Legend Of The Strongest Delinquent 22

Hey everyone, and welcome to this chapter. This chapter will wrap up the rest of the mountain training Arc. I wanted to finish this up so we could get back to the canon, and I also wanted this chapter to have something for everyone, so it took a bit to finish.

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.

….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….

Tactics And Hard Work

….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….

—…

The day before, the residents of Ryozanpaku, consisting of Kenichi, Miu, Akisame, and Apachai, made their way into a secluded area in the mountains; accompanying them were the three members of the Tsukiharu clan—Shirou, Haruto, and their father, Hideki.

After arriving at the mountains, they became acquainted with Akisame's old friend, Taiki Yamamoto, and his son Naoki. The purpose of their visit was to help Kenichi with his training by teaching him the principles of the Yamamoto School of Martial Arts, which emphasized using tactics to compensate for a fighter's lack of power. The style already proved itself effective when Naoki defeated Kenichi in quick fashion despite them apparently being equal in power.

On the following day, Kenichi and Naoki were set to train together in order for both of them to hone their abilities so that they could be prepared for their rematch. Their training began immediately.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" Kenichi's trademark shriek echoed throughout the mountains.

The "training" that Kenichi and Naoki were subjected to was something Kenichi was used to—Just like Akisame usually did, Taiki sat on a sled that was being pulled by Kenichi and Naoki while they had ropes tied around their waists and Taiki had a whip he used on them if they slowed down.

"Human sled cliff climb!" Taiki announced as he whipped Kenichi from his sled.

"It's just the same!" Kenichi cried out in frustration at being subjected to this torture yet again. "It's always the same!"

Despite saying that, there were some differences—One of them being the fact that unlike back home, where he had the flat, concrete grounds of the city, this was the rocky, dirt roads of the mountains, making it much harder to traverse, another difference was the fact that rather than simply running down a straight path, they were climbing up a steep hill, the final difference, though this was a positive one, was the addition of Naoki, meaning he didn't have to do all the pulling himself.

Akisame and Apachai were on top of the hill, and they could see them climbing up as Akisame heard what Kenichi had just said and smiled.

"Not at all!" Akisame disagreed with Kenichi's statement. "This is the mountains!"

Next to the two Masters was a large pile of wooden logs that were twice as tall as Apachai. The logs were stacked together and tied down by a rope. As if to prove his point, Akisame took out a knife and cut the rope. This caused the pile of logs to come undone as they rolled down the hill and were on a collision course with Kenichi and Naoki.

[Eeehhhhhh!] Kenichi and Naoki screamed in horror at the sight of the large wooden logs crashing toward them.

All three of them leaped forward and used their leg strength and jumping abilities to avoid being run over. Taiki effortlessly hooped onto a log before he jumped high in the air and landed on a safe spot. Meanwhile, Kenichi and Naoki were desperately scrambling to safety as they jumped from log to log and tried to avoid falling or getting swept away.

"Aaahhhh!" Kenichi cried out, screaming as he kept running and jumping.

"This is more intense than ever!" Naoki cried out frantically as he struggled to jump from log to log.

….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….

"Next!" Akisame announced as they moved on to the next exercise.

Akisame and Taiki brought Kenichi and Naoki deeper into the woods until they were surrounded by tall bamboo trees. Now, both of the Masters tied a rope around their ankles before tying the other end of their ropes to a heavy stone jizo statue.

With the preparation completed, Kenichi and Naoki were instructed to climb to the top of their respective bamboo trees while being weighed down by the stone statues.

[Gaaahhhh!] Kenichi and Naoki wailed as they struggled with all their might to climb up the bamboo.

"The slower one has to do it ten more times as a penalty!" Akisame warned them from the ground.

"I won't be beaten by you!" Naoki declared, frantically wanting to avoid the penalty.

"What did you say?!" Kenichi retorted angrily, just as determined to avoid the penalty.

While they were yelling at each other, Taiki and Akisame watched them climb and were pleased with the effort they were putting in.

"As we thought, if they are made to compete, it makes a difference." Taiki pointed out.

"Um-hm." Akisame nodded in affirmation.

After they were done climbing, Kenichi and Naoki were now on the ground; they were both flat on their back and gasping for air as they were completely drained after all that high-intensity training.

"I thought Akisame-sensei was insane on his own, but who could have imagined he was worse when paired with a friend?" Kenichi lamented while exhausted.

"I can't believe there's anyone, aside from my father, who's this crazy when it comes to training." Naoki breathed out while catching his breath.

At that point, Kenichi heard footsteps and sat up as he saw others approaching. He saw Shirou, along with Haruto and Hideki, walking toward them, and soon enough, he stood in front of Kenichi.

"Ah, hey, Shirou." Kenichi sat up and greeted him.

"You're resting." Shirou noted. "Are you done training already?"

"Training…?" Kenichi clenched his fist in irritation. "If you can even call it that. This is torture."

"We know, we heard your screaming echoing across the woods." Haruto informed him.

"You'd scream too if you went through what I have!" Kenichi snapped before he noticed something about the Tsukiharu brothers—Both Shirou and Haruto's hair seemed to be soaking wet, and their clothes appeared to be damp, which was odd considering there wasn't a cloud in the sky. "Hey, how come you two are all wet?"

"It was Dad's training regimen." Shirou answered before elaborating. "Instead of climbing a cliff, we had to climb up the waterfall."

"Climb the waterfall?" Kenichi was taken aback.

"Why not?" Hideki saw the merit in it. "It has all the training of climbing a cliff with the adage of fighting back against the rapid water pressure of the waterfall. The best next step in climbing-related training."

