Minato sighed breathlessly as the shining dewdrop fall of moonlight
sauntered onto her delicately crafted skin. With an unhappy sigh, she
twisted her body around on her bed, and tried to think nicer, happier
thoughts. Ever since she had found out about Natsumi’s...inclination
in the CBL-SBA war, things had been difficult for Minato. For one
thing she couldn’t sleep. Images of Natsumi’s deity-like beauty would
just pop into her blonde head if she did. But the most important thing
was Rinako. How was she going to react to this?
Rinako hated all Spring Breeze Assassins, especially Ayane. It had
been that way ever since she had become leader of the Cross Blade
Lancers. Time after time, Rinako had warned her sister to stay away
from them. Even though Minato didn’t want to insult or hurt Rinako,
Natsumi wasn’t the kind of person you could just walk away from. For
some strange reason, Minato could not stop thing about this new girl.
But maybe Minato was reading way too much into this. The wink that
Natsumi gave her seemed more playful than flirty. Plus, someone as hot
as she was had to have a ‘special someone’. Minato really couldn’t
picture herself with a woman like that. But the ancient forces of hope
were not lost on our blonde haired heroine. If Rinako could hook in
someone as nice as Keiji, then Minato should be able to get Natsumi on
her arm, right?
But then...that still didn’t answer the question of Rinako...
Minato rolled over and took a gander at her sister, at the other side
of the dorm room. It was one in the morning, so there was no way
Minato could wake Rinako up now. That girl always got cranky if she
didn’t get enough sleep. Still, Minato wondered if Mishizu had told
Rinako about Natsumi yet. Rinako mentioned nothing when she came back
from her sparring session with Mishizu, so Mishizu probably hadn’t
said anything.
{Maybe I should tell Rinako myself...} Minato thought.
**********
Izumi sighed miserably at this situation.
Here she was, in the bathtub, (Each dorm room in Tomeishuu High as an
attached bathroom with a marble bathtub and shower) in the middle of
the night, relenting over her situation with Mishizu.
In a silly way, Izumi felt kinda pathetic. Mishizu was the enemy. She
was the best friend of that loser Rinako. This was not the right time
to be thinking about that girl. Izumi couldn’t stand the way she had
been feeling about Mishizu. Especially in the last few weeks.
{I sick of feeling like this.} Izumi thought. {I wish she would just
buzz off. I was perfectly fine without her in my life. One of these
days, Mishizu...I’ll make you notice me.}
Izumi slouched deeper into the rose scented bubbles sprinkled around
the bath water. That was the thing that Izumi hated most about
Mishizu. That brain box always ignored her. Izumi’s pride just could
not take that. But she could never bring herself to...hurt Mishizu.
Even though she would have wanted to, after all Izumi was a high-class
practitioner of Tai Chi, but she never brought herself to bring any
harm to Mishizu.
A picture of Mishizu’s magnetic beauty came to Izumi’s mind. {God,
she’s beautiful...Mishizu...}
As a slow tear slipped down Izumi’s cheek, a second thought passed
through her mind. {But I...know who she really loves...}
**********
The next morning, Minato woke up slowly, to see Rinako across from
her, smoothing out the skirt of her uniform.
Rinako looked over her shoulder and saw that Minato was awake.
“...Morning Minato. You okay? You slept in. Classes start in a few
minutes.”
Minato leaned up and rubbed her eyes. “Did I miss breakfast?”
“Yeap.” Rinako said, grabbing her book bag. “You’re gonna be hungry,
y’know. You may as well grab a bite to eat before you go to your next
class, Minato.”
Minato sighed. That was exactly what she didn’t need. More lateness.
{Hey wait a minute.} Minato thought. {Why isn’t she saying anything
about Natsumi? I thought that...}
“Rinako, did Mishizu talk to you yesterday?” Minato asked.
The commander of the Cross Blade Lancers took a few of the books on
her nightstand and slotted them into her book bag. “Nah, she said she
needed to study for a bit. Anyways, Minato, I can’t stay, I gotta go
to English class. I’ll catch you later.”
Saying that, Rinako made her way out the door. Minato was shocked. Why
hadn’t Mishizu told Rinako about Natsumi being friends with Ayane?
“Oh well. At least this buys me some time.” Minato said.
The blonde heaved herself out of bed and strolled over to her
wardrobe. If Minato was late again, Kami-sama knows what he would do
about it. Tomeishuu High’s teachers were unnecessarily strict.
