab.

"He's aiming for my head." Takeda thought, reading his opponent's attack. "I'll duck in and counter him with a cross."

But as Takeda tried to do just that, Shirou surprised him again by swiping his arm upwards before his attack hit in order to knock away Takeda's arm and knock him off balance.

"It was a feint!" Takeda realized. "He was setting me up for a trap!?"

Not wasting this opportunity, Shirou stepped in and threw a powerful overhead right at Takeda's unguarded head.

POW!

His fist connected as Takeda ate a vicious right punch square in the face with Shirou's full weight behind it. The blow was strong enough to knock him off his feet, and this time, Takeda was the one who hit the ground hard.

THUD!

"Knockdown!" Shirou announced loudly. "You want me to start counting?"

Takeda picked himself back up right away and narrowed his eyes. "His moves are different from what they were a moment ago. Was he just pretending to be an amateur?"

"What's wrong? Where'd that grin of yours go?" Shirou taunted him.

"Don't worry. I'll be all smiles when I win." Takeda taunted back.

This time, they both went in, and just like at the very beginning of the fight, they both dashed in, got into each other's range, and threw a right Jab. But this time, even though their step-in, timing, and target of their blows were exactly the same, the outcome was completely different.

DING!

The alarm on the clock went off, signaling the end of the first round as both of them stood still, standing directly in front of each other as both their Jabs missed their mark by a few inches, and both their fists gazed at the other's cheek.

"First round's over." Shirou stated.

"Hmm, one-minute break. After that, we start the next round." Takeda informed him.

With that settled, they walked to their natural corners and sat on the ground as they waited for the next round while catching their breath or recovering from any damage. While they sat there, Shirou noticed that Ukita was still nearby and unconscious. He hadn't even moved an inch this whole time.

"…I didn't kill him, did I?" Shirou wondered.

"Hey?" Takeda got his attention. "Mind if I ask you a question?"

"Hmm…" Shirou waited before answering. "Sure, but after that, I get to ask you a question."

"Huh? Why?" Takeda asked.

"There's something on my mind that I want to ask you about. I'm assuming it's the same with you." Shirou reasoned.

"Fine, I guess that's fair." Takeda shrugged before asking his question. "Be honest. Are you also a Boxer?"

"I've watched live boxing matches before, and I know a thing or two about how Boxers fight, but I'm not a Boxer per se." Shirou answered truthfully. "I mean, I've studied all kinds of Martial Arts but never stuck to one exclusively. So I have studied boxing the same way a pro does."

"Then how were you able to read my punches?" Takeda didn't seem to be convinced. "You can't expect me to believe an amateur could just follow the punches of a pro like that?"

"True, it was hard at first. When we started, I could barely see them, but the more punches you threw, the more my eyes adjusted to them, and I started to get the hang of them." Shirou explained. "After the knockdown, I was finally able to see them vividly, and then I could fight back."

"That's not possible. I know what my punches are capable of. They're not the kind of punches that an amateur should be able to adjust to after just one round." Takeda denied it with a sound argument.

"Under normal circumstances, that might be true, but tell me, would it be possible if you were only using your right arm?" Shirou pointed out, which made Takeda stop and think. "A Boxer's left is his much faster arm and the one he practices with more. If he's using only one arm, his attack options are cut in half, and his moves are more stiff and rough around the edges, which makes his punches easier to see."

Hearing his explanation made him quiet before he looked down. He clicked his tongue with amusement. "Well, you get me there. Really, I should have figured that out already. It just never happened before, so it never occurred to me."

"Now, I get to ask you a question." Shirou reminded him.

"All right, what do you want to know?" Takeda asked.

"Your left arm, are you unable to use it?" Shirou questioned.

Takeda's eyes widened in shock. "How did you know?"

"Well, for starters, you just confirmed it." Shirou sarcastically pointed out before explaining. "I first saw you shared a piece of paper with a punch. I've also seen videos of you fighting as a member of Ragnarok, and I saw you destroy that piece of chalk with a punch. Every time I saw you punch, I thought something was weird but didn't know what, but now, after fighting you, I figured it out. You only use your right arm." He pointed out. "Not just punching, you didn't even use your left to take the chalk and watch out of your pocket, nor did you use your left to draw the ring or set the alarm. In fact, in all the time I've known you, I've never seen you even move your left arm."

"Well, you're pretty good at noticing smaller details." Takeda commented. "How do you know I wasn't just showing off when I fight and that the stuff wasn't just a coincidence?"

"He who rules with his left will rule the world." Shirou recited instead of answering, getting Takeda's attention. "I'm guessing you've heard of that proverb?"

