Of First Days and Combat Classes
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(Inuba POV)
Classes so far have been...interesting. Not exactly the same as a normal school in Primoridal, where usually you would be learning of mathematics, languages, sciences and so forth. So far, we had a Grimm Studies class where the professor, Ms. Port, a rather attractive professor mind you, gave a simple introduction to the class. Or rather, the introduction wasn't so simple. It started as a discussion of what sort of topics we would cover throughout the semester, but then it somehow transitioned into a conversation about his previous adventures, cabbages, and his grandfather.
I won't lie, but it was fairly...disinteresting. I would have preferred working on reports and document from our clan really. Leonard was the only other person who was unfortunately paying full attention to ms. Port's...extravagant adventures alongside me. Master and Ciel only glanced up on occasion, for they were busy playing their game Phantom Souls. Normally, Master would never do such a thing. Usually he knows better. But like on the mind of the majority of the students, if the weren't busy ogling ms. Port, there was nothing of true interest to learn about. I suppose maybe a lesson or two from the stories she was telling us, but even then they were minimal at best.
Our next class was on Field Aid by professor Peach, something the four of us particularly paid attention to. Although my magic allows me to heal a vast variety of injuries and illnesses, it was still best to learn basic necessities in the event I would be unable to use my magic. Master has no variety of healing magic, so he paid special attention alongside me. Even during the lecture, we were comparing different notations between us secretly since we couldn't speak out loud.
I never attended Master's school unless for the occasion he forget to bring lunch and I delivered it to him. Or when the school clubs required assistance with a matter. Even so, he taking the time to educate me after school was...well...something I enjoyed.
A smile curled up on my lips as I remembered the numerous times he would dress as a male teacher. Glasses or no glasses, Master still looks very handsome…
W-What am I thinking about…
I could feel my cheeks flush a bit as I realized I was staring into the bowl of noodles the four of us ordered for lunch. Ciel and Leonard were discussing a plethora of silly things, courtesy of the younger sister. And yet oddly enough, Master rarely spoke. It was as if he were absorbed in thought about something.
"Master? You've barely touched your food."
"Hmm? What?" He said snapping out of his trance.
"Your food Master. Lunch will be over soon enough. And the noodles won't simply disappear just by staring at them."
"Uh right. Sorry. Was just thinking about stuff."
"And what exactly was our genius brother thinking of?" Asked Leonard with a coy smile.
"The snarkiness. I like it." He replied to his younger brother.
Leonard simply gave a nod of the head as he returned to eating his noodles. Personally though, I too was somewhat interested in whatever caught his attention.
"So, what's on your mind big brother?" Asked Ciel.
"Well… I was thinking…"
"Mhmm?"
"It's pretty warm outside. And I just realized...I only have long sleeved shirts."
"So..?"
"Should I go buy sleeveless shirts? Or t-shirts? I just can't decide…"
…
I see. It was something that simple. Although capable of irrational and complex thought, even Master has his moments of silliness. What we might interpret as silly or minor could be entirely opposite in importance for him. For instance, we may be discussing how to deal with an assignment, and he at times may be thinking which brand of cereal to buy next. Though I do admit, I enjoy his silly moments and slip ups. It's a rare thing to see now and then considering his motto of "doing it right the first time" and such. Normally, he's very serious about any task we're undertaking. But it's as I said, he too has his moments.
"Come on man, it couldn't have been just that. Weren't you thinking of anything else? Like I don't know, something dirty maybe?
"What? No."
"Aha! Too quick to respond there! Which means you were thinking of something dirty!"
"No, I actually wasn't."
"Be honest, you were thinking about doing sweet somethings to that totally buxom professor-"
Before Ciel had another moment to speak, Master had immediately grabbed one of the apples we received for lunch and lodged it in Ciel's mouth, effectively muffling her words.
"I wasn't thinking anything like that. I seriously was just thinking about shirts. Well, that and what cereal I should buy next."
See?
"Man… You like cereal as much as you love graham crackers…" Ciel said after removing the apple from her mouth, only for her to take a bite out of it.
"Cereal's tasty."
"I have a feeling that wasn't the only thing you were thinking of." Leonard added, "Were you by chance thinking of the next class?"
"Our next class?" I asked.
"Combat class, yo. A class where we get to mop the floors using the bootays of other students."
"Are you perchance worried you won't be able to adjust your strength accordingly?" asked Leonard.
"No, that's not it…" spoke Master, "I can scale down if necessary."
"Then..?
"If you think about it, we've skipped schools like these for younger aged people. We don't exactly know the rules and such, so in a sense, we'll kinda be walking in blind. So what I was thinking of is that it's standard duel rules with the extra addition of Aura in play. Then again, I could be wrong. I'd rather we know what exactly we're stepping into before we step in it. Get what I'm saying?"
"Yeah, I guess." said Ciel.
Very typical behavior of Master. Always wishing to know more. And if there is anything that has my Master's interest, he will make it his duty to completely understand it. It's more of a habit really than some sort of compulsive or obsessive disorder. Master isn't too fond of making mistakes. At least, not when regarding important matters. His literal process of ensuring this is creating a contingency plan for his contingency plan when his contingency plan fails, that way, "he will never be caught with his pants down around his ankles", as he says. His ways are strange, yes, but he usually means well. Other times seeing him so absorbed in thought is quite...captivating for me…
I always wish for him to be forward with his thoughts and feelings. He is, but not as much as I wish he would. He still hides many things from me. From all of us really. Even so, there are still times I can understand what it is he is thinking. A sort of situational mind reading of sorts. Lately it's become harder to hear what he's thinking.
