Chapter 12: The Typical Daily Grind… With A Twist (Part FINAL)
"Not so fast!" Asuka cuts off Hikage's path.
"Don't think so," Hikage easily darts around her to get to me. I just barely manage to block her knife with one of my swords. "Not bad. Let's see how long you can hold your guard." God, she's so fucking cool! Leagues faster than me too! Wait, why did my HUD pop up?! Looking at my health bar, there's a couple icons beneath it. Attack down? Defense down? Blue balls?! SIMP?! I seriously got debuffed?! Is it because of Hikage and Miyabi being here? If that's the case, why didn't any of this pop up for Daidouji during training? The first three debuffs I can understand given the situation but why simp? Staring at the simp icon harder, a description box pops up.
"Lust meter is maxed out and damage received drastically increases within the vicinity of certain characters; Effect may change in different contexts," it reads. That's definitely not good. As I feel my guard weakening, I dash backwards away from the bind for breathing room and pull my other sword out.
"Asuka, stay back. I got this under control," I feign confidence in my voice.
"If you say so then I'll trust you. Just don't push yourself," Asuka sheathes her swords.
"Excellent. Exactly how I want this to be," Hikage slowly licks her knife. I wish I was that knife. The debuff is starting to take effect I see since I couldn't bury that thought. Not to mention the unfortunate erection growing in my pants just from seeing her do that. As if this whole thing couldn't get any harder.
"You get three minutes unless you defeat him before that since you're on our time. No killing," Miyabi instructs.
"Killing him is far from what I want to do so that works out," Hikage agrees.
"We're actually entertaining her?" Imu inquires.
"It's a much less messy solution than if we didn't," Miyabi answers.
"You make a fair point," Imu sighs.
"Get ready, Atsuki. Show me what that speed of yours can do!" Hikage exclaims. I know she's got speed advantage and she's much stronger too so I'll have to try and predict her moves to minimize damage. I want her to hurt me though! …I hate this debuff. In the blink of an eye, she disappears. Uhh… Behind me! I shield my back with my swords, feeling and hearing the loud clanging of metal against them. "Impressive! Did you actually know where I was aiming?" She inquires.
"Tch! Like I'll tell you!" I swiftly twist my body around with a kick only for her to stop it by grabbing my ankle. Shit!
"Forgot I had a free hand?" She asks, lifting me off the ground by said ankle and slamming me down on my side. Wincing, I try to get up quickly but she drops her knee deep into my stomach.
"G-Gah!" I violently cough up blood on the ground and lay out flat, dropping my swords. Fuck! That seriously hurt! It also felt really good! That attack alone decreased my health by twenty five percent! Must've counted as a critical hit. Three more like that or worse and I'm done! I know I won't be killed… at least on purpose but I don't wanna straight up lose this! I need to stall the time out even as my body struggles against me!
"Atsuki!" Asuka calls out.
"Done already? That's lame," Hikage removes her knee from my gut and starts walking back over to Miyabi and Imu.
"Where… do you… think you're going?" I grunt as I fight the lingering pain to return to my feet with my swords in hand. Blood oozes down the corners of my mouth.
"Atsuki, no! Just stay down!" Asuka advises.
"S-Sorry, Asuka. I can't do that!" I shake my head, getting back into my stance.
"Oh, not done yet?" Hikage curiously looks over her shoulder at me.
"You wish!" I respond, dashing at her and attacking with an overhead slash.
"Not in the slightest!" She whips herself around, defending against it with her knife. Pulling out a smaller knife with her free hand, she thrusts it towards my chest. Dodging to the side, we continue to bat our blades together as I circle around her. Summoning two of my clones to do the same, I leap back while they keep her busy. "Seems I was too quick to judge. Hanzō actually taught you something." She effortlessly deflects the attacks of my clones, still making progress towards my real self. That bought me a little time but what do I do now? C'mon think! …I got it! Conjuring up a third clone beside me, I have it grab me and spin me around before launching me as well as its own pair of swords at her like a speeding bullet. "This isn't gonna work," she dispatches the two clones with both of them shrouding her vision in a thick smoke. "And neither will this."
"That's where you're wrong!" A serious smile stretches across my face as I enter the smoke with my third clone sprinting in.
"Got you!" She exclaims as she sees me coming at her. Getting ready to slice me up as I get closer, my third clone appears behind her, going for a backstab with a kunai. Catching my clone's attempt, her knife suddenly extends into a whip and she lashes him into nothing. "Is that all?" She taunts, turning back around to see the clone's swords coming at her. Acting fast, she bats both of them away, keeping her distracted long enough to not react to my incoming kick.
