Chapter 29 - Inappropriate Incident

Days passed since he fought against Takeda who decided to quit Ragnarok along with Ukita who had their dreams renewed by him. Frankly it was a bit embarrassing when they started to call him "Aniki" when they are older than him but his action brought them to the right path once more. Kenichi had fought against Shinnosuke Tsuji but lost simply because of the opponent being stronger yet it was rather a close fight according to Kansei Ma.

Haruto heard he was saved by Takeda as a way to repay him for helping fix his arms. He was currently training once again with Shigure and Kenichi was now living under the Ryozanpaku as a Live in disciple. Unlike Haruto, he needed to stay longer since he lacked the talent to master their martial art but the reason why they like him is his heart.

'She is getting more strangely familiar with me.' Haruto's growth had been stagnant but his understanding of swords was sharper than before. As Shigure said, a weapon should be an extension of the wielder, not simply a tool. Shigure was silent and slash at the opening but Haruto deliberately made them seem open and used to trap her.

[ Kosaka Style - Kosaka Slash! ]

Haruto slash towards Shigure, getting her by surprise only for it to graze him and immediately deliver several cuts. He fell to his knees and still couldn't even land a single direct hit.

"Haaaa…how did I do?" Haruto asked, exhausted and Shigure wiped the small cut on her cheek.

"Better." Simple words yet hold so much and Haruto nodded as he was finally able to remove the tungsten forearms and shin guards that made it a lot harder to move. Shigure left him be and Haruto took a moment for some breather then sat watching Kenichi training with Sakaki.

"Here, Haruto." Miu walked over to him and handed a tea cup for him to drink.

*Thanks, Miu." Haruto said taking a sip and felt renewed by its calming herbal taste. Miu sat down next to him, having been feeling strange ever since he met Haruto and doesn't know why.

"You're welcome. By the way, why doesn't Lala come with you like she usually does?" Miu asked, noticing her good friend was nowhere to be found.

"Oh she's busy making her lab in my closet, apparently she can create a room through technology." Haruto said and Miu was surprised by this but not that much knowing that she's an alien from another world.

"Wow, it's really amazing that she can do that." She often sees her create wacky machines.

"True but most of the time it doesn't work." He said having been in some scenario where her invention failed in school.

"I've been wondering bu—" Miu asked something when they heard someone scream and Haruto instinct kicked in rushing towards the entrances only to find Apachai holding Mikan.

"Mikan-chan?" Haruto called out seeing his little sister come to visit Ryozanpaku. Miu heard the same and recalled her name being mentioned by Haruto a couple of times.

"Nii-san!" Mikan jumped off of Apachai running towards him while Haruto wryly smiled, rarely seeing her act this way.

"I'm here, don't worry Apachai is…harmless." Haruto doesn't know how to describe Apachai who is confused.

"Apachai didn't mean to scare you. Apachai is sorry." He walked over to Mikan and finally calmed down.

"It's fine, uhmm..,Apachai-san. I was just a little surprised, that's all." Mikan said and eventually she was invited inside where she saw Miu and felt inferior.

'Is this what Honoka?' Mikan thought as she was bit and saw Shigure making feel inferior. The other Grandmaster soon followed.

"Thank you for having me, my name is Mikan Yuuki." Mikan bow showing respect and causing a chain reaction.

"What a mature child…reminds me of Shigure." Akisame noticed her gaze that was more mature than her peers.

"Hohoho, welcome to our dojo, make yourself at home." Hayato said and Mikan wondered why her brother was training under them.

"What are you doing here, Mikan-chan?" Haruto asked while Miu was helping serve some tea.

"I was curious what place you were training." Mikan said and he nodded.

"I see, well you can stay here for the time being." Haruto said getting his next training under Sakaki. At that moment, Mikan sat next to Miu and Apachai with her expression a bit scared.

'I need to give Sakaki a good fight using only Karate.' Haruto had been trying to find a good reward but most had been small.

[ Quest Creation ]

[ Task: Give Sakaki a good fight. ]

[ reward: Cooking(S) ]

Haruto was surprised but accepted it since he wanted to cook better meals and it was partially his hobby. Sakaki scratches his back glancing at Mikan and back at Haruto.

"Kid, don't expect me to be soft simply because your little sister is watching." Sakaki took a stance while Haruto copied him.

"I doubt she'll believe our training to be simple." Mikan was watching and felt worried when she felt chills run down her spines.

Haruto moved within an instant faster than a person to react but obviously Sakaki was far more experienced and skilled where he redirected and struck Haruto who deflected his attack as the two basically went back and forth.

The sheer force was unreal and Mikan couldn't believe that her brother was able to fight someone like Sakaki. Haruto still had the weights and couldn't move as he wanted but kept pushing through.

"You don't seem worried like when Honoka-chan visited." Miu said seeing how calm she was.

"I know Nii-san and something like won't make him give up…" Mikan saw how determined his brother was and reminded her of the time where he would act the same. His violence tendency was once fueled by his desire to protect those he cared for but it changes when he learns they were really his family. A confusing time for him.

Miu and Mikan chatted a bit more getting to know each other while Haruto took a deep breath, taking it more seriously entering his [ Ultra Instinct ]. Mikan was surprised when Haruto moved a lot faster than before performing a [ Seiken ].

