Chapter 14: A New Destination

Hoshi's declaration of Yamato Takeru's resurrection shocked all of the inhabitants currently within Minori's office as the room went silent out of pure astonishment towards the panting young girl. Aside from Nagi, everyone else had difficulty swallowing the worst possible news and prayed that Hoshii was joking.

"Hoshi-dono... are you certain of that? Yamato Takeru-sama... I mean, Yamato Takeru has finally awoken?" Espada questioned, quickly correcting her usual habit of addressing her former master with such respect and reverence. With the brain washing completely gone from her system, Espada no longer needed to feel that way anymore towards him and now only spoke with such respect towards her new master.

Hoshii slowly nodded as she looked at the ground with a pained expression "...It's true. This morning, we were spying on Otohime and Miyabi for awhile before we saw him break out from that tube he was in... and I've gotta tell you... it still gives me goose bumps just remembering that toxic aura around him". Hoshii's body began to slightly tremble as her memory of seeing just how much of a monster Yamato Takeru was still plagued her body, enough so that she would bet her entire life savings that no one could defeat him.

Azuki huffed at Hoshii's dazed stature and crossed her arms, refusing to accept the words of an enemy. "Why should we trust you? For all we know you could have been sent here by Kamigari to lure us into a trap. First Espada somehow gets captured and now you're here telling us Yamato Takeru is revived? I can't be the only one who thinks this is too weird to be a coincidence!"

Minori analyzed Azuki's spiteful glare towards Hoshii and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Though Azuki made some good points regarding the unlikely timing of such events happening in succession, it was clear as day that Azuki's personal grudge towards Espada and Hoshii were driving her emotions. Even if she was right, should they dismiss Hoshii's warnings immediately?

"I'm in agreement with Azuki-san, we can't trust the enemy!" Kurigasa exclaimed rather loudly, obviously biased in his opinion of supporting the love of his life. Even if Azuki were to claim that the sun was black, he'd probably still agree with her.

The other students were also following the same train of thought and pretty soon, hostile and untrusting gazes were tossed towards Hoshii who flinched at the unwelcome response. No, she had expected this when she had made the decision to come here and resolved herself to at least tell them before her life came to an end. Espada being alive was more than she could have ever hoped for and she had no regrets now even if she died at this very minute, though it would be a pity for the few stocks she forgot to invest in.

"Hoshii-dono..." Espada whispered as she felt pity towards her close friend. Even if they were no longer on the same side, Espada treated and cared for Hoshii dearly and wanted to reach out towards her. However, doing so would possibly lose the small trust that she had obtained from Nagi and the others and she didn't want that. She didn't want that and yet... she still wanted to help her friend as her hands were clenched tightly and she bit her lip so hard that a few drips of blood fell from her mouth. But what could she do or say that wouldn't make the situation worse? What was the answer!?

"Don't you think you guys are being kinda dumb?"

All eyes turned towards Nagi who voiced out his rather blunt assessment of the situation and multiple gasps of confusion sprung from around the room.

Azuki was the first to file a complaint. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you trying to tell us that we should trust them? After everything they did too-

Nagi swiftly raised his hand towards Azuki, stopping her mid sentence as he directed an annoyed glare at her. "You need to calm down first, your letting your emotions do your thinking for you. We get it, you don't like them because they whooped your ass, now let it go"

"Wha...!? B-But..." Azuki was stuttering all over the place and flustered at Nagi's remark, unable to counter him. She may not have noticed before but after what Nagi had just said, Azuki's eyes widened in realization that she was projecting her anger at losing the first match in such an embarrassing way towards Hoshii and Espada. How could she have not noticed that?

Minori was momentarily surprised hearing that from Nagi as she thought she was the only one who picked up on it. She smiled in content, yet again amazed at the mysterious enigma known as Nagi who was as unpredictable as they come.

"In any case, what I was saying before applies to most of you who are doubting the kid over there. What would be the point of trying to trick us now? If that Yamato guy or whatever really is as powerful as you guys claim he is, then do you think he would need tricks or petty plans to stop us?"

Takeshi held his chin and nodded his head "That's a good point; with Yamato Takeru's resurrection, there wouldn't be a need for trying to ambush us since his strength is far too great"

"Still, I don't believe trusting her to easily is a wise course of action" Akaya voiced towards Takeshi and Nagi. Akaya saw reason in both of their statements but still couldn't accept Hoshii or Espada that easily, not unless he had concrete evidence that proved they weren't enemies anymore.

"Haa..." A heavy sigh escaped Nagi's mouth as he ruffled his crimson hair. To him, believing Hoshii's words were as simple as breathing since he could immediately tell by her body language and tone that she was dead serious. Trying to convince these idiots of that was the hard part and he tried to think of a way to do so before his attention was directed to the black collar around Hoshii's neck. "Hey kid, is that collar around your neck the same one that Espa here was wearing?" He pointed to the startled Espada who was standing a few feet away from him.

"Huh?" Hoshii blinked a few times before her eyes fell downwards the collar and then slowly nodded. "Yea it's the same one... wait, what happened to the one around Espada's neck!?" She hadn't even noticed it was gone until Nagi had pointed it out.

"I destroyed it myself, I thought it'd stop the poison but it had already spread throughout her body by then" Nagi replied in a carefree manner, unaware of the look of shock on Hoshii's face.

"B-But that's impossible! These collars were created with materials that nullify all forms of element and are as dense as diamond! How did you break it?"

"Hah? I just did, it wasn't even that hard. What are you getting so worked up about?"

"..."

In the face of such arrogance and confidence, Hoshii was stunned beyond words and recalled the tremendous pressure she felt yesterday after Nagi had escaped Minerva's dimensional barrier. When she thought about it, only someone whose power was that terrifying could destroy the collar and she accepted that Nagi was indeed a monster in his own way.

