Ally didn't believe Niijima's made up story, but she wasn't going to convince Kiro. Niijima was such a good actor that there was part of her that believed him, but living at the dojo taught her not to believe people like this. Besides even if she told Kiro she didn't believe Niijima's story he would be too stubborn to believe her since innocent people could be in danger.

"Alright, two things, one, I'm not his girlfriend and two, I'm still keeping your jacket," she said, straightening the jacket and then she followed them. If anything goes wrong I have Kiro's back, She thought, thinking of Niijima's slip of the tongue.

(Small time jump here, just so no one is confused.)

"This way!" Niijima hastily exclaimed, as he darted down another hallway. The boy was a lot faster than both Kiro and Ally, even with their training, as he was a master in the art of escaping.

Kiro turned another corner, as he finally found Niijima stopped in front of a door. Above the door, a sign was posted, reading: 'Newspaper Club!'

"Here it is, old buddy! Right in here, my friends really need your assistance!" Niijima lied, as his tongue slithered around out of his mouth like a snake's own. Niijima couldn't contain himself, as he laughed evily, slowly turning the doorknob to let Kiro in. Once the door was fully open, Niijima gestured him inside.

Kiro heard the cheers of a crowd, as he hesitated slightly before Niijima completely shoved him inside the room. The club's room had been completely redecorated, as the space was completely cleared out of all computers, printers, and most furniture. Thick red tape had been placed on the center of the floor, creating one giant square. Outside of this square, perhaps a hundred people sat in folding chairs, as they cheered Kiro on as he came in. An enormous banner hung on the back wall, as it read the following words:'Iron Grip Shaz VS. Weak-Knees Kiro'. Just below the banner, standing just on the other side of the redtape arena, was a rather tough looking figure.

Kiro's face went pale white, as immediately realized the situation. It was Iron Grip Shaz! Kiro's legs started to shake again, as he gulped, looking down to only now realize that he stood on the inside of the tape.

"Alright, let's get ready to rumble!" Niijima exclaimed to the crowd, now dressed up fully in a referee's outfit. "Just try to keep it clean, will ya', fellas? We still have to use this room later, after all." Niijima chuckled evilly, as he stood in between the two.

Kiro clenched his fists, as he looked up to stare Shaz in his face. "No!" He exclaimed angrily to his 'opponent', along with the rest of the crowd.

"Huh, what?" Niijima questioned, as he looked over at Kiro. "Hey, come on buddy, you're sort of ruining the mood. Just put on a good show for the crowd, will you?" Niijima whispered into his ear.

"I refuse to fight someone without a reason. I won't just battle because you ask me to." Kiro wisely spoke, as he turned back to the exit. It may have seemed like a cowardly move, but if he fought Shaz like this, without any good reason, then in Kiro's eyes, he wouldn't be any different than any other delinquent on the streets. He started learning martial arts so he could defend himself, and the people he loved, not so he could fight for others' entertainment. "Thanks for wasting my time, Niijima." Kiro angrily mumbled, as he started to take a step out of the square.

When Ally saw the whole setup she frowned. She knew Niijima was up to no good! How could bullies just rip apart the Newspaper room without teachers finding out? Of course no one would rat out an entertaining fight like this. When Kiro refused to fight Ally smiled and said, "Good." The masters didn't teach him so he could entertain people who has nothing better to do. They taught him to keep him safe.

"So your running all ready coward I guess the rumor's were false you really didn't beat Iigima," Shaz said as he began to walk towards Kiro. "Or are you walking away because you think I'm just a waste of your time huh you damn bastard," Shaz continued to walk while he cracked his knuckles. "I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass," Shaz said to Kiro as he then gave a glare at Ally. "So you brought your girlfriend to watch how sad that she going to have to take you to the hospital after this!" Shaz yelled as he sprinted a bit to Kiro what seemed like an ordinary a right straight at Kiro. Shaz would believe that he would go for a block and as soon as that happened he opened his hand him mid swing to got for a grab.

Kiro had frozen in place, just before he left the 'ring', as he heard Shaz call him a coward. It angered him greatly that the bully would stand there and say such things. Kiro quickly whipped around once he heard Shaz rushing at him, quickly putting up a mid-block. It was a quick defense, and would've worked too, if it wasn't a faint! Kiro's eyes widened, as his left arm was caught by Shaz's amazing grip. The boy had paused in fear, as memories flooded back of precisely what everyone had said on the matter.

