A knock. "Negako-san?"

"Enter, Hideyuki."

The door to the small staff office on the ground floor that had been set aside for the ninjutsu grandmaster – it had been a storage closet, but Negako had not minded – opened to reveal a nervous Mifune Hideyuki. "Sorry to disturb you," he said with a bow of his head. "Can I ask you something?" he then asked. "About Tamako-chan?"

An eyebrow arched. "You know the truth about her. And of Sŏ Yŏn'i."

He jolted on hearing that statement, and then quickly recovered, nodding. Even if he understood the full extent of what Moroboshi Negako was capable of, listening to a statement quite like THAT was still a lot to get used to. "Y-yeah. Tariko-chan discovered what was going on, then passed it on to me." He took a seat beside the desk Negako had been given. "She also told me that it might be possible to swing Tamako-chan and Yŏn'i-ya away from whoever's controlling them by . . . well, er . . . "

A fleck of annoyance appeared on her face on seeing him stumble on the words. Why on Earth could people not speak of such things more openly? "By engaging in sexual intercourse with them," Negako finished as she gazed at him.

Another jerk, and then an embarrassed nod. "Y-yeah . . . "

The grandmaster's eyes narrowed as she turned to gaze in the general direction of Class 1-4. Noting this, Hideyuki remained silent. Like many of his peers, he had been taken aback by the breadth and depth of Negako's capabilities. And like many of his peers, he had been frightened to the core of his being on learning that this being – claimed by some to be the deadliest human being alive today, which was substantiated by the statements from the Imperial Palace concerning the actions of "Imperial Special Agent 49" (the spirit of the Saikō Jinseijutsu then in the subconscious mind of Ataru's paternal great-grandfather, Moroboshi Ryūbi) that ensured the final surrender of the nation after the release of the Shōwa Emperor's Imperial Rescript ending the war on 14 August 1945 – had been in Ataru's subconscious mind for a decade, slowly transforming him physically into one of the most physically perfect specimens of humanity ever to live . . . even if, at the same time, she was using him to eventually collect enough anti-ki under the Tarōzakura hill at the south end of the Mendō estate to eventually create a body for herself to use, most likely at the cost of Ataru's own life.

What had utterly astounded Hideyuki and his peers was how Ataru had simply accepted what had happened to him over the years with a shrug, a wink and a smile, and then moved to get on with his life. Thinking of that, he then remembered what Ataru said on his first day back in classes when he had been asked about the Sacred Promise and how much taking that oath had affected his life, for good and ill: I was just six years old when it happened. I was told at the time that I was being asked to save a pretty girl from dying. What did I know about meta-psionics or the fact that this 'girl' I was being asked to help save was my planet's first true artificial intelligence? Besides, you've seen Onē-san, haven't you? Can't you see how beautiful she is?

Remembering that, Hideyuki then recalled that everyone else – especially all the girls who had been the targets of Ataru's girl-hunts in the past – had laughed it off, then agreed that no matter what the cost, helping a sentient being become the true master of her own destiny was the right and proper thing to do in the end.

"You can do it."

He jerked on hearing Negako's words, and then he breathed out, a knot of nervousness suddenly forming deep in his heart. "So they're sex-droids, right?"

A nod. "Yes. The person who unleashed this on Tamako – her name is Conna – made use of a personal companion gynoid design when she constructed the replacement bodies for her as well as Yŏn'i and the thirty-eight other sentients currently in Tomobiki. I have yet to meditate to ascertain how many others may be elsewhere in country, to say anything of what might be still in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea." A sigh. "You are nervous about engaging in such activities, are you not?"

He blushed. "Y-yeah. I mean, yeah, you hear about guys braggin' about making the 'C' mark with girls, but . . . " A shake of the head. "Shit! You know most of that is just bullshit, but you don't call 'em out on it!" As she stared in confusion at him, he added, "They might try to call you out! And if they do, you look like ten types of idiot for lyin' about things like that!" He then looked down. "'Sides . . . "

"You believe doing that will be tantamount to rape."

Hideyuki jolted, and then he nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to do that to Yŏn'i-ya, Negako-san. I like her. I like her a lot. That ain't the right thing to do to someone like that, even if she was built as a gynoid in the first place. It's no different than doin' that to any of the Avalonians in town. Or on the ships Tsukihana and Ayami-chan built. Or on the bioroid factory itself. It's just not right."

"There is one mistake you are making about them."

He stared at her. "What's that?"

"They are not just gynoids," Negako warned. "In truth, all of them – save Conna herself – were once organic humans native to North Korea. Or here in Tomobiki in Tamako's case. Conna made use of a unique model of medical nanite to rebuild them all into what they are now. And while they do not possess the ability to spread a nanite 'virus' to infect other people, what happens if Conna notices what you have done to them – especially Yŏn'i since she is in contact every day with Conna – should you proceed to have sexual intercourse with them and thus take overall control of them?"

