The two sat there eating the food and talking, Hakufu did most of the talking and Haru listened. Haru learned that Hakufu lived with her mother alone in a small town miles away from here. Her mother raised her by herself since her dad died when she was still a baby. And she with help from her mother's friends, trained her to fight but wanted her to pursue other things like flower arrangements and tea ceremonies.
"And now Hakufu is here to meet up with Hakufu's cousin?" Haru asked.
"Yep…or I was till I got lost. This place is huge." She said using her arms to explain.
"It is, maybe Haru could help?"
"Can you?"
"Haru could, where does Hakufu's cousin live?"
"I'm not sure, but he asked me to meet him at his school at 10. Do you know where Nanyo Academy is?"
"Haru does, please follow Haru."
Hakufu nodded, grabbed one of her bags while he took the other, and followed Haru. It took them only ten minutes to reach the gates of Nanyo. It was a good size school with the students hanging out in front of the school. The uniforms they had was a simple white button up t-shirt with a sleeveless yellow vest over it with the guys having a red tie and black slack while the girls had a red bow tie and red skirt. Some of the students, mainly the guys, only were the shirt and pants. Hakufu was looking around to see if she could spot her cousin, but no such luck.
"Damn, I can't find him." She huffed.
"Maybe he's inside." Haru said.
"Maybe, but he should be here now, that asshole is late."
"Haru is sure that he might be caught up in school work or something? Anyways, Haru should leave."
"Huh, why?"
"Haru… doesn't like to be in large crowds, it makes Haru feel like Haru doesn't belong." He said looking down.
"Haru-san, I told you I protect you if anyone tries anything to you."
"Haru knows, but Haru should go anyways. Haru needs to do something before night fall." He explained.
"If you say so Haru-san, then I'll see you later. And thanks again for the food." Hakufu said and took the bag from his hand and walked through the gates.
Haru waved at her and started to walk away from the gates. He walked with a skip in his step now that he has a real friend. This meant he might not have such a shitty life after all. He still has other problems don't get him wrong, but with a friend like Hakufu, a bit ditzy and an air head at times, she is a good person and a loyal friend maybe that could lessen the sting of his life. And he'll be the best friend she ever had, he'll work hard to make sure this friendship last.
"Haru is so glad that Haru and Hakufu are friends, and Haru hope Hakufu finds her cousin soon. Haru is worried about her though, many of the guys there were looking at her with a must lust in their eyes… no, Haru shouldn't be worried, she'll be fine. Haru sure Hakufu will stay out of trouble." He reassures himself.
Just as he said that, he heard a loud scream, then a body fell out from the sky and landed in front of him. Haru screamed and jumped back. Once his nerves calmed down enough, he looked at the body that came out of nowhere, it was a teen and he was wearing the same uniform as the students of the school he just left. Haru saw that he was knocked out and had a nasty looking kick wound on his stomach. Haru than heard grunts and sound of pains from the other side of the gates. He went to the front gates and saw that Hakufu was surrounded by the students. He notices that her pigtails were down too and her hair went past her shoulders.
Haru spotted the ribbons that she wore and picked them up. He notices that they had something written on them.
Remember, fighting is prohibited. Love Mama.
Haru looked back to see Hakufu kicked a guy in the chest, dodged a fist from another, punched that guy in the face, jumped and flipped in the air, and slammed her feet onto another guy's head.
"Hey there everyone! My name is Hakufu Sonsaku, I like tea ceremonies and flower arrangements. I was wondering if anyone knows where my cousin is. Oh, and I'm going to defeat at least 30 of you guys, so who's next?" She said in a loud voice so everyone could hear her while pinning down some guy's head making sure he stays down.
Haru was stun; Hakufu was challenging these fighters and didn't seem to have a care in the world. And by the looks of the body count she is making, she was a very strong fighter herself. Haru also saw that the other fighters were reluctant to go against her.
"Man this chick is crazy!" One of them said.
"You think? She just pops out of nowhere demanding to fight us and we're dropping like flies!" Another said.
"Is she really planning to K.O. 30 fighters in one day?" Said another.
