A Year Later and The Second Master of The Journey

"P-please! Have mercy!" a man screamed in Russian before switching to heavily accented Japanese, "Kitsune-sama, please! We will leave Roanapur! Forever!" his eyes were bloodshot and spittle came flying out of his mouth. I could practically smell his fear.

I was currently holding this man up by his collar, but I brought him closer to me before slipping an arm around his throat and pulling off a simple choke-hold.

"There's only room for one side of the Russian Mafia in Roanapur. They sent you guys and a half-baked 'Expert' to try and take down Balalaika?" I mused as he started to kick and struggle, though it was useless against my strength, but also my technique. My choke-hold was now inescapable. "You'll be leaving Roanapur forever anyway. I'd rather not kill you, but this is a test from my Sensei. If I pass, He'll point me in the direction of my next Sensei," I once again mused, not minding giving out such information to a dead man.

His kicking and struggling soon died down, getting weaker and weaker, until finally...he was dead.

Dropping his corpse to the ground, I brought out a handkerchief from my pocket before wiping the blood from my mask. The originally black Kitsune mask was now practically red with blood. The same thing happened to the handkerchief after I was done with it.

Sighing as I looked back at the destruction I'd caused, I put the handkerchief back in my pocket. Dead bodies were everywhere, and the person I just killed? The leader of all these goons.

Anyway, seeing that my job was done, I walked over the corpses, doing my best not to step in any puddles of blood. As I exited the building and began walking back to Alexander-sensei, like usual, I saw that people were giving me a wide berth. Though that luckily gave me the ability to have some in-depth thoughts without the possibility of me bumping into someone.

One year.

One year was all it took for me to make a certifiable legend for myself in Roanapur. Legends of the Kitsune were practically flowing on the street, made even more exaggerated each time I made an appearance. I didn't want the reputation, yet Alexander-sensei constantly sent me out to deal with Hotel Moscow's enemies, like some kind of glorified Enforcer for the Mob, so I could increase my martial skills.

Yet there was always a condition. Only use Combat Sambo. Only use submissions. Or only use one-arm and one-leg. Usually, he banned me from using my superior physique and made me focus on Combat Sambo technique instead.

It was hard at first. I got hit by bullets, stabbed by knifes, had bottles broken over my head, etc, etc.

But alongside Oliva's Muscle Formula, and my own adaptive body, I quickly increased in defense, to an inhuman degree, yet I also quickly increased my prowess with Combat Sambo.

And best of all, whenever I sparred with Alexander-sensei, I could ever so slowly, merge Karate with Combat Sambo. It was a crude mixture of techniques but through constant refinement through battle, I'd made my own sort of style. Though it was distinct enough to have it's own name yet, mainly because it still looked like a half-assed mixture between Karate and Sambo, but it definitely worked.

Alexander-sensei even said that if I passed the test of one of his 'friends', they would both recommend me to a man who could definitely help me merge all my martial arts into one, Mixed-Martial Arts style that would have the best of all the martial arts, with the drawbacks of the Styles being subdued in the process.

I'd also awakened my Dou Ki during my time under Alexander-sensei. He himself used Dou Ki, so he helped me for the most part, and for that, I was incredibly grateful. It's one of the main reasons why I did what he asked of me, instead of whining about being used as a mob enforcer.

Overall, I'd grown tremendously is terms of physical and martial prowess. My physical power had been rapidly improving due to puberty making my already robust muscles grow even more. As my body grew, I also felt the distinct impression that my density was also increasing but due to the minor amounts of weight gained, the increase in density wasn't that much.

Though after a year, I'd grown to 5'7" and my shoulders had broadened a bit, so with my mask on to hide my more childish features, I just looked like a man with average height and my tremendous build helped solidify the fact that I was a grown man. Because who would believe that a 12-year-old could be so athletic and muscular?

Anyway, I'd say that my martial prowess was edging closer and closer to that of a Master-level fighter. The chasm between Expert and Master was a massive one indeed. But it wouldn't be too long.

I'd also improved my Overdrive form to be able to, at max output, increase my strength, speed, and healing ability by 2 times. That may not seem like much, but know that if physically, I can already match a Grandmaster and maybe even overpower them with my abnormal physique, then under the 2x multiplier from Overdrive, I could definitely physically over power them. It would be a pretty useless ability for other people, but for someone abnormal like me? It was an absolute trump-card.

Luckily It only took me a year to learn everything I could off of Alexander-sensei, his teaching being ruthless, yet time efficient. Plus my learning ability only continued to evolve and grow quicker as I grew. That helped me save a lot of time.

Finally, I arrived back at the house where Alexander stayed, with his older sister, who just so happened to be Balalaika. That was a surprise.

Upon entering the house, I took off my mask and hung it on the coat rack. Someone would properly clean it if I just left it there, and if not? I don't really care. Walking into the kitchen, I opened the fridge and pulled out a massive bucket-like tub, before fetching myself a spoon. After getting those two things, I walked from the kitchen and into the living room.

It was quite a simple room, with a decent-sized TV. Not at all what you'd expect from a Member of Yami and the leader of a branch of the Russian Mafia. But it as cozy, so I liked it.

Sitting in the room, was Balalaika, who was smoking a cigar while watching some kind of documentary show about wild life. She didn't even acknowledge my entrance, so I didn't acknowledge her either, and just sat down, not minding the fact that I was staining the sofa with the blood still on my clothes.

I would go and have a shower but first...

Popping open the tub, I saw white, fluffy-looking ice cream with golden caramel, wavy lines interspersed throughout it. Vanilla and Caramel Ice Cream. Seeing it made my feel so incredibly happy. Especially after a day of hard 'work'.

Even if that day of work was just killing people.

