From atop a building, jacket swaying in the wind, a woman looks down at her upperclassmen, a hat shadowing her face as her eyes land on the man beside the student, the sound of groaning and grunting resounding as all of the shinobi on the ground wear similar, if not identical uniforms.
"So…" She trails off, grunting as she fixes her hat, "He's the one…"
Slowly, she kicks one of the rival students away, holding back so as to not interrupt the two as she piles them up in a corner with a sigh.
"…" She doesn't say anything to voice her suspicion, she only continues to watch as the two head to the old school building with an awkward aura surrounding both, with Ikaruga being a semi-sheltered princess and Caleb being a normal boy, for all intents and purposes.
Yet, something didn't feel...right.
Daidoji couldn't put her finger on it, he didn't act 'perfectly' or 'imperfectly', 'naturally' is the better word for it, but there was something about it…
Maybe it was his actions that seduce her underclassmen or maybe it was his density of the feelings of her underclassmen, but it left her feeling with the undeniable pull in her gut.
Crossing her arms, she harrumphs, resolving to keep an eye on him and prepare for the worst while h oping for the best, as any good Shinobi should.
After all, it's not a rare occurrence for one or two Shinobis in a group to fall in love for one man, there's even the rare occurrence where all of them fall in love, but she still wishes for the happiness of her underclassmen.
She hears a rip ring throughout the alley she's kicking the bodies into as she looks down, her hat shadowing her face to reveal a baleful red light coming from her singular shadowed eye while the visible eye is narrowed in anger. The Hebijo student that ripped her pants, expensive pants, paled as a cold sweat ran down her form and Daidoji rears back her leg.
The last thing the poor Hebijo students hear as her back slams against the wall of the alley is, "Hands off the pants!"
Ikaruga's delusions only continue to further devolve and Caleb's confusion isn't getting any better, not at all. So with a handmark on his face, Caleb proceeds to follow Ikaruga into the Shinobi Room, his eyes looking up, the adrenaline still pumping as he catches sight of a few shadows hopping from the roof to the old building they're entering.
With Caleb's entrance to the old school building, something bugs him at the edge of his sight as reality seems to reflect his eyes before returning, the sound and clamor of students returning to normal. "A barrier, right?" He mutters out loud as his eyes register the shadows as Hanzo students.
"Correct." She confirms with a nod, latching onto the subject so as to calm down and finally lessen the heat on her face. "It's used by high-rank shinobi to hide certain events or combat, like right now."
"What do you mean high rank?" He asks as she places a finger to her chin, "Like in strength or…" He trails off, leaving the sentence open for her to end it.
"Strength." She confirms, looking down at her hands as she curls them into fists. "As students, we don't have access to such abilities yet."
"But you can swing around flames like those?" He asks, amused as she blushed slightly as the duo continue their banter into the old building and into the Shinobi Room.
The two were surprised to see that they were the last ones there, Kiriya was expected as he was taking the role of a silent observer and a teacher rather than an active one, but even Hibari was there before them.
"Welcome back Ika-Caleb! You're- Wait, Ikaruga-!" Asuka started with relief, only to stop as she saw the state Caleb's uniform was in as a consequence of fighting the blonde Shinobi, cuts and dust dotted his uniform as a consequence of his style of fighting and the fight itself. Similarly to Ikaruga.
Ikaruga herself was in a worse state than Caleb, with her clothes no longer hiding her injuries as the two were about to greet them only to be swarmed by the group.
"Are you two okay?" Asuka asked as she alternated between the two of them, inspecting them for bad injuries as Hibari piped up next.
"Did you get hurt?" She asked, practically in tears as she had trouble deciding who to fret over.
Caleb flinches as something hits his head and he turns to see Yagyu narrowing her singular visible eye at him as she asks, "What are you doing outside of the Shinobi Room?"
"Yeah, why is he outside the Shinobi Room?" Katsuragi asked, a bit more pointedly than usual as a loud clap rang out, silencing all of them as Kiriya spoke.
"Enough!" He said sternly, cutting any conversation to nothing as the five return to their seats quickly as Caleb sighs audibly.