"You know, he's right." Taiki agreed, seeing the logic in his reasoning.

"Indeed, I must say, you have a knack for coming up with good training regimes." Akisame complimented.

"Crap, I hope he doesn't get any ideas." Kenichi flinched, just imagining it.

"His idea of using the water pressure didn't end there." Haruto chimed in. "Once we reached the top, he had us spar with each other while we were ankle-deep in the river stream."

"Fighting against each and the currents helps you both build up a greater sense of concentration. You have to focus on the enemy in front of you without being distracted by an unfavorable environment. Not to mention fighting when your legs are weighed down by the water build-up, greater lower body strength, and a sense of balance." Hideki explained the reasons behind his methods.

"Using the environment as a part of their training, how resourceful." Akisame noted with approval.

"And effective, I myself have found my abilities approve while training with the river." Taiki admitted.

"Yeah, well, you didn't have to handle the uphill battle of sparring with my brother." Haruto pointed out. "Even in training, he never holds back."

"Don't complain; I got a lot more out of sparring with you than I do with Kenichi." Shirou gave him consolation.

"I was a little upset when I thought about how Shirou didn't have to suffer through this training with me, but I've changed my mind." Kenichi inwardly confessed. "Truth be told, I don't think I'd be able to handle the training he's going through."

Taiki clapped, getting Kenichi and Naoki's attention. "Okay, now that the warm-up exercises are out of the way, let's start the real training." He put on a serious expression. "It's that."

Naoki immediately freaked out. "Huh? Are we really going to do that, Father?!" He trembled and started to sweat.

Seeing him freak out caused Kenichi to freak out. "Huh? What? What is that?!"

"If you go in, no matter what, you won't come out unharmed…" Naoki answered as the color drained from his face. "It's the cave of death."

"The cave of death?!" Just the name alone was enough to make Kenichi go pale.

….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….

Later on, they all left the woods and gathered in front of the base of a mountain. An old wooden door was attached to the front stone wall of the base of the mountain, and Taiki opened the door to show the inside of the others; it was the entrance to a deep, dark stone cave. This was clearly what Naoki called the cave of death.

"So, this is the cave of death?" Shirou asked, staring at the door.

"Yeah…" Naoki gulped while holding a lit candle. "This is the most terrifying place in all the mountains."

"The most terrifying?" Kenichi repeated, starting to sweat a little himself.

"Whatever happens, take care and come back safe, Kenichi." Miu told him, concerned for his well-being.

"What exactly is this place for anyway?" Haruto decided to ask.

"When I misbehave or do a prank or something, I'm put in here…" Naoki explained as they headed toward the door.

"Wait, what?" Haruto cringed at that. "Your dad locks you in a dark cave for misbehaving?"

"Feels like he's taking the phrase "grounded" to the extreme." Hideki noted, a little uncomfortable himself.

As Kenichi and Naoki were about to enter, Taiki addressed them. "Listen up, you two, you must not come out until the candle burns out."

Naoki, in acknowledgment of his father's instructions, proceeded to enter the cave with Kenichi following behind him. After they stepped inside, the door closed. Once they were gone, Akisame turned to Apachai.

"Well then, Apachai, let's go up the mountains and gather some things to add to tonight's meal." Akisame suggested.

"Will they be okay if we leave?" Apachai asked, not feeling good about leaving Kenichi behind.

"They'll be fine." Akisame assured him without concern. "Miu, you come too."

Miu also seemed hesitant to leave, but Hideki placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry so much; go on."

"But…" Miu still seemed unsure.

"I know that you're worried about him, but remember, Naoki is there too." Hideki reminded her. 

"Taiki wouldn't make his son do anything he thought was too dangerous, so whatever they're doing in there, it can't be all that bad."

Miu saw the logic in his reasoning and became less worried. "Yeah, I suppose you have a point."

Akisame then turned to his friend. "Well, Taiki, we'll see you later."

"Um-hm." Taiki nodded.

With that, Taiki leaped into the air before landing on some nearby rocks and continued hopping away until he was out of sight.

"Where's he going?" Shirou wondered.

"Who knows?" Haruto replied. "Given the fact that he knows this mountain like the back of his hand, could be anywhere."

"Well, let's not worry about it." Hideki shrugged. "For now, let's get back to our own training."

And so, the three Tsukiharus also departed from the cave entrance.

….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….

While all that was happening, Kenichi and Naoki closed the cave door behind them, and Naoki led the way while holding the candle, their only source of light. They walked around in the dark, rocky cave that was wide, empty, eerie, and surrounded by rock segments.

"I… It's dark…" Kenichi muttered nervously while looking around.

"Be… Because it's a cave…" Naoki replied, trying to hide the nervousness in his own voice.

After walking a few feet into the cave, they soon came across another door, but unlike the door at the entrance, this door wasn't made of wood. In fact, it was less of a door as it was the cell door for a jail cell, complete with iron bars, and was made entirely out of metal.

"Hey, is that another door?" Kenichi asked as they stood in front of the cell door. "And it's a sturdy one too. What in the world is in there?"

"In here…" Naoki paused as he started to tremble again. "There is a Tengu."

"Te… Tengu?" Kenichi wondered if he heard him right.

Naoki continued as he opened the door, and they stepped inside. "A long time ago, Father defeated a Tengu who had been working evil beneath the village and locked him up in here."

Kenichi processed all that before he laughed in amusement. "Hahaha! A tengu, you say?! That's ridiculous!" He ridiculed him. "You really are just a kid!"

Instead of getting upset, Naoki warned him as he locked the cell behind him. "You might want to look at what's behind you."

