Chapter five, there ain't much to say, and ya'll know the drill. Wait till the end of the chapter to see my response to reviews/comments.
[-Chapter 5: Of Combat and Regret-]
"I remember when everything was simple. I remember when my life wasn't a complete mess. When I had everything under control. Sometimes, I yearn for that simple life. Now, I have power that I shouldn't have. I sit on a throne built off the backs of others. Their blood. Their sweat. Their tears. Sure, I've lost a lot, but does that excuse my actions? I've been in this world for well over a decade, and now I can finally see the master plan at work. But at what cost? They haven't been born yet, so what am I to do? What is a King of Lies meant to do?" – Journal Entry belonging to a King of a Desert Kingdom.
[Opening Song: Dance In The Game – By ZAQ]
Jolyne stared at her desk, a frown on her face as she scribbled down words on a piece of paper. Something to the effect of "I will not cause trouble in class again" or whatever. Honestly, she wasn't putting too much thought into it. The only thing she was thinking about was the fact that she was finally free from all of those stupid "Overfed" debuffs.
It had been four hours since everyone else had left, meanwhile, she and Kuzuryu were still stuck in the classroom doing small tasks for the teacher. School went out for the day at 3:30 p.m., so right now it was 7:30. Normally, Jolyne would've complained, but she got herself into this mess, so the only person she could be mad at was herself.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. Part of the blame went to Kuzuryu for trying to trip her, but she digressed. Besides, she knew something like this was going to happen regardless of what she did. Jolyne knew herself well enough at this point to know that she would get into some kind of trouble. She just hoped it wouldn't happen again.
As for what they had done prior to this whole "writing down on a piece of paper" bit; She and Kuzuryu both had to scrub every inch of the classroom down and pick wads of chewing gum off from underneath desks and chairs. Then, they had to dust clean the chalkboard and wipe down the windows.
What they were doing now was the last thing on their little to-do list before they were allowed to go home for the evening. Japanese detentions were far more different than what she had been expecting. Most detentions in Canada were just sitting in the principal's office being talked at by the principal and being made to do a piece of paper saying that you were in the wrong.
At least, according to "her" memories, anyway.
Although, while she and Kuzuryu had been doing all of what was previously mentioned, the entire time she could feel that bastard—Takemura-sensei—staring at her, and not innocently either.
Jolyne knew exactly why he had been staring at her, and it made her sick to her stomach. It was no secret that Takemura-sensei was a leering, perverted, disgusting man. Many people had reported him to the principal—not Jin, but the principal of The Reserve Course—and nothing was done about it.
Hell, Jolyne had been one of those people, and she made sure the principal of the Reserve Course knew exactly what she thought about it. Yet, nothing came of her complaints. Not even a board meeting. Takemura-sensei was still here and was still teaching her class. Still leering at her with that perverted gaze of his. Still staring at her breasts whenever he had the chance. Still brushing his hand against her thighs whenever he walked past her between desks.
It was starting to get to the point where she had half the mind to play to his fantasy, up until she got him into a room alone before stabbing him through the neck with her sword. The bastard deserved it and more.
A part of her hoped she was the only one that had been victimized by him. But, another part of her reasonably convinced herself to accept the fact that she probably wasn't. Which, if that was the case, then he definitely needed something to have happened to him.
Her only question was why her? What exactly was it that made her so appealing?
Don't get her wrong, she wasn't stupid enough to not recognize the fact that she, unlike most of the other female students in her class, had far more "appealing assets" than most other girls. Most of the other girls in class either had nothing at all or not enough there. It made it obvious that they were children.
Jolyne, on the other hand? She looked more in line with what someone who was in college appeared to be. She had a more defined chest and hips, and she was heavier than the other girls, who at the weigh-in at the gym for sports activities were ten pounds underweight. Naturally, that meant she had bigger thighs than other girls due to weight distribution.
All of this was to say that, objectively speaking, she was conventionally attractive. At least, to Western standards. Jolyne didn't know a single thing about Japanese beauty standards, but if it meant having to starve yourself to look thinner, then they could go fuck themselves. She liked her body the way that it was, and it wasn't going to change for someone else's tastes in women. Cultural or otherwise.
All of that aside, that was one of the reasons why she was predated on by that slimy fuck. As for the other reason, though? Well, there was the fact that she was a nobody with a "bad memory" and was, even though she hated the term when describing herself, sexy. Personally, she preferred not being called that.
Jolyne was herself. She was not a label or a term. She was Jolyne Brooks, and that was that. Tangent aside, Takemura-sensei wasn't the only person that she had seen eying her up like a piece of candy. Other boys and some girls in the class as well as outside of her class had been looking her up and down recently. It wasn't just limited to today, either.