He started to pale. "What should I do?"

She gazed at him. "What are your feelings concerning Tamako?"

He paused to consider that for a moment, and then he sighed. "She's okay. I like her . . . but I don't look at her the same way I do Yŏn'i-ya. Tamako's like a lot of the other girls in class; she was so ga-ga over Mendō, there was just no use in asking her to go on a date. You remember the day shortly after he came here when they all started passing on friendship cards to him? When we tried to convince a girl to act as 'Nobade Shinobi' to try to date Ataru and piss Mendō off?" At her nod, he then perked. "What did happen, anyway? Who was that girl who came to the café?"

"That was Hensō, Hideyuki."

Silence.

Hideyuki gaped, and then he laughed. "Oh, shit! She was watching us, right?"

A nod. "Yes. It was around that time that Hensō decided that she did love her 'darling' and elected to pursue him in earnest. Of course, I had manipulated Ataru to treat her with kindness to ensure she would remain on Earth; she was a most efficient source of ki energy through her bio-electricity, not to mention her presence affecting all of you like it did." Negako then sighed. "No matter. Anyhow, your first object in your mission, Hideyuki, is to turn Tamako to your side. Will you do it?"

He tensed, and then took a deep breath. "She was turned into a gynoid against her will, right? All to give the North Koreans a look into our class, right?"

"She was."

"Then I got no choice. What do I have to do?"

Negako stood up. "I will expose you to the tantric forms of my family Art. As a whole, they are addressed as the Gojūni Sanji, written this way." She picked up a pencil and sketched out five kanji characters on a sheet of paper.

He looked. "'Fifty-two Mountain Temples?'"

"Hai. Now, this is what is to happen . . . "


"You have to admit, Tariko-chan, you had that coming to you."

Tariko blinked, and then she shrugged. "Yeah, you're right," she said as she gave Shinobu a glance before turning to finish the can of ice coffee she had got at a local vending machine before coming to school. She and Ataru were still by the front doors waiting for the majority of the students to stream in for a new day of classes; the first bell was still about fifteen minutes away. Mendō himself had gone inside to head to class; Tachiko was being interviewed by the Principal before she would be officially welcomed as a student at the school. "Still, I think the one thing the class doesn't need is a female version of Shūtarō taking Hensō's place and making all the guys go totally ga-ga over her. That'd drive the poor guy nuts."

Shinobu perked, and then she hummed. "True." She then stared at her. "By the way, can I ask you something?" At Tariko's nod, Shinobu indicated Ataru, who was now chatting away with Obinata Hiromi and Yamagata Masako. "Why doesn't Ataru-kun react whenever a boy tries to flirt with you, like Mendō-san does at times?"

A smirk. "He pulled that 'protective big brother' bullshit back on Okusei shortly after we all got our bodies thanks to Ganzo-ojiisan," Tariko explained. "It was nothing bad; just a nice guy who worked at a restaurant in the village closest to the Okusei Academy wanting to go on a date." A sigh. "This was just after that barrel of 'laughs' we all had on Morningstar Plain. Ataru just gave the poor guy a look and that fella was running for the hills, screaming his head off." A sip of the ice coffee. "I told him right afterward that if he ever pulled that shit again, I'd make him a eunuch, even if he was still sharing a futon with Kyech at the time."

Shinobu gaped at her, and then she giggled before she relaxed. "Still, he does love you, you know. And given how awful your mother is at times . . . "

A snort. "Tell me about it. Stupid idiot can't stand the fact that Onē-san is trying to help poor Asuka-chan adjust to being in normal society for the first time in her whole life – and then offered to take in the descendant of the onmyōji who crafted the spell that made the Promise what it was to help her discover her gifts – and because Onē-san scares the living hell out of her, she tries to take it out on Ataru and me." Tariko finished the rest of her ice coffee. "Well, if she still wants to be a jerk, Baka Kā-san can just grow old and die alone. Too bad for her."

Shinobu looked confused. "'Grow old and die alone?'"

A smirk. "It's something we came up with after we found out about our 'engagement' with Elle. When we were preparing our tux before Hensō came to kidnap us, Baka Kā-san was moaning on and on about who would come back to take care of her when she was retired." Tariko crumpled up the coffee can, and then flipped it into a nearby garbage receptacle, making a perfect three-point score with her toss. "And this is the same idiot who – after we got 'engaged' to Hensō – told us to write us when we finally got settled down on her home planet." A shake of the head. "Jeez. I can understand grieving for the loss of a child, but this is just ridiculous."