Is our connection-?
"So are we done for the day after Combat Classes?" asked Ciel.
"Nope. We have history with professor Oobleck, and afterwards outdoor survival with professor Caza. Heard a lot of good things about her recently." said Master.
"Like~?" teased Ciel as she slid closer to her brother.
"Like she's a good teacher. Now eat your food you little munchkin. We only have five more minutes before we need to get going."
"Fiiine."
At that moment, I watched Ciel quickly begin to devour whatever morsels of food she had left while Leo continued eating normally, finish soon after. Master and I had already finished our meals, so we were already set to leave. That and neither of us really ate much. For Master, it was the case that he, like his younger siblings, do not require to eat food to survive or live. The same for drinking liquids as well. In my case...well...a bit more of a personal reason…
"Ready now?" Master asked everyone.
"Totes." said Ciel, "Let's boogey!"
"Why are you so reserved about eating Foxy?" Ciel asked as she finished buttoning her up her sleeveless white blouse, sipping up her black skirt afterwards, "I mean, it's not like you have to watch your figure or anything. If anything, you exercise more than enough to make sure something like that would never happen. I get you want to look good and everything, but sheesh, don't starve yourself. Treat yo'self girl!"
"I understand Ciel." I replied with a smile, "But I'm not starving myself just for something like that."
I finished wrapping together my white sleeveless kimono that ended at my waist and tied it off with a black sash, where the ends dangled on my side. I then finished zipping up my black skirt and put on my separated white sleeves that were wide over the skin tight black sleeves, then readjusted my white thigh high socks. I checked to see if my shoes were tied and then twirled around once nodded to myself.
"Ready."
"Oho! Looking sexy as always Foxy." said Ciel as she playfully bumped the side of her hip against mine, making me move off to the side a bit.
I decided to retaliate and did the same as she did with a smile as we exited the locker room towards the combat arena in the Auditorium.
"Come on Foxy. Just out with it already."
"O-Out with it?"
"Yeah! Just go in there and say 'Dearest Dante! Oh how long I loved and adored you! Please be mine my dearest! Please allow me to one day bear your chil-!"
I immediately slapped my hand over Ciel's mouth as I shut my eyes out of pure embarrassment, my facing growing hotter each time I replayed her words in my mind. Her muffled laughter was all I could hear from her behind the cover of my hand.
"I could never manage to say something so embarrassing..!"
"Who knows, he might just love how direct and forward you are. If anything, that's bonus points!"
"Bonus points..?"
"Uh, yeah? I mean, have you ever wondered why he buckles under pressure each time when a totally hot chick is so direct with him? He's a sucker for the assertive type!"
"Assertive type…"
It seems I may just have a new method of approaching Master about my feelings for him...
"So...be more aggressive with my actions and words is what you are saying?"
"Yeah! Be more sexy about it too so he can't take his eyes off you! Make him look your way and only your way!"
"That might be a bit difficult given the general appearance of both students and faculty…"
"Alright, yeah, I won't lie. The majority of girls and women here are pretty freaking hot, so you have hella competition. Heh, I thought professor Goodwtich was literally the hottest in the school, but putting you two side to side, you definitely have bonus points in comparison."
"Those bonuses being..?"
"The fox ears and fox tail? Come on Foxy, keep up."
"R-Right… Eh?! W-W-W-Wait! H-How are they bonuses?!" I said clutching my fox tail in my hands and folded my ears against my head to hide them.
"Extra cuteness factor. That, and man, your hips and butt are way sexier!"
I tried to use my tail to hide said hips and rear as I could feel my blush growing more intensely.
"Come on Foxy. Stop doubting yourself. Build up some sexy tension between the two of you...then pow!"
I jumped a bit after she said that.
"Take him and claim him for yourself! Then you know, be free totally get frisky with one another."
"C-Ciel!"
"Relax. I'll make sure to put a little 'Do not disturb' sign up on the door."
I can't believe she's doing this to me… And so easily as well..! She knows my mind strays towards rather...inappropriate thoughts at times… I just can't help myself..!
"Chill out. If anyone gets handsy with big brother, I'll swat them away. Even if it is a teacher keeping him after class for 'private lessons'."
"C-Ciel!"
"Alright alright, I'm done for today."
We entered inside the auditorium together and looked around for any sign of Leonard or Master, finding the two of them towards our right. Leo was dressed in his normal attire. As for Master, well...he was simply wearing a light gray cotton fabric hoodie and grey jeans. That, and his usual black shoes with white soles.
I could only internally sigh with a smile at my Master's decision to wear his normal clothing. They could get torn. Or worse, ripped apart.
Ripped apart.
Ripped apart…
No no no, stop!
"Foxy, you're kinda drooling. Did you have a naughty thought just now?" asked Ciel.
"W-What?! No! I..!"
"Hehehe… You're too easy to mess with in it comes to big brother Foxy."
Do understand what I mean now..? She always does this…
But, Ciel has a point now and then despite her...comments and actions. It's just...difficult to approach him. I just...don't want him to see me any differently than he does now for any reason.
