NOVEL NEXT Episode XC: Regroup and Retrain
With a limp in his step, Tokido arrived at the medical wing. "Are you alright? I could feel your energy draining," Jax asked, a look of concern etched on his face.
"Yeah, I met some of our lost cousins on the way back," Tokido replied before collapsing. Jax caught him just in time, preventing him from hitting the ground. Rin-Rin rushed over to assist Jax in laying Tokido on a bed.
Reaching into his gi, Tokido pulled out a bag of Healing Fortune Cookies. Despite his pain, he managed to laugh and said, "After all that turmoil, they are still intact." The bag contained over five dozen cookies.
"Why didn't you crack one open on your way here?" Jax questioned with mild irritation.
"I didn’t need them... really," Tokido responded weakly as his eyes flickered in and out of focus.
"Nonsense! You need them now more than ever!" retorted Jax as he split one open for him.
The scent from the fortune cookie healed Tokido to such an extent that his body began to recover fully. The others picked up cookies and used them to heal their own wounds.
"I feel like I can win every match now," Kiyoshi announced as he stretched his arms and body.
"That's the only thing needing stretching," Lionel quipped. However, Kiyoshi was too engrossed in shadow boxing the air to hear him.
"You thought I was going to die," Yosuke stated as he fist-bumped Juro.
"If that were true, then I'd have inherited your spirit guardian without knowing how to use it properly," Juro countered. FJ approached them both and gave hearty pats on their backs.
"Please don’t scare me like that again, Yosuke; you frightened us all once more," FJ pleaded with a sad expression on his face.
"It will take a lot to bring down Gnasher and me," Yosuke declared, referring to his Panda Spirit Guardian.
"Quick question, what's the plan now that everyone is healed?" Rin-Rin inquired. The room fell silent as all eyes turned to her.
"That's a good question," Jax admitted, "We've trained until our bodies couldn’t handle it anymore. Now we have to defeat the most powerful fighter group and take down a Sensei and a corrupted Chancellor."
Tokido's words caused everyone in the room to swallow hard.
"How do you expect us to defeat such formidable opponents given our current power scale?" Kiyoshi asked skeptically.
"With a lot of hard work and grit," Tokido replied confidently.
"I believe we can do it," Felix chimed in, "We just have to believe there's a chance."
"I hate to break it you, but there is only one good fighter here," Kiyoshi pointed out bluntly.
"And who might that be?" FJ asked with raised eyebrows.
"Tokido. He's the only one who managed to survive an encounter with all four of them and still had enough strength left to escape intact," Kiyoshi explained.
Everyone in the room, including Tokido, glared at Kiyoshi.
"I hate to break it you, but not only are you the worst fighter here, but you also don't speak for all of us," Lionel retorted sharply.
"If I'm considered the best fighter here then I'll train each of you to the best of my ability," Tokido offered graciously. "Who wants to go first?"
"I will since I still have more areas needing improvement," Felix volunteered readily.
"Very well. A wolf fighter will be the first one up for my training regimen." Tokido agreed before adding sternly, "Remember this isn't going be some time-travel training stuff."
"Got it," Felix replied with a nod.
The others took turns volunteering, each expressing their eagerness and determination to improve. After the roster was set, Tokido concluded the meeting by announcing, "I'll see all of you tomorrow on the training grounds," before disappearing.
"What a guy! He's not staying to eat with us," Kiyoshi remarked dryly.
"My brother is a busy man," Jax shrugged off with a laugh. The group then made their way to the nearest café.
"Hello Chef, can we get the usual for everyone?" Kiyoshi asked upon arrival.
"You bet, Kiyoshi!" the Chef responded enthusiastically. In about ten minutes, all food dishes were ready.
"Looks great!" Kiyoshi exclaimed as he began eating before anyone else could even pick up their utensils.
Everyone else expressed their gratitude and started eating. Rin-Rin turned to Felix and asked, "Is he always like this?"
"Yeah, Kiyoshi is always hungry," Felix confirmed as FJ and the Yushi twins watched in disbelief.
"Don’t worry; you get used to it really quickly," Lionel assured them just as Kiyoshi was starting on his fourth bowl of Fried Rice.
"I wonder what training will be like tomorrow," Juro mused aloud.
"Knowing my brother, it's probably going to be intense and interesting," Jax predicted while FJ and the Yushi twins exchanged puzzled looks.
"Don't be scared of him; he actually has a heart," Jax reassured them. Unbeknownst to them all, Tokido was watching from outside while they enjoyed their meal.
"They don’t know what true survival strength is yet. The days ahead are going to be tough but necessary for what lies ahead." Tokido confided in Strix.
"I sense fear in you about someone at that table," Strix observed.
