CHAPTER 3

Three years had passed.

Tomorrow will be Tetsuya's first day at Kuoh Academy. Even his parents could tell that he was excited about this development, although his father could only attribute this matter to the fact that the school is filled with beautiful girls... well, he wasn't that far from the truth, as he was indeed interested in at least one of them.

At Chikara Dojo, Tetsuya avoided his Shishou attacks one by one, sometimes countering with an attack of his own.

His Shishou, Nishi Mamoru, was a 40 years old man with shaved hair, he had been training Tetsuya from the first day he enrolled.

"Good!" His Shishou spoke as he spun in the air kicking him thrice.

The rapid succession of attacks was defended with a dexterity that the vast majority of the people would never be able to achieve.

This is kind of combat-oriented training was done every day ever since Tetsuya managed to get his Hachidan, to develop further he would have to beat his master in combat, but even with his talent, to defeat a master who has trained for 30 years isn't easy.

Besides, his master held the rank of Judan, two ranks above his.

"Aaaagh!" Tetsuya delivered two punches at a rapid pace and concluded his sequence with a lower spinning kick.

Nishi smiled and after defending his two punches he jumped in the air and kicked Tetsuya in the head making him fall on the ground, completely defeated.

"Hahaha! Good, you are indeed my best disciple ever since I opened this Dojo."

"Shishou, you are pushing me too hard..." Tetsuya complained as he slowly got up and concluded his battle with an honored bow.

"What are you talking about? It wasn't I who gave you so much talent, kids your age usually don't even have a black belt, you only have yourself to blame for this." He smiled and left the ring where they had been fighting.

Sighing Tetsuya could only nod and follow after him.

Sunday is kind of a special day, only Tetsuya was allowed to come and practice during this day. The other students could only come to practice during the weekdays

"So, I heard you'll be joining Kuoh Academy tomorrow?"

"Um, tomorrow will be my first day there."

Nishi nodded as he threw him a can of natural orange juice from the machine at the entrance of the Dojo.

"Ahhh, I still remember the time when I was still young and full of energy, I used to stay near the entrance of that academy to admire the beautiful girls." He smiled as he thought of his younger self. "You should work hard Tetsuya, you might find your future wife there."

"Hahaha, I think you are thinking too far ahead Shishou, I'll be satisfied if I can find a good girlfriend," said Tetsuya as he drank a mouthful of juice from the can.

His Shishou merely smiled and shook his head. He knew very well how the youth can be, at his age he was so in love with a girl that they ended up marrying later on.

Nishi sat down on the bench next to the entrance and watched the small number of pedestrians who passed through the beautiful surroundings of the Dojo.

The place was quite unique, the terrain of the Dojo extended for almost one kilometer, the entrance was a beautiful garden open to the public, where the most traditional Japanese trees and flowers were growing for years.

"Ha! Don't worry Tetsuya, you will understand what I mean soon enough, I was, after all, a young boy in the past as well, I know what I'm talking about."

Tetsuya nodded, his Shishou is a good person, if there was someone that he admired in this life, other than his parents, that person would be him, he had always helped him ever since he came to his Dojo.

"Shishou, unfortunately, I won't be able to keep coming to the Dojo after tomorrow..."

"Don't worry kid, I figured out something like this could happen. You are always welcome to come whenever you're free, just promise me that you won't become lazy and stop training. Being a martial artist is not only about the body, it's also about the spirit, and they will always help you overcome the hard moments, even when they have nothing to do with fighting."

"I will remember your words Shishou." Tetsuya bowed, his right hand closed to a fist while his left one was opened, this kind of greeting called Bao Quan Li was more common with kung fu practitioners, but his master had made it part of the philosophy of the Dojo.

His master acknowledged him and watched as Tetsuya left the Dojo.

When Tetsuya disappeared from view, dozen of meters above the ground, a couple of black feathers fell as their owner, a tall person with large shoulders covered in a black cape that kept his face hidden watched the boy with interest.

"Could it be that our time is finally coming?" The person thought, "You can't hide from me, this power... I know it very well."

Purple bolts of lightning coursed through his body, which became slightly transparent for a moment. "Ugh..." The man groaned as he held his chest. "Damn curse... Tetsuya... I'll watch your progress closely."

When he managed to stabilize himself, the black wings became dark purple and gained a metallic tone to them, as the man sped through the skies, the hood he wore fell from his face, showing a handsome face with cold silver eyes and hair.