Chapter 3: The Calm Before The Storm

Let's rewind a bit before Nagi had woken up at Oyama Dojo.

【Kamigari Hidden Base】

Miles away from Tenbi Academy under Kamigari's jurisdiction was a hidden location that no one other than direct Yamato family members knew about. The location was top secret and if it's secret got out to those who wished to target Takeru Yamato, then it could spell the utter destruction of the shadow organization.

Due to the passing and humiliating defeat of Ouken Yamato, who had held his position for several decades and made himself recognized as the pillar of the Yamato family, Kamigari had been trying to reevaluate their plans on obtaining the necessary tools to unlock the seal on top of Amanoharo.

Capturing Kodama Himegami, the daughter of Yatsune Himegami who was the former Yamata no Orochi was the critical vocal point to success. However, their attempts at doing so were thwarted thanks to the interference by Tenbi Academy and their students. They weren't expecting the school to possess such capable fighters and they had severely underestimated the potential of said students.

In light of this, preparations to once again seize Himegami had to be postponed for now as they had bigger concerns to prioritize. Yes, the plan to retrieve the eight original Maken otherwise known as the『Hachi-Maken』had already begun. Four of those Maken were already within their grasps and were distributed to four of Kamigari's top agents that had proven to possess the highest compatibility rate.

Walking through the eerily quiet passageway of the underground base was a woman, who based on appearances alone would be classified as a "secretary". With her noticeably slim and curvaceous figure highlighting her business attire, a scowl appeared on her face as she bit her soft pink lips covered in lip gloss.

To say she wasn't in the best of moods was a grave understatement after having been forced to retreat following the death of her beloved Ouken. The vermin that had dared to try and harm him were well within sight but due to the circumstances, she had no other choice than to take the mangled corpse of Gouken, a clone along with new host of Takeru Yamato, away from that place. It was a disgraceful; being defeated by a mere brat who clearly was a cherry boy loser and the weakened reincarnation of a mere soul.

"I'll make those wretched children pay dearly for what they did to Takeru-sama…" Her anger couldn't be contained as an unbelievable amount of blood lust emitted from her body. She took a deep breath momentarily as her anger began to subside and she marched on, realizing it would be a waste of her time to get riled up now. She'd have revenge when the time came.

Arriving at her destination, a large gate stood in front of the now calm woman as she gently knocked on the door.

A voice could be heard from the other side. "Hm? Who is it?"

Miyabi lowered her head. "I request permission to access this room, Otohime-sama"

"Oh? Miyabi is it? You may enter"

With permission to enter, Miyabi reached for the door hinge and slowly turned it, walking inside of the spacious laboratory that belonged to the science division of Kamigari. Technology that was beyond anything those who were unaware of the supernatural could be found in this tech like room and in the center of it all was a large cylinder that contained a floating body strapped up in test tubes.

"Takeru-sama…" Miyabi's voice was noticeably gentler as she spoke the name of her leader and object of affection. Seeing the body of Gouken that had received almost irrecoverable damage was a sight that Miyabi hadn't wanted to witness but she steeled herself as she walked forward.

"Ara Ara, what brings you by, Miyabi?"

Miyabi turned her attention to the snowflake like woman who was sitting elegantly on one of the shoulders of an incredibly tall and obese woman. Sporting an innocent smile on her face that matched her petite body, Otohime Yamato called out to Miyabi as she playfully kicked her feet up and down.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Otohime-sama but I wished to see how Takeru-sama's condition was"

Otohime paid close attention to Miyabi's body language and noticed the slight trembling in her shoulders and uneasy expression plaguing her face. She inwardly clicked her tongue at the spectacle, wondering how a woman who was her grandfather's secretary could display such an unsightly manner.

She didn't let this show on her face as she continued to smile at her. "Is that so? Well as you can see, Takeru-sama's resurrection is progressing smoothly and it won't be much longer until he awakens again"

A glimmer of hope was seen in Miyabi's eyes with those words as she looked back at her beloved.

"Grrr, these stocks aren't looking too good. What the hell is this company thinking?"

As Otohime brushed a few stray strands of her silver locks out of her drill shaped hair, her eyes wandered to the girl sitting on the opposite shoulder of her favorite seat. With her eyes focused solely on the laptop in front of her, Hoshii Kawase scowled at the results of another unsuccessful investment she had tried.

