Hey everyone, and welcome to this chapter. This chapter will feature the full fight between Shirou and Tsuji as well as the appearance of a new character in the story, one I've been looking forward to introducing for a while.
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody. History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi is owned by Funimation and Syun Matsuena. Please support the official release.
"Shirou" Regular speech.
"Shirou" Thoughts.
SEIKUKEN Attack names.
(Shirou) Words said previously.
[Shirou] Words said in unison.
This Is How We Fight
—…
The fight between Shirou and Tsuji had just gotten started with Tsuji tanking Shirou's fist attack, and now they were squaring off in the park, ready to go again. His gang was standing around them to watch while Miu, Kenichi, and Kensei hid in the nearby bushes to watch as well.
"This was a pretty good punch." Tsuji commented before raising his fist. "But let's see you try that again."
"Don't mind if I do then." Shirou raised his own fist.
[Haaaaaa!]
This time both of them closed in at the same time and stopped when they closed the distance before they each swung their dominant arms and punched at the same time. Instead of hitting each other, their two fists only skimmed each other before sailing through the air, and they jumped back.
"They missed?" Kenichi blinked.
"No, look again." Kensei informed him.
Shirou felt it. The pink finger on his hand was twisted and damaged.
When punching, the index finger is where most of the power is concentrated, while the pink hardly has any. With that logic, if these two fingers met in a clash of power during a punch, there was only one outcome.
"Heh, oh, sorry about that, didn't think it would break so easily." Tsuji taunted him. "Need a minute to deal with that."
"No thanks." If he was in any pain, Shirou didn't show it. Instead, he used his other hand to grab his finger, and to the shock of some of those watching, with an audible cracking noise, he popped it back into place. Looking back at Tsuji, he narrowed his eyes. "Bones were made to be broken."
"He just popped his finger back into place?" Miu said with concern.
"Is he nuts? There's no way that's safe?" Kenichi almost lost his composure. "He can't fight like that. He needs to get that treated."
"And just how can he do that while surrounded by enemies?"
Kensei pointed out that fact to get their attention.
"Skill is only part of the equation, a fighter gains a certain knack after years of experience, and no amount of talent or training can compensate for that." Kensei informed them. "Shirou is aware of that and clearly has experience of his own. An ordinary fighter would be thrown off by a broken bone, but he was barely phased. I'm guessing he's so used to being wounded in fights that to him, a broken finger is hardly anything to be concerned about."
"He's used to it?" Kenichi thought as he thought back to a previous fight with one of Kisara's grunts. "When I thought that one guy, he freaked out over a bloody nose, but these two. Is this how real Delinquents are? And they've just gotten started."
"Oh, Shirou." Miu still sounded worried and leaned over the bush.
Kensei used that opportunity to point the camera at Miu's butt and zoom in on it.
Back at to fight, Tsuji charged in this time and pulled back his arm to attack again. Shirou saw it coming. However, Tsuji's next move was actually trying to stomp on Shirou's foot, but Shirou saw it coming and stepped back, though that didn't stop Tsuji from punching at him, which Shirou barely dodged due to being distracted.
CLAP!
Still, right in front of Shirou, Tsuji clapped his hands right in his face. It seemed random, but doing this so suddenly actually messed with Shirou's reaction time for a second, which was all Tsuji needed to hit him with a vicious uppercut to the jaw.
That punch knocked Shirou back a few steps. His knees buckled for a second, but he stayed up as a drop of blood spilled from his mouth.
"Heavy. His punches don't have any of the sharpness that Takeda's had, but they have way more weight and damaging force." Shirou thought, thinking back on his last few fights. "I think he's got the heaviest punches among every Ragnarok member I've faced thus far."
Shirou shook off the damage and moved in on Tsuji, but instead of punching, he surprised Tsuji this time by jumping in midair before hitting him with a swift kick to the face and matched that swiftness with a second one of the same spot right after the face that faced Tsuji back.
"A midair One-Two kick?" Miu recognized the technique.
Kensei nodded while smiling. "Mmm-Hmm, I taught him that."
Shirou continued his advance and used his left arm to throw another punch at Tsuji held, but Tsuji stood his ground and countered by leaning back and lunging his head forward like he was going for a headbutt as he used his head to block Shirou's punch.
The strength and toughness of the bones of the front of the skull were much harder than the bones in the hands, and a collision between the two caused damage to Shirou's head as he almost felt it going numb.
"Damn it." Shirou grunted.
POW!
Tsuji followed up by lunging forward again and stretching out his arm to hit Shirou full-on with a lariat to his throat. This next attack lifted Shirou off the ground and sent him back as he looked like he would fall.
[Shirou!] Both Kenichi and Miu cried out.
But he didn't fall. Even without hearing those words, Shirou knew what to do as he placed his legs underneath himself and caught his footing. He remained on his feet and stood back up straight as he kept his gaze on Tsuji.
"Heh, you're gonna have to do better than that if you wanna survive against me." Tsuji told him.
"Survive?" Shirou sent him a smirk. "Get real. I barely felt that last one."
"Hahaha, well, I'm glad you haven't lost your sense of humor. I'm amazed you still have the strength to talk smack after the beating you just got." Tsuji sounded almost impressed.
"I've come back from worse." Shirou didn't waver. The pain from his broken finger, his numb hand, his body, none of it concerned him at all. "I've fought through way worse conditions than this and won it in the end."
Shirou decided he wouldn't let Tsuji gain the upper hand and moved in to attack. Shirou got in close, and Tsuji threw a punch to try and counter. Shirou knew that given the size and weight difference, he'd hurt himself rather than Tsuji if he tried blocking that punch with his forehead, so he dodged by waiving to the right.
Seeing his opening, Shirou hit Tsuji with a Muay Thai low kick to Tsuji's ankle. Shirou's incredible leg strength caused his kick to hold a great amount of power, which made Tsuji grunt in pain.
Shirou wasn't done as he used his right to strike Tsuji with a sharp punch to his chin which shook Tsuji and made his legs tremble, it was his strong will that prevented the bigger man from falling, but he didn't move. Shirou took advantage of that and rained down a barrage of punches all over Tsuji's stomach. Tsuji painfully stepped back while gripping his stomach. Shirou finished it off by fixing his balance, twisting his hips, and using a strong high kick that slammed into Tsuji's temple.
Finally, it was Tsuji who was knocked into the air and off his feet before hitting the ground hard on his back.
"Ah yeah, he won!" Kenichi cheered with relief.
"That was great." Miu praised him. "Muay Thai, Kung Fu, and then Karate. He used them in a sequence to finish him off."
Tsuji's gang members were shocked at what they had just witnessed. "No way, I've never seen the boss go down like that."
"You think he's okay?"
"Don't know?"
Shirou stood there waiting to recover some of his damage. But, unfortunately, this was far from over.
As if stringing back to life, Tsuji kicked out his legs and wrapped them around Shirou's ankles as a way to entrap him. He then pulled back in order to make Shirou trip and fall. Shirou caught himself before he hit the ground, but Tsuji was waiting for that as he sprung to his feet and grabbed the base of Shirou's le and held it up to his shoulder.
"You didn't think you were the only one who was good at taking a beating, did you?" Tsuji asked confidently while he raised his own leg.
