A/N: The seventh chapter is ready to go!
Who's the next POV?
Someone you wouldn't have counted on.
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Christina
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I'm Christina Denton, daughter of the famous Diana Denton and protégé of the great Minako Aino!
Many people ask me, "What's an idol celebrity-in-training do in her spare time?" I say to them, "What spare time?"
School's been out for Summer Break for about a week, but I've hardly had anything resembling a day off since. Most of my time is spent either rehearsing or writing, though I do have my thrice-a-week training with the girls.
Today's one of those days where I have both responsibilities to uphold. Minako and my mother are counting on me to improve my singing and creative work. I can't let them down. Whoo, but what a day. I've been rehearsing for a new single I've written for a popular TV drama. I've given my voice enough abuse.
Now, it's time for my body to take some abuse.
As I waited outside the studio, I saw Taylor walking torward me carrying her gym bag. She turned and noticed me waiting outside. The jubilant Texan approached me and accompanied me across the street to the train station.
"Ready for some Kobudo training?" Taylor asked with her adorable Texan accent. She lightly slapped my back, giggling. "How was rehearsal?"
"Went well, but god my throat's been such a pain in the butt," I replied, rubbing my throat and cleared it.
"Don't overexert yourself, gal. You have such a beautiful voice and we wanna hear ya sing well."
"Thanks, Taylor," I smirked, turning my head as we stepped onto the train. Our next stop would be the Okami dojo in Shibuya. No, Mr. Okami's not our teacher. He doesn't teach much anymore, aside from the Chimeras. Instead, he leases out his dojo to other instructors during certain time periods.
Miss Setsuna and the other Planetary Senshi proposed that we utilize our free time not only to train our minds, but our bodies, too. Since me and the Kuiper Senshi are more or less on active duty, we're required to face any local threats in Juuban. All of us have taken measures to use our training schedules wisely. Jami is captain of the school archery team, and has actually won a couple of tournaments. Helena practices her Capoeira and often spars with Tyra at Hikawa Shrine. Tyra actually teaches self-defense classes for women at Okami's dojo. As for me, Taylor, and Karin, we're the ones taking this Kobudo class.
Speaking of Karin, we're supposed to meet her at Okami's dojo. But, she did remind us that she might run a little late, because today she begins her first day working as a part-time assistant museum curator at the Domino City Museum, a job which Lyn got for her using her contacts.
It's tough. I think Karin and I are the ones with the busiest schedules. We both go to school, work part-time, train, and protect the city. It's stressing, but fortunately we have more free time on our summer vacation. And when we do, it's all great in the end. We have each other and support our goals to the very end.
Upon entering Okami's dojo, Taylor and I walked inside whilst setting our bags down. Tyra walked by us, draping her gym bag across her right shoulder. She gave us nods and passed us by.
"How did class go?" I asked Tyra.
"Went well. One of my students nearly kicked my ass in a demonstration."
Taylor quickly inquired. "Which one?"
"Chun, the weird Chinese girl who has that fangirl obsession over me."
"Ah, her. She's a tough cookie," I said. "But, I'm sure she was just trying to impress you."
"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, catch you guys later," Tyra said while walking off. "I'm off to cruise around on my motorcycle to unwind a bit."
"See ya!" We called out to our cool-headed friend.
Taylor turned and flexed her right arm. "Ready to work our butts off, idol singer?"
"Sure thing! I won't lose to you, cowgirl!" I boasted.
"Heh, you two are sure high-spirited today. If that's the case, I'm glad," a woman's voice called out from behind us. That voice came from our Kobudo instructor. She's a very famous Kobudo instructor in the country and a youthful woman in her early 20's. She's about the same age as Usagi, Rei, Minako, Makoto, and Ami, but already has gained such a high famed reputation amongst the top martial artists in the whole country. Yeah, and she's a real beast of a woman, too. She's sweet, but is a tough instructor. She also happens to be one of Rei's old classmates from the All-Girls school they went to. Yeah, and Rei was kind enough to give her old friend a call to teach us.