"Huh?" Kenichi froze like a block of ice when he felt the eyes of someone else gazing at him and slowly turned around.

Sitting behind him in the center of the stoney cave cell was a man whose eyes were fixed on Kenichi and gave off a clear sense of danger. He wore a black jacket with green poofs along its inner edges over a light gray kimono with purple spots on the bottom. He also wore dark black puffy trousers and wooden geta sandals. He wore a red tengu mask, which had an extremely long nose that covered his face, but it didn't hide his long beard that reached down to his chest or his mustache that reached outwardly to his ears, nor did it hide his very long hair that spread out like a lion's mane—All of his hair was white.

When Kenichi saw the Tengu, his first instinct was to scream. "Waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

The Tengu responded by putting up his weapon—A blade that was shaped like a five-leaf clover—And slashed at Kenichi. Before the blade came in contact with him, Kenichi jumped back before he fell to the floor next to Naoki.

"Are you okay?" Naoki asked as he set down the candle.

Kenichi quickly got up and reached for the door, trying to escape. "Naoki, open this up!"

"It's no use, it's already locked." Naoki informed him, keeping his attention on the Tengu. "Look, he's chained up! He can't get out of the cell!" He pointed out, referring to the fact that the Tengu had a metal cuff attached to his leg and a chain connected to it that was wrapped around a nearby log. 

"Anyway, we have to score a point against him before the candle burns out!" He insisted desperately.

"Are you insane!? We should be thinking about how we're going to survive!" Kenichi tried to reason with him.

Naoki let out a chuckle. "It's my agreement with Father: If we can score a point against him, we'll go down to the city!" His eyes sparkled like a child imagining a wonderland. "Oh, that's what a dream about—The city!"

Kenichi narrowed his eyes and frowned at him. "Don't involve me in your dreams."

"Anyway, it's two against one." Naoki reasoned as he charged forward. "Today, we'll score a point for sure."

"Uh, why do I have to go through this kind of stuff?" Kenichi complained as he also advanced. But he then stopped and thought about this situation more clearly. "Wait a minute, there's something strange going on here. If I take a moment to think about it, how many years could something live in a place like this?"

He thought rationally before noticing other things about the Tengu.

"Ah, that gauntlet." Kenichi noticed the metal gauntlets that the Tengu was wearing were familiar. Not only that, but when Naoki moved in to attack, the Tengu stopped him by using a Jiu-Jitsu technique and struck Naoki in his throat. "The Tengu is using a mish-mash of Jiu-Jitsu!" After noticing those things, a simple conclusion entered Kenichi's mind. "Maybe it's Naoki's Father…?"

As if on cue, the second he thought of that, the Tengu hit Kenichi with a power knee-kick that knocked all the air out of his lungs and sent him reeling backward.

"Idiot! If you're careless, you'll be killed!" Naoki reprimanded him.

"Gyah! Gwah!" Kenichi cried out as his panic-fill moans echoed throughout the cave.

"Don't hold back!" Naoki insisted, still motivated to win. "We have to combine our abilities if we don't want to die."

….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….

Later on, up in the mountains, the rest of the group from Ryozanpaku were gathered around an assortment of different plants that could be used as spices and herbs. While they were gathering plants, Shirou, Haruto, and Hideki were training nearby; their training merely consisted of practicing punching techniques. They repeatedly punched their fists forward and continued until their father was satisfied with their execution of the technique.

While they were all together, Akisame revealed the truth about the Tengu, and it was exactly what Kenichi had guessed.

"Why is his father pretending to be a Tengu?" Miu asked while she picked up some raspberry.

"In the mountains, it's just the two of them training." Akisame reasoned while he picked some ginger plants. "It's probably a policy of desperation to avoid involving the emotions between a father and son in the sparring matches."

"I wish I knew what that felt like. I have two sons, and I've never seen them have any emotional reserves about attacking me whenever we spar." Hideki added jokingly as he observed Shirou and Haruto practice.

"And you never will." Shirou chimed in as he kept punching. "That's just the nature of our family."

"Think of it as a compliment, Dad." Haruto added, right beside his brother. "If we ever hesitated in our desire to clobber you, you wouldn't be a very good teacher."

Hideki rolled his eyes. "You're right; I feel honored."

"Anyway, Naoki-kun is waiting for the day when he comes down from the mountain and does nothing but match himself against other schools." Akisame continued. "It's sort of like a special education for the gifted for our fellow."

"But being gifted doesn't compensate for his glaring weakness." Hideki pointed out.

"Weakness?" Miu looked over and asked. "What weakness is that?"

"It's obvious." Haruto answered as he and Shirou stopped punching. "The weakness that comes from the arrogance of isolation. It's like the story of the frog at the bottom of a well—Because he's spent his whole life up on this mountain, he has no idea how big the world really is. Naoki's good, but since he's never faced anyone but his father, he has no awareness of how good he is compared to other Disciples or whether or not he's making any real progress."

"You make a good point; the tactics he used on Kenichi were impressive. However, he showed his lack of experience by using the tactics in front of the two of you. Not only that, he attempted to reuse the same tactics on Haruto, assuming the same move would work twice." Akisame pointed out. "Being unable to change your strategy in the heat of battle is a weakness born from a lack of battle; he hasn't been in enough real fights to have combat intelligence, and you can't compensate for that with tactics alone."

"Another problem with isolation is the issue with his father." Shirou joined in.

"What issue?" Miu asked again. "I don't see a problem with them?"

