This story has been beta by Steven Bodner and TheReader2011. Enjoy!

Alright, Last chapter time~!

Chin Sougaku was chanting about their death as he attacked the four disciples he was up against, who was getting annoyed at his chanting for their death.

"Just a little bit more!" shouted Ryuto as the four dodged Chin's attack, albeit barely. The other one of Renka's straps on her shoulder was cut off, causing the upper half of her qipao to fall and leaving her chest to be revealed to the world, but in a life and death situation, it was ignored.

"Just a little more? A little more and you'll be at your limits!" cackled Chin as he swung his weapon, "Who will enter their grave first!?"

The spade dug the ground up as Berserker and Ryuto managed to dodge out of the way in time.

"Limits are there to be surpassed!" declared Natsu as he stepped into Chin's territory.

"Foolish move!" shouted Chin as he swung the crescent moon blade down, intending to cleave Natsu's head in half.

His weapon was intercepted by Berserker, who managed to grab the staff part and halt its path with all his strength. Surprised by this, Chin raised his weapon up, intending to lift Berserker into the air where he would be helpless. However, he didn't account for the sudden extra weight as Ryuto grabbed Berserker's ankle as he was being raised up.

Berserker kicked his leg up, sending Ryuto up into the air, grabbing Chin's attention before realizing what he had done. Looking down, he saw Natsu closing in and slamming two penetrating palms into his waist.

Chin tried to raise his legs, only for Renka to slide from under, kicking both his ankles, and making him falter. Renka slammed her palms into the ground, shooting her up while twisting around to face Chin's back. She slammed her feet into the ground so hard that she created a small crater, but the result of pushing off it shot her forward.

'NOW!' thought all four as they unleashed their strongest attacks.

BERSERKER MODE: ACTIVATE

Gou Kyousa

Seidou Inyou Taikyoku

Shintosuikyosho

Their attacks slammed into Chin without him being able to mount a proper defense besides trying to steel his body and Ki. Berserker threw punches and kicks without any tempo all into Chin's head. Ryuto's dual palm strike slammed into Chin's chest as he passed by him. Natsu's last penetrating palm attack hit Chin's waist, his attacks amplified by his other two attacks. Renka's palm thrust slammed into Chin's spine, her strength and Ki mixed into her palm attack. She had managed to learn this move from her father, and though it was far from Ma Kensei's own attack, it was strong enough for this moment.

The resulting attack caused Chin to fall unconscious while standing, dropping his weapon from his hands. It took a good 10 seconds before he finally fell on his back unconscious.

"Haha, looks like we're winning!" grinned Tsuji as he dodged a slash from Sigmaringen, "Let's finish this!"

Tsuji slid into Sigmaringen's space with his footwork, grabbing his head with both hands while locking his arms in an awkward position so Sigmaringen couldn't pull his scythe back easily.

'If he's thinking of kneeing my body, he's got another thing coming!' though Sigmaringen, as he was wearing his protective vests like his master did. He miscalculated Tsuji's intent as Tsuji reared his head back as far as he could.

Koppou no Gaisho Zudzuki (Traumatic Headbutt)

Though not really a move from his master, Tsuji made it up as he slammed his forehead into Sigmaringen's nose. Without hesitation, he did it two more times. On the second time, Sigmaringen lowered his head down so Tsuji ended up headbutting Sigmaringen's forehead. Sigmaringen ended up losing that battle due to the fact Tsuji's head was thicker, his neck stronger, and overall also a bit more stubborn (and dumber).

"Fuck!" mumbled Sigmaringen as he felt a concussion ringing through his already beaten head. He could feel himself losing brain cells.

Tsuji finally released Sigmaringen from his fourth headbutt only because he had to dodge a kunai being thrown at him.

Hyogo frowned as he could see the tides being turned against them. He had thought the reinforcements would've helped, but he hadn't expected two more masters from the Katsujinken side to intervene. Based on the loud shouts he heard in the forest, he wasn't expecting them to come back to help reinforce their position.

"Retreat!" shouted Hyogo, "Fall back now!"

As they began their retreat, none of the Shinpaku Alliance and their allies gave chase. There was no point in following their enemy into their own territory.

"Enemies leaving at 3 o'clock!" stated Boris while locking Elfreda in a chokehold, one she was trying to escape from. The only reason Boris hadn't completely knocked her out was due to the arrows into his arm that slightly weakened his hold.

"Don't go after them!" advised Tirawit as he broke through Hayase's space and slammed an elbow to the chin.

"Everyone! I've received a message from m'lord!" exclaimed Siegfried, ignoring his injuries in favor of announcing the news, "He has successfully disabled Yami's missiles from being launched! We have won this war!"

While difficult to believe, Niijima had been preparing for this for his whole life in this new timeline. Everyday, he would run hacking simulations from the first day he opened his eyes to the new timeline. He practiced and read about it so much that he had Kenichi order from his subscription a How to Book.

Specifically titled How to disable nuclear launch codes and any forms of backups.

Why such a book existed with such detail and wasn't banned boggled Niijima's mind, but chalked it up as an unpopular series that escaped the government's notice. After all, not a lot of people wanted to read a How to series.

Kenichi took a deep breath as he heard the news. Miu was right next to him, making sure he was alright. Tanking Satomi's attack and redirecting against his other opponents hadn't been easy. It had pushed him to his limits and then some.

However, the feeling of dread had not left Kenichi, and he wasn't sure why. They had defeated their opponents, and Niijima had successfully disabled the missiles. So why wasn't the feeling going away yet?

Deciding on the better part of caution, Kenichi threw his rope dart towards a tree to retrieve a certain item he had hidden the whole time. With a jerk, he pulled it out.

Right at that moment, his caution and fears were warranted when Senzui came bursting out of the forest, bleeding heavily with Saiga just behind him, also bleeding heavily.

Few minutes prior.

"So you've managed to disable everything," muttered Senzui as he landed on the forest grounds, "Nothing has gone according to calculations."

"Did you think you could make quick work of me that easily?" questioned Saiga as he landed, "Not everything can be reduced to mere calculations."

