Hey everyone and welcome to this chapter. This chapter will be Shirou's first fight against a named character and it will be the start of the plot moving forward, I also plan on doing something for Kenichi in this chapter for the sake of him growing in his own way. Hope you all enjoy it.

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.

Challenging Ragnarok

The day began at Koryuu High School, the bell signaling the beginning of lunch break had just rung, and the class had just ended. At this point, some students were chatting amongst themselves while sitting their desks. Two, in particular, were in the middle of a conversation.

"Hey man, can I ask you a question? You know, without you making fun of me?"

A male student asked his friend.

"Yeah, sure."

"You know the new girl in class? What was her name again, Miu? Do you think she'd go on a date with me?"

He asked, flustered. His friend responded by glaring at him.

"In my opinion, you don't have a chance in Hell. Because I was going to ask her to go out with me!" He told him while grabbing his collar.

He responded by putting him in a choke-hold. "How stupid are you?! You've never even talked to her!?"

At that point, Miu happens to walk pasted them, which they both take notice of and stop fighting.

"Of course I haven't talked to her either. I don't know how to approach her. She's weird—In a hot way, kinda spacey. I haven't seen her talk to anyone, she can speak right?" He asked as Miu stopped walking and stood in front of a nearby desk.

"Shut up, she's about to talk to somebody!" His friend noticed.

"It's not a guy is it?" He asked, in suspense.

Miu smiled and greeted the person sitting in front of her. "Hey, Shirou."

Shirou who was listening to something on his phone took off his headphones and looked up at her. "What?"

The two guys a few desks away looked shocked at seeing her talk to him.

"No way, not that guy!" He said upset. "How can I possibly compete with that?"

"Yeah, if you try asking her out now and he finds out, you're dead."

"I thought you wanted to ask her out?" He reminded him.

"Not as much as I want to keep on living!" He said like it was obvious.

Ignoring those two, Shirou and Miu started talking.

"I'm fitting in pretty well in the Rhythmic Gymnastics club, but I wanted to ask, do you plan on signing up for any clubs?"

Shirou shook his head. "Yeah right, even I had the slightest interest in any club at this school—Which I don't. All the members would either be more Delinquents who want a swing at me, or students who'd be too afraid to talk to me."

"Well, that's too bad." Miu then looked over at Kenichi who was sitting on the desk right behind Shirou. "What about you Kenichi, what clubs have you signed up for now that you've left the Karate club?"

"Uhh…" Kenichi just groaned, resting his head on his desk.

"Maybe Judo and the Kendo club's not bad either?" Miu suggested.

"The-The… The Gardening club." Kenichi breathed out.

This made Miu face-fault in surprise, though Shirou sighed as if he was expecting this.

"Like, as in plants and flowers?" Miu asked, sweating a little. "You sure you don't want to join another Martial Arts club?"

"Nah, in this case, I agree with him." Shirou told her. "Even if he did join a club like that, his like of technique or coordination, or any kind of talent would just make him fall behind everyone else." He reminded her. "He can barely keep up with strength training at the Dojo."

"You don't have to put it like that!" Kenichi snapped, looking livelier than before. "That strength training is beyond insane."

"You're the one who wants to spend all day planting flowers." Shirou reminded him. "Why be defensive about it?"

Kenichi sank back into his desk. "Of course I do, from now on I'll spend all my time watering innocent flowers who would never corner me in alleys or try to kick my face down my throat and live happily ever after~!" He said, sounding like a depressed man trying to keep his spirits up.

Shirou face-palmed. "Oh for god sake."

"Uh, is everything okay with Kenichi?" Miu asked, looking totally lost.

"Don't worry, that's just how he gets when the situation gets to tense for him." Shirou explained to her.

"But why would he be feeling like that? Did something happen?" Miu asked, now concerned.

"Allow me to answer that."

As if appearing out of nowhere, Niijima arrived—Standing between Miu and Shirou.

"Okayyy?" Miu responded, not sure what else to say.

"Right, you two haven't met yet, have you?" Shirou remembered before pointing to Niijima. "That's Niijima, he's an info-broker. Niijima this is Miu, she's been here a week so you probably know everything about her."

"Not enough I'd say." Niijima responded before giving her a small bow. "Pardon my nosy intrusion, but that's what I do. As I'm sure you've heard, my name is Haruo Niijima and I am on of Shirou's closest of close friends."

"Oh, you're one of Shirou's friends?!" Miu asked, pleasantly surprised.

"I wouldn't go that far, heck I wouldn't go far at all." Shirou cut in. "He's just an acquaintance if I'm in a good mood."

Niijima waved his hand. "Oh, details, details. The point is a friend of my close friend is a friend I'd like to get close to." He told Miu.

"Oh, well nice to meet you, my name is Miu." Miu happily greeted him.

"Yes, I've already heard." Niijima happily responded.

Shirou then got up from his seat. "Well, now that we all know each other, I'm going. It's not lunch break useless you're actually having lunch."

Miu clapped her hands together. "Oh, let's all have lunch together then." She suggested.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea." Niijima agreed, before turning around. "You'll be joining us, won't you Kenichi?"

Kenichi kept gritting his teeth, stood up, and snapped. "Would you all quit acting like everything's fine! Don't you realize the trouble that's about to happen?!"

In another part of the school, the tall, large, and angry Delinquent known as Saizo Tsukuba was walking down the hallway with a scowl on his face as he was thinking back to the events that took place yesterday at the Karate club dojo. All the while, any other student that walked by either tried to keep their distance or kept their heads down out of fear.

"Kenichi Shirahama, what scrawny little brat…" Tsukuba thought to himself. "The kid's got no natural talent at all, but somehow after a week he suddenly knows how to fight?" He thought back to how Kenichi defeated Daimonji. "It could have been a fluke, but…"

(Did I? I don't see how that's any of your business." Shirou told him mockingly. "But hey, if you really want to know, why not find out for yourself?)

After remembering what Shirou said, Tsukuba's scowl became harder. "Tsukiharu's always been a stronger brawler, but if he's a Martial Artist on top of that… He might be a bigger problem than I gave him credit for." He thought as he went outside. "In any case, I'll find out soon enough."

Meanwhile on the school roof. The others were sitting down and enjoying their respective lunches while continuing the conversation they were having back in the classroom.

"So he's in the Karate club too?" Miu asked surprised.

While Kenichi still looked nervous, Shirou just enjoyed his lunch without a care, and Niijima just smiled as he explained. "Yes, he referred Kenichi's last fight and I'm afraid he's taken quite an interest in his abilities as sportsmen, or more specifically where he acquired those abilities." He gave her a lengthy explanation. "I've heard he's become rather keen on testing his skills on our good friend, Shirou."

Miu still seemed confused. "I don't understand."

"Too many big words…" Shirou said before taking another bite of his food. "He means the guy wants a go at me."

Niijima waved his hand. "More like he wants to beat the snot out of you."

"Oh, he just wants a fight?" Miu smiled, now feeling calm. "You had me worried, I thought Shirou was in real trouble."

