Chapter 4: Dojo & First Fight

"You want to what?" My mother stared at me across the dinner table with her eyes wide in shock. I had expected her to be surprised but not this much.

"I want to learn self-defense techniques," I repeated my sentence examining her face and seeing how she could react. My mother did not respond and continued eating before replying with a short "Why?"

A day ago, I saw a news report about the disappearance of a family. I don't want such things to happen to us." I lied as naturally as possible. After all, what could I tell her? 

My reincarnation was something I had decided to keep as secret as possible. I feared...feared how she could react.

"Don't lie to me. I know that is not your reason. After all, even if you really wanted to do this, you could have tried to practice only after you were 13 or something. Therefore, tell me, Why? Why the sudden interest?" she asked, looking at me sternly. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. This is because I had not seen her so serious before...She always looked calm and had a motherly smile on her face. Now, she had a look of utter seriousness on her face. Was my request excessive?

"Mother, I...I am sorry, but... I cannot tell you why, sorry." I replied with my head hung down. What could I tell her? Only as a teenager had I imagined training seriously, but...but I feel as if I...as if I belong to this world...as if I belong here...I...I wanted power...Power to protect you...Was it my duty as a son, or was it out of gratitude that you had taken care of me?

Her eyes were filled with disappointment. Just a few hours ago she told me to trust her, but now... I kept secrets from her. I bit my lips in frustration. It was frustrating that I was unable to trust the woman who gave birth to me. The woman who took care of me for five years without asking for anything in return. I was betraying her. I was betraying her trust.

'No wonder my previous parents thought of me as a failure.' I thought as I was once again reminded of my indecisiveness. 

"Very well." My mother answered with a sigh. I was thrown out of my internal monologue by this. Did she just... "Yes, you can learn whatever self-defense or whatnot you want to learn." My mother finished before taking a spoonful of soup in front of her and drinking it.

"I-" I tried to say something but my mother beat me to it.

"I know you have some secret which you are hiding, a normal child would never go into their late father's study room as often as you, a normal one would not meditate at night pretending to be sleeping." My mother finished. So she knew huh?

"Yes," I listened on. "It's fine. Although I cannot understand what secret a five year has that he could not tell his parents. I will respect your privacy, though I doubt you know what 'privacy' means. " Ouch. Mother. I know what it means.

"Thank you," I replied in a low voice. I would have had no choice but to disclose my reincarnation had she forced me to answer her queries.

"So, since you have already made your choice to learn martial arts, which one have you decided on?" My mother asked with a smile returning to her previous gentle demeanor. That's my mother I always knew!

"I want to learn unarmed hand-to-hand combat, grappling, and knife fighting. Also, I plan to learn Kendo." I finished waiting for my mother's response.

She sighed and replied, "Very well, although I don't see the point of a five-year-old going out of his way to learn all this, I will look for a tutor or a teacher whatever it's called." 

I smiled and nodded, the dinner ended on a positive note (at least I think so), and the next days passed by like usual. I would show up at school and be alienated from the other boys, and girls giving me weird looks (probably because I gave them a lesson about gender equality when one of them teased the color of my hair).

 Ayumi would, again and again, try to embarrass me by calling out my name whenever I would get dizzy in class. Sometimes I would wonder if she came to school just to stalk me. She would try to answer the 'tough' questions of the class and give me a smirk afterwards. 

I often wonder what happens inside her head. I won't deny it but seeing her face red in embarrassment after I aced the weekly test was fun to watch. I am not ashamed to lie but seeing her red like a tomato and puffing out her cheeks in annoyance, definitely satisfied my sadistic side.

Heh, Heh.

Anyways...

As a week passed, I decided to ask my mother again about what happened.

I was leaving the main building (the only building) of my school and thinking of how to approach my mother about this and how to frame my words so that they do not offend her.

"How? How did you get 100%?" And just like that, I hear a small voice, I think quivering from my side. Did you know whose voice it was? Yep, it was Ayumi's.

"I don't know, I just did," I replied. For the past week, she had been constantly annoying me and now this? Why can't she leave me alone? All I did was poke a bit of fun. No damage was done, right? Right?

I could see her frowning. Wasn't she just five? Shouldn't she just forget it and move on, after all a cheap Twitter user once said 'To move on is life.'

"I hate you. You are annoying." She said before walking faster and leaving me behind her.

I did not reply. I could have, but any reply would either go above her head or would definitely make her cry. So nope, I'm not up for more trouble.

Soon I arrived at the gate, but this time the situation was a tad different. My mother was looking lovely as always but beside her was Mrs. Mizuki who was looking at me teasingly.