By the way, her name is Megumi Shibara.
As we turned and faced our Okinawan Kobudo instructor, we greeted her with bows. She was a relatively young woman wearing red hair, garbed in a white karate gi top and a long dark blue hakama, and walked forward barefooted.
"Guys, no need to be so formal," Megumi-shishou addressed us with a slight Nagoya accent. Learning that Megumi-shishou grew up in the countryside when she was a child, she moved to Juuban to attend her first year in Junior High in Rei's school and has lived here ever since.
Megumi-shishou and Taylor get along quite well for obvious reasons. Funny thing is we and other students sometimes call her 'Hikaru,' since she does have a striking resemblance to Hikaru Shidou, the main lead from the anime Magic Knight Rayearth. Though, Megumi-shishou's skin complexion is a heck of a lot lighter than Hikaru's and her hair slightly longer.
But, I'm still lagging behind Karin and Taylor. I'm probably the one with the least passion for fighting, but I have to do this to improve my battle skills and test my durability as a Senshi. Now isn't the time to be slacking off! I'm ready to get serious!
"Megumi-shishou, Karin said she's running late, so..." I informed our instructor.
"That's all right," Megumi-shishou nodded, smiling. "I'll give her a few minutes."
As we waited for Karin to get here, Taylor and I got dressed in our Kobudo training gear. We wore outfits similar to Megumi-shishou's, except I wore a black hakama and Taylor wore a lighter green one.
What is Okinawan Kobudo? Well, it translates to old martial way of Okinawa. Generally, it refers to the traditions of using classical Japanese weapons, including the six-foot-long staff called the bo, the three-pronged dagger known as the sai, the handled club known as the tonfa, the sickle called a kama, the tri-sectioned sansetsukon, and the bi-sectioned nunchaku. There's also the knuckledusters called tekko, the shield & spear combo known as tinbe-rochin, and the weighted rope called the surujin. Yeah, I've been a quick study about these weapons. Overall, Kobudo is fun and great exercise. We've learn to hone our weapon skills better and get a steady workout. There's really only two cons to Kobudo: one, the abuse is a pain. Two, I really don't like having to train barefooted. Training on sweaty and dirty mats blemishes my cute feet! But, what can you do? I shouldn't complain! I'm training for god's sake!
The weapons I've been entrusted for practice, which are the same weapons I use as Sailor Orcus, are sais.
Taylor's weapon of choice is the surujin, which is just a rope that's similar in fashion to her lasso.
Karin's weapon of choice is obviously the bo since it's the most similar to her trident.
And well, guess who decides to show up.
Megumi-shishou, Taylor, I, and a group of nine students turn as Karin stepped into the dojo almost out of breath.
"Well, well, look who makes her grand entrance?" Megumi-shishou teased Karin, who arrived catching her breath. "I was able to hold off starting class for a few minutes."
Karin arrived wearing an outfit resembling a school teacher's. Taylor and I couldn't help but chuckle at her choice of attire. She wore a white blouse with a blue tie coupled with a long blue skirt, and flat black slip-on shoes. To complete her geeky outfit, she wore small glasses and wore her hair up in a bun.
"Gee, who let a school teacher into our dojo?" Taylor snickered as she poked fun at Karin's outfit.
I couldn't keep myself from stifling with laughter. Even Megumi-shishou giggled a bit and walked up to Karin while complimenting her work attire.
I saw Karin's face turn beet red as she folded her arms around her chest and snorted.
"It was not like I had a choice to wear this!" Karin spat out as she stammered. "Setsuna-san thought I should look professional on my first day as a curator!"
"Ah, but ya do look adorable, Miss Osaka," Megumi-shishou winked as she lightly shoved Karin across the room. "Now, go and get dressed, Miss Osaka. I'm ready to start class."
