Target 10: I-Pin!

The posse, consisting of Yūji, Lala, Kat, Ryūji, Rei and Mami were out after school, spending time together as they enjoyed the peace of Neo Domino. It was always a lively place as pedestrians always crossed the street, cars going by, and all kinds of noises sounding off.

"Shit, class is always so boring," Kat groaned.

"Especially when the material's so simple," Yūji agreed.

"And most of the teachers are such pervs! They just keep ogling us girls when they think we're not looking! They think we don't notice. I mean, I think they made us wear these short skirts so they could stare at us legs and hope a breeze blows to flip our skirts!"

"Not gonna lie, the staff could use some work," Yūji agreed. "Gotta admit though, you do have nice legs, Kat. Lala too."

"Sounds like somebody's got a leg fetish," Kat teased.

"Yeah, laugh it up..."

Lala asked, "What's a fetish?"

"You don't need to know that, Lala-san," Rei dismissed.

"Why don't we eat something before going home?" Mami suggested, holding her empty stomach and feeling it growl.

"Chinese!" Yūji and Kat chorused, blinking as they looked at each other.

"That was weird," Yūji blinked.

Kat looked at him suspiciously, "Are...you reading my mind?"

"Are you reading mine?" Yūji returned.

Rei chuckled and whispered to Ryūji, "I guess they have more in common than they thought, huh?"

Ryūji rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's just find a restaurant and go."

"Hey, Yūji-san, have you thought of taking Katsura-san on a date?" Rei asked.

"Oh, a date? That'll be fun!" Lala beamed. "Where will you be taking Kotonoha?"

"Well, I'm still thinking," Yūji sighed. "Plus I have to ask her out first."

Rei checked his smart phone for movie listings and times and said, "Well, the movie 'Highschool Days of the Dead' is playing in all the theatres. Maybe you should take her to see it."

"Oh, a horror movie! Nice!" Kat grinned in approval. "Hey, did you guys know, that a horror movie can get a girl as hot and horny as a porno would?"

Yūji could only stare at Kat in disbelief. "Seriously...?"

"It's just a rumor," Ryūji added with a dismissive wave, "But studies do say a woman's hormones do act up the same way when they're either scared or aroused."

"That sounds really interesting!" Lala beamed, "You should take Kotonoha to the movies, Yūji!"

"Look at how your fiancé is so liberal," Kat teased as she head-locked Yūji, putting his head against her breast. "She should think about putting you on a tighter leash, no?"

"Hm? But Yūji likes Kotonoha, and I like Kotonoha," Lala explained, "And Yūji-Mama (Aki) said that liking a lot of girls is fine, so why not have Yūji be friends with Kotonoha?"

"...Wow," Ryūji sweatdropped, "Such backwards logic..."

"Yup, this is who I'm engaged to," Yūji commented. To say that Lala was liberal would more than likely be an understatement. But he didn't hold it against her. She was just naive to Earthen customs.

"Found a place," Rei called as he and Mami were about to enter, pausing as someone else exited.

The sight caught everyone off guard as the exiter was a small child with an egg-shaped head, closed eyes and a black braid, dressed in a red Chinese shirt and black pants.

"Oh, excuse us," Mami apologized.

The child looked around, seemingly frowning as 'he' felt surrounded by the teens.

"Oh, he's so cute!" Lala beamed.

"That's a girl," said Ryūji.

"EH!?"

"How can you tell?" Yūji's eyes were wide as he examined the child.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ryūji remarked.

"I don't see it," said Rei.

"When you look up information like me you need to be pretty observant," Ryūji stated.

Yūji kneeled down to meet the girl and asked, "Hey, are you lost?" She just glared at him, making Yūji recoiled a little, before she turned tail and left. "Was it something I said...?"

"Maybe you're losing your touch with kids," Kat remarked. "Meh, don't worry about it. Now let's go eat!"

As the group entered, the little girl with the egg-shaped head watched them go and her brows furrowed.

"So, what are we having?" asked Rei. "Because the fried rice and dumplings looks yummy." They were seated at a table, with menus.

The door opened and a greeter greeted, "Welcome!" It was Golden Darkness who'd entered.

"Oh, crap..." Yūji gulped as he noticed her. It was like the blonde assassin was able to tail him no matter the time or day.

Lala also took notice of the Golden Darkness and greeted, "Yami-chan!"

"Oh, Goldilocks," Kat regarded.

"What brings you here, Miss Darkness?" Ryūji greeted.