"But you gotta admit, she has one fucking great set of boobs on her."
"No doubt about that."
Haru didn't like how they were speaking about Hakufu; they only see her as a great lay rather than a great person. Just then, a guy with a round hat and long hair tied into a long braid that almost reaches the ground, started kicking at her, but Hakufu dodge them with ease. He tried to get her several times before she kicked him straight in the side of his face hard knocking him out.
"Amazing! Haru never knew Hakufu was this strong. But so much for Haru thinking that Hakufu would stay out of trouble. Haru only hopes that Hakufu doesn't run into someone really strong." He whispered.
Hakufu just finished kicking someone in the head and started to back up when she pumped into someone. She looked back and saw she pumped into a guy around 17 or 18 years old with a tan, brown hair that went to his shoulders, and brown eyes. He had this smirk on his face that Haru didn't like, he was giving off a vibe that feels like he is more than one thinks, but in a dark way.
"Oh sorry about that. Didn't mean to pump into you." Hakufu said.
"No worries, and from such a cute looking girl, I wouldn't mind you doing that to me all the time." He said with a sly tone.
Then he grabbed her large boobs and fondle with them. Haru yipped at what he was seeing, some strange teen was molesting his friend and she was just standing there, looking surprised, and not doing anything. Haru notice that he slipped his hand inside her dress and pulled out something, it was such a fast motions that he couldn't tell what he pulled out.
"Let's see… I'm guessing you're a… D size?" he asked.
"That's exactly right, how do you know that? Are you a bra salesman?" She asked.
Haru flunks his head when she said that, Hakufu was very dense it seems.
"You can say that." He said into her ear and continues to mess with her breast.
Then they heard a loud crack. Both turn to see what it was but saw nothing. Just the wall. Haru was behind the wall breathing heavily looking at his hands, they were shaken badly and had a few pebbles on them. Haru himself was looking like he did something bad.
"Not now…. please not now. Haru must control it; Haru can't lose it and let Hakufu see it, Haru can't let Hakufu see." He whispered in sadness.
After a few seconds, he returned to see that Hakufu was back to fighting and the teen was now on the side lines watching. He let out a sigh thanking whatever higher power that they didn't notice him and he didn't do what he feared the most. Hakufu slammed her palms in some guy's chest sending him to the ground hard.
"That's 28 so far; I need 2 more to make my goal, who wants a fight me next?" Hakufu said smiling.
"Holy shit man, this girl IS crazy, there's no way I'm fighting her." One of them said.
"I'm with you, she just damn too strong for me." Another said and the others agreed.
"This is good; maybe Hakufu will stop and not get into more trouble." Haru said.
"Come on, isn't there anyone else left?" She egged on.
"Me." Said a gruff voice.
Hakufu turned and saw large teen around 6'9 with dark skin, short spiky black hair held back by a white head band, large muscles, and sharp eyes moved through the crowd. He towered over everyone. He walked up to her and looked down with a mild anger to his look. He had a silver magatama on his left ear. Haru paled at the looks of this giant that looks like he was ready to pulverize Hakufu.
"…. Why did Haru have to open Haru's big mouth, get out of there Hakufu." He said quietly.
"You there, show me your sacred bead.
"My bead?"
"Yes."
"Oh right give me a sec."
Hakufu looked around for her magatama but she can't seem to find it. She checked her dress and her bags, but nothing.
"What the hell? I can't find it?"
"You lost it?"
"I think so, oh well, it's nothing important, and I can always get a new one."
"Not important? Are you stupid or something woman? Don't you know what the magatama means to us fighters?" He asked with a stern voice.
"Hey don't call me stupid, anyone who says stupid first is the real stupid one."
"I won't fight you if you don't have it."
"Really? Shit! I must of dropped it somewhere, luckily I wrote my name on it with a marker."
"What?"
"Yeah, I used an extra fine point pen so you can see my name."
The large teen looked at her with anger in his eyes. Hakufu stepped back when she saw how pissed off he was.
"Um… are you pissed?"
Haru was sweating bullets now, the large teen looked like he was ready to rip her apart, and he had to help her… but how?
