*Well, this got delayed to hell. I'll try to post more than one thing a year from now on. Enjoy.
Chapter 2 - Super Special Service~
Honestly, it was his fault for leaving so early.
Since they were young, Hakufu had been late for everything that wasn't a fight or school. That Gifū came to this subway station ahead of her instead of just waiting for her get out of bed was an error on his part. He couldn't even bring himself to be angry, honestly.
With his back against a wall, he watched as people bustled in and out of the subway station, and morning traffic clogged the road. It was a Sunday morning and still this packed. He could only imagine what it would be like tomorrow when the second semester for several schools throughout Tokyo.
"I should probably get a route planned out just in case. It'll probably save me some of trouble."
As he was pulling his phone out, a familiar voice called out to him.
"Fū-chan? Fū-chan is that you over there?"
Over on the other side of the street was Hakufu. It appeared she had finally gotten herself out of bed. More likely, their mother forced her up herself. Gifū waved back at her, letting her know he had heard her. Once the pedestrian signal turned green, she would come over, and they could get the day started.
That, of course, would have been too simple for someone like Hakufu.
"Catch!" she exclaimed, flinging her satchel.
The bag flew through traffic faster than the vehicles that made it. Her brother caught it with one hand, a powerful smack throwing up his hair and nearby skirts when he did. After making sure nothing was broken inside, he checked to see what Hakufu had planned. Though, he already had an idea.
She crouched low, took a deep breath and then jumped into the air as far she could. Gifū estimated twenty meters, but he could have been off by one or two. Pedestrians down below gazed up at her while she flipped through the sky, in awe of her athleticism.
Or maybe they were just staring at her panties.
When she landed on the opposite sidewalk, a small crater was made where her sandals hit the cement.
"Perfect landing~" she said.
"Yeah, sure. Just wear shorts next time, nee-chan," Gifū said while handing back her bag. "So, why did you sleep in for so long? Not only did you skip breakfast, I ended up waiting here for nearly half an hour after leaving ahead of you."
"It's because I stayed up super late planning our date today."
Gifū cringed at the word 'date'. His did the same when his mother proposed it last night. She thought it would be good idea for him to get a acquainted with Tokyo before starting school. Gifū agreed. What he had not agreed on was Hakufu being his sole guide. Today was supposed to be a sibling play date, like they used to have when they were children.
The very idea alone was embarrassing, but Hakufu accepted with gusto.
"We got a tight schedule ahead of us, Fū-chan. There's a movie at 2:00 pm we need to catch."
This date was sounding more like field trip. Once it began in earnest, Gifū realized he wasn't that far off.
They entered the train station at 8:32 am. By 2:00 pm Hakufu dragged Gifū through three wards, a dozen shops and twice as many tourist attractions. They stopped for snacks (that only Hakufu ate), stopped for sights (that only Hakufu was interested in seeing), went to a comic shop (with manga only Hakufu bought) and visited an arcade (where only Hakufu won any prizes).
By the time they went to catch their film in Shinjuku, Gifu was already exhausted. Actual field trips took less exertion than the past four and a half hours.
"We made it in time!" Hakufu exclaimed, waving her newly bought tickets.
"Did we really have to rush down here, like this? Couldn't we have just gone to a later showing?"
"Catching a later showing of this movie would have had us here past sundown, Fū-chan."
"Why's that?"
Hakufu pointed to the poster of their movie in the theater. Immediately, Gifū focused on the run time underneath it.
"Two hours and forty-five minutes?! That over half the time we spent running around Tokyo!"
"Eh, it'll be fine. I heard this movie's got really good pacing."
He would have said more, Hakufu had paid for the tickets out of pocket. In fact, she had paid for just about everything herself – voluntarily too. Even if the movie seemed like some generic action flick, he couldn't bring himself to leave.
"This is going to be a painful three hours…"
~I~I~I~
When they left the theater, Gifū had to stare at the ground in fear of catching the schadenfreude on his sister's face.
"I can't believe you teared up a little when the credits started rolling, Fū-chan."
"Just let it go already…"
"How can I? You were all 'This is gonna be such a slog', then you ended up loving the movie more than I did."
Gifū groaned. He thought this situation couldn't get any more embarrassing.
And then his stomach started rumbling.
It let out a roar so fierce it drew looks from passerby, as well as his sister. He chewed on his bottom lip in humiliation.
"Dammit…"
Hakufu chuckled. "You hungry, Fū-chan?"