Shinobu sighed. Much that she herself hurt because of what her own actions – and yes, inactions – had done to her oldest friend, she still believed in the sanctity of family. Given that Tariko and her siblings HAD returned back to their family house in lieu of moving to someplace new when they returned to Earth last week, it should have told Moroboshi Kinshō something about how her children still felt for her. Even Tariko's words spoken now had hinted to the fact that despite the annoyance and anger she felt now concerning her mother, she still cared for her. What's going to happen at times like Ataru-kun's birthday or Children's Day? she then wondered to herself.

"It'll be a make-or-break day," Tariko mused.

The other girl blinked, and then she jerked. "Hey!" she snapped as she glared at Tariko. "Stop spying into my thoughts like that, Tariko!"

Tariko smirked. "You were broadcasting them a little too much."

Shinobu stopped, and then she flushed. "Sorry . . . "

"Don't apologise. You're still getting used to this. So am I, believe it or not," the other woman admitted, and then she perked. "What the hell . . .?"

Shinobu gazed at her. "What . . .?"

Noting where Tariko was looking, she turned to look herself . . .

. . . and then gaped. "What on Earth is THAT?"

"Hey, Oyaji! We there yet?"

"Yes, we're here! Now, keep pushing!"

"Yeah, yeah! I'm pushing!"

As other people turned to look, a middle-aged man with wildly-styled black hair and small dark eyes on a weathered face, dressed in a T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase I LOVE THE SEA! over a pair of worn canvas trousers, walked onto the property. Said person was pushing a bullock cart by the yoke, a vehicle which was laden with a massive amount of personal belongings and equipment, all topped with a shop noren that declared HAMACHAYA – WE LOVE THE SEA! Noting this, Tariko was quick to sense another person involved in this event, someone currently seated and relaxed on the back end of the cart. Said person – A girl? This guy's daughter? Tariko wondered – was dressed in a matching T-shirt (with the same declaration as her companion had) and worn blue jeans. Before she could wonder what was happening, the man pulling the cart then demanded, "Are you SURE you're pushing this thing, Ryūnosuke?"

"'Ryūnosuke?'" Tariko wondered.

"Yeah, I AM pushing, Oyaji!" the young girl in the back smoothly lied, which made Tariko smirk to herself. "Maybe you're just gettin' old an' senile!"

The man then paused before he let go of the yoke, which made the cart tip over and bury poor Ryūnosuke under everything that was on it! As the people watching this from places off to the side blinked in confusion, a shuddering Ryūnosuke bolted up from under a pile of clothes and furniture, then started grabbing things and began pelting her father with them. He, of course, grabbed said objects out of the air and moved to set them down on the ground. By then, Ataru and his companions had taken notice. "Who on Earth is that boy?" Masako then asked. "Is that going to be a new student?"

"That's not a boy."

People who heard that all turned to Ataru. "You sure?" Megane – who, with the others of the Stormtroopers, had been standing nearby – wondered.

"Look at the front of her neck," Ataru stated. "Notice something missing?"

People looked. "No Adam's apple," Perm reported.

"Yep. That's a girl," Ataru stated. "Her ki's that of a girl, too . . . even if she's had quite the hard life. Hey, Hiromi-chan," he then moved to ask Obinata Hiromi. "You think you can run inside and get Onē-san out here?"

She blinked. "Why?"

Ataru nodded to the old man who was intercepting everything Ryūnosuke was hurling at him. "Because we may be dealing with a potential child abuse victim here and if Tariko gets her hands on the father . . . " he then advised in a warning voice.

Hiromi and Masako both paled. Like almost everyone else from Class 1-4, they knew of the current state of affairs in the Moroboshi home. And given that what was being heaped mostly on Ataru was verbal abuse, if they were about to get a victim of physical abuse as a schoolmate, Moroboshi Tariko and Moroboshi Hiromi – with Moroboshi Negako helping out due to her own feelings of loyalty to her family – would become a pair of very OVERPROTECTIVE lionesses when it came to this Ryūnosuke girl. What type of man would name his daughter 'Ryūnosuke?' both girls then wondered.

Thinking on that, both then shuddered.

"Be right back!" Hiromi said as she ran off.

By then, most of the items that had been on the cart were piled up on the front walkway. Watching this strange event, Tariko then sighed as she calmly walked over to stand right behind the older man who was facing down his angry daughter's wrath. As Ryūnosuke picked up a rather large love chair from the pile around her and tossed it over – which made all the people watching this gape in awe at such a show of strength – Tariko then leaned over to tap a point in the middle of the older man's neck. He jolted as he felt his arms and legs suddenly lock up from that touch . . .

. . . just as said loveseat smashed into his face, knocking him down!

Fortunately, Tariko had quickly ducked clear from having the older fellow tumble into her as he collapsed to the ground, a moan escaping him. She was now walking around the tipped cart to where Ryūnosuke was, the latter now panting hard from such a considerable exertion. "You okay, Ryūnosuke-chan?" Tariko then asked.

