Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
"Hey, congratulations, Tatsuo-Kun and Yakumo-Chan." Chiho said as soon as Tatsu and Yakumo entered their classroom. "I heard the good news."
In response, Tatsuo and Yakumo did not smile or blush or react in any way that Chiho would expect of a new couple, causing her to stop smiling and tilt her head in confusion. Instead, the two only turned their heads to look at each other with helpless expressions.
"I told you this would happen." Tatsuo said while shaking his head.
"Well, they wouldn't listen to us even if we told them the truth." Yakumo replied. "So, there's no point worrying about it."
"Yeah, you're right." Tatsuo replied with a shrug.
"What are you two talking about?" Chiho, who got the news from the gossip that had quickly spread around the school during the lunch break, tilted her head to the other side as she asked. "Why don't you two seem happier or more... I don't know... lovey-dovey?"
"Because we're not a couple, as I'm sure the rumors say." Tatsuo said nonchalantly. "I can guess how those rumors started, though. But none of them actually heard our conversation."
"Right." Yakumo added. "If they had, then these rumors would not be going around."
"Huh?" Chiho intoned in confusion as her eyes widened. "Does that mean you didn't confess, Tatsuo-Kun? And you didn't accept, making Tatsuo-Kun smile happily, Yakumo-Chan?"
Chiho's loud, surprised, exclamation drew the attention of all the students in the classroom. Meaning, they all turned their heads in her direction. When they did, they were just in time to see Tatsuo and Yakumo shake their heads in response to her question.
With that, there were a few clicked tongues that could be heard throughout the room, as the gossip was rather juicy. However, there were more sighs of relief and boys cursing Tatsuo to get rejected if he ever tried to confess to Yakumo. There was even one peculiar comment about joining the two of them. Though, the voice was so androgynous that Tatsuo could not tell if they were male or female.
As for Chiho, she was one of the ones who sighed. Though, hers was in disappointment rather than relief.
"Too bad." Chiho said in a wistful tone. "You two would have made a cute couple."
"Like you and Maou-San?" Tatsuo asked in an innocent tone. Though, the mischief in his eyes could not be hidden.
"Wha-Wha-What are you talking about, Tatsuo-Kun?" Chiho squeaked, her face going beet red in embarrassment. "Th-Th-There's nothing like that between me and Maou-San."
With every word, Chiho got quieter and quieter as she started pressing her index fingers together.
Seeing that, Tatsuo could not help but smirk. Meanwhile, Yakumo looked at Tatsuo reproachfully. Though, there was a hint of amusement in her eyes, as well.
"Anyway, we should get to our seats." Yakumo said, trying to break the awkward atmosphere for Chiho's sake. "The bell is going to ring soon."
"Yeah!" Chiho said, a little louder than she intended, happy at Yakumo's change of subject. "And Sakurada-Sensei's class is next. He'll be upset if we're not in our seats when he comes into the room."
Then, without waiting for a reply, Chiho turned around and sped back to her seat, her face still just about as red as it could be. And the laugh she heard from Tatsuo, if possible, would have made her face even redder than it already was.
After watching Chiho leave, Yakumo glanced at Tatsuo once again. And seeing the pure enjoyment on his face, she could not help but smile slightly, as well. Then, she started walking towards her own seat, with Tatsuo following her shortly afterwards.
The rest of the day went by uneventfully. Though, the revelation that Tatsuo and Yakumo were not dating had not taken hold. Unfortunately, that misunderstanding had taken root in the students' minds. And from the looks of it, it would not be going anywhere, anytime soon.
Despite nothing happening at school, Tatsuo did notice that Ayane spent her time near the front gate of his school.
'What is she doing here?' Tatsuo asked himself while staring at the front of the classroom blankly while the teacher for the last class of the day gave her lecture. 'Did she somehow find out about me? Never mind, that's a dumb question. Of course, she did. Which means she wants to use me to get at Kasumi-Neesan. But that's fine. I can handle her... The problem is if she goes after Yakumo-Chan or Chi-Chan if she can't get her hands on me. *Sigh* I guess 'll have to deal with her myself. I should probably text Kasumi-Neesan, though.'