"I'll be fine until we get home. I'll just eat leftovers from last night."
"Heh. Hey, if you say…" Hakufu paused, halting in the middle of street. "Wait. Did you eat any of the Son Son Sake Stew from last night?"
"No. I skipped dinner."
"Oh. Did you eat any breakfast before you left either?"
"I never eat breakfast."
"Since when?! You ate every morning before you went to Hong Kong!"
"Diets change. I eat a lot less often than I used to."
"How much less?"
"Four days a week; typically on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday."
Hakufu made a face like she had just discovered her brother had been cutting himself. In her opinion, he may as well have been.
" Fū-chan, you can't treat your body like that! It needs nutrition! You'll stay short forever if you don't eat properly!"
Her brother's mouth twitched at that last comment.
"Y'know, I'm actually taller than you now, nee-chan."
"See what I mean? You've been short for so long you think being taller than your sis is an 'accomplishment'*. Ah… Poor, Fū-chan." [*1]
Gifū silently adjusted his glasses.
"Look, there's a reason that I only eat four meals a week, and it's not that I just enjoy starving myself. Anyway, when we get home, I'll have my fourth meal then."
Just as he was starting toward Shinjuku Station, Hakufu hooked him back in. She tugged too hard and caused him to fall back. Her brother would have face-planted into the concrete had he not been landed in her cleavage instead. Onlookers them odd looks – some disgusted and some envious. Personally, Gifū felt more annoyed than anything else.
Once he freed himself from her chest he asked "Am I just your hostage now?"
"No, but I'm your tour guide still. If you're going to eat something tonight, it has to be on my treat."
He almost protested, but he knew that arguing would get him nowhere. Hakufu was stubborn when it came to doing things for others. Throughout the day, Gifū had seen that trait of hers remained unchanged since he'd been gone.
"Fine. We'll do it your way. Just try to pick someplace decent."
Eager to comply, Hakufu dug through her bag for her wallet. "Let's just see what I have left to work with here…"
She pulled the wallet out. She opened it. She closed it right back.
"Is something wrong?"
"Hmm? Oh, no it's fine. I'm just broke.
Gifū stared at her, and Hakufu stared right back.
"…I'm going home," the former said, turning on his heel.
"Hold on! I might still have something in my bag!"
Sticking close to her brother, Hakufu began rustling through every pocket and corner of her satchel. While he heard plenty of change jingling, Gifū had a doubt his sister would find anything substantial in that bag.
And yet, right before entering the subway, he heard her shout "Ooh! I forgot about this!"
He turned and saw that Hakufu was holding a black ticket in her hand.
"What is it? A coupon?"
"Kinda? It's supposed to be a special ticket to some fancy café here in Shinjuku. It nets you two meals. Doesn't matter how big the serving sizes are either."
"How did you get something like that?"
"A senpai from my school named Saji gave it to me."
That was nice of him, Gifū thought.
"He felt me up this one time. When I tried to sock him for it, he gave me this ticket as an apology."
Ah. Never mind, Gifū thought.
"So, have you ever even been to this cafe before?" he asked.
"Nope. But free food's free food, so why not check it out anyway?"
"Nee-chan…"
"Geez, you're always such a skeptic. You're already dying of hunger, so what do you have to lose?"
That… was a fair point. Fair enough for Gifū to again resigned himself to his sister's whims. She had already pleasantly surprised him once today. Perhaps this café would be the second surprise.
~I~I~I~
Well, it was certainly a surprise, alright.
This café was tucked down a backroad in a location so obscure you likely wouldn't able to find it unless you were already looking for it. It seemed like a proper enough establishment… save for giant half-naked image of a maid lounging over the café's name – Charlemagne. Gifū marveled at it, but not for the reasons he imagined the owners expected him to. It took his sister calling his name for him to come back to Earth.
"What are you spacing out so much for?"
"This is a maid café."
"So?"
"I've been away from Japan for a while, but even I still know that places like these are just temples for otaku to congregate and hold anime mass, or whatever they like to do. The food probably isn't even that good."
Hakufu hummed. "Yeah, I think I understand where you're coming from. You're really just afraid of talking to girls besides me and mama, aren't you? Did something traumatic happen to you in Hong Kong, Fū-chan? Did you get your heart broken?"
A look of deep annoyance flickered across her brother's face. "Of course not!"
"Cool. Then let's go in already."