Ryūnosuke spun around to glare at her as Tariko instantly sensed a bubbling of resentment billow up from deep with her heart – no doubt because of some belief that she had to fight her own fights, which was starting to chime in with an overall picture that was making Tariko cringe deep down for this other woman – and then that feeling was quickly capped by a clamp of steely discipline augmented with a profound sense of chivalry that was almost Western in origin. Holy shit! What the hell has been going on with this girl? Tariko mused to herself before she cleared her throat. "Sorry about that," she said. "Much that we don't mind the floor-show, a pretty girl like you doesn't need to exert yourself when your dad seemed to be doing okay on his own."

Ryūnosuke blinked, and then she sighed. "Look, I hate it when . . . "

It hit her.

"What did you just call me?"

Tariko blinked. "I called you a pretty girl," she answered. "Yeah, you seem to be a tomboy, but I've met loads of tomboys in the past. Nothing wrong with that."

Watching the just-arrived girl, Ataru's twin was then quick to sense something akin to . . . hope . . . billowing from deep within Ryūnosuke's heart. Shit! That cinches it! Tariko then mused as she spared the still-unconscious father a glance.

"Um . . . th-thanks . . . " Ryūnosuke then sputtered, her cheeks reddening in such a manner than some of the boys around her – who were being quickly told what Ataru had spotted about her by friends who had been closer to him when this all started – all began to whisper to each other, noting how cute that reaction looked. "I never thought I'd EVER meet anyone, guy or chick, who could tell I was a girl just by lookin' at me!" She then glared at her father, who was slowly starting to revive from having a love chair smashed into his face. "I just wish Oyaji'd finally go along with it!" she then snarled. "For as long as I can remember, it was always, 'Be a man! You're supposed to be a man!'" A weary look then appeared in the girl's deep brown eyes as she looked once more at Tariko. "All because of a fuckin' tea shop . . . "

An explosion! "RYŪNOSUKE!"

She turned around . . .

. . . just as a wall of water seemed to appear out of NOWHERE to tower over her and Tariko, with her father standing before it, a mixed look of outrage and sorrow on his face. "FUJINAMI RYŪNOSUKE! WHAT TYPE OF MAN ARE YOU, ANYWAY? HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU THIS? YOU ARE THE ONLY INHERITOR OF THE HAMACHAYA! YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHICH CAN GUARANTEE THE FUTURE OF OUR FAMILY AND OUR POSTERITY! AND BECAUSE YOU ARE MY SON AND A MANLY MAN, ONLY YOU CAN MAKE SURE OUR FAMILY WILL CARRY . . .!"

"Low blow."

He stopped. "Eh . . .?"

CRUNCH!

"I love the seaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa . . .!" he wailed as he found himself propelled into the morning sky thanks to a well-aimed kick down there thanks to Tariko!

"Nice kick, Tariko!"

Tariko snorted as she turned to gaze on Ataru, who had walked up with Shinobu, Masako, the Stormtroopers and some other people. "I got tired of listening to the old idiot's verbal diarrhoea right after he mentioned Ryūnosuke-chan's name, Ataru," she said before she gazed on Ryūnosuke, who was staring at her with a mixture of awe and gratitude. "Something tells me he's been harping on this 'family inheritance' kick for as long as you can remember, right?" At the other girl's nod, Ataru's twin sighed. "Jeez! What type of idiot would actually force a GIRL to behave as a BOY?"

"Where's your mom in all this, Ryūnosuke-chan?" Ataru then asked.

A sigh. "Okā-chan died shortly after I was born," Ryūnosuke breathed out.

Looks of sympathy then appeared on everyone's faces. "Our deepest condolences, Ryūnosuke-san," Megane then said before he turned to gaze on the pile of personal belongings nearby. "What the hell are you doing moving all your stuff here, anyway?" he then asked. "Don't you have an apartment or a house to move into?"

"Nah! Can't afford the key money for an apartment!" Ryūnosuke said with a depressed yet resigned shake of her head. "Only place we could move into is the spare rooms here at the school since Oyaji agreed to become the janitor here after we lost our beach tea shop a week ago thanks to some freakin' tōshi from both Nan'yō and Yōshū havin' a fuckin' rumble right on the beach where we lived outside Chōshi. Totally wiped out the house. They didn't even stick around to try to fix things up, either!"

"That is most unfortunate, Ryūnosuke-san."

Ryūnosuke turned . . .

. . . and then screamed out in shock on seeing the woman with the silver magatama hanging off her left ear. "TŌSHI!" she screamed out as she found herself jumping in front of Tariko. "STAY BEHIND ME, LADY! I'LL KEEP YOU SAFE!"

Hiromi blinked. "Ryūnosuke-san, why on Earth would I attack my own SISTER?"

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then . . .

"Eh?" Ryūnosuke gasped before she looked at Tariko, then to Hiromi, then back at Tariko again before she moaned. "Oh, man . . .!"