With that thought, Tatsuo made a mental note to text Kasumi after class ended. He would do it right now. But he did not want to alert the teacher, who had an almost supernatural sense of when one of their students was using their smartphones in class.
*Ding!* *Dong!* *Dong!* *Ding!*
Eventually, the last bell rang, and sighs of relief could be heard all around the classroom. Meanwhile, Tatsuo quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his smartphone, sending Kasumi a text, letting her know that Ayane was outside of his school and had mostly found out their relationship.
Tatsuo then looked up from his smartphone, seeing Yakumo packing her school bag.
"Hey, Yakumo-Chan." Tatsuo said quietly, causing Yakumo to stop and turn around. "I'll talk to my mom about what we talked about at lunch. She would be the best one to train you, since she's training me, mostly. I'll either text you tonight after talking to her or tell you what she said tomorrow."
"Okay." Yakumo replied in her characteristic, gentle tone. "I'll be waiting."
"Alright." Tatsuo said. He then quickly packed his bag and stood up. "Then, I'll get going. Kasumi-Neesan texted me and asked me to meet her somewhere. So, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Have a good afternoon." Yakumo said as she watched Tatsuo start moving towards the classroom door.
Tatsuo waved in response. He then turned towards Chiho's seat.
"Hey, Chi-Chan, you working tonight?" Tatsuo asked.
"Uh huh." Chiho replied while packing her own bag.
"Well then, I might see you tonight with Kasumi-Neesan." Tatsuo said as he walked past Chiho. "We might stop at MgR's on our way home after running an errand for my mom."
"Okay!" Chiho said cheerfully, looking up from her bag and books. "I'll see you later, Tatsuo-Kun."
Once again waving, Tatsuo eventually left the classroom before making his way down the hall towards the school's main entrance. He then stopped at the shoe lockers to change his shoes before leaving the school.
On his way to the gate, Tatsuo sent Kasumi another text, letting her know where he intended to confront Ayane, since he did not want her following him home. Quickly receiving a response from Kasumi, letting him know she would be there as soon as she could, Tatsuo put his smartphone away and started walking towards the designated location.
Meanwhile, Ayane quickly spotted Tatsuo as he left the school gates. She then, as stealthily as she could, followed him from a distance, looking for a good place to ambush him and take him hostage. Unfortunately, she had no idea that her stealth was all but useless in front of Tatsuo's [Perception].
Eventually, Tatsuo, after walking a fair distance away from his school, turned into an alley, looking as if he was taking a shortcut to his destination. When Ayane saw that, her eyes narrowed, sensing that her opportunity had arrived.
With that realization, Ayane sped up, intending to cut Tatsuo off before he could come out of the other side of the alley. Then, when she finally caught up to Tatsuo, she realized that the alley led to a construction site. Though, from what she could tell, it was not in use today.
'Could things be going any better?' Ayane thought to herself as she ran silently across the roof of the building to Tatsuo's right. 'The chances of someone passing by and seeing this is even lower now.'
A moment later, Ayane reached the edge of the building, then, as if the three-story drop did not bother her in the slightest, she leapt off the edge, landing just in front of Tatsuo. However, when she looked at Tatsuo, she finally realized that something was wrong.
Instead of a surprised expression, Tatsuo wore a smile when he saw her land in front of him. As if he was expecting her to appear when she did.
"Good." Tatsuo said with a nod as he placed his school bag down next to the exit of the alley. "The only thing I was worried about was you attacking me on the street. Because from what Kasumi-Neesan told me, you were the type to do something like that to complete your mission."
Ayane's brows furrowed when she heard that.
"Not only did she reveal the existence of the Mugen Tenshin Clan, but she also gave away some of our secrets." Ayane said as she clenched her fists. "she's the worst kind of traitor."
Tatsuo rolled his eyes in response.
