28In the darkness of a traditional Japanese house, resembling more of a temple than a familial home, with only the moonlight showing the outlines of its sheer size, its frail-looking but notably dangerous master sat on the futon with a slight frown. Yet to those with knowledge of her...such a frown, different from her normal mild annoyance, implies a more serious matter.
"What do you mean she's no longer at the academy?" Her old, irritated voice spoke over the telephone. The venom in her words clearly audible to whoever is on the other line. "With the target, hmm? ... I see. Thank you for the information." She hung up the phone and sighed. "Tokaku... And here I thought you wouldn't be a disappointment." The woman shook her head before snapping her fingers and a servant enters the room with a bow.
"Gather the branch families. A meeting is in order. We must deal with this at once."
Warmth. That was the first sensation Tokaku felt as she woke up. It was an alien sensation, but a welcome one. Her eyes fluttered open and instantly gazed upon the redheded girll, no, her girlfriend, who was snuggling against her. Tokaku briefly wondered why exactly Haru was in her bed, but remembered last night.
Haru had begged Tokaku to let her sleep in the same bed with her. They'd been living together for three months, and that had blossomed into the two of them dating. However, they had not done much together other than go on innocent dates and exchange the occasional kiss.
In her mind, it felt kind of nice, waking up next to someone she loved. She wasn't exactly used to that. Maybe she'd sleep with Haru more often. She smiled a little and tried to get out of bed without waking Haru up, but was unsuccessful in doing so. Haru sat up with a groan and rubbed her eyes.
"Good morning, Tokaku…." she yawned.
"Morning, Haru." Tokaku replied.
"Going to take a shower now?"
Tokaku nodded, leaving the bed and heading towards the bathroom.
"Want me to come with~?" Haru asked in a slightly teasing manner.
"No thanks, I'm good." Tokaku denied the offer with a small but flustered smile on her face.
"Here you go! One hot breakfast for Tokaku!" Haru exclaimed with a grin as she set a plate on the table for Tokaku. Curry and toast. It wasn't a rare thing for Haru to make in the morning, she knew how much Tokaku liked curry and the toast just gave it more of a breakfasty feel.
Tokaku gave a small nod of thanks before beginning to eat, Haru quickly joining her at the table with a plate of scrambled eggs and toast. "Soo, Tokaku, want to go to the park today?"
"The park?"
"Yeah! You can do some workouts, if you'd like."
"Hmmm… Alright…"
Though Tokaku was no longer an assassin and no longer needed training, she still liked working out. Her goal to protect Haru hasn't changed since Black Class ended. Even if Haru no longer has people gunning for her life, Tokaku always wanted to be prepared.
After breakfast, the two immediately left for the park.
"So, Tokaku, what should we do first?" Haru cheerfully asked the blue haired girl as they walked into the park.
"I don't care, whatever that makes you happy." was the answer as the couple made their way with no worries.
Haru felt something bump into her leg. Looking down, she noticed it was a blue ball. She reached down and picked it up before she noticed two kids running over to get it.
"Is this your ball?" She asked, "Mind if I play with you?"
"Sure!" One of the kids exclaimed, grinning.
Haru waved to Tokaku and ran off with the kids.
Tokaku decided to train nearby so she could keep an eye on Haru and her newfound "friends". As she started by doing some stretches, Tokaku looked over towards Haru and noticed something hurtling towards the girl. Her eyes widened, "Haru!" she cried out, tackling the girl to the ground as something flew over their heads and landed in the sandbox of a nearby playground.
"Tokaku? What's wrong?" Haru asked, worried at how Tokaku had so quickly tackled her to the ground.
Tokaku got up a little bit, now unintentionally straddling Haru, "Something was flying towards you." she replied, looking down at Haru before realizing their positions and getting up to inspect what had flown at Haru with a slightly flustered look on her face.
"What is it?" Haru asked, sitting up.
"Baseball." Tokaku replied, picking it up with a relieved sigh. She then noticed a couple of kids with gloves and a bat. With a half-smile, she tossed the ball back and turned to offer a helping hand towards Haru
Suddenly, the Bluenette was tackled down to the ground by what seemed to be a man, holding a knife in his right hand. Another figure dashed into the area, this time a woman wearing a hoodie and sunglasses. Tokaku quickly threw the man off and landed a series of quick punches to his face, then knocked him to the ground with a heel kick to the forehead.
"That's enough!" yelled a voice. Tokaku turned to see her other opponent holding Haru by the arm, a knife pressed against redheaded girl's throat. Haru struggled to break free but wasn't able to gain enough leverage. Een in such a perilous situation, Haru could only blame herself for not being more cautious and now worrying Tokaku.
Tokaku gave the woman holding Haru a glare, looking as if she would destroy the assailant with her gaze alone. In the blink of an eye, Tokaku threw a knife with precision into the woman's hand, causing her to scream and drop her knife, releasing Haru, who then scrambled away from her captor and dashed to her girlfriend's side.
Tokaku prepared to pursue her, but the man she knocked down had gotten to his feet, and attempted another tackle. Tokaku gritted her teeth and easily dodged it. She then pinned him to the ground with after tripping him with a foot to his ankle, reaching for her knife to go in for the kill.
"Tokaku! Wait!" Haru exclaimed, "Don't hurt him!"
Tokaku glanced over at Haru then back at the man, who now looked terrified. He looked to be in his middle age, black eyes, with what was left of his hair being the same shade of blue as Tokaku's.
"What do you want?" Tokaku asked the man.
"Please! Spare me!" The man begged, having noticed the knife Tokaku's hand was hovering over.
"Then answer me." Tokaku replied, pressing her blade onto the back of the man's neck.
"I-I was sent here to assassinate you!" The man cried out.
"By who?"
