Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).
Chapter Six: Once More into the Breach
Over the course of the fighting, Yue had to excuse herself for a reading with the Children's Literature Research Society, but she returned before the finish. Now she joined Kazumi, Matake, Yukari and Kagome in congratulating their classmates on their success.
"What an incredible tournament…with a prize of 10 million yen?" Yukari remarked.
"I guess with this, the odds of our class earning 10 million is pretty good, wouldn't you say?" Matake agreed lightheartedly.
The fighters weren't so sure. "Momo, right off the bat?" Mai sighed. "Oh well, at least I won't have to struggle very long with this senseless debacle…."
"Don't dismiss it too quickly," Momo soothed her. "It'll be a good chance to put your training into practice, see how far you've come. Besides, I'm not sure how well I'll do tournament-wise, as well…."
"First round with Erika-fukukaichô…I'm looking forward to it," Akari said brightly. "Maybe I'll finally get to see your real strength."
"I don't know…I'm not really prone to fighting with all my strength in something like this…."
And Kain turned his attention back to his first opponent…to him, all the other names were inconsequential. "First round, Takamichi…" he sighed again.
Takamichi smiled at him. "I look forward to tomorrow, Kain-kun. Please go easy on me."
It was mostly one of the Japanese formalities, but Kain took the words seriously—after all, there were many he could have chosen for such a comment. "Quit teasing me like that," he pleaded. "You know I'm still no match for you!"
"Hahaha…we won't know until we try."
Yue approached her former teacher. "After this, we'll be having the finishing party for Day One. Does Takahata-sensei want to join us, too?"
"Oh, is that okay?" he asked earnestly.
The class, with Takamichi, Kenjirô, and Hikaru in tow, headed off to the meeting point for their party. There, the rest of the class greeted them.
The various students hailed Kain very enthusiastically. "Kain-sensei! Thanks for all your help and hard work today!"
"We know it was…troublesome, but we appreciated you even giving time to our little club," Miki informed him with a surprising amount of earnestness.
"Eh? Ah…."
"Thanks to Kain-sensei's help, the diner made a great amount of money today, too," Kanade crowed. "Well done!"
"Thanks for visiting the Track Club!" Kaoru put in. "It was great to see you there."
The other class members all joined in one-by-one, thanking Kain for visiting each of their clubs. Kain's head was spinning after a minute of this.
"Kamo-kun…this is…." he whispered to his companion, who had migrated back to his shoulder.
"R-right…we've got our work cut out for us still…."
Then, of all people, Chisame appeared and took her turn to speak with him. She appeared far more nervous and fidgety than usual. "Uh, umm…excuse me, Kain-sensei…."
"A-ah…yes, Hasegawa-san?"
"About today…umm…you really won't tell anyone about it, right?"
"Ah…n-no, of course not…."
Then the more agitated Chisame surfaced, and she leaned in close to whisper, "Really, don't tell anyone! I'm serious! You promised, after all!"
"N-no! I won't! Really!"
Apparently satisfied, Chisame finally excused herself.
"I don't remember any of this," Kain muttered to himself. "This means…."
"Weeeelll, Kain-kun," Takamichi remarked pleasantly. "It seems you not only handled the tournament, and I also hear you did well on your patrols…and you even managed to tend to all of your students today. Very impressive."
"Ah…no, not at all…." I haven't been to any of them yet, after all, except for that…date….
As the class gathered to begin the actual party, Kain snuck away, with Kenjirô at his side. "So, you're going to use that time machine thing to make your rounds now?"
"Yeah…I better…that's what it's for, after all, and if I don't…who knows what paradox might do. We'll just have to put the party on hold for now. I still have all these appointments to fulfill."
"Okay, time for Round Four then," Kamo agreed. "Hopefully, the last one, at least for today."
Kenjirô nodded. "Hey, Kain, can I come too? I'd like to look around the Festival with you."
Kain shrugged. "Sure, why not? Stand close."
He removed the egg, opened it, and adjusted the controls. "Here we go…Time Jump!"
The morning of the first day of the Festival, 11:30 AM. The fourth time around for Kain through the Festival.
This time they manifested out of view of anyone…mostly by a matter of luck, because in the thronged Festival, anyone could be anywhere at any point in time, and with no way to see 'where'—if that is the right word—they would end up, it was entirely up to luck.
And, of course, Kain himself was now not anywhere but any four wheres. Kenjirô observed their surroundings, quite impressed.
"Amazing. It's really morning…so we've really gone back?"
"Yeah, take it from me, Kiddo," Kamo assured him. "We've done this before. So, now what? And are you sure you want to go out like that, Kain?"
Kain still had his cloak on. "Probably for the best. The only thing I've done without it is go out with Nodoka. It makes me identifiable, but it's also uniquely…me, so it won't throw people off. I should be fine.
"To answer your first question…I'd first like to help out the class' little diner. Let's go!"
Mai, Kanade, Hinagiku, Erika, Kagome, Kazumi, Yukari, Rei, Yuki and Rakasu were present at the time that Kain and Kenjirô showed up. "Eh?" Hinagiku asked in surprise. "You want to help out?"
"Are you all right now?" Mai queried earnestly. "You just went to the nurse's office a little while ago…and where's Momo?"
('Ah, that's right…this is Mai before she found out about the time-traveling. The last anyone saw, I had been taken off for overeating…and Momo….')
"Momo's been taken away for a while for school business by some of the teachers," he lied glibly. "As for me, I'm fine. Sakura-san's tea did wonders for me. So, how can I help?"
He soon went to work in the kitchen, showing surprising aptitude for cooking. Kenjirô was set to waiting tables.
Kain was skilled, attentive, and quite able with his cooking, but Mai, observing him as they worked beside each other, noted that he seemed rather tired. "Are you really all right, Kain-sensei?" she asked quietly.
"Hmm? What? I'm fine, really. Got a lot to do today, but I think I'll manage."
"Is that so…well, don't push yourself too hard. You know that's your worst habit."
"I know, I know…."
He spent some time there before deciding it was time to start visiting the various activities of his students.
And it seemed Hinagiku and Erika were getting off at the same time.
"Where are you two off to?" Kain asked politely.
"Oh, we're planning to visit the various clubs to make sure that they have everything they need," Erika explained. "As the kaichô and fukukaichô of the girls' middle school, the students of this school are our first priority, after all."
"Ah, why don't we go around together?" Kain offered brightly. "It'll be good to show our combined support to our class members, right?"
"Eh? I-I suppose…" Hinagiku quavered.
Kenjirô snorted. "Now I think I see how you get into such girl trouble, Kain-kun. Do you intend to be a Don Juan, or something?"
As Kain blushed, Hinagiku growled, "Kenjirô-san…."
Erika actually giggled. "Kenjirô-san, Hina…it seems you two get along quite well…."
Neither of the two seemed very impressed by that comment.
The first club they visited was the 'Movie Study Club' and its unique building…a completely circular building that had, to Kain's eyes, a rather high-tech appearance. The architecture had no function, but it looked high-tech.
"What's this about?" Kain asked, pointing.
"Don't ask me," Hinagiku replied. "This was designed according to the founder's taste, a enpai who graduated a while ago. Let's go in…."
"Kain-sensei? So you've actually come to visit us." Miki seemed genuinely impressed. "And even Hina and Eririn. And…him."