Laughter echoed from the crowd around her. "If I can interrupt this for a moment, everyone, the Principal has told me about Ryūnosuke-san coming to join us in classes today," Hiromi then called out. "Given her family's current financial woes, three storage rooms by the cafeteria on the ground floor have been set aside for her and her . . . father." Her eyebrow twitched on mentioning that man. "What say we show a little Tomobiki High hospitality and help move all her things into that space before we get her over to Chikamatsu-sensei and Sakurambō-sensei?"

"Let's get to work, guys!" Megane called out.

People immediately pitched in to help out . . .


Beside the cafeteria, an hour later . . .

"Damn! You got NO real girl's clothes whatsoever?"

"Nah!" Ryūnosuke breathed out as she looked around the new space that would serve as her new bedroom. Fortunately for her, the door that connected it to her new living room/kitchenette was easily sealed. Given that the only items of clothing which could BARELY be seen as female were the pairs of boy shorts she had in lieu of standard girl's panties – "The only way Oyaji'd approve of me getting them were because they were boy shorts!" Ryūnosuke had explained when she had been asked about it minutes before by Hiromi – the fact that this poor woman had been forced to dress as a boy and pretty much act as a boy made many of the people helping her move in ache at the thought of what her life before coming to Tomobiki was like. "I'll lay bets that when he filled out the registry form to get me into classes here, he marked me as a boy!"

"WHAT?" everyone else bellowed out.

"Oh, ye gods! Is this moron REALLY that blind?" Inu Chigaiko demanded.

"Most likely!" Hiromi spat out.

"Do not be concerned about that matter, Hiromi. It has been corrected."

People turned as Negako walked into the room. Following her were the two school nurses assigned as the first-line health team for the staff and students at Tomobiki High School, Chikamatsu Fusae and Sakurambō Sakura. Naturally, given how beautiful the latter was, almost all of the boys – Ataru was the clear exception – began to drool unashamedly on seeing the supermodel-like nurse/Shintō shrine miko in her normal work clothes of a button blouse, above knee-length designer slacks and a doctor's smock over her shoulders. Dressed in almost the same way as her co-worker, Fusae – a woman in her early thirties with long brown hair in a ponytail and blue-green eyes under reading glasses – earned friendly looks from all the girls and Ataru; ever since their first meeting in the wake of the "world oil theft" incident after the Tag Race, Ataru had never really trusted Sakura with health issues even if he was as attracted to her as any of the other guys in the school. "You corrected it, Sensei?" Ryūnosuke then gasped. "Damn! When Oyaji finds out about that, he's gonna go nuts!"

And sure enough . . .

"RYŪNOSUKE! WHAT LIES HAVE YOU BEEN TELLING THESE POOR PEOPLE?"

"TAIFUN KAZE-TE!"

The sound of something akin to an M-134 Minigun going off at full rock-and-roll fire echoed through the new bedroom as Negako's arms became a blur. As people watched in both awe and delight, Mr. Fujinami seemed to float in the air as his body was peppered by HUNDREDS of punches nearly breaking the sound barrier all over his face and body. After a half-minute of that, he collapsed into a dazed and bruised heap on the floor in the new living room of the residence, his eyes spiralling as a pained moan escaped him. As Negako relaxed, Ryūnosuke's eyes were wide with awe. "Holy shit . . . how the fuck did she DO that sort of thing?" she nearly gushed.

"She's Imperial Special Agent 49, Ryūnosuke-san," Shinobu provided. "The woman who literally ended the Greater East Asia War . . . and MADE SURE it stayed ended!"

The beach café tomboy blinked. "Wait a sec'! That was SIXTY-FIVE years ago!" She pointed to Negako. "Sensei here don't look a day over TWENTY at the . . .!"

"Ryūnosuke."

Ryūnosuke jerked on hearing that ice-cold voice. "H-h-hai?"

"Do not call me 'Sensei,'" Negako coldly declared. "Now come with me to the medical station so Fusae, Sakura and I can give you a proper examination."

Ryūnosuke blinked. "Uh . . . y-yeah . . . "

People around her laughed . . .


The nurse's room, a half-hour later . . .

"Oh, ye gods! I never thought I would EVER see something like this!"

"Hey, Sensei! It ain't THAT bad!"

"'Ain't that bad?'" Fusae demanded as she stared at Ryūnosuke, who was busy slipping her sarashi – that this girl didn't even have a BRA to properly support her considerable bust had stunned the older woman – back over her chest. "Ryūnosuke-san, if Negako-san's readings of your health are ever the LEAST bit true – and I know her enough to know she would NEVER lie about something like this! – you've suffered from malnutrition, severe cases of frostbite, severe colds, heat stroke . . . and that DOESN'T begin to cover all the PHYSICAL wounds you've suffered! Ten broken bones, a dozen pulled tendons and muscles . . . " She shook her head. "That you survived all that is a miracle! But if you stay in the custody of that MONSTER you call a father, you won't survive to reach adulthood, let alone finally try to learn how to be a proper girl beyond what you've been taught about menstruation!" A sigh. "Sakura-san, I feel we have no choice. We have to report that man to the police!"