"During a child's upbringing, the most important thing is giving them the right information. They know hardly anything, so they rely on others to tell them—What's right, what's normal, what's real?" Shirou explained. "If they believe that you can answer their questions, they'll keep asking you and grow up believing whatever you tell them is fact. That can be damaging to a child's upbringing, especially when the only source of information they have is a single parent. His father could tell him that the earth is flat or the moon is made of green cheese, and he'd have no choice but to believe him because he can't prove him wrong, and there's no one else to ask. The fact that his father told him that a Tengu lives in that gave, and he believes him is proof that he'll believe anything he's told whether it makes sense or not."

"That's true; by all accounts, he should have just taken Naoki into the city already instead of just promising." Hideki reasoned.

"At this point, Naoki will probably grow up to be the kind of person who's a good Martial Artist but scatterbrained at everything else." Haruto summarized.

"Hmm, I don't know you guys; I mean, Grandpa raised me almost the same way, and I turned out fine." Miu pointed out, not seeing the problem.

[I rest my case.] Shirou and Haruto thought in unison as Shirou facepalmed and Haruto rolled his eyes.

….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….

That night, after everyone had finished whatever business they had outside, they all returned to the Yamamoto house and gathered around the hearth as the fire cooked their dinner, a bowling pot of stew with fish and vegetables.

While Miu cooked the meal, Kenichi and Naoki sat side by side and reported the outcome of their training inside the cave, which was gratuitous since the swelling and bruises on their faces already told the story.

"It was a total disaster." Kenichi complained while eating some mushrooms with his cheek swollen. 

"…It hurts to eat."

"You're a mess, Kenichi." Naoki said with a laugh as he also ate. He was noticeably less injured than Kenichi.

"That's because you kept using me as a shield!" Kenichi angrily snapped with his mouth full.

"Well, Kenichi, you were awfully good at taking hits, and it was all about being in the right place at the right time." Naoki light-heartedly defended himself. "That's tactics, too."

"Is that so? Was it bad again?" Taiki asked as if he didn't already know.

"It was like that again with the Tengu, but Kenichi's manner of fighting was too naive." Naoki pointed out with a sigh. "He still has a lot to learn about tactics. If it's like this, surely the winner of the last day's sparring match will be me again."

"You better not let that happen." Shirou warned him. "Being defeated three times in a row by the same person is a disgrace no one can recover from."

"If you were a samurai, you'd have to disembowel yourself to salvage your honor." Haruto added.

"Why would you put the image in my head?!" Kenichi reprimanded them.

"Moving on." Shirou ignored Kenichi as he turned his attention to Taiki. "There's something I want to ask you."

"Oh, what is that?" Taiki asked with some interest.

….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….

Later that night, while everyone else slept and the forest was blanketed in darkness and silence, a dim light could be seen traveling through the woods; that light was coming from the single candle that Shirou held as he and Haruto made their way through the trees and had a specific destination in mind.

"All right, we're here." Shirou informed his brother as they stopped.

"Looks even more like a "cave of death" at night." Haruto noted as they approached the door.

"Yeah, if this were a horror movie, I'd be yelling at myself to get the hell out of here." Shirou commented as he opened the door.

"Oh, please, if this were a horror movie, you'd want to fight the monster." Haruto pointed out.

"All I'm saying is, if a bunch of random people can beat a werewolf, or a vampire, or a monstrous clown, why can't I?" Shirou reasoned. "I'd kick Pennywise's ass."

"Well, then, you have nothing to worry about against a Tengu." Haruto finished as they both walked through the door and closed it on their way in.

It was true—Shirou's request of Taiki was that he and Haruto both desired to attempt the same training challenge that Kenichi and Naoki attempted this morning—I,e they wanted to challenge the Tengu in the cave of death. Taiki was somewhat surprised, but nevertheless, he accepted their request and told them to make their way to the cave after he had made the necessary arrangements.

Now they were inside the cave and quickly found the cell door, opened it, stepped inside, and locked the door behind them as they closed it. Now, Shirou set down the candle on a nearby rock, and both of them stepped forward as they saw the Tengu sitting in the center of the room in the same manner that he had been when he had faced Kenichi and Naoki.

"Hey, Taiki." Shirou greeted him, not even pretending to be fooled.

The Tengu was silent for a moment before he responded. "…I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you already knew."

"No offense, but the only person who would fall for that is your son." Haruto informed him."

"Yes, I know, but still, I figured I might as well keep up the act if nothing else to help the challenge feel authentic." Taiki rationalized. "You came here to fight the Tengu, after all."

"Correction, we came here to beat the Tengu." Shirou said with confidence that both brothers shared.

Taiki acknowledged their spirit and prepared himself. "The same rules apply. You win if you score a point against me, and at your request, there will be no time limit. Feel free to attack me in whatever manner you see fit."

The Tsukiharu brothers prepared themselves to attack. "Haruto, cover me, I'll go left, you go right."

Haruto kept his gaze on the Tengu as he responded. "Understood."

Shirou dashed forward with Haruto right behind him as they closed in on Taiki right away and commenced with their offense. Shirou and Haruto let loose a barrage of punches and kicks at Taiki, not missing a beat in their coordination. Despite this, though, Taiki was able to keep them both at by as he blocked or deflected their attacks with his arms moving at a much greater pace than what they were capable of.

Their offense couldn't break through his defense as he continued to effortlessly hold off their advance, and soon enough, he countered and reached out both of his arms and pushed against both of their wrists as both brothers threw a punch. The result was both of their fists being redirected away from their original path and toward each other, and they ended up punching each other in the face.

[Augh!] Shirou and Haruto both took the full brunt of each other's punches and were knocked back. Haruto got the worse end of it and fell to the ground.

"You bastard." Shirou cursed as he shook off the damage.

