#kengan vs purgatory

[count-alucard-tepes]

Honestly, I kinda wish Kanoh stopped fighting after the Kengan vs Purgatory event. He literally has no reason to fight anymore.

Like, I just want this man to find himself and then live on the beach in a cool beach house and just live his fucking best life because he deserves it!

He owes no one anything and owes himself everything!😭

He’s just such a cutie pie (all 201cm and 130 kgs)

Marry me, Kanoh and let me have your babies

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Being in a relationship with Narushima Koga...

( Disclaimer: Darker themes touched, the reader was a victim of the Gu ritual )

The first time Koga fell in love was when he was in Yamashita-san's office, sitting on a desk next to Ryuki, getting taught some useless stuff by Kaede. He hadn't expected the door to get opened and for two men with completely different auras to step in, nor for a girl around his age to follow close behind. Until then, Koga would occasionally have small crushes on pretty girls in highschool, but one look at the beautiful lady in front of him, and he was a blushing mess. Why? He couldn't understand either. Was it her princess-like grace? That pretty dress? Her long, wavy hair with that cute bow? Or was it that mysterious vibe she gave off, highlighted only by that stoic and rather apathetic look on her face?

His bewitching was short lived, for the pretty lady called Y/N simply scoffed, calling him weak all of a sudden. He couldn't help but feel his jaw drop to the ground from shock - How could she call him weak, of all things? Sure, he wasn't yet as strong as that boy, Cosmo, but he is determined and ambitious to surpass even him, and even that man with black hair who beat him to hell that night in the alleyway, when he and his group tried to gang up on him. He was hardworking enough and patient in his journey of becoming the strongest out there! How could she just call him - Weak?!

Angry, he stomped in front of her, easily towering over her smaller form, looking down at her aloof face - She didn't seem to sketch a single emotion whatsoever - Koga almost felt like he was trying to argue with a brick wall.

That, however, changed as soon as he tried to put his hand on her shoulder in an attempt at making her react in some way to his protests, yet before he could even blink, before his fingers could feel the thin material of her dress, he felt an electrifying pain surging through his wrist as though it got shattered, and his center of gravity got destroyed as he was thrown into the door, breaking it.

"Oops. Forgive me, Yamashita-san. I will pay for the damages." despite his vision being blurry, Koga's heart leapt slightly at the soft yet low voice of the frail-looking girl who somehow managed to break the door with him. Insane. Was she a fighter or what? The underground sure has a lot of surprises. "Listen, Y/N, I get it - I'm weak, by Kengan standards. I know that, okay?! I know! But I'm determined and I won't give up! Do you hear me?! I just can't stand the thought of someone out there who's stronger than me!" the twisted expression of sheer anger and ambition on his face made Y/N's eyes widen in surprise - Ohma used to say the exact same thing, bless his soul - And look where he is now, dead in a ditch. "...Better a living loser, than a dead champion." though Koga couldn't understand her mumbled words, he could feel the sorrow of not only her, but the other adults around the room also.

✮Since then, Himuro and Kaneda became his and Ryuki's mentors.

✮During the first day, Himuro took Ryuki to hell knows where, while Koga was taken by Kaneda to Sekibayashi's wrestling ring. Y/N was there, though she seemed even more silent and uncomfortable than before. Was she not comfortable with so many people surrounding her? It could be. She seemed like an introvert.

✮She got to watch him make a fool of himself, unable to keep up with Seki's squatting, and got beaten up to hell by Jose, how embarrassing.

✮Still, she didn't seem to sketch any ounce of disgust or disapproval. Instead, she silently took a handkerchief and delicately held his bloody and bruised face, cleaning it up.

✮He was a blushing mess.

✮When he was told about the Kengan vs Purgatory Tournament, he felt the need to see you and tell you all about it - But you already knew about it, of course.

✮Though he was a little flabbergast at how actively involved you are in this underground mess, his voice got so genuine and vulnerable, asking you if you thought he had any chance to secure a spot on the Kengan roster.

Your beautiful eyes bore sharply into his own, almost intimidating him. "I would say it sorely depends not only on your improvement in the next half a year, but on the amount of veterans that we manage to score on our side. Don't take it personally, but I would rather have 'Sasa or Agito, rather than a newby like you." Koga gulped, taking the brunt of her blunt sincerity - Though he hated to admit it, she was completely right. "On the other hand... Well, adding the political problem into the equation, and that we couldn't get in contact with even 'Tsumi or Rei... I wouldn't say it's all that impossible for you to take that spot. I would take you over some dumbass like Rihito any day." the way she rolled her eyes with complete denigration of that man she mentioned seemed to encourage him a little. "Ha! Thanks, Y/N! Lemme get you another frappe as thanks." though he suggested that, Y/N was already up on her feet, having paid the bill herself, and walked out of the cafe. "Hey, wait up!" he jogged after her, as she took the shortest path to the park, enjoying the warm weather. What a peculiar girl, Koga thought. "Hey, Y/N, why did you just leave like that?" Y/N rose a questioning eyebrow. "I knew you would follow." her simple reply shocked Koga, but at the same time, it also amused him. "Koga." she suddenly called out to him, stopping in her tracks. "Don't die too. Not like him." her voice was soft and sentimental. "I am no Buddhist, I cannot find the comfort in suffering, nor in the ephemeral state of life." "Come on now, don't say such things! There's no way I'd die!" chuckling leisurely, Koga swung his around around her shoulder, pulling her into his side, smirking confidently. At first, he didn't realise that her entire being froze up, and gingerly put away his hand so he wouldn't touch her. "Don't get cocky and don't underestimate your opponent." came her last bit of wisdom. "Don't worry, I won't! In fact, I promise I'll get so strong that I secure that spot!" he seemed determined enough. For the first time, Koga noticed a faint smile on her otherwise stoic face. It was beautiful.

✮True to his promise, Koga continued to train hard with Seki, and even listening to Ryuki's advice, all to get stronger and stronger. All for his goal, and to keep his promise to you.

✮He started training with Adam and Cosmo's master, went ice-skating even. Funny enough, you were also there, but you didn't bother with them much - It was rather humiliating, admitting to knowing Cosmo and Kureishi when they were playing around as Ina Bauer.

✮Still, Koga couldn't help but steal a few glances at you and your elegant skating - You seemed so at easy and happy dancing, as though you were in a dream state.

✮Cosmo and Adam teased him when they realised, and mentioned how you were a natural at skating, often coming by just to dance around. It only made Koga more determined to get better at it and complete Adam's challenge.

✮Needless to say, after this was over, Koga invited you to skate whenever he had some time to spare, and though he wasn't as graceful as you, nor did he know how to dance, you held endless patience in teaching him - And you even held his hand! If only you could see how red his face was as you helped him twirl around!

✮You were there to watch Ryuki's fight, but you admit to Koga rather shamelessly that you were far more interested in Nitoku's fight. It was very rare to see him going - Poor man must be getting broke again - But it made you happy. No other good fighter in Kengan was such a Sambo master, and you loved seeing all of his hard techniques dominating his enemies.

✮On occasion, Koga would ask you to come over for shopping with him and Ryuki, hoping to help the clueless boy get a fashion sense - Only to discover that you were also very much ripped away from reality, but just hid it better.

✮You simply accepted to dress with whatever clothes you were given, not having any opinion whatsoever about fashion, and likewise, had no clue about movies, games, or anything pop culture. He was shocked out of his mind.

✮How could either of you live just a secluded life, away from anything pop-culture?!

✮He had to remediate that by taking you to watch all kinds and genres of movies, introducing you to all of his playlists, showing you video games, arcades and what not.

✮Much to his surprise, you didn't show an immediate interest in absolute anything.

✮In truth, he thought he failed you, only to later hear you throwing off-comments about random things that he showed you - He was so touched! He got even more determined to help you find out things that you like.

✮Though you were a bit skeptical at first, you even agreed to have sleepovers with him, where you'd spend the whole night watching movie marathons or playing co-op games of all kinds.

✮Koga was so, so happy just spending time with you, and his crush on you only grew.

✮Especially after you gave him a small clap after winning a fight against Jose, or encouraging him briefly to get over his fear of his uncle and return to his karate dojo.

✮He even showed-off his newly polished finishing move to you, and he was so proud!

✮Though he thought things were going very well for him, the sky fell crumbling down on him upon discovering Ryuki was actually a remorseless killer.

✮He went to you for comfort, his eyes in tears, but you seemed completely unsympathetic.

"So what if he killed?" Koga's heart stopped moving. "When it's kill or be killed, you wouldn't let someone else take your own life, would you?" "Wh-What? How can you speak so casually about taking a life?!" he gasped, feeling so betrayed by his friend and crush. "You've lived a sheltered life, Koga. I speak from experience." Y/N shrugged simply, tilting her head slightly, confused at why he was overreacting. "S-So... Y-You're trying to say that you... You've killed, also?" he stuttered over his words pitifully. "Yup." she popped. "Didn't have much of an alternative, y'know? Life's life, and life sucks. Suppose I'd still be killing, were it not for Katahara." she hummed dryly. "Wh-What are you saying, Y/N?! What do you mean?" poor boy's mind was completely blank, unable to understand why the girl was so uncaring towards human life. "Stop being so over-dramatic." she rolled her eyes. "You got upset at Koga for no reason. Moreover, if Ryuki said that wasn't a man, but a bug, then no doubt, it was a Worm. Worms deserve death." "... I'm done with you. Both of you." Koga made the mistake of looking into your eyes, and saw how confused you looked at his reaction - You seemed as innocently confused and unaware, just like Ryuki was. Still, he couldn't continue staying around psychopath, so he left, choosing to focused entirely on fighting.

✮Thankfully, that didn't last long. Not only did he see you in the front row of his employment fight, but you were hanging around like a ghost during Ryuki's fight also - But you didn't intervene. You just left.

✮Though he made up with Ryuki, he still had to make up with you also somehow.

✮You didn't seem too bothered by it though. You even told him you had no idea why he was apologising. Water under the bridge, though you did point out that his naive thinking would make him lose in life.

✮Months passed, and you heard the new that Yamashita-san and Koga were attacked by the Worms, and you rushed to the hospital as fast as you could.

✮You didn't speak a word, though Koga could see that you were worried sick for him. He felt so flattered.

✮Nothing he did for you, however, earned the reaction that you made as soon as that black haired man, Ohma, entered his hospital room.

✮ "Ohma!" Y/N jumped to her feet, her voice raising for the first time in ages. The man was surprised to see you going out of your way to hug someone, but he merely chuckled, glad that people actually missed him.

✮You were also on Ohma's side when he told Koga he couldn't fight in the tournament. He was far too injured, and he was still nowhere on the veterans' level.

✮On the other hand, he felt light-hearted with Ohma's encouraging, and with you pushing the weirdo jerk you called Raian out of the window.

✮Seeing him in the hospital bed like that, you found yourself zoning out all the way until everyone left the two of you alone.

✮Koga ended up telling you about the guys who attacked him, to which you explained they were Worms - Hence why, you mentioned previously that they deserve to die. Now, he understood your words, and he regretted temporarily severing ties with you. He apologised again.

✮You ended up telling him a little about your life, how you were an orphan in Mainland China and how you were subjected to the Gu Ritual, and what it meant. The trauma you went through at such a frail age, and how you still can't get over many of the things that happened. You can't stand people touching you, you're constantly on the edge, crowds make you uncomfortable, and you always feel like people want to kill you out of nowhere.

✮You also tell him more delicate aspects of your life before old man Katahara found you and took you in, saying Sayaka needed a younger sister, but even with Agito as a mentor, someone who went through the same things as you, you couldn't get over what happened.

✮Instead, you adopted the same apathetic facade as the Fang and tried to carry on with life, hoping that someday, things will change.

✮After seeing Agito couldn't help you live a normal life, Himuro agreed to take you in and tried to show you that life wasn't as dangerous and evil as you were subjected to previously, and people weren't out to harm you all the time.

✮Koga ended up with tears in his eyes, and his first reaction was to throw his arms around you, pulling you in a tight bear hug and apologising for every time he touched you so familiarly, as he was so used to doing that with friends.

✮Once he realised that once again, through the hug, he was touching you, he tried to pull away - But much to his surprise, you didn't let him get away from the embrace.

✮"Thanks." he heard your soft whisper in his ear, and his heart started trembling even more from emotion, realising that you trusted him so much.

✮Being so familiar with most of the Kengan roster, you felt comfortable staying in the arena with them, silently cheering on them and getting a better view of the matches.

✮You even texted Koga to get over also - After all, why wouldn't he?

✮Both of you were overly frustrated when Gaolang lost his match all because of that stupid ringout rule, and for the first time, Koga noticed a grim frustration in your eyes. It wasn't often that you expressed any definite emotion, but by far, this was the most defined he's seen yet.

✮Contrary to the match-up rules though, instead of a Kengan fighter stepping first into the ring, a Purgatory beast of a man was already there, cackling like a maniac and taunting the Kengan side.

✮Though Koga wanted to curse under his breath at that petty behaviour, he noticed you unable to peer your eyes from that man. You were tensed up and trembling. Was it from fear? But why? Did you know that man?

✮That man was holding a dog collar and leash in his grasp, twirling around the collar with his finger and laughing. Was he deranged in the mind?