Takeda simply closed his eyes. "Yeah, of course I have. A lot of old-school Boxers used to say that."

"It's a good line. Even if a Boxer doesn't know it, he still follows it." Shirou took note of this. "If you really are a Boxer, you'd know how important your left is in a fight, and from what I heard about you, your left was lethal, no pun intended. When we were fighting, you didn't just not use your left to punch. You also didn't use it to guard yourself and deflect my punches, even when you were about to take a big hit. No professional Boxer would fight like that, so the only thing that would make sense is that you can't do it."

Takeda smiled and shrugged after hearing his reasoning. "Okay, fine, you caught me. I guess I'll explain it. Everyone can use a cautionary tale about friendship." He looked down with a sad smile filled with regret. "Friends are good for nothing but heartache and pain. You're better off without them."

"Is that from experience?" Shirou asked, wanting to hear more of this.

"Yeah, I don't wanna brag or anything, but at one time, I had a pretty promising future as a Boxer ahead of me."

Takeda began his tale. In the past, he trained diligently and wholeheartedly to become a strong and capable Boxer, but he didn't do so alone. He remembered there was someone else he loved boxing just as much and trained just as hard who was right beside him back in those days. A friend named Akeshita.

"Akeshita was my closest friend. We started boxing at the same time, and we had been training side by side the whole way. He was almost like my brother. We went through hell together. Without him, I don't think I could have made it on my own."

Sadly, though, the good days didn't last forever. One day, things took a bad turn. It was nighttime, and Akeshita was talking with Takeda over the phone while on his way to the gym. He was suddenly ambushed and attacked by a group of muggers. As fighting broke out, Akeshita dropped his phone, but it was still on, and Takeda could hear what was going on through his own phone.

"To be honest with you, I wasn't sure about going to help him. I had an important match the next day, and I knew I'd be screwed if I were to get injured. I had to make a choice between my career and my friend."

DING!

The alarm bell on the watch went off as Takeda stood back up. "Times up." He prepared himself to go again, but Shirou remained sitting. "Hey, what are you waiting for? Get up already."

"Finish the story." Shirou ordered him without standing.

"Huh, shouldn't the rest be obvious?" Takeda argued.

"The deal was I answer you, and you answer me. You still haven't told me what happened to your arm, so we aren't done." Shirou reasoned.

Takeda stopped before letting out a sigh and stopping the watch. "Fine, you sure are a high-maintenance guy."

"So what happened next?"

"Like I said, it should be obvious. Of course, I went to help him, but it was a stupid decision. It cost me my career."

Takeda continued the story as we went back to that fateful night. Akeshita was struggling as Takeda arrived to join the fight. For a professional Boxer, fighting outside of the ring was forbidden, but Takeda didn't care about that as he threw his best punch—His straight left—Again and again on those muggers to save his friend. Near the end, one of them lifted a heavy piece of metal and brought it down on Takeda as he blocked it with his, damaging it so much that his arm became paralyzed. Despite that, he fought on.

"They outnumbered us ten to two, but we fought them off. I'm sure you already figured this out, but I didn't make it to the match the next day, and I haven't stepped into the ring since then. My boxing career was over. I threw everything away to help a friend.…. Akeshita, on the other hand… He went on to realize both of our dreams and went on to become a top contender."

Takeda's smile was anything but happy as he seemed to mourn that fact to the point where he looked like he hated remembering it. Due to his success, Akeshita became more and more absorbed in his career, and thus, he and Takeda saw less of each other. They barely associated anymore. At one time, Takeda saw Akeshita in the middle of his training and attempted to greet him, but Akeshita seemed more focused on his training and merely brushed him off as if to say that he didn't have time for him or he just thought that training was more important.

That would be the last time they see each other as Takeda clearly got the message and knew they weren't friends like they were before, or even friends at all when you get right down to it.

"And that was it. Pretty pathetic, right?" Takeda finished his tale. "I lost my right arm, my future, and my friend all in one night. Now you know."

"Tell me, if it was the other way around and he was the one who was injured and lost his career, would you still have been friends with him?" Shirou asked as though he wanted to confirm something.

"Of course, I would have!" Takeda immediately answered, not even needing to think about it. "Back then, Akeshita was still my best friend. If he literally gave an arm for me, I wouldn't have just ditched him. I couldn't."

"Then I guess you two had different opinions on your bond." Shirou reasoned. "You said that you started boxing at the same time, and you always trained together. But that begs the question, what do the two of you have together outside of boxing?"

"Huh, what are you getting at?" Takeda asked curiously.