Hakufu practically frolicked her way through the front door, a bell chiming as she entered. Still annoyed, Gifū followed her in. When he did, his opinion of the cafe changed almost immediately.
It was classier than he could have imagined. The lighting was dim, with blinds over the windows and smooth jazz playing in the background. It forewent the Moe style that was common amongst these types of cafés for a more mature and classy theme. There were even baroque-style paintings hung up on the wall.
Of course the café's maids were unique as well. The first was how they dressed like French maids with dresses so short their stockings were the only things covering their knees. For second, and most unique extraordinary thing about this café, all of the maids wore magatama beads.
"Is everyone who works here a Warrior?" Hakufu asked.
"Yep."
Hakufu jumped when she noticed a maid standing adjacent to her. She hadn't noticed her at all, and neither had her brother.
The maid giggled. "Sorry, did I startle you? I have a bad habit of surprising customers. Just a naughty habit I haven't been able to shake."
This girl was certainly… 'unique'; both in personality and appearance. She looked like a foreigner with her creamy brown skin and curly hair. She also had a magatama bead – vermilion red, the color of a C Rank.
Gifū wondered if she was hāfu.
"Ahem! While ogling up the staff if fine Master, you'll have to order something eventually," she said while making eye-contact.
"S-sorry... Hey, nee-chan, give her the ticket already."
"Okay, okay. You don't have to rush."
Hakufu withdrew the black ticket and handed it over to foreign maid. The maid beamed at it like it was some Japanese national treasure.
"Where did you get this?" she asked.
"A guy from my school named Saji gave it to me. Do you know him?"
"Saji, huh… Working here it would be hard not to know him. Granted, there are girls who know him a whole lot more 'intimately' than I would ever care to."
While Hakufu was perplexed by what she meant, Gifū just wanted to know if they could use the darn thing or not.
"Is the ticket still valid even if this Saji guy isn't using it?"
The maid nodded. "Of course. So long as it's in your possession, who you got it from doesn't matter. Now, may I request my masters' names?"
"Gifū."
"And I'm Hakufu."
The maid made a strange face when she heard the second name. After a thoughtful hum, she told the siblings to go grab a seat, and wait for a maid to come and take their order.
They spotted an empty booth in the corner of the café for them to sit. Hakufu set her satchel down in and then went off to the restroom. Waiting by himself, Gifū started going through the menu at the table. He was impressed at its robustness. He started thinking this café was actually just a restaurant that specialized in coffee?
While still going through it, a maid arrived.
"Read for me to take your order, Master?" she asked.
This girl's tone sounded cold. She also looked cold. The beauty mark under the left corner of her mouth and the eye-patch she wore only added to the 'chill' she was emitting.
And yet Gifū got the impression she was the type that was quite among customers.
"Are you going to order or just stare all day? We have a policy about that, just so you know."
"Sorry, but I'm still deciding."
She gave Gifū a look like had just spit on her shoes. The glare could have turned hearts to stone. He was absolutely positive she was popular among customers. He was also fortunate that something else on the table caught the maid's attention.
"Is that a black ticket? Only regulars get those," she said. "How do you have one?"
"My elder sister says she was given it by a senpai at her school. Someone named Saji."
The maid's chilly demeanor lit up like a flame had been ignited in front of her.
"…What school does your sister go to?"
"Nanyō Academy."
The flame burned hotter, and the maid began to sweat.
"There's no way it's her. Just no way," she said to herself. "Saji wouldn't dare try to-"
"Mo-chan? Is that you?" Hakufu asked, having just returned from the restroom.
The maid didn't even look back. She just gave a deep sigh. "Of course he would do something like this."
Hakufu suddenly hugged her from behind. Gifū expected a look of disgust similar to what he saw earlier, but the maid appeared more annoyed than anything else.
"I didn't know you worked here, Mō-chan! No wonder you're always running around with that maid outfit on," Hakufu said, mushing her and maid's faces close.
"What did you think the reason was? You thought I was just some pervert running around in fetish gear?"
"You do like to carry handcuffs."
Mō-chan shrugged Hakufu off of her. Then she eyed Gifū.
"You had a brother all this time? How come I've never seen him before?"
"He's been going to school in Hong Kong the last few years. His name's Gifū, but me and mama just call him Fū-chan."
Gifū was about to introduce himself properly to his sister's friend, but she gave him another look that ushered him into silence.
"Gifū? Does that mean that he's…?"
"Ryomō, are there any problems happening over here?