"Imma go get something to drink." He mutters under his breath as Kiriya nods.
Soon, he returns, sitting down on his knees behind the Shinobi, all of them kneeling with their heads lowered as Hibari and Asuka try to subtly shift back to try and 'protect' him for some reason.
Kiriya overlooks it as they stop once his eyes land on them. Once they stop and Caleb is seated down, cross-legged, he speaks "Ikaruga."
"Yes." She answers, kneeling in front of him in a mimicry of how a Shinobi is supposed to act with an employer, the government in a Good Shinobi's case as the others follow her example.
Even after sticking with the girls as long a she has, the idea of Rogue, Good, and Evil Shinobis still feels far too childish for his tastes, but it isn't his place to comment. He's curious about this entire event.
"Report."
"Right." Ikaruga nods, keeping her head low, "Then, I'll start."
She began succinctly, explaining the situation and what happened that was composed of:
The plan went off without a hitch, from securing the civilian-
"With ropes, might I add." He grumbles, still a bit bothered by that fact but is summarily ignored.
-to setting up the Shinobi Barrier, if not a facsimile of what it's supposed to be, but the plan was going off without a hitch.
As Ikaruga opted to stay back to protect the school, she did not spot any secondary forces from Hebijo or anyone else. No one else appeared for a while until the blonde, that called herself Yomi, did.
Yomi is a blond with long blonde hair and green eyes, in her Shinobi Transformation she wears a green maid outfit with a low cut and a green beret over her hair. She wields a large great sword and a wrist mounted crossbow that shoots anything from arrows, clams, trash, or vials of random things.
While Ikaruga was presenting her report, Asuka and Hibari sniffed him, the act embarrassing them before they realized what Ikaruga just said as the two were suddenly stuck between the desire to be closer to the boy they have a crush on and said boy not smelling the best.
Katsuragi wasn't any better, actually she was worse as she was close to Ikaruga, who was not only the main target of 'arrows, clams, trash, and vials of random things' but also the one who was fighting the longest, resulting in her best, and oldest, friend smelling like what an oil spill probably smells like in the ocean. Spoiled seafood with gasoline instead of oil.
Shamefully as she was to admit it, Yomi was stronger than she was, while Ikaruga was clearly faster, her hits lacked the strength needed to cut through her Shinobi Transformation and out of the two, she was forced to don her combat transformation first.
Kiriya could see Caleb's confusion, after all, he's only seen them fight in what he assumed was a Shinobi transformation, so he straightens up, "Asuka, explain."
"Right." Asuka says as she turns to Caleb, a worried look in her eye but still fighting on. "Shinobis have two 'transformations', the first one allows for the clothes we're wearing at the time to take the brunt of any attacks that land, while the second phase works as a 'true' transformation. The first one is usually activated at all times." She explains while Caleb nods.
"Got it." Caleb says, before whispering, "Thanks."
Asuka felt happy as she nodded back, "N-No problem." She says before turning to the front to pay attention, ignoring Hibari's pout.
While her skills and strength were increased and allowed for a less skewed fight, she responded by donning her own Shinobi Transformation which simply placed the fight in an unpredictable position. With one hit, the fight was once more in a position where the Evil Shinobi had the upper hand.
Her sword was worn from the hits she was forced to block and it was about to shatter lest she do something about it but couldn't as she was being relentlessly chased down by the Evil Shinobi.
That was, until, Caleb joined.
"Huh!/What!?" Was the general consensus at the addition as Caleb scratches the back of his head under all the attention being directed at him.
"Well…" He trails off under the shocked look of the Shinobi and the far more subdued surprise on Kiriya's face, "I couldn't let a friend just die without doing anything."
"Jeez, she was beating you that badly, huh?" Katsuragi notes as Ikaruga flinches, as if she was pierced by an arrow.
"Shameful it is to admit it, I might have lost had it not been for Caleb." Ikaruga notes as Hibari and Asuka kick up a fuss worrying over Caleb while Kiriya simply let it happen.