"He is in trouble!" Kenichi cut in, annoyed by their behavior. "Tsukuba's never lost a match, I've seen him spar and he's always against at least two guys if not more!" He told them, now sounding afraid. "That guy is so strong he can break rocks with his bare hands like it's nothing! And I've even seen him snap a baseball bat with a single kick!"

"Hmm, then he must be a belt-black." Miu figured, not sounding calm.

Shirou just looked amused. "Ha! Black-belt? I use black-belts to warm up after breakfast."

"Do you not understand the concept of danger!" Kenichi snapped at him.

"But enough about that, tell me about you!" Niijima told Miu while taking out his PDA. "Your family, your measurements, do you like pointy ears?" He then appeared behind her. "You know what they say about big ears right?—WAAAAAHH!"

Unfortunately, instead of answering, the moment Niijima's hand touched her shoulder from behind, her instincts kicked in and she fliped him—Knocking him flat on his back.

Miu immediately had a regretful expression. "Oh no! Didn't anyone ever tell you not to sneak up behind a girl?!" She asked before kneeling down to see his face. "Hey, are you okay?! I didn't hurt you did I?"

"Oh yeah, 'probably should have warned him about that?" Shirou realized.

Later that day, after school was over, the three of them went back to Ryozanpaku and went back into their training. Right now Kenichi was training with Kensei and was currently training his legs by doing step-lunges while keeping his arms behind his head. Kensei was sitting on the porch, watching him.

"Now, nice and slow with a medium stance." Kensei instructed him. "Good, yes, just like that. Martial Arts are rooted in the legs, those with weak legs have no foundation for their skills to grow on."

"Sure, that makes sense, but how many of these do I have to do?" Kenichi asked while working up a sweat.

Kensei smiled as he answered. "Just another 9566 to go."

"Aaahh!" Kenichi groaned.

"Alright, switch!" Shirou said walking up to them with bruises. "I'm finished with Muay Thai for today, now it's time for Kempo."

"Ah yes, of course." Kensei got up. "Kenichi keep up with your exercises while I begin with Shirou's training."

At that point, Apachai appeared out of nowhere. It was surprising how such a big guy could be so good at sneaking around.

"Is Apachai's teaching time now!" Apachai cheered as he began throwing warm-up punches and kicks. "APA! Apa! Apa! Apa! Apa!" Kenichi just looked frightened while Apachai stopped and smiled. "Okay, Apachai's fists are done being warmed up now, Kenichi, am now ready to fight to death, we spar now, yes?"

At that moment, Kenichi tried to run for his life. "Thank anyway! But I just remembered I had to take care of something!"

Unfortunately, he didn't as Shirou grabbed him by the back of his collar and hold him in place. "Think again, your schedule just cleared up."

"We do I have to do this training anyway?! I thought I was supposed to train with Akisame?" Kenichi cried out in desperation.

"He's out right now, so you'll be training with us for today." Kensei answered him.

"Besides, at the end of the day, it's still just strength training so it's no big difference. And besides, any training they give you won't be as painful as whatever that sadist would come up with." Shirou reminded him.

Kenichi thought about it and sunk down depressed. "You have a point."

"Okay! We begin!" Apachai cheered as he kicked out his right leg. "APA!"

POW!

After his kick made contact with Kenichi's body, the impact was so great that Kenichi was sent flying through the air like a kickball.

"AAAHH! Tell my family I love them!" Kenichi cried out before hitting the ground and losing consciousness.

Apachai looked afraid, fearing for Kenichi's well being, Kensei looked as though he predicted this would happen and Shirou pinched the bridge of his forehead.

"Kenichi? Kenichi?"

In a world of darkness, Kenichi couldn't see or move, all he could do was hear the sound of a worried voice calling out his name. After a few seconds after hearing the voice, a light came back to Kenichi's sight and he slowly regained consciousness.

As he opened his eyes he saw the face of his 12-year-old Sister; Honoka. Honoka has a similar hairstyle and facial appearance to that of her Brother Kenichi, being short brown hair except she has no fringe in the front and her face has more of a youthful and feminine presence. She is also short, reaching only up to Kenichi's waist.

"Kenichi, what's wrong!?" Honoka asked as small tears of concern were forming beneath her eyes.

"That you, Honoka?" Wait a minute, what's going on? Don't tell me you died too?" He asked, still barely conscious. "It's so sad, we're both dead. But at least I'll have my Sister to keep me company in Heaven and we'll always be happy…" He monologed happily. "Always—Augh!"

He was snapped out of his funk when he felt a chop hit him on the head and sat up to see Shirou standing beside him. "What the Hell are you saying?"

"What the? Shirou?" Kenichi asked, now more awake. "Where am I?"

"You're at home, Kenichi." Honoka told him, still sounding worried.

"I'm home?" Kenichi realized, looking around.

They were inside the living room of Kenichi's house, which was an average suburban residence. Kenichi was lying on a couch, Honoka was sitting next to him on the floor, and Shirou was standing beside him.

"Yeah, I had to drag your unconscious mug here and Apachai blew you away." Shirou informed him.

"Unconscious? Wait, then that means… Apachai didn't kill me?!" Kenichi said amazed, though Honoka just looked confused. With that realization, Kenichi began to laugh like a madman. "gahahaHAHAHAHA! I'M STILL ALIVEEEEEE!" Kenichi cheered.

"MOM! Kenichi thought he was dead and he's freaking me out!" Honoka cried out.

"I swear there's something wrong with this family." Shirou muttered.

After Kenichi woke up, Shirou went to Kenichi's room to wait while Kenichi was having a meeting with his family in the dining room. Before long, the door opened and Kenichi entered the room, Kenichi sat on his bed while Shirou sat on a chair beside the reading-desk in the room.

"That was a pretty short meeting." Shirou noticed.

"Well, there wasn't much to talk about." Kenichi replied.

"Well, in any case, you said you wanted to talk, so what's up?" Shirou asked.

Kenichi smiled. "I think I figured out a strategy that'll help against Tsukuba."

"And, what might that be?" Shirou asked, his tone suggested he wasn't expecting much.

Kenichi whispered. "There's only one thing to do… STRATEGIC WITHDRAWAL!" He shouted the last part.

"So basically running away?" Shirou said drily.

"This isn't considered running away, it's my plan of action!" Kenichi insisted. "This way we can avoid an unnecessary fight and live to fight another day."

"That's just an excuse." Shirou shot down his plan. "It doesn't what you call it or however you try to glorify it, the bottom line is you want to run away."

"I.…" Kenichi just looked down and upset. "I just want to help you. Neither you nor Niijima or Miu seem to get how dangerous Tsukuba is. He's completely different than Daimonji, and you keep acting like you have to fight him, why?"

"You really want to know?" Shirou asked him before answering. "Because if I don't fight him, then you'll have to."

"…Wha?" Now Kenichi just looked lost.

"Tell me, what do you think would've happened if you'd of beaten Daimonji, in front of Tsukuba, and I wasn't there at the time?" Shirou continued. "Obviously, rather than me, Tsukuba would've picked a fight with you."

