Kung Fu Academy S/ カンフーアカデミーS

Lionel awoke while the world outside was still shrouded in darkness. He slid open the front door of the dojo dorm with care, ensuring not to disturb his sleeping companions. "Time for my daily training," Lionel murmured, stretching his limbs in preparation. However, before he could assume his stance, the dorm door creaked open again - it was Felix.

"What brings you here so early?" Lionel queried.

"Uhhh... to train," Felix responded.

"Hmm, would you like to join me?" Lionel proposed, a smile playing on his lips.

"Sure," Felix agreed. They both invoked their spirit guardians.

"I am Zebeon, the Neon Penguin!" Lionel declared.

"And I am Mudar, the Moon Wolf!" Felix retorted.

"As the year progresses, every fight will become more challenging," Lionel remarked to Felix. A serious expression had replaced Felix's usual relaxed demeanor as he replied, "We'll be prepared for any challenge as a team."

Lionel smirked at this response and said, "That's the spirit." Their fists met in mid-air before they launched into a sparring session that soon grew loud enough to rouse Jax and Kiyoshi from their slumber.

"Could you guys keep it down? I need some peace before our classes," grumbled Kiyoshi.

"We still have five hours until morning lessons start," Jax added irritably.

"You should be out here practicing with us instead of complaining," countered Lionel. Jax shot him an angry look and retreated back into the dormitory. Kiyoshi remained silent; he knew there was truth in Lionel's words but chose to follow Jax inside anyway.

Unfazed by this interaction, Lionel and Felix resumed their training. One well-placed neon kick from Lionel sent Felix crashing onto the ground but he sprang back up almost instantly.

"It'll take more than that to topple me," Felix retorted. His eyes glowed a fierce light blue as he charged at Lionel, who nimbly dodged his moon punches and kicks. When Felix paused to catch his breath, Lionel seized the opportunity and landed a neon punch squarely on Felix's face.

Felix was thrown back into a tree as Lionel prepared his special move. "Super Move: Neon Cyclone!" Two neon pink rings orbited around Lionel's wrist before being launched in Felix's direction. Using his wolf instincts, Felix narrowly avoided the attack, leaving the tree behind him to explode dramatically.

Felix readied his own special move in response. "Super Move: Moon Fang Blast!"

"Special Move: Neon Flash!" Lionel countered. A blinding pink flash erupted from Lionel’s hands, momentarily stunning Felix whose retaliatory light blue blast shot up into the sky.

"I forgot about that move," muttered Felix as he shielded his eyes from the bright light. But when he opened them again, he was met with a powerful neon kick from Lionel that knocked him off balance and caused his spirit guardian mode to deactivate.

Lionel rushed over to the fallen Felix and extended a hand towards him. "Need some help?" He asked.

"Thanks," replied Felix, accepting the offered assistance.

"You almost had me this time, Felix," said Lionel.

"Yeah right, you were winning all along," retorted Felix with a smirk.

Lionel just smiled in return. "I knew we could do it," Zebeon chimed in.

"It was only training," argued Lionel.

"We're improving," Mudar pointed out optimistically.

"I know we are; it just doesn't feel like we're progressing fast enough," sighed Felix.

"Don’t worry man, we’re a team! You just need a little more confidence in yourself and we will become the best fighters in the world,” Mudar encouraged.

"You're right," agreed Felix as the sun began to rise.

"We need to wake the others if we want to make it on time for once," Felix suggested.

"Right!" Lionel concurred. He slid open the door of the dojo dorm only to find Jax and Kiyoshi in the midst of an argument.

"What's going on with you two?" Lionel asked, puzzled.

"Nothing," Jax replied curtly before storming out of the dormitory.

"Yeah, nothing," echoed Kiyoshi before following suit. The trio left together for class, managing to arrive punctually this time.

"Finally, we're early," Kiyoshi exclaimed with relief.

"Alright class, settle down!" commanded Sensei Yuriko. Everyone took their seats and focused their attention on her. "Today’s lesson is on team moves," she announced.

Lionel muttered under his breath, "This is going to be bad."

"Don’t worry, class, we're not learning special team moves today; just basic teamwork in fighting,” Sensei Yuriko reassured them.

"So we'll be fighting four-on-four?" blurted out Kiyoshi without raising his hand first.

"Don’t interrupt without raising your hand!" Sensei Yuriko scolded him sharply. Chastised, Kiyoshi lowered his head in embarrassment but Sensei Yuriko continued, "To answer your question though - yes. You will sometimes face four opponents at once in league matches."

"That's interesting," Jax commented thoughtfully while clenching his fist.

"How can we fight as a team when we couldn't even pass the trust exercise?" Felix whispered to Mudar.

"The point of that exercise was to learn to trust your team regardless of success or failure," Mudar explained patiently.

"But why did she fail us?" Felix wondered aloud.

"I have no idea," Mudar admitted.

"Now, I will pair teams up for this exercise," Sensei Yuriko announced. "Mystical Force will be paired up against Faded Legacy."

"Faded Legacy?" Kiyoshi questioned aloud. "Who are they?"

"No clue," Lionel admitted. As if on cue, four members of the Faded Legacy approached them.

"So, this is Mystical Force - the team that failed the group trust exercise," one of them mocked.

"Yeah, and?" Kiyoshi retorted defensively.

"Prepare to lose," the same person taunted.

"And who might you guys be?" Jax asked pointedly.

"We apologize for not introducing ourselves earlier,” came their reply.

