The key to victory is preparation. No strategist would enter a battle unprepared, and so did Kenichi and his student. He went through a few basic survival principles, and then proceeded to pick their outfit. Kenichi favored thick, baggy and generic clothing like jeans and hoodies. Then they wrapped their fists and put on motorbike gloves. It did not take too long before Kyoya hopped on his master`s motorbike, marking the beginning of the operation.

The building was a medium-sized apartment complex, with the ground floor repurposed as a night club. They strode around the place, and ended up at the flank. Observing the windows, a particular room stood out to Kyoya. Despite the narrow view angle from the ground to the dark room, Kyoya managed to make out the shapes of a shelf containing paracord and ductape.

“That room looks like a storage room. But why would anyone use a normal apartment as a storehouse? Combined with the fact that it`s located in the middle of the hallway, the apartment looks very fishy.” Kyoya pointed

“Oh? But it`s too high, we can`t get a better look. Even if you stood on my shoulders, it wouldn`t be enough.”

“Yes sensei. That`s why I brought this.” As he spoke Kyoya took out strange objects from his backpack. Three big tubes, with connecting joints at the end of each. He fitted them together, creating something that looked similar to a submarine`s telescope.

“This was my grade school project. I don`t have magnifying lens so this isn`t a telescopic device. However with this extended scope we can see what`s inside the apartment. I arranged mirrors alternatively inside these tubes so that they can reflect light in a zig zag pattern, bringing the image to our ey…”

“Good. Let`s do it.” Kenichi interrupted him.

As expected, they found Emiko lying on a bed inside the room. The two decided that they should go inside the bar to investigate further, and the infiltration was unexpectedly easy despite Kyoya looking like he was barely 12. After being mercilessly teased by girls, Kyoya finally settled down next to Kenichi, his cheeks still bright red.

The place was just like any normal night club, until they noticed employees selling drugs to customers.

“Something illegal is definitely going on here. Stay here, I`ll go check those “staff rooms”.

But Kyoya pinched his shirt, and profusely shook his head. The little boy seemed terrified of the possibility that some random female was going to “eat him up” if Kenichi were to leave him alone. Thus, he followed. They squeezed through the dancing crowd, occasionally bumping into jiggling chunks of flesh.

The door opened to a staircase which probably led to the upper apartments. Seeing nobody around, they both felt a little adventurous and went deeper inside. Just as they took the next corner, footsteps were heard coming from behind.

“Hey! This area is for staff only! What are you doing here?” A security guard that looked like a thug came up to them.

Immediately Kyoya locked his vision on the guy. His eyes became sharp, and for a moment, a flash of bloodlust could be seen. While Kenichi was thinking what to say, Kyoya was already sizing his opponent.

“Hey brat, what yer staring at?” The thug lifted the left side of his upper lips, showing his teeth before throwing a irritated stare at Kyoya. “I don`t like that damn look on your face… How old are you eh? How d’ja get in here?” The thug brought his face closer.

Kyoya could smell cigarette smoke from the guy`s breath.

(This guard is equipped with a night stick, and no sign of sharp objects or firearms).

*Twack!*

Kyoya`s left leg snapped up stra8ight, striking under the chin of his opponent. Right when his feet got back to the ground, the guy was on his knees, and Kyoya followed up with a right hook to the same spot for good measure. The guy was out cold.

Kenichi stood frozen, shocked because of what his student just did. Meanwhile Kyoya has started to look for a place to hide the body.

“Wait… You…”

“Hai?” Kyoya threw Kenichi a “what`s wrong” look.

“Kyoya… you can`t do that! Now we`re in big trouble! And I promised your mom to keep you safe… We need to get out of here.”

Literally sweeping the guy under the rug, Kyoya defended:

“He was going to kick us out of here. We need to get to the room and save Emiko!”

“No, we never agreed on this! That job is for the police! Our own safety is the first priority, and I say we run now!”

“Sensei!” He protested.

Their argument seemed to have startled other people in the area. One by one, the apartment doors opened, and people got out. Unlucky for Kenichi and his student, this whole apartment was a yakuza office, and right off the bat the residents of this area could see a body barely hidden under the carpet.

“Intruders!”

“Shit!” Kenichi rushed towards the middle of the hallway. Combat had already begun. Using the momentum from running, he jumped into the air, chambered his leg, rotated his body, aiming the flying side kick at the closest target.

*Bam!*

The thug`s head was knocked against the wall with the force of a sledge hammer used by strongmans. Kenichi caught the body before it dropped, holding it up as a shield. Another few got near, looking for an opening. Suddenly he threw the body forward, turned sideways and lifted his leg for a high side kick. The strike threw that poor guy into the air, straight onto one of his friend`s lap. Rushing forward with the pendulum motion for maximum speed, Kenichi threw a huge overhead to the guy at the right side, before clinching down the back of his head. The thug was not out, but he was helplessly under Kenichi`s control, with two huge hands locking down on his nape. Kenichi proceeded to drag the guy around as a meatshield, occasionally throwing knees to pacify his resistance. The group swarmed around him, but was not able to reach.

Thrusting the guy at the crowd, Kenichi had noticed that they were giving his attacking power some respect. He backed away, only to instantly dash forward for a roundhouse and knocked another guy out, before turning around just in time to ate a stick to the back. Pretending to be dazed, he suddenly grabbed another guy and backed out again. Amidst the skirmish, a fleet shadow got out of the way and charged upstairs.