Disclaimer:

I have been writing a Natsu/Renka roleplay with a friend of mine since 2013. The following chapters are a depiction of all the tales we've written together over the last 8 years, rewritten to match fanfic form.

As such, only Renka's actions are fully comprised of my own creative choices; Tanimoto's actions belong to my friend, who I shall dub "DT." Kenichi was written by another friend, John, and Miu by the lovely Tay (known as Seiji-and-Shizuku-4ever on this platform). This disclaimer applies for every chapter going forward.

Enjoy our collaborative writing of this weird tsun pairing — a missed opportunity on Syun's part, we believe.

Renka Ma, with a stroke of strange luck and a whole lot of persistence, had managed to transfer to Kōryō High School — to ahem, stake out the situation and make sure no enemies of the Phoenix Alliance lay dormant among school grounds…

… and uh, monitor Kenichi's training, and figure out why her father had abandoned her in China to train the likes of a weakling (with a heart of gold, admittedly).

… a-and it'd be nice to spend lunch everyday with him and join his friend groups and—!

Oh, she's getting carried away with herself, pigtails flickering in delight, hands clasped together with the hopeful joy of a naïve fool. Sooner or later, Kenichi would have to notice her value; she'll just have to outshine that ostentatious, spandex-clad fighter named Miu (whom papa can't keep his eyes off of). The only reason why Kenichi seems to favor the big-chested blonde was because he met her first, that's all. That, and that her mammaries were so… obnoxiously oversized!

But one day, Kenichi will realize that Renka has her own merits too. That's what the cat-like girl told herself at least, giggling to herself.

With oversized bells jingling behind her ears as she traipses across the schoolyard, her eyes darted around in unfamiliarity. Her first day at this new school had just come to a close, and the area was still difficult to navigate for the time being. Where was the bus stop again…?

"So, you're the daughter of Ma Sougetsu's little brother?"

A sultry voice called out from behind, prompting her to turn around.

Blonde, moppy hair… like a K-Pop star.

Piercing blue eyes.

And a dazzling smile, reminiscent of … one of those stupid pretty boys that girls "stan" over, or whatever. Renka never really followed the trend. And yet, those brilliant pearly whites seemed to conceal a dirty secret.

Then again, the Chinese martial artist had a tendency to be suspicious of anyone. Never know who's an assassin!

Wait, what did he ask again? Ma Sougetsu? Why would someone on school grounds be asking about her dishonorable (and supposedly dead) uncle? The bizarre question caused the cat-like girl to squint, thoughts racing through her head.

Did she know this guy from somewhere else?

Come to think of it, he seems familiar. Like she's seen him at the Gekirin restaurant, assailing her Uncle Hakubi with questions. She never quite got a good look, though…

But, back to the matter at hand.

"Yeah, that's me. What's it to you?" Her voice was shrill, snarky, and full of potential malice. If this was some sort of attempt to lure her into another assassination attempt, she was more than ready.

"You wouldn't happen to know of his current whereabouts?"

It seemed that the prince did not fire back, his voice soft-spoken, smile persisting.

"Why do you wanna know?" Renka inquired, arms crossing; it wouldn't take a genius to notice her body language was guarded.

"I have business with him," the blonde vaguely responded, prompting a suspicious eyebrow from the fighter.

She could pry more into those affairs, but in the distance, her bus was approaching, and rushing back to Yokohama Chinatown was a greater priority at the moment. Those idiots from the Three-Headed Dragon team tend to be … buffoons. That, or lazy. Can't do anything without her, she surmised. Can't even feed that new pet of theirs — a myna bird named Pisuke. It'd be a miracle to get back and find the restaurant still standing. Of course, she might be overexaggerating their deficiencies to some degree, but…

… This conversation was already growing tiresome, and Renka began to make a beeline for her approaching bus.

"He died in a fire," she casually stated, bells ringing with every haughty step she took. Of course, she knew Sougetsu had been spotted multiple times since that blazing night, but didn't care to divulge the details. And she didn't look back to assess the boy's reaction to this news.

"Did he? Well, thanks for helping," the prince's polite voice called out from behind her in a cordial, yet disbelieving tone. "It was nice meeting you."

She hopped onto the bus as his voice trailed off.

… Well, that was weird. And that guy was probably not someone she wanted to be involved in if he had business with her dishonorable, detestable uncle. One who killed several and was exiled for it. Who knows what he was even doing with the likes of a teenage boy.

… Could the blondie be his disciple? That's perturbing.

But really, he didn't look half bad. Kinda cute.

The fleeting idea was quickly discarded, and the flow of useless, juvenile thoughts were redirected back to her interactions with Kenichi earlier in the day.