Killing...was hard at first. It made me feel sick. It made me wake up with nightmares, sweating bullets. But one day, and I don't know if it's because that bastards bloodline flows through me, I just stopped caring. Killing was no different from breathing to me now. It didn't mean I liked it, and I'd much rather just cripple someone than outright kill them...but I'd still do it if necessary, and sometimes it was.

This is a dog eat dog world, after all.

Just as I was about to start devouring the ice cream, an even and polite voice spoke, "Eating so much ice cream is bad for you, you know, Yukiro?" despite the politeness of the tone, the sarcastic intention behind it was clearly heard by me. Hearing Balalaika talk, I scoffed.

"Smoking cigars isn't good for you either, Auntie," I quipped, smirking when I saw Balalaika's teeth grind at the mention of her age, or at least the implication of me calling her 'Auntie'.

Living with her for over a year, we'd settled into our roles. What are those roles? Antagonizing the shit out of one another. It was refreshing, honestly. Especially so for Balalaika who isn't that used to having people talk back to her unless they're her enemies. She's definitely not used to a 12-year-old brat talking back to her.

"You truly aren't like a child, you know that, Yukiro? Not cute at all. Instead of calling me Auntie, why don't you call me...what is it you Japanese call it?" she thought for a second or two before snapping her fingers and smiling, "Onee-sama. Why don't you call me that?" she joked but I kept a straight face as I replied.

"You're too mature to be called a big sister," I said with a deadpan face, and Balalaika's face went dark, while I started eating my ice cream with gusto. But the cocking of a gun stopped me, as I quickly disappeared from the spot I was sitting in. Though as soon as I did that, I realized my mistake:

She was never aiming for me in the first place.

Looking back at my seat, I saw the ice cream tub I'd left balanced on the arm of the chair...filled with holes and completely ruined.

The ultimate betrayal.

"Hahaha..." I laughed in a hollow way, my only enjoyment having been ruined, "And you wonder why I call you auntie? Only an older, grumpy woman would react like so to such little teasing~" I said in a playful manner, yet the tone of my voice showed my frustration and annoyance, "A younger, more gentle woman wouldn't have reacted in such a way~" I said before I walked toward Balalaika who was smiling victoriously.

"Oh? Did you want that ice cream, Yukiro? That's a shame. Well, I was the one who brought it unlike a certain free-loading child," her 'happy' face looked incredibly fierce as she reloaded her pistol.

But what she said annoyed me even more, "Ara ara, now what could you mean by that, Balalaika? I just got back from cleaning up a mess of yours. You were the one who let that other Russian Mob into Roanapur, but you're calling me the freeloader when I clean up your messes?" I smiled a smile that wasn't really a smile. More of a facade to mask how frustrated she was making me.

Just as Balalaika was about to reply, a tired sigh came from the edge of the room, "Stop it, you two," Alexander walked into the room, followed by a tall and fierce-looking Chinese man.

The man was tall, taller than Alexander-sensei, and a very muscular middle-aged man with short black hair and a thick beard of the same color. He was wearing an open vest that revealed his chest, dark pants, and he was currently holding a gourd in his hands, while occasionally taking a swig from it. He also had armbands around his wrists.

Balalaika, not wanting to displease her brother, stopped and put her gun away, while I smirked at her submissive behavior around her brother and her superior. He was a Colonel and she was a Captain.

She seemed annoyed at my smirk, yet she grit her teeth and just sat down to watch her wild life documentary again. Meanwhile, the tall, Chinese man came up to me and seemed to size me up. After a few seconds he put his hand out and spoke, "You have a talent for killing, brat. Sogetsu Ma," he said, his voice rough and slightly slurred. Probably because of the alcohol he'd been drinking.

Taking his hand, I nodded, "Yukiro. Martial Arts makes it easier, honestly. Plus, they were normal people for the most part. Just some two-bit gangsters," I shrugged, not wanting to take pride in killing, especially in killing people who were way weaker than me.

But hearing my answer, Sogetsu smiled wide before taking a swig of his alcohol. Once he'd drank a few sips, he let out a laugh before turning to Alexander, "You've taught him well, Alexander. Seems that militaristic training of yours is good for something!" he taunted the Russian man, yet Alexander just ignored him and sat down, pouring himself some wine. Sogetsu, seeing his taunt not work, just shrugged before turning back to me, "Your master here wants me to teach you Chinese Kenpo. He said something about you asking for me personally. Now, let me test you," he said and before I knew it, he started squeezing down on my hand with a tremendous force.

Yet, easily enough, I resisted it, "Is that all?" I smirked, and the pressure once again increased. But my unnaturally dense muscles supplemented by Oliva's Muscle Formula...how could they be beaten so easily?

I squeezed back and after a grunt, Sogetsu met my strength, his mouth smiling wider and wider, "Good! You've got a good foundation for such a young kid!" his force continued to climb, yet I matched him easily enough, my physical strength and durability being my biggest advantages, "Unbelievable..." Sogetsu said before laughing heartily and speaking further, "If you learnt the Strong-Fist Styles...I wonder what kind of damage you could do to opponents!" his smile went savage as killing intent flowed from him like a mighty river.

Even a veteran soldier like Balalaika was shaken by the killing intent Sogetsu was giving off. I felt a chill go up my spine, like I was standing in front of a bloodthirsty beast.

Slowly, his killing intent receded and he went into a thinking pose.

Finally he spoke, "Okay, we'll stay in this place for as long as it takes for you to get a foundation in the skills I'm about to teach you. After that, we'll leave for China where you can throw yourself into the Underground Fighting scene and refine your martial prowess!" he shouted before taking another swig of his alcohol.

What an alcoholic master I've gained.