"You both surely took your time." said Leonard.
"Shut up dweeb. Us delicate flowers take more time."
"Yes… You surely are...delicate…"
Leonard is usually subtle with his remarks towards Ciel. Though some days, I have a feeling he simply abandons his more reserved side in favor to be humorously snarky. His retorts can be witty at times. Although, nearly none match Ciel.
"Have any started yet?" I asked.
"None yet. We're still waiting for a few. During the meantime, Leo and I were working on Oobleck's essay assignment from yesterday. We'll help you out later if you need it." said Master.
"No thanks. And DorkMaster supreme is gonna have to sit in the corner." replied Ciel.
"And why is that?" asked Leo in return.
"Our bet, remember? We can't help each other and we can't ask for help from big brother."
"I remember the boundaries of our bet Ciel. I was just hoping you would. Remember, our essay is due soon." he said with a smirk.
"Yeah yeah…"
"Alright you two, save it for later. Class is starting." said Master.
"Good evening everyone." said Ms. Goodwitch entering into the room, "I will be your Combat Instructor for the semester. Here you will learn the basics of combat to be used both against Grimm and potential battles between Huntsmen and Huntresses, or those of a similar humanoid variety."
"Do you think there are rogues outside of the kingdoms?" I whispered only by slightly turning my head towards Master, keeping my eye on our professor down below.
"Very likely. You and I did run into a few bandits now and then whenever we explored outside the mountain village. Of course, they weren't well trained fighters like Huntsmen and Huntresses are. If you think about it, a battle between Huntsmen and or Huntresses should be almost similar to a battle between Higher Beings, like Yōkai or Dark Entities or Angels or any Mystical Creature of the sorts. Where as we called the energy we used back on Primordial Soul Energy, they call it Aura here, which in a way, is the actual term for that source of power. Anyway, to sum it up, a battle between Higher Beings like you and I involves not only strength, skill, and intelligence, but Aura as well. Whereas you and I have more direct means of attack with our Aura, others don't, or rather, have different purposes." whispered Master.
"Such as creating illusions, or using Aura to create varying defensive barriers." I spoke, understanding his point.
"Pretty much. Basically, we just have to apply everything we already know to what's used here in Remnant. Although, for Combat Classes, we'll have to scale our abilities down a bit since we're more towards the destructive persuasion. Well, that's a least concerning offense."
"Of course. Especially since you learned 'that' technique."
"Yeah."
"Are you sure it was wise to remain in your uniform for the most part? What if they get ruined?"
"Won't be a problem. Pretty much none of these guys would be able to hit me. Save for that guy uptop."
I saw Master nod his head left, up towards a figure in the higher sections of the seats in the Combat Auditorium.
"That is…Niro Ezdeil if I recall correctly. Master, I don't understand. You have nothing to fear from him whatsoever. His Aura reserves are lower than yours."
He looked at me as if he were confused by my statement. It was true however. Comparing their Aura Signatures, Master's was at a higher rate. So why was he so concerned about this Ezdeil character? Did he perhaps know or take note of something I didn't? Or rather couldn't?
"Still, I wouldn't go underestimating him. I don't know all too much about him. In fact, nothing at all really. Needless to say, I'm sure he's full of surprises. If you do get paired up to fight against him, don't attack him as up close as usual. Use the majority of your ranged attacks and move in for a direct strike only when you can."
"And if you are the one who is paired with him?"
"I'll be fine. Besides, it's you who I'm more worried about than anyone else."
It felt as though my heart stopped and was abruptly jumpstarted again while the rest of my body went stiff, save for my fox tail as it quickly whipped about behind me.
"Y-You don't need to w-worry! I-I'll be fine!"
I let out a rather awkward chuckle as I stared straight ahead of me, trying to listen to the remaining part of ms. Goodwitch's lecture. Even so, I could still feel Master's gaze upon me for a few moments before he too returned his attention to our professor.
"Now that we've concluded the opening lecture, let us delve right into our first match."
As large monitor up above and directly behind ms. Goodwitch immediately lit up, the screen quickly shuffling through names randomly back and forth in a matter of milliseconds.
"Pick me pick me pick me!" whispered Ciel eagerly.
I only smiled at her momentarily before the screen drew my attention attention once more, my eyes quickly scanning the list of names as it continued shuffling them. And then...it stopped.
"Ray Chroma, please step forward."
Ah, I see. The boy with the beanie from the opening ceremony that was fighting over a bottle of champagne with his teammate. Judging by the look on ms. Goodwitch's face, she still was harboring murderous intent towards Ray Chroma given the...incident after the team formation ceremony. If I didn't know any better, it seemed as though she was hoping for someone strong to be matched against him in order to punish him. I wonder if it'll be Ma-
"Your opponent will be Inuba Kitsukami."
Oh.
Apparently that person will be me.
I awkwardly looked to Master, my facial expression telling him I'd prefer not to step forward. But he simply chuckled and nodded his head towards the stage where ms. Goodwitch and Mr. Chroma stood, the latter who was impatiently tapping his foot, standing with his arms crossed.
"You got this. Show them who's boss. But don't turn him into soup please. Or roast beef."
"I-I would never-!"
"Kidding, I was kidding."
I could only pout at his joke.
