Hanabi Nakamura prides herself on many things.
As the sole successor of the Nakamura School of Swordsmanship, she was trained in the art of Kenjutsu ever since she was five, honing such craft to perfection until such time that all of her sword techniques are shown to be both flawless and impeccable.
Because of this fact, many adore her beauty and talent. Whenever she is seen anywhere at the academy, her fan-girls could not help but worship the ground that she walks on as they scream in girlish affection to their revered idol.
She was also regarded by many as being level-headed, calm, and an especially meticulous individual. Every detail, every action, and every aspect of what she does, even in the smallest of things, she takes them sincerely into account.
This is why in this very scenario, she was shown to be frustrated as evident by the sullen look on her beautiful face, her direction going back to the Dojo that she and her faithful practitioners have trained about an hour and a half ago.
'I can't believe this.' Hanabi thought with a sour look while walking at the streets of the Academy at night. 'Forgetting my phone at the Dojo's locker room... Unbelievable.'
Shaking such unpleasant thoughts, The girl with the pony-tail finally arrived at the place and the first thing that she notices is that the lights are still turned on inside.
'Is someone still training? No that can't be, it is already past 7 pm, an hour before the curfew, and no one would risk violating such strict law.'
Her eyes widen a bit as she recalled a blue-haired girl accompanying Piper during their practice.
'Ah, I see. I believe the girl that Piper hired is still cleaning our Dojo. The place is quite enormous after all.' Hanabi nodded at her own judgment and proceeded to enter the place.
Stepping foot inside, the girl could not help but look in amazement, her mouth so wide open that you can stuff three eggs in it at what greeted her sight.
The windows shimmer with the moonlight, not even a speck of dirt present in the glass. The walls share the same state of neatness, everything polished to outstanding excellence. Not to mention the floor, mopped and waxed to extreme dedication!!!
To be honest, she felt very sorry for stepping at the said floor, not even daring to tarnish such brilliance.
'Impressive. This girl sure knows how to clean. Windows are thoroughly wiped and shined, walls and corners showing no more signs of dust. The floor, oh my goodness. Just... simply remarkable. I should perhaps consult with Piper into permanently hiring her.'
As she further entered the Dojo, she heard the sound of violent winds, accompanied by the fierce blows that she is all too familiar with.
'That sound.' Her eyes widen, face turning serious. 'It's no mistake.'
In all her years of training inside the Family Dojo, she is accustomed to the sight of swords clashing with one another as practitioners forced one another to yield in an honorable manner.
And no, the Nakamura School of Swordsmanship is no mere sport, not Kendo, not Fencing, not even close...
It is their way of life, rooted back from the past dated five centuries ago when the first Nakamura rose from poverty and brandished the first sword against his corrupt lord.
But now these days, where martial arts is now regarded as a sport, adjusting to the system is inevitable.
It is of no surprise when Hanabi reacted to that sound, the sound that she has been hearing always for every day of her life ever since she was a toddler.
The sound of the wind dashing forth through the heavens, with the force that could shatter a will and conquer oneself.
The sound of a-
-Sword blow.
And not just any ordinary sword blow though.
From the powerful sound that it has been emitting, the fierceness that compliments with it, it is of no jest that it comes from an experienced master swordsman who honed his or her craft to perfection.
Hanabi found herself approaching the source of the sound as she peered from the corner. What she found definitely exceeded her expectations.
Such talent, such execution, such brilliance...
All of this coming from a short blue-haired girl as Hanabi eyed the girl's every perfect movement with a meticulous gaze.
'That girl, she's the one who accompanied Piper earlier... that stance, her every being is the very definition of calm like the tranquil flow of a serene current. Then as she wills it, she releases it like a raging tsunami, ready to vanquish anything or anyone foolish enough to step within its vicinity. Why have I never seen her in competitions? with a prodigious talent like her, she would definitely give me a run for my money!!!'
Lost at her thoughts, Hanabi failed to notice a mop that has been set aside beside her. As she moved to get a clearer view of the mysterious blue-haired enigma, the object mentioned stumbled, causing a ringing sound enough for the blue-haired girl to halt her actions and looked at the source.
Eyes now are drawn at one another, the blue-haired girl's eyes widen with astonishment at the sudden appearance of her hidden spectator.
'Such prodigy, such peerless talent... I must see where I stand against this!!!'