"I suppose that is true," coughed Senzui as he pulled out his hand from his shoulder. The injury had been self-inflicted due to Saiga blocking and forcing his own attack into his own shoulder.

'He's been preparing for this,' thought Senzui, 'He's less injured than I thought.'

Senzui heard the announcement that the missile had been deactivated, but was unable to do anything as Saiga was pushing him further away from the mission control center.

"Give it up, Senzui!" shouted Saiga, "This is where your ambitions end! Did we not share the same opinion that the Eternal Sunset was a situation that should not happen? What did Kushinada say to you that made you change your mind!?"

Senzui sighed before stating that with the Kuremisago's blood and body tempering throughout the ages, even if they were liberated from their own traditions, they would never be able to adapt to the peaceful world. By plunging the world into a war where battles would be fought, the Kuremisago would thrive in the heat of battle, thus giving them true liberation.

Senzui tried to pull out the missile direct bypass switch from his clothes, only to discover that Saiga had managed to pickpocket him and steal it.

"Looking for this?" asked Saiga, holding the switch before mercilessly crushing it into pieces.

Even though Niijima had guaranteed that once he was done hacking that nothing would launch the missile, Saiga wasn't one to take the chance. Hearing how confident he was in stealing it in the previous timeline, only to lose it due to Mihai, was enough for Saiga to ensure that there would be no way for Senzui to launch the missiles."I see. Then I have no other alternative now," said Senzui as his eyes began to turn red, "There is no turning back from this now. We'll end this now!"

The two clashed against each other once more, and Saiga felt himself being slightly pushed back. Senzui was now attacking with no concern for his own life, burning through everything. The two ended up clashing, going deeper into the forest until they reached where Kenichi and the others were.

Back to present

Senzui was running on fumes at this point. He could barely see who he was fighting anymore. All his mind and body knew now was only to fight.

'Fight. FiGHt. F̶͈̹̦̒̽̀̈́̿̿̕͝î̷̡̠̖͓̙͑̌̈́̽͋̈́̄̆̚͘͠ͅg̴̡̛͒̆́̅̄̿͐̐̿͘͠͠͝h̴̫̘̳̟̩̞͙͔͙̯͌̎ͅť̷̨̛͓̈́͐͒̂̾̊̚͠, F̸͕͓͇̱͎̝̟̗̆̔̾͐̈̉̈̌̅͆͘̕̚̕Ị̴̡̧̧̞͍̞̺̟̦̟̥͙̺͖̄̓̏͌͌̊̆͘͠͝Ǵ̶̛̺̳̩͑̈̋͝h̴̛̭̳̮͕̙̠̝͍̱̩͍͚̟͍̗́͌̒͊͋̎̓́͛͛͂̾̊̚͘͜Ť̶̡̢͓̬̯͖͚̭̥̲̘͎̗̟̲̯́̀́́́!'

That was all Senzui could think of now, running on bare instincts. So much that he could barely recognize just who he was fighting now. Everything was just a blur now, and he was just a moving mass of martial arts. So when he landed after blocking a kick from Saiga, he landed right behind Miu and Kenichi.

While everyone was still in shock at his sudden bloody appearance, Senzui only noticed two bodies in front of him, and immediately attacked them.

Everyone watching could barely even react to the sudden attack. The amount of killing intent Senzui was leaking out was so potent it was enough to paralyze them that they couldn't even react.

"NO!" shouted Saiga as he tried to rush in to tackle the man, his mind whizzing through all possibilities before realizing he would be too late to save them, just like he was too late to save his wife.

Time seemed to slow as Senzui's knife hand began to thrust forward, intending on killing his first target, which happened to be Kenichi.

Kenichi's eyes widened as the object he had hidden was flying towards him, trying to think what to do.

"No!" shouted Miu as she dove in front of Kenichi, intending to protect her lover with her own life.

As time crawled, quite a few things happened at once.

Upon seeing Miu for the first time in the flesh with tears in her eyes, the berserk Senzui froze momentarily, his thrust slowing down. He recognized Miu. After all, she was the daughter of the two people whom he cherished the most, even if he killed one and was trying to kill the other.

At the same moment, a pebble came flying through the air, hitting his arm, causing it to deviate from its course.

And lastly, Kenichi had grabbed the item he had been hiding. Specifically, the katana Shigure had made for him, grabbing it by the hilt. While at the same breath, he was already grabbing Miu and pulling her away from danger while drawing his katana from its sheath.

The result was that Senzui missed piercing Miu through her skull, cutting through some of her hair while narrowly cutting Kenichi's cheeks with just his bare fingertips.

Kenichi gritted his teeth as he raised his katana up into the air, using his other hand to slap Senzui's arm away, leaving him momentarily open. Then with a deep breath, he gripped both hands onto his katana and slashed down.

Shuto Muzandachi

His original move that he had first incorporated into his fists, now used with the katana. His whole body was filled with Zen Ki as he slashed downwards with all his might and heart.

And somehow, after witnessing Shigure using Kousaka-ryu Saishu Ougi Souten Kyourenzan as well as Shinto Gourenzan as well as using the blade Shigure had personally forged for him with him in mind, his heart melded with his weapon for only a second, but it was enough.

Everyone witnessed Kenichi slashing down with his katana, striking Senzui in the chest. They were all shocked, thinking Kenichi had actually killed someone until they noticed the lack of blood spilling out.

"His blade. It's dull," pointed out Ethan.

Everyone looked to see that it was, indeed, a dull katana. Still, the sheen on the blade was nothing to scoff at either.

Senzui stood there for a second, unable to comprehend exactly what happened. While seeing Miu's face stunned him for a second, the rock had come out of nowhere and struck a nerve point in his arm. And finally, seeing Kenichi using a technique against him that had solely belonged to his disciple alone.

Senzui thought at first that Saiga had taken Kenichi as a secret apprentice around the same time they took Satomi, and had been leaking secrets to him, but dismissed that. The timeline for that was impossible.