"I concur," Sakura said, nodding in agreement.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

Fusae turned to gaze on a wide-eyed Ryūnosuke. "Ryūnosuke-san, what you have endured almost your WHOLE LIFE has been nothing more than CHILD ABUSE! I realise it's a hard thing to accept given that you clearly still care for him, but what he's done to you is something that NO child – especially no GIRL! – should EVER have to endure!" She then sighed. "I'm going to call the police down right now to . . .!"

"Fusae."

The older nurse stopped as she gazed at Negako. "Negako-san?"

"There is a less-traumatic way of dealing with this issue."

Silence.

"'Less-traumatic?'" Sakura asked.

Negako nodded. "Indeed. What Ryūnosuke has endured all her life since she was separated from her mother – I am not sure if said mother is still alive or not, so I will not speculate at this time on that issue – is quite harsh by any standard. But there are factors you have to consider before unleashing the legal authorities on Fujimi."

"WHAT factors?" Fusae demanded.

"That raising Ryūnosuke to be a 'man above men' is the ONLY way Fujimi understood when it came to raising a child, Fusae. Boy OR girl."

More silence.

Fusae blinked before she sank into her chair. "I don't understand . . . "

Negako sighed. "There is WILLFUL child abuse in this world and other worlds," she stated. "What Kinshō engages with concerning Ataru could be seen that way even though it is ultimately rooted in her still-simmering grief over Kaeru's death and the disappearance of his body. There is also a form of child abuse that is not perceived by many – both the 'abusers' and the 'victims' alike – as child abuse." To Ryūnosuke. "Ryūnosuke, what is the annual earnings of the Hamachaya?"

The beach café tomboy blinked, and then sighed. "If we clear a hundred thousand a year, it's a damn good year, Negako-san," she confessed.

Both nurses' jaws dropped. "Oh, ye gods! You've lived in POVERTY all that time?" Fusae demanded as her hand flew up to cover her mouth.

"What poverty?" Ryūnosuke asked. "Yeah, it's kinda dumb to keep runnin' the teashop in winter or other times of the year people ain't on the beach, but we still survive. We fish for food all the time, we grow our own vegetables and have all the rice and tea we would ever want. We don't ever starve." A smirk. "For as long as I can remember, I never really cared too much beyond that. Yeah, I never had the latest clothes or those little mobile phones people got . . . but who really needs them?"

"She's a fisherman's daughter," Sakura then concluded.

"In a sense of the term, yes," Negako agreed with a nod before she gazed on Ryūnosuke. "Ryūnosuke, when were you separated from your mother?"

A shrug. "I dunno. Every time I ask Oyaji about what happened, he just goes into a cryin' fit. It hurts him too much to think about anythin' else."

"So clearly, it was when you were an infant, correct?"

A nod. "Yeah, I guess so."

"And given Fujimi's passion for the Hamachaya's continuance, I believe he was raised in as similar a fashion as he raised you, correct?"

Another nod. "Yeah . . . "

"It's like what Mizunokōji Asuka now faces," Sakura noted.

"In her own way, yes," Negako affirmed with a nod. "However, thanks to the odd quirks of the Dào, Ryūnosuke – and her father as well – have the opportunity to broaden their horizons and understand how other people live. We all must agree that while keeping a family restaurant and tea shop going is an understandable reason for people to live so frugally, that keeping said restaurant open even in WINTER is wrong."

"Fuckin' right about that!" Ryūnosuke sighed as she remembered the times that she had been forced to stand out in the cold of winter as her father moved to keep serving the very RARE customers who came to Hamachaya for a hot tea.

"So why should you not take advantage of this shift of circumstances?"

Ryūnosuke gazed at the ninjutsu grandmaster. "What d'you mean?"

"Ryūnosuke, despite all the physical health issues you now have to deal with, you possess enormous potential as a martial artist. Were you a student in my family Art, I would easily rate you a chūnin were you trained in the proper forms." Negako was then quick to sense the swelling of sheer PRIDE that billowed from the tomboy's heart on her saying that. "If you make certain shifts to your lifestyle – and ultimate accept a potential offer I can give you to help permanently correct your health issues, a gift that can be prepared within the hour if required – you could easily become BOTH the 'man above men' that Fujimi wishes you to become so you can 'inherit' the mantle of owner of the Hamachaya . . . AND become a true woman in your heart and soul." As Fusae and Sakura both gaped in shock at her, Negako leaned down to stare into Ryūnosuke's eyes. "He acts like a samurai and has made you try to act that way as well. Thus, you have become predictable to him, Ryūnosuke. It is time for you to embrace another way of life. The way of the ninja. Are you interested?"

