Martial Arts

"Why are you so interested in a kids match? Are you that free?" I looked at Kariya with an 'Are you serious' expression.

"Hmph! I'll have you know that I'm only going to ensure that my disciple doesn't disgrace my name!" He retorted.

Walking towards the Kurosaki household, both master and disciple bickered amongst themselves.

"JUN KUN!!"

Hearing my name being called, I looked up and saw Ichigo with the brightest smile I've ever seen plastered across his face. Waving at me from the top window he kept shouting my name.

'Such innocence… Almost makes me want to save his mom.'

'Almost'

[2020 A/n: Damn that's cold.]

Waving back I gave him the best smile I could.

Seeing my innocent smile, Kariya made a slightly disgusted expression.

'Who does he think he's fooling.'

…

After explaining to Isshin and Masaki what me and Ichigo had planned for the day, Isshin, Kariya and Sergei all decided that they would follow us to see the results. Masaki also wanted to come but she had to look after the twins.

'So it's a sausage party'

"Where's Daruku chan?" Masaki asked noticing that we were missing our newest member.

'She gets attached quickly doesn't she.'

Smiling slightly I explained that I got a friend to take Daruku shopping for some suitable clothes. Remembering the hole filled clothes she was wearing yesterday, everyone seemed to accept my explanation with ease. Although Sergei did raise an eyebrow he didn't say anything and simply stood behind me.

With the sun beating down on us from behind, the five of us departed from the Kurosaki house and headed towards the Arisawa dojo. Me and Ichigo walked at the front while the adults hung back and talked about old men things. Due to my martial ability and high intelligence, Sergei didn't worry too much about my safety and mostly left me to my own devices while Isshin was confident that he could react to any situation that cropped up.

Ichigo was both excited and worried about my meeting with Tatsuki. He was happy that his friends were finally going to meet each other, but then there was the fact that we were going to fight. Although he didn't believe it was possible for Tatsuki to lose, he still felt that they shouldn't fight.

While he talked, I mostly just smiled and nodded and memorized the route to the dojo.

"Ichigo." I said interrupting him.

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever thought of trying kendo?" I asked.

He tilted his head to the side. "Kendo?"

"Yeah, Kendo's pretty cool! They let you fight with a sword and it makes you feel like a real superhero!!" I said as enthusiastic as possible. "Its like Bang, Whoosh and Ha!!" I said performing the actions.

"Really!!" He asked with shining eyes.

"Yep!! It's pretty fun." I nodded.

Hearing the conversation between the two boys, Isshin frowned slightly. For some reason he felt uneasy around the white haired boy. It was like there was an ominous energy around him that was just seconds away from erupting. He couldn't feel it yesterday due to his attention being focused on his wife and Kariya, but now that he turned his attention to the boy... something just felt off.

"What's wrong Isshin?" Kariya asked seeing his frowning face.

"Huh? Nothing, just thinking." Snapping out of his thoughts he gave his old friend a smile.

Kariya knew something was going on with him, but he respected him too much to pry into his personal business.

...

After 10 minutes of walking, the group finally arrived at the Arisawa dojo.

'So this is it.'

Staring at the giant building in front of me I nodded in appreciation. Although this was my first seeing a dojo that wasn't my own, I appreciated the aura it gave off. Standing at the side, Kariya approved of his disciple's attitude when facing another dojo. Although he praised Jun's talent and persistence, he knew that Jun held an attitude of arrogance deep down in his heart.

"This is-

Before Ichigo could finish his sentence, I pushed open the door and walked in. Catching the dojo members off guard, everyone in the dojo turned to face me.

Observing the inside of the dojo, I mentally compared it to mine back in Kuoh. It had long tiled wooden flooring and the scent of sweat lingered in the air. Looking at all the people in their white Gi's, I immediately took notice of the middle aged man in a black Gi and the small child at his feet.

While I was busy observing the people and interior, the other karate practitioners were also observing the white haired boy who had just charged into the dojo. After a couple of seconds most of them just ignored him and continued their practice.

Walking in behind him, Kariya and the rest of the gang followed Jun inside.

"Yo." Isshin called out to the man in the black Gi.

"Isshin san!" Walking over to Isshin, the man greeted him with a warm smile.

Tatsuki also came over when she saw the orange haired Ichigo.

"Ichigo!!"

Seeing the smiling Tatsuki, Ichigo ran over to her with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Tatsuki chan!!"

Arriving in front of his best friend, Ichigo and Tatsuki did a weird dance routine that I can only assume to be their secret handshake.

Once they were done Tatsuki finally registered my presence.

"Who's that?" She asked pointing to me.

"That's-

"Kusanagi Jun." I butt in.

"Oh?" She looked at Ichigo with a confused expression.

"H-He's here to challenge you." Ichigo said with a shaky voice.

…

"Are you sure about this Isshin san?" Tatsuki's father asked the nearby Isshin.

Shaking his head Isshin answered. "I'm not sure. But- *Looks over at Kariya* I think he'll be okay."

Hearing Isshin's words Tatsuki's father nodded.

Stepping out of the changing room, I walked towards Tatsuki in my white Gi.

Seeing that both combatants were present, Tatsuki's father stood in between the two and quickly explained the rules.

"Lets have a good match Arisawa san." I say bowing slightly.

"Yeah." She answered seriously.

Getting into a combat stance she stared down at me with a serious expression.

…

…

…

"Um… Kusanagi kun." Tatsuki's father called me.

"Yeah?" I answer confused that he called out my name.