The blue-haired maid for interrupted for the second time. This time it was the hāfu-looking maid from earlier.
"Maka-san…. Did you know that this girl attended the same school as Saji and I?"
"…Kinda."
"Did you also purposely send me over purposely send me over to wait this table?"
"…Maybe."
Maka gazed solemnly into Ryomō's eyes. After a moment, she broke down laughing.
"…Dammit. I hate having to give the SSS treatment."
"What is the 'SSS Treatment'," Gifū asked.
"It stands for 'Super Special Service', and you can only get it if you obtain a black ticket. It lets you make a maid from Charlemagne to do any one task you ask outside of the café. Doing your schoolwork, cleaning your room, taking your dog for a walk, asking for money – basically anything short of sex. We'd get busted for prostitution if we allowed that. …Not that it keeps certain customers from trying."
"Surprised anyone works here with something like that in place," Gifū said.
"If you knew how much we got paid you would."
"Ah. Excuse me then."
Ryomō tried to get Maka to settle down.
"Alright, you got your laughs, Maka-san. You can go now. We don't need the manager acting like a hyena in front of customers."
Maka, still too amused with herself to respond proper, left the booth to resume her duties elsewhere. Hakufu and Gifū couldn't believe that person was the manager. She spent half her time laughing at innocuous things her customers did.
"This café is so strange…" Hakufu commented.
"I don't want to hear something like that from someone like you," Ryomō said, pulling her pad out again. "So, you finally figured out what you want to eat, little brother?"
He did, in fact. As did his sister. It only took a second for her pick what she wanted from the menu – curry and rice. Gifū's order was a bit less orthodox.
"Can I get the Joyeuse Banquet, please?" he asked.
Ryomō blinked. "Master, did you not check the serving size beside it? That meal is meant to serve two to three people."
"I know. That's why I ordered it."
The maid blinked again. "You plan to eat three people's worth of food?"
"Yes? Is that a problem?"
She blinked once more and this time Gifū blinked right back at her.
"…Okay. One curry w/rice and one Joyeuse Banquet. Both your orders with be ready soon, Masters."
Ryomō gave them a bow then left for the kitchen, throwing Hakufu a sideways look as she went.
"Fū-chan, are you serious? Since when do you pig out like this?
"Since I only eat a few times out of the week, I try to make each meal as big as I'm sure I can eat in one sitting."
Hakufu folded her arms. She wondered what bizarre dietary habits her brother had adopted during his time abroad.
Hakufu had her food fresh and ready in no longer than six minutes. Gifū continued waiting for over twenty. In this time, his sister finished her own and was waiting along with him.
When it finally came, it was rolled out of the kitchen on its own personal trolley. Other customers and maids looked on curiously as it was rolled to its destination. They expected some greasy, overweight otaku to be on the receiving end. How surprised they were when the numerous plates were laid out in front of someone like Gifū.
Hakufu was glad she had finished her meal beforehand, because there would have been no room for it otherwise. The Joyeuse Banquet took the whole table up by itself.
"Here you go," Ryomō said, setting the last dish down. "Don't make a mess."
Gifū thanked her as she walked away. She told Maka she was going a short break, then left the café through the back door, taking a bottle of water with her. She thought she might finally have some peace to herself in that alley, so of course Hakufu showed up before she could even sip the bottle in her hand.
"Mō-chan!"
"Ah!" Ryomō spilled some of her water on herself. "Dammit, Sonsaku… What do you want?"
"It's about that Super Special Service thing, Maka-chan was talking about. I what tell what I want."
"The 2nd Semester starts tomorrow. If you didn't finish your summer homework by now, it's just a lost cause."
"That's not it. I mean… I did kinda put most of it off, but…"
Ryomō shook her head at Hakufu's pathetic expression.
"Idiot."
"I'm not an idiot! And that's not what I want! What I want is for you to fight Fū-chan!"
"…Why?"
"Starting tomorrow, Fū-chan will be going to school in Tokyo. I know that since he's connected to me and Kōkin lots of guys are gonna try to test him. Before that happens, I want him to see what it's like to know what it's like to fight one of the toughest Warriors in Kantō, so he'll already have that experience to back him up."
Ryomō blinked. Then she chuckled.
"W-what's so funny?"
"It's just that I never expected something that contemplative to come out of you, of all people. You're make big sister than I would have thought, Sonsaku." Hakufu seemed a bit cross at her friend's words. Her mood settled when Ryomō finally said "I'll do it. But only if your brother agrees."