"I mean, you met and became friends through boxing, and in all the time you spent together, all you two ever did together was boxing, meaning boxing was the only thing keeping you together." Shirou pointed out. "While you may have considered yourselves best friends, maybe he only thought of you as his boxing friend. And when you stopped being a Boxer, the one and only thing you guys had together was gone, so since you weren't his boxing friend, he stopped seeing you as a friend in general."

Takeda thought about that and considered if that could be the case but had another sad smile. "You know, that actually makes sense. It makes so much sense, in fact, that I can't even argue with it." He looked up at the sky. "So the only one who thought we were real friends was me huh? Talk about lame."

Takeda then went back to the alarm and reset the timer to start the next round.

"I answered your question. Now, let's get back to the fight." Takeda demanded.

This time, Shirou stood up. "Fine."

DING!

Play OST — Baki 2018 — Footwork (Extended)

As if they had both completely forgotten about the depressing conversation they had just had, both of them got ready to go again as they demonstrated their footwork by hopping lightly in place. But the aggressor was Shirou as he dove in and went on the attack.

Right away, he closed the distance and started Jabing at him like he was trying to knock his head off. Takeda was able to dodge every one of them with skilled head movement and footwork. Shirou wanted to avoid letting Takeda maintain distance. He needed to catch him and keep him within reach.

But while Shirou had a pretty sharp Jab, Takeda's footwork was far superior, the proof being how he didn't let Shirou catch him. While Shirou was moving forward, Takeda was moving backward. He was practically chasing around the ring. That said, Shirou never let up on his attack while chasing him.

"You're getting carried away." Takeda thought, preparing his own fist. "Your face is wind open!"

As Takeda pulled back his arm and threw a straight right at Shirou's unguarded face, as it inched closer, Shirou's eyes were able to track it.

"I can see!"

POW!

Shirou ducked under the punch and evaded it completely, to the surprise of Takeda. He followed that by coming up with an uppercut to Takeda's cheek and then a straight right on his face which packed enough of a punch to knock him to the ground.

"Damn, he really can see my punches now." Takeda inwardly complained as he got back up.

"His punches, which were too fast for me a moment ago, are now vividly clear." Shirou realized with confidence.

Not wanting to give him a chance to recover, Shirou rushed in again and got in close before throwing another straight right at Takeda's head. But Takeda wasn't dumb enough to get hit in the same place again as he waited for Shirou to close in and threw his own punch before Shirou could throw his. Shirou couldn't avoid it this time and took a right punch straight to the face.

POW!

This time, Shirou was the one knocked flat on his back. Takeda looked down at him as he stood over him.

"Don't forget that you're fighting a pro." Takeda reminded him like it was a warning. "Just 'cause you can see my punches now doesn't mean they aren't a threat. It just means we're back to square one. If you treat me like I'm some kinda chump, you'll get knocked on your ass every time."

Shirou stood up and spat out some blood. "I'll try to keep that in mind." But while his words were sarcastic inwardly, he was angry at himself. "Gah, what am I, some kind of amateur? Getting all excited and rushing in without a plan just because of a knockdown? Quit messing around and get your head in the game!"

Now, with a greater focus and determination, both fighters went in again. Now, they both switched to speedy Outboxing and fighting at mid-range. Shirou and Takeda used their soft, fluid footwork to dance around the ring and long Jabs at each other. Neither one connected, but both of them remained sharp and seemed to be getting sharp as they went on.

There was a difference in the type of sharpness their Jabs possessed, though. Shirou's punches were slashing and could come from any side, similar to a whip. Takeda's punches were different, though. His were spearing and precise like an arrow. It was a gutsy strategy on both their parts. If either one of their dart-and-dash movements slowed down for a second, the other was torn into with their Jab. It was a contest of endurance.

The outcome didn't take too long, though; Shirou aimed downstairs and attempted a body blow at Takeda's stomach, but Takeda was faster and threw a chopping right at Shirou's head. Turns out that's what Shirou wanted as he moved his body back up and turned to his side to absorb Takeda's punch with his shoulder.

"A shoulder block?!" Takeda's eyes widened.

Shirou then did a quick shift to change the position of his legs so that his right foot was in front, then he used his right arm to throw an arching right uppercut on the right side of Takeda's face while he couldn't dodge it and with his arm fully extended.

BAM!

This blow held much more force and resulted in a much great impact compared to any other blow up to this point. The punch was so strong it lifted Takeda off the ground and sent him flying backward. After a second, he hit the ground but still skidded back a few inches before stopping and laying there unmoving while his head faced the sky.

