Kiro took a deep breath, as he stood in a hallway of his school, standing just in front of a wooden door with a sign posted on it, reading: "Karate Club". 'This is it.' He thought to himself, as he reached out for the doorknob. 'Today is a new day! After all these years of being picked on, I'm going to finally learn how to defend myself! Stand up to the bullies! Protect the little guys!' He couldn't help but grin ear to ear at the thought, as he turned the knob, and opened the door. It was a giant open space, with an enormous green mat in the middle, several punching bags off to the side, and kids in white karate gis training in every corner. Kiro was blown away by the atmosphere, as he could sense everyone in the working their hardest, pushing themselves to become better fighters. He could smell it too. There seemed to be a match going on within the mat, as two smaller guys took on one enormous fighter. The guy had to be about 300 pounds of pure muscle! The two smaller guys struggled to keep up with his fury of punches and kicks. Just as Kiro started to turn away, one of the smaller guys went flying out the ring, as he hit the wall with a thud. Kiro slowly made his way over to one of the students on the punching bag, as he raised his finger up to him, standing on the other side of the punched bag.

"Uh, e-excuse me..." Kiro mumbled awkwardly, as sweat poured down from his forehead.

The man simply casted an intimidating glare in Kiro's direction, as he shot a powerful straight at the bag, causing it to fly right into Kiro.

Kiro was hit by the bag, as he stumbled backwards, right into something solid.

"What're you doing here, kid?" A very deep, intimidating voice questioned, as he began to chuckle quietly.

Kiro slowly turned around, as he came face-to-face with the hunk of muscle that was just in the ring with the two smaller guys. The boy gulped, as he began to awkwardly laugh. "Sorry about that! I was just kind of wondering if perhaps you'd consider letting me join the club! Potentially." He continued to laugh, as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You? Join the karate club?" The muscular man laughed. A group started to form around Kiro, as everyone seemed to have stopped to watch the interaction. Many of the other students started to laugh as well, as Kiro's words seemed to have tickled them. "Get out of here, Twig." The man ordered, as he shoved Kiro backwards, causing the boy to stumble onto his butt.

Kiro slowly made his way back to his feet, his legs shaking uncontrollably, as he tried to keep eye contact with the man in front of him. Up close, a guy so big, it was very intimidating for Kiro, as the muscular man towered over him. If he really desired it, he could probably kill Kiro in a single punch! At least, that was Kiro's mentality. "No, please!" Kiro exclaimed, as he clenched his fists. "I really want to learn! I'll do whatever it takes, I swear!" He assured the muscle man, as Kiro grabbed onto his lapel, practically begging him to take him in.

"Karate is for the strong! If we let a weakling like you come in and train with us, what do you think that'll do to our reputation, huh!?" The bully explained to him, as he pushed the pathetic freshman off of him once more.

Weakling. That's what Kiro had been called all of his life. If he were in this same situation before, he probably would just walk away, forget that the idea ever existed in his head. But this was something he was determined to do! Nothing was going to stop him this time! "I am strong!" He shouted at the bully, sounding quite confident. He didn't quite believe the statement himself, but he wanted to prove that he wasn't a weakling. Not anymore! At least, not in spirit!

The bully chuckled, as he thought for a moment. His eyes drifted over to the door Kiro had walked in, as he watched several shadows walk by through the door's window. "You're strong, huh? Alright, we'll test that, then." He laughed. "Meet me behind the school in a few hours, after karate club's over with. I'll test you to see if you're really fighter material."

"Really!?" Kiro excitedly exclaimed, as he began to grin ear to ear again. "I won't let you down, then! I'll show you!" He assured the man.

"Yeah, yeah. See you then, don't be late." The bully continued to chuckle, as he walked off, back to his regular training. His goons followed him, as Kiro was left alone once more.

"R-Right! Don't worry!" Kiro assured him, as he too ran off. The freshman turned the knob of the door, and left back out.
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(later...)

Kiro stood just outside of an alleyway, created by two buildings of the school. He checked his watch once more, trying to keep track of the time. "Where is he? I thought he'd be here by now..." He mumbled to himself, as he kicked pebble across the concrete in front of him.

