Chương 4: The 'Test'
By now I had signed the documents I needed to sign, and I was standing across from Sakaki.
Just the pressure of him standing in front of me felt a bit unnerving but also pumped me up even further. I could go all-out against this man without having to worry about killing someone. I could test my limits and feel the heat of battle to it's fullest.
Taking off my blazer, tie, shirt, and my shoes and socks, I did a bit of stretching.
While I was stretching, Sakaki and the scholarly-looking man, Akisame was looking at me with weird looks.
Seeing the looks, I stopped my stretching before looking at them with a tilted head, "What? Is there something wrong?" upon hearing my question, Akisame shook his head and stepped toward me.
He started inspecting me with a wooden stick he'd pulled out of nowhere. Prodding different muscles on my body, seemingly testing their strength, and before long he looked up at me, "No, there's nothing wrong - and that's the problem. Someone's body can only be like yours through intense physical conditioning, so if you're telling the truth about never having trained...your body has developed in the perfect way for a Martial Artist and with the proper training you could exceed everyone else in terms of physical prowess,"
Hearing him I simply nodded. I could have guessed as much, but I knew my wish, the other people behind Akisame didn't know that and looked at me in slight shock - apart from Touka who was just incredibly confused.
Akisame backed away after doing his test and brought out a notepad as if he was about to take notes on my fight and how I performed. Knowing his scholarly nature, I knew that if I got him interested in my physique, he'd no doubt teach me just to see how far I could go.
After that, it would only be a question of time until the other masters started teaching me.
"Hey kid, stop focusing on other things and get your head in the fight!" out of nowhere, a booming shout came from Sakaki and I was overwhelmed by a sense of danger.
Sliding my body to the left, a fist of immeasurable power rocketed past me sending turbulent waves of air akin to a hurricane around the Dojo.
Skidding back slightly due to the chaotic wind, I didn't have time to prepare to the kick sent at my mid-section and I was sent flying back through the air before I collided with the Dojo walls.
I heard the Dojo doors open and someone ask what was happening but I and Sakaki were in our own little world, so we didn't divide our attention.
"You have good reflexes and brilliant instincts kid, and from the way you didn't croak from that kick? You've got some serious durability for someone your age," he casually walked over to me, thinking I was down and out.
But I wasn't. I wouldn't let myself be taken care of by two attacks.
"Woah!" Sakaki put a hand up to block my sudden punch and squeezed my hand before nodding his head, "Some good power behind these hits as well...but you should give it up for now kid, you can't win this," after saying this he swung me up into the air before sending two punches. One aimed at my stomach and the other aimed at my face.
Purely by instinct, I brought up my hands in an 'X' in front of my face, while tensing my dense abdomen muscles to brace for impact.
I didn't feel anything at first, simply that I was moving but before long, my colliding with the wall rattled my skeleton and seemed to revitalize my nerve system as I felt the immense pain from the earlier hits.
Though it was weird. I felt that my body was in immense pain but it didn't stop me from thinking straight, nor did it really impede my body in any way. I guess the amount of Endorphins in my blood from my Kure Clan Bloodline are really showing their usefulness right now.
Slowly standing up, I looked down at saw my arms were both incredibly bruised and I looked down at my stomach to see a definite fist imprint there and the surrounding flesh was bruised very heavily.
But I ignored it, knowing that either Akisame or the short Chinese Master, Kensei Ma could heal me back up after this. I'm pretty sure my natural healing could clear this up soon as well.
Looking over at Sakaki I could see the small trail of blood I must have left from where he attacked me to where I ended up now, but what I really focused on is Sakaki's surprised face.
"Hey, kid, you should be out from the pain right now..." he said in a rude voice, but his underlying worry was easy to see, "I'll teach you some stuff, so just stay down, okay, kid?" his voice went a bit softer as he spoke.
Hearing him, I froze over like a statue.
...Lose?
I...I don't want to lose.
I don't want to lose!
No, I refuse to lose so easily!
