Chapter Four
The days turns to weeks, and Summer comes to an end.
With the end of Summer Ryouga needs to return home to resume school, and he's feeling homesick by now. Not only his mother, but he also misses his father who should be back home by the time he returns.
Ryouga finishes strapping his bag tighly before walking towards the village entrance, where Shampu is waiting him.
"Hey, came to see me off?"
For the first since they meet, Shampu acts bashfully in front of Ryouga, making the lost boy worry a bit.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," the girl replies quickly, "I will just miss training with you, that's all."
"Yeah, it was fun training together with someone my age. Usually it's only my mother and I in the middle of nowhere."
She nods, awkwardly scrapping the ground with her feet.
"Here," Ryouga gives Shampu a piece of paper, "it's post box address. Since I travel a lot I can't reply too often, but I can at least send a letter back at least once a month."
Shampu jumps at the news, grabbing the address in Ryouga's hand with both of her hands, "really!"
"Really, and I might visit here in the future," Ryouga admits, "just don't expect the visits, sometimes not even I know where I end up."
The girl nods with a smile, before realizing she is holding Ryouga's hands.
"Say, Ryouga-"
"Get your filthy barbarian hands from Shampu."
Both Ryouga and Shampu turn towards Mu Tsu's voice, his tone uncharacteristically cold compared with his previous antics.
"Mu Tsu! What do you think you're doing?"
Much to the surprise of both Ryouga and Shampu, Mu Tsu's ignores his beloved question in favor of glaring at Ryouga with cold, caustic hatred.
Ryouga doesn't miss the hostility from the chinese boy, letting go of Shampu's hands and fully addressing Mu Tsu.
"What do you want, Mu Tsu?"
"I came here to issue a challenge to you, and since you're a barbarian it feels fitting that issue a challenge up to your level."
He throws a knife straight at Ryouga's chest, and the lost boy easily catches in an impressive display far beyond what's possible for seven year olds. Attached to the knife is a challenge note written formally in japanese.
"'Mu Tsu of the Juketsuzoku challenges Hibiki Ryouga, Son of That Woman, to a formal duel of honor, to be held as soon as the challenged acknowledges this challenge.'" Ryouga reads the challenge letter out loud for everyone to listen.
Looking up from the letter he notices that Mu Tsu's arrogant attitude is gone, replaced by cold focus and barelly restrained hatred.
"I accept this challenge," Ryouga eventually answers, "follow me, there's a good place for us to fight."
"Mu Tsu, stop! This isn't funny anymore!"
Despite the rules of the village, it still doesn't change the fact they're all children, and something deeply wrong is going on at the moment.
"Shampu," Ryouga interrupts the girl growing tirade, "go find Elder Kun Lun, I will deal with him until you come back."
The girl tries to protest, but after glancing at both boys she decides to run immediatelly.
Mu Tsu doesn't even spare a glance at his beloved's departure, focusing only on his target.
"Come, it shouldn't take long to get there."
Surprisingly Mu Tsu follows Ryouga without complaints, the two boys walking through the forest into a narrow pathway, making turns at certain trees, jumping over a small water stream and climbing over a large bolder to reach a nearby hill with a grassy top.
"Your stalling for time is pointless, Barbarian," Mu Tsu coldly informs Ryouga, facing his opponent across the hill, "Elder Kun Lun isn't in the village right now. There is no one to save you anymore."
"... I was expecting this, but I hoped I was wrong."
Ryouga sets his bag on the ground and raises his guard.
He will figure out who's behind this abnormal behavior later, right now he will focus on defeating the weapons prodigy in front of him.
Mu Tsu drops his arms to his side and his entire body relax, showing both fighters are ready for action at any moment.
Both of them stare at each other, keeping track of their opponents movement with all their focus!
This tenuous balance breaks with a blink, Mu Tsu disappearing from Ryouga's sight for an instant as the Japanese boy ducks a sword thrust towards his neck aimed towards his arthery.
With a heavy step Ryouga intercept following Saber strike, curbing the left uppercut with his own left hand and body slamming Mu Tsu away.
Mu Tsu flies back with a startled yelp, massaging his chest to lessen the pain from the powerful impact.
"You were holding back all this time!"
"Not really," Ryouga calmly replies, taking this opportunity to reaccess the situation.
'He is faster than before, and he isn't using dull weapons anymore. Grappling with him will be too dangerous since he can produce a knife with a flick of his fingers.'
Tsss!
Ryouga jumps and rolls away from the explosion under his feet, dirt and grass flying everywhere creating a diversion for Mu Tsu to attack from the blind spot.
Ryouga continues to roll away as flying knives hit the ground one after another not allowing him to defend himself.