Suddenly, a group of kids from the karate club flooded out through a back door a little ways away from Kiro, as the muscular man was easy to spot out, as he hover above the rest. He saw Kiro through his peripheral vision, as he quickly turned his head. "I'll catch up with you guys later." The man told them quite seriously, as he began to approach Kiro.

"Nah, man. I wanna see this!" One of his friends laughed, as two of the muscular man's goons trailed behind him.

"So, you actually decided to show up, huh, twig?" The man laughed, as he dropped his duffel bag on the floor in front of Kiro.

"Y-Yeah, I did. I told, I'm serious about this. I want to learn karate." Kiro assured the man, as he tried to keep his legs from shaking. He wouldn't let himself be intimidated!

"We'll see." He laughed, as he got into a very defensive stance. "Here's what's going to go down," He paused, as he stared Kiro up and down once more. "If you can manage to get a single, clean hit on me. I'll let you join the karate club. If you can't, then you're nothing but a weak loser, just like I said. Deal?" He offered.

Kiro thought it seemed almost too easy. He had never really been in an actual fight before, but a single hit? It sounded too easy. "Deal." Kiro nodded, as he tried to copy the bully's style of fighting. Not really knowing any other sort of stance to try.

"I'll even let you throw the first punch! Show me what you got, weakling!" He screamed at Kiro, as he started to bounce a bit on the balls of his feet.

"You asked for it!" Kiro screamed, as he charged at the bully. He threw a straight right towards the center of the man's face.

The bully easily dodged the slow punch, as he faded to the right, things seemed to move in slow motion, as he charged a powerful blow to the gut.

Kiro gasped, as the wind was knocked right out of him, he stumbled backwards, as he held his stomach in pain, completely losing his guard.

"You idiot!" The bully exclaimed, as he a quick roundhouse came flying at Kiro's unguarded head.

The kick was too fast for Kiro to react, as it hit him hard in the side of the head, blood flew everywhere, as he was knocked into the side of the building beside him. Kiro fell to the ground, as he gasped for air.

"I told you! You're too weak for the karate club! No matter how hard you work, people like you will always be under people like me!" The bully assured him.

Kiro clenched the dirt beneath him, as the bully's words echoed in his head. "I'm not weak! I'll show you, I am strong!" He screamed, as he closed his eyes tightly, throwing another punch, aimlessly, at the bully.

Ally was jogging around town, getting in some good cardio before heading over for training at the dojo. She already told Asuka she would be back at the dojo around 7:00 because of this, and her aunt didn't seem to mind. As she began to sprint down a concrete "straightaway" she heard a lot of noise coming from an alleyway. Her brain told her to just keep passing, but she couldn't help but stop and peek around the alley. "What the heck..." she murmured to herself as she watched the brute and boy face off. She saw the boy race at the brute and shook her head. He had no balance or coordination so she wasn't surprised when the brute dodged and countered. The boy was unguarded and the brute kicked him in the head. That's not right... she thought. She didn't believe the brute was acting in self defense and she didn't believe this kid was the aggressor, even though he attacked first. Nobody so unskilled could be that idiotic. If things got out of hand, she wouldn't hesitate to step in and diffuse the situation.

The bully easily dodged the punch once again, as Kiro's got lost in his momentum, and fell to the ground beside the tall man. The two other guys laughed at him, as Kiro gritted his teeth in anger.

"People like you make me sick." The bully informed, as he gave a dirty kick to Kiro's face. Hitting him while he was down.

Kiro grunted, as he fell back over on his side. He felt like crying, but he held back the tears. Nothing had changed. He was a loser, and that's all he was ever going to be.

"You should know your place, you runt." He told the freshman, as he placed his foot on Kiro's back, preventing him from getting up. Slowly, the bully began to add more and more pressure on the foot, as cracking sounds could be heard from Kiro's body.

Kiro screamed in pain, as no matter how hard he tried, or how strong his will may have been, he couldn't do anything. All he could do was lie there, as the others laughed at him.

That was it, after seeing the cruelty Ally had enough. She raced to the crowd, pushing passed the spectators and stood in front of the bully. "Hey, stop that!" she said. "If he's such a 'weakling' or whatever, why waste your time on him?" She knew these words wouldn't help the boy's confidence or self-esteem in the end, but if it could stop the pain it was worth it. Throughout her life she too knew what it was like to be picked on and bullied, but never anything as bad as this. Her body tensed slightly as she was ready to fight, though she didn't show it. She was taught to always look weaker than she truly was, and she did admit that being a girl helped with this facade.