"You'll have to do better than that." Taiki informed them, as calm as always. "I can't be beaten with straightforward methods."

"Oh, we're just getting started." Shirou assured as he advanced again.

Shirou rushed forward as though he was going to attempt another barrage, but as Taiki braced himself, Shirou came to a sudden stop right before he reached him; before he could question it, Shirou crouched down and swung a swiping kick at Taiki's legs.

But Taiki was faster and jumped, letting Shirou's kick slide past and miss its target. Shirou followed up and chained his first attack with his next by leaping in the air and twisting his body to aim a Kung Fu-styled kick at Taiki's mask-covered head. Once again, Taiki was faster on the draw and caught Shirou's kick by the ankle. Taiki planted his feet on the ground and shifted his torso before he threw Shirou away.

Shirou collided with the cave wall and gasped. The impact knocked out the air in his lungs, and it hit him hard. But, if Taiki had forgotten he had been fighting two opponents, he would soon be reminded as Haruto intended to capitalize on Taiki's momentary distraction caused by Shirou. While Taiki threw Shirou at the wall, Haruto shot toward him like a launched arrow and threw a straight punch at the Tengu.

However, it was wrong to assume that Taiki was vulnerable due to being distracted as he immediately turned back and caught Haruto's punch before he tossed his aside just as he did with Shirou, except he tossed Haruto upward. But Haruto was more than ready for this as he twisted his body in midair, and when he hit the ceiling of the cave, the soles of his feet landed against the rocky source.

Haruto planned this and used the cave ceiling as a springboard, which he used to jump from and was on a collision course for a wall while he used his aerodynamic abilities against and once more repositioned his body so his feet landed against the wall and he once again had a springboard that kicked off against and launched himself forward, this time toward Taiki.

Haruto sliced through the air and aimed a kick at Taiki. With the added speed and momentum he gained from both of his springboard jumps, Taiki didn't try to catch him this time and instead dodged him by waiving to the side; when Haruto sailed by, he felt like a javelin had flown past him.

Haruto wasn't the only one who knew how to take advantage of a distraction. Right after he had dodged Haruto's kick, Shirou reappeared from inside Taiki's blindspot and threw a punch at him while he was in the process of dodging Haruto. Unfortunately, even if he was caught off-guard, Taiki was still a Master-Class Martial Artist like the Masters of Ryozanpaku. His instincts had already warned him of Shirou's intent to strike him down, and his body reacted in response. Taiki turned his body around and swung a knee-kick at Shirou's stomach.

But while they weren't at the same level, Shirou's instincts couldn't underestimated either, and he responded to Taiki's counter with his own. Shirou's punch stopped short halfway through, as it was only a feint, and instead, he stepped forward before he pleased his open palm on Taiki's outstretched kneecap and pushed against it as though it was a training post and lifted himself high in the air, above Taiki's head.

Knowing that even experienced Martial Artists have trouble guarding against attacks from above, Shirou's motive was clear, and he brought down a chopping right at Taiki, aiming for his skull. He missed by a hair as Taiki back-stepped and struck down at where Taiki had been but failed to hit its mark.

Once again, after one brother made his move, the other one followed up. As Taiki had back-stepped to evade Shirou's punch, he ended up stepping in the direction of Haruto's. As the younger brother was already in the process of his assault, he was charging forward and synced his offense with Shirou, and while Taiki had avoided Shirou's attack, it now looked like he was jumping right into Haruto's fist.

Yet still, even this was to end in no avail as Taiki once again demonstrated his superior skills and caught Haruto's punch before he used that forward momentum to hurl him in the direction he was facing. He threw Haruto like a sack of rice and put him on a collision course for where Shirou was. Haruto crashed into Shirou, and the two brothers were knocked away before they hit the ground in a heap.

While they picked themselves up from the ground, Taiki felt the desire to applaud their actions. 

"That was much better. Your tactics were truly impressive."

As they dusted themselves off, Taiki first inwardly addressed Haruto.

"He took advantage of both his physique and the environment. While enclosed in the limited space of this cave, he used both the walls and ceiling to enhance his physical abilities and fuel his attacks." He then addressed Shirou. "And the other one, he used my own experience to his advantage. By aiming for my blind spot, he forced me into a situation where I didn't have time to think, and my body reacted on instinct. Knowing what my instinctive reflex would be, he chained my attack to fuel his own counter, and he aimed for an attack from above, knowing that that was where I would be the most vulnerable."

"Damn it, we missed a huge opportunity." Shirou cursed in frustration. "He won't fall for a trick like that a second time."

"He keeps brushing aside our attacks with ease." Haruto noted in dismay. "I can't find any openings in his defense."

"It doesn't matter." Shirou replied, his gaze unwavering. "No defense is impenetrable. Even if it takes us all night, we'll keep pressing the attack until we break through."

Haruto was slightly taken aback by his declaration before he lowered his gaze and gained a small smile. "I figured you say something like that."

Taiki raised his arm at them. "Come."

[Haaaaaaa!] Both the Tsukiharu brothers roared as they charged forth at the Tengu in front of them.

Just as Shirou declared, the two of them continued to go on the offensive. They attacked Taiki in any manner that was possible—One attacked from the left flank while the other attacked from the right, one of them would go high while the other would go low, one of them would for a frontal assault while the other struck from behind. Sometimes, they struck at the same time, or sometimes, one of them would be the decoy while the other went on the attack.

But no matter what kind of offense they attempted, it was never enough to overcome Taiki's defense. Comparing them would be like trying to use two daggers to break through a brick wall. They were fast and sharp, but he was solid and much for them to overcome, but that only made them want to succeed more as they kept picking at the wall with their blades.