**********
Two hours later, while walking though the gigantic courtyard of
Tomeishuu High, Natsumi was struck with a sense of inferiority. This
place was just so big. Ayane offered to show her around, but Natsumi
had said she was fine, and could get around on her own. Now the
priestess regretted turning down Ayane’s offer. This place was so big
that Natsumi felt really intimidated by it.
But then, Natsumi had so much to worry about. Firmly wrapped up in her
pocket was the Shunshibaru crystal. That was Natsumi’s full
responsibility in Tokyo. She had to stick close to Ayane, because of
her immense powers in martial arts. If Aerolust was going to possess
anyone soon, Natsumi had to be there. But that was only half of the
problem. The black haired girl still had to find the Child of the Seal
to actually stop Aerolust. And Natsumi had no idea who that was. That
was the purpose of the Shunshibaru crystal. It could track the Seal
Child down and (hopefully) it could unlock their powers.
Still, Natsumi tried to block out the mission for now. This had been
the dramatic change she had been waiting for. A new scene, a new
agenda. This was it. And Natsumi was going to enjoy it. And with her
sisters and her father taking care of the Yakume shrine, Natsumi
didn’t have to worry about what was going on back home.
{Now...where is room 34B? That’s where my Japanese History class is
so...hey...}
Natsumi’s chestnut eyes brightened as she saw Minato running across
the grounds, just a short distance away from her. The wielder of the
Shunshibaru crystal smiled as she took in this sight. Minato was
really pretty. This was a fact that was not lost on Natsumi.
Natsumi giggled childishly. {That girl is really cute. I wonder what
her name is...? Well...no sense in wondering...}
Natsumi waved her arm to flag down Minato. “Hey! Excuse me!”
Minato’s running pattern slowed to a stop as someone called out to
her. The blonde looked over her shoulder to see Natsumi at a distance
from her.
{That’s...that’s Natsumi...} Minato felt herself swelling with a
newborn pride. {She wants to talk to me?!}
Natsumi quickly jogged over to Minato, smiling brightly. But Minato
was just far too uncomfortable to think straight. Did this girl know
how gorgeous she was?
“Hi...I’m Natsumi.” The dark haired girl said. “We kinda met before.”
Minato gulped, hoping her voice wouldn’t break. “Yeah...yeah we
um...we did. Did...did you want something?”
Natsumi chuckled again. “Yes. But first, I’d kinda like to know your
name.”
“My name? My name is...” Minato was hesitant to speak her name.
Natsumi was new, but she was bound to find out about the CBL-SBA war
eventually. “My name is Minato Ikatsuji.”
{So that’s her name...} Natsumi mused. “Nice to meet you, Minato. I’m
sorry to be a bother but can you help me?”
Minato tightened the grip she had around her book bag. She was playing
with fire by doing this. “Eh...yeah sure.”
“I really don’t know this place that well. My friend Ayane offered to
show me around but I turned her down. Now I’m pretty much lost. Could
you show me to 34B?”
Minato thought for a second. “34B? That’s Japanese History, isn’t it?”
Natsumi nodded. “Uh huh.”
The blonde pointed to the large building on the north side of the
courtyard. “That would be in the humanities department. 34B is in that
building right there, on the second floor. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank you so much.” Natsumi said in earnest. “You’re very helpful,
Minato. I...hope we can be friends.”
Natsumi held out her hand. Minato just stared at Natsumi’s hand
quietly. Could this...go somewhere? Minato gently took Natsumi’s hand
into her own and shook accordingly.
“No...problem. If you need me to show you around the school a little
more, then I’d be happy to do this for you.”
Natsumi let go of Minato’s hand and smiled brightly. “That would be
great. Could you meet me here at lunchtime?”
“Sure.”
Natsumi began to walk back slowly, but not before waving goodbye to
her new friend. “Thanks! I’ll see you later!”
As Natsumi dashed away towards the Humanities department, Minato
blushed furiously as the wind whipped up Natsumi’s skirt, giving the
blonde girl a clear view of Natsumi’s creamy thigh.
{Darn it...I hope I know what I’m doing...}
**********
“Ayane...can you tell me something?”
Ayane looked curiously at Natsumi. The two girls were at their
Japanese History class, waiting patiently for their teacher to arrive
and start the session. But Natsumi was slightly distracted from this.
Ayane noticed it. Natsumi was not the type of woman who could get
distracted by something unless it was important.
Ayane was leaning up against the wall with her arms crossed, and
Natsumi was sitting by her desk, with a distant look on her face.
“What is it, Natsumi?” Ayane questioned.
The priestess of the Yakume shrine fiddled with her hands. “Well, have
you heard of a girl called Minato Ikatsuji?”