"Hey, Y/N, what happened?" Koga tried to gently call out to you, but you jumped away from him, and stepped back as if to seek comfort from the Fang. You were visibly hyperventilating and panicking. "I see you, pretty girl! You've grown up so much. I wonder how you look now, all string up to a tree with this leather beauty." unconsciously, Y/N held her hands over her neck, feeling herself getting strangled by the neck to the point of passing out. Agito knelt in front of you, trying to snap you out of it, and even Himuro rushed to your side, but nothing worked. "Come on over, pretty girl, you know you want your revenge, don't ya? You kill all those poor bastards, just to get the chance to kill me too, didn't you?" the man taunted. "You were my favourite apprentice, after all. Especially with this little thing around your neck." "That fucker! How dare he?! I'LL KILL HIM!" Koga got so angry that he almost stormed to the ring to kill that man for traumatising and humiliating you for most of your life. Ohma had to hold him down from doing anything stupid. "Huh? Don't worry, I'll fuck him up real good for ya, Y/N!" Rihito grinned widely at you, but you were unresponsive. "Come on, babe, come on out, let's play! Surely, you don't wanna wake up with a phone call telling you either of your daddies mysterious died, huh~?" all of a sudden, your shivering stopped, and an eerie aura engulfed you. Agito knew best, it was the same as when she was rescued from the ritual. It was the same as when HE was rescued from the ritual. The girl was going to fight to death for her revenge. "Piss off, weakling." Y/N hissed, using an elbow hit that slammed Rihito into the wall. "H-Hey, Y/N, you can't go out there!" Koga tried to stop her, but she was blind and deaf to anything surrounding her as she let her coat fall to the ground, stepping in the ring in a crop top and loose pants. "Oh, look at her, look at her go! Ready for the show, baby girl?" the man's laugh resounded creepily as he threw the dog leash at her. She simply discarded it out of the ring without any emotion.

Y/N took no stance, while the monster of a man got in whatever stance he liked. As soon as he lept at her with his speed, Y/N punched him in the cheek with an Ironbreaker, following up with faster and faster brutal blows in a dangerous storm, only to get her wrists caught by him. "What's it, Kitten? Afraid to unleash your tiny little claws?" while he was busy taunting he, Y/N channeled her anger to use Agito's trump card technique, the Dragon Shot, in his groin area, before grabbing him by the neck and using a Redirection Kata to throw him to the ground, before following with a strong kick to send him flying away, towards the edge of the ring. Y/N didn't allow him a moment of respiro, as she sprung to his side with a barrage of well-aimed jabs to all of his vitals, easily side-stepping his punches, and continuing to overwhelm him with Adamantine punches in the face. Y/N could faintly hear her name being chanted, cheers from her friends resounding through the place, only for her vision to blur suddenly. "Stupid little whore." the criminal spat as he easily punched her face, making her fall to the ground, spitting blood. It almost felt as if nothing she did was capable of comparing to the single hit she received, in terms of damage. "Stand up, you stupid girl. I'll show you what defectors gets for betraying their master." Y/N tried to attack again, but this time, her hand got easily caught. "You've grown weak, you useless girl." with a twist of her arm, the man harshly slammed her to the ground. "Renounce those stupid friendships you made that got you weak, and I'll consider taking you in again." he tried to slam his foot on her head, but she rolled away just in time, leaping away, but he caught up with her, burying his hand in her hair. "You're nothing without me." he slammed her face into the concrete. "You'll never escape me." he rose her head just enough to punch her away, before kneeing her in the diaphragm, causing her to hunch over in pain, to which she received an elbow to the back of the head, continued with repeated slams of her face into the ground once again, and a kick to the face, making her roll away. "YOU CAN'T DO SHIT WITHOUT YOU, YOU PATHETIC LITTLE BITCH!" he slammed her foot on her head. "Give up now. You can't defeat me. Just admit you're pathetic and come back to me. I promise I'll discipline you well." he cradled her face close to his own, before punching her away.

"Y/N, GET UP! GET UP!" she head Koga calling out to her, as well as the other fighters. The world was spinning around with her, and she felt like she was going to die. Her mouth was overflowing with blood that she continued to spit and vomit with each failed attempt at getting up.

"Ah, is that your boyfriend, toots? Should I start by ripping him to pieces in front of you? Yeah, that sounds good." at the simple mental image of a dead Koga, Y/N found the strength to spring with such speed and velocity strength that she took the beast by surprise with a well-aimed punch to his diaphragm, knocking his breath away, following with another storm of jabs and kicks that almost felt like overwhelmed him, until he retaliated with a punch to her jaw. "Is that all your love can get out of you?! Ha! How pathetic!" When he tried to punch her again though, she managed to catch his fist. "I'll rip your fucking throat out." Y/N hissed, kicking his breath away again, before overwhelming him with multiple aimed jabs. "There it is, there it is, look at you! I told ya, didn't I? It's not love that drives you - You can't love! You're a monster, just like me! You're incapable of love or being loved!" he cackled at her. "It's hatred that makes you strong! Hatred, rage, fear and hunger - All of this made you stronger!" he laughed loudly. "Now it's time I discipline my rebelious little bitch. Surely, you can handle me, can't you?"

Just as Y/N expected, that fucker released his Guihun and was ready to actually rip her to shreds for running away. "Y/N! YOU CAN DO IT! SHOW HIM WHO'S THE BOSS! WIN THIS, Y/N!" at once, both Y/N and the criminal clashed fists at such speed that even Koga and Yamashita had problem keeping up with. This almost equal exchange of hit and receive went on until Y/N received a kick to her heart, before getting picked up by the neck - He strangled her just enough to make her see stars, before punching her to the ground.

Y/N was unmoving. She was cursing herself for being so weak against the sucker who made a hell out of her entire life. She wanted revenge more than anything she ever wanted in life.

Faintly, she could hear the referee calling the countdown, slow and steady. In the distance, she could her hear friends calling out her name. How annoying.

"I told you, didn't I? You're not even strong enough to protect those you claim to love. It's because you're weak and pathetic. You'll pay for running away, Y/N, starting with killing that runt in front of you."

The only sound heard through the stadium was Y/N laughter as she got to her feet, a wide grin on her face. "I'd like to see you try, fuckass."

With an angry scowl, the criminal rushed to her, only for Y/N to catch his wrist with one hand, delivering an elbow shot Flashing Steel with the other, continuing with an Ironbreaker to the jaw and a number of ground grappling techniques that destroyed his elbow and knee. "I don't need you teaching me anything. I don't need anything from you. This is my Formless Niko style. My Y/N style. You can't take this away from me, no matter how hard you try." Y/N hissed, deflecting another punch and hitting his nose, making him growl. He grabbed her head and headbutted her hard, once and twice, sending them both to the ground.

"You'll regret this, you fucking whore--" in a flash, Y/N rolled away to avoid a kick, before she aimed a kick to his neck, at his windpipe, making his stagger enough for her to swipe his feet, sending him to the ground. She straddled his waist and angrily started pounding away at his head, releasing all of her pent up anger and frustration, her fear, her tears and everything that tainted her heart. "I was just a child, you fucking psychopath! You ruined me! You ruined my life! Fucking die already!" what happened after that, Y/N wasn't sure, but somehow, she was being held away from the dead body of the man she just murdered.

Koga had panicked, seeing her so far gone, continuing to destroy the man even after the ref called out the match was over. He threw his arms around her from behind, prying her away. "Y/N! Y/N, snap out of it! It's done, you killed him!" Y/N grew lax in his embrace, her body trembling softy. He realised she was weeping. "I was just a child." he could hear her sobbing. "I was barely 5 years old. What the fuck. What did I do to deserve it?" she continued crying in his arms, her head hung and bordering despair. "You did nothing wrong, Y/N. You didn't deserve any of it." Koga gently soothed her, turning her to hold her tightly to his chest, caressing her hair. "You're safe now. It's okay. Everything is okay now."

Agito and Himuro also stepped into the ring, saying she did great and that everything is going to be alright now, there's nothing that can hurt her anymore. With a nod of agreement to the men, Koga picked her up and got her to Hanafusa for a check up. She didn't need to hear that she lost because she killed her opponent. He deserved it, that son of a bitch. He wasn't even the littlest bit upset that his crush killed - She deserved the comfort of revenge and the peace of mind that her past can't haunt her anymore.

✮After Hanafusa took care of your injuries, he suggested you rest - But of course, you couldn't. You needed an urgent shower... And eventually, a long sleep. You were exhausted.

✮Koga waited for you just outside the stalls with your clothes and a towel.

✮He kept his eyes close so he wouldn't peak at your naked body, though his cheeks were deeply flustered.

✮ "What does it matter if one more person sees it?" Koga was really upset by the depressive comment, but didn't open his eyes. Instead, he stepped forward and wrapped the towel around your body like a blanket.

✮"It matters. I want you to feel comfortable around me. To know you can trust me. To know that I'd never do anything to hurt you. I want you to know that I'll protect you no matter what."

✮For the first time, Koga saw you blushing.

✮"But I already know that, Koga. I trust you." now he was the one flustered.

✮Taken over by such an intense feeling of love that he cupped your face and gently kissed you. You've never had anyone being so caring and attentive with you. You felt yourself melting in his arms. "I love you."

✮You returned later for the rest of the matches and celebrated Kengan's win, though you were sad for the patriarch's death against the Worms.

✮You continued cheering for Koga as he trained and learnt more stiles from different fighters.

✮You began to feel more at ease around him, indulging and even finding genuine interest in whatever pop-culture things he introduced you to, and you even started doing your own research.

✮You quite literally renovated a whole room into a home-cinema just so you can cuddle in bed with Koga and binge-watch different shows. The same with video-games which you project on the large screen.

✮You were two fools, very much in love.

✮During the Berserker Bowl, you encouraged him and were so happy and proud of him for getting in the finals, even after fighting Ryuki... Only for him to lose to Rihito. It was the biggest annoyance of your life, but given his injuries sustained in the previous fights, it was no surprise.

✮Koga deserved to win though.

✮That night, you tended to his wounds and praised him for his victory.

✮Koga was very flustered by your beautiful smile and all your sweet words, to the point that he felt lost in your love.

✮Your intimate night with Koga is going to be filled with giggles as Koga likes to keep things light-hearted and make you feel comfortable.

✮He's going to kiss every inch of your body and worship you.

✮He's addicted to everything about you, and he can't get enough of you. He just loves you so much.

✮And officially having you as his girlfriend made him the happiest in a long time.

✮He's always going to support you with everything, and will be there to hold your hand when you need someone to guide you in life.

✮He's also very patient and will be there to comfort you and uplift you in your hardest moments.

✮And whenever you're out, he's going to hold your hand with your fingers intertwined - And if he'd feeling giddy enough, he might even swing your arms.

----------

Being in a relationship with Wakatsuki Takeshi... Being in a relationship with Yoroizuka Saw Paing... Being in a relationship with Kure Raian... Being in a relationship with Tokuno’o Tokumichi... Being in a relationship with Kano Agito... Being in a relationship with Gaolang Wongsawat... Being in a relationship with Gaoh Ryuki... Being in a relationship with Narushima Koga... Being in a relationship with Hatsumi Sen

[cospinol]

Inherently funny kengan omega chapter this week, there’s so much going on here

-on one hand, why did ohma think this? the last time they fought he fixed setsuna’s hallucinations, but he knows that setsuna had years of other baggage unrelated to niko…… the last thing ohma said after their fight was ‘welp it’s up to him to atone from now on I’m too busy to think about it’ and they haven’t seen each other since so I don’t know why he just assumed setsuna would be Better. But on the other hand, of course narratively you Do leave asura with the impression that setsuna Is fixed, so of course if there’s a spotlight put on it like this I’m gonna be thinking about how funny it is that he’s as evil as ever

-he’s literally right, though, and I don’t even know what ohma thinks is so crazy about this. Fake niko *is* the evil that needs to be defeated, they should just let setsuna take a shot at him…… koga is 100% confirmed here to just be collateral damage who he has no interest in, I guess, but I also have no interest in him in this context so that’s fine

-I can’t believe he’s barred from watching kengan matches, lmao. did they manage to pin those security guard murders at the annihilation tournament on him, in the end?

koga vs ryuki fight continues to be kind of nothing to me, though.. I think more than ever the relationship between asura and omega is reaching its absolute limit here. the plot structure of omega’s tournaments so far has already made it amply clear that it’s going for the obvious narrative-based setups and payoffs rather than the primary focus on interesting combat parings that asura was so dedicated to, but even knowing that it’s still… idk, the purgatory tournament worked in its own way because it was about the interaction between the established kengan fighters and this lineup of new opponents who were each designed to play off them individually for the space of that one fight, but that trick isn’t working here because it’s just guys we already know, and the pairings are nothing, and koga’s probably still just going to win either way. I still hope this tournament gets crashed because i’m nowhere near foolish enough to hope for ryuki to win, but also the prospect of a koga vs lihito final is so grim. like I guess it’s full circle to the first match of the series but it’s so boring..

also fwiw even in purgatory arc I don’t think the structure necessarily worked the whole way through, because we got that stupid wakatsuki vs fei match lol. it’s so baffling that we missed out on ohma vs fei just for the sake of avoiding the Obvious niko disciple matchup, but fei still was entirely focused on ohma so he and wakatsuki never ended up developing a personal dynamic, and then it was all just so ohma could defeat the last boss of that tournament anyways. worst of both worlds truly. anyways

^pic of me watching koga and ryuki fighting

[whippedcreamisgoodonpickles]

This is the worst panel in the manga by far

[koujinna]

This whole Kengan vs Purgatory tournament has just been one big speedrun of breaking Liu Dongcheng’s heart. 