After the three combatants battled within the candle-lit cave for quite a bit of time, the fighting came to a halt. The Tsukiharu brothers moved back and were now breathing heavily while they were drenched in sweat and had several minor injuries. Their continuous and neverending assault had taken its toll, and now they were reaching their limit, not just physically, but they were mentally fatigued as well, and the reason for that was their opponent.

Unlike his opponents, Taiki was completely fresh. There wasn't a scratch on his body, nor had he broken a sweat, a testament to how all of their efforts were futile, and that was enough to weigh on a person's mental perseverance.

"You two have two exceedingly well; I say that sincerely." Taiki told them, sensing the end was near. "You may not have cleared the challenge, but neither Kenichi nor my son's performances could even begin to compare to what you have shown me; you're both excellent Disciples."

"It's not over… You haven't won yet." Shirou stubbornly retorted through his fatigue, refusing to surrender.

"Then come at me." Taiki urged them, not discouraging his determination. "If you won't accept defeat, then come forward and show me your resolve."

Shirou kept his narrowed eyes at Taiki. Despite how things appeared on the surface, all of their repeated attacks and barrages hadn't been in vain. Everything had allowed Shirou to reach a conclusion, and now it was time to implement it.

"Haruto." Shirou spoke quickly to his brother. "It's time for that strategy."

Haruto didn't let any emotion appear on his face as he gazed at Shirou. "You sure? There's no guarantee it'll once, and it can only be done once."

"I'm sure all the conditions have been met; it'll work." Shirou assured him with enough confidence that couldn't be argued with.

With that settled, the two of them prepared their last charge.

Haruto was the one who rushed in and dashed forward at great speed. Taiki braced himself, but it was apparent he didn't need to as just after Haruto covered half the distance, he pivoted to the side and leaped at the stone wall, using it as a foothold to jump off of as he dashed forth again, only this time toward Shirou.

If Taiki wondered why he had launched himself at his partner, his question was soon answered as Shirou caught Haruto and started to spin him. Like an Olympic athlete in the hammer throw event, Shirou spun Haruto around with increasing velocity before he hurled him back in the direction of Taiki. Haruto was launched at Taiki with the combined force of his own speed and the speed generated from Shirou's rotating throw.

This was the fastest attack they had used on Taiki all night, but Taiki was still ready for it. But just as Taiki prepared himself to intercept Haruto's incoming strike—

CLACK!

Darkness fell—All the light from the cave that allowed them to see vanished in an instant, and Taiki suddenly found himself robbed of his ability to see. This disrupted his concentration, and he found himself caught by surprise when Haruto's attack landed not one second after the light went out. 

Luckily, Taiki was already in a defensive position, so he was able to block Haruto's strike, but the sudden impact of the attack piled onto the suddenness of the darkness, only his concentration further—

SEIKEN!

BANG!

—Which left him completely unprepared as half a second after he used his arms to block Haruto's attack, he felt Shirou's fist hammer into the center of his torso. Taiki felt the impact throughout his whole body as the strength behind the punch was so great that it knocked him backward, and this time, he was the one who was slammed into a wall.

It had finally been settled.

Right after that, Shirou took out his phone and used it as a new source of light as they approached Taiki. Taiki stood back up and looked up at the two boys who stood in front of him with smiles.

"The rule was that we win if we score a hit against you." Shirou reminded him of the agreement. 

"Looks like we win."

Taiki lifted his hand and removed his mask to show his own smile of acknowledgment. "Indeed, you do."

After saying those words, they chose to continue their conversation outside of the cave as Taiki removed his Tengu disguise and chain before leading them outside.

….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….

Now that things had been settled, the three of them were walking through the woods to head back to the house. As they walked, Taiki carried on with their conversation.

"Tell me; I have to know, how did you manage to pull off that last blow?" Taiki asked Shirou.

"Don't ask me; he's the brains behind the operation." Shirou pointed at Haruto.

Taiki then looked at him as Haruto answered. "Do you remember what we talked about earlier? About your son's weakness?"

"The arrogance of isolation." Taiki remembered the conversation.

"Though it wasn't arrogance, isolation is a weakness that you also bear." Haruto informed him. 

"You've spent too much time on these mountains; they've made your fangs dull."

"Dull?" Taiki sounded as though he couldn't agree with that. "With all due respect, I've continued my training from the day I settled in these mountains, and my abilities are comparable to even the Masters of Ryozanpaku."

"Theoretically, you're equal to them, but they have something you've been lacking." Haruto elaborated. "While they've spent all their time training and honing their skills with other Masters, you've tried in solitude or, at best, with your son, who is only a child. With any practical training, you've physically improved, and your skills as a Martial Artist are still sharp, but it's years since you've actually fought a real fight. Like a Swordsman who never unsheaths his Sword, your senses as a fighter have become rusty."

Taiki's eyes widened as though he had just been informed of something that was perfectly obvious yet completely eluded him until that moment.

"Based on that I built a battle plan to exploit that weakness." Haruto continued. "It was pretty straightforward; we put a relentless offense of never-ending attacks. From your perspective, you thought we were just stubbornly attacking while hoping to break through your defense, but our real goal was making you so tunnel-visioned that you focused only on us and not on your surroundings."

"So, when my eyes were focused solely on you, you took out the candle to rob me of my sight, the sudden blindness distorted my concentration and left me vulnerable." Taiki realized.

"All it took was the right timing and a well-aimed rock throw." Shirou informed him. "You were focused completely on Haruto's incoming advance, and a final attack is when a person forgets about everything else and thinks only striking back, there was no better time to catch you off-guard."

