Disturbing the Dead

Unfortunately, it seemed that the boy either didn't believe me or was still just pissed at me because of my previous words...

"Don't do it, Baki..."

I warned the boy who suddenly turned himself into a whip, flowing his limbs like waves on a beach.

'It has to be a distraction, there's no way he's this stupid.'

Baki might've been headstrong and foolish, but he wasn't a complete idiot. However, I cared not for any of the 'tricks' he had to show me tonight, especially when we both had much bigger fish left to fry.

The boy suddenly stopped, as the demon on his back finally decided to show up in greeting for my intention to attack.

"You were about to die there just now, Baki."

The boy couldn't understand, even now as he was just standing there in front of me waiting... I was sure he was constantly standing on edge.

There was only one skill that I had been able to master in my past life when I began walking down this path, a 'skill' that fascinated me to no end then.

Near Death Focus.

The ability to boost your body's reflexes and speed when you're about to meet certain death.

'But what use is there in performing such a formal greeting to such an old friend?'

What happens when that moment that should only come when you're about to meet death is stretched infinitely long until you finally enter its embrace? What happens when a moment you've learned to control reveals that it's only been pretending to be in your hands?

Well,...

You end up like Baki, frozen in shock at the conflicting danger signals being sent through his brain.

I was still in the middle of deciding how I would retaliate against the boy's attempts to continue the 'fight,' and I relayed that information to him as plainly as I could. It didn't matter what action he took to defend, dodge, or escape my next blow...

He would die.

"You see, Baki, there's no fun in this for myself. Why not do something that we'll both enjoy?"

And this time, I wasn't going to take no for an answer...

"Bye, Baki," I spoke to the boy with my back now turned to him, walking away towards the cellar's exit, "unless of course you want to come and train with me..."

I put so little effort into conjuring up my bait, as there was no need to even try and convince the boy. To him, I was the crucial obstacle standing in the path of his 'revenge,' and to me, he was my 'key' to a whole world's worth of fun.

"So what do you say, huh boy? Should I inform the pilot to save you a seat, or am I gonna need to knock you out first?"

Either the boy finally understood his place, a thought which I highly doubted considering his ego and his pride, or he finally decided to look at my offer from a more logical perspective.

Either I'm telling the truth, which of course is better for both of us, or I'm lying, in which case he gets to save an entire trip across the world just to 'annoy' me again.

He shook his head yes, agreeing to my proposal.

'Smart move, Baki.'

Choosing to look at the situation logically, taking the time to weigh the pros and cons before making a decision.

It was what any person would do in this situation, choosing to control their emotions in hopes that it would lead to a better outcome.

And this oh-so-human choice, of having to control his impulses for the sake of 'the bigger picture,' only further solidified the fact that he was far from ready to face his father.

"Come, Baki, it's time for a family reunion..."

[8 hours later]

"Don't look at me like that, Baki," I defended myself from the boy's silent accusations with his eyes, "I swear it's all necessary."

I could understand the boy's frustrations, thinking that I had lied to him by forcing him to 'tag along' to get all of the necessary equipment for our journey.

Weapons, food, clothes, cutlery, I had packed so much for the 'meeting' that we had even needed to switch from a helicopter to a cargo plane. However, I wasn't about to take any chances.

I had even prepared a whole set of 'defenses' as instructed by my big-hearted teacher and the love of my life, Miss Tokugawa, who had done more for me than I could ever hope to repay.

Humans fear the unknown.

And I was just about to take on my greatest fear to date...

"Buckle up, Baki, it's time for us to land..." I prompted the boy to put on his seatbelt as the plane had just begun the necessary landing procedures.

'Thank God that I'd been able to find this pilot before, I have no idea who else I could rely on to land a plane without a landing strip...'

We finished the disembarkment procedures, after which I personally escorted my favorite pilot over to a boat so that he could make his way off the island without delay.

"Follow me, Baki..."

"Just what are you doing, Kuzan?" I could feel the boy's agitation just through his words. I was sure that he could feel it too, the presence of a predator somewhere on this island.

"I'm putting up a 'cage'," I explained to the boy while implanting another, as I liked to call it, and much to the dismay of my teacher, 'formation' flag onto the ground.

"It won't necessarily stop him, but it would be pretty rude of him to not even confront us even after all this."

Although it couldn't 'trap' the beast, it would certainly enrage him, as it was essentially similar to 'marking my territory.' Hopefully, this would be enough to encourage the man to stop 'hiding' and to consider my proposal.

However, I had once again underestimated the ability of the Hanma family members to piss me off, as despite how much disturbance I had already caused, he had still not shown up.

"Alright, old man," I spoke in no particular direction to the empty air around us as I was sure that he would be able to hear, "that's enough provocation."

"If you don't come out now I'll kill Baki and bury him on this island, then you guys can have all the time in the world to catch up."