"Right! Hey, can you two fight right after off you get off from work tonight?"
"Sure, but I get off at 6:30. Your brother won't finish eating by then."
"Oh, shoot… You're right."
Hakufu hurried back inside. Ryomō, finding desire for solitude gone, followed. She expected to return to Hakufu and Gifū's booth and finding the former pestering the latter to hurry eating. What she found instead was nothing.
Literally – the entire meal she had brought to their table had vanished. Every bowl and plate laid out in front of him had been picked clean. Ryomō hadn't even taken her full break.
Hakufu's brother gave very satisfied exhale and then threw his spotless napkin on top of the small tower of empty plates he had erected.
"Thank you for the meal…"
"W-wow, Fu-chan... You really pigged out," Hakufu said.
"I did fast for two days prior. Anyway, didn't you want to tell me something, nee-chan?"
"O-oh, yeah…"
She wondered about how best to put this. She realized her brother's aversion to fighting, but she wasn't sure how best to convince him. She decided to just be blunt and work from there.
"Fū-chan, I was wondering if you would be up for fighting Mō-chan."
"You mean your maid friend over here?"
Hakufu nodded. "I know it's out the blue, but-"
"Sure. I'll spar with her."
"…Huh?"
"Your friend – I'll fight her. Of course only if she's fine with it as well."
"I am. Just give me give me another half-hour until my shift ends," Ryomō said.
"Okay. Do you have a place you have in mind for this?"
Ryomō shrugged. "Let your sister decide."
His sister, still bewildered by how smoothly this had gone, toiled for a bit trying to come up with a good location. Eventually, the light bulb came on.
"Ooh~ I know just the place!"
~I~I~I~
Gifū had thought he and Hakufu would get home before dark tonight. That hope long gone now.
The only source of light on Nanyō Academy's rooftop came from the moon and stars above. More negligent than the lack of lights, Gifū found, was the fact that he and Hakufu had literally strolled up here with no issue.
"Does this school bother locking anything?"
Hakufu shrugged. "Not really. If you can clear the front gate, you can explore as much as you want."
"Won't you get in trouble for trespassing?"
"Nah. The school's pretty lax with what students can do on its grounds. Trespassing, fighting on campus, destroying school property, skipping class. So long as your grades don't fall too low, teachers don't really care what you do."
Gifū hummed.
Complacency towards with violence was apparently a trait that went beyond thugs in the streets. Gifū wondered just how many schools in the Greater Tokyo Area also shared this quirk. Was battlelust just a common thing throughout the Kantō region?
The sound of the door to the roof opening disrupted his thoughts. It was his dance partner for the night.
"Sorry I kept you waiting. Some punks came in just as I clocking out and started raising a ruckus," Ryomō said.
"A little unfair you got a warm-up beforehand," Gifū joked.
Ryomō smirked then shut the door behind her.
She was still wearing her work attire, but the shoes she wore at the café had been swapped out for black combat boots. She had also donned some gloves.
"Hey, nee-chan mentioned something about handcuffs earlier. Are you…"
"I didn't bring them. I would have had to take a train back home for that. Besides, they're mainly for fun, not for when I'm serious."
"I see. Well then…" Gifū removed his glasses, tossed them over to his sister, and took a stance. "Whenever you're ready, Ryomō-san."
"Hold on. Before we start, I want to clear some things up."
The siblings she addressed traded looks. The elder shrugged and the younger relaxed his stance. He already had a feeling what this about anyway.
"Are we about to discuss my name, Ryomō-san?"
Ryomō nodded. "It's part of the reason I agreed to this. …Besides the Super Special Service thing."
"I see. Considering that you're Shimei Ryomō* it would make sense that you would want to be reassured about my identity." [*2]
"You managed to guess who I was, eh?"
"I mean, this whole 'reincarnated identity' thing isn't rocket science. Nee-chan is Sun Ce the Little Conqueror. Kō-nii is Zhou Yu the Youth. They both go to Nanyō Academy which is named after Nanyang. Just following that trail of logic, it's easy enough to guess someone's identity if I'm given a hint. For example: that Saji guy who gave nee-chan the black ticket – he must be Genpō Saji*, right?" [*3]
Ryomō was baffled. "Are you sure you and Sonsaku are related? Seriously, studying abroad isn't enough to justify you two being this different."
"Are you calling me stupid again, Mō-chan?"
The maid ignored her.