"Ms. Kitsukami?"
I heard ms. Goodwitch call out to me, drawing my attention towards the stage to see both her and mr. Chroma waiting. Although, it seemed as though he was far more impatient than ms. Goodwitch was. Honestly, why is he even here if he isn't really willing? It's clear he has no joy in being here.
Putting those thoughts aside, I quickly made my way down the steps, taking short glances at those around me. Many were smiling at me warmly, some staring at me rather inappropriately, which I assumed they were having rather lecherous thoughts, and of course, let us not forget Cardin Winchester and his group of deviants who gave me rather hateful and mocking glances.
Honestly… I'm not exactly a Faunus considering my nature as a yōkai, specifically a fox yōkai, or rather a Kitsune. Even so, I am considered the same. I'm fine with the idea, it doesn't bother me really. What does bother me is the prejudice Faunus suffer for no reason at all. Truthfully, humanity does have reason to be intimidated by Faunus kind, more specifically these...White Fang characters I have been hearing much about. But humanity here on Remnant did bring their wrath down upon themselves with their continuous unjust treatment of Faunus kind. In a sense, they brought this upon themselves.
I wouldn't want others to misunderstand; I hold no love for the White Fang or their methods. In fact, I preferred if they kept to their means of peaceful protest rather than violence. Understandably, they have their reasons. But murder? Even with the abuses they've suffered, taking the lives of others, especially in the cases where innocents are involved is never the answer. Continuous retaliation will only lead to more brutal retaliations and so forth.
"Ms. Kitsukami? Are you ready to start?" asked ms. Goodwitch as I now stood on stage.
Apparently I was spacing out for sometime...
"Come on fox, get with the program. I don't want to be wasting more time than I need to, so let's get this over with quickly."
"If you aren't aware and focused mr. Chroma, it will be over sooner than you think." I retorted.
"Oh cute; it has a temper." he replied.
"It"? How rude…
"That would be the last thing you'd like to experience."
"I've seen worse."
"Then clearly..." I said summoning my katana to the left side of my waist in a small burst of white flame, "You've yet to see anything 'worse'."
With that, he simply gave me a condescending smirk. He's honestly beginning to annoy me with his arrogance.
"Hey down there!" I heard my Master's voice from above, forcing me to quickly turn my head towards his general direction, "Keep it at the twenties level! Remember! No roast beef!"
I gave him a simple nod and then closed my eyes, allowing myself to "see" Ray Chroma's Aura.
Hmm… Above average at best. For now anyway. Slightly volatile. I won't exactly know more until I actually fight him. At least this will provide me an opportunity to learn most of his ways and methods.
"Oh? Is that your trained wrangler?" he called out to Master.
What on-?! I am no dog!
"Trust me Bean Bag" Master spoke with a smile, "making her angry is the last thing you'd ever want."
"How wonderful, I've been looking for a quick death. Thanks for the advice." spoke Ray.
His voice was...monotonous...as if it had no inflections whatsoever. Did he really not take anything to consideration of what was just said?
"Are the both of you quite finished?"
"My apologies…" I said with a bow.
I then turned to mr. Chroma and slowly unsheathed my sword, allowing him to take in the sight of the gleaming white blade as I now lowered it to my side, waiting for the signal to begin.
"Combatants!"
My fingers tightly grasped my katana as I stood in wait. Was he seriously not going to use a weapon against me? A decision like that isn't wise in the slightest. Then again, he may potentially possess a hardening skill that might reinforce his flesh in order to stop my weapon. That, or…
"Begin!"
Before I could move forward myself, Ray Chroma instead charged towards me. Let's see if my hypothesis was correct.
I quickly raised my sword across my body and stabbed in his direction, aiming for his left shoulder. But before my blade point could make contact with his right shoulder, bright Violet streams formed together in Ray's hands in the shape of a shortsword. By doing so, he used the flat side to block the point of my blade as I pushed him back on his heels slightly.
"Well well, seems like you can hit hard…"
He pushed back my blade and swung at me, again and again, but each swing was either redirected by my sword or simply dodged. From the force of attacks behind his blade, he's definitely stronger than the average human, even an average Huntsmen. More importantly however was the speed. His attacks were very quick and concise, all aimed at some potential weakpoint of my body, very likely to attempt to disable me.
I was not such an easy target as he assumed.
He made a stab for my arm, but I simply parried his blade and opened him up to attack. And so, I brought my sword down across his body to end the fight.
Or so I thought.
Bright Violet energy formed a sort of small barrier around his left arm, entirely blocking my attack and negating any damage as he forced away my sword and swiped for my chest. Strangely enough, I thought I had dodged back far enough to avoid his blade entirely. Instead, his sword had extended itself to move closer to my body, just barely missing my chest by mere centimeters.
Upon closer inspection, I could see the energy surrounding his left arm and the energy that formed his sword wasn't simply Aura, like I had originally thought it was. The shapes… And the way the streams flowed together continuously in one direction infinitely reminded me of an enemy Master and I encountered once. And because of that, I knew exactly what it was Ray Chroma was using.
HardLight.
Now that I knew, simply striking at HardLight wouldn't be a viable strategy of attack. Normally, at least. I still had my means of attack, all of which he knew nothing of.