"What? But why would he do that?" Kenichi asked, now sounding afraid.

"You seriously couldn't tell, did you think this was one of those "High School Underdog" Movies were the wimpy kid beats the bully at the end, becomes a Hero, and the credits roll?" Shirou spoke to him like he was naive. "Unfortunately those movies never tell you what happens to the Hero after the credits. In the real world, even if you take out one bully, there'll always be more lined up to take his place, after Daimonji it was Tsukuba."

"Then why didn't you tell me?!" Kenichi snapped at him.

"What difference would that have made?!" Shirou snapped back at him. "Would you have just not tried to win that fight, or let him keep bullying you?"

"Well no, but…" Kenichi trailed off, now not knowing what to say.

"It may be a raw deal, but that's reality, and here there's no happy ending to save you." Shirou told him. "That's why the Master's of Ryozanpaku only gave you strength training instead of teaching you real Martial Arts, it's because they all knew this would happen… Expect Miu."

"But then, if you knew why did you teach me before the fight?" Kenichi asked, now confused.

"All part of the plan, I couldn't fight that fight for you. But at the very least, I could take the target off your back and put it on mine, so the rest of the bullies lined up would aim for me instead." Shirou answered him, not bothered by it.

Now Kenichi widened his eyes in surprise. "You mean, you did this because you were trying to help me?"

Shirou shrugged. "Don't let it bother you too much, I'm a Delinquent to so this fight was always going to happen at some point, it was just a question of when." After that, Shirou stood up and went for the door. "And the answer to that question is; tomorrow. See ya."

"Wait!" Kenichi got up as well. "Even despite all that, I still don't think it's a good idea to fight Tsukuba, he dangerous."

"Kenichi…" Shirou held his hand on the doorknob, turned to face Kenichi, and smirked confidently at him. "I'm dangerous."

After saying that he opened the door and walked out.

After walking out of Kenichi's room, Shirou walked down the stairs and went to the front door. He began putting on his shoes so he could leave.

"Oh, Shirou."

A masculine voice addressed him and Shirou turned around to see Kenichi's parents—Mototsugu and Shiori Shirahama were behind him. Mototsugu is a tall middle-aged man with short dark blue hair and a fairly lean figure as he keeps himself in decent shape for a man his age. He is dressed in a traditional black kimono and no shoes.

Shiori is a fairly tall and deceptively youthful-looking middle-aged woman who can be considered very attractive. She has a curvaceous figure and a sizable bust. She has a fair-skinned with brown eyes with straight brown hair traits that she passed on to her children. Her bangs have strands hanging between her eyes with the rest being chin-length yet curve outwards to hanging beside her face. She also has a few stranding hanging over her ears to frame her of her face and shoulder-length ponytail on her back. She is seen wearing pink lipstick, a plain yellow shirt with a purple long sleeve underneath with a short skirt just above her knees with stockings around her legs. She is also seen wearing a plain apron for chores.

Shirou greeted them casually. "Hey, long time."

"It certainly has, thank you for bringing Kenichi home, Shirou." Shiori spoke in a gentle and welcoming manner. "Why don't you stay and have some tea?"

Shirou shrugged his shoulders. "'Preciate the offer, but I gotta get home, Haruto's waiting for me." He told her.

"I understand." She smiled.

"Before you go, would you mind if asked you something?" Mototsugu asked with a stern tone that might intimidate someone else."What kind of dojo are you and Kenichi going to? I don't mind what he does in his own time, but I find it odd that whatever he's doing causes him to come home battered and bruised every day."

Shirou sighed before answering. "Mototsugu, let me put it this way. In case you haven't noticed, I'm also battered and bruised, regardless of how much experience you have the training there is rough on anyone, so of course, I beginner like him would have a much harder time." Shirou explained like he was obvious."Besides, if he ever felt like it, he's allowed to quit at any time."

Mototsugu was silent for a second before he responded. "I see, I suppose you have a point. Well then, I'll just have to trust in my son's judgment." He said in a mature manner. "Thank you for answering my question."

"I just didn't want you barging into the dojo with your hunting rifle." Shirou admitted, nonchalantly.

In that instant, Mototsugu's mature expression flipped into a defensive one. "What?! I was never planning on doing that!"

"He right, you don't have to worry." Shiori pleasantly added. "Already talked him out of doing that."

"Don't tell him that!" Mototsugu told her, upset.

Shirou then opened the front door. "Well, enjoy your evening." He departed with those words.

The next day started back at the school. Shirou and Kenichi met up with Miu after class and were walking across the schoolyard.

"So, are you planning on fighting this guy today?" Miu asked.

"Yeah, I'd prefer to get this over with sooner rather than later." Shirou told her.

Kenichi stayed quiet and had a nervous expression, he still felt unsure about all this.

"Ah, there you are."

The three of them turned to see Niijima appeared behind them.

"Niijima?! What the heck do you want?!" Kenichi asked like he was accusing him of something.

"Now, now, calm down Kenichi, I'm just here to deliver some news." Niijima leaned in and faced Shirou. "You'll be glad to know that members of the Karate club are standing guard over all the and entrances and exits to the school. It goes without saying that they're looking for you."

"It must be Tsukuba's orders, now we can't leave even if we wanted to." Kenichi realized, feeling worried.

"I wasn't planning on leaving in the first place, now tell; Where is Tsukuba?" Shirou asked Niijima seriously.

Niijima smiled and pointed. "Behind the school building, right around of course." He happily told him.

Shirou smirked and cracked his knuckles. "Let's do this."

The four of them soon made their way to the back of the school building and standing there waiting for them was Tsukuba, who was currently holding two walnuts in his hand that he was breaking with his grip. When he saw Shirou, Tsukuba looked pleased.

"Didn't expect you to come to me on your own, that saved me the trouble of hunting you down." Tsukuba started as he faced him. "So what's with the crowd, did you need back up?"

"No worries, they're just here to watch." Shirou stepped forward to slightly close the distance. "I plan on finishing this quickly, third-string."

Tsukuba narrowed his eyes and got into a Karate stance, while Shirou raised his fists. But before they could proceed, Kenichi spoke out.

"Hold on!" His voice got their attention as they both faced him. "Why are you doing this, Tsukuba? You already know you're strong, so what's the point of fighting?"

"The point?" Tsukuba repeated annoyed. "I never said I was trying to make a point, I just want to fight Tsukiharu!"

Kenichi greeted his teeth and then looked at Shirou. "Shirou, you don't have to do this, there's no reason to fight someone like him."

"You mean you need a reason to fight?" Shirou asked with a smirk, his response surprised Kenichi. "Hate to break it to you, but I've never needed anything as loaded as that, I just do what I want and I won't even pretend otherwise. Now stand back and watch, I'll show you what a brawl looks like."

Kenichi stepped back and looked frustrated. "I can't stop them, these two won't even listen to reason."

"You really need to chill out, Kenichi." Niijima told him, not worried in the least. "You should also pay attention, considering this'll be your first time watching Shirou in a real fight."

