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"Another day, another failure.
One of my goals you see, was to defeat 'Satou Shintarou', the guy that took me on as a disciple(my words, not his). And even though three years had come and passed, I haven't even gotten anywhere closer to surpassing him.
I mean, duh, the guy's my teacher(my words again, not his) for a reason, but still…
Remembering one of the multiple moves I've been learning from the Tenrai Shikyo-ken for about three years now, and the inconvenience/pain of having to experience what it could do firsthand, I can't help but shiver when I remember it.
Shikyo, huh... In this context it means four mirrors, since it was named after a collection of historical Japanese events, but at the same time it can also mean 'death'...
Didn't know Satou, or as he told me to call him 'Shintarou' was the reading kind of guy...
Then again, those books he gave me had to come from somewhere...
And judging by the spicy nature of them, I can sorta attach the lines together...
But anyways, me shivering isn't just because I've been living in the freezing Russian winter for a few months with the only clothes to wear being my underwear.
Well… Maybe that too, but I've somehow gained a tolerance to the cold, so it doesn't bother me that much anymore.
-[SNOW-PIERCER]-.
-One of the moves that I've been learning, and one of the moves that recently done me in as soon as it hit me.
According to Shintarou, it was named after that a blade called 'Yoroi- dōshi' (Mail/Armor-piercer), and it was a move that looked annoyingly simple but was actually hard to pull off.
-'Using force to attack and penetrate the insides of the opponents' body.'
-A 'soft blow' of sorts.
Though I'm not sure if 'soft' is the word I'd use.
"It's really simple!" Shintarou would say. But blocking against it is a real pain in the ass.
I mean, when you block a punch, you don't expect to get hit as if you've never been blocking in the first place, right?
When I was back at The Inside I was always wondering why the hell it was named something so soft like 'Snow-piercer', when for me to train to use the damned technique I had to constantly bash my mangled fists into hard surfaces.
And, because I couldn't block it properly I got sent flying off a cliff into freezing water.
-Yay me, huh.
But I'm not gonna complain all day. I gotta get to practicing it.
Now that I think about though, not including my losses to the old man, I think I've grown quite a bit, and to be honest, I might not be unstoppable yet…
-But I'm feeling pretty good about myself. And I'm sure that I'll pull it off someday. "
-Myoujou Kurogami's Journal Entry, 2002
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-Japan, 2002.-
"Huuf, Haaah…"
Sitting in a lotus position Myoujou inhaled and deeply exhaled for about five to ten minutes as he was trying to gain a relaxed state of mind.
You see, the Tenrai Shikyo-ryu (Heavenly Four Mirrors Style) style of Mixed Martial Arts that Shintarou had compiled was full of wonder as Myoujou would realize the more he learned about it.
According to Shintarou, it was derived from techniques he learned many years ago as he tried to push his techniques in a new direction, stretching them as far as he could.
It was made as a mixed-martial arts style used to adapt and overcome the many foes and opponents that the user might face, no matter how strong or unpredictable they may be.
And what he just performed was separate from all four categories, being a breathing exercise named [VOID].
[VOID] was a breathing exercise similar to Ibuki breathing and neigong, hailing from Japan, China, and other Eastern Asian countries respectively, which involved deep exhalations through increasing the abdominal pressure, and focusing awareness towards the body's meridians.
Not only was it used as a means of relaxation, concentration, and internal regulation, but also for the matter of Ki.
However the main purpose of this exercise specifically for Myoujou was to obtain an optimal state of mind and to achieve clarity through mental and psychological strength.
-Mental strength at an unshakeable level!
For Myoujou, who was still very much a child, this was what he needed in addition to physical strength.
"Haaah…." Myoujou exhaled sharply.
"Learning how it works by doing it myself is way easier than learning by hearing how it works."
"Haah... Shintarou... I'm ready."
They had just gotten off a boat to Japan a few hours earlier and were heading towards a certain forest with haste.
Silently walking with brisk steps they continued onwards after finishing one of Myoujou's 'Learn-On-The-Go' training sessions.
In these sessions Shintarou would take a more laid-back approach, sitting back and letting nature take its course, only to step in if the chances of death for his disciple were final and imminent.
-Over the years this would mean a lot of life-or-death altercations for the young Myoujou, but luckily he survived, hence the reason he was still here alive and kicking today.
And for someone like Myoujou, this was just as practical of a method as one could be since it brought him great profits and awareness.
However, as it should be said, such methods definitely wouldn't be applicable for many other people, and may even be frowned upon.
