Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get perks!

This story has been beta by TheReader2011.

In the middle of the night near a shopping district, two police officers were patrolling the streets when their flashlight shone upon someone's back.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" questioned one of the officers.

The figure turned around to reveal a half-naked bald man with Ki glowing in his eyes. The officers couldn't help but take a step back in fear and caution, especially noticing the muscles around the man starting to bulge. Suddenly, the man roared as he rushed towards them to attack. The officers couldn't even pull out their pistols as death seemed to descend upon them.

Suddenly, Natsu jumped in between them, blocking the punch with one hand while quickly knocking the officers out with his other hand.

"It seems this person won't stop fighting until everyone in the area is taken out," mused Natsu, "You two officers will just get in the way, so go to sleep."

Meanwhile, Sogetsu spun his pocket watch before stopping it, taking a peek at the time, "You have one minute."

The bald man growled in anger as he fired an uppercut at Natsu, who blocked it, but not without wincing in pain.

"I see… because he released too much Dou Kil, he's lost his mind, but in return, it made his punches much stronger," hissed Natsu before dodging a downward punch, with Sogetsu giving Natsu a warning about his opponent's strength and what would happen if he exceeded the time limit.

Natsu parried another downward punch, using the momentum to land a counter into his opponent's stomach. After forcing the man to stagger, Natsu quickly jumped past the man, spinning in the air to land a backhand strike on the man's skull.

Senpuu Hirai Geki Kou Nou!

The beserk fighter staggered before whirling around, trying to get Natsu with a desperate grab, only for Natsu to duck under.

Geki Tou Chou Chuu

Natsu finished the fight with an elbow right into the man's body, crumpling the fighter and knocking him unconscious.

"Not bad," hummed Sogetsu as Natsu shifted his attention to Sogetsu, but not quite leaving his eyes from his opponent so as not to be surprised.

Truth be told, Natsu had two, maybe three minutes before the berserk fighter would've overwhelmed him. Still, he had to put some sort of time limit to push Natsu.

'Looks like his training with my little brother sometimes and sparring with my niece has gotten him farther than I expected,' thought Sogetsu as he took a sip of his alcohol, 'Looks like I won't have to be too worried about that fight. Kaede would destroy me if I didn't prepare her brother for the upcoming fight.'

"Why are you here?" grunted Natsu as Kenichi stood in front of him during one of the break periods.

"Relax, I thought you'd want some of these photos," replied Kenichi as he passed a small envelope to him, "They just finished developing."

Natsu raised his eyebrow as he opened it, just to give a small soft smile as he saw photos of Kaede enjoying herself at Disneyland. He had wanted to take Kaede himself, but with all the training and running a corporation, he had no time to do so. Nor did he have anyone that he really trusted to look after Kaede besides the Shirahama family and Sogetsu, and Sogetsu didn't exactly blend in with a crowd.

Natsu soon wiped that smile off, quickly putting the photos into his bag and looked back at Kenichi.

"Anything else?" asked Natsu, "If not, then I'd rather spend my time not looking at your face."

"So harsh," sighed Kenichi before looking at Natsu eye to eye, "Be careful. Kaede would be unhappy if anything happened to you."

As Kenichi turned around, Natsu's eyes widened as he began to stand up, about to demand what Kenichi meant by that. Sadly, he was unable to as a club member/fan called out to him, forcing him to adopt back to his 'Prince Taninmoto' face.

'Does he know… about that?' thought Natsu as he mused over it. True, Sogetsu was a Satsujinken user, but him being a member of Yami wasn't that well known.

'Must be from Niijima's connections… since Sho knows Chinese martial arts, it wouldn't be much of a surprise to think that a member of Yami uses that style. But to draw that it's my master… does it have to deal with that conversation I overheard back in the mountains? Just what else are you hiding?' said Natsu to himself as his eyes narrowed at Kenichi.

He opted to shelve those thoughts, focusing more on the battle that was to come.

Days later

"He's finally come, huh," said a hooded figure as he stared out the window of a grand building.

"No matter what, you have to fight him?" asked Jisei as he approached his disciple, Chou.

"Of course! Even though it was a temporary position, I've been a part of Yomi. There is no way I will surrender my position to some nobody just because my master wishes it!" declared Chou, pulling back his hood as the door behind him open. He whirled around, glaring at Natsu who had just entered, "Let's risk our lives and fight for the seat of Yomi!"

"My friend, I have been awaiting your return," greeted Jisei to Sogetsu, who had also entered the room with Natsu.

"Sorry for troubling you," returned Sogetsu as he adjusted his wristband. He had Jisei to thank for holding on the seat while he wandered around the world to satisfy his wanderlust.

"It seems we have a small problem," explained Jisei, "My disciple, Chou Enshin, wants to have a 'deathmatch' against your disciple."

"Everyone who walks the path of a martial artist aims to be the strongest! And the path to becoming one of the strongest ten, the One Shadow Nine Fist, is within Yomi! There are no martial artists in the world that would let such a chance disappear in front of them!" proclaimed Chou.

He quickly turned to his master, Jisei, and bowed to him.

"Old master, thank you for all your teachings. Whether I win or lose this match, this is where we shall part."

Without warning, Chou spun and attacked Natsu, using Uryuu Banda. Natsu immediately dodged, noticing that Chou used the same style as he did while Chou began a fierce barrage of attacks.

"Members of Yomi should be strong. If I win, I'll be your disciple in his place, and be a part of Yomi once more. Is that alright, Fierce god Sogetsu?" requested Chou as he didn't stop his attack.

"Fine," nodded Sogetsu as he leaned back to watch the fight.