"Sudden darkness always throws off a person's concentration for the first few seconds, no matter who you are. That, plus the suddenness of my attack, messed up your concentration enough for my brother to land the decisive blow." Haruto concluded the explanation. "No doubt, this plan wouldn't have worked on Akisame and the others as their senses are sharp enough that they would have been able to read through our attacks even in the dark, but a Master whose senses have dulled—It was possible that it would work on you, but only once and only on the first attempt, and we only had a second to pull it off, that's why we saved it as a last resort."

Taiki was left speechless for a bit after hearing the full depth of how their minds worked and how much thought they put into fighting before the battle had even begun, enough to even pull the rug from under a Master-Class Martial Artist.

"I'll have to retract what I said earlier; I said that you were excellent Disciples, but you are far more than that." Taiki said sincerely with a smile. "I now see that you are both extraordinary fighters, far beyond what I had imagined."

"Don't sell yourself too short; this only worked because of all the handicaps we were given." Shirou reminded him. "You were chained, masked, we were allowed to face you together, and all we had to do to win was hit you once. You could have made as many excuses as you liked for not winning but couldn't make any—That's why we did everything humanly possible to score that one hit."

"Then, I take it you aren't satisfied with this win?" Taiki asked curiously.

[Not at all.] Both brothers answered together.

Once again, Taiki smiled as they arrived back at the house. "Akisame, Hideki, seeing these two makes me envious of you both; I can't wait to see what they'll become in the future."

….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….

The sun rose, and everyone gathered around the living room for breakfast as Taiki informed them all of what had transpired the previous night.

[Eeehhhhhhhhhhhhh!?] Kenichi and Naoki cried out in shock as Naoki leaned forward, thinking he had heard them wrong. "You passed the Tengu challenge?!"

"Seriously?! You guys managed to score a hit on the freak!?" Kenichi exclaimed, not believing his ears.

Shirou barely paid attention as he ate breakfast. "Yeah, it was a piece of cake."

"Wow, congratulations, you two." Miu praised them for their success.

"Apa! Apachai is happy as well!" Apachai followed suit.

"I never doubt you guys for a minute." Hideki was as happy as he would be if it were his own accomplishment.

Away from the others' earshot, Akisame whispered at Taiki. "Tell me, did they truly overcome your challenge?"

"It's true." Taiki admitted, unashamed. "I gave it my all, but they still found a way. That's a fine Disciple you have."

"I'm afraid I can't take the credit." Akisame admitted, looking toward Hideki. "If what you say is true, they were successful not thanks to me, who merely taught him Martial Artists, but to him who made them Martial Artists."

"You have a point." Taiki fully agreed. "They're quite an interesting family."

Speaking of families, after Naoki heard that the Tsukiharu brothers conquered the Tengu's challenge, he fell to his hands and knees as a cloud of depression hung above his head.

"A piece of cake…" Naoki whispered in depression. "Their first try… And all these years, I never…"

Kenichi was no better as he also had a cloud of depression over his head while facing Shirou. 

"Shirou, you're my best friend, but the more we hang out, the more I feel my self-esteem crumbling."

"The fact that you have any self-esteem left baffles me." Shirou told him in his usual unreserved, blunt manner.

Taiki spoke out to get everyone's attention. "Now then, I believe it is time. It is the last day—Kenichi and Naoki, the final match between the two of you will commence right now."

Shaking off their previous depression, the two of them lifted their heads and nodded with determination. [Right.]

Once they were done with breakfast, they all headed out.

….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….

Everyone had gathered around the same clearing in the woods as before, and now Kenichi and Naoki were preparing themselves for what would be their last match of training camp. Both of them were finishing up with their warm-ups as Naoki stepped back to create an appropriate amount of distance.

"Are you paying attention to your feet, Kenichi?" Naoki asked sarcastically as he put on his gloves. 

"I won't go easy on you just because it's the last battle."

"My footing is fine. The sun is overhead, too." Kenichi determined to not fall for the same tricks as last time.

"Well, now then, you two, with no regrets, even if you laugh or cry, let's do a one-point win-or-lose match." Akisame suggested.

"So basically the same rules as every other match we've done since we got here?" Shirou pointed out.

"If it's not broken, don't fix it." Akisame reasoned.

Taiki stepped in between them and raised his arm to signal the start of the match. "Start now!"

They started immediately as Kenichi took the initiative and charged forward. Naoki, on the other hand, retreated backward and dashed inside of the nearby thicket of bamboo trees.

"I see." Miu quickly figured out his strategy. "Because of his small size, he can take cover in bamboo thicket."

"That won't stop Kenichi, though." Shirou pointed out.

And just as he said, Kenichi continued his pursuit of Naoki in the thicket. Kenichi reached him and threw a punch at Naoki, but the boy jumped overhead and grabbed into two nearby bamboo trees as support poles to stay in the air.

"He has the higher ground." Miu noted while impressed.

"This next move is crucial." Shirou murmured.

Kenichi tried to throw an uppercut at Naoki to reach from above, but Naoki avoided it and grabbed hold of Kenichi's outstretched arm by wrapping his arms and legs around it.

"Gotcha!" Naoki exclaimed as he prepared to finish off Kenichi the same way he did last time. "I've won!"

ARMLOCK TWIST TAKEDOWN!

Just like before. Kenichi was pushed down by the takedown, and his head was about to collide with the ground. Unlike last time, however, he reacted to the attack and reached out his other arm to catch himself before he hit the ground. Naoki gasped in disbelief as Kenichi followed up by pushing himself back in the air before backflipping and landing back on his feet.

