Naora, Himeko, Orimi and I sat outside in the mansion courtyard and talked to each other for a bit, catching up on what we all missed over the years. It felt really nice to just catch up with Naora as it's been a year or two since Orimi and I last seen her.
"So you two are attending St. Hoya now. Honestly, I'm glad you all are here. I feel like it's better for you two since you are half monster so it'll give you both a chance to grow your abilities." Naora smiled.
"It's been really fun so far! We've only been there for two days and already made a lot of friends!~" Orimi smiled.
"I'm glad to hear that~ It's nice seeing you two finally break from your shells and actually enjoy the world despite what it has offered you two thus far. As a mother nothing is more important to me than your happiness." Naora smiled then looked at me. "How about you? Enjoying yourself?~"
"Yeah, I've been enjoying myself." I smiled at her.
"Are you and Fujin still friends?" Naora asked.
"Of course. He's my brother at this point. Nothing's going to break our friendship. He is the one that helped us break out of our shells after all." I said.
"I'm glad. Where is he anyway?" Naora asked.
"He's helping around. He's been a huge help with the MPT business. He's attending the Ranked Battles. I've changed a few rules around. To Rank Up, you must defeat a certain number of opponents. Five to be exact. There will be placements for the finals. The top eight will go into the Promotion Battles." Himeko explained.
"How will that work?" I asked.
"Well if you win all five battles your Rank won't increase immediately you'll have a plus next to your Rank then your promotion battle decides if you Rank Up or not. That happens all the way up to C- Rank. So after you reach D+ the number of battles you have to win increases from five to eight. Then from B- and up, you have to win ten matches." Himeko answered.
"Consecutively?" Orimi asked.
"No, there's usually a day wait before the next opponent is chosen so you'll fight a battle, have a day off to train or whatever then the day after your next battle happens and this happens until you reach the Promotion Match where you will fight your opponents consecutively." Himeko said.
"Oh Naora, if you want you can come to the school. We need another professor anyway." Himeko said.
"A professor for what?" Naora asked.
"Hoya Tech." Himeko answered.
"Mmm...Alright, but you owe me a drink at the bar." Naora said.
"Don't worry, I'll treat you right~" Himeko smiled.
"Lady Himeko!~" Melody called out.
We looked to where Melody was and noticed her walking toward us with Yonaka and another woman.
I looked at Yonaka and the other woman then tilted my head. "Is that the Headmaster? Who is that other woman?"
"Ahh, Yonaka and Yae Konbayashi." Himeko said then stood up.
Yae Konbayashi...a woman with an elegant and graceful build, even more graceful than Melody. She had long brunette hair and beautiful dark red eyes with a very sickly sweet smile that seemed to never leave her face. She wore a black rose eye patch to cover her left eye for whatever reason, a maid outfit with gold accents, and wore a frilly headband with black angel wings on each side. She also wore lace gloves that really went with her outfit and wore dark leggings and black heels.
"Lady Himeko and oh..~ I see you've got Naora back beside you~ It's been way too long~ I see you've also got Yoshida and Orimi with you as well~" Yonaka smiled. "Yoshida, Orimi, I want you to meet Yar Konbayashi. She's also going to be attending St. Hoya Academy starting today. I want you two to grow acquainted with her."
Yae looked at me and gave me her signature smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you both..~"
I stared at Yae and was speechless. Her beauty up close was unparalleled. I didn't know what to say to her. Himeko, Naora, and Orimi noticed me staring at her.
"I think Yae has acquired a new fan~" Himeko giggled.
"It's hard to not be a fan of her. She is the definition of beauty after all..~" Yonaka smiled. "Also, Yoshida. Your first match has been decided."
"Hm?" I looked at Yonaka and noticed her holding her tablet toward me. I took the table and looked at the person I was supposed to fight tomorrow. "Kanda Shihi. I've definitely seen him around before."
"Kanda Shihi is someone who's mastered the art of Grappling at the age of 13. He attended this academy when he turned 19 and has been here for at least a few months now. He's not one to underestimate." Yonaka said.
"Is that why you're here?" Himeko asked.
Yonaka shook her head. "I actually wanted to talk to you privately."
Himeko smiled and crossed her arms. "Alright. Naora, Yoshida, Orimi, you all can continue without me."
"Alright." Naora nodded.
We watched Himeko, Yonaka, Yae, and Melody walk off. Naora, Orimi, and I continued our conversation together.
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I got ready for bed and sat on my bed then felt Orimi hug me from behind. I smiled and held her hands. "What's wrong..?"
"Nothing...I'm just happy..~ We finally reunited with Mama and we have such an amazing academy. Life is turning around for once..~ I am happy to just be experiencing all this with you..~" Orimi said softly.
I chuckled softly and closed my eyes. "I'm happy to be experiencing this with you as well..~"
Orimi nodded and kept holding me. "Have...you ever thought of me in a way other than your little sister..?"
I closed my eyes and kept my hands cupped over hers. "Like in an intimate way..?"
"Mhm.." Orimi answered.
I gave it some thought. "I mean not really if I'm being honest. While I do find you attractive, something in my mind prevents me from thinking in such a way or...I have never allowed myself to think of you that way..."
Orimi smiled a bit. "Would you think of me in a way like that..?"
I turned my head to look at Orimi. "Would you like me to?"