How do we crush this one relatively normal guy’s social network and compromise his fighting career in one arc?

#SupportLiuDongcheng

Edit: I just realized in Kenganverse, this all happens in the course of ONE DAY.

[k7l4d4]

Owl House AU Idea: Kengan Ashura Crossover

Hey, I just had an idea for a crossover between The Owl House and Kengan Ashura. Essentially, Luz is the daughter of a Kengan Fighter and regularly attends Kengan Matches, which are brutal blood-sports that don't end until either a surrender is declared or a fighter is incapable of fighting anymore, and develops a fascination with violence and combat from an early age, obsessively researching martial arts and fighting in general as much as she adores magic. Heck, she even managed to make a name for herself in a junior Kengan League for younger fighters! When she ends up in the Isles, she brings the ultra-aggressive anything-goes combat culture with her.

Question I received: Who would be her father? Why not Carlos Mendel (in this universe he is with the kengan association) , THE EL DORADO, the man with the “light speed jabs”, master of the capoeira fighting style, the man who backed the Thai God of war into A corner During their Purgatory Vs Kengan match. I can actually see that happening.

Response: Hmmm... it could work. Who her dad is doesn't necessarily have to be anyone of importance, or even be named, but having a big name she wishes to live up to could push her enthusiasm into overdrive. Either way, I've been thinking about just what kind of fighting style she'd use, or if she'd combine several aspects of known ones to make her own unique style. I think she'd be drawn to the more exotic and bizarre styles of fighting and combat. I can see her drilling herself into the ground in terms of learning the fundamentals, if only to make sure she has the flexibility of choice to fall back on during drawn out brawls where more complicated techniques wouldn't offer as much of an advantage to be worth their use. After wracking my brain for something cool but not insane to have her start with, I eventually went back and looked up one of the earliest bits of weird awesomeness in Kengan that stuck out to me: grip strength. Basically, one of the first fights Luz sees involves that weirdo Lehito, you know, the guy whose fingers are strong enough to act as razor blades? Inspired by his rip and tear fighting style, Luz decides to extensively train her hands in the three forms of grip strength, being pinching, crushing, and retaining. Her Retaining Grip allows her to easily grapple and restrain the movements of enemies even three times her size, allowing her to use her opponent's body as a fulcrum and lever to launch flying attacks from virtually any direction, as well as force them to the ground and redirection their attacks, being especially effective against fighters that rely on distance and movement for their attacks and techniques. She can also use her Retaining Grip to catch and ground the force of attacks sent her way, once having managed to catch a curveball clocked at 80 MPH with nothing but her bare hands and being completely okay, aside from a mild stinging in her palm for a minute or so. Her Crushing Grip enables her to deliver punishing blows to her enemies through squeezing. She once managed to reduce a professional boxer's hand to pulp; she mostly did it because the man called her mother a whore, but she still managed to deal horrific damage to a man who fights with his hands for a living. The nature of her Crushing Grip allows her to dislocate her opponents limbs, digits, and joints through carefully selected applications of force, and she's been recorded damaging the muscles of her opponents directly, causing both excruciating pain and severely reducing their fighting efficacy. One of Luz's habits when thinking hard is to pick up stones and similarly strong materials and crushing them into powder between her fingers. Her Pinching Grip is essentially a scaled-down version of Lehito's infamous "Razor Blade" skill, allowing her to rip open bloody gashes and slashes in the flesh of her opponents. It's described as scaled down due to lacking the natural ease of flow of the original, seemingly more like a rending claw than a slicing blade. Due to lacking the speed of the original, Luz's "Claws" tend to be easier to react to for even those who have no clue her fingers can slash through flesh, but make up for it by being able to cut deeper and leave messier damage, making recovery for her opponents harder. She can also use her Pinching Grip to deliver puncturing strikes into her opponent, giving herself extra handholds for leverage and setting up the true core of her fighting style: savaging the opponent from the inside out. By combining the disparate aspects of her Grips, Luz can perform crippling blows of agonizing pain. By mixing her Pinching and Crushing Grip, she can physically rip out pieces of her opponents flesh, muscle and bone, chunk by chunk. By mixing Pinching and Retaining, she can punch her fingers through the flesh and bones of her enemies. Mixing Crushing and Retaining allows her to inflict massive trauma to the muscles and blood flow of limbs and joints, causing fearsome internal damage, with some of her worst fights necessitating invasive surgery and long-term physical rehabilitation for her opponents, though she was hardly left unscathed herself. What makes Luz a true force to be reckoned with for her age and experience, however, is when she combines all her Grips into one. By merging the principle aspects of Crushing, Retaining, and Pinching, Luz is able to tear open her opponents down to the bone, and rip out the bones themselves, if she doesn't outright powder them. Fortunately, due to the horrific and borderline depraved implications of this, Luz only employs the "Devil's Grip," as she calls it, when the fight is truly a matter of her being in danger of death if she doesn't. The downside to all this, in the end, is that Luz is still a young girl, lacking the development of a full grown adult and lacking the years of training and experience needed to fully exploit her chosen fighting style. Luz's body and constitution aren't up to snuff to push her brutal fighting style to where it needs to be, meaning using even the mildest applications of her fighting style inflicts insane trauma upon her hands and arms, causing her to receive multiple trips to the emergency room over the years. It's only due to blind luck and her own unshakable will that Luz hasn't reached a point where surgery was needed to recover, and many doctors have shown shock that she hasn't lost all use of her hands considering the brutal trauma she's dealt to them in pursuit of her desire to fight. An odd aspect of Luz's psyche as a result of her passion for fighting is that she frequently fantasizes brutal battles between herself and the people around her, often internally picturing herself and her classmates into bloody fights to the death, either ending in her or her opponent's demise. Despite this, her fantasies contain no real malice, merely embodying her obsession with combat and the pulse-pounding rush of a death match. When Luz enters the arena, all conscious concern she may have for herself or her opponent disappear, vanishing under the uncontrollable urge to rip and tear until either her or her opponent are no longer moving. However, outside of the arena, Luz often shows remorse for the horrific brutality she displays in battle, particularly for those unaware of the violence surging through her being. Luz has a visceral hatred of cheating and shortcuts, with even the idea of cheating being enough to draw a sliver of her battle mania to the surface in response.

[aloesarchives]

Middle sibling dynamic with Ohma and Ryuki? Since they don't get along maybe reader helps bring them together in a way (gender neutral plz!)

Since this is kinda open-ended, I'm gonna change a few things(not including the gender neutral) Sorry anon if this wasn't what you were asking for. And I hope you don’t mind it being in headcanon form.

It was obvious that these two don’t really don’t get along at all.

The only person that has successfully deescalated them from fighting was you, possibly only you and maybe a little bit of Koga.

Ryuki became your little brother that followed you around like a little puppy sometimes. Over the course of time you were able to spend time with him and Koga, Ryuki changed and became a smol sweet little brother to you. Although you’re very aware of Ryuki’s unstable side, you know he does have a little bit of humanity in him.  You would take him out to eat and go run some errands, it would always be a fun time when you two go out together.

Ohma took care of you ever since you two were young and were still living in the inside. So he was your big brother, and he acted like one too. He would mess/tease you when given the opportunity, but he looked out for your safety and well being too. You’re pretty much were close with him. He may be a jerk at times but he does care and watches your back all the time.

That’s why his ‘death’ hit you really hard. He was the only family, besides Niko, you ever remember and cared for. Sure you did had Yamashita and the gang but Ohma has been with you through all of it and has never left you. You never really got over his ‘death’, and periodically would cry yourself to sleep cause you missed him.

When Ryuki came into the picture, it was conflicting for you. He looked so similar to Ohma, so identical you often would shed tears because you mistake him for Ohma but quickly jump back to reality and remember that he’s not here. But as time went on, you’ve grown close with Ryuki and he trusts you a lot versus with everyone. He just loves you as an older sibling.

That’s why he doesn’t mention Ohma a whole lot because of your reactions and he didn’t want to bring up sad memories. This, however, doesn’t mean he won’t hold negative feelings for Ohma. From the way Koga’s affiliation with Ohma already harbored some mixed feelings. Then after finding out what Ohma’s death did to you, from that point he has a bad rep about him. From his friend getting constantly chasing behind Ohma to you missing him, he doesn’t really like Ohma.

So when you three were in the hospital room and Ohma comes into the room with Yamashita, all of you were shocked. But you were the most out of the three. Since it’s the hospital, you couldn’t be loud and very expressive about your emotions. But if allowed, you would punch Ohma straight in the cheek but he would allow it. Anyway, you raced-walked into Ohma and hugged him hard as you just let tears roll down your face. Ohma hugs you back, says he’s sorry, and will explain everything later to you.

After he gives you a head pat, he reveals he’s taking taking Koga’s spot in the Kengan vs. Purgatory tournament. From there, you can tell that Ryuki was gonna go berserk on Ohma. Knowing you, you stepped in-between then so they wouldn’t fight each other. Or at least be close to each other. You explained this isn’t really a good time and place to start a fight and asked them to kindly calm themselves down.

Oddly enough, Ryuki reverted back to normal but still in a bad mood. While Ohma pointed out that you made a good point and lowered his stance. Yamashita mentally notes to always bring you when Ohma and Ryuki were near each other, for safety purposes of course.

After the incident, Ohma and Ryuki only tolerate each other in the presence of you. If you are not there, they give each other death glares and say subtle but intense remarks. Often times more than not, you catch these two having cold blood. It disappoints you as it didn’t have to be this way, for right now anyways. However, it doesn’t stop you from trying to have them get along. 

They would only put the effort in only for you and no one else. As Ryuki and Ohma care for you.

You hang out with Ryuki and help him train for the purgatory tournament while you watch Ohma do his own training and have him explain what’s been going on for the past 2 years. Ryuki thought you wouldn’t spend as much time with him since Ohma’s back and all but it didn’t change anything much.

While you hang out with Ohma, he asks about Ryuki and you explain he’s not a bad kid but he needs some work. You also did explain that Ryuki became your little brother and stuff, making Ohma say “Well, I guess he’s my little brother too then.”

It’s odd to everyone that these two always have some sort of staring contest while you’re just minding your own business in the background. What’s more odd is them getting, or at least trying to, along with each other when the three of you hang out. 

Ohma does make an effort to know Ryuki. Though Ryuki is kind of sour about Ohma, he will try to interact with him because it’s something you would’ve wanted.

As time passes, they get used to being around each other where it’s unnecessary for you to break up their small bad blood moments.

The two would do it for you and you alone. For being Ohma’s younger sibling and Ryuki’s older sibling, they would at least put in the work to get along with each other.

And if it makes you smile and happy, they would do  it for their favorite sibling, and that is you.

[kenganparadise]

Where is Orion from?

As what was Orion doing during the Kengan Annihilation Tournament and what is he doing now, during the Kengan vs. Purgatory Tournament?

Orion was born in Thunder Bay, a city right off of Lake Superior. However he and his mom moved around city to city all over the US, Canada, and a little bit in Mexico. They never stayed in one place for too long.

Orion snuck in the boat during the Annihilation tournament. He bet every dollar to his name on Kanoh Agito. He lost ever cent he ever had after kuroki won. Other than that he had fun eating the good food Ganryu island had to offer and bought Kengan merch. He had fun for a while.

I’m not really sure what he’s doing in the current story- it’s most likely he’s at the Tournament cheering on his Kengan comrades!

[noro-noro-noro]

dreams again! 1: weird revival ritual 2: starbucks scam -_- 3: kengan people camp out in the gym. there’s a dragon

1: I wanted to bring someone back. it was raining. the process involved trapping this catlike spirit & making a deal with it that it would keep the ??? open for one day. however, there were a bunch of steps you had to do in the right order - making him appear, not letting him kill you, trapping him & then making the deal. you needed two people & I kept bothering my friend who lives in my house & she kept getting annoyed bc she was moving out. to do all these things you needed to buy feathers from the ??? store. i failed the last step bc I didn't own the red feather which was the deal maker so I had to go to the shooting range & kill various ??? bc they had chances to drop shrivelled bits of plant life currency. I needed 10,000 & I ended up making like 15700 so I rewound the day & went back & tried to get my friend to do it again. she was really busy & sighed but she did do it. now that it was openi needed to figure out how to bring back the person. I met with a detective who had done this before. something was preventing him from telling me but he "accidentally" left all his papers about. it was an equation you needed to solve & then something else. i couldn't fully grasp it. it wasn't working. the detective's wife didn't know I was there & the detective also was an important figure from my past. he went to sleep but after I read through his notes & made the connection I went to wake him up to ask, but I woke up his wife. she was a marine biologist & the detective lived in a flooded forest where the water was 5 feet deep. i tried to leave bc his wife didn't know me but she caught up to me because she had a water vehicle & I was trying to ride a tall bike. i don't remember what happened except now I was running out of time. it was near the end of the 24 hours & the equations weren't working.

2: I was waiting for my dad in a Barnes & noble Starbucks. I had my drawing tablet there & I was in the corner drawing stuff. my sister was waiting with me. many people in front of me were ordering some kind of Italian soda & I thought it looked good. there were a lot of flavored syrups to choose from. the guy that lent me his VR was also there but he didn't see me so I didn't feel like initiating conversation. anyway my dad showed up just as I decided to get in line. the lady was like "we don't have those here." when I ordered an Italian soda & I was like ??? then what was everyone ordering?? what are all their syrups for?? & she said "we can either give you a slush or a [???]. & i was like what are those???? also I'll order a small sliced cake. in the end I ended up with a cake that was sliced into pieces literally one mm wide. it was like thin watermelon. & also a drink that was a small paper cup of red ice. i was disappointed.