"You need to get into a stance so we can start."

'What a pesky rule.'

"Sure." I said.

Getting into a similar stance to Tatsuki I waited for her father to start the match.

"Begin!"

Without a hint of hesitation I dashed towards Tatsuki and threw a straight punch at her face. Seeing the attack coming at her, she waved her arm clockwise and deflected my attack to the side then countered with a kick to the side of my head.

'Good instincts.'

Smiling at Tatsuki's reaction speed, I ducked down and avoided her kick while looking graceful in the act. Dropping down to the floor I tried to sweep her off her feet. But just as my foot was about to connect with hers, she jumped back and put some distance between us.

'She's also smart.'

Getting back up, both me and Tatsuki sized up each other gauging each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Charging at each other we crossed fists numerous times with me slowly pushing her back.

"You're going to have to do better than that Tatsuki chan." I taunted.

Dodging another kick, I grabbed onto her calf and caught her off balance. Aiming my foot at her other leg, I swept her off the ground and threw her onto the floor.

"Argh!" She groaned landing on the ground.

"Are you done already? I guess Ichigo was wrong about you being strong." I mocked.

Hearing my line, Tatsuki came charging at me with anger evident in her eyes. Side stepping her attack, I kneed her in the gut and flipped onto her back.

"Amazing…" Ichigo muttered from the side.

The adults of the dojo weren't much better as they were surprised that someone so young could actually beat Tatsuki to such a degree.

Watching the match between his daughter and the strange boy, Tatsuki's father had a stern look on his face. He'd raised Tatsuki to be his successor from the moment she was capable of walking. He'd poured his heart and soul into training her to be the best, and to see her lose her composure and be driven into a corner by a boy who was around the same age as her left him unable to comprehend the current situation.

"Isshin-san, who is that boy?" He asked looking at the man he respected.

Similar to Tatsuki's father and the rest of the dojo members, Isshin was also unable to understand the current situation. Although Kariya had already explained to him that Jun was his disciple, it must be said that fighting with a weapon and fighting bare handed was vastly different. And the thing that surprised him the most was that through his years of experience as a Shinigami he could see that Jun was treating this as a joke and wasn't fighting seriously.

Ignoring Tatsuki's father's question he turned to Kariya.

Seeing that Isshin was looking at Kariya, Tatsuki's father also looked at him. Although he could tell that the man in front of him was a martial artist, his bearing suited that of a swordsman, so he didn't pay too much attention to him.

Seeing that both men were looking at him, Kariya merely shrugged his shoulders. "I'm only his kenjutsu teacher."

…

Avoiding another attack, I smiled much to Tatsuki's annoyance.

'She's pretty good for a 6 year old, but she's blinded by her anger and can't perform as well as she did earlier.'

Relaxing my body, I disregarded my stance and just waited for her to make the first move. Still angry at my earlier words, Tatsuki stared at me with hate.

"Get back in your stance!" She yelled slightly frenzied.

"You're not my match." I say completely relaxed.

Instead of lashing out, she bit down on her bottom lip and slowly shuffled towards me.

'I guess words alone aren't enough to convince her.'

Sighing to myself I watch as she approached me.

Tilting my head to the side I dodged her fist with ease. Bending my body forward in a bowing like fashion, Tatsuki's legs swept past my back completely missing me.

"You can't beat me, give up." I say defending against her attacks.

"BOOO!!"

"Get him Tatsuki Chan!!"

"Kick his ass!!"

Hearing my words and seeing the direction the match was heading in, the members of the dojo felt that Jun was going to far and if not for his age, they would definitely show him what real martial arts were.

Hearing the encouragement from her fellow karate practitioners, Tatsuki became a lot more spirited and sent a flurry of kicks in my direction.

'I've already done what I came here to do.'

Turning my head towards the awestruck Ichigo I nodded and decided to end things here.

Avoiding every kick aimed at me I closed in on Tatsuki and delivered lightning fast strikes to her gut.

"UURRGGHHHHH" coughing out a mouthful of saliva she stumbled backwards gripping her stomach in pain.

Not letting up I continued my assault on her until she was down on her knees. Seeing the position she was in, a thin smile spread across my face.

Lifting her chin up slightly, her eyes meet mine.

"Do you yield?" I asked suffocating her with my aura.

"I-

"JUN!"

I heard Kariya call out my name so I turned to see what he wanted. He looked at me with a bit of anger flashing in his eyes. Looking towards the rest of the audience I saw the same kind of looks on their faces.

'Did I go too far?'

Thinking about it, I shook my head and let go of Tatsuki's chin.

'Whatever'

Ignoring all the looks I was getting, I headed towards the changing room only to be stopped by a bunch of karate practitioners.

'Don't they feel any shame trying to intimidate a 6 year old?'

"Apologise." The biggest one said.

'Does he think that I'll be scared of him because of his size?'

Bursting out laughing I bent over and gripped my stomach.

"What are you laughing at br-

<<Jigen Hoah School – Shippu Zuki>>

Kicking off the ground with my toes, a loud bang rang out out as my fist buried itself deep into the big man's stomach leaving his mouth gaping open while his expression twisted into one of shock and pain.

Falling to his knees, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he started frothing at the mouth.

Silence descended upon the dojo as everyone sucked in a cold breath.

Looking at the white foam and saliva dripping from the big man's mouth, I wrinkled my face in disgust and walked past him no longer caring about the looks on everyone's faces. After seeing the consequences of getting in my way, no one else dared to stop me and instead chose to create a path leading to the changing rooms.

'Monster'