Now Miu became surprised upon hearing that. "Wait, Kenichi, you've never seen Shirou fight before?"

"Of course not!" Kenichi shouted like it was obvious. "Why would I ever want to see something like that?!"

"But what about when he beat those thugs that night on the same day when we met?" Miu asked, ow confused.

"Yeah as it was as terrifying as I thought it would be!" Kenichi responded still upset. "How could you possibly expect me to want to see more of that?!"

"I thought he was worried because he didn't see Shirou's spar with Apachai, but if he's really never seen him fight before…" Miu thought now having a better understanding. She then smiled. "Kenichi, you don't have to worry, because Shirou is a lot stronger than you think."

Kenichi looked confused. "Huh?"

Shirou just stood there looking carefree while Tsukuba remained in his stance looking annoyed at Shirou. "He's leaving himself wide open, why won't he take a stance? Is he trying to say he can beat me without even trying?" He thought angrily. "In that case, I'll just attack!" He prepared to attack. "Ha!"

At that moment, Shirou rushed to attack the second he saw Tsukuba about to move in and was right in front of him before he could even step forward. Tsukuba was so surprised he couldn't respond in time as Shirou struck forth and punched him in the stomach.

"Gah!" Tsukuba coughed in pain as he stepped back and gripped his stomach. "I didn't even see him coming, how the Hell did he reach me so fast?! Damnit, he landed the first blow."

"That was a liver blow…" Miu muttered, slightly surprised. "Not only did he land the first blow, but he also made the perfect choice on which punch to use, considering the liver blow not only deals damage, it messes up the opponents breathing and stamina." She deduced as he watched. "No one can handle a liver blow, especially right at the start of a fight."

"What's wrong, tired already?" Shirou asked in a taunting manner. "Guess unlike me, you don't live up to the hype."

"Shut up." Tsukuba raised his fists again. "I'm just getting started!"

This time, Tsukuba rushed in to attack Shirou was a strong punch, but because he was flustered and lost his cool, his swing was too wide and easy to dodge. Thus, Shirou waited until he got close, shifted his weight around his legs, and pivoted around Tsukuba—Now standing behind him.

Miu looked surprised. "That's the move I taught Kenichi. I didn't know Shirou could do it too."

"The stepping method, but he didn't counterattack?" Kenichi also looked surprised.

"You know, Tsukuba. I learned something about you from this fight, and do you know what that is?" Shirou asked, completely relaxed. "Despite being in a gang, you aren't cut out for street fighting."

"What?" Tsukuba looked both surprised and annoyed that he was bringing up something like this during a fight. "What the Hell are you talking about?"

"You're a black-belt so I know you've trained hard, but your moves are too orthodox and by the book." Shirou elaborated. "You're not used to the freestyle type of brawling that comes with being a Delinquent, I bet you've fought more times in a dojo than you've fought outside." He then turned his head to smirk at him. "You seriously think someone like that can stand up to me."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Tsukuba stepped back to gain some distance. "I just need one good blow to put you down."

He then used his right leg to aim a kick at Shirou's head from the side. But Shirou remained where he was and held up his hand. Upon impact, Shirou's hand stopped Tsukuba's kicked and held his leg in place, which shocked the taller Delinquent. Shirou than moved up by ducking down and kicked upwards, slamming his kick into Tsukuba's chin and knocking his head upwards.

Intending to finish the job, Shirou grabbed one of Tsukuba's arms with his hands and pulled him forward, lifting him off the ground and over his shoulder. With Tsukuba in the air, Shirou used a Judo throw the make him crash into the ground, flat on his back.

SMASH!

The second he hit the ground, the impact itself could be heard by those watching, and Saizo Tsukuba was now unconscious and defeated. The fight was settled.

"Another reason why you aren't cut out for street fight is that you are used to falling." Shirou told him. "Unlike a dojo where there are soft floors or safety mats when fighting outside, there's only the hard, concrete ground. And hitting the ground hurts more than any punch or kick, that's why brawlers are harder to knock down, unlike you."

"Hahaha!" Niijima laughed victoriously as he placed a hand on Shirou's shoulder. "Excellent work as always my friend, just as I expect, you had no problem beating him. So how should I write about this in the school newspaper?"

"Easy, tell them my victory was perfect." Shirou replied nonchalantly.

Niijima nodded happily. "Yes, it practically writes itself."

Now Miu approached him. "That was great, Shirou. Both your offense and defense were completely in sync."

Shirou shrugged. "Don't get too impressed, anyone can look strong when fighting a third-string."

While they were talking amongst themselves, the only one who didn't join in was Kenichi, who just stood there shocked at what he just witness.

"I don't believe it, has Shirou always been this strong?" Kenichi thought to himself, trying to wrap his head around all this. "I mean, he's always been strong, but I never thought it was this much, he made beating Tsukuba look easy.…"

Then he paused as if it took a few seconds for something to click in his mind. "Aah!" Kenichi ran to Tsukuba and lifted his arm to check his pulse, then he breathed out in relief. "His pulse is steady, I was worried you killed him for a second."

"What?" Shirou a brow. "Why do you care? It's Tsukuba."

"Well yeah, but still." Kenichi insisted. "You should at least be careful not to hurt someone too badly."

Shirou and Niijima both just groaned while Miu looked at him surprised.

"He's genuinely concerned about someone who was an enemy?" Miu thought before smiling. "What a funny guy."

Miu then started giggling, which confused Kenichi. "What, why are you laughing? Did I say something weird?"

"Kenichi, you are weird." Shirou told him drily.

"You're a special kinda weird, and that's saying a lot coming from me." Niijima added.

After School, they went back to the dojo. While Shirou was in the yard doing some katas, Kenichi was in the dojo telling the Masters the results of the fight.

"So the punk won, huh? Ain't that nice." Sakaki nonchalantly replied while leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, that's great news." Akisame added with little care.

"Can't you guys look happier at least?" Kenichi asked, upset by their empty reactions.

"Sure we could, but the tough part hasn't even started yet." Sakaki told him.

"What "tough part"?" Kenichi asked confused.

"That Tsukuba guy wasn't he a well-known Delinquent?" Sasaki began. "Even if the punk is also well-known, he's still just a freshman, pretty soon word will get out that a strong guy like that was beaten by a freshman punk to all the other Delinquents in school." He explained. "And those Delinquents will probably want a piece of him themselves."

"Enemies will keep coming, one after another." Akisame joined in. "It's going to be Hell fighting them all."

When he heard that, Kenichi thought back to what Shirou told him.

(In the real world, even if you take out one bully, there'll always be more lined up to take his place, after Daimonji it was Tsukuba.)

Kenichi looked down. "I guess this is what he was talking about, after Daimonji it was Tsukuba and now, after Tsukuba who knows who else it could be."

Akisame then laughed. "But regardless, there's no need to be worried. Shirou most likely strong enough to handle any Delinquent he might run into at school, and even if he's not, our training will whip him into shape.

"That's right, by the time we're done with him that punk'll the Strongest guy in that school." Sakaki agreed wholeheartedly. "Besides, isn't life essentially an eternal battle?"