The obese woman, Kajiru Sorana who was at least eight feet tall frowned as she inclined her head upwards to face her friend. "Hoshii, maybe you shouldn't invest so much money in-

"Shut up! I know I can win this time!" Hoshii snapped at the obese girl who was trying to give advice to her stubborn gambling friend. Looks like something's would never change.

"As a well disciplined knight, I believe your obsession with gambling is quite unsightly"

Everyone presently in the room turned to the source of that comment; several sets of eyes now gazing at a young woman who had her arms crossed and was leaning against one of the walls. A gorgeous angel was what anyone would think if they came face to face with this diva as her vibrant blonde hair, ample bosom, and voluptuous figure were flawless to the point of being divine.

Hoshii grunted in annoyance at the woman's words. "Nobody asked you Espada, so just butt out"

Love Espada, the self proclaimed disciplined knight slowly opened her eyes and moved forward so she was standing beside Kajiru. She inclined her eyes upwards towards Hoshii and the two glared at one another before a charming smile graced Espada's face.

"I'm disappointed, Hoshii-dono. It's not like you too put all of your eggs into one basket. Why don't you try to spread your range so you can yield the best results?"

As if a revelation had hit her, Hoshii's eyes widened. "I-Is that so? Why didn't I think of that!? Espada, you're a great girl!" She gave her a thumbs up.

Espada merely waved a hand in the air. "Think nothing of it. I'm sure Yume-dono would have said the same thing, right?" She turned to face another girl who had been standing nearby with her face as blank and uninterested as ever. Yumemiya Sui, a quiet girl with a track record of going the longest time without speaking nodded her head as her eyes were covered by her large bangs.

Miyabi, who had been watching the bizarre interactions unfold between these four girls, had a puzzled look on her face, as if wondering if they were actually serious.

"It's still hard to believe these four were known as the Four Pillars of Tenbi Academy…"

A snarky laugh could be heard coming from Otohime as she twirled the blue umbrella in her hands.

"Are we done here? We should be heading out now to Tenbi to announce the start of Hime-Kagura"

The four girls all nodded simultaneously as they made their way to the door, passing right by Miyabi who had a pained expression on her face. Previously, she was a member of Kamigari whose authority was only preceded by those within the Yamato family, such as Otohime. However, with the defeat of Ouken, her standing within the organization had dropped considerably, as an aftermath of those believing that she was utterly incompetent at being near Ouken's side and allowing his demise. Though she knew it wasn't her fault that things ended up the way they did, no one would accept her words as anything more than excuses.

She clenched her fists as she looked over her shoulder, watching Otohime and her group of elite bodyguards leave for Tenbi. Even if she hated to admit it, she couldn't deny that the four of them working together with Otohime were quite a force to be reckoned with, especially considering that those four girls each possessed one of the original Maken.

As Otohime passed by the door, a sinister smiled crept upon her face as she had an unbeatable squad of her own now. Seizing the other four original Maken would be a piece of cake with her well calculated plans. Not only that, she had taken great measures to research the element levels of everyone she encountered on that blasted island and would make all those who were involved in that incident pay dearly for what they did. The spanking she received from Haruko was still fresh in her mind and she found herself gently soothing her aching butt from the traumatic experience. That bitch was going to be the first on Otohime's revenge list.

"Even if our main purpose is to stall for time until Takeru-sama's resurrection, that doesn't mean I can't have any fun while I'm at it kukuku…"

Though she said that, Otohime held a desire in her heart that she hadn't told anyone about. Besides being a mere clone of Takeru Yamato, she still had aspirations and dreams of her own and one desire she held especially in high regard was her dream of finding the "perfect man". A man who was the epitome of perfect that could match her own flawlessness. If only she could find such a man, her life would be complete.

"All of the men I've analyzed are either mindless brutes or are annoying narcissist's"

Her examination of the men in Tenbi Academy fell short due to the lack of real good options. The only ones that had caught her eyes were Akaya Kyodai, the leading captain of Venus Academy and of course her own brother, Gouken Yamato. For obvious reasons, Gouken was out of the picture and Akaya, while handsome and noticeably powerful was too eccentric and well, a goofball. Akaya also being the acting commander of Venus Academy also posed quite a problem since they had now declared themselves a threat to Takeru Yamato.