With nothing else to do, Shirou went to his concern and started counting, not expecting him to get up. "1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8—"

Before he could finish the 10-count, Takeda regained his motor functions and pushed himself back up before dragging his body off the ground and back on his feet. That said, he was in much worse shape than before. His knees were shaking, he was breathing heavily and covered in sweat around his brow, and his whole body was wabbling.

"That was insane. I've never felt a punch like that. I think he rattled my brain with that one." Takeda thought as he struggled to hold steady. "One more hit like that, and I'm finished. My body feels so heavy. I don't think I can move around too much anymore."

"One more knockdown will end it. There's still time left in the round." Shirou thought, more determined to end this. "One more good blow should do the trick."

Takeda was trying to come up with a new plan when Shirou rushed in. Shirou threw a few headshots which Takeda barely avoided, but they were only bait in order to redirect his attention. Once he backed away enough, Shirou targeted his body.

Shirou leaned his upper body forward. His knuckles were facing down close to his side. He started stretching his knees and used their force to thrust upward. All this built-up power was for a finishing blow aimed at Takeda's solar plexus. Takeda could see it coming and knew he couldn't withstand a blow like that.

"It's coming. Do I block?" He thought before realizing there was no time, and so he had only one option. "No, intercept!"

Takeda kneeled down and brought down his right arm to cross it over and around Shirou's arm. As his punch descended like a guillotine, Takeda's attack was able to close the distance and just managed to outpace Shirou's as Shirou fell victim to a full-on cross-counter.

BAM!

When the punch landed, it hit the right side of Shirou's head, and given the position he was standing in, it not only knocked him off balance, but the force of the punch rocketed his body down into the hard ground head first before his whole body collapsed. His head actually bounced for a second before he lay there face down and motionless.

Takeda let out a sigh of relief as he went back to his corner. That said, he didn't bother counting as he didn't have the energy to waste his breath right now. He only counted in his mind.

And just as he did before, Shirou mustered whatever strength he could and forced himself back on his feet. He was also in rough shape, breathing worn out, eyes blurry, and his legs felt like they were being weighed down. He had trouble holding steady.

Takeda dragged his feet from his corner, and Shirou faced forward as they were both trying to go again while gasping for air.

Music Off

DING!

The end of the round couldn't have come sooner. Once the alarm went off, both Shirou and Takeda dragged themselves back to their natural corners before letting themselves collapse to the floor, hoping to recover as much as they could within the one-minute interval. The two fighters were breathing heavily, trying hard to catch their breath and steady their breathing the whole time. They never stopped looking at each other, making sure they didn't lose any of the motivation, determination, and tension they were feeling from the last round. Both planned to end it in the next round.

"Legs heavy… Air heavy… Whole-body feels sluggish… Feel like I'm in water…." Shirou thought while gasping for air.

"Can't let him get that second wind… Legs wobbling, arms exhausted, face all busted up… fighting through all that to win is what boxing is about…." Takeda thought while gasping for air. "Even as a pro… I've never been this winded."

Play OST — Hajime No Ippo — Weight Of My Pride

DING!

The alarm went off again, signaling the start of the next round. Both of them stood up, having regained enough of their breathing to breathe steadily, and their bodies both stopped shaking. They recovered enough to go again.

"Ha, I missed this." Takeda confessed.

"What?" Shirou asked.

"The tension in the air, the taste of blood in your mouth, the sound of your heart beating in your ears." Takeda described it like it was an enjoyable experience. "Don't you just love boxing?"

"Honestly, yeah." Shirou confessed, enjoying the experience himself. "Just watching never did it justice. I think I might get hooked on boxing after today."

"That's the spirit." Takeda stepped forward. "Let's end it with a bang."

They both moved in to finally end this fight.

That said, they were under no delusion that they could fight the way they did the previous round. Their bodies and legs still felt heavy, and trying to fight while using their light footwork to dance around the ring would be asking for too much at this point. The only option they had left was to fight it out with an exchange of close-range punches.

[Aaarrrggghhh!] They both roared with their fists cocked back.

Shirou Jabbed and Takeda moved his head to the side to dodge it.

Takeda threw a downward hook that hit Shirou in the gut.

Shirou threw a hook that hit Takeda's shoulder.

Takeda threw an uppercut, which Shirou avoided with head movement.

They both stopped to gasp for air.

BA-BAAAAM!

At the same time, they both threw a chopping right at the other's head, resulting in a dual exchange and both of their heads being knocked back. Shirou regained his balance and stepped in to throw another right at Takeda, but just as he was about to connect, Takeda ducked and leaned his body forward before coming up for a counter hook.

