4Yuzu: Yay we're finally back!
Karin: Why does that sound familiar?
Chizuru: This isn't dead yet?
Tatsuki: You're still here too?
Negi: Why can't you two get along?
(Tatsuki and Chizuru glares at Negi)
Negi (whispers): I was only curious
(Yuzu jumps in front of the three and grins at the crowd)
Yuzu: Let's start
"I want a strawberry shortcake covered in chocolate syrup."
Not sure if she heard right, Yukihime, glanced away from her book and stared at the frowning child. The girl stood in the kitchen, hands on her hips, and was mumbling about sweets of different kinds, none of them healthy. Not that the woman cared, but half of the crap that came out of Yuzu's mouth sounded disastrous. How could anyone think of eating a chocolate cake covered in chocolate sauce, topped with chocolate ice cream, and served with chocolate cookies and brownies without wanting to vomit? All of that was just one meal the girl planned on eating herself yesterday. Did she do it? Yukihime didn't know and she didn't want to find out.
"I think you need to slow down there kid before you make yourself sick." Said Yukihime putting her book down on the table.
"Maybe…" said Yuzu trailing off. "But no. I'm eating my sweets."
Rolling her eyes, Yukihime, shrugged and stood at her full height, glaring down at the girl. To Yuzu's credit, the girl didn't flinch at Yukihime's chilling glare, but she did grow still and fall silent, becoming weary of the older woman.
"I don't really care if you want to kill yourself," said Yukihime and she smiled, an amusing thought hitting her. "Though it would be interesting to see someone dying from eating sweets. I heard it was quite painful."
Shaking her head, Yuzu, puffed out her cheeks and stared at Yukihime, clearly amused.
"Sweets can't kill me, sweets are my friends."
"I don't think you eat friends."
"I'll eat what I want!"
Stomping her foot on the ground, Yuzu, chose to ignore her neighbor to bake. Watching the girl work her magic, Yukihime, wondered how she allowed Isshin Kurosaki to pull her into watching his kid. Oh, right. The man approached her with a goofy smile and pulled her to the side yesterday to talk. Once they were out of sight from the public, Isshin's demeanor shifted slightly. The man's smile relaxed and his eyes grew ever so serious. That look, yes, Yukihime, knew right there that this person was interesting. The man asked her a simple request, one she honestly was not expecting.
"Can you watch Yuzu for a few days? I have business in Odaiba. This shouldn't be a problem for Evangeline McDowell, right?"
To say she was surprised that this man knew who she was an understatement, Yukihime, no, Evangeline was truly baffled. When she asked him in a not so polite manner how he knew her, Isshin, had smiled despite the hold she had on his neck.
"We've crossed paths once before. I'm surprised you don't remember me."
No, Evangeline didn't remember Isshin. However, there was a period of time that she forgot and not by choice. Memories forcefully taken from her by an unknown power and assailant. Thirty years of memories taken. The Blank Period is what she liked to call it. A clue to that time was within her grasp. She needed answers and Isshin would give them to her.
"Alright neighbor. I'll do it, but, I want you to tell me a few things first."
It was not a request, but a subtle demand. In response, Isshin smiled and nodded.
"Sure. I can do that."
After receiving the answers she wanted, Evangeline, did as requested and decided to watch over Yuzu for the few days. This was only the first day and Evangeline was ready to go home. She was bored. Damn she had better things to do than watch some brat eat herself to death. Honestly, it was disgusting to watch. If she cared enough she would put a stop to it, but she didn't and so she did nothing but watch the train wreck.
"What the hell are you doing, Yuzu?"
Shifting her eyes to the owner of the voice, Yukihime, stared at the young woman glaring at Yuzu with her hands on her hips. The woman's only acknowledgement of her was a small glance, because her entire being was focused on Yuzu munching on a brownie dipped in chocolate sauce. The woman, no, the girl's brown eyes stared at the assortment of sweets and junk food scattered around Yuzu and the glare in her eyes worsen.
"Oh I get it. You're eating yourself into an early grave," Stated the girl, Tatsuki Arisawa. "If you plan on dying, don't do it yourself, let me do it."
Before Yuzu could give a proper response, Tatsuki, grabbed the younger girl by her arm and dragged her out the house. Watching them go, Yukihime, sighed and went after them. She did promise to watch the brat after all. A deal was a deal.
Trailing the two, Yukihime listened as Tatsuki berated Yuzu for her stupid behavior and was quite amused to see the younger girl looking guilty. The three eventually reached the park and Tatsuki was done berating Yuzu. The young girl was on the brink of tears, face scrunched up trying her best not to cry and failing. For her part, Tatsuki showed no sympathy for the girl. Yukihime, well, she was trying her best not to smile at Yuzu's plight. Then, without warning, Tatsuki grabbed Yuzu's cheek and pulled.
