Kiro lifted his head up, as he surprisingly held a big smile on his face. "Did you see me back there?!" He laughed. "I really beat him!" A couple of tears slipped from his eyes. This fight was different from the last one, and not just because he won. Kiro was finally able to prove the jerks wrong. 'Weak.' Kiro thought the single word, as memories of his previous bullying experiences flooded through his mind. He fought for what he believed was right, and didn't let the labels he was given all his life hold him back; it was all thanks to his masters. Kiro was too lost in his own world, as he hadn't even noticed the guys who threatened to finish what Ijime started. Perhaps if he had noticed, he wouldn't be so enthusiastic about his small (in comparison) victory. "I really beat him." Kiro mumbled the phrase again; he slowly closed his eyes, as he fell onto his back, completely out cold.

Ally turned around only to see Kiro knocked out. She shook her head, expression now emotionless, and put on Niijime's jacket. Kiro was obviously still alive, but she couldn't help him here. She scooped the boy up in her arms and carried him the way to the dojo. It definitely wasn't an impressive victory but it was a milestone for the boy. He had a strong determination flowing through him, it was hard to not be inspired by him.

When they got to the dojo, Ally pushed it open with her shoulder and called out, "Sensei Asuka!"

Asuka entered the main room to see a knocked out Kiro in Ally's arms. This reminded her of the first time she met the boy. Ally set her down on the padded mat and the two repeated the process from that day.

"What happened to him?" Asuka questioned.

"Remember that bully? He was picking on that kid that spreader those take emails. Actually he was nearing him trying to find Kiro. Kiro saw and well, he jumped in. The bully got some really good hits in before Kiro was able to use the technique you taught him," Ally explained, "Actually it was more like a mix of yours and Sensei Shin's. I guess the excitement was too much for him and he fainted."

"Why didn't you just take care of the bully?" Asuka asked.

"Kiro wanted to take care of it himself and he did."

Asuka nodded to herself after nearing this. Now that Kiro best up the leader of the karate club bigger and badder bullies were going to want to best him up or possibly join him. "I knew I shouldn't have taught him that technique..." Asuka muttered to herself.

Shin sneaked behind Asuka over hearing what happened, "To me it's sounds like it was a perfect time to teach him those techniques I mean i'm the only reason he survived," Shin said as he revealed himself and began to laugh a bit. "Took out the bully that brought him here in the first place that is quite ironic," Shin said as he took a sip of tea while putting down a tea pot full of green herbal tea . "Hey kid wake up," Shin said as he began to poke the unconscious boy. he put down a cup and filled it up for Kiro to drink it was his special tea to make one feel better. Shin looked up to see that the boy was still unconscious, "I SAID WAKE UP!!" Shin yelled as he punched kiro upside the head making a knot come from his head as heat began to radiate from the bump.

Bakusa was busy on the wooden post outside, as he continued to punch it over and over, switching back and forth between his left and right. "99,998..." He continued to count, as he threw another swift punch. "99,999..." He threw out another one. He took in a deep breath, as he was about to reach his halfway point when Asuka had suddenly burst through gate door, an unconscious Kiro being carried on her back. Bakusa could hear Kiro's uneven breaths, and he could easily smell the stench of a fight. At least, that's how he'd word it. 'Kid must have lost another fight. It's a darn shame, I thought he would have learned a thing or two from Asuka.' He smirked. 'Or at least my tips!' He laughed, as he continued on with his training. Asuka would handle things.
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"The techniques she taught him, huh?" Muhai gave a hearty laugh, as he entered the room. "Shin helped too? I see, I see." He gave a wide smile to the group.

Kiro immediately shot up after the punch to the head, as tears streamed down from his face. "What did you do that for, you jerk!?" Kiro screamed at Shin, as he gently rubbed his bump. "Wait," Kiro carefully looked around, as he noticed he was back in the dojo. "How did I get back here?"

