CH_4.24 (124)

CH_4.24 (124)

It had been two days since Enomoto had barged into Takuma's home and forced him into a 'business agreement.' The conversation had given Takuma a lot to think about.

For one, he needed some blackmail ready as insurance in case Enomoto tried to kill him. With hindsight, he couldn't believe he didn't have something ready to go out in case he was killed. Not only would it protect him, but in case someone did kill him anyway, Takuma wanted to take them out with him. Revenge was best served cold— over his cold dead body.

Secondly, he needed to re-evaluate what he stored in his home. Enomoto's rude entry had made him question the safety of his more precious belongings while he was away. He had wanted to buy a safe for his home, but perhaps because he had worked with safes, he couldn't make a choice, and the ones he actually liked were far out of his budget. Renting a storage locker in a reputable facility seemed to be the next best option.

Third, he had to think about the work he had in front of him. Enomoto wanted to start quickly and was already working on the first target he wanted Takuma to take down. For that to happen, Takuma needed to devise a plan to take over investigations so he could work with freedom, which was of utmost importance given the nature of his deal with Enomoto. Talking it out with Kano seemed to be the best option— especially with how much cross she was with him because of the Maiko Triad case, and surely, springing Taro's mom over her with no warning did him no favors.

He needed to visit Ryuu for restocking, though he wasn't looking forward to the bitchy mood the bastard would be in. Ryuu wasn't a problem per se, but Takuma had enough on his plate and didn't want to deal with a cynical old man who would undoubtedly want to 'chat' with him to sniff out the person who had betrayed him.

On top of that, his first ninjutsu category fight was just around the corner, and Takuma wasn't feeling satisfied with his command over the new jutsu he had purchased to replace the ones he couldn't use in the Ring. He felt he needed a test run before his debut, but no one was available. Nenro and Masaaki were both out of the village and while he loved Taro and Ai to death, they weren't exactly the level of opponents he was looking for. As for Maruboshi, they had an unspoken agreement not to bring the Ring in between them. He could go to his teacher and ask for a heavy spar, but Takuma knew the moment he held back the jutsu disallowed by the Ring, Maruboshi would notice and call him out. He also didn't want to come up with and use lies and excuses to deceive Maruboshi— it didn't feel right from deep within.

Other than that, he had to get back into the groove of his other self-improvement activities, which he had let stagnate as he shifted focus to the Maiko Triad investigations.

The Police Force was offering courses on intermediate-level team combat strategy and battle tactics. The beginner-level courses were part of his Police Force training. They had served him well while he commanded his team during the raids; as such, he wished to take it to the next level, especially when it was being taught by an Uchiha and offered at a discounted rate.

Uchiha could attend the courses for fees amounting to spare change. The allied clans got heavy discounts depending on their closeness to the Uchiha and how much they had contributed in the past year. This year, with the arrival of the new outsiders, the courses were now open to more people. Takuma and other junior officers in special departments were offered the lowest discount level. Finally, those in the general force had to pay in full if they wished to attend.

Takuma sighed and focused on his posture and balance as he kicked the hard bark of the thick wood log. Body conditioning was one of the least enjoyable parts of training, and yet, it was arguably among the most important. Old fashioned it may be but strengthening his bones and muscles was still the most reliable way to increase durability and protect squishy organs against chakra-powered opponents.

As Takuma single-mindedly went about his training, his ears picked up a noise.

It had been several months since he had started practicing his sense of hearing for Hidden Mist Jutsu; the progress had been excruciatingly slow, but even tiny droplets from a leaking tap eventually filled a bucket— Takuma's sense of hearing reached another level where he could hear far and wide, pick-up hushed sounds, and most importantly identify objects and situations solely based on sound.

'Three... no, four people.' By the time his thoughts caught up to him turning toward the source, he saw four people entering the clearing. Two men and two women. Three of them were his age, while the last man was much older—thirties if he had to guess.

The kicker? He knew three of those people.

The group saw Takuma as soon as he saw them.

"Takuma, is that you?" A bright smile bloomed on the lithe girl's face as she jogged toward him with her hand waving excitedly.

Seki Aimi. His academy classmate. They said you never forgot your first, and neither did Takuma— his first spar victory, that is. To this day, the fight, the last spar he had in the academy, was clear as glacial water. He had beaten Aimi and had promptly cried afterward. Not the part he was proud of, but he owned it anyway.

"It's nice to see you, Aimi," Takuma said with a hint of a surprised smile. Like everyone in his class, Aimi was never friends with Takuma, but he knew her to be one of the good ones.

"What're you doing here?" she asked. Aimi exclaimed when her eyes went to Takuma's arms, "Wow, you really messed up your hands. What happened there?"

Takuma was dressed in a thin white tank top which left most of his arms exposed, showcasing the scars which were always hidden by the full-sleeved shirts that entirely made up his wardrobe.

"Yeah, you know, things happen," Takuma replied shortly as he walked to the outer garments (chainmail and uniform shirt) he had removed for training.

"I want to!" she said.

Kazuo nodded, "Who should we—"

Aimi spoke up again, "I want to fight Takuma!" She pointed at him. "Rematch!"

Kazuo looked at Takuma, who nodded, stepped forward, and faced Aimi.

"Start whenever you're ready."

Before the sentence could leave Kazuo's mouth, Aimi shot forward like a bullet.

'She's fast,' thought Takuma. By Ring standards, she was well into the upper echelons. He unhurriedly assumed his stance and kept his muscles loose. Aimi was fast, but not the fastest he had fought.

She didn't hesitate to enter his personal space and started with a palm strike. Takuma rotated his torso out of the way and countered with a hard elbow strike to her face which she expertly caught with a grin. He didn't respond to the grin. Takuma simply grabbed her hand, which had struck out, swept her legs, and threw her down with a judo throw.

"Woah!"

The next moment she was punched twice in the face, followed by a swift knee in her lower stomach. With her balance destroyed and the sudden blows that left her reeling, Aimi couldn't react quickly enough when Takuma put her into a lock.

Her hands immediately went to her neck when she felt an arm tightening around it, restricting her airflow. She tried to claw at it, pull it apart, but Aimi wasn't as strong as she was fast. Takuma kept his grip tight, and even when she tried to get it, he kept her near the ground, barring any attempts to find any position from where she could get any freedom.

"It's okay to tap out before you go under," Takuma spoke with a grunt as Aimi's small frame thrashed against him. "You can always try the next time, but if you go unconscious, it lowers your chances."

Aimi groaned before she finally roughly tapped out.

Takuma immediately let go and got pushed away from Aimi. He shrugged with a light smile as she glared at him before giving her a hand to stand up.

Takuma turned to Kazuo,

"I'm up for another round."

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