"Are you sure this is a good idea? Shouldn't he take a rest first after what happened to him? It's been barely a full day since he left the hospital."
Mizuki frowned and then looked at Nishiki and asked, "Do you think he will listen to me even if I try to convince him?"
Nishiki shrugged off his shoulder and then shifted his sight to both Mikhail and Shizuka who'd taken their fighting stances. Mizuki then continued, "Plus, do you really think he will give me or mother a chance to reconcile, let alone listen to us?"
"Some wounds take a very long time to heal." Nishiki's words earned him a sharp nod from Mizuki.
Their attention was attracted by the rules stated by Shizuka; fist fight and no powers. At first, Mikhail agreed with it but then, a smirk appeared. With a serious face, Mikhail told Shizuka to throw everything she got, be it secret techniques or tricks. Understanding the reason for Mikhail's request, unlike Mizuki and Nishiki who were stunned, Shizuka nodded her head and changed her fighting stance that surprised the still recovering Genji.
"Remember this stance?"
"Oh yeah, our first battle where I kicked your ass."
Shizuka snickered and without any words, she suddenly appeared in front of Mikhail and threw a punch that aimed to his gut. Mikhail blocked it and then sent a right jab that was parried. Both of them then proceeded to throw unseen attacks that were barely seen by Nishiki and Mizuki due to how fast the fighters were.
Each punch that was thrown, each kick that was delivered, all of them were parried by both of them until Mikhail landed the first hit by spinning around Shizuka to avoid a sucker punch from her and hit her in the chin. She chuckled and rubbed her jaw before landing a devastating punch to her opponent's cheek, knocking him to the wall.
"I forgot how powerful your punch was." Mikhail stood up and cracked his neck.
Shizuka chuckled and then said, "Same goes for me. Although, I have to say that you are slightly stronger than the last time we fought."
Katagiri raised her right eyebrow when Mikhail gave her a soul-piercing gaze and in the next second, he blitzed towards her and punched her in the gut. The impact of the punch made Shizuka let out a painful cry. She then received two punches to the face followed by a backflip kick that briefly stunned her.
Recovering from the attack, Shizuka tripped Mikhail over by kicking his hand when he was about to balance himself after landing a backflip kick. This caused Mikhail to lose balance and quickly raise his hands just in time to shield himself from receiving a devastating kick that pushed him several feet away. Mikhail saw Shizuka lunging at him with a punch and for one second, he saw it was Daihachi with his trademark sadistic smirk, terrifying Mikhail who raised his arm in a terrified manner.
Shizuka noticed the sudden look on his face and stopped. Even Nishiki and Mizuki noticed Mikhail suddenly being afraid. Was it because of Shizuka?
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm sorry. Wh-What's wrong?"
Mikhail crawled away from Shizuka to the corner of the dojo and curled himself into a ball, repeatedly telling Daihachi to get out of his head and I didn't kill them. Shizuka then quickly hugged Mikhail without saying any words until he calmed down.
***
"You sure there's nothing wrong with me?"
"Nothing that could be found. What's wrong? What happened?"
Mikhail released a heavy sigh and looked down, contemplating whether he should tell his mother or just brush it off. He shook his head as he got off from the chair and told Mikayla that it was nothing. As he was about to leave Mikayla's private library, the former head clan called him out.
"Do you still remember Baba?"
Of course he still remembers her. Mikhail still remembers the day he came to this place for the very first time when he was teenager, which was in his opinion. Back then, he hadn't regained his memories but for unknown reasons, Mikhail felt that he had visited Mikayla's house before.
"What's wrong with her?"
"She requested to meet you later. It's very important."
Mikhail gave a nod and left the room, heading to the living room where he saw Ammar, Camellia, Shizuka, Nishiki and Mizuki having a conversation. Noticing Mikhail, Shizuka went to him and asked what did Mikayla find. The young Genji just shook his head and sat down on the couch, right next to Camellia.
"Hey."
"Hello. So, how's the training?"
Camellia raised her fist and a few seconds later, a pinkish purple aura manifested and covered her fist. Mikhail was impressed and praised Camellia, much to her happiness.
"Oh, speaking about training… Genji, can I take your friend as my student?" Nishiki asked Mikhail, surprising the young man with a lone eye. "My reason for taking her as my student is that I suspect her powers are related to the soul."
"But she hasn't manifested it yet."
"Correct, but she already showed signs of it. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here and you are still stuck with whatever the hell Rae did to you."
Mikhail looked at the surprised Camellia and asked, "So, how is it? It's not that I can't train you, it's just that I need to train myself first so that I can protect you and Ammar if anything happens to both of you."
"What about me?" Ammar asked Mikhail.
"Shizuka? Can you train him?" Shizuka looked at Ammar and reluctantly nodded her head. "Once I complete my training, I will train you both. Don't worry, it won't take long for me to reach my true strength. Anyways, I need to meet Baba."
"Baba? Who's Baba?"
Mikhail looked at the curious Ammar and replied, "Well, Baba is a very kind and sweet elder woman who you will consider as the best grandma in the world because of her kindness and the power of her words. She is a very special person because she's… How old is she again?"
Shizuka, Mizuki, and Nishiki sweat dropped and simultaneously said, "125 years old."
Ammar and Camellia were shocked to the point they gawked at what they just heard. Mikhail chuckled at their reaction and said, "Anyways, I really need to go now."