"Hoshii-dono, why hasn't Otohime-dono activated the collar's poison if you're telling us this?"

"Ah, that's right!" Aki began as she arose from her seat. "Espada was almost killed because she was captured and Otohime didn't want her to leak information. Why hasn't she done so with Hoshii-san yet?"

It was a fair question that many in the room were waiting on Hoshii's answer for. This was the deciding moment that would determine if they could trust her as she couldn't make excuses for this.

Hoshii shook her head and looked down with a solemn and bitter expression. "There was no need too. You see, on my way here I already encountered Otohime at the entrance who allowed me to pass and said that I was no longer fit to be a soldier of Kamigari and that my services wouldn't be needed as I was now useless"

"..."

Everyone in the room traded mix reactions as they saw the painful look in Hoshii's eyes at practically being told she was a worthless tool to be disposed of. Their suspicious glares were replaced by pitiful glances and their trust in her words began to grow, if ever so slightly as that sort of bitter look wasn't something someone could fabricate.

"What happened to Yumemiya-dono and Kajiru-dono? Are they safe?" Espada asked worriedly that something may have happened to them.

"Yes they're fine. Though Otohime may have disbanded the group, she still has some use for the two of them and they are being carefully watched by the agents of Kamigari. Having said that, all of us have been stripped of our original eight Maken so our strength has been cut down"

Minori scanned Hoshii's face for any signs of deceit and tossed a glance towards Akaya who was still restraining her. He sighed as he nodded his head.

"We searched her but we couldn't find the Maken on her anywhere. Seems she's telling the truth"

"...Damn, those guys are always one step ahead" Minori voiced out in dissatisfaction as her aim of grabbing another one of the original eight had been thwarted.

"So, what's the plan? Now that we know Yamato Takeru is back, shouldn't we be thinking of a way to defeat him?" Takeru asked no one in particular as he looked across the room for a hopeful answer.

Nagi snorted in amusement. "Slow down there tiger, we have a few things to discuss first before we get to that"

Takeru cocked his head to the side. "Things such as what?"

Following his question, Nagi pointed his finger towards Hoshii who flinched on instinct and began to focus a surge of magic into his finger tips. The amount he needed was small but also had to be condensed so that it would be controllable and not accidentally kill the poor girl. Once he had finished, a stream of white lightning was launched from his finger and struck the collar around Hoshii's neck in an instant, breaking it into a million pieces.

Hoshii was shocked by such a swift attack and couldn't even react as she watched the collar disintegrate onto the floor. So Nagi was telling the truth after all, he really could destroy those collars! But what was that attack just now? That couldn't have been an attack composed of element, could it? Or was it a Maken? A never ending list of questions just popped into her head at trying to figure out what Nagi had just done.

"W-What was that all about?" Azuki asked with a hint of fear as she hadn't even saw the attack go through until it had already destroyed the collar.

Nagi lowered his finger and frowned "That collar was becoming an eyesore so I got rid of it"

Espada and Hoshii were both touched by Nagi's actions just now, but Espada was far more thankful as she understood why Nagi had done such a thing. Espada hadn't voiced it but seeing that collar around Hoshii's neck made her want to destroy it herself out of resentment towards Kamigari for subjecting them to wear such a thing but she held her frustration. She didn't know when but Nagi must have picked up on it and did it for her which made her thankful beyond words and her loyalty towards him continued to grow in both gratitude and admiration... with a large sprinkle of lustful attraction.

Aki sighed in relief at what Nagi had just done as she didn't have to worry about another one of her former students losing her life.

"Now we can talk about dealing with those Kamigari guys and this Yamato Takeru" Nagi began as he turned to Hoshii. "Did they mention anything about how long it would be before they launch another attack?"

Hoshii nodded eagerly as her trust and respect for Nagi had been increased with that little exchange just now. "Yea, Yamato Takeru mentioned that he would need at least a week to..." Hoshii slightly blushed when she said her next few words "... devour a lot of energy and get back to full strength"

"Devour some energy?" Nagi frowned as he thought about what Hoshii had just said in a somewhat embarrassed tone. What would be so embarrassing about something like that? Unless it meant that he was currently...

A hardy laugh could be heard coming from Takeshi who immediately figured out what Hoshii was trying to say. "Well I'll be, a man's still a man ain't he? Of course he'll need to recharge his batteries after sleeping for so long"

Nagi whistled. "I've gotta give him credit, an entire week of that isn't something most men could endure"

Minori, Akaya, and Aki, the only remaining adults in the room were puzzled before Nagi and Takeshi's odd remarks until they realized what they were truly getting at and flushed a deep red.

"D-Don't say stuff like that in front of the kids!" Minori shouted towards the two of them, her face dyed red just like her hair. Tenbi Academy didn't have a sex ed class and they sure as hell weren't starting now!

"Principal, what are they...?" Inaho asked innocently as she looked none the wiser, causing Minori to shake her head furiously.

"Nothing! Don't listen to what those idiots are talking about!"

"...Okay?"

Not just Inaho, almost all of them didn't understand what Minori or the other adults were trying to hint at and cocked their heads to the side. The few that did get it such as Espada, Usui, Takeru, and Himegami all remained quiet but had embarrassed expressions on their faces.

"Anyway" Nagi began as he tried to get back on track. "You heard it from her yourself; we've got a week to prepare before the big man himself comes here. In that time, you'll all have to become immensely more powerful if any of you want to participate in the battle"

"Screw that!" Azuki shouted in retaliation. "We've all trained hard over the summer and have fought Kamigari plenty of times! Why should we wait, let's attack him now when he's not at full strength!"

Akaya was in agreement as he nodded. "I believe Azuki-san's course of action would be better. Rather than waiting, we have the opportunity to launch a pre-emptive strike against our strongest adversary, why not take it?"