"Enough with the tears!" Snapped Tatsuki.
Tears stopping almost immediately, Yuzu, hiccuped and rubbed her eyes. Staring the girl down, Tatsuki sighed and pulled Yuzu into a hug.
"It's not that I don't understand why you're doing this, but you need to stop. No one wants to see you like this. I sure as hell know Ichigo would be pissed if he saw you like this. Plus," Tatsuki grabbed Yuzu's butt earning a squeak and a blush from the girl. "I don't think you want to reunite with that idiot being a hundred pounds heavier. Do you feel this? You've gained weight."
Leave it to Tatsuki to say something so ruthless with a straight face. More than anything, Yuzu wanted to drop the moon on the older girl, but she would never do that to Tatsuki. Ever.
"I'm not fat!" said Yuzu in a muffled voice, her face smashed between Tatsuki's breast.
"Sure you're not." Said Tatsuki rolling her eyes.
Clearing her throat, Yukihime, stared at the girls honestly surprised that they forgot she was there. While Yuzu had the decency to blush in embarrassment, Tatsuki stared at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh. You're Yukihime, right? Uncle Isshin told me that you'll be watching Yuzu while he's away. I apologize for not greeting you properly earlier. I'm Tatsuki Arisawa, eighteen years old, college student and currently unemployed. It's a pleasure."
As Tatsuki shook her hand, Yukihime studied the girl closely. The first thing that came to mind was that this child was fearless. No, not fearless, but confident, yes, that sounded better. The girl was not normal and had a power buried deep within her. Whenever she came close to grasping the power with her senses it would slip away as if running. Interesting. The girl's eyes were full of life, and yet, they were guarded. The child was weary of her, good. She had good senses. There was more though. In those brown eyes, Yukihime could pick out specks of gold. Oddly enough the gold in her eyes would overtake the brown as if fighting for dominance. Truly interesting.
"Yukihime, a pleasure indeed. Why are we out here?"
There was no need to play around with children. Tatsuki may have some odd traits, bur she was no Negi Springfield.
"I'm gonna show Yuzu another method of coping. Well, my method for coping with stress," answered Tatsuki. "Yuzu you're going to attack me." Said Tatsuki simply.
Thrown through a loop, Yuzu could only stare at Tatsuki perplexed.
"What?"
Thinking Yuzu was confused about her safety, Tatsuki laughed a little.
"Don't worry about me. Now attack. Punch or kick me."
Shaking her head, Yukihime, rolled her eyes. This girl was arrogant. She knew what Tatsuki had in mind, but she was going about it wrong. Yuzu wasn't confused about hurting Tatsuki. No, she was confused about why Tatsuki wanted to be attacked by her. As if realizing this, Tatsuki blushed a little and rubbed the back of her head.
"Right. Maybe I should explain myself, " said Tatsuki and Yuzu nodded silently. "Listen up. When I'm stressed, I have to hit something, anything. When I don't do that, I train out here in the park. That's what we're gonna be doing," Yuzu opened her mouth to decline when Tatsuki held up her hand stopping her. "I don't want to hear anything come out that mouth of yours. You had your chance to cope and you ruined it with your self-destructive behavior. Uncle already told me everything that's going on and so I'll be helping you out. We're doing this, now!"
A sigh escaped Yukihime and she took a seat under the tree to watch. This should be somewhat entertaining. If its not, then she'll go to sleep. It was nice and sunny after all. The shade was cool and it felt great. The perfect conditions to sleep outside. It was nice being free.
XxXxXxXxXx
"You were my brother's classmate. Chizuru Honsho, right?"
Karin Kurosaki, sat on a log eating an apple when Chizuru showed up. Master Aoyama sat with Setsuna watching the girl silently, hands on their swords, ready to strike Chizuru down at any moment.
"Yeah that's me. The Great Chizuru at your service," said Chizuru with no enthusiasm. "Sorry about barging up here like this, but," Chizuru had no real plan, and decided to wing it. "Let's have a battle. I need to see how strong you are." Said Chizuru truthfully.
For a moment nothing was said. Then, Karin smiled and stood, looking very happy.
"Sounds like this would be a good way to earn some EXP." Said Karin grabbing her sword from the ground.
"Seems like you're fired up." Observed Chizuru.
"Of course! I've been itching to fight someone without having to plot murder in order to do so." Explained Karin gleefully.