The bully clenched his fists, as he looked down at the small girl. There was a moment of silence, as the tension began to grow. "Come on, guys. Let's get out of here," he mumbled, as he purposely kicked up some dust into Kiro's face before turning to walk away. He picked up his duffel bag, threw it over his shoulder, and started to walk off in the distance with his two goons.

Kiro twitched slightly, as he slowly brought himself up in a sitting position. "Thanks for the help." He mumbled the sentence with a sigh, as he dusted his pants off. He couldn't look the woman in the face, as he simply stared down at the ground. Looking someone in the eye after a loss was something hard to do, especially if that person was a lady. 'Today was suppose to be the day.' He gritted his teeth, as he clenched his fists tightly. 'The day everything changed for me.'

"No matter how hard you work, people like you will always be under people like me!" The bully assured him.

The bully's painful words echoed through his mind.

Ally stood her ground as the bullies left, making sure they didn't try any other dirty moves before leaving. When Kiro was up and standing, she faced him though he wouldn't face her. "Are you okay? What happened back there?" she questioned, "That was a nasty fight, and it doesn't look like you have any experience." The anger in him was visible even though she couldn't see his face full on. She felt bad for him, but that wasn't going to help him. At times like these, there was only one person that could truly help you and that was yourself. She wondered how avoidable this situation would be, but figured that didn't matter since it already happened.

"That's why I got in the fight in the first place, actually." He chuckled slightly, as he felt his bruised cheek. He brought his hand from his face, as he looked at the blood on his fingertips. "They said that karate was for the strong, and so the only way I could join them was if I proved that I was." His eyes met the girls, as he tried his hardest to fight the tears that wanted to come out. "I just wanted to show them, prove to myself even, that I was strong, both in mind and body." His eyes went back to the ground, as a single tear slipped away, falling down to the concrete below. "But when push came to shove, all I could do was say it. I couldn't show them a darn thing." He brought on a fake smile, as he looked back up at her. "You, though! You're brave, you know that?" He laughed, however, he was quite serious. "Not just anyone would do what you did back there. Most people would have just kept walking."

"I don't think karate is only for the strong," Ally said, "It's for those who need to defend themselves against others, weak or strong." When they met eyes she caught him holding back the tears and tried to stay as emotionless as possible as to not make him cry. When people showed her sympathy when she was holding back tears it usually made the tears fall out. Then a tear slipped down Kiro's cheek. "You are strong mentally, that took a lot of guts." Then he told her about her own bravery and her emotionless stage faultered as she blushed bashfully. "I'm only brave because I've been fighting almost all my life. If I didn't know how to fight I don't know if I would've stopped." The thought of not stopping sickened her, but she knew most people would've done it, possibly including herself. "If you really want to know how to fight, I go to this amazing dojo. You'll really be tested physically and emotionally, but if it means you can deal with those jerks then it's worth it." She purposely lacked to mention the joining fees but figured if there was an issue it could be solved later. "I'm on my way to the dojo now. You can come with me and you can join if you want."

Kiro smirked, as she gave him a compliment. He assumed it was just out of pity, though. The more he thought about it, he was a lot like a sad puppy. "All your life? You really think you could have taken that guy out?" Kiro was taken aback at the girl's confidence, he would have never guessed she could be such a fighter at first glance. "You must be really strong then, huh?" He questioned, as the bully's voice continued to ring in his head.

"No matter how hard you work,"

"I think I'll pass on your offer." He laughed things off, as he tried to hide his true emotions.

"people like you will always be under people like me!"

"I don't think this whole fighting thing is really even cut out for me." He kept on a big smile, as he walked passed her. Kiro just planned on heading back home, the whole day had just been a total waste. He figured that perhaps he could just sleep things off. "I'm just the little guy. That's all I'll ever be." He mumbled the last sentence, as he kept his head low as he walked.