3: back to the shooting range from dream 1 except now it was a giant gym & the people from kengan vs purgatory were there. something had happened - maybe worm invasion - & now everyone was sheltering in the gym area. xinyan was there?? she summoned a 2 headed dragon & one head was curled around ohma guarding him while he sleeps. the guarding one was bad tempered & I think was named spicy. okubo tried to wake him up & ohma had to whack the dragon on the head to get it to leave off.

[count-alucard-tepes]

Headcanons and a short fanfic for my Kengan Ashura/Omega hotties - the monster of Manila : Rolon/Lolong Donaire🎖️

He’s very particular about what he eats and tends to do most of his own cooking. His favorite food is Sinigang which is a sweet and sour filipino soup served with rice.

After the Kengan vs Purgatory tournament, he's become much more social and often hangs out with Kanoh, Ohma, Okubo, Joji and Kureishi.

He gets a lot of attention from the ladies but he's pretty shy about it though he wants to get married and have a couple of kids soon.

He wants to retire from fighting before he hits 40 and train students instead.

He's really bad at being a mentor because of how stern he can come off but he's trying his best to look more friendly.

A unexpected date...

There were always different celebrities that attended the Purgatory events as Todoya loved being in the presence of influential people. Some performers would perform during the halftime shows which was a big hit and brought in a lot of money for the mega-mogal.

A chart-topping and award winning artist was visiting Purgatory for the first time and of course Todoya wanted to give them a personal tour before introducing them to his top gladiators, "I'm so glad you could join us tonight, Y/N, I have to admit I've been trying to get you here for a few months now", Todoya said with a confident smile as he offered his arm to Y/N, after linking arms, he gently held a hand over theirs as they walked .

"Is that so? Well I am honoured, Mr Todoya...", Y/N replied with a smile as they knew that all too well but their schedules haven't been the easiest recently, "...I'd love to meet your gladiators if you don't mind".

"...but of course! You are a favorite amongst them, I must add", he said with a chuckle as Y/N laughed a little with raised brows.

"Oh my, I guess I'll have to prepare myself then", Y/N said with a smile.

Todoya would immediately take them to meet his A-listers and kings.

Nicolas was quick to make his way over to kiss the back of Y/N's hand, "...the photograph and videos do no justice to your beauty, mon amore".

"Such kinds words, thank you, sir...", Y/N said with a humble smile.

Many of the A-listers came to talk with Y/N and took photographs with them but the Kings were no where to be see much to Todoya's annoyance, he truly wanted them to be photographed with Y/N too. He couldn't be that upset though...both of them were fighting tonight.

Todoya swooped Y/N to the VIP section and they watched the match, "...ah that's one of the Kings, Rolon Donaire...he's one of the strongest".

Y/N watched with interest but when it started to get brutal, they would occupy themselves with snacks, "...I can see that", they murmured, "...I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back".

By then, the match was long done and Rolon had won.

Y/N didn't have any security with them when they were cornered by a person that was also a guest of Todoya's that just happened to be a big fan too but the conversation got a little uncomfortable.

"I'll be heading back to Mr Todoya, I'm sure he's wondering where I am by now...excuse me", Y/N said before the fan grabbed their arm.

"Perhaps I could buy you a drink instead...", the person said with a smile.

"...I appreciate that but not right now", Y/N said gently but looking a little distressed by this action.

"Oh come on, just one drink", he pressed, closing the distance between them.

"I believe they declined your offer...so leave...now", Rolon said from behind the man.

Immediately recognizing Rolon's voice and let go of Y/N before turning around to see Rolon Donaire and Arashiyama Jurota standing behind him.

"R..Rolon....Arashiyama...I...was...", he stuttered.

"...going to apologize and then leaving...as soon as possible", Arashiyama said calmly.

"Y...yes, of course...", he said before turning to Y/N and apologized profusely before running off, only to bump into Todoya who glared at him and took note of the situation.

Arashiyama approached Y/N as the gentle giant he was and offered a little smile, "...are you okay?", he asked gently.

Y/N looked up at him and nodded gently with a weak smile, "...yes, thank you, sir...".

"Thank you both for protecting Y/N...I appreciate it", Todoya said as he gently placed a comforting arm around Y/N's shoulders and gestured for them to leave.

Rolon had already been walking away when he heard Y/N and stopped.

"Mr. Donaire...thank you so much...", Y/N said gently, a little croak in their voice, biting back their tears as they looked at him.

He gestured his acknowledgement with a wave of his hand before walking off with Arashiyama.

"...Todoya is going to have that man killed...that's the person he wanted to perform at the big event coming up...", Arashiyama murmured as they went back to locker rooms.

"...it's best he weeds out all the scum now...we don't need men like that in Purgatory...he doesn't even deserve to be called a man", Rolon said calmly.

"I agree...", Arashiyama replied.

Somehow or the other, Todoya managed to secure Y/N's performance at Purgatory's most extravagant event.

Y/N made their way to the location so they could practice a couple times that week before the event.

"...okay, I'm exhausted...I'm gonna take a break", Y/N laughed as they took a seat on the floor and drank some water before looking around the venue, "...this place is so freaken cool...wait...who's that?".

Y/N squinted out to see a few fighters watching them practice before spotting Rolon Donaire.

"Mr. Donaire! I didn't know you were here!", Y/N said before quickly going off the stage and towards him.

He was a little surprised by this reaction but played it off like this was completely normal, "...wow they really ignored the rest of us here...just for Rolon...out of everyone", Fei huffed as he relaxed in his seat.

"...it's good to see there's so much of security around you...Todoya wasn't taking any chances", Rolon commented.

"Yes...he's been pretty adamant about it and so has my father and PR", Y/N admitted.

"Its good, you are an important person after all", he replied.

Y/N smiled weakly at this, "...I didn't get to thank you properly the last time...if you're free, maybe we could go for dinner".

Fei and Liu's jaws dropped at this, "...what?! A date with Rolon out of everyone?! Y/N, you can't be serious?! He's so boring!", Fei gasped.

Rolon shot him a glare as a warning, "...there's no need, Y/N...".

"Yes, there is! Please...anywhere you want to go, its my treat", Y/N pleaded before taking Rolon's hand into theirs.

Rolon couldn't help but blush a little in response before giving a stiff nod.

"Then it's a date! Here's my number...text me when you're free and I'll set everything up", Y/N said before writing their number down and giving it to him.

Y/N would head to practice and Rolon would place the piece of paper into his trousers pocket before heading out of the arena.

The other gladiators were all in shock of what just happened before them, it was all just sensory overload.

Rolon couldn't help but smile a little before adding the number to his phone and texting Y/N that evening, he didn't mind a date. He'd get a text back almost immediately.

Omg I want to make this a chapter fanfic now😅😅😅 I love Rolon so much.

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Chapter 24 - Wǒ Qīn'ài de Húxiān Huánghòu

"Hey, babe, sorry, but I won't hold back. I'll try to keep from hitting your pretty face though. It would be a shame to hurt such a beauty." Rihito grinned flirtatiously, making Kisara gag internally. "Rihito. I'm married. You came to my wedding." she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Married or not, you're still hot and I want your number." Kisara groaned in frustration, not bothering to listen to any of Mokichi's professional commentary.

As soon as the referee announced the moment to take their stance, Kisara cracked her knuckles and adopted Agito's martial arts stance, waiting. The fight began, and Rihito sprung at light speed towards the red head - Only to find himself knocked out, on the ground. For the ordinary people with no experience, it looked like some kind of magic took place - But the others cheered the fantastic win lasting less than a minute. It was a classic Hatsumi Sen win that only someone as fast as Kisara could accomplish. First, she leaned to the side, grabbing his hand, or rather, wrapping her fingers around his thumb, gripping and forcing it in an awkward angle, forcing him to his knees. Before Rihito could escape with the aid of his other hand's Razor's Edge, Kisara used Senpai's Gathering Clouds: Triple Strike move on his face, hitting the glabella, philtrum and chin with such speed that he fell on the ground, knocked out and bleeding.

Kisara smirked, doing a pretty princess courtesy towards the audience, before getting out of the ring, and back to where the manager was waiting to congratulate her, along with Jackie and Joji. She hadn't even sweat, at all - To think that what a semifinal worthy of a Kengan x Purgatory Tournament... What a disgrace! Her fight with Wakatsuki from many years ago was far more entertaining than this hilarity.  As soon as she got up the stands, she double high-fived both Jackie and Joji before slumping down on her assigned seat next to the foreigner who offered her another pocky pack and a coke can, with which she clinked to everyone's beer or sake cups.

"You made that look very easy." Jackie said casually. "It is, actually!" she smiled, munching on that pocky. "It's not." he said. "It takes years of practice. How long did it it take?" "Hmm... Let's see... About four years, I think?" she pondered over. "Ah, but don't think I was in any way athletic back then! Goodness, no I-- I was pretty pathetic and weak. I was still in Uni and studying all day, barely living on coffee and a light meal per day. If it wasn't for Ohma encouraging me to get healthier, I wouldn't have gotten where I am." she scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "It took years to gain any ounce of self-confidence, control and discipline over myself. Hatsumi-Senpai helped me a lot in that regard. I used to be such an anxious little mouse before!" she giggled lightly. "But I got to do a lot of mountain hiking, which was super fun!" "You're just being modest, then. It took your Senpai years to perfect a move and learn how to teach it to you. Don't downplay your hard-work." Jackie hummed, nonchalantly drinking his beer. "You're just too nice, Jackie." she hummed. "Would you like to go hiking with us some day?" "Sure."

The second semifinal began with Koga against Ryuki, which was an exciting and thrilling match. Gaoh began with a fantastically quick footwork towards and around Koga using Setsuna's move, but Narushima was able to dodge before he got killed. Was Kiryu around, maybe? Could Ryuki be so directly influenced by Setsuna, all of a sudden? He wasn't like this a while ago, during the Kengan vs Purgatory Tournament. If Ohma finds him, an all-out war might explode. Ever since Ohma got his memories back, he's gotten so much wiser and level-headed, so grounded and calm, it was truly wholesome and heart-warming; Hence why, Kisara was almost sure that Ohma was protective over Koga, but also wanted to protect Ryuki from negative outside influence - In this case, Setsuna - Knowing he was just a child traumatised by the Inside, similar to him in many ways, but also, so very different. Tokita Niko and Gaoh Mukaku were definitely miles apart on the spectrum.

Koga looked almost helpless before Gaoh's fierce rush - Truth is, Koga wasn't tried to kill his friend, while Ryuki was actively going out of his way to assassinate him. He was dodging and evading, parrying and blocking, even a combination of Koei style Blink and Rakshasa's Palm. All of a sudden, Jackie got up abruptly. "Something wrong, Jackie?" Joji asked him, looking up at the man whilst still drinking his alcohol. "I'm gonna buy some more beer. Want me to pick up something while I'm there?" the foreigner offered. "Can I have fried offal and noodles? I swear, I could live the rest of my life on nothing but fried offal and noodles." Joji chuckled lethargically. "Are you sure you're okay, Jackie? You seem upset. Is the match boring you?" Kisara automatically got up to her feet, her hand reaching out to gently touch his biceps. Jackie looked down at her, his empty eyes boring into her beautiful green ones, and his expression subtly lightened. "Yes, I'm alright, don't worry about me." he placed his large hand over her her much smaller and delicate one. "For a fighter, you have very soft skin. It would be a shame if you got hurt." with one finger placed under her chin, he rose her face up. She was as beautiful as always, he thought, and without a second word, he left to the shop, leaving Kisara very much confused.

Meanwhile, Koga used the Indestructible, risking the Rakshasa's Palm rotation and punching Koga's face hard enough - He finally realised that the rotation is tearing apart not only the muscles, but the bones and nerves also. Poor Adam, taking the brunt of that. Even Nikaido, years ago. Thank goodness Master Gensai fought him in the next round and put him to respect, otherwise, who knows how many more people he would have almost killed.  Ryuki got in a low stance before leaping up with two Air Rending Gaoh Style techniques in a row aimed at Koga's head - He combined the Gaoh style with the Koei style again, what a monster; He did the same with the Blink and the Earth-Crouching Dragon. Koga managed to land a beautiful straight to his face, sensing Ryuki fall to the ground, but he got back on his feet right away. 

Koga used the Flame Kata - Raging Fire Dash, grabbing Ryuki in a low stance, and though he tried to pull the Rakshasa's Palm move twice on him, it didn't work. Koga easily figured out the spin goes from below the elbow down. He's got him all figured out. Ryuki used the Armor Clad, a technique similar to the Indestructible, to which Koga punched with with Ironbreak - Though in a twist of events, Gaoh used Swift foot, hitting Koga's torso with Setsuna's move, catching him off guard; Thankfully, the silver haired young man managed a semi-perfect Indestructible before he could get any real damage to his body.

Whatever conclusion both of them reached was unknown, for they engaged in an outright slugfest, using Armor clad and Indestructible. Koga combined the Iron Breaker with the Raging Fire, lunging at Ryuki with mad speed and strength, breaking through his defenses, sending him flying - But he went on ahead once again, smashing him with a Flashing Steel, landing a clean hit - Though his fists were massively bleeding. Ohma must be pretty pissed off that Koga hurt himself by using techniques blindly without thinking.