Ayane’s eyes narrowed. “...Why?”
“Well I just met her and I was wondering if you knew anything about
her. She seems like a wonderful girl to me.”
Ayane seemed dumbfounded. “You’ve spoken to her?!”
“Yeah...” Natsumi edged on caution. “Is that a problem?”
The leader of the Spring Breeze Assassins sighed. Maybe she didn’t
explain the situation enough. It was sort of confusing if you were a
newbie, but Natsumi had to learn these things.
“Look. Natsumi...that girl is as good as a Cross Blade Lancer. She may
not be one of them, but she is the sister of their leader.”
“Who is the leader?” Natsumi asked.
Ayane’s gold tinted eyes took on a drifty distance. “Her name
is...Rinako Ikatsuji. She is that girl’s sister.”
“Her name is Minato.” Natsumi said sharply.
“Listen to me, Natsumi. I’ve told you about the war already, right?
Well Minato is the sister of my enemy. Now that you’ve come to
Tomeishuu, and because you are my friend, you are literally a Spring
Breeze Assassin. That girl is our enemy.”
“But Ayane-“
Natsumi was sharply cut off. “Don’t get involved with her, Natsumi.”
The Shinto priestess dropped the situation quickly. She could tell
that Ayane was serious. As the teacher for the class came in, Ayane
took a seat on the desk next to Natsumi. She didn’t want to be stern,
but Ayane didn’t have much of a choice.
{Just don’t get involved with her, Natsumi.} Ayane thought. {Don’t get
involved with ANY Ikatsuji women.}
**********
Time whizzed by, and before long it was lunchtime. Ayane and Natsumi
left their Japanese History class, making their way over to the lunch
hall. However, Natsumi said that she wasn’t feeling too hungry, and
needed some air. Ayane accepted this and left to go catch up with
Izumi. In truth, Natsumi just had to keep her promise to see Minato at
lunch. Natsumi really didn’t like lying to her friend, but...for some
reason...Natsumi was drawn to Minato.
And it wasn’t just because she was cute...it was more than that.
Natsumi just couldn’t explain why, but something was pulling her to
Minato.
Natsumi just had to see her.
As they agreed, they would meet at the courtyard at lunchtime, so
Natsumi dashed to meet up with the blonde. Sure enough, Minato was
there, waiting.
Natsumi slowed down as she saw Minato across the courtyard and walked
slowly towards the girl. The last thing that Natsumi wanted to do was
to look eager.
Minato turned around to see Natsumi again. “Hey.”
Natsumi stopped walking as she reached Minato. “Hi...”
The two girls both smiled nervously before they continued. Was this
how it was going to be?
“Um...Minato...” Natsumi started. “Ayane says that...your sister is
the leader of the Cross Blade Lancers.”
Uh oh. Minato was afraid of this. Even Ayane was objecting to the two
being friends. This situation seemed to get more complicated by the
second. “Yeah...That’s true. My sister Rinako runs the gang. But I’m
not one of the Cross Blade Lancers.” Minato stressed this. “I’m not
one of them.”
Weird. Natsumi felt something close to relief. But why should she?
Ayane was not her boss. Natsumi was not a Spring Breeze Assassin
either. If she wanted to get to know Minato better, who the heck had a
right to stop her?
Natsumi grinned defiantly and stepped closer to Minato. “You know
what? I don’t think we should bother with all that. You’re one of my
first friends since I’ve come to Tomeishuu. I’m willing to ignore them
if you are!”
Minato smiled, a small blush tinting her cheeks. “Natsumi...”
“Come on!” The dark haired girl said. “What’s wrong with two friends
getting to talk to one and other, eh?”
Minato didn’t want to disappoint Rinako, but... “You’re right. You
still want me to show you around the school?” She asked.
Natsumi nodded cheerfully. “Of course.”
**********
“So anyways, Keiji bought me some flowers, right? And I was like, so
shocked! He is just so ultra sweet it scares me even more. If all men
were like him...well...most men are like punching bags. Brainless,
durable, and a hell of a lot of fun to hit.”
Mishizu sighed. “But not Keiji, right?”
“You got it!” Rinako said cheerfully. “I feel like I’ve kinda been
neglecting him though. I wish I had more time, but...”
Mishizu tried to drift away as Rinako went on another one of her rant
about the ‘wonderful God’ that was Keiji. For someone as skilled as
Rinako was, she could be extremely blind to the obvious. And although
she felt no ill will towards Keiji...Mishizu still did not like to
talk about him. That fool wasn’t smart enough to know how lucky he was
to have a woman like Rinako. Or smart enough to realize how many
people would die to be in his position.