Miki apparently didn't know what to make of Kenjirô, and Kenjirô seemed to feel mutually on that score, and didn't deign to reply.
"We didn't think you'd really come visit us here," Izumi enthused. "This isn't exactly the most remarkable club…."
"Still, it's good you came," Riza added. "We can work on some great movies together…."
"Work on some movies together?" Kain asked, interested. "You mean you make movies here at the Movie Study Club?"
He observed the contents of the room; this was indeed a high-class Mahora club, as the equipment was all first-rate…Kain was no expert on electronics, but he figured that it would take a standard salary man years to earn enough to purchase the contents of the club….
"So, with all this equipment, you must film your own movies, right?" he asked.
"What?" was Riza's reply.
"No, not really," Miki added. "We don't film any movies here."
Izumi laughed. "Really, how could we do such a difficult thing?"
"…Then what do you do?" Kain asked.
"That's obvious!" the trio enthused together. "Just as the name suggests, the 'Movie Study Club' studies film and movies! We compile funny and original media from all ages and countries and laugh at it!"
"In other words, it's just an excuse to kill time," Hinagiku finished in disgust.
This actually struck something inside of Kain, and he identified with it. "Yes, but it's like 'MST3K' or something? That's a little trite, true, but I suppose it's amusing in its own right…."
"Kain-sensei's actually interested in it?" Erika asked cautiously.
"I'm not into…most casual forms of entertainment," Kenjirô noted. "Still, this isn't a terrible idea."
"Oho," Riza chuckled. "Then, since you've come to investigate during this busy Festival, would you like to take a look at what we do? All the high schoolers graduated so the membership is low."
"This club was originally founded to film cute girls," Miki noted, "but it's changed after the founder graduated. We have prepared a presentation for the Festival."
"We actually do have some movies we've been editing for it," Izumi concluded. "It should be enough to make some memories."
"I suppose we should see it, then," Hinagiku sighed.
"Yes," Kain agreed cheerfully. "Go ahead and show us."
"Okay, here we go…."
The club's pride and joy was a massive entertainment system on the northern section of wall, with a digital flat screen measured in feet rather than inches and a computer workstation under it that looked like it, too, was taken from a major sci-fi movie. Miki pushed one small button on the massive control panel….
And the screen came to life, showing Kain and Kazumi making their way around a museum. Miki's voice was broadcast: "Oh, Negi-sensei, this is such a boring date! But it honestly doesn't matter, because just being with you gets my heart racing faster than a horror movie!"
"I feel the same way, Makie-chan," came Riza's voice, in a deep pseudo-male attempt. "My love for you is like…."
"Rejected," Erika growled, silencing the machine by hitting the 'delete' key.
"Ah, our precious hard work," Riza moaned.
"H-h-how did you get that footage!?" Kain screeched, red-faced. "And furthermore, why the voices?"
"What's the big deal? It's lots of fun," Miki noted. "You even missed the best lines…."
"Anyway, we have cameras here and there," Riza informed him, apparently recovering quickly. "It's just like at Mouseland and such," she added, referencing the 2006 Disneyland Paris scandal.
"You shouldn't take such scenes! You shouldn't!"
"Well, then how about this?" Miki pressed a button on a remote she held.
This time the scene was Kain, holding Hinagiku, walking her out to the balcony of the Student Council Building's top floor. "Now, Hinata, let me show you a scene as dazzling as your smile…" came Riza's false masculine voice.
Izumi's cheerful voice replied. "N-no, Hayate-kun, I'm not ready! I am still a fearful maiden! This world…."
"This one was given to us anonymously," Miki explained as the group stared in utter horror and shock. "We don't know what it's about, and there was no original audio, but it's an incredibly interesting scene…."
The screen cut to black as a disc suddenly shot out, and Hinagiku smashed it with her shinai. She turned a bright, wide, deadly smile at the three members of the Movie Study Club. "Oops," she said in a sing-song voice. "My hand slipped…."
"Er…" the three said as one.
"As usual, it's good to see you're having fun together," Hinagiku continued, every word slicing the air like the scythe of Death. "Really, I think I've been neglecting your fun here. I guess I'll have to come visit more often to see just how much fun you're having, won't I…?"
"N-no, that's not necessary…."
Kain, Hinagiku, Erika and Kenjirô finally exited, trying not to listen to the final exchange….
Miki: "I'll guess we'll just have to go back to surprising Izumi and filming her while she's changing."
Izumi: "M-Miki-chan! No! You can't do that!"
"They're…as lively as ever," Kain sighed.
"I'm trying not to think of you as a playboy, Kain, really," Kenjirô commented. "But every time I turn around, I see evidence of you fraternizing with your students…."
"That's not it!" Kain and Hinagiku declared together, both red-faced.
Kamo was sitting on Kenjirô's shoulder now, laughing heartily. "Ah, you kids are too much. Why so uptight? You are still kids, after all…enjoy life a bit more! Stop worrying about 'looking cool' and 'being proper' and all that. Not saying you should go crazy, but you could loosen up…."
Erika was staring at the rodent. "Kamo-kun…the anonymous contributor of that second video…wouldn't happen to have been you, was it…?"
Kamo froze, just for a fraction of a second, but long enough for Kain and Hinagiku as their gazes swiveled to him. "Kamo…."
"Whoops! Well, I'm out!"
"KAMO!"
Too late; he had vanished.
A trip to the Tea Ceremony Club revealed Rei, Alyssa, and Sakura, and the four shared a ceremony together with them. To Kain's surprise, even Kenjirô seemed perfectly calm and considerate of the ritual. He also learned something surprising.
"Sakura-chan doesn't use any normal teas," Hinagiku informed him. "She refuses to drink them, oddly. She prepares her own herbal and fruits teas, often her own unique recipes. It's a little strange, but we've grown used to it."
"Most people don't realize how nasty the acids in modern drinks are," Sakura informed him in reply. "Soda pop has its own, and I don't drink those either, but despite their other beneficial drugs, true coffees and teas have a nasty acid, tannic acid and/or tannins, in them; I can't drink those. Of course, in a culture like Japan, where tea is a standard social drink, it's a difficult opinion to hold, and I'm grateful that my classmates and club members have been understanding of my preferences…."
Following the tea club were visits to the Track Club to see Kaoru, and she enthusiastically ran a few sprints for them; the Lacrosse Club, where Riku Harada was surprised but apparently pleased to see the group; and the Volleyball Club, where Matake happily greeted the foursome. The Art Club yielded a collection of paintings, and Yukari, who was present, proudly presented her work. A visit to the Robotics Development Society led to a demonstration of some rather amazing inventions by Caria, helped by Miyu…and they spotted Sakura there again, waving briefly at them as she passed by the main room in the middle of some errand.
"What are the odds she's been using some similar sort of time travel all this time to handle all her clubs' responsibilities?" Kenjirô offered.
More continued on this whirlwind tour, and the Philosophy Club presented a discourse led by Yue. Kenjirô found himself lost, but Kain delightedly dove in, and the superwomen kaichô and fukukaichô seemed more than able to hold their own. During the discussion, Kain was reminded that this was the Yue that had not yet met him and discussed his…romantic difficulties with him. Seeing the past version of her brought some…slight contentment to him….
