"I was kidding. Don't look at me like that." Finally, Shishio couldn't hold it anymore and decided to tell them that he was joking.
"..." Shiina and Tokugawa.
They weren't sure how they felt, but somehow they felt so complicated at that moment. When they heard Shishio's words before, they felt that he really could achieve his dream, but when he told them that he was joking...
They somehow felt he played them.
Looking at Shiina, who pouted, Shishio laughed and hugged her with his arms. He then looked at Tokugawa and asked, "Can you set up the match on Wednesday?"
"I can even set the match for tomorrow!" Tokugawa said without hesitation since the one who was the most impatient to watch Shishio's fight was him.
"No, I have a promise with my girlfriend to go to karaoke tomorrow," Shishio said.
"........" Tokugawa.
"By the way, you're the only audience, right?" Shishio asked.
"What are you talking about? Of course, the seats will be fully seated!" Tokugawa said without hesitation.
"........" Shishio.
"Shishio-kun, do you know how famous you are? Even if we set up the match tomorrow, a lot of people will come without hesitation," Tokugawa said.
After his match with Kanoh Agito, Shishio instantly became a celebrity on the underground fighting circle in this country. After all, he had defeated Kanoh Agito, and his face was also so handsome that he had a lot of female fans.
Tokugawa was sure that even if he announced Shishio's match tomorrow, the seats would be fully seated.
"......"
"I don't really mind, but can you spare me a few empty seats?" Shishio asked.
"Sure." Tokugawa nodded and asked, "Who are you going to invite?"
"My girlfriends and my maid," Shishio said.
"......" Tokugawa felt the malice of the world.
"My opponent is Kaiou Retsu, right?" Shishio asked once again, trying to remember what kind of person Kaiou Retsu was.
"That's right." Tokugawa nodded. "Kaiou Retsu is a very accomplished fighter of Chinese Kenpo. When he knew that you were a Bajiquan practitioner and also had defeated Kanoh Agito, who was known as one of the strongest Chinese martial art users, he showed a lot of interest and had an intention to fight with you."
Kanoh Agito was also a Chinese martial arts user and a strong one at that, but it was normal if he was strong since he was the champion of the Kengan Match, and if he wasn't strong, he wouldn't be the champion.
"Ok." Shishio nodded, but then he said, "But I might disappoint you since I might not use a Bajiquan."
"........"
"Huh?!" Tokugawa was dumbfounded.
Shiina didn't say much, but she just looked at Shishio curiously. She knew that Shishio was a Bajiquan practitioner, and at the same time, she remembered that he wanted to learn aikido. "Did you learn Aikido, Shishio?"
"Eh? Have you visited Shikubawa?" Tokugawa quickly asked.
Before Shishio asked Tokugawa to introduce him to the aikido master, Tokugawa introduced him to Gouki Shibukawa. Still, it had been a while since he had given Gouki Shibukawa's contact and address, but he had never heard any news from Shibukawa that Shishio had come to Shibukawa's dojo, which made him confused. After all, he knew that Shishio hadn't visited Shibukawa.
However, when Tokugawa thought about Shishio's concealment skill, he wondered whether Shishio had secretly observed Shibukawa's training.
"No, I'm going to use Taekwondo," Shishio said.
"........"
Tokugawa looked at Shishio, wondering whether he had misheard something. He rubbed his ears for a moment and felt a bit annoyed that he started to get old, but...
"Taekwondo?" Shiina was confused.
"Yes, it's Taekwondo," Shishio said.
"Um, Shishio-kun, why Taekwondo?" It wasn't that Tokugawa was looking down on Taekwondo, but in the actual combat, he felt that Taekwondo was useless, and even though he didn't say much, he looked down on this martial art a bit since when it was compared to both karate and kungfu, this martial art was too young!
Kungfu, or Chinese martial art, had been developed for 4,000 years, and karate had been developed for 500 years. But, on the other hand, Taekwondo hadn't even reached a century!
There were a lot of strong martial artists in the Underground Arena, and each of them had used various martial arts, and Tokugawa also had seen a strong Taekwondo user but compared to both Chinese martial art and karate, in the eyes of those powerful people, Taekwondo was simply an acrobatic move, it was merely a joke in front of other martial arts.
Shishio didn't blame Tokugawa that much, even though Taekwondo seemed cool since they could use their feet well, but compared to hands, there was still a distance how versatile humans could use their feet just by training, compared to when someone used their hands.
A kick might be three times stronger than a punch, but even so, it needed a lot of movement to use it. In that process, a lot of things could happen, whether they were pushed to the ground, their feet being caught, or anything, which was why it was normal for Tokugawa felt that bit worried by Shishio's choice, and he also didn't know how strong Shishio's Taekwondo was.
Shishio was famous for his Bajiquan techniques, and suddenly he told them that he would use Taekwondo?
If it was someone else, Tokugawa might get angry directly, but it was different with Shishio since he could see that Shishio was a genius. For someone who could practice Bajiquan to Shishio's extent, and defeat the strongest fighter on the Kengan Match, if he was asked how strong Shishio would be if he practiced Taekwondo, then he would be lying if he didn't feel curious.
However, it was different now!
Shishio was about to face one of the strongest fighters on the Underground Match!