"Right!" The brunette called out as she noticed me and Taylor chortling while passing us by. She turned, pointing towards us with a peeved look. "Laugh it up. I'm so kicking your butts today."
"Yes, Miss Osaka, don't make us stand outside class!" I chimed in, chuckling as I watched Karin walk into the girl's dressing room. Ok, perhaps we did go a little too far, but hey she looked like a teacher! Miss Setsuna must've enjoyed playing with Karin like she was a dress-up doll. Haha, no wonder Karin canceled plans to go watch a movie with us last night.
Karin stepped out wearing her traditional Kobudo gear. Her hakama was a lighter shade of blue. Her eyes burned with passion, shooting a glare toward me and Taylor."Hope you're ready, you two. You know what they say about payback."
Me and Taylor chuckled nervously as we faced each other.
"Sorry to keep ya'll waiting," Karin walked over and sat down by me and Taylor. "Megumi-shishou, we're ready now."
"Good," Megumi-shishou smirked as an audience filed in to observe our class. Mr. Okami was ok with crowds coming to visit and watch any classes commencing in his dojo, and Megumi-shishou's sessions are always open to the public. She's such a generous lady.
Following thirty minutes of training, Megumi-shishou called Taylor, Karin, and me onto the mat. Megumi-shishou considers us her three best students and asked us to give demonstrations for the newbies. It's fun giving demonstrations. It's my chance to be in the spotlight and show everyone what I've got!
Wielding a pair of tonfas, Megumi-shishou dropped into a split-legged stance and focused on Taylor first.
"Begin!" I called out, allowing the two to engage head-on.
I followed Taylor, who readied her surujin, and threw a weighted rope end at Megumi-shishou, who quickly sidestepped Taylor's throw and stepped forward a few paces. Taylor stepped back, pulling her rope forward and whirled the other end, a leather cord, and threw it across. Megumi-shishou parried it with her right tonfa and stepped forward. Taylor frantically pulled the leather cord back. I watched Taylor keeping away from the boundary circle and jumping around to the left end. Taylor threw the rope end again as the woman slapped it down with her left tonfa. Megumi-shishou pressed forward and pushed her right tonfa into Taylor's gut, knocking her out of the circle. I watched as Taylor fell out and held her gut.
"Out!" I cried out.
Taylor sighed, shaking her head. "She's quick like always."
"Good job, Miss West," the redhead offered her compliment. "But, ya need to better your reflexes. Ya use the rope better across longer distances, but not too accustomed to using it as a short-range weapon. Work on it a little more." She walked over to Taylor and pat her back. "Good work."
"Thanks," my Texan friend said.
It was my turn. I took up my sais and readied them, taking a stance as Megumi-shishou kept her tonfas.
Taylor did pretty well, but I don't think I'm going to last. In fact, Taylor has better stamina and is more athletic than me. I mean yeah, as Sailor Orcus, I totally kick ass fighting superpowered freaks, but my fighting skills in civilian form are sub-par at best. Megumi-shishou would totally annihilate me in a real fight. Heck, she'd probably destroy me and the girls in our civilian forms, all things considered. Rumor has it, on one night after leaving a convenience store, Megumi-shishou survived an encounter with a group of 10 knife-wielding gang members with just a broom-handle-bo and her bare hands. They attempted to gang rape her, but she cut loose and opened up her other side. And reports say these were well-built guys!
Yeah, I really don't like my chances here.
"Start!" I heard Karin announce the commencement of our demonstration match.
I readily held my sais as Megumi-shishou paced forward and tightly gripped her tonfas. I jumped back and nearly fell out of the boundary circle. Nearly tripping back, I balanced myself and spun around to an opposite corner. I paced myself carefully and followed Megumi-shishou's feet. I can do this! C'mon, girl, I can do this! Don't be afraid!
"Is something the matter, Miss Denton? What are you afraid of?" I heard Megumi-shishou taunt. "I know you're better than this." I watched as she swung her right tonfa at me, prompting me to evade and roll to the side. With luck, I thrust my right-handed sai into Megumi-shishou's left leg. I closed my eyes and prayed...