"Hook's coming, lean back, man…Move back, work legs!"

WAM!

Shirou's body just couldn't follow the instructions his brain sent, and despite seeing the punch coming, he could do nothing but helplessly watch it smash into his face. This time, though, Takeda's aim was slightly off as his punch hit the lower part of Shirou's head, creating a bigger problem.

DRIP!

"Huh?"

Shirou felt it; he was cut. A cut had opened up just above his right eye, causing a drop of blood to trickle down into his eye, down his cheek, and drop to the ground. It stung and messed up his vision on his right side. It happened so suddenly that he needed a few seconds to process this. He tried using his hand to wipe away the blood.

POW!

The moment he tried it, Takeda suddenly sprung into a higher gear and hit him with a good punch to the gut, which made Shirou double over. With his head wide open, Takeda hit Shirou with a double Jab to worsen his cut. Shirou tried to throw a return fire hook, but with his bloodied eye, he misread the distance and missed Takeda's head. Takeda finished it with a counter punch right in the middle of his face that knocked his head back.

Seeing that cut open up, Takeda quickly felt he had a chance to take control and win this fight right away, and when you see the finish line in sight, you can go full speed ahead no matter how tired you are. Takeda targeted that cut like a bullseye and planned to use everything he had left in his tank. But he wasn't the only one.

Seeing Takeda's sudden burst of energy triggered Shirou's energy to do the same, and he quickly went ballistic on Takeda, not planning to stop punching until his opponent was out. Takeda's last punch sent his head reeling back, blood spilled from his nose and eye, and he spit some blood from his mouth. But he didn't falter and charged Takeda like a bull.

If he couldn't gauge distance that well, he just got as close as possible, so it wouldn't matter. He recently attacked anything in front of him. A hook hit Takeda's arm, a chopping right on his shoulder, an uppercut on his abdomen, and lastly, a second uppercut that closed in and landed on Takeda's chin. This time, Takeda was sent reeling back.

He stepped back a bit, and his legs were trembling, and he could feel his body was about to fall. It took almost all the strength of will he had to stay on his feet.

"Don't fall. If I fall now, I'll never get back up!"

His will managed to preserve as Takeda barely regained his footing and prevented himself from falling. Takeda could sense that his tank was almost empty and needed to wrap this up with his next barrage. He'd have nothing left. He let Shirou come to him to preserve energy.

Shirou tried another straight, but he inevitably slowed down, and Takeda got him with a right hook to the left cheek, then a right hook to the right cheek, and to end it, you used a savage right uppercut on Shirou's jaw. Shirou had stumbled back. His legs were wobbling, all the repeated headshots messed up the cut even further, and his eye was a mess; he couldn't even see through it anymore; he felt completely drained.

He had given all he had to give.

Takeda had one last good punch left in him and grit his teeth as he clenched his fist, punched his legs to carry him forward one last time, and lunged forward at Shirou, pulling his arm all the way back before twisting his body and building up as much strength as his could to threw his final knockout punch.

BA-BAAAAM!

The final straight right connected, and Shirou ate the full-on force of Takeda's fist with his whole body behind it. His bloodied face took it without any guard as he felt the impact throughout his entire body. Shirou began to keel over as his body began to fall to the ground.

"I've won!"

But Takeda's thoughts were proven wrong as there was still light reflecting in his eyes. The last gusts of his second wind roared like a hurricane as he stretched his leg further out to hold himself steady and used the way his body was keeling over to waive his body in the other direction to build up momentum, using the springs in his joints and his upward momentum he pushed himself back up while throwing his own final punch.

While Shirou was coming up, he transferred all the built-up power and momentum he had into an uppercut, one that started almost an inch off the ground and then came up with both speed and power that flew at Takeda like a rocket. This time, Takeda couldn't move his body to avoid it as it reached its mark.

WA-BAAAAAAAM!

Shirou's skyward uppercut exploded on Takeda's jaw and sent an electric impact from his head to the tips of his toes. He could almost feel his brain get rattled in his skull, and then everything went blank. The force of that blow left Takeda up and off his feet, in the air for a second, before he came back down and landed on his feet. His body then fell forward and collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose strings were severed as Takeda's consciousness was gone.

The makeshift boxing was finally over as the final scene displayed Shirou still standing there with his fist still extended upwards to the sky while standing over the crumpled form of a beaten Takeda.

Music Off

---

—

"…Mmm."

A soft groan escaped his lips as Takeda slowly regained consciousness. Light returned to his eyes as his vision began to clear up, and he noticed he was lying on his back and staring up at the sky.