They met Ami at the Chess Club, and Kain shared a surprisingly difficult speed-chess game with her, that she narrowly won. She also reminded Kain not to forget his date with Nodoka…a thought that he tried not to laugh at….
The next truly interesting event was a visit to the Fortune-Telling Club. Risa Harada was there, of course…as was, to Kain's surprise, Yuki Nagato.
"Nagato-san? Why are you here?"
She had a tent set up in the room that served as the Fortune-Telling Club's headquarters, along with the other various members. She was seated before a crystal ball and was dressed with a wide-brimmed witch's hat and a dark cloak. She did not reply to Kain's question, but merely stared up at him, blinking occasionally. He was, sadly, somewhat used to this reaction.
"Oh, Yuki-san…volunteered to help us," Risa explained. "We were behind schedule for getting all our preparations in time, and so she helped us out. So, we decided to give her a place to tell fortunes with too. Her predictions are…interesting…."
Hinagiku, Erika, and Kenjirô all politely asked Risa to tell their fortunes, while Kain decided to risk Yuki's 'interesting' predictions. "So, Nagato-san…can you tell me my fortune?" he asked as he seated himself in front of her.
Yuki nodded, looked at her ball and cupped her hands over it—she had the acting portion of the fortune-teller down. She stared into her glass and intoned in her rare, quiet, calm and neutral voice far more than she had ever spoken before:
"At 1:31 PM, you will exit this room and head towards the Martial Arts Mastery Society. At the same time, you will be sleeping in the nurse's office alongside Hinamori Momo. You will also be in your room with Hinamori Momo, Higurashi Kagome and Tokiha Mai, examining clothes. You will also be patrolling near the World Tree with Tsukai Kajirô. At 1:38 you will arrive at the Martial Arts Mastery Society and meet the masters of the 'Three Schools' of Yokohama. At 1:57 you will leave your room with your three students to go shopping for other clothes…."
Kain stared at her, dumb-founded, as she continued to methodically explain everything he had/would accomplish in the near future/recent past…all calmly…all without any sign that she found anything she was saying unusual.
"…At 4:12 PM you will depart alongside Miyazaki Nodoka, and meanwhile will run into Ayase Yue, who will seek to redirect you to Miyazaki Nodoka who will be walking alongside you…."
"I-I think that's enough, Nagato-san," Kain forestalled her, holding up a hand. "That will suffice. You have certainly…given me a lot to think about…."
"What did she say to you, Kain-sensei?" Hinagiku queried after they had made their necessary obligations and departed. "You seem positively spooked…."
"N-no, it's nothing." He waved the question away. "Well, next…to the Martial Arts Mastery Society…."
All thoughts of the future fled from Kain's mind as he felt the spirit—the ki—that filled the large dôjô that served as the headquarters for the mysterious 'Martial Arts Mastery Society'.
There were about a dozen students spread around the dôjô, all impressive in their own right, but scattered amongst them were fifteen adults—and these were the source of the life-threatening ki as they turned to regard him upon his entrance.
Kain had faced a demon princess, a vampire matriarch, a near-invincible gynoid, and an unstoppable golem-mage, but never did he feel death reigning over him as much as he did at this time, with those stares leveled at him. He knew that they possessed no magic, but he could see the auras rising off of them as they turned their full attention to him….
He was saved from this collection of death-stares by Akari, who ran up to him rather gleefully. "Kain-sensei!" she said with delight. "You came! Thank you! It's good to see you!"
"Yes, and kaichô as well," Kiami agreed, following her at her more placid place. "And the boy swordsman, Kenjirô-san. And, of course, we welcome our part-time member, Eririn."
"F-forgive my truancy," Erika muttered, reddening, as she bowed.
"So…you are the famous Kain Lockeheart-sensei." Kain turned to this new voice and his eyes widened in recognition as Hikaru approached, dressed in a light samurai's kimono with a bokken tucked into his sash. "I am pleased to finally make your acquaintance. Tsukino Hikaru. I must admit, you are even more impressive in person. To be fully subjected to the killing intent of fifteen masters at once and still stand…your presence is remarkable."
"Ah…no, not at all," Kain insisted, slowly translating his remark. He was new to the concepts of ki and the world of martial arts mastery, but he had heard all these terms before and was coming to grips with the lingo. "I nearly fainted the minute I entered…." But he was in danger of that no longer—the intense aura of the fifteen had subsided.
"Yes, and any normal person would have. You have passed a major test already, Kain-sensei."
Now that the suffocating threat of death had subsided, Kain was able to sweep his eyes over the crowd and catalogue these fifteen 'masters' a bit more closely. Kain instantly took them all in, each one, despite their varied appearances, equally imposing. A few stood out larger-than-life, especially the massive Caucasian, hairless except for the single lock of blond hair that hung from his forehead and his massive blond mustache, and the enormous sumotori, dressed in a sumo wrestler's kimono and champion's topknot, known as an ôichô. A few were remarkable for seeming out of place amongst champion warriors, such as the beautiful Japanese lady, dressed in a fine lady's kimono similar to the one Sakura seemed to favor. There were many foreigners, including several Chinese, one of whom looked like a classic Shaolin monk, a few westerners, and even a beautiful Latin American woman, dressed in a tank-top and light slacks. Their faces had varied expressions and emotions as they evaluated him, but one thing was certain: all of Akari's and Kiami's talk of masters obviously began and ended with these individuals, and they had been fully truthful. This was obviously a world as frightening as the deepest realms of magic….
"You are also quite impressive, Kenjirô-dono," Hikaru said to the hanyô. "The killing intent wasn't directed at you, yet you still should have been at least stunned by all that ki, yet you seem…unmoved…."
"No, not unmoved," Kenjirô said after a moment's pause—likely trying to remind himself that Hikaru hadn't met him yet, at least not today (Kain was unaware, but Hikaru was the third roommate of Kajirô and Kenjirô). "I was excited by it. I'm used—no, that's not the right word, it's too impressive for that—but I've longed for this feeling. I was born a child of war, and all I wish is to test myself in that world."
Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then you would get on well in Akasôryû, I suppose…."
On impulse, Kain turned back to Hinagiku…who had apparently been stunned by the amount of ki directed at them. Hinagiku was an exceptional young woman, an expert in all she undertook, but completely confined to a 'normal' world before Kain's coming. She had a strong will and mind, and she was a skilled practitioner of kendô, but she had never experienced anything like this 'killing intent', and evidently she had been…unsettled. Kain's noticing of her seemed to rouse her from her daze, and she grabbed Akari and pulled her aside. "Akari-san," she hissed at the girl, "what is this? Who are these people?"
"Ah, forgive us," said the well-dressed Japanese woman, approaching. She bowed slightly. "We are the masters of the Three Schools of Yokohama, those who pursue the truest truths of martial arts. Our children—Tsukino Hikaru, Heiro Akari, and Tsukimori Kiami—invited us here for your Festival and, as has been our tradition, we came. We have often enjoyed Mahora Academy's festivities, and we have great respect for this school, which is why we send our children here to school themselves."
"Ah…right…" Hinagiku murmured, her questions replaced by new ones.
"A-ahem," Akari agreed, trying to compose herself. "As the…president of the Martial Arts Mastery Society, I should explain….
