Chapter 52: Move On

Minoru was feeling more than a little pissed off.

All he wanted was some quality time alone with his son, but these troublemakers had barged in and were causing a ruckus. Masa smirked, "Hehe. Sensei, I'm surprised you've got some skills—"

"Just get to the point, brat," Minoru cut him off with a cold tone, wiping the smile off Masa's face.

"This mountain is Ryuju Clan territory. You can't be driving around here like you own the place. But we could settle this if Sensei hands over that Skyline," Masa said as his two lackeys approached Minoru.

"Ha..." Minoru sighed, rolling up his sleeves.

"Take this!" The first student swung his barbed bat at him.

Minoru deftly dodged it, grabbing the person's upper arms. Blood spurted as he punched the nose with his right hand. Unamused, he turned to the second one rushing at him.

"The heck—Shit!"

Swinging his barbed bat diagonally, the second student tried to strike Minoru, who once again evaded it. He grabbed the wrist, twisted it, and the bat fell from the student's grip.

"GAAH! THAT HURTS! RELEASE ME! ACK!"

Still holding onto the wrist, Minoru kneed the person's face, putting him into a deep sleep. Fast and efficient, Minoru took down the two students with only his bare hands.

"What the heck just happened?"

Someone wondered aloud as they watched the silver-haired man standing there, their friends on the ground with bloodied noses. Aqua was also bewildered. Why was he so good at this? It seemed almost natural to him.

"Fuck off... while I still give you a chance."

Under the full moon, the onlookers saw Minoru's crimson eyes, shining like daggers. He was overshadowed by its light.

Masa couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about this guy. Should he retreat? No. He wouldn't. He believed he could teach this cocky teacher, who was only a few years older than him, a lesson about not messing with him and the Ryuju Clan.

Adding to Masa's frustration, he witnessed his boss, Momo, hugging Minoru and riding Momo's dirt bike is like It should've been me!

"Fuck him up, boys!"

Marching forward faster and faster, they screamed at the top of their lungs, boosting their spirits. Minoru evaded the first blow, grabbed the hands, and delivered a chop to the throat. He sighed at their lack of consideration for their friends' safety, swinging their bats as if aiming for the head.

Nevertheless, all he needed to do was bring the student he hit along with him.

BANG!

Three barbed wire bats struck at the same time, but Minoru and even the guy who had been beaten first were nowhere to be seen.

"WHAT!?—He's below us! GAH!"

In a squat position, Minoru swung his legs, taking down one of the three. He got up as sending a kick to the second guy's waist.

In a split second, he had taken down two, then the last one swung his bat. "Asshole—" Frowning, he couldn't believe he missed, but he didn't have time as a right hook swiftly hit his face.

"KUHUUK!"

With his vision blurred, the guy lost the grip on his bat, but his fighting spirit hadn't faded.

"BASTARD!"

Minoru blocked it, sighed, "...sleep," kicked his left waist, right hook, and the guy went to sleep.

"Impossible!" Masa exclaimed, a little shocked as his best underling was defeated like this.

"Tch!" Masa rushed at Minoru, grabbing a bat lying on the ground. He swung two bats at Minoru. "Coward! All you can do is dodge?" Masa swung his right bat down, but Minoru dodged it, causing the bat to hit the ground.

In that split second, delivered a swift kick to Masa's face. "Shit! ACKK!" Masa pushed backward, but the bat prevented him from falling.

Not one to let up, Minoru kicked Masa on the side without barbed wire. "Tch! Take this!"

As Masa lay down, he swung the bat at Minoru as it fly.

Minoru who caught the handle, "Tch-tch. Kids these days. If I didn't catch this filthy stick, would I forgive you if it scratched my car? No. And I don't have to worry when I beat the crap out of you, as this place is not Shuchi'in." Minoru said, pressing his foot hard on Masa's ankle.

"GAHH! YOU SON OF—AHHK!"

Minoru punched Masa's face several times, stopping when he deemed it enough. He then noticed a light on the ground, a phone that was still on call.

[Masa… Oi. What the fuck was that? I heard you screaming.] A deep voice came through the phone, prompting Minoru to put it on speaker.

"Aniki! I'm beaten up! There's a guy here who doesn't kn—" Minoru interrupted by stepping on Masa's mouth.

[Oh… so who am I talking to? I'm impressed since I raised that punk before I retired. The fact that he got defeated easily makes things more interesting.]

"I'm the teacher in charge at his high school." Minoru said, looking down at Masa unamused. "Your boys here attempted serious murder on me, so I suggest you come to Akina and pick them up, or I'll call the authorities." Minoru ended the call.

Meanwhile, Aqua watched the entire scene from inside the car. The man with the red stain on his bare hand was left standing there with Minoru.