"Now hold on you too, we don't know for sure that Yamato Takeru is really in such a weakened state that we can truly defeat him. Rushing in there recklessly could prove disastrous" Takeshi was a veteran when it came to tactics and planning so Nagi's idea of training was the most suitable path in his opinion.

"Quit underestimating us old man! I've trained hard, I can do this!" Takeru wasn't going to back down as he wanted to stop Yamato no matter what it took!

After listening to Takeru's proclamation, a condescending laugh could be heard coming from Espada who drew the room's attention. "Those are some pretty big words, Takeru Oyama. Have you forgotten that you were not even a match for me and yet you believe you can fight Yamato Takeru? Is your head that full of arrogance or are you just that much of a fool?"

"What was that!?" Takeru exclaimed in fury as he glared daggers towards the calm and collected Espada who didn't even flinch at his intensity. How could she? Espada was far more powerful than Takeru and everyone knew it.

"She makes a good point" Minori mentioned as she crossed her arms. "I'm the one who fought Yamato Takeru when he was inside Ouken's body and if he's now stronger than he was when I fought him, you're absolutely no match for him Takeru"

"B-But..." Takeru was having a hard time accepting the cruel reality and stuttered.

Takeshi shook his head towards his son and sighed. "Takeru, you have nothing to be ashamed about. No one here except for Nagi could possibly stand up to a monster like him, accept that"

"..."

Takeru sat back down in frustration, hesitating to accept his old man's words as Haruko was sitting down next to him and grabbed his hand with her own.

"Take-chan, you don't have to worry. You just have to get stronger and we'll defeat him together"

"Haru-nee..."

Takeru was touched by Haruko's gesture as the two shared a romantic moment as they looked into each other's eyes before Nagi's voice ruined the moment.

"Oi, I know that you two are in love and everything but we're kind of in a meeting. Save your romance crap for after we deal with this"

"I-I-In L-L-Love!?" Haruko stammered as she flushed deep red and shook her head. "With this pervert!? N-N-No way!"

"Haru-nee?" Takeru knew Haruko was always easily embarrassed by romantic stuff but damn, did she have to put it like that?

Nagi raised his eyebrow as he couldn't understand Haruko's claim. "Wait, so he's not your boyfriend? What's the relationship between these two?" He asked around the room.

"She's in love with him but refuses to admit it" Everyone deadpanned, causing Haruko's face to heat up like a roasted oven and she sat back down and looked towards the ground in utter embarrassment.

"Wow, sounds rough. Well whatever, let's ignore them and get back to business"

"Don't ignore us!" Haruko and Takeru both retorted.

Everyone laughed at their comical antics while Hoshii watched the scene with a baffled look. Even though she had just warned them that their greatest foe was reborn and stronger than ever, they still had the willpower to laugh like this? Were they really that dense or were they just that confident that they could beat him? As she thought so, she immediately paled as she could feel a stinging sensation coming from her head.

"Agh!" A pained voice rang out from Hoshii as she clutched her throbbing head in agony, her usual thoughts of money and wealth being overshadowed by some dark presence.

"What's the matter?" Akaya questioned, on guard of Hoshii's suspicious behaviour.

"Hoshii-dono, what's wrong?" Espada quickly asked as she travelled to her friend's side and held her up.

Hoshii panted slightly and gave Espada a forced smile. "I-I'm sorry Espada, it must be the brainwashing. I was able to fight it off for a bit but it seems I'll succumb back to it and make my way back to Otohime's side..."

"Your brainwashing wasn't erased? I thought you were completely healed..."

Hoshii shook her head. "Impossible, Otohime's methods of brainwashing students is unmatched and she would never allow it to be broken so easily. It took all of my strength to get here and not turn back but I'm afraid I've reached my limit"

Espada didn't know what to do as she didn't want to see her friend return to back to those bastards in Kamigari and desperately turned to Nagi. "Master, please help Hoshii-dono! I know I have no place to ask this as your servant but I don't want her to go back there!" Relying on Nagi was the only thing she could think of as if there was anyone who could stop Otohime's brainwashing, it was him.

Nagi remained silent for a few seconds before he stood up from his seat and walked over towards Hoshii who was being held up by Espada. He reached out and patted her head with his hand, flooding a great deal of magic into her body that began to make her body radiate a faint glow as Espada backed away and all those within the room gasped in amazement. Just what was he doing?

After the light dimmed, Hoshii fell forward and landed against Nagi's torso, with the latter smiling softly as he picked up Hoshii's body and carried her towards a wall, laying her body gently against it.

"W-What did you just do?" Akaya asked in utter bewilderment.

Nagi shrugged as he stood back up. "Nothing much. I just poured some of magic into her body to cleanse her mind and spirit. I figured it out yesterday during the pactio contract that if my magic is placed within the body of anyone of this world, it will have the same effect of them being 'reborn'. Though she can't use magic now like Espada can because of her artifact, none of that brainwashing stuff should still be there"

Akaya blinked in a somewhat dazzed state "...I had no idea you could do such a thing..."

Nagi laughed as he went back to his seat and lay against the couch. "Neither did I, until yesterday"

After she had returned to his side, Espada bowed respectfully towards Nagi to show her appreciation. "You have my utmost thanks, Master"

Nagi waved his hand as if it was no big deal "Don't mention it"

If anyone had any doubts about Nagi's origins before, they sure as hell didn't now as they saw the effect he had on both Espada and Hoshii and were stunned into amazement at his reliable atmosphere.

"So, does anyone still want to charge into Yamato Takeru's headquarters?" Minori asked as she surveyed the room. No one responded to her question and Minori looked pleased by the result. "Good, then we've decided that we'll use this time to prepare for his attack. The biggest question is, what can we accomplish in a week that will give us a fighting chance?"

"Regardless of how much stronger we've all become, fighting against Kamigari now that their leader is back will be a difficult task no matter how you look at it" Himegami stated as she then turned to Nagi with a hardened expression. "Which is where you'll come in, right Nagi? It's time for you to honor your promise and fight with us!"