My hand blazed with a small burst of white flame, where I then clasped the edge of my katana between my index finger and central finger, and rubbed them across the entire blade, cloaking it in white flame as well while the flames from my hand disappeared. With that, I grasped my blade with both hands and lowered myself in a stance, sword centered in front of me. This time, I would strike first.
I immediately lunged forward with intense speed, surprising mr. Chroma as I closed the gap between us in virtually an instant. I swiped at him from the side, forcing him to expand the barrier of HardLight around his arm to form a greatshield of sorts to cover the side of his body I was attacking from. This wouldn't save him.
Instead of negating my attack like last time, the second my swing came in contact with mr. Chroma's barrier, it immediately pushed him away off to my side, his barrier now severely cracked. One more strike would shatter his shield, but given the amount of force behind my last swing, his arm was more than likely suffering from the mistake of blocking. I could even see it twitching a bit.
Now wasn't the time to be pitying him.
I moved in with blinding speed, feeling the air rush by me as I speed to his side and struck at him once more. This time, he used both his sword and shield to block, effectively reducing the force of the attack before he swung back at me. Even so, I quickly engaged him once more after each of his attacks, and like I had done for most of the time, he decided dodging would be more appropriate whenever possible. But given the speed and quick succession of attacks I unleashed upon him, dodging was very much difficult.
I struck back at mr. Chroma in a rising upwards slash, forcing him to move backwards slightly to dodge. Thankfully he did as expected. He did indeed dodge my attack, but the amount of force I put behind it had enough power that it unleashed a small gust of wind, along with a small burst of white flame, which effectively put him off balance like I had hoped it would. And with that, I struck again at his shield high up enough to shatter it without cutting off his arm, shattering his barrier of safety into tiny pieces that resembled sparks from a roaring forge.
Now that his line of defense had been crushed a quickly spun my body around and delivered a swift and powerful side kick into his solar plexus, hearing him cry out painfully as I sent him flying backwards, the Aura shielding around his body also shattering from the power of my kick.
Thankfully against Ciel's suggestion, I was wearing my compression shorts underneath my skirt.
Despite that, I was hoping Master was watching… Can you see how brilliantly I'm performing, Master?!
I looked in his direction expectedly with a glint of eagerness in my eye, hoping for some form of praise while my fox tail whipped about slightly. He was indeed watching given that he was giving me the double thumbs up and a smile.
How wonderful..!
My attention immediately snapped to where mr. Chroma was as I heard something whish from behind me. I spun my body around and leapt backwards, watching as wires of HardLight nearly made contact with my body. They didn't directly harm my body, but they did manage to tear apart the front section of my sleeveless white kimono, revealing the skin tight black compression tank top I wore underneath that exposed my mid section. Instead of covering myself up entirely like how I had intended, I instead stood up, slightly shaking from embarrassment.
"Woah! Check out! She's totally stacked!"
"I know, right?"
My fox ears folded against my head from hearing such comments. Even if they sat so far away, I could still hear them well enough. Either way, whether or whether not mr. Chroma's attack was intentional was something I did not know. But given how aggravatingly rude he was, I wouldn't put it past him to try and embarrass me in whatever way possible. Especially since I saw him smiling like the festering cretin that he was.
I wasn't going to buckle from embarrassment like he was expecting. Instead, I was going to destroy him slightly.
I raised up my left hand with my finger pointing towards mr. Chroma, a small, crackling sphere of white flame building up at my fingertips. He simply smiled as he raised up his hands and spread them outwards, putting up a decently sized HardLight barrier between us. Little did he know, it wouldn't save him. The last attack I used to crack his barrier was simply a less powerful version of my flames coated around my sword. Now though, my attack of flame would be focused and far more powerful...as he was about to discover.
"KitsuneArt number four…FoxFire Piercer."
Within an instant, a small focused beam of white flame burst forth from the golf ball sized sphere of flame at the tip of my left finger, quickly shooting forth towards mr. Chroma's barrier and piercing through it immediately, as if it were tissue paper.
From the expression on his face, he certainly wasn't expecting my attack to immediately pierce through his barrier, considering he reinforced it for more durability. He tried shifting his body out of the way from my attack, but he wouldn't escape it completely unscathed. Instead of piercing through his shoulder like I intended, my FoxFire Piercer knicked the top of his right shoulder. But it wasn't so simple as that.
The sheer force behind the attack, even by simply grazing him, was enough to send him skidding backwards on his heels a considerable distance until he stopped himself from moving further by plunging his HardLight sword into the ground. When he looked up, he could not see me.
I was already behind him.
He spun around and try and find me, but I simply vanished out of sight in a blur of white, reappearing behind him and quickly dodged under his backhanded swing. Before he could send a full swing my way, I quickly caught his sword with my left hand and kept him in place, stabbing my sword into the shoes he wore. Given the fact he didn't cry out in pain, it means I successfully pierced my sword in between his toes.
I'm getting better at that technique.
I could swear he mouthed the words to me "You mother-!"
Before he could finish his crude sentence, I raised up my right hand and poked my right index finger directly into Ray Chroma's left shoulder, glaring at him as I spoke the name of my other technique.
"KitsuneArt number thirty three…"
It was my win.
"FoxFire Bur-!"
"Alright alright! I give!" He said raising up his hands in a form of surrender.
His sword rested in my left hand for but a few seconds until I squeezed and crushed it into pieces, removing my sword from his foot shortly after to allow him to stagger backwards.