"Okay, so since you've gotten that all figured out on your own, you know where I'm going with this. Don't you… Gifū Shuzen*?" [*4]
"Eh… I could just be named after the castle*." [*5]
One look from Ryomō was enough for Gifū to know she was having none of it. "Right, right… So, how does you now knowing my identity affect this fight of ours?"
"You should already know. I'm Lü Meng. You're Zhu Ran. In a past life, you were my subordinate who's talent blossomed under me. I plan on making sure that event repeats itself. Nanyō could do with another strong general."
"Ah. I see. This is a test." Gifū retook his stance. "Tests are my strong suit, so I should do fine."
Ryomō tugged on the cuffs of her gloves and then took her own stance.
"I don't give easy grades, Shuzen."
The two became as still as statues. It was so quiet, Hakufu could hear the air between them quiver.
Ryomō's retained a judo-like stance, something that would make anyone wary of getting within arm's length of her; especially with a B Rank magatama bead dangling from her ear. But Gifū knew that he would have to close the distance eventually. Hence, he chose not to waste any time getting to it.
Gifū took his first step. This was the only step he needed.
Hakufu's eyes widened at her brother's display of footwork, but his opponent was not so impressed. The blow he delivered at the end of journey was deflected, and an elbow was sent back at him.
He managed to evade, but with a scratch across the cheek as a parting gift. Now in the danger zone, Gifū tried to put distance back between him and his opponent, but Ryomō was having none of it. Her fingers came for his throat like a starving wolf's fangs. Gifū ducked then came back up with roundhouse kick to the maid's face.
It hit her square where her eyepatch was; the air around her head even howled.
"…Is this a joke?" Ryomō asked.
Reacting too late, the boy had his ankle snatched in an iron clutch. Like he was a child's toy, Ryomō swung the boy over her head and slammed him against the rooftop. On impact, all the air he thought he owned left his body. Pain coursed through him. His head kept ringing like a phone was stuffed inside it.
But the maid wasn't done.
She swung him overhead again. And then a third time. And then a fourth. By the sixth, Hakufu wanted to stop the fight, certain she would be bringing him back in trash bag if she didn't.
"S-stay out of this, nee-chan…!" her brother shouted at her.
Ryomō dangled him above the rooftop like a fresh fish she had just wrangled.
"I thought you said you were good at tests. You're lucky if you don't flunk you outright after this."
"Heh... So this is what a B Rank's strength is like…" Gifū groaned. "That guy from the other night is like a toddler in comparison…"
"C'mon, Fū-chan… Don't feel too bad," Hakufu reassured. "Mō-chan's one of the strongest B Ranks in Kantō, y'know? Losing to her isn't anything to beat yourself up over."
"I don't know if I could beat myself worse than she has, nee-chan…"
Ryomō clicked her tongue. "Even without a magatama bead on, this level of strength is pathetic. Are you really Gifū Shuzen?"
Gifū gazed up at Ryomō's upside-down visage. He smirked and said "...Nope."
Just as the maid was trying to understand what he meant, Gifū inhaled deeply and then exhaled. A surge of chi flowed from his pores, blowing him free of Ryomō's grasp and away from her.
She tugged roughly on her gloves.
"Neat trick, Shuzen. You get points for good chi control, at least. Better than Sonsaku who'll just throw everything around without thinking about it."
"Stop making fun of me, Mō-chan!"
Gifū laughed while wiping some blood off himself.
"Thank you. That technique was originally developed by a kung fu master who used it to scare away wild animals when he would take hikes through forests. But if you add a little more chi, you can do more than scare – you can blast yourself and other things away from you. It exhausts your chi pretty quickly though, so it can't be used too often."
"Are you sure you want me to know that last detail?"
"You won't be getting ahold of me a second time, so it's fine."
Ryomō scowled. Just who did this punk think he was? She just had him at her mercy, literally fling him about like a ragdoll, and now he's acting like he has the upper hand?
"Just like your sister…" Ryomō hissed, getting backstance again.
Gifū did the same, but his stance was different. It had a distinct Chinese kenpō flavor to it. Ryomō recognized it almost immediately – he was using bajiquan. It didn't surprise Ryomō that the boy knew kung fu, everyone in his family seemed to. It was that he had not used this style from the get-go that struck a chord with her.
When she realized what was going on, she grit her teeth. "You were testing me…"
Gifū smiled. "Just a little."
