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(Modded!)

(Saturday morning)

The last week had been among the most unusual Alex had ever gone through.* Shortly after acquiring his new game he'd found himself bombarded with new development's, not only had he applied to a foreign exchange stay in Japan but it had been accepted. That didn't even mention that he'd be staying with his parents old friends who would be able to further his training in the martial arts.

Once everything had been settled Alex packed his bags and only a week later he was off to Japan. He arrived at Haneda international airport after an eleven hour flight, getting off the plane he met both Ryouga** and Minarin his hosts for his time in Japan. Ryouga was a tall and broad shouldered easily standing at six foot, his previously dark hair was almost entirely grey, he wore it down unless he was practising. Minarim was in comparison short and svelte her own hair, which was still mostly black was always tied up in a neat bun or some other style.

After their initial meeting the pair led him not to a car but through a sprawling path through the cities underground network. By the time they reached the house, Alex found he was both mentally and physically exhausted as both of them had quizzed him on his mastery of Japanese and when not testing they were informing. The whole experience had been a bit of a nightmare, it would have been worse had he not been going with the flow.

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The Tenso family home was sat amongst a collection of other similar houses, each of them each had a garden, theirs however was the biggest. Alex found himself wondering how the family had obtained such a house living even this far from the centre of Tokyo. He had hoped to find where he would be sleeping and just collapse for the rest of the day, perhaps getting a chance to explore on the Sunday. Alex soon discovered he was completely mistaken, as a soon as he arrived Ryouga turned to him, "You brought your gi with you didn't you?" he asked catching Alex's eye.

Alex looked Ryouga in the eye, he saw a glint in the older man's eye it occurred to Alex that he was "fresh meat" a new disciple to train. This would be the first of many gruelling sessions to come with his new Shisho. Alex felt himself suddenly full of life, as if a spark of excitement had driven away his weariness in a flash of intrigue. Alex grinned "Yes I did Shiso" Ryouga smiled back, "meet me in the dojo in five minutes. To get there you need to go through the back door from the kitchen. Dojo is located at the end of the garden, use the path."


(*yes that's all I had time to write. >.>
** Those pictures are damn out of date now to describe the parents in full!

“Pleaaaase Karin!” whined Natsuko as her twin rose to her feet. She looked between the blank page of the exercise book and the now-standing brunette. “I'm begging you! I don't understand a word of any of this and I'm going to fail maths again! If you don't help me, summer vacation will be cancelled for me, Karin-chyaaaan! Pleaaaase!” she begged, making a grab for Karin's leg.
Karin stepped out of the way, swiftly and groaned. “Natsuko, I've been sitting here with you for over an hour. I said I'd spend thirty minutes with you and I've already been here too long. I'm going to be late for training if you keep me any longer,” she sighed, shaking her head as she glanced at an ornate clock on the living room mantelpiece.
“I want to go to the beach in a few months... not stay at home,” she mumbled, eyes welling up, but Karin was all too familiar with this routine.
“Why should I care – it's not me who won't go to the beach. It'll be you. Good. I wouldn't mind a break from your constant pestering – how do you even have homework, yet?! School hasn't started yet!” she snapped and Natsuko let out a whimper.
“It's from cram school... if I don't hand this in on Monday, then I'll have to repeat last year...” she continued to mumble, gradually growing quieter. Karin sighed in defeat.
“Natsuko, I will help you, okay? But later. I need to train. I'll help you before bed, but you have to actually work. We've just spent the last hour talking about that new album whats-his-face brought out last week, and that idiot dad teaches who you think looks lie whats-his-face.” She shook her head, again, clearly in distaste for Natsuko's conversational material.
“He's obviously not an idiot if he can beat you,” Natsuko added sourly under her breath, but pressed her lips tightly together when she noticed Karin's nostrils flare considerably. “W-W-W-W-What I m-m-m-meant w-w-was... W-W-Well... Y-You know... if... if he can beat you, th-then he must be very strong... b-because you're very strong...” She stumbled over her words, attempting to recover, but Karin wasn't buying. She was thankful when Karin turned her back to leave. It wouldn't have been the first time her sister had started a brawl with her.
“That was the worst save you've ever attempted,” she muttered, coldly before snorting in disbelief and heading on her way.

