M.D.B Chapter 36: Girlfriend? I’m Still…

Chapter 36: Girlfriend? I'm Still…

In this awkward but somewhat graceful atmosphere, Saint gently swayed his fingers on the back of Colleen's hand. He got a strange look from her, and then her tender hands slipped out from his.

"Cough…" Saint coughed and tried to conceal his embarrassment and then said: "Colleen, where have you been these days?"

Hearing his question, her face suddenly became gloomy and she said: "Can we not talk about this?"

"…"

Saint remained silent for a moment, and then just said: "Well… I already know that your Sensei, Bakuto, is one of the five fingers of the Hand."

"What?!" Colleen's bright eyes seemed to tremble, and she asked: "You know that? How? When?"

"On the day I treated you…" Saint easily lied: "When you mentioned his name, I was already a bit skeptical. Later, the SHIELD came after me. It's a long story, but to make it short, almost a few hours after you left, I already determined that he's one of the 'Bosses' of the Hand."

"…"

Colleen remained silent for a long time, and then said bitterly: "So… you do know; the orphans that I teach martial arts end up joining the Hand's arm…"

"HEY! Colleen!" Saint shouted her name, silencing her, and getting her to stair back into his eyes as said: "This is not your fault! You've just been deceived by Bakuto!"

Colleen kept staring in his eyes, overtaken by surprise: "How do you trust me so much?! I'm… I'm part of the Hand after all! Didn't you ever doubt me?"

Saint shrugged his shoulder and said in a relaxed tone: "Of course not! If I did, wouldn't that mean that I'm foolish? Someone as great as I am would never make such a mistake!"

"Haha…" Colleen gloominess shattered and she grinned: "Saint, you're so narcissistic!"

Her laughter made Saint smile, and he shrugged once again: "Colleen, you are not truly a part of the Hand. Don't just bear their mistakes and punish yourself…"

Right then, Colleen's smile faded, and she said helplessly: "I wish it was as simple as you are saying. Over the year, I've been pushing many kids to the pit of fire myself. I'm not innocent. How could I ever make up for all of that?"

"That's very simple!" Saint said in a cold tone: "Those who have deceived you, using your kindness to get you to commit evil deeds for their sake, make them pay! They will pay, and I'll help you with that!"

"Help me?" Hearing Saint's murderous tone, Colleen said in concern: "Did you say that Kame School does not interfere with the Hand and Kunlun's issues?"

"This is not the same…" Saint point to Colleen, and then to himself: "This is your personal problem; of course I'll help you! How could I let my waitress's only family face such dangers on her own?"

"Lorna?" Colleen's face suddenly changed: "Saint, as you said, this is my personal problem. Please, just… don't intervene, let alone tell Lorna."

Saint suddenly realized that he had picked the wrong words… It sounded like he was helping Colleen just for Lorna's sake.

Like spilled water, his words couldn't just be taken back. He felt great regret, but did not attempt to fix his mistake. He could only sigh lightly and say: "Well, I respect your choice."

Colleen nodded, and besides and gentle hum, he heard nothing from her.

He thought about the matter, and decided to help her in another way. In a casual tone he said: "Colleen, Bakuto is your Sensei after all. Are you confident that you could beat him?"

"…"

Colleen looked at Saint and said: "Saint, the answer to that question, whatever it is, will not change my mind!"

"You seem to have misunderstood. I'm saying, didn't you want you want to learn Kame School's martial art style? Well, did you like that Zanzoken?"

Colleen raised her eyebrow and looked at Saint eccentrically: "Saint, are you… asking me to become your girlfriend?!"

"Uh..."

Only as Saint heard her say that did he remember that he made a joke about that before, telling her that she would have to become his girlfriend if she wanted to learn Kame School's methods. He didn't expect that she would actually take that seriously!

With an equally eccentric look, he said: "I'll teach you without any conditions. But well, that doesn't change the fact… I am single…"

"I think it was beautiful!" Colleen looked at Saint and said: "Tell me about this Zanzoken, it's the way you've used to create two of you, right?"

"Well you've brought it, but thank you. It looks like me so it's indeed beautiful…"

Under Colleen's unkind eyes, Saint's voice faded as he said that. He then coughed and said seriously: "Yes, Zanzoken, or the after image technique, is a technique that relies on releasing your own Ki in place, leaving an after-image in place. At the same time, the Ki bursts at your feet, transforming into a force that burst you away at an ultra-high speed. The speed makes you invisible to the naked eye. In contrast, this puts a great strain on your body, especially the legs."

Saint then pointed to his swollen thigh: "If you're not careful, you'll get this. Think about it; when you decide you want to learn it, tell me."

"I do!"

Colleen did not hesitate and nodded. She knew that learning such techniques might bear some dangers, but her desire to get stronger was greater. After telling her that she does want to learn, she added to comfort Saint: "You can rest assured: I know all about the level of secrecy linked to such techniques, and I understand the risk you are willing to take. I will never disclose anything you would teach me to anyone, and I will not take this technique lightly."

In this world, Saint was "Kame School". The actual level of secrecy surrounding his methods was something that he freely determined. Not putting pressure on Colleen, he said: "I did already tell you that I trust you. Now, before I teach you Zanzoken, I have to teach you Kame School's methods of practicing Ki. Otherwise, if you rely on Kunlun's methods to use Kame School Techniques, you may end up having problems!"