"I don’t fear anyone; everyone fears me," Tokido retorted defiantly.
"We'll see about that tomorrow," Strix replied cryptically.
Next-Day…
Rin-Rin executed a back-flip in mid-air, landing hard on the ground. "That's not all you've got, is it?" Tokido questioned. Rin-Rin, bruised and struggling to her feet, responded with confusion. "What do you mean?" Tokido transformed into his spirit form, explaining, "The guys we're up against are stronger than me. If you're not stronger than me, then you'll likely fade away like the other fighters."
Rin-Rin absorbed his words and also transformed into her spirit form. "I'm not done yet!" she shouted defiantly before charging at Tokido, fists aglow with rainbow light. FJ murmured an approving "Yes!" off to the side.
"Someone has feelings for this girl?" Oga teased. Frustrated, FJ snapped at him. "Ohhh, shut up! No one asked you!" Oga smirked in response. “I’ll remember that when you need my help.”
“Well, you’ll come when I call; that’s how partnerships work,” FJ retorted gruffly.
“Yeah, if I feel like it,” Oga laughed as FJ shot him an angry look.
Meanwhile in their duel, Rin-Rin launched a flurry of punches at Tokido but struggled to land any significant hits. “You’ve gotten quicker!” acknowledged Tokido as he noticed two fresh scratches on his leg - wounds he hadn’t felt before.
Suddenly he spotted Rin-Rin’s pendulum necklace glowing with rainbow hues while swinging back and forth around her neck - the source of her power. With this realization came another attack from Rin-Rin which he attempted to dodge but was too late: a black five-tailed orb shot out from Rin-Rin’s palm straight into his guard and shattered it forcefully.
Tokido managed to throw the orb skywards just in time, where it exploded into a multitude of colors. "Whew, that was a close one," he sighed as Rin-Rin sent him flying into the dirt near a pool of hot lava.
Rin-Rin returned to her normal state and pulled Tokido away from the lava just in time. As they emerged safely, the ground erupted with molten lava causing everyone to flee.
“It seems Rin-Rin is ready for anyone who dares approach her; she passed my sparring training,” Tokido declared confidently. “Next up, Hamasaki.”
“Oh yeah, I’m ready!” Kiyoshi yelled back.
“Before we begin, can you actually transform properly into your spirit form?” Tokido asked skeptically.
“Show him!” Kitaro urged Kiyoshi, who promptly transformed into his stable spirit form surrounded by a shadowy purple aura.
“I’ve gotten stronger,” he asserted proudly before getting blasted in the face by Tokido's ghost palm strike and sent flying yards away from the group.
“Just because you can get into your stable form doesn’t mean you’re ready for everything,” Tokido lectured as Lionel laughed in agreement.
Tokido dashed ghost-like towards Kiyoshi who managed to guard against his punch this time around. Dodging another attack, he retaliated with a shadow punch to Tokido’s chest sending him flying backwards before rushing towards him again. But when Tokido fell on his back, he used his legs to kick Kiyoshi's hand and unleash a Ghost Lightning Cannon on him.
Kiyoshi flew back several more yards but managed to regain footing and let out a Shadow Roar Blast which missed its target but slightly ripped Tokido’s pants. He followed up with another shadow punch but was met with Tokido’s Dual Ghost Lightning Punch which knocked him out of his spirit form.
“What? How?” Kiyoshi gasped as Tokido delivered another Ghost Lightning Cannon, sending him flying back to the others.
“I knew he was going to lose the fight; his cockiness still blinds his soul,” Lionel commented with a laugh.
“I heard that! I almost had him,” Kiyoshi protested weakly. “He dodged my Shadow Roar blast in spirit form and never even transformed into his own.”
“You think I would waste my spirit form energy on you? You've got to earn it, Hamasaki!” Tokido shouted back as he approached the others.
“I’ll get you next time, I promise you that,” Kiyoshi vowed.
“Get up, Kiyoshi; you’re embarrassing me,” Kitaro chided.
“Fine!” Kiyoshi grumbled as he stood up and sat down with the others.
“Ready, Felix?” Tokido asked.
“Ready!” Felix responded enthusiastically.
“You’ll get him next time, even though you got trounced this round,” FJ teased with a hearty laugh which earned him a shadow palm strike from an irritated Kiyoshi. FJ did two front flips before landing face-first on the ground but quickly retaliated by striking Kiyoshi in the face with a toxic punch while rubbing the back of his head.
Felix and Tokido, the Yushi twins, stepped in to separate FJ and Kiyoshi from their fight. "I think you guys have had enough," Yosuke stated. Juro agreed, "Let's cool down now." Kiyoshi retorted angrily, "He started it."