She headed up to her bedroom to swiftly change into her gi, before making her way back downstairs. She'd have liked to have had a shower first, but she didn't want to run late, and she'd be able shower later, but later, her father would be busy and thus would be unable to train with her. She was rather sick of Natsuko making her late. They'd never been late before Natsuko decided she wanted to win some stupid prize for being the most girly thing in existence.
She knew Natsuko respected martial arts. After all, Karin had found a gi made from Hello Kitty print fabric a few years back in the bottom of the wardrobe... but she had never once seen Natsuko put it on or even so much as take it out of the wardrobe to look at. That all being said, Natsuko seemed to have little respect for Karin's training.
Shaking her head, she cracked her knuckles and headed into the dojo out back. “Sorry I'm late, you know what Natsuko's like,” she began to explain, but swiftly noticed a boy warming up – dressed in a gi, no less. “Excuse me,” she said, striding over to him, “but, this is private property, and the dojo is closed – you can't train here, right now,” she said, glancing around for her father who was nowhere to be seen.
Looking back to the boy, she noticed his ethnicity and narrowed her eyes. “Oh... you aren't that boy from England, are you?” she grunted, screwing up her features. She didn't like the idea of some foreigner who she'd never met, and who her parents had never even met, staying in her home for potentially a few years. She had no idea why her parents had agreed to it. This boy's family were supposedly good friends of theirs, but she'd never heard them mentioned. Not once. “Where's my father? He hasn't gone already has he? I'm only five minutes late,” she said, her mind already very clearly made up about what had happened.

Karin cocked an eyebrow as she eyed him up. His Japanese left a lot to be desired, and she didn't really have the time nor energy to sit and listen to him much up her beloved language. Her father wasn't here – he had most likely become tired of waiting for her. Natsuko was so in for it.
That was... until she heard one unmistakable word. Spar. Looks like Natsuko was off the hook. She turned to face him, projecting her ki outwards. Without even bowing, she charged at him and slid into a tackle, grazing the ground as she sped towards him.
Why was this foreigner even here, staying in her house, with her family, in her dojo? He could just go back home! Why did her school even accept him? She'd never met a single exchange student there, so how did he manage to get in?! Was there even an exchange programme at the school? She had no idea, but it didn't really matter right now. She was angry and he had offered himself as prey!

Karin had little time to drag herself to her feet before Alex was throwing a fist towards her face. His moves were sluggish to her, but she wasn't about to get cocky. She repelled his fist and went to deflect the elbow taking some kind of leisurely stroll towards her, but he stopped it before she could.
She next saw his leg twitch towards him, and smirked, letting it hit her. It was weak, although she had to admire his dedication. She knew that if she had delivered a blow to Natsuko's ankle like she had done to this boy's, the blonde would have run off crying.
As he followed the motion through, she pulled both her arms back and gave him a mighty shove, propelling him backwards. Before he could stumble too far away from her, however, she lifted her leg high up and delivered a harsh kick at his midriff, preparing a punch, which she delivered to his cheek, shortly after. She threw a few more blows his way before pushing him away from her with one final kick.
Taking a deep breath, she channelled her ki outwards into the form of bubbles that swarmed Alex, and as Karin's eyes narrowed, they detonated. She waited for the dust to clear*, before snorting at the sight of him, brushing herself down. “Well Alex,” she said, intentionally speaking his name with no honorific, “for future reference, please don't promise me things that you cannot deliver,” she grunted, only now bowing. She bowed as low as possible, patronisingly.

(Because anime = dust clearing)

Karin watched with a twisted sense of pride as Alex failed to drag himself to his feet and couldn't help the dark grin from forming on her lips as her father picked the boy up, lifting him to his feet.
Hopefully that had knocked the boy down a few pegs. He'd know not to mess with her now. He'd know that he wasn't welcome here, as far as she was concerned. She watched him carry himself off pathetically, and turned to her father. “He's awful. Possibly your worst yet. You've your work cut out for you with that one,” she said, loud enough for Alex to hear.