"I said I'm fine." He groans as the duo look at him with worry in their eyes as he blinks in realization. "Right, there was something I broke in one of the rooms."
"Don't worry." Kiriya assures him, "Nothing here is expensive enough that it'll need to be paid for.
"So…" he trails off, "That fluffy cloud thing I broke wasn't important?"
There was a pause as Kiriya narrowed her eyes, "Explain it in detail."
"Well, it was round." He explains, making a spherical motion, "And it was fluffy, looked kind of like a cloud or cotton candy but broke like it was glass. There was some ki inside, but I'm not too sure."
"That's it?" Kiriya asks as Caleb nods.
"That's it." He confirms.
Kiriya hums as he holds a hand to his chin, "...Ikaruga, continue." He says as Ikaruga's eyes widen as she bows again.
"Right."
This time, they let her finish her report in its entirety rather than interrupt, even when the more...absurd parts popped up, specifically concerning Caleb and his ability to match a Shinobi in combat and his ability to use maneuvers to heal or empower others.
"I didn't know you could do that." Asuka says, impressed as Hibari nods, more worried than impressed while Kiriya nodded along.
"Using your voice to empower someone...it's a rare ability but not exactly uncommon." Kiriya notes as Caleb has to internally cry since he's only getting more attention the longer he stays with the Hanzo girls, something he does not want any time soon.
Something bubbled up from his chest as he took a deep breath and brought a hand to his mouth, covering a yawn as a burst of exhaustion goes over him. "Sorry," he says, stretching with a groan, "kinda tired."
"You're all dismissed, except for Ikaruga," he stops the third year as he continues, "I just need to confirm a few things."
"Right, let's go!" Katsuragi says, leaping for Caleb before catching a whiff and grimacing, "...After you take a shower."
"Yeah…" Asuka trails off as Caleb grabs his shirt and smells it before grimacing.
While he wasn't hit by a lot of trash, the poor victim of that was Ikaruga, but he was still hit by a few strange vials with gasoline in them.
"I probably should." He says as he stands up and begins to follow Hibari to the showers with Yagyu beside her.
"C'mon, I can wash your back while we're there~." Katsuragi says but Ikaruga felt a pulse of something go through her as her hand twitches for Hien before she clamps down on it and returns to looking at her teacher, now back in the role of teacher rather than an employer.
"Is there something you need, Kiriya-sensei?" Ikaruga asks as Kiriya crosses his arms.
"Is that all?" He asks, already seeing through Ikaruga's attempt to gloss over facts, such as Caleb's capability to fight trained Shinobis, even if they are students, what the Shinobi said, how she acted, such facts can be glossed over when on a job, but in a school setting…
Ikaruga opened her mouth but stopped as she bit her lips, "Not really, she seemed...too organized. Why did she know I was at the school and not where we were supposed to meet, laying down a trap or something?" She wonders out loud as Kiriya sighs. "There's also that she was...interested in Caleb, on a more personal level." She says, ignoring the bubbling outrage at the fact as she tries to keep it subdued.
"Is that so?" Kiriya says, hiding the twitch at his brow before sighing. "As I thought, it seems like we're going to need to perform a deep 'cleaning' in the old school building."
Ikaruga takes a second to translate what he says as she nods, "But wouldn't that just get in the way of our training?" Especially since the only evidence they should have is a vague feeling and a situation that can be chalked up to insufficient preparation their end.
"Not if there's a reason, and Caleb has already given us one." After all, what he just described is a tool used by Shinobi to listen into conversations within a building and not just an area.
"Really!?" Ikaruga asked, suddenly aware of her surroundings, far more than needed, until Kiriya holds up a hand.
"Don't worry, now that it's broken, it shouldn't be listening anymore, but it would be foolish to believe for that to be the only one." Misdirection is a tool famously used by Shinobi, after all. "I'll contact the council, you can tell your underclassmen about it, as for where to meet…"
While Kiriya wondered, Ikaruga had an idea, one that coincides with a certain young man that's recently been in her thoughts far often than not lately. "Kiriya-sensei," she starts, catching the attention of her teacher, "I have an idea where, but we'll need to get Caleb's help for it."