I twirled my sword around twice and then sheathed it before I asked my question.
"You could have easily continued the fight given your abilities, and even possibly have escaped my trap for 're clearly stronger than what you presented yourself to be. That, and your Aura Signature clearly confirms that theory for me. Why did you hold back? Or rather, why did you throw the match?" I asked him.
"Who says this wasn't a victory for me? You can learn a lot more from a loss then you can from a win. And thanks to your temper and your sense of pride, I've learned a lot more through this than I could ever learn through a face-to-face conversation."
So he says…
"Besides...the only time I'll ever fight seriously is if something intends to kill me."
At least he has some decency to him…
"Oh, and you should cover up those ridiculous tits of yours." he said as he left, prompting me to gasp as I wrapped my hands around my body to hide my chest.
Immediately I moved from the stage and quickly walked up the steps, receiving compliments from most of everyone for my performance. It would seem as though Ruby Rose was mainly impressed with my sword being on fire and "shooting fire from my fingertips like a holy gun of awesomeness".
I think that's what she said word for word…
My main concern now was simply to change my kimono and-
"Heya. Good fight down there."
"O-Oh! Master! T-Thank you…"
"Um… So… I had Ciel get you another one of your kimonos…" he said presenting me one of my sleeveless white half kimonos with black edges, folded up nicely.
I found it very sweet, and rather adorable, that he did his best not to stare. But even so, I did notice how his gaze drifted between myself and the rest of the auditorium.
He's too cute at times…
I snapped to attention immediately and quickly put on the kimono and held tightly to the one that was torn.
I can't believe that happened to me…
I noticed Master's gaze fall back to back now that I was more...appropriately dressed and saw that he had a rather...slightly displeased look. As if I had done something wrong.
Fingertips from both of his hands gently pinched the tips of my fox ears as I gasped in surprise. Small, rather pleasurable, tingling shocks ran down from my ears throughout my body as I shivered slightly while he spread my fox ears side to side.
"You forgot something, partner."
"I-I-I did..?! Ah…" I squeaked out.
"I'm pretty sure you recall me saying stick up to the 20's levels of your KitsuneArts, right?"
"Y-Yes…" I replied softly.
"There's a reason for that you know. 30's levels is enough to turn anything to ash if you aren't careful, right?"
"R-Right…"
My KitsuneArts… Spells for offense, defense, and trapping and binding specifically tailored for kitsune. There's up to 50 levels of spells for each yōkai. Like how Crow Tengu have their own Arts, TenguArts. Or Oni with their OniArts. Each Spell is different for each type of yōkai, and as such, other types of yōkai cannot perform spells from another yōkai type's available spells. For instance, a kitsune can't use TenguArts, or a Crow Tengu cannot be able to use KitsuneArts.
"Look, I know he was...really deserving of becoming roast beef…", I giggled softly at the start of his sentence, "But still, we're a lot stronger than the average person here. Are we the strongest? Don't really know. But you do need to be careful with who you use the spells on. You never know when something can go wrong."
"I understand…"
"Good."
He then released the tips of my ears from the tips of his fingers, my fox ears folding against my head as I patted them down. I then felt his hand gently rubbing the top of my head, and unable to help myself, I only squealed silently while my fox tail whipped back and forth.
"Other than that, you did really really good out there. Way to show them who's boss."
"T-Thank you… M-Master…" I managed to sputter out as we made our way to our seats.
And…done.
I quickly shut off the grill and placed the cooked goods on a platter and covered them with glass lid and made my way out of the schools expansive kitchen.
To think they even had a grill… This definitely will make cooking everyone's favorite foods much simpler than going out to the store a buying a grill, then finding a place for said grill to cook food. Either way, I'm glad they made it more convenient for me. These are one of Master's favorites afterall.
"There you are. I was wondering what was taking you so long."
"Oh, Master! Weren't you upstairs working on your essay? And other assignments?"
"I just finished and came down to check up on you. Good thing you finished your assignments early too, huh?"
"Indeed." I said with a soft giggle.
"I swear, if you did go to an actual high school, you would've fit in perfectly. Heck, you'd probably have been our student counsel president."
"You think so..?"
"Yeah. I mean, you're effective and very efficient when it comes to your workload. I mean, I'm kinda lazy when it comes to my work load and getting my stuff done despite me being able to finish it all quickly. But you? Heh. You at least try to get your assignments done the day they are assigned."
"Well, I do enjoy free time when I have it. And what better way to have more free time than to complete your work as soon as possible?"
"True that."
"Besides, with your help in educating me, it does make things go far more smoothly whenever I do 'schoolwork' compared to the normal documents I had to view and process for my clan."
"Which, I imagine, weren't all fun."
"It did get...exhausting at times… But you did help me whenever you could and give input. You are a Lord afterall, so your input mattered as well when making decisions and the such. Your help definitely made handling such matters much simpler."
"Meh… I didn't do much."
"On the contrary, you did. You made life much more simpler. And...well...exciting…"
"Exciting huh..?"
He almost seemed to want to contradict that statement, something Master seemingly does every time whenever I say something good about him. I know he isn't one for fame or renown. It's not that he doesn't appreciate it, but...even with his words and actions, he feels as though it's wasted on him, as if he didn't really earn the praise despite the huge efforts he puts in.