In the position he was in, Shirou couldn't get up or move that much, which made Tsuji's intentions obvious. Tsuji brought his foot down and stomped on Shirou's face as hard as he could.
POW!
The stomp slammed hard into the front of Shirou's face and knocked the back of his head to the ground. He felt himself becoming a bit dazed as his cheek was bruised.
"Just fighting by the book will get you nowhere with me." Tsuji told him as he prepared to strike again. "This ain't a formula. A fight is only about one thing. It's about YOUR INSTINCTS!"
With that roar, he stomped down on Shirou again.
"Gugh!" Shirou gasped in pain.
"Shirou!" Kenichi yelled in horror.
"That's it!" Miu angrily jumped out to help.
"Not yet." Kensei grabbed her leg to stop her.
"Why are you stopping me?!" Miu yelled in frustration. "Can't you see he needs help!?"
"He's not beaten yet." Kensei informed both of them. "I can see it in his eyes. He hasn't given all he has to give yet." He looked at both of them seriously. "I know how you must feel, but just keep watching. Whether he wins or loses, it'll be his fight to the end."
They both looked like they wanted to argue and just help him, but they could tell Kensei wouldn't let them.
Even though Shirou got stomped on again, he could still think straight and knew how he was going to get out of this.
As Tsuji went in for another one, Shirou reached out and caught Tsuji's foot. Not missing a beat, Shirou gripped Tsuji's foot before twisting it.
"Gah!" Tsuji let out a growl.
Instinctively, he let go of Shirou's leg, and Shirou let go of Tsuji's foot as he got back up. Now that there was a distance between them again, they both had time to breathe.
"Heh, you sure are slippery. I'll give you that much." Tsuji noted with a laugh.
"And you're a bad finisher. Lucky for me, though." Shirou taunted back.
"He's right. You're fighting style hasn't changed one bit, has it? You're still sloppy."
A new voice spoke out, which caught everyone's attention. They all looked to see who the new arrival was as the said person walked up to them from behind Tsuji's gang and approached Shirou before stopping a few steps away from him.
It was unmistakable to everyone who it was. The Boxer, Takeda Ikki, greeted Shirou with a smile.
"It's Takeda?" Kenichi looked on with surprise.
"Did he come to help?" Miu wondered.
"Hmm?" Kensei became interested.
"Hey man, how's it going?" Takeda greeted Shirou as he gave him a small wave.
"Takeda?" Shirou blinked. "What brings you here?"
"Nothing. I was just going for a walk when I heard a commotion going on in the middle of the park." Takeda explained before looking at Tsuji. "I heard that you were going after Shirou-kun. So Kisara's got you doing her grunt work, huh? I knew that you would do whatever she said. Doing a little recruiting?"
"Hey, this has nothing to do with you! Walk away!" Tsuji demeaned him.
"You can't interfere with an executive member of Ragnarok." One of Tuji's grunts told him.
"You're totally out of line, man." Another one told him.
"We have rules. Not even you can break them." A third one said.
"Sorry, but that's not my problem." Takeda smiled calmly at them. "Guess you guys haven't heard the news. I quit the gang."
"Hold it. You know the penalty for quitting Ragnarok, right? You get a farewell beating from the whole gang!" Tuji angrily reminded him. "Me and my boys are gonna make sure the only way you leave here is on your hands and knees, punk!"
Before he could go any further, Shirou appeared in Tsuji's face and placed his palm over Tsuji's face.
"What happened to our one-on-one, Tsuji?"
WHAM!
Shirou didn't wait for his response as he used that opportunity to hit Tsuji with a palm strike that sent him back.
"I thought we were fighting, man-to-man?" Shirou reminded him. "Are you just going to drop out halfway through?"
"He's right, Tsuji." Takeda chimed in. "You looked like you were in the middle of something. You seriously just going to walk away like that?"
Tsuji merely wiped his mouth before straightening out. "No way. Just hang tight, Lightweight. I'll deal with you later."
"Listen, this guy is my friend, all right?" Takeda made it clear to all of them. "So from now on, you mess with him, you mess with me." Takeda looked at Shirou. "If you need a hand, I've got two I don't mind lending."
"That's fine, don't worry about it." Shirou didn't accept his offer but looked more confident. "Just watch. I already know how I'm gonna beat this guy."
Meanwhile, back at Ryozanpaku, the Masters were doing their own thing while waiting for the others to return. In particular, Apachai was in front of one of the pine trees and harming the nails onto a straw doll to attach it to the tree. Shigure was with him.
As they were doing this, Akisame walked by and noticed what they were doing as he raised a brow.
"Hmm, nailing up another one of your dolls, I see." Akisame sounded unsure.
"Uh, yes…" Shigure quietly answered.
"We need luck! 'Cause Apachai got a horrible feeling earlier today!" Apachai added. "Apachai picked up the stuff that Miu asked him to! Then felt worried for Shirou and Kenichi!" The tanned giant explained. "This time, he knows it's for real!"
With that, Apachai went back to hammering the nails. Akisame looked worried for different reasons, though.
"Yes, but Shigure, you know how Hayato feels?" Akisame reminded her.
"It's… For Shirou…" Was all she said in response. "…He'll understand."
"What I mean is—" Akisame sweated a little.
"It's okay…." Shigure cut him off. "It's just… A few… Nails." She then placed her hands on her hips. "Only… 100."
"APA!" Apachai cheered in agreement. "Lucky nail number one! Keep Shirou safe, lucky nail!"
Akisame gave up and scratched his head. "I'll leave it to you then. Don't say I didn't warn you." He walked away from them.
Shigure bowed her head slightly. "…Thank you."
"APACHAI! THAT HAD BETTER NOT BE YOU AGAIN!"
Both Apachai and Shigure gasped when they heard that bellowing voice rushing toward them and saw Hayato angrily running to where they currently were, looking very upset.
"I SWEAR! IF YOU'RE POUNDING MORE NAILS INTO MY PINE TREES!" Hayato yelled as he ran closer to them.
"Apapapa!"
Like a pair of children caught making trouble, Apachai and Shigure ran off as fast as they could to avoid facing the Elder's wrath as he didn't give chase and stayed next to his tree, practically fuming.
Back at the park, Shirou and Tsuji were squaring off again, and Shirou looked more confident while Tsuji didn't look worried at all.
"You know how to beat me?" Tsuji repeated unconcernedly. "And just how's that?"
"It's what you said before—This ain't a formula. It helped me understand what I was doing wrong." Shirou explained before wearing a savage smile. "Honest fighting just isn't for me. Oh well, can't say I didn't try."
Shirou dropped his arms to his sides and walked calmly toward Tsuji. Kenichi looked more confused now.
"What's he doing?" He wondered. "He's leaving himself wide open."
"Something's weird?" Miu noticed. "I can't put my finger on it, but something feels different about him."
Kensei's eyes widened slightly. "Don't tell me."
Once Shirou got close enough to the point where they were face to face, he stopped for a moment and then looked up at the sky above him. Confused as to what he was looking at, Tsuji looked up as well.
This turned out to be a misdirection as once he did that, Shirou kicked out a high-knee kick at Tsuji's gut. Thanks to his instincts, Tsuji reacted in time to block it but couldn't stop himself from being surprised. This momentary shock caused him to lose his balance as Tsuji and Shirou stumbled forward, causing Shirou to now be behind him.