If it was just today, then she'd get it. Her body had been giving off more pheromones, and as Mono had put it to "attract mates" or something stupid like that.
Ghostly magical AI being logical and awkward aside, it was really, really uncomfortable.
If she hadn't been wearing shorts underneath her skirt,there would've more than likely been a bunch of times when people would've looked up her skirt and saw something they really shouldn't have.
She was thankful that she had made the decision to do that. It saved her the embarrassment of knowing that people were more than likely staring at her for less than appropriate-reasons. Having shorts on saved her dignity more times than not.
Because of that, she was thinking of wearing shorts under her skirt more often. Frankly, no one needed to see her junk, even if it was covered by something, which wasn't much given the fact that you know, it was only a thin piece of fabric attached to something that wrapped around her waist. The only time anyone was allowed to see her privates in any capacity was if she allowed it.
But, she digressed.
Actually, she had one more complaint, and it was quite a reasonable one. At least, in her opinion, anyway. One of the things that she really, truly, honestly, completely, and utterly disliked about the Japanese school system was the school uniform. At least, the one at Hopes Peak, anyway. She didn't know if it was the same across the other schools in the country, but for her, this was a major pet peeve of hers.
To put it bluntly, she felt exposed whenever she bent over to grab something or do anything in the regard of bending over. Which, now that she thought about it, was expressly only saved for her to pick up something off the floor. Regardless, she never really thought about it because there was no real reason for her to.
But in the state that she had been in, it had become more obvious that whoever came up with the idea that the skirts for these uniforms weren't to go all that far past the thighs was either a pedophile or watched far too many pornographic movies to think beyond what made their dick hard.
The reason she believed that was because she had become acutely aware of just how many people were staring at her with lust in their eyes. Specifically staring at her skirt and trying to peek under it. Some were able to when she had bent over. After all, she had dropped stuff, which forced her to bend over, giving those freaks a chance to look, only to be disappointed because she had shorts on.
For as much as she ragged on the "Overfed" thing, there was only one benefit with it. Because she was constantly in a state of being horny and because she was giving off an immense amount of pheromones, and because her body was "on the lookout" so to speak, she was able to sense the pheromones of other individuals.
But not just that. If that was all, then it would just be another stupid thing that she wouldn't really care all too much about. Instead, she was able to detect who the pheromones came from, and how much they were giving off in response to what her body was giving off.
In the wild, some mammals were able to smell the pheromones of other animals of who were ready to mate. Whoever was giving off the most, won, and that was exactly what was going on here. Except, in this case, no one won anything, because she wasn't an animal nor was she looking to get down and dirty with anyone.
Well, that was a lie. While she wasn't actively trying to, she did want to see what was going on in Hajime's court, but she wasn't going to force him into any situations that he didn't want to be in. Besides, it felt wrong, especially after she had replaced the original person whom Hajime had been close with.
That aside, obviously, this wasn't a normal thing. She chalked it up to her being a pseudo-vampire which gave her the ability to do this. Still, it was convenient, and as it turned out, really useful. Why? Well, the answer to that was simple.
Because of that, she now had a hit list of certain individuals that she would have to track down in her free time. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how one was to look at it, all of those individuals who were on that hit list just so happened to be members of staff at the Reserve Course.
Those individuals were Takemura-sensei, Watanabe-sensei—a balding fat man who taught gym class—and Suzuki-sensei—a sickly-looking man who had a bald spot on the back of his head who taught music class.
All she had to do now was figure out where they lived, and once she got them alone, she'd make sure to get rid of them.
Permanently.
That aside, there were your usual suspects. Teenage boys and some girls, but that was basically it. Notably, Hajime was one of them, but he was innocent about it. He tried not to stare at her, but she figured that he would. Even back on the roof, when they held hands, his face had gone slightly red, indicating that he found the act to be, at least somewhat, romantic.
That was still funny. No matter how hard she tried to not find it funny, it really was. The idea that hand-holding was some kind of lewd, private act that should've only been done in the privacy of one's home was stupidly hilarious to her.
Although, with that being said, while she knew that there was something between them in the past, this more than double-downed on that notion. Though, by "them" she meant who she had replaced, but that was neither here nor there.
A part of her wondered just how far "they" had gotten into their relationship. Clearly, they were more than just friends. She knew that, and Hajime knew that. But now, he was acting as if that wasn't the case. Maybe he was just nervous to try and restart whatever they had before. It made sense. After all, Jolyne wasn't the same person as who she "was" before all of this.