Nagi's eyes flickered for a second as he furrowed his brows at Himegami's way of pushing all of the responsibility towards him. "Aah? You want me to go out there and fight this nut job for you guys while you all sit back and do nothing?"

Himegami knitted her eyebrows "I never said that"

"Let me make this perfectly clear. I agreed to fight with you guys, not for you guys. I'm the strongest man alive, there's no question of that but I'm not dumb enough to charge in there without at least having a few capable allies... and most of you don't look like you can fill those roles yet"

"Wha...!?"

Nagi's bold proclamation earned several spiteful glares coming from Usui, Azuki, and even Akaya as they couldn't believe how arrogant he was! To call himself the strongest man and then claim none of them could help him fight, it was simply outrageous!

"Now calm down everyone..." Takeshi pleaded, accustom to Nagi's blunt of way of speaking to others. What was it, the tenth time now he had to try and play mediator?

"How can you still protect him sensei!? While I can admit that Nagi is a powerful individual who we should thank for his assistance, to call us not fit to fight with him is crossing the line!" Akaya couldn't stomach his dissatisfaction any longer as he felt he needed to be the one to bring Nagi down a peg.

"I said most of you aren't fit to help me, sparkle boy. I never said all of you so try to relax already"

"Y-You...!" Akaya had never been as insulted as he was now as several angry veins appeared on his forehead.

Minori had to stiffen a laugh at Akaya's new nickname and for once, she actually didn't mind Nagi's blunt way of messing with people... as long as she wasn't the one being made fun of.

"Nagi-san, what did you mean by 'not ready yet'?" Isabella asked with not a single trace of resentment or hostility in her voice. To her, Nagi wasn't someone who would criticize others for no reason and believed he had an explanation for his behavior.

Nagi smiled "It's simple. If none of you are strong enough to defeat Yamato Takeru and Kamigari now, then you just simply have to become stronger to do so under my training"

"Training?" Himegami questioned.

"That's right; a week is plenty of time to boost you guys to a level that'll make those bastards wet their pants. I don't know what kind of training you all did here but considering I beat these two pretty easily" He pointed towards both Takeshi and Minori who looked annoyed at remembering their losses "I say you've got nothing to lose being trained under me"

"T-Training under Nagi..." Several of the students whispered to themselves as they tried to picture what sort of hellish nightmare they were in for. For someone of Nagi's immense strength, the level of training he must have gone through couldn't have been easy... and if that was the case, just what kind of Spartan training were they in for?

"I'll do it!" Azuki shouted spontaneously, alerting everyone's attention as she looked psyched. "I don't care how tough it is, if it'll make me strong enough to fight Kamigari, I'll overcome it!"

"If Azuki-san is going, I'll do it as well!" Kurigasa was inspired as he watched the figure of the woman he loved declare her resolve and he wanted to stand by her side by becoming strong enough to support her.

"Me too!"

"Bring it on!"

"Count me in!"

Soon enough, all of the Maken Ki members had agreed to Nagi's suggestion and were ready to endure whatever training he had to throw at them. To protect Tenbi Academy, it was the only way!

Nagi was pleased by their conviction as he watched the brimming faces of the kids. He then turned to Minori and smiled. "You've got brave kids here"

Minori snorted as she crossed her arms and produced a tender slime. "Idiot... I already know that"

Nagi then turned to Espada. "And what about you? We've entered under a contract and you've become much stronger already because of your pactio, this training isn't necessary for you"

Espada shook her head immediately. "Though I am eternally grateful for what you've done for me, I don't want to just rely on your amazing power. I want to become stronger by myself as well, so I ask that you also allow me participate as well, master"

Nagi didn't see a problem with it and shrugged. "Suit yourself"

"But what about the school competition? Now that we know Otohime has disbanded her group and that Yamato Takeru is back, there's no need for them to participate in it now is there?" Haruko mentioned with a troubled expression.

Takeshi nodded. "They'll most likely not bother showing up anymore since it was merely a distraction to buy time. The problem is that even though we now know we're their headquarters is, we can't make a move out of fear of Yamato Takeru's power"

"That's fine" Nagi stated. "Once I'm through with you guys, we'll show them that giving us a week to prepare was a move that will come back to bite them in the ass"

"...Why do I get the feeling that this training will be far worse than what we imagined..." Himegami spoke with a worried tone.

"Hahaha, don't worry about the small stuff. I'm sure you'll all survive... probably... maybe..."

Everyone shuddered and began to regret choosing to trust in Nagi as that glint of excitement in his eyes was beginning to scare them!

"In any case, the question now is where will we all train? Tenbi is out of the question since we can't trust that they'll keep their word and they might use the weaker students as hostages" Minori would rather lose an arm than let one of her precious students fall victim to that.

"What about the area around my dojo? It's spacious and the perfect spot for good old fashioned training" Takeshi asked with a hopeful look. Having the girls around his dojo would provide good entertainment in various different ways he did not dare speak out loud.

"Forget it old man, we can't use that place. It's not that far from Tenbi so they could still ambush us or even worse" Nagi cut off Takeshi's lifeline in an instant, causing the older man to curse him under his breath.

"I'd like to suggest using that summer island again but after the last incident, the area's been completely sealed off until repairs can be made" Minori still remembered the huge bill that the island inhabitants tried to throw at her because of all the damage they had caused. Looking at all those zeros on the bill nearly made her faint.

"Come on guys think, there's gotta be a place somewhere on this planet one of you knows that is far from Tenbi and has a lot of space for practice" Nagi looked around the room for a hopeful answer but he got nothing in return. Most of them hadn't even stepped outside of Tenbi so it couldn't be helped that their knowledge of the outside world was severely lacking.