Ryūnosuke blinked . . .


Minutes later . . .

"A . . . most interesting approach to this issue, Negako-san."

Negako sipped her tea. "Despite their propensity for unleashing violence on each other virtually without provocation, there is a deep love that binds Fujimi and Ryūnosuke together," she stated as she gazed on the Principal. Along with Kotatsuneko – who had, at Negako's urging, moved out from Ataru's bedroom to take up residence in the guest house beside the Moroboshi home as his primary "indoor" quarters – and vice-principal Onsen Mark, Fusae and Sakura were present as they discussed the latest student to take classes at Tomobiki High School. "I suspect – though I have yet to do a deep analysis of the situation – that Fujimi himself lost his mother at an early stage in life, thus forcing his own father to raise him alone. His loyalty to the memory of his wife is quite iron-clad; he will NEVER entertain the idea of seeking out another wife for the remainder of his life. And while his single-minded determination to maintain his illusions when it comes to matters such as Ryūnosuke's true gender is also quite iron-clad, he has not pushed her to the point where desperation would make her consider breaking fully away from him. Unlike Ataru when it comes to Kinshō, Ryūnosuke has no known relatives she could shift herself to and be free of Fujimi once and for all. She has accepted that with considerable stoicism to the point where ANY suggestion towards forcing legal action against Fujimi would effectively destroy her emotionally."

"It would break the poor child's heart, you mean?" the Principal asked.

"Yes."

"But that's something that will have to happen sooner or later!" Fusae objected. "I can't believe that over the years, NO ONE has taken the opportunity to try to force that man to stop treating his only child like that! Surely someone tried . . . "

"And ultimately failed."

Eyes locked on Negako. "He made her believe that there's no other way for her to live than to live with him under his rules," Onsen stated.

"Indeed, Mark. Because of that, Ryūnosuke has been effectively conditioned to not accept any sort of serious assistance towards allowing her to live her life under her own control and beliefs without great hesitation. In a way, forever removing Fujimi from her life and blocking any attempts by him to force himself back into her life would do her much good. But the psychological damage such a separation would unleash on Ryūnosuke would be horrendous, potentially fatal to her." Negako's eyes then narrowed. "Do you really wish to allow something like that to happen?"

"Of course not," the Principal stated. "What do you suggest we do?"

"We allow her to become an Avalonian."

Silence.

More silence.

Still more silence.

And then . . .

"Why?" Sakura gasped. "You can't possibly think turning her into an Avalonian will help her in the end! All it'll do is force her to accept powers . . . "

"Which Fujimi cannot counter, Sakura."

The nurse/shrine miko stopped. "You said he used some sort of shiatsu on her on occasion," Fusae then stated. "That means he has a good idea how her body works and how to make her bend to his will. By turning her into an Avalonian . . . "

"Ryūnosuke will be effectively made invulnerable to any sort of manipulation either by shiatsu or by drugs – I saw evidence of that in her ki signature as well – by Fujimi. That will begin the process of shoring up the one place where she is extremely vulnerable: Her confidence in herself and her ability to succeed, which he has undermined again and again to maintain control over her. Doing that – in conjunction with training I will give her to better defend herself – will allow her to take firmer control over her life away from him. And if such can be done and Fujimi is led to believe that his 'son' is becoming the 'man-above-men' he envisions, so much the better. But if such eventually makes Fujimi resort to more radical measures of suppression, Ryūnosuke will be more than strong enough to PROPERLY deal with him . . . and accept deep in her own heart that a full break from him is required for her to live her own life." Negako then smiled. "Regardless of which path future events will take, she will emerge from this process much stronger than before, both in body and in soul. Is that not what we would desire of ALL our students?"

The Principal smiled as the others nodded. "Indeed."


The gymnasium, an hour later . . .

"Mendō Tachiko!"

"CLASS FOUR!"

"Fujinami Ryūnosuke!"

"CLASS FOUR!"


Class 1-4, the first period after lunch . . .

"So you're REALLY a girl?"

Ryūnosuke – who was dressed in a normal boy's gakuran, the top two buttons undone to reveal the T-shirt she had on underneath – took a deep breath. "Yeah, I am. Sorry I'm talkin' an' dressin' like a guy, but Oyaji's never really liked it when I tried to act more like a chick." She then scratched the back of her head. "I'm trying to learn how to be a girl, but it's really hard, especially since I don't have real girl's clothes and all that. And until I met Tariko-san and her family, too many people always confused me for a guy even with me tellin' them I'm a chick and all that!"