Natsu managed to parry a few more attacks before starting to counter-attack. The two dodged, parried, or blocked the other's attack for a few more strikes before Natsu stepped into Chou's territory, right hand wrapping around Chou's waist. Just as he did so, though, he noticed Chou doing the same with his right hand.

"A Hakkyou move? I know that one too," snarled Chou.

Sei Shin Kou

Both fighters slammed their waist against each other with both of them trying to overpower the other. The end result was too much for both fighters as their knees buckled for a second. At that moment, both of them took advantage of the buckled knee and threw each other out the window. The two quickly split off, landing on the railings of a walkway before jumping towards each other once more.

"My name is Chou Enshin!" shouted Chou, "Nickname is 'Chun Long' (Pure Dragon). Let me hear your name!"

"Taninmoto Natsu," replied Natsu, "Code name: Hermit."

As the two fought, Natsu noticed that they were roughly the same level, unlike the past timeline. In this time, he had sparred with Renka more often, began heavy basic training earlier and with some guidance from Ma Kensei, and had even fought against Kei Restumin. All this factored pushed Natsu into a much higher level than the last time he had fought Chou, though not that he knew.

"The one that survives shall become the official member of Yomi. Did you really think I'd give up the seat of Yomi so easily!?" shouted Chou as he threw a palm strike.

Natsu dodged it, thinking up a plan. He threw his palm strike down toward the liver, already planning ahead on what he would do if Chou brushed it away, only to see Chou throw his palm strike without hesitation, aiming for the same vital organ that would kill Natsu if it landed properly.

"Victory or death!" shouted Chou.

As the palm strikes slammed into each other's sides, Jisei could hear the attack echo in his ear. Despite being blind, he was able to accurately draw within his mind what sort of attack had landed and where. At first, he assumed that the two had taken each other out at the same time, only to correct himself when he heard movement once more, theorizing that their arms brushed against each other during the thrust, thus lowering the force of the attack.

The two resumed attacking, each trying to overpower the other. Chou quickly stepped in, his foot behind Natsu, trying to trap him so he set up his next attack.

'Shit, it's like being caught in a rock,' thought Natsu as he pushed back, gritting his teeth.

'Shit, it's like trying to push a rock that's been buried deep in the ground,' thought Chou in reply as he found himself having a difficult time pushing Natsu down.

Natsu, however, felt himself starting to slip from Chou's foot.

'I can't afford to lose my footing, otherwise I'll leave myself open for an attack!' thought Natsu. Sadly, in the end, Chou managed to disrupt his footing and quickly whirled himself around to slam a Ten Zan Kou into Natsu's back.

As the attack approached Natsu, his mind was racing on what to do. If this attack hit, it could render him unconscious, which could easily lead to death.

'Big brother!'

Natsu blinked as he heard Kaede's voice. His mind flashed to his little sister.

"Big brother, don't give up!'

"Come on, let's play another round of Othello this time!"

This time, it was Honoka's voice.

"It's dangerous to fall unconscious here." -Kenichi

"C'mon, you can't chat and play with me if you're dead!" -Sho

The two of them were standing next to Honoka and Kaede, waving at him with a smile.

"Stupid pervert… you better not lose!"

A full-on picture of Renka with a pout staring at him flashed in his mind.

Natsu managed to catch his footing once more, and in a blur of the moment, created a plan. Just as the elbow was about to hit, Natsu dove forward. The impact of Chou's elbow did hit Natsu, but it wasn't the full force of it. Natsu went with the momentum, his whole body going down to the floor with his hands in front of him. As soon as his hands and whole body was on the floor, Natsu immediately pushed off, rebounding from the attack and slamming an elbow strike right into Chou's chest.

Chou coughed as he staggered back from the attack as Natsu stepped forward. His two thrusts were parried, his third forearm strike to the chest was blocked when Chou crossed his arms. Natsu merely raised his other hand and slammed it right into his forearm, breaking through Chou's guard as he went flying back.

"That wasn't a strong style fist!" coughed Chou, "That was a soft style! Ma Sogetsu would never use such a fist!"

"He's known as the master of all Chinese Kenpo. Just because he specializes in the strong style doesn't mean he doesn't know the other," replied Natsu, though his mind was irritated. Seeing Kaede and Honoka was one thing. Seeing Kenichi and Sho was another that irritated. Seeing Renka's face just flat out annoyed him. Why the hell he saw her face was irritating, though he couldn't admit that the reason for such a counter was because he had sparred and learned from the soft style a bit.

Natsu charged forward as Chou raised his arms in defense.

"There's a reason why my disciple will beat yours… It's because he's fought far more varied opponents!" declared Sogetsu from the room as he watched the fight continue on.

The battle continued on with Chou steadily losing ground. Natsu slammed two fa jin strikes into Chou's stomach, who reacted violently to it.

"That loosely permeating power… it can't be!" gasped Jisei.

As Natsu raised his hand, as if to land the final strike, Chou immediately crossed his arms to block it. Unlike the past timeline, where he had ignored the strikes, he couldn't afford to take any more hits.

'I'll block this attack and brush it aside, leaving him open to a counter-attack!' thought Chou as he focused on the incoming arm.

Alas, he was fooled into thinking that Natsu was finishing it with Kyousa. The last palm strike was a faint as Natsu didn't even land the hit. Instead, suddenly shifting his weight, Natsu launched a high kick into Chou's unprotected head. Chou's head whipped out from Natsu's attack, letting Natsu finish it with a sweeping strike into Chou's liver, knocking him unconscious.

"To think he would use Kyousa as a faint and end the battle with a different move," mused Jisei while Sogetsu smirked.

He would certainly need to thank his little brother and niece for pushing his disciple up to a point that he was already stronger than Chou, as he was a little concerned that when the two met, that Natsu would be the underdog.