With a challenging look, Hanabi Nakamura unsheathed her shinai and pointed straight at her.
"Fight me."
__________________________
Inside the B.S.S. Dawn Branch Wardrobe room, we find a certain Chameleon staring into thin air, her aloof face expressing boredom.
Chameleon yawned as her face leaned on her hands at the make-up desk, her pretty face demonstrating a frown as it reflects inside the mirror.
"So bored ugh!!!" The dual-colored-hair girl pouted, frustrated at the fact that she was not assigned an assignment.
"I'm the Brotherhood's renowned Chameleon for crying out loud!!! The Mistress of Disguise, The Trickster Maiden, The Daughter of Guile and yet, Boss thinks that it is a good idea to assign me here at the Wardrobe room to accommodate my fellow Agents with their disguises in their missions? Fuck that!!! I'm also a true Brotherhood born Agent, just like Ant. Oh I'll show you, Boss, I'll show you that I-"
"Show me what?"
On cue, a stoic faced Lucia appeared behind Chameleon as the latter's emerald-colored eyes expand in horror.
"-am very satisfied with my job here!!! So delighted to see you, Boss!!!" Chameleon gave a nervous smile as she turned her back to meet the blonde head of the B.S.S. Dawn Branch who looks merely unimpressed.
"I see, and the evident usage of a foul word says so otherwise." Lucia responded and crossed her arms.
A gulp was heard from Chameleon.
Lucia shook her head and sighed "Whatever, although it seems that your wish might just come true."
"Really?!!" Chameleon's eyes spark with anticipation.
Lucia nodded "Yes, in fact, Spider is returning in a few days. Since she came from a long-term dangerous assignment, I might as well let her take over your job to at least allow her some time off from danger."
Chameleon's grin turns wider "Spider, oh yes!!! She too shows some expertise in regards to the subject of disguise and impersonification. Well not as brilliant as me of course but I have to admit, she shows promise!!"
Then Chameleon raised her fist into the air with joy.
"Dangerous, life-risking missions, Chameleon is back and ready to storm some criminal bitch-asses!!!!!"
Lucia just stared at the cheerful Agent apathetically as the former's mind wandered to her blue-haired protege.
'I wonder what Ant is up to.'
__________________________
Rin Grayson is so not having his day.... night right now.
And no, it's not because of his strange desire to sneeze at this very moment.
"Fight me!!!" Hanabi Nakamura, the beautiful mature beauty right in front of him eyed him suspiciously, her sights all over him.
To his credit, Rin shows no signs of panic, his years in the Agency eliminated such liability.
"Look uh miss..."
"Nakamura, Nakamura Hanabi." The beauty introduced herself with her surname first, as befitted by her Japanese lineage.
"Right, Miss Nakamura. I'm still not done with the cleaning and its already 7:20 pm. Curfew starts in 40 minutes so I'm kind of in a hurry." Rin answered as he eyed the mop that was stumbled in the corner.
Hanabi eyed amusingly in response, her posture unchanging. "Really? and yet you still had the time to show off such graceful executions."
Rin flinched in retaliation as Hanabi smiled at her clear reaction.
Then she declared "Very well as Captain of the Club, I hereby deemed the Dojo beyond satisfactory clean. By the way, I salute you for that miss..."
Rin gritted his teeth as he rolled his eyes in sarcasm 'Damn she got me there. Way to go oh tactical Agent.'
"Rina, Rina Mayfield." Rin gave his female name to the Kendo Practitioner.
"Rina Mayfield... I'll remember that." Hanabi nodded as she marked the name on her very mind.
Rin smiled sheepishly "So I'm done here right?"
Hanabi immediately reacted "No, I truly want to challenge you in a duel Ms. Mayfield."
The blue-haired boy-girl answered "But the time, the time is..."
"Not of the essence. The dorms are only 5 minutes away. I say 10 or maybe 15 minutes is the perfect time to test our mettle against one another. So we would not be late for the curfew Ms. Mayfield." Hanabi cut Rin off as she reasoned logically.
Rin chuckled nervously "Ehehehe but I know nothing about Kendo Ms. Nakamura, so I'm not sure if I can give you a good fight."
In a blink of an eye, Hanabi seemed to disappear within Rin's sights as he caught a silhouette of the former charging at him with her shinai on hand.
