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'To be honest, I hate pain.
Pain in general, not just when it comes to Martial Arts.
But when it comes to Martial Arts specifically, what I really like, is to win.
Success, Victory, Triumph, Conquest.
But not just win, but to excel, to overcome, and to surpass.
Whenever I felt that I'd been strong enough to just lay back and chill with my life, reality quickly comes to slap me back to thinking straight.
Like lately, I started to realize, that if I want to get far and get stronger, I gotta suck it up, and keep fighting on.
After all, with the talent I possess, I'm sure I'll see results if I keep working at it.
Which in turn, leads me to my next question.
-Why do I want strength?
That's what Shintarou asked me during our first training session
And my answer...?
To get whatever I want, of course. There was no point in lying after all.
And what I want... Is Power.
The power to make my life go the way I want it… Or at least have a hand in how it goes.
And likewise, that's the reason why I fight...
Simple, right?
Or rather, I think it is...'
-Myoujou Kurogami's Journal Entry (Excerpt), 2002-
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-Two Hours Ago-
-Ruined Kuremisago Manor-
-Saiga Furinji.
The son of an incredibly reputable man with few who could match his martial prowess within the Martial Arts World named Hayato Furinji; The Invincible Superman.
Trained rigorously since young by his Father and late Mother in the Furinji Clan Hybrid Martial Arts and the ideals of the Katsujinken/ Life Saving Fist, the ideal of one dedicating their lives to Martial Arts to abstain from the act of taking a life under no circumstances, Saiga would go on to spread his name throughout the annals of the Martial Arts Community.
And just like other ambitious men and women throughout the ages, Saiga possessed a goal of his own, an ideal of sorts he wished to bring to fruition.
These same ideals were as present as they could be even before he touched down on the soil of the Kuremisago Clan, nearly a decade ago when he received a less-than-stellar welcome due to the climate of the clansmen back then.
-Well, 'less-than-stellar' would be quite the gross understatement, wouldn't it?
Truthfully enough though, were he not stronger than his foes at the time, he would've been nothing but another bloody corpse under the hill of corpses slain by the Kuremisago over the years.
But looking back on it, he was able to meet the woman who would soon become his loving wife and the mother of his child.
For a guy who would most likely see nothing but fighting in his entire life, this seemed like the perfect happy ending didn't it?
'It's unfortunate that I couldn't get along with most of them, but this situation isn't so bad.' Saiga thought at the time.
'You win some, you lose some, I guess.'
And even as the years passed, his goals and ideals remained the same.
He wanted to use Martial Arts as a whole to find a suitable way to help the world, as ironic as it sounds.
-No one would willingly listen to any average shmuck on the street, would they? And especially one that has neither money nor power to their name at that.
'After all, where words fail, strength and kindness may just be able to make a difference.' That was what Saiga believed.
-But the question was and still is, 'How can we use that strength to help others?'
Saiga was well aware of the truths of the world, from the rotten side to its pleasant alike.
And because he was aware of said truths of the world he had reached a decision.
And that was the decision to join the group called YAMI.
Joining alongside his best friend Senzui shortly before he married the love of his life Shizuha, he wanted the group to function as a mostly non-aggressive pact, a peace-making organization that dedicated itself to helping others with nine of the strongest martial artists around the world alongside an extensive bond with martial artists from all over the planet.
-His goal was to use this group's strength to make a shocking difference in the world.
'Though… There's still a long way until our dream can fully start to bloom.'
Scouring through the several manors that stood on the Kuremisago Lands, Saiga was truly bewildered.
The falling ruined remains of what stood to be houses, corpses of men and women, old and young alike charred beyond recognition.
"What the…"
'These people, they aren't combatants…. They're civilians…' Saiga's blue eyes widened briefly in shock. That tall frame of his he used to quickly saunter through the Kuremisago Mountains came to an abrupt halt as he froze in place.
If it wasn't the smell of death itself emanating from each stretch of land throughout his brief journey then it was definitely these corpses lying about.
'The culprits of these acts… For what purpose would they have to go so far?' Saiga wondered as he clenched his fist tightly.
Something of this caliber, even for the Kuremisago that boasted of 'Talent, Power, and Logic over Emotions' would be considered overboard and needless.
An overly-gratuitous display of strength and cruelty.