The Yomi emblem of the moon rolled out of Chou's unconscious body right towards Natsu, who kicked it up before grabbing it out of the air, claiming his spot into Yomi.

One week later

"So Natsu is in Yomi now," grunted Kenichi as he lifted several statues tied behind his back, trying to move under the harsh training from Akisame.

"I would have thought with his little sister alive, he would've been more hesitant to join," frowned Miu.

Natsu had been absent for a week, with Kaede currently living with the Shirahama family for the while. While Natsu stated that he had a business trip that he had to attend, the time travelers knew it was a lie.

"Same," grunted Kenichi as he managed to take another step, "But I guess there are some things we can't change, no matter what we do. But perhaps there's a chance that we can get him out before it's too late."

"Speaking of change, we're still going to the festival tonight, right?" asked Miu, her eyes narrowing at Akisame and the other masters, as if daring to have them object Kenichi from going.

"Of course," grinned Kenichi, quite excited to see Miu in a yukata once more.

At school, convincing Chikage to go with them was quite easy when Niijima spun his little lies involving sweets such as a mysterious machine that harvested the clouds and chocolate bananas that actually grew from trees. Needless to say, child mode Chikage was immediately activated.

As night fell upon them, the Shinpaku group plus Chikage, Kaede, Honoka, and Naoki were walking together, looking at the many various stalls set up. Naoki had been allowed to come with them on the condition that Ukita would look after Naoki. Taiki had decided to let his son experience some more social events so as to be able to fit in with the normal world.

"You look beautiful," complimented Kenichi towards Miu, despite having seen her wear the yukata before. Yet there was something about today that her beauty was enhanced.

"Thanks," blushed Miu as she brushed her hair to the side.

Truth be told, she had added a dash of makeup onto her face. Not that her natural beauty wasn't enough, but she wanted to appear more attractive to Kenichi for this date. In the last timeline, she didn't have any female figure that could help her with makeup. None of the male masters at Ryozanpaku knew how to use it, and Miu feared what Shigure would do, considering her 'milan' style food. But in this timeline, she had someone whom she could trust. Specifically, Kenichi's mom, Saori. And so, while Kenichi was in the middle of training, Miu had called Saori over to help her. Saori eagerly helped apply makeup on Miu, though she was very gentle about it while also teaching Miu all about the foundations of makeup and how not to go overboard on it.

The end result was that Saori merely added a little blush, a dash of eyeshadow to enhance her blue eyes, and lipstick, all done to enhance Miu's beauty.

As for Chikage… she had instantly been drawn to the cotton candy machine as soon as her eyes locked onto it.

"Ah, is that the mysterious candy that's taken from the clouds!? That middle part has to be the sky!" shouted Chikage in excitement.

"What, really!? People can do that?" gasped Naoki, "There's so much cool stuff to learn!"

The adults who heard laughed at the excitement of the two children, causing Chikage to snap out of her child mode for a little and realize that it was scientifically impossible for such a thing and that it was merely sugar wrapped around a pole. Naoki didn' realize that it was a lie until Kaede, Honoka, and Ukita explained to him just what cotton candy was. Still, the owner of the stall gave Chikage and Naoki free cotton candy for making him laugh.

Soon enough, the group began to split apart, all interested in their own activities. Nijiima was with his minions… friends, along with Siegfried attending his needs. The children were being watched over by Ukita and Kisara, who didn't seem to mind babysitting duty. Kenichi and Miu were standing a little farther away, enjoying the private date while holding hands, but close enough to help babysit. In a twist of surprise, Takeda and Freya were in their own little group looking at some food.

Still, that left one lady alone in the group of friends.

"Mou, this is unfair," huffed Renka as she saw the pairings that were being made. If she tried to join any of the couples, she would be the third wheel! And she didn't feel like joining up with Niijima's group either.

As she was throwing a small tantrum, the bag she had been carrying flew off her hand. Before she could jump up to grab it, another bandaged hand caught the bag.

"Still immature as ever," scoffed Natsu as he held the bag out for Renka.

"And you're late," huffed Renka as she took her bag before suddenly wrapping her arms around Natsu's arm.

"The hell are you doing?" growled Natsu, expecting pain to shoot up his arm, only to realize despite Renka's action, her grip on him was feather-light.

"You're injured. You don't want to let Kaede know just how injured you are, right?" whispered Renka, "This helps draw away the attention."

Natsu sighed as he couldn't disagree with Renka's words, but it still annoyed him. It also made him realize just how close Renka was, as well as the soft feeling of her chest that his arm was currently trapping him. Coughing, he turned his head away, putting on his attention on his little sister, who was trying to catch a fish in the fish scooping game. Next to them, Chikage and Naoki were having a competition to see who caught the most fish, their gazes clashing against each other as the stall owner began to worry about his profits with these two around.

"Big brother!" exclaimed Kaede as she turned around and noticed Natsu, quickly standing up to rush over to him, "I missed you!"

"Were you a good girl at the Shirahama household?" asked Natsu with a warm smile as he patted Kaede's head.

"Of course," nodded Kaede before noticing Renka hanging off of Natsu's arm. She noticed that Natsu wasn't trying to shrug Renka off as he normally did.

"Oh? Is there something you want to tell me?" smirked Kaede, gesturing to the arm Renka was holding onto.

"This means absolutely nothing," replied Natsu with a flat voice, "I'm just too tired to try to pry Renka off me."

"Ok," nodded Kaede, dragging that reply out, "Then help me get one of those toys with the paper scooper?"

"Of course," nodded Natsu as he walked forward with Renka keeping step to not aggravate the arm.

"Brother! Kaede's brother is helping him, help me get one too!" pouted Honoka, turning to her own brother.

