The Way We Are (part 9 of 20)

Brains and Brawn

I’ve always been considered a tactician of sorts. I “had a way with words” as one individual put it, and considering my background, it wasn’t any real surprise that I had this talent. I belonged to a powerful family, I was willing to admit that. We simply got what we wanted, no questions asked, and when we didn’t, we worked our ‘Fujino magic’ and got it anyway. That’s simply how it had always been, and even though my father had passed on and I was away from home, it didn’t mean that it was going to change.

Over the years I had worked on crafting my art, I came to learn my trump cards and how to properly play them. Like I said before, my words were certainly one of them. I had a relatively large vocabulary, and I had a knack for precisely choosing the right words at the right time to work my way around any obstacles in my path. The proper words accompanied by my‘sweet and innocent’ Kyoto accent were hitting the nail on the head, so to speak.

Another gift I possessed was my quiet patience. I came to discover that, in more cases than none, I had this in abundance. Sometimes when you played the game you had to wait before you would see the fruits of your labor. It took a little more time to learn this, but when I finally did, I found that I profited greatly.

The final hand to play was my own beauty. Not that I’m trying to boast, I’m simply stating what I’ve been told and have observed first hand over the years. And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that this card just might be the strongest of them all, especially when it comes to men. I do, however, have very specific limits on how far I take things. I’ll use it to my advantage, but I will in no way use it to be taken advantage of. I was no common whore; that would just be distasteful and disrespectful towards myself.

With these three things alone, I could usually turn any situation to my advantage. Manipulative capabilities one might call them, but personally, I thought that sounded a little…harsh. Either way, I wasn’t one to waste god-given talent, so I went right ahead with my plan.

It was a Monday morning and I was currently seated in the student council room. Since my second period was a study session, I often came down to the room to work on things related to the council or simply to be able to do my schoolwork in privacy. Today, however, would be dealing with the former. I had summoned Miss Yukino Kikukawa, a first year student who had been elected to the council, to the room a few minutes earlier and was attentively waiting for her arrival. It wasn’t long before I heard her soft footsteps stop at the door.

“U-um…”

“Ah, Miss Kikukawa, please come in.”

“Y-yes, Fujino Kaichou.”

I watched as the short, messy-haired brunette quietly stepped into the student council room, head tilted down, hazel eyes occasionally peeking over the top of the slim glasses resting on her nose.

I simply smiled at the mousey girl as I stood, “Please, take a seat.”

The girl complied, still looking as shy as ever as she sat at one of the empty tables, and once she was settled, I did the same.

“You are the new secretary of the student council, correct Kikukawa-san?”

“Y-yes.”

“You do know all the responsibilities of your position, yes?”

“Mmh.”

“And you know of the time and dedication that is required with being on the council?”

“Yes.”

“I trust you’ll be a diligent worker…even if you aren’t working for Miss Suzushiro?”

This obviously captured her attention, causing the girl to look straight at me for the first time since she had entered the room.

“Ara, do not look so surprised. Most of the students here at Fuuka know of your and Suzushiro-san’s friendship. Am I out of line assuming that the two of you were hoping to work together on the council?”

“…N-no, Kaichou…”

“It seems that my being elected as president has ruined that, ne?”

Silence took over as Yukino averted her eyes away from me.

I let out an amused little sigh before continuing, “I had no intension of pulling the two of you apart…and I still don’t…”

“Miss Fuji—“

“I called you here today to ask your opinion on the course of action I intend to take.”

“Y-yes?”

“How would you feel if I made Miss Suzushiro my executive director?”

The short girl’s face immediately brightened, “Haruka-chan as…executive director…?”

“Yes, do you think she would accept?”

“I…I can’t be for certain, but…”

Picking up the phone on my desk, I slipped the receiver beneath my hair and onto my ear, “Shall I call her down here then?”

Yukino nodded silently, a small smile evident on her freckled face.

A few minutes passed before the blonde in question arrived. She made her presence known as she stormed down the hallway, sliding the door to the room open in one violent heave once she had reached the room.

“Fujino! What did you call me down here—Yukino?”

“Suzushiro-san, please come in, I have something to discuss with you.”

A glare, “If this is about the election…”

Deciding to get this over with as quickly as possible, I cut right down to the chase, “Somewhat, yes. I want to place you as the executive director of the student council.”

“Eh?”

“What do you say?”