"Wait." Kiriya stops her as the barest hints of a grimace appear on his face, "Before you ask him, you might need to freshen up." He suggests to her confusion as she tilts her head in confusion before realizing what he meant as her face exploded and Kiriya swore he could see steam rise from her head.
After all, she was hit by quite a bit of trash among other strange-smelling things.
Recently showered and in new clothes, nothing stops Katsuragi and Asuka from grabbing his arm, leaving Hibari to pout in jealousy to the side as Caleb awkwardly tries to wrench his arms out of their grip. "So, Caleb, how did you hold off the Shinobi?" Asuka asks, her arms alight with curiosity as Katsuragi leans in to hear better along with Hibari.
"Well," he trails off, giving each of them a pointed glare, "I couldn't see much since I was, I dunno, a bit tied up." He notes pointedly, causing the girls to shrink in a bit of shame, with the exception of Yagyu, who proudly puffed out her chest causing Caleb's brow to twitch.
"Sorry." Hibari groans like a chastised child as the others repeat it with the exception of Yagyu, who simply continued to walk and glare at anyone who thinks of looking at Hibari strangely for any reason.
"Well, anyway, I was out of it since I was tied up and I only caught some of it since you left some food, thanks for that." He adds with a nod as Asuka feels happiness course though her as she smiles back.
"No problem, I…" She trails off in embarrassment before continuing despite it, "I can make you some food whenever you-."
"Ah, you were the one who drank my soda, no you did it twice!" She notes, jumping back and pointing an accusing finger at him as he sends her a flat stare.
"You mean the coke in the fridge?" He asks in confusion as Hibari quickly took advantage of Katsuragi's movement to hug his arm with a satisfied giggle.
"Yeah! I was looking forward to drinking some later!" She says as Caleb looks at her with a bit of confusion.
"Well why didn't you say anything, or even leave a note with your name on it?" He pointed out as Katsuragi glares at him.
"Still." She says as Caleb looks at her in disbelief when she didn't say anything else.
"'Still' isn't an answer." He points out as Katsuragi closes her eyes and puffs her cheeks out in a pout as she whirls away. "Besides, I can just buy you some later."
"Then we're cool." She says, going around Caleb and onto his back as she jumps onto it, pressing her chest against his back with a seductive smile. "Then, can we hear some more about this 'Yomi'."
Ignoring the pleasant feeling on his back and the hums coming from both Asuka and Hibari with a bit of jealousy and the jealous looks from the people around him, Caleb began to recount the fight from his perspective against Yomi with Ikaruga.
At the end, they could only come with a few conclusions. "Strong…" Asuka notes, tightening her grip around his arm as her mind goes to Homura.
"Scary." Hibari says, shivering at the thought of the feeling Haruka gave her.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you, Hibari." Yagyu says, resting a hand on Hibari's shoulder as the pink-haired girl's eyes glow.
"Yagyu-chan…" Hibari says as Katsuragi hums from her position as something resembling Caleb's backpack.
"Still," she notes before a perverse grin overcomes her expression, "doesn't it seem like she was flirting with you~?"
"What?" Caleb says in disbelief, shifting so he can look Katsuragi in the eyes, missing Asuka and Hibari's expression changing from worry to jealousy, an aura coming from both of them as Yagyu sighs in exasperation. "What is you talking about?" He asks, a slight accent slipping out as Katsuragi giggles.
"I mean come on, she called what she was doing as 'tough love', that's flirting if I've ever seen it." She points out as she shifts slightly, rubbing her chest against his back as he tries to hide how he felt from her subtle movements.
Coughing into a fist, he ignores the pointed look from each of the girls as he manages to get Katsuragi off of him via a particularly sharp jostle as she falls down with a yelp. "Anyway, it wasn't flirting, at least, I don't think so."
"Hmmm?" Yagyu hums, looking at him in her default state when it comes to Caleb: suspicion.
"That so?" Hibari starts innocently, but not truly innocent as the closest comparison he has is...well nothing comes close but his instincts are telling him that she doesn't believe him.