Muhai wrapped his arms around the two masters. It seemed friendly enough, but it seemed like he was squeezing just a bit too hard. "It looks as if you've beaten your enemy, Kiro!" He congratulated the boy on his victory. "They must have given him some pretty good tips, huh, Ally? He couldn't even touch the bully a few weeks ago, if I recall correctly." He pushed, his smile still wide, as he hugged the two just a bit uncomfortably tighter. Quite uncomfortably.

Asuka patted Muhai on the arm, "Yup he's been training pretty hard." She slipped out of Muhai's uncomfortable hug and began to clean up the medical supplies. She knew he wouldn't scold her in front of her disciples so she was safe for now. "For your rudeness in calling Shin a jerk, you owe twenty pull ups before the end of the day." This definitely wasn't the worst punishment ever, especially since he was probably going to be sore from his scrap with Ijime, but he needed to continue his strength training as soon as possible. The quicker the other bullies heard about this, the quicker he would need to learn how to fight and get on their levels. She didn't know if Kiro was able to keep up with this or if it was even the safe thing to do.

"Oh yeah, great tips," Ally agreed nervously, glad she wasn't in the man's hug. She looked at Asuka's contemplating face and immediately knew what the woman's concerns were. Whatever Asuka chose for Kiro, Ally would stay by the boy's side. If he wasnt going to be taught anymore then she would act as a guardian and possibly teach him in secret. If he was going to be taught then she could encourage him along the way and help whenever he needed her.

Shin was caught of guard by the hug "Please let go of me before you make me spill my tea!" Shin yelled as he tried to get free spilling a bit of his tea. The hug began to get tight after Asuka left the his grip, "I...I..can't...breath," Shin said as grabbed the old man prying him off of him. "Please don't do that again you old fart," Shin said with a big smile as he distanced his self from the Muhai afraid that he may hug him again or even kill him. "Why did you do that for that hurt," Shin complained.

Muhai had had enough after Shin called him an 'old fart'. "You little brat!" Muhai screamed, as he charged right at Shin. The old master leapt into the air, as he tackled Shin to the ground. "Show your elders some respect!" He yelled at Shin, he then proceeded to throw a series of punches at the man, as he sat on top of him, making it almost impossible for the young man to escape from his grip.

Kiro awkwardly watched, as the two masters fought. A bead of sweat slowly rolled down his forehead, as the young man quickly tried to get everyone back on subject. "Uh, yep!" He awkwardly laughed, quickly standing up straight, as he slowly backed away towards the exit. "I guess that means I can be on my way now! I appreciate your guys' help." He genuinely thanked them, as he bowed before turning to the exit. Kiro learned his good ol' throwing technique, he had all he needed to beat Ijime. He was fine.

Bakusa had suddenly appeared, as he blocked Kiro's path at the front door. The man began to laugh hysterically, as he folded his arms. "You really think your life's going to just go back to normal now that you've taken care of your little bully problem? You got jokes, kid." The intimidating master chuckled, as while he did have his eyes closed, it still felt like he was watching Kiro. Creepy.

Kiro's face went pale white, as his smile disappeared. "W-What do you mean?" Kiro stuttered, as he could only imagine what Bakusa had meant . 'Maybe he means they're going to keep me here forever against my will...' Kiro thought what he assumed to be the worst, as he began to question rather or not he'd make it out alive if he tried to run.

Muhai paused from his punches, as he looked off at Kiro. "Yes, yes..." He said quite seriously, as he quickly returned to a calm sitting position. "I tried to warn Asuka about teaching you any legitimate techniques." The old man sighed, as it did indeed seem as if it were already too late for the boy. He was probably going to end up dying.

"Sensei what else could I have done?" Asuka asked. She saw no other way to keep Kiro from being constantly afraid of bullies. If he had a way to protect himself, then he could do so and run. What if a bully caught him in a bush and Kiro couldn't protect himself? She couldn't live with that weight on her shoulders. "I couldn't just let him get picked on. From what it sounded like the bullies wanted to leave him for dead the first day he fought anyway."

