AN: Edited
Warning: Sakuno-centric fics, readers has been warned.
Plot: Tenipuri x Jubei-chan crossover (some sorts)
Pairing: RyoSaku, FujiSaku (maybe more pairings to come)
"…" Denotes speech
'…' Denotes thoughts
Italics denotes flashbacks
Italics/Bold denotes song lyrics
Standard Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer applied.
"Ju...ju...bei...sa...sa...ma" the soft voice of a child.
Sakuno eyes flung opened wide; eyeing the child and the object which he held on his hand. She shook her head with disbelieve.
"Impossible…the RABURI KANTAI…" Sakuno stammered imperceptibly when she gets the greatest shock of her life.
Raburi Kantai or the love-shaped eye patch is the possession of Yagyu Jubei; the founder of Shin-Kageryu. It was unknown why such ornament exists; however it is believed that everything has been arranged by the late swordsman who wished to eliminate the grudges of the restless souls which the great swordsman defeated three hundred years ago.
By fate Sakuno met a mysterious man who entrusted her the Raburi Kantai; which was instructed by late Yagyu Jubei that it has to be passed on to his reincarnation. For all these times she didn't know why she was the chosen one; but through doubts, fears and adventures; the duty was put to an end and the eye-patch was also vanished with the mysterious man who gave her the eye-patch.
"Tell me...what do you want from me? Isn't it over by now?" Sakuno asked with her soft and trembling voice. She couldn't believe her own eyes to see that the Raburi Kantai once again exists in reality. The radiance of the eye-patch reveals its desires to be claim by its former owner.
"Ju...bei...sa..." the child stammered and just when the child was about to approach Sakuno; a familiar voice called her name from afar.
"Obaachan!?" Sakuno instantly recognized the owner of the voice was non other than her grandmother, Ryuzaki Sumirei. The sound of footsteps is fast and heavy and it seems like the elder woman is quite nearby.
"O...baachan!! Over here, I'm here!!" Sakuno bellowed as loud as she could to get her granny's attention. She quickly turned back check if the child is still approaching her; to her surprise; the child is no longer at sight.
Frantically she scanned every corner around just to ensure that the kid had already fled.
Sumirei tears apart all the thick bushes and finally she found her granddaughter.
"O…obaachan…" Sakuno was close to tears. As soon as she sees the image of her grandmother; Sakuno could no longer hold back and rush over to hug the woman; embracing her tightly and securely. "O…obaachan"
"Yoshi, yoshi…it's okay now" she hushed.
"I'm so worried when I received calls from your class teacher. She said that you were not there when she ticked the attendance. I told her that you're on your way…" she explained "…but you should've been there already. I decided to check on your routine. I followed the usual routine and decided to check on the split path, suspecting that you could have taken the wrong path and I was very right; you did took the wrong path after all. I can't believe that you're not aware that we've never taken the sandy road" Sumirei exclaimed at last.
"I'm sorry…obaachan" she felt really bad especially at her age; she still needs attention so much from her guardian.
Moreover; upon seeing the subsisting of Raburi Kantai; she couldn't stop herself from assuming that some predicament will arise in the near future.
'I can't let anything happened to my friends and love ones' Thinking of all those bad factors she will be facing; her trembling hands involuntarily tightened the grip on Sumirei's arm.
"Sakuno?? Are you okay??" Sumirei eyes widen. This is the first time she saw Sakuno trembling with so much fear.
"I'm fine…" Sakuno assured faintly "…thanks for the concern"
"Are you sure? Can you still can go to school today?" Not fully convinced; Sumirei threw the young girl another concern look.
"Yes, I wouldn't want to miss today's class" this time Sakuno faked a big and bright smile; however her face twitched like a Picasso picture.
Although Sumirei wanted to prod Sakuno to tell her more; however based on her stance; she assumed that there must be some reason her granddaughter chooses to reserve.
"Sou kai?? That means we'll have to get going" This time Sumirei grabbed Sakuno's hand firmly as she guided her to get out of the forest.