What woman? Are you a shotacon or something? Stop looking at me with those eyes, honestly it's creepy and disgusting.

At her side was Ayumi, who was looking at me with unconcealed fury. What happened to this loli?

"Mark. Perfect timing, we were just talking about you." Mother spoke with the motherly aura overflowing out of her. "You wanted to learn martial arts, so your mother has arranged it for you. It's a place called Kenzo Dojo just a few blocks from our house. Isn't it great?"

That saves me the trouble of asking my mother again. I nodded and had a smile on my face and wanted to thank mom but Mrs. Mizuki interjected.

"So..you see...you see... we decided...I mean, I decided that Ayumi would attend with you, see you will be happy right? Right~ After all your only friend will come with you~" She flailed her arms like a child.

OOO...I see... that's why Ayumi was looking at me with such hostility now. She already does not like me but now has to spend more time with me, of course, she would be angry.

"But, Mom! I don't need it. Ayumi told her mother, trying to convince her mother. Wow, was spending time with me during so difficult that she had tears in her eyes. Damn, no wonder I died as a sage in my previous life. 

(A/N: Sage is a synonym of a virgin)

"Ayumi, that is not the only reason. After all, you are a girl, and a very beautiful one at that, so you need these techniques more than he does." Mrs. Mizuki said, trying to soothe her daughter. "Also..." She added before glancing at me for a second. And smiling, Wait, I am having a terrible feeling.

"If...That's if...you attend this session you can take revenge against those who are mean to you." She spoke. It seems she knew Ayumi did not like me and wanted to capitalize on that. A very effective bait strategy, I must say.

"Anyone?" Ayumi asked looking at me. Why look at me? "Anyone." Mrs. Mizuki assured her. Woman, change your wording. If not her first target will be me!

"Okay," Ayumi replied before smiling and hugging her mother. This loli will now surely be after me. What did I do to deserve this? Can't a man live in peace? 

"Isn't it great Mark? Now you can hang out with your friend." Mother said happily. Dearest Mother, I don't think you understand the meaning of friends. The only thing that Loli wanted was a punching bag, and you assigned your son to be one. (Not that I would be one though.)

Haa...Why can't my life be easy for once?

*****

"Mark, let's go, or we will be late." My mother spoke. "Just a minute," I responded putting on my shoes.

Leaving the house, my mother offered her hand, which I reluctantly accepted. " Excited?" She asked. "A little bit," I replied, Why won't I be? It was my first step to getting stronger.

"I see." She replied briefly. The walk dragged on, as usual, and her mother asked again "What do you think of Ayumi? Give me your honest opinion."

Hmm? Why the sudden interest, but whatever, "A confrontational, volatile person." I replied. This was my honest opinion. She always wanted to compete with me and when I won, yet she would quickly get angry when she lost. I won't describe her as a tomboy, since she still had girlish features, and only when she would grow up could I make an accurate guess.

Mother smiled before saying, "But I think you're both very similar." What? Did she just...Did she just mention that we're similar? "Come on think about it, if you were not competitive, you would have never humored her in all those times she competed with you, and about how you say that she always gets angry on losing, isn't that a natural response? The only reason I have never seen you like that is that till now you have never lost."

While I agree with you that I never lost, you say she and I are similar? No. No chance in hell. We are as different as fire and water. 

"Just think about it, okay? I know this is weird knowing your age, but I think you are mature enough to think about it." My mother told me. Haa... Okay, Mom.

We continued walking in awkward silence till we reached our location. The dojo was a classic Japanese one, its walls were made of bamboo and wood, and it had an inverted V-shaped roof of black. It was single-storied. Entering it I was greeted by the sight of a middle-aged man with black hair and black eyes sitting in a lotus position. Around him I could see teens practicing.

'Yamato Kaichi', I thought, thinking of the middle-aged man. He was the man who was supposed to train me. He looked at the entrance and raised an eyebrow at me.

"So you are the kid Saki-san has been talking about?" He asked, does he know mom?

"I and him were high school classmates." Mother seemed to know the answer to my question. "He might appear old but he is actually 30." Mother said, making me raise my eyebrows. This uncle?

"HaHaHa." Old man Yamato gave an awkward chuckle. "So kid." He spoke drawing my attention. "You sure you want to do this?" He asked looking at me straight in the eyes.

"Yes," I replied, bowing slightly, assuming it was a custom of some sort. "I see, your mother told me, you have several reasons, so tell me kid, what are they? I won't teach anyone who just wants to show off or bully someone." He said, in an attempt to scare me.

"I have some, but unfortunately I can't tell you," I answered not giving in.

 "Even if I don't accept you as a disciple?" He asked, not removing eye contact. "Yes," I answered resolutely.