Asuka didn't say anything, her instincts as a woman and the granddaughter of her grandfather telling her that he didn't believe it either.
Finally, he spotted, a vending machine, "So, want something to drink, my treat." he offers as the others sigh at the weak attempt at escaping.
Still, they allowed it as they all got something to drink as they talked about more idle subjects concerning the mundane rather than whatever chaos was happening as a Silverbrow and a group of Shinobi. Homework, actual homework and not whatever Kiriya assigned them to do, training, normal training, not whatever Caleb does for the girls when they ask him, and finally, living situations as they come across Caleb's apartments where he's the only tenant.
"Well, guess I'm home." He says as he walks towards the stairs leading to the second floor. Once he's at the top, he waves at the girls with a slight smile. "Guess I'll see you girls tomorrow."
Yagyu huffed but still nodded, now accustomed to the banter the two get up to given the chance while Katsuragi, Asuka, and Hibari, far more obviously, wave at him with excitement as they make their way back to their own homes, excited to see the boy they're crushing on tomorrow once more.
Meanwhile, Caleb sits on the floor of his room, one leg extended as he falls onto his back and releases a steady breath, reaching up a hand and grasping it into a fist. "...Need to get back to training."
He was caught off-guard far too much to leave him comfortable, sure, for the Shinobi girls he was probably just an above-average civilian with an unlucky streak, but…
What little remains of his pride no longer allows him to underestimate Shinobi. Besides, it's starting to get annoying holding back so much, while he isn't a force of nature, he is still strong.
Grabbing his phone he places an alarm for the morning as he places it to the side as he sets himself on the couch of the small living room closing his eyes so he can go to sleep.
"Yomi."
From within a dark room, a group of five girls are kneeled, with one woman waiting for the report of the fifth in line, a familiar blonde with green eyes whilst wearing a green maid outfit as she seems to sway, an aura of flowers around her. The rest of her team looked at her in worry and began to look around, especially since that reaction is usually reserved for two things.
Bean sprouts and the young man she recently found an interest in beyond professional.
Considering there isn't a crate of bean sprouts within the general vicinity, it had to be the latter, which left many of them curious.
"Yomi!" Their teacher ordered louder and sternly as Yomi was shaken from her delusions as she adds with a bit of exasperation, "Report, if you would."
"Ah, forgive me." She says before coughing into her fist as she gives her own report. "I waited at the decided time and place, but the Princess," she hisses out with a slight hint of vitriol, "never showed up, so I went to fight her, where I was winning handily, until the cu-I mean target showed up."
They knew who it was as they listened to her recounting the fight until it got to a certain point.
"Wha-!" The short black-haired girl in a gothic lolita dress starts as she points at her, "He cut, not break, but he cut through Beowulf!? How the hell did that happen!? It's gotta be a lie."
"The boy's strong, but he isn't that strong." Homura points out as Haruka giggles.
"How interesting~." Haruka says while Yomi pouts.
"It's the truth." She says with a pout. "The nerve on all of you, look at what happened to Beowulf!"
Bringing out a sword, instead of the large and clunky sword, practically a slab of sharpened metal was now cut in half to the shock of nearly everyone, minus their teacher, who was simply surprised at the final product.
"Once this is over, go fix your weapon." Rin orders as the Hebijo ninjas turn to her, "Let this be a lesson for all of you, never underestimate your opponents, who knows what they have hidden under their sleeves."
"Right!" They all nod as one as they all have different thoughts. Yomi was hoping she could see him again, while Haruka and Mirai were a bit apprehensive of meeting the person who could do that.
Homura could barely hide her bloodlust at the thought of a worthy opponent.
Meanwhile, Rin couldn't help but wonder what a civilian like Caleb was doing with Hanzo, it definitely isn't simply for protection, after all, if he could break Yomi's sword he definitely doesn't need to hide as much as a normal civilian should.
So why?
Shaking her head, she resolves to think about it later as she dismisses class, leaving her in an empty room with paperwork to accomplish.
