"AWAKEN"

••• ‡ •••

Once upon a time, I was lonely. Just a basic kid with a basic life. Then I thought, 'what really is the point of life?' 'Cause it seemed like I had no reason to live. Being an introvert really is a pain in the ass, but you'll grow to love the pain.

About a month ago, dad came up to me to have a talk…

"Now that you're all grown up, I think you're ready to give an answer, right?" he asked me.

"Oh dear God, we're doing this again?" I asked reluctantly.

"C'mon son, it's about time we got this over with."

"Alright, fine," I resented, sighing.

"Great!" he said, pleased with my decision. "Now tell me, what exactly is your purpose in life?"

"Hmm…." I thought. "As of recently?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Uhhh…. Hmm…. Let's see…. If I were to have one reason for living right now, it would perhaps be… to defeat Shujin-sensei in battle and prove that I'm not just a punching bag."

I meant that as deep as the depth of my soul.

"Huh... Well, if that's your purpose, you better start working towards it. Do your best for all of us, okay?"

I knew he was trying to be supportive. I could see it from his face how confused he was at my reply.

"Okay!" I concluded.

Honestly speaking, I didn't know why I said that. To begin with, I don't know why I say a lot of things. I was obsessed; constantly trying to figure out a way to beat him. But, little did I know that this obsession would open a door to a whole new world… a new beginning.

••• ‡ •••

Even before Shujin could react, Kai dashed up close to him after a single breath taken in by Kai. The result of the swift motion caused a brief rough wind.

Kai's voice modulated to a frightening tone as he spoke to his master.

"You let your guard down, old man. Attacking you then would have been boring 'cause then it would be too much of an easy win," he sighed. "I want you to think of me as a real opponent and come at me with all you got this time around."

Kai received a spark in his cells which caused him immense pain. He soon brushed it off as he got ready to tango with his master.

'Something's off about him. He's snapped,' Shujin wondered. 'I let my guard down, but how could he have got up close to me this fast... could it—'

Before he could get a chance to complete his thoughts, he was met with a perfectly executed roundhouse kick to which he barely dodged.

Kai oozed a presence of fear and dominance to which Shujin tried to comprehend. He set off his final warning to Shujin.

"I believe I said to think of myself as a real opponent. Do you really think I'd allow you to have your prep time? Since you didn't understand what was aforesaid, allow me to rephrase…"

He experienced yet another spark in his cells. However, this caused him to grin sinisterly.

"Keep all eyes on me, Shujin-sensei…" he chuckled darkly. "I'm not who you knew before," he informed, whispering softly into the ears of Shujin.

Shujin forcibly pushed him away and simultaneously unleashed a nasty looking tornado kick.

While smiling at the situation, Kai simply ducked underneath the attacking leg and performed a windmill spin that blew him twenty meters away from the fighting circle to the shock of everyone.

Shujin soon gained footing and was forced to acknowledge the effort of his student.

"I guess I underestimated you a little too much, young one…." he smirked. "I will now fight you with respect."

"Very well then," Kai scoffed.

Shujin breathed and dashed towards Kai to attack him head on. To his surprise, however, he stood completely still, sending a vicious death stare to his opponent that emitted an aura that almost stopped him in his tracks.

'What the hell?' he cursed in his thoughts, confused at what he beheld before him. 'This presence…'

In an impromptu change of plans, Shujin jumped and dashed in the air so fast that it seemed like he teleported behind Kai.

He went in for a flying kick, but his leg, as well as his whole body, was caught completely in place on air by his opponent with his right hand without needing to look back.

The students roared in excitement as Kai was suddenly able to anticipate all the attacks of Shujin and display badass feats of strength.

They all rallied Kai to take the win as if it were a real fight as opposed to the intended sparring session.

He calmly turned back to face Shujin as he finally let go.

"I hope you're not going easy on me, Shujin-sensei."

Shujin landed gracefully as he looked on to Kai, who had absolutely gone out of his mind.

"Hmph."