She would say that Hajime might not have feelings for her, but it was evident that he did. She also had feelings for him, so it was mutual. She just didn't know how to approach the subject. Not without coming off as insensitive or being rude or not without jumping the gun.
Once again, she was getting sidetracked. She pushed those thoughts aside and focused back on what she was going on about earlier. Back to the whole "Takemura-sensei being a perverted individual to potential pedophile" thing.
To put it simply, and to wrap up her series of thoughts regarding it, it was gross. But, Takemura and all of those who she now knew the names of were going to get a rude awakening. When Jolyne didn't know. But it would be sometime soon.
That aside, her point in all of this was that it had become glaringly obvious that there was something happening. Why were so many people staring at her the way that they did? Was she actually that attractive to earn the attention of so many people, even if it was only in passing, or was there something else at play?
For her self-esteem, she wanted to assume that it was the latter, but she wasn't oblivious. She wasn't stupid to believe that it was all because she was just that attractive by default. Don't get her wrong, she knew she was, at least to some degree, attractive but not so much so that she would get everyone's attention like she had been recently.
After all, she was gifted with supernatural abilities through a glorified soul ai that was given to her by a Norse God. Two plus two was four, so logic dictated that this was Loki's doing.
"That fucking prick…" Jolyne thought, annoyance clear in her eyes. She looked over her shoulder to her right and saw Takemura sitting at his desk, his legs kicked up atop it reading a newspaper. He was trying to be slick, but she could see his eyes glancing at her. There was even a thin line of drool going down the side of his mouth…
"Ugh, fucking creep! Mono, can I please stab him? Just once?"
[I would advise against that, Jolyne. It would not benefit you in any way. There are cameras, and if those cameras recorded you, you would be sent to prison. Which, while it would not be hard to break out of, would make your life more difficult than it truly needs to be]
"Fuck…" Jolyne bemoaned mentally as she finished the last line on her paper. Putting her pencil down, she stood up from her desk and walked over to Takemura-sensei, placing the paper down as Takemura removed his feet, and looked over her paper. Jolyne stared at him, her expression neutral.
He was so close. All she'd have to do is just summon her sword and stab it into his neck. The bastard had it coming. All it would take is someone in this class being desperate for a grade boost and she knew he'd be all over that. Especially if they were of the opposite sex.
"Y'know, Brooks-san," Takemura-sensei began, looking up at her, his expression unreadable. "You've been falling behind in your test scores. I'm always available if you need any help. I'm not above private tutoring. Besides, you'd probably benefit from it."
"Thanks, but no thanks, Takemura-sensei," Jolyne replied curtly as she glanced at the paper. "Am I free to leave?"
"Not yet. I want to talk to you in private. It is about your grades, and I—"
"Takemura-sensei, please, I want to go home. It's late, and I have to study. I'm sure that will boost my grades significantly, if that's what's bothering you," Jolyne interrupted as he frowned, waving her off dismissively, and dropping the conversation. At the same time, Kuzuryu dropped her paper on his desk, frowning at him, before turning around and leaving.
"H-hey! Wait—"
Without so much as another word spoken, Kuzuryu ignored him and kept walking. Jolyne shrugged, following after her as Takemura scowled. Not that Jolyne gave a rat's ass what that man thought or was going to say. Aside from what he taught, he was useless, and it would forever remain that way until he became her personal sword-sharpening stick.
[Do not forget, Jolyne. Your quest from before has made mention that you will more than likely have to fight Natsumi Kuzuryu. Be prepared to defend yourself.]
Right, she had forgotten about that. As she followed Kuzuryu out of the classroom and into the hallway, Jolyne made sure to stop by her locker as Kuzuryu kept moving. If she left the building, there was a chance that she wouldn't catch up to her. But, then again, Kuzuryu seemed pretty deadset on "making her pay" or something stupid.
That was something she didn't understand. Make her pay for what? Her toe seemed to be fine now. She was walking perfectly normally, so it wasn't as if her toe was broken. If anything, she probably popped it out of its socket. Considering Kuzuryu was walking normally, she more than likely fixed it back in place.
"Then again, petty people will be petty, so there's no reason to speculate when her reasoning for wanting to fight me is more than likely an ego thing," Jolyne thought as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes.
As Jolyne fished out her stuff from her locker, she threw it into her inventory and continued her way to the entrance of the school. Kuzuryu was nowhere to be found, which was odd. Maybe she was outside?
The moment Jolyne exited the building, it was as if time had come to a standstill. Not literally, but more of an adrenaline-type thing where everything kind of just… slows down. For a split second, Jolyne's vision was completely and totally eclipsed by a single fast-moving fist aimed at her face. Had she been stupid, she would've stood there and took it.