"Just the little guy?" Ally chuckled, "Then that must make me the little girl." She wouldn't let him get away so easily. There was something he had that gave him potential and that was determination. He chose to fight the guy even though he was what seemed like ten times his height and that took guts. "Look, self defense is for everyone, that's why they don't call it 'strong guy defense.' You have no experience, right? That's why you lost so quickly." Ally caught up with Kiro and caught his wrist in a tight grip, "You need to learn how to defend yourself, right? I'm giving you the chance to learn with real masters who have a real sense of honor, not some jerks that fight anyone for the heck of it. Besides, that guy's technique was a little off. You could learn how to recognize stuff like that if you would join this dojo. Learning self defense could save you one day, what if that bully kept hurting you and I didn't show up? How would you like for your parents to hear their son died on the streets because he didn't know how to defend himself? Think about that," Ally finished and released her grip on his wrist. "You can take up my offer now and never have to worry about that or you can keep going hiding and getting beat up by dumb bullies like him."

Kiro was taken aback, as the girl grabbed his wrist. 'Why does she care so much?' The question spoke to him in his mind, as he turned to look back at Ally. He thought about such an event happening, where he was put into the same situation again, without anyone there to save him. It was a very real world that could end up taking place if he weren't careful. Kiro didn't want to go around beating up people, he just wanted to be strong enough to protect himself, and the people he loved. 'What do I have to lose, right?' He genuinely smiled this time, as he spoke again. "Alright, fine. Where is this mysterious dojo of yours?" He jokingly asked, as he rested both of his hands behind his head. He winced slightly, as he felt a bruise on his chest.

The bully easily dodged the slow punch, as he faded to the right, things seemed to move in slow motion, as he charged a powerful blow to the gut.

Kiro gasped, as the wind was knocked right out of him, he stumbled backwards, as he held his stomach in pain,

It was almost like he could still feel the punches.

"Your name's Ally, right?" He tried to confirm, as he didn't quite know the woman all that well. He had just seen her here and there at school. If the whole event didn't take place, the two probably wouldn't have become any more acquainted than they already were.

"Finally," Ally said when Kiro agreed. She didn't want him to be hurt anymore, not because she cared about him specifically, but because she felt everyone should know how to protect themselves. It was ironic how he had to fight a bully in order to learn how to fight a bully. "Yeah, I'm Ally and you're Kiro, right?" She knew they were in the same grade but wasn't quite sure she remembered his name. "My aunt is one of the masters at the dojo, she'll help clean you up."

As the two made their way to the dojo, Ally couldn't help but wonder how many times Kiro had gotten into situations like that. She cursed at herself internally. Maybe if she had been closer to him before she could've helped protect him.

Ally pushed the door to the dojo opened and bowed before stepping in. She gave Kiro a sharp look to tell him he should do the same. "Master Asuka?" she called, voice echoing through the large room.

Asuka came out from a different room upon the call of her niece. "You're late," she said, but noticed the bruised boy following Ally. Asuka hurried to the boy's side to aid him. "What happened?"

"It was a bully," Ally said, not sure if Kiro wanted his whole story told to someone he didn't know.

"A bully? Come on," Asuka said to Kiro and lead him to a side room that held medical and safety supplies. She took out hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, and bandages. "This is going to sting, but we need to clean you up," she explained and began the cleaning process. She didn't want to press the boy for the story as she never liked speaking about her bullies much, but it still nagged in her mind. "Do you know how to defend yourself?"

Kiro kept his head low, it all was quite embarrassing to him. "I-, Well-, kind of." He tried to make him sound stronger than he actually was, as he stumbled through a response. Realizing that no one was going to buy anything he told them, he sighed. "No, I don't know how. If we're being completely honest here, I couldn't keep up a fight against a broomstick." He laughed, as he revealed the truth.

Bokusa stood just outside the doorway, as he eavesdropped in on the conversation. Making sure his presence wasn't known by the newcomer.

Kiro remembered why exactly they were there in the first place. It was too late to turn back now, Kiro had to prove to the master that was completely ready to learn. "But, if you'll teach me," he jumped up from the table he sat on, as he accidentally knocked over several tools and bottles in his jolt. "I'm ready to learn, Sensei Asuka!" He exclaimed, as he gave her another bow. With the impressive dojo, these masters had to be some really serious fighters! Akita was right, this was a great opportunity he was given, and he couldn't just let it slip through his fingers.