"My name is Eo Hoon, but you can simply call me Hoon. I am the leader of the Faded Legacy," introduced Hoon, his bright yellow eyes gleaming like a lion's under his bluish-grey wavy two-block hairstyle with black spiked tips. His bushy eyebrows arched perfectly over his eyes. He was clad in an orange gi with a four-star yellow belt encircling his waist and a tiger logo emblazoned on the back.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Miyoki Ikuko," chimed in a girl standing next to Hoon. Her amber eyes were rounded ovals, complementing her light blue hair that faded into lime green at the tips. She wore an ocean blue gi with a tiger tail belt around her waist, adorned with three stars.

Kiyoshi, Jax, Felix, and Lionel all bowed respectfully towards her and replied in unison, "Nice to meet you as well."

"So, are we getting this match underway?" asked a guy from behind them. His name was Yeom Sungari — another member of the Faded Legacy team — sporting a green short faded two-block hairstyle with cyan-colored bangs and eyes similar to Miyoki's. His plum purple gi bore a goat symbol on its back and was fastened by a plant root belt studded with two stars.

"Do you guys only have three people in your group?" Jax questioned curiously.

"Yeah, we are waiting for our fourth person; the sign-up people let us slide by having only three people for now," responded Hoon.

"This fight isn't going to be fair," Lionel voiced concerningly.

"It's cool; we appreciate having the disadvantage; it aids our learning process significantly," assured Hoon calmly.

All seven of them lined up across from each other and bowed respectfully before assuming their fighting positions and launching into action. Jax and Lionel teamed up against Hoon, while Felix took on Yeom and Kiyoshi faced off with Miyoki.

Hoon adeptly blocked both Jax and Lionel's strikes before landing a powerful punch in Jax's gut. As Jax recoiled in pain, Lionel assumed a defensive stance, blocking Hoon’s strikes. However, Hoon swiftly countered with a kick to Lionel’s head which was blocked by his arm. Lionel attempted to punch him in the chest, but Hoon caught the fist and began crushing Lionel’s hand with his strength. Suddenly, Jax reentered the fray with a lightning-fast kick, but Hoon effortlessly blocked it with his free hand.

Then came Hoon's fire star roar strike into Lionel — his fist ignited into flames as he punched Lionel squarely in the stomach before delivering a series of kicks that sent Lionel crashing onto the ground.

"Wow, this guy is flawless; he anticipates our moves before we even make them," remarked Jax to Tethyus.

"Yeah, I can’t get a read on him either," agreed Tethyus.

Jax powered up into two lightning fists and charged towards Hoon. Despite throwing punches rapidly at him, Hoon dodged them all effortlessly.

"You seem to have lost your footing," taunted Hoon as he stepped on Jax’s foot.

"Huh?" Jax looked confused just as Hoon swung around his flaming fist and punched him square in the face. This was followed by another fiery punch to the other side of his face and then a flame-engulfed kick that knocked Jax to the ground.

"Special Combo: Fire Star Shot!" shouted Hoon as he unleashed an onslaught of flaming punches on Jax until he transformed into his first stage Mitsukodorian form.

“I am Buttinsky, The Poisonous Goat!” Yeom yells with a fierce determination in his voice. As he stands across from his opponent Felix, their fists collide in a thunderous clap. They exchange punches to the face, both refusing to back down. But as the fight intensifies, Felix realizes he needs to end it before Yeom's poisonous effect takes hold. “Super Move: Moon Fang Blast!” he shouts, unleashing a massive blue sphere from his hand towards Yeom. Unfazed, Yeom counters with his own blast, and the two collide in an explosion of power. However, Yeom's poisonous abilities force Felix to use only one hand to control the blast.

Just when it seems like the fight is at its climax, a mysterious figure appears out of nowhere and joins in. “Ultra-Move: Wolf Splinter Kick!” the person declares before swiftly delivering a powerful kick to Felix's back leg. It turns out to be Igor, who had been watching from the sidelines all along. “You think I forgot about you,” he sneers with a howl.

As Igor jumps and spins out of the way of Yeom's incoming blast, Felix realizes he can't take any more hits and faints. “Hey, why did you interfere with my fight against Felix?” Yeom asks angrily, looking at Igor with suspicion.

“It's none of your business,” Igor replies cryptically before disappearing into thin air. With Felix knocked out and unable to continue, Yeom calls for an end to their practice session.

The rest of the group gathers around Felix as he recovers from the fight. “I know who interfered,” he says grimly while holding onto his injured leg.

“Who?” they all ask eagerly.

“Igor,” Felix answers with a determined look on his face. “Those guys just don't know when to quit.”

“We'll make sure they do next time we see them,” Jax declares confidently.

Meanwhile, Lionel remains quiet and pensive. He had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Hoon, just like he had against Cloven in the past. “And what is a special combo?” he wonders to himself.

As class comes to an end and hunger sets in for the group, they all agree to call it a day. “I can't wait to take on Hoon's team again,” Kiyoshi says with determination.

“I'll be ready for them next time,” Lionel adds with a steely resolve.

Hoon and his team approach Sensei Yuriko, triumphant from their victory. “It looks like we've crushed their leader's spirit to fight again,” Hoon remarks as they bow before their Sensei.

“Excellent work,” Sensei Yuriko praises them. “It seems like this school will be easy to take over after all.”

“That Kiyoshi guy was no match for me,” Miyoki boasts while inspecting her nails.

“Felix put up a good fight, but he couldn't handle me without interference,” Yeom admits with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“But don't worry, our battles with that team are far from over,” Sensei Yuriko assures them all.

With a stern reminder to rest up for the challenges ahead, Sensei Yuriko dismisses the group. As they leave, she smiles to herself knowing that this year will bring even more excitement and challenges for her students.