 Mr. Yamato continued staring before sighing. He looked towards Mom and spoke: "You were right Saki, he is unique, he is resolute. I have never seen a kid with such determination, he did not quiver under pressure." He turned towards me and spoke: "Whatever reasons you have kid, I hope you are ready for it."

What do you mean by 'ready for it?' 

"I meant that you are ready for training. I have seen many coming in for a month or so before losing interest. "I hope you are not like them." He said clarifying my doubt.

"Mark, mommy will come back in two hours okay, take care?" Mother waved her hand. I nodded as she walked out of the dojo.

"Kid, get changed into white. There are clothes in the back, see if there is one of your sizes." Mr. Yamato spoke pointing in a direction. I nodded and started walking. "Also kid, while we are within the dojo, you shall address me as sensei." I nodded and replied, "Yes, sensei."

My size was nearly impossible to find but after 10 minutes of constant clothes shuffling, I gave up and donned the white clothes of an eight or seven-year-old in the end.

As I came outside, sensei was busy teaching a teen so I just watched. Wait this is the right opportunity.

Skill [All Roads Lead To Rome] has been activated.

I found myself looking at a 3-D project and could see all the results. In one instance, I saw the teen use his right hand to punch forward. The sensei swiftly used his left arm to block it and his right hand to deliver a jaw punch.

In another, I could see the teen blocking a punch from sensei. He tried to use his legs to give a kick but it was caught by sensei resulting in the teen losing his footing and getting knocked up.

I saw two different results but the result did not change, it all ended in the student's ultimate defeat. It made me realize my skill does not give me victory, but rather options as to how an event could unfold. In some cases, experience and better knowledge could help me.

I felt myself getting back to myself in the real world. The teen was the first case to proceed, but was defeated. This gave me an idea. At present, I could use my skill 100 times before my 'soul power' or whatever energy I have is exhausted. I could safely use the skill 90 times before I start to feel dizzy, so what if...what if I use this skill at every opportunity?

Wouldn't it be nice if I used this as soon as I punch or defend, and before anyone else attacks me? This would give me a vision of how it would turn out and help me react accordingly. It would also help me learn the art quickly. Since I am only intending to use the most probable scenario, if I imagined myself in sensei's place and tried to image-train myself, it would definitely work.

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As I could see myself planning, I heard a voice way too similar to be forgotten 

"Humph"

As you guessed, it was Ayumi sitting beside me. When did she arrive? I was too engrossed in my thoughts to pay any attention to my surroundings. Was she trying to gain my attention? I could see her staring at me, what is it?

"I will beat you." She told me before turning her head in the other direction. Humph and mother thought we were similar. How could this vicious loli and I be similar?

After five minutes, sensei finished teaching the student and came towards me and this loli.

"So, this might be weird to ask but I need to know how much both of you know about fighting, so I will pair you up with two of my students, don't worry they will go easy." Seeing both of us nod, he continued: "Good, Hayato! Ryuu! Get here."

One was about 15 with black hair in spikes, not the rock singer type but still spiky, the other was about 16 (maybe), he was tall, maybe 5'7'', he had blonde hair and blue eyes. For a moment I thought he was German but after looking at his slanting eyes, I knew he was mixed-race.

"Hayato you will test the girl and Ryuu you will test the kid," Sensei ordered. So I get the blondie Ey? How should I greet him?

"Yes sensei," Hayato nodded and left with Ayumi while Blondie kept staring at me. What? Are you gay?

"You sure sensei? He's a kid." He asked sensei to which he nodded. Ryuu seemed to think for a moment before he touched his chin and replied "But I don't want to~~~" He replied lazily. 

Why do I always get the weirdos?

Sensei seemed to anticipate this and replied "If you don't, you better be ready for my punches."

"EHHH, Why?" Ryuu asked with his head dropped before replying "Okay, but in exchange, I get two ramen coupons from you sensei. Isn't that fine sensei? Wouldn't you reward your precious student for his diligence? You would, wouldn't you?"

"One."

"Deal, done. I knew you were the best sensei." Ryuu replied, flailing his arms. What just happened? Did this guy? What?

"Let's go, let's go," Ryuu said as he dragged me to a nearby ring-like structure.

He took a position and looked at me with a smile and replied: "Don't worry kid, I will go easy, just do what you think is natural in a fight."

I nodded. I was planning to get into a position that I thought would suit me the best. In my previous life I had seen a martial art and thought I would imitate that.

"Don't worry kiddo. It will end painlessly." Ryuu spoke trying to reassure me, probably after noticing my stance. His sarcasm was obvious to me. He was trying to be polite though I could see his face portraying this fight as practice for him. That's fine, the more he underestimates, the more he will fight me. Consequently, the more opportunities I have to learn his moves...The longer he wastes in the fight...the stronger I will be...