Orimi nodded. "I know it's wrong...but sometimes I feel like...I feel like I would like to be more. I want to be by your side forever...and ever.."
"You will be by my side forever. Wherever you go I go. Wherever I go, you come with. Nothing is ever going to split us apart. I promise you that.." I said.
Orimi smiled sweetly and gently kissed my cheek. She let go of me and got under the covers. "I love you..~"
"I love you too..~" I replied and smiled at her.
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"Alright St. Hoya Academy! It is time for the official Rank Tournament of the F Rank Division! I hope you're all ready for some intense battles because we have a great roster this year!" Himeko said into the microphone sitting in the judge area.
"I agree, the Rank F Division is going to be pretty interesting with our new transfers. I can't wait to see who comes up on top!" Yonaka said.
"Our first battle to start us off is a Ninja of the Wind, Fujin Hayate!" Himeko said.
A powerful wind blew on the stadium battlefield and the audience watched in awe. I watched and smiled brightly. Suddenly, Fujin appeared in on the battlefield. He wore his signature ninja outfit. He wore a black and green sleeveless bodysuit with black mask and scarf, gold forehead protector.
Fujin stood up straight and crossed his arms. His eyes shined as he looked at his opponent.
"His opponent, a samurai hailing all the way from the Third Sakura District, Minako Saiki!" Yonaka announced.
Minako wore a white kosode with a scarlet hakama and carried a katana in her left hand. Her left hand had a Crest shining on it and she got into her stance.
"Let's get started!" An AI Voice said then a buzzer went off.
Fujin dashed toward Minako then performed hand gestures then clapped his hands together and powerful winds surrounded his body. He used the wind to propel himself toward her and went for a powerful kick. She dodged it and countered with a slash, but he dodged it and struck her stomach, blowing her away. He appeared behind her and hit her with a spinning kick then created an orb of wind energy and threw it at her.
Minako landed on the ground and turned around to slice the orb of wind in half. Her Crest shined brightly and flames surrounded her sword. She dashed toward Fujin and slashed continuously. Fujin pulled out a kunai and began to block her slashes then dodged her next attack. He swiped his hand, striking her with a wind blade, knocking her back. He went for another attack, but Minako stopped it by slashing downward and creating a fire vortex.
"Wind is weak to fire. She made a smart play by doing that. It seems that she knows he's weak to fire and is exploiting that...but I didn't spend these days training him for him to fall into that." Keishi said.
Fujin performed a hand gesture then slammed his hand against the ground. Spikes made from the Earth Element quickly protruded from the ground at Minako. She was surprised and dodged the last spike. She switched her element to Water and slashed quickly, releasing blades of water at Fujin.
Fujin dashed toward Minako and threw multiple shurikens at her direction. He warped to each one and dodged the blades of water. He was about to get to the next one, but a blade of water struck him, creating smoke then two more struck him and he rolled backwards on the ground.
The crowd roared and cheered as the battle they were watching was starting to grow intense. Orimi and I cheered for Fujin loudly. Fujin stood up slowly and slammed his hand against the ground and a gust of wind formed around his body.
"Ninja Arts: Vacuum Cannon!" Fujin bellowed and aimed the gust of wind at Minako.
He fired a powerful blast of wind at Minako.
"Flame Arts: Sakura Blazing Dance!" She bellowed and slashed rapidly, launching blades of fire at the blast of wind.
The two arts clashed then a massive explosion happened. Minako dashed toward Fujin from the smoke and shifted her stance then propelled herself toward Fujin.
"Flame Arts: Inferno Circle!" She bellowed and slashed in a circular motion, creating a blazing vortex that launched Fujin upwards.
Fujin groaned then recovered in the air. He performed hand gestures then his wind aura surged around his body. "Hayate Arts: Kazetsuchidame!"
Fujin fired ten orbs of wind at Minako then vanished. Minako dodged the orbs and they began tracking her. Fujin appeared behind Minako and palmed her back, sending her crashing into one of the orbs. The orb caused a wind explosion then Fujin appeared in front of her then kicked her upwards and vanished.
The orbs of wind spiralled around Minako then he appeared at each one and slammed each one against her, causing her to fly higher and higher in the air.
"Look at this! They are so high up!" Himeko yelled.
Fujin appeared above Minako with the last sphere of wind in his hand then slammed it against her and it exploded, launching her down. He appeared under her and caught her then laid her down on the ground.
"Match over! Fujin wins!" The AI Voice said.
The crowd roared and cheered.
"Fujin! Let's go Fujin!" Orimi cheered.
"What a great display of abilities from both Minako and Fujin! I am very pleased with that battle and I was honestly on the edge of my seat!" Himeko said excitedly.
"I agree, Fujin despite being a lover and not a fighter has shown everyone that he isn't one to be underestimated! That ending is what got me! Kazetsuchidame was one of the best moves I've seen in a while, kinda hard to top a flashy move like that!" Yonaka chuckled.
Keishi nodded and smiled. He smiled like a proud mentor and looked at Yan Mei. "Let's hope your student performs equally as well as mine did."
Yan Mei smirked and closed her eyes. "I am not one to be overconfident, but I am certain Yoshida will show this academy his progression. Fujin is impressive, I'm not going to lie."
Keishi chuckled and crossed his arms. "He's one of my best students other than Mina. I know he's gonna keep performing well and show everyone the true power he holds within."