"I-I can't say!" He said, "Please, I had no choice. Just let me go!"
"Tokaku… Please let him go. He won't do it again, I'm sure." Haru told Tokaku, who hesitated for a moment.
"... Fine, have it your way. But, next time I see you, you're dead." Tokaku replied, releasing her captive with her knife still in hand.
The man quickly ran off, stumbling and gasping with fear.
"Haru, we're going home."
"Maaaan! Can those two ever stay out of trouble?" Nio giggled, standing before the chairwoman.
"It does seem like they've been through a lot lately. Black Class, and now this." The chairwoman agreed, a small smirk playing at her lips. "But this time, the roles have been changed. Tokaku is one who needs protection, not Haru."
"Yeah, but I wouldn't be surprised if they attacked Haru too." Nio stated with a shrug "After all, she is what led to Azuma leaving her clan."
The chairwoman nodded, "Indeed. Why don't you go meet up with them?"
Nio was caught off guard, "What? Really?"
"Of course, someone needs to warn them of what is to come."
Nio gave a nod and a salute, "Yes, ma'am! I'll be going right now!"
"Excellent." The chairwoman replied, watching Nio run off before turning her chair around to face the massive screens that spanned around her office. "I think things will turn out quite interesting. At least, for now." She dialed up a number on her phone and awaited a response.
"Still, it wouldn't be fair for Azuma to have all the fun in this new game. Now would it?"
In a drab gray room that gave off a sterile atmosphere, a certain white-haired instructor was sitting at his desk, idly rolling a pair of dice in his hand. Kaiba smirked with his signature carefree attitude as he heard the phone ring.
"Ah, Mrs. Azuma. Just exactly why have you contacted one as humble as me?"
"Kaiba. As I recall, you were the one in charge of instructing my Tokaku. Just what exactly did you do to her? Why is she rejecting her responsibilities as the clan's heir? Answer me!"
Kaiba gave a long exaggerated sigh.
"Mrs. Azuma, you assume far too much. I did nothing to Tokaku. She's simply found the answer to what she wants...on her own. Did you think I had messed with her mind or something? I'm not one of those Kuzunoha shamans, you know."
An angry growl was heard over the phone. "Don't play games with me, Kaiba. Do you understand just how important the Azuma lineage is? I will not let centuries of our clan's blood go to waste over one rebellious girl's treachery!"
"Sounds like you need to figure out how to deal with her yourself, then. I'm just a mere teacher, in a classroom full of morons. Nothing more than that, and of use to you. Have a good day!"
"... Just don't forget. Inform her about Tokaku's betrayal...and exactly what that means. I have nothing else to say."
A click from a tongue could be heard before the caller hung up. Kaiba chuckled to himself and rolled his dice before dropping them onto his desk. Double 6s.
"Good luck, Tokaku. You'll need it for what's coming ahead…"
A tall, well built boy with a familiar shade of blue hair was kissing his girlfriend in a hotel room, away from the eyes of the world. The girl was a full head shorter than him and had blonde hair. Even as they passionately made out on the bed, any trained eye can see that the pair are not to be messed with. That said, even a civilian can tell once they see the pile of dead bodies on the floor around the bed.
"Love you," whispered the boy under his breath
"And don't you forget it." The girl responded with a light chuckle as she broke the kiss. Just then, the boy's phone buzzed. He immediately flipped it...and a wicked grin crossed his face. His girlfriend gave him a knowing look as she leaned closer to see the message, with a smile as sinister as his.
At another hotel, in a room far more luxurious yet dirty in its clientele, a rich man whose gluttony was ore than evident, licked his chubby lips as he pulled what seemed to be a young, beautiful girl by the arm onto a pristine white bed. The girl in question simply looked at her client with a pretty smile.
"Oh, finally…" she drawled in a seductive tone as the fat man edged closer with drool coming out of his mouth.
"I've got you right where I want you."
In a spilt second, she fired a bullet straight through the man's head, revealing a hidden pistol concealed within the fabric of her skirt. She then quickly pushed the of corpse her target in disgust... before her phone began to vibrate.
Bottles were smashed, cries were heard and made, and fists were thrown as the bar had descended into full chaos. What had started with a single punch, easily escalated into a full on brawl. In the center of the melee, two girls stood aside each other, one with spiky hair, clad in a kimono that contrasted with the attire, while her partner wore a biker gang's overcoat and had wild black hair with green streaks that fell over one eye. Together, the pair easily fended off any and all unlucky opponents who happened to stumble towards them, or even worse, attack them directly.
"Stay on your guard." the coated one said, throwing a large girl wielding a switchblade right through a table, and kicking a man over the countertop of the bar.
"Am I the one you should be worrying about?" her partner replied, tossing two needles into the necks of a duo approaching the other girl from her flanks. The pair stopped in their tracks as venom overtook them, and they fell unconscious to the ground.
Eventually, the dust cleared, and the two girls were left standing. The spiky haired girl swiftly grabbed and kissed her lover on the cheek, only stopping to check her buzzing phone. which quickly occurred on her partner's as well
Kaiba whistled a catchy tune as he walked down the corridor, entering a room at the end. A blue-haired girl with crimson eyes, wearing a uniform with a black armband, was seated at the end of a long conference table, with several other girls occupying rest of the seats. Kaiba cleared his throat and spoke with a grin, ignoring the many looks he was given by the students facing him.
"Hello, Ms. Student Council President. How might you be doing today?"
The blue-haired girl, apparently the president, stared at him with annoyance but nodded back in greeting. "Fine. Just cut to the chase. Why are you here?"
Kaiba smirked. "It's about your dear cousin Tokaku. I'm sure you know exactly what she's been up to. Well...now's the time for you and your little posse to go deal with her. What do you say to that?"
The girl sighed.
"Just shut up."
END