"Oh you're not taking this lightly as well huh? Bring it on, kid." Sakaki grinned feeling a bit sober having easily tanked the attack as smoke came out. Haruto had a hard time controlling it and trying to use [ Tranquil State ] to help him slowly gain control but everything felt foggy.

Sakaki cocked his fist and delivered a flurry of combos where Haruto used [ Tachypsychia ] to avoid them all and predict his movement. Haruto knew it might be a crawl but he is slowly but surely gaining more control over his current state. Haruto was better and rose the baseline of a High class Disciple and added his martial art at the peak of high class Disciple to borderline Expert.

Haruto receives a powerful punch in his stomach and forces him out of his state falling into the ground. Sakaki did enjoy the fight and experienced his ability to force himself to fight without subconscious holding back.

"Sorry kid if I was a little rough with him." Sakaki glanced at Mikan, a bit embarrassed that he beat Haruto while his sister was watching.

"Nii-san are you alright?" Mikan walked over to check on him while he gave a thumbs up making her feel relieved and happy that he was alright. After some time, Mikan had to go back home since Haruto will be staying in Ryozanpaku.

"Come back anytime." Hayato said and Mikan nodded, bowing.

"I will and thank you for taking care of my brother. He might be a little stubborn at times but please bear with it." Mikan said.

"This makes me wonder which is older and younger between you two." Kansei Ma said.

"Apachai wants to play othello with Mikan again next time." He said enjoying having Milan's company and she nodded, never expecting a grown man to act like a child.

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Haruto was currently at the Hotspring made by Apachai after a random hole. He always loved a relaxing bath like this and often spent it with Lala. It felt kind of lonely with him being the only one there since Kenichi's training still wasn't over. He knows about the Hot Spring because of Miu mentioning it. Though, he knows it from his other memories but relying on what he knows won't help that much.

'Never expected my life to be like this…' Haruto thought about his life where Lala became his fiancee and her ring was the sign of it. He wanted to make it a little bit grander the next time things calm down.

Though, the confusing thing is that the harem thing and still hope that Honoka would reconsider but her eyes filled with honest intent made it difficult for him to refuse.

'When did I become obsessed with honesty….' Haruto tried to remember and thought that it might start when he found out he was adopted. Perhaps it was immaturity that made him irrational at that time but still.

'No maybe because I don't like conspiracy and want things to be more straightforward.' He is still confused as to the reason why he likes honesty and sincerity. Haruto gave up trying to remember and relax.

'i wonder how Nijiima is doing with our plan.' Haruto leaned back thinking about his group that the Alien human had been cooking up. His accomplishment does draw the attention of the weak but worried that the reason people join would be different than what Kenichi had done.

As much as it may seem, Haruto doesn't like violence as it reminds him of his past but fighting is different. Though, Kenichi is also getting more recognition. Nijima may be annoying but his skills are commendable.

'I have to talk with him about it and set some rules.' Haruto said having been training for almost a month now and has grown more as a person through his journey. The Ragnarok became a lot quiet but knew that Takeda will face some problems soon after quitting.

'Still, among all the training I have, Shigure is the most fun.' He couldn't explain it but she was the most honest among them and every time they clashed they would connect. Haruto was learning both armed and unarmed combat and incorporated it with his style since [ North God Style ] increases every time he trains with Shigure since it doesn't rely solely on one and can be considered a jack of all master of any kind of type.

Haruto was also happy that Shigure wasn't uncomfortable around him and was opening up to him. He started thinking about other things when he felt a disturbance in the water to check it out only to nosebleed.

"S-S-Shigure!?" Haruto was taken aback seeing the weapon master submerged in the water. Sure he had seen Lala naked and was calm but that's because he anticipated her being there but Shigure came out of nowhere.

"Haruto." Shigure simply said and continued to enjoy the water as the pet mouse joined them.

"Uhmm, well, I'll be going then." He needs to leave since he is not going to stay with Shigure. Haruto wasn't going to take a disadvantage of her and was about to leave only for her to stop him.

"Stay." A single word held more emotion than anyone and Haruto was unsure what to do.

"Sorry I can't, you're here and I don't want to make you uncomfortable." Haruto explained hoping to leave only for Shigure to stand up walking for him and before he could move had her hands on his cheek.

"Stay here, I don't mind." She said Haruto's heart was pounding and quickly used [ Tranquil State ] to calm himself down. It was a lot stronger than before.

'But I do!' Haruto couldn't say it outloud and in the end found himself bathing with Shigure beside him. He tries to relax the best he can and occupy his mind with other things. After a few minutes of awkward silence, I finally had enough.

"Uhmm, Shigure, why are you making me stay?" He decided to start a conversation hoping to lessen the tension.

"Not sure, Haruto is different from Kansei Ma and is like Koetsuji." She said while Haruto was a bit surprised. How is he like him? If anything, he's more like Sakaki.

"Really? I'm sure you're mistaken." Akisame is a calm and collective individual while Haruto more or less has a violent tendency.

"Hmmm." Shigure looks at him blankly and Haruto sweat drops how close she was.

"Anyway, I think I've had enough. I'll see you tomorrow training." Haruto soon left Where Shigure looked at his back in deep thought.