Senzui couldn't really think anymore as Kenichi's Ki-infused attack began to take effect. He felt his whole body numbing as Kenichi's Ki rushed through his body. With a huge effort, Senzui managed to push off Kenichi's Ki, but the damage was still done. On his chest was a large imprint of Kenichi's blade. His ribs were broken, his sternum fractured, and probably his clavicle snapped in half. Along with his injuries sustained against Saiga and he was bleeding both internally and externally, there was really only one thing left to do. He didn't have the strength to fight anymore, and Saiga was already standing in front of the two.

Senzui slowly fell onto his back, his eyes threatening to roll up against his head, but he forced himself to look over to Miu and Kenichi, who were still frozen with his katana still pointed down.

"You… win," coughed Senzui as he took in Kenichi and Miu's faces for the last time before finally collapsing.

Masters Battleground

Jenny and her forces had managed to finally break through Yami's forces, making their way to Sakaki and the others. Before they could fully commit to the fight, Sakaki stopped them in their tracks with a shout full of Ki. It was so powerful that many, if all the soldiers, stumbled backward.

"That's enough. I've gotten word from Saiga that the missiles have been successfully defused and Senzui, the leader of this whole operation, has been defeated," announced Akisame, "We've won this war. There is no more blood that needs to be spilled!"

"You guys don't want to make it a war of attrition now, do you?" questioned Kensei, wiping off some blood off his forehead, "It'll only lead to a pointless defeat."

Kushinda quickly put her finger to her ear, trying to call Senzui or anyone at the main base, only to receive silence before realizing they had indeed lost.

"Just a little more… then the Eternal Sunset would have been complete," whispered Kushinada with a sigh of disappointment. Yet somewhere in her heart, she was happy it had failed. Perhaps because part of the plan involved kidnapping or killing Miu, whom she freely admitted was her 'granddaughter'. Even if the Kuremisago had managed to kidnap Miu, she would've intervened even if it meant making enemies with them. It wasn't unusual for members of Yami to be enemies with each other.

Kushinada flared her Ki, the giant Ki silhouette behind her shining. Each one of the masters was blinded by the Ki explosion unable to detect where she was, though none of them let their guard down.

However, when they recovered their senses, they noticed Kushinada was gone, nowhere to be seen.

"Weird, I know I sensed her presence and was about to use my ero sense and Bakekiwami Bakusatsui to strip…. attack her, but she suddenly disappeared," muttered Kensei, "Like someone else tackled her away."

Kensei was correct in the hypothesis. Just as Kushinada let out the Ki explosion, the Elder came barreling through, tackling her away from everybody else. The Elder had arrived at the island earlier than the last timeline, and had passed by Kenichi and the others. It was he who threw the stone at Senzui to stop him, and had been ready to physically stop Senzui when he saw Kenichi grabbing Miu, pulling her away from danger before attacking him with a slash. So the Elder rushed towards the other battlefield, confident his son would be able to stop any more attacks. And so when Kushinada numbed the others' senses, he barreled right through and tackled her away just to ensure she didn't try anything else.

"Let go," hissed Kushinada as she struggled against the Elder before managing to pry herself loose from the Elder, though knowing that the Elder had allowed her to do so.

"We'll talk later after this," stated the Elder as Kushinada began descending towards the ocean, "In this battle, we've won."

Kushinada didn't reply as she entered the water with barely a splash.

"A war of attrition is indeed not our intent," nodded Seitaro as he sheathed his kodachi.

"The cries of war have yet to stop, but thunderous barrels have gone quiet," stated Albrecht as he held his sword by its blade.

"Koetusji-dono," stated Rin as he helped untie Raki, who had been an unfortunate victim of Kensei's attack that had snapped her naginata while tying her in an awkward position that was revealing, "I will see Shigure once more after this."

Strangely, all the female members of the Eight Executioner Blades had been stripped of their clothes due to some bizarre coincidence while the male members still had theirs on. Shigure herself was almost naked due to her kimono being shredded to pieces, her chainmail barely holding her chest from bouncing all over the place.

The remaining active members of Yami slowly stood up, intending to walk away from the battle. Some of the soldiers of the allied forces tried to stop them, but a glare and order from Ogata made them all stop, especially when he flared his Ki. The soldiers were forced to allow Yami to walk unimpeded, as none of them wanted to actually fight them, even if their own side had overwhelming numbers.

With the war over, the soldiers began treating the wounded while arresting whomever they could arrest. Akisame and Kensei were extremely busy, especially when Tsutomu and Maya showed up with Tsutomu's left arm in Spartacus's hands. An emergency tent was immediately set up while Akisame and Kensei's medical skills were put to the test.

Diego was busy posing for the camera with the camera crew he brought along while Alexander sculpted a commemorative statue.

With the disciples receiving word of the end, they all began to relax. Most of the Kuremisago managed to pick up their wounded and retreated without any hindrance from the Shinpaku alliance and others, though they didn't have Satomi and Senzui with them.

Saiga wasn't too surprised, as Senzui was responsible for everything. Since the whole plan had failed, the Kuremisago was abandoning him and his disciple as punishment.

As for the unarmed Yami disciples, they each went back to their own masters that were available. Chikage ended up staying with the Shinpaku Alliance for the ride back home to Japan, as Kushinada was currently MIA.

Even Ogata was waiting for Berserker and Lugh, and merely laughed at his disciples disobeying his orders before taking them under his wing again.

As the sun began to rise with the Shinpaku Alliance spirits riding high, Niijima just had to conveniently remind them that most of them still had school tomorrow, causing a ruckus of outrage beared towards him.

Few days later

Saiga hummed as he came to a hospital room, punching in a code before the door opened. He was currently at a secured hospital, visiting his disciple Satomi, who had fallen asleep once more.

"It's good to see his meridians still intact," murmured Saiga as he put his gift down before glancing over a corner of the room, "You can come down now, Senzui."