"You see, Kiro, judo mainly focuses on throws, chokes, and joint locks. And in an actual judo match, this is how you would get your points to win. Guys will spend years trying to master these moves, eventually getting to the point where they could throw and sling you around in whatever sort of way they desired. Remember that in the fight, once you get in their grip, you're like putty in their hands. You have to be extra careful, especially if the guy's trained." The master explained,

"My intel tells me he's a master in judo, Iron Grip Shaz they call him, because once you get in his grip, you're done for! Impossible to escape from! I've seen it first hand, you don't get out unless he wants you to." Niijima laughed as if he wanted Kiro to be afraid, as the pointy-eared boy recalled the match between Shaz and the other member of Ragnarok.

'This is exactly what they told me to be careful of!' Kiro cried internally, as his face turned pale white. Kiro was so busy dreading the next attack, he had missed his split-second opening to counterattack. By the time he started hesitating, the chance had already escaped him, as he had psyched himself out into thinking that his opponent's hands really were inescapable.

"The only one that'll need the hospital is you!" Ally shouted at Shaz, holding herself back. Of course only moments after saying that Kiro was caught in his Iron Grip! He didn't know how to grapple like this and only knew one Karate move that was similar to Judo, but it was a counter to a punch, not a grab. She wanted to dump all of her grappling knowledge into his brain and then let him go against Shaz. If things get too ugly I'm going to have to jump in, his fight or not, she thought.

"You idiot!" Shaz exclaimed, as he quickly pivoted to be beside Kiro, still hanging onto his arm, as he grabbed onto the boy's waist with his free hand before completely slinging him over his shoulder.

Kiro fell flat on his back, as he grunted a bit. The boy slowly rolled over onto his stomach, as he started to get back up. If it weren't for all of his painful 'lessons' thus far, he would have already been down for the count.

"Well," Shaz smirked, as he walked over beside the boy, who had just gotten up to a single knee, "at least you can take a hit." The bully laughed, as he grabbed Kiro by the hair.

Kiro winced, as the bully had gotten to him before he had a chance to recover.

Many people cheered and laughed from the audience, as Shaz went in for another devastating attack.

Shaz lifted Kiro up slightly, before launching his face back into the ground, his hand guiding it all the way. A loud slamming sound could be heard, as Kiro's face was driven into the wood floor. His face slid slightly, leaving a small trail of blood. Shaz let go of his head once the freshman had stopped moving, as he brought his hand to his face to blow out the loose strands of hair that were once on Kiro's head.

The crowd had quieted down, as most simply sat in shock at Shaz's brutality. The attack was so devastating, most people felt like they could feel it themselves.

"Man, this wasn't even worth the entrance fee, the fight's already over!" One man complained from his seat.

"Well, it's too late now, pal. No refunds." Niijima laughed evilly from a far, seemingly unaffected by Kiro's quick defeat.

"I'm tired of being put up against these talentless amateurs." Shaz sighed with boredom, as he stared down at the motionless boy. "I got my hopes up for nothing." He mumbled, as he started to turn to walk away.



"Wow, look at that!" A girl was heard saying off in the distance.

"Man, if he can still move after that, it's no wonder he beat a guy like Ijime!" Another person mumbled.

Shaz slowly turned back around, as he was shocked to find Kiro was now fully risen to his feet.

He stood strong in his horse stance, his eyes shifted towards the ground. Kiro's leg's trembled, as they were already ready to give in and fall back to the floor. His arms were the same way, as he almost felt like he had a couple of his dumbbells in either hand. "I may not have any natural talent, but someone told me," he rose his eyes to face Shaz's (at least, his sunglasses), "hard work always trumps over talent! I've been training my hardest for the last month, as my masters have been trying just as hard to teach a sad soul like myself. If I lose now, and throw away all the hard work and effort I've put in, I'm not sure I'll have the heart to face." Kiro wiped a some blood dripping down from his mouth, as he kept his stance strong. He was ready this time, as Kiro knew his training wouldn't fail him, not if he stopped playing around and put it to use.

Ally winced as Kiro was flipped to the ground. Even she had felt that, but she had to cover her own face when Shaz scraped Kiro's face along the wood. "Kiro!" Ally shouted from the complaining crowd.

"Man, that Kiro guy must be really stupid!" someone laughed from their seat.

"Hey, shut up!" Ally shouted and pushed the guy out of his seat. He gave her a glare and she hissed, "I dare you to do something."