"Hmm, I've never actually tried these games before," hummed Kenichi as he knelt down next to Natsu.

"So you joined Yomi," stated Kenichi with a whisper, not letting anyone hear his words except for Natsu.

"And?" replied Natsu with a questioning gaze.

"I'll choose to believe in you, just as your sister and my sister does," replied Kenichi, "I know you're still a good guy despite your… eccentricities."

Before Natsu could try to do anything, an arm rushed past him, scooping up several toys that Natsu had been prepared to scoop.

"Asshole, don't scoop in front of someone, that's just rude," growled an irritated Natsu as he turned towards the offender to see Sho.

"Ummmm, hi?" waived Sho tentatively.

"What are you doing here?" demanded Natsu, "Weren't you recovering at the base?"

"Yea, well, Rachel was all excited about this festival and sorta dragged me into it," shrugged Sho as he scooped up a penguin toy, "Ah, there's the toy she wanted. Anyways, Rachel is up on the tower banging on the drums."

"Who wanted it?" asked Kenichi as he managed to scoop up two small cat-shaped toys.

"Ah umm...," hesitated Sho as Natsu scooped up a bear-shaped toy.

The answer came not from Sho, but rather a girl who called out his name.

"Sho-san, I got some Apayaki!" shouted Izumi as she approached them.

"Oh cool, takoyaki!" exclaimed Sho as he quickly stood up, holding the penguin toy, "I got you the penguin toy you wanted. Wait, did you say Apayaki, not takoyaki?"

"Yea, Apayaki," nodded Izumi as she took the toy from Sho's hand, admiring how cute it was while putting the Apayaki onto his hands, "Some vendor there is selling it, and it's really good!"

The trio turned their heads to a stall clearly being manned by Apachai, along with a huge crowd of waiting customers. One clear difference between this current stall and the past stall in the other timeline was that it was several times larger. Not to mention, Apachai had members of the Zashin Taisha-ryuu running around, taking orders and serving while Apachai acted as the head chef.

'That's different', thought Miu and Kenichi in surprise while Niijima cackled in laughter in the background, as he had been responsible for that.

"Huh, this is good," hummed Sho as he ate the Apayaki before attempting to walk away.

"So you're Hongo's disciple, huh?" remarked a gruff voice, causing Sho to turn around to see Sakaki at his small stall, trying to sell pins and other various items.

"... You're Sakaki Shio, my master's rival. It's nice to meet you," greeted Sho with a polite bow.

"Well since you're my rival's disciple, perhaps you can help me with something," grunted Sakaki before dragging Sho next to him, "How the hell am I not selling anything! I got all the good stuff this year too!"

"Umm, maybe because of your… scar?" gulped Sho as he noticed children wanting some of the stuff, but were too frightened to come near him. He knew his master had the same problem with younger children in the normal world.

Next day

"So what are we all doing here?" asked Takeda in curiosity as the rest of the Shinpaku and the rest of the commanders/fighters were at Ryozanpaku.

"Training," said Shigure curtly as she pulled out fluorescent light bulbs that had burnt out.

"This is a method that I frequently practiced for fighting against weapons when I was a brat. The fluorescent light's brittle nature acts as a replacement for the dangers of the blade," said Sakaki.

"Basically, when you can't avoid the attack and the fluorescent light breaks, it means that if it was a real sword, you would've been cut," added Akisame.

"Hmph, I had some of my own ideas for weapons training, but if Akisame-chi is offering to help out while being the one to fund it, I have no complaint!" boasted James Shiba as he sipped on a can of beer.

"Naoki, this is a good lesson that you should participate in," ordered Taiki as he pushed his son in line.

"Is Shigure going to be the one using the lights on all of them?" asked Kenichi as he tightened his gauntlets.

"Nope, you're joining Shigure on sword duty, as is Miu and the tan girl," said Sakaki, surprising the two and pointing at Freya.

"Shigure wants you to be more familiar with other weapons, as you are her disciple. As for you Miu… your mother was reasonably capable of using daggers as a throwing weapon, and your grandmother, my wife, knew how to use jutte," explained the Elder.

Miu looked at her grandfather in surprise. While the Elder had mentioned his wife and daughter-in-law quite a few times, he had never gone into detail about their fighting style or personal life too much. This was a first for her that the Elder was freely giving more information about them.

Under the careful eyes of the master, the fighters of the Shinpaku Alliance underwent some training. Takeda was able to dodge a few with Shiba shouting advice in the background. Ukita had a more difficult time, having to find a way to go past a weapon's range. Naoki had been laughing at Ukita's failure when one slammed in on his head, causing his father to lecture Naoki for not paying attention. Kisara was performing better, having sparred with the Valkyries in her free time. Siegfried was able to use his usual style to not only parry the fluorescent light bulbs but also make up some weird moves that were difficult to understand how it worked. Tsuji, however, completely misunderstood the point of the training, trying to 'tank' the hits. Thor, though, was missing. Niijima assured the others that Thor was undergoing his own anti weapons training.

During this training session, inspector Honmaki and his partner came by to visit as well as ask for advice. It was there that Akabanetou, Japanese swords gathered by the Weapon Supply Camp Base of the U.S. Forces 8th Division, were being stolen, and the likely suspect was Yami, or more specifically, the armed division of Yami, though there seemed to be one unarmed assailant within the group. Seeing as they couldn't risk Yami growing in power, Ryozanpaku as a whole decided it was time to intervene.

"So are we going to help?" asked Takeda with a shining smile.

"No," replied Akisame with a serious face, "This mission is far too risky for you all. We allowed you to get away with the DFOD because you were invited, as well as a few underground society missions, but this time, the risks are too great."