Reflexes kicking in naturally like breathing, Rin manages to block the incoming attack, the two shinais now pressing against one another in a fight of supremacy.
"Hey, that was foul." Rin answered accusingly, his voice showing a bit of anger.
"I have faith that you can block it, Ms. Mayfield, just as I predicted and most of the time, my predictions come true, especially in battle." Hanabi replied as she smiled in satisfaction. "You think that my swordplay is only limited to the rules of Kendo? It seems that you are underestimating me, Ms. Mayfield."
"No, I did not mean to." Rin replied and slashed his way out of the blade struggle, effectively releasing both of them as they retreated a few steps away from one another.
"Your sword arm is strong. Most of my opponents would yield but you..." Hanabi eyed the boy in wonder.
'Yeah, most of your opponents as you call it are just Kendo Practitioners, athletes, and not a real sword-wielding cross-dressing killer agent.' Rin thought with sarcasm, his hands gripping firmer in the grip of his shinai.
"Let's resume shall we?" Hanabi spoke and assume her stance.
"As if I have a choice." Rin sighed deeply and lazily did his own stance.
The two stared at one another for a moment, each assessing who will assume the first move, their eyes pointing at every detail of movement.
Her patience wearing off, Hanabi took the first charge as Rin greeted her blade fiercely, both finally exchanging blows aggressively, neither of them willing to give in.
'Fascinating, she's answering every blow with ferocity. It seems that her swordsmanship is actually legit. Perhaps she came from a family of Kenjutsu practitioners? She is somehow holding her own against me after all.' Rin thought as a grin formed on his face which has not gone unnoticed by his opponent.
"Enjoying our fight Ms. Mayfield?" Hanabi was also found to be smirking despite the sweat starting to form on her pretty face.
"Perhaps." The cross-dressing Agent replied as the strikes kept ongoing, every blow answered by another.
The stalemate continued for quite some time until Hanabi seemed to found an opening as she took advantage of the opportunity, avoiding a slash from the side as she shifted herself behind him.
She was about to strike Rin's open back, but the latter merely crack a grin. In an instant, the boy docked, causing Hanabi's attack to ultimately miss.
Rin wasted no movement as he delivered a low spinning heel strike, bringing the pony-tailed girl down to the ground.
Hanabi groaned in back pain and before she could even retaliate, a shinai was seen pointing at her face.
As she glanced at her opponent's face, the girl could not help but shiver at the sight that was greeting on her.
The persona of a demon staring right at her, seemingly with the intent to kill
"Yield." Rin ordered the Kendo Practitioner as he stood with a terrifying expression.
"I y-yield." Hanabi complied immediately, her fear manifesting.
Rin then returned to his goofy personality as he offered a hand for her to stand which Hanabi accepted the gesture and did so.
Hanabi could not help but wonder what was that all about.
Staring at the wall clock, the boy noticed the time is still up to reason.
"7:49 pm. I guess we better get going Ms. Nakamura." Rin grinned in a friendly manner and turned his face back at Hanabi. "Excellent swordsmanship by the way."
"The same Ms. Mayfield. It has been a long time since I was beaten and to be honest, its quite a refreshing experience." Hanabi smiled humbly, a feeling tranquil.
'Humility in the flesh. I guess that's a plus one on my book and now that I look upon it, she is actually quite a babe!!! A true definition of a Japanese maiden. Black ebony hair, a face carved by the angels of heaven themselves and not to mention that body!!! Mature in every aspect hehe.'
Rin's perverted thoughts were once again ascending and Hanabi titled in confusion at why the boy seemed to be chuckling in a rather goofy manner.
Declaring it to be unimportant in the matter, Hanabi could not help but ask Rin "Ms. Mayfield, it seems that you are indeed a prodigy in Kenjutsu, in swordsmanship. Tell me, why is it that I have not seen you in any competitions? With your skills, you could be representing Twilight in the nationals, no.... perhaps even compete in the World Olympics!!!"
Rin then faced Hanabi, her excitement halted as the former's face turned grim, the same demonic persona resurfacing once more which put off the latter a bit.
"My Kenjutsu, swordsmanship-" Rin paused a bit as he contemplates the words that he was about to say next.
-is not some sort of sick entertainment for the masses to take pleasure in."
And just like that, the boy left, leaving Hanabi to ponder the implications behind his words.