TWIST TAKEDOWN COUNTER!

To the surprise of Miu, Akisame, Hideki, Apachai, and Taiki, Kenichi had successfully outmaneuvered Naoki's technique. He didn't stop there, though, as Naoki was still reeling from the shock; Kenichi hit Naoki with a short jab on his midsection to force him to release his hold on Kenichi's arm.

"Rats." Naoki grimaced as was knocked away and landed on the ground. Before he could lift himself back up, he saw Kenichi standing over him with his fist pointed at his face, prepared to strike at a moment's notice. Seeing that he was concerned, Naoki had no choice but to admit it. "Um… I…I lost."

With the match settled, Akisame and Apachai approached Kenichi in a congratulatory fashion.

"Apa! You did it! That much different than before!" Apachai cheered.

"That was a nice bout." Akisame patted him on the shoulder.

Naoki let out a groan as he got up. "Ugh! When in the world did you learn that counter move?"

Kenichi kept his head down and silent as though he was ashamed of himself as he finally spoke. "I don't deserve this victory. I cheated."

"What?" Taiki looked at him in confusion. "I don't see anything like that."

"Actually, every evening, even though it wasn't time for training… I would sneak out by myself and do some special training." Kenichi confessed, believing he had done something bad.

.

.

.

Naoki just looked at him as though he said the sky was green and the grass was blue. "…You call that cheating?"

Shirou had to resist the urge to bash his head against a tree. "Are you shitting me? How much of a boy scout can you be?"

Haruto let out a tired groan. "This a new level of vexation even for you."

"Hahahaha!" Taiki only let out a hardy laugh as he patted Kenichi on the back. "I see, you have a good student, Akisame!"

"Heh, I'm a little surprised as well." Akisame admitted.

"Huh?" Kenichi turned his head at them back and forth in confusion. "Huh?"

"I brought him here to learn tactics, but I must say he naively did special training, and finally, through hard work, he ended up pinning tactics." Akisame summarized with a feeling of pride at Kenichi's actions.

Kenichi seemed to only now grasp what they were saying and felt awkward. "Huh? It wasn't cheating?"

"Let me put it in a way you can understand." Hideki approached him and spoke. "Say you have a test coming up and you went over the topics of the test in class, if you still spend your time studying in private after school, does that mean you cheated on the test?"

"Of course not." Kenichi answered it was obvious.

"What you did was the equivalent of that." Hideki pointed out, and Kenichi now saw his point. "No one said you weren't allowed to keep training after the sun went down. You were feeling unprepared for your match, so you used your spare time to further prepare yourself; no one can call that cheating."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kenichi saw his logic and felt better now.

"For a long time now, I have thought this." Akisame continued as he faced Kenichi. "You have no talent for Martial Arts, but you do have just one interesting talent. That is, the talent of hard work."

"The talent of hard work?" Kenichi cringed, not sounding happy about that at all. "What a deplorable talent." He said with regret. "I'd prefer something flashier."

"It's deplorable, not to mention corny." Shirou added on Kenichi's opinion. "That sounds like a cliche line for a feel-good movie."

"Don't forget fake, a hard work ethic is nothing more than dedication and perseverance, technically a personality trait but not a talent." Haruto pointed out from a logical standpoint.

"You know it wouldn't kill you to for once not dismantle everything I say." Akisame noted with a bit of unhappiness.

"Well, then say something good for once." Shirou retorted unmercifully.

While they were talking, Naoki merely pondered everything he had heard and gazed at Kenichi. "That solidarity special training after such harsh training…" He then smiled and addressed him. "…It was my defeat."

"Huh?" Kenichi looked over at Naoki.

"You're great." Naoki now looked at Kenichi with a newfound respect. "When I come to the city some time…Let me fight you again, Kenichi Shirahama."

Kenichi was surprised by Naoki's new attitude but was happy as he accepted Naoki's handshake. "Oh, I'll be waiting for that, Naoki Yamamoto."

Akisame smiled at his declaration and looked at Taiki. "Well, I think the Tengu will start going easy on you soon, too. Right, Taiki?"

Taiki let out a small cough. "Oh… Um, maybe."

"That's right, the Tengu." Naoki let go of Kenichi's hand and faced Shirou and Haruto. "You two, as well. Just like you, someday I'll also overcome the Tengu's challenge; when that day comes, I want to fight you both again. I swear when that time comes, I won't be someone you can defeat so easily."

"Hmph, I'll fight anyone who wants to challenge me." Shirou told him confidently. "If you ever are able to land a hit on that guy, I'll actually look forward to facing you again."

"Then I will, just you wait." Naoki proclaimed ambitiously.

"Well, I suppose it's time for us to head home now." Hideki pointed out as the training camp was now over. "I gotta say, this really was a productive few days."

"Whatever, I, for one, can't wait to get home." Shirou said with a huff. "Don't know about the rest of you, but I've had enough of eating nothing but fish and stew on the mountains."

"Agreed. Anyone else in the mood for a burger?" Haruto voiced his opinion.

"Apa!" Aoachai exclaimed enthusiastically, showing he was clearly in the mood.

—…

….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…….….….….….….….….….….….….….

And that's the chapter.

First off, like I said, I wanted everyone to have something in this chapter, and while Kenichi and Naoki were able to settle things, I wanted there to be a reason that Shirou and Haruto were here, so I had them do the Tengu challenge as well. I also did it in a way where they one being using tactics as well as strategy to keep up with the theme of this Arc; I hope it came out all right.

The next chapter will return to the main story that only fans of the anime know about. I'm personally looking forward to the next Arc, so stay tuned.

Anyways, 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.