"You ready?" He asked and I nodded.

Skill [All Roads Lead To Rome] has been activated.

[Yamoto Kaichi POV]

He is unique...

This was the first thought I had when I met Mark. I have known his parents for a long time and I was friends with them. Normally I would never accept him but after thinking about it for a while, I accepted him as my last favor to my pal.

When I first met him, I could see that he was mature, mature beyond his years. He was curious, and that light was everpresent in his eyes. It was different, it wasn't the childish curiosity of what everything was. No. His eyes were those of an adult trying to figure everything out.

Seeing him reminded me of how his father was in his teens. He truly looked like him, not in tnot so much in the color of his hair, but in the shape of his face he was identical to his father.

That was one of the reasons I wanted him to be serious about this. He did not tell me his reason for pursuing this but I knew that for me to get answers I had to first gain his trust. I must first trust him before he would trust me.

To gauge his fighting ability I first matched him with Ryuu, one of the above-average students of my Dojo. I matched them because I wanted to see if he had any fighting talent.

In this world, diligent work would help you maintain your spot but to move up you need talent. Talent supplements effort and arduous work. One without the other is incomplete and useless.

He adopted a stance as I watched. It was a stance with his right hand stretched forward in a tiger position. Ryuu too took a stance. I have told Ryuu many a time to not underestimate his opponent, but judging from his stance it seems he took my advice with no heed.

"Start"

Ryuu attacked first with his hand stretched and tried to grab Mark's clothes. Since Mark has less weight it is easy to throw him around. Next, what will be Mark's response?

To my surprise, Mark appeared as if he knew what was coming for him and swiftly backed up. He then attempted to attack Ryuu's feet, hoping to make him lose his footing. Ryuu was not quick enough to defend the kick and bent, giving Mark the opportunity to punch Ryuu in the gut.

"One Point, Mark," I announced.

He was successful...

He appeared to be trained, it was as if...as if...as if he knew what would come for him.

Similarly, Ryuu realized that he had lost to a child.

A child no more than five.

Perhaps having witnessed the fight, the other students had decided to watch. To see someone actually score a point against a senior student was something they had never seen before.

Trying to prevent his reputation from getting ruined, Ryuu spoke, "Ha Ha, it seems you are quite adept. How about I stop playing around and get serious?"

In response, Mark gave a confused expression and asked, "Eh?" Is it necessary to get serious against a five-year-old? Just how badly can you fight?" Mark asked provocatively. The students around chuckled, Ryuu was seen as a lazy student so it gave them a good time seeing him suffer. 

"No, No, I will go easy, just a bit more serious, to give sensei an accurate reading, okay?" Ryuu tried to speak politely but I could see the tick on his face.

That's not good, Ryuu, he just baited you. 

To lose your cool in battle is to close it.

Taking a stance again, Mark's ferric-colored eyes shone. This gave him a surreal look, making him appear fearless and confident even against an opponent twice his size.

Is he really just five years old?

Ryuu this time instead of opting for an offensive waited, but seeing Mark looking at him with a calm smile pissed him off and he rushed towards him.

"Fool." Mark whispered but I could hear it.

In an instant, Ryuu was on the ground, with Mark staring at him. What Mark just did was the move I was teaching Sora a moment ago.

He also taught a valuable lesson to the students who actually paid attention to the lesson.

Speed beats power.

That's right. Mark had taken advantage of his small build and used speed to beat the raw power of Ryuu.

"How?" Ryuu moaned as he lay on the ground

His thoughts were the same as those of the onlookers as well.

A senior student had been defeated by a newcomer.

An unbelievable affair. Not only was Ryuu defeated, but he was also humiliated. After all the opponent is a child.

"I just learned," Mark whispered to Ryuu. Though the others thought he had previously learned martial arts, it was different for me.

I had seen him improve.

I had seen him perform a move, my move.

He had not learned it from a book, but he had seen me perform and within minutes had learned it.

How is it possible?

How could a five-year-old have such...such monstrous talent?

Is this the reason he wanted to learn martial arts?

During his match, I also noticed a difference in his footwork. He had not only learned my technique, but he was also improving during the match. In the second round I saw him performing the same footwork as Ryuu, his opponent did in the first round. Although they were only slightly similar and Mark had many flaws in his work, for now...this is more than enough.

"Victory, Mark."

I ended the match with a smile knowing I had gained an excellent student.

The kind of student who will reach the top one day.

No.

He will not reach the top,

He will set a new standard for himself and by himself.

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