"Ba, this is a good training trip for my disciple!" coughed Shiba, hopping into the conversation, "I usually don't care about shit like this, but it'll be beneficial for my disciple. I'll help out for once, and I'll bring my disciple with me just to watch."

"I offer my assistance as well," volunteered Taiki, "I can watch over my own disciples."

A small discussion began on who could go before finally making a decision. Meanwhile, Akisame went to the side to make a quick phone call.

"I hope this goes well," murmured Kenichi as he walked with Shigure and Sakaki inside a museum.

Based on Akisame's calculation, their location had a 65% chance of being hit. The other masters of Ryozanpaku were at other locations, defending their assigned location. Taiki had taken Ukita and Naoki with him with Akisame as not only to help out but to let them witness Akisame's jiu-jitsu prowess. James Shiba took Takeda to another museum to protect. The others of the Shinpaku Alliance were left on standby, as they didn't have any masters to help protect them if needed. Freya was tempted to call her grandfather to chaperone her for the trip but decided against it.

"Tch, I still don't think we should've brought the other brats along," scoffed Sakaki, "Should've had the kids at least wait outside and hide."

"Like a mother hen!" pointed out Shigure with a small laugh, causing a vein to bulge on Sakaki's forehead.

"Why you…," growled Sakaki in anger until Shigure suddenly leaned forward, looking up at Sakaki's face.

"I suppose… it's a good thing, though. For if or when… we have kids."

Choju Giga animals trotted along past Sakaki's head as well as the others as they waited for that statement to sink in.

"EEEEHHHHH!" shouted Sakaki and Kenichi in surprise.

Suddenly, a sword descended towards Sakaki, intent on cleaving his head off his neck. Sakaki though, however embarrassed he was, was prepared and immediately countered, quickly flipping himself to dodge the sword while kicking back at his opponent.

"They're here!" shouted Sakaki.

"Already fighting them," replied Shigure as she clashed blades against the Kukuri master.

The two fighters of Ryozanpaku pushed their respective opponents away, allowing them to land from a distance before regrouping with an Armored Axe master.

"So, these are the members of Ryozanpaku? A warning, you shouldn't stick your necks into things that don't involve you at all," declared the armored axe master.

"Kenichi, stay back and stay safe," ordered Sakaki before engaging Yami.

Sakaki fought against the Katana master while Shigure dealt with the Kukuri master. However, that left the Armored Axe master to freely break apart one of the cases and grab one of the swords on display. Though both weapons masters found themselves being pushed back by their opponents.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and in came Kii Kagero.

"Oooh female swordswoman! Please give me back my beloved Setsunmaru!" cried out Kagero.

"Wait, Kii Kagero," said the Armored Axe master as he held out the sword he had just stolen, "This is one of the best of the Akabanetou that we have liberated for Yami. There are many in the organization who want this. However, since Kushinada-dono wishes it, in these special circumstances, we will grant you ownership of this blade."

Before he could properly pass the blade, Sakaki kicked it out of his hands, forcing it to spin into the wall. Sadly, before Kenichi could react, Kagero had already taken the blade out from the wall just as Kushinada walked into the room with Chikage in tow.

"Ooh, this is quite bad. Am I supposed to fight four people from Yami at once?" taunted Sakaki as he parried an axe blow.

Meanwhile, Shigure and the Kukuri master were exchanging blows when Shigure suddenly overpowered her, slashing her opponent's shirt into pieces as well as part of her pants. Before the Kukuri master could do anything, the fight between Sakaki and the Armored Axe master suddenly exploded right between the two.

While the two fought, the Katana master, Kagero, and Kushinada easily followed the fight, though Kushinada kept track of Kenichi's location.

"What is the condition of the Akabanetou? Can you use it?" asked Kushinada as Kagero held the sword up.

Kagero's arm blurred as the blade flashed in the air, instantly cutting up one of the Kukuri blades that the Kukuri master had dropped, much to her dismay. Kagero held up the blade up to his eyes for a bit before sighing.

"A pity. There's no chemistry between us."

"That's too bad," hummed Kushinada.

"As expected, it can't match Setsunmaru," cried Kagero as he held the blade out to the Katana master, "Here take it."

As the Katana master was about to do so, Kagero noticed just how close Shigure was now, who was dealing with a hesitant Kukuri master.

"Yo, flat face," waived Shigure without hesitation.

"The sword smith's daughter!" shouted Kagero as he rushed towards her, ignoring everyone, taking the blade with him as the Katana master had just been about to grab it, only to grab air, "We finally meet! Is my beloved Setsunmaru alright!?"

"It broke," stated Shigure with a flat tone that broke Kagero's heart and soul.

"Give him back!" begged Kagero, clutching onto her kimono, "Please! Give him back! Give him back! Give him back! Give my beloved Setsunmaru to me, even if it's in pieces! I can repair him! Other than Setsunmaru, these swords..."

Kagero looked at the sword he was holding before looking back at Shigure, as if realizing something.

"This is different!" exclaimed Kagero as he carelessly threw the blade away, "It's not what it seems! You see..."

As Kagero went to explain that he was only holding it and not using, as if comparing it to having an affair, the others quickly reacted to grabbing the blade. Sakaki had to stop as the Katana master started to attack him once more.

Shigure tried to throw a chain to wrap around the blade, only for the Kukuri master to suddenly attack her, letting the blade slip right through her chain. As the blade flew in the air, another meteor hammer suddenly wrapped around the blade. The meteor hammer jerked back, flying right into Kenichi's hands.

"Take it and run Kenichi!" shouted Sakaki as he dodged a swing.

Kenichi quickly unraveled his rope dart from the blade and began to run as the Armored Axe master began to give chase.

"Get back here child!" shouted the Armored Axe user, finding it frustrating that Kenichi was capable of dodging his attacks.