"H…hai" Sakuno replied halfheartedly; not aware that the elderly is observing her every move and response. The pale looking face with cold sweats formed on her forehead. The evidence is clear that the petite girl is having a glitch and it could be something dreadful.
Unknown to the two; somewhere around the thick bushes, the child laid eyes on Sakuno, watching her until her image fully disappeared.
As soon as they reached school, the first thing Sakuno did was to apologize to her class teacher and friends for making them worry. Some students even teased the girl while Tomoka immediately stood out to protect her friends and stop the havoc.
"Tomo-chan…"
To her surprise; Tomoka happened to be ahead of her. She can see the cheerful girl doing her usual cheering for the first year super rookie; Echizen Ryoma. When Tomoka saw Sakuno, she couldn't help but quickly ran towards her and give her a deadly bear hug.
"Sakuno, Sakuno; you're late!! You've just missed Ryoma-sama's best shot" Tomoka exclaimed exaggeratedly.
"When I came here; everyone came and asked me about what had happened to you" the hyperactive girl continued "I went on the tell everyone that you were lost in the forest"
"Tomo-chan, ano…? Wait...you've just said 'EVERYONE'??" Sakuno's face turned red and hot with embarrassment. 'That means Ryoma-kun also knows about this?' inwardly; her tears flows like fountain; drowning her for instance.
"Well, of course all of us, me, Horio-kun, Kachiro & Katsuo and also the regulars!!" Tomoko answered nonchalantly.
"Dou...doushiyo?" At this moment she was totally lost of words. Making the situation worst; the Seigaku regulars can be seen approaching them.
"Sakuno-chan, daijyobu kai? I've heard from Tomo-chan that you were lost. That must be a rather scary experience" Fuji asked with concern.
"I'm…" Before she could say a word; Oishi and Kawamura came after Fuji to deliver their concerns.
"Eto…"
Momoshiro also came forth; however his aim is to tease their kohai. He suggested that Ryoma should be Sakuno's guard and walk the girl to school everyday without fail. Eiji clapped his hands and agree with Momo's proposal.
Ryoma tried to ignore their teasing however; unable to control his ego; his retaliation slipped out sharply with his renowned libretto "Mada mada dane, senpai tachi should protect their juniors instead"
"Ano…"
Horio bluffed about his 2 years experience again, though it has nothing to do with the current topic. Kachiro and Katsuo had huge sweat drop hanging on their heads upon knowing what happened to Sakuno. They had been told before about Sakuno's sloppiness however they never thought it could be at that extend.
Inui scribbled some notes into his data while Kaidoh did not have anything to say. He was dragged into this by Inui.
Sakuno was overwhelmed by the chaos she had caused. Her heart was touched by their concerns but contradictory she hated herself for getting so much attention just because of her natural silliness.
"What are all of you doing here?" a cold tone exclaimed from behind.
"Tezuka/Buchou!!" Everyone greeted the renowned stern captain of Seigaku; Tezuka Kunimitsu.
"Tezuka, you're finally here. We were here to deliver our concern to Sakuno-chan, she was lost in the forest this morning" Fuji said nonchalantly.
Tezuka diverted his attention to Sakuno. Her cheek instantly turned red and hot. She swallowed a lump when the captain came forth and stood beside her before turning back to his teammates.
"All of you, 20 laps around the court, for delaying the training" He ordered. Expectedly; the regulars immediately starts to serve the punishment without further delay.
After seeing the obedient team doing their punishment, he turns around to face Sakuno again.
"Ryuzaki-san"
"H…Hai!!!" Sakuno immediately responded; the captain was surprised to receive a rather exaggerated response from the petite girl.
'Doushiyo?? Is he going to punish me?' she thought warily 'I must apologize!!'
"I'm so sorry, Tezuka-senpai!! It's my fault!! I'm so sorry!!" she bowed several times as she continues to apologize.