Who'd have thought that Ryuki would be beaten by his best friend, using his infamous Earth-Crouching Dragon uppercut strike on himself, the person he relied on the most, knocking him out instantly? Narushima Koga advances to the finals. As Kisara got up from her seat and walked towards the arena, she encountered Jackie, as if he was looking for her. He didn't bring her something to either drink or eat - In fact, he seemed to have bought nothing at all. Was he not returning to the others? Was he in a rush to leave?

"I need to leave soon." Jackie said, his hands in the pockets. "I'll look for you after you win this to say goodbye. That's what friends do, right?" Though a little clumsy, Kisara smiled at the nice thought. "Of course. I hope my match will impress you a bit more than the last one." she said, before taking his hands in her own. "But, Jackie - Are you sure you're alright? You seem really upset. Like - Really. Is something the matter?" Jackie looked down at her, squeezing her hands softly, but his expression didn't change. He looked as bored as always. "I'm fine. Worry about your match. In fact, that's why I came to find you. I thought of a way to evade any injury." Jackie said, gently taking his hands out of her hold and rummaging in the pocket of his jacket. "You said that boy knows your style, and you knows his. The solution is simple. Do what you do best." the ghost of a smile touched his handsome features. "Dance." "Dance?" the girl rose a questioning eyebrow, earning a nod from the man. "You've shown everything in fights, except your dancing. Wushu can be mastered through dancing. That boy is injured enough for you to be able to pull off a quick win." he noted, taking out a beautiful golden jade pin, ornate with flowers, and put it in her velvety carmine hair. "Achieve victory." he said in a more stern voice, turning around to leave. "And never fight again."

Kisara had no clue what happened, nor could she understand the peculiarity of her interaction with Jackie. Not only was he acting weird, but was also being overly familiar, speaking as though they knew each other for ages. But that accessory was very pretty and seemed veritable - She wasn't going to throw away a gift. Regardless, she had a match to win. She walked into the ring, and saw Wakatsuki standing next to Jerry and Sayaka at the commentator's table. "Thank you for being with us, Wakatsuki! Can you tell us what to look out for in this match?" Jerry spoke. "Well, if you ask me, Kisara's going to be a force to be reckoned with. I've fought her before, and she gave me a run for my money. That's not to say it's a sure win. Narushima's style is versatile, witty and strong." Kisara wanted to chuckle at his comment, especially as Koga was in such a battered state. The two stepped close enough to fist bump and grin at each other. "Let's do this, Kisara!" Koga said, pumped up. "Yeah, let's enjoy this fight." she stepped backwards towards her spot. "You should know by now though, I'm more of an expert in the Niko style than you can imagine." she chuckled, taking the graceful stance of a dancer, while Koga took the usual stance.

Dance - Jackie said. Alright then, let's dance for the Emperor. She smiled gracefully, knowing that her husband was watching, and as soon as the referee yelled the beginning of the fight, Kisara hummed the melody of the Lanling Prince in Battle song, performing every move that the beautiful concubine in that movie did. Though she hadn't a mask or a weapon to signify the duality of the prince, nor the war he was fighting, she twirled beautifully towards Koga, evading with ease his hits, and with the elegance of a swan, her palms struck him hard, making him reel backwards. There was not a single hit that Koga could aim - He felt as though he was fighting mist, or even the flowing water - Yet when she kicked him, she hit harder than a hurricane.

"Sorry, kid." Kisara apologised to Koga as she twirled, striking him hard in the face with an open palm hit, before doing a few pirouettes towards him, grabbing him by the chin, dragging him forwards. She then took his wrist, ducking behind him and kneeing him in the liver from behind, before twirling in front of him again, pulling him by the hand and doing a backflip, kneeing him in the diaphragm again, and graciously landing on her feet to deliver her last hit, her finishing strike: The Dragon Shot.

Koga was unconscious on the ground. "THE QUEEN OF THE KENGAN MATCHES STRIKES AGAIN! KISARA WINS!" the winner did a few beautiful moves as courtesy to the cheering audience. To think she'd actually win a tournament, isn't that hilarious? She sure had a ton of good luck. Was it an auspicious day or what?  Ah, she's beat. She just wants to go home and cuddle Ohma to sleep.

She skipped out of the arena, looking for her husband. She found him, along with some others, who congratulated her. Jackie was leaning on the wall, but he came over just as Ohma pulled her in a kiss. "Well done. You fought well." the foreigner spoke in a low voice. "Now stop fighting." not only her, but Ohma and some others who weren't too drunk, or too engulfed in conversations looked at him confused. "It's a man's job to protect his woman. You had your fun. Now stay safe." "If Kisara wants to continue fighting, she will. She doesn't need anyone's protection." Ohma defended his wife's tenacity and resolve. "My wife will do whatever she wants." Jackie shared a short exchange of looks with Ohma, before his gaze fell on Kisara for the last time. Unexpectedly, he spoke one last phrase, in his mother tongue, before leaving. "Zàijiàn​​​​​​​. Wǒ Qīn'ài de Húxiān Huánghòu." Kisara gasped, her eyes wide open, and her mouth agape. "What'd he say?" Yamashita asked, scratching the back of his neck in confusion. "I have no clue. What language was that anyway?" Ohma grunted, furrowing his brows slightly. "I think it was Chinese." the manager replied. "Kisara, did you understand what he said?" she nodded her head. "You have a weird look on your face. Did he threaten you?" "No... On the contrary." she muttered, pulling away from Ohma. "Find me outside in ten minutes, okay? I need to seek some answers." they needn't ask for words - They understood each other through looks alone. 

Kisara ran after Jackie, all the way outside. She spotted his messy blond hair and she grabbed him by the elbow, stopping him from advancing further away. He hadn't turned around to face her though. "Why did you say that to me?" Kisara asked. "I don't know Chinese very well, but I can tell simple words like that." she gulped. "Farewell, my beloved Fox Empress. That's what you said, isn't it? Why did you say that to me?"

"Because that's what you've always been." he answered so nonchalantly, but somehow, Kisara felt scared like never before. She never once felt any kind of malice from Jackie - Why now? Why does she feel in danger, but also... Safe? That made no sense whatsoever. "Jackie. Do you... Know me?" she asked, feeling a shiver down her spine. "Jackie. Jackie... That's not your name, isn't it?" she bit her lip. "Jackie. Are you... Are you the 'Connector'?" The silence from the one calling himself Jackie was eerie and dangerous like nothing she's ever experienced before. "You've always been too smart for your own good. Your wisdom was wasted on a woman. Nobody listened to you." a painful sense of dread froze her heart. "They should have listened to you." Confused but also creeped out, Kisara took the pin out of her hair and analysed it. She might have known some words here and there, but she definitely couldn't read the symbols. "Am I a clone like Ohma and Ryuki, then? I couldn't be, could I? If Huisheng might have been taught and done for over a millennia... Now or then... I doubt I'd have had any worth to clone. So if that's not it, then... Then how do you know me?" "You are right. You weren't worth cloning, any more than anyone else, except for the Connector." Jackie spoke. "Are you a Buddhist?" Kisara was perplex at such a question, only to realise it made sense, in an odd way. "Are you trying to ask me if I believe in Samsara? Reincarnation?" he nodded his head. "I... I don't. Or rather, I didn't. With all this cloning and Huisheng going on, I... I'm not sure if I should let anything surprise me anymore." "I am many, though I am one. You are one, yet you are many." his phrase sounded more like a riddle than any answer. "Don't let them kill you again. Ruyi."

Kisara's eyes widened, shocked at the name she was given. "Are you trying to imply I'm Chinese?"  "Once, a Princess. Now, only by thinned blood, yet with no less of the grace." whether he knew the effect his words had on her, creeping her out like that. Or, perhaps he knew, for he took a step forward, ready to leave. "Wait - Jackie!" the man did not stop; Instead, he spoke a single word before vanishing through the crowd of people, as though he was a phantasm that she imagined. "Shen", he said. Was that his true name, then? Or, at least, the one she interacted with. "Kisara." someone placing a hand on her shoulder made the woman jump in her skin with a yelp of shock. "Easy now, it's me. You were zoning out." "Ohma." Kisara breathed out shakily. "Let's go home. I need to call Katahara." "Huh? What happened?" Ohma's eyes widened in shock as Kisara threw her arms around his torso, clinging tightly onto him. "I'm still trying to figure out what happened. Let me explain while we go back home. It's... A lot to take in."

Kisara recalled the dialog and interactions she had with the man whose name may or may not be Shen truly, and she even researched the symbols on the accessory - Princess Ruyi - It said. How scary. "I want to ask Katahara and Wu Xing if they know anything about Reincarnation. I want to know how does the Connector know me, and why would he bother going out of his way to get so familiar with me. I mean, he's the head of the Worm, right? He's supposed to stay hidden, yet he went out of his way to befriend Yamashita Kazuo and Joji. He didn't hide away from you and the others either." she laid on the bed in deep thought. "He told me not to let them kill me. He told me to stop fighting. He told me my smarts were wasted on me for being a woman, because nobody listens to women." Kisara suddenly shot up in a sitting position, turning to look at her husband. "It almost sounds like the story of the Lanling Prince and his wife. She begged him not to go to war, but he went anyway, so she followed after him. Instead, the prince ended up watching his wife get killed in front of him. As she lay dying in his arms, her blood splattered all over his mask. You remember that show, don't you? Almost a hundred episodes - Though you slept through most of it anyway."

"Aren't you overthinking it? I mean, it doesn't really matter in the end, does it? Whether incarnation is true or not, you aren't connected with your past selves like the Huisheng bastards are. If you don't remember anything, it doesn't affect you." he, too, got up, cupping her face. "Whatever you were in the past doesn't matter. Right now, you are Tokita Kisara, my wife. You're a fighter because you want to, and you did a ton of things thanks to your intelligence. You've got a bunch of friends and your whole life ahead of yourself. Who cares about that guy, anyway? Besides, he had every chance to kill you, but he didn't seem hostile to you, you said; On the contrary. So even better. If the Worm head doesn't want you dead, all the best for me, I won't have to worry too much." "Since when have you gotten so wise, anyway?" Kisara climbed in his lap, pulling him into a tight embrace. "I almost don't recognise you for the stupid gym rat you were a little ago." "Shut up, you dumbass bookworm. I'm just saying - Don't bother with that guy. As long as he ain't trying to harm you, he's not our concern yet. You're worrying too much. I bet you're overthinking yourself to death now with all sorts of bullshit." Kisara offered a wry smile, feeling guilty and busted.

"Of course, you are right. I can't help but think about what he said. About all this. If the Connector dates back over a thousand years ago, well - Confucianism was a big thing in China - But then why did he ask if I was a Buddhist? Thing is - There are so many contradictions about all this. I mean - Confucianism rejected the idea of reincarnation, saying a single life was enough. The Connector is cloning himself, thus, continuing to live and relive. It's like a continuous Samsara, in a weird way, with no Nirvana. Buddhism believes strongly in rebirth until one achieves nirvana." she rested her elbow on his shoulders. "Shen said my talents were wasted on me, because I was a woman. He called me an Empress. A Princess. If we were during a Confucianism time, then the Annalects speak that women must obey their father, husband and sons after the death of the husband. Likewise, they say if a woman doesn't hold the "four virtues" - chastity, modesty in speech, neatness of appearance, and good needlework and cooking, then they aren't worthy. Women aren't important. Which would make sense with what he said." she continued with her ridiculous overthinking. "When in comes to Buddhism, I think the Sutras and the Jataka tales tend to contradict themselves. I heard that Siddhartha Gautama called equality among men and women when it comes to attaining Spiritual Awakening, but at the same time, there are writings that say women aren't allowed to become Bodhisattva and must have a good karma to be reborn as a man to have any chance of attaining nirvana, because they are seen as polluted with menstruation, sexual intercourse, death and childbirth. By this accord, I am fated to keep this Samsara cycle for an eternity, because I've sinned for centuries, and by bad karma is punishing me in this cursed body, unable to achieve Enlightening." she hummed, her eyes narrowed a little. "But then, if I was a weak, useless woman, why would I be killed? Why would he care? He's the Connector, and he admitted I'm not worth cloning, like everyone else except for him - So why does he cling to my supposed reincarnation?"

"Are you done?" Ohma had the most done with life expression on his face. "For now, I think yes." she nodded casually. "Good, because I zoned out a while ago." he scoffed, pushing her on her back on the bed. "You speak too much and I don't understand jack shit. Didn't I tell you not to use use smart words cause I don't understand? Everything you said is just a bunch of unimportant thoughts that you have, that's all. What's the point in thinking about a past you never had, when you're living in the present? Confucius and Buddha, and whatever anyone else thinks or believes in - You don't believe in any of that shit, you said that countless of times. So if you don't care about that, why the hell would you get so deep into this? Forget it." Ohma towered down over her, his long hair draping over her face, tickling her into giggling. "That's it. That's the beautiful smile I wanted to see." he placed his hands over hers, intertwining their fingers together, squeezing lightly. "You won a tournament. You made yourself proud with your hard work. You were great out there. Why go out of your way to upset yourself? We're living in the present - Remember what we talked about on the island? We're creating our own lives. Together." Kisara smiled sweetly, feeling her eyes sting with emotion, small tears slowly escaping at the corners and streaming down. "You have no idea how much I love you, Ohma. There's no one in this world that could understand me like you do. I'm so lucky to have you in my life." he simply chuckled, leaning down to capture her sweet lips in a tender kiss. "I love you, Kisara."