'I need to get to the bottom of this immediately.' Saiga thought.
-cough!, cough!-
From just around the corner, someone could be heard heaving heavily in pained coarse bursts.
"Hmn?"
Swiftly rounding about the corner, Saiga soon found the source of the noise.
It was one of the Kuremisago Clansmen who fought alongside Saiga during this entire debacle. It wasn't someone Saiga knew personally, but if it was anything he was certain of, then it was the man's strength.
So to see him in this state...
"S-Sir Saiga…"
The clansman was inflicted with a variety of wounds, ranging from minor scratches, red-purple bruises, inch-deep slashes, and finally, a whole range of bullet wounds.
"Hey… They weren't any fighting that should be going on here… So how did this all happen?" Saiga asked as he knelt next to the clansman.
"Why…"
The clansman breathed out coarsely as if he was using all the strength in his body just to utter that single sentence.
"Why?" Saiga re-iterated the question. That was what he himself wanted to know, wasn't it?
"What?- What do you mean why?" Saiga asked once more, drawing a crisp breath that hung in the air through the increasingly plummeting temperatures of the Kuremisago Mountains.
"My wounds… the others… killed… Everything…. Even our own group… why..."
The clansman coughed. "Why…"
"!?"
He wasn't the smartest cookie around, but that didn't stop him from realizing something was amiss.
'Somebody is targeting the clansmen from our faction.'
Saiga tried to glean some information from the clansman as he attempted to patch him up. "It wasn't me who did all of this."
"Haah.. no need… these wounds… are too… grievous…" The clansman gave labored breaths.
Saiga thought as he grimaced, looking at the man before him whose wounds were too lethal to patch up.
-No matter what he did, this man was not going to survive till tomorrow.
But even then, he felt that he should at least try to patch him up, even if it was ultimately out of courtesy.
It was just something that he felt he needed to do.
"T-Thanks... Saiga… sir…"
"..." Saiga couldn't help but frown. "There's no need to thank me…"
"Hah… It's just me having my desserts for what I've done in my life… I never expected… to have a peaceful death after all…"
"..."
"Though… just when I was able… with the rest… to become something… other than a killer…"
"..."
The clansman began to blabber intelligible sentences as the light slowly left his eyes, and his body went still.
"..."
-sigh.-
"Damn it." All that was left in the frosty air was the tired sigh of Saiga. "The culprit. I really need to find the culprit of this. And while I'm at it, I need to find Senzui."
Closing the clansman's eyes, Saiga gave a short prayer for him before continuing on his way.
As much as he wanted to give the man a funeral, he knew that now wasn't the right time.
He didn't get much in the vein of information from the clansman and wasn't able to find much about what was happening, but from what little information he received, he got the gist.
-Someone was targeting them.
The Kuremisago they fought against was one that prioritized cold-hard 'Logic and Prowess' over the likes of warm-fuzzy 'Feelings and Emotions', to the point where they fought to eliminate everything out of their clansmen's life that didn't entail fighting and gaining power in an attempt to rise even higher than the esteemed heights they had gained within the Martial Underworld.
But even then, the likes of this— And to go after non-combatants as well…
So for that to change…
Either there is dissension within the ranks, or this is an order from one of the elders.
Picking up the pace, Saiga briskly went on his way as minutes continued to pass, searching for Senzui and where other allies or infighting could be.
The frisk temperatures of the Kuremisago Mountains continued to plummet as white snow matted the ground and trees around Saiga, but nevertheless, Saiga eventually reached one of the places he planned on checking out.
"This…"
What entered Saiga's eyes, was the same as the previous buildings.
-Destruction.
Thanks to the snow, the flames that once raged on various sections of the buildings were slowly dying, fizzling out of their fierce dance as the charred remains of wood and surrounding dead bodies lay strewn about.
"Not this again." Saiga frowned.
'Was anyone left alive through here?'
And soon enough he would find his answer.
-rustle, rustle-
Walking through the damaged manor gates were two figures, a somewhat familiar master and unfamiliar disciple pair.
The master of the pair was a man who stood well over two hundred centimeters, easily past the six-foot-seven area even. He wore an ordinary black tracksuit, and had shaggy black hair that rested above his shoulders, not to mention his lazy brown eyes that seemed to take everything in stride, not having a care in the world as he moved his gaze towards Saiga.
