"Miss Mai and I are the same. We're both students of Mr. Ryuji, learning Shiranui-ryu martial arts."
She left out Zangan Style's contribution. Even she could tell that Ryuji had only borrowed ideas from it. The Shiranui-ryu he taught them was actually a completely new training method derived from both his own approach and Zangan's teachings.
Still, if Ryuji said it was Shiranui-ryu, then Shiranui-ryu it was.
"The Shiranui-ryu really does keep producing beautiful women..."
After confirming this, Kasumi couldn't help muttering the comment, even though she had no idea who Ryuji was.
Tifa nodded. Thinking of Ryuji's teachings, she unconsciously repeated something he had said.
"Hmm, that's probably because Shiranui-ryu also includes training methods that help shape the body. Mr. Ryuji said that girls who practice Shiranui-ryu generally end up with larger breasts."
Kasumi's eyes widened.
No, not just Kasumi's. The eyes of practically every student nearby widened.
"What did you just say?!"
Kasumi was so excited her voice nearly cracked. She instinctively grabbed Tifa's shoulders but immediately realized her lapse in composure. She quickly calmed herself and spoke in a much more composed tone.
"Are you telling the truth?"
Even as she asked, she kept reassuring herself internally. She was the heir to Todoh-ryu martial arts and couldn't simply switch to another school whenever she wanted.
But she still couldn't help wondering.
Was Shiranui-ryu really that miraculous?
Tifa was startled by Kasumi's reaction. Although she took pride in her appearance, she also believed beauty could sometimes be a burden, so she answered in a slightly puzzled tone.
"Hmm... Mr. Ryuji said that girls who practice SShiranui-ryu will all develop very good figures."
Tifa also knew that Ryuji wanted to revive the Shiranui-ryu and she understood his plans quite well. So, she deliberately revealed some of the Shiranui school's benefits in order to attract interest.
After all, she is a very smart girl.
"You aren't lying to me?"
Kasumi grabbed Tifa's shoulders again, making Tifa find the whole situation somewhat amusing.
The girl standing before her was already very pretty and didn't need Shiranui-ryu's training methods at all. She was simply lacking confidence.
Learning Shiranui-ryu wouldn't be a problem, but was there really any need to get this excited?
As a martial artist, shouldn't she be more concerned about which school was stronger?
Tifa really didn't understand the people of this world.
But...
Kasumi cared very much.
"Damn it... If I'd known earlier... No, I can't. I'm supposed to inherit Todoh-ryu martial arts..."
Holding her head, Kasumi fell into a struggle. After wrestling with herself for a while, she suddenly raised her head and looked directly at Tifa.
"Are you free after class? I want to go see what Shiranui-ryu is like!"
She wasn't worried about her safety at all.
If Shiranui-ryu was a school she had barely even heard of, then it obviously wasn't particularly powerful. And since Tifa was attending school here, the dojo had to be somewhere within the city.
So, she wasn't afraid of any danger.
Besides, so many people already knew she was going to the Shiranui dojo. Nothing could possibly happen.
"Yes, that's fine."
Tifa didn't think much about it.
She simply wanted to help Ryuji as much as possible, so when she saw how interested Kasumi was, she agreed without hesitation.
"Good! Then it's a promise!"
Kasumi grabbed Tifa's hand excitedly.
Looking at the excited expression on Kasumi's face, Tifa maintained her smile... but beneath that smile, her feelings had become somewhat complicated.
This should count as helping revive the Shiranui-ryu, right?
That's what she thought.
Unfortunately, being hungry wasn't something she could avoid, so she pulled herself together and treated her hunger as motivation. While the teacher was lecturing, she began studying on her own at an astonishing pace, quickly mastering most of the material.
After all, unlike the people of this peaceful era; Tifa had always wanted to go to school and receive a proper education.
Without even realizing it himself, Ryuji had fulfilled one of her long-held wishes.
Of course, even if he knew, he probably wouldn't think much of it.
At that very moment, he and Mai were sitting inside McDonald's eating fried chicken.
Yes, the afternoon's challenge had already ended.
The process was basically the same as always. He would send a formal challenge, the dojo master would call someone over, and eventually the head disciple would step forward to fight him.
Then the hungry Ryuji would exchange a dozen or so moves with them before knocking them flat with three punches and two kicks.
The disciple from this particular dojo had even been specially marked and recommended by Hanzo, yet in the original KOF timeline the man hadn't even managed to participate in the KOF tournament.
As he chewed on a chicken wing, Ryuji couldn't help feeling a bit resentful toward the so-called kaiseki meal from earlier.
"I feel like the only effect that kaiseki meal had was making me hold back a little when I was beating people up this afternoon."
Tossing the chicken bone into the box, he looked at Mai, who was eating chicken wings just like him, and made a decision.
"Next time you want something to eat, I'll cook it for you."
Mai immediately rolled her eyes at him.
"Oh, please. Your cooking only tastes good because the seasonings you use are ridiculously good. Don't think I don't know that. And more importantly, since when is a man supposed to be the one cooking? Do you think I'm useless?!"
Mai slapped the table to express her dissatisfaction.
But her face had turned red. Because saying something like that was practically admitting she already considered herself Ryuji's wife.
In Japan, a wife's duty was traditionally to devote herself entirely to supporting her husband, sometimes to the point of not even working.
If her husband ends up doing all the cooking, wouldn't that make her look completely useless?
"Ah, well, I've actually learned a bit about cooking. And it's not like cooking and laundry are the only things you can do…"
~~~~~~~~~~
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