Welcome to chapter 16. We took a little break from all the action but with the tournament drawing ever closer, how will Renka choose to spend her time? Well read on and find out.

Disclaimer: Once again I do not own Senran Kagura or any of their characters. I do however own the plot.

Warning: Strong sexual content and language and mild nudity at the end have been reported when reading this chapter.

Chapter 16 - Matchmaker Renka

I showed off the thunder coming out of my Rei Tei to both Kat and Ikaruga-Sensei the moment I could get both of them in the same room. Ikaruga-Sensei had been assisting us in our training and after my display, she broke into a proud smile, "This is a great improvement, Renka. You're finally learning and using what you've learned. Now the next step is to manifest this into an actual Ninja Art that can be used in battle. You've almost passed my class." The unspoken "finally" hung off her mouth like a bad spit but I didn't care in the slightest!

I nodded, excitement making me bounce on my heels, "So," I clapped my hands together in anticipation, "what's the final step?"

Ikaruga-Sensei put a hand to her chin, "Now you need to push out a massive portion of your energy at once. Enough to make an attack out of it. Right now, all you can even think of doing is straight lightning bolts, which are easily dodgeable with great speed. You need to produce enough power to cause a lot of damage to whatever you're aiming at and make sure you hit."

I thought about it for a second, weighing my Rei Tei sticks in my hands, "That shouldn't be too much trouble. I just need a set of drums to make it possible."

Ikaruga-Sensei's brow furrowed, "A set of drums? Just what are you gonna do?"

I gave my teacher a cheeky smile, "I'm gonna do my Ninja Art!"

After Kat dragged two Taiko drums out, I started storing as much of Ki as I could into my Rei Tei. I stood there, waiting as it felt like energy was building up to the point where I felt like my wrists would explode from the pressure, but that was what I wanted to feel. With a sharp yell, I struck the drums with enough force that would make a normal person pull a muscle. Kat watched as lightning danced, stealing the spotlight over anything else in the room and the look on her face screamed a mixture of pride and envy.

After channeling as much as I could, I dropped to my knees, completely out of breath. Ikaruga-Sensei nodded in thought, "Well done, Renka. On your first try too no less. Spectacular, but, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this attack of yours is useless unless you carry a set of drums around with you at all times. Plus you'll need to set up the drums too, but by the time you do, the enemy could figure out what you are up to and never step in between the drums at all."

I flinched at her words, "W-What!? Am I that predictable?!"

Ikaruga-Sensei shook her head, "Well no, but you need time to set it all up, and unless you ask your enemy to look away in battle, which is impossible by the way, then you cannot even use such an attack in battle."

I looked down to the ground and place my hands on my knees, "Damn it!" My sweat hit the ground next to my hand, "God damn it! Why!? Why am I so useless!?"

Kat put her hand on my shoulder, "No, Renka-Honey. You're not useless. You're a very great Shinobi. Right, Ikaruga-Sensei?"

Our bespectacled teacher nodded, "Well let's not outright lie to her. You're right, she's not useless and has great potential with a lot of work. But a great shinobi? No, far from it, she wouldn't even need our help if that was the case. But that's why I'm here. My job is to make you into a great Shinobi, Renka. I will help you make an attack out of what you have available."

I sighed but looked up at my teacher with optimism, "I-I'll try my hardest, Ikaruga-Sensei."

Our teacher raised an amused brow, "Let's get to work then."

At that point, we started to buckle down on my training both figuratively and literally beat my Ninja Art into perfection. But one day while I was at school on a particularly stressful day after unsuccessfully testing out the drums I saw our guidance counselor out eating lunch by herself, which in itself was an unusual sight. So I went up to her, "Hey Sensei, Are you okay eating out here by yourself?"

Her dark red eyes stare at me blankly for a second, before she offered a smile, "Renka Mikagura, right?"

I nodded gently, "Yes, Rin-Sensei, you remembered."

Rin Mimori is a guidance counselor at New World Academy. She usually has a cold personality and does not believe in the word mercy, which is why they denied her a teacher post here. She's wearing the same female instructor's outfit as Imu-Sensei, except Rin's glasses are red. Rin nodded, "Yeah, how could I forget? You're the talk of the campus right now."