Violet embers observed me warily before turning to the quiet brunette seated at the table. I noticed them soften as they turned away from me onto the younger girl.

“What is this about, Yukino?”

“Fujino Kaichou would like you on the council, Haruka-chan.”

Blonde strands glided through the air as Haruka snapped her head back around to look at me, “Is this some kind of joke?”

“No, I’m quite serious.”

Suzushiro cocked a golden eyebrow at me, “And why would you do that?”

“Apparently many of the students at this school do not believe that you could fulfill the role as Seitokaichou,” I began, the girl before me immediately starting to fume. Yukino even seemed to tense up at my words.

Ignoring this for the moment, I continued, “However, I beg to differ.”

“Huh?”

“I believe that you are a hard worker, Suzushiro-san. Someone with your determination and dedication would be greatly appreciated on the council. Not only that, but it will also give you a chance to prove those who doubt your abilities wrong, will it not?”

Haruka stood silently for a moment, obviously processing what I’d just told her. I took this opportunity to continue my proposal, hoping to seal the deal if I hadn’t already.

“If you were to take the position, you would be handling some of the most important tasks of the council, and inevitably, I would most likely place Kikukawa-san under your disposal. An assistant of sorts, if you will. It’s already been approved by the director, it is completely up to you now.”

This certainly sparked a reaction in both girls. They looked at one another momentarily, conversing with only their eyes before Haruka responded, her usual overly confident tone returning, “Alright, I’ll do it!”

“I’m glad.”

“But don’t get me wrong, Fujino. I’m not doing this for you, I’m doing it for the good of the school.”

I nodded, “Please do your best.”

“Of course! Like I could do anything otherwise.”

“Well then, the two of you are free to return to your classes. I’ll see you this afternoon at the meeting,” I state while standing from my seat.

“Right. Yukino! Let’s go!”

“Mmh.”

I watched as Suzushiro paraded out of the room, Yukino close on her heels, only pausing to quickly bow to me before disappearing after her friend.

After retrieving my bag, I left my position behind the desk. Walking out the door, I stopped to lock it behind me before heading to my own classroom, an accomplished grin spreading across my face.

Well, that went smoothly. The students might not like it, but with Suzushiro-san on board my workload should be considerably reduced…See Natsuki? Like I told you, it’s no trouble at all.

That was my final conclusion after the meeting with the Rijichou, Kazahana Mashiro. The wheelchair-bound girl couldn’t have even been in her teens yet…so how could she be the director of an entire school? That was the first spark of suspicion. Then there was the oddly mature way she talked about the Hime and the First District…How was it that she knew about all of that?

On top of that, the director had openly asked me to fight the Orphans that continued to appear on campus. Duran and I had been doing just that over the past couple of months. Some were easier to defeat than others and some had nearly killed me. It was scary at times, but I always managed to pull through. But was this the reason the First District were gathering the Hime at Fuuka? Was it solely to fight these creatures? No…that couldn’t be the case. Why would they be so discreet about bringing us here then? Why couldn’t they just come out and say it if that was the real purpose?

Surely there had to be another reason. I could feel it. Something wasn’t right, and I was damn determined to figure out the truth.

But why should I risk myself for these other people? I was no savior…I wasn’t even entirely sure what would happen if we were all gathered here. The feeling in the pit of my stomach drove me onward though. Women’s intuition perhaps? You might call it that…or maybe I was just petrified of what might happen if I didn’t do something.

It was soon after my talking with the school director that I happened to hear about another transfer student coming to Fuuka Academy. How was I to know if this individual was a Hime? I had never met them before. I couldn’t be for certain, but considering the fact that they were coming after the first term had already started definitely shot up the red flag in my mind. There was only one way to find out for sure, but to do that would require a little more information, and needless to say, I headed to my number one source immediately.

“Hey, are you using your computer right now?” I asked as I let myself into the student council room. Lucky for me, Shizuru was the only one inside.

“Not at the moment,” the brunette replied as she began to stand from her seat at the desk.

“You don’t have to get up, it’ll only take a second,” I told her, turning the small laptop in my direction as I quickly began pecking away at the keyboard.

Shizuru eyed me curiously, taking a break from the paperwork she had been working on previously, “I guess that means you found some more information then?”

“More like I heard a rumor…”

“…Are you always so thorough?”

“When it comes to this, yes.”

The girl beside me let out a small sigh, “Ara, now if we could only get Natsuki to be this dedicated to attending her classes…It has only been the first month of school and you’ve already missed quite a few days.”

