Chapter 74: The Girl's Dream
"Oh ho ho! Today marks exactly one month since Kouichi entered the dojo. Everyone, let's share your impressions of him!"
One night, the world's strongest man, the invincible superman Fuurinji Hayato, gathered all six masters of Ryōzanpaku for a meeting.
"After observing him this long, I'd say the kid's character is pretty solid."
The Chinese kenpo expert, Kensei Ma, nodded.
"Yeah. He's gentle with people, respects his elders, cares for the young—good morals overall. Even when punks come looking for trouble, he just scares them off without seriously hurting anyone."
Kensei spoke without a hint of guilt. After all, he was the one who'd secretly photographed someone's girlfriend, which caused half the delinquents in town to storm Ryōzanpaku demanding justice. The masters obviously couldn't step in against kids like that, so poor Kouichi had to handle it all himself, pulling out every trick he had just to make them back off.
Kensei gave a sly chuckle.
"He sticks to his own principles and doesn't bother lying. When I sold him Shigure's photos, he was thrilled. I asked if he wanted to go peeping with me—he said he wanted it so bad he was going crazy. But when I actually invited him along? He got furious and flat-out refused."
(Truthfully, Kouichi naturally wanted to go. But in his mind, going alone was one thing—tagging along with this old pervert was completely unacceptable.)
The philosophical Akisame Kōetsuji stroked his chin approvingly.
"If he believes something is wrong, he restrains himself even if he wants it. If he believes something is right, he'll do it even if he doesn't like it."
Akisame paused, then continued.
"He's a man of strong principles. No matter how brutal the training gets, you can see the genuine affection and respect for his masters in his eyes. I think this disciple is quite good."
The Muay Thai master, Apachai, chimed in.
"Apachai hasn't had the chance to teach him directly, but I've watched his every move. He's a little guy who's very honest with his emotions!" (Read: desires.)
Shigure Kōsaka remained expressionless.
"He is… an idiot."
The karate master, Sakaki, snorted.
"I told you all from the start—this kid's no good? With eyes that clear? No way he's walking the path of Asura. It was just the old man freaking out by himself."
Akisame laughed.
"The Elder got bitten by the snake once—because of Ogata, he's wary of anyone with a martial arts foundation, strong potential, and real talent. But I can tell Kouichi has zero ill intent. He just genuinely wants to learn the arts. Haha, Shigure's right—he really is an idiot. Getting tricked by our cute, clumsy Miu multiple times? I'm dying here, hahaha!"
He pounded the floor in a very un-master-like manner—a habit he'd picked up from Kouichi. The poor guy had bought "pure" photos from Miu several times, only to get scammed every single time with the simplest honey traps. Miu had figured it out: brute force didn't work on him. Every time Kouichi got tricked, he'd rage and hammer the floor in frustration—Akisame saw it all and laughed inside every time.
"Really? If everyone's saying the same thing… then I'll lift his probation period. Honestly, thanks to him, Ryōzanpaku's gotten a lot livelier. And Miu… she doesn't have that lonely look in her eyes anymore. That girl shines too brightly at school. Growing up traveling with me, she never learned how to get along with normal people. The girls ostracized her, and because of the martial instincts I trained into her, any boy who got close ended up getting unconsciously thrown. Now all the guys are scared of her. I knew she was lonely—no friends her age. But then Kouichi came along. Good kid."
"Hah! Even the Elder approves—that's rare. Don't tell me you're planning to take him as a grandson-in-law?"
The moment Kensei teased half-jokingly, there was a loud clatter from outside the door, followed by panicked, stumbling footsteps fleeing down the hall.
All six masters burst into laughter. Of course they'd known Miu was eavesdropping outside.
Fuurinji Hayato declared grandly,
"Want to become my granddaughter's husband? Not that easy. Beat me first."
"Dear god, Elder Hayato—that's a flat-out rejection! Looks like Miu's never getting married in this lifetime."
"Yeah, the guy who can beat the invincible superman hasn't been born yet."
"If anyone ever does… it'd have to be that person."
The moment Akisame mentioned "that person," the atmosphere instantly turned heavy and silent. But he quickly lightened it again.
"Speaking of which… Kouichi still hasn't come back. Is he slacking off somewhere?"
"Uh… didn't you make him run laps around town carrying two several-hundred-kilo 'beauties'? If he's not slacking, he's probably still at the hill."
"Damn it! I really am an idiot!"
Kouichi was drenched in sweat, arms wrapped tightly around two "beauties" as he ran desperately.