The two girls sat at their usual lunch table, surrounded by the loud
nattering of the other girls, chattering away whilst eating. Rinako
and Mishizu were with a few other Cross Blade Lancers, and the leader
stop talking enough to see the downcast look on Mishizu’s face.
“What’s up, Mishizu? You’re kinda quiet today, even for you. Is
something wrong?” Rinako asked tenderly.
Mishizu stared blankly at Rinako, mindlessly playing with the food on
her plate with her fork. “I am fine...”
Rinako put down her fork. “You don’t sound it...”
“Well...I just...my sister Mizuka is hopelessly in love with a young
man called Akira and...”
“...And?”
Mishizu put down her fork. “And...she should know that the world does
not revolve around him. There are other people who deserve her love.
Maybe even more than he does. But she still rabbits on and on about
the guy, like he was Heng T’seng* or something.”
Rinako was clueless to the subtext of Mishizu’s story. “Well...have
you tried telling her that she should ease off the guy? Maybe that’ll
slap some sense into her.”
Mishizu’s eyes rolled. “I do not think she understands.”
“Well she’s happy, right?” Rinako asked. “That’s what counts in the
long run. Is she happy?”
Mishizu stared sternly at Rinako. “Maybe. Or maybe she just believes
herself to be.”
The leader of the Cross Blade Lancers was still unaware of the true
meaning of this discussion. “Well do what’s best for Mizuka, Mishizu.
If she likes the guy, let her like him. Besides, it’s kinda her
business if she wants to see the guy or not.”
Rinako took on a devious smile as she added, “Unless you want him for
yourself...”
The feeling that passed through Mishizu at that comment was a sharp
cross between anger and frustration. Was Rinako so blind that she
couldn’t see how much Mishizu...?
Maybe Izumi was right...
The aquamarine haired fighter stood up from her seat and begun to walk
away. “I need some air.”
Needless to say, Rinako was confused. In a second, Rinako nudged the
girl to her left, another member of the CBL.
“What is up with Mishizu?” Rinako asked. “She’s been in a bad mood
ever since last Friday.”
The CBL girl shrugged. “I dunno either. I know that she had a little
run in with Izumi, but aside from that...”
Rinako’s eyes narrowed. She had never liked Izumi. That girl just
seemed to take pleasure in bothering Mishizu. “Izumi’s been hassling
Mishizu? I’ll pound that little gnat! Why didn’t Mishizu tell me?”
“She didn’t fight with Izumi, they just had a few words, that’s all.”
Rinako was not satiated with that though. She could not stand it when
one of Ayane’s thugs laid a hand on one of her angels. Rinako couldn’t
tolerate it. “I better catch up with her.”
The amethyst haired leader rose from her seat and dashed over to the
doors. Maybe she could cheer Mishizu up a little. Rinako passed
through the double doors of the lunch hall and looked around the
corridor for Mishizu. No sign of her. But then, Rinako’s honey brown
eyes froze in anger, as they caught sight of another.
Ayane.
With that same look of indifferent superiority, Ayane was leaning
against the far wall, her arms crossed and her eyes shut. But they
slowly opened up to see Rinako, piercing her with dark stares.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Ayane asked sharply. “Did you lose
something? Or are you looking for a battle?”
“You’re full of such crap, Ayane.” Rinako seethed. “Why don’t you
crawl back under the rock you came out of?”
Ayane chuckled. “Sorry. I cannot go until the Cross Blade Lancers go
with me. It is the will of God to decide the road that the fighter
will take. But some of us are in tune with ourselves enough to know
our true purpose. That is the true strength of Rai shou en ken.”
Rinako scowled at her rival. “You’re full of it! Cut the phoney
philosophy. I don’t have any time for you.”
Rinako turned to walk away from her rival, an air of hostility
surrounding her. Yet still Ayane called out to the CBL leader.
“I will pay you back for that defeat, Rinako.” Ayane said coolly.
Rinako continued to walk away, not bothering to look over her
shoulder, but an amused smiled crossed her lips.
“...And I’ll wait for the challenge.” Rinako quipped arrogantly.
**********
Kaiser’s Afterthoughts
----------------------
* Sorry this took so long. I’ve been busy with Darkest Body, Brightest
Soul, my sociology coursework, GGX2, and other things. I swear more
will come soon.
* I mentioned at some point of a character called Heng T’seng. He is
the world champion of martial arts in another story of mine called Way
of the Dragon. Rival Rage has little to do with Way of the Dragon, but
it does exist within the Way of the Dragon storyline.
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