But, Jolyne was not stupid.
Instead of standing still, Jolyne grabbed the wrist of the fist that had been thrown in her face, before using the forward motion of the sudden attack to yank forward whoever had been dumb enough to throw a punch in her face, in this case, Natsumi Kuzuryu. It was obvious it had been her seeing as she, Takemura, and Natsumi had been the only ones in the building aside from a few janitors.
With the continued forward motion, Jolyne flipped Natsumi over her shoulder and into the closest pillar of the overhang at the school's entrance that being the closest one to her left. Natsumi thumped against it with an audible thud as she hissed, groaning as Jolyne turned to face her. Natsumi looked up at Jolyne, eyes narrowed as she sneered.
"Since when did you get strong?!" Natsumi spat as Jolyne glowered down at her, crossing her arms in the process.
"I don't know how you thought this was going to go, but I'm going to warn you right now that it won't end well. So, if you were smart, you'd back off," Jolyne replied nonchalantly. She had every reason to not care about Natsumi's supposed threat to her, and it was all thanks to one, small, little detail.
Natsumi's NPC level.
[Natsumi Kuzuryu – Yakuza Princess]
[Level: 5]
[HP: 280/350]
[MP: N/A]
[STMN: 275]
Not only was Natsumi five levels lower than Jolyne but if she had taken that much damage from Jolyne throwing her against the wall, then there was a chance that she could accidentally kill her. Don't get Jolyne wrong, she didn't like Natsumi. But not to the point where she would be willing to kill the poor girl or see and or want her killed.
"Who do you think you are talking to me like that you bitch! You're less than nothing! Do you even know who I am?" Natsumi spat as she slowly began to stand up, rolling her shoulder as she did. Jolyne sighed, rolling her eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at me!"
"Yeah, whatever. Look, since you're here, I'm only going to ask this once. Leave Hajime alone. Stop antagonizing him, and more importantly, stop trying to push my buttons, because it will not end well for you. I don't want to fight you if I don't have to, but—" before Jolyne could finish her sentence, Natsumi threw another punch. It was slow, telegraphed, and easily avoidable.
How could someone who was a part of a Yakuza not know how to fight? Though, if she had to guess, Natsumi never had to win her own fights and had others do it for her. She was a self-ordained Princess, so if she was coddled and babied, then it made sense for her to not know how to fight.
And so, Jolyne took advantage of that fact, and decided that today would be "embarrass Natsumi Kuzuryu day."
Moving her head to the side to avoid the punch, Jolyne curled her right hand into a fist and slammed it into Natsumi's gut. When her fist made contact, the force and speed of the punch were so fast and hard that it caused Natsumi to go flying into the glass door, through the glass door, and into some lockers near the front entrance, causing the wall of the locker that she crashed into to become dented.
Natsumi slumped forward, coughing as she struggled to catch her breath. Her eyes were wide, and she tried to cover her mouth, but couldn't due to the shock. She had never been hit like that before, as was evident, but what was most shocking was the fact that Jolyne didn't even know how to register that. She blinked, looking down at her fist as she raised an eyebrow. "What the hell?" Jolyne thought as her eyes narrowed.
Back in the Dungeon, even as she hit level 10, when she punched a zombie, it would barely budge and do hardly any damage to it. So, how on in the nine circles of hell was a barely put-together corpse able to withstand being punched as she had just punched Natsumi, yet Natsumi was flung easily about three feet in the opposite direction, and then hit and dent a locker?
What was even stranger was her health bar. Specifically, how low it got. Her health bar had dropped from 280 HP down to 120. How the hell did she do 160 damage in one swing? Were her defences that weak? Again, how could a zombie, a shambling former person, who was weaker might she add, be able to withstand being punched with the same force, and yet not get half of its health shaved off?
Regardless of that, and regardless of what Jolyne thought, she needed to be careful. Evidently, she was stronger than she thought. Maybe there was something she was either forgetting, or, she was Natsumi was truly weaker than a zombie, but whatever the case was, Jolyne needed to mind her strength.
"If I hit her again, she'll die. I don't want to kill her, so I hope she doesn't do anything stupid." Jolyne thought, looking back up to Natsumi with a frown on her face. "Last warning, Kuzuryu," Jolyne called out as Natsumi dragged herself to her feet. She held her stomach as she limped forward, squinting in pain as Jolyne stared at her, unamused. "I don't want an accident to happen, so if you're smart, you'll give up while you're ahead."