His breathing was steady, and he no longer felt the extreme exhaustion he had felt before. That said, his body was still a bit numb as he tried to sit up.

"Finally awake?"

Takeda turned his head to see Shirou sitting a few feet away. His face was bruised here and there, and the cut above his eye had stopped bleeding as the blood that was leaking had dried up, and he had a handkerchief wrapped around his eye.

"Ahh… What hit me?" Takeda breathed out, still feeling a little dizzy.

"It was the uppercut. Knocked you out like a light." Shirou informed him. "I've been sitting here for a few minutes waiting for you to wake up."

"I see… So I lost…." Takeda was quiet but didn't sound upset. It was more like a resounding acceptance. "That sucks. Still, it was an awesome fight."

"…Yeah, it sure was." Shirou agreed.

"Dude, you are insane." Takeda said it like it was a compliment. "Even as a pro, I've never had a fight like that. If you became a Boxer, I bet you'd become a champion right away."

"I probably could, but as much of a fan of boxing as I am, it's just not my predominant style." Shirou reasoned.

"That's a shame." Takeda commented with a smile.

"This was easily the closest fight I've had in years." Shirou changed the subject with that honest evaluation. "It was the first time I actually felt threatened, as though I might actually lose. I can't remember the last time I felt pressure like that."

"It was the same for me, honestly, a fight that wild, explosive, back-and-forth, it reminded me why I loved boxing. The whole reason I became a Boxer was that I always wanted to have an amazing fight like that against a great Boxer." Takeda confessed before his expression turned sour. "The more I think about it, the crappier all this feels, knowing I'll never be able to, not anymore."

"Despite that, you still call yourself a Boxer." Shirou noticed. "Even though you physically can't box anymore, you still fight like a Boxer, under the rules of a boxing match, and train like one. I could tell those punches weren't the kind someone who stopped training could throw."

"Call me childish, but I just couldn't let it go." Takeda admitted with a sigh. "Boxing was my life, my dream. It meant everything to me. I devoted everything I could to being a Boxer, and then one day, I was just told I couldn't; there was no way I could just say 'Okay' and go on with my life. I couldn't accept it. I joined Ragnarok because I wanted to keep fighting as a Boxer. Even if it meant being a thug who fights on the streets, I could still box in my own way. It wasn't much, but it was something."

"You wanted to keep boxing that much?" Shirou asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yeah." Takeda answered right away. "Even one-handed."

Shirou didn't respond for a while; he just silently processed all this before an idea came to him.

"Hey, what if there was a way you could box again?" Shirou suggested.

"Huh? Whadda mean?" Takeda became confused.

"I'm saying, what if you could get your arm fixed?" Shirou clarified.

Takeda shook his head. "I already saw a doctor. It couldn't be fixed. I just lost all feeling in it, and now it just hangs there all numb."

"But, I know who could actually pull it off. He's like a genius bone-setter. I've seen him fix human bodies like it's nothing." Shirou described, hoping to convince him. "He's practically a miracle worker. You should at least try it."

Takeda looked like he was interested but didn't want to get his hopes up out of fear of disappointment. "I don't know—"

"You should try it."

The sudden voice caught the attention of both of them as they looked to see where the source came from.

"Ukita?" Takeda blinked.

"When did you wake up?" Shirou raised a brow.

"I got up around the time the third round started." Ukita answered as he sat up before looking irritated. "And would it have killed either of you to have at least moved me to the wall or checked to see if I was okay? I could have really been hurt back there?"

Takeda raised his hand. "My bad, big guy."

"Anyways, I agree. If there's a way you can fix your arm, then go for it." Ukita attempted to convince him as well. "If boxing really does mean that much to you, then you own it to yourself to at least try this, and it's not like you have anything to lose at this point."

Takeda seemed surprised by his consideration. "Ukita, you…?"

"I what?" Ukita almost seemed annoyed at him. "Your problem is you always think too much, especially on the simple stuff."

Takeda blinked before he held back some laughter and looked back at Shirou. "Pfft… All right, fine, let's give it a try. So, where is this great doctor anyway?"

"Not too far from here. Come on. I'll take you to him." Shirou decided.

But, as the three of them tried to stand up, they all felt their legs became unsteady and had trouble walking.

"Okay, new plan: We wait a few minutes until our legs wake up, then we go." Shirou suggested.

[Agreed.] Takeda and Ukita agreed with that idea.