My face twisted into an expression that blatantly said ‘whatever’ as I continued searching, “That can’t be helped. Besides, I’m still passing all my classes, but I’m sure you know that as well, Miss Kaichou.”

“Well, it is part of my job to keep up with the students, but even if it were not, I would still keep a close eye on you.”

I ignored Shizuru’s teasing for the moment as the screen I’d been diligently looking for finally popped up displaying the information that I had been seeking.

“Mmh…so it is true…” I mumbled, quickly scanning it over.

I noticed my crimson-eyed friend nonchalantly lean over to try to sneak a peek at what I was reading, but having received the information I needed, I quickly closed the window, the screen returning to the desktop. Shizuru squinted her eyes at me, but I pretended not to notice.

“Alright, well, I’m off. Sorry to bother you.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that it’s not any trouble?”

“We’ll see how long that lasts,” I quickly responded with a smirk as I walked out the door.

Making my way out of the building, I headed to the back of the school where a certain teacher liked to keep his private garden. I had confirmed that a young girl was indeed transferring to the Fuuka middle school, now I needed to see if she was a Hime or not.

I quietly slipped into my usual place, leaning against a nearby tree, while remaining out of sight, “So there’s one being transferred here, huh?”

I heard Sakomizu make a small guttural noise before he spoke, “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

A defeated sigh, “That was faster than I expected…not bad Kuga-san.”

So she is a Hime…

“Your people must be getting lazy, either that or there are more snitches like yourself out there. Although I doubt too many of them have afros…”

The man coughed at my last statement causing me to smirk before I continued, “So, are we doing this the easy way, or the hard way?”

“That depends on what you’re wanting to know.”

“When is this Minagi Mikoto supposed to be arriving? And how?” I bluntly questioned.

“Do you plan to prevent her from coming here?”

I shrugged despite the fact that he couldn’t see the action, “Who knows.”

There was a deadly silence that followed, and I could practically hear the gears in his head turning, but eventually Sakomizu spoke.

“May 2nd…she should be arriving from the mainland to the school grounds by car around three o’clock if everything proceeds smoothly.”

“I see…”

“You’d better not cause too many problems, Kuga-san,” the man cut me off, “If the higher-ups ever find out…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re dead. Don’t worry.”

“You make it sound like my life is nothing important….”

“Maybe it isn’t,” I concluded as I ran off into the woods to find my bike.

On my way, I whipped out my cell, quickly flipping it open before I dialed.

“Yamada. It’s me. Meet at the usual in twenty minutes, I’m going to need your help…”

“Yes. The number’s the same too. There’s no doubt.”

Several days had passed since I had confirmed the arrival of what I believed to be another Hime to Fuuka Academy. Now I was currently clad in my biker suit standing on the massive bridge that connected the area to the mainland, Yamada beside me looking through his binoculars, both of us watching the car that was slowly approaching us.

As I remained staring, the man pulled his binoculars away and turned to me before continuing, “Are you really going to do this? Either way you turn it, it’s still a crime.”

“Who cares. I’m not paying you to be my babysitter, Yamada. Go on as planned,” I curtly answered.

“Alright…Remind me never to piss you off,” came the reply laced with a little sarcasm.

“Speaking of, I’ll be rather upset if you or your man messes this up,” I retorted, finally breaking my gaze from the car to stride over to my bike.

Yamada raised his hands defensively before his phone began to ring. He retrieved the object from one of his vest pockets and placed it to his ear, mumbling a few understandings before hanging up, “We’ve completed re-routing all other cars. There’s no obstacle for around three hundred meters.”

“Understood.”

Straddling my magnificent vehicle, I twisted the accelerator and my bike jumped to life with a loud roar before I took off. As I sped closer and closer, I took over the steering with my right hand as I materialized my element in my left. For most people this stunt would have been quite impossible, but you have to understand that since my awakening I had participated in more battles than I could remember. They kept piling up, and as a result, my abilities became more and more refined. The gun in my hand right now, it felt like an extension of my own body, and because of this I was able to hit my targets with pinpoint accuracy…even when driving my motorcycle at full speed.

This might be a gamble, but here goes nothing.

The car passed by.

I pulled the trigger.