"...I refuse to lose so easily. I'll make you use at least 20 attacks before I go down," coughing up a little blood, I spat it to the floor before I felt a rather manic smile spread across my face, "And I have the perfect technique to make it possible,"
Sakaki, shocked by my determination to keep on going despite the injuries I had, didn't have anything to say about what I just said, instead he got himself into a stance and stared at me seriously.
Closing my eyes, I calmed my breath as best as I could before I focused my thoughts inside my head looking for information.
After a bit of searching, I didn't find any information but I found a switch in my mind. I didn't need any information to know what this switch was.
Flicking it, I opened my eyes and spoke one word as I felt like a mountain had been lifted off my back.
"...Removal."
POV Change: 3rd Person
The rooms aura suddenly changed when Hiroki spoke that single word.
Miu, the Masters, the Elder, Hiratsuka-sensei who'd just walked in, even Touka, could feel his aura change immensely.
Like a demon that had just been uncaged and was craving a fight, Hiroki's aura was heavy and strong and felt like a tidal wave of intimidation to those watching.
But most of all, Sakaki felt the most difference. This kid in front of him who barely had any technique, this kid who could only rely on his superior strength...this kid in front of him was giving him a dangerous feel.
Sakaki knew that the kid couldn't hurt him, let alone kill him, but the aura pouring out of the kid was simply...demonic.
However, the aura was but the first change.
The Elders eyes went wide when he saw the boy's skin changing from it pale white, to a crimson red, like his skin was soaked in blood.
His veins started protruding like small snakes under his skin, wiggling back and forth. Looking toward his eyes, everyone present saw his sclera was now black and his bright blue eyes were now an eerie silvery white which seemed to glow like the sun in the sky.
This change was most shocking to Touka because as a Ghoul, she had the same thing but instead of white, her eyes turn red. She remembered when Hiroki said he would call himself 'something of a science experiment'...she wondered if he was really telling the truth at that point because right now, it seemed like he was...
Yet again, another change happened as his blood red hair started to lose its color and slowly became pure white like snow.
His appearance right now looked like a bloodied demon fresh out of hell, and fit together with his psychotic smile, he looked positively terrifying.
But before any of the people could comment on his transformation, he disappeared from sight.
He quickly appeared in front of Sakaki with a strong punch which Sakaki dodged under without fail before sending an uppercut toward Hiroki's chin.
Surprisingly, Hiroki took the uppercut but he didn't move. Not even an inch. It was safe to say that Sakaki was holding back a lot otherwise Hiroki would be dead but to tank any hit from a Grand Master was a worthy achievement.
"I won't lose yet!" through gritted teeth, Hiroki's hoarse voice came out, filled with unnatural determination. He quickly swung an elbow toward Sakaki's face which the man caught easily.
But it seemed he underestimated Hiroki a bit too much as a knee came into his diaphragm and knock a bit of air out of his lungs.
The masters, the Elder and pretty much everyone but Touka, was surprised by Hiroki being able to land a single hit on Sakaki. Even Sakaki was surprised but not because he was hit - he knew he'd underestimated the boy too much and got hit for it - no, he was surprised because of the raw power behind that strike.
It had no technique and was a sloppy elbow but...the power behind it!
Sakaki was getting excited just thinking about such demonic strength put together with some of his Karate...the idea of teaching the kid was growing on him by the second.
The same idea was in Akisame's head because although he didn't feel the attack like Sakaki, his keen perception allowed him to sense the demonic strength behind that hit and he wished to see if he could use some of his more...intense training devices to push that unnatural strength even further.
Coming out of his surprise, Sakaki sent a strong punch into Hiroki's stomach, blasting him away. Though he didn't seem to feel the pain of the hit, and he just stamped his feet into the ground to stop himself. However, he still kept skidding.
Meanwhile, Hiratsuka-sensei, the person who entered earlier, was going ballistic at the Elder.
"He's my student, not yours, so you better stop that Alcoholic Gambler from hurting him any further! Stop the fight! Now!" despite her seemingly feisty demeanor, she cares very deeply about her students and their well-being.