Asuka watched Kiro knock over the tools and kept her face stone even though she wanted to laugh. "Training in martial arts takes a lot of will and it takes a lot of time. If you have a lot of after school clubs you'll have to drop some. It also takes discipline, that means no goofing around. You're going to put your body and mind through great challenges. But above all," Asuka said, dragging her words out a bit for emphasis, "it takes resources. The membership is 1000 yen. You'll never regret learning how to protect yourself and others."

"Yes, I am ready!" He assured her; quite the look of determination on his face, that is until the subject of money was brought up. "Uh, right, right. Money..." He reached into his back pocket, as he pulled out a generic brown wallet. "100, 200, 300," He counted his bills aloud, as he surprisingly had just enough! It was everything in his wallet, but Kiro was sure that it was money well spent! "1000 yen!" He grinned ear to ear, as he handed her the money.

Bokusa smirked, as he chuckled a bit to himself. He would have charged Kiro at least 50,000 to even think about training with him. "You're too soft, Asuka." Bokusa mumbled quietly to himself.

"Then it's settled! You can start your training with Asuka!" A charismatic voice exclaimed behind Kiro, as a tall man rested his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"What the-!?" Kiro screamed, as he whipped around. He hadn't heard anyone come in, where in the world did the guy come from!?

It was Muhai, the eldest master in the dojo. "You can even begin tomorrow!" He assured the young boy, as he smiled down at him.

Kiro slowly backed away from the intimidating man, headed for the doorway, as he ran right into someone. Of course, the person didn't even budge upon impact.

"You better hope Asuka goes easy on you." Bakusa said quite scarily, as he casted a glance down at Kiro.

Sweat poured down from the boy's face. He started to back away from the doorway, but then looked back behind him to find Asuka, Ally, and Muhai. He was surrounded!

"If you were training with me, kid, you'd be dead in three days tops." Bakusa assured him, quite seriously.

"T-Three days?" He stuttered, as he quietly repeated Bakusa's words. He questioned rather or not it was too late to get his money back, but quickly decided against asking.
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"Okay, bye now!" Kiro exclaimed back to the group, as he exited the dojo, and started to walk across the courtyard. He waved back to them with a forced smile, as he tried to keep himself from breaking out into a run. All of the masters seemed a little weird to Kiro. 'The scary kind of weird,' he thought to himself, as his inner voice sounded as if it were crying. Kiro gave the giant wooden gate doors a simple push, as nothing happened. "What in the world?" Kiro mumbled, remembering how easily Ally had pushed them open. He tried another push, this time using every ounce of strength he had. The door just wouldn't budge. "It's feels like it's made out of lead!" He angrily exclaimed, as Bakusa walked up beside Kiro. The scary man casted another menacing glance at Kiro, as he put up his index finger to push the door open. The door in front of him flew open, as Kiro was knocked over onto the ground (because he had all of his weight on it, as he tried to push.). "Uh, yes, thank you." Kiro awkwardly mumbled, as he dusted himself off. "I'll-I'll be on my way now!" He awkwardly laughed, as Bakusa didn't even bother to respond. Kiro quickly began to speed walk off, afraid that if he stayed any longer, one of the masters were going to lose their cool and end up killing him.

(Misread as him coming in for training. XD)

Asuka shook her head slightly when Kiro tell forward. This boy is going to need a lot of work. Asuka waited until Kiro walked up to her before speaking. "I'm glad you're here," she said, "We're going to focus on your strength, since you can't even push a door open." The last part wasn't said with venom, but it wasn't exactly warm either. "Show me your punch," she said and when he did she clicked her teeth. "We're going to work on that too." She got into a horse stance, feet about shoulder width apart and her legs bent so her knees were nearly with a ninety degree angle.

"Get in this stance. It's one of the more traditional stances, especially in karate. A lot of moves can flow from this stance, but today I'm just showing you how to punch properly." She put her fists to her hips, her elbows pointed behind her. "Punch out straight with your right arm, twisting your cost until it flattens and you finish the punch. Keep your wrist straight and don't hold your thumbs in your hands." She gave a slow demonstration then continued, "Keep your right and up and start punching with your left. As you punch, being your right arm back into the starting position." She demonstrated a couple more punches like this. "Show me."