She then jolted on seeing auras of indignant anger then billow from every girl in the class. "HEY! HEY! HEY! WHOA! CUT IT OUT, HUH?" she cried out as she made a warding sign with her hands. "Yeah, Oyaji's a lunkhead and all that, but he's all I got left, for cryin' out loud! Cut it out, huh?" She then spun on Ataru; she had noted that the most ominous battle auras were emerging from both Tariko and Hiromi. "Hey! Make your sisters cut it out! I don't want them arrested for murder!"

"Much that I do understand why you don't want that to happen, Ryū-chan, when it comes to Avalonians, the idea of killing child abusers happens to be burned right into their DNA," Ataru said with a shrug. "And you gotta admit, if the guy's so damned blind to not see what a cute girl you are – and he won't give you a chance to BE a girl in your soul as well as your body! – he deserves to get stomped into the ground."

"Ataru, must you condone such a wasteful exercise in the first place? I believe I taught you much better than that," a strange voice then stated.

People's heads snapped over. "Negako-san!" Shinobu gasped.

In a flash, every girl in the class was standing in front of the grandmaster. "Negako-san! You can't possibly allow this poor girl to suffer like this!" Marubeya Momoe then snapped as she pointed at Ryūnosuke. "That monster needs to be punished!"

"You're ready to protect Ataru-kun from his idiot mother! Why won't you do the same thing for poor Ryūnosuke-chan?" Gekasawa Kumiko added.

Negako sighed. "Ladies, there is a way of dealing with someone like Fujimi without the need of physical violence." She then smirked, which made almost all the people seeing this shudder in fear. "To defeat a bully – especially one who simply cannot see that he IS a bully – you must force him into a situation where he finds himself incapable of influencing the situation to match his desires."

Many of the girls blinked in confusion. "Um . . . Onē-san, that kinda went over most people's heads," Tariko warned as she gave her sister a knowing look.

"Oh! I get it!"

Eyes locked on Tsuruya Rumiko. "What, Rumiko-san?" Tachiko demanded.

A giggle. "What Negako-san means is that we need to make a situation where Ryūnosuke-chan's father simply CAN'T try to bully her as he did in the past, Tachiko-chan. She's not living in a beach café out in the middle of nowhere anymore, people! She's living HERE in the big city! And a city full of people who can be persuaded to see her as she really is!"

"AND help her become something better!" Chigaiko then stated before her jaw dropped and she gazed on Negako. "Negako-san, are you actually saying . . .?"

"The blood sample was taken and the replacement body will be prepared within the hour," the grandmaster stated. "Hiromi, Tariko, see to it that Ryūnosuke reports back to my office before the start of the second period today." And with that, she walked off.

"What does she mean by that?"

Eyes locked on a very confused Ryūnosuke. "Um, Ryūnosuke-san, don't you know anything at all about the Avalonians?" Mendō then inquired.

Blink, blink. "Who're they?"

People sighed. "Allow us to explain, Ryūnosuke-san," Hiromi began . . .

To be continued . . .


WRITER'S NOTES:

1) The concept of the Gojūni Sanji, which I came up with for one of the storylines I wrote in the Anime Addventure, was taken from the "The Steps to Sexual Fulfillment" that appeared in Warren Murphy's and Richard Sapir's Destroyer novel series that have been published since 1971. Since the number of steps in the tantric arts practiced by the Masters of Shinanju (mistakenly Romanised as "Sinanju" in the novels) has never been set in stone but has been marked as ranging from 37 all the way to 52, I took the higher figure. If you want to see a neat fanfic depiction of a practitioner performing the Steps, read Clell65619's Harry Potter and the Sun Source, which is marked as one of my favourites at this website.

2) The scene concerning Fujinami Ryūnosuke's arrival at Tomobiki High School parallels what was depicted in the manga story "Hello, Sailor Suit (Fetish)" (manga episode #148). The "I love the sea!" joke made by her father (whom I give the name Fujinami Fujimi for The Senior Year) is a rant he always gives, especially after being socked into low Earth orbit, usually at the business end of his daughter's fist.

3) Translation: Sarashi – type of breast-binding worn by samurai under their armour; Taifun Kaze-te – Typhoon Wind-Fist; Chūnin – Mid-rank ninja.

4) The matter concerning "Nobade Shinobi" was depicted in the manga story "Even Though I Wait for You" (manga episode #27). Ataru's first meeting with Sakurambō Sakura was depicted in "All of Me" (manga episode #4). Chikamatsu Fusae is the name I give the nurse that appeared in "A Flying Start" (manga episode #33). Given that Sakura is both a school nurse AND a Shintō shrine miko (priestess), I believe that keeping a normal nurse on staff would be prudent given the standard Shintō belief that a miko must not be around blood (or undergoing menstruation) to be seen as "pure." And Kotatsuneko is a regular Yatsura background character; he first appeared in "Two-Story Ghost Story" (manga episode #111).