I jumped up in excitement, "Wait really!?" People are actually talking about me? This is amazing! I wonder what they're saying about me!

Rin nodded again big smile on her face and an amused laugh, "Yeah, the other students are calling you the idiot girl who's in way over her head."

My head dropped as the excitement within me was sucked out like a vacuum cleaner, "Oh, is that what they're saying?" I straightened myself up and coughed into my hand awkwardly, "Anyway Rin-Sensei, how come you're sitting here all by yourself? Don't you get lonely?" I know some people thrive being alone, but she never seemed like the wallflower type to me.

Rin sighed, "Of course I do, I'm human too. I'm… kind of lonely right now."

I sat down next to Rin, hands folded politely in my lap, "Well, I can keep you company if you want, Rin-Sensei."

She shook her head with a soft laugh, "As much as I appreciate the gesture, it's not something the company of another female can fix, Renka. I want a man's company, someone I can spend the rest of my life with. That's not exactly something a female, let alone a student, can provide me."

'Rin-Sensei is lonely and wants the company of a man... A man, huh? Hmm… well… wait just a second! Isn't there a male teacher at the school who's single? Man, what was his name? Ki… Kiri- Oh! Kiriya-Sensei! Kiriya Fujiwara! Yeah, he might work! He's young, right?'

I placed my hand on her shoulder and she looked back at me, "What about Kiriya-Sensei, Rin-Sensei?"

Rin blushed almost immediately, "Kiriya!? Well, it's true he hasn't been dating anyone ever since his wife's passing, but do you really think he'd really take someone like me? I was a former student of his myself."

I looked at her in shock, "Wait, he had a wife? And she's dead?" And they're how many years apart in age?!

Rin nodded, "Yes, you see five years back Kiriya was happily married to his wife. Her name was Magnolia Fujiwara, formerly Magnolia Ishimoto. Magnolia was a strong kunoichi in her own right. She wasn't as strong as Mistress Sayuri who holds the Kagura rank, but she was pretty strong. But she was strong enough to be the Grand Councilwoman for New World house at the time, and Saiyuri's granddaughter, Asuka, was her assistant."

All of this was so shocking I listened with bated breath, "Magnolia was a Grand Councilwoman? Wow… their marriage must have been something."

Rin's face pinched up like she was pained by a thought, but nodded, "Yes, they were very happy. I had always watched them from afar, jealous of what they had that I lacked… even to this day, I feel ashamed for feeling that. Kiriya And Magnolia's love seemed like it would last forever... till the incident came. She was…" She took a deep breath, like telling this story physically pained her, "taking a stroll one day when enemy shinobi surrounded her. Oh, she won trust but at the cost of grave injuries and a depleted chakra supply. The only way to save her life was to get chakra from a wind Shinobi… and that's how I got involved…"

"What happened?" I urged her to continue with her story.

"I was the one they sent out to help, but I lived too far away from the hospital. And… by the time I made it, and despite everything the doctors did to keep her heart beating, I was too late."

I covered my mouth, "Oh god…"

Rin continued, "I had arrived at the hospital, screaming Kiriya's name and when I found him, I was in near hysterics, saying I would give her my chakra to help her live. You can imagine my distraught when he told me she didn't make it."

I had to wipe away the tears that threaten to form, "So... what's happened between you two since then?"

Rin blinked a few times, the white of her eyes turning pink with unshed tears "Idle conversation at best. Kiriya changed after Magnolia died. He seemed like he wanted to hurry along any conversation because he didn't want to deal with it."

I shook my head, "Well that's no good. He needs to get back out there, or at least find himself some closure. You know what? I'm going to go talk to him!" I quickly stood up, "Be right back, Rin-Sensei!"

As I ran off I heard Rin shout behind me, "Talk to him!? Mikagura wait! What are you gonna say to him!?"