"This club was founded by the members of the Three Schools of Yokohama, the dôjôs of Seitenryû, Hokushinryû, and Akasôryû, because they have trained at a level of martial arts far above those practiced by normal middle- and high-school children. It is, as it says, a society that pursues the path of true mastery of martial arts, similar to the philosophies of the three dôjôs from whence we came."
"And you're the president of this club now, Akari-san?" Kain asked, surprised. "Why you?"
"Ah, well…because I lost at rock-paper-scissors…."
"Lost?" Kenjirô demanded.
"All of us wish to perfect our martial arts, but none of us wants to be responsible for leading this endeavor," Hikaru said with a laugh. "We're all still students, after all, mere followers, so Akari-chan, Kiami-chan and I used janken to see who would be left with the responsibility. Akari-chan lost, yes…."
"A-anyway," Akari continued, blushing, "we don't care what martial arts are used here…we simply seek to truly perfect them. And whenever we have a public Mahora event, our masters like to come by and observe our progress.
"A-and now, Kain-sensei…as my student, I asked you to give a presentation for the club…?"
"Ah, yes…I am ready…I think…."
The visitors and club members gathered around the walls of the large dôjô as Kain, his cloak removed, took up his position in its center. "So, what kind of demonstration should I give?" he asked Akari.
"Just show us your kata."
The words 'which one?' were on Kain's lips, but he suppressed them in time. He had separately learned six martial arts from Akari, although she taught Brazilian jiu-jitsu and capoeira together, and now the masters of those arts stood before him, and all had to be appeased. Akari fought without really differentiating between them, and so….
He performed a kata, a ritualized exercise of practice swings unique to a martial art, beginning with jûjutsu and then flowing effortlessly through the rest of them, turning the six styles into one beautiful dance. There was no applause here, but the power of the presence given off by the masters radiated approval, which was stronger congratulations to him than the most deafening celebration from a full auditorium.
"Well, well," murmured a middle-aged Caucasian man with graying hair, dressed in a loose shirt and slacks. "It seems Akari has more teaching potential than we originally thought…or she has a truly remarkable student. Or perhaps both."
"Indeed," agreed the Shaolin monk. "It is always good for a beginning tutor to be blessed with an exceptional student…it lets them overcome their mistakes and increases their confidence."
The rest of the masters all approached in turn, offering praise and comments to Kain. After this, the group broke off into individual discussions. While Erika, Kenjirô and Hinagiku had the opportunity to spread and mingle at will, Kain was trapped—approached, harassed and inspected by all fifteen of these intimidating masters….
"That was frightening," Kain said when they had finally escaped. "I don't think even Alyssa at her worst is that frightening…."
"If she hears you say that, she'll probably try to prove you wrong, so I wouldn't say that out loud," Erika laughed.
"Y-yeah…."
"I found that quite exhilarating," Kenjirô remarked. "I wasn't aware of just how strong the human world could be. That many masters, all in one place…I suppose I should be glad that they aren't participating in the tournament tonight, but still…I can't help but feel I'd like to face someone like that, just once…."
"Yes, you were talking about a tournament in there," Hinagiku mentioned. "What are you talking about?"
Kain and Kenjirô exchanged a glance, then they finally began to trade off explaining the tournament…while carefully avoiding revealing anything they shouldn't know yet. Kain did offer, "Why don't you come see it tonight, Hina, Erika-san? You might even be able to participate…."
Kenjirô gave a dismissive sound. "Hmm, Sendô-san, maybe, but Katsura-san is an amateur at real combat. She's not likely to get far, since she's not even a member of the Martial Arts Mastery Society." While Hinagiku scowled and began to prepare a retort, something suddenly occurred to the boy and he turned to Erika. "Say, Tsukimori-san called you a part-timer, Sendô-san. What was that about?"
"E-eh? W-well, it's exactly how it sounds…I only have time to attend on occasion…." Erika's tone was familiar—one she assumed when she was treading uncomfortable conversations.
"Even though Katsura-san has time to be your kaichô and the president of the Kendô Club?" Kenjirô pressed.
"N-never mind! Let's go on to the next club!" Erika insisted, pushing forward. Bemused, the other three followed after her.
Now we are at the Mahora Festival (Secret) Cosplay Contest. Don't ask, I didn't name it.
The time was in the early evening, and the location was…a theater at the library. The spacious auditorium was filled, as were the rooms backstage (which were actually part of the library itself)—at the moment, only the stage itself was empty.
Chisame casually observed the groups preparing for the contest. It was, of course, her responsibility, her set-up, and her precious event, but she was not actually participating. Still, she was honoring the cosplay spirit, and was dressed in a kind of pioneer-era lady's dress, not as 'foofy' as the one she had been dragged to the sakura-viewing party in, but still one chaste and loose and with far more ties and lacing in it than most modern dresses.
As she considered the contestants—there were still twenty or so minutes to the start of the event, and those she had arranged to run it were still taking names for the event—she heard voices behind her, distracting her…voices that were sickeningly familiar.
"Is there something here?"
"Yes…it should be around here somewhere…."
"Hmm?" Chisame said, turning to the voices.
"Ah, there she is!" Kain exclaimed happily. "Chisa—no, Chiu-san!"
"W-w-what!?" she exclaimed in shock at the sight. "Y-you all…!?"
Here came Kain, flanked by Hinagiku, Erika, and Kenjirô.
"W-w-why is Sensei here? And Kaichô too…."
Chisame recovered from her shock, dashed over, grabbed Kain by the wrist, and began to drag him away. "You! Come here for a little bit please!" she declared as she rendered him captive.
His companions watched them go. "Chisame-san?" Hinagiku wondered aloud. "What's she doing here? And…what is this event? I don't recall hearing anything about…." She examined the banner hanging proudly by a door frame. "…A cosplay contest. How did Kain-sensei know about it?"
"Hmm…everyone seems pretty excited about it," Kenjirô mentioned, observing the milling crowd of oddly-dressed patrons.
Meanwhile, Chisame was now privately interrogating Kain.
"Kain-sensei, what are you doing here?" she demanded. "This is a rogue event that's not even listed in the official program. Regular students and teachers shouldn't know anything about this!"
Kain blinked at her, a surprised look on his face, as if the answer should be obvious. "Why, because you mentioned it on your homepage," he explained patiently. "You boldly announced that you were going to be there, and would never disappoint your fans…."
"W-w-what…my homepage!?" Chisame began to panic. "W-wait, don't tell me…."
"Yes…after that day, I made sure to learn a little more about computers, and I've been checking Chiu's homepage everyday."
"Gah…y-you idiot! What are you doing, sneaking onto other people's homepages as you please!?"
"Because it's something one of my student's has worked very hard on," he remarked. "I feel compelled to support my students as much as I can. And after I started reading it, I found the diary especially was an addictive read…it's actually very thoughtful and philosophical, despite its childish appearance, and it touches on deep subjects. Your work is very impressive, Chisame-san."
Chisame began to stutter a reply at this shocking announcement. ('T-this brat of a teacher…I got careless after hearing that he was a computer dummy, but…he's been reading my diary…? E-everyday…!?')
"So…you're entering the contest, aren't you, Chisame-san?" Kain asked beatifically.
"N-no…I'm actually not…."
"It should be starting soon, so let's head back in," Kain insisted, taking her by the wrist this time and pulling her back.