Once she felt Kiro was getting the hang of it, she said, "Do you see those dumbbells? Pick them up and punch. I want you to do one hundred punches with each arm. If one punch is off you're restarting, understand?" She could tell this was going to be a big challenge for the boy, but if he could make it through this simple training he could push through other training too.

"Your legs are going to hurt, but if I see your stance wobble even a little bit it's one hundred squats." Asuka watched him pick up the weights and said, "Start."

"I'm glad you're here," she said, "We're going to focus on your strength, since you can't even push a door open." The last part wasn't said with venom, but it wasn't exactly warm either. "Show me your punch," she said and when he did she clicked her teeth.

"Yes, ma'am!" Kiro exclaimed, very excited to start, as he threw out a simple straight. It was loose, he didn't fully extend his arm, and it was awfully slow. Awfully. "Hmph." Kiro smirked, thinking it wasn't too shabby. "How was that?"

"We're going to work on that too."

Kiro sighed, as he sunk his head low.

"Get in this stance. It's one of the more traditional stances, especially in karate. A lot of moves can flow from this stance, but today I'm just showing you how to punch properly." She put her fists to her hips, her elbows pointed behind her. "Punch out straight with your right arm, twisting your cost until it flattens and you finish the punch. Keep your wrist straight and don't hold your thumbs in your hands." She gave a slow demonstration then continued, "Keep your right and up and start punching with your left. As you punch, being your right arm back into the starting position." She demonstrated a couple more punches like this. "Show me."

Kiro copied her stance, as he sent his right fist flying out, his left resting near his waist, just itching to be sent out next. He altered punch from left and right, as his punches seemed to get better and better with every try. They were still horrible, but better than before.

Once she felt Kiro was getting the hang of it, she said, "Do you see those dumbbells? Pick them up and punch. I want you to do one hundred punches with each arm. If one punch is off you're restarting, understand?" She could tell this was going to be a big challenge for the boy, but if he could make it through this simple training he could push through other training too.

Kiro nodded to show he did indeed understand, as he picked up the two dumbbells. At first he thought it was pretty easy, but after about ten, Kiro was ready for a break. He huffed and puffed, as he took breaks after every three punches.

Bakusa growled angrily, as he listened to Kiro's movements from across the courtyard. "What are you doing!?" He angrily screamed. "The moment you stop to take a rest is the moment the enemy's going to strike! You let your arms fall down to your side, and you've already lost the fight!" The man yelled, his fists clenched tightly. He had no interest in training a disciple, but...
The kid was just pathetic, he needed some pointers. 'One or two pieces of advice aren't going to hurt, I suppose.' He thought in an attempt to justify his actions.

"Y-Yes, sir!" Kiro thought what the man said made sense; Kiro just had little-to-no stamina do such things without breaks. 'But if I want to get stronger, I need to push my body to its limits!' He convinced himself, as he continued to throw out the punches, now much more confident in his throws then before. He wanted to quit, he wanted to stop throwing out his arms, but he couldn't! He wouldn't give up this time! His arms shook and wobbled under the pressure, as the weights became heavier and heavier.

The blind man smirked, as he could feel the intensity coming off of Kiro. He wasn't strong, and had no natural talent, but hard work always trumped over both of those things with enough time put into it.

Asuka wanted to tell Bokusa off for yelling at Kiro, but figured he had a point. Kiro couldn't take breaks because he would never get stronger. Asuka was impressed with how determined Kiro was though she wouldn't admit it to the disciple as she didn't want to expand his ego. Once he finally finished she nodded in approval, "Very good." Some punches were off, but he really did push himself and they still had more to do.

"Your stance is weak," she said and plucked his ankle out from under him with her ankle. She didn't hold her hand out to help him up. She needed to teach him to help himself. "Keep those weights with you. Do you see that bar?" It was a wooden pullup bar. Two pieces of wood about 8 inches in diameter were connected by a slim stick of wood. "You're going to pull yourself up there and the weights. Once you're up there you need to stay there for 10 minutes in the horse stance holding those weights in the basic starting position for a punch, one foot on each post. No talking and no breaks. Before you ask how you'll get the weights up there with you, figure it out. A big part of fighting is problem solving. If you can't figure this out then leave this dojo. Keep your balance and Keep your stance. You really will restart if you mess up this time."