"Ran out of money for Taiyaki," Yami frowned a little. "Since I'm hungry, I wanted to find someplace close, which brought me here..." She then regarded Yūji, "And I see you're here as well, Fudō Yūji."

"Pretty much," Yūji nodded.

"Well, know that your death will come-" She was cut off from the rumbling of her stomach, which the group heard, making Yami blush.

Yūji blinked and asked, "Hungry?" Yami could no longer hide it and nodded, her hair shielding her eyes. Then it dawned on Yūji as he began to think, 'That's the key! Food! If I offer to feed Yami, then I may be able to reduce the tension between us...! Genius!' He outstretched a hand to Yami and offered, "Let me pay for you."

This caught Yami's attention and asked, "What?"

"Let me pay for your meal, Yami," Yūji offered with a small smile on his face.

Lala smiled, seeing that Yūji was offering to let Yami eat with them. She was quite fond of the blonde assassin and was hoping to spend some time with her.

Kat smirked, seeing that Yūji was showing interest in Yami. Still, she had to be cautious. Yami was still an assassin, and since Yūji was her boss now Kat had to be careful. The same went for Ryūji.

Rei was especially intrigued. It seems that spending so much time with girls like Lala was really helping Yūji open up to others compared to his previous shyness in the past.

Yami stared at Yūji, trying to decide when she finally spoke up, "Will there be Taiyaki?"

"I could ask," Yūji suggested, "And if they don't have, then I'll just make the Taiyaki myself."

"I promise not to kill you so long as there's Taiyaki," Yami finally spoke as she had accepted the heir's offer.

'Yeah, no pressure or anything,' Yūji deadpanned.

'THANK THE GODS!' Yūji was rejoicing in his mind as the restaurant had a one-time-only special on taiyaki. He watched as Yami sat quietly as she had a plate full of Taiyaki. The assassin might as well have taken a bite out of Yūji's wallet, but earning Yami's peace was worth it.

"Guess the way to her heart is through her stomach," Kat whispered as she sat on Yūji's right, while Lala sat on his left.

"Yeah, I'm one lucky fucker," Yūji sighed.

"Wow, you really like Taiyaki," Lala admired.

Yami stopped chewing and gulped, replying to the princess, "Yes. It's a very interesting pastry."

"Surely that's not all you eat, is it?" Ryūji suspected. How can anyone live off of just Taiyaki?

"What are you implying, Hasuma Ryūji?" Yami demanded.

"Surely you would need more nutritional meals," Ryūji reasoned.

"I don't need to eat much," she stated.

The following day, Yūji decided to put his plan into motion. He just hoped he could do this without messing up or scaring the poor shy girl away. It was the end of the school day and Kotonoha was exiting the student council room.

'OK, here goes something,' Yūji thought as he readied himself.

Yūji walked up to Kotonoha and the girl blushed as she looked at him. She was reminded of the day they spent at the pool, and how amazing his body was. It was like looking at a beautiful sculpture made by the hands of gods. Her face flushed even further as some indecent thoughts came to the fore.

"Katsura-san," Yūji spoke.

"Hai?" Kotonoha squeaked. 'Did I...just squeak?'

"I have a couple of tickets for the 'High School Days of the Dead' movie. I was wondering if you'd like to watch it with me," Yūji requested.

'Fudō-kun is asking me out! He's asking me out! What do I say? What do I do!?' Kotonoha asked, "But what about Lala-san?"

"She's busy with something and I doubt she'd enjoy this sort of movie," said Yūji.

"Well, I do like a good horror movie, once in a while," she admitted as she rubbed her hands together.

"Well, would you like to-"

"YES!" she exclaimed and she blushed once she realized how loud it sounded. "I mean, I would love to," she amended.

Yūji nodded, trying to contain his excitement by giving a faint smile, "Alright then. If you'd like, I could come and pick you up at your house for an early viewing tomorrow. I'm sure you'd like some time to prepare."

"Oh, yes...! That sounds wonderful," Kotonoha nodded quickly. She took out a piece of paper and did scribbling before she handed it to him. "Here, my address...! I'll be waiting for you!" She did a quick bow and turned tail before running.

"I take it things went well?"

Yūji turned to see his home tutor smiling at him. He responded with a thumb's up, "Yes, they did."

"Good," Reborn smirked. "Then you'd better get ready for tomorrow."