But really, I think it's for another reason entirely.
In some ways, I think he sees praise something akin or close to worship, like how humans worship deities or gods. And, understandably, given his...experiences...he isn't someone who exactly agrees with their ideals or their methods. So in that regard, he would like to have no relatable feature to a god at all.
The only gods he does agree with are the ones my family and I worship. The Fox Goddess Inari, who in thanks to her champion, my Master, now presides over all the other deities. And just as importantly...the Demon Fox Goddess Dakini. Long before Master became Goddess Inari's champion, Goddess Dakini had made him her champion when he was but a young boy. And as such, she gave him tremendous power to protect those he cared for deeply.
But ever since the events three months ago on our world, Primordial, any trace of power from either Goddesses has long since vanished. And restoring such power isn't something that is done so...easily. Especially with the vast amount of power that stemmed and grew over the long years. His connection to them has vanished.
The last time mother attempted to make contact with Goddess Dakini, she was told that she would be leaving elsewhere for the time being to search for someone. Mother said it was likely because she had gone in search of her elder sister, Dakini, who has long been disconnected from the Heavens and The World's. Which begs the question then… How was she connected to Master for the time that she was..?
"You're kinda spacing out there partner. You alright?" he asked me as we continued walking down the hallway towards our dorm room.
"Oh yes, I'm fine. I was just...thinking…"
"Family again?"
"No, not this time. I was actually thinking about you."
"M-Me? Did I do something wrong? If I did I-"
"Oh! No, you didn't do anything wrong… It's just… I don't understand…"
"Understand what?"
"Well… This may be just me...but I'm certain you always avoid praise. Or rather, brush it off, as if you had no real part or did almost nothing."
"I see…"
"I was wondering why is that exactly."
"Well, to be honest, I'm not a big fan of attention or praise. Put it simply, I'm not in it for the glory, really. I just do what I do and that's it."
"Has anyone ever told you that your humility is outrageous?" I asked smiling.
"Being humble is one of the best ways to be is what I think. It's why I don't like bragging unless I'm joking around. Which is why if I'm ever bragging, it's because I'm joking."
"I see…" I said with a giggle, slightly hiding my face behind my hand.
"So, what did Miss Chef extraordinaire make today?"
"One of your favorites." I replied.
"Thanks to you, I have a lot of those now."
"Come now, it's nothing special…"
"Quite the opposite really. You're cooking… Well… It's just too fantastic words. And I'm someone who doesn't need to eat. Like at all. But eating your food is always the greatest."
"T-Thank you…"
Before we knew it, we stood outside our door, and Master opened the door for me to allow me through.
"Chow time! Hahahaha!"
Ciel jumped out of her bed and rushed towards me to see what I prepared, but was stopped by her older brothers hand in place.
"Today's dish is something to celebrate our first day here, and the future success we will have. As such, I prepared not only Master's favorite, but yours as well."
"No way!"
I simply smiled and removed the lid, showing what I had prepared for everyone.
"Today's special is grilled chicken and pineapple skewers."
"Incredible!" said Leonard as he grabbed a skewer and began to eat one.
"Best first day of school ever!" Ciel said before she went to work devouring her skewer.
"Here Master, some for you as well."
"Thanks."
He grabbed a skewer and spun it around quickly before proceeding to eat, nodding his head up and down with a pleased look on his face.
"It's excellent. Thanks."
"Y-You're welcome…! Hehehe… Heh…"
"You should have one too."
"Oh, I'm not hungry."
"You barely ate anything at lunch. You must have been really nervous or something today not to eat all that much."
"Well…"
Being nervous had some sort to play in it. Despite what Ciel said earlier, I still would like to watch what I eat.
"It'll make me feel better if you eat one at least."
"Well… If you insist…"
I set down the platter on one of the desks and picked up a skewer for myself and taking a bite. The sweet and slightly sour flavor from the pineapple mixed with the savory spices from the chicken made thirst treat extremely delicious… It left me craving for more to be honest…
I succumbed to my desire to have and took a few more bites.
"You do always know how to make really good food."
"As I said, it's nothing special really."
"No really, it is. I've told you before your food is magical. And so has everyone else who's ever tasted it really. If not, well, then they're a real sourpuss. Or just severely depressed."
"Or if you're Douchelord Ezdeil!" Ciel called over from the HoloScreen TV.
"Ciel." said Leo.
"What? The guy acts like a total douchebag. All 'I'm mightier than thou' and 'I can kill you with this thumb'!" she said in a French accent, "I mean, he totally could have whooped Xiao Long if he wanted to."
"Well, you aren't wrong about that…" reaffirmed Leo.
"Then the smug bastard forfeits to make it look like he has some common decency to him when he really doesn't. Personally, I don't think he gives a crap about anyone really. Like, he'll keep 'em around and 'play nice' by his definition so long as they're useful to him, but the second that stops…" she then snapped her fingers as she took another bite from her third skewer, "He'll just outright drop them."
That was...harsh to say the least. But Mr. Ezdeil hasn't exactly proven himself to be a sociable person. Or nice. It's as though he feels nothing and has no regard for anyone. Personally I think he just doesn't know entirely how to express himself, or rather, refuses to do so. As to why, well, that would have to be something to discover somewhere along the line.