Tezuka assumed that his stance might have scared the girl. Well, she was indeed the first girl who's afraid of his sternness. Most girls especially those fangirls are not afraid of his stern looks. They just keep on dallying around him. To stop the frantic girl; he placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Actually, I just want to inform you that sensei had asked me to escort you back home after school" he explained plainly.
"Oh, is that so…" Sakuno heaved a sight at first but as soon as she registered the last sentence she screeched "WHAT??"
Her voice is so loud that the regulars couldn't help but to stop halfway and check on the two. Instead of joining the others; Ryoma decides to take a break as he walk over and lean his back against the fence. His eyes were observing the couple from afar.
"I wondered what's going on over there" Oishi asked curiously.
Fuji spotted that Arai the only person at that time that was near to the couple; picking up balls. He could have heard their conversation.
"Hm, let's check this out from Arai" Fuji suggested. According to Arai; he wasn't sure what made the girl reacted like that; however he did heard clearly that their captain will be sending Ryuzaki home.
Upon hearing that, all the regulars divert their attentions to Sakuno and then to Tezuka.
Ryoma had one side of shoulders slightly slanted downward when he overheard what Arai said; but he was able to regain his composure shortly before the regulars would noticed that he actually lost his stance. It seems like the regulars did notice that afteralll; especially those seniors who had wicked smiles plastering on their face.
"What?" Ryoma asked annoyingly over the mischievous stares he had from his seniors.
"Nani, nani?? Tezuka's is going to be Sakuno-chan's escort? Ochibi, you have to be more attentive otherwise the cute girl would choose Tezuka over you; nyah-" Eiji teased while Momo covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud.
"Why should I? It' none of my business" He shot a glare and look away from Eiji and others.
"You mean Tezuka is dating Ryuzaki-san??" Kawamura asked apprehensively "Why I never heard that they're an issue??"
"Eh?" Kaidoh with the same trepidation Kawamura had "I've not heard of this either"
Inui then took his pen and scribble again "Tezuka is going to date with a girl who is 2 years his junior; moreover she's the granddaughter of Seigaku coach, the granddaughter of the person whom he respects. According to my data; the possibility is 20 percent"
"Twenty percent? Wasn't that presumption a little high? You'll scare our poor rookie like that" Fuji sent a teasing glance at Ryoma "Ne, Echizen-kun"
"Like I said; its non of my concern!!" he shot another reprisal.
"No, no; Echizen; we can't let buchou steal away your happiness!! Moreover; if he's really into a relationship; he might not be active in tennis anymore!! Who will lead our team to take over the national champ; no…the worlds champ?" Momo exclaimed exaggeratedly with his mind having the image of Tezuka and Sakuno lovey dovey look while their team were left behind.
"Momo; you are right. We must not let Tezuka do such terrible things like spoiling people's happiness; ne-Echizen" Fuji chuckled and continued his teasing on Ryoma. The look of Ryoma's face becomes unreadable.
"I suggest we should follow them and find out whether the two are really going steady" Eiji said excitingly.
"No, no, no. We can't do that!! We shouldn't be spying on others! What happens if they are really dating each other?" Oishi interjected at last but was cut off by Fuji.
"Oishi? I'm sure you want to know it too right? You'll have to let us go, otherwise our curiosities will kill us all" Fuji added jovially. Not only had he enjoyed teasing Ryoma, now he also has Oishi to join the fun as well. The two uncomplicated people always brings him joy when he teased them.
"Yeah!! Oishi-senpai must have heard of the phrase!! 'Curiosity kills a mouse!!'" Momo continued.
"Er...Momo, it's 'Curiosity kills a cat'" Oishi corrected.
"It's up to you all, I'm not doing it!!" Tired of long debate; Ryoma pulled his cap down to conceal his annoyance caused by his seniors. He knew they had always teased him and Sakuno, though he still didn't know why that is so.
"What about my grandmother? Isn't she supposed to be with me?" Sakuno continued to retaliate and look warily at Tezuka.