"Oi, flat face," asked Shigure, momentarily taking her eyes off the Kukuri master, though she wasn't much of a threat, "Do you vow not to kill another person?"

"Nyo!? I mean yes! I do swear to never kill! So please, my beloved Setsunmaru!" begged Kagero.

"Then protect Kenichi. If you do, then I'll give you one of my father's masterpieces," ordered Shigure.

After hearing that, a revitalized Kagero stood back up as his eyes began to glow, targeting the Armored Axe master, who was still swinging his axe at Kenichi, much to his frustration.

"Hand over the sword boy!" roared the Armored Axe master.

"Hell no," replied Kenichi as he ducked under another swing.

The Armored Axe master roared as he began a downward chop, only for its path to be firmly halted by a one-handed grip from Kagero.

"Kii-dono, what do you think you're doing?" growled the Armored Axe master, "Are you betraying us, your own organization!?"

"Betray… us?" replied Kagero before his lips turned into a smirk, "What on earth are you talking about? I was told that I would be given a sword if I came along is all. And that girl fighting over there told me she would give me the sword that I want. So I have absolutely no reason to stick with you guys anymore!"

With that, Kagero drew the wooden sword he had kept on his back and attacked the Armored Axe master.

"Noo! Not when the taste of the Eternal Sunset was so close!" cried out the Armored Axe master.

Kenichi turned around, ready to leave, but remained close enough, knowing what he would need to do next, when he found himself dodging another blade to the head.

"Fue, that was close," grinned the owner of the blade as Kenichi saw two more male teenagers of his physical age. Each one wielded weapons similar to the male weapon masters of Yami that had invaded.

'This didn't happen before,' thought Kenichi as he managed to strap the blade behind his back.

"I'm glad Kushinada-dono suggested that we bring our disciples to come," mused the Katana master as he was pushed back by Sakaki, mentally adding that he couldn't believe he was being pushed back, "I didn't think Kii Kagero was that sort of person with that sense of logic that could be persuaded. Our disciples will finish yours. Kushinada-dono! Could you please get me the sword while our disciple takes care of the boy!"

"As if I would do something so distasteful," humphed Kushinada, "I already advised you on bringing your disciples as backup. Use them."

"I knew she wouldn't move. She has no intention of entering this fight!" grinned Sakaki as he launched a punch.

"Of course not, this is the armed division's fight," shouted the Kukuri master as she clashed blades against Shigure, ignoring how her chest moved freely in the air without her shirt.

"Nyo! Nyo! Nyo!" screamed Kagero as he kept resheathing his wooden sword.

Kenichi raised his arms, ready to fight the disciples when he heard Shigure's voice.

"Kenichi… use it or punishment," ordered Shigure, "You didn't do it… last time."

Kenichi paused for a bit before sighing, much to the confusion of the disciples. They raised their weapons when Kenichi suddenly pulled out his three sectional staff.

"Hoo, so he's the Prodigy of Swords' disciple?" asked the Katana user.

"He's all of Ryozanpaku's disciple!" bragged Sakaki, "He's learning from both armed and unarmed combat! Now then, it's time I get serious! Here's a lesson for you kid. Karate was made so unarmed men could fight armed men. In other words… you guys are exactly what my martial art was designed to fight against!"

With a fierce roar, Sakaki launched a fierce barrage of attacks that left the Katana master on the defensive.

"Looks like the biggest hurdle was this castle here! Then that means the other swords at the other locations are being stolen as we speak!" concluded the Kukuri master.

"Yeah, I wonder about that!" taunted Sakaki with a grin.

Other locations

Akisame and Taiki easily dealt with their opponents, tossing them harshly into the floor.

"Jiujitsu, is it? From the very beginning, wasn't it designed as a martial art to combat armed opponents barehandedly. But a rapier is far different from the average weapon. When thrusting, the main thing that is looked for is weak points!" declared the Rapier master as he lifted his rapier up.

"Interesting proposal. Let's see if it proves true," replied Akisame, gesturing for Taiki to leave it to him.

The Rapier master quickly attacked with multiple thrusts too fast for a normal person to see. Akisame easily parried and dodged all the blows, though, never taking a step back.

"Amazing! You're actually dodging all my blows," praised the Rapier master, "Now all you need to do though is to somehow step in."

"Alright, then let's get to it," replied Akisame as he seemingly took a step forward.

"Idiot, it's over!" roared the rapier master as he put all his strength in the next thrust, aiming for Akisame's head.

However, just as he did, he found his thrust falling short, losing its power and yet not piercing through his opponent.

'Shit, he tricked me! His body movement completely shifted back and is taking all of my thrusting power away!' thought the rapier master while Akisame gave a small praise on just how powerful the thrust was.

The Rapier master tried to pull back to attack again, but doing so left him open for Akisame to take that vital step in.

"Right into the chest, right?" asked Aksiame before hurling the Rapier master into the ground, knocking him unconscious.

"I hope you two learned something from this," lectured Taiki as he looked over to Naoki and Ukita.

"Hai, sensei!" exclaimed the boys.

Apachai was wrecking havoc against his opponents, none of them even posed a challenge against him.

Kensei let out a perverted grin when he saw that his opponents were females.

"Bad girls get punished!" grinned Kensei as he eyes began to give off a perverted glow, dodging the various arrows fired upon him before 'attacking' the women.

Bake Baku-Satsui!

The women he attacked found their clothes stripped from their bodies before being used to tie up their limbs, forcing them in a rather sexy/provocative and yet comfortable position.

"Hehehe, Ryozanpaku can only be at so many places at once," grinned a Spear master as he grabbed one of the Akabanetou, "This one is free for the taking!"

