[AllTakemichi] Control

Chapter 65

When Kimura steps outside, his face still carries that same calm expression and that perfectly practiced smile. It only makes Inupee boil with the urge to punch him straight in the face. Taiju and Kokonoi, on the other hand, remain indifferent. After all, Kimura is someone of value, and his actions show clearly that he has no intention of harming Takemichi. For now, the two of them choose to turn a blind eye and continue observing him.

When they return, they see Takemichi standing by the window, staring outside. His expression is the same as always - no one can tell whether he is happy or sad. Truthfully, they never expect Takemichi to be someone good at hiding his emotions. They know he carries many secrets he keeps from them. They respect that, but they still hope he will share more with them someday.

Takemichi realizes he has been lost in his thoughts for too long when Inupee calls out to him. He startles slightly and turns around, only to see Taiju, Inupee, and Kokonoi standing beside him without him even noticing when they arrive.

"Everything okay, boss?" Kokonoi speaks first. "It's those two personalities again, right? Something wrong with them?"

"Maybe," Takemichi says. "I don't really know either. I just think... if they only show up once a week, how much trouble can they really cause? But now, I think I need to reconsider."

"I'm not sure about this," Kokonoi continues, "but do you really believe your personalities only appear once a week? There are times when your mental state weakens, and the emotions of those personalities explode - like when Inupee hit you and one of them got angry and surfaced. In moments like that, you can't control it at all, can you? Hanagaki, think about it. Has your body shown anything unusual lately?"

Kokonoi lays out his reasoning, and his words begin to weigh heavily on Takemichi's mind.

"Takemichi improves too fast."

Taiju speaks up while Takemichi is still thinking about everything he has gone through. The other three turn their eyes to him, waiting for an explanation.

"I know you train the way I tell you to," Taiju says, "but your punches and your reflexes improve way too quickly - especially your reflexes. Sometimes your movements are completely unexpected. You still have a lot on your plate, so I don't think you have enough time to reach that level of mastery. To get that kind of improvement, you need to fight more. You need more real combat. That's muscle memory. Through training - or rather, through fighting again and again - your brain learns how to fight so well that now you can attack or defend without thinking. It becomes instinct."

"Take gets into fights a lot," someone says.

Taiju shakes his head. "How many fights can he get into in a day? And he still goes to school. Your friend already says there's nothing unusual during that time, right? Then the remaining time isn't enough."

Takemichi does realize that he is stronger than before. Still, he believes his rapid improvement comes from Baji training him back then and from Taiju's strict guidance paying off. That has to be the reason he reaches this level now.

Deep down, he honestly thinks he has only improved by one step - not to the point Taiju describes, not enough to genuinely surprise him. Besides, that guy always criticizes him anyway. Who knows, maybe now that things are coming to light, he suddenly decides to throw out compliments like they have wings. But right now, Takemichi has no mood to feel happy about any of that.

This guy... Is he trying to piss him off or what?

"But I'm certain that on the remaining days, those two brats don't show up at all. I go to school, then I head over to Black Dragon with Inupee and Kokonoi. If those two appear, everyone would have told me already."