Ally was shocked when Kiro walked towards the doors. He thought he was just done after learning one silly technique? It seemed he didn't even think twice about continuing his training. She didn't put her input in about the subject verbally though because this was the adults' conversation.

"I tried to tell them, old man." Bakusa lied, as he shrugged his shoulders. "They just wouldn't listen to me." He continued, making sure none of the blame were to be placed onto his shoulders. Everyone looked over Kiro, as if he weren't even there. "If the kid just plans on running for the rest of his life like a coward, then you should have just left him with the problem he already had." The master cruelly added, he thought he saw more in Kiro, but at this point, he assumed he must have been wrong. Bakusa thought he saw the spirit of an incredible fighter, but he must've been mistaken.

"Hey!" Kiro interjected, as Bakusa called him a coward.

"There was no black and white, Asuka." Muhai agreed, as he slowly nodded his head. He would have done the same thing if he hadn't known the consequences first hand. Truly, deep down, he did not blame anyone. Helping Kiro win his first fight only forced him to dive headfirst into the world of martial arts. It was a path not many would want to take, and Kiro had yet to prove it to Muhai personally that it was one he was ready for. If a man wanted to run away, as Bakusa said, though, then they should have left him with the easiest thing to run away from.

"Will you people stop being so vague, and tell me what's going on!?" Kiro angrily shouted, as he waved his hands childishly to get everyone's attention.

"Tell me, Kiro," Master Muhai calmly began, as he shifted his focus, giving Kiro a more serious look.

Kiro immediately stood up straight, startled by the look given. "Yes, Sensei Muhai?" Kiro politely responded, his mood completely changed now, knowing it was something of great importance.

"If another young man decided to challenge you, what would you do?" He asked quite calmly, rather Kiro knew it or not, the answer he gave would determine his entire future.

"Uh, well, if it was a good reason," Kiro scratched the back of his head, as he carefully thought of an answer. Memories flooded to him, memories of his constant bullying, and all of his labels. He clenched his fists, as he immediately thought of his answer. "I would stand my ground and fight!" He exclaimed aloud, sounding as if he fully stood by his answer.

"Now that you've defeated one challenger blocking your path, many more are sure to come. Each one bigger, better, and stronger than the previous. Are you still confident in your answer? Do you plan on running away when things get tough?" He continued to question Kiro to make sure that the young man was certain.

"I won't!" Kiro almost angrily replied. Not anymore, Kiro was going to be a different person this time.

Bakusa was taken aback slightly, as he lost his cool composure for a moment. 'No matter how stupid the kid is, the spirit of a fighter is unmistakable. I guess I wasn't wrong after all.' He thought to himself, as he watched on.

"Then you have no choice but to fight!" The old man exclaimed back at him, as he slammed his massive hands down on the floor. "If you're truly serious about everything you just said, then you have no choice but to continue to train, and grow stronger, so you can face those enemies head-on!" Muhai exclaimed.

Kiro bowed, as he began to think about everything the master had just said. He was right, if Kiro truly planned on never running away again, then he would have to grow stronger. He was thankful to have people who cared so much about him, to help him achieve his goals. "Yes, Sensei!"

"Beginning tomorrow morning, you will start your official technique training with Asuka!" The master revealed, still sounding quite serious. This was it, no more games. Kiro was going to become a true disciple.

"And maybe I'll show you a thing or two myself..." Bakusa butted in awkwardly, as he was moved by Kiro's spirit. He deserved a bit of training from someone as great as he was.

"Karate really is the best martial arts to learn." Shin bragged, nudging that he'd train Kiro as well, as he sipped a bit more from his cup.

"Then it's settled!" Muhai was surprised just how quickly everyone was willing to jump in to help Kiro. He was happy that they felt the same way he did.