Senzui suddenly appeared in the room, though covered in bandages still. Saiga wasn't surprised that Senzui had managed to escape his temporary imprisonment, but knew the man wouldn't do anything. His loss demanded his martial artist pride to obey the winner for now. The Big Lock, which was supposed to be impenetrable and its location private, had been both breached and exposed. It showed that it couldn't keep the masters of Yami in, so its security was being revised. Which was why Senzui hadn't been sent into Big Lock yet.

"I'm surprised you didn't try to just kill me while I was unconscious," said Senzui, breathing a little harder than normal.

"I was tempted, but not in front of the children," replied Saiga, "After that, I decided I wanted to return to the path of Katsujinken despite being steeped in Satsujinken for so long."

The two stared at each other for the longest time before both finally took a seat.

"So what happens to you now?" asked Saiga.

"I'm… not entirely sure," admitted Senzui, "It's clear I can't go back to the Kuremisago for the while. Being the failure of the leader, they'll try to kill me on sight. Especially if the elders gets word if this failure, they'll release the fact that I was the one killing the progressive Kuremisago in your disguise. I'd be hunted by both factions despite having been united. Satomi can't go back either, as they'd kill him for being associated with me."

"Perhaps exploring what the world has to offer on your two feet may be in order," advised Saiga, "You've never actually wandered around the world, taking in the sights, have you? Maybe some soul-searching would do you good."

"Perhaps," hummed Senzui, falling into silence, "But I've much to atone for. Especially towards your family."

The two just sat there, watching their disciple still asleep before Saiga finally stood up.

"I'll be heading back to Ryozanpaku for a little while to spend some time with my daughter. I don't know how long I have before I have to get back to work, but it'll be worth it," said Saiga, "We may never meet each other again, and it's something I don't mind, but should you try to attack Ryozanpaku again, we will defeat you each time."

Senzui gave a sad smile, "I don't believe I'll be challenging you all anytime soon. As the loser of the duel and the whole battle, I will listen to the winner. Once your 'revisions' to the next Big Lock are finished, I will turn myself in to the proper authorities."

Saiga nodded, agreeing to the terms. As Saiga began to walk towards the door, he paused for a second before coughing, "It was nice to see a familiar face once more that didn't involve fighting."

With that note, Saiga left.

Senzui sighed as he looked at Satomi for a second before his hand slowly reached over to him. It slowly glided over his chest, towards his neck, before going over the face and flicking Satomi in the forehead.

"I know you're awake," stated Senzui as Satomi's eye snapped open.

"That obvious?" asked Satomi as he managed to sit back up.

"Ryozanpaku's medical duo treated you. It would be strange if you weren't up," said Senzui.

"So what now?" asked Satomi.

"First off, we escape," stated Senzui, "We can't risk being here too long, or the Kuremisago might hunt us down. After that, we part ways. If you head over to Ryozanpaku and take refuge under Saiga, the Kuremisago won't hunt you down. They'll only be after me."

"No!" objected Satomi, "I'll go with you! You're the one who took care of me more often. Not to mention seeing the world sounds like a good idea for me. It might help me grow as a martial artist."

Senzui glanced at his disciple before realizing that Satomi wouldn't budge on this, and sighed.

"How was fighting Ryozanpaku's strongest disciple?" asked Senzui, tactfully changing the subject.

"...Surprising, I didn't hate him as I thought would," answered Satomi, "He's supposed to be one of those blessed like Kano Sho, but he felt like he was more like… me. Defying all odds and pushing through life through hard work and tenacity. I'm not sure what to make of him. Not to mention he somehow knows another version of my Shinogidachi. Saiga swears he never taught him. And yet he also managed to heal my meridians while they were shot to hell from me abusing my technique."

"A question that may never be answered," said Senzui before pulling Satomi up, "We can discuss more of this later. We must leave, I can sense two of the Kuremisago have already arrived, no doubt to take us while we are weakened."

Satomi quickly donned his clothes that were laying on the table before the two quickly managed to escape the secure building they were in. The intention had been to bring the two to Big Lock, but considering Diego and Alexander showed how they could escape anytime they wanted to, some more protocols were being introduced, delaying their transfer.

"They are persistent," noted Senzui as he and Satomi jumped a few buildings, noticing the two were still chasing them.

"Hold on… I think I recognize them. It's Natsuki and Hatsuki," noted Satomi.

The two stopped to allow Satomi's bodyguards to catch up.

"So, the Kuremisago sends the ones who were once in charge of protecting my disciple," mused Senzui, "Hoping to use that emotional connection to hinder him. How… underwhelming."

To their surprise, Natsuki and Hatsuki shook their heads before kneeling down to the both of them.

"We left before the Kuremisago elders could say anything. We swore to protect the One Shadow's disciple, and we will continue to do so. Let us come with you," declared Natsuki and Hatsuki.

Senzui raised his eyebrows at that, looking over to his disciple to see his expression was just as surprised. Perhaps the boy had more charm than he thought, considering the two were slightly blushing before it faded away.

"It will not be an easy path," warned Senzui, "Nor will we have the funds that we used to. I have some hidden, but barely enough."

"We brought some more," stated Natsuki as the two sisters revealed suitcases, opening them up to reveal quite a bit of cash.

"Well, that does solve some of our monetary problems," hummed Senzui before looking at all three of them, "I suppose we should leave before the Kuremisago tracks us down."

The four left, traveling the world by foot just as Saiga and the Elder had done before, this time to see the world and not because of some mission.

Tachibana Rin had not been joking when he said he was going to see Shigure again.

"Soo..," stated Rin as he sipped on some tea, "When can I expect my disciple sister to be properly engaged?"

Sakaki had to spit out his beer as Shigure 'blushed'.

Rin was currently sitting in Ryozanpaku with his half-sister Kiyoi and her bodyguard Yui with the excuse of visiting Shigure while also claiming he was 'worried' that her current boyfriend was 'taking advantage of her'.

He was also enjoying the show that was currently in the backyard.

"KYAAA!" shouted Kenichi as he barely dodged a kick from the Elder.

Kenichi was currently 'fighting', or in a more realistic term, running for his life as the Elder chased him.