I soon made my way over to Kiriya-Sensei, who was supervising a bunch of students in a mid-morning exercise, or was it mid-noon now that it was lunchtime? Anyway, I ran over to him as he was shouting commands to them. "Kiriya-Sensei!" He looked to me for like 5 seconds, then continued barking orders to his students. "Um, hello? Kiriya-Sensei? Kiriya-Sensei!"

This time he looked straight at me, "Not now Mikagura!" Then returned to barking orders to his students once more, some of them moving more frantically as Kiriya-Sensei sounded more peeved than normal.

I crossed my arms, "Alright, I guess you don't want to know about that one hot staff member who has a crush on you."

I started to walk off, but then heard him call out to me, "Mikagura, wait!" Did that have to sound like a command too!?

After putting his students on break, he motioned me to follow him. We walked for a moment so we were out of earshot from the other students, but within sight, so it didn't look suspicious, "Alright, I'm all ears now. Now, what did you say before? I want to be sure I heard you correctly and that I didn't hear things wrong."

I put my arms behind my back and glance at him, "Oh, so you were listening? I said that there's a staff member who's got a crush on you, Kiriya-Sensei."

Kiriya crossed his arms in disbelief, "Who?" Getting straight to the point huh?

I smirked, "It's a secret, and you have to come with me to find out."

It was Kiriya's turn to smirk, "And what happens if I refuse?"

I give out a smirk, "Well then you're left wondering what could've been. It doesn't have any negative effects on me in the slightest, only you."

Kiriya thought for a second, "Alright. Take me to her."

I held out my hand, "Great! Now take my hand, Kiriya-Sensei." Kiriya looks to the hand I held out, then to me, "I don't bite you know?"

Kiriya nodded but his eyebrow seemed permanently stuck in an arch, "Ah, of course."

He then took my hand and I lead him across the campus and straight to Rin. She sees us approaching and I could almost see the blood leaving her face, "Mikagura? Kiriya-Sensei?"

I released Kiriya's hand and point to Rin, "Here she is, Kiriya-Sensei."

Rin had a confused look plastered across her face, as Kiriya looks at her for a second, before saying, "Ah, Rin. How have you been?"

Rin returned a tight smile, "I've been good. How have you been Kiriya-Sensei?" Good god, has this been how all their conversations played out?

Kiriya nodded, "I've been fine too." This was going nowhere fast. Where are the cherry blossoms and overly dramatic violin music that plays and builds up to the confession- I need to stop watching dramas.

I quickly tap his shoulder, "Ahem, Kiriya-Sensei, shouldn't you be asking Rin-Sensei something… you know, important?"

Kiriya looks to Rin and then back to me, "Are you sure about this, Mikagura? She's someone I know quite well. Ever since she attended this school, in fact."

I nodded with a big grin on my face, "Oh yeah I'm sure. This chick is hopelessly in love with you, Kiriya-Sensei!" I made sure to show off all of my teeth in that grin to give off the impression of a dramatic teenager.

Rin shot up to her feet, her face as red as an apple, "M-Mikagura! What are you saying all of a sudden!?"

I looked to Rin, "Rin-Sensei, are you saying you're not in love with Kiriya-Sensei? Cause the story you told said differently."

Rin's face looked like a tea kettle that was gonna go off at any second, "W-Well, I-I do! I-I mean... I don't, I mean... I don't know!"

Kiriya ran a hand through his hair, "Oh yeah, it's slipped my mind every time but now that I remember, I wanted to say thank you for… for trying to save Magnolia. And… being there for me in my darkest hour."

Rin had a surprised look on her red face, "I-It's no problem. I-I mean, what kind of student wouldn't help their teacher out in their time of need?"

Kiriya smiled, "Well, thank you all the same, Rin. And you don't have to keep referring to me as your teacher, you're an adult now and we're colleagues."

Rin continued her blushing, "Y-You're welcome, Kiriya-Sensei." She then nodded her head, "That's right, I'm not that silly school girl anymore. I'm a grown woman and I need to act like it!"

Okay, now it's time to add a little bit of Renka magic in this, "Kiriya-Sensei, Come here."