"She went out with a mechanic to get her car fixed and to do some checking as well, anyway, she said she don't want anything to happen to you again" Tezuka felt a little annoyed, he sounds like he's pursuing her to go with him.
'Mou; what's granny thinking about, asking Tezuka-senpai to send me home. I could've always asked Tomo-chan or other people to walk with me' Sakuno grumbled inwardly but as soon as she noticed that Tezuka was annoyed; she gave up her argumentation and nodded.
"I'm sorry for being so impolite. It's not that I dislike the idea of having you to walk with me. In fact; I should be thanking you for accepting my grandmother's request to accompany me back home; however; I'm afraid that it might cause you any unnecessary trouble" Sakuno bowed again as she explained as a matter of factly.
"Like I said too; I don't have problem with it" he adjusted his lens to loosen his façade a little.
"So, I'll take it as a 'yes'. Pease wait for me until we finish the training" After seeing the diffident girl giving him a nod; Tezuka turn and walk back to the tennis court.
When the regulars saw Tezuka's coming towards them, they quickly resumed their lap running.
"Oishi, how many laps have they completed?" Tezuka asked his co-captain.
"Only..." Before Oishi could reply; Eiji went over and covered his mouth, then Momo came over and lied about the lap completion. At the end all of them get extra 30 laps to run.
The practice ended a little late. As promise; Sakuno is now in their school vacant field where Tezuka told her to wait. While waiting; Sakuno hummed her favorite song.
"So, you've been enjoying your life here as an ordinary schoolgirl; Yagyu Jubei!!" a harsh devilish baritone echoed from somewhere deep inside the forest next to the school field.
Sakuno panicked; she didn't see anyone. Surprisingly; the voice addressed her as Yagyu Jubei. She is certain that no one in Seigaku would ever call her Jubei.
"Who...are you?! What do you want?!" she asked calmly as she scanned all over the place to search for the unwelcome visitor.
"You're asking me? I think you know better than me. I've been holding my grudges for over 300 years!! I was unable to defeat you back then, but now I've finally found you!! Yagyu Jubei, lets fight!!" the stranger said and followed with wicked laughter.
"Sakuno, my name's Sakuno!! Ryuzaki Sakuno! I'm not Yagyu Jubei! I think you must have found the wrong person!!" she reasoned with a faint smile plastered on her sad face.
There was a moment of silence and Sakuno thought that she could have convinced the stranger; but in split seconds; she felt strong wind blowing over her. She sees a shadow of a man with katana, moving in high speed towards her.
With a swift move, the man is now standing in front of Sakuno and swings his katana, attacking her.
Sakuno eyes widen upon seeing clearly that the sharp blade is just few inches away from touching her head; unknowing to her; there seems to be some sort of natural reflexes that makes her body reacts automatically. One of her hand came to lock the man's sword in between her index and middle fingers, dodging his attack.
"Shin-Kageryu, Mutodori? Yagyu Jubei, you're worthy to be known as the legendary sword master!!" the man hissed with much delight and at the same time attempting to pull out his sword from Sakuno's grip.
Sakuno didn't say anything. Indeed all these were not fresh to her. In the past; she'd encountered several assassins that tried to take her life just to seize the mysterious power that lived inside her body.
What she had feared earlier has become reality. Her dreadful past has finally come back to haunt her once again.
"Why...hasn't this battle ended long time ago? Why are you people still come back for me? Please leave me alone!" Sakuno whispered sadly at last while her body is still maintaining her battling mode; hold the blade firmly with her hand.
"The power of Yagyu is still within you. I can't rest in peace, I have to fight and win you!! Yagyu Jubei; turn yourself to the real Yagyu Jubei and prepare to die!!" the man let out a treacherous laughter.
"No, I refused!! I've told you already I'm Sakuno, Ryuzaki Sakuno!! I'm not Yagyu Jubei!! Sakuno retaliated and attempt to push the man away from her.
As Sakuno and the man were struggling in their fight, they sensed the presence of other beings. The spectators were watching their fight. Sakuno eyes widen when she registered that those eyewitnesses were non others then the Seigaku regulars.