Shirou was waiting for this, and taking advantage of the position he was in, Shirou lashed out his foot to heel-stomp the back of Tsuji's knee.
"Aha!"
Tsuji immediately felt the pain as he collapsed to the ground on one knee, feeling the pain in his other one. Shirou pivoted his body and used that momentum to fuel his next attack. The moment Tsuji looked back up in Shirou's direction, his face was smashed by one of Shirou's low-kicks that hit him right in the middle, it was like kicking a soccer ball, and Tsuji's head was the ball.
"Gugh!" Tsuji coughed as blood fell from both his nose and lips.
Tsuji fell back and was on his knees with his torso straight and his head facing upward. He felt his brain get rattled a bit as his vision blurred. But even his blurry eyes could scarcely see what was coming next. Shirou had stepped back before leaping into the air while arching his head and neck back like he was stretching it in midair.
As he came down, he swung his head forward like a catapult and slammed his head into Tsuji's for a monstrous headbutt.
CRACK!
There was a loud cracking noise and a splash of red as Shirou leaped again over Tsuji's body, while Tsuji fell back onto the ground with a thud, his face all red and his nose clearly broken. Shirou stood, still smiling, while there were some red droplets dripping from his Silver-hair.
Takeda whistled to show he was impressed.
Kenichi was slack-jawed at what he saw. "No freaking way? He turned it around in an instant." He was amazed, though slightly intimidated at what he had just seen.
"His rhythm and tempo were completely different compared to before?" Miu looked like she was trying to figure out something she didn't get. "What style was that, a variation?"
"No, that wasn't it…." Kensei said with a quiet tone. "The truth is, he's abandoned his training."
[Huh?] Both of them sounded surprised.
Despite the horrible mess his condition was, Tsuji rolled over to his stomach and pushed himself up before slowly rising to his feet. He didn't look hurt or upset, just raring to keep fighting.
"That one wasn't too bad." Tsuji commented while a trail of blood leaked from his forehead.
"This has gotta be some kinda joke. Just how durable are you?" Shirou asked like it was a funny joke.
"Hahaha! I could ask you the same thing. If you keep impressing me like this, I might actually start respecting you more than I already do!" Tsuji replied as he held out his arms. "And since you've finally started fighting for real, I don't have to hold back anymore!"
"All then! Bring it on!" Shirou clenched his fists as hard as he could.
The two of them charged at each other like wild bulls before meeting and exchanging a series of wild punches at each other.
"Abandon his training?" Kenichi repeated, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Every style of Martial Arts, no matter how offensive or aggressive, has a sense of style and rhythm." Kensei began to explain. "Through training and practice, we learn to Master them and, at some point, can even create different variations. But regardless, they're still Martial Arts, but in this case—"
Kensei pointed to Shirou and Tsuji's exchange of attacks and focused closely on Shirou's movements.
"He's stopped using Martial Arts entirely. There is no rhythm or any kind of variation." Kensei said with a disapproving tone. "That's not Martial Arts, only…. Violence."
Shirou threw a punch that he put his whole right side into, but Tsuji dodged by side-stepping to the left. Left wide open, Tsuji hit Shirou with a full-swing left punch across his cheek. Shirou was knocked back a bit but stopped himself with his back foot.
Shirou spat out some blood but looked fine.
"Ugh!" Then he felt it.
It was a delayed reaction, but Shirou suddenly felt his body become heavier, and he fell to one knee. Tsuji stood over to him and pointed at him.
"C'mon…" Tsuji smugly pointed his finger at him. "Get up."
Shirou gritted his teeth and summoned his strength and his legs to spring himself up and forward at Tsuji before wrapping his arms around his waist like a sumo-wresting. He was then kicked out to try and kick his knee into Tsuji's knee.
To his surprise, Tsuji responded at the same time and used his own knee kick to intercept and block Shirou's. Seeing another chance, Tsuji used his other leg to knee Shirou in the stomach with so much force he lifted him off the ground. Tsuji then brought now his fist and used it like a hammer that, hit Shirou in the back of the neck.
Shirou felt himself plummeting to the ground again—Headfirst. But he used his hands to catch himself and was on all fours. He then pushed himself up in an instant and used that momentum to hit Tsuji with a backhanded uppercut to his chin. The punch was so strong it blew him back and made Tsuji fall to the ground on his back.
Tsuji forced himself to sit up and shook his head to shake off the damage. Now Shirou stood over him.
This time, Shirou was the one who pointed to him. "C'mon… Get up."
"Haha…" Tsuji spat out some blood before smiling while glaring daggers. "You bastard…"
Those who were watching were impressed, surprised, unnerved, and drawn in by the fight as they kept watching.
"Woah, this is crazy…." One of the thugs said. "I've never seen the boss fight this hard before."
"Yeah, Tsukiharu is crazy, but so is the boss…." Another one agreed.
While Miu watched, she felt thrown off by something. "But I don't get it. Shirou looked like he was having trouble with mop-haired guys fighting before, so why do they suddenly seem so well-matched."
"This kinda fighting is more natural to him." Takeda unknowingly answered Miu's question. "Ever since he started fighting Ragnarok—From Tsukuba, all the way to me, he's been fighting guys who use Martial Arts and responded with Martial Arts, which made his brawler senses dull a bit, but after fighting Tsuji for a while, his senses are sharpened again." He smiled. "No doubt, this is his preferred method of fighting and what he's best at."
While their strength was impressive, what was truly impressive was their stamina. Even after taking hit after hit, and the damage kept piling up, they never stopped fighting, attacking, and withstanding it all. It was a sight to behold. But no one has infinite stamina, and both of them were nearing their limits, which showed by how heavy their breathing became.
Shirou went in for a wide hook, but Tsuji used his reach advantage to hit him with a kick to the solar plexus. He coughed out the air in his lungs as Tsuji hit him with another kick to the head. Shirou fell back to the ground on all fours, and Tsuji pushed him down before sitting on his back.
Tsuji then raised up his fist before bringing it and his whole upper body with it down hard.
"URK…!"
Tsuji's fist came down as fast and as hard as he could manage atop the back of Shirou's head. The force of the punch, with Tsuji's entire weight hitting the back of his head and it resulting in the front of his head being slammed further into the hard ground, almost gave Shirou a concussion. It was like Tsuji was trying to crack open his skull like an egg.
Tsuji brought up his fist to do it again. But this time, as he brought his fist down, Shirou, at the last second, moved his head a few inches, causing Tsuji's punch to miss. Not only that, but since Tsuji missed his head, he had just slammed his fist as hard as he could onto the ground. Greatly hurting himself.
"AGH…!"
Tsuji leaped off of Shirou and gripped the wrist of his hand, trembling as he did whatever he could to fight through the pain. This was much worse than what Shirou felt when his fist collided with Tsuji's forehead.
Unfortunately for Tsuji, the fight wasn't over yet, and Shirou was just as persistent as he was. Before he noticed, Shirou got back up and was standing over him again as he swung his leg, and by the time Tsuji realized it, all he saw was Shirou's leg for a second before it kicked into his face.