"You stupid… worthless… brainless… idiotic gaijin!" Natsumi snapped, glaring at Jolyne with pure hatred and vitriol. "I'll kill you! You fucking whore! How dare youlay a hand on me! I'm a Kuzuryu! My name is worth more than your whole bloodline! I—"
"NATSUMI!" A loud, very angry, very clearly fed-up voice boomed throughout the courtyard of the Reverse Course building as Jolyne looked over her shoulder. Marching in their direction, dressed in a black suit and tie, was a cream-coloured teenager with emerald green eyes, freckles, and what appeared to be a permanent blush on his cheeks. His hair was cut short, not even going past his ears, and he was rather short for his age.
Yet, despite that, something in Jolyne stirred deep within. Despite his rather babyish appearance, Jolyne couldn't help but be wary around the approaching teen. The way he carried himself, mixed with the way he glared with such intense and raw anger made Jolyne re-evaluate the situation.
His eyes drifted toward her, as he came to a stop just a few feet away. His eyes scanned her up and down, but not in the way that most boys had been recently. It was respectful and didn't linger anywhere. As if he was gauging her for some reason or another. Then, he looked her in the eyes, as they narrowed.
"You. Who are you? Do it properly. Last name, then first name," the teen said, his voice carrying a degree of condensation in it as he glanced over her shoulder at Natsumi. Now that she looked at the two, they looked related. Jolyne swallowed, nervousness creeping up in her chest as she spoke.
"Brooks Jolyne, uh…"
"Brooks Jolyne?" the teen said, eyes wide before looking back over her shoulder and at Natsumi. Then, without so much as a warning, the teen bowed deeply, confusing Jolyne even further. From what she knew about Japanese culture, to bow that deeply was to show a sincere apology. But why? What was she missing here?
"I am so, so sorry for how my sister treated you. I've never got to apologize in person before you lost your memories, so I'm doing so now. Before you ask, I was told by Hinata Hajime, of whom I know thanks to my sister. I saw the fight start from the gates, and I only stepped in when I saw that she was going to continue the fight. I realize I should've stepped in sooner. As the heir to the Kuzuryu Clan, I offer my sincerest apologies, and I promise she will never bother you again."
"That was… a lot…" Jolyne thought, scratching the back of her neck as chuckled nervously. "I, uh… thank you, um… Kuzuryu-san. I'm sorry the fight even happened to the begin with… I wasn't planning for it or anything…" Jolyne said as the Kuzuryu Clan heir, of whom she did not have a name for yet, rose from his bow and smirked.
"You don't need to apologize. It's not your fault that my sister was being an idiot. My name is Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko. I'm The Ultimate Yakuza. I hope we don't have to meet again, because usually when I do meet people outside of my class, it's not for a good reason. I hope you understand," Fuyuhiko said as Jolyne nodded.
"I understand."
"Good. Now, you," Fuyuhiko sneered, walking over to Natsumi, grabbing her by the wrist, and forcing her out of the school building, practically dragging her behind him. "We are going to have a very long, very important talk." As Fuyuhiko said that, he looked over his shoulder and back at Jolyne. "Have a good rest of your evening, ma'am."
Jolyne watched the two Kuzuryu's as a car pulled up to the gates of the school. There was a logo on it, and if she had to guess, it belonged to The Kuzuryu Clan, as the moment it showed up, the doors opened for Fuyuhiko and Natsumi, before promptly closing once they got inside.
Jolyne stared, frowning as a screen popped up in front of her, indicating that she completed the whole "Help out Hajime" questline. She was able to level up. Once. But that wasn't the important part. The important part was that she had increased her relationship status with Hajime.
And speaking of Hajime….
At the same time that the car began to pull away, Hajime was turning the corner to enter the school's courtyard. When he saw the car pull away, and when he looked over to Jolyne, his eyes were wide. He walked over to her with a bit of a pep in his step, and when he was just a few feet away from her, he looked around at the surrounding area, and then at her.
"What happened here?" Hajime questioned as Jolyne shrugged.
"Natsumi thought it was a good idea to try and fight me. Before it got ugly her brother showed up and ended the fight before it could get any worse than it already was," Jolyne said as Hajime breathed out a sigh of relief, though his eyes were still filled with concern.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"No, I'm fine, Hajime. But, uh, what're you doing here? I thought you'd be at home by now?" Jolyne questioned as Hajime smiled awkwardly, chuckling nervously as he rubbed his arm.
"I… kind of forgot something at the school…" Hajime muttered as Jolyne smirked, tapping him on the forehead before walking past him.
"Well, then you should probably go get it. I'll give you a call once I get home," Jolyne said as Hajime turned to look at her. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped. Closing his mouth, he turned back to face the school.