Of course he just grumbled and went be I to his seat, keeping any comments and complaints to himself.

Ally then returned her attention to Shaz and Kiro. Her jaw dropped as Kiro got up. She knew he could do it, but his feat still amazed her. "That's right, Kiro! Don't let him get you!"

"Huh what do you think training hard for a month is going to do for you kid i don't care how long you've trained I knew Judo my whole life I was forced to become as strong as possible I never really had a choice to become strong I just am and my skills far surpasses yours loser," Shaz said as he began to get in a stance himself he seemed to hunch over a bit with one fist close to his chest and out in front of him. Shaz then began to run a towards Kiro once again trying to grab him again but his time with both hands. "There no escape this time loser!" Shaz yelled.

Kiro took in a deep breath, as he quickly threw out a single right cross to Shaz's face in the middle of his launch. The freshman hoped to catch him by surprise, as he refused to let another opportunity to counter pass him up. His heart was beating fast, and his legs were shaking uncontrollably. Even though he trained and sparred every day, this was only his second real fight, so things were still pretty horrifying for the young man.

Shaz was got caught by the right cross and his head flew back as he caught his balance. His sunglasses were shattered as he threw them to the ground giving Kiro a very angrily glare that scared everyone in the crowed everyone knew it was a death wish to get Shaz mad. "You bastard you going to pay for that!" Shaz yelled in anger as he ran and grabbed Kiro by the waist picking his up and slamming him onto the wooden floor. Before Kiro could have gotten up to recover Shaz got right on top of him and began to punching him in the face over and over, "This is for my sunglasses you loser!" Shaz yelled as he continued to attack the downed freshmen.

Kiro found it difficult to keep his eyes open, as he was repeatedly hit by Shaz's mighty blows. He tried his best to ignore the pain of every fist, as the boy tried to stay conscious to focus on his next move. He opened his eyes barely, into a squint, as he saw it! AN opening! He shot his left arm up, as he got a good grip on Shaz's collar. He yanked the bully's upper half down close to him, as he used the combined efforts of his pull and his hip to roll the bully back off to the ground. Instinctively, because of all of his training, Kiro found himself on top of Shaz, a single fist held back in preparation to strike. Kiro had a different look in his eye for a moment, as he stared down at his opponent. It quickly vanished, as Kiro loosened his fist, as well as the grip on Shaz's collar. He slowly got back up to his feet, as he got in a ready back stance. He doubted it, but Kiro hoped that Shaz would be willing to give up.

Students laughed from all across the crowd, as Shaz rose to his feet to face Kiro again. The bully started to grind his teeth, as he clenched his fists. He charged at Kiro once more, as a quick jab was thrown in the bully's direction. "You idiot, do you really think I'd make the same mistake twice!?" Shaz angrily screamed, as he easily caught the punch with a single hand.

"Never crossed my mind." Kiro smirked, as he sent his knee flying up towards the side of Shaz's abdomen. 'Just a couple of solid strikes, that's all it'll take!'



Shaz instinctively bent over, as he was caught be surprise by the powerful blow. His mouth gaped open, as all the wind was knocked completely out of him. 'I thought this guy was an amateur, where the heck is all this strength coming from!?' The bully thought frantically, as he quickly tried to recover before things got too out of control. He kept his ground, as slowly looked up to figure out his opponent's next move.

Kiro wasted no time, as he followed up his attack with a fierce open-palm uppercut. He pictured in his mind, Master Rekin doing the move himself. His face had gone back to the way it was when he had Shaz on the ground, he was completely drawn into the fight at hand, and was forcing Shaz to follow his rhythm.

Shaz was once again caught off by Kiro's speed, as he caught the man's wrist just before it had a chance to collide with his chin. "You almost had me there, kid." Shaz chuckled mockingly to Kiro.

"First you do a uppercut to the chin, with a open hand, at close range, your opponent will probably grab this hand to stop the attack, that's when..."

Kiro put his right hand under his left arm's elbow, as he remembered Rekin's own words.

"...you use your other hand to strike your elbow, now the force of two hands is behind the one hand, and since your hand is on his chin there's no way he can dodge!" Rekin shouted,

"Takusousho!" Kiro shouted out the technique, as he used his right hand to put double the force behind the single uppercut, easily breaking out of the bully's grip.

Shaz's head flew back, as he was hit by the devastating technique. Once again, instinctively, he slouched slightly, as he rubbed his chin with a single hand. He struggled to stay on his feet, as before he had time to react, Kiro was already sending out his next attack.