"Come here, boy!" roared the Elder as he chased after Kenichi, "Face me like a man! I promise I won't kill you!"

"Grandpa! That's enough!" shouted Miu as she chased behind the two.

The Elder had somehow figured out that Miu had been deflowered during the time period he was gone, and so he was obviously going after Kenichi. Both time travelers weren't sure how the Elder managed to figure it out so fast, but put those concerns aside for now, as it was more important for Kenichi to live.

"Father," sighed Saiga, slightly embarrassed at this reaction. He had planned to play the 'overprotective father' bit, but his own father had already pulled that card. Just adding to it wasn't fun.

"They sound like they're having fun," giggled Kiyoi, using her ears to paint a picture of what was going on.

"I guess?" blinked Yui, watching the chase.

Kenichi felt a punch whiz right by his ear again, seeing his life flash before his eyes for the umpteenth time before Kenichi decided it was time to pull out his secret weapon/life preserver.

Pulling out a box from a secret compartment underneath the dojo floor that Kenichi had bribed Noir and Tochumaru to keep it a secret and safe.

Once Noir pushed the box out for Kenichi to grab, he immediately opened it up, pulling out a scroll.

"I have a Choju-jinbuts-giga painting worth 200,000 yen!" screamed Kenichi, putting the scroll in front of him as if it was a shield. He, of course, had Niijima buy it for him as an insurance policy long ago.

The Elder stopped his punch right before the scroll, looking at it with keen interest before shaking himself out of it.

"Do you think you can bribe me so easily with this?" said the Elder, though his eyes focused on the scroll.

"... Consider it a gift?" said Kenichi meekly.

It was, however, effective enough for Miu and Saiga to catch up to the Elder and drag him away for a little family talk.

"Safe!" breathed Kenichi as he collapsed onto the ground, taking the time to breathe.

The Elder seemed dissatisfied with Miu's explanation that she was the one who initiated it, that it was completely by her choice, and that Kenichi had not 'seduced' her. She also specified that she made sure she was 'safe' so he wouldn't be a great-grandfather anytime soon.

Suddenly, Kenichi felt his arm rise up without warning, the scroll flying up into the air before a slender hand caught it.

"Fufufu, you were always interested in these sorts of paintings," laughed Kushinada as she opened the scroll, wearing a completely different style of clothing compared to her usual attire. She was wearing a business attire dress, though her cleavage was still revealed to the world to see.

Everyone in Ryozanpaku was immediately on guard at her presence.

"Looking for revenge?" asked Saiga as he quickly put himself in front of Miu.

"As much as losing the war hurts, I'm not someone who would seek revenge just for a petty reason," said Kushinada, "I'm merely here because someone is late for our date."

Everyone saw Kushinada giving the Elder a pointed glance before realizing just who her date was.

"Ahem," coughed the Elder, "It's just a meeting that we both agreed upon if an attempt to realize the Eternal Sunset was done."

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that little meeting we had just a few months ago," flirted Kushinada with a husky voice before rubbing her stomach with her hand, "I can still feel your warmth here when I had to limp back home."

"Grandpa/Dad!?" shouted Miu and Saiga in shock while the other masters also looked shocked. Apachai was covering his face in embarrassment, looking at Kushinada and the Elder.

"Oh yes, he was so passionate that night," continued Kushinada, "We went at it outside all night, otherwise we would've destroyed the buildings if we did it inside."

"My sister doesn't need to hear this!" shouted Rin, who had already covered Kiyoi's ears, who in response had covered Yui's ear.

"Stop stating it so vaguely!" shouted the Elder with a huff, "She got rowdy that night after consuming a little too much alcohol that she started to spar with me. I ended the battle with a two-finger jab to her stomach and right thigh to stop her from grabbing me."

"Oh," was the general reply, though disappointment could be seen in Kensei's eyes.

"Nonetheless, if you want your precious painting, you'll have to catch me," stated Kushinada, tossing the scroll up in the air before grabbing it and disappearing with it.

"Wait, give that back!" shouted the Elder as he rushed out with such force that when he jumped, he left a crater.

"Well that happened," blinked Akisame before walking to Kenichi, "Don't think you're off for the day. You still have a full day's worth of training to catch up on."

"Nooo!" shouted Kenichi in tears as he was dragged into the tortur-... training room.

"I see even in victory, he still trains," hummed Rin as he safely pulled his hands away from Kiyoi, "My disciple has been training harder ever since the island incident. He won't tell me, but I believe he thinks he lost."

"Enough about that," stated Kiyoi, "I want to know more about my cousin now that the fighting is over for now."

One month later

Peace returned to Ryozanpaku for the most part. With Yami currently in disarray, there was no greater threat looming over the world. Miu and Saiga kept questioning the Elder about the 'date' with Kushinada, but he refused to say anything about it.

Kushinada herself was monitoring Chikage from afar, letting her grow up apart from her. Her conversation with the Elder along with what she heard during the battle made her realize her way of raising her daughter/disciple may have been too harsh. Especially now that she had it in her head that Miu was her 'granddaughter', and she had no desire to do that to Miu.

What wasn't said was that the Elder went into a sobbing drunk when he was on his 'date' with Kushinada and confessed that his precious granddaughter's flower had been plucked. While Kushinada put that thought in the back of her mind to interrogate Kenichi at some future date, she used this time to seduce the Elder into a more compliant mode.

The end result wasn't what she wanted, but the two did end up cuddling inside a room with their hands wandering about. Despite their ages, both of them had trained to the extreme, and the results spoke for themselves.

Surprisingly, Sho remained a student at Koryo High with Chikage while everybody else moved away. Elfreda gave Kenichi one last message, though, via an arrow right next to a tree that Kenichi had been leaning back on during a lunch period. Attached to the arrow was a threat for Kenichi to improve his archery skills so she could show her superior skills. As well as a message that her master was looking forward to defeating his father in the next hunting competition. Kenichi had no idea his father apparently knew Mildred, and moreover, that Mildred had declared Mototsuga as her hunting rival, but pushed that thought away.