His time hanging out with Nanami-san was fun. They played Street Fighter II, where she predictably kicked his ass. But, she taught him how to properly play Chung-li. There were a few times when he also got her to lose, but then she'd take the kiddie gloves off and go full "pro mode" as she called it.
It was… embarrassing.
But, hey, he had fun so that was all that mattered. Though, Chiaki was going to be gone for a couple of weeks. Something about a class camping trip or something along those lines. It would've been pretty bad had Jolyne not been around.
Speaking of Jolyne… he was glad. Really, he was. Though he kind of hoped things wouldn't have developed into a violent confrontation, from how pissed off Fuyuhiko had seemed, maybe Natsumi would leave both of them alone.
Truth be told, him asking Jolyne to help him out with Natsumi was kind of a litness test. He was trying to see how much Jolyne had changed, and, it turned out, it wasn't all that much. Sure, she had a bit more of a fiery personality than she had before and was less quiet about her opinions on things. But, deep down, she was pretty much the same person.
That was good.
That meant he could move on to the next step.
Working up the courage to ask her out on a date.
That was going to be the hard part. Maybe he was being too fast with this whole thing, but he wanted to get her back. He wanted to go back to how things used to be, or at least as much as the past was as possible. Though, deep down, a part of him knew it wasn't possible. To go back to a time when none of this happened.
Hajime exhaled, turning to look back at the school. He had his things to go get.
[XXXX]
"What the fuck were you thinking?!" Fuyuhiko spat, glaring at Natsumi in the hallway of their estate. Natsumi flinched, scowling as she glared at Fuyuhiko. She was resting in her bed with a bandage over her stomach. The Brooks girl had somehow broken her lower ribs and twisted her wrist so badly it damaged her muscle.
Frankly, she was lucky that was all that happened. From what Fuyuhiko saw, Brooks seemed just about ready to stomp her out. Had Fuyuhiko not come in when he did, he was pretty sure that his sister would've gotten the worst beating that she had ever received in her life—which was to say her first beating.
Natsumi had a lot of balls to do what she did. She never had to fight her own battles. It was always through bodyguards or from Pekoyama appearing from the shadows and stopping any conflict from happening before it happened.
This was the first time that she was left alone. As it turned out, that was a bad idea.
"What was I thinking?! She embarrassed me in class! She had it coming!" Natsumi snarled back as Fuyuhiko glared down at her. He calmed himself. He didn't need a migraine right now. This was why he never spoke to her and mostly kept to himself. They always buttheads like this, and as they grew older, it only got worse.
"Well, clearly, she kicked your fucking ass. That, and I'm pretty sure I told you to stay away from her! You've already caused her and Hinata enough trouble as is. Or need I remind you where you drove the former to take her life?" Fuyuhiko replied as Natsumi looked away, not out of shame, but out of annoyance.
"Serves her right. The bitch thought she deserved to be in the same room as me…"
"You're a fucking idiot," Fuyuhiko spat as Natsumi turned her head sharply to face him.
"The fuck did you—" Before Natsumi could say anything, Fuyuhiko slapped her across the face, shocking the former as Fuyuhiko grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, pulling her close so that their faces were just an inch apart.
"The more you open your mouth, the more I'm convinced you're too pigheaded to leave the complex," Fuyuhiko snarled. "You've always been like this. You sheltered little brat! Dad's always been the one to get you out of trouble, but you're almost an adult now. I nor Pekoyama can protect you from your stupidity anymore."
He shoved her back down into the bed as Natsumi hissed in pain, but he wasn't done grilling her. The more he spoke, the more his blood boiled. His eyes reflected more rage than he had when he first picked her up. It had been a long time since Natsumi had seen Fuyuhiko this mad.
The last time he was this mad was when…
Actually, now that she thought about it, he's never been this mad before.
"Even worse, you actively went against the promise that The Family made with Hinata. You do realize just how much that makes us look bad?! That someone in high enough of a position like yourself to go against a family promise!? That's more than enough of a reason to make you cut off a finger!" Fuyuhiko continued as Natsumi paled.
"But—"
"BUT NOTHING YOU DUMB BITCH!" Fuyuhiko roared, slapping her again, but this time it stung. Tears welled up in Natsumi's eyes, not that Fuyuhiko cared. "You're lucky no one was there. Because if people were this would spread like wildfire. Not only did you break a family promise, but you got humiliated by a nobody! You're going to make our family look weak if you keep this behaviour up!"