To Kain's surprise he found his party had increased in his absence. "Kain-sensei!" Kanade called, waving at him as he approached. "There you are!"
"Yûki-san? What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I saw you around earlier, and I decided to follow you," she replied happily, demonstrating pride in her stalking activity.
"So, this is an interesting event…I didn't hear of it. A cosplay contest, eh? So did you come to participate?" she continued to babble.
"Oh, no, I'm just here to support it…."
"Ah, of course not," Kanade continued, suddenly cutting him off. "Who wants to see boys strutting around in weird costumes? Obviously, having pretty girls in costumes that make men go mad is the only way to go! Speaking of which," she continued, calming slightly and finally focusing on his captive, "is Chi-chi entering too?"
"No, I'm…."
"Chi-chi has done cosplay before, hasn't she?" Kanade continued, again cutting off the answer she had requested. "Well, we should give you some proper competition today…."
She slunk over and put her arms around Erika's and Hinagiku's shoulders. "Our two beauty queen kaichôs should make this an interesting match, eh? Why don't you two enter?"
"Eh? I-I don't know…." Hinagiku quavered.
"Oh? Hina-chô is afraid she'll lose?" Kanade asked slyly.
The kaichô narrowed her eyes. "Now that…."
"C'mon, you two! It's a chance to show off in front of Kain-sensei! Let's see, to enter it seems we have to go this way…."
Kain chuckled as she led the two reluctantly off. He and Kenjirô joined up again and wandered slowly inside, observing the milling crowd of supporters and potential contestants. "How interesting," he observed as he studied the varied costumes.
Chisame, still in Kain's vice-like grip, stumbled along after him. Finally she managed, "Wait a minute…Kain-sensei…."
"What is it, Chisame-san?"
"Please listen to me. I am not going to enter."
"Eh? Why not?"
"I have no plans to enter a trivial contest like this!"
"With a costume like that?" Kenjirô queried, bemused.
"T-this is normal clothing! I've only come today to observe…."
The trio of girls returned to them. "We're done signing up and getting ready!" Kanade observed. "We signed Chi-chi up, too."
Now Chisame was beginning to enter a whole new realm of wild emotions. ('What kind of reckless thing did these people just do!?')
She finally paid attention to the costumes Hinagiku and Erika had been prepared in. Erika was dressed as an 'erotic nurse', I suppose would be the best term for it—the 'nurse outfit' white one-piece dress, with the short skirt, long socks, and odd hat. Hinagiku was in girls' gym clothes, t-shirt with 'bloomer' shorts, and nekomimi, or cat ears and tail to go along with it.
"The costume-lending shop here let us pick out ones we liked!" Kanade declared, although neither girl seemed as pleased with their outfit as Kanade did.
"Nice…but why these suits?" Kenjirô asked.
As they discussed the matter, Kanade raving about men's fantasies, Chisame began to twitch anew, her professional pride wounded by this display. ('Tsk…that amateur…with this great material, she plans only for a simple cosplay like this? This isn't any normal cosplay event, it's a character cosplay, character! There's no meaning in a shallow cosplay that only satisfies middle-aged men! These idiots! (Although the nekomimi with gym clothes isn't too terrible….)')
"Okay, let's get you in there!" Kanade declared finally, pushing her victims along.
"Wait a minute, you ninnies!" Chisame finally barked. "Even if you go out like that, it's useless! Useless! You'll only embarrass yourselves! Come here, you two!"
This sudden forceful display frightened Kain slightly, and he backed off to make room as Chisame took charge.
"This is a major event! It's useless if you don't go out with better material! I'll lend you some of my clothes and teach you the ropes. If you're entering, aim for the prize! Since you jerks are such good material!"
The next scene cuts to our re-dressed kaichô pair, outfitted now in sailor-suit like magical girl uniforms.
"Oh, Mahô Shojô Bibulion," Kanade remarked, recognizing these particular characters. "Good choice, Chi-chi!"
At Chisame's beckoning and command, they made magical girl poses, too.
"Is it okay if we skip the poses?" Erika muttered darkly.
"The poses are very important!" Chisame insisted.
"But it's quite embarrassing," Hinagiku objected.
"How can you be embarrassed if you cosplay?"
"Wow, they're amazing," Kanade remarked happily to the boys. "They're certain to win the big prize."
The pair sighed and turned towards the gathered group of ready contestants. "Well, we better get this over with," Hinagiku muttered. "We're off."
"Thanks for your help, Chisame-san," Erika offered politely and earnestly.
Chisame muttered to herself, satisfied, as they left, acknowledging the thanks and taking pride in her work. ('Yes, they are certain to win with the preparation I've given them….')
She started as the terrible reality of the situation hit her. ('W-wait…what am I doing? I wasn't able to hold back after seeing them! When it comes to cosplay, I just…won't it be bad if my hobbies are discovered?')
"I'm a bit surprised," Kain remarked happily, as if hearing—and misinterpreting—her thoughts. "The normally reclusive Chisame-san, helping her classmates with something like this…."
('S-shut up! It's your fault for dragging them all here in the first place! I knew it! This brat is my natural enemy!')
"Chisame-san, why aren't you entering?" Kain demanded, changing the subject again. "Isn't this world, the realm of cosplay, your specialty?"
"I-I'm not going to enter something I don't want to enter!"
"That…it sounds like you're a bit confused…."
"You're too persistent, Kain-sensei!"
"But…aren't you more than qualified to be in this contest, Chisame-san? Your beauty and taste are going to waste here…."
('Your Don Juan-esque flattery will get you nowhere, you brat.') "You don't know anything, do you, Kain-sensei? It's true that Chiu is cute. Just like Kaichô and Fukukaichô, who have natural beauty and grace, too. Don't go mixing me in with natural wonders like them. Speaking raw material-wise, I'm very much a plain, regular middle school student." ('Even if my breasts would be pretty good elsewhere, even they don't stand out in this freakish class I was thrown into…Yûki's 'Chi-chi' nickname is a terrible one for me….')
"I can already see what the results will be if I enter," Chisame continued aloud in patient explanation. "My principle is not to enter high-risk matches. Please leave me alone."
"You really think so? But your photos on your homepage are quite stunning…."
('Those photos were corrected to death! Can't you see that!?') "Anyways, why are you so concerned about me!?" she demanded, trying to change the subject.
"It's because I'm your teacher," Kain explained patiently. "I never wanted to be, exactly, I mean, be a teacher at all, but…you could say my principle is to give all I've got to what I'm doing. I…Kenjirô -kun says I'm in serious girl trouble…."
('Well, anyone with half a brain can see that, and see why….')
"…but that's not my intent. I'm just trying to take care of my students…and Chisame-san needs it as much as anyone. You never mingle with your classmates, and…I think I can understand why…but I know from experience that you can't just go through this life without some support from others.
"And there's also this…how do I say it…I'm a bit of a fan of Chiu-san, I must admit…and I wanted to see her contest for myself…."
This comment brought Chisame up short again. "W-what?"
"No, seriously! Your news articles and such are serious, rather sophisticated! Not what you'd expect from a girl in middle school at all!"
('You say that when you're no older than me…still…this kid is my fan too, eh? Kukuku…that's not bad….')
"So, Chisame-san, you should enter, too!" Kain insisted, returning to the nagging thorn.