Concrete shot up when the maid shot herself after him. She should have had him in her clutches, but Gifū stepped just out of her reach. Like a rampaging bull, she whirled around and went at him again. The same thing transpired then, and again on the third try. Gifū may as well have been a ghost, because Ryomō couldn't so much as touch him.
What kind of footwork is this?! Ryomō rambled in her head.
She decided to change tactics. She aimed for a single leg this time; or so she pretended to. When Gifū moved his leg in response, Ryomō turned her tackle into a rising uppercut.
It was she, however, that had been played.
After dodging the baited uppercut with ease, Gifū delivered a dual open palm thrust at her stomach.
"Kkh-!"
The blow sent Ryomō barreling across the rooftop. When she got back on her feet, she winced at the pain in her chest. She had gotten played – knocked off her feet even, something that shocked her and Hakufu both.
Was it planned? Instinctive? Did he just get lucky? Ryomō's brain scrambled trying to piece his operandi together.
"It's obvious that you're thinking too hard about this, Ryomō-san," Gifū said. "While strategy is important, it's never good to think too much in a fight. You just make it easy for your opponent to catch you off guard. For example…!"
Gifū rushed her.
Whatever fears he had about getting too close to Ryomō were completely gone now. It caught her so off guard, she barely dodged his first few punches. The knee that followed them however struck her clean in the stomach.
Ryomō clenched her teeth through the pain. She threw a punch of her own, but Gifū parried it while spinning on his heel. Still spinning, weaved behind then used his built up momentum to deliver a backhand to the back of Ryomō's head.
She went barreling a few meters again before flipping back onto her feet. The moment she did Gifū had already rushed in again. He showered her with blows so fast, his arms moved like blurs. Ryomō found herself solely on defense. She waited for the opportunity to counter to present itself.
It never came.
Instead, she was gradually pushed back. Blow after blow came, inching her further and further until her back was being pressed again the fence set up around the roof. She expected for the attacks to slow down then, but they only hastened.
The onslaught became so furious, Ryomō soon realized that her boots were no longer touching the rooftop.
Does he ever run out of stamina…?!
After what felt like eternity, Gifū abruptly stopped his barrage. Ryomō thought this was her opportunity. She thought she would be able to counter as soon as her boots touched the roof again.
The maid was so caught up in these thoughts she hadn't noticed how hot and red the boy's hands had become. He clapped them together and they combusted into a red burning aura. They burned even brighter when he clapped them together at the wrists and launched them forward.
"Red Lion Over the Plains!" Gifū exclaimed.
The burning red aura became the head of a roaring lion that lunged at Ryomō. The blast struck her and the surrounding era like dynamite. Even the fence behind her couldn't bear its intensity. It was blown clean open, and the maid straddling against went flying from the rooftop.
Gifū realized too late what he had done.
"Oh, no!"
"Mō-chan!" Hakufu cried out.
Gifū rushed over to the edge, his heart sinking. The moment he looked over, his dismay became confusion. The girl who he had blown away was nowhere to be scene below.
"Alright, I take back that earlier grade. I'll give this at least a C+."
He looked back. Shimei Ryomō was standing tall behind him.
"How did you…"
He paused, a dark realization hitting him: Ryomō was barely injured. Her outfit was in shreds, but her body was mostly free of bruises and showed no signs of bleeding. All that effort, all those strikes, all that power he had put into that last technique – it was all just delaying the inevitable.
It was disgraceful. So disgraceful he had to have a laugh at himself. Ryomō stood patiently until he was finished.
He wiped a tear from his eye. "I didn't think the gap between us was this wide. It's like a valley, almost."
"If it makes you feel better, you did better than I expected."
"Thank you, but no. No, it doesn't." He resumed his stance. "I wonder... Is nee-chan as strong as you are?"
Ryomō resumed her stance as well. "I'd like to know that myself."
"Heh. I see. Well then…"
He gave his sister a sideways glance. She gave him a thumbs-up. Letting out a chuckle, he faced Ryomō again. They engaged each other for the last time.
~I~I~I~
The gloves came off once her business was finished. It took her about a minute, longer than she had expected. Her opponent laid in the center of a crater on the rooftop, completely out for the count.
"Service Complete~," Ryomō said in English.
Hakufu squatted next to her unconscious brother and started poking at his cheek. She giggled when his face recoiled.
"I think you might have leveled up after that big battle in Yokohama*, Mō-chan," she said. [*6]
"Maybe. Can't neglect the fact your brother fought without a magatama bead, though. Keeping up with a B Rank for so long with a handicap like that is pretty ridiculous. I think your brother might be stronger now than you were when you and I first fought."