Days passed since the tournament, and with that, Ryuki's departure back home, to his grandpa in the Inside. Problem was, the summer ended, and with it, so did the connection with the boy. He was nowhere to be found. Of course, everyone worried over him and together with Retsudo, they formed a rescue party, adding Himuro and Rei, who would be great additions.  Along with the manager, they gathered at Katahara's home, around a large map that depicted the map of the Inside based on satellite photography and statements from the residents. The GPS tracker placed on Ryuki had stopped responding around Rhoza district, so something must have happened around there. The change of the borders was always changing though, so they must have probably already shifted drastically.

Rei had been on a job there before, at the border of Rhoza - Apparently, Himuro was from there also originally. They say they keep putting up new buildings and apartments where there were roads the previous day, so it's a real mess to deal with. Ryuki was lost somewhere in the middle of the map, which was not a part of Rohza anymore, but a contested territory by all districts around. They were walking in the middle of a turf war. Not great. 

Yamashita Kazuo remembered Ohma mentioning having a villa in Shiki, and he though he must have travelled diagonally, from one end of the Inside, to the other. Of course, that wasn't the case, he wasn't suicidal - He went outside the borders, taking refuse in Shiki when things got to shit in Tokita.

While they were discussing a plan, Koga had left to see the border with the Inside, trying to convince himself and find his courage and resolve to join them in their venture in hell. He even got to see a Seki vs Naoya fight, to which he was told a lot of encouraging words - Finally, he was ready to go.

They were leaving on the morrow. Himuro would be leading them through Rohza and Rei would accompany them until they reached the disputed territory. They'll need a guide through the disputed territory though - Retsudo seemed to already have someone in mind though, so things were good. Clearly, he was in it to get more info on the Worm - Smart boy. He'll become a fantastic chairman, just like Katahara was.

Before they left, Kisara, Ohma and Koga went over to Masaki at Toyo corp to retrieve their reports on the Inside - Surveys made by his supposed father were made from two years prior and what not. "Are you sure you want to come?" Ohma turned to Kisara, checking one last time. "Of course. I want to rescue Ryuki as much as everyone. Besides - I want to stay by your side, remember? I don't want a sudden repeat of a few years ago. Someone has to keep you safe, right?" she winked at him playfully, holding his hand. "A'ight, Your Majesty, protect me." Ohma chuckled as they traversed the thick wall corridor that led to the Inside, a desolate place abandoned by God like no other.

It almost felt as if they weren't in Japan anymore, with bazaars and black markets everywhere, soldiers, refugees, merchants, vendors and everything else you'd think of. Weirdly enough, Ohma seemed to be grinning, reminiscing about Tokita Ward. Weirdo.  They went to search for some lodging for the night, in the biggest dump in the entire world - Kisara wanted to tear her hair apart from disgust, but she signed herself up for it. Well, at least she won't stay too long in this shithole - And Ohma led her and Koga to eat some pretty damn good ramen, though she didn't want to know what it was made of. He told Ohma that he wanted Koga to come over because the Niko style originated here, and he wants him to inherit Niko style wholly... But he said it in such a creepy way. "So if something happens to me..." he said, making both Koga and Kisara slam their hands on the table, protesting. "You're making it sound like you're dying!!" they both yelled at him. "You know about me and Ryuki, don't you? We're somebody's clones, and that somebody is after us. Anything could happen. That's why I wanna teach you what I learned from Niko, like I taught Kisara, while I still have the chance." Ohma's voice was so stern and somber that Kisara hit him in the head with the spoon. Hard. "If you even think about dying on me a second time, I'll never forgive you." she hissed at him. "I won't let him die, don't worry." the eerie voice of none other than Kiryu Setsuna made them all snap their gaze at him as he sat down next to Ohma - So close that he made him visibly uncomfortable. "Can you not make my husband cringe from how uncomfortable he is?" Kisara sighed, defeated. "Instead, tell us about Ryuki. I know you had your hand in making a killer out of him and losing his mind in the process."

"Ah, yes, we exterminated Worms together." he spoke so nonchalantly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Well, it sort of was, in a way - For them, at least. "FUCK YOU!" Koga howled, grabbing Setsuna by the neck of the shirt. "IT'S YOUR FAULT! YOU MADE RYUKI LIKE THAT!" he continued shaking him violently. "Koga, calm down, you're attracting unwanted attention to us." Kisara coughed, looking around at the prying eyes. "Don't misunderstand me, Narushima. I never once ordered Ryuki to do anything." he said it was the same thing as what Ohma's doing, passing on his legacy to him. "Ryuki's going through a dilemma right now. He's between a rock and a hard place." "Is it about his grandpa's teachings, and Koga's resolve of not killing?" Kisara asked, earning an empty smile from the man. "You've got it right." he nodded. "I last saw him the day before he went back to the Inside. Ryuki said he'd come back right after that, but he's still not back yet - So I came to the Inside to look for him." "You said Mukaku's got safehouses all over the place?" Ohma asked, interested in Setsuna's knowledge. "Yeah, seems he made a lot of enemies. Ryuki said he had around twenty places and that's just as far as he knew. Ryuki's GPS tracker has stopped moving for the past few days, before stopping responding entirely." Setsuna explained simply, though he did seem a bit worried for his pupil also. "HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!" Kisara had to shove Koga back down on his seat to make him stop overreacting. "There's a good chance that Ryuki's found Gaoh Mukaku, and that he's in trouble." Setsuna got up from the table. "Wait, you think Ryuki's grandpa would hurt him?" the woman's eyes widened in realisation. Kiryu shrugged vaguely. "I'm going to look for Ryuki on my own. The Worm's in the Inside too. We need to find Mukaku before they do - Otherwise, they'll kill him." so it's the Worm they should be worried about. Then, could the Connector also...?

Early in the morning, while Himuro and Rei were up and ready for a high-level spar, a messenger came over with an invitation from the General, a soldier named Zhang who was buddy buddies with Himuro. To offer than a guide, one of them had to defeat one of his men - So Retsudo offered, getting in a Silat stance that Misasa would be proud of, and going forward for a few feint jabs - And when the enemy pulled out his knife, Retsu  took his small hand-knife, stomping on his foot and slashing the enemy well, hitting all his vitals. What a beast, and he's so young also! And so cocky, teasing the enemy into attacking blindly - He easily parried a punch with his elbow twice, before slicing at his face and destroying him. No wonder he's about the only one capable of coming between Ohma and Raian when they're fighting.

Kisara clapped at the cool young man. "That was awesome, Retsu, well done! Misasa would be so proud of you!" Ohma, also, praised and high-fived him.  Out of nowhere, this creepy, bandaged up guide appeared - So fast and silent that not even Rei sensed him. What a monster. He guided them through the district, towards the Underground,  all the way out, in the disputed territory. Somewhere along the lines, Rei and the guide stopped, defeating one of the White Worms who reported directly to the head.

They found an abandoned temple looking rather run down yet still standing. As they walked up to it, they got attacked by someone, the main target being Ohma. Damn it, not again, Kisara thought, realising that her husband was always the prime target for everyone in the world. Gaoh Mukaku was glaring at them, holding a meat cleaver and claiming they were Worms. Thankfully, Koga ended up explaining everything. "Wait, you mean you're not Worms?! You should've said so sooner!" "You jumped us before we could even say anything!!! What the fuck were we supposed to do, you old coot?!" speak about a short-temper, Koga. Was it the youth? Nah, Retsu was calm. Maybe a fire sign? "Are you sure this is our guy?" Himuro sweat dropped at the childishness of the old man. "Yeah... No doubt about it. This old man is Gaoh Mukaku." Retsudo's voice was low, sending a tremor down Kisara's spine. This Mukaku was creeping her out. "That's MR. Mukaku to you, whipper-snapper!" Mukaku growled at him. "Is that really him? Are we so sure that this isn't Okubo's grandpa?" Koga glared at the old man. "Who's this Okubo? And that sounds like a slight against this Okubo fella if I ever heard one." Mukaku glared back at the child. "Well, sorry for stopping by unannounced. See, we're here in the Inside looking for Ryuki." Ohma finally attracted the conversation in the right direction. "Ohh, you're friends of Ryuki's? Well, Ryuki was here. I can tell you that much. He dropped by here about a week ago. I've got a couple Safehouses in the Inside, so I reckon he had a tough time tracking me down." Mukaku explained. "Is Ryuki still here?" Ohma asked straight forward. "Nope, he ain't here no more. You just missed him." Kisara didn't believe a word he was saying. "Do you have any ideas of where Ryuki might've gone?" Retsu asked.

"You wouldn't happen to be Metsudo's grandson, would you?" Mukaku was trying to divert the conversation again. "I'm his youngest son. We need to take Ryuki into our protection as soon as possible." Retsu tried to return to the point. "Ohh, you're Metsudo's son, no wonder I saw the resemblance." he stroke his beard, only for his eyes to bulge and start screaming. "Wait, SON?! What kind of stallion IS he?!" Kisara groaned, slapping a hand over her face. "DON'T FUCKING CHANGE THE SUBJECT!" Koga yelled at him, frustrated with his senile behaviour. "Hmm... Take him into your protection, eh? Well, he doesn't need any of that. I've trained him real good." he sat down, lighting up a pipe to smoke.  "Are you crazy?! The Worm's not messing around here!" Koga yelled again at him. "Oh, I know. Ryuki and I have been hard at work, exterminating the Work. I let Ryuki fight in the Kengan matches just so the Worm could find him. Ryuki is indispensable to the Worm, so I reckoned they'd send their top men after him. See - Ryuki's a clone of this So-Called Connector that the Worm Worships." Kisara felt the blood freeze in her veins, and she turned her head to look at her husband. She couldn't see the resemblance though. Was she just awful with faces? It wasn't wrong, she could never tell apart family members based on their common features.

Kisara felt a little lost in her own mind again - She was zoning out a little, thinking of what Mukaku might know that could make her piece together some lost puzzle pieces. He knows of the Connector - Does he know him personally? And if yes, could it be possible to know any of her past incarnations? Gah, she can't believe she fell so deep into this ridiculous theory that she doesn't even believe in. That man messed with her mind big time. Rei said he took out a White Worm - If the officer was here, could the Big Boss be here, also?

Mukaku began a story of his youth, from many decades ago when he got in the Inside and took some students in to teach and conquer the place. Though he took a whole crowd of students, only seven of them could keep up - The Seven Nikos. He also confirmed everyone's inkling that the Inside was created by the Worm - The Inside was a huge ass Gu Ritual chamber, like what Agito had to go through, poor man. Kisara couldn't help but shudder, imagining going through that at such a frail age. 

The Seven Nikos, however, began killing each other in the forest where they took a trip, until only two remained - Four, which was Ohma's Master, and Six, the Other Tokita Niko who taught Setsuna. Five and Six claim to had recently defected to the Worm, hence why they betrayed Mukaku - But who knows how true is that, really? Six used Five as an experiment anyway, so he was very much dead to this day. Mukaku continued to go around the country, destroying Worm Bases, until he found baby Ryuki, whom he adopted - Though he claims he didn't know he was the Connector's clone at the time.

With the story over, everyone went outside. Himuro and Ohma were discussing the story while Koga and Mukaku were chopping wood. Kisara stepped over to Retsudo, making a sneaky little plan, involving calling out Mukaku's veritable lies. At some point, Himuro got a got and left. When they were done, they walked over to the old man. "Ryuki has just been taken into our custody." Retsudo said with a straight face. Nothing ever betrayed his emotions. The shock of such a notion tricked Mukaku into turning his head in a direction - The direction where he was keeping Ryuki captive, no doubt. "You haven't killed him yet, I see." caught in his own lie. "His response just confirmed it, Ryuki's still somewhere on the premises, isn't he?" "I said he ain't HERE no more." the old man scoffed in annoyance. "Give it up, old man. It's too late." Ohma warned him. "Wh-What the hell are they talking about, gramps?! Is Ryuki really here?!" Koga screamed at him in disbelief. "I had my doubts about you, all along. From the moment you attacked Ohma, I had my doubts about you. I thought you attacked him because you mistook him for the Connector - But you didn't, did you? You tried to kill Ohma because you mistook him for Ryuki." Retsudo called him out. "Pesky little bugger. I knew I should've killed you when I had the chance." Mukaku growled menacingly. "Where is Ryuki? Tell us now." Ohma spoke sternly.  "I don't know." he shrugged, sitting on a log. "But you do, don't you, you filthy Worm?" Kisara smiled enigmatically. "Yes, look at me. Get a good look at me. You know me too, don't you? The Connector told me all about you. Ah - Or, maybe I should say - Shen told me about you?" the aggressive look in his face as she provoked him made her feel small and terrified, but she masked it well enough. "You have no idea how much I want to see your pretty face contorted with fear and agony as you die in that fucker's arms. Over and over again. I get off on that every time I remember." Kisara felt a shudder down her spine, and she stepped backwards, behind Ohma. Retsudo saved her from Mukaku's wrath, telling the story of the Gaoh Style hoax, and that Gaoh Mukaku actually never existed, but that he was a Remnant of Wowang - The last of the five of the Syndicate to keep alive. Mukaku accepted that he was found out eventually, but wouldn't tell them where Ryuki was. Instead, he got up, stepping menacingly towards them. "I don't think you'd want to fight us, Mukaku. It doesn't matter whether you're a Worm or not. Shen is here, looking for Ryuki as much as we do. And you know what? If he finds out you've cause me any harm, well - It won't end up well for you, will it?" Kisara tried to threaten him, hoping he'd be afraid - He wasn't. He smirked instead. Shit, she only made things worse. He took a weird stance, and so did Retsu and Ohma. "I don't think your words are going to scare him, Kisara. Stay back." Retsu warned her as him and Ohma cautiously took their own stances - Only for Koga to lunge headfirst like a dumbass. Lucky him, Ohma saved him before getting fatally struck by a demon wheel, whilst Retsu went on ahead, slashing away quickly with his knife, but it didn't work. With his Adamantine Kata, Mukaku threw an Ironbreaker punch towards Metsudo's son; Ohma was there to shield him with Indestructible, but the two got thrown away. It was only Kisara left standing.