Hayase had thrown himself into training more after his match against Freya showed him he was lacking in being able to switch weapons on the fly.

Diego and Alexander were released from their imprisonment as they had assisted in preventing a nuclear strike against the war, pardoned by their respective governments and with a condition to never join an organization like Yami again, ones they were happy to comply with.

Rachel had enjoyed her time at Koryo, but with her master free, she wanted to immediately accompany him back to Mexico. After all, he was technically Rachel's father, and the disciple adored him and had missed him when he was imprisoned.

As for the Shinpaku members themselves…

Korakuen Hall

"And here we are, in our highly anticipated matchup for the Lightweight title match! Our defending champion, Akeshita Shin, will be fighting against a newcomer who's blasted his way through the top, Takeda Ikki!"

As the crowds roared, Freya, Ukita, and Kisara were sitting in the front row seat, provided by Niijima upon Takeda's request. Kenichi and Miu had been invited, but Kenichi had to decline as he was still trying to ensure the Elder wasn't out to cripple him.

"And now, coming up from the blue corner, the current champion, Akeshita Shin!"

The man who was once Takeda's best friend was now walking up to the corner, with the crowd cheering him on.

"And the challenger from the red corner, who's been on a continuous winning streak, Takeda Ikki!"

Takeda appeared from the other side of the stadium, walking forward calmly with James Shiba by his side, along with Matsui and Kamioka as Takeda's seconds/assistant.

"According to the records, Takeda used to be with the same gym as Akeshita until a few years ago with an accident that left Takeda unable to use his left arm. However, it seems like he's managed to find a way to cure it, and is now on the stage once more! How exciting!~"

Freya, Ukita, and Kisara glared at Akeshita upon hearing that statement. They all knew it had been no accident, and that Akeshita was the one who had caused it.

The two boxers faced each other in the middle of the ring while the referee began going over the usual rules, though everyone noticed something. Akeshita was giving Takeda a death glare while Takeda, who was giving his customary wave and shining smile to the audience, was also glaring into Akeshita's eyes with rage.

"And now, the 10-round lightweight title match begins!" announced the announcer as Takeda and Akeshita returned to the corner.

The gong rang, signaling the start of the match.

The audience was treated to two boxers immediately rushing toward the middle of the ring, with Akeshita throwing the first punch.

The audience was shocked and cheered as the punches were thrown. Takeda was usually known for his politeness as he always lifted his glove up to the air towards his opponent, letting the opponent choose to touch gloves as a sign of respect to his opponent, even if they snubbed him. This time, Takeda hadn't even given this gesture to Akeshita.

Takeda easily weaved and dodged Akeshita's punches, never losing ground despite Akeshita's rush. Takeda threw a few jabs, to which Akeshita managed to dodge, though barely.

"He's holding back," murmured Freya, "But why? He could end this right now."

"Respect," replied Ukita, having known Takeda the longest, "Even when he was a 'thug', he always respected his opponents. Akeshita may be an asshole, but he was Takeda's first and best friend in the boxing world. There was a time when the two were like brothers. Of course, now they hate each other, but Takeda is giving him the courtesy of at least lasting one round."

"As a sign of respect?" asked Kisara.

"That, and the amount of leeway he'll be giving him," replied Ukita, "Takeda told me he'll be going full power for this match. He didn't want to one-round knock out the champion. This round is a sign that Takeda is fully cutting off any bridges to Akeshita."

Akeshita himself was starting to get frustrated that none of his attacks were landing. In fact, Takeda was even tapping his gloves with his own as they flew forward, showcasing just how easy it was for Takeda to counter.

'How? I've been in the pro ring for far longer than he has! There should be no way that he can catch up to my level so easily and so fast!' thought Akeshita.

Getting desperate, Akeshita decided to try to play dirty. Akeshita threw a right straight, to which Takeda easily dodged, but instead of pulling it back, Akeshita swung his hand toward Takeda for an illegal backhand. Akeshita didn't care if it was a foul, he wanted to at least punch Takeda once.

Takeda, who had been fighting for his life against Yomi as well as being an experienced fighter in the underground world of boxing, easily read Akeshita's intention and dodged it with a mere sway.

"Oh ho! Did the champion get too excited trying to land a hit? That's a penalty!"

The referee had to intervene and give Akeshita a stern warning before continuing the fight.

'If that didn't work, how about this!?' thought Akeshita as he stepped in, intending on stomping Takeda's foot to disrupt him.

Takeda merely pulled his foot back, avoiding the foot stomp, but Akeshita had a backup plan in case that failed. Taking the chance to close in the gap, Akeshita clinched Takeda in a tight hold, making sure his back was covering from what the referee could see.

With that, Akeshita reared his head up, knocking it into Takeda's chin. Then, quickly letting go, Akeshita fired a right straight that landed on Takeda's cheek. However, to his horror, Takeda didn't even seem to flinch.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the first round as the referee quickly broke them apart, telling them to head to their respective corners.

As Takeda sat down, James Shiba looked at his disciple.

"You alright?" asked Shiba as Matsui and Kamioka quickly brought out water and a towel.

"Yea, didn't even hurt," replied Takeda, "It's hilarious to see how far apart we are now."

"Don't get too cocky," warned Shiba, "Don't want you losing my prize money now."

"I only let him have the first round in memory of our old brotherhood. Now that's gone, I'm going full power," said Takeda.

"Going to get that belt to show off to your girl?" teased Shiba.

"Yea, I promised her that," said Takeda, the words going right past Takeda as he stood up once more.

Shiba watched Takeda walk forward, a little shocked that his teasing had passed right through Takeda.

"He's growing up so fast!" cried Shiba as Matsui handed him a handkerchief.

"You got him on the ropes, Akeshita. You got a good hit in, and he hasn't been able to take any real shots. You got the rhythm and momentum, just keep at it!" advised Akeshita's coach as Akeshita stood up to fight.