Confused, but openly questioning Karin's words, Chizuru smiled. This made things easy. Maybe she could use the same approach on Evangeline. However, there was a small problem.
"Umm?" said Chizuru unsure staring at the tip of the blade positioned at her neck by Setsuna.
The tip of the blade inched closer to Chizuru's neck and Setsuna responded.
"Who are you and why do you want to battle Karin?"
Outraged that Setsuna would step in when she wasn't wanted or needed, Karin snapped at her. There was no was Setsuna was going to take this fight from her.
"Stay out of this! You have no right to interfere. You don't want to cross swords with me, fine, but don't you dare try to stop me from fighting someone who will. I'll get stronger without your help!"
The sword is removed by Master Aoyama.
"Leave her be, Setsuna." Said Master Aoyama.
"But." Started Setsuna but cut herself off when Master Aoyama glared at her. Knowing when to call it quits, Setsuna backed off and watched the battle unfold in silence.
Before the fight started, Master Aoyama gave the two girls a stern warning.
"If I deem this match too dangerous," Master Aoyama smiled coldly and then continued. "I will stop it at once."
Giving the woman a startled stare, Chizuru nodded. In truth she would rather not kill Karin Kurosaki. If she did, it wouldn't be by choice. One of the traits of being the Red Princess is her lust for blood and battle. Long periods of battle was no good for her. Seeing too much blood in a fight was also a big no. Unfortunately every fight she's been in have been dangerous and not for her. The last thing she needed was to kill a little girl. No, that wasn't quite right. The last thing she needed was too kill Ichigo Kurosaki's baby sister.
"Fair enough. I'll be counting on you then, Motoko Aoyama." Said Chizuru.
Not surprised that the girl knew her name, Motoko, sat on the ground beside Setsuna and the black cat that sat next to her, and then started the match with a simple begin.
Rushing Chizuru with her practice sword, Karin twisted her body and swung her sword aiming to decapitate the older woman. This was not meant to be however. The sword was caught by one hand. The wooden sword cracked in Chizuru's grip. Not letting go of her sword, Karin lifted her body and kicked Chizuru in the face forcing her to release the sword. Karin continued with her relentless attack once her weapon was free. All of her attacks were fast and piercing, all aimed for the vitals. None of her attacks connected. Using the most subtle of movements, Chizuru avoided all of Karin's attacks. One swing in particular came quite close to cutting Chizuru's cheek, but that too was avoided. Hand shooting up, Chizuru caught the blade once more and squeezed again. The wooden sword cracked further from the intense grip. Blood trickled down the blade and Chizuru's pupils shrunk at the sight. Blue energy surged from the sword and then exploded, launching Chizuru back. As she flew back, a small smile graced Chizuru's face. Red energy licked her skin and she licked her lips. Righting her body with a flip, Chizuru landed on the ground and then vanished the moment she took a step forward. Unaware where Chizuru went, Karin glanced around wildly to find the woman. Chizuru was gone.
"Where the hell did you go?" shouted Karin frustrated.
Answering the call, Chizuru reappeared in front of Karin with her palm inches from her face. A small gasped is all Karin could do in response before she is struck and sent back a few feet. Red slowly formed in Chizuru's eyes as she grabbed Karin's outstretched arm and yanked her back towards her. Her knee shot up and dug into Karin's stomach. Saliva shot out of Karin's mouth and all the air in her lungs followed suit. She dropped to her knees and tried to regain the air she lost. The Red Princess would have none of that. With a cold smile, she grabbed Karin by her hair and lifted her so they were eye level.
"You're lacking Karin Kurosaki. It's still too early for you."
Having said her piece, Chizuru released Karin and allowed her to fall. When the girl was moments from touching the ground, Chizuru lifted her right leg so high she did a standing split and then stomped Karin's head into the ground. The ground cracked and split open on impact. Unconscious, Karin was unaware of the praises her Master said of her or how angry Setsuna was at Chizuru for what she did to her. All Karin would know when she awakened is that she lost and she had to get stronger.
XxXxXxXxXx
"That was exhausting."
Negi did not know why Ayaka and the Moon Princess were at odds with each other, but it was making things quite difficult for him. The young mage sighed in his hands, exhausted and irritated. Why is everyone against him? Why was Iincho being so antagonistic towards the Moon Princess? There was no doubt in Negi's mind that Ayaka knew the Moon Princess. However, the blonde with the odango hair style did not seem to recognize his friend and that really pissed Ayaka off. Things became worst once this became apparent to Ayaka.
"Oh my Odango-sama. If you continue frowning like that you'll get wrinkles and your sickly white sick will become worst." Said Ayaka with a friendly smile.