So, to see Hiroki getting beaten so badly, she felt like she was a terrible teacher who couldn't help her student.
But despite understanding this, the Elder shook his head, "This is a fight between them. Only they can stop the fight, and unless that boy is in any immediate danger, I won't step in to help," he put his hand into his robe before pulling out some documents, "It's all on here, the lad added the part where people couldn't intervene with the fight unless he was in mortal danger. Now, respect his wishes and watch the fight. You can reprimand them both as much as you want after," with this, the Elder turned back to the fight after giving Hiratsuka-sensei the documents.
Hiratsuka-sensei looked partially stunned before she scanned through the documents in her hands for a loophole she could take advantage off, but sadly there wasn't one.
Coming to a stop, Hiroki blasted forth at Sakaki again even quicker than before. He sent out a combo of punches toward Sakaki, who was surprised by something.
He was surprised by the fact that Hiroki's technique, while still unrefined and brutish, was becoming more precise, while he was wasting less movement as time went on. It was like he was learning mid-fight.
No matter what, however, Sakaki just dodged the hits before sending counter-attacks back at Hiroki, slamming heavy fists into his chest and face.
But as if he didn't even feel the hits, Hiroki just kept pressing forward. He knew he was outmatched in terms of skill and even physical prowess but...he just kept throwing punches, kicks, elbows, headbutts.
Each blow was filled with enough force to make the Dojo around them quake like a giant beast was walking past. The strength everyone sensed sent shivers down their back.
'To think a person without martial arts training can exert this much power' was a consistent thought throughout Miu and the other martial artists' heads. While 'To think a human can exert this much power' was flowing around Touka brains, tipping up her perception of the world when she saw Sakaki dealing with such blows like they were nothing.
She was beginning to realize that there were more powerful things than Ghouls in this world. It reminded her of something the Manager at Anteiku about there being dangers in this world, far beyond that of Ghouls and the CCG.
Anyway, back to the fight.
Hiroki was flung around the Dojo like a rag-doll but his impressive physical conditioning allowed him to bounce off the walls and throw himself back at Sakaki like a pinball. It was like his physical abilities, no matter what physical ability in a human, was conditioned to the maximum that it could be.
Only Hiroki knew that because of his unique Genetics, this was exactly the case.
The Kure Clan, who were known for having superior physical ability anyway, mixed with Genes from all the Strongest Fighters from Kengan Ashura, gave Hiroki the potential to be the fastest, the strongest, to have the best reflexes/reaction speed, the highest stamina and the hardest body - Hiroki had the potential to be the apex of all fighters!
But even though Hiroki used everything at his disposal to combat Sakaki, it didn't make a difference to the flow of the fight, however, it impressed Sakaki so much that he had a savage smile of excitement of his own on his face.
"We're up to 18 attacks from me, kid, after two more you're either gonna be down and unconscious or be down and dead, you got that?!"* Sakaki spoke in a rough voice, sounding incredibly intimidating but it was hard to miss the acknowledgment in his eyes as he looked at Hiroki.
(*A/N - This is just a bluff so he sounds tough. Sakaki is part of the Life Saving Fist Faction, so he'll never kill with his Martial Arts. But he can cripple and thoroughly maim people, so he's not someone you mess with, in any scenario.)
Hiroki, hearing this, smirked before the veins protruding around his body flared up even more and so did his muscles. A slight amount of steam started rising from his body due to his body heat but this didn't seem to deter him as he smiled demonically back at Sakaki.
"Oh yeah, old man?! Come and give me your best shot!" with this roar of excitement, Hiroki flung himself with so much speed and strength he went past his limits and ripped open his legs causing blood to spurt out and though it may seem quick horrific...it had a strange beauty to it.
A red trail behind a red, white-haired man who looked so terrifying yet so...exotic.
Miu, seeing this scene felt her heart skip a beat. She'd never seen someone her age last this long against the Masters at her Dojo, let alone someone her age who was this strong. She knew that in pure technique she could completely decimate Hiroki but in terms of physical prowess...Hiroki was no doubt ahead of her.