Excusing himself, Mikhail looked at the sky and then proceeded to head towards the destination, Baba's house. Luckily, he still remembered the location and in the next moment, he vanished from thin air. He then reappeared in front of a small hut located on a hidden mountain.
Entering the hut, Mikhail was greeted by a smiling elderly woman who was sitting in a lotus position while holding a wooden cane. Sitting right in front of the elderly woman who opened her eyes, Mikhail smiled.
"It's been a while, Baba."
"Yes… Yes, it is. How's life been treating you, hm?"
Mikhail smiled and looked down before telling her that everything felt so wrong when he failed to save Amaris and Zuan. He thought that by running away from one place to another and starting a new life with a new identity could at least calm him down, but regardless of how far he ran away, problems would always find him.
"And I thought that by settling down at the place where Amaris wished for… I thought that I could live a peaceful and quiet life for the rest of my life. But still there are hardships and struggles that I have had to face from the first year of my diploma until now. The guilt. The nightmares. The pain and suffering…"
Mikhail paused and then he continued, "Even now. Every day I wake up, I have to remind myself not to try to kill myself. Sometimes, I wake up after having the same nightmare. I often questioned myself why I didn't just end my life years ago or why I even exist in this world where the people I loved were taken away.
"Mika," Mikhail looked at Baba. "As long as we breathe, we will face obstacles that will shape our future. It's okay to take a break, feel sad, or vent out your anger and frustration when you are facing hardship. But, what is not okay is that you give up. Don't give up on yourself or on life because not every bad thing will end in a bad way."
Mikhail nodded his head and then asked, "Anyways, what's the reason for calling me here? The last time I was here, it ended up with a prediction that was partially correct."
Baba opened her grey eyes, staring at the child of the man who destroyed the chains of destiny. With a serious face, she then said, "I foresaw three things."
"An angel with blazing wings falling from Heaven."
Mikhail felt a bit nostalgic as Baba continued to say, "A dragon with three heads. Each head has a hidden yet deep meaning."
"And lastly…"
"What is it Baba?"
"The destruction of many cities, specifically Kuala Lumpur, at the hands of your friends. Ammar and Camellia."
Mikhail didn't say anything when he heard those predictions. To be honest, he's very tired of listening to these silly predictions from Baba or anyone. Judging from his expression, Baba knew that Mikhail couldn't believe her predictions. After all, this is not the first time she had predicted something related to him.
"Baba, with all due respect and please don't get hurt from what I said. I have grown tired of these predictions. You, Daihachi, Dayana, even Azazel–"
"So, you've met Azazel? Then, my prediction about it was true."
"You… You know Azazel?"
Mikhail began to tremble in fear and cursed himself for accidentally spilling out a big secret to Baba. He started to panic and calm down when Baba stood up and held his hand gently. The elderly woman smiled and said, "As I said to you before, my predictions are merely possible futures that you can change. Don't worry, your secret about Azazel will remain a secret."
Nodding his head, Mikhail thanked Baba and both were having a conversation about Ammar and Camellia. An hour later, Mikhail bid farewell and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something.
"Baba, years ago, you told me that Amaris and Zuan died at the hands of Dayana. But it didn't happen. They died because of Daihachi."
"The result will be different than what I predicted; however, the cause will always be the same. For example, I predicted that Dayana would be the one to kill your friends, which was incorrect, but the prediction of their deaths was true," Baba explained. She then continued, "Mika, there's one more thing."
"The last thing I predicted was your death at the hands of Dayana. Beyond that, I can't foresee anything. I suspected that I might die of old age soon."
Mikhail gave a sad glance and said, "Please don't say that, Baba."
"Fear not, child of Mirza, I do not fear death. In fact, I've been waiting for it. I am looking forward to our next meeting."
Nodding his head, Mikhail bid farewell to the smiling Baba and then vanished into thin air, leaving a minor shockwave.
Time Skip
After having dinner with his family alongside Ammar and Shizuka, Mikhail could be seen laying on the rooftop of his family's house. He heard footsteps and saw Shizuka with a bowl of popcorn and two beverages.
"May I?"
Mikhail nodded as Shizuka sat right next to him and looked at what he's staring at, the moon. She offered the bowl to Mikhail who ate the popcorn with a smile.
"Thinking about something?"
"Yeah, Baba predicted something about me."
Intrigued by the prediction, Shizuka inquired about it but she briefly saw the sadness and anger on Mikhail's face. The young Genji took a deep breath and said, "She predicted my death at the hands of Dayana. To be honest, I am a bit afraid of it. Not because of my death or because of who is going to kill me."
"Then?"
"If I die and Dayana is alive then that means disasters will happen. Everything will be consumed by the darkness. If she kills me, she's going to turn this world that we know into hell. She will rule everything in chaos, destruction, and despair."
Shizuka looked at Mikhail and then laid down near him. Both were enjoying stargazing and said nothing until Shizuka held his hand and said, "I know that whatever Baba predicted will always come true, but her prediction about Dayana killing you… Something told me that it won't happen."
"Maybe. Maybe not? Who knows? That prediction somehow gave me the encouragement to train and push myself to break through the limit."
Shizuka chuckled and asked, "Are we going to witness the Rebirth of the Strongest Genji in History?"
"Hah! Why do you guys always call me the Strongest. I'm pretty sure the previous Kamigan wielder is way more powerful than I am."
"Who knows? The future is very mysterious."