To Saiga, if it wasn't for the sheer amount of muscles the man had underneath the tracksuit or the pressure that emanated off of his being that just screamed about his strength, he would've probably believed that he was just some tourist somehow visiting the Kuremisago Mountains, due to how out of place the man felt with the current general climate.
That man was no one else but Shintarou Satou, the man who carried the epithet of 'The Phantom Titan'.
They had met occasionally during missions, mostly on opposing sides, and though they couldn't be considered friends thanks to their incredibly opposing viewpoints on life itself, they still could find it in themselves to work together on missions with objectives that didn't clash with each other.
And for his disciple…
Frankly speaking, Saiga had a feeling of deja-vu whenever he looked at the boy.
Or rather to be specific, he felt that he met someone that looked rather similar to him.
Was it the wavy mess of black hair of his that seemed darker than the night itself? Or maybe even the boy's amber-brown eyes that shone like gold?
The boy seemed young, not a day over the age of thirteen, and stood about one hundred and seventy centimeters tall, around five-foot-seven with tan skin and a well-trained physique that stood out even with his baggy red coat, perhaps even more due to the accumulating nicks and tears that lined it causing even more skin to be shown.
To Saiga, this kid seemed to have a chip on his shoulder, yet to finish growing into his skin as he had lots of things on his mind, appearing to be on guard against almost everyone.
And with the boy's thick black eyebrows with a sharp look in his brown eyes of his, the kid gave off a strong feeling of stubborn determination.
How his life would play out, however— was left to be seen.
Moving towards the two, Saiga had just one thought on his mind
'Is it possible that these two might have some knowledge of this mysterious killer of ours?'
Probably not, but Saiga felt that it wouldn't hurt to ask.
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-Present Time-
Things always seemed to take a surprising turn when it came to Myoujou.
When he first started to go out on missions alongside Shintarou, things would never go according to standard protocol.
-Embark on a mission, help complete it before suddenly everything goes to hell, and chaos ensues.
And likewise with this mission, the same had also happened.
'The job this time was; 'Provide assistance to the Kuremisago Rebels for a short duration of time'. But who would've known that things would've also gotten like this?'
'What's next? Are there going to be any espionage-type fellas we have to fight? Is some snake spy-guy going to sneak by in a box? Or maybe we might fight cyborgs and oversized mecha? Now that is something I'd like to see.' Myoujou wondered.
But as he left the ruined manor, his thoughts came to an abrupt change as he came across a certain figure walking towards them.
"Well if it isn't lover-boy extraordinaire, Saiga Furinji." Shintarou drawled as Myoujou narrowed his eyes at the tall blonde martial artist.
'This guy... he feels different... Way different than the rest of those losers we just fought earlier...'
It felt out of the ordinary for him, but for some reason, he felt that he wanted to fight this person in front of him.
"Hey, Shintarou," Myoujou said. He didn't know what exactly it was, but a strong 'persuasion' within his head occurred, and he had the exact opposite of a bright idea that an outsider in the snowy mountain lands could have when they came across someone else.
"You don't mind if I..." Myoujou tensed his muscles as he cracked his knuckles.
"Hmmn…" As if he knew what was on his mind Shintarou took a brief glance at Myoujou as he shook his head, signaling; 'go-ahead'.
"Gotcha." Myoujou muttered before walking to meet Saiga.
The two started to walk towards each other, Myoujou and Saiga, and at any moment, they'd be less than a hand's breadth from each other.
Various thoughts ran through both of their heads as they neared each other, each thought wondering just what was the other truly up to.
'This Old Man…'
'This boy…'
A couple of steps later from the two brisk walkers they then found themselves standing less than six feet away from each other.
In a world ransacked by a spreadable virus, this would definitely be breaking some form of safety protocol.
Myoujou felt that something about this man was odd. This man in front of him felt different somehow.
From his posture, breathing, and look, it looked like it was the standard way of doing it, but something still felt 'separate' from the others to him.
It was a form of 'Insight/ Common Sense' that he fostered over his stay within The Inside that helped save his life on many occasions, and because of it, Myoujou felt that he had become a pretty decent judge of someone's character and capacity for danger.