Bringing qi to his hands he dig into the ground and pulls up a large patch of dirt and grass to act as a shield.
"That's useless!"
A bomb flies over the improvised wall intending on trapping Ryouga between the explosive and the charging mad boy, however things don't go as planned.
With one hand Ryouga quickly opens a hole in his "wall", and gently, but deftly, he snaps the bomb mid air and throws it through the hole directly into his opponent!
Blam!
The dirt wall splashes away after absorbing most of the impact thanks to the qi enhancement Ryouga used.
When the smoke clears out Ryouga almost takes a step back at the sight in front of him.
Mu Tsu is holding a broken shield with one arm, his left side behind the shield is riddled with purple flame-like patterns that are moving on their own accord, spreading and moving on Mu Tsu's skin. The left side of his face is mostly covered the same baleful patterns, and the sclera of his left eye became a pitch dark color, the iris of his left eye barely visible anymore.
"You bAstaRd! HoW caN a BrAT LiKE yOU USE Qi AlReDy?"
The dissonant words coming from Mu Tsu's mouth confirms his earlier suspicions.
"What am I fighting here, some wandering demon only strong enough to bully small children, or a lapdog sent by one of Elder Kun Lun's rivals?"
"SilENCE! I wiLL deVOUR YOU AND FEAST ON YOUR SOUL!"
"Shit!"
In an blink Mu Tsu is right in front of Ryouga, swinging a large claw made of numerous weapons held together by a purple aura, forcing Ryouga to raise up his arms to block the attack with Qi enhanced armored sleeves.
The impact sends him skidding on the ground with his arm guards worst for the wear yet still whole.
Thanks to his training Ryouga's body went limp allowing him to absorb the attack, otherwise he would be cut in half by now.
"IS THAT THE BEST YOU GOT?"
With a quickly depleting Qi reserve Ryouga knows he must finish this quickly, or else he will become that monster dinner.
[i]"Now dear," his mother asks with a smile, "do you know what is the best way to exorcise a demon?"
Ryouga shakes his head, honestly having no clue about the answer. In a world with magic and gods walking around, he can't think of any one definite answer.
"There are three methods to exorcise a demon, though they overlap to a degree. The first method is by using the Power of Faith, by calling the gods or spirits to smite the demon in your behalf; the second method is by using fire, as fire is considered an universal form of destruction, allowing its effect to transcend the boundaries of culture and Faith; the final method is through lightning, or thunder as some cultures called it, since the fear of storms and lightning is instinctive through almost all creatures on earth."
Ryouga nods.
"Right, if I can't use the Power of Faith then burn it down or electrecute it. Sounds simple enough."
"Very good dear, you caught on quick!" Hibiki Raikou gives her son a beaming smile, "now, which method do think I will teach you?"
"... I don't know mother, though I suspect it's not the Power of Faith."
His new family wasn't very religious in the first place, though his mother could still surprise him.
In response his mother raises her right hand and arcs of lightning dance across her fingers.[/i]
"Hah!"
Ryouga fists impact each other, as he goes through the motions his mother taught him recently.
Transform his qi into metal element, then split the flow into two forming a positive and negative charge between then that he cycles through his body.
From the impact of his fists sparks of electricity fly as the air starts buzzing.
"WhaT?"
Ryouga moves, and with a powerful step he closes the distance between between himself and the boy turned monster. With a fast swing his left fist impacts on the guard of the still human side of Mu Tsu, and he screams in agony from the blow.
Not letting it up Ryouga continues with fast, precise jabs to Mu Tsu's face, his opponent too stunnde to retaliate.
Mu Tsu's monster side reacts almost independently to his human side, swinging its massive claw after Ryouga, but Ryouga counters with an elbow swing towards the weapon mass, shattering the cohesion of the purple aura as pieces of metal and whole weapons fall to the ground.
Ryouga isn't left unscatted by this attack, as his forearm and elbow are cut and pierced by many blades by this maneuver, some of them cutting deep into his muscles.
Even if he wished, Ryouga can't use his left arm to block or deflect any incoming attacks.
That's why when the purple aura circles behind Mu Tsu's back to strike at Ryouga's left, Ryouga don't bother with defense.
He simply punches with all his might, expending as much qi as he dare for this.
Mu Tsu's is covered by lightning as the baleful aura is forcibly expelled from his body by Ryouga's vicious attack.
He falls on the ground unconscious, the last remnant of the lightning consuming the last of the baleful aura still clinging to the boy.
Ryouga still remains alert, watching his surroundings to make sure the demon doesn't sneak up on him.
"Ryouga!"
"Wha - Oof!"
Ryouga falls on the ground from the purple missile hitting him, reminding him of the pain in his left arm.