"Back off guys, he's mine," Asuka chuckled. She was happy that Kiro was going to train with her and she couldn't wait to see how far she could push him and how far he would push himself. "Thank you, Sensei," she said and gave Muhai a bow.

Ally smiled when Kiro agreed to continue with his training. She really did think he was giving up for a minute and was overwhelmed with joy to hear his decision.

*LATER ON*

Asuka watched the door slightly budge and she knew that this meant Kiro was there. She walked up to the door and opened it, letting the boy in. "You're just in time for your training," she said. The normal assortment of weights and training equipment were in their usual places, but in the center of the mat there hung several ropes. The five hung down from the beams and created a line. As they went on, each rope got shorter until it reached the infamous pull up bar.

"Brazilian Jiu Jitsu requires a lot of grip strength. You don't want your opponent to be able to pull out of your hands in the middle of the fight," she grabbed her own wrist and pulled out of her own grip to emphasize the point, "Not only that, but you need tricep strength to pull your enemy. What I need you to do is climb each rope and when you get to the top, climb back down. Don't let your hands slide not only will that develop no strength but you can hurt yourself. Climb down one hand at a time. Once you get to the bottom of the rope use your abs to create momentum and swing to the next rope. Do this for every rope. Once you get to the bottom of the fifth rope you need to swing and catch yourself on the pullup bar. Do one pull up and one chin up, then we'll begin your training."

"Alright, I guess." Kiro awkwardly replied, as she gave the specific instructions. He fell multiple times, as he landed painfully on his back every time, in an attempt to conquer only the first rope. It took him about twenty minutes, as he finally swung on to catch the second rope, immediately falling face-first onto the ground. After only a couple of hours, Kiro had found himself hanging from the pull-up bar, having already performed a single chin-up on it (with great difficulty). He grunted, as he tried to use all of his arm strength to do the single pull-up. He made it about halfway up, before falling on his back once more. He got up to try another one, but was quickly stopped Bakusa, who was listening to Kiro's sad performance from afar.

"Don't try any of that sissy crap, kid!" The master screamed at him, as he pointed off in Kiro's direction. "You go right back to the first rope, and start all the way over!"

"Yes, sir." Kiro sighed, as he dragged himself back to the first rope.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kiro was halfway up the pull-up bar again, as he winced his face tightly. "Come on!" Kiro exclaimed, inching closer and closer to the bar. His chin barely managed itself passed the bar, as he immediately dropped to the ground, on his back once again. "I-I did it, Sensei!" He screamed out between exhausted breaths. He was too tired to turn his head and look at her, but Kiro assumed she had fallen asleep with how long it had taken him.

Asuka watched Kiro try and try. When he dropped down on the first pullup Asuka considered letting it slide. She still needed him alive for the actual technique training. When Bakusa told him to restart she was thankful. Instead of her looking like the bad guy it was him. She smiled at him briefly, sure he could sense her thanks.

Kiro finally made it through the ropes and Asuka immediately moved on. "Ally!" she called her other disciple from her own strength training. She raced over and stood by Asuka, ready for helping.

"In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu there are three main positions. I'm going to teach you how to switch between them. From these three positions stem a variety of other moves and techniques."

Asuka then proceeded to lie on the mat while Ally positioned herself on Asuka, one knee on each side of the woman's hips. "Learning this at first can feel awkward, but don't ever treat it that way. This is a martial art. The position we are in is called Top Guard. Ally's holding the guard because she's in the dominant position. From here I can't get up and do anything." Asuka sat up and Ally forcefully pushed her onto her back.

"I can't go up, but she can come down," Asuka said and ripped Ally down to her chest by the Gi's collar. "So her center of gravity is all messed up. She doesn't have power bent down like this. All I need to do is buck my hips and she'll fly off." Asuka bucked her hips to the side, still gripping the collar, and rolled them both, now on top of Ally. "It's as simple as that."