In the midst of this, Felix and Tokido were exchanging blows; some of Felix's punches landed on Tokido while some of Tokido���s found their mark on Felix. Felix attempted a moonlight punch, but Tokido caught his fist. Pulling Felix towards him, Tokido struck him in the chest with his foot. As Felix rolled on the ground, Tokido lunged forward with another punch that missed its target.
Seizing the opportunity, Felix rolled out of the way and powered up into his spirit form during his roll. Then he emerged from the roll with a Moon Fang Blast. The blast hit Tokido in the face causing him to fly backward and hit the ground hard.
Felix dashed towards Tokido attempting to grab him, but was thwarted when Tokido wrapped his leg around his arm and twisted Felix's whole body while releasing a True Ghost Lightning Cannon point-blank. The blast knocked out Felix while mildly injuring Tokido who began to emit white smoke.
"I shouldn’t have done that," chuckled Tokido as he checked on Felix asking concernedly, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I am fine; you are pretty good at fighting," replied Felix as he got up.
Tokido gave him an advice saying, "Not too bad yourself either; just remember not to pick anyone up unless you are ready to counter it yourself."
"Thanks for that tip," said Felix appreciatively.
The Yushi Twins were next in line. They bowed respectfully towards their opponent causing Tokido to remark amusedly , "The first bow all day." He returned their bow and swiftly dodged the punches thrown by Yosuke and Juro.
Yosuke and Juro then rushed Tokido from both sides. Tokido managed to dodge Juro's punch while leg sweeping Yosuke, causing Juro to accidentally punch his brother in the chest with a black blaze punch. Yosuke was sent flying into a boulder which smashed into pieces.
Tokido attempted a judo throw on Juro but was countered by the latter who stuck both his feet into Tokido. Suddenly, Yosuke appeared out of nowhere and hit Tokido with a white blaze kick into his chest, causing him to crash hard onto the ground.
"Wow, these boys mean business," Tokido admitted to Strix.
"Well, yeah, their spirit scale is up there close to 75,000 each," replied Strix.
"Each?!" exclaimed Tokido looking shocked. "That’s more than above average on this island."
Strix suggested that he might have to go into stage one, Mitsukodorian mode just to match their power level. However, Tokido decided he would continue fighting without it for now in order to better understand them.
Yosuke warned his brother about Tokido's special eye before they strategised their next move: Yushi twin dash attack where Yosuke would aim high while Juro went low. The attack resulted in an explosion that ripped apart Tokido’s gi.
"Yep, they are pretty good fighters together; I think it is time to use stage one," said an injured Tokido as he activated Mitsukodorian mode. His eyes changed colour and aura surrounded his body as he launched at Yosuke and Juro landing multiple blows on them until they transformed into their spirit forms.
The brothers launched a collaboration move: Black Light Flame at him but were countered by his Ultra Move: Perfect Ghost Lightning Cannon which knocked them out cold. The force of the attack sent Tokido crashing into two mountains behind him.
Despite being battered and bloody, Tokido got up slowly and bowed to the unconscious Yushi twins in respect of their good fight. "I haven’t had a good fight like this in a long time," he said with a rare smile.
"Wait, did Tokido just smile?" Kiyoshi asked confusedly.
"Yeah, he does that but very rarely," replied Jax. "And he also rarely goes into his spirit form unless he is in actual danger."
Kiyoshi asked about Tokido's power level to which Jax answered that his base spirit scale was around 150,000 while Kiyoshi's was only 45,000. Lionel explained further that the spirit scale was measured by how much aura output one could transform into their spirit form.
"No wonder I lost miserably," admitted Kiyoshi before asking who had the strongest spirit scale among them. FJ teased him for not paying attention in class but was reprimanded by Rin-Rin who warned him not to bully others.
"I'm not entirely sure. Anyone, at any time, could be the strongest on the spirit scale," said Jax. Kiyoshi, with a crestfallen expression, replied, "I'm beginning to realize that I don't quite fit in here." Lionel couldn't help but smile. "He's finally understanding that humility is necessary for hard training," Lionel muttered to himself.
Juro chimed in, "I hope you all enjoyed the spectacle because it was incredible." Felix responded affirmatively, "We did; you guys were impressive." Tokido then challenged the group, "Who's next?" FJ and Lionel simultaneously volunteered themselves.
"It's time for Rock, Paper, Blast," Jax declared. Yosuke clarified the rules of this unusual game: "Whoever gets hit by the blast loses." As FJ and Lionel engaged in their game of Rock, Paper, Blast, FJ found himself on the receiving end of a blast.
"I didn't even get a chance to throw out my blast; this game is ridiculous!" exclaimed FJ. Kiyoshi laughed and retorted with a playful jab: "You've got to be faster than that!" Unfazed by his defeat in the game and boasting about his fighting record so far, FJ added: “At least I haven’t been defeated by the same fighter twice.”