Natsumi blinked, confusion coating her features as Fuyuhiko sighed, his glare letting up slightly. "I want you to listen to me, and listen to me carefully. If you value your place in this family, you'll stop this. Now. If you don't, then I'm going to have to tell Pops you're making our family look bad out there."
"Are you saying you're going to tell Father to exile me?!" Natsumi shouted, her eyes wide and filled with panic as Fuyuhiko frowned.
"If you don't stop acting like a spoiled brat and making our family look bad, it's something that I'm going to have to consider. You've been nothing but trouble ever since we allowed you outside of the compound and stopped homeschooling you," Fuyuhiko continued as he turned his back to her, and as he began to leave, as he opened the door, he looked over his shoulder.
His eyes were narrowed, his expression serious as he spoke. "I love you, Natsumi. Truly, I do. You're both my sister and my best friend. But, as the future heir to the Kuzuryu Clan, and the future leader, I have to make important decisions. Decisions that sometimes override familial bonds. Think on that while you recover."
As Fuyuhiko closed the door behind him, he frowned. He hated having conversations with his sister like that one. But even so, he didn't regret even a single word that came out of his mouth. As unfortunate as the truth was, it was just that. The truth.
He loved his sister to pieces. For the longest time, ignoring Peko, she had been one of his closest friends. But now that he not only had the responsibility of both his Clan and his clan's reputation on his shoulders, he had begun to notice just how bad his sister was for the clan's reputation.
It was heartbreaking. Especially when taking into consideration the fact that his sister, despite all of her faults, was a good person deep down underneath all of the ugly that resided on top. He knew she was. He could see it in her. But she had let the fame and clout of being within one of the largest Clans in all of Japan get to her head.
His father, Higuchi, babied her far too much. He let her get away with far too much. Even though they had the most reach and impact in the criminal underworld, Natsumi's actions could not be tolerated. If the other families found out that they were allowing a high-ranking and influential member of The Kuzuryu Clan to walk around and act like a total brat while making their image look worse and worse…
Well, one of the other clans would move for a power grab. The Kuzuryu Clan, while strong, was not politically strong. They had the numbers and the firepower, but they didn't have the brains as most other clans did. Not at the moment, anyway. Higuchi was once a strong, intelligent man, but his age had gotten to him, and he's been having constant nightmares and visions of disaster.
Or, well, he claims their visions. But frankly, all Fuyuhiko could call that was madness. Seriously, it was like something out of a crappy 1900s fantasy movie.
Whole towns covered in raging yellow flames? Visions of people spewing said flames from their eyes? Large, overgrown hands with three fingers covering large scapes of the land and spreading the aforementioned yellow flames?
If it wasn't for the fact that he knew his father was having these constantly and consistently, then he'd send him to the loony bin. But, with those nightmares being the exact same ones playing on loop, and with his father slowly losing his mind…
A part of Fuyuhiko was starting to believe that what he was saying was true. That he was seeing visions of some kind of disturbing future. He knew the world was strange, but… after what he had seen on the news a few days ago, he was beginning to believe that the world was changing.
A lot of people were calling what had been on the news nothing but fancy editing. But, after what he had heard from his father, and the nightmares and quote-on-quote visions he was having… he couldn't help but allow his suspension of belief to lower slightly.
What he saw was a little girl with red hair, dressed in some kind of straitjacket-type get-up, blasting a giant golden beam out of a stick, and disintegrating a police blockade. The online consensus was that it was an ad for a movie. But if that was an ad, it was a strange one, and it made no sense. The news reporters played it off as if it really happened, and he could've sworn that the energy didn't look like after-effects.
But then again, what would he know? He was just some Yakuza guy who didn't really mess with technology unless Chiaki forced their glass to play more of that Mario Kart kiddie crap.
"Young master. A word?" A calm, borderline emotionless voice spoke as Fuyuhiko glanced over his shoulder and to his left. A tall, slender young woman stood next to Natsumi's bedroom door. She had long, silver hair tied into two braids which reached down and past her shoulders. Two, black ribbons kept the braids in place, with two red ties at the ends of the braids for whatever reason that she had to wear them like that.
Her eyes were a vivid, scarlet crimson, and she wore a pair of thin-framed rectangular glasses. Currently, she was dressed in a white kosode and black hakama. It was a shrine outfit, even though they were not at a shrine.
Typically, the woman would be seen everywhere with a sword, but, on the grounds of the estate, she needn't have it on her. He had said as such. The only time she needed to have her sword on her was when they were at school or when they were out in public. It annoyed the woman in question, but it wasn't as if Fuyuhiko had said it for that purpose.
"Yes, Peko?"