But instead of getting blown back, he reached out and grabbed the sleeve of Shirou's shirt. Gripping it, he pushed his arm down while still holding the sleeve and thus tripped Shirou over. Back on the ground, this time, Tsuji sat on his stomach and grabbed one of Shirou's legs before he started bending it.
"Aghhhh!" Shirou cried out as his leg was being pulled.
"I hate to do this, but you're being so damn stubborn so…" Tsuji pulled harder. "I have no choice but to take you out!"
Shirou stopped screaming and instead reached out his arms toward Tsuji's back. "I can say the same to you!"
"Kuh…!" Tsuji choked.
Shirou's hands then wrapped themselves around Tsuji's neck, trapping him in a stranglehold. Now they were in a deadlock where Tsuji was trying to break Shirou's leg while being choked, and Shirou was trying to choke Shirou while his leg was being pulled.
"Kaah…!"
"Gaaah!"
Tsuji gasped for air while Shirou grimaced in pain. Both of them were in tight spots and could only save themselves if they released the other. But, of course, they were too stubborn to be the first to give up. Thus, they both kept going. It was a battle of endurance where the first to break would lose.
"Kahaa…!" Tsuji gasped as his head started to get light.
"Grr…!" Shirou gritted his teeth as he felt his leg close to bending.
[Aaahhh!] They both lost it.
At that point, both the Delinquents let out a scream as the outcome was decided. Neither could admit defeat or victory as they both let go simultaneously. Shirou released his grip on Tsuji's neck at the same time as Tsuji let go of his leg, and they both dropped to the ground, gasping for air.
"At the same time?" One of Tsuji's grunts said in surprise.
"Even their tenacity is comparable." Takeda muttered.
As they were both gasping to control their breathing, they slowly rose to their feet. While some watching felt like this fight would go on forever, it was clear that they were nearing their limit. To a trained eye, it could be seen that this fight was nearing its conclusion.
"Neither one of them has much strength left." Takeda kept a close eye on them. "This next exchange will decide it."
They both went in to end it, rushing at each other. They cocked back their fists, stopped when their shoes were almost an inch from touching each other, and arched back their whole bodies before punching forth.
POW!
They both punched each other in the center of their faces, blood sprayed from their exchange, and their heads were knocked back from the punches. But they stood their ground, brought their heads back forward, and got ready to swing again.
POW!
Another exchange of punches came, and more blood was spilled. There were no more plans or ideas. Training, experience, skill, and instincts, they had stopped worry all those things and decided to end this fight with only one motive. Who had the stronger punch? Only that would decide the outcome.
As they brought their heads back again, they both smirked through their bloodied lips and looked at each other with savage amusement.
"This is the best…." Tsuji said with a hint of laughter. "The best fight ever!"
"Yeah, the best fight ever!" Shirou loudly agreed.
This was the last one, with all their strength, passion, and every emotion they could pour into this fight. They swung their fists one more time, putting their whole bodies behind them as they swung forth.
Tsuji had a longer reach, so it was natural that he would strike first, but something happened that he didn't notice at the time. That fact that he almost blacked out from being choked was something that happened only moments ago, and his body had fully recovered from that. The result: His body—His legs, in particular, wobbled, and he slowed down a bit.
Because his body suddenly went sluggish, Shirou's punch covered the distance first and hit before Tsuji's punch could reach him.
BANG!
Shirou's punch hammered into Tsuji's face, but Shirou didn't stop as he pushed forward, and his fist slammed Tsuji's head down until his head and his whole body were bashed into the ground. Tsuji's body bounced when it hit the ground for a second before it fell, and he just stopped moving. There was no doubt this time that he wouldn't be getting back up.
.
.
.
Everyone was quiet. The intense and loud atmosphere from before had vanished and was replaced with pure silence. The only sound left was the sound of Shirou's heavy breathing as he remained standing. There was his arm stretched out.
"The boss was…." One of them started, dumbstruck.
"Defeated…?" Another finished, unable to believe what he had just said.
"…Ha….Ha…" Shirou stayed there breathing like that.
It was like his mind hadn't caught up with things yet. Like he needed some kind of signal to tell him that the fight was over. That signal came in the form of Takeda, who went up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's over, man. You won." Takeda softly informed him.
"…I… Won?" Shirou breathed out before lowering his arm and standing up straight. "Yeah… I won."
In the brushes, Kensei stopped recording and put away his camera as he began to leave. "Let's go, you two." He instructed them.
"Huh?" Kenichi looked surprised.
"But, Shirou—?" Miu spoke out.
"You can wait for him at the Dojo." Kensei told them, clearly not intending to argue.
As the Chinese Master walked away, the two Disciples decided it was best to follow him, and so they left as well. While Shirou and Takeda stood there, two of Tsuji's grunts went to his body and carefully picked him up to get him to safety. Before going, they gave them one last glare.
"Don't think you're gonna get away with this. You'll both get what's coming to you."
With that last threat, they all took Tsuji and left. Deciding it was time for him to depart as well since there was no more reason to stay, Shirou walked off in the opposite direction. Takeda followed and walked beside him.
"I gotta tell you, that was one of the most insane fights I've ever seen." Takeda told him honestly. "Near the end, I almost wished it was me in there. Really made me feel like Boxing."
"So why didn't you?" Shirou asked. "You could have taken out Tsuji's grunts if you felt like it."
"Nah, it didn't really feel right, considering all they wanted was to get Tsuji fixed up." Takeda rubbed his head before changing the subject. "About before, the truth is I was looking for you. I wanted to say thank you for everything." He said with genuine gratitude. "And guess what Master Koetsuji told me? He said that if I give my arm a little bit more time to heal, I'll be Boxing in no time.
"That's great." Shirou honestly sounded happy for him. "Soon, you'll be able to throw your left again."
"Right! Oh man, I could hardly wait to get back in the Gym and start training again!" Takeda laughed, hardly able to contain his excitement. "Hopefully, I'll be able to use my Lethal Left again."
"Actually, now that you mention it, that reminds me of something." Shirou remembered before asking. "That Lethal Left, what was the inspiration for it?"
"Hmm?" Takeda looked at him.
"I know that most Boxers tend to match their styles or specific punches on other Boxers they've seen before and drew inspiration from, and I know a lot of legendary Boxers had strong lead left punches." Shirou listed down. "So, which one inspired you to make yours."
"There was one actually." Takeda admitted before smiling widely. "Ever heard of the Boxer named Lennox Lewis?"
"The former and last undisputed Heavyweight World Champion." Shirou answered, showing that he did know. "He faced and defeated all of the best fighters of his Era and went down in history as having when of the best lefts ever seen in the ring."
"Yeah, but it wasn't just the power of his left that was amazing, but its versatility." Takeda went on thoughtfully. "A high-rising left that went over a guard and knocked his opponent's head back, a ranged left that came like an uppercut and found openings in the guard while stopping forward momentum. A backfisted left that targeted the opponent's lead eye and camouflaged his follow-up knockout punch. A swatting left cleared away the opponent's guard. A looping left that was a cross between a jab and a hook that went around the opponent's guard." He listed down them all. "His left was so masterful it was like he could use it to even control his opponents."
"Yeah, no doubt his guard, head movements, and power were Master-class as well. But everything was highlighted by his left." Shirou added as well. "Some people even call it the Perfect Jab."