Just as all hope seemed lost, Aki slowly raised her hand and looked as if she was reluctant to speak.

"W-Well, I know of a place but..."

Minori's eyebrows rose in confusion as she watched the fidgety Aki. "You do Aki? Well why you didn't say so earlier!? Speak up, where is it?"

"Well it's..."

For some reason, Aki walked over towards Minori and whispered into her ear as Minori nodded her head and listened. Moments later, Minori's face twisted into a grumpy frown as she clicked her tongue and puffed her cheeks. "Damn, so it's that place..."

Nagi asked the obvious question as he, along with everyone else, were completely in the dark. "You mind sharing this magical place with the rest of us?"

Takeshi and Akaya both seemed to come to a realization on their own as they traded a frantic look between Aki and Minori. "Wait, you guys can't possibly mean..."

Minori nodded hesitantly to her sensei. "I'm afraid so. The only place I can think of that we can do our training is at the Nijou Family Resort"

"...Not that place..." Akaya slumped as he didn't even have the energy to perform one of his famous poses anymore.

"...So it's come to this..." Takeshi looked a bit pale as he sat back down and sighed heavily, having no choice but to accept the destination awaiting them.

Nagi was getting annoyed at the lack of a proper explanation and nudged Takeshi with his elbow. "Alright, spill it old man. What exactly is this Nijou Family Resort? Are you guys afraid of going there that much?"

"It's not so much as us being afraid... but rather... it's a place that we don't like to go too unless there's no other choice"

"You're not making any sense..." Nagi couldn't understand what the big deal was about this place as he waited for someone to explain.

Aki stepped forward to resolve the confusion as she stood in front of the large group with a hesitant expression. "The Nijou Family Resort is actually my family's estate that is supported by Tenbi and the government. Currently, mama- I mean, my mother runs the place but..." Aki's eyes narrowed deeply as she frowned. "...There have been issues with the inheritance of the resort between me and my sister"

Everyone went silent. Aki had a sister?

"I had no idea Aki-sensei had a sister..." Usui repeated as he wondered just how hot Aki's sister must have been if she was related to a bombshell like Aki.

"I still don't see why you guys are so reluctant to go there" Nagi stated, waiting for the puncline.

"There's nothing wrong with the resort itself, in fact its probably the perfect place for us to train in such a short amount of time..." Minori's face darkened as she recalled her previous experience going to the resort. "...It's the person running the place that I never want to see again...Aki's sister isn't a problem but her mother is the one who actually owns the resort and I'll tell ya... she's... she's.. I can't even say it..."

Takeshi, Akaya, and Aki's bodies shuddered after Minori was struggling to describe the person they were all thinking of. Everyone in the room traded looks of utter confusion as to what kind of person Aki's mother was and were a bit anxious to meet her.

"She must be one hell of a woman to even make the tomboy scared" Nagi ignored the death glare coming from Minori as he looked at Aki. "Where is this resort?"

"It's located far west of here on a large island that belongs to the government. Before we go though; I'd have to call my mother and let her know..."

Aki reached into her lab coat pocket and brought out her cell phone, dialing a few numbers as everyone patiently watched Aki bring the cell close to her ear. Nagi narrowed his eyes as he watched Aki fidget nervously; was her mother really that bad?

A few moments later, the other end had picked up.

"Hello~?"

"Ah! M-Mama, how are you?"

"Hm? Who is this? That voice... wait, could it be my darling little Aki-Aki is calling her dear sweet mother after so long?"

"...I'm sorry m-mama, I've been really busy at Tenbi and my job as a doctor..."

"Oh? So your job is more important to you than your family? Waaaahhh, you make your mother so sad! Why did I raise such a selfish girl as my daughter? Wahhhhh"

"M-Mama please don't cry! I'm really sorry, I'll definitely call more often! O-Okay, please don't cry!"

"I was just kidding~ You don't have to call me all the time, I'm pretty busy too ya know? Running a multimillionaire resort isn't easy! My back aches all the time because of these huge breasts! You'll give me a massage when you come visit right?"

"...Yes..."

"..."

The entire room was quiet as everyone listened to the conversation between Aki and her mother with blank expressions. They didn't understand before but now after hearing that little exchange, they all began to understand why Aki and the others were so hesitant to call this woman and ask for her help. With a mother like that, it was hard not to pity Aki.

"So? You must have a reason for why you called me other than to drop in to say hello, right? Lemme hear it my sweet daughter~!"

Aki gulped internally, hesitant on explaining what was going on right now to her eccentric mother but took a deep breath and went through with it. She left out numerous details that weren't necessary to reveal to her mother and mainly spoke about the upcoming battle against Yamato Takeru and how they were in need of a training facility to prepare.

After she had finished explaining, the line went quiet for a minute or so before Aki's mother responded again

"Oh is that all? It sounds like you're having alot of fun over there~!"

"..."

Aki felt her head becoming dizzy at listening to her mother's childlike naivety and wondered just how she could see such a desperate situation as "fun".

"So mama, is it alright if I bring my colleagues and students with me?"

"Of course! When have I ever denied you anything my sweet daughter? Bring as many as you can, especially if they're young hot boys! Kyaaah!"

"...I'll try..."

Takeshi, Usui, and Kurigasa all felt a sudden chill in their spines as while they couldn't exactly hear what Aki's mother had just said, they had a collective feeling that it wasn't good for them.

"You should feel grateful my daughter, it would take weeks for even a single person to book a vacation here but I can give you and your friends the best VIP treatment possible all because your my darling daughter. I hope you really appreciate how much your mama loves you"

"I do mother... I do..." Aki was getting a bad feeling as she waited for her mother to drop the usual "condition" for making such a huge exception.

"It's a good thing you understand this Aki, so there shouldn't be a problem with me meeting your boyfriend when you come over this time right?"

"...Eh?"

Aki felt her heart stop.