The beauties were stone statues carved in exquisite detail—lifelike images of Shigure and Miu. Akisame's sculpting skill was terrifyingly high; from a distance, they looked like real people frozen in place.
After dinner, Akisame had said he had a gift for him. Kouichi followed curiously and saw the two stunning statues. He got super excited.
Akisame asked which one he liked.
Kouichi answered without hesitation: "Both!"
"Perfect. Greed is a man's greatest motivator. Then I'll give you both. They're substitutes for the Jizo Bodhisattva statues. Now go run one full lap around town while hugging them."
And so, under Akisame's demonic smile, Kouichi was forced into a midnight marathon—while risking being mistaken for a total pervert.
"Ughhh… I'm dead. This town is way too big. One lap's gotta be at least forty kilometers. And these things are so damn heavy!"
He didn't dare slack off. Akisame knew his limits better than anyone. If he cheated, the master could instantly sense it through "listening energy"—reading muscle tension and blood flow consumption with near-supernatural precision. No way to fake it.
The sharp ringing of a bicycle bell approached. Kouichi moved aside to let it pass—then heard a loud pop.
The tire burst.
A girl cried out and tumbled to the ground.
Kouichi quickly stopped, walked over.
"You okay?"
The girl whimpered, covering her face in pain. Under the hazy moonlight, she saw a man approaching with a creepy grin, carrying two motionless women in his arms.
Pain forgotten, terror took over. She scrambled up and bolted, screaming,
"PERVERT! Stay away!"
"Hey, hey! Don't just slap random labels on people! You've got the wrong idea!"
Kouichi easily kept pace behind her—still carrying the two "beauties"—as the girl, fueled by pure adrenaline, sprinted.
She cried in fear,
"Please let me go! I swear I didn't see anything! Murder, body disposal, necrophilia—I know nothing!"
Kouichi was speechless.
"You read way too many detective novels."
"Waaah! Stop following me, please!"
"If you keep running like that, you're gonna fall again."
Kouichi said with a laugh.
Suddenly, the girl spun around with surprising courage, pulled something from her pocket, and zapped him with a flash of electricity.
Caught completely off guard, Kouichi howled as the shock hit him. His grip slipped—the two heavy statues crashed to the ground with loud thuds.
Off-balance from running, he stumbled forward and collided with the girl. They tumbled together in a heap.
Moonlight poured down.
Kouichi ended up on top, legs between hers, hands pinning her shoulders—a position that screamed "imminent assault" from any angle.
"Ow! What the hell, girl?! You're carrying an illegal weapon and just zapped me out of nowhere?!"
"Waaah… please don't… I'm not tasty at all! Look at me—skinny, flat chest, no butt. I had the worst body in class during the physical! Maybe I'll grow in a couple years… so please, at least let me stay pure for two more years! I'm begging you!"
The girl sobbed weakly.
Kouichi was dumbfounded. He studied her: short hair with sharp, angular styling—kinda weird, but her face was cute. Her frail build gave off a pitiful, fragile vibe.
He cleared his throat.
"Relax. I'm not into elementary schoolers. And I'm not a pervert! This whole mess happened because you attacked me. Take a real look at those 'corpses' you're so scared of—they're stone statues."
The girl blinked, slowly turned her head—and saw the two women were indeed made of stone.
She let out a huge sigh of relief… then immediately puffed up.
"I'm not an elementary schooler! I'm in high school!"
"Hey, that's not the part you should be correcting! Ugh, whatever. I've gotta keep running. Thanks to you, I'm definitely getting punished when I get back."
Kouichi stood up, hoisted the two statues again, and prepared to leave.
The girl hesitated, then slowly got to her feet—only to wince.
"Oww…"
She'd twisted her ankle.
Kouichi glanced back, saw her clutching her foot with tears in her eyes, and sighed helplessly. He set the statues down, crouched, and—under her stunned gaze—hoisted her onto his back. With one hand, he effortlessly picked up the fallen bicycle too.
"Fine. Punishment's punishment. Where's your house?"
"I… live on Fukuda Street."
"No problem. They say I look like a reliable husband type anyway. Hold on tight—we're taking a shortcut!"
Kouichi leaped powerfully.
With the weight of a small girl and a bicycle on him, it felt like nothing compared to his newly unlocked third-stage strength. He bounded onto a wall, then sprang up to the roof of a nearby building—and started dashing across rooftops at high speed.
The girl opened her mouth to scream, but quickly covered it instead. Wide-eyed, she stared at the scene of leaping over eaves and walls, half-convinced she was dreaming.
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