"Oh good, a spear user. You'll make a perfect teaching dummy for my disciple," grinned James Shiba as lit his cigarette, standing right behind the Spear master.

The Spear master quickly jumped back, his spear already swinging for Shiba's face. Shiba merely grinned as he ducked under the swing, taking a step in before uppercutting the Spear master.

"Watch carefully boy! This is how we deal with weapons with longer reach!" shouted Shiba as he weaved his body, dodging the thrusts from the Spear master. Within seconds, he closed in already before landing a gut punch, causing the Spear master to cough in pain, quickly backing up and raising his spear to defend himself.

Shiba didn't let up as he charged forward, and this time, aimed a right hook into the fingers holding the spear.

The Spear master dropped his spear in pain before realizing his mistake, to which Shiba took advantage by knocking him out with a left straight.

"And that's how you do it!" grinned Shiba with a grin and thumbs up as Takeda applauded in the background.

A few more Yami grunts were cautiously walking through another museum when they heard a noise in the distance. They all quickly moved as one as their flashlights beamed towards the source.

"Whoa, what are you guys doing here!? This museum is closed!" shouted the security guard as the beams of light hit him.

"A night guard?" questioned one of them.

"Kill him," ordered the leader as he turned around to continue with the mission.

Two of them nodded as they drew their swords at the seemingly panicking security guard.

"Oh c'mon, this is day one of my job here! Can't you guys cut me some slack?" complained the security guard.

"We'll cut more than that," replied one of them before charging at the security guard.

"Hurry up, we can't dal-" started the leader, only to see two bodies fly past him. The leader quickly turned around, only for the security guard to suddenly stand in front of him and stab a finger right into the center of his body.

"Surprise," grinned Tsutomu Tanaka as he took off his cap.

The Elder followed two of Yami's members before ambushing them, instantly knocking out the weaker one with a single punch.

Back to Kenichi and others

Kii Kagero, despite using a wooden sword against the Armored Axe master, was doing pretty well despite the sword getting chipped with every clash.

'Have to help him soon,' thought Kenichi as he blocked two simultaneous strikes from the disciples.

"Not bad!" complimented the Katana disciple, "Why don't you leave that blade and staff of yours here, and we'll let you walk out alive."

Kenichi pushed the trio back, doing a butterfly kick to not only dodge the Axe disciples low strike, but also kick the Katana disciple in the face. The Katana disciple growled as he began to rapidly slice at Kenichi, who blocked each strike with varying ends of his sectional staff. Quickly ducking under before flipping, he kicked the katana away from the Katana apprentice's hand, turning around in time to use his middle staff to block the axe blow. Within the next second, Kenichi crossed his other sectional staff over the back of the axe, trapping it inside.

"Useless!" roared the Axe disciple as he managed to use his weight and strength to pull Kenichi up into the air… or so he thought.

Kenichi had jumped with the Axe disciple's upward thrust, following along with the side swing until his foot landed on the wall. Using that chance, Kenichi sprung forward, unlocking his three sectional staff from the axe while jerking it up to force the Axe disciple to stumble. At that same breath, Kenichi kneed the Axe disciple in the head. Kenichi quickly turned around, his arm whipping up before slamming his three sectional staff on top of the Katana disciple's cranium, leaving a resounding crack on impact.

Both armed disciples stumbled back, injured from Kenichi's attack. The Katana disciple had a concussion as well as bleeding from the top of his head while the Axe disciple was bleeding from his nose and mouth.

"Nyo!" shouted Kagero as he pierced through the Armored Axe master's attack, attacking the small opening within the armor, which ended up shattering his wooden blade. Unfortunately, the Armored Axe master had been a special armored cloth under his armor instead of chainmail, otherwise the attack would have seriously caused some damage.

"Iyaa, weapon! I need a weapon! Without one, I've got no confidence!" cried Kagero.

Suddenly, the sword Kenichi had been carrying on his back zoomed right towards Kagero.

"What!?" shouted the Armored Axe master in surprise as his eyes quickly turned to track down Kenichi to see the sight of the armed disciples sustaining injuries while Kenichi himself was scratchless. Having the disciples to fight Kenichi, he hadn't paid much attention to Kenichi, thinking the disciples would take care of Kenichi.

"Shit!" shouted the Armored Axe master as he tried to catch the flying blade, only for Kagero to swiftly grab it.

"Very nice, kid," grinned Kagero as he held the blade with confidence, "And you depend too much on your armor. Otherwise, you would've noticed something missing with your axe."

The Armored Axe master quickly took a look at his axe just in time to notice the axe head had been completely cleaved off.

'When did he get the chance to do that!?' thought the Armored Axe master.

"You, unknown sword! Only now do I love you! Please forgive my unfaithfulness Setsunmaru!" shouted Kagero as Ki began to shine in his eyes.

"Master!" shouted the Axe disciple as he threw his axe towards the Armored Axe master to protect him, who managed to drop his own and catch it.

"Burn this into your eyes, Chikage. This is the skill of real weapon masters. Both Kagero and the girl from Ryozanpaku" advised Kushinada as Chikage nodded in wonder.

Shinto Gourenzan

Both Kagero and Shigure instantly fused with their sword and defeated their opponents with ease, cutting up their weapon. Shigure went a bit further and completely cut off all the Kukuri master's clothes before knocking her unconscious while Kagero sliced off various pieces of armor off his opponent.

"And you are lucky tonight. For here, like us, is someone who is weaponless but is able to handle someone with a weapon like an equal fight. A true martial artist," reminded Kushinada, directing Chikage's attention to Sakaki, who caught his opponent's blade that was aiming for his chest with a clap of his hands, halting it completely. With a quick movement, his hands shifted so the right hand moved forward while his left stayed in the same position.