"The Perfect Jab, that's a fair assessment. But like a Pitcher who knows a lot of breaking balls to highlight his fastball, Lennox's best grab was his straight-left." Takeda explained almost proudly. "When he punched out his left, straight forward without any variation, it was like watching the Sword thrust of a Master fencer. His speed, control, and precision took finesse to a whole new level."
"So, you drew inspiration from that to create the Lethal Left?" Shirou asked for confirmation.
Takeda nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to make my straight-left be as good as the one I saw, if not then better."
"Haha! You want your Jab to be better than the guy with the best lead left in the world?" Shirou asked, laughing with him rather than at him. "That's good. If it's you, you could probably pull it off."
"Thanks, man." Takeda nodded before he decided to ask as well. "What about you? Do you have a favorite Boxer?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Shirou nodded before looking upward. "Sugar Ray Robinson—The Pound For Pound's Greatest."
"Sugar Ray?" Takeda repeated. "I guess that's not surprising, considering it's him, but why?"
"Two reasons. The first is how he is considered by everyone, even other fighters, to be the best." Shirou told him. "Not just after his career, but even after he died, every time a Boxer was asked: Who was the best Boxer, no matter how big a name they were or how much hype they had, they'd all say—Robinson was the greatest."
Takeda nodded. "Yeah, that's true. A lot of the Boxing greats throughout time have been known to have a lot of pride or just be full of themselves. And yet, every one of those egocentric fighters was never ashamed to admit he was better than them."
"Exactly, usually fighters born in different eras or generations can claim they were better than someone who came before them, but Robinson was so great that no one could honestly claim they were better than him. That's how overwhelming he was." Shirou said with certainty.
"And what's the other reason?" Takeda asked curiously.
"It was his style." Shirou answered. "He could do anything: infighting, outboxing, counter punching, brawling. He could come out one round using a conventional firm jab and then the next round using a flurry of unconventional hooks and uppercuts. He could even throw a knockout blow while moving backward." He described excitedly. "He effectively threw punches with equal speed and power with both hands and had a repertoire so big he sometimes made up new punches on the spot."
"I know. He had a formless style that responded to his opponents." Takeda was also aware. "He said once a fighter has trained to a certain level, their techniques and responses become reflexive. You don't think. It's all instinct. If you stop to think, you're done."
"To me, it was a perfect style." Shirou said as they kept walking. "Rhythm is everything. Every move you make starts with your heart, and that's in rhythm, or you're in trouble. He didn't belong to any specific style. All styles belonged to him."
At that point, Takeda and Shirou were walking over a wooden bridge. "So that's the kind of style you want to have for yourself?"
"Yeah, it's a style that won't be limited to one specific Discipline." Shirou confirmed. "Punch, strike, kick, grapple, slam, catch, throw. A combat style that has it all and more. No matter who I fight or what kind of style they use, I'll always have an answer for it." He clenched his fists. "And, won't be bound by any restrictions or weakness."
"That sounds fitting for someone like you." Takeda noted, with confidence in his friend.
As they continued walking through the park, they and everyone else at the time were unaware that someone had watched the fight that had taken place. That person was sitting atop a tree near the bushes Kensei, Miu, and Kenichi were hiding in. After the fight was over, the person smiled in satisfaction at what he saw before he left.
A little while passed. After that, Shirou and Takeda spent a bit more time catching up and talking about whatever interested them before parting ways. The sun was now starting to set as Shirou finally made his way back to Ryozanpaku.
Most of Shirou's damages were no longer visible. All the blood and grime from before we cleaned off and gone, though his face still had a few bruises around it. But it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with.
After entering the front gate, Shirou walked toward the Dojo and noticed Miu was sweeping around the porch. She soon noticed him.
"Oh, Shirou?" Miu looked at him with relief. "Thank goodness you're back."
Shirou nodded. "Yeah, it turned out to be a pretty good fight."
"Y-Yeah…" Miu sounded sheepish, as though she was worried about something. "Uh, the Masters are inside. They wanted to speak with you."
"Hmm?" Shirou was confused as to why she seemed nervous. "Uh, okay?"
Shirou then stepped onto the porch and opened the sliding door to enter the Dojo's training hall. The first person he saw was Kenichi—Who appeared to be trembling.
"Kenichi?"
"Agh!" Kenichi gasped before rushing to Shirou with complete dismay. "Shirou! You're finally here~!"
"Get off me?!" Shirou pried Kenichi away as he tried to get behind him. "What the Hell's going on?"
"An induction to the fifth circle of Hell." Akisame proclaimed.
Shirou looked up to see the reason for Kenichi's unnerved state. All the Masters (Except Apachai) were letting out an oppressive aura—Complete with glowing eyes, as they faced him once he entered the room.
"You've got a lot of nerve just waltzing in here like everything's okay, punk." Sakaki sneered at him.
Kenichi stopped trembling but still looked unnerved. "They've been like this for a while now."
"I'm still confused. What is the problem exactly?" Shirou questioned.
"It's this." Kensei stepped forward.
Kensei then opened his camera and turned it on as he played the recording of Shirou's fight with Tsuji.
"You guys were recording my fight?" Shirou's eyes widened.
"I'm sorry." Miu came in to join them. "I wanted to help, but Kensei made us hide and watch."
"I captured the whole thing on my camera from start to finish." Kensei informed him.
The screen on the camera then changed from the fight to a close-up of Miu's butt.
"Huh?!" Miu gasped with a blush.
"Haha~" Kensei laughed sheepishly.
"What the heck were you filming!?" Miu snapped at him while swinging the broom at him, which he dodged.
Kensei closed and put away his camera. "The point is, we are all far from pleased at how you handled that fight."
"What for, I won?" Shirou didn't see the issue.
"It's how you won that is the problem." Akisame informed him. "You abandoned the use of Martial Arts and instead started brawling."
"What's wrong with that?" Shirou raised a brow.
"Everything." Kensei answered. "There was never any need to do that in the first place." Kensei opened his camera again to play the fight recording once more. "Look, you initially started with Martial Arts and were making good progress. You would have won just fine if you kept that pace."
"Yes, and right here." Akisame pointed to a paused moment in the video. "I admit, he showed his experience by removing his coat so you couldn't grapple or hold him that much, but why did you get into a contest of power with a large opponent when I clearly informed you not to do that?"
"This part, too." Sakaki pointed to another part. "A sloppy punch that had that much of a wide angle could have been countered a dozen times by a more skilled opponent. It's like you were asking to get nailed in the head."
"Do you get the point?" Kensei stopped the video. "The fact is that you made the wrong choice."
"No, it wasn't the wrong choice." Shirou argued with a glare. "Tsuji wanted to face me in a man-to-man fight. I had to respond to him by giving him my best. Just chipping away at him with Martial Arts would have been the same as admitting defeat."
"And so what, are you saying that any time you decide to give it your best, you're going to stop using Martial Arts?" Akisame questioned him. "That's nothing more than senseless violence."
Shirou started to become angry. "Isn't Martial Arts at its core violence?"
"There might always be some level of violence when it comes to Martial Arts, but at its core, it's centered around principles and discipline." Sakaki corrected him. "It's not just about fighting. It's about protecting others above all else."