"Shampu, stop, PAIN!"
She quickly stands up, apologizing about her behavior before looking at her friend.
"What happened with Mu Tsu, did he do this?"
"He was possessed," Ryouga explains as he tries to stip up, "some kind of demon tried to use his body, but I managed to exorcise it."
"A demon, you say?" Ryouga looks up and see Elder Kun Lun approach, "to think she would sink this low to get back at me."
The elderly woman for an instant looks her age, look old and weak for the first time in Ryouga's eyes, but the moment quickly passes.
"At least I don't need to regret my decision anymore."
The village elder takes a small vial from her robes, "here, drink this. It will lessen the pain and stop the bleeding."
"Thank you," Ryouga gracefully accepts the medicine and drinks it at once.
"It's best if you return to the village for us to treat your wounds," at Ryouga's panicked face Elder Kun Lun reassures the boy, "don't worry, I will give you a medicine from my private collection that will bring you back on your feet in an instant, and the village will escort you back to the province capital for you. It's the least we can do after your help."
The japanese boy sighs in relief before falling off on the ground, closing his eyes just a bit to rest them.
<
...
"Here," Elder Kun Lun gives Ryouga a wooden box as a parting gift, "please share some of those with your family, when you can."
"Thank you, Elder Kun Lun. I'm sure my mother will like it."
Despite the years of experience, Kun Lun couldn't properly hide a wince when Ryouga mentions 'That Woman'.
"Also, thank you for accompanying me on the trip back home. I thought I would be cutting a little bit too close this time."
"Don't worry about it, young man, it was the least we could do after the trouble you were involved."
With a nod he turns to Shampu, who insisted on accompanying them. "Take care of yourself, Shampu, and I will send you letters whenever I can."
"En! Take care Ryouga," she hesitates for a moment before continuing, "one day we will have a proper rematch, and you better not lose on purpose!"
"Sure," Ryouga answers with an easy smile, "and you better not to lose to anyone else until then, got it?"
"Should I contact his family to make proper arrangements?" The elder woman teases the two while hidding her smile, enjoying the sputtered response of her great-granddaughter.
Eventually the pair returns home, and Ryouga manages to return home with a single day to spare.
...
With the summer break over Ryouga is back in school, and by some miracle he manages to get the right school on the first day.
The first thing he notices in the front gate is a pair of students, a girl with shoulder lenght hair and a boy with a star-shaped hairstyle.
"Wait, could those two be them?"
Choosing to observe the two kids interact Ryouga keeps his distance, using his enhanced senses to listen to them.
"Ahhh! This is too hard," the girl throws a Game&Watch console on the ground in a fit of anger before realizing what she did, "s-sorry, I-I d-didn't meant to!"
The boy didn't even hesitate to answer, simply laughing it off, "it's fine, that game was a bit too hard for beginners anyway," he picks up the console before giving her another one, "try this instead."
"You're still willing to lend one to me, after what I did with the other one?"
"Sure," the boy smiles, "it was just an accident, right? Anyone can get frustrated."
The girl shyly accepts the new game, "thank you, Yugi-kun."
"You're welcome, Anzu-chan."
'So it really was Yugi and Tea, or Anzu since we're in Japan,' deciding he saw enough Ryouga aproaches the two, 'and Yugi was a cinnamon bun from an early age, good to know.'
Before he could meet with them the school time rang, and with a sigh he turns towards his classroom.
Once seated, Ryouga blinks twice at the two familiar faces. Looking back he notices that both Jonouchi and Josuke are on their seats, meaning he didn't sit on the wrong classroom. "Did some of our classmates change classes?"
"Yeah, two students from our class transfered to another school so they brought from another class to even things out."
"Ah, makes sense, thanks Jojo."
The when everyone is settled on their seats the teacher calls the two newcomers. "Everyone, please say hello to your new classmates. They were on the class E before and now they join our class C. Please, introduce yourselves."
The first to stand up is the girl. "Hello, my name is Masaki Anzu, pleased to meet you all!"
Prompted by Anzu the boy shyly stands up. "Hi, uh, my name is Mutou Yugi, please take good care of me."
After their introduction class goes as normal, with most of the children holding back their curiosity until recess, and when it comes they swarm around the two to know more about them.
One thing became clear very soon: Anzu is much more popular than Yugi, despite the later shy attempts at talking with others.
Suddenly a voice calls out to Yugi, "hey, Yugi, nice to meet you. I'm Hibiki Ryouga."
Ryouga gives his hand for Yugi and he shakes it, glad to finally make a friend. "Nice to meet you, Ryouga-kun."
"How about I introduce you to my friends?"
"Sure, I'd love to!"