"Dee Sork Toron!" He shouted another move, as he shot out a sudden elbow strike towards Shaz while he was distracted, aimed to him downward. Kiro kept his guard up high with his other hand, it was almost like a resting position at this point in his training.

"Yeah! My buddy! You can do it, I knew you'd win from the very start!" Niijima cheered on from the crowd, as he stood on top of his chair.

Kiro was being beaten to a pulp and Ally wanted more than anything to jump in, but it wasn't her place once again. This was his fight and if she jumped in then people might assume Kiro was in a gang or more of Shaz's followers could hop in. It was impossible to tell if anyone here was with Shaz or not, besides eliminating some of the familiar faces. The Kiro applied his fighting knowledge. Ally was impressed when Kiro executed the move Asuka taught him. We told him it wasn't awkward! she cheered in her mind. Kiro was now on top of Shaz and had the upper hand. She was slightly confused when he didn't attack while Shaz was down and wasn't sure whether to classify it as honorable or stupid, admirable or prideful. If it was her she would've hit Shaz a bit while he was down, but then again that would put her on the same level as the bully and she was sure Kiro would never want that.

After standing, Kiro got in a few good strikes. "Yeah! That's right!" she cheered. Of course Shin wasn't used to strikes! As a Judo student he was used to getting slammed around and choked, pain completely different from getting punched in the face. Kiro looked like he was going to win the fight!

"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?"

Master Muhai's words rang in Ally's ears. Maybe Kiro shouldn't defeat Shaz. It would still lead to bullying around town, but people at school would remember he beat the leader of the Karate Club with one simple move. If foes were just going to get tougher, would they eventually surpass Kiro's limits? Would he end up dying getting beat by some thug? She shook these thoughts away and focused on the Kiro she knew now. "Come on!"

Shaz began to try dodge the attack but realize it was to late putted up a high guard to the block the elbow strike. "I won't lose to you!" Shaz said as he threw a punch right Kiro's face. "Where did all this loser's strength come from what the hell kind of training did he do for a month" Shaz thought as he was confused how the one sided battle seemed to do a complete 180.

Kiro jumped high into the air, as he deflected the punch in a similar fashion as that of Master Shin's own technique. He then quickly grabbed onto Shaz's head with both of his hands, as he brought his knee charging upwards, at the same time bringing Shaz's head down as well.

Bakusa stood next to one of his punching posts, as he figured it would be better to try it out on that, rather than on Kiro. "All you wanna do kid, is put your hands right behind this Iron Grip Guy's neck or head." He looked over at Kiro to make sure the idiot was paying attention. "Right," He coughed awkwardly, as this was his first time legitimately teaching someone. "That's when you bring your knee up for a powerful blow, simultaneous taking their head down to meet your knee halfway." Bakusa demonstrated the technique so quickly, Kiro barely even saw it, as the top of the post went flying off in the distance. "You hit him with this technique, and any normal man will go crashing down, or worse." Bakusa laughed evilly at his final remarks.

Kiro gulped. "Or worse?"

"You might kill him, that's how you know you're really doing it right! It's my ultimate finisher; I call it..."

"Kao Loi!" Kiro screamed out, as his knee came speeding towards Shaz's face.

Shaz was hit with the knee in the face by the knee and fell back words hitting the floor hard. "Damn...it," Shaz said under his breath. how could i have lost where did that kid get all that power from I let my guard down Shaz thought as began to try to think where he went wrong in the fight as he lied on the floor before he became unconscious.

"Wow he defeated Shaz no way!" Someone yelled in the crowed.

"Can i take his wallet!?" someone questioned as everyone looked in awe as they saw the big bully Shaz has fallen.

"Yeah, Kiro!" Ally cheered once Shaz was out cold. He pushed past the odds and defeated the bully for the second time! He doubted his abilities and yet they had gotten him this far, so far he defeated someone who did Judo all their life and Kiro reached this peak after only a month! Ally stepped into the tape boundaries and stood beside Kiro, giving him her shoulder to lean on.

Kiro's eyes went back to normal, as he came back to the real world. With the nonstop train he had been doing, once he had gotten into the rhythm, his body almost moved on its own. He stared down at Shaz's motionless body, as he struggled to stay up by himself. Kiro fell down to his knees, as he slowly leaned over Shaz's body, pressing an ear against his chest.