This brought Chisame out of her reverie quickly, naturally. "Eh!? No! I told you, I'm not entering! 'Cause I'll lose!"
"You won't know anything unless you try!" Kanade insisted, finally breaking her silence after gleefully observing this exchange. "Let's get you prepared, too!" She started dragging Chisame off to the stage wings…with help from Kenjirô, for some reason.
"Waaa!? Idiots, stop! Like I already told Kain-sensei, I can't face people without my glasses on! I'll ge-ge-get nervous…!"
"If it's Chi-chi, it'll be fine!"
"To protect the world's Foundations!
"Bibulio Red Rose!" (Erika.)
"Bibulio Pink Tulip!" (Hinagiku.)
"The two of us together are…Mahô Shojô Bibulion!"
"This is high quality! Number 13, Fukukaichô-san! Number 14, Kaichô-san!"
Naturally, the crowd was enthusiastic for the two beautiful ladies' performance. Kain also applauded heartily. He had to admit, they were…magnificent….
He tried to shove that thought away and return to objectivity, a task actually made easier since Kamo had finally returned to his shoulder during the recent chaos. Offering any kind of masculine thoughts around Kamo was an invitation to humiliation.
"That was nicely done," Kenjirô admitted. "Those two complained about the poses, but they aren't acting embarrassed at all out there."
Chisame sniffed derisively. ('You don't know anything, you brat. Those two are experts at public demonstrations, being Kaichô and Fukukaichô for so long. They know that real embarrassment is to be seen embarrassed on stage.
('Still…this is aggravating to the extreme. Why do they have to be such high-spec girls!? They complained about it, but they carried out all my instructions perfectly! They adapted so easily…and they're so perfect there, a pair of twin beauties you'll never again see like this! Fukukaichô's golden hair and superior bust—third only behind the monsters Tokiha and Yoshida—only accentuate her natural beauty. And Kaichô's lack of breasts is more than compensated by her exquisite Yamato Nadeshiko beauty, her long limbs and gorgeous thin figure! Damn it, the victory is theirs, and this really isn't a contest anymore….
('This is why I hate Class 3-A so much! Such outrageous specs and abilities, such natural perfection in all categories, from so many of them…. Don't you two have any shame!?')
"Thank goodness that's over with," Hinagiku sighed as they entered the wings.
"I don't understand how anyone can find this embarrassment fun to do," Erika added.
('At least the wenches have the decency to be embarrassed back here…still, it pisses me off that they complain when they have it so easy….')
"Great, now it's Chi-chi's turn coming up!" Kanade remarked.
"Huh!?"
"No problem! Chi-chi's the real expert, so she'll do fine, right? Let's get you in a suitable costume to go with them…."
"N-no, I'm not going out there!" (What proof does she have that I'll do fine!? She's so irresponsible!') "W-what are you doing now!? Don't forcibly change someone else's clothes…!"
"What are you saying now? Hurry, get changed!"
"N-no, not that one! That costume isn't finished yet!"
"Come on, your turn is coming up quickly!"
Kain averted his eyes from the sudden strip show and distracted himself by asking Kenjirô, "Why did you suddenly pitch in, Kenjirô-kun? What stake do you have in this?"
Kenjirô snorted. "You think I wasn't listening, or did you forget I was here the whole time? She said, 'I don't get involved in high-risk battles'. Or whatever, that was the gist of what she said. That struck a nerve in me. You can't live life like that. If she just wants to be safe, she deserves a rude awakening like this…."
And so Chisame was shoved out onto the stage, without her glasses and dressed in a black, 'little devil girl' kind of outfit.
Kanade, who had somehow acquired a microphone, informed the full auditorium that they were now graced by, "Number eighteen, Hasegawa Chisame-sama, as the archenemy of Mahô Shojô Bibulion, Rouland Rouge!"
('You used my real name!? I-idiot dorm supervisor! I'll get you for this!')
And then she turned to the crowd. She stared at it…at them…in shock and horror. Her body went rigid in fright. The overwhelming mass in front of her, focused on her, staring at her, broke down all her armor of unconcern and self-confidence and self-satisfaction. Here, now, she was naked, vulnerable, and helpless, unable even to think of anything except fear….
She tried to stutter out something, but it only turned into noises and finally into an apology. "So-sorry! I-I'm so…rry…."
('It's useless…my face is completely red…I knew I couldn't stand in front of so many people….
('Gah, this is so bad! I need to…attract the audience…b-but I don't remember any of the character's lines…this is bad, this is oh so bad…many of Chiu's fans are supposed to be watching this, too….')
"Chisame-san…" Kain muttered from the wings, concern and regret filling him.
"It's okay, just watch," Kamo whispered in his ear.
('What do I do?') Chisame thought as she collapsed to her knees, her face buried in her hands, still muttering out plaintive apologies. ('What do I do? I have to do something…. Even when I did it in front of my monitor in my room, I was tense, so why is it this bad in front of these people? If they find out that the real Chiu is a pathetic person like this…ugu…this is all that stupid teacher's fault. And that brat Yûki! Impossible, worthless crap…I'm going to kill both of them! Gu…they're…the worst….')
"…Kawaii…."
"…Eh?"
The crowd had been murmuring, but that light exclamation of 'cute' had come out strong, and it was the first stream of water before the dam broke. The audience burst into approval, with applause, more cries of 'kawaii' and many more of 'moe!' A few even called out Chiu's name. Chisame looked up, her tears dried and her eyes wide in shock at this display of acceptance. "…Eh? Huh…?"
"Wonderful!" cried the regular announcer, who had seemingly retrieved his microphone from the thief. "Number eighteen! While playing the role of the enemy, you also represented the shy crybaby no-good character wonderfully! The audience is also quite appreciative!"
Chisame could hardly believe what had happened to her, but the cheers dried up more than her tears at record pace. ('Ah…that's right…that kind of works…so, they accept me like this? That's right, the basics are also fine…most importantly, it seems I hit the audience's needs right on the spot…Fufufu….')
And the winner was, unanimously, number 18, Chisame Hasegawa. She proudly accepted the small but beautiful trophy provided for the competition.
The interfering group congratulated her as she returned to the wings. She half-smiled and half-glared at them…rather, gave them the cracked forced smile of the brutally angry. "Yes, thanks to you pushy people, especially you, you unreasonable, incorrigible Sensei!"
"Eh…s-sorry…."
"But…" Chisame continued, straightening, calming, turning her eyes away, and flushing slightly, "for now, I'll give you my gratitude. The School Festival was always boring for me, but…well…being forced into this contest, and actually winning…gave me a little pleasure, at least…."
('Oh well…for the moment the stupid teacher seems to be my fan, too, and I should be kinder to my fans….')
"In any case," she finally hissed to Kain, "please don't tell anyone about today's event, got it!? Not a soul! Promise me! I can't have word of it getting around!"
There wasn't much to fear about it, she finally decided. The one she was most worried about blabbing was Kanade, but when she finally got up the courage to approach her about it, she seemed quite cognizant of Chisame's concern. "Oh, of course I won't say anything. If I go telling everyone about it, there probably won't be anymore fun events like this, right?"
Kain and Kenjirô, alone, escaped while Erika and Hinagiku went in search of the approaching tournament. "Ah, what a day," Kain remarked, staggering. "I'm exhausted…."
