Chapter 30 : Sicko Mode

During the afternoon, at the peaceful village of Kunigami, less than a hundred kids were crowded in the temple.

Though, it would be more correct to call it a Shinto shrine.

Indeed, small and red shinto gates could be seen around and during their way up there. There was even a big Sandō marking the entrance of the shrine's territory. But instead of the usual Komainu, which are the lion-dogs, protector of the shrine, the kids saw dragon statues.

It looked even more threatening and powerful.

Then after entering they saw a few buildings; the Haiden, commonly used to worship the God (Kami), the Honden, lighted by Tōrōs mounted by a small sea dragon stone statue, which is the most sacred place of the whole shrine, mainly because it's the place where was enshrined the kami.

The kami, different from Kami, could be a sacred artifact, a weapon, jewelry, food, whatever was related to the god worshipped.

The teacher explained to them before reaching the place that the Shinto shrine of Kunigami worshipped Watatsumi the Sea God.

He was also called Ryujin, "The Dragon God". He was the ruler of seas and oceans all around Japan, and was mainly described as a dragon who was able to change into a human.

Now they were in front of the highest building, it was a red temple with 5 floors, it was in fact rearranged as a living facility, with a kitchen, dining hall and dormitories.

They were listening to the main priest's daughter, a Miko in formation. He let her talk to gain more confidence in herself, but the girl was a bit nervous and forgot to do her introduction first.

She looked truly cute with her red and gold kimono draped over her shoulder, the dragon around it gave her a noble aura. Her blond hair was shining, even though it was short for a girl, it didn't diminish her beauty at all.

She had golden/yellowy eyes, which completed her overall look perfectly, her eyes were thin and inwardly titling with slit pupils, like a lizard.

"Oh sorry I forgot to introduce myself!" She came back in front of everyone, smiling nervously.

Everyone could notice her sharp teeth, as white as a jade stone.

"I'm Ryuko Tatsuma! Nice to meet you all!" She bowed again.

After finishing, she continued to say, "My dad and my mom are the main priest and priestess here, so I'll be your guide instead of them to complete my formation, so I'll be in your care!"

Giving the speaker back to the teacher, she bowed one last time out of respect and elegantly joined her parents who were overlooking the crowd of kids from the top of the stairs.

Meanwhile Rumi and Kurai, who were for once at the front, kept looking attentively at the girl who just spoke.

Rumi silently murmured to Kurai, "She strong, right??" She eagerly waited for his confirmation.

They could both hear each other perfectly thanks to their enhanced ears.

"Yes, she is." Kurai grinned, nodding at her.

They could feel it. Or at least their animal instinct could.

Behind this girl's gentle and kind look was hidden a real monster.

'But him…' What Rumi didn't notice was the old man, Ryuko's dad, the head priest.

Kurai could feel it though… His pressure was even more overwhelming, and he was too looking back at them both with a small smile, as if he saw right through them.

'He's the real hidden dragon!'

Afterwards the teachers called out their classes and went to the dinning hall with everyone, since their departure, they hadn't eaten a proper meal yet.

It could also be the occasion to speak to the priests and priestesses around, or for the kids to speak with their guide, even more so after knowing that she was the same age as them.

So everyone settled on the ground, there was in fact no seat, only low tables for everyone.

The kids stayed by classes and didn't mix together, probably because they were nervous or simply shy. Some didn't even dare to move because of the place they were in.

Everyone except Rumi and Kurai who went straight toward their guide, Ryuko Tatsuma and sat next to her.

Her parents, who were naturally on the opposite side of the table, were the reason kids didn't approach her yet even though she was a cute girl. They looked like the serious type after all.

Rumi saluted first "Hello! Can we sit with you?" She looked at the family in front of her, the mother and the daughter looked very much alike, same for the father, Ryuko definitely had his demeanor and eyes.

The man in question, Ryuko's dad, smiled sweetly at them, at the moment he looked like a kind old man, but it could be more far from the truth, Kurai could feel it.

"Yes! Of course, join us, little ones." The mother and Ryuko nodded on the side too, keeping a calm attitude.

Now that both chocolate toned kids were seated, Rumi couldn't help but rub her toned belly, "I wonder what are we gonna eat? I'm famished!" She licked her lips hungrily at Kurai.

This time, Ryuko kindly offered pointers, "We mainly eat rice, sometimes with meat, fish or vegetables it changes depending on what we've caught during the day." She turned her head toward the kitchen.

