Chapter 14: Shadow Training (I)

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"Phew, today sure was something, huh?", I said, reaching the door to my house. Thankfully it really was close to Sainan High, being only a ten minute walk. I didn't even have to take the subway. It was easy to ride one though. All one had to do was secure a ticket through a machine, or use their pass-card and flash it. 

In my opinion, out of the entire world, Japan had the best subway system to date. To the point where the Japanese prefer taking subway rides over driving thru traffic.

And a lot happened today at school too...

It wasn't the best way to start off, considering the result of it was me getting suspended for a week. Juvenile detention does exist here in japan, but it's very, very minor. Its population doesn't even make up even a tenth of the overall prison population, with very few facilities, considering Japan has one of the lowest crime rates of the entire world. If one did actually get sentenced, a judge would often send that juvenile to a separate educational facility that held other juvies. Cells weren't really a thing there. They would get monitored 24/7 down to the very minute, observing every action they took while receiving strict education.

Thankfully that will not be the case for me, and I will just be stuck at home here for the coming week. To be honest, with that old man Tokugawa releasing a new event for me to partake in, I can now solely focus on training to spar with the upcoming Shinshinkai tournament.

Upon opening the door, I was immediately greeted with a happy yelp, seeing a large brown dog off to the side, letting his tail wag back and forth.

"Woof!", Musashi happily barked, seeing me arrive home. Seeing this dog caused me to smile.

"Haha, did you miss me, Musashi?", I said, proceeding to my dining room table and placing my bags and books down, relieving that weight that was over my shoulder. Free from it, I made a few motions of my arm, and felt it crack.

Sainan High had classes starting earlier than a typical school did, with classes starting at 7:10AM. Four classes would happen back to back with no breaks. Lunch would take place from 11-12, then the last two classes would resume, and school would get out at 2PM. If students had clubs or activities to attend to, they would stay until 3PM or later. Students didn't really have recess here either. There were ten minute breaks in between classes where we could take a break if we wanted to.

It was April 1st now, Monday. That meant I would resume classes on April 8th, one week later.

I had a full week to myself.

Thinking that, I smiled, welcoming Musashi to my side.

I already had a plan in the making on how to tackle the incoming tournament. And that was to start training my body, and at the same-time, begin learning the martial art styles Baki had constantly observed during his world travels. Baki was known to have no style, which essentially melded every single martial art style into his own way of fighting.

Grappling.

And of the styles I have memories of, I know just the one to start with.

Knowing that, my smile remained.

For the moment, my goal was to take it easy today, and recover my health and ki back up to full again.

My basement was mostly empty, and it was time to fill all that empty space in with top of the line training machines and gear. I figured that was the best plan instead of wasting time at a gym, seeing I had the wealth to do so now. I could even get specialized machines to suit my tastes.

So for the rest of the day, I went to the local supermarket and called up the local repairman to fix my door. I did receive stares leaving with a huge cart full of food that was filled to the brim, but it was enough to last me the entire week. It was filled with protein ingredients and such to maintain the energy that was about to be spent.

It was nighttime before I realized it, and the first meal went underway, leaving my belly stuffed. Musashi was quick to fall asleep, as did I.

As my mind ventured off into dreamland, I heard a couple notifications sound off inside my mind.

[Ding! Skill Sleep has been created.]

[Sleep]

User will enjoy a full day's worth of rest. Enjoying a full eight hours of sleep will cause HP and Ki to restore back to full.

[Ding! User Baki has created a skill for the first time. All stats increased by 3. Health increased by 100. Ki Increased by 10.]

[Ding! Due to gaining HP, Adaptable Body has been triggered. 10 HP has been gained.]

[Ding! Due to gaining Ki, Baki's Aura has been triggered. 5 Ki has been obtained.]

[Ding!...] (STR+9)

[Ding!...] (WIS+3)

[Ding!...] (END+2)

[Ding!...] (CHA+3)

Yet with everything that happened today, I couldn't even finish seeing these notifications before my mind blanked out.

April 2nd, 2008.

Tokyo, Suidobashi.

Baki's House.

6AM

[Ding! User has slept for a full eight hours, triggering the Sleep skill. Health and Ki have been restored.]

HP: 210

Ki: 25 (A/N: I changed the initial starting amount from 5 to 10)

"Mmm...", My voice echoed around my room.

My mind felt clear, and my whole body felt refreshed, letting yesterday's stress completely vanish. I felt fully rested, lifting my body up and stretching my arms out. I felt a heavy pressure at the foot of my bed, only to see Musashi still sleeping peacefully.

I saw Musashi's ears perk up the moment he sensed me moving around.

But my mind was immediately distracted by a couple notifications just now. Sleep skill...

Didn't the night prior call out that it was a skill that I had just made? I saw those flurry of notifications the moment the skill was created before I ventured off into dreamland...

'Aura, can you show me my stats?', I immediately asked, curious to see how many stats I had improved by from school yesterday. It caused me to pause for a good moment.

[Here you go, Master.] Aura's voice echoed in my mind, and my status screen appeared before me.

[Baki Hanma]

Age: 16

Title: Unequipped

Occupation: Student

HP: 210 (+110)

Ki: 25 (+15)

Level: 1

EXP: 0/100

STR: 46 (+12)

END: 13 (+5)

CHA: 28 (+14)

TEQ: +7 (+6)

WIS: 18: (+12)

LUC: 9 (+3)

SPD: 4 (+3)

Skills:

Sleep (New)

Seeing this, I sucked in a cold breath of the morning fresh air. All of my stats have been increased by three thanks to creating a skill for the first time, and that prompted my skills to trigger, seeing my increase gain.