With that in mind, Otohime's mind wandered to the bland figure of Takeru Oyama, who shared the same first name as her object of worship and she frowned heavily. Not only was he below average in the looks department (him even losing out to his even more pathetic and perverted best friend) but his skills were also at novice level. That fool being able to defeat her lovely Takeru while in Gouken's body was nothing more than a miscalculation due to him using his troublesome ability, Blood Pointer to utilize another's strength.

"Why that loser has so many girls chasing after him is still a mystery to me" She thought as she continued to ride on the shoulder of Kajiru.

Well, it didn't matter to her anymore. Her main focus now was the retrieval of the Hachi Maken and with these girls at her side; nothing was going to stop her.

Back to the Present…

【Tenbi Academy, Principal's Office 8:00 A.M】

"Heh, this suit still looks damn good on me"

Posing suggestively in front of a mirror, Minori Rokujou stood dressed as the principal of Tenbi Academy in a formal black business suit and had let her hair down instead of tying it up per usual. She placed a hand on her hips and looked at herself from top to bottom, wondering if it looked pleasing enough for those perverted adolescent boys. The second semester was starting so she needed to look her best for the new transfer students.

She nodded in satisfaction. "Good, I'm all set. Somehow I got through all those applicants so I'm a bit tired but I've gotta endure it for my new cute students"

Suddenly, a knock could be heard coming from the front door. "Excuse me Principal, you called for us?"

Minori walked away from the mirror and made her way back to her large desk where she leaned against it and folded her arms. "Yea, come on in"

The door slowly opened and the figures of three female students entered the room.

The student council president and the head of the security division, Furan Takaki bowed her head. "Pardon us"

A beaming smile was present on the face of the financial adviser of the student council, Yuuka Amado. "Good morning, principal"

"You look very beautiful today, principal!" A soft and gentle voice came from Kimmy Sato, the secretary of the security division.

Minori nodded at their greeting and smirked. "Yo, glad to see you three made it. How were your summers?"

Furan adjusted her glasses as her businesslike manner never wavered for a second. "Taxing. Having to sort through the student roster and organize all of the new students alphabetically wasn't what I envisioned for my summer"

Minori produced a wry smile at hearing Furan's dilemma, but inwardly pumped her fist at having found someone other than herself having a difficult time. It was good to know she wasn't alone.

"I went back home to visit my family, of course my father insisted that I should spend all of my time training. Goodness, he can be just an eyesore" Though she still may have been smiling, anyone in the room could tell that there were traces of hidden hostility behind it.

"I-I see…" Minori wasn't sure what to say to her and turned her eyes to the last of the trio, who jumped up in surprise at having the attention on her all of a sudden.

"Uhm, my summer wasn't interesting in the least. I just stayed on campus and read some of my favorite manga"

Minori cocked her head to the side when Kim had mentioned the word "manga". She wasn't that familiar with the term since she was never one for reading anything other than a few comics here or there.

"Were they interesting?" She was generally curious.

A prideful smile appeared on Kim's face. "Very much so! If you want, I can recommend you an entire-

The sound of someone coughing interrupted the now excited Kim and she turned to the student council president who adjusted her glasses.

"While I'm sure that what you're saying is quite interesting, we should get back to the matter at hand. Principal, what is the reason for summoning us here before the opening ceremony?"

"I-I'm sorry!" Kim apologized swiftly as she bowed her head.

Not really caring about wasting her time, Minori simply shrugged. "It's fine. Furan is right though, I called you all here to talk about the earthquake that had appeared yesterday.

Instantly, the three students perked up and the atmosphere in the room had changed into a more serious tone to fit the mood.

"I guessed it was going to be about that. Principal, are you aware of what caused it?" Furan questioned.

Minori nodded. "Yesterday when I was looking outside, some sort of black hole appeared in front of the moon and from it; something came out and landed miles away from here"

Yuuka, who had stopped smiling, frowned. "A black hole?"

