Chapter Two: Guardian?
In her mind, the world was spinning at an unbelievable speed. Everyone had vanished, and the only person who was there with her was that mysterious girl, Naomi. Naomi smiled at her, her hands innocently crossed behind her back. Akira clenched both her hands and gritted her teeth.
'She . . . she won't get away with this!'
Without thinking, Akira brought one of her arms over her mouth, as if attempting to throw something. Once her hand radiated green light, she swung it and propelled several shuriken straight towards her target. With a grin, Naomi simply lifted her hand, and flicked all the shuriken up towards the ceiling. Then, clapping her hands together, a blue, circular glow emerged. Just like a wave, it spread throughout the classroom.
"Erase," everyone seemed to have forgotten about the little show. Akira instantly noticed Takumi's body swaying and reached towards him before he fell out of his chair.
"Takumi?" she called out to him, but he merely murmured in reply. Akira brushed his hair away from his face, which made him open his eyes.
"Akira? What happened?" The boy looked around him.
"I'm… I'm not sure."
'Silly, I obviously used a spell to erase everyone's memory.'
"Who said that?" Akira asked a frantic hint in her voice. She nervously looked around, only to find no one . . . wait a minute…
'Y-you're in my mind?'
Naomi nodded, the smile no longer on her face.
'I'm your guardian . . . Princess.'
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"Are you feeling any better?"
"A lot better. Thanks again, Akira-chan."
"No problem."
Both of them were in Takumi's room. He had a major headache after school was over, and Akira insisted that he lie down. However, like magic, all his aches went away when she placed a finger on his forehead while he was sleeping. He woke up, a bit startled, and found no pain.
"Did you do something to me while I was sleeping?"
"Like what?"
"Oh, never mind."
She knew what he was talking about, but she would rather not explain it to him. At least not now.
'Is he okay?'
'Yeah.'
'Good.'
Akira continued to stare at Takumi with a bit of concern in her eyes as he sat up and stretched out his arms. She was relieved that he was feeling better, but something else seemed to bother her at the moment. Takumi realized this when she clutched his bed sheets. Gently, he placed his hand upon hers. A pink tinge appeared on her face as she slowly looked up at him. He gazed back at her with worry in his eyes.
"Akira, is something wrong?"
She did not want him to be involved in her predicaments, so she smiled. "Everything's fine. It's nothing to worry about."
Disappointed, Takumi leaned closer to her. "Please Akira. I really dislike it when you seem to be troubled. I want to help." He squeezed her hand tenderly, causing her cheeks to become even pinker than before.
"T-Takumi . . ." No other words escaped her mouth, for she wasn't sure of what to say next.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of tearing cloth.
'That can't be good' Akira thought when Takumi's eyes lingered downward, his face now red as the blood pumping in her heart. Exposed and embarrassed, Akira swiftly ran out his room, her arms crossing over her chest. Before she could reach his bathroom, a body breezed in, blocking her from the entrance. Akira was a bit startled, but relaxed when the figure stood up, brushing its long, purple hair behind its ear.
"Thought you needed an excuse to get away from him."
"Was tearing my shirt in half necessary?" Akira shouted, holding her uniform shirt together to prevent anything from showing.
"I had no other choice," Naomi said, as she looked the other way, twisting her index finger in her hair innocently. "Besides, there wasn't any other way to get you out of there without you telling him what's going on."
A sweat drop appeared at the back of the ninja's head. "So, I'm guessing that knocking on the door like a normal person is out of your league?"
"Now you're starting to act like you somehow know me!"
"Why I ought to-"
"Akira-chan! A-are you okay?"
"Oh crap!" Akira cursed, viewing the huge tear that went from her collar straight down her shirt. "How am I supposed to explain this damage on my apparel?"
"Simple. Just say that your boobs caused it."
"Naomi! They're not even that big!"
"No kidding. You've worn those bindings for about five years. The poor cherries didn't have enough room to grow."
"Naomi!"
"Akira!" Takumi called out her name, sensing something going on.
The poor kunoichi began to panic, frantically going through his coat closet for something to cover up her embarrassment. Watching from the other side, Naomi only smiled, amused by this little show. Once Akira finally found a sweater, she quickly pulled it over her body and went back into Takumi's room.
"I'll be waiting in your room, Princess." After those words escaped from her mouth, she breezed out the room.
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It was dinner time, and as always, Takumi had overdone his masterpieces. His excuse this time though was:
"I just thought we should celebrate our first day in our last year in middle school."
"Might I remind you, I'm not so pleased about my first day," Akira remarked, taking a bite out of her rice ball.
"Oh come on. Just because you got a little embarrassed?"
"Obviously, you need to get your head screwed on straight."
"You know I'm only joking."
"Well it wasn't funny."
"I'm afraid I have to disagree." Takumi burst out laughing due to what happened earlier that day. Akira scowled at him, obviously not elated about the events that took place in school. Now that she had revealed her true gender, nearly everyone had begun acting strange towards her. The boys, who were her friends when she had been hiding her secret, were not sure of what to say to her anymore. Some girls who were madly in love with Akira had become either simply disgusted or freaked out. Some of the other girls, on the other hand, apparently didn't care and still found Akira number one in their hearts. That was a big surprise for the kunoichi, since she never thought girls would still like her. Then, on the other hand, there were some boys who thought they were starting to be gay, but felt extremely relieved once they heard the news about Akira. However, now a few groups of them sees saw her as a new target.
Before Akira got the chance to kill Takumi for laughing, a mischievous smile spread on her face.
