Chapter 16: 11TH FIGHT; SECRET CLAN DRAMA

11th FIGHT: SECRET CLAN WARS.

-XOXOXOX-

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-XOXOXOX-

"Another day, another failure.

One of my goals you see, was to defeat 'Old Man Shintarou', the guy that took me on as a disciple. And even though three years had come and passed, I haven't even gotten anywhere closer to surpassing him.

I mean, duh, the guy's my Master for a reason, but still…

Remembering one of the multiple moves I've been learning from the Tenrai Shikyou-ken for about three years now, and the inconvenience/pain of having to experience what it could do firsthand, I can't help but shiver when I remember it.

And no, it's not just because I've been living in the freezing Russian winter for a few months with the only clothes to wear being my underwear.

Well… Maybe that too, but I've somehow gained a tolerance to the cold, so it doesn't bother me that much anymore.

-[SNOW-PIERCER]-.

-One of the moves that I've been learning, and one of the moves that recently done me in as soon as it hit me.

According to my Sensei, it was named after that a blade called 'Yoroi- dōshi' (Mail/Armor-piercer), and it was a move that looked annoyingly simple but was actually hard to pull off.

-'Using force to attack and penetrate the insides of the opponents' body.'

-A 'soft blow' of sorts.

Though I'm not sure if 'soft' is the word I'd use.

"It's really simple!" Sensei would say. But blocking against it is a real pain in the ass.

I mean, when you block a punch, you don't expect to get hit as if you've never been blocking in the first place, right?

When I was back at The Inside I was always wondering why the hell it was named something so soft like 'Snow-piercer', when for me to train to use the damned technique I had to constantly bash my mangled fists into hard surfaces.

And, because I couldn't block it properly I got sent flying off a cliff into freezing water.

-Yay me, huh.

But I'm not gonna complain all day. I gotta get to practicing it.

Now that I think about though, not including my losses to the old man, I think I've grown quite a bit, and to be honest, I might not be unstoppable yet…

-But I'm feeling pretty good about myself. And I'm sure that I'll pull it off someday. "

-Myoujou Kurogami's Journal Entry #6, 2002

-XOXOXOX-

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-Japan, 2002.-

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-XOXOXOX-

"Huuf, Haaah…"

Sitting in a lotus position Myoujou inhaled and deeply exhaled for about five to ten minutes as he was trying to gain a relaxed state of mind.

You see, the Tenrai Shikyou-ryuu (Heavenly Four Mirrors Style) style of Mixed Martial Arts that Shintarou had compiled was full of wonder as Myoujou would realize the more he learned about it.

According to Shintarou, it was derived from techniques that he learned many years ago as he tried to push his techniques in a new direction, stretching them as far as he could.

It was made as a mixed-martial arts style used to adapt and overcome the many foes and opponents that the user might face, no matter how strong or unpredictable they may be.

And what he was performing was separate from all four categories, being a breathing exercise named -[KU/ VOID]-.

Void (Kū) was a breathing exercise similar to Ibuki breathing and neigong, hailing from Japan, China, and other Eastern Asian countries respectively, which involved deep exhalations through increasing the abdominal pressure, and focusing awareness towards the body's meridians.

Not only was it used as a means of relaxation, concentration, and internal regulation, but also for the matter of Ki as well.

However the main purpose of this exercise specifically for Myoujou was to obtain an optimal state of mind and to achieve clarity through mental and psychological strength.

-Mental strength at an unshakeable level!

For Myoujou, who was still very much a child, this was what he needed in addition to physical strength.

"Haaah…." Myoujou breathed out.

"Learning how it works by doing it myself is way easier than learning by hearing how it works."

"Haah... Old man... I'm ready."

They had just gotten off a boat to Japan a few hours earlier and were heading towards a certain forest with haste.

Silently walking with brisk steps they continued onwards after finishing one of Myoujou's 'Learn-On-The-Go' training sessions.

In these sessions Shintarou would take a more laid-back approach, sitting back and letting nature take its course, only to step in if the chances of death for his disciple were final and imminent.

-Over the years this would mean a lot of life-or-death altercations for the young Myoujou, but luckily he survived, hence the reason he was still here alive and kicking today.

And for someone like Myoujou, this was just as practical of a method as one could be since it brought him great profits and awareness.

Though as it should be said, such methods definitely wouldn't be applicable for many other people, and may even be frowned upon.

Myoujou however seemed to have gotten a lucky break where he was finally able to change into clothes ever since leaving the 'fun', yet drearily frigid place that was the Oymyakon climate.

And as far as clothing was concerned, Myoujou kept it simple by wearing a shirt, trousers, shoes, and gloves all of which were the color black. In addition to this, he wore a red coat with a hood, which would usually obscure his face to some degree.