...only to realize Megumi-shishou jumped up and avoided contact with my sai. She landed six feet back, forging a distance between us. I picked myself up and encircled the red-haired instructor. She isn't even winded, much less lost her energetic side. Megumi-shishou is an extremely energetic woman and keeps plenty in reserve. She normally goes for short and quick outbursts unless necessary, and that's only when she's facing an equally matched opponent. I'm nowhere near her league.
"Come at me, Miss Denton. Or, are ya going to concede?"
"Concede? Yeah, right!" I protested as I took a chance and raced forward. I whirled around and attempted to strike Megumi-shishou with my sais. She raised her left arm and quickly countered one sai with her tonfa. She promptly blocked the second sai with the other. She freely kicked me in the chest and pushed me to the ground. Before I could get up, Megumi-shishou knelt over and placed her right tonfa against my throat. "...you got me."
"You're improving on close quarters combat, but ya need to strike faster and apply more force."
Megumi-shishou said it best. I had a lot to improve on. She offered me a hand, which I kindly accepted and pulled me off the floor mat.
I took a seat by Taylor, who offered me a wink to cheer me up.
"Ya did good out there," Taylor smiled. "You ain't as bad as ya say."
"Please, I'm not as adept as you or Karin."
"Don't say that. You've shown you're capable of using sais in battle."
"Yeah, but I'm more comfortable stabbing a monster with my sais. But, Megumi-shishou is... a person. I hold myself back..."
"That's your big flaw, Christina," the Texan added. "Don't hold back, but don't go for a killing blow."
"Right, I'll remember that..."
"Karin's up to face Megumi-shishou now."
I turned and watched both girls holding bo staffs. "Now, this should be good. Karin's a badass bo wielder."
"But, so is Megumi-shishou," Taylor stated.
Isn't that the truth? Karin and Megumi-shishou are bar none the top bo wielders in the class. I'd dare say they're almost equally on par with each other, but Megumi-shishou has more years of experience under her belt. We'll see what comes of this.
"Ready, Miss Osaka?"
Karin nodded. "Yes!"
"Begin!"
I followed both ladies run forward and engage each other with their staffs. They rapidly swung their staffs with rapid succession. Watching these two spar is a thrill to see up close. How I wish I was on their level. From the corner of my eye, I saw Karin cornered and about to trip out of the circle. I gasped and then sighed as Karin steadied herself and swayed away from the boundary circle. I watched Karin pace around the circle. Megumi-shishou stepped forward and swung her staff forward, striking Karin's. I saw Karin place her foot forward, attempting to trip the instructor. I clasped my hands together and was drawn to the match, immediately pulling for Karin.
"Go, Karin!" I shouted, conveying my support as I pumped my fist into the air. "You can do it!"
Taylor followed my lead. "We're pulling for ya, girl!"
Karin and Megumi-shishou engaged in close quarters, firmly crossing each other's staffs together. The red-haired instructor saw an opening and exploited it, throwing a kick to Karin's gut. The brunette jumped back, evading Megumi-shishou's kick. Karin gripped her staff tightly and lunged forward. She thrust her staff forward, but Megumi-shishou countered by swinging her staff horizontally, tilting Karin's strike aside. Megumi-shishou lunged at Karin and brought down her staff. Karin rolled away and let Megumi-shishou strike the mat.
"Whew!" I said. Hey, I can't help it! This is getting exciting!
Karin steadied herself and raced across and caught the back of Megumi-shishou's left calf with a quick staff slap. This quickly stunned Megumi-shishou, causing her to falter and sink to one knee.
"There you go, girl! You've got her!" I shouted as the other students, too, were getting into the match.
I caught the audience cheering and clapping for the demonstration show.
I turned as I watched a teenage boy hollering crazily from the audience. "Man, look at that girl give Megumi-shishou a run for her money!" Heh, who knew we had admirers? I watched as a teenage girl accidentally push the guy aside to watch the demonstration. "Hey!"