He hesitated for a moment but took several long strides over to me. Once he got close to me I whispered into his ear, "Say, 'will you go out with me to dinner?'"

Kiriya looked to me with a head tilt, "Are you sure?"

I smiled and gave him a thumbs up, "One hundred percent!"

Kiriya nodded, "Hey, Rin."

Rin looked up, "Yes, Kiriya-Sensei?"

Kiriya scratched behind his ear lobe awkwardly, "I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me to dinner… maybe tonight? If that's too soon, I totally get it, I just thought-"

Rin had walked to Kiriya as he stumbled with his words, placing a delicate finger on his lips to silence him, "I'd love to."

'That's my cue to take a hike!' They didn't need me around anymore, besides it would be awkward if I stood there and they start kissing and… ugh, no thank you. My mood has certainly lifted more now that I had helped both Rin and Kiriya. I went home and worked on more training for my match. Weird how this made me have a sudden craving for romance dramas… hmm… maybe Kat would like to watch some.

On the day before the big match, I was walking home with Minori in tow. Minori cleared her throat politely, "So you don't mind if I train with you guys for a bit?"

I smiled, "Of course we don't mind, Minori."

Without warning Shinobi surrounded us and I quickly put Minori behind me, "Minori, stay behind me!"

Minori obeyed and one of the shinobi stared at us with contempt, "Really?! These girls don't feel strong at all! How'd these weaklings get through the preliminaries while shinobi like us lost?! We're so much stronger than them!"

I rolled my shoulders and got into a fighting stance, "You losers better get out of here before I lay you out flat!"

Their leader laughs at me, "Don't try and act tough, bitch!"

I quickly summon my Rei Tei and shot lightning at them, to which the leader barely dodged and looked at me in surprise as I glared straight at him, "Don't you ever call me a bitch! Only my sister can call me a bitch and even then I'll rip her apart five ways till Sunday!" What the hell did I just say?

The leader clenched his first, "A thunder user!"

Minori quickly summoned her bucket, "Renka, I can fight too! I am a shinobi after all!"

I shook my head, "No Minori! Unlike me, you actually have a shot at winning the tournament. So please, let me protect you at least!"

Minori backed down and her bucket vanished, "Okay, Renka."

The leader smirked and laughed a bit, "So you're Renka Mikagura huh? The girl who is in way over her head."

At that point, I remembered that Rin told me the same thing, "It seems you are truly befitting for your title. The idiot girl."

I ran at them trying to attack them, but I heard Minori call out, "Renka!"

I couldn't react in time, one of their teammates punched me in the stomach and my whole world span as vomit spayed out of my mouth mixed with blood. Another shinobi kicked me in the face and sent me flying back. The pain in my face was immense, but it wasn't over. Their leader came straight over and connected a jab straight to my abdomen where it was already tender from the kick. He charged his hand with wind and pulled his hand back, "Claw Punch!"

His punch connected to my stomach and my vision turned white while his attack seemingly tore apart everything, my clothes, my skin, I wouldn't be surprised if he got to the muscle at this rate. More blood flew out of my mouth, it felt like a thousand claws all trying to scratch my guts out. As my blood decorated the ground below me, I heard Minori scream out my name.

When he pulled back, a mess of red began to cascade out of my body, I couldn't tell if it was blood or not. Falling to my knees, I sensed an intense level of kill intent aimed in our direction. More specifically, toward the guy that just caused my guts to spill out. Kat came out of nowhere with the fury of a thousand suns on her face. I couldn't tell much after that as I fully fell to the ground and started to fade in and out of consciousness.

Kat must've won in the end cause the next thing I knew, she was holding me, "Renka-Honey! Please don't die! Ikaruga-Sensei is on her way right now!"

I heard our teacher show up soon after, "I'm here Kobayashi! What has happened!?"

I see Ikaruga look at me and went wide-eyed and turned as pale as a ghost, that look alone told me that my injuries were fatal. She sat down next to me, "Kobayashi, how did this happen?" What was happening really…? I can't… feel… nope! Adrenaline is gone now, too much pain!