'Yea, I can do this! No measly friendship will stop my path to glory! I'll soon enter into the world stage and prove that I'm strong!' thought Akeshita as he put his gloves up, 'Your road to glory ends here, Takeda! I used you as my stepping stone once, I'll do it again! I-"

Akeshita had been too distracted with his mental rant that he barely noticed the bell ringing to signal the start of the second round. As Akeshita turned his eyes forward, he noticed Takeda was a lot closer than he was comfortable with. Seeing Takeda raise up his left arm, Akeshita quickly put his guard up to defend himself against a left straight.

Yet, the punch never came. The straight had been a feint, and Takeda's right fist slammed a right into Akeshita's liver.

The liver punch caused Akeshita to crumple up, having a hard time to breath, but Takeda wasn't letting him off that easily.

"Oooh, a huge liver shot, and fighter Takeda is going in for a rush to capitalize on this!"

Takeda began wailing at Akeshita's face, forcing him to move back, taking steps back until his back was against the post. Takeda had controlled the strength of his punches, knowing his full power could kill a normal person if he wasn't careful. Still, it was enough to do what he planned.

'Our paths will never cross again. So take this punch as a farewell to everything we've ever had!' thought Takeda as he raised his left arm up, intending to cut the last remnant of memory he had of Akeshita.

Takeda's Sunday punch, a left straight, slammed into Akeshita's face. The blow was so powerful that Akeshita was sent flipping over the corner and out of the ring.

"It's a ring out! Fighter Takeda's last punch has sent the former champion out of the ring! It's a knockout of the ages! Takeda Ikki is now the new Lightweight champion of Japan!"

The belt was presented to Takeda, who raised up high in the air, though his eyes were locked onto Freya, who was clapping with a sultry smile.

As Takeda came out of the building, he was greeted by his true friends before Freya came running up to him.

"Here. I told you that you get to hold the belt first as proof," said Takeda while a winning smile, though a small blush could be seen on his face.

"That you did," nodded Freya as she held it for a second before passing it over to Shiba, "It must've been hard to see someone who had been your friend become your enemy."

"Not harder than I thought it would be, but it did hurt a little," hummed Takeda.

"Then let me help you feel better and forget about him," whispered Freya as her arms looped around Takeda's neck and pulled him down for a kiss.

Wolf whistles could be heard from the audience passing by as Freya deepened the kiss, though Takeda returned it rather fervently.

It would be days later that Takeda would be chased by the Valkyries for 'daring to sully Freya-sama's lips'.

Another location

Tsutomu was looking at his left hand, slowly curling and uncurling his fingers. It had been a miracle that Akisame and Kensei had managed to attach the arm back, though both warned him that it would take therapy to get it back to full health, and even then, there was no guarantee that it would be back to what it was before. Still, he was happy he could still hold his beloved daughter and wife at the same time.

"Still looking at your arm?" asked Mayu as she set down a cup of tea for him.

"Still in shock, yes," nodded Tsutomu, "Where's Kairi?"

"Put her to sleep for now," replied Mayu as she sat down, putting her head onto Tsutomu's shoulder, "We're lucky to be alive."

"I know. If it hadn't been for Kenichi and the others… I don't want to think about it," shivered Tsutomu.

The two sat there in silence for a bit before Mayu raised her head up to Tsutomu.

"You know… now that we don't have anything imminent going on… how about we get to work on getting Kairi a little brother or sister?" whispered Mayu with a sultry tone.

Tsutomu felt a chill crawl up his spine at that voice, looking over to the room where Kairi was sleeping before making a decision. He picked up his wife, carrying her to another room before shutting the door. Seconds later, moans of pleasure could be heard.

Taninmoto mansion.

"I said take responsibility for my feelings!" shouted Renka as she launched a high kick toward Natsu's face, who ducked under it.

"What feelings!?" shouted Natsu as he threw a palm strike, only for Renka to parry it.

The two were in a rather dramatic fight while Kaede and Sogetsu calmly watched it all happen. Kaede was smiling while sipping some tea while Sogetsu drank his alcohol.

The two went at it for quite some time before they stopped, breathing rather heavily.

"So am I expecting wedding bells out of high school?" asked Kaede, causing the two martial artists to freeze and blush before blustering out excuses.

Kaede merely took everything with a smile before asking, "So when your secretary said that you two were 'having fun' in the office, it was a lie?"

That made the two remember that scene, where Natsu hovered over Renka in their little squabble that made it seem like they were about to do the deed, and caused both of them to blush.

"Ahaha, so it wasn't a lie," smiled Kaede, "Brother, that means you should take responsibility for what you've taken. Otherwise, I won't speak to you."

"Nonononono, that's a total misunderstanding!" blurted out both of them as a demon mask began to rise behind Kaede.

After a short explanation of what really happened, the demon mask slowly disappeared. Sogetsu himself was impressed at the sight of the demon mask, and perhaps just a tiny bit scared of it.

"I see," nodded Kaede, "Brother should still take responsibility though. It seems like Renka has fallen for you, and it would be impolite for you not to return that feeling, as it seems you are attracted to her, too. Especially since you saved her in your fight against Yami. It would certainly serve as the best deterrent against those others who keep offering their daughters, or worse, themselves."

While the two began to have a full-body blush, Sogetsu was pondering about something else.

"Renka," called out Sogetsu, surprising Renka while also acting annoyed about it, "You didn't by chance… tell your mother about this?"

Renka's full body blush suddenly paled for a good second as she quickly managed to get her breath back, "No… not yet. Please don't tell her."

"I have no desire to die yet," replied Sogetsu, confusing both Kaede and Natsu, "Let's just say my brother's wife… Is everything he desires physically and mentally, and yet also everything he fears. When she's committed to something, and that's rare, nothing stops her. One time, she desired some tea deep inside the Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance, and left to go get it herself. When we heard of it, we went to rescue her just in case, only to find it was pointless. The woman returned right as we heard about it, and though we asked if anything happened, she merely smiled and said everything was alright. Later, we found three grandmasters of the opposing side mentally scarred beyond belief. When asked, they wouldn't say anything but mutter the devil in purple clothing. My brother's wife happened to be wearing a purple dress that day, and as much as we tried to dismiss the fact it was her, there was irrefutable proof that it was her. What she did, we're still not too sure to this day, but she merely just smiles and continues to hum a little song. A song which causes those grandmasters to shriek in fear every time they hear it now."