"Oh, get over yourself." Tatsuo said. "She did something to protect her family. Just like what she did when she left your little village. She wanted to avenge her older brother. If that makes her a traitor, then your village is the problem, not her. Maybe you should think about why no one was sent to capture or kill him after he attacked your village. It's almost like someone wanted the heir to the clan to die."
"Silence!" Ayane shouted angrily. "You know nothing."
*Swoosh!*
Before Ayane's words finished echoing through the construction site, Tatsuo vanished from where he stood in a burst of speed, reappearing in front of her with is posture lowered and ready to attack.
"Actually, I think it's you who knows nothing." Tatsuo said as he reappeared. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have just dropped down in front of someone like me."
Seeing Tatsuo so close, Ayane's eyes widened in shock. Yet, despite her shock, she was able to raise her left hand and swat Tatsuo's punch that was aimed for her sternum to the side. Then, letting her countless hours of training as well as experience on missions, guide her actions, she threw a punch of her own in response.
Reacting just as quickly, Tatsuo tilted his head, causing Ayane's fist to miss his throat by less than an inch. Then, he quickly raised his left arm, which had been knocked to the side, aiming his fist at Ayane's outstretched right elbow.
Quickly pulling her arm back, Ayane spun her body. She then threw a roundhouse kick at the side of Tatsuo's head, which he dodged by ducking. However, before Tatsuo could counterattack, just as Ayane's right foot touched the ground again, she summersaulted backwards, trying to kick Tatsuo under his chin as she created a bit of distance while making a half twist in the air, intending to land with her back facing Tatsuo to make her follow up attack.
Tatsuo dodged the kick by spinning on his left foot, Ayane's left foot passing just in front of his nose. Then, right after his quarter turn, Tatsuo stepped towards Ayane with his left foot, slamming his left elbow at her lower back just as her feet touched the ground.
*Bang!*
"Argh!" Ayane grunted due to the impact.
Yet, Tatsuo did not let up, stepping in a little closer while sliding his left leg behind Ayane's legs. At the same time, he grabbed Ayane's left arm with is right hand. Then, he pulled her body backwards, causing her to be tripped over his left leg.
This naturally caused Ayane to fall towards the ground. However, despite the pain in her lower back, Ayane rolled into the fall, protecting herself from taking more damage than necessary before rolling away and hopping back to her feet, while crouching low.
Ayane then swept he right leg at Tatsuo's legs to knock his feet out from under him. Yet, Tatsuo, having seen through what was coming next, stomped down hard in front of Ayane's incoming sweep, stopping her leg in its tracks, damaging both their shins as they collided.
The sharp pain, though not enough to make either combatant stop, caused them both to pause for a moment. In the next moment, Tatsuo stepped back. Meanwhile, Ayane, using her left leg as leverage, stood up abruptly, aiming her left fist at where Tatsuo's chin would have been.
Missing her rising uppercut, Ayane hopped back, making a little distance while staring at Tatsuo, who had taken his stance once again, with great intensity. And despite everything she had been taught in her training, Ayane could not help letting her thoughts wander away from the fight for a moment.
'Damn DOATEC bitch.' Ayane thought to herself angrily. 'She did not tell me about this boy's fighting skill intentionally. Just what is she planning? I'll make her pay for this deception.'
However, before Ayane could thinking any longer, she was snapped back to the here and now as Tatsuo once again lunged at her, ready to engage in another round of close quarters combat.
Meanwhile, as Tatsuo and Ayane exchanged punches, kicks, grabs, and throws, lying prone on a roof a little more than 6,500 feet away, Christie watched the ongoing fight through the scope of a British L96A1 sniper rifle, the rifle with the world record for the longest range ever recorded to defeat an enemy in combat.
"It looks like you've improved quite a bit since the last time I saw you, Subject 47." Christie muttered to herself with a sadistic smile on her face. "I can tell, you're holding back by quite a bit, matching that little ninja girl's level of strength and speed in this exchange. You displayed a lot more back when you tried to kill me almost two months ago. Mmm~! You must have missed my loving touch so much."