"Oh shit." she wasn't sure what to do - If Ohma couldn't fight him, she had not even the slightest chance of touching him. Running, though, as good as it sounded... Where could she go? Back to the Underground, maybe? "You're not afraid of Shen, are you?" she sweatdropped, hoping to stall him. For a single second, she actually prayed for the Connector to come over and beat him to death for threatening her like this. "Afraid of him? Ha! I'm gonna rip him to shreds! But before I do that, I'm gonna kill you in front of him - His face watching you die is otherworldly! It's the sweetest revenge I've got!" he lunged at her, making Kisara squeak, terrified, and duck under his arm to run around and evade his hits. To think she'd use her dancing agility and flexibility to learn Wushu moves and save herself from a fucking behemoth. Insane. Absolutely insane.

She should have remained in her bed.

"Stop dancing around, Princess, it ain't gonna save you. I know your tricks - I've already seen you die four times in my life!" Kisara turned to look at him in shock - Four times? How old is he? And not only that, how young was she that she died and was reborn four fucking times?  "Hey, I know I'm pretty, but I don't wanna die young, okay? Gimme a break!" she yelped as she got caught by the end of her swishing long hair, and with a rough tug, Mukaku grabbed her and slammed her into the ground so hard that she thought her spine shattered to dust. Dust to Dust. Pulvis et Pulvis. From the dirt we are born, and to the dirt we return. Fuck this.  "You're just a woman. No matter how strong you are, you can't compare to me. Not even Shen Wulong could save you." as Kisara was struggling to breath through the pain, forcing her vision to unblur, she saw the outline of a fist coming down hard, aiming at her solar plexus. Despite the vertigo, she quickly rolled over and snatched her hair pin, using it as a small dagger which she slammed into his face, slashing it diagonally, blood splashing around - Though he didn't seem phased, the accessory was in shambles on the ground, drowning in her blood.

"I don't need Shen Wulong to save me! I only need Ohma! Fuck off away from me, you psycho! I've got nothing to do with any of this!" she managed to evade and run back to the group, stumbling over her feet and coughing blood in her palms. "Kisara, go with Retsudo. I'll hold him off for you." with a shared look between the two lovers, Kisara begrudgingly agreed and ran with Retsudo and Koga in the direction indicated by Himuro who had contacted them. "Well, at least he said The Connector's name. If that is even it." Kisara muttered, still in pain. 

They arrived at Himuro's location, at a small storehouse - Ryuki must be in the conspicuous cellar. As soon as they opened the doors and went down the stairs, the horrible stench of rot, death and decay made them all feel nauseous to hell. "What's that stench...?" Retsudo growled. "It's a deeply ingrained smell of rot. I doubt this was recent." Himuro noted. "I pity Ryuki if he's really here, having to endure this." Kisara hissed in disgust. "I think I'm gonna throw up." Koga almost hurled, but a single look up, and he saw his friend, shackled up and barely conscious. "You're kidding, right? Does that mean this smell is..." with the fire from the lighter, they saw countless bones, as if the whole cellar was made out of cadavers. Awful.

As Kisara checked for Ryuki's vitals, Mukaku led Ohma to the cellar, promising not to attack again. He affirmed that he was a member of the Wowang Syndicate, and it originated from the Worm. Wowang's leader, Dage, was an aide to the Head of the Worm. Dage went independent from the Worm on the Head's orders and formed a commando unit called Wowang. With this happening over 80 years prior, well - The old man was surely over a century old. No wonder he claims to have seen her die so many times. Wowang's purpose was to crush any organization opposing the Worm, and they were so strong that the leader got the ambition of a King and wanted to crush the Head. He began plotting to get rid of the Head of the Worm, and the absolute ruler of the Worm - The Connector, Shen Wulong.

"So Shen Wulong is the original we were copied from?" Ohma asked. "I'm not sure. You and Ryuki are almost like twins, but... You saw Shen yourself, he doesn't look all that much like you guys. Though maybe that's because he's blond and keeping his hair tied." Kisara thought out loud.  "Tell us more about that. Who is the Connector anyway, and why does the Worm follow him?" Retsudo asked the right questions. "Nobody knows how long he's been around." he continued speaking of an old tale about a safe living deep in the mountains of China since the age of myths. The locals believe him immortals, most likely because all of his descendants have taken the name of Shen Wulong. This sage presumably was mostly harmless and barely interacted with people, though on rare occasions, an 'Aberrant individual' emerged, he says. Around 1300 years ago, when the Connector declared war on the Worm, he defeated the then-Head and brought the Worm under his control. He then started a total war with the Wu clan, who were long-tine antagonists of the Worm. They say he beat them decisively. To think that the Worm and the Connector have been going for so many centuries insane - Nothing ever lasted this long.

"So did the Wu split up 1300 years ago because they lost to the Connector?" Ohma asked, pondering. "I don't know what he was thinking. He might've even thought he was bringing God's wrath on the people who annoyed him - So we began getting ready to kill a God." Mukaku continued to speak of an ace in the hole - The Advance, the Possessing Spirit, was based on this thing. They waited for the moment when the Connector was alone to ambush him in an alleyway, but with undeniable ease and grace, the Connector created an outright bloodbath. A one-sided massacre. He swatted down the Five Kings like flies. With Mukaku being the only survivor, he fled to Japan, changed his name and the whole things with the Nikos went on, and he even did Gu Rituals and what not. 

"You knew Ryuki was a clone, didn't you? That's why you took him in." Kisara pointed out. "Yeah, of course. The current Shen Wulong is a clone of his predecessor. The Worm's been engaging in cloning research, in order to make a more perfect 'Connector'. I attacked a Worm cloning research facility and destroyed it. For whatever reason, most attempts to clone Shen Wulong ended in failure. There haven't been any new clones since I destroyed that facility. Which means that Ryuki is the last existing clone. Funny, right? They'll want Ryuki back at any cost. That's why I sent Ryuki to the Kengan Association and had him announce his location to them. Thanks to him, I can kill Shen Wulong this time around! He's made the perfect bait!" though Mukaku was smug, it was Kisara's turn to laugh at him mockingly, all while Koga was so angry that he was trying to punch the old man. 

"You? Beat Shen? Ha! Prostrating King, you say - You're nothing but an old man who wants revenge, that's what you are. Shen's going to swipe the floor with you. Oh - Maybe it is that you get off on being beaten up by him, huh? Is that it?" she taunted him - He deserved it after the pain he caused her. "You little shit..." the man growled, glaring down at her. Ohma had to hold Koga back before he'd overheat from intense rage and bust his fists again.  "Grandpa... You... Were you just using me...?" Ryuki's betrayed voice made Kisara's heart weep. "Huh? Why else would I keep you around?" the disgust and indifference in his voice earned him a punch in the face from Kisara, who went then to boy to hold him in her arms as if he was her child. "The only reason you're still alive today is 'cause you're the clone of the Connector. That piece of shit wants you back no matter what. Then again, I find it hard to believe - How can a weakling like you be one of his clones, huh? What a failure the last clone turned out to be."

"Look at yourself. You've been alive for a century and still can't get anywhere near Shen's level. Pathetic." Kisara hissed at him harshly. "I understand. You're not my grandpa anymore." Ryuki spoke, defeated, feeling the woman's arms holding him in warm and loving embrace like he's never experienced in his entire life. As they helped the boy get out of the cellar, Ryuki told them how his grandpa punched him out of nowhere, imprisoning him in hopes of re-educating him. What a mad man. As they were discussing about what happened, Ohma spoke about wanting to get the hell away from that god-awful place. Though he's seen plenty of strong people, his power was unfathomable and he doesn't want anything to do with him ever again. "Oh, wait - Can you wait a second? I hair pin - It fell to the ground back at the temple. Do you mind if I go quickly to retrieve it?" Kisara stopped abruptly in her tracks. "Are you sure? You can get another. It's dangerous around that bastard." Ohma warned her, though he could see the conflict in her eyes. "You're not returning for the pin, are you?" "I have a weird feeling in my gut. Does that make sense?" Ohma sighed, nodding his head.  "Alright, fine. We'll wait here, but don't take long. If you're not back in 10, I'm coming over for you." Kisara grinned, kissing his cheek. "I'll back before 10." 

----

If only they knew that just as they were escaping, none other than Shen Wulong visited this damn fraud, looking as calm as ever. "Gaoh Mukaku. I want you to give 'Me' back." Shen ordered leisurely. "You nitwit, you're too late. I got rid of your clone a long time ago. My condolences!" Mukaku cackled at him tauntingly. "You're lying." Shen affirmed. "That's not the kind of man you were in my memories. You wouldn't get rid of a bargaining chip for no reason. You'd use any means at your disposal to survive. I remember you well. You used your comrades as shields just so you'd survive. I'm somewhat impressed by how attached to life you are."

"Haha, guess you really love me, huh? But now I'm just the fraud founder of a phony martial art. But what's wrong with being a fraud? I don't give a damn who I am, as long as I can kill you!" Mukaku laughed, bumping the ends of his arm guards. "Is that so?" Shen sighed, crouching to the ground and picking up the broken hair accessory from the ground. The ornaments on it were scattered in the blood, but it was nothing that couldn't be repaired. Though he wasn't one to get emotional, Shen felt rather pissed off. "You're going to die." he said, comparing himself to the immune system of a single large organism. "I can hear the earth telling me to eliminate you."

Mukaku thought he slashed in two at the Connector, he missed entirely without him even moving at all. He tried multiple tricks, activating booby traps planted throughout the temple, using swift assassination methods, but Shen threw him of with the flick of a single finger. "You're strong, I admit. I assume only a handful of the people close to me would be able to beat you." Mukaku hid inside the temple. "Hey, I haven't finished complimenting you yet. The first backhand punch was a good move. You drew my attention to your gauntlets while throwing iron pellets at me, and those were pretty powerful. They could kill a man if they landed right." he said nonchalantly, not bothering to move an inch. "Splintering the wall to blind me was a good move, too. Personally, I would've thrown in a few iron pellets in the splinters - If they landed, that's a few free hits." Mukaku was angry beyond belief. "You pretended you'd face me with martial arts only to use hidden weapons, duck and hide, sneak around and scheme. You were prepared for me, weren't you? I admire your tenacity."

Through the thin wall of the temple, Mukaku tried to impale Shen with a lance - The tip of it, of course, was pinched easily between his fingers. "Very meticulous. You should be long past your physical prime by now. I assume you're doping to make up for your declining muscles and reflexes, aren't you? It's a miracle that you're alive at your age." he spoke simply. "But that is one fortune that Ruyi was never blessed with." Mukaku could feel his heart stop in fear. He fucked up. "No, no, don't worry, it's not just for today, but for every time you hurt her, that I'm going to enjoy playing with you." Mukaku was unable to say a single thing, watching how easy it was for the Connector to pinch the blade away. "Ah, just so we're clear, I don't have Superman Syndrome. This isn't about power, it's about technique. One second thought, maybe even that's not the right word either. Principles? Yeah sounds right - All I'm doing is holding down the point of the force - Anyone can do that if they know how it works. No, wait, maybe Ruyi couldn't. I wouldn't want her to cut her delicate hands. She always gets papercuts." he hummed out of nowhere, as the long handle of the spear broke, and he smirked. "I'm so angry that I want to play with you a bit longer. I'll give you the chance to kill me." 

He's just getting more and more dangerous, Mukaku realised, freaking out - What the hell kind of monster is he anyway? "Hmm, will this do?" Shen hummed, cracking his fingers. "I've relocated my tendons and suppressed my muscle power output. I also limited my joints' range of motions. I brought my neuro-transmission speed down to the lowest setting and shut down some of my brain's circuits." Shen smiled, ready to destroy the man before him. "I've come down to your level. Let me enjoy this moment. Don't die yet, okay?" with that, Shen punched Mukaku the hell away from him.  Mukaku tried again to get up and attack, but was struck down with a simple arm sweep. "Too slow. Your body's awfully sluggish - You're almost not worth killing. Are these your senses in action? They must be a real handicap." Mukaku kicked a loose board from the ground, hitting Wulong in the chin and trying to beat him down into the ground with the Ironbreaker, only to get sent flying by the man who easily liberated himself. "Not bad, not bad at all, Mukaku." Shen smirked, wiping the blood off his face. "You wanna have another go? Or should I end this already?" he dug his hands in his pockets once again. "Hmm, I'm picking up an exceptional hatred from you - Shouldn't that be the other way around? I know what you've done today. But choice, really." he hummed, not twitching a single muscle. "Maybe you hate my former self for killing your comrades in Wowang? But I thought they were just total strangers to you." "Before that. Dig a little deeper into you memories." Mukaku struggled to speak between his panting. "Hmmm~?" after a few seconds of deep thinking and pondering, Wulong finally gasped theatrically with a lightbulb realisation. "You're that boy!" Mukaku's vendetta against Shen Wulong started in China, about 85 years ago.