"Is there something wrong with that? I want to meet the man my daughter has been dating for several months, what's the big deal? Unless the two of you broke up?"

Aki gulped internally, a few beads of sweat falling from her face as she recalled the regretful memory of her telling her mother that she had a boyfriend and they had been dating for a few months. Aki's mother had called in unexpectedly and mentioned that Aki's sister Alexis had recently gotten a boyfriend so per usual, Aki's mother had pressured Aki to have one as well. In the spur of the moment, Aki had blurted out that she had been dating a man already to save face and it worked then but who knew it would come back to bite her in the ass now that she was visiting.

"Y-You want to meet... my boyfriend?" Aki had to repeat those words as she said them very slowly, praying that her mother had been joking or teasing her.

"That's right! The man that was able to win the affections of my daughter, is it such a crime that I cannot meet such a man? I've already met Alexis' boyfriend and he's quite the charming fellow himself so as my daughter, I can expect great things from your man..." Her voice then felt icy cold as Aki felt a sudden chill even whilst on the phone. "...Right?"

"...Yes mother... I'll bring him..." Aki had resigned herself to her fate.

"Yayyy! I can't wait to meet him! I'll send over several helicopters to bring you and your friends to the island immediately! I'll see you when you get here! Love ya! Oh! Just one last thing, if it turns out you were lying and don't bring someone, I'll cut off your allowance from the family and give the resort to Alexis! Don't disappoint me now!"

The phone hung up as everyone stared at the motionless Aki who looked as if she had seen a ghost and dropped to her knees, mentally exhausted. Minori walked over to give her dejected friend a hand as she pulled her up and steadied her balance.

"I take it we have a problem?"

Aki hesitantly nodded as she stood on her own two feet and sighed, prepared to inform her friends of the bad news.

"Mama said we could all come but that's only if I bring my boyfriend"

"What! Aki-sensei has a boyfriend!? Who is that lucky son of a bitch!?" Usui and Takeru roared in anger as they looked all around the office. Aki was the property of everyone! No one man could hog such a beauty to himself, it wasn't fair!

"Shut up!" Himegami and Haruko scolded as the former used one of her Shikigami Spirits to fry Usui's frail body while the latter bonked Takeru over the head with her sword, leaving them charred and dazed on the ground while everyone ignored them.

"You idiots, Aki doesn't have a boyfriend" Minori corrected but then paused for a good minute and then stared at Aki in disbelief. "You don't have one right?"

"Of course I don't!" Aki retorted with a faint blush.

"So what's the big deal again?" Nagi questioned.

Takeshi crossed his arms. "The problem comes from the fact that at the moment, the Nijou Resort belongs to Aki's mother, Leila who has been looking for a successor to inherit the family business. Aki's sister Alexis and her husband plan on changing the resort and if they get a hold of it, we won't be able to go there anymore since it will no longer be Nijou family property"

"I-Is that really true?" Himegami asked sceptically as she had no idea that such an internal family struggle had been occurring in Aki's life.

Aki grimly nodded. "Alexis has always wanted to have the resort but mama has been reluctant to give it to her out of sympathy for me. Now that Alexis has a husband who has appealed to mother, if I don't do the same then she'll give Alexis the resort and then that place with all of our memories on it will disappear..."

Minori, Akaya and Takeshi averted their gazes downwards, recalling the fond memories of visiting Resort Island with the original Maken-Ki members. The amount of trouble and fun they had on that island were endless as their youthful days were some of the best memories each of them had.

Losing the resort meant just as much to them as it did to Aki. As the room grew quieter, no one seemed to notice the bizarre look coming from Espada who cleared her throat and spoke her mind.

"Pardon me for saying so but is there a reason why you can't find a suitable man to act as your boyfriend to appease your mother?"

"Huh? Well that's... wait, no that's it!" Aki seemed to come to a revelation as she thought about what Espada had just said. Find someone to play the role as her boyfriend? Of course! Why didn't she think of that!?

"Genuis! Let's do that! Wow, you're already proving to be a great member of the team!" Minori gave Espada a thumbs up while Espada blinked in confusion. Was what she said really worthy of such praise? She stole a glance from Nagi, who had noticed her anxious and curious gaze and smiled charmingly.

"Good job, Espa"

"Y-Yes!" Espada gleefully rejoiced, completely glad that she had said what she did. Isabella noticed Espada's gleeful expression and pouted, a swell of jealously filling her at Espada gaining more attention from Nagi.

"Now that we have a plan, who's going to fill the role as Aki's boyfriend?" Himegami said in a teasing manner as she eyed all of the men currently in the room, rolling her eyes at each of the boys gulping when they looked at the beautiful figure of Aki. It looks like there wouldn't be an shortage of men wanting to fill that position.

"I volunteer myself for the position!" Usui raised his hand immediately.

"No, it should be me!" Takeru countered, elbowing Usui in the process.

"Rejected!" Minori smacked both of them upside the head and placed both of her hands on her hips. "You idiots are both still students!"

"Let's look at it from a different angle then" Himegami mentioned. "What kind of man would appeal to your mother?"

Aki brought her hand to her soft pink lips and frowned, trying to recall her mother's type. "If we're talking about mama... the man I'm dating would have to be young, tall, in good shape, strong, handsome of course, and would need to have a mysterious charm to him"

"As always, Leila's expectations are astronomical..." Minori deadpanned. With those requirements, it would take nothing short of a world class model to appease her.

"But where do we know someone like that?" Azuki stated.

Everyone in the room thought about it for a moment before a light bulb went off in their heads and they all swiftly darted their heads over to Nagi who was munching on a cookie laid on the table.

"What?"

"That's it!" They all collectively screamed in unison, confusing and startling Nagi.