"How's that sound, Yuuchirou Hanma?" I spoke to the 'man' who'd finally decided to show himself after all of my threats to his family and homeland.

Baki was, of course, scared and shocked beyond belief. Even I, as someone who would soon take in much stranger things, couldn't help but have goosebumps from his mere presence alone.

If Yujiro was a demon, then the 'man' standing in front of us right now might as well call himself the King of the Underworld.

"So, Yuuchirou, mind acting like a good grandpa for once and teach me a few things?"

I finally dropped the "bombshell" of truth onto Baki who was now looking at me with a mix of rage and aggression. However, I couldn't care less about the boy's feelings, he'd already accomplished his purpose...

"So what's it gonna be, huh gramps?"

Still, despite my best attempts to ensure he didn't rest in peace, the man simply decided to call my bluff and started to disappear like smoke right in front of me.

"GET THE FUCK BACK HERE!"

My threats didn't work, my demands didn't work, as I was forced to try a different approach.

"I'll eat you." It seemed my words finally gave the apparition something to think about, considering my master's reputation.

After all, it was the only card I had left to play against the dead man.

Just like every woman, I had learned from Miss Tokugawa that every ghost was different. In behavior, strength, and abilities depending on a variety of factors that even she was just guessing at. It was like walking blindfolded, hoping the tricks that have worked before would work again.

Thankfully, this was not my first time 'seeing' this ghost. There were a total of 5 assumptions that I had to go by considering his behavior:

1. He cared, to an extent I didn't know, about Baki and those within the Hanma family. This was further reinforced by the fact that his wife was still alive somewhere in the world outside of my knowledge.

2. He couldn't see into the future. He had 'told' Baki to 'win', and by all definitions, the boy had lost the fight that was supposed to take place in the future.

3. He was as 'human' as someone with the Hanma bloodline could get. Not only had he mastered absolute control over his strength, he had even been willing to let Doppo almost break his jaw when he was younger.

4. He was a pacifist unless pushed over the edge. Although I wasn't sure whether he decided to come out of his hibernation to take revenge for the meek or just out of sheer annoyance at the soldiers disturbing his solitude with their bombardment, there was a certain line that I could cross to make the man angry enough to 'move'.

5. And most important of all, he was 'smart'. I wasn't talking about his efficiency in 'defeating' the U.S. with a single technique, nor of the fact that he was somehow able to raise someone like 'Yujiro' 'correctly'. It was something Yujiro would say in his 'great' father and son fight with Baki.

'Seeing that face again made me remember something I'd forgotten, dad's best technique called Dress.'

'Best.'

What did he mean by best?

What other 'secret' family techniques did that man have that Yujiro wasn't willing to teach me?

"Boy," he spoke with a soft voice and a smile on his face that gave me shivers, "haven't you ever heard of not disturbing the dead?"

"I'm sorry, Grandpa Yuuchiro, but it's all that darn son of yours' fault. If he had just been willing to 'teach' me, I wouldn't have to come here in the first place."

It wasn't even the fact that Yujiro refused to become my 'teacher', he refused to even flatter me until I was 'ready'. If I knew him as well as I think I did, he probably wanted me to get as frustrated as possible before 'devouring' me.

I couldn't learn from someone who I couldn't even fight.

I had already 'stolen' the man's strength, next I wanted to steal his techniques. His title of having mastered every martial art on the planet wasn't just for show.

No matter my status and amount of political power, it would take me years to dig up every lost martial art and practice it to perfection by myself as he had done.

'That bastard, not wanting me to profit off of all of his hard work.' He knew I could steal his techniques, he knew just how much I wanted to take the 'shortcut' and reach his strength as soon as possible.

And for that exact reason, he waited. Waited until I became desperate and enraged by my lack of fun, driven crazy by my boredom until I did something I would regret.

He had tried to break me and any attempt I could try to retaliate would only be taken by him as his 'plan' working. Even if I killed Baki, he would just keep on waiting until I grew insane from boredom and started literally chasing him around for a fight.

Unfortunately for him, there were two crucial things he had very wrong about me.

One, assuming he knew more than myself. I had plenty of other meals to catch that would leave him salivating at the mouth.

And two, I wasn't a 'true' Hanma despite how much he wanted to lie to himself to further his own ego as my 'father'. I had neither their pride nor their 'self-control'.

'If he can be so selfish, why can't I?'

[Narrator POV]

What happens when a child who's longed for strength more than anyone in the world is later deprived of that chance after having once received it?

What happens when a child with the mind of a snake, and the heart of a dragon is given the body of a lion and the wisdom of the Gods?

What happens when such a child becomes a man, having tasted the sweetness of strength, is given the choice between upholding peace and gaining more power?

[Kuzan POV]

"You wouldn't mind teaching me a few things now, would you?"