Seeing his perfect musculature made her feel funny inside and she didn't quite understand why. She just knew that she liked how strong he was.
Just as Hiroki was getting to Sakaki, the man himself took a step forward and sent out a simple fist.
"Seiken!"* but once he said that word, all his large muscles flexed and ripped his leather jacket apart. His fist seemed to accelerate instantly and collided with Hiroki's face before he could get his attack off.
(*A/N - The full name for the move is Seikentsuki, it's one of the first moves a Karate Practitioner will learn.)
His momentum working against him, Hiroki collided against Sakaki's punch with incredible force but before he could be blasted away, he slammed his feet into the floor before digging his toes straight through the tatami mat below, keeping himself in place.
Hiroki's vision started to go black because of the rattling his brain just went under, but he still lifted his fist and went to throw it but when he threw the punch his arm just flopped forward before falling down.
"...I...I failed, huh?" after saying this weakly, Hiroki closed his eyes and passed out. But weirdly enough, because of his incredibly rooted feet, he was still upright despite being unconscious.
Slowly, his white hair turned back to blood red and his blood red skin and protruding veins went back to normal. It was easy to assume that his eyes went back to normal as well.
When his skin went back to normal, it was easier to see the bruising and the number of cuts on his face and upper body.
It was such a sight that Touka had to look away, not from disgust, but because it was like having succulent food waved in front of her.
Miu and Hiratsuka-sensei both had worried expressions, with the latter panicking about letting a student die.
But Sakaki and the other masters, including the Elder, weren't panicking. They'd been in enough fights to know that Hiroki was just unconscious, he wasn't even a little close to dying. Especially with medical experts like Akisame and Kensei there to provide help.
Sakaki was smiling as he pried Hiroki's feet from the Tatami mats with a strong pull. He threw the teen over his shoulder before walking back over to the group.
"Akisame, Kensei, let's get this kid patched up. I need him in tip-top condition when I start teaching him this weekend," Sakaki pulled a beer out from nowhere before cracking it open and downing it in one go.
But once he was done, all he saw was the other masters looking at him with competitive eyes.
Akisame was the first to step forward.
"I don't know why you think you're going to be teaching the boy anything. He's already got brute force, so he doesn't need your teachings...he needs some with more control and technique like me to teach him," he finished it off with a subtle scratch at his mustache.
Hearing this, Sakaki put on a very delinquent-like expression, "Ehhh?! I'm pretty sure you only want to teach him so you can test out some of your more lethal training contraptions! He'll be my disciple, end of story!"
What he said caused Akisame to flinch because Sakaki was right about him wanting to test out some more...extreme workout machines and methods.
But before Sakaki could walk away, Kensei spoke up, "Hold on, Sakaki," Sakaki looked down at Kensei with a raised eyebrow, signaling him to carry on, "You can still teach him, but I want to teach him Chinese Martial Arts as well. He needs to train the necessary control needed in fights and Chinese Kenpo's training methods will do just that. I will not take no for an answer," he looked up from under his hat and stared into Sakaki's eyes.
After staring at each other for a while, Sakaki finally nodded. When Apachai was about to speak up, the Elder stopped him before speaking himself.
"We can discuss who will teach him after he's been properly checked over. First, we need to get him to your Room, Akisame," with the Elder's booming voice being final, Sakaki followed Akisame to his room along with Kensei.
When Miu went to follow, the Elder stopped her.
"Stay here with your friend and Hiratsuka-sensei, those two need to concentrate when they're healing him and I doubt they could do it with you being a worrywart around them," he smiled with a doting smile you'd expect to see on any grandpa's face when they were speaking to their grandchild.
Miu, while reluctant, nodded at what the Elder said. So did Hiratsuka-sensei, but they both made the Elder promise to let them see him as soon as he was awake.
The Elder could only reluctantly agree. He took one last look at the three people in front of him, especially Touka before he took Apachai and Shigure with him out of the Dojo.
And that's how Ryozanpaku gained its second disciple after Miu.
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