While Tenbi Academy were discussing plans on visiting the Resort Island, important matters were being discussed by the higher ups of Kamigari who had gained new motivation after their leader and king, Yamato Takeru had returned. When Miyabi had delivered the news, the entire organization had gone into a joyous frenzy and plans on preparing the capture of Himegami were being pressed forward.

Otohime, who had been assigned the mission of completing this task, was currently in a large spacious room where the thousands of experimental clones of Yamato Takeru were being stored. Men and woman from all sizes were seen naked in the tubes, ranging from small little girls and boys to fully grown men and woman.

It had taken decades of intense study and biological conversion to reach this point but unfortunately, most of the clones stored here were failed experiments. In order to recreate a clone of Yamato Takeru that could act as his new vessel, a substantial amount of element was needed to be stored inside their bodies. The average human body can only hold so much element energy before they suffer from an overload and experience negative effects that could even possibly lead to death.

Aside from herself and her now deceased brother Gouken, Otohime was unable to find another clone to act as her king's vessel... until today.

Otohime stared at three specific test tubes that she had been eyeing for quite some time and reviewed the data she had on them. Out of all the test subjects, the three before her were the most consistent in their element ratings and even experienced a miraculous growth in power over the last few days, most likely due to the exposure to Yamato Takeru's presence being close to them after he had awakened.

"These three seem to be the most suitable for the position of my lord's vessel. I believe it is fine to awaken them now to test their capabilities"

Otohime snapped her fingers and not a moment later, several scientists wearing lab coats rushed in at the call of their princess.

"You called, Otohime-sama?" one of the men wearing the lab coat asked with extreme politeness.

Otohime was satisfied with his respectful response and smiled beautifully. "Yes, I'd like you to activate subjects 04, 07, and 010"

The man nodded but looked a bit hesitant. "Is there a specific reason you'd like to activate those three?"

"I'll need to review their power and elemental data before I gift them to Yamato Takeru-sama so I thought I'd test them now" Otohime then gave the man a narrowed gaze. "Will that be a problem?"

The man swiftly shook his head. "Not at all! We'll activate them at once!" He then turned to several of his coworkers who were startled by his raised voice. "Don't just stand there! Activate test subjects 04, 07, and 010 immediately!"

"Y-Yes sir!"

They quickly rushed to follow the man's orders and simultaneously entered data into the tubes keyboard. After a few seconds, the three tubes that were filled with water began to quickly drain as the floating bodies of the three trapped all slowly opened their eyes and broke the glass containing them.

"Quickly, bring their robes!" the head researched ordered, causing several woman to rush into the lab holding silk white robes, the standard attire for the ladies of Kamigari.

After robbing the three test subjects, all of the workers left the room per Otohime's instructions as she walked slowly around the three clones, scanning them closely. Each of them had beautiful silver hair, similar to that Otohime herself and their king Yamato Takeru and were standing straight in front of their princess with neutral expressions. The one standing in the middle was a young and doll like girl with short silver hair while the two standing beside her were both voluptuous adult woman.

Otohime was pleased with the results as she had to thank the researchers for their excellent work in creating good looking specimens. With Kamigari's current technology, creating several model class humans with near perfect attractiveness was a rather simple task thanks to their enormous funding from the government.

"...You, what's your name?" Otohime asked the young girl standing in the front who cocked her head to the side in response to the question, her beautiful and clear white eyes blinking in confusion.

"My name is designated as Subject 04"

"Wrong" Otohime pointed her finger at her and smiled beautifully. "Your name is now Yukina Yamato, you are my younger sister"

"Yu...kina?" The girl responded with an elated expression, clearly exited at having been given a name after birth and nodded her head with a faint blush. "I like it... sister"

"I'm pleased to hear that" Otohime was already favouring Yukina as her new sibling as she had always wanted a younger sister, and the pain of losing Gouken was already beginning to subside.

"Ooh! I want a name too!" The woman standing on the right side of Yukina yelled as she jumped up and down. She had messy long hair that reached past her waist and was the tallest of the three siblings with a dynamite figure, having at least K-cup breasts that jiggled ridiculously every time she moved.

"I would also like a name, it sounds so pleasing" This time, it was the woman standing on Yukina's left side as unlike her excited sister, she was more calm and collected and had the vibe of a seductive predator. Her hair was just as long as her sister's but had a different hair style as one of her bangs was covering her left eye. She was only slightly shorter than her sister but taller than Yukina and also possessed a curvaceous frame as the silk roam she was garbed in did a poor job at hiding her exceptional curves and cleavage.

Otohime nodded, pointing to the right sister first. "Very well. You will be known as Victoria Yamato" she then traced her finger over towards the left sister "and you will be known as Cassandra Yamato"

"Victoria! That sounds strong and cool! I love it, thanks sis!" Victoria yelled as she was practically doing cartwheels.

"You have my deepest gratitude sister, that name sounds lovely" Cassandra was also quite pleased with her name as she had a wide smile with a tint of flustered cheeks.

"Excellent, now that you have your names I will begin debriefing you on your tasks along with what expectations must be held for a member of the Yamato Family"

"Boo~ That sounds boring, I wanna have some fun!" Victoria puffed her cheeks and huffed.

"Now now sister, we wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for our big sister here. We have to listen to her faithfully, okay?" Yukina tried to appease her elder sister, shooting her even a puppy dog look.

Victoria was hard pressed to counter that look as she crossed her arms and averted her gaze. "That's not fair sis, you can't give me that kind of look and expect me not to say yes"

"I'm glad big sis is so understanding" Yukina smiled, hiding the fact that she had just taken advantage of her older sister's simplistic personality.

"Sister, do you have a mission for us right away?" Cassandra asked Otohime, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"Yes I do in fact. Once we go over some tests, I'll be having the three of you accompany me to track down a certain group of pests that have been a thorn in our side"

Immediately, all three siblings' eyes narrowed as they listened to Otohime mention an enemy they could possibly fight. Each of them was born with the instincts of a hardened veteran warrior and so the prospect of fighting strong and worthy opponents was the same as ecstasy to them. A surge of killing intent could be felt from the three siblings which made Otohime slightly back away as she didn't expect the results of their experimentation to be apparent so soon.