Having lost all professionalism days earlier, the Moon Princess snapped back with a twitching eye.
"You should start sleeping more. Those bags under your eyes are looking pretty heavy. You'll be single all your life at this rate and the little boys you like so much will rub that much farther from you." Said the Moon Princess giving Ayaka a strained smile.
Heading hitting the table with a loud thump, Negi groaned. Sitting by their princess's side. The Bodyguards gave the boy a pitying look. It was a shame that the meeting had ended up like this again.
"Princess, maybe we should actually proceed with the meeting." Said the woman who could be mistaken for a princess.
Hearing this Negi raised his head and gave them a hopeful stare. The look almost made the woman's heart melt. The boy was so adorable. She giggled a little at his stare and her girlfriend hid a small smile at his stare. As for the Princess, she gave her friend a side glance and responded accordingly.
"The meeting has already started. I won't lose to this bit." Said the Moon Princess, but she was cut off by the masculine looking woman who gave her a thump to the back of her head.
"Princess." Warned the woman.
Flinching at the hit and her friend's tone, the Moon Princess looked guilty.
"Sorry, Haruka-san."
The guilty face made Ayaka smile and she couldn't resist one last shot.
"You look like a kicked puppy, Odango-sama." Said Ayaka gleefully.
Face turning red, the Moon Princess, glared at Ayaka and another wave of insults were thrown across the table. The table went thump again when Negi's head impacted it. Laughing a little, Asuna, rubbed Negi's shoulder and gave Mana a look. In response, Mana shrugged and smiled, not planning on helping until Negi askes for it. Kaede (18), for her part only smiled and gave Ayaka a small nod.
"Hang in there, de gozaru."
How the hell was she supposed to hang in there in this kind of atmosphere? Don't ask for the impossible Kaede! Is what Asuna wanted to say, but she didn't. No, instead she addressed the two idiots throwing insults at each other.
First was Ayaka, the damn shotacon.
"That's enough Ayaka!" shouted Asuna slamming her hands on the table silencing the room. "Cut the crap! We're here for a reason. If you want to play your little games, do it later! This is important. Remember why we're doing this you damn, shotacon!"
Second was the Moon Princess.
"And you! You're a Princess on an important meeting. Why are you letting this idiot rile you up? Any problems you have with her should be done behind closed doors. For days we have met and for days we have accomplished nothing. This is unacceptable!"
Ignoring the Moon Princess's stun expression, Asuna whirled on Negi and her tone softened but there was still a sharp edge present.
"Negi. You have something to fight for. This is something you believe in and you're just going to let them run rampant like this? Have more pride than this. Take control of the situation. If you don't, then what's the point of all of this? Now raise your head and do what needs to be done."
Having said her piece, Asuna sat down with a huff. All eyes were on the annoyed woman, but she didn't acknowledge them. Not that she noticed, but during her rant a strange aura released from Asuna and spread across the room. It was an aura Haruka and her lover, Michiru, knew all too well. They were in the presence of royalty. The Moon Princess, Usagi, realized this as well and was slightly ashamed from her behavior. Smiling, Negi nodded at Asuna and stood. She was right and that didn't happen often.
"Thank you. Asuna-san," said Negi and he took a deep breath to calm down. After a moment, he steeled himself and continued, the air around him shifting drastically. Eyes cold, he spoke, and the room was engulfed in a deadly silence. Usagi sat still, a white energy sparking from her body. Danger, her entire being screamed danger. This was not the same child from a few minutes ago. No, this was the man threatening to reveal magic to the world. Smiling coldly, Usagi reeled in a portion of her power, and allowed the rest to spread across the room like a blanket. She would not be intimidated by a child, albeit a powerful one. On her forehead the crescent moon flared to life and shined brightly. For a moment Usagi's form shifted and Princess Serenity sat in her place, wearing her royal white gown. The form was gone as quickly as it appeared. The startled, almost frightened looks of those in the room who felt her true power was enough to make Usagi giggle. The look of barely hidden fear on Ayaka's face made her smile widen.
"You have my full attention, Negi Springfield. State your case."
Let the meeting begin.
Yuzu: Finally something!
Karin: I got destroyed
Chizuru (laughs): Yea you did
(Karin glares at Chizuru)
Karin: Shut up!
Tatsuki: Lines! I finally got lines!
(Rolling her eyes, Yoruichi smiled at the camera)
Yoruichi: Welcome back and we'll see you again soon
Negi (smiles brightly): Expect more excitement next chapter! Master vs Chizuru? Sounds exciting!