Myoujou however seemed to have gotten a lucky break where he was finally able to change into clothes ever since leaving the 'fun', yet drearily frigid place that was the Oymyakon climate.
And as far as clothing was concerned, Myoujou kept it simple by wearing a white shirt, plus black trousers and shoes. In addition, he wore a red coat with a hood, which would usually obscure his face to some degree.
-Nice and simple. Just the way he preferred it. After all, he was most likely going to someplace in which his fists would be doing the majority of the talking, so why dress extravagantly?
Funnily enough, though, he had a pair of gloves he kept on him for when it gets colder as it was a gift from the Oymyakon village settlement children.
The thing was, that in the third week of endurance training, they had banded together to get him a gift for playing with them and helping them out on occasion; a gift of warm fur gloves.
But in the end, they had gotten it wrong and instead gave him leather gloves.
But as he looked at the expectant faces of the children waiting for praise, he couldn't get fussy about the fact that it was leather and not warm fur.
It wasn't as if he got gifts to begin with, anyways. So he saw no reason to be picky.
'Well, they at least got their heart in the right place. Also, It's not like me to look a gift horse in the mouth, so why bother?' Myoujou thought at the time.
In truth, he had no problem with it, because in the end, Myoujou was ecstatic to be able to receive a gift of some kind.
After all, before he met Shintarou within The Inside, the only presents he ever got was from his mother, and creepy folks who were trying to force him to sample their 'candy cane' and 'natural protein sauce' to his unwillingness and disgust as he booked it from their general vicinity.
Shintarou on the other hand, well, wore whatever he found comfortable at the time, so a grey coat over a shirt and pants was what he wore.
Following Shintarou as he walked through the forest path, Myoujou's body tensed heavily as he looked around. 'Something's not right…'
With heightened senses due to years of harsh conditioning and training, Myoujou was instantly alarmed as he got into battle position.
Shintarou however, looked on knowingly with a small smile sketched on his face.
'It's a person coming from the south, and he's pretty fast too… Your average top-tier olympian athlete would've been left in the dust long ago if they were running against this guy...' Lowering his center of gravity, everything in his surroundings seemed to have slowed down as Myoujou entered a state of hyper-awareness, waiting for whoever was about to appear.
'Fifty meters… Thirty meters… Almost there…'
-SWIISH-
'I can smell them… They're strong. About as strong as I am, maybe even stronger. And faster too. However, that's not the point. It seems like they want a fight, so I just need to win, not contest them. I'll have to rely on defense and I'll grapple them down.'
'Though, grappling isn't really my strong suit…' Myoujou wryly smiled. As it would seem the dream of being perfect and invincible was still far away for him. 'Who knows? After this trip, it probably will be.'
-SWIISH-
'Five meters left…'
He could see the silhouette of the approaching figure, dashing around and in between the trees as they attempted not to be spotted, but with Myoujou's vision, he could see them clearly.
'Almost there… He's coming with a low kick and then a straight-punch…'
And two meters, Myoujou finally made his move.
'-Now!'
No, rather, he countered the move of his would-be assailant.
Looking at the motions of the unknown attacker, Myoujou realized that the man's intent was directed at him and not Shintarou.
'I see, maybe they're trying to get rid of a weak link or something.' Myoujou thought. He agreed that fighting a 'Disciple' in a life-or-death situation would be much more preferable to fighting a 'Master' even if the disciple was a strong one.
'But-!' Using his senses to their highest, Myoujou had exploded forward speed as he lunged at his attacker. 'I might be weaker than Shintarou all right, but that doesn't mean just anyone can work me over like pair of butter biscuits-!'
The namesake of Tenrai Shikyo-ryu (Heavenly Four Mirrors Style) was based on the four Japanese historical stories of fantastical nature written from the late Heian period onwards. And each one of the four main forms was named based on stories of the Shikyo (Four Mirrors).
And according to Shintarou, these techniques were compiled in four separate formations whose names were based on historical documents called the shikyo (four mirrors)
Those four formations were;
-Ōkagami (Great Mirror), specializing in strong, heavy striking.
-Imakagami (New Mirror), which dealt with grappling techniques.
-Mizukagami (Water Mirror), dealing with quick maneuvers and attacks.
And the
-Masukagami (Clear Mirror), dedicated to defense.
Using a move from a form called (Imakagami/ New Mirror) which had deep roots in Ju-Jitsu and Judo, he planned to end this quickly.
His skills at applying this form weren't as fine-tuned as the others, but he still chose to use it.
'He's strong alright, but if I catch him once, then I can end it. And leave this battle the victor.'