The Connector once had three groups under his command - The Worm, the Westward Faction and the Dragon Tribe, who were descendants of Long Min, the Hero of the Chu Kingdom in the Spring and Autumn period. They were friends, sharing the same name of the dragon, yet Shen Wulong felt betrayed. Long Yi disagreed with the Worm research involving the cloning - Though he didn't mind the Huisheng reincarnations. Cloning is a violation of the natural order, a heresy.  Shen Wulong didn't want to kill his friend - All of the Dragon Tribe was already dead. Of course, the old friend wasn't going to retreat, that was the way of the general. He allowed Long Yi to attack while his back was turned, but just like the others, he fell dead, to the ground, with a single strike. In spite of his quick death, Long Yi managed to leave Wulong's first injury in years. The only man left standing was Long Xiu, a young warrior of 15 years old, who would later be known as Gaoh Mukaku. Long Xiu was Long Yi's grandson. It was then that the current Shen Wulong realised that the Wowang Syndicate conspired against him, all instigated by Mukaku.

"Yi was a good man, but he made one mistake - He didn't kill a bastard like you." Mukaku attacked him with the Long clan secret technique, Dragon's Maw Fist, but of course, it did nothing. "Awe, man, you're a real two-timer." "Oh shut up, fuck-wit!! I'd turn to the Gods and the Demons if they'd help me kill you!!" Mukaku growled at him. "Aaaaand you've lost me. I've had enough of this." Shen rolled his eyes, bored out of his mind with his repetitive antics. All of a sudden, a rustle was heard, and a few soft footsteps followed. "Hey, psycho geezer, did you steal my pin? I know I used it to slash your face, but - You've gotta hand it to me, it's your fault you attacked me! I just defended myself! ... My spine still hurts like hell though. If I need spine surgery because of you, I'll sue you for ten generations." Shen's eyes widened, and he turned his head to see the beautiful young woman struggling to step through the rubbles of the destroyed temple. As soon as she rose her head to look for the old man, she saw not only him, but Shen also - The shock and fright were evident on her face, and she looked like a deer surrounded by predators. "I... Should not have returned. I, uh... I-... I'll leave. Bye!" panicked, she tried to leave the temple immediately - She was, thankfully, just at the entrance, though even there, she unknowingly stepped on a trap that would be slashed her to fish-bite pieces, were it not for a strong force tackling her to the ground. "Sh-Shen...?" she gulped, feeling his strong arms keeping her safe and shielded from danger. Looking up, she saw the overly sharp piano wires that would have easily cut her in pieces as if she was a Happy Tree Friends character. "Oh my god, you psycho, what the hell is this?! You almost killed me - Again!" her body's reaction was to spring away from Wulong's arms and run the hell away - But he didn't let her.

"I can't believe my bait returned willingly. You thought yourself smart, but you died a fucking dumbass each and every time. It's your fault you died, you know? And his, for not protecting you." Mukaku put on a gas mask and readied his sword. "I almost shattered your spine, and you return for a hair pin? Ha! You deserve to die, woman." Kisara squeaked in fear as Mukaku, with incredible swiftness, brought down the sword, ready to slash her and Shen where they stood - But somehow, defying the laws of physics was a regular thing for the Connector, who kept her safe, held by one arm to his chest, his hand placed over her mouth and nose as if to prevent her from breathing, while the other hand caught the blade.  "Terrible decision, really." Shen glared at Mukaku. "Not even close." "Yeah, you're right - But this should do the trick!" Mukaku used Indestructible on the blade, cutting Wulong's hand into bleeding. "Shen - You're bleeding! Let go of the blade!" Kisara managed to speak through his fingers.

"Don't worry about me. Try to keep from breathing as much as you can. This cheap bastard flooded the room with Carbon Monoxide. It's just one thing after another." as instructed, Kisara picked up the handkerchief from her sleeve and pressed it to his face to help him with the breathing."Very kind of you - But I'm fine. I don't need to breathe. Use it for yourself, Ruyi." Shen told Mukaku that the man who killed his clan was his previous iteration, and some illogical shit about stopping the breathing process, to slow the aging process. He then easily got up, throwing away the sword and kicking him in the face. "Did you seriously think you could outdo us? How asinine." Shen used the sword to impale Mukaku's shoulder. "Running away? You don't have that privilege anymore. I told you - I've grown tired of you." "Are you sure you wanna kill me?! If I die, Ryuki dies too! I'm the only one who knows where he is! Are you just gonna let yourself die?!" Mukaku spat, desperate to live. "Ryuki's safe with us! Stop lying, you jerk!" Kisara soon started coughing - The Monoxide was beginning to take effect. "How come you're so obsessed over Ryuki anyway?! Ain't Tokita Ohma one of your clones too?! Why does it gotta be Ryuki?!" Mukaku was, no doubt, trying to prolong his suffering. "Hey, don't you dare bring my husband into this! He already died once, I don't need you getting him in another situation, you bastard!" Kisara hissed at him. "Besides - Don't act as if you ever cared for Ryuki! You're just an evil man. A traitor." "Oh man. Yan's gonna give me hell for everything I've done lately. Well - You're gonna be dead anyway, so there's no harm in telling you!" Shen sighed in realisation. "W-Wait! Don't say it! I don't want to die because of his curiosity!" the woman stepped backwards, gulping slightly. "...Don't worry. I don't think you'd get it, even if I told you." he smiled condescendingly down at Mukaku. "Tokita Ohma... Is not me." "HUH?!" Mukaku was on the ground, bleeding heavily. "Wait, hold the GODDAMN PHONE! What the hell are you talking about?! You can't expect me to believe that bullshit! I mean - Have you seen the guy?! He's the spitting image of Ryu...?!" Gaoh gasped loudly, as Shen was vibing with a dark, killing aura. "Yeah, I think you've figured it out by now." with an effortless swing of his wrist, Shen snapped Mukaku into pieces. "So die." Kisara had to jump back behind Shen, so all the blood wouldn't splatter on her. "Three times. You're the first person who's made three attempts on my life, and on Ruyi's. Looks like third time wasn't the charm, after all."

Shen turned around, throwing away the blade, looking down at the woman who looked uncomfortable and outright fearing him. "Ruyi." he called out, before quickly correcting himself. "No, sorry - You're called Kisara now, right? Kisara. I won't mistake it again." he gently put a finger under her chin, raising it up to make her look at him. "What do you see?" Though he could see the fear in her eyes, there was also deep confusion, and he couldn't blame her. There were far too many things to find out, in a single day, out of which few made sense. "I still don't think you look like Ohma at all." the comment earned a small huff of amusement from him. "So... Are you going to kill me, now that I know your secret about Ohma?" Shen didn't say anything - Instead, he retriever the pin from his pocket, along with all the broken accessories. "Did it save you?" Though Kisara had no idea why he'd change the subject like that, she nodded nonetheless. "Yeah. I... I used your name to get a rise out of him, hoping he'd tell us where Ryuki was without a fight. But, uhm... He threatened to use me as bait and kill me in front of you. For the... Fifth time, he said. Or, uh... Maybe he just meant he knew I died four times during his life. I'm not sure. He was weird." he uncomfortably scratched the back of her neck. "I was weak. I couldn't evade his attacks and he grabbed me. Slammed be to the ground, tried to punch my guts out. Before he could though, I slashed away at his face and ran away." she hung her head down, feeling guilty looking at the beautiful yet broken accessory. "I'm sorry. I know it must have meant a lot for you, and I broke it." "A pin isn't worth more than your life, silly girl." he spoke with an amused tone. "I'll just get it repaired and return it. It's yours, not mine."

"But, Shen - It means nothing to me. Ruyi means nothing to me. Maybe you believe that it's my reincarnation, in the real sense, not the Huisheng sense - But even so, you're the only one who knows of Ruyi, and... All my supposed past selves." she explained softly. "That could be solved. I remember every incarnation you had - Or at least those who managed to live past a certain age. Unfortunately, there weren't all that many." Kisara looked down, feeling a weird pang of pain in her chest. "I have to go, Shen. I'm sorry." she looked into his eyes. "I will accept the pin, if you want me to have it... And I'll keep the secret to myself, even though I didn't understand it at all. I don't want to die, but more than that, I don't want Ohma, nor my friends to die." she sighed, extending her hand towards him. "But Shen - I am married. And I love Ohma more than I love life itself." Instead of looking or even emanating anger or any negative emotion, Shen smiled, placing the pin in her hand, closing it for her. "As long as you're happy."

A loud gasp of complete and utter shock resounded through the desolated temple, and a man who looked similar, but much prettier than Xia Ji was looking at the two with huge eyes. Realising he was someone strong and important to the Worm, Kisara instinctively tried to step away, only for her back to his Shen's.

"What's wrong, Yan? Cat got your tongue?" Shen asked, oblivious. "Oh, come on, gimme a break! How'd you get injured?!" this Yan crumbled to the ground, having a mental crisis. "Something weighing you down?" Shen asked, even more confused. "You are, you moron." Yan groaned pitifully. "U-Uhm... Mr. Yan?" Kisara spoke in a mousy voice. "Shen got injured because of me. Forgive me." she crouched to his level, putting a gentle hand on his arm and helping him up. "After all the shit he's pulled over the years, this is how he ends up. Pathetic." that man, the Other Tokita Niko, gruffed at Mukaku's corpse. "Oh no, what have you done?! What's with her?!" Yan's overreaction made her step back away from him again. "Uhm... I-I think I should get going." she stole a look at the Connector, seeking permission to get the hell away from there. "Yeah, sure. Take care." Kisara didn't need another word, she was already rushing away - Only for a man looking around her age or younger, with the obvious Kure eyes, blocked her exit, towering over her. A lankier man, just like him, trailed just behind. "Gilbert, what crawled up Yan's ass and died?" so this was Gilbert Wu. Kisara felt surrounded by what seemed to be the whole Small Council of the Connector, as if she was in Game of Thrones or something. She looked at Shen again, waiting for him to give the signal for Gilbert to step away from the exit so she could bolt off. "Ah, yeah - I know this really good jeweller for that pin. He should repair it in a week or so." "Lovely!" Kisara forced a smile. "I, uh -- See ya!" she bolted the hell away.

Thankfully, on the way back, she met Ohma who was already rushing her way. "No questions. Let's run the hell away. I'll tell you when we get out of the Inside. My brain is imploding." Ohma blinked, perplex, but questioned nothing. "Fine. Let's go."

Thankfully, they managed to get the hell away from this awful place, and while Retsu and Himuro took care of Ryuki, while Ohma, Kisara and Koga went to the manager's office. Here, they were greeted with open arms, and great news on TV - The Kengan Anti-Worm Alliance was going splendidly, and most of them, even the officers, were either killed or detained. The Worm Purge was going quickly. 

"Wait, is it over then?" Koga gasped, looking at the TV. "It's not." the woman gulped. "The Connector is alive. His subordinates are alive. The Other Tokita Niko is alive. Gilbert Wu is alive." she bit her lip hard. "Ohma, you said Gaoh Mukaku was a monster. The Monster is Shen Wulong. He toyed with Mukaku like he was a ragdoll. He outright destroyed him." "You met the Connector again?" Kisara nodded. "I don't know how I'm still alive, but by the Gods alive, there's nothing scarier than being surrounded by those guys." finally, she could sit down - Her legs felt like giving out. "We've got a lot of problems on our side - And, Ohma - Shen said something weird. I don't quite get the implication, but... He said... You are not HIS clone, but Ryuki is."  "Wait, but Ohma and Ryuki look the same, don't they?" Ohma, Kisara, Koga, Yamashita, Kaede and Rin all looked at each other with wide, scared eyes. 

Is there more than one Connector out there?!

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[whippedcreamisgoodonpickles]

my prediction for kengan vs purgatory

[koujinna]

In light of chapter 119, all I can think about is how bad I feel for Terashi (which is odd considering the man is an assassin).

Like his work conditions were absolute G A R B A G E

I’m curious to see how this pans out story-wise though. It’s been made abundantly clear that the Kengan vs. Purgatory tournament is just a set up to much larger story. At this point, I’m more interested in the side-plots that have opened up since the tournament began.

I hope to see more of Terashi, personally. I think something awakened in him during his fight with Okubo.

[noro-noro-noro]

had a weird kengan related dream where they released a new chapter or something that was like kengan+purgatory vs worm where everyone was getting jumped. i can remember like none of it except it was told in like wide 4 panel strips instead of a normal story & it was translated by a scan group who didn't give a shit & was putting memes in there. i barely remember what was going on except gozo was there (got his ass kicked before his round just for talking to his opponent) & then something about kaneda & himuro, where the Worms took himuro's eyes but kaneda could still see (?) for him through some tiny bell shaped earrings he'd gifted himuro so he was able to like ratatouille him somehow & the scan group was like "wow. poggers.. truly poggers. i can't believe himuro lost to this guy." & i was like ok I know no way did the original say that. there was a lot of other stuff but I kept waking up bc my dad was watching a loud movie