For the first time ever, Kat's voice broke, "I don't know!" Tears fell from her eyes, "I heard Minori scream and when I saw the two being attacked, I-I lost all control and killed them all! Breaking all of their necks!"

Minori was already bawling in her own little corner. Ikaruga rubs my head a bit and pushing my hair back, "How do you feel, Mikagura? I need you to talk to me if you can."

I could only make sounds and then I saw Ikaruga shed a tear of her own, "W-Well, all the pain w-will disappear any m-minute, M-Mikagura." I could tell she was trying to hold it together. I knew what that meant. It meant that any minute now, I was gonna die. Even Ikaruga sees that my injuries are too severe.

The next thing I know, I heard Kat cry out, "Please save her! Ikaruga-Sensei, you have to save her for me! Please!" I feel… sleepy. Sleep feels nice right now… "No, no no no, Renka-Honey, you have got to stay awake!"

Ikaruga shed a few more tears as her voice broke when she yelled, "And just what do you think I can possibly do right now!?"

Ikaruga took off her glasses and used her arm to wipe away the tears, "Even I can see all too well where injuries like this lead. I'm only a teacher, even I'm not a miracle worker."

Kat took hold of Ikaruga's hands, "There must be some way we can save her!? You're a smart teacher, after all, Ikaruga-Sensei."

Ikaruga took her hands away, "I'm not that smart! You give me way too much credit! I've seen injuries like this on the battlefield during the last war, no one I know survived it!"

"Clear Chakra. The Elixir of Life."

I heard Yagyu's voice as it was headed in our direction. Ikaruga looked to her disbelievingly, "The Elixir of Life?"

Yagyu nodded, "Only the purest of heart Shinobi can produce a clear color of chakra. Clear chakra is also known as the Elixir of Life. It has the power to bring a shinobi back from the brink of death once. This rare form of chakra can only come around once a century. So if we used clear chakra, we could save her."

Kat stood up, "But where are we gonna find someone who can produce clear chakra in time!?"

Ikaruga eyed Yagyu, "Chakra use is forbidden! How do you have such knowledge, Mizuhashi!?"

Kat knelt back down, "I'm so sorry, Renka-Honey! I should've been here sooner! I could've saved you then!"

Yagyu scoffed, "One of you is a clear producer of clear chakra you know!?" She crossed her arms, "I'm almost jealous if this wasn't such a pressing manner."

Ikaruga looked at Yagyu skeptically, "How do you know this!?"

Yagyu just went straight into the answer, "Cause I personally extracted it myself. Isn't that right, Minori?"

Minori's eyes go wide, "M-Me!? I-I can save Renka!?"

Ikaruga eyed Yagyu however, "It was you wasn't it?! You were the one who taught this group about Chakra didn't you?"

Yagyu smirked but ignored Ikaruga, "You're the once in a century Shinobi, Minori. The chakra you harbor in your breasts is something known as clear chakra. Something only a shinobi of a pure heart can have."

Ikaruga looked to Minori, "Makes a lot of sense that Minori has that actually."

Kat went over to her, "Yes it does. Now don't waste any more time. Give Renka-Honey your chakra. It's the only way she can survive."

Minori backed up a bit, "Wait! I didn't like it the first time when Yagyu did it!"

Kat took a step, "Minori we don't have time to play around anymore! Renka-Honey's life is in danger!"

Kat got behind Minori and lifted up her shirt to reveal the tan bra on she had on underneath, Minori's eyes went wide, "W-Wait Kat! I-I don't think I can do this!"

Kat's voice was frantic, "It doesn't matter if you can do it or not! Her life is on the line! I'll owe you forever if you do this! I don't care about the price, just please save her!"

Kat was even trying to force her closer to me as she kept pulling and pushing Minori closer and closer to me. Minori's face was bright red as she looked at me, "Renka, are you really gonna do this!?"

I just muttered out, "S-Sorry… Mi… no… ri…"

Chapter End

Well another chapter down. Next time, we'll see if Renka survives, and then the day of the Tournament has finally arrived. What will happen then? Can't wait to show you! Next time: Round One Commences! Ayame out!