"Probably. Fū-chan acts like he doesn't like the fight, but he practices all the time when nobody's around."
Ryomō hummed.
It appeared to her that Hakufu was more a fighter who only cared about getting into brawls, but Gifū was more of 'martial artist' he cared about honing his craft ahead of just fighting all the time. It was probably the reason he o readily seized the opportunity to fight her.
What a strange duo these siblings were.
"Well, I'll see you at school tomorrow," Hakufu said.
She tucked her brother's glasses into her cleavage then hauled him onto her back
"Hold on, Sonsaku. During our fight, I asked your brother if he was really Gifū Shuzen. He said he wasn't. Was he just playing mind games then, or..."
"No, he was being honest. Fū-chan's full name isn't Gifū Shuzen. It's Gifū Sonshōkō*." [*7]
Ryomō's jaw dropped.
"What?! S-Sonshōkō? But isn't he already he successor of Zhu Ran?!"
"Eh… I never really got into this whole "successor/reincarnation/past life" stuff. Always thought it was confusing. But if I had to guess...he's both?"
The maid stared on in disbelief. How was that possible? Was it even possible? Was Gifū actually faking his identity like Saji was*? [*8]
"Geez, this is what Fū-chan was talking about during the fight. You're thinking way too much. Just wait 'til tomorrow and ask him yourself if you're that worried."
She had dozen questions, but it was obvious Hakufu was not equipped to answer most of them. So with a resigned sigh, Ryomō agreed to wait.
"Fine. I'll ask him at school tomorrow."
"You mean our school? Uh... You can't do that."
"…Why?"
"Because Fū-chan isn't going Nanyō. Starting tomorrow he'll be attending Seito Academy*." [*8]
Ryomō blinked. Her dozen questions suddenly quadrupled, but before she could ask a single one, Hakufu was already running off with her little brother on her back.
Feeling fatigued from work, fighting and trying to piece together this nonsensical scenario, Ryomō decided to call it a night herself. Maybe things would become clearer once she got some sleep.
It was as she was leaving the roof that a sudden pain pulsated through her chest. Ryomō grabbed her breast in response and waited for the pain to pass.
"…Alright. Maybe it was more like a B-."
::~:: Afternotes ::~::
1. Hakufu is 162 cm (5'3), Gifū is 164 cm (5'4) and the average Japanese male is 172 cm (5'7½)
2. Shimei Ryomō is the Japanese name for Lü Meng, one of Wu's great generals. He was originally a valorous but dull-witted warrior, but took up academic pursuits later. By mastering both the martial and scholarly arts, he became an invaluable strategist and general to Wu. The greatest hallmark of his career came when he defeated and captured Shu's mightiest general and "God of War" Guan Yu. Guan Yu was executed shortly after.
3. Genpō Saji is the Japanese name for Zuo Ci, a prolific sorcerer from the Three Kingdoms period. He was said to have lived over three centuries, and mastered his sorcery through Taoist practices. He was also an eccentric who playfully interacted with leaders from all three of the era's great countries.
4. Gifū Shuzen is the Japanese name for the Wu general Zhu Ran. During the Three Kingdoms era, Zhu Ran was a youth of great talent, performing his duties as a prefect well even at the young age of nineteen. These included subduing the Shanyue people throughout his territory within a month's time, and helping resist the invasions of Cao Cao, the ruler of Wei. His military career did not truly blossom until his service under Lü Meng during his invasion of southern Jingzhou. During this campaign, he aided Lü Meng in the capture of Guan Yu.
5. Gifu Castle is a castle that sits in the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Originally called Inabayma Castle when constructed by the Nikaidō clan, it was given its current name by Nobunaga Oda after he conquered it in 1567.
6. Hakufu is referring to this era's version of the Battle of Red Cliffs (one of the most important battles of the Three Kingdoms Era). It took place on the island of Yokohama. Despite all of the destruction and bloodshed throughout, no one who directly participated in the battle died.
7. Sonshōkō is the Japanese name for Sun Shangxiang, the operatic name for Lady Sun of Wu. She was the younger sister of Sun Ce and Sun Quan, notorious for her tomboy ways. She married Liu Bei, the ruler of Shu Han, to strengthen the relationship between their two kingdoms.
8. Seito is the Japanese name for Chengdu, which served as the home base for Shu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period.