"Minna?!"
They couldn't believe what they had just seen. Sakuno; the diffident girl actually possesses such great reflexes that can even grab a fast swinging sword with bare hands. The regulars came closer and stood beside Tezuka.
"Why are all of you here?" Tezuka reprimanded when he saw his teammates standing beside him.
"Tezuka!! We don't have time to explain to you. We must go and help Ryuzaki first! She's in trouble!!" Oishi cut off Tezuka's words and ordered the rest to go and get help.
"Please don't come near us!! Please leave!!" Sakuno warned.
"Ryuzaki...why? We are coming to help you!!" Momo replied feeling a little pissed off, when Ryuzaki asked them to retrieve.
"Please leave now!! I can't hold on much longer!! Run for you life!! I don't want anyone here to get hurt just because of me!! So, please leave!!" she begged while still struggling not to lose grip of the sword.
"It's ridiculous for us to leave you here" Tezuka exclaimed sternly, though he really can't think of how to save her.
"Heh, heh, heh!! I won't keep your friends alive, they'll share the same fate after you, all of them, I killed all of them!!" the man laughed crazily.
Sakuno felt the man's force becoming stronger. This must be a nightmare; the nightmare that comes and haunt her with fail. Soon her life will be ended by this sword. She doesn't mind at all; even if she dies like this; but she definitely wouldn't want her friends to share the same fate as her. Not like this.
She wants to protect them, yet, her power is too limited. She's slowly losing her power to hold the sword. The man's power is slowly dominating hers. Her vision turns blurry as tears flow freely from her eyes.
'I can't hold the sword anymore. I need more power; in order to save my friends. I need a power which is greater so that could defeat him!! Please…only for this once…' Sakuno pleaded profoundly.
The struggle finally comes to an end when Sakuno lost her grip. The man took this chance to make another counter attack on her.
"Ryuzaki!!" Losing their sense of judgment; the regulars dashed over; hoping that they'll at least do something to stop the man.
Just when his sword almost had contacts with Sakuno's body, a strong whirlwind appeared and knock the man away from Sakuno. The tiny whirlwind slowly disappeared, revealing a child who's holding the love shaped eye-patch.
"You...?" Sakuno was petrified upon seeing her savior.
"Ju...be...i...sa...ma,...th...this…" the child place the love shaped eye-patch on Sakuno's hand. The eye-patch glowed radiantly as soon as Sakuno had it in her hand.
"I...I, no...I'm not wearing this again. Please don't give this back to me again. Can't we just settle this peacefully? Please let me convince him that I'm not Yagyu Jubei. My friends; they can proof that I'm not Yagyu Jubei!!" Sakuno quickly return the eye-patch when she shunned the child away.
Upon seeing this, the man took advantage of Sakuno's ignorance and attempt to attack her again.
She was shocked and she knew it's too late for her to dodge his attack. She closes her eyes to prepare to serve the cut.
At this moment; the regulars were also too petrified to react. Even if they tried their best to rush over; they wouldn't be able to shield her from the man's attack.
Just when the man was confident that he'll be able claim his rival's life, the child, who was just a few steps away from Sakuno, took this chance and leaped towards her. The child covers the love-shaped eyes patch on her left eye.
"What?" The radiance of the Raburi Kantai increases as soon as it was worn by Sakuno. She felt her body heat rises; pink glow started to revolve around her body, wrapping her like a cocoon.
When the man's sword contacted her body, it was bounced away by a very strong force that was protecting her body.
"What happened?" Eiji asked anxiously " Fuji, did you see that? Ryuzaki?? Her body is glowing"
Everyone witnessed the girl's transformation. Her body developed to a taller and more matured figure. Not only her body changes form; she is now wearing a set of black ninja uniform that enhances her developed body. Her sweet and innocent face was replaced by a cold inexpressive façade.
She is now the second generation of legendary sword master, Yagyu Jubei.
TBC