"Sorry," I spotted a girl with long, violet hair and wearing a girl's school uniform like ours. "Is there some competition going on?"
"Nah," he replied, "just a demonstration my friends are giving. But, it's just as heated as a tournament match."
"Really? Well, this should be exciting," the girl added with a smile. "My name is Aya Tsuki." She shook the boy's hand.
"Arashi Kaname. Oh, look at that Karin go! She's got Megumi-shishou against a corner!"
"Karin?"
"Karin Osaka. She's the only one who's come closest to pushing Megumi-shishou past her limits in these matches."
"She's most excellent..." I heard the girl chatting with the guy, quickly shifting my view to the match. I saw Karin and Megumi-shishou wildly striking their staffs against each other.
"HYAAA!" Karin shouted a fierce cry as she swung and narrowly missed Megumi-shishou, who tucked her head and evaded Karin's staff swing. "Gah!" I watched Megumi-shishou drop down and swing her staff, sweeping Karin off her feet.
"Karin!" me and Taylor cried out as our friend was on the floor. "Get up!"
As Megumi-shishou brought her staff down, Karin rolled from the fierce swing and sprang to her feet. All eyes were mesmerized with my friend's tenacity and unwillingness to give up. This is the Kuiper leader we've come to know! Even against our instructor, Karin is not one to give up.
"You've got her, Karin!" I cheered on my friend's unnerved perseverance.
Karin and Megumi-shishou exchanged reserved smiles. Then, to our surprise, our instructor dropped her staff. Huh? Why? She can't be giving up.
"Giving up, Megumi-shishou?" I heard Karin call out on our instructor's 'unconditional' surrender. "I'm disappointed."
"No, sorry to disappoint ya, but I'm not surrendering," she answered as she turned toward me and Taylor. "Y'all two join Karin."
We responded, taken aback by her instructions. "What? Us two?"
"Y'all three against me alone."
"I think you're getting ahead of yourself, Megumi-shishou," Karin quipped.
The red-haired woman added with a reserved smile. "Oh no. I just want to finish our demonstration for our audience. So, I'm raising the stakes. Ya'll three attack me with your weapons." She picked up her staff and dropped into a fighting stance. "I'll give ya'll a minute to prep. I'll be waiting." She stepped away, giving us room to plan. Perfect. If anything, we Senshi excel best at teamwork! I think we can do this!
I knelt over as Karin, me, and Taylor whispered strategic counters against Megumi-shishou's over-the-top skills. I nodded as we broke up and spread out.
"Ready for the end, ladies?" The red-haired woman's smile curved outward, quickly dropping into stance and held her staff outward. "Engage!"
We sprinted ahead and spread out. Karin charged forward whilst Taylor and I flanked across to attack Megumi-shishou from her rear.
"Go for it, guys!" I heard Karin bark out to us.
I brought my sais toward Megumi-shishou's left rear while Taylor threw her rope at her right side. Karin seized the chance and lunged forward, readily swinging her staff forward. Then, with eye-blinking speed, Megumi-shishou jumped back, causing me and Taylor to strike each other. Megumi-shishou used the open space behind her as a springboard and launched herself head-on against Karin, striking her upper chest area with her staff. Karin fell to one knee and dropped her staff while holding her upper chest. Me and Taylor barely came to while looking up to see Megumi-shishou pointing her staff toward the back of Karin's head.
See, what I mean? The woman's crazy skilled! She's a team wrecker!
"That'll be all, my three little guinea pigs," she smirked, winking to us.
Our demonstration drew a loud crowd reaction as they cheered our efforts. It would've been sweeter if we could knock off 'Miss Team Wrecker,' but you can't win 'em all, mates!
Taylor helped me up as we turned and caught Megumi-shishou offering a hand to Karin.
"Ya three have come far. I'm proud of ya'll."