---

—

It was now sunset as the unlikely trio of Shirou, Takeda, and Ukita made their way to Akisame's bone-setting clinic behind Ryoanpaku Dojo. As they entered through the front door, Shirou went first and entered the room where patients were treated. Akisame was already in the middle of fixing Kenichi, and Miu was with him.

"Sup." Shirou walked in.

"Oh, Shirou? I wondered where you were?" Akisame addressed him.

"Yeah, where have you been all day?" Miu curiously asked.

"Exactly. Do you have any idea what I had to go through because you left early?!" Kenichi snapped at him. "I had to do extra training with Apachai!"

"Your thing is the least of my concerns right now." Shirou bluntly told him.

"You just—Huh?" Kenichi seemed to just now notice the bruises and blood around Shirou's face, as well as his roughed-up appearance. "What happened to you?" He now sounded more concerned.

"Were you fighting?" Miu asked, also wanting to know.

"That's not the issue. I need Akisame to look at some guys who are injured." Shirou informed them.

"Oh, you brought more patients?" Akisame stood up from his chair. "Well then, send them in."

At that, Shirou went back and led Takeda and Ukita into the room. Once they saw them, Miu gasped, and Kenichi started to freak out.

"Waaahhh!" Kenichi shrieked as he pointed at them. "What's going on!? Why would you bring two guys from Ragnarok here?! Have you lost it!?"

"Sheesh, not a very welcoming bunch, are you?" Ukita noticed.

"Nah, just means we got a strong reputation." Takeda took it in stride.

"I think I see what's going on. You went out to fight these two and came back victorious, didn't you?" Akisame deduced, looking at Shirou. "But, now that the fighting is over, you brought them all back here to get your wounds treated, am I right?"

Shirou shrugged. "More or less."

"You fought both of them on your own?" Miu become shook to hear that. "Why would you do that when Niijima told us how dangerous they were?"

"Because I enjoy fighting the dangerous, or have you not been paying attention?" Shirou answered like it was obvious. "Besides, I'd do it again. Today, I had a great fight, one of the best I've ever had since I got back to Japan."

"A great fight?" Akisame took notice of that. "That's the first time I ever heard him give compliments to his opponent after a fight. How interesting."

Kenichi honed in on that detail as well. "Every fight I've seen him in always looked so easy. For him to say that and with how messed up he is. Was the other guy really that strong?"

"What's wrong?" Takeda noticed Kenichi's gaze.

"Nothing, it's just…!" Kenichi averted his gaze before answering sheepishly. "I was just thinking what kind of fight you guys had."

"Well, you should have been there." Takeda grinned at him. "It was the best fight you've never seen."

"I only saw the end of it." Ukita was unconscious.

"I could barely see by the end of it." Shirou's eye was blinded by his blood.

With everything settled, once Akisame was finished with Kenichi, he treated Ukita and Shirou. He patched up any wounds Ukita had and let him rest on the bed while he bandaged up Shirou's face to cover his bruises and his right eye. It didn't take too long, and now only one was left.

"Alright then, now that I've finished treating Shirou, your buddy over there seems to be resting peacefully. That just leaves you, I suppose." Akisame turned his attention to Takeda. "I'm assuming you're the Boxer I've heard so much about."

"Um, yeah." Takeda turned his head. "I'm fine, don't worry. I'm used to these types of injuries."

"I'm not worried about those injuries, but I am interested in the other one." Akisame clarified, getting his attention. "I'm referring to your paralyzed left arm."

Takeda's eyes widened. "How did you know? No one's mentioned it since we've been here."

"I'm a professional." Akisame answered as though that explained everything.

"His arm?" Kenichi blinked.

"What's going on?" Miu became confused.

Akisame then moved closer to Takeda and applied pressure on his arm before letting go and then began applying more pressure on his shoulder. Takeda was grunting in pain from this pressure, but Akisame paid it no mind.

"You must have had a lousy doctor." Akisame evaluated. "From what I can tell, they only treated the fractured bone. However, they were too incompetent to realize that your nerves were being compressed by your disjointed spinal column, which is why you can't move your arm."

Takeda was gritting through the pain the whole time he was talking until he finally had enough and swiped his hand away. "Gah! That's enough!"

Takeda froze in complete shock and astonishment as he realized that he had just one. He moved his left up. Shirou became both relieved and satisfied when he saw that.

"What the hell? My arm… I just moved it, didn't I?" Takeda asked, having trouble believing it.

"You did." Shirou confirmed it.

"You're welcome." Akisame added.

"So, you mean that wasn't just a fluke?" Takeda asked. The hope was clear in his tone. "You really think you can heal it for me?"