Ally stood next to her aunt. What Asuka didn't tell Kiro was halfway through, Ally was going to strength train using the bar by doing various forms of pull ups and chin ups. This would constantly change how Kiro would have to balance and possibly knock him off of the posts. She felt bad, but couldn't and wouldn't disobey Asuka.

Kiro jumped up, as he grabbed the wooden bar. "HAAAAA!" He exclaimed, as he tried his hardest to pull himself upward. He left the dumbbells on the ground, as he had bigger problems to worry about first. The boy didn't move at all, he simply hung there, looking quite pathetic. "I can't do it." He mumbled, as he sighed. He continued to try, but to no avail. He wouldn't be able to do such a thing at full strength, let alone after doing all those punches with dumbbells.

He fell on his bottom, as his arms gave out from hanging for so long. He tried again several more times, but Kiro just wasn't strong enough to complete a pull-up. What seemed like an eternity passed by, as Kiro continued to try and try, but he was nowhere close to lifting himself up. Finally he found himself hanging on the bar again, for about the fiftieth time, as he decided it was time for a new strategy. He planted his right foot on the slab of wood on his right, and his left on the wood to his left. This took the pressure off of his arms, as he slowly shimmied his way a top. He finally found himself a top of the wood, as he planted his feet on either wooden post. "I did it!" He celebrated, as he jumped into the air, almost losing his balance once he landed back on the posts. "Close one." He laughed, as his attention was then turned back to the floor below him. He saw the two dumbbells, far out of his reach, on the ground below. "Oh yeah, I was suppose to grab those, weren't I?" He laughed to himself, as his face grew quite pale. There was no way he could get all the way back down, and then back up again! It took him forever to get up there in the first place!

Bakusa approached the post, as he bent down to pick up the two dumbbells. "Hey, kid! I think you dropped these!" He exclaimed up to him, as he tossed both up with ease and precision. How was he able to do such a thing with his eyes closed!?

Kiro quickly, and frantically, tried to catch the two dumbbells, as they flew up to him. He caught them, but his arms were still quite heavy from the previous workout, as the two dumbbells forced him to bend down slightly as he caught them. He almost fell over because of them. "T-Thanks!" Kiro gave him gratitude. 'What a weird guy.' Kiro was having trouble getting a read on Bakusa. The master seemed to express things as if he didn't wish to train Kiro at all, but he kept giving him all this help. 'Maybe he's not so bad afterall.'
Kiro smiled at the thought, as he watched Bakusa disappear within the dojo. He then drifted his eyes over to Asuka and Ally, as he recalled the task at hand. "Right!" He exclaimed, as if in response to their onlooks. He resumed a solid horse stance, as he brought out his right fist, as if he had just shot out a punch. His left hand's fist faced the sky, as it rested near his waist, but Kiro tried his hardest not to have it rest on it. His right arm especially felt like it was going to break in two, as his arm faltered downward slightly, Kiro unable to bring it back upward. Sweat poured down from his face, as he concentrated on just not completely dropping it.

Asuka watched Kiro try and try. She wanted to help him by giving him a suggestion, but she knew he couldn't do that. He needed to learn on his own. Just when Asuka thought they needed to quit, he found a new strategy. He got up to the top but left the weights. Oh no... Her heart broke for him, but then Bokusa helped him out. She gave him a mod in thanks and watched Kiro from there. Then he held out his arm and Asuka cringed on the inside. He was holding a punch, not staying in the basic stance. Maybe I confused him... She didn't correct the boy as he was still technically doing the proper stance. After five minutes, Asuka looked at Ally and nodded.

Ally nodded back to Asuka and hopped onto the bar. She noticed Kiro's stance wasn't right, he was holding a full punch, not the starting position for one. "Put your hands by your hips, no punching," she corrected as she came up in a pull up, hoping Asuka wouldn't hear. Like this he would gain more strength, but she didn't think this was what Asuka wanted him to do. After a minute, she began to transition with her hands, pulling herself up, letting go of the bar, and catching herself at the last moment to create more movement for Kiro and more strain for her body. Even though this was Kiro's challenge she still planned on getting a little bit of a workout.