Hot metal shredded through rubber causing a loud popping sound that was heard over both engines before the car skidded, slipped onto its side, and eventually came to a rest several meters away. The sound of screeching tires erupted as I quickly whipped my bike around. I placed my feet on the ground as I stared at the overturned car. Numerous seconds ticked by before I detected movement, and sure enough, a small figure slowly emerged from the wreckage.

Blue sailor suit. Definitely a student…Minagi Mikoto perhaps? And maybe a Hime as well…

That premonition was instantly turned into a cold hard fact. The small girl, although frail in stature, was gripping a sword that, including the hilt, is taller than she was. But not only that, there also seemed to be a lust for battle in her eyes.

Awakened already?! Sakomizu seems to have forgotten to mention that…

I clicked my tongue as an amused little smile graced my face.

Too late to turn back now.

I raised my gun at the girl before me, choosing not to summon the other for the time being as we stood staring at each other in complete silence, her golden eyes meeting mine without any fear.

“Minagi Mikoto I presume?”

The messy haired girl chose to just snarl at me for a reply.

“I know that you’re being transferred to Fuuka Academy. I’m here to prevent that from happening. It’s for your best—!“

Before I could finish, I was quickly cut off, and I mean literally cut off, by the girl charging at me, aiming her giant sword at my skull. I barely rolled out of the way just in the nick of time, but I think she might have managed to steal a few of my hairs with the strike.

Damn! That thing doesn’t even slow her down!

“Stop it! I don’t want to fight you!”

There was no point in trying to talk. The girl spun around, dragging the sword in a circle before she abruptly stopped and planted the thing into the ground with little effort. I heard the concrete crack, but I was too preoccupied by the large spikes that were rapidly erupting towards me in succession. I dodged them for the most part, but a few of them did knock into me. I somehow managed to stay upright despite the blows, but my assailant was quick to counterattack. The girl wildly lunged at me, bloodlust in her eyes. I tried to steer clear, but the end of her blade managed to catch my arm. I hiss as the leather of my suit and the tissue beneath slit open, red liquid spraying from the gash. To buy myself some time, I fired off a round of energy blasts in her direction, however, Minagi displayed here inhuman agility yet again as she jumped away from all of my attempts, even with the large weapon still in her hands.

This is my chance!

Charging towards the girl, I summoned my second gun into my right hand, rapidly firing off rounds from both arms. The girl used her sword as a shield this time, hiding behind its wide blade that provided her good cover, but she also took her eyes off of me in doing so. Once I was close enough, I ceased fire, and in one powerful leap, I launched myself off the ground, kicking the blade with both heels. I landed hard on my stomach, but the sound of a fading scream that reached my ears took my attention away from the pain. I scrambled to the edge of the bridge just in time to see the girl disappear into the deep blue below.

“Tch, damn it…” I cursed, my breathing still quite heavy.

There’s no way that killed her. I know it…Either way I’m going to need a boat…

Reaching for my pocket, I pulled out my cell and dialed Yamada’s number while I hastily walked over to my bike that was now lying on its side.

“She got away from me. Meet at the docks in ten minutes.”

Before he can even begin to reply I hung up, placing my phone back into my pocket before pulling my motorcycle off the ground, jumping on, and zooming off to my proposed destination.

“Good evening, Shizuru-chan.”

I froze, stopping dead in my tracks, turning my head towards the source.

“Is someone there?” I questioned the darkness while maintaining my calm demeanor.

Soon a young boy became visible, a sly gleam in his oddly pink eyes, “Pretty girls really shouldn’t be strolling about by themselves once the sun has gone down.”

I didn’t like the sound of his tone and decided to answer with equal sarcasm, “Neither should little boys. Are you a student here?”

“Now, now, Shizuru-chan, this is about you, not me. But before we get started, how about some proper introductions? I am Homura Nagi, it’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Kaichou.”

The pale-haired boy bowed to me, but I made no move to return the greeting as I remained completely silent. Taking note of my lack of response, he continued, “Shall we get down to the matter at hand?”

Suddenly the boy pointed straight up at the sky. I followed the direction of his gesture with my eyes and was surprised to see a red speck in the sky glowing right beside the moon.

“That is the Hime Star.”

“Hime…star…?

Where did that come from?

“Surely you’ve seen the shape before? The mark on your left side perhaps?”

My mask cracked somewhat as a small gasp slipped passed my lips, my hand immediately covering the aforementioned spot that began to throb in a rhythmic pulse of pain.

Why is it…so warm?