Natsuko had honestly tried her hardest with her mathematics, but she hadn't quite succeeded, so instead she had settled with baking a loaf of bread. She'd left the dough to proof earlier and it seemed all right, so she had figured she may as well study while she baked. “One times one is one~, two times two is tw... three~! Four times f – I mean three times three is n...nine~! Four times four is sixteen~, five times five is twenty five~, six times six is thirty six~, seven times seven is... I haven't the foggiest~!” she chirped in song as she cleaned the cooking utensils she had used, waiting for the oven pinger to ring, notifying her that the bread was done.
“Eight times eight is... like... sixty something... nine times nine is forty one... no it's not, it's eighty one~... Ten times ten is one hun –...” she stopped abruptly as she turned around to see Alex in the doorway. Heat rose to her face. This was too embarrassing. “Please don't tell me you're that English boy...” she mumbled, barely able to form words in her mouth.
“I...If you think you heard me singing, then you are obviously hallucinating and after such a long flight, you should definitely have a lie down,” she said, then came to her senses. “High heavens! Look at you! You're a mess! Oh... did Karin-chyan do this?!” She squeaked, the crimson colour draining from her face instantaneously.
She rushed over to him and directed him into a seat, where she sat him down. “You need to keep your strength up, would you like a drink and something to eat? Then you should take a bath before you destroy mummy's carpet, because she had it freshly shampooed for your arrival,” she said, not waiting for a response as she rushed to the oven and took the bread out.
She'd have liked to have left it in a little longer, but it looked mostly okay. Not her finest loaf, but it wasn't bad. She stopped the timer prematurely and prepared him a sandwich and poured him a glass of bottled water. She didn't like bottled water and had protested to her mother when they had gone grocery shopping. She had tried to explain what harvesting spring water did to the earth, and had even shown her mother pictures on her phone at the supermarket, but her mother had merely dismissed her concerns and had explained that their tap water would taste bad to the boy. What was his name again?
“Crawford-san... Can I call you that?” she asked, placing the ham sandwich and water on the table before him. She sat down on another chair; standing might have made him feel rushed.

Natsuko watched contently as he ate, scrutinising him to make sure he ate every last bite. After all, an army marched on it's stomach... or something like that. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't even asked the poor boy which filling he'd like, which had been rude. She'd just been in such a hurry, that she'd gone ahead and assumed. He didn't seem to mind it, though. Or, perhaps he was just being polite.
He seemed to relax as he finished the meal and she smiled slightly. Some said that a good night's rest was the best medicine. Some said that laughter was. Natsuko had always believed that a nice big sandwich with tomato... and bacon... and lettuce and chicken and cheese and beef... Yeah. That was the best medicine. She should have given him that, instead.
All thoughts of him merely being polite were thrown out of the window when a loud belch made her jump. She merely stared in surprise, leaning away slightly. Taken aback, she forced an awkward smile. It was a compliment – she knew that and took it as such, but it had made her jump. He was a lot like her father, of that, she was convinced now.
Her smile turned polite when he spoke to her. “Alex-san, then,” she said in response to him. “My name is Natsuko. I take it you've already met my twin and parents. Have they shown you to your room? How about the bathroom?” she asked, and then her eyes wandered over what was left of his gi and giggled nervously. Karin had obviously been irritated. Natsuko supposed it wasn't hard to fathom that Karin had been frustrated with her and that poor Alex Crawford here had received the girl's fury. “I am sorry about Karin... I'll fix your gi up for you. Again, I'm sorry.”

Natsuko seemed a little uncertain about the new name. Natsu-chan? Really? They realy had just met. She had expected something like Tenso-san, or Natsuko-san at a stretch. Natsuko-chan may have been a little close for strangers, but Natsu?
Still, her mother had just entered the room and began to instruct Alex to go take a bath. Speaking of her mother, she'd been instructed herself to make Alex feel as comfortable as possible. If that meant putting up with a strangely intimate name like Natsu-chan, she supposed it meant just that.
“N-Natsu-chan is fine!” she called after him and then stared at the dirty plate. She supposed it wasn't too bad. She could be like one of those girls in her manga, that were called cute names by the boys they liked. She didn't like this boy... she didn't know him to like or dislike him, but she supposed it would have to be fine. No, it was fine! If she told herself that, it would all be fine. It would.

Karin had spent the past hour or so training and sparring with her father. She was shattered, drenched in sweat and she reckoned that any minute she'd have wild animals coming from miles off to try and eat her. She stank.
Every time she thought she was catching up to her father in terms of skill, he'd suddenly reveal some new technique or stance and she'd be blown over again. How did one man get to be so... so strong?! It felt like she'd never reach his level. It felt like he just toyed with her!
With a grunt, she headed into the bathroom. The room felt humid and warm. Her mother must have run a bath for her. It was unusual, but perhaps it was a bribe to try and make her accept the new boy's arrival. “Like hell that's gonna work,” she grumbled to herself as she pulled on the belt of her gi and opened the garment, ready to strip.
She stopped however when she saw that the bath was already occupied, and merely froze on the spot, mortified. “Y-y-y-you d-d-didn't lock the d-d-door! You should have l-l-l-locked the door! Wh-wh-why didn't you lock the door?” she squeaked, her voice rising in pitch as she interrogated him, though she sounded more horrified than angry. She pulled her gi tight around her torso to cover it.