"She sounds like a wonderful woman," mused Kaede, causing Sogetsu to look down at her for a good minute before pondering about it.

"Natsu, official order. Do your best to never let Kaede meet your future mother-in-law for as long as possible. If it does happen, you are to get on their good side as much as you can," said Sogetsu with a serious tone.

"Don't lump us together so easily!" shouted Natsu and Renka before the two stomped away.

However, it didn't escape their eyes that Natsu and Renka were holding hands as they left.

2 Years later

Kenichi and Miu were holding their graduation diploma, standing in front of Koryo High, watching the leaves blow through. Though Yami had been stopped, there were still people who cried for help, something the Elder couldn't ignore. So they ended up going on several of those trips with him.

"I can't believe we've graduated," smiled Miu as she brushed her hair, "We've really made it past the old timeline. Now we have to look to the future."

"It'll be scary, but I believe we can do it," said Kenichi, his hand firmly grasping onto Miu's.

Kenichi had successfully won the Naoki award that he had dreamed of by writing about his life in the other timeline, but wasn't going to let that stop him from continuing to write. He still had much to do.

"Still, I can't believe how much we've affected the timeline," giggled Miu.

Kenichi could only sigh as his mind flashed back to the past year. Freya and Takeda had gotten together, as did Ukita and Kisara. To their surprise though, Natsu and Renka were going steady, though they kept denying it anytime someone asked. Mayu had given birth to a son, and the Tanaka family immediately asked Miu and Kenichi to be the boy's godparents.

Spartacus had finally asked Lona out after some long-distance communications, to which she agreed. Though very reluctantly, Jihan allowed it, naming Spartacus the princess's consort.

To everyone's shock, Sakaki and Shigure were 'actually' dating. Shigure apparently had gotten impatient, took a page from some self-learning books, and kissed Sakaki. Though still socially clueless, Sakaki had to slowly guide her through the proper steps.

Saiga returned to working with the Japanese government, but would always pop in at Ryozanpaku every now and then, especially since he no longer had to hide his identity. He was keeping track of Senzui and the Kuremisago, but a peculiar thing happened with the Kuremisago.

The current Kuremisago was now embroiled in a civil war when the traditionalist elder released the truth that Senzui had been working against the progressive members, hoping it would unite them against Senzui and Saiga.

It completely backfired, as the progressive members actively rebelled against the traditionalists. Every now and then, some assassins were sent after Senzui, but from what Saiga learned, he was alive and well.

Saiga was glad to see Satomi still living and kicking, though he was curious as to why Hatsuki and Natsuki clung onto his arms closely, but chose not to question that.

When the Big Lock revisions were finally completed, Senzui turned himself in peacefully while his disciples saw him off. From what was heard, Senzui sat in his room in complete meditation and silence, never making a sound.

"Oh, c'mon you two!" shouted Sho as he waved at them with Izumi close by.

The relationship between the two was still questionable, but the two time travelers chose not to intervene on that. Instead, the two walked forward joining the others who were waiting on them to take a group graduation photo.

"I think we should be concerned about those two things specifically," murmured Kenichi.

"Agreed," nodded Miu.

Hongo had been finally told the truth about the time-traveling trio, though only because Sakaki had blurted it out while drunk after a 'successful' date with Shigure. Hongo immediately appeared at Ryozanpaku, demanding to know why Sakaki was blurting about time travelers and why Sho was lucky to be alive.

So they told him, as it wasn't necessary to withhold that information any longer. Hongo had been silent for a long time, sipping on some tea before wearily leaving the premises. However, before he left, he gave them his heartfelt thanks before disappearing. Sho had not been told the truth, and Hongo would see to it that it wouldn't be revealed for a very long time.

Still, that was not the situation that had worried them.

The first and foremost was Niijima already striking rich with all his plans. Already his company was expanding throughout the world with all the connections he had made. His evil laughter could constantly be heard in the Shinpaku Alliance headquarters, and so the two time travelers made it their mission to keep Niijima grounded.

The second one was that Kushinada could be seen around Ryozanpaku every now and then. They would catch a glimpse of her, but when they turned to focus on her, she would disappear. But she would always somehow be seen in the company of the Elder.

Saiga assured them that they didn't need to worry, and that the Elder was more than capable of handling her.

'Not in the way I thought, though,' thought Saiga to himself, 'Never imagine that my father would quite literally… '*uck' the evil thoughts out of her.'

Whether or not Kushinada and the Elder had such a relationship was something that was never fully disclosed.

The two time travelers looked up to the sky, watching a few birds fly up into the neverending sky. Though they didn't have knowledge of the future anymore, the two were determined to step forward into the unknown.

And so, I tumbled down the cliff toward becoming a master. And throughout the years, there were many adventures that came and went, and regrets that flew through the years. But in the end, everything worked out well. But that is a story for another time.

A muscled hand with scars put down a pen onto the table where photos could be seen. A prominent one being a wedding photo, where only the bride and groom was shown. Another photo was the wedding family photo, where the bride and groom's family were together. Kenichi's family was on one side, Miu's family was on the other side, though on Miu's side of the family, besides the Elder and Saiga, Kushinada and Chikage made an appearance as a part of the bride's family. Kushinada was very insistent on that part.

A few other photos scattered on the table revealed Niijima working in the Diet, as well as photos of other couples. And ultimately, a photo of a young girl with her family.

The end! Hope you guys enjoyed this story. It's taken about... almost 5 years to complete this, wow. Well now this one is done, it's time to consider if I want to pick up another story to write. Got a few ideas in mind, but nothing solid. I might consider making a one shot about the street fighter and History Strongest Disciple Kenichi I had, but its up in the air.

Thank you for reading and sticking with it to the end! Thank you my beta readers for going joining in, and thank you Third Fang for helping me start it up.

Azndrgn signing off on this story, later!