"Right," Yūji nodded as he decided to leave, with Reborn hopping onto his shoulder. "I'll have to set up the plans tonight..."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Yūji deadpanned. It never occurred to Yūji that Kotonoha had been living in the same building as him the entire time, her home being on the 4th floor of the Tops building. He decided to dress in black this time, full jean clothing including pants and a jacket, along with an orange shirt with a black stencil of the Vongola emblem on it. "Yeah, this shows how slow I am when it comes to realizing shit," he muttered, berating himself before ringing the doorbell.

"Who is it?" Yūji hears a voice over the intercom.

He blinked and responded, "Um, Fudō Yūji! I'm here to see Katsura-san..."

"Are you Onee-chan's boyfriend?" the girl asked. Yūji blushed at being called that but recomposed himself.

"Kokoro-chan, you know me. We met at the pool, remember?"

"Oh... Spike-oniichan!" she realized.

He hears another voice, "Kokoro-chan, please, let me answer the door!"

"OK, Onee-chan!" Kokoro beamed.

Kotonoha opened the door and greets him, "Kon'nichiwa, Fudō-san. Sorry about my little sister. She's just very energetic."

"It's no problem," he smiled. "So, uh, are you ready for our...date?" It felt weird calling it that. He'd been trying to get close to her but never got the nerve. What had changed? Then he realized that things had changed dramatically since a certain alien girl entered his life. Maybe he had her to thank for this. He noted her attire, a long pink skirt and denim jean jacket over a white sweater. "You look good, by the way."

"Thank you..." She blushed and turned, trying to hide her reddening face from him. "I'll get my bag...!"

She left when Kokoro showed her face at the door. "So, this is your first date with Onee-chan?"

"Well, let's just say I had the backbone to ask your sister out before," Yūji sighed.

Kokoro blinked, "What changed?"

"I had some help," he smiled.

The couple had gotten their seats, sitting in the middle of the theater as they had a perfect view of the carnage that was going on. While girls watching the movie would cringe and cling onto their respective dates when something horrifying would happen on screen, Kotonoha was casually munching on popcorn, her eyes glued to the movie screen. She didn't look even the least bit frightened.

"Yeah, don't see how high schoolers could get outta this," Yūji muttered. There were limited supplies available to the students (actors) and at least one would be victim to the hordes of the undead.

"I think the beauty of the zombie apocalypse genre is finding a sliver of hope in a world that has lost all hope," said Kotonoha.

"Sure wouldn't wanna get caught in that madness," Yūji cringed. He then snickered, "You and I are like the only chill people in here. Check out all the chickens shaking in their seats."

"Well, the movie is quite realistic, and these movies are meant to scare people," said Kotonoha.

"How come you ain't scared?" asked Yūji.

"It's fascinating, plus I'm aware it's only fiction," said Kotonoha.

"Mind over matter," Yūji figured. "You're good."

"Learned it from a book I read," she told him.

"Not a fan of horror flicks, to be honest, but seeing stuff like this once in a while has its perks," Yūji mused.

"How so?"

Yūji looked to Kotonoha, his eyes seemingly glowing in the darkness of the theatre, and smiled, "For one thing, I'm watching it with you."

Kotonoha blushed and turned away from Yūji's gaze. There was a small smile on her face suggesting she was happy to be watching the movie with him.

The day continued with lunch and checking out the department stores. Yūji helped Kotonoha with picking out clothes even enjoyed a small show of Kotonoha trying out different outfits. Kotonoha felt rather embarrassed, but she enjoyed it since Yūji was helping her. Risa had suggested that she needed to update her wardrobe a little.

The couple soon found themselves in Neo Domino Park, taking a break from all the walking they've done and having a seat on a bench.

"We'll take a break here," Yūji said as Kotonoha sat next to him. "I'm sure this isn't how you expected to spend your day..."

"It's different," Kotonoha smiled. "It's a good change, and I'm glad I was able to spend the day with you, Fudō-san."

"Well, I'm glad too," smiled Yūji. He then spotted an ice cream vendor and offered, "Hey, how about I buy you a cone?"

"That'd be nice," said Kotonoha. "A strawberry ice cream cone for me."

Yūji nodded and went to buy the ice cream cones. When he returned to the bench, he saw Kotonoha being harassed by a trio of thugs who were wearing open Gakuran (black school jackets) and matching pants. One had a blonde Mohawk, the second wore a black bandanna decorated with skulls, and the third had short hair with a goatee.

"Come on, babe. You can have real fun with us," Mohawk said.

"We're nice guys. You'll see," added Bandanna.