I now had over four times the limit a normal human could reach in their lifetime. My body was slightly more sturdy now too, I'm sure if I took Yujiro's punch from yesterday, maybe I would take one less damage now?

Jokes aside, seeing this much improvement on just the first day was definitely a start. And I haven't even started training yet. This was just the beginning.

Thinking that, I looked at Musashi, who was curled up into a ball at the feet of my bed.

"Say Musashi, you up for a few laps around the neighborhood?", I asked, immediately causing Musashi to wag his tail happily.

Seeing that, I jumped out of bed, but did not exert as much energy as I did the first time, and landed with ease, not breaking anything. I put buying a phone on pause for now, but still secured a new alarm clock with all the shopping I did yesterday.

"Woof!", Musashi happily barked, jumping off the bed after me.

It wouldn't be your normal run around the block.

No, Baki did things differently.

I knelt down, letting Musashi easily climb up my shoulders. Securing him in place over my shoulders I felt the full brunt of over a hundred pounds now eating away at my muscles.

But seeing as I had the strength four times that of a normal human, I lifted Musashi with ease. I made my way down, and reached the entrance to my house. Stepping outside, I was blasted with the fresh spring smell of fresh air once again.

"Yosh, let's do this, Musashi!", I yelled out, perking myself up. Arriving on the sidewalk, I entered a running stance. With a whoosh, I felt my legs start flying away!

To the house next door on the second floor balcony, a brown-haired girl, who could be seen hanging up clothes on a clothes' line suddenly blinked her eyes seeing a figure dashing her way on the sidewalk. It was Mikan, Rito's younger sister, who was presently hanging their laundry outside.

Mikan had a good moment of silence seeing Baki run with a large dog currently being held over his shoulders. She was quick to see the dog collar, so she just remained silent.

"Weirdo.", Mikan uttered, before returning back inside her home. "And onii-chan received that weird invitation too...Getting invited to watch a martial arts tournament at the Tokyo Dome? All of this seems suspicious if you ask me...", Mikan uttered to herself as her figure vanished.

I saw Mikan out of the corner of my eyes, passing by Rito's house while I started my first lap around the neighborhood. Looks like she's an early person like me.

As I began to run around, feeling my sweat start to form and drop...

Meanwhile, deep in the heart of Suidobashi District.

One of the largest buildings that stood the testament of time could now be seen in view.

It was said this building's construction took place back in 1985. Its design was to have six giant floors above ground, and two floors underground. In the form of a giant dome. During the finalization of the deal, a private investor came in, even going as far as demanding a private room be made for them.

Out of Tokyo's long history, it was one of the biggest deals ever made.

Several top companies from all of Japan came into this investment. It even involved the Japan Chamber of Commerce. That's how large this backdoor deal was.

Many fans called it Tokyo's Wonderland.

Many events could be held in this large dome, while its secrecy remained deep within.

Ignoring several people standing outside, a single fancy car pulled up to the curb. Further inside the main pathway, a very short-statured old man wearing a yukata could be seen with a couple suited bodyguards at his side, waiting patiently for the car to open.

The car door opened up, revealing a giant and bulky bald haired man, wearing an eyepatch over his right eye. It was Doppo Orochi, the current grandmaster of the Shinshinkai. The same man who greeted Baki yesterday morning at Sainan High.

He didn't appear to be alone, however. A second figure came out of the car, sporting slicked back black hair. He appeared to be your typical Japanese person with black eyes. He was quite built, especially from his torso and upward. This person often liked to wear sweatshirts while he trained. Seeing where they arrived, this man scoffed.

"Tch, this is supposed to be 'Tokyo's Wonderland', Doppo-sensei?", The man said. Hearing that caused Doppo to grin.

"This is just the outside. The fun has yet to even begin, Katou. Tokugawa-sama isn't far. Let's go.", Doppo responded.

'Tokugawa-sama?', The man who Doppo called Katou questioned, as he didn't recall that name before.

It didn't take long before the two to meet the small statured old man.

"Oooh! So you did make it on time, Doppo-senshu!", Senior Tokugawa called out, waving his hand to greet him.

"Why are ya actin' like we haven't seen each other in years, Tokugawa-sama? We just went and met Baki-san yesterday you know.", Doppo retorted.

'Baki?', Katou asked himself.

"Heeheehee, don't beat around the bush, Doppo-senshu. I told you this place is the perfect opportunity, isn't it? People on the outside won't expect anything. After all, they don't know that we will be heading to the sixth floor beneath Tokyo Dome.", Senior Tokugawa responded with a wide smile. "It's a perfect place for a fighter like Baki-san to partake in. It would seem your student has come to do some scouting too.", Senior Tokugawa said, observing the black haired boy next to Doppo, who seemed to be in his own thoughts.

Doppo made a swift motion of his palm, smacking Katou on the backside of his head, snapping himself out of his thoughts.

"Don't keep the old man waiting, Katou. Introduce yourself to Tokugawa-sama. After all, you have been selected to fight Baki-san first of the knockout tournament we'll be hosting here in the coming days.", Doppo said with a serious voice.

Hearing his seriousness caused Katou to pause for a moment, regaining his composure as he did.

"I am Kiyosumi Katou, Tokugawa-sama. It's a pleasure to meet you-osu.", Katou said, giving him a formal greeting by placing a fist over his palm, doing a slight bow...

"You sure did outshine yourself, Doppo-senshu. Isn't this person your top student?", Senior Tokugawa replied, accepting his greeting and smiled at Doppo.

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System messages you guys have seen already will be kept as [Ding!...] to avoid repetition. Does it help if I include which stat increases with a (+)?