-Nice and simple. Just the way he preferred it. After all, he was most likely going to someplace in which his fists would be doing the majority of the talking, so why dress extravagantly?

Funnily enough, though, the pair of gloves he would wear from time to time was actually a gift from the Oymyakon village settlement children.

The thing was, that in the third week of endurance training, they had banded together to get him a gift for playing with them and helping them out on occasion; a gift of warm fur gloves.

But in the end, they had gotten it wrong and instead gave him leather gloves.

But as he looked at the expectant faces of the children waiting for praise, he couldn't get fussy about the fact that it was leather and not warm fur.

'Well, they at least got their heart in the right place. Also, It's not like me to look a gift horse in the mouth, so why bother?' Myoujou thought at the time.

You see, the children somewhat reminded him of those three rascals Kouta, Kaito, and Rin back within 'The Inside'; a bunch of disorderly rambunctious kids that would sometimes work together.

'Now that I think about it, I wonder how they're doing.' A year before he left, he bid goodbye to the three as Kaito and Kouta decided to also leave the slums, and Rin disappeared somewhere as usual.

And as for the gift, he had no problem with it, because in the end even though he tried not to show it, Myoujou was ecstatic to be able to receive a gift of some kind.

After all, before he met Shintarou and others within The Inside, the only present he ever got was from his mother, and creepy folks that were trying to force him to sample their 'candy cane' to his unwillingness and disgust as he booked it from their general vicinity.

Shintarou on the other hand, well, wore whatever he found comfortable at the time, so a grey coat over a shirt and pants was what he wore.

Following Shintarou as he walked through the forest path, Myoujou's body tensed heavily as he looked around. 'Something's not right…'

With heightened senses due to years of harsh conditioning and training, Myoujou was instantly alarmed as he got into battle position.

Shintarou however, looked on knowingly with a small smile sketched on his face.

'It's a person coming from the south, and he's pretty fast too… Your average top-tier olympian athlete would've been left in the dust long ago if they were running against this guy...' Lowering his center of gravity, everything in his surroundings seemed to have slowed down as Myoujou entered a state of hyper-awareness, waiting for whoever was about to appear.

'Fifty meters… Thirty meters… Almost there…'

-SWIISH-

'I can smell them… They're strong. About as strong as I am, maybe even stronger. And faster too. However, that's not the point. It seems like they want a fight, so I just need to win, not contest them. I'll have to rely on defense and I'll grapple them down.'

'Though, grappling isn't really my strong suit…' Myoujou wryly smiled. As it would seem the dream of being perfect and invincible was still far away for him.

-SWIISH-

'Five meters left…'

He could see the silhouette of the approaching figure, dashing around and in between the trees as they attempted not to be spotted, but with Myoujou's vision, he could see them clearly.

'Almost there… He's coming with a low kick and then a straight-punch…'

And two meters, Myoujou finally made his move.

'-Now!'

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No, rather, he countered the move of his would-be assailant.

Looking at the motions of the unknown attacker, Myoujou realized that the man's intent was directed at him and not Shintarou.

'I see, maybe they're trying to get rid of a weak link or something.' Myoujou thought. He agreed that fighting a 'Disciple' in a life-or-death situation would be much more preferable to fighting a 'Master' even if the disciple was a strong one.

'But-!' Using his senses to their highest, Myoujou had exploded forward speed as he lunged at his attacker. 'I might be weaker than Shintarou all right, but that doesn't mean just anyone can work me over like pair of butter biscuits-!'

The namesake of Tenrai Shikyou-ryu (Heavenly Four Mirrors Style) was based on the four Japanese historical stories of fantastical nature written from the late Heian period onwards. And each one of the four main forms was named based on stories of the Shikyou (Four Mirrors).

And according to Shintarou, these techniques were compiled in four separate formations whose names were based on historical documents called the shikyou (four mirrors)

Those four formations were;

-Ōkagami (The Great Mirror).

-Imakagami (The New Mirror) Grappling.

-Mizukagami (The Water Mirror).

-Masukagami (The Clear Mirror).

Using a move from a form/kata called (Imakagami/ The New Mirror) which had deep roots in Ju-Jitsu and Judo, he planned to end this quickly.

His skills at applying this kata weren't as fine-tuned as the others, but he still chose to use it.

'He's strong alright, but if I catch him once, then I can end it. And leave this battle the victor.'

-SWOOSH-

Dodging the arc of the leg with snake-like motions, Myoujou clasped onto the leg of the attacker with an increasingly sturdy grasp and locked it under his muscles near his armpit.

The move had shown many of the same principles of a Judo throw, more specifically the move 'Tai Otoshi' (Body Drop).