"Is he not scared at all?" Aqua wondered.

The bat was practically a weapon, with a barbed wire circling each of them. Carrying it in public was illegal, and they could end up in jail if the police found out.

But how could Minoru be so calm? His face remained mostly calm, bordering on bored. Aqua only saw him frown once at the unnatural blonde dude. He didn't understand this kind of thing and had never been involved in it in his past life.

However, he concluded that Minoru, or rather, his dad, was used to this.

---

"The nerve of that guy..."

The man who just hung up on him insisted that he should head there. He'd never been treated like this in his entire Yakuza career.

"What's eating you, Tatsu?"

In a modest apartment, a man named Ryuu from the Shuei Clan sat on a tatami mat wearing a chest-exposing Hakama. His face held a serious expression with a scar running from above his eye to below, giving off a menacing vibe. He asked his old pal what was bothering him.

"Masa got beaten up. It's been a while since someone dared to be arrogant with me. Maybe I should have a bit of fun after my retirement," Tatsu, the guy with the intimidating look, stated.

"But first..." He said seriously, grabbing his knife, "I'll whip up a simple dish for Miku," he added, donning a limited edition apron and starting to cook at a rapid pace.

Observing this scene, Ryu couldn't help but wonder how Tatsu, the Immortal Dragon of Ryuju, could be this domesticated, turning into a full-time househusband.

---

After a while, a fleet of black sedans headed to Akina.

"Sorry, Ryu, our discussion got cut off earlier. So, you came to my place to tell me something serious. And, the heck was that?"

Tatsu asked the man beside him from the back seat. Ryu raised his eyebrow at Tatsu's appearance.

"You're still wearing that shit."

"Don't underestimate my limited edition apron. But you're right, it'll get dirty with that cocky teacher's blood," Tatsu said, taking off his apron.

Ryu sighed, "That man is here in Japan."

Tatsu, still folding his apron, stopped abruptly. "You mean... him? Why wasn't I informed? I should've greeted him too."

Ryu just nodded as Tatsu continued, "Did the Four Clans ask for his help again? We owe him a lot since he ended the war single-handedly. If he's here, it's a serious matter then. What's the occasion?"

"No," Ryu shook his head, "The Clans didn't ask him for anything. Even if they did, there's nothing we could offer as compensation. You know who we're talking about. I don't know his real identity, but I'm sure of it..."

Ryu recalled the silver-haired man beating up the best men from Shuei Clan and Bee Hive.

"...I was sure about his identity because of the aura around him and that blood-red gaze. The problem came later as I messed with him again."

Tatsu looked at Ryu, who was sweating profusely, and paled.

"I unknowingly stepped into his territory. But he spared my life that day when I was escorting Bocchan. Ah, I fucked up. And now the Four Clans are worried because I messed with him twice and disrupted his retirement."

This was a serious matter, but Tatsu focused on the last word. "Retirement?"

Ryu nodded. "Yeah, it's just a guess, but all the Oyabun agreed. He has retired and become a teacher at Bocchan's school."

Tatsu couldn't believe what he heard. "He decided to retire? And became a teacher. If that's the case, he's also Ojou-sama's teacher then."

Ryu nodded again. "During the last meeting, the Ryuju Clan suggested that they will offering Momo-sama to him as his woman. Since I trespassed into his territory, if he asks me to dive into Mount Fuji, I'll do it. But it's also a chance to get the best teacher for Raku-sama."

Tatsu sigh, "I've always watched over Ojou-sama since she was little and taught her how to protect herself from trash. But... I agree with her marrying someone like him. So... what's his name?" Tatsu asked with a menacing smile.

---

Aqua munched on his burger inside the car, watching Minoru smoke outside as he leaned on the hood. Below them, the guys who had attacked out of nowhere were now kneeling with purple faces, hands bound behind their backs, and legs restrained.

"You think you could get away from this? My teacher is on the way, Sensei," Masa said, smiling confidently.

However, Minoru remained nonchalant, smoking his cigarette without acknowledging them, as if they didn't exist. This only fueled Masa's anger yet he smiled; little did he know that Minoru had just messed with the Immortal Dragon, Tatsu. He fucked up.

Inside the car, Aqua was taken aback as a line of black sedans formed, filling the tight space. He panicked, realizing they might not make it out alive. "No, no! I don't like where this is going. We'll end up in their trunks and become... fish food!" Aqua exclaimed.

Suddenly, a group of men dressed like Yakuza emerged from the cars. Aqua observed them and muttered, "No doubt, they're Yakuza." He glanced at Minoru, still leaning on the car's hood, wondering why he didn't react at all!