While she spoke her thoughts aloud in her playfully sadistic tone, Christie's right index finger danced over the rifle's trigger, ready to fire a pair of tranquilizer darts as soon as the opportunity presented itself.
However, these tranquilizers were no ordinary tranq darts. Instead, they were specially made by DOATEC, as they knew, thanks to all the conditioning they did when Tatsuo was in their custody, he could handle much more than any normal human.
And since Ayane was a trained shinobi, Christie assumed that a dosage like the one in the darts would not kill her, either.
'And that little kunoichi, despite how much she wants the one that got away dead, will be the perfect bait." Christie continued.
However, before Christie could continue with her monologue, she saw the perfect opportunity she was waiting for, as she quickly took a sharp inhale. Then, she smoothly squeezed the rifle's trigger.
*Bang!* *Bang!*
Meanwhile, back at the construction site, Tatsuo had just maneuvered his way to the perfect position to land a blow that would bring this little spar, as he saw it, to an end. However, just before he could do so, his instincts started ringing alarm bells in his head.
Following his instincts, Tatsuo abandoned the blow to the back of Ayane's neck that probably would not leave her unconscious. Though, it would probably leave her unable to move her body for a while. Opting to slam his palm into the center of her back, sending her flying, before jumping backwards himself.
*Crack!* *Crack!*
In the next instant, two darts were imbedded into the ground near where both Tatsuo and Ayane had been standing a moment ago, only the ends of the rounds sticking out of the ground, the sound of the rifle not arriving for another four, or so, seconds.
Though the rounds fired were only meant to tranquilize, because they were fired from such a high caliber weapon, they would have definitely done quite a bit of damage when they hit, more than likely shattering several bones. Though, with DOATEC's resources, none of the injuries Tatsuo or Ayane would have suffered would have been permanent, as DOATEC would want to brainwash them into being their loyal weapons.
Immediately, Tatsuo snapped his head in the direction from which the two rounds were fired. At the same time, he strengthened his eye sight by flowing his [Energy] into his eyes. When he did, he could see Christie lying prone on a faraway building watching him through the scope of a sniper rifle, a surprised expression on her face due to the missed shots.
Immediately, Tatsuo's anger reached its boiling point. However, thanks to the training he received from Scáthach during his trip to James' world, he did not lose completely his rationality. Though, the purple of his irises did expand to cover his sclerae while his black pupil stretched into a slitted one while he glared at Christie.
At the same time, Tatsuo's hands and forearms bulked up, growing in size as they were covered in midnight purple dragon scales. Meanwhile, Tatsuo's fingernails lengthened and sharpened while turning black in color, turning into the claws of a dragon.
Tatsuo then, with the tips of his claws glowing with the color of his [Energy], instinctively swiped at the air in front of him while his eyes stayed fixed on Christie. Yet, this simple action caused a phenomenon that was anything but simple.
Where Tatsuo's claws passed, the fabric of space as torn open. At the same time, an identical tear in space was torn open to the left of Christie, who Tatsuo could see turn her head in stupefaction.
"You're not getting away this time, Bitch!" Tatsuo growled as he reached through the tear in space with is right hand and wrapped his right claw around Christie's neck. He then yanked her through the tear before it snapped shut behind her.
Meanwhile, while all this was happening, Ayane had been surprised that Tatsuo saved her from being shot. However, when she saw the change in Tatsuo's features, she, too, despite her training, lost her composure and froze on the spot.
"Well, it looks like you're coming with me, too." Tatsuo muttered just before he, with Christie struggling to free herself from his grip, [Blinked] behind Ayane before wrapping his free hand around her neck from behind. "Unfortunately, now that the two of you have seen a secret that I don't want getting out, I'm not sure if either of you will be leaving."
After saying that, Tatsuo vanished from where he stood, casting [Return] to return to his bedroom. He would have to text Kasumi to let her know the change in plans after he secured the prisoners, though.