"Take this!" I yell, my diving kick connecting directly on her face and following that up with another kick. It knocks her off of her feet and out of the smoke. I can't believe I actually landed that! As my feet touch the ground, the smoke fades away.
"Huh, he actually got two hits in," Imu comments, noticing Hikage is down.
"Not bad but I think she's gonna go harder now," Miyabi says.
"How was that, Hikage?" I ask as she gets back up. Looking at her stats, she lost only around five percent of her health. I knew it wasn't gonna do much but that's even less than I thought it'd be!
"Pretty good for a newbie. Katsuragi taught you how to kick, didn't she?" Hikage inquires.
"Yeah, she did," I answer, placing a kunai in my mouth to hold it with my teeth. I'm gonna need it so I can still deflect an attack even when she keeps my swords busy.
"I knew I was right to choose you. You're giving me sparks of that same feeling she gave me. How much time do I have left, Miyabi?" She asks.
"Thirty seconds," Miyabi informs.
"Then I'll end this. Do me a favor and survive my final attack, Atsuki," Hikage says. "Secret Ninja Art," she licks her knife and swiftly equips a bunch of small knives between her fingers as well as one in her mouth. I-I know this attack! It's…
"Shanking," she says, suddenly dashing in a zigzag towards me. Here she comes! As she unleashes a barrage of purple slashes, I parry them with my swords and kunai, each hit pushing me backwards as she continues to propel herself forward. I… I can't keep this up! Trying to counterattack in the small window between her rapid attacks, she moves even faster to prevent that and shatters my swords with ease in the process. Time seems to slow down as my eyes widen in shock. Her apathetic eyes beam into my soul through the shards of my swords flying through the air. I can't let it end like this! As time starts to return to normal, I drop the sword hilts and focus on using the kunai in my mouth, swinging my head to attack. One last stand is all I've got left! Attempting to rival her speed, I ward off her many frantic slashes with my measly kunai for only a few seconds before it's smacked out of my mouth by the knife held by her lips. Like an instinct, I reach down to my kunai holster only to grab at nothing. Shit! That's right! I only brought one with me. Gritting my teeth, I accept what's about to happen.
"Hraagh!" I exclaim painfully as Hikage's flurry of knives inundate my body with hundreds of slices. They're shallow but it still hurts like a bitch! It really fucking excites me though! Going for a final strike, she thrusts a knife directly at my face. That's actual death if I don't move! With my waning strength, I dodge my head to the right, wincing as the knife grazes across my left cheek. That was seriously close! A millisecond late and it would've been game over! With both of us at a stand still, I'm panting as hard as I can be with my heart beating rapidly in my ears. Blood flows down from my cut cheek as well as dripping from the countless cuts on my body and landing on the grass. Her knives even sliced up my clothes here and there but nothing embarrassing.
"Time's up!" Miyabi announces. Barely made it! I survived with only fifteen percent of my health left to my name!
"You… seriously tried to kill me right there?!" I question with disbelief in my tone.
"I would've stopped before stabbing you in the face if you didn't dodge it," Hikage answers, putting away her knives except for the one that nicked my cheek. Considering what she said earlier, it sure as hell didn't look that way to me. "You performed so much better than I figured you would in a first fight against me."
"T-Thanks?" I say.
"Everyone shut your eyes for a second or I'll close them for you," Hikage warns. Not even bothering to argue, they do as she says. "Atsuki," she mutters, stepping closer to me. Getting a bad feeling, I slowly step backwards as she keeps approaching me. My back abruptly bumps into a tree with the few steps I took. I gulp nervously. She slams her left hand against the tree. "You were unfocused during that, weren't you?" She speaks quietly.
"Y-Yeah," I nervously nod.
"I can tell that thing down there is the cause," she points to my crotch.
"Y-You noticed it?!" I blush and cover it up with a hand.
"Of course I did. I know about those tainted thoughts in your head too," her face gets closer.
"I-I don't know what you're talking abou—,"
"You wished you were one of my knives so I could lick you," she raises the knife up in front of my face and sticks her tongue out. "Just… like… this," she slowly drags her tongue across the metal, licking my blood off of it. My erection gets all the harder, desperately trying to break free from my pants. An amorous gasp slips from my mouth as my lips quiver. She can seriously read my thoughts?! This simp debuff is bullshit! "You need to work on your lying," she puts the knife away and grabs my chin. "Maybe if I grant your wish, you'll focus better."