"Would you like me to shadow Natsumi-sama at school next week?" Peko asked as Fuyuhiko formed his mouth into a line. He didn't know whether or not that was a good idea, especially given the fact that he wanted Peko at the camp with the rest of the class. Yukizome-Sensei had said that she wanted everyone there.
There were only two people in this world that Fuyuhiko was willing to admit that he feared. His mother, and Yukizome-Sensei. His mother, for the fact that she used to be known as The Black Death back in her assassin days, and Yukizome-Sensei for her indomitable will and tenacity to get what she wanted.
But, at the same time, Natsumi needed someone to stop her from doing something stupid. However, if Natsumi were to find out that Peko was tailing her, then there would be issues. Not to mention the fact that, while he knew it was probably for the best, it would be better if Peko was around him.
One never knew when someone would try something stupid, and while Fuyuhiko himself was no pushover, he couldn't cut bullets out of the air with a single sword strike. Tensions had been growing recently, so he needed to have the best surrounding him. Hopes Peak Academy had excellent security, and he trusted them with Natsumi.
So, with that in mind….
"No. I need you with me in case something happens at the camp. We already know The Kutagawa Clan is planning something, and The Oda Clan has been making movements into Tokyo, an area we control. The Oda and The Kuzuryu have been in a silent war for years now, so there's no telling what they'll do. If I'm out in the open, and with me being as famous as I am…."
"Understood, Young Master."
Kami, he wished she'd stop calling him that. "Whatever. No use in arguing with a brick wall…" Fuyuhiko thought as he waved his hand to dismiss Peko, but before he did, he stopped and pursed his lips. "Actually…"
"Peko. You know that girl you've been training?"
"If you are referring to Hana, she's already busy bodyguarding The Utsagi estate. Oyabun is adamant about keeping good relations with them, and Hana is enjoying her time being around the little girl who lives there. She reports good things, and expects to return soon." As Peko said that, Fuyuhiko hissed.
"Aren't there rumours about that house being used to create and distribute child porn?" Fuyuhiko questioned as Pekoyama blinked, before shrugging one shoulder.
"Hana reports no such activities occurring there both during the day and at night. As far as we are aware, those rumours are just that. Rumours."
Fuyuhiko grunted, waving Peko off as she walked past Fuyuhiko and down the hallway, leaving Fuyuhiko by himself. He glanced back at Natsumi's door, as he could faintly hear her throwing stuff around. She was mad, which was obvious. But throwing a temper tantrum?
"Damn brat…." Fuyuhiko narrowed his eyes, walking away as he stuffed a hand into his pants pocket. Once again, he felt himself getting angry at the fact that Natsumi pulled the stupid stunt that she had. It made no sense for her to do that, and yet, she did. It almost got her beat to a pulp or worse, and now she had to stay at home for a week to recover.
"Goddamnit, Nat, why do you keep getting yourself into trouble…"
[-To Be Continued-]
[Ending Song: Outsiders – By: Eve]
And so, there you guys have it! A shorter chapter, I know, but it is important and it builds the world a little bit more. I know some of you were expecting a bigger fight with Natsumi there, but, I mean, c'mon? She's just a regular human. Granted, she's a Yakuza, but according to the DR3 Anime, she was very sheltered, so…
Anyway, here's my response to reviews/comments
[My Response to reviews/comments]
(FF) AidenJacksonSmithDSBB: Well, you get an answer to one of your questions here, so…?
(Ao3) Shine375: Well, some asses were kicked, and it was pretty one-sided.
(Ao3) void_boi1: :) Here's more peak fanfiction!
(Ao3) fluffycuddlebug: I mean, no one was watching, so technically it's alright. Also, thanks!
(Ao3) Kolt: Yeah, you should just assume that whenever the Frenzied Flame is involved, they're going to be, by default, more insane than they would normally be. Also, while Gonta doesn't really show up in this installment, but he will in the second one. I won't speak much on it here, but yeah, that'll be fun to see.
Natsumi being an idiot will be a lot more common here. Also, Jolyne in this version died closer to the early 2010s. When exactly will be found out later. Hajime being hard on himself is kinda expected at this point. Don't worry, though, he won't remain this way for very long.
Also, you were kinda spot on how Fuyuhiko would respond to the stuff with Natsumi. That was something I really didn't like in the original. It was extremely OOC, but here I plan to rectify that.
Have an amazing day, Kolt. Hope you're not sick lol!
(Qoutev) Sunky Addict: Well, you're close and also not at the same time. Also, yeah, it was kinda getting old, really fast, and besides I like the whole "hand holding is lewd" jokes so I found a way to incorporate that into this.
Anyway, that's all for now. See you in the next chapter, everyone! Peace out!