Leading Yugi towards the backs seats Ryouga spots Anzu detaching herself from the rest of the class to try and follow the shy boy, and Yugi quickly notices her presence to give her a grin.
"Hey, Josuke, Jonouchi, meet my new friend Yugi."
"H-hi, nice to m-meet you."
Josuke looks up from his magazine before pulling a comb from his pocket. "I know what you're thinking!"
"Y-you d-do?" Yugi asks surprised by Josuke's bold proclamation.
"You're thinking 'how come he can have a hairstyle as fabulous as mine', isn't that correct?"
Both Ryouga and Jonouchi facepalm at their friend antic, already used to it.
"Your hair is-"
Instantly Jonouchi slaps his hand over Anzu mouth, shutting her up. "Don't do it," he hisses, "he goes absolutely balistic if you diss his hair! He almost hit a girl before if it weren't for Ryouga! He goes so mad he can't even distinguish who he's beating up anymore!"
Anzu eyes widen and she slowly nods, Jonouchi slowly taking away his hand.
Meanwhile Yugi is entertaining Josuke, making sure the taller boy is paying attention to him.
"I'm sorry, I like my hair the way it is, but your hair looks really good on you!"
"I know right! It's awesome! But your hair isn't too shabby either, it have this 'protagonist' feel to it."
"P-protagonist? Do you really think so?"
"Yeah, take it from me Yugi! I, Jojo, am never wrong!"
"Except when he is," Jonouchi mutters under his breath, which Josuke promptly ignores.
"Hey Yugi, do you know how to play poker?"
Anzu narrows her eyes at the proposal from Josuke, thinking he's about to take advantage of her new friend.
"Why don't we all play to get to know each other?"
"Sure!" Yugi quickly agrees, "but it might take a while to play normal poker, so how about we play Texas Hold'em?"
"'Texas Hold'em'? What is that?" Anzu asks and Yugi quickly explains while taking the offered deck of cards.
"In this version of poker the dealer gives each player two cards and then flip three cards - the Flop - for everyone to see. The game progress making bets as usual, then the dealer flips a fourth card - the Turn - before the players making one last bet to reveal the fifth card - the River - and everyone compares their hands combined with the common cards to see who wins."
"You know a lot about games Yugi," Anzu replies to her friend, impressed with his knowldge.
"Hehe, my grandfather have a gameshop, so he taught me a lot of games."
"Great! That means we can play!" Josuke replies excitedly, ready to enjoy another bout of gambling.
"I don't think we should play this kind of game, though." Anzu is quick to remind them that they're underage and shouldn't gamble.
"Don't worry Anzu-chan, it's just some fun. You can be the dealer if you want."
"Well, if you insist."
Jonouchi turns to Ryouga, who is looking at the situation unfold with glee.
"... tell me, how screwed is Jojo?"
Ryouga simply similed sinisterly to his friend, and Jonouchi matched the smile with a cackle of his own.
...
"Alright, I'm going all in!" Only a few minutes remain before the end of recess and they all have to finish the game quickly.
"I fold," Ryouga quickly drops his cards, followed by Jonouchi.
"Yeah, I'm not doing this."
"Alright, I call."
Anzu flips the river and shows an Ace of Spade, "Showdown boys."
Jojo shows an Ace of Clubs and a Six of Hearts, combined with the communal cards he makes Full House. "Hah, I win!"
"Good play Josuke-kun!" Yugi replies exictedly while Josuke moves to take all the fake chips, "I only have a Seven of Spade and a Five of Spade myself!"
Josuke freezes and looks at the cards on the table, an Ace of Hearts, a Four of Spade, Six of Spade, and an Eight of Spade, and finally an Ace of Spade. With the cards on the table, Yugi just made a Straight Flash!
"Ohhhhh nooooooo~!"
"Hehe, good game Josuke-kun, but this time it's my win!"
Jonouchi looks at his own cards and let out a whistle, "wow, I almost got sucked into that. Remind me to never bet against you, Yugi."
Ryouga relaxes on his seat, before looking down on his desk and spotting a certain coloring book. "Say Yugi, did you lose a colloring book somewhere?"
"Coloring book?" Yugi thinks for a few moments before his eyes widen, "I-I don't t-think so?"
Ryouga pulls out the coloring book and shows it to Yugi, "so this isn't yours?"
"Ah," he timidly answers, "yes, it's mine. T-thank you for finding it for me."
"It's fine, don't worry about it. We're friends, right? It's only natural for friends to help each other."
"Y-yes, thank you."
Both Josuke and Jonouchi look strangely at Ryouga, as if asking 'were you still holding on that?'
Ryouga just shrugs at the two.
...