As Ryuu and Tatsu exited the car and surveyed the scene, Minoru stood up calmly, "I don't know why there are so many people here, but who am I talking to on the phone?" He looked at Ryuu, "You're Ichijo Raku's guardian," then turned to the other guy, "And you are...?"

The two men froze, sweating profusely.

Masa, frustrated, turned to Tatsu, "Aniki! This guy just disrespected our clan's name! Look—"

Before he could finish, Tatsu delivered a hard blow, shocking everyone. Minoru watched as Tatsu beat Masa. And Masa was surprised that the person who had taught him survival skills was now beating him crap like this, why?

After some time, "Useless brat..." Tatsu returned to Ryuu's side after completing the side quest.

"WE GREET YOU, YANAGI-SENSEI!" Ryuu and Tatsu exclaimed in unison, bowing 90 degrees. But they didn't stop there. With a cracking sound, they went down on their foreheads in a dogeza, causing the ground to crack loudly, and proclaimed, "PLEASE TAKE US UNDER YOUR WING!"

The men behind them do the same, shouting in unison, "PLEASE TAKE US UNDER YOUR WING, SENSEI!"

"Eh?" Aqua, Masa, and the others shared the same bewildered expression at the sight. "NANIII!?"

---

After a while, they both were on their way home. Minoru skillfully drove his dark blue R34 back to Tokyo unscathed, dispelling Aqua's earlier fear of ending up in Yakuza car trunks. However, a pressing question about his father's identity loomed large.

The awkward silence lingered, the fallout from their interrupted conversation hanging in the air. Aqua couldn't bring himself to restart the dialogue, and fatigue settled in.

But the vivid image of the Yakuza doing a Dogeza for his dad still flashed in Aqua's mind.

Yet, was it relevant now? Reflecting on his father's earlier statement that the mastermind behind Ai's murder attempt was already dead, Aqua found a logical connection if his dad had an affiliation with the Yakuza.

But did it matter anymore? Aqua's burden lightened as he became convinced that the mastermind was indeed dead.

Perhaps, if he could trust his dad more, things would be different. He also felt a mix of sadness and worry, fearing that his dad might not see him as his son anymore simply because he was different from other kids.

'Crap... my toddler... body couldn't keep up.' Aqua's eyes slowly shut.

Minoru drove on, stealing a glance to his left, revealing Aqua deep in peaceful slumber.

---

(Unknown POV)

Thud! A loud noise jolted her awake, causing her to open her eyes wide.

Still groggy, she whispered, "What was that?" Despite the heaviness in her eyelids, the realization hit her—it was time to make breakfast and get ready for school. However, as she sat up, a wave of confusion washed over her.

"Where am I?" Her eyes widened, and she scanned the room. It exuded a posh, modern, and luxurious design that left her perplexed.

"Aqua..." A voice interrupted her thoughts. "Will you shut up? I'm trying to sleep here."

She turned to find a little girl with long, messy silver hair beside her. Despite the darkness, the girl looked so pretty and cute.

Wait, Aqua? Who's that?

"Hm? There's something stuck down there..." She reached down, her eyes widening. "HUH!?" Shocked, she blushed as she realized she had grabbed something unfamiliar between her legs.

"What's wrong with you, Onii-chan?" The little girl stirred, rubbing her eyes as she looked at her.

"Onii-chan? Huh-me?" She pointed at herself.

"Hm?" The silver-haired girl raised her brow. "You questioning yourself? How annoying. The books are acting weird, now you act the same as those books. Anyway, wake me up when breakfast is ready."

"Um..." She nodded at the little girl, who pulled the blanket over herself.

Something felt off. She glanced at her hand, surprised at its size. She got off the bed, searching for a mirror. Spotting one beside the bookshelves, she scrutinized her reflection.

"Who is that? Me?"

What she saw was a cute and handsome silver-haired boy who was younger than her little sister. Why had she transformed like this? Wait, Onii-chan... if that girl said it to her. And this face is similar to that girl earlier, then... twins?

Feeling scared, she distanced herself from the mirror.

"Is this a dream? Ack!" With a thud, she stumbled, having stepped on something hard and thick. "Ugh. It hurt. This dream is way too realistic."

Sitting, she touched her head, noting the plethora of books scattered on the floor. "Amazing collection…" She marveled at the extensive array, feeling like she hadn't read this much in her entire life.

As she looked around, her gaze settled on a remarkable sight. Eyes wide, she got up and approached the source of light. Walking towards it, she could see through the large window, revealing a view of the city.

She touched the glass window, marveling at the proximity to Tokyo Tower from the bedroom. Hold up, "I'm in... Tokyo?"

---

A/N: Powerstones? Hehe