Kiyoshi crossed his arms dismissively and muttered under his breath: “Whatever! He just got lucky again.” Meanwhile, Lionel tossed a healing cookie towards Tokido who split it open and instantly healed back to normal.
The fight escalated quickly as Tokido immediately transformed into stage two Mitsukodorian mode. To level up the playing field, Lionel also transformed into his spirit form. Both fighters clashed against each other amidst an explosion of bright pink light created by Lionel's neon tornado.
"Everything is so bright," Tokido commented while being momentarily blinded by Lionel's Neon Flash. Despite being unable to see, Tokido managed to dodge Lionel's neon punches. Kiyoshi was puzzled, "Wait, how is he doing this?" Jax explained: "That's the power of stage two Mitsukodorian mode."
Finally, Lionel landed a punch into Tokido’s gut, and he fell into Lionel’s Neon Tornado and flew right back to Lionel. With a triumphant yell, Lionel unleashed his Super Move: Neon Cyclone! Two cyclone shapes emerged from Lionel’s arms and hit Tokido directly, causing an explosion.
Tokido fell to the ground but quickly stood up again. He challenged Lionel: "Not bad, but can you do it again?" But before Tokido could fully regain his footing, Lionel's Ultra Move: Neon Cy Flash was already in his face.
Tokido caught the Ultra Move and retaliated with a True Ghost Lightning Cannon boost. The powerful counterattack knocked out Lionel who then collapsed on the ground.
FJ expressed his worry about their chances of winning against such a formidable opponent: “How can we win against a god who doesn’t need sight at all?” To everyone's surprise, Tokido revealed that he had not been blind during the fight after all; he had just pretended to be at a disadvantage.
After recovering from his defeat, Lionel admitted that he needed more training himself and passed the baton to FJ for the next round. FJ accepted the challenge willingly: “Well, if that’s the case, I am ready to fight.”
However, when FJ called for Oga's support in his upcoming fight against Tokido, there was no response from Oga. Disappointed but undeterred by Oga's silence, FJ prepared himself for the battle ahead.
FJ and Tokido faced each other in combat stances as they waited for one of them to make their move first. Growing impatient, FJ launched a weak toxic ball at Tokido’s feet. But Tokido nimbly dodged it and escalated the fight by transforming into stage three Mitsukodorian mode.
In this stage, "Tokido's awareness increases by forty-five percent and his power in spirit form is significantly boosted," Jax explained. He added with a hint of envy: “I haven’t even mastered it.”
The intense battle continued as both fighters exchanged powerful blows and evaded each other's attacks until FJ was hit in his leg and fell to the ground. Despite his injury, FJ managed to land a toxic blast into Tokido’s chest before healing himself with a toxic heal move.
Both fighters resumed their combat stances and charged towards each other once more, unleashing everything they had left in them. As the energy around them was rapidly depleting, FJ decided to use his Toxic Overburst Flame aimed directly at Tokido who was right in front of him. Tokido had other plans, and he used his Perfect Ghost Lightning Cannon with a little bit of energy he had left. So, both blasts collide with each other. The blast rages on, decimating the once pristine landscape and sending shockwaves through the air. FJ struggles to stand, using the last of his dwindling energy to fight against the relentless destruction. The toxic effects of the recent battle begin to wear off, leaving him vulnerable as Tokido unleashes his spirit form for the first time that day. In a sudden surge of power, FJ gains the upper hand, but it is short-lived as he finally succumbs to exhaustion and collapses. "We almost had him," FJ gasps before losing consciousness. "Next time," Oga reassures him as she watches over his still body. "At least you've grown stronger since our last encounter." FJ nods weakly in agreement before falling limp. His body emits a burnt smell from exertion and injury. On the other side, Tokido also falls to his knees, drained from the intense battle. "That one has great potential," he comments to Strix between deep breaths. "He lasted all three rounds with me, like a true fighter." Tokido's own body gives out and he falls over as well, gasping for air. The remaining group members rush over to help their fallen companions, but their pockets are empty of any healing items. "We need to get them to a medical wing immediately!" Jax exclaims as he picks up Tokido while Yosuke carries FJ. They start running towards the nearest medical facility, but suddenly a massive black ice crystal shatters above them, raining down sharp shards that pierce through their clothes and skin. Before they can react, a massive explosion engulfs them all. Jax's vision blurs as he struggles to stay conscious through the pain. Through hazy eyes, he sees a familiar face with silver eyes approaching them with an eerie smile on their lips. "Not now," Jax groans in agony. "Did you miss us, cousin?" Yoji taunts, his laughter echoing in the chaos. "We're here for a family reunion."