“Ah, so you do know…That is your Hime mark. Only the ones who have a mark like you do can see the Hime Star. Not only that, but only those with the Hime mark are capable of summoning elements.”

“Elements? What are you saying?”

The boy leered at me while waving his fingers, “Your hands are feeling a little…numb, are they not?”

As soon as he said this, I did notice an oddly cold feeling sweeping through my palms. That sensation was quickly replaced with a burning tingling that felt as if someone was lightly pricking my skin with a handful of needles over and over.

“Wha-what…?”

Suddenly, an inhuman cry burst from behind me. I jerked my body around to see a shadow creature hovering before me, a single pair of golden eyes meeting my own, staring me down. Those two eyes quickly multiplied to four, six, eight…twelve in all as what appears to be serpent-like tentacles spread out from the main body of the monster. Another larger set of golden eyes opened further back in the distance making fourteen in all.

“You’d better hurry, Shizuru-chan. Summon your element, just concentrate.”

Feeling like I had no other choice, I followed Nagi’s instructions, setting my mind on the warmth in the center of my palms. It began to grow as I concentrated further, and moments later a bright light erupted. Cool metal materialized in my hands, and I gripped onto the pole that shot out in either direction. The light of the moon gleamed off the blade that formed at one of its ends.

A naginata?!

“Wooh…good job, Shizuru-chan. Here they come!”

Snapping my gaze from the weapon that has just appeared in my hands, I watched as the serpent like bodies wavered back and forth, thin tongues tasting the night air, before they all at once came striking toward me at full speed.

And oddly enough, I was not the least bit afraid.

Time seemed to slow as I closed my eyes. My grip on the weapon tightened as some unknown voice inside of me told me there is more to the object I was holding than meets the eye. I slid my right hand down the pole closer to the blade, holding the naginata the proper way, the way I had been taught when I was younger. The memories of those lessons flooded my mind.

Downward slash across the body. Back. Snap the wrist.

The sound like a chain being rapidly unfurled echoed in my ears followed by the clanking of metal against metal. The creature released another cry, one more out of shock than pain. Opening my eyes, I see the whip that had extended from the blade of my naginata and was now wrapped around the necks off all six snakes, drawing them together in a tangled mess. I jerked the weapon towards me, tightening the grip on the serpents that hiss their discontent.

“Amazing! And it’s your first time too, you truly are amazing, Shizuru-chan!” Nagi proclaimed as he miraculously appeared in one of the nearby trees.

Ignoring the boy, I continued to stare at the monster in my captivity, my body shifting slightly as the things squirmed in an attempt to break free.

“This is your child, Kiyohime. No matter what your goal is, this child will become a strong ally, but keep in mind that if you do decide to accept her that you must wager your most precious thing in return.”

My life…for this creature? You could be useful though…

Keeping a steady grip on my weapon, I began to advance closer to the shadow-creature. When I was close enough, I pulled my weapon back, forcing the snakes down to my eye level.

Crimson met amber before I spoke, my tone quiet and deathly serious, “We only have one purpose…and that is to protect Natsuki. Do you understand?”

All six serpents hissed in unison, and in turn, I released my hold on them, the whip quickly reforming into the blade at the end of my naginata.

“Good. You and I, we work together now…Kiyohime.”

As the snakes formed a circle around me with their bodies, a bright light beamed from the ground beneath us. I blocked my eyes with my arm, and once it had faded back to darkness, I notice that Kiyohime was no longer a shadow, but instead a deep shade of purple. It also became quite clear that she was some kind of…monster squid, almost resembling a hydra of sorts. One thing for sure, however, was that she was quite massive in size.

“Congratulations, Shizuru-chan.”

Snapping my head around, I whipped my naginata in Nagi’s direction in one fluid motion, the whip extending to wrap around the boy’s small frame several times. He yelped as I pulled tighter, violently yanking him from the tree. I glared down at him with my blood-red orbs as he pulled himself up onto his knees, daring to timidly look up at me.

“Do not call me ‘chan’ anymore.”

“Y-yes…Fujino-san…” the boy weakly replied.

I released him, and he was quick to disappear, mumbling something about ‘powerful’ and ‘scary’ that I couldn’t completely make out.

Turing my attention away from Nagi, one of the serpents approached me, and I stretched out my hand, letting the thing smell me with its tongue before I pet its muzzle.

With you at my side surely…surely I will be able to keep my Natsuki safe.