"Looks like it'll be meat today!" The plates were coming steaming hot, the kids were served first, so Rumi and Kurai had to wait since they were with the Tatsuma family.

They were served last, because from their exact words, they prefer their guests to eat first.

Kurai respected this mindset a lot.

Talking about Kurai, he was unusually silent during the meal. He kept looking at the old man discreetly, same thing for him too, who didn't take his gaze back from Kurai.

Rumi tasted the rice, it was only plain rice, but she never ate something as good, "Yummy!"

And while the 3 women were speaking, Kurai approached the old priest.

Unfortunately just then, Ms. Ishikawa stood up and hit her glass, "Sorry for interrupting you all, but we thought that it'll be a good idea to tell you about this week's planning now that all the classes are together."

"During the week we'll have only 2 activities. The first one is a survival game between 2 teams called Loh Kanta."

She took 2 bandanas out of nowhere, and showed them to everyone, "Yellow team and red team, they'll be battling each other during diverse kinds of challenges."

She continued to say, "Obviously you'll be dropped off in a deserted place, and we'll oversee you from afar; how you can survive without water and food, how you use your quirk to your advantage, and so on…"

"Ryuko, who is our guide, will also be your animator/referee during the game. While we, teachers will judge you, so give it your best."

"At the beginning you were eighty, but in the end only one will remain!" She exclaimed enthusiastically.

She finished by saying, "The winner will have the maximum mark, that's obvious." Before letting another teacher speak.

"Thanks Ms. Ishikawa, now the second activity isn't mandatory… but heavily advised."

The teacher smiled, "Since we have the beach not far from here, you already guessed what we are going to do right?"

"Beach volleyball by teams of 3 instead of 2! This is mainly to avoid some circumstances... " He looked in Rumi's and Kurai's direction.

"Like I said, it's not mandatory so if you don't want to, you'll just have free time instead at the beach."

The kids cheered on this time, more attracted by the prospect of the beach than the game.

Meanwhile the 2 toned kids didn't seem to care much about it, well, less than eating that much was sure.

Food being their second most favourite thing wasn't just for show, and even though they were served only plain rice with salt along with meat, it was delicious.

On the other hand, Rumi wasn't as reserved as before when meeting new people, it could be a combination of multiple factors; like Kurai's indirect help (even if she didn't know it), the delicious food, or simply Ryuko's and her mom's kind attitude.

Seeing his friend opening like that to someone else over a shared meal made Kurai smile, a gesture that the old priest didn't miss, "You seem to care a lot about her, isn't it little guy?"

Munching on his meat Kurai glanced back at him, "Don't you care for your friend too, tho? Old man?"

"Oh Ho! I didn't know such a sharp tongue was hidden behind your innocent face."

Kurai smirked at his words, "Am I actually the only one hiding something?"

All of a sudden the old man's gaze became sharper.

"Your instinct is astute, young man."

He then smiled kindly, "But I'm only an old man with rusty bones now... *sigh*"

Just like how a killer could recognize another killer, Kurai and the Ryuko's dad could feel each other's strength, although the old man didn't think Kurai was actually a killer.

Strong people had a sort of natural aura or some kind of demeanor easily recognizable by other similar strong people.

So finishing his plate he continued to talk to Kurai, "You are good too, it's been a while I haven't met someone stronger than my daughter… Here I am once again reminded of the vastness of the world…"

"Ahaha! Your daughter might meet her match against my friend, though I can only salute your sense of dramatics."

Chuckling, Kurai ate another piece of meat, "I have a proposition to unrust those old bones of yours, if you want…"

Hearing him, the old man shook his head, "Youngsters are really becoming more daring nowadays, huh?"

He looked down at Kurai who was still happily chewing his food, "Still do tell." He grinned, showing his sharp teeth at him.

"Heh. Just a spar between me and you. No quirks. I don't wanna wake up the sleeping dragon in you after all…" Kurai glanced at him from the corner of his eye, not stepping down.

The old man openly laughed at his words, waving at his wife and daughter who were looking at him weirdly, he told Kurai, "It has been a while that someone's challenged me this directly, and that someone managed to guess things that far."

Kurai shrugged, "Well… It wasn't that hard after knowing which God you were worshipping."

"Ahahah! Alright, alright, Kid, meet me tonight for the 'spar', but I'll warn you… My daughter will be there to watch, it'll be a fruitful experience for her. It might broaden her horizons."

"No problem for me." This time it was Kurai who showed his pointy canines.