And using centrifugal force aided by his weight, Myoujou moved to not only sweep the attacker off his feet but to then brutally slam him face-first onto the ground.

-[NEW MIRROR; SNAKE BIND]-

-WHAM!-

"!"

It was like the motions of a snake latching onto its prey only to then swing it back and forth as it sunk its teeth into it, aiming to devour its prey.

And as the dust had cleared somewhat, the figure jumped up seeming mostly unscathed, though there was a hint of surprise in his eyes.

'Hmmn? He got up fast… Did I put too little power mid-swing, or in the sweep…' Myoujou wondered. His opponent clearly wasn't some pushover seeing that he got up immediately after he tried to knock him out.

Peering at Shintarou from the corner of his eyes, Myoujou noticed that Shintarou was currently perched on the tree and he saw his amused expression as if to say; 'What are you waiting for? Continue.'

Nodding, Myoujou dashed towards the man who arched and shot out with a kick, aiming his leg at Myoujou's head.

"!"

But as Myoujou aimed for a takedown, the man had suddenly changed form, now launching a vicious-looking knee at Myoujou's face

'A feint?'

Closer and closer, what would be a sure knockout blow was flying towards Myoujou's face in the form of a swift knee.

If it were to connect, this fight would be over with Myoujou rendered unconscious.

However...

-FWIISH-

-A near miss.

Showing a display of great flexibility, reaction speed, and precise motor controls, Myoujou slid to the side mid-tackle, barely dodging the surprise knee attack, and escaping with nothing but a minor graze on his face.

-A few millimeters more, and it would've caused a broken nose.

-A few centimeters more, and it would've caused a complete knockout.

-It was a feat that most likely would've done irreparable damage to the old Myoujou.

In short, had it connected, Myoujou was sure that he would've taken a nap on the grassy forest floor.

'This guy…' Myoujou frowned. 'What was that? Did he get stronger all of a sudden?'

'But… Nice try!' Now maneuvering behind the man, Myoujou retained focus as he grasped the man in a headlock, pressing down on his jugular in hopes of downing him.

But suddenly before anything else happened, Shintarou spoke.

"So have you had enough yet?" Shintarou looked at the man as he chuckled.

"…Yes." Exchanging a look with Shintarou, Myoujou released his grasp and immediately created space between the two.

For some reason, he didn't seem too displeased that this stranger just tried to beat him up out of nowhere. To Myoujou it was just the daily routine of 'If you exist, then other people that want to beat you up will exist too.'

It wasn't the most sane of beliefs, but it was Myoujou's, and Myoujou is a little bit special in the head when it comes to many things.

"You... are competent enough." The man said. "You pass."

And as quickly as the altercation had begun, it had also ended.

"Haiyaaa-" When he put the two and two together and realized that the man wanted to test him, Myoujou tiredly sighed. "Oi Shintarou, are all of these guys like this?" He said incredulously while pointing at the man who attacked him.

"Reminds me of you when I met you in 'The Inside'; All stiff and robotic." Shintarou quipped, to which Myoujou shook his head in disagreement.

"We... wanted to see what the disciple of the 'Phantom Titan' was capable of and if he was competent enough to join us with this task." The man said without any expression.

"I guess they wanted to see if you were slacking off in training, eh?" Myoujou joked whilst Shintarou chuckled as if nothing that happened before was of any notice.

"Heh. Well if I slack off I think we know who to blame." Myoujou said. "I mean, with all the bad habits you have one of them eventually would have to rub off on me."

"Pfft. Yea right brat, ain't no way that's on me!" Shintarou laughed whilst 'gently' patting Myoujou on his back.

After Myoujou and Shintarou stood around and traded barbs for a while, the man in front of them coughed lightly before introducing himself.

The man was a martial artist that hailed directly from the Kuremisago clan; a clan well known for its secrecy and their talents in the arts of fighting.

Leading them to where the manor would be they traveled through the forest, going through a numerable amount of twists and turns until they finally arrived at the compound location.

"We have arrived." The man blandly said. "Follow me."

"Ah, not a bad place at all, Full of nature and whatnot." Shintarou said, moving his arms behind his head.

'So this is one of the Kuremisago compounds.' Myoujou thought. Though, for some reason, he couldn't help but frown.

'Why do I feel uneasy here though? It's just your average secret compound…'

'-But I can't help but feel that not only have I been here before but also that something is about to go wrong…'

-XOXOXOX-

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11th Fight: SECRET CLAN DRAMA END

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-XOXOXOX-

11th Chapter Out!

As always, thanks for the support~

Constructive criticism and feedback is always welcomed.

And So, The Plot Thickens!

And we finally see just a little glimpse of what Myoujou has learnt.

A full fight scene won't be till later so hold on! Teehee~

Stay Tuned~

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