"Yeah, we'll treat you real nice," finished Goatee as his eyes wandered to her breasts. She may not be wearing anything provocative but they knew she was stacked.

"Please, go away," she requested meekly.

"Hey, I think she wants to come with us," grinned Mohawk and he grabbed Kotonoha's wrist to force her to come with them. He started choking as an arm was instantly around his neck, with Yūji gripping tightly as the look in his eyes had turned dark and menacing.

"Fudō-san!" Kotonoha gasped.

"You will all leave, or you will be hurt," Yūji promised. "Very hurt..."

"Hey, let him go!" threatened Bandanna as he took out a switchblade as Goatee slipped on a pair of brass knuckles. Goatee took a swing at Yūji from behind, only to strike Mohawk in the back of the head as Yūji vanished.

"OW! The fuck, man?!" Mohawk cried.

"He was right there!" Bandana swore. He heard a noise and looked down, gaping in terror as Yūji had been crouching before him.

"Kaze no Mai..." Yūji growled before shooting upward and crashing his fist into Bandana's jaw, breaking it as the two went skyward, with Yuji spinning as Bandana's body went lifeless. "Shōryūken {風の舞: 風の舞(Dance of Wind: Rising Dragon Fist)}!" He went crashing onto the ground with a loud thud. His jaw was broken and blood pooled from his mouth as he lay on the ground unconscious.

Kotonoha could only watch Yūji's display of speed and power. She had never seen anyone perform such techniques and Yūji was fighting with little effort.

"Oh, fuck this! I'm outta here," Goatee cried as he started running before he stopped dead in his tracks, holding his neck as if something was choking him. "What the...!?"

Yūji and Kotonoha were also puzzled before he spotted the child from the other day in front of Goatee. "It's that kid..."

The child jumped and performed a spinning back kick, effectively knocking out Goatee in the face as flew back and landed on his back unconscious. She then performed a bow, putting her fist against her palm.

"Thanks for the help," Yūji greeted as he returned her bow. "I didn't plan on being so brutal; guess I got a little carried away."

She looked at him before taking out a photo, examining it before she pointed and started screaming in Chinese.

"Hm...and I officially need to take some language classes," Yūji deadpanned.

Kotonoha translated, "I think she's challenging you."

Yuji looked to Kotonoha, "What?"

Kotonoha explained, "I studied up on Mandarin. Let's see...I challenge you to a fight to kill? Oh, fight to the death. I will kill you dead with a lot of punching and kicking..." She blinked in confusion.

"'Yesterday, I didn't realize you were my target, since I was running so fast. But today I will kill you.' That's what she really said," Reborn stated.

"Reborn...!" Yūji gaped as he spotted his home tutor sitting on the bench. "Have you been spying on us?!"

"Don't be silly," Reborn denied, "I'm not so shallow as to follow an idiot like you."

The little girl screamed and launched herself at Yūji, wrapping her legs around Yūji's neck as she landed and began furiously punching his face.

"Ow...! Hey...get off!" Yūji demanded. He grabbed her by the back of her shirt and tossed her over his shoulder as she flipped and landed. She then bounced and launched herself in a flying headbutt, slamming into his groin. "Aw...low blow..." he groaned. He would have put up his Tekkai if that was gonna happen.

She then took out a Chinese Pork-Bun and took a bite of it, going into a kata before thrusting her palm out as Yūji immediately felt his neck being choked.

"Fudō-san!" Kotonoha gasped.

"Dammit...! What is this?!" Yūji groaned as he grasped his neck. His eyes widened as he recalled Goatee's defeat. "It's that technique...!"

"Can't be helped," Reborn sighed as Leon turned into his gun form, with Reborn aiming and firing a round through the air between Yūji and the girl.

"Shit...!" Yūji panted as he was able to breathe again, stopping as he caught a scent floating around him. "Is that...garlic?"

"I broke the vapor surrounding you with my bullet," Reborn explained, "That's the secret to her technique. Gyoza-ken {ギョーザ拳(Dumpling Fist)}. I-Pin condenses the smell of the bun, using kempo, and sends it to the opponent's nose, directly numbing their brain. Once the brain is numb, she can control the target's body functions with her kempo."

"Damn, she's pretty dangerous," Yūji admitted while coughing. "Smells really strong too...!"

"Hey, I-Pin," Reborn called, "Are you sure Yūji here is your target?" She took out her photo and handed it to Reborn, the hitman nodding, "As I thought... This isn't Yūji." This made I-Pin gasp.