"Well, I'm glad you had fun since I know you probably enjoyed it more than the other boys."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Takumi asked as he sat up straight and wiped his eyes.
"I'm just saying, since you saw way more than you were supposed to see, you probably had the time of your life. You know, seeing my underwear, and that's the third time you saw me exposed. Except this time, I was wearing a bra, and it shaped out my breasts really well."
"Hold on! I am not li-"
"Well, it's good to know that your hormones are finally starting to kick in. Otherwise, I would have thought my entire life that I was manlier than you were. It's good to finally see you growing up as a man Takumi."
"But Akira-"
"Well, I better get going. I'm sorry, but even though it would drive you happily crazy, I do need to go to my dorm and take a hot, steamy, ba-"
Akira froze. One minute, she was getting up and about to leave. Next thing she knew, she found herself in someone's arms, being held close with his face on her shoulder.
"Akira," Takumi whispered softly, "I really want you to know that I'm not that kind of guy." Her eyes widened, surprised that he took what she said seriously. She wanted to tell him she didn't mean any of it, but she was so curious about what he would say. "I . . . I have a great amount of respect for you, and there's no way I can be so discourteous. Besides, in the past, you saved me numerous times, and for that, I honor you."
She knew her heart skipped several beats at his words. Whose wouldn't? For the first time in her life, she felt appreciative and very significant.
************************************************************
Akira opened the door to her room, taking off her loafers and placing them in her coat closet. Once she closed the door, she pressed her back against it. Replaying Takumi's words in her head made her smile and blush at the same time. She held her cheek where he placed his face when he said those beautiful words with one of her free hands.
"Takumi . . . Arigato."
"I'm guessing something happened right after I left, right?"
The voice caused Akira to have a sudden momentary shock. She turned to the side to see Naomi sitting cross-legged on the kitchen table, her arms resting on her thighs while with her hands supporting her chin. Akira stood there, her mouth gaping, before she pointed her finger directly at the intruder.
"What are you doing here?"
Naomi almost pouted and pushed her legs forward to jump off the table and landed directly in front of Akira.
"From the orders of the king and my duties of being a guardian, I have to be by your side at all times to protect you."
"My- My father? My father assigned you to protect me?"
"That's correct, princess."
Akira was astonished by all this. She stared at Naomi for a few moments before she looked at the choker on her neck. Nothing else had surprised her more than what she saw now.
"Y-You're a General!?" Akira questioned, noticing the silver skull in the center of her black choker. Naomi happily nodded.
"That means that you graduated from Mercenary Academy! Since when?"
"A couple of years ago. I graduated as a Chief Warrant Officer and immediately became a Lieutenant when I joined the Elite Training Corps. Your father was so astounded that a girl your age had so much talent, that when he decided it was time for you to have a guardian, he didn't hesitate to pick me. So, here I am, at your service, my lady," Naomi replied, bowing.
"N-Naomi, you don't have to do that," Akira stated, bending her knees to be a little under the other girl's eye level.
Naomi stood up straight and saluted. Akira tittered a bit and tilted her head to the side. "You haven't changed at all since we were young."
"No reason to. But you have, in a good way. You're finally coming out of your shell, are you?"
Akira grinned, "Yeah, and it's all thanks to someone special."
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Once the bath water completely filled the bathtub, Akira stepped in slowly, enjoying the sensation of the warm liquid on her skin. She relaxed, laying back on the edge of the tub, only exposing from her shoulders up. She closed her eyes and listened to the wind blowing outside and the owls howling at each other. Once she found herself at ease, she spoke. "So, when did my father tell you that you were going to be my guardian?"
"A few days ago." On the other side of the curtains sat Akira's guardian, Naomi Twilight. On the floor, with her back against the wall, the warrior found herself playing with a kunai, entertaining herself while her princess took a bath.
"Really? How come you decided to show yourself now?" Akira asked.
Naomi positioned her hand on her arm, sadly looking at her lap, "Well, you only came back from America a day before I was told to be your guardian. I figured you needed to get things together because you were starting a new school year. Also, I wanted you to spend time with your friends and I'd just be in the way."
"That's strange," Akira scratched her head, "Because a few days ago, I got a message from my father's servants stating that a girl by your name broke the rules and dishonored my family. Is it true?"
The young protector gazed upwards to the ceiling and answered calmly, "That's not true. Someone in the Junior Training Corps accused me simply because she is not so fond of me. I'm surprised she went this far."
"Who is it?"
"Kyoko Fukushima."
"I've never heard of her. What's her rank?"
"Chief Warrant Officer."
"Isn't that the highest in her training corps?"
"Yeah, but apparently that's not enough for her. She is extremely selfish. She wants to be better than everyone, especially me. I'm the first female that's ever able to be in the Elite, besides Master Layla."
Akira felt extremely confused. A few days ago, Naomi claimed her father ordered her to protect her. But, one of her father servants told her a completely different story. Akira had been on top of the school roof one night, since it was impossible for her to sleep by through the loud clamor the girls were making in the dorm beside hers. She had found herself in deep thought, and it had not been long before a ninja in a dark uniform appeared in the shadows.
"Your father wishes me to deliver this message. Do you accept?"
"Yes. What is it?"
"It seems someone you know well, by the name of Naomi Twilight, has completely disobeyed your family's honors and violated our sovereignty. Your father requested that when she comes into your presence, you are to demolish her immediately."
It was the only reason why Akira had attacked Naomi the way she did.