"I should think so, after all those time trips you've taken," Kamo chuckled. "You've been up over twenty-four hours now. That's not good for growing boys, even teenagers."
"Jeez…really that long, Kain?"
"Y-yeah…I guess so…."
"Maybe we could find somewhere to give you a quick nap before the finishing party. And then maybe we should hit Alyssa-san's place before the tournament tomorrow morning, so we can fully recover."
"That sounds good…."
Kenjirô stared at Kain for a while as they headed for the relative safety of Kain's room. "I have to apologize, Kain."
Kain turned to him in surprise. "Kenjirô…kun…?"
"I have been out of line recently, nagging you about your girl troubles. I guess…well, you're still an idiot, causing so many problems, but I can understand now why you can't help ending up that way after following you around through all your classes. This manner of kindness…it's just you, I guess. I shouldn't judge you harshly about it. And I shouldn't obsess over how it may or may not affect your fighting, either."
"T-thanks, Kenjirô…"
"No, it's nothing." He sighed and stretched. "Even for me it's been a busy day, and I've only experienced it twice. Let's get some rest, enjoy your little party and get ready for the real fun tomorrow. That's going to be a real amazing day…."
Kenjirô had no idea just how prophetic his words were….
Scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch. While her roommates slept, the seemingly little girl worked her pen over the paper.
Akari and Kiami were asleep in their beds, exhausted from the day's work and the night's festivities that had, in usual 3-A fashion, continued long into the night and even the early morning. Sakura, too, had spent quite a lot of her energy during the day, but there was no time for rest yet…not if she wanted to accomplish everything she needed to do before she was gone.
Time…she winced at a sensation that was not exactly pain, but significant all the same, and she looked down at her left hand, which began to grow transparent and fade from existence for several long seconds before becoming, once again, regular flesh and blood—at least by sight. Yes…not exactly pain, but something far more horrible as the sensation of feeling, of touch, of connection to that hand was suddenly completely severed. Yes, she had no choice. Even with all her power, she had no more time. "So…even with the tree, just over two years is my limit. Still, the trip has been worth it, just to be able to learn that…."
She continued writing with her odd instrument of choice, a quill pen dipped in a true inkwell. The paper she used was paper, and not animal skin parchment, but it was thicker and rougher than the fine paper favored by the late 20th/early 21st century humans. It was her preference—her father was raised using thin-lead mechanical pencils and her mother used ink with small, thin brushes, but to her romantic soul, there was just something invigorating about the use of the writer's quill, about turning a natural spidery line into a flowing work of art….
She glanced out the window at the moon, waxing heavily. On that night, it would be a perfect full moon…so poetic, so perfect….
That was still the future, still to come. Before then, she still had work to do.
She turned back, finished the letter, and set it aside before taking up the next one. Addressing a new name, she continued her work long into the night.
Author's Note: Character Introduction: The Masters of Yokohama
Well, here we are, one day into the Festival! This Act was fairly short, but I like the idea of using the ending of each day as the finale for each Act. The next two will likely both be very big, so I guess that kind of makes up for this.
One of the best parts of this chapter is Chisame's cosplay contest. This marks the beginning of Chisame's involvement in her teacher's world…we'll see where this leads soon. As usual, there was embarrassment skipped at the end…Chisame's half-finished costume has a loose thread that the inquisitive Kôtarô finds and pulls, which causes the costume to come off (while Chisame is still on stage), unveiling her to the audience in only a black bra and panties, further traumatizing her. This event is what really sets off Chisame's fierce (almost maniacal) insistences to Negi that he never mention the evening to anyone. I decided to spare her this embarrassment…she's still concerned (just as she was in the original) with her secret life being widely disclosed, after all.
In the original piece, Negi's overwork is demonstrated more, especially when he goes visiting clubs with Iinchô. The subplot (before arriving at Chisame's) is that the crazy Ayaka, the 'night before' (that is, before for Negi, future for her) told Negi that she'd had the most amazing time with him that day, and he freaked out over this future knowledge, naturally. He wanted to show her a great time and make sure that event actually came to pass, but his fatigue got the better of him, and he ended up falling asleep with his head in her lap on a random bench somewhere. Naturally, to the shotacon, this constituted heaven, thus, Negi's mission was fulfilled, although he did not understand why. No chance for that here, really, since I punted the shotacon iinchô, but having him spend time with Erika and Hinagiku instead worked just as well…and they made a great team to bring into the cosplay contest too. In the original, Ayaka is joined there by Makie, who is a markedly more 'cute' character than her normal replacement Kaoru. However, this is another area where the two (Hinagiku and Erika, that is) are quite similar and their personality similarities make the area harder to work—Ayaka and Makie are both enthusiastic idiots in love with Negi, so when he cheerfully suggests they participate, they cluelessly but loyally leap to do it. Erika and Hinagiku aren't that crazy. They are both superwomen used to public displays, as Chisame noted, but they hate embarrassing situations like cosplay, so they complain, but they, being so steely-nerved, are well-prepared to do what they need to. Since they needed a pusher, and Kain isn't quite that pushy, Kanade was roped into being the driver of this event…this created a small problem of letting a blabbermouth figure Chisame out, but as I worked it into the story, she's not a total idiot, and she knows that blabbing could ruin further chances at fun.
Ah, and readers may suspect that Kain seems amazingly forward here. I agree; it seems he is surprisingly aggressive when dealing with Chisame. However, this is just following the original as usual—Negi is also usually reserved but suddenly dominating when dealing with Chisame. Perhaps Negi—and, by default, Kain—knows that it's the only way to get Chisame to do anything, so he forces himself to force her. Regardless, she will eventually have some revenge on that score….
So, let's move on to the second best part of this chapter…the masters of the Three Schools, brought to us in all their HSDK-copy glory.
The first school, Seitenryû, features the swordsman Hikaru Tsukino as its student and consists of….
Kim Ban Yong, Master of Strategy and Taekwondo. The Korean is a world champion in all strategy games, including (since he is Korean) StarCraft. Calm and reserved and super intelligent and hard-working, he is a stereotypical Asian in those regards.
Zhou Xiang, Spiritual Shaolin Master. A standard Shaolin monk, Zhou is very quiet and laid-back, but very understanding of all things around him…he probably understands quite a lot about magic just from exceptional perception and observation on his part.
Serge Devaux, Insightful Gentleman of Savate. The French gentleman is dressed like a late 19th Century French nobleman, complete with…sword-cane, of course, and the thin mustache. 'Gentleman' describes him very well. While, being French, he is perhaps the most outgoing member of this school, he is not quite so romantic as the stereotypical French.
Hitomi Takeda, Flexible Practitioner of Aikijûjutsu and the Bow. A Japanese noble lady, a descendant of the famous Takeda family. She gets little time to practice it, but she is a master of kyûjutsu (bow techniques) in addition to aikijûjutsu and many other arts as well, such as cooking, sewing, calligraphy and far more. Like most of her comrades, she is quite calm and quiet most of the time.
Kyomaru Heishiro, Modern Sword Battôsai. A modern Japanese samurai, he is a master of the sword, including iaijutsu (drawing, striking, and returning the blade all in an instant), battôjutsu (striking from the draw) and even nitôryû (dual-wielding, basically). Like the legendary Musashi, he actually prefers the bokken as a weapon, but as a true samurai, he respects his sword as well.