"I don't want to protect! I want to win!" Shirou snapped at them.
"Hey, Shirou, take it easy." Kenichi attempted to placate him, becoming uneasy by the atmosphere again.
Shirou didn't back down. "I told you before that I came here to become stronger, and I wanted to become stronger in order to fight. I never once made any "vow" to use my strength to protect others."
"Be that as it may, you still chose to be our Disciple, and we, in turn, chose to teach you our respective Martial Arts." Akisame counterargued. "Tell me, what exactly is the point in training someone when they intentionally won't even use what they taught you?"
Shirou was losing his temper. "So what? Am I under some kind of obligation to only fight using the methods you set out for me? I don't have the option to decide for myself!"
Now Shirou's aura was starting to flare with hostility as his tone was dangerously quiet. The whole room was filled to the brim with tension as neither side was going to back down from where they stood.
"You're conversation sounds interesting… I hope you don't mind if I join in!"
BURST!
No one knew what had happened. It was as fast as a gust of wind. The second they heard a voice that was unfamiliar to them and immediately followed was the doors bursting opening, revealing a figure that appeared in the center of the room that captured everyone's eyes.
This person's identity couldn't be seen as he was wearing a long brown cloak that looked a little worn out. The only thing that could be seen was a bit of his black hair coming out of his hood and the fact that he was wearing black shoes.
Among everyone there trying to grasp the situation, Shirou was the only one who seemed to know who that was. "…No way?"
"…Take off your shoes."
The first to act was Shigure as she dashed at their intruder and drew her Sword before unleashing a flurry of slashes at him, specifically his shoes since you weren't supposed to wear shoes on the tatami floor.
However, to her surprise, he was no longer in the spot he was standing in a moment ago. He reappeared behind her with a speed that was up there with Kensei. The fact that Shigure actually missed astonished everyone who knew her, and the fact that this person dodged her Sword made them see him as a real threat.
He then appeared behind her, just a step away. Shigure attempted to respond by twirling around and slashing at his head, but he shocked her again by striking first. The cloaked fighter kicked out his leg and hit Shigure's Sword with so much force that he knocked it out of her hands and up in the air before it stabbed itself into the ceiling.
"You know, it's dangerous for a little girl like you to be twirling around a Sword like that."
WHOOSH!
"Gugh…!" Shigure exhaled in pain.
In a flash, right after disarming Shigure, the attacker's arm flashed forward and struck Shigure several times in the torso. Each hit targeted a vital spot and moved with the velocity and provision of a Cobra snake. Shigure fell to the floor.
"Shigure!?" Kenichi shouted in shock.
"Are you okay?!" Miu cried out in horror.
"APA!"
Now Apachai appeared behind this assailant and yelled as he immediately went for the kill. Apachai towered over his foe and brought down his elbow to smash into his skull. But surprisingly enough, his attack didn't hit home.
Instead, his opponent reached out and caught Apachai's elbow before it hit. He then pivoted around and got behind Apachai, still holding his arm to break the Muay Thai Master's balance. He then increased the pressure and put all his weight on his front foot as he lifted Apachai off his feet and, with a nightly swing, threw Apachai into the wall.
"APA!"
CRASH!
"Apachai!?" Kenichi yelled again.
This time, Kensei stepped up and, in less than a second, began his assault on the new arrival. He unleashed a series of chops and swings of his hands that seemed to blur. But, against this opponent, he could not only see them all but dodge them all with only head movement.
POW!
Kensei was caught off-guard when his adversary suddenly countered with a jab. The jab was the fastest punch in a fighter's arsenal, and somehow, this man's jab was faster than Kensei's offensive speed. But this jab was just something to throw him off his concentration as his real assault came right after.
The attacker threw a right with the speed, accuracy, and angling of an arrow that was fired by a master archer. It found its target, which was the base of Kensei's chin. This blow rattled Kensei's brain, and without any way to stop them, Kensei felt his legs start to buckle. This was what his foe was waiting for as he finished his combo.
BAM!
He grabbed Kensei by the back of his head and lifted his knee to smash his kneecap into Kensei's face, knocking the Kung Fu Master to the floor with an echoing thud.
"You Bastard!" Sakaki charged.
Sakaki stopped at mid-range and started throwing straight-Karate punches. His opponent opened his fists into his palms and responded by throwing an equal number of swings at Sakaki. Neither one reached the other's head, but when they both pulled back, Sakaki and those who were watching were surprised.
Minor cuts had opened up around Sakaki's arms and wrists. They were shallow but still very visible. It was then that the Karate Master realized that, unlike him, his cloaked opponent was aiming for his arms to demonstrate his cutting abilities.
"He's been cut?" Miu's eyes widened.
"Was that a knife?" Kenichi exclaimed.
The cloaked individual held up his hand to show he was unharmed and spoke. "Spear-hand, actually."
The truth was that he had strained his hands to be as sharp, durable, and as lethal as those they were weapons themselves. e showed off their effectiveness on Sakaki right now. But he wasn't done as his Spear hand flashed forward and, this time, aimed at Sakaki's head.
"Akh…!" Sakaki coughed out.
Before Sakaki could stop him, the Spear hand connected and hit directly into Sakaki's throat, causing the larger man to cough out as he felt his breathing get cut off, and right after, his body collapsed to the floor.
"That's quite enough!" Akisame yelled as he moved in.
Now, the last Ryozanpaku Master left standing. Akisame stood before the mysterious attacker and, with open palms, went on the offensive. His first action was closing the distance between them and reaching out to grab him.
The other man swayed to the side to dodge Akisame's grab, but the Judo Master had other plans as he ducked down and reached out again, this time he succeeded as he gripped one of his opponent's legs and, with a push, executed a throw that left him off his feet.
Unfortunately, his adversary was prepared for this and used his body control to pull off a mid-air flip. As his body filled around, he used that flip to create momentum to fuel his counterattack, which was a swinging kick that he hurled out at Akisame. His kick connected and hit Akisame hard across his face, knocking him to the side.
As he landed back on the floor, he shifted his weight and closed in on Akisame, who was still reeling from the kick he just took. Going in to finish the job, he quick-stepped to the inside and brought down a descending punch.
POW!
That punch fell like a diver and smashed into Akisame's head, slamming it and his whole body into the floor. It even messed up some of the tatami mats beneath him. The Judo Master didn't move after taking that blow.
It was settled.
Kenichi stood there, frozen in utter disbelief. He had just witnessed all of the Masters of Ryozanpaku fall to defeat in quick succession. Somewhere in his mind, Kenichi had the image of invincibility built around these Masters, and now seeing them all lose one after another to a stranger who just appeared out of thin air. It was like he was watching a nightmare. He was subconsciously shaking.
Miu wasn't doing any better. She had known all of them most of her life, and in all that time, she had never seen them so much as strange. They were untouchable in her eyes. No one but her grandfather was beyond them—Or at least, that's what she believed.
The cloaked individual then turned to the Disciples, and Kenichi and Miu shuddered as they were suddenly facing this man. They didn't know what would happen as he raised his arm up.
"Hahaha! I think that's enough of that."
A calm and good-natured voice cut the tension in the room as a hand grabbed the arm of the mysterious attacker to hold him in place.