"I don't know any other way to describe what it was, I've never witnessed anything like it before" Minori looked visibly shaken, something that didn't go unnoticed by the three girls who were understandably worried if they're high nigh invincible principal was concerned about something.

"Is it dangerous?" Kim asked with a fearful tone.

"No idea" Minori ran a hand through her dark purple hair as she scratched her head. "It might have something to do with Kamigari but there are no guarantees. Jeez, just when the new semester starts and our forces are spread thin trying to find Takeru Yamato, now we've got this on our plate"

"I'm assuming you want us to investigate where it had landed and report on our findings, correct?" Furan also seemed to be a bit worried at hearing another conflict with Kamigari so soon.

Minori stopped leaning against her desk and walked forward towards her three students, eyeing each of them.

"That's right. Of course, we're not going to be launching a full scale investigation and I just need two of you to scout for me". She looked in between Yuuka and Kim. "You two should be enough"

"Shouldn't I go with them? The three of us together would make for a much more suitable team for gathering intel" It was hard to tell due to her usually stoic manner but Furan was very worried about having Yuuka and Kim be sent there without her. What if there was an enemy attack and they needed her?

Sensing her worry, Minori patted the troubled student on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Yuuka over here isn't just a ninja for show. She'll be able to get herself and Kim out of any danger before anything bad can happen"

Furan wasn't completely convinced. "But what if-

"You worry too much, Furan" Yuuka held Furan's hand as she whispered into her ear. This seemed to calm her down as she gripped her hand and smiled.

"If that is your wish" Furan had relented.

"That's my girl"

The two smiled at one another while Kim gazed passionately at the two with the hopes of catching them take their affection for one another… a step further.

"Uhm…guys?" She had a suspicion about the nature of their relationship but it was still awkward.

Minori's voice cut them out of their trance as a light blush appeared on both of their faces.

"In any case, I'm counting on you two. Let me know if something happens, alright?"

Yuuka and Kim both nodded. "Roger!"

Minori turned to Furan. "Since the festival is just around the corner, I'll be counting on you to lay down the law on any wild transfer students"

"Of course, principal" she bowed deeply and took her leave, along with Kim and Yuuka who had now been given their assignments.

As the door closed with Minori now by herself in her office, the troubled principal sighed while rubbing her aching back and sat down in her chair.

"God, my back is killing me. Aki's chest is bigger than mine and she doesn't seem to have any problems. I should ask her about that…well whatever. First things first, let's take care of the opening ceremony"

Though she said that, Minori couldn't quite shake the uneasy feeling she was getting when she recalled the terrifyingly strong presence that beam of light carried. While she may have had confidence in her girls to not get themselves wrapped up in any trouble, as their principal she felt compelled to secretly pray nothing bad would happen.

That was all she could do.

【Oyama Dojo, 8:30 A.M】

After Nagi had so graciously helped Takeshi fix the damages done to his precious dojo again, through the use of clever blackmail that left Nagi hard pressed to counter his claims, the two had both taken a seat in the main lobby.

Takeshi, who at this point had now gotten the hang of Nagi's personality, sat cross legged with a fascinated look on his face as he watched Nagi showcase his "magic". Takeshi had practically begged the man to show it as he wanted to know how it functioned different from elements and Nagi had relented, albeit only agreeing to do so if Takeshi wouldn't hold him accountable for the damages done to his dojo. A fair trade indeed, if Takeshi thought so.

"Hoh... so this is lightning magic, you say?" Takeru was fascinated as he watched little sparks of lightning flash out from Nagi's finger.

"Basically. I have an affinity to lightning so its simple to pull of magic of this level"

"Affinity? Is that some way of measuring what type of magic you can use?"

Nagi shook his head. "Not even close, old man. It was one of the basics I learned at magic school; every person is born with an affinity to one of the many types of elements that exist. Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, I can't even keep track of them all"

Takeshi placed a hand on his chin and frowned. "That sounds a lot similar to how elements work in this world. Though, when I was an instructor I never heard any of the other teachers use the term "affinity". Forgive me; my knowledge regarding elements is scarce at best"

Nagi merely shrugged. "No worries, I'm the same. Never cared much for technical terms and all that other crap. I just focus on what I can do best" He smirked. "It works better for me"

Takeshi fully agreed to that train of thought as he nodded his head and a chuckle escaped his lips. "I suppose we have that in common".