Asuka got off of Ally and sat on her knees. Ally wrapped her legs around Asuka's waist. "Now Ally is in Full Guard. Now with this position I can't just switch into Full Guard like with Top Guard, but I can go into Side Guard, but I'll show you that in a second."

"It's a little more complicated getting into a guard after escaping Full Guard, but you'll catch on quick. I can't just stand up," Asuka said and stood. Ally was still latched onto Asuka, now hanging in the air by Asuka's waist. "If I stand she can perform different takedowns and chokes, but that's a little complex for now. So," she said and sat down again," I'm just going to force her legs apart." Asuka placed her hands on Ally's stomach and her elbows on the inside of the disciple's thighs. She pressed down, creating pressure in the stomach and legs, until the girl released her grip.

"It's as easy as that. From here, once the guard is down, I'm going to push her knee down," Asuka did so, "step over the right leg," she stepped over her leg, "and place my chest on hers, forcing all of my weight onto her," she went chest to chest with the girl and it was clear she wasn't getting as much oxygen as before. "You're not going to know exactly where to put the pressure to restrict her breathing some just yet, but just your weight will keep you in some kind of advantage. From here I put my right arm under her neck and hold her there. Now I'm in Side Guard. Look at where my legs are," Asuka said. Her right leg was out and she balanced on the ball of her foot and toes while her left knee was placed firmly in Ally's hip. "This gives me a strong base and the ability to move with her. You can also position like," she got onto both of her knees and left them about shoulder-width apart, "this. It's stronger than the other way but has slightly less mobility. A third way of holding yourself would be," she shot both of her legs out and was now balancing on her toes, her back straight, "this. It has the most mobility, but is hardest to transfer into other positions, at least in my opinion. The first way is standard, so I'll teach you like that," she explained and went into the first foot placement. "This is Side Guard."

"From Side Guard all I have to do is hop on top of her to get Top Guard." Asuka swung her right foot over Ally's legs and released her grip under the neck and was immediately in Top Guard. "It's easy."

Asuka went back into Side Guard with Ally on the bottom. "Escaping it takes a minute to learn, but once you have it it's easy. Ally is going to spear her left arm up, since I'm on the right side, and release my grip." Ally lifted her arm up and Asuka's went with it. "From here she needs to shoot her hips out to that big gap she created on the left side." Ally shoved her hips to the left, now on her side and out from under Asuka. "She escaped and all she needs to do is wrap her legs around my waist and she's back in Full Guard." Ally demonstrated, wrapping her legs around Asuka, and they were back at the beginning of the cycle.

"We'll show you this two more times and from there it's your turn so pay attention." Asuka and Ally went through all three of the motions twice, the first time slow and the second time faster, more realistically but not too fast.

"Alright, now go through it with Ally, you start on the bottom of Top Guard. Go through every piece of the cycle and once you've some that you'll repeat the cycle, switching roles." She wasn't going to give him any weighted gear this time as he just needed to learn. "As you her the hang of it, Ally will start resisting and even countering. Don't slip up or she'll get you into a choke. For now I want you to learn. Got it?"

***

Kiro did indeed feel awkward, as the woman sat on top of him. He had gotten a bit closer with Ally, but not enough to be comfortable with anything like this. Kiro hesitantly grabbed the girl's collar, as he pulled her in close. He bumped her up with his hips, as he very slowly rolled them both until he was no longer on the bottom. Somehow, however, Kiro ended up beside Ally, rather than on top of her, still holding on to her gi. "I guess that wasn't exactly right." Kiro laughed awkwardly, as he let go of the girl's collar.

"Well...well you two love birds are all over each other you guys should get a room," Shin laughed as he was watching the whole time,,,the whole time. Shin took a sip of his tea. "Well you looking lonely how bout you teach me some of these moves," Shin said to Asuka as he laughed a bit more. "Ah that was a good one," Shin thought as he began to tear up from laughing as he began to to stop taking a sip of his tea. "Well anyways I came here for the boy it's my turn to teach him some real Martial Arts," Shin said to Asuka revealing the true reason why he interrupted.