"Eh, he's not all that bad Ciel. Who knows? He might just have some past issues and just isn't the open type. Whatever his problem is, you shouldn't make assumptions like that so quickly."
"Yeah yeah…" she said waving off Master as she continued watching the show on television.
He only sighed as he continued eating his skewer alongside me, the two of us sitting on the desk and watching the TV closely.
"Oh, your mom called earlier and said she has something to talk to you about on the weekend."
"A-Already? That was rather quick of her…"
"She said she had news but wouldn't say anything to me."
"Oh mother…" I said with a sigh.
"Inuba, your mom… Well...being honest here...she's like SuperMom."
"R-Really?"
"Definitely. She's taken such brilliant care of you and your siblings for years now, and, well...a nobody like me."
"Master…"
"Point is, she's an amazing individual. My other point is...well...she can be a bit shady at times, you know?"
I giggled at the comment.
"What?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm laughing a bit because it's true really. Despite how kind and respectable mother is, she can be very...crafty. Or shady, as you put it. She does have the right mindset for deception and infiltration, which indeed used to be her type of work years ago. But yes, while she can be 'shady' and sly at times, she still is, as you called her, SuperMom."
"That she is. Remember that one time we were getting our butts handed to us by that Dark Entity on Primordial during the whole Restraining the Black Knight incident? Never have I seen a woman, a mother no less, so silently furious. To put it politely, she just walked up and slapped the snot and brains out of him like that. While entertaining to watch, it was also...terrifying."
"Agreed. Which is why all of us were always on our best behavior at home. Still though...I wonder what it is she could possibly want from us so soon. Besides wanting to check in on us of course."
"Because we're all her precious little darlings." He said with a smile as he took another bite.
"The three of you may have no relation to us, but she considers you, Ciel and Leo a part of our family. And we will continue helping and watching over you all to the best of our ability."
"Thanks… For everything. For the recent months. For the months before we came here and…" He paused for a moment, staring intently at his skewer as he spun it around, "I owe you and your family a lot more than I can repay now. So if ever I can, one day I'll-"
"Nonsense. You don't need to do such a thing at all. We're looking out for each other, right? So there's no need for such things." I said finishing the last bit of my skewer.
"Shooting down my proposal to repay you guys? Again?"
"Of course. You're not allowed to repay us."
"I'm not allowed?" He asked pinching my cheek, "Where did you learn to be so cheeky?"
"From you of course." I said pinching his cheek in response.
He then poked me in the side, and I proceeded to poke him back until he stepped to the side in surrender.
"I'll be back soon. I'm going to see if they have blackberry pop at the student store. See you in a bit."
"Be safe."
"I'm always-"
Before he even had the chance to finish that sentence, I simply gave him a stare while he awkwardly stared back.
"Alright. Later."
And just like that, he quickly shut the door behind him. I brought the platter over to Ciel and Leo and offered them more skewers, which they gladly took and began eating.
"Did you two finish your homework?" I asked.
"What are you, our mom?" asked Ciel with her usual coy smile.
"For all intensive purposes, yes, I am."
"I'm okay with this. Are you okay with this?"
"Well, we do need order and structure." said Leonard.
"Don't we have big brother for that?"
"He isn't always reliable when it comes to order and structure."
"You think he makes things up as he goes?"
"Yes indeed…" I replied watching the action occurring on screen, only noticing that the two were staring at me in surprise.
It really wasn't much of a surprise really.
"What? His plan is usually to hit things until they die. Sometimes impromptu planning gets mixed into the process, but even then does that rarely happen."
They looked towards each other and simply shrugged their shoulders as we watched the television show together. There was some gunfire involved…but for just a moment...it seemed almost as though I heard a sort of gunshot outside our door. But...maybe the gunshots from television echoed out.
"Think you can make this skewers, like, once a week?" Asked Ciel.
"Since you like them so much, of course."
"Sweet! Thanks Foxy! Next we'll help out, yeah?"
"I think the cooking should be left to me." I said with a giggle.
Hiya everyone. Again. So...I'm not gonna give a long winded explanation as to why I've been gone...a month at least? Let's just say a month. The sparknotes version of this explanation is that I got home, had to sort through a lot of personal crap, so forth and so on. Point is, we're back on schedule, so hopefully, we can avoid another horrid time gap like this one. Really all I had to say here, so with that...
I highly recommend you all go check out the freaking amazing collab Xera Stark and I are currently working on concerning his story XSRA's Flame. His story overall is absolutely fantastic and is a must read, so I suggest you read from the very start. But, if you're just interested in the awesome collab our two minds put together have created, then mozy on down to chapter 53 of his story for the start. I've said it once and will say it again, you won't want to miss out on this story, and especially this exciting story arc we've created. Not only that, but check out his other awesome and highly entertaining story Rogue Huntsmen as I mentioned above. It's just pure awesomeness bundled into one story. Trust me, you'll love it. And hey! Go check out HydraFLow's story Lost in Binary! It's equally as awesome and entertaining, definitely worth spending the time reading and enjoying.
Questions? Ask them anytime. I will try to answer without spoiling.
Please remember to review, follow and favorite this story if you really enjoyed it and want to continue seeing more of it. And hey, even tell others about this story! Remember that your support is what helps make this story grow even larger and what helps improve it. With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend!
Bye-bye now!