As the duo continued their conversations, footsteps could be heard coming from outside of the door. The person on the other side knocked before she slid the door wide open, having both Nagi and Takeshi's eyes turn towards the unfamiliar girl.

She was a beautiful sight, possessing long dark blue hair and pale white skin. No doubt thanks to rigorous training, she held an impressive figure and had a noticeably large chest that stuck out. Her current attire was that of a student who attended Tenbi Academy.

"Takeshi-sama, please forgive my tardiness. I had to prepare myself today for the opening ceremony since I will be transferring to Tenbi Academy" She wasn't even facing them as her face was fully lowered to the ground.

Takeshi chuckled. "No need for such formalities, Isabella. Today's your first day at school, right? You didn't have to come all this way too-

"Nonsense! How could I, who's imposing on Takeshi-sama be so arrogant as to not pay my respects every morning!"

"R-Right…" Takeshi awkwardly scratched his cheek at his pupil's excessive formality. She had always been this way after she had come to the dojo a month ago to request to train under him. It was sort of cute at first but overtime, Takeshi was beginning to be feel a bit annoyed at such behavior as he didn't care much for people addressing him like this. He wasn't some sort god for pete's sake.

"It looks like you've got an interesting student" Nagi's teasing voice chimed into Takeshi's thoughts as he turned to the now smirking magician.

Takeshi sighed. "Well, she's always been like that. Isabella, introduce yourself to him"

At this point Isabella, who was still kneeling, had heard the voice of an unrecognizable person and her ears perked up in curiosity.

"Uhm, Takeshi-sama. Is somebody there with you?"

"Yea, he's a guest. Introduce yourself already"

"Understood!" Isabella raised her head almost instantly to meet the eyes of the stranger. "Greetings! I am Isabella Garret, the first daughter of the Garret Family and a student training under the magnificent Takeshi Oyama-sama! It's a pleasure to make your acq….." she stopped abruptly and allowed an uncharacteristic gasp of amazement escape her mouth as she now took in the man she was greeting.

From his deep red eyes that seemed to penetrate into her soul, to his beautiful crimson and black hair that embodied the essence of fire and darkness itself; Isabella felt her mind go blank as she had met a man whose physical beauty transcended her imagination.

"Yo"

A casual greeting came from the red haired man as a small smile was present on his lips.

Takeshi had noticed and expected this sort of reaction since he himself couldn't deny the effect that Nagi would undoubtedly have on girls. Of course he wasn't jealous in the slightest, nope. Having girls fall at your feet instantly wasn't something he wanted, definitely not.

"It's a... It's... pleasure… I" Isabella was at a complete loss of words as her mind wasn't thinking straight. Her eyes tried to wander downwards, away from the man's gorgeous face but she felt herself fighting a losing battle as saw his absence of a shirt and witnessed his remarkable torso covered in bandages. Her face lit up like a Jack-o'-lantern as it was apparent that she was madly blushing.

Nagi, of course unfazed by the girl's apparent shock was mildly curious as to why she was mumbling. "You alright there?"

"Eh? I-I-I mean yes! Of course I'm alright, thank you for the concern!" For some reason, she bowed her head but this time did it so fast that she slammed it against the ground, causing her to hold her forehead in agony.

An amused smile formed on Nagi's face. "Don't hurt yourself now"

After the girl had stopped wincing in pain, she immediately answered. "Y-Yes! I-I have to go and prepare for school! Please excuse me!" She didn't waste any time bolting out of the compound as Nagi and Takeshi were left half amused and half confused as to what just occurred.

"What a funny girl" was all Nagi said as he stretched his arms into the air.

Takeshi snorted at Nagi's carefree attitude. "Don't play innocent, I'm sure you know why she acted the way she did"

Nagi cocked his head to the side, obviously in a fake manner as if he had no idea about what he was talking about.

"You son of a…" Takeshi gritted before he just gave it up and sighed. "Well, it doesn't matter now. So, are you interested in going to Tenbi Academy?"

Nagi glanced at Takeshi with a bored expression. "For what?"