More importantly, Tokugawa didn't want to see Shishio play around in this sacred arena!
Tokugawa thought that Shishio had just learned Taekwondo, and Shishio might have gotten smug by winning against Kanoh Agito and tried to learn other martial arts half-heartily. However, it was normal for him to doubt Shishio. After all, Shishio was just a 15-year-old boy, and even if Shishio's talent was strong, there was no way for him to believe Shishio could develop a Taekwondo into a master level.
Shishio's talent in Bajiquan was so scary. So why should he waste his time on Taekwondo?
Tokugawa couldn't help but pity Shishio and felt that he should tell him that humans always had a limit.
Shishio didn't feel surprised by Tokugawa's reaction and said, "You just don't think that Taekwondo is a strong martial art, right?" It was normal to see someone who looked down on Taekwondo since most of the users of these practitioners couldn't even use them in the fight. As for someone who could use them in a fight, compared to the number of Karate, Boxer, Muay Thai, even Silat, the number of those fighters who used Taekwondo was small, and they also weren't that strong either. The reason why they were famous was that it was pleasing to see them in a fight since their kick techniques were beautiful.
"......" Tokugawa.
"Then do you want to see it?" Shishio suddenly asked.
"What?" Tokugawa was dumbfounded.
"Do you want to see how strong the Taekwondo that I have developed?" Shishio asked.
"I...." Tokugawa became even dumbfounded.
"You want to see it, Mashiro?" Shishio asked.
Shiina nodded without hesitation. "I want to see." She hadn't seen how strong Shishio was, and she was also quite curious at how strong Shishio was while she also wondered what kind of martial art Taekwondo was.
Shishio nodded, then let go of Shiina, distanced himself from Shiina and Tokugawa, then used his "Taekwondo Mastery," showing it to both of them.
When Shishio started to move, even though Tokugawa and Shiina hadn't seen him use an attack technique, they were a bit dumbfounded by his movement technique since it felt like he had created multiple afterimages!
In the eyes of others, Shishio was just walking, without any sounds, but the truth, he was moving at fast speed and in a manner that could confuse the enemy's rhythm, which caused them to see his afterimages.
"See? It's interesting to know what you can do with your feet, right?"
Shishio's voice reverberated through the octagonal arena.
"Is this a Taekwondo technique? Why does it feel like an assassination technique?" Tokugawa was at a loss, but at the same time, he was also fascinated!
"Then, since it is Taekwondo, should I show you a kick technique?" Shishio stopped then asked.
"Yes, yes!" Tokugawa forgot that he doubted Shishio before and just watched this movement technique. He had just fallen in love and wanted to see him fight as soon as possible!
Taekwondo versus Chinese Kenpo!
Tokugawa wanted to see it!
Shishio took off his shoes since he didn't want to destroy them, then after taking some distance from both Tokugawa and Shiina, he planted his feet firmly to the ground, breaking it, before unleashing a shockwave-backed kick!
*BOOOOM!*
".............." Tokugawa and Shiina.
Shishio didn't look at the result of his kick, put on his shoes again, and walked to Shiina. "Tokugawa-san, I'll go back first."
"Oh - oh..." Tokugawa nodded dumbly.
"Let's go back, Mashiro," Shishio said.
"Um." Shiina nodded and let him carry her.
"Wait, let my ---" Tokugawa wanted to say something, but then he saw them had disappeared so suddenly.
".........."
Tokugawa let out a long sigh and felt so cold at that moment. He felt that Shishio was quite scary since Shishio could disappear without anyone noticing as long as Shishio wanted to. Luckily, they weren't enemies, so he walked toward the result of Shishio's kick.
'Is he really a human?'
Looking at the part of the destroyed octagonal wooden arena and a huge fissure on the ground, Tokugawa felt that his legs trembled, and he was amazed by Shishio's power. Still, at the same time, he really anticipated the fight on Wednesday.
---
The location of the Underground Arena wasn't that far from Sakurasou since it was located in Bunkyou.
There were only tens of kilometers between Sakurasou and Bunkyou.
It might be long-distance for some people, but it wasn't for Shishio.
Shishio jumped from one building after another while carrying Shiina in his arms, moving silently and swiftly.
Shiina, who was in Shishio's arms, was amazed by the sight before her. It was so breathtaking, watching the sight of the town at night mixed with various dazzling lights from vehicles and buildings. She also realized that even though it was night, the town hadn't slept yet.
"Should we stay here for a moment?" Shishio asked.
"Um." Shiina nodded without hesitation.
On the top of the building at night, Shishio was hugging Shiina from behind, watching the scenery tonight.
Shiina, who was being hugged, blushed, then looked at Shishio's handsome face in a daze.
"What's wrong?" Shishio asked.
Shiina recalled this gentle side and his fierce side that he showed on the car, mixed together, standing on the top of a building and the arena, feeling that she should put his image into a painting somehow. She also couldn't help but recall when he declared his dream before.
"Should we go back now?" Shishio asked.
"Um." Shiina nodded as she hugged him. "Let's go back, Shishio."
The way Shiina hugged him was a bit different somehow, but Shishio could smell an intense smell from her and knew what she wanted. He didn't hesitate to carry her and sprinted toward Sakurasou since, as a man, there was something that he must do tonight.