Shiraha-ori Mikazukigeri (Drawn Sword Breaking Crescent Kick)

In a single move, Sakaki not only snapped this katana into pieces but also kicked the Katana master in the stomach at point-blank range, instantly knocking the Katana master out.

"Dear, oh dear. To think such a thing would happen," sighed Kushinada as she saw all three armed masters losing the fight, "That's enough, children."

Kushinada jumped down right in the middle of Sakaki and Shigure, to which Sakaki instantly responded with a jumping kick, which turned to be a feint as he quickly switched to a punch. However, his punch instantly phased right through Kushinada, much to his surprise. Suddenly, two Kushinadas appeared before the both of them, each carrying the unconscious masters before tossing them to the Armored Axe master, who was still conscious. Despite Sakaki and Shigure attacking the images, they couldn't get a lock on her at all despite their skills.

Sakaki tried to chase after the Armored Axe master as he made his escape with the remaining disciples, only to be seemingly cornered by three Kushinada. Yet the real one suddenly attacked Shigure, who only just managed to block the attack, though the kick sent her stumbling a bit.

'It's just like the Elder's bunshin technique! She's using her incredible speed and Ki feints to take them both at the same time! I can barely even tell where she really is!' thought Kenichi before feeling a shiver from behind.

Kenichi slowly looked back to see a copy of Kushinada staring down at him, looking at him with interest.

'Now that I don't have that big bloke in my way, I can get a much better look,' thought Kushinada as she stared down at Kenichi with curiosity. There was just something that was throwing her off when she looked at Kenichi. His age didn't seem to just match what she saw. Chikage may be very mature for her age, but she still displayed tendencies common for her age. Kenichi, however, was an enigma for her, something she wanted to solve. Him and the Elder's granddaughter, Miu Fuurinji.

"Sakaki!" shouted Shigure as she attacked the illusion, throwing a dagger at the illusion that was near Kenichi to drive her away.

Sakaki nodded as he suddenly sat down, letting Shigure fight this one alone. Shigure found herself being surrounded by four clones of Kushinada before quickly jumping to safety. Just as she landed though, she found Kushinada already behind her, grabbing her kimono and lifting her up in the air like she was a piece of paper.

Shigure quickly managed to draw her sword and slice at Kushinada's head, only for it to be another illusion. Shigure rolled onto the floor, staring up at her opponent without getting back up, using the ground to protect her back, closing her eyes.

"Hey, band-aid!" said Chikage, finally piping up while her master was taking care of Shigure, "Let me tell you while you have a chance. Don't delve any deeper in this world. I'm sure you noticed already that the further you go, the more dreadful things you fear will come to pass. And for some reason, I just don't know why, but I don't want you to experience that."

Kenichi shook his head before smiling at Chikage, thankful that this part hadn't changed at all.

"Thanks, but from where I am is a bit different from where you are. That's why I want you to come to my side and see what it's like here."

Those simple words shook Chikage's heart, her usually dull eyes gaining a small shine of wonder as Kenichi extended his hand to her.

Kushinada frowned, slightly distracted at the sudden change from Chikage. The small distraction allowed Shigure to throw her chain at Kushinada, letting it wrap around her torso. As Shigure raised her blade to cut Kushinada, her eyes narrowed before turning around and cutting directly behind her. A second later revealed that the 'caught' Kushinada was just another illusion while Shigure managed to cut Kushinada's wooden bead necklace as well as a small part of her open white Kimono, revealing just a bit of her red areola, though not cuts.

"Impressive," hummed Kushinada as Shigure explained that she had caught her scent of beads coming from behind and took the chance, "I suppose it's time to leave."

Without them even noticing, Kushinada had already lifted Chikage up to her arms, preparing to jump off the ceiling.

"You fight pretty well. What's your name, girl?" asked Kushinada.

"Kousaka… Shigure," replied Shigure.

"I'll be sure to remember that," hummed Kushinada as she jumped off, hopping off various rooftops to escape.

In the aftermath, most of the Akabanetou were safe before quickly being moved to a safer location, courtesy of the disguised Saiga Furinji.

Day later

Shigure and Kenichi were at Kii Kagero's house, where Shigure presented a hoe to Kagero. The metal hoe was certainly crafted by Shigure's father, even though it wasn't a 'weapon' so to speak. Kagero took the hoe, as if seemingly angry at being 'tricked' before bursting out of the room with the hoe. Then, Kagero slammed the hoe into the ground, relishing the new feeling he got from it.

"This amazing blade that slays the particles of the earth! The earth is unlimited unlike people, so I could do this forever!" moaned Kagero as he began to plow the road, "Iai against the earth! This really is the ultimate truth!"

'Still glad that worked out,' sighed Kenichi as he and Shigure began to pack up to leave.

"You go ahead… Kenichi," said Shigure, pointing Kenichi forward, "There's something I need to ask real quick."

"Alright," nodded a confused Kenichi as he did as he was told.

Shigure waived Kagero over before whispering into his ears for a bit.

"Yea, I can get those easily. Since I'm going to be relishing this new feeling for a while, I'll grab any that I see. Should be able to find them around here," nodded Kagero before he began plowing the field around him once more.

Shigure was later in her room once more, tending to Setsunmaru, which was still under perfect condition.

"I see… so you want to go back to him that much?" mused Shigure to herself as she finished wiping the blade, "I promise… you will."

With that, Shigure placed the blade back down into the wooden box, shelving it before grabbing another box, once more pulling it out.

"And you… soon you'll have one too… when he's ready," stated Shigure as she unsheathed it, "That day maybe soon."

Hope you guys enjoyed this! Got through the Natsu going to Yomi arc and the weapons arc partly done.