Otohime smiled deviously as she prepared her strategy to utilise her brand new squad of elite warriors. Unlike Espada, Kajiru, Hoshii, and Yumemiya, these three were direct clones of Yamato Takeru and didn't need brainwashing in order to fight for him; they'd do so without question. Also, all of their capabilities should even exceed S-Rank ability users and this is without even implanting the original eight Maken!

Speaking of the third years, Otohime had no use for them anymore and planned on offering both Yumemiya and Kajiru to her lord during his feast. Her only regret was being unable to also dispose of Hoshii, the foolish girl who actually believed Kamigari would have allowed her to escape without planting tracking devices all over her body.

"I'm sure the news of my lord's revival has already reached those fools, now let's see what they'll plan to do..."

Otohime had the perfect plan and with her new elite squad composed of Yukina, Cassandra, and Victoria, she was going to regain her pride of being defeated by Tenbi, no matter the cost.

Miles away from both Tenbi Academy and Kamigari Headquarters, an enormous island stood in the middle of the ocean as numerous tourists were seen arriving by the docs on cruise ships. This island was known as the Nijou Family resort, with the entirety of the island belonging to the Nijou Family that was sponsored by the government in vacationing ability users all over the world.

In the center of the island was a large mansion that was connected by several expensive looking facilities for tourists to enjoy. The main house of the Nijou Family was situated in the mansion and several servants ran around the compound trying to get everything together.

Walking through the spacious hallway that would lead to the Nijou Family Beach Area was none other than Alexis Nijou, Aki's older sister who wasn't in the best of moods. She furiously stomped through the hallway, her large breasts jiggling in response as the expensive dress filled with jewelry shined as bright as a diamond. She had the same hair color as her younger sister but instead of growing it out, she had cut it short of her neck that gave her a more mature and dignified look.

"What's mother thinking!? I've been in line to inherit this place for years and now all because Aki's coming home, she wants to change her mind!?"

To Alexis, the Nijou Family Resort's property was her birthright since the moment she came into this world. Alexis always had the qualifications to run such an extremely profitable business and was groomed into becoming a worthy successor since childhood. It was the only thing that she had over her sister who not only inherited her mother's beauty to a more refined degree; she also had the capability of utilizing elements and enrolling in Tenbi Academy. She even became a registered doctor! Aki was her younger sister and yet it always seemed that Aki was the favorite of the family.

Alexis stopped walking and frowned, cupping her chin at her next course of action."Shit, what should I do? Damian has already met mother and made a good impression so I should have a lead but I have no idea what kind of man Aki will bring..."

Damian, Alexis's husband was a successful man who was not only the heir to a profitable business company, but also a working model for one of the most famous magazines in the industry today. He was rated extremely highly by woman all over the world and had a never ending amount of suitors who would jump at the chance to talk with him, let alone date him. Alexis was lucky to have met him when she did and the two of them made a deal regarding inter-grading their two businesses' together and going global to become wealthy beyond belief!

That plan however, could only come to fruition if Alexis inherited the Nijou Family Resort which her mother, Leila hadn't approved of yet.

"If mother meets Aki and her boyfriend and prefers them over us, we'll need a backup plan to win her favor... I'll need to speak with him about this"

Alexis was sure her boyfriend could trounce any man Aki could bring but it didn't hurt to have a contingency plan in place as she moved through the hallway and opened the large door, entering the beach area.

The view of the beach was spectacular but Alexis ignored that and focused on the woman who was sunbathing on the beach floor, her body laid down on a folding chair and arms tucked behind her back.

This was Leila Nijou, Aki and Alexis' mother and the current owner of the resort. To call her a beauty would be a grave understatement as she was a heavenly angel that had near flawless skin, a slender and curvaceous physique and of course, enormous breasts that were common for woman in the Nijou Family. She was wearing a white bikini and drinking from a glass cup filled with orange juice as a pair of black shades was present on her face.

"Mama" Alexis began as she walked next to her bathing mother. "I have something I wish to speak with you about"

"Hmm?" Leila barely recognized that voice as she lifted her shades and saw her daughter standing next to her. "Oh Lexy! How are you? What do you wish to speak with mother about?"

Alexis didn't prefer the nickname but did not voice it out loud. "When Aki gets here with her boyfriend, how will you judge which couple will inherit the resort?"

Leila stared at Alexis for a few seconds before she smirked in a mischievous manner and put her shades back on. "That' a secret~ Secrets are no fun if people know about them beforehand, doncha think?"

"B-But I'd like to-

Leila's voice suddenly went cold as she directed a glare towards her daughter. "Your bothering me Lexy..."

"...Forgive me, I'll leave you to your bathing" Alexis was smart enough to know when not to bother her easily irritated mother and took her leave with a bitter expression. Whatever plans she had to secure her favor with Leila clearly needed to be reworked as the woman saw through it and played her like a fiddle.

As Leila continued to sunbathe and take in the sun's rays, the excitement she felt coming from meeting her daughter again along with her boyfriend was almost too much to contain.

"I really hope she brings a cute boy~ I want my son in law to take care of me, in numerous ways than one~"

Leila's plans for choosing her successor were not voiced, but judging by the sinister smile on her face, it was suffice to say that they wouldn't be positive.

A/N: Alright so we're getting into the Resort Island Arc, which is the arc right before the Final Confrontation between Yamato Takeru and Nagi's group. Just a head's up, all of these characters are OC's and so don't exist in the original Manga so don't bother searching them up.

I'm really excited for this arc as Nagi will potentially gain another Pactio Contractor, the question is who? Leila? Alexis? One of the clones perhaps? You'll find out soon.