"It's a school that nurtures and trains students in using their supernatural powers, along with trying to find suitable candidates to wield one of the original Maken"

Nagi's eyebrow's twitched at that. "You mentioned something like that before. What are these original Maken? How do Maken even work in the first place?"

Takeshi furrowed his brows as he scratched his head. "I'm not the best person to explain it to you since as I'm sure I've told you, my knowledge regarding Elements and Maken are pretty crap" He stopped scratching his head and let his face fall onto his grounded fist "Let's just say they're tools used by ability users to amplify their powers."

"Hoh…" Nagi's curiosity definitely rose when he heard that as he made the comparison of these so called Maken with magic tools that could be purchased in his world. His staff for example was a tool that he used to carry around to harness his magic better but overtime, it became useless to him since he had grown so powerful that it didn't matter. He had left it back in Wales with his niece, Nekane and asked her to give it to his son when he was old enough to start practicing magic. He wondered how she was doing since it had been years since he had spoken with the young girl.

"Nagi?"

Takeshi's voice snapped Nagi out of his reminiscent thoughts. "Ah sorry about that, was just thinking about my niece"

Takeshi was a bit surprised to hear such a thing and look interested. "Your niece?"

Nagi merely shook his head. "Forget about it. These Maken things you mentioned, they sound interesting. Where do they come from?"

"One of my juniors can craft them in his workshop at the academy" Takeshi then made an annoyed expression. "Though he's lacking in quite a few brain cells"

The red haired youth just snorted. "And you aren't?"

Takeshi growled at the snide comment. "Oh and you think you've got all yours intact?"

Nagi chuckled. "Hey, I'm not the one who runs a dojo. I'd be worried if the person teaching me was a complete idiot, hahaha!"

"Hmph, I'll have you know I was one of the top instructors at Tenbi Academy. You don't get that kind of position by just being a mere brute"

"If you say so, old man"

"I'm not old!" Takeshi was now standing up as he growled at the still chuckling man, watching him enjoy himself without a care in the world. His anger quickly subsided however as he couldn't really find it in his heart to get angry at him whom he knew was clearly kidding around.

"In any case" He sat back down and looked at Nagi seriously. "Will you come to Tenbi Academy? I'd like to introduce you to some of my juniors there who would no doubt be interested in meeting a person from another world"

Nagi seemed to contemplate the idea as he thought about his current options. With no way to return back to his own world, he didn't have much of an agenda so going with Takeshi wasn't a problem in terms of time consumption. The only issue that came to his mind was if the journey there was going to be worth it. He wasn't expecting much since Takeshi had thoroughly proven how weak this world's inhabitants must be. Though, there was always the off chance that there might be someone there worth fighting so he couldn't say for sure.

Not to mention, these "Maken" had definitely caught his interest and he was interested to see how they were made and what kind of damage they could do.

Nagi stood up from his seat, altering Takeshi and stretched his shoulder. "Sure, why not"

Takeshi beamed happily as he made his way over to Nagi and patted his back. "Now that's what I'm talking about! You should have just said yes from the beginning"

Nagi scrunched his face in annoyance. "Then that would defeat the purpose of me thinking about it, dummy"

Takeshi chuckled as he continued to pat him. "Haha, that's true! Gahahaha!"

Nagi couldn't understand what he was laughing about before he just lightly chuckled himself and wondered what kind of individuals he would meet at this so called academy.

Takeshi, as if remembering something stopped patting Nagi's back and looked at him from top to bottom.

Nagi raised an eyebrow. "What is it now?"

"I've been wondering this for a long time now but… just how old are you, Nagi?"

"Twenty five"

Takeshi's eyes widened. "Seriously? You don't look a day over twenty with that pretty face of yours"

Nagi shrugged. "Genetics, I guess"

Takeshi nodded as he turned his back to Nagi and placed his hand on the sliding door. "We'll be leaving for the Academy in a few minutes; I'll go get you some fresh clothes since your old ones are still tattered"

Looking down, Nagi noticed his lack of a shirt and saw his body covered in bandages and merely nodded. "Sounds good. I owe you one"

Takeshi smirked before leaving the room and wondering if Nagi would look good in his old martial arts clothes.

Nagi yawned before he walked forward and looked into the beautiful morning sun that shined brightly.

"Guess I'm going back to school"

Another chapter bites the dust.