"That's your theory of life!" Kenichi immediately disagreed with him. He then looked outside and smiled when he saw Shirou training. "But still, I do a lot more relaxed now. I mean, even if one or two more Delinquents try to fight Shirou, they can't be that much stronger than Tsukuba and with how strong Shirou is along with how hard he trains, he shouldn't have much of a problem. Maybe things really will work out."

The next morning, as classes were over and the students were on break, Kenichi and Shirou were walking together through the courtyard. To Kenichi's surprise though, any time another student saw them, they would either avoid eye contact or try to keep their distance. It was as if they were trying to avoid them completely. But while Kenichi was reacting to this, Shirou's expression showed that he either didn't notice or he didn't care.

As they continued to walk, Kenichi noticed to female students whispering while looking in their direction.

"Right there, that's the guy."

One of the girls' whispered while the other one gasped. When Shirou looked in their direction, they ran away. Kenichi looked confused.

"What's going on?" He asked. "Why's everyone avoiding us?"

"Not us Kenichi, me." Shirou clarified.

The two of them soon sat down at their usual bench by the tree. "What do you mean?"

"Hey is something up?"

They both looked up and as usual, they saw Miu coming down from atop the tree and landing in front of them. "What's with that look, huh? Come on, you can tell me, I might be able to help out."

"You're being kinda pushy, you know?" Shirou told her.

"Ah, well…. It's just that, ah…" Kenichi then explained the strange behavior of their peers since this morning to Miu.

"I see, so you're worried that everyone's afraid of Shirou now." Miu understood.

Kenichi nodded. "Yeah, I'm starting to feel that they are."

"Shouldn't be too much of a surprise though." Shirou crossed his arms behind his head. "I just took out Tsukuba yesterday and that guy was always throwing his weight around, everyone was too afraid to even talk to him." He explained to them. "Since I beat him, their fear shifted from him to me."

"But that's not fair, you're not a bully like Tsukuba so they have no reason to treat you like him." Kenichi protested.

"You just don't get it, boy-scout." Shirou lazily told him. "Your nature isn't what they see, it's your rep. Besides, I'm a Delinquent to, so what do I care if I'm feared."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a loud voice.

"EXTRA! EXTRA!" The three of them looked to see Niijima a few feet away, throwing around school papers and talking into a blowhorn. "IN AN AMAZING TURN OF EVENTS! THE ALMIGHTY FRESHMAN SHIROU DEFEATED TSUKUBA THE TERRIBLE IN PRACTIALLY ONE SHOT!"

Kenichi shrieked when he saw that and rushed to him, knocking Niijima down and grabbing him by the collar.

"What are you doing you, freaky alien psychopath!" Kenichi yelled at him.

"Hahahaha!" Niijima laughed, getting out of his grasp. "Isn't it obvious? I'm spreading the good word about my closets friend's perfect victory."

Shirou picked up a newspaper himself and examined it. "Hmm, doesn't look too bad."

Niijima grinned when he saw him. "I'm glad you like it my best friend."

"Quit messing around!" Kenichi told him. "Why are you passing this stuff around?!"

"Well, I'm in the newspaper club, it's my duty as a journalist to share this with the public, they have a right to know." Niijima then placed a hand on Shirou's shoulder. "Just look at your new ranking, it was high before but know you at the top! You couldn't ask for better PR."

"That was faster than I expected." Shirou looked it over.

"That doesn't mean you had to tell everyone!" Kenichi still protested.

"I know the truth, Kenichi." Niijima grinned at him. "I know that you guys have been secretly training at some exclusive dojo."

"What? How could you possibly know?" Kenichi asked surprised.

"I'll give you three guesses." Shirou sarcastically said while pointing to Miu.

Miu apologetically smiled. "Yeah, I'm the one who told him about it, didn't think you'd mind."

Kenichi gasped as Niijima continued to smile. "It only took Ice-Cream."

"Ice-Cream?!" Kenichi angrily repeated. "He bought you off?"

"Niijima's your friend, I didn't think you'd care!" Miu defended herself. "If I'd known I wouldn't have said anything!"

"Who cares anyway?" Shirou shrugged. "It's not like it was supposed to be a secret and it doesn't change anything when you get right down to it."

"Maybe but he's the last demon on earth that I ever wanted to know about this!" Kenichi responded.

"Ah well, what's done is done, no point worrying about it now." Shirou brushed off.

Niijimathen notices somethings and becomes alert. "Take a look, Shirou."

They all look to see a small group of three standing a few feet away.

One of them is a young man of average below-height with short dark hair and wears a headband on his head. He wears a white shirt with an open blue shirt over it and shorts with pockets. He's also shown to have a bit of a feminine look. He also wears a long earring on his left ear.

The other is a tall young man with a fairly lean and muscular build with short spike brown hair that sticks up and has the lower half shorter and has a scar under his chin. He wears the school uniform and has sunglasses at all times.

Third and the one who appears to be the leader is a tall young man with a muscular build, dark skin, and blue hair. He can be considered as an attractive man and seen in his school uniform with bandages on his wrists along with a long blue jacket. He's also seen with a blade of grass in his mouth.

The blue-haired one looks at a small sheet of paper and glares. "Tsukuba's an embarrassment, he's tarnished the image of Ragnarok."

He then drops the sheet in the air and punches, his punch is so fast and on-point that the paper is torn to shreds in a second.

Kenichi gasped when he saw that, but Shirou was paying close attention to what he just saw. "Fast… Never seen someone around my age who can punch that smoothly."

The blue-haired Delinquent continued. "You take care of Tsukuba, tell him to drop out of school and get out f town. And keep your eyes peeled for that freshman, Kisara wants us to bring him to her." He ordered.

The tall one nodded. "Yeah."

The short one smiled. "Sure thing."

The three of them took off after that. But with the others, Kenichi now looked worried around.

"Did you hear what they said?" Kenichi asked with fear in his tone. "Those guys wanna find Shirou and take him someplace."

"Maybe they just wanna be his friends?" Miu suggested.

"You know that's not what they want!" Kenichi snapped at her.

Miu started to tear up. "I'm sorry, you don't have to yell at me."

Shirou just rolled his eyes. "She's really not helping against the stereotype that all blondes are stupid."

"Bad news though, those guys are with Ragnarok." Niijima informed.

"What? You mean the same gang that Tsukuba was apart of?" Kenichi asked surprised.

"That's right, and now that Shirou defeated Tsukuba, he's on their hit-list." Niijima told him amused.

"Not surprised, that how it always goes with gangs, pick a fight with one member you pick a fight with them all." Shirou said, unconcerned.

"But wait, isn't that bad?" Kenichi asked now afraid.

"It's more than bad." Niijima smiled evilly. "You are in some serious water old chum, they're probably waiting on the streets for you and I bet where you live, Hahahahaha!" He laughed evilly. "To be honest I can't wait to find out who will win, you or Ragnarok?"

Shirou patted his shoulder. "Well, do yourself a favor and place your bets on me." He confidently told him.