And for Myoujou, there was only one way to figure out if his assumption was correct
-Was it by asking 'Excuse me, have we met before? And are you apart of those fellas that tried to kill me?', and sorting out the would-be 'misunderstanding' like normal people by talking?
-No.
"!?"
-Swish!-
Myoujou's fist swiftly shot out from his side.
Its destination? Saiga's face.
Crossing his arms, a crisp sound rang within the mountains as Saiga blocked Myoujou's punch.
-'Sorting it out by talking'? That's too sensible. So sensible and filled with 'Common Sense' that it actually might not work.
In this case, the 'correct' way in this situation… was to just fight it out.
'I'm well aware that this man is a Master at Martial Arts... No, maybe even higher…' Myoujou thought as he swiftly attacked Saiga once more. 'And at my current strength, I might not even be able to accomplish much against him.'
'But even then..!'
"Wait, Are you-" Saiga tried to speak but was cut off by a kick aimed at his face again.
'Hmmn… How about this–!' Myoujou yelled internally, taking another step toward Saiga who took a step back.
And taking a giant breath, Myoujou leaned forward.
-Swiiiissshhhh!-
Myoujou moved at an impressive speed, zipping through the air as he closed in on Saiga.
-WATER MIRROR: TRACKLESS STEPS-
-To move and attack quickly and with a hurry, as if you were not only carried by the wind, but one with the wind itself. Such is the basis of the Mizukagami/ Water Mirror formation.
It was mainly a movement technique that consisted of incredible control of the body whilst utilizing the toes and the ball of the feet to help gain speed while traversing great distances.
'This kid… He isn't listening is he…?' Saiga wondered if his luck could get any worse today. He really didn't have much intent on fighting anyone now, but here he was stuck in this situation at the moment.
Dodging Myoujou's attacks, Saiga peered over at Shintarou only to see the giant of a man watching with his trademark lazy smile on his face. "Hey, don't you have any intentions of stopping this? I really don't want to fight you guys."
"Kids these days, am I right?" Shintarou shrugged as if it wasn't his problem. "They're all special, y'know. Whether just plain special, or special in the head."
'And what does that mean—?' Saiga thought in confusion.
'Here I go—!' After closing in on Saiga, Myoujou suddenly stopped as he positioned himself for what he was about to do next.
'Haaaaah—!'
And then…
-[WATER MIRROR: RIPPLING SPEAR KICK]-
-WHAM!-
Myoujou stepped forward and his right leg kicked off the ground, partly shattering the area beneath him in web-like patterns as he released a swift yet brutal front kick shooting straight like a spear, and though Saiga dodged out of the way, Myoujou's feet punctured the bark of a nearby tree causing parts of its bark where it hit to splinter off into different directions as it split violently, causing the tree to snap into two as it fell.
"Phew~ You've pretty good for your age, but seriously, I don't want to fight you." Saiga said. "I just want to ask some questions."
"I'm aware." Myoujou said. "And as for questions… So do I— That's why I'm trying to fight you."
Saiga looked at Myoujou as he sighed. "You know that doesn't make sense, right?"
"Yes." Myoujou responded.
"If so, then you shouldn't do-" Saiga was cut off by Myoujou shooting forth with his fingers aiming at Saiga's eyes.
Using the motion of his hand being deflected and his own flow of power, Myoujou spun using centrifugal force, and let out an elbow that once Saiga moved out of its trajectory dug through the tree barks upon impact.
Saiga sighed, he really didn't want to get caught up in this at the moment, but if it was the only way then...
'Sorry, but I'll have to…'
Saiga moved quickly towards Myoujou at a speed that he almost couldn't even react to and unleashed a barrage of strikes.
'Hoo— He's pretty fast…' Myoujou thought. 'But none of these punches… Hold any intent to kill within them.'
'That being said, there is one thing that these attacks hold in them...'
-WHAM!-
-It was a clean, swift punch to the gut that Myoujou just took in.
'And that is a whole lotta weight behind those punches.'
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Chapter 11: A Secret Storm Rages (REDUX) END
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This Fast-Paced Arc Is Soon To Enter Its Climax!
Now That Saiga And Myoujou Meet Up, Soon It Will Be Senzui's Turn!
As It All Comes Together, When This Arc Ends, I Plan On Doing Another Timeskip!
This Time, We're Timeskipping To Canon, Or Rather, The Beginning.