Kiro gulped. "Or worse?"

"You might kill him, that's how you know you're really doing it right!" Bakusa assured him.

"However, you must promise me that you will never do this move full power on a weak opponent because if you do they will die." Rekin said looking even more serious than usual.

Kiro began to grin ear-to-ear, as he looked back up at Ally. "He's not dead, Ally! He's alive! He's alive!" He laughed, as he sat back comfortably on his knees. The boy suddenly froze, as he grabbed hold of his head, wincing slightly. "Hurts to laugh..." He mumbled quietly.

"Let's get out of here, who knows what kind of berserker rage that Ragnarok guy could get into if he wakes up." One man was heard telling his friends off in the distance, as some students began to disperse out from the room.

"Or if some of his friends come and think we're with that other guy..." A girl commented, referring to Kiro.

"C-Come on, Ally. You gotta help me." He pathetically asked of her, as he struggled to put Shaz's arm around his neck and shoulder. "We can't take him back to Rekin, but we can at least drop him off at the nurse's office so he can get help." He grunted, as he tried to stand on his feet, lifting the bully up with him. He fell back onto his bum, as he was still pretty wounded from the fight. He figured Shaz didn't have all that many friends to take care of him like Ijime did. 'I caused these injuries, it's the least I can do.' Kiro thought, as he stared down at Shaz's hunched head. He hopelessly tried to lift the man again, as every part of his body ached and burned.

Ally moved to help Kiro with Shaz, but Kiro slipped down. She caught Shaz's unconscious body and slung his arm over his shoulder. She then held out her hand and helped Kiro up. She didn't question why he wanted to help Shaz. If it were her she would've left him there, but Kiro wouldn't let that happen. That was what made him admirable. Shaz could be the meanest person on earth and yet Kiro would help him in his time of need. "That was a really good fight, the masters will be proud," Ally assured Kiro.

Kiro chuckled slightly, sounding exhausted, as the faintest smile made its' way onto his face. "You really think so?" He appreciated the praise, and became quite happy, as he thought about the masters' own reaction to hearing their disciple won another battle.

"Not a bad fight, my friend." Niijima laughed, as he gave him a short pat on the back. "You're really climbing up on the popularity chain these days," he added, as he pulled out his PDA to make a few changes here and there to his plans.

Kiro winced once the hand hit him, as Niijima had hit dead-on on one of his bruises. He just continued on to the doorway with Shaz and Ally, as Kiro felt just a bit too tired to deal with Niijima. Just as Kiro reached to open the doorknob, the door suddenly swung open, as someone kicked it.

It was the dark-haired, tall man that had challenged Shaz a while back! He carried a baseball bat this time, as about a dozen men stood behind him, most of them all carrying a weapon of sorts. "Well, what do we have here?" He laughed, as he saw his unconscious rival hang in between the two others. "I was told I'd find Shaz here, but I never imagined it would be in a state like this!" He continued to laugh, as the intimidating figures behind him did the same. "Listen, kid," The man looked over at Kiro. "I have orders to take you out,"

Kiro gritted his teeth, and clenched his fists, as he stared back up at the tall man. He was in no condition to fight again, but if he had to, he would.

Niijima shook in fear, as he slowly backed away towards a far-off corner. 'He's not as strong as Shaz, but in the state the ol' boy's in, and with those weapons...' He reasoned why Kiro and Ally would lose.

"But I'll make a deal with you, since you seem pretty beaten up. I didn't come here for you, I came for him." He pointed his bat off towards Shaz. "I'll let you and your friends walk away today. Leave now, and we won't have any problems, kids. We can settle our fight another day." He said it as if he was being extremely merciful, because in his eyes, there was no way any of them stood a chance against him and his group.

"Take the deal, Kiro! That's Taro Ito, he has the same ranking in Ragnarok as Shaz!" Niijima warned Kiro to try and get him to back down, so they could all leave safely. "Who cares about the guy!? He tried to beat you up, for crying out loud!" Niijima angrily continued upon seeing hesitation in Kiro's eyes.

"You can forget it!" Kiro exclaimed to the bully, as he slowly brought Shaz to the ground behind him. "I'm not sure what kind of beef you have with Shaz, but I won't let you fight him so unfairly like this!" His legs started to shake uncontrollably, as he brought his fists up. He had Ally with him, but these guys had weapons! Some of them rather sharp-looking! He hadn't had any sort of weapons training, and so was petrified to face them.