"But wait, wasn't Tsukuba really well-known around this school?" Miu asked, having trouble understanding. "If they're strong too and from the same gang, how come no one mentioned them?"

"Tsukuba might be tough, but that's only within this school." Niijima explained. "The truth is Ragnarok extends over this entire town with only a few of its members being students here. They used Tsukuba to intimidate others, but most of their top members just ditch school entirely, like the three we just saw."

"Top members?" Kenichi repeated, surprised. "You mean they're stronger than Tsukuba?"

"A lot stronger." Shirou answered him. "In fact, by their standards, I'd say Tsukuba was just a grunt."

"A grunt?!" Kenichi repeated again, extremely panicked.

After school was over, Shirou, Kenichi, and Miu were walking down the street and heading for Ryozanpaku. While walking Kenichi still looked afraid, but Shirou didn't seem concerned. As they kept walking, they reached a fork in the road and Shirou made a turn which confused the other two.

"Hey, where are you going?" Miu asked, pointing to the side. "The dojo is this way."

He stopped and looked at them. "I'm not going to the dojo." He told them. "I got a tip from Niijima that says; some of those Ragnarok grunts hang out by the shopping district. So I'm gonna go there."

"What? Why would you do that?" Kenichi asked with concern.

"Isn't it obvious?" Shirou asked rhetorically. "They said they wanna take me to their boss, so I'll go to them and have them take to her."

"What?! You're going to pick a fight with them!?" Kenichi asked shocked.

"Better that than waiting for them to come to me." Shirou reasoned.

"Hold it!" Before he could turn to leave, Kenichi called out to him. "I'm being serious this time, don't do this. This isn't like all those other times you picked fights, just be reasonable for a second."

"What are you talking about?" Shirou asked.

"This isn't like before when you were just taking out bullies or some thugs, they're an entire gang and not to mention there are a lot of them who are a lot stronger than Tsukuba. Not even you can handle something like that." Kenichi tried reasoning with him. "If you try you'll be killed."

"Then let me ask you; what do you think I should do?" Shirou questioned him.

"There's always the strategic withdrawal." Kenichi suggested, trying to sound smart.

Shirou just looked fed up with him. "Do you miss the 'They're probably waiting on the streets for me and probably already know where I live' part?" He reminded him. "Where exactly would I withdrawal too?"

.

.

.

"AAAHHHH!" Kenichi cried out in misery.

Miu giggled. "Guess you didn't that one through."

"Kenichi, let me you something about a fight." Shirou began, looking serious. "Regardless of your own circumstances, the fight doesn't care. Whether you're not in the best condition, you're outnumbered, or even if you don't want to fight, all those are your own problem. A fight is just a fight, any personal feelings on the matter are of no consequence." He told him coldly. "So even if I bitch and whine about it, it won't change a thing. I'm still going to be involved in this fight, so I might as well fight under my own terms."

Kenichi still looked as though he didn't want to accept this. "But that's not right, you can't fight an entire gang like Ragnarok by yourself and expect to win." He then looked down. "Besides… Even if I try to help you, it probably still won't help your odds."

"That's fine with me. I never intended to have you help me regardless." Shirou flat out told him.

Kenichi looked up at him surprised. "Huh?"

"Don't you remember the plan?" Shirou reminded him. "You beat Daimonji and then I beat Tsukuba, now that I'm their target, they don't even know you exist anymore. Meaning you don't have to fight at all now."

"But, that doesn't mean I have to let you do this alone!" Kenichi protested. "I did the same training as you at the dojo so I should be able to support you, I want to help."

"Is that right?" Shirou asked, unconvinced. "Then why are your legs shaking?"

As Shirou pointed out, Kenichi's legs were trembling as they always do when he loses his nerve and cracks under pressure.

"Look, Kenichi, I'll put this in a way you can understand. You're just like the kinda guy that when they start a game they brag about how they're going to get a perfect victory, but when the game ends and they fail to do so, they just brag how they got a high score acting like that was all they really wanted." Shirou explained. "In this case, even though you said you wanted to become a strong Martial Artist who protects the weak, the truth is you'd of been perfectly satisfied with just beating Daimonji and then never fighting again after that."

"N-No, that's…" Kenichi was upset by his words but couldn't deny them because he couldn't honestly say there wasn't some truth in them.

"Just don't worry about it anymore, your fight's over and your bullies are gone." Shirou reasoned with him. "So go, read books, go to your gardening club, be a normal High School student, whatever you want. And as for me, I'll do what I want; making everyone grovel at my feet." He said with an evil smirk as he walked off.

Miu went up to Kenichi and asked. "Aren't you going after him?"

Kenichi watched Shirou walking off, his back getting further and further away, but couldn't bring himself to follow, so he sadly said. "…No."

A little while passed as the sun began to set, Shirou was walking around the shopping district trying to find the members of Ragnarok that were loitering around. However, rather than finding them, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him and turned around to see a small group of four rough-looking Delinquents approach him.

"Guess they found me before I found them." Shirou thought to himself. "I take it you're from Ragnarok?"

"That's right." One of them confirmed. "Kisara-sama wants to see you, so you're coming with us."

"Fine by me." Shirou replied looking pleased. "Lead the way."

Meanwhile, a little while ago at Ryozanpaku. Kenichi who was still upset was currently dressed in his training gi while watering some of the plants and let out a sad sigh. While doing that, Shigure came down from the tree that was next to him and pointing to him.

"You know what you look like?" Shigure asked. "A loser."

"Aah! Wait, what's that supposed to mean?!" Kenichi asked upset.

"She's saying you have a look of defeat about you." Akisame clarified, appearing behind him. "You felt emboldens by your great victory the other day only to now realize how insignificant you are in the grand scheme of things."

"Wait, can he actually read my mind?" Kenichi thought, curiously looking at Akisame.

"Haha! mopping won't do you any good if you're so worried about him why not just go?" Akisame suggested.

"Gah! Are you crazy?!" Kenichi immediately dismissed that idea. "I can't pick a fight with Ragnarok!"

"Yet you're… Okay with letting him… Do it alone?" Shigure reminded him.

Kenichi heard her words and looked down again. "It's not that I want him to do this alone, but Shirou already made it clear that he's going to fight, so what can I do?"

"It's not exactly a hard question you know?" Akisame told him. "You've trained enough where you're at least able to beat ordinary thugs, so you can be of some help to him, the only question is of whether you want to go or not."

"But Shirou told me not to go." Kenichi brought up.

"And so you won't go just because he told you?" Akisame asked. "Are you saying you'll only do something as long as he gives you the okay?"

"It's not that…" Kenichi denied before pausing. "Maybe he was right about me, maybe I did learn Martial Arts just so I could beat Daimonji." He confessed depressed. "I made some kind of stand saying I wanted to protect others, but I never had the dedication or fortitude to actually follow through on that claim. Maybe all I really wanted was a superficial victory I could have under my belt so I could go home and call myself a winner, deep down the only one I wanted to protect was myself."