[Elder!/Grandfather!]
Kenichi and Miu both addressed him at the same time as they felt themselves more at ease with him here but were still concerned.
"Before Elder, this guy is dangerous!" Kenichi warned him.
"Hmph… Dangerous?" Shirou scoffed at that notion, completely unconcerned. "Would you two get a clue already?"
"What are you—?" Miu started.
"Haha!" Hayato cut her off with another laugh as he released the cloaked man. "I'm afraid he's right, you two. This one here might have made a show of it, but his attacks had no ill intentions. They only looked back."
"Yeah, but they were hard to dodge, at least."
They looked when they heard Sakaaki groan as he got up from the floor while rubbing his neck. Following that, all the other Masters rose up as well, looking none worse for wear, as though they had never been hurt to begin with.
"Masters, are you guys okay?" Kenichi asked them.
"Apa! Yes, we is fine!" Apachai confirmed it.
"Yes, don't worry about it." Akisame also assured him as he rubbed his head. "It was just a few bumps, nothing to worry about."
"Just a few bumps?!" Kenichi inwardly snapped, feeling foolish for even worrying in the first place. "They really looked like they were in trouble there."
"Still, the fact remains that we have an uninvited guest." Kensei pointed out, returning to the matter at hand. "Also, even if none of us, including yourself, was serious back there, no ordinary Martial Artist could just show up and manhandle us all like that. Who exactly are you?"
Everyone became curious as they waited for his answer, but instead, Shirou stepped forward.
"Yeah, go ahead, tell them who you are." Shirou directed him, almost annoyed.
Miu blinked. "Wait, Shirou, do you know who this is?"
"He's not the only one." A voice added.
Now, they all looked toward the door, where they saw Haruto appear there, with the same expression as Shirou.
"Haruto?" Kenichi wasn't expecting him.
Haruto kept his attention on the cloaked man. "Just let the cat out of the bag already."
"All right, fine." The cloaked man relented as he sighed. "Honestly, you two are no fun."
He then removed his cloak to reveal his full appearance. With his identity revealed, he was shown to be a man in the prime of his life. His face was smooth without any wrinkles or cracks to be seen. He could be described as having a handsome-mature face. He had black hair that went down, and the ends were spiky—Similar to Haruto's hair. He wore a white, buttoned-up, long-sleeved shirt with a collar around his neck and long, black skinny jeans. His shoes were simple black loafers.
"And you haven't changed, Dad." Shirou replied.
[DAD!?] Most of the Ryozanpaku residences exclaimed in shock.
"Hideki-san?!" Kenichi called him by his name, just as surprised.
The now-named Hideki Tsukiharu waved good-naturedly. "Hey there, Kenichi, it's been a while."
"Uh, yeah?" Kenichi honestly didn't know how to react.
"Shirou, this guy is your father?" Miu asked, still trying to wrap her head around all this. "The same one who taught you Martial Arts?"
Shirou nodded. "He is, my completely random, old man."
"Hey, take that back." Hideki complied, offended. "I'm not old."
"He showed up at home right after you left this morning." Haruto explained, walking up to his Brother. "After I caught him up to speed on all how things have been up until now, he went out for a bit, then told me we were going to the Dojo."
"Well, that explains a lot." Hayato said, still relaxed. "If you're young Shirou's father and initial Master, your prowess and the abilities of your son make perfect sense now."
"I am good, aren't I?" Hideki accepted the compliment before facing Hayato. "That said, I see you're prowess is nothing to take lightly either." He then looked at him with a smirk. "The rumors don't do you justice, Hayato Fuurinji."
"Hmm, no, I'm just a simple old man these days." Hayato calmly stoked his bread with a coy response. "An old man who knows how to handle himself."
"Hold on a minute. There's still something that makes no sense." Sakaki spoke out, interrupting their exchange. "If you're the punk's old man, why'd you attack us like that?"
"I'd like to know myself." Akisame joined in. "What reason did you have to do so?"
"Reason?" Hideki repeated before answering. "It's simple. When I heard that my son had become a Disciple of the infamous Ryozanpaku, I became curious and wanted to see for myself what the Masters of this Dojo were capable of, unhindered. That's why I did so using such methods."
"Just for that?" Kenichi thought. "It's that kind of method a little too excessive?"
"Don't lie." Haruto argued with his statement. "You just thought, "Oh, this is gonna be my big debut, so I gotta make it something cool" and you showed up like some character in a show who's quiet and mysterious while showing off his strength by defeating everyone, didn't you?" He accused.
Hideki rolled his eyes back. "Okay, fine, two reasons."
"Are you kidding me?" Shirou facepalmed.
"Hey, Kenichi." Miu whispered to Kenichi. "You've met him before, right? Has he always been like this?"
Kenichi sighed. "Well, not exactly like this, but this is entirely what I'd expect from Hideki-san."
Hideki clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "In any case, like I said, I wanted to join your conversation."
"Oh right, we were talking about Shirou's fight this morning." Kensei remembered,
The topic seemed almost forgotten after the excitement of everything that just took place. After bringing it up again, everyone started to remember. Hideki then looked to the Masters.
"Do you all mind if I speak to you alone?" Hideki requested.
"Why would you want that?" Hayato queried.
"There's just something I wanted to discuss." Hideki answered. "Master-to-Master."
The rest of them faced him as if they were trying to assess him or something to that exact. No one spoke, and they descended into silence. It was a tense silence or an awkward silence, just a resolved one. After about half a minute, Akisame broke to silence and looked at Shirou.
"Shirou, go to my bone-setting clinic." Akisame instructed him.
"What for?" Shirou asked.
"I told you we watched the recording of your fight." Akisame reminded him. "You did real damage to your hands, and they need treatment, wait for me there. The rest of you go as well."
Shirou sighed but didn't argue as he headed for the door. Miu, Kenichi, and Haruto followed after him and cleared out of the room. Now, the training hall was filled with only the Masters of Ryozanpaku, the Elder, and the uninvited guest.
"What is it you wanted to discuss?" Kensei broke the ice.
"Before I jumped in, you were all really going all-in on that lecture." Hideki began. "Were you really that upset that he started brawling?"
"Is there a reason we shouldn't have been?" Akisame asked.
"It's not like I don't get where you're coming from, but at the same time, you're all being too biased about this." Hideki told him. "Personally, I think he made the right choice."
"…What do… You mean?" Shigure asked expressionlessly.
"Yeah, how was getting into a dogfight the right choice?" Sakaki asked with a frown.
"The object of a fight isn't to get the most points based on style. The end goal is to win, not win pretty." He clarified for them. "Unless you beat your opponent, the rest of it doesn't really matter much, does it?"
"We are well aware of that fact." Akisame informed him. "Martial Arts are styles of combat used for fighting, and the goal of fighting is to win. That's something we can all agree on. But, there are lines that must be drawn between what can be considered fighting and just mindless violence."
"That's the kind of outlook only a white-collar Martial Artist like all of you would have." Hideki responded almost mockingly.
Akisame stared at him. "What are you trying to say?"
"It doesn't matter if it's a different style or even brawling to me because it's the choice he decided to make, not through reason but through instinct." Hideki explained. "Instincts are something that can't be honed or sharpened no matter how much training or practice you do. It's gained through experience. And this experience honed his fighting instincts."