-SWOOSH-
Dodging the arc of the leg with snake-like motions, Myoujou clasped onto the leg of the attacker with an increasingly sturdy grasp and locked it under his muscles near his armpit.
The move showed many of the same principles of a Judo throw, more specifically the move (Tai Otoshi/ Body Drop).
And using centrifugal force aided by his weight, Myoujou moved to not only sweep the attacker off his feet, but align his spine and skull to brutally slam him head-first onto the ground, snapping his neck instantly.
-[NEW MIRROR: SWEEPING SNAKE BIND]-
-WHAM!-
-SNAP!-
"!"
It was like the motions of a snake latching onto its prey only to then swing it back and forth as it sunk its teeth into it, aiming to devour its prey.
And as the dust had cleared somewhat, the figure that lay on the leaf-ridden trail path could be seen wearing what appeared to be some sort of shinobi gear.
"Hmmn? Hey Shintarou, look! A ninja…" Myoujou exclaimed. "Holy crap! Just how tight is his bodysuit!? I can literally see his crotch-print!"
For some reason, he didn't seem too displeased that some highly trained fighters just tried to beat him up out of nowhere. To Myoujou it was just the daily routine of 'If you exist, then other people that want to beat you up will exist too.'
It wasn't the most sane of beliefs, but it was Myoujou's, and Myoujou is a little bit special in the head when it comes to many things.
Peering at Shintarou from the corner of his eyes, Myoujou noticed that Shintarou was currently perched on the tree and he saw his amused expression as if to say; 'What are you waiting for? Continue.'
'Huh? There's more?' Myoujou looked ahead as he saw another person in similar clothes sprinting towards him. 'Ah, there's another one!'
Closing the distance between them, Myoujou dashed towards the man who arched and shot out with a fierce kick, aiming his leg at Myoujou's head.
"!"
But as Myoujou aimed for a takedown, the man had suddenly changed form, now launching a vicious-looking knee at Myoujou's face
'A feint?'
Closer and closer, what would be a sure knockout blow was flying towards Myoujou's face in the form of a swift knee.
If it were to connect, this fight would be over with Myoujou rendered unconscious.
However...
-FWIISH-
-A near miss.
Showing a display of great flexibility, reaction speed, and precise motor controls, Myoujou slid to the side mid-tackle, barely dodging the surprise knee attack, and escaping with nothing but a minor graze on his face.
-A few millimeters more, and it would've caused a broken nose.
-A few centimeters more, and it would've caused a complete knockout.
-It was a feat that most likely would've done irreparable damage to the old Myoujou.
In short, had it connected, Myoujou was sure that he would've taken a nap on the grassy forest floor.
'This guy…' Myoujou frowned. 'He's not bad... And he's fast too?'
'But… Nice try!' Now maneuvering behind the man, Myoujou retained focus as he grasped the man in a headlock, pressing down on his jugular in hopes of downing him.
The figure tossed and turned while thrashing around, trying to get Myoujou off of him, but it was to no avail as Myoujou firmly locked him in a hold.
'Almost there...' Myoujou thought as the man in his chokehold slowly lost the strength to resist him. 'He'll go night-night soon enough...'
But suddenly before anything else happened, Shintarou spoke out loud.
"So have you had enough yet?" Shintarou looked into the bushes up ahead.
Exiting the bushes, many cloaked figures wearing ninja garb trotted out as they were all fully armed to the teeth, with katanas, spears, kunai, and sickles.
"You must be the outsider hired by that clansman-murdering thief who brainwashed the princess!"
"Another outsider! Prepare to die!"
"You'll regret coming here, outsider!"
Without even listening to a word, they readied their weapons and pointed them at both Myoujou and Shintarou.
"Hey, Shintarou?" Myoujou narrowed his eyes. "What exactly was this gig that you picked up? 'Cause this doesn't look like a friendly reception no matter which way you look at it..."
"Tell me about it, kid...I got a call from a guy named Saiga Furinji that I ran into a couple of years back..." Shintarou murmured slightly amused by the group before him. "I assumed that he wanted help, but who knew that the situation was so messed up that I'd get intercepted by hostiles like this..."
It looked like this would be a long afternoon for the Master-Disciple duo...
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-Kuremisago Liberationist Compound-
There were simple yet homely buildings of oriental design with several clan members walking about surveilling the proximity.
It was a place where competition was normal, and any decision in the name of gaining strength was welcomed.
In the underworld, it was said that this clan has been continuously influencing the world in many ways unknown to even those in-the-know of certain topics.
