Yuki clenched his fists tightly upon hearing his last statement. He smiled brightly and spoke slowly. "I'm going to become one of the strongest kizo users. I need your help to achieve this dream." Yuki bowed deeply. "Please accept me as your student."
Lord Genji didn't laugh at Yuki's bow, nor did he look impressed. He simply continued to snip at a stray leaf on his bonsai, his silence stretching until the only sound was the rustle of the bamboo in the wind.
"A Kinatarou bowing to a Kyorin," Genji said, his voice flat. "Your ancestors would turn in their graves. You have the name of a lion, boy, but you stand before me with the spirit of a beggar. I have no interest in training a disgrace, regardless of whose blood runs in your veins."
Yuki didn't rise. He kept his forehead toward the stone. "Blood doesn't make a warrior, Lord Genji. Results do. Give me a chance to show you mine."
Genji finally set the shears down with a sharp clack. He looked at Seri, who was watching with bated breath, then back to Yuki. "Very well. I will not waste my time on you, but I will give you a wall to climb. If you can surmount it, perhaps I will look at you again."
He gestured to the man standing like a statue in the corner of the dojo. "This is Tetsu. He is my shield. His Kizo is Stone. For five minutes, he will stand in that circle. If you can land a single hit—not a graze, but a strike that he feels—I will take you as a student. If not, you leave this estate and never speak my daughter's name again."
Seri felt a cold chill run down her spine. She was genuinely scared of the fact that if Yuki lost, he'd have to keep his distance from her.
Tetsu stepped into a painted white circle in the center of the garden. He didn't take a fighting stance. He just stood there, his arms crossed over his massive chest. As he breathed, Yuki heard a sound like grinding pebbles. Tetsu's skin took on a grey, matte sheen, looking less like flesh and more like weathered granite.
"Begin," Genji commanded, picking up a book and turning a page, completely dismissing Yuki's presence.
Yuki didn't wait. He surged forward, his Ice coating his fist in a jagged, gauntlet. He swung a heavy blow meant to shatter bone, aiming straight for Tetsu's shoulder. This wasn't the Black Ice, it was just regular ice.
Tetsu didn't dodge; he simply tilted his torso by a fraction of an inch. Yuki's fist whistled through empty air. The momentum sent Yuki stumbling. He pivoted and tried a low kick, but Tetsu's leg was already gone, reappearing a centimeter away from where Yuki's foot passed.
It was infuriating. Tetsu wasn't running; he was barely moving, yet Yuki's hands found nothing but air every single time. It was like trying to punch a ghost made of rock.
For the next four minutes, the dojo was silent except for Yuki's heavy breathing and the thud of his own feet. He grew desperate. He vented his Ice into the air, creating a thick mist to obscure Tetsu's vision. He lunged through the fog, throwing a flurry of a hundred punches.
Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.
Each strike missed by the width of a hair. Tetsu moved with a terrifying, mechanical efficiency. He didn't break a sweat; he didn't even seem to be looking at Yuki. He was simply... elsewhere.
With ten seconds left, Yuki screamed in frustration, pouring every ounce of his Kizo into his legs. He launched himself in a final, all-or-nothing tackle.
Tetsu didn't even uncross his arms. He waited until the very last millisecond, then stepped slightly to the side. Yuki sailed past him, his fingers missing Tetsu's gi by a literal millimeter. Yuki hit the stone floor, sliding across the garden until he crashed into the far wall.
"Time," Genji said, turning a page. "You didn't even touch his shadow. Leave, boy. You're a nuisance I no longer care to entertain."
Yuki lay on the floor, his lungs burning. He looked at Tetsu, who was still standing in the exact same spot, his stone skin fading back to flesh. Tetsu looked down at Yuki with no pity, only a hollow indifference.
Seri stepped forward, her face pale, but Yuki didn't look at her. He forced himself up, his muscles screaming. He wiped the sweat and dust from his face.
"That..... Was..... AWESOME!" Yuki yelled at the top of his lungs. Stars appeared in his eyes as he looked at Tetsu with awe. "You're incredibly powerful, I attacked with everything I had but I couldn't even touch you. I really still have a long way to go."
Everyone looked at Yuki with a confused expression on their faces. They wondered why he was so overjoyed when he didn't even touch Tetsu.
An hour later Yuki was riding in Seri's Limousine. They were both heading to school. They sat side by side but the distance between them made it look like they were strangers.
"Kinatarou-kun." Seri's head hung low as she clutched her skirt tightly. "My father has forbidden me from speaking to you since you didn't hit Tetsu."
Yuki scratched the back of his head and moved closer to her, their shoulders were touching now.
"Do you intend to stay away from me?" Yuki asked softly. "I'm not going to stay away from you. I'm also going back to hit Tetsu after school, I'll keep trying. And I'll keep talking to you."
"I can't defy my father, Kinatarou-kun." She clutched her skirt even tighter, not looking at him at all.
Yuki pushed his glasses upwards until they were positioned at the top of his head, the glasses held his hair up revealing the full view of his handsome face. He was even better looking than most idols.
"I told you to call me Yuki. It's your choice to avoid me or not, I'll still talk to you and you can ignore me if you want." Yuki stated with a resolute expression on his face. "Your father wouldn't mind if you kept in contact with me... if you had been paying close attention, you would have noticed he didn't mean it. I don't know why, but he didn't mean it. You can ask him yourself when you get home."
Seri slowly turned her head to face Yuki, the moment her eyes landed on his face her heart skipped several beats. He was divine, his face was perfect, his blue eyes were majestic. She instantly turned red.
"What do you mean?" She asked in a low voice while looking at him.
"I don't know why, but your father doesn't care if you talk to me or not."
Seri pondered for a while and then looked at Yuki again. "You're beautiful." Her mouth moved on it's own.
"Thank you. You're a lot more beautiful," Yuki returned the compliment, flashing a smile that seemed to catch the morning light.
Seri's heart melted. The way his blue eyes crinkled at the corners, the sheer honesty in his voice... it was too much. At that very moment, the world outside the limousine window faded away.
No it can't be, this isn't possible. Have I fallen in love with Yuki Kinatarou.
The thought was terrifying, exhilarating, and absolute.