Asuka shook her head at Kiro's technique. He couldn't even flip her over and she was at least thirty pounds lighter than him! Then Shin interrupted. "You couldn't handle these moves," Asuka laughed, blushing slightly. When he mentioned that it was his turn to train Kiro, she was about to object, but realized that Kiro used most of his time on the ropes. Next time I'll make it quicker so we'll have more time with this, Asuka thought. "Okay okay, fine you can have him. But Jiu Jitsu is a real martial art!" she yelled, shaking her fist.

Ally stood up, surprised that Kiro couldn't even flip her over. She too had to admit that it was somewhat awkward since the only people she ever did this with were female. Even so, she knew when it got to locks and chokes it wouldn't be so awkward. She stood up and straightened her gi, happy this whole awkward experience was over for now.

"What-!?" Kiro quickly stood up straight, his face bright red, as he dusted his pants legs off. "Sensei Asuka was just teaching us Jiu Jitsu!" Kiro was quick to explain, hoping Shin didn't get the wrong idea.

Shin grabbed the boy by his shirt collar as he dragged him. "I'll be seeing you two bye," Shin said as left the room

*SOME TIME LATER*

"So...," Shin looked around as he looked at the time realizing it was time to go pick up his tea delivery he ordered. "Ah lets begin with endurance training Kiro to build up your stamina looking the way you are it looks like who have none," Shin said to Kiro. "You are going to run to go pick up my tea....in Tokyo and back....while dragging me in my wagon!," Shin yelled as his face looked very serious the face seemed to even scare Kiro a bit because he's never seen him serious.

"But..But...That's like 20 miles," Kiro said as he felt that was a bit much.

"Exactly lets go!" Shin yelled as he put a harness on Kiro which was attached to a wagon. Shin jumped into the wagon as he pulled out a whip....

"Why to you have whip!?" Kiro questioned Shin as it almost seemed like he plan for Kiro to get his tea as soon as he walked into the dojo.

"GO my student GO!" Shin yelled as he snapped the whip closed to Kiro's back scaring him to begin running. HE continued to Whip behind Kiro just enough so he wouldn't hit him but if he slowed down he would.

*A couple of hours later*

They arrived back at the dojo As Kiro fell over in exhaustion. Shin jumped off "Well it's not over yet I still have to teach you something when you catch your breath come on in," Shin said as he to the wagon inside and began to brew up another batch of tea.

Kiro rubbed the whipping marks on his back, as he lied on the ground, simply staring up at the sky.

Shin jumped off "Well it's not over yet I still have to teach you something when you catch your breath come on in," Shin said as he to the wagon inside and began to brew up another batch of tea.

"What!?" Kiro exclaimed, as he quickly shot up. "You mean there's more training to do!?" He complained with a sigh, several tears streaming down his eyes. 'Are they trying to kill me!?' He cried. At first Kiro sat there, thinking the master was joking, but came to a rude awakening when Shin didn't return. 'I guess I have no choice...' He reasoned with another sigh, as he took off his harness, and stood back up on his feet. He slowly walked back into the dojo after Master Shen, as he ached all over his body.

Bakusa was seen in the distance, continuing his own hard training, as he balanced himself upside down on two fingers of his left hand, doing a series of two-finger one hand handstand push-ups.

"Well let's begin now I'm going to teach you how to to do a and easy and basic counter," Shin said as he got in a Stance, "This is known as an Renoji Dachi also know as L stance you keep one foot forward and one turn to the side hence the name L stance," Shin explained to the boy, "You want to keep one had in front of you an the other towards your gut, Shin continued to explain. "Know I in this stance I could use my forward hand to strike or to defend, but for the sake that you won't be picking a fight lets just use it for defending I want you to throw a simple punch at me and I'll redirect it, Shin said as he was ready for kiro to throw a punch.