"A-Ah! H-Hikage!" I stammer quietly as she casually licks away the blood on my cheek. What the hell?! She's actually doing it?! Not that I mind!
"Hush," she covers up my mouth with her palm and presses her breasts against my chest. Moving my hand out of the way, she brushes her thigh up against my dick. Is she… trying to get me off? N-Not… here. I weakly grab her bare waist and make a poor attempt to push her away.
"H-Hikage! S-Stop!" I moan into her palm while my body shakes from pleasure. That only encourages her to speed up. Thanks to this stupid effect, I'm already gonna burst! "Aaahn!" I climax, shooting my load in my pants, soiling my underwear with hot semen. Uncovering my mouth and stopping her cheek licking, she reaches into her back pocket.
"That should help you out. When we fight for real the next time, I'm gonna make you mine," she pulls out a pet collar with a color scheme similar to her signature shirt. I can't help but bite my bottom lip. Don't make me wait! Make me your fucking pet now! The Ryōna is really coming out in full force! Please leave before one of these lewd thoughts gets blurted out!
"W-What are you… gonna do to me after that?" I breathe heavily.
"I'll force you to train with me at Hebijo so I can make sure you reach your full potential. Maybe give out some special treats here and there," she responds, stepping back from me.
"Sorry, but I'm not giving up my rogue status anytime soon," I let out a wincing chuckle as my brain starts to remember the pain I'm still in.
"Prove it by beating me next time then," she says.
"Sure thing," I smirk.
"Can we open our eyes yet?" Imu asks.
"Need I remind you we have to report back soon?" Miyabi adds.
"She might be stalling for something," Asuka takes a guess.
"Yeah yeah. You can open them. I'm done here," Hikage sighs. The three immediately gasp upon seeing Hikage.
"Why are you suddenly covered in blood?! Is it yours or his?" Imu inquires, shocked. Oh yeah. I completely forgot about the blood oozing from my other wounds. Now that I look at her, seeing spots of my blood all over her sexy figure is a much bigger turn on than I expected.
"His blood but don't worry about it. Let's go," Hikage says casually and walks away.
"Since when were you the one leading this mission?" Imu walks over to me. "Sorry about Hikage's behavior, Atsuki and Asuka! Miyabi and I weren't trying to start anything. More curious than anything else," she apologizes, bowing.
"Hikage's gonna Hikage. It can't be helped. I'm just glad Atsuki is safe," Asuka sighs.
"It's fine, Imu. Don't sweat it," I assure her. Fighting Hikage was gonna happen eventually but I didn't think I would get seeked out like this. Hopefully the rest of Hebijo and Gessen don't pull stunts to this degree or worse.
"All things considered, I didn't think you would be able to hold your own against her even though you still lost. I have to say it was pretty cool to watch how you fight," Miyabi compliments. I can't believe she said I was cool! "Maybe in the future, you and I could go a round or two." "Sounds like fun," I grin. I'm satisfied with how this went down despite being caught off guard.
"By the way, you realize your injuries are still bleeding, right?" Miyabi points out.
"Yeah, do you need some help?" Imu offers.
"Nah, I'll be just fine," I decline, shaking my head.
"If you say so. Until our paths cross again," Miyabi nods. "Let's get a move on, Imu."
"Right! Hikage will catch a scolding when we get back," Imu says as they take off in the direction Hikage went.
"Don't waste your breath. You know that's going in one ear and out the other with her," Miyabi advises.
"Ugh! I hate that I know you're right," Imu sighs. As soon as they're gone, my debuffs disappear. About time.
"Alright, go ahead and turn in your mission to Kiriya. I'm going home so Katsuragi can help me get fixed up," I begin limping my way to my house.
"Are you sure about that?" Asuka asks, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm totally oka—Blaargh!" I suddenly vomit on the ground and my balance becomes wonky. Oh… yeah. Nauseous at the sight of my own blood and at low health still slowly losing blood. I stumble and drop like a rock. I guess the simp debuff was blocking out how busted my body and senses really are with the maxed out lust. Damn it!
"Atsuki!" She rushes over and helps me back up.
"Changed my mind. Please help me get home," I sheepishly laugh through the agony as I feel myself about to faint.
"Always trying to do more than what you're capable of. What are we gonna do with you?" Asuka shakes her head as she assists me with walking, putting my arm over her shoulder. I close my eyes and wear a big smile, just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.