I originally envisioned three schools with five masters so I could give the option for a wider variety of martial arts, since five masters per dôjô is about perfect in number. I separated them into different sections by giving a different philosophy to each…making essentially a 'light', 'neutral', and 'dark' dôjô. Seitenryû is the light dôjô, the lawful good dôjô, those who appreciate the sport of the skill and pursue its mastery simply in order to better themselves. As they are so good and 'pure', they actually tend to be rather boring by comparison, and since their student Hikaru has only just appeared and won't be a major player, we'll likely hardly deal with them, either. In fact, these characters are remarkably 'generic', with little base behind them. As their creator, I like them, but they are defined by their martial arts more than anything.
The second school, Hokushinryû, is the home of Akari Heiro and features….
Feilong Quan, Modern Perfector of Bruce Lee's Legacy. As his title suggests, Feilong is a Chinaman who seeks to emulate the master of all masters, having followed in his footsteps in learning many different arts as a base to master jeet kune do, and even having been a kung fu movie actor (rather famous, in fact). He is also, naturally, heavily adapted from Street Fighter's Feilong.
Keisuke Ogata, Philosophical Jûjutsu Master. Shigure Kôsaka was, overall, my favorite master in HSDK, but Koetsuji Akisame was a close second, and I made the master of jûjutsu nearly his carbon copy. Like Hitomi, he is a master of many arts (and their similar styles and interests partially arose from them being childhood friends), especially sculpting and bone surgery, and while he is caring and intelligent (and a fabulous inventor) he is a harsh, almost cruel teacher.
Bruce McTavish, Invincible Perverted Krav Maga Expert. Created almost entirely for Ryan, who was obsessed with the Krav Maga martial art. Since he was made exclusively for him, I gave him the name of the intriguing hero of Call of Duty 4, 'Soap' McTavish, making him a retired SIS agent from England. He is a 'hentai', reading dirty magazines and making moves on females constantly. As a Brit, however, he finds going after underage girls offensive, and has no reaction to high school girls, a twist on anime-style hentai characters that I find very amusing, since most of the time they never seem to care about age.
Michael Neil Armstrong, Passionate Boxer of Pedigree. Based on one of our favorite over-the-top characters, Maj—I mean, Master Armstrong is a loud, overbearing and, yes, passionate American boxer, from a wealthy, fabulous family, gifted with many talents, all of which have been 'passed down the Armstrong family for generations'. 'Nuff said, right?
Gracia Peres, Exotic Dancing Leaf of Brazil. Although they're entirely different, I had Gracia be Brazilian so that she could cover both of its martial arts, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and capoeira. BJJ is a modern martial art, adapted from jûjutsu and other grappling techniques, but focusing on the legs—rather unique, in fact, with its leg grapples. Capoeira is also heavily leg-focused, but with kicks, and it is a style adapted from native dances of slaves. Gracia is the only one of this dôjô who is not based on another character, but I had a lot of fun designing her, perhaps in subconscious self-defense so that her more well-developed comrades wouldn't overshadow her. She loves to party (I have met them and can confirm: Brazilians love to party), loves to drink, loves to dance and romance, and she doubles as a witchdoctor who makes suspect but very effective potions (allowable since capoeira has legendary witchdoctor roots).
Hokushinryû is the school that most closely matches the original Ryôzanpaku, which is one of the reasons for its most obvious copy (Keisuke), and its abundance of strong, heavily-adapted characters. Its masters believe in pursuing the art for the sake of the art itself, mastering their styles because it is the only way to respect the skills they have learned. Alignment-wise, you could consider them Neutral Good…they still practice katsujinken, or the fist of life, meaning that they believe martial arts are not for killing.
The third school was originally called Yôhôryû, but I, lacking my notes when I started writing this story, had to come up with a new name (I couldn't remember the original) and eventually used Akasôryû. Its student is Kiami Tsukimori (originally Kiami Soten, but again I didn't have my notes for the campaign at the time; by this point, of course, I had recovered them, but decided it wasn't worth it to make corrections). Its masters:
Hachan Tochaia, Brutal Assassin of Muay Thai. Although I loved Apachai Hopachai, the Thai master of HSDK, I didn't want his silliness in this, especially since he and his brutal art were going to the most brutal school. I kind of pictured him originally as a not-quite-so-evil Sagat, a brutal fighter as befitting a…truly brutal sport. However, after reading even more of Kenichi, I like him as a fighter kind of like Yami's Muay Thai master, Agaard Jum Sai, a rather cheerful and pleasant guy who nonetheless is a…again, brutal is the best word, fighter. He's not soft and silly and foolish, but…yeah, cheerful, mostly friendly, but delightedly savage in combat.
Kôtarô Hakami, Merciless Iron Fist of Karate. Since he's from a somewhat darker school, this karate master is somewhat rougher and more dangerous that HSDK's Shio Sakaki. Still, it's a good mold to start with. Surly, a drinker, and, yes, merciless, he's a rough fighter who loves to fight, but only dangerous around truly worthy foes…and the lack of them in abundance makes him grumpier.
Bao Hanfu, Dark Master of Kung Fu. Again, like the HSDK master of the art—Ma Kensei in this instance—but…darker. Bao Hanfu isn't as ridiculously hentai as Ma was (we already have McTavish for that anyway), but he will harass the teenagers and take compromising, embarrassing and, yes, criminal pictures of them, and he's somewhat lazy…but a deadly fighter when aroused to anger. Be wary of him.
The Shadowy Kunoichi, Ninjutsu's Aki Tanaka, Fu-Ma Jônin. Somewhat, again, based on Shigure from HSDK, but only a little; she is mostly unique, a dark, heartless ninja who is fiercely protective of Kiami. She has mastered many weapons and the unarmed taijutsu art, and generally stays in the background, like all good ninja.
Kaiji Natsumi, Tyrant Champion of Sumo. His base was HSDK's Thor, a teenager (more or less) and member of the first enemy group, the delinquent party Ragnorak. His goal was to spread the sport of 'combat sumo' to the entire world, and Kaiji is designed along the same lines. A champion sumotori, he has far exceeded the sporting limits of the art and is disgusted with its perception in the world. His mission is to prove that sumo is an art as great and deadly as any other, and he is a ruthless teacher to those willing to follow that goal with him.
This group is the 'dark' party, and could be defined as Chaotic Good. They believe in martial arts as nothing more than a tool to use in accomplishing one's desires, whatever they are. Still, they are all followers of the philosophy of katsujinken, and are not designed to be villains—all three schools are rivals of differing philosophies, but they are friends/rivals, really, who quite respect each other. The villains are truly evil, followers of satsujinken, who believe that martial arts are weapons for killing enemies and that this ideal has tragically been lost in this day and age…just like in HSDK. Still, I wanted to shy from the darker side, so I didn't develop them quite as much, instead making them all (generally darker) adaptations from similar masters in HSDK.
I would like to have at least some of these characters do a little bit before the end of the Festival, make their mark…but naturally I don't have the room or time to include all of them. However, expect a few appearances from Akari's collection, at least—especially since they're my favorites.
Okay, that's enough on mostly meaningless characters. On to the Act 5!