"Looks like the tiger's cub is still a tiger in the end… You should eat more, you'll need it." The old priest got back up and left with his plate.

Kurai ate another plate and joined the girls' discussion, not because he followed the old man's provocative advice but because he was hungry, until everyone finished eating.

Then, Ryuko showed them their rooms after the teacher told everyone to take a rest for today, the trip being long enough already.

There was one big dormitory for the boys, another one for the girls, and single rooms for the teachers.

Kurai and Rumi had to separate for obvious reasons, while he didn't mind, it was a pain for Rumi who didn't get along with any girl of her age… Yet.

When the night came Kurai feigned sleep, and discreetly left without any noise when he thought that everyone was asleep. He still had to avoid the teacher's round around the hallways because it was way past the curfew.

Coincidentally, Rumi, who couldn't sleep as always, woke up too, and decided to go out and take a breath.

That's when she saw Kurai leaving the building to go outside. At first she wanted to call out to him but decided to get back at Kurai by jump-scaring him, like he always did to her.

Well, he already took notice of her before, 'She couldn't sleep again?'

But he decided to leave her be, it wasn't time to joke around with her now, although if she still followed him, he didn't mind her seeing the fight. 'The old man's bringing her daughter, so why couldn't I bring another spectator too?' He thought.

Kurai reached an isolated Dojo where the old man and his daughter were calmly waiting, sitting on their feet.

When he entered the place, then both got up and bowed to him, "Welcome in our personal Dojo, I hope you're ready." The old man showed a feral grin while Ryuko only nodded and sat again.

It was the first time that she saw her father this hyped up for a fight. She really wondered why.

It was the same for Rumi, who followed Kurai up until here, although she stayed behind the curtain and didn't show herself. It was also the first time for her to see Kurai this excited.

"Did the wild rabbit get out of its hole?" The old man said in a low tone.

"It followed the alluring carrot, does it bother you?" He bowed too, the Dojo was a sacred place, and he also showed his respect to the old priest for accepting his ridiculous request.

"Oh Oh! Not at all! Let's begin."

They both advanced to the middle of the room and got into a stance.

"Ryuko, open your eyes wide, okay? This fight will show you how big the world is." Looking back at his daughter one last time the old man took a deep breath.

"Alright, whenever you want, Kid."

For both the girls watching the fight, it was as if a switch was flipped, instantly the air pressure got heavier. Rumi couldn't help but get shocked, it was as if she couldn't recognize him anymore, or feel him.

Same for Ryuko who never saw her father this concentrated.

20 full seconds passed and they were only circling and observing each other, the pressure still rising.

All of a sudden, Kurai disappeared from their view and reappeared behind the old man's back, his hand was forming a blade coming to chop his head.

Thanks to his speed, his attack was very strong, but the old man only needed to sidestep and redirect his hit effortlessly.

"Good and deadly…" They stopped and looked at each other after their first clash.

"Same, good defense for an old man."

Instantly, they dashed forward and clashed again.

This time Rumi was even more shocked, she couldn't follow his moves at all.

If previously she didn't recognize his general attitude, right now she doesn't recognize him at all!

His stances, fighting style, his gazes, everything seemed so different to her!

'It's like he switched to a crazy mode where he's possessed by a ghost or something.' She had her mouth agape watching him exchange blows for blows with the priest.

Each time Kurai attacked he was going for a weak point, let it be the heart, lungs, neck, eyes or joints. His movements were precise and sharp.

His speed was already too much for both girls, they couldn't see him move sometimes, but it looked like Ryuko's dad didn't have this sort of trouble.

Each time, he either reflected his attacks or dodged them. He rarely attacked Kurai back, and when he did, Kurai was forced to step back.

Because he knew it, deep inside him, his instinct was screaming at him, 'One hit and you're dead!'. The old man's strength was the real deal and didn't rely on speed momentum like Kurai's.

Both opponents were inwardly shocked at each other too…

While the old man couldn't decipher Kurai's wild and ever-changing deadly style, which didn't match any martial art he knew, Kurai was astonished too.

The old man's mastery of Kung Fu was impressive to say the least.

Just then, he took a few steps back and called out to Kurai, "So, should we start seriously? I think we're done with the warm-up." He grinned devilishly.

Kurai, who started to sweat, reciprocated his smirk, "For sure!"

Meanwhile both girls were gobsmacked, 'Only the warm-up?' Their whole world just got flipped after hearing this.

Therefore, the tiger cub and the old dragon resumed their clash.

*Bam*

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