"You're saying brawling was the right choice because it's what his instincts told him to do?" Kensei questioned.
"Let me put it more plainly. Tell me, are you aware of the two different types of Martial Artists?"
Sakaki answered this time. "Of course, there's the type who fights using reason and a clear mind and those who fight using instincts and powerful emotions."
"Yes, Shirou has had a good sense for fighting, so he quickly excelled at the former, but the latter was much harder because it was something that couldn't be taught, only experienced. The reason he became a Delinquent—Aside from his personality—Was to gain that experience by fighting against opponents who are used to fighting on the streets where reason and logic have no place. He would constantly face those who could help to sharpen his instincts."
"And how were you so sure of that?" Hayato asked.
"Shirou is a fighter who learns, grows, and improves based on the strength and abilities of his opponents. Each fight, through struggle, he gains something from it, I'm sure you've all noticed already."
They looked at each other, knowing that they couldn't deny that fact.
"You're right. Although not often, Shirou's abilities do intend to grow as though he's responding to the strength of his opponent in more ways than just physical strength." Akisame spoke for them.
"And this fight was no different. His opponent this time was someone whose whole style was completely centered around his instincts and fighting senses. Shirou, in turn, responded, and his own instincts as a fighter started to bloom." Hideki pointed out. "And regardless of whether you think of it as violence or not, it was a defining moment that helped him grow, bringing him closer to reaching his potential."
"His potential…" Kensei muttered before speaking out. "Is that what you're hoping for? You wish for him to become a fight that's a Master of both types, a Master of both logic and instincts, of reason and wildness?"
"I know that he can be that kind of Master. He has the talent, the potential, and the ambition to do so." Hideki proclaimed confidently. "And I also know that you all believe that as well."
"Of course we do, but—"
Before Kensei went on, Hideki stopped him. "More importantly, don't you think you guys should just be honest already? His fight this morning, didn't it make you happy?"
"Huh, what are you, some kinda idiot?!" Sakaki sneered at him. "He may have abandoned his training and completely went against what he taught him, but… He still won in the end. Of course, we're happy!"
"What sort of Master wouldn't feel joy at watching his Disciples victory?" Kensei added with a smile.
"He did… Well…" Shigure agreed.
"Apa! Apachai is always happy when Shirou wins!" Apachai joined in.
"But of course, we couldn't tell him that." Akisame pointed out, smiling as well. "How can we seriously lecture him while looking happy about it?"
"Well, he's not here right now, so you can admit it." Hideki pointed out with a grin.
"Haha! In that case, why don't we just shoot the breeze a little bit more?" Hayato suggested happily. "After that, Akisame can head out to treat him."
After that, they were all smiles and cheerfulness, completely different from when Shirou first arrived, but this was just a side of things they didn't always show around Disciples.
Meanwhile, after the others headed for Akisames clinic, they were now inside, and Shirou was sitting on a seat waiting for Akisame, the other three were there too and chose to wait with him. Kenichi still felt like something was bothering him and wanted to say something, but he couldn't get the words out, so Shirou spoke first.
"Kenichi. It's not that I don't like Martial Arts. I just don't want to feel as though I'm under some kind of obligation to only ever fight in the ways that others told me to." Shirou clarified.
"I get what you mean, but…." Kenichi rubbed the back of his head. "If I'm being honest, I agree more with the Masters. I know this might seem biased, but I just prefer to steer away from brawling."
"I'm aware of that, but it doesn't change how I feel." Shirou told him.
"You know, I think it was the first time I've seen you so upset." Miu chimed in. "It was surprising?"
"Was it?" Shirou raised a brow.
"Yeah, even I was surprised." Kenichi agreed. "You were angrier than even I've ever seen."
"I told you once before I only do what I want and won't even pretend otherwise." Shirou reminded him. "I can't help but get angry when others just start mouthing off, telling me how I should act."
"It's not a hard mentality to comprehend." Haruto joined in. "If there's something you want to do, then do it. Don't worry about everything, and just do what feels right. That's always how we've done things."
"Yeah, but isn't that….…?" Kenichi trailed off.
Miu blinked. "That, what, Kenichi?"
"Go on, say it." Haruto enabled him. "Don't worry about offending us or anything."
Kenichi shrugged his shoulders before saying it. "Isn't that… Childish?"
"It is, but so what?" Shirou asked him nonchalantly. "After all, isn't what drives people childish in general?"
Kenichi heard his words but had trouble processing them. Miu seemed a bit thrown off as well. However, before either of them could respond, Shirou continued.
"Remember what else I said? At some point in his life, every man dreams of being the Strongest in the World, but almost all of them forget and give up on that dream. Meaning it's a dream we have as children, and those who don't forget are the type of men who still follow the dreams they had as kids. But what's wrong with that?"
"Well, I mean, isn't it normal to grow out of those kinds of things after you grow up and mature?" Kenichi reasoned logically.
"I'm confused. Is there some unspoken law that says growing up and maturing means you have to give up on your childhood dreams?" Shirou returned his question.
"Huh, no, I-I didn't mean it like that." Kenichi stuttered a bit.
"I do agree that it's natural to gain a new outlook and perspective on things as you mature, but that doesn't mean you have to just lose the kid inside of you and throw away what you were back then." Shirou told him softly. "The kid inside of me was the one who had all those dreams, and I'm the one who's going to make them happen. You guys should know how that feels. After all, you both still remember the dreams you had as kids."
Both Kenichi and Miu remembered what he meant as they once all spoke of their dreams together on the roof not too long ago.
"Yeah, I guess that's true." Kenichi rubbed the back of his head.
"I suppose you have a point." Miu looked away.
"So even if it is childish, that's who I am." Shirou looked up. "When I fight, I want to be as selfish and as free as possible, unbound and unhindered by anything, standing at the very top where I reign above everyone else."
"So what, you wanna be the Battle King?" Haruto asked offhandedly.
"Hmm, the Battle King?" Shirou quietly repeated with a small smirk. "That's not a bad idea."
—…
And that's the chapter.
First of all, I'm really glad about how I handled that fight. I started reading Delinquent-based Mangas for research, and I felt this was the perfect chance to do a fight centered around the free-style type of streetfighting Delinquents do, ones without technique or style, just wildness and instincts, Tsuji—Ironically was the rest Ragnarok Delinquent that didn't use any kind of Martial Art so he was the best choice. There's an Art to brawling that most people don't get.
After that, I introduced Shirou and Haruto's Dad. He trained both of them and is a very interesting character, to say the least. He'll be a member of the main cast from now on and play just as much a role as the rest of the Masters. As for his strength level, I won't say what his full power is, but just know that he is stronger than the Masters of Ryozanpaku and could beat any of them one-on-one.
As for how the Masters reacted to Shirou's way of finishing the fight, if you know them, you'd know that it was natural for them to act like that, even in canon, when Kenichi did something they believed was the wrong choice, they'd scold him or show disapproval but when he wasn't around they happily say that they were proud of him. They're the kind of people who act like strict Masters on the surface but deep down have great pride and care for their Disciples.
Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. If you want more, leave a review. If you liked the story, click the follow/favorite, and as always, have an awesome day.