Shujin returned back to his fighting stance. His opponent, this time around, went on the offensive, hitting him with a variety of combos to which he blocked all the attacks.

The students watched in amazement as Kai matched the fighting pace of Shujin. The latter soon noticed that Kai was keeping up with his fighting movements and decided to increase mobility and attack power.

Kai read the increase in output of strikes of his opponent in a split second and proceeded to dodge all attacks like they were nothing.

Shujin scoffed and smirked as all his clever attack combos were being dodged effortlessly.

<>

"Woah, did he just take a bunch of energy boost before coming here 'cause his adrenaline flow right now is immaculate," Akira spoke to Ash.

"You said it. What's going on with him right now?" Ash questioned.

"Well, if that ain't going berserk, then I wonder what is," Akira concluded.

"No, that's not the case," Yua presumed.

"What do you mean, 'that's not the case?'" Akira asked Yua, confused.

"Yeah, I kind of have to side with Akira on this one. Something's off about him," Ash added.

"You're right about that. Something is off about him, but― Okay, this might sound a little bit crazy, but hear me out okay… Look. In the current state he's in, I would wonder if that's Kai anymore," Yua theorized.

"Huh?" Ash and Akira exclaimed.

"Check it… It's like he's not in control of his own body." she said as she pointed towards Kai as they saw him struggling and brushing off the pain; ultimately proving her point.

"With this scenario, do you really think he has a chance of winning?" Yua concluded.

"Are you kidding? Look at him. If that doesn't win against Sensei then I don't know what's gonna," Akira claimed.

"The fact that he's suddenly so incredibly strong doesn't guarantee his victory. After all, a master's forever a master, and he wasn't dubbed the strongest Tokyo High has to offer for no reason," Ash concluded.

"I see... He's still holding back, even if he knows Kai has developed some sort of a sudden killing intent whose only mission is to finally become the victor," Akira realized.

"Precisely," Yua affirmed.

Shujin smirked, looking like a proud father, at how far he had gone, but he was quick to change feelings and adopted a notable stance.

The students were in awe as they did not get to see him stand this way all the time.

'Kai, I know you can…' Shujin thought.

In a swift display of speed, Shujin performed, for the fourth time in the records of Tokyo High history, his famous finisher known to knock out any opponent he faced: The Blazing Dragon.

The students were in complete decorum as they hoped for the best for Kai.

••• ∅ •••

The famous blazing dragon. For the first time in my history books, I finally got to see it up close. It is meant to be faster than what the human eye can see, but for some reason, I could see him as clear as broad daylight. He just stood right in front of me with his arms stretched forth. I had a sudden gut feeling that made my body react before my brain could come to a conclusion. Not only did I see him, but I saw "it."

••• ∅ •••

The finisher caused a huge distortion in the environment.

The students took cover while the three friends worried about how Kai could take the attack.

To their utter shock, Kai was seen directly above Sensei, who counteracted the attack with a triple spinning 360° kick in the air.

Creating wind gusts that caused the ground below him to crumble, the students marveled at the wonders performed by these two.

"Kai!"

"This has to stop!"

Akira and Ash said simultaneously.

"We can't do anything about this. Trust Sensei. He'll take care of this, don't you think?" Yua confidently assured them.

The resultant effect of the attack created a situation where it was hard to see. In the midst of the dust, Akira identified a figure standing with someone in hand.

"Did he win?" he curiously asked.

The three look on.

"Not… quite…. class… dismissed," Shujin concluded, coughing repeatedly from the smoke.

The scenery became clear enough for everyone to see Kai on Shujin-sensei's arm. A sign of a hopeful defeat.

••• ( ) •••

“A well fought battle. You did all you could. You had me in the first half I admit, but I am the master for a reason. This was your best attempt yet, Kai.”

“It was too much for me to handle. This new found strength within. For a minute, I felt like I wasn't in control of my own body, but once I could get a grasp of myself back, I lost consciousness…. and before I knew it, it was all over... I had lost.”

••• ( ) •••