In the past, they were said to pair people in the clan with only those with suitable genes in order to produce capable offspring, but with the turn of the millennium, such practices became uncommon.
With that being said, this should've been a long-gone issue with time, but in the case of Shizuha Kuremisago, now Furinji, many of those within Kuremisago Clan had reservations about allowing their princess to marry someone with too much power in his hands like Saiga Furinji.
Although he showed no signs of hostility towards the Kuremisago Clan, some clansmen still feared the possibility that such combined power of that man and a woman they venerated as a religious symbol might be pointed at them, so they disputed the marriage.
In the end, the Kuremisago would split into two factions over this dispute, some siding with the outsider Saiga, hoping to put outdated traditions of their clan in the past, and those who wished to protect those traditions.
The Kuremisago would then battle against one another to bring their goals to life, and while their infighting never made the news in the common man's world, it was all the rage in the underworld's news circuits.
And right now, in the base of those against the traditions, the Liberalists, those strong people were conversing.
"Lord Saiga was right! Eventually, if we can keep this up, we can finally settle this battle and move on with our lives!"
"Our new lives in a brand new Kuremisago Clan... Sounds great."
"Hey, is it true?" A clansman asked.
"About what?"
"About the bodies! They found the bodies of a few of our clansmen on the Traditionalist side, and they say that they got taken out by someone!"
"They're also saying, that the same person who's been sabotaging and leaking our plans about mercenaries, is the same person who is behind this!"
"Damn it! If that's the case, then that means that we have a traitor in our midst!? But who could it be!?"
"I don't know, but unless we want to bother Lord Saiga, Lady Shizuha, and Young Master Senzui, we should get to the bottom of this quickly!"
"Here, Young Master." A servant slid open a door to a meeting place that held about a dozen or so clan members comfortably.
"That's enough."
The arguing clan members immediately fixed themselves as they ceased the ruckus they were making just a moment ago.
The man who walked in was not any other member of the Kuremisago Clan who was strong, but in fact, one of the strongest as he was their heir and future leader of the clan.
He was a tall and muscular albeit slim man who stood around 190cm, with medium-length black hair that fell to his back with strands poking out on the sides of his head.
Wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a sash tied across his waist and a chain mail vest underneath with gauntlet bands around his arms and legs, he cut the perfect picture of your stereotypical ninja prince.
And although there was no grandiose pressure emanating from the man, he had a charismatic countenance and walked with a relaxed gait as if he had no worries.
But even then, everyone could tell that the aura this man gave off was monstrous.
-Monstrously competent and efficient.
And that man was Senzui Kuremisago
"This matter is a matter that I've personally worried over, but who would've known that it would actually be so easy to solve?" Senzui Kuremisago said. "This sabotage and pointless death toll that increases every day, it all could be stopped!"
"I've met with the elders, and we've discussed extensively as to what must be done to no avail." Ignoring the clamors in the room, he continued. "And in the end, there is only one viable solution to this war."
"Really?" A clansman asked. "And what would that be?"
"It would be a decisive, clear-cut victory," Senzui said. "Only when one side is completely annihilated, will peace truly come about."
A somber atmosphere drifted through the room, as they nodded in silence. They knew that if Senzui, the future heir of the clan couldn't get though the thick skulls of the Traditionalist Kuremisago Faction, then violence was the only way they would get the chance to change how they lived in the future.
"That way, after we end this battle before it takes away any more lives of the Kuremisago!"
"That's great! But where should we start?" Another clansman asked Senzui.
"That my fellow clansmen, is actually the easy part." Senzui said as he pulled out a blond wig similar in color to Saiga's hair.
"That's where your untimely deaths, for the sake of the Clan comes in."
-SHUNK!-
In the blink of an eye, Senzui dashes with footwork that almost appeared like he was teleporting and buried his fist deep into a clansman's heart.
"W-W-Why...?"
As the other clansmen recoiled in confusion, Senzui softly reassures the group.
"It's for the sake of the Kuremisago Clan. Be at peace, and die proudly." Pulling his bloody hand out of the chest of the bleeding-out clansman, he then turned to the rest of the members in the room.
"A few lives is nothing major, so won't you die for the future of the Kuremisago Clan?"
That night, the sounds of screams and wails could be heard throughout the entire manor as a bloody massacre took place.
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Chapter 7: Clan Drama (REDUX) END
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And So, The Plot Thickens!
And We Finally See Just A Little Glimpse Of What Myoujou Has Learnt.
I've Changed A Lot From The Previous Version, So I'm Excited To Show You All What I've Got In The Future...