"Lemme see," Yūji said as he took the photo as Kotonoha looked with him, the two blanching. It was a guy with a huge head and cigar, in a Hawaiian shirt and narrow eyes. "THIS LOOKS NOTHING LIKE ME!"

"Oh...my," Kotonoha blanched. How could anyone mistake this for Yūji?

"I-Pin is extremely near-sighted," Reborn answered.

I-Pin frowned as she started shaking, sweating profusely as nine dots appeared on her forehead.

"What now?" Yūji frowned.

"That's the countdown for the Pinzu-Timed Super Explosion," Reborn stated.

"What is that?" Kotonoha asked shakily.

"I-Pin has extreme shyness so when her embarrassment reaches its peak; the countdown appears on her forehead," Reborn explained, "The number of pins decreases over time. And once it reaches 1 pin, the dumpling gas is released from all the body's pores at once, causing a massive explosion. It has enough destructive force to make a pretty big crater."

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," Yūji groaned as he dashed over and grabbed I-Pin, shouting "Ganbari!" as he started jumping on air and gaining altitude.

"Fudō-san!" Kotonoha cried.

"Gotta get higher," Yūji muttered as he continued jumping. "Sorry about this, I-Pin...!" He reared his arm back and tossed her up higher with all his might, coming back down to Earth as he called out, "Kamisori!" as he started zigzagging until he hit the ground and rolled.

*BOOOM!*

Yūji walked Kotonoha back to her apartment. "Sorry about what happened," he apologized. She shook her head.

"There's no need to apologize. You saved me," she said, smiling. She then kissed his cheek, with Yūji blushing and turning red. She blushed and then quickly said, "Goodnight!" before retreating back into the apartment, slamming the door shut.

"All things considered, that went well," Yūji grinned as he made his way to the elevator.

Aki observed as her son returned home with a smile on his face. "Tadaima!" he greeted.

"Okaeri, Yūji. You look happy," Aki smiled knowingly.

Yūji nodded, "I feel real good about my life right now."

"Did Yūji come home?" Lala asked as she ran out in a pair of tight cut off jeans and a yellow tank top. "Yūji!" She jumped and hugged him. "Come on, tell me how your date with Kotonoha went?" She was curious and excited.

"Let's see... Movie, lunch, shopping; Kotonoha tried on some outfits, had some ice cream, beat down some losers at the park, and I almost got killed by a little girl that can explode," Yūji listed. "All things considered, I'd say I had a good day."

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" Lala beamed as she grabbed his arm, "Maybe you can date the both of us next time!"

"Wait...!" Yūji tried to object when he was hugged from behind by Yuki.

"It should be my turn... You had your date," she said as he stuck her tongue at Lala.

"Oh, but then there's Kat too," Lala remembered.

"Don't I get a say in this!?" Yūji demanded as he was caught between the girls.

Yūsei had then returned home, taking off his jacket as he caught the excitement in the living room. "What did I miss?"

"Yūji came back from a date and now the girls are trying to decide who should date him next," Aki explained as she hugged Yūsei. "Oh, Yūsei, our little boy is growing up so fast!" She then frowned slightly and whispered, "Do you think it has to do with...that?"

"When he's ready," Yūsei told her. She couldn't do anything but nod. Though, it felt wrong for both of them, as they were basically keeping secrets from their children.

"The idiot? He's doing fine," Reborn answered through the phone. "He's getting better. His Guardians? Yeah, he's got four so far. He's becoming pretty popular with the girls too." He nodded, "Yup, from another planet. Could be a new opportunity, don't you think? That? Nah, I don't think he suspects anything. He'll learn the truth when he's ready. OK, I'll stay with him. It's part of my job, after all. Till next time then, Katsu." Reborn hung up and sighed, "Yūji really is dense if he hasn't figured it out yet. Maybe he's just a late bloomer."

To Be Continued...

"Ciaossu," Reborn greeted. "It's been a while since we've visited the 411 Corner. Today, we'll be reviewing the introduction of I-Pin, a Chinese hitman. She may be young, but her expertise in Gyoza-ken is top notch due to her training. Her weakness is her extreme near-sightedness, and that could easily have her mistake her target for someone else. Well, she still has a long way to go, so there's room for improvement. Till next time then."

KAMEN RIDER BUSHIDO: OK, so here's chapter 10 after some complications. I decided to work on some more characters from both mangas before getting down to the nitty-gritty. But I hope this proves to be at least entertaining for readers. Till next time then.