"I see, you feel conflicted because your reasons for learning Martial Arts weren't as noble as you initially believed and now you've begun to doubt yourself?" Akisame summarized before he smiled. "Kenichi, I'll admit there is truth to what he said, but before you make any final decisions, let me ask you something."

Kenichi looked up at him. "What it is?"

"If all you truly wanted was to defeat your bully and then stop after that, then why did you come back to Ryozanpaku after the fight?" Akisame asked.

This question made Kenichi stop completely in his tracks and his eyes widened as if he'd never even considered it.

"You didn't have to come back and you had no reason to anymore, yet you still kept coming to train here day after day, tell me why is that?" Akisame continued

"I… Uh, I didn't even think about it?" Kenichi admitted, unsure.

"That's right, you didn't. It already became nature enough that you didn't even need to think about coming here, no different than naturally going to school." Akisame pointed out, which surprised him again. "Kenichi, there will always be times where a Martial Artist wonders if he's doing something for the "Right" reasons or not, but doubting yourself and backing out is never the answer, instead you do what you feel is right and readily accept the outcome because it's the one that you chose."

Kenichi processed his words as he thought about what he wanted to do and what he should do, as a person's face appeared in his mind, he clenched his fists as he walked off. "Excuse me, but I have to go somewhere."

After a few minutes, he changed out of his training gi into his everyday clothes and ran off out of the dojo with a look of determination on his face. Akisame just watched him go with a small smile on his face. "Good luck, Kenichi."

As Shirou was being led by the members of Ragnarok to their hideout, they soon arrived at a tall building. It was an abandoned, run-down looking building that was made of concrete, was four floors tall, and all the windows were broken. It looked pretty much like the kind of place you'd see thugs hanging out in the movies. As they went inside, they went up the stairs and brought Shirou to a room on the top floor. Nobody said a word as they made their way up here, Shirou lept his hands in his pockets and kept his cool all the while.

When they entered the room, Shirou looked around to check the place out. It was a large four-walled room that was devoid of pretty much everything. Expect for a set of windows on the right wall, a worn-out punching bag, and a dozen rough-looking Delinquents. At the front of the room was a worn-down but comfortable looking chair, though what Shirou was really paying attention to was the person sitting on the chair.

She was a beautiful young girl of average height. She has fair skin, full lips, and bright green eyes. She sports a slender frame with fairly small bust size, curvy hips, and round buttocks. She also has well defined muscularly toned legs. She has shiny, unkempt red hair which she wears with a green cap. She wears a short t-shirt with an A-shirt underneath showing. The jeans she wears are rather torn on the left side while mostly torn off from the thigh down on the right side. She also wears ankle-high boots.

There was no doubt, she was Kisara.

The two of them didn't speak, they started by sizing each other up. Shirou just looked over Kisara and he immediately came to a conclusion; she was nothing like the others he'd fought from Ragnarok thus far, he paid close attention to her eyes. They were slit and sharp, like the eyes of a cat that'd already brought out its claws.

Shirou could tell just by looking at her that she was the real deal and judging by her expression, Kisara had come to the same conclusion about him. It was clear by the expression they both had that they both become interested in what the other was capable of.

"I take it you're the fabled Kisara Nanjo?" Shirou broke the ice.

"In the flesh." Kisara responded, sounding comfortable. "And you're the lone freshman that goes around crushing other Delinquents."

Shirou shrugged. "I just do what I like and that involves fighting, you of all people would understand that, right?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. That's why I have a proposition for you." Kisara slowly crosses her legs and smirks at him. "I want you to join my gang."

Shirou kept his hands in his pockets and didn't let his expression change. "I assume you don't mind me asking why?"

"Why don't I explain from the beginning?" Kisara began. "I assume you know who Ragnarok's Strongest members are?"

"A group of seven strong Delinquents that call themselves the Seven Deadly Fists." Shirou answered her.

Kisara nodded. "That's correct, but you see big things are happening within Ragnarok and so I need to increase my manpower."

"Big things?" Shirou repeated, wanting more details.

"The fists have started recruiting for a new member, in other words, the Seven Deadly Fist will soon be the Eight Deadly Fists." Kisara elaborated. "And so all executive members like myself are vying for that spot, and to make it happen I need strong guys like you to make my gang stronger."

"I see, that's interesting but you seem to be forgetting something, you haven't told me what's in it for me?" Shirou brought up. "Even if I did join a gang—Which I haven't, why should I agree to do so if it means I have to take orders from someone else?"

"Well, the alternative is saying no, don't assume you'll get out of here in one piece if that is the case." Kisara told him with a smirk while gesturing to her grunts who all looked to attack at a moment's notice. "Is that okay with you?"

"Hate to break it to you, but aside from yourself, no one in this room has a chance in hell against me, even together." Shirou confidently told her, unconcerned. "Then again, that might work too. If you really want me to join you, then you can fight me for it." He smirked back at her.

"Is that so?" Kisara stood up and pats a hand on her hip. "So if I beat you, you'll join me?"

Shirou nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, that's the deal, do you accept?"

Kisara smiled and went into a stance. "My kind of deal, let's do this."

Shirou took his hands out of his pockets and psyched himself up before he prepared to attack.

However—

"HOLD IT!"

Before either of them could begin, the sound of a shouting voice interrupted them and got the attention of everyone in the room, the one most surprised was Shirou because he recognized the voice. As they all looked towards the entrance to the room to see who it was, standing there with a look of determination was Kenichi.

"Kenichi? What are you doing?" Shirou asked surprised. "And how did you even find this place?"

"When I got to the shopping district, I saw you leaving with a few Delinquents and so I went in the same direction as all of you while staying a few steps behind so they wouldn't notice me." Kenichi explained.

Kisara looked at one of her grunts annoyed. "You got followed idiots."

He looked nervous and held his hands up. "I-I'm sorry."

"Kenichi, why'd you come?" Shirou asked honestly confused. "I thought I told you to leave this to me."

"Shirou, you were right before about me not being competed to Martial Arts and how if I could I'd of just ran away, but even if that was true before that doesn't mean I can't change now!" Kenichi declared without a doubt. "I'm not going to run from this, and I will help you fight, even if it means challenging all of Ragnarok!"

Shirou was surprised, not just by his words but by the look of conviction in his eyes, it was clear that he wasn't just saying that, Kenichi had every intention of following through on his declaration. After that, Shirou smirked. "That's a good look he's got, he's finally starting to look like a man."

"What a touching sentiment, such a genuine friendship." Kisara jokingly commented as she sat back down and looked towards her grunts. "Get him."

[Yeah!] They all responded as they charged towards Kenichi.

Shirou rushed in and reached Kenichi first, then the two of them began to counterattack, one of them tried to tackle Shirou but he beat him to it and punched him in the face, another one tried to punch Kenichi but he used the stepped method to get behind him and punched him in the liver, knocking him down. The two of them kept going to the offensive, easily blowing through Kisara's goons until before long, almost all of them were down.

With only three enemy Delinquents still standing, Shirou and Kenichi confident they'd pretty much won this battle, while the grunts were starting to feel nervous about this and became hesitant to attack.

Kisara then stood up again and spoke. "That's enough."