Karin bit her lip, trying hard to bottle up her disappointment. "But, you easily schooled us despite Christina, Taylor, and me teaming up."
"Well, y'all just not accustomed to fighting a gang of people like I have," Megumi-shishou smirked.
Then, from the corner of my eye, I noticed sections of her gi visibly cut open.
A small smile curved over my face as soon as I realized where my sais last hit. "Heh, I wouldn't speak too soon, Megumi-shishou. Look at your gi."
Our instructor checked over shirt and noticed the sections where my sais cut through her shirt.
"And look at your right ankle," Taylor pointed out as the woman noticed my friend's rope tied around her ankle.
"I'll be darned," she noted. "Well, Miss Denton, Miss West, ain't ya'll one full of surprises? Congratulations!"
"Thanks," I replied, wiping the sweat from the side of my brows. Well, I suppose this is a start for me. Even if Karin couldn't land the finishing blow, at least me and Taylor were able to tag our instructor.
As the four of us took a bow, the students and audience offered us a giant round of applause.
Wow, I do feel like I'm an idol on stage with my adoring fans cheering me on.
I can expect this in my future once I make it big! I won't let Minako and Mom down!
"Class dismissed, but I want you three to stay to help clean-up," Megumi-shishou said as she pat our shoulders and walked off to speak with a suited gentleman.
"Don't feel down, Karin," I walked up and whispered to her. "Our teamwork worked out well in the end."
"Hell yeah! You oughta cheer up and be proud of us!" Taylor added with a quirky smirk.
Karin nodded while undoing her bun, letting her hair loose. "You're right. We are the Kuiper Senshi after all."
"That's the spirit!" I cried out.
After we picked up our tools, the other students approached and quickly asked for advice for the next class session. How cute. They're asking for advice from us. I'm flattered. I feel like I'm growing an even bigger fanbase. Well, if they like my martial arts demonstration, then they're gonna get a kick out of my first single release! Christina Denton, you're on your way to a road of success.
We passed by as the audience tried asking us a bunch of questions. Two of them being the guy and the girl who were having a nice chat during our demonstration.
"Good work, girls!" The boy offered us praise.
I turned and smiled to him. "Thanks, Arashi."
"Been enjoying the break so far?" He asked.
"We have," Taylor said. "And who's this? A friend of yours?"
"Eh, you could say that," Arashi said.
The purple-haired girl bowed, introducing herself. "Nice to meet you. I'm Aya Tsuki."
"Don't think I've met you before," Karin added.
"I just moved here from Osaka. You three looked impressive out there."
"Are you considering joining our class, Aya?" I approached her.
"I guess so, but I'll have to ask my parents."
"It's up to you then," Karin added as me and Taylor followed her outside the shrine to cool off. "Anyway, we'll see you and your new friend around, Arashi."
"Bye, Arashi," I muttered, looking back as I waved to him. Ah, maybe I should ask him out on a date. I hope it's not too late. Hey, what's with that weird look Aya's giving Karin?
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A/N: Finished another chapter. Seven down, three left to go until the Arcadian Movement mystery is unraveled.
Hope you guys enjoyed the Kobudo chapter. This was a chapter I've been meaning to write for the longest time. I've found myself liking Megumi Shibara. She's got a presence about her that's intriguing. Her sweet southern accent is one defining feature of hers. On top of that, she has no powers. She's no meta-human, but is still a very capable and dangerous street-level fighter. Her feat of beating 10 large thugs with knives is quite impressive for a normal. She'll be one of the very few 'Badass Normals' in the series. You'll definitely see more of Megumi in the future.
And could we be looking at a possible love interest for Christina? I introduce Arashi Kaname, who's the same age as our lovable Australian idol singer. Is Aya Tsuki a possible love rival for Christina? Sure why not. I have plans for a love triangle situation in the Gaiden section.
No mention of Arcadian Movement this chapter. That's a-ok with me. We could use a break from them.
Anyway, leave a review and stay gold!