"Sure, we can have you back to normal in no time." Akisame assured him with confidence. "Shouldn't be too much trouble. It's actually a very simple procedure."

"Is there anything that's not simple to him?" Kenichi wondered.

"You mean…Back to normal as is… You think I can box again?" Takeda asked, more hopeful than before.

"Boxing? Don't be ridiculous." Akisame said in a scolding tone. Hearing this gave Takeda a look of surprise before it was replaced with disappointment, though part of him expected his outcome. But Akisame wasn't finished as he continued with a smile. "When I'm done with you, you'll be able to compete in the world arm-wrestling championship."

Hearing this confirmation, the biggest smile on Takeda's face. He was so happy and relieved he could almost cry. Shirou slapped Akisame's head.

"Quit doing that to act dramatic. It's more annoying than anything." He reprimanded him.

"Well, that's hurtful to know." Akisame noted.

"Still though, was I right or was I right?" Shirou bragged to Takeda. "Hope you're ready to get your left back."

"Look, man, I…." Takeda looked down, having trouble finding the right words. "I don't… How can I even thank you for this?"

Shirou gently tapped his fist against Takeda's abdomen before responding. "You can heal up, become the best Boxer you can be, and then fight me again. This time, with gloves, inside a real ring, and with both hands, that's how."

Takeda looked up at him before smiling with resolve. "Yeah, and I'll win next time."

"Don't get cocky." Shirou smirked at him before turning around. "In any case, with this, I've completely defeated the Takedown Trio, so all that's left is the main event. It's time to fight Kisara Nanjo."

"No offense, but you're in for it with her." Takeda warned him, still smiling. "Kisara's tough, tougher than the three of us were. You'll be in for the fight of your life if you're going to brawl with her."

Shirou didn't lose confidence. "That's just what I want."

"Would someone explain what's going on!?" Kenichi finally asked. "Why did you come back here with those Ragnarok guys? What's all this stuff about his arm being paralyzed, and why are you two talking like your friends now?!"

"Yeah, I am completely lost right now." Miu rested a hand on her cheek.

"Fine, I guess you guys deserve to know." Shirou sat down on a chair. "It's a long story, so pay attention."

"And while you're doing that. I'll continue with the treatment." Akisame declared as he went back to Takeda a placed his hand on Takeda's shoulder. "This is going to hurt a little, but just try to relax. On the count of three."

"Right." Takeda quietly responded.

"One, two!" Akisame immediately applied pressure on Takeda's shoulder, causing it to produce a popping sound.

"Gaah!" Takeda let out a scream of pain. "You said on three!"

---

—

Meanwhile, at the Dojo, the rest of the Masters were relaxing. Sakaki was drinking a bottle of alcohol, Kensei was reading a magazine, Apachai was hammering more nails onto the doll on the tree, and Shigure was on the roof, playing with her pet mouse, Touchmaru.

"Whelp looks like the punk managed to make it through another day." Sakaki noted before taking another sip.

"Apachai, so happy!" Apachai cheered. "The good, lucky doll Shigure showed me brought him home safe."

Hayato sat by the porch and stroked his beard as he thought over the events of today.

"I wonder how many of them realize the significance of today's events." Hayato thought to himself. "Through fighting an opponent who drove him beyond his limits and having gained victory after barely escaping the jaws of defeat, Shirou's fangs that were dull have sharpened a bit, and that means he's finally taken his first step in reaching his potential. The only now is when the boy will be able to take further steps."

He wondered about those things as he looked up at the sky.

—…

---

And that's the chapter.

And so what did you think? The first was mainly par the course where we followed their training and preparation. Though learning to grow into Apachai's training is important, it'll take a while for that to really go anywhere. As for the fight portion of the chapter, I wanted to put a lot of effort into this fight for a few reasons.

One reason was that I felt that Takeda was worth it. In the canon, Takeda was a splendid fighter whose potential and abilities were praised by all the greatest Masters in the verse. In my mind, he was the best choice to be Shirou's first true opponent and the first one who helped sharpen his fangs.

While Shirou could have destroyed Takeda if he had used both arms, that's not his style. He fights under his opponent's terms and beats them at their own game, for better or worse.

Another reason is that I wanted to do this fight justice. In the original, the fight ended abruptly without a clear outcome on who would have one had they been able to finish, so I fixed that by giving it a real outcome.

The last reason was that I always felt that a few of the fights in the canon ended too soon or in a way where the fighters couldn't show what they were really capable of. That's why I plan on making the fights longer, mainly against his rivals, so both Shirou and his opponent can give all they have to give so the fights can live up to their full potential. And you all know how I feel about wasted potential.

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