Her words brought everyone to a halt and they all looked at her.

"What do you mean 'that's enough'?" Kenichi asked, still having his guard up.

"I mean I've seen enough of this, there's no point in going on anymore." Kisara clarified with a condescending tone. "You two can go now."

"Huh?" Now Kenichi looked confused.

"So what, you're not gonna fight me?" Shirou asked, annoyed by her attitude.

Kisara just looked amused. "Settle down, I went what I said about wanting you to join me, but after seeing you fight I became interested in something. You see, I want to fight someone who's worth my time, and from the looks of things you might fit that role."

"Then why not take me on right now?" Shirou questioned her.

Kisara then looks at her fallen grunts. "I said MIGHT remember, these grunts aren't a good measuring stick to gauge your skill level. Tell me, have you heard of the Takedown Trio?"

Shirou nodded. "I've heard the rumors."

"Uh hold on, who are they?" Kenichi quietly asked, not in the know.

"They're a trio of Ragnarok members who work under Kisara, unlike most Delinquents who just use streetfighting these three use actual Martial Arts, each one uses a different style and they almost always attack as a group." Shirou explained to him. "They're the same three we saw at school earlier today."

Kenichi gasped as he remembered seeing one of them shred a piece of paper with a punch. "Those guys."

"That's right, they also answer to Koga, Ukita, and Takeda." Kisara named them. "As of right now, I plan on sicking the three of them on you, if you manage to beat them, then I'll fight you myself."

"Heh, so you're testing me?" Shirou asked, slightly amused.

"Think of it more like a challenge." Kisara responded with a smirk.

"Fine then, I accept your challenge, Kisara Nanjo." Shirou returned her smirk with his own.

After those words, Shirou turned around and walked towards the exit.

"Let's go, Kenichi." Shirou instructed him.

Kenichi quickly followed after him and they made their exit. Kisara just watched them leave, never taking her eyes off of Shirou.

After leaving the building, Shirou and Kenichi were outside, walking away and not talking as they walked. After a few minutes, Shirou decided to break the silence.

"Okay, I'll just say what we're both thinking…" Shirou proclaimed before saying it. "She was really hot."

"That not what I was thinking at all!" Kenichi loudly snapped at him.

"You weren't?" Shirou asked thinking it was odd. "What you don't like red-heads?"

"Would you take this seriously?" Kenichi asked incredulously. "After today we're not only going to have a bunch of rough Delinquents after us but some that know Martial Arts as well."

"I know that that's why I warned you to leave it to me, speaking of which—Why did you show up?" Shirou asked more curious than before. "I didn't want to bring it up in the middle of the fight, but it's weird how you suddenly decided to man up like that, so what changed your mind and made you decide to fight?"

Kenichi smiled before he answered. "Well, it was thanks to Akisame-sensei."

"What, you actually understood his crazy proverbs?" Shirou asked surprised.

"Not those!" Kenichi denied before he continued. "It's just, he helped me realize something, you were right about me only learning Martial Arts to protect myself, but just because that's the reason I started doesn't mean I should stop afterward." He then looked up at him with acceptance. "I now know for sure, I want to be a Martial Artist and I'll stick to that no matter how hard things get."

Shirou processed his words and felt satisfied with them. "In that case, you can start by helping me take out Ragnarok."

"Yeah, you got it…" Kenichi said enthusiastically before he stopped and thought about something. "Speaking of which; I still don't get why that girl just decided to let us go, I mean despite what she said, I really thought she was going to fight you back there."

"It's because there were two of us back there." Shirou began to explain. "Truth is, the whole time we were fighting those grunts, she kept her eyes focused on how we fought. In the end, because neither of us used any Martial Arts techniques, she assumed we were both hiding our strength from her and that made her unable to get a good grasp on how strong we actually were."

"But I wasn't trying to hide my strength." Kenichi pointed out. "I just don't know any techniques… Well, aside from the stepping method."

"I know, it was true for me but she had the wrong idea about you, still the misunderstanding that helped us out." Shirou told him. "In Kisara's mind, she was facing against two unknowns whose full strength she had no idea of knowing, against those odds she decided to put the fight on hold, on the other hand, if she sent some strong members of her gang to fight us she could figure out how we fight and how strong we are before taking us on herself."

"I guess that makes sense, but what if we can't beat her members?" Kenichi asked.

"Then she'll decide we aren't worth her time." Shirou answered him. "She wasn't kidding about the part where she wanted to fight someone who was worth it or the part where she was challenging me."

"But, do you think you could beat her?" Kenichi asked wanting to know.

Shirou sighed. "Well, who knows? I've never met someone I didn't think I could beat, but she's different from almost any I've fought, no doubt she's tough, even by mt standards."

"I thought was going to say he'd win for sure, like usual?" Kenichi thought surprised by his answer. "I guess Ragnarok really is strong."

"Still though, our fights are only going to get harder and you still need a lot of work before you ready to fight more than just grunts." Shirou informed him. "You'll need to get much stronger."

"Yeah, I know." Kenichi responded before looking forward. "I'll train as hard as I can to make myself strong enough to help you beat them."

After that, both of them made their way back to the dojo.

"Well, I must say I'm impressed, Kenichi. I'm glad that you've fully committed to training yourself in Martial Arts and because that is the case, it seems like we'll be able to go into more serious training very soon…" Akisame spoke to Kenichi in a calm manner before he paused. "That doesn't mean you can slack off with your current training! Now run faster!" He yelled.

Right now Kenichi was once again running a long-distance while having tires tied to his waist along with having to carry Akisame on top of the tires, not to mention Akisame was whipping him as he ran.

"Do I look like a horse to you?!" Kenichi angrily shouted while running.

"No! A horse would run faster!" Akisame shouted as he started whipping more frantically. "Now shut your mouth and move your legs!"

"AAAHHHHHHH!" Kenichi bellowed in pain.

And that's the chapter. As you saw, Shirou completely destroyed Tsukuba which surprised no one but Kenichi, I wanted it to be the moment where Kenichi finally realizes how amazing Shirou is considering, up until now he only knew Shirou was 'strong' but not 'how strong' he was. And yes, he's never seen him really fight because, well since Kenichi is afraid of Delinquents it's obvious he wouldn't want to be around when a fight was going on.

As for the talks Kenichi had in this chapter, I wanted to add a little duality in his character to help him grow as a person. Shirou told him the truth he needed to hear so he'd understand his lack of conviction and commitment and Akisame taught him he's still able to grow and he should look forward to what he can be instead of looking back at what he isn't. With those meaningful conversations, Kenichi was able to find his own resolve and chose to go into this fight instead of being forced into it against his desires, which I think is a better development for his chapter.

And I decided to have Shirou meet Kisara right away because I thought it was better than just endlessly beating her grunts and hoping the problem would go away, now they've officially challenged Ragnarok and the story can move to a more interesting Act. Shirou will have a real fight with Kisara at some point, but that'll come later.

Anyways thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, if you want more then be sure to leave a review, if you liked the story click the follow/favorite, and as always have an awesome day.