"Attack me."
"Huh?" Hakufu looked confused.
"You heard me, give me your best shot." He repeated.
"I can't do that, you're not even in a fighting pose, it'll feel wrong to attack you unharmed."
"I SAID ATTACK ME NOW!" He boomed.
"Geez alright, you didn't have to yell, but don't say I didn't warn you."
Hakufu did a strong high kick to his ribs, but he didn't seem to be effected in the slightest. Hakufu gasped, this was the first time anyone not only took her attack head on, but still be standing AND not affected by it, and it just floored her. Haru was equally stun as well, but he senses something within the larger teen's body, mainly his left knee, like it was on the edge of giving out. A hidden attack that was just waiting to happen, he didn't think about it long as he heard Hakufu.
"What! My kick did nothing? Did you feel anything?" she asked.
"Not even a tickle. How disappointing." He sighed.
He grabbed her ankle and throws her entire body in the air. He slammed his palm into her body making her skidded on the ground and slammed into a shack making a large human-size creator. Hakufu sledded to the ground, with brushes and cuts all over her body. She felt her body went numb from the pain. The teen walked up to her and just stared. He sighed again.
"I thought you were…someone of great power, guess I was mistaken." With that, he left her there.
The other did the same and only Hakufu remained. Once everyone turned their backs, Haru quickly dashed to Hakufu making sure there were no serious injuries on her. Hakufu slowing looked at the boy who was looking her over with a mild surprise on her face.
"O… Haru-san?"
"Yes it's Haru, can Hakufu move?" he asked.
"Not really, my body feels really sore, can't even move my pinky." She laughed awkwardly.
"Haru will get Hakufu help, don't worry." He said quietly.
"Thanks Haru-san, you're very sweet." This made him blush a bit but shook it off.
"That's because your Haru's friend and Haru will do anything for a friend." He said with a small smile.
"Hakufu!" Said a voice.
The two turned to see a teen around Hakufu's age with short deep blue hair and purple eyes and was around her height too, he had a white magatama.
"Hakufu, are you alright?" The teen asked.
Haru was a bit tense as he got closer to them.
"Koukin-kun? Is that you?" Hakufu asked with a bit of a raspy voice.
"Yes it's me Hakufu. What were you thinking going against Gakushuu-san?" He nearly screamed.
"He was a strong fighter… and I wanted… to… fight him." She said before passing out.
She fell near Haru and he caught her. Both check to see that she is just asleep and they both sighed.
"Thank God she's ok, but we need to get her to the infirmary just in case." Haru nodded in agreement.
"Haru can help."
"Thanks," Koukin said.
So carefully, the two picked her up and brought her to the infirmary. They gently lay her on the bed. The nurse went to fetch the medical supplies in another room so Haru and Koukin sat next to the bed and waited. To kill some time, Koukin began talking to Haru.
"So thanks for helping me carry Hakufu here." Koukin said.
"No problem, Hakufu is Haru's friend and would do anything to help her." He said.
"Friends huh? For how long?"
"A couple of hours ago, Hakufu was lost and couldn't find her way here. Hakufu bumped into Haru while Haru was eating and Haru offered some of Haru's food cause Hakufu hadn't eaten for a while. After that, Hakufu and Haru began talking and getting to know one another and became good friends." He explained.
"I see, well thank you for feeding her and taking care of her up till now, I was running late with a personal project and got sidetracked and lost the time." He said with a small chuckle.
"Are you Hakufu's cousin?"
"Yes, I'm Koukin Shuuyu."
"Haru wanted to ask, but does Hakufu go into fights so blindly?"
"I guess, we don't really know each other too well. I haven't seen her for over 10 years now. So your guess is as good as mine."
"Haru sees, maybe this will be a good chance to reconnect then?"
"I was planning on catching up on what I've missed. But I really hope she doesn't do this all the time."
"Haru agrees."
"Um…can I ask you something?"
"Yes?"
"Why do you talk in third person?"
Haru's face fell a little and looked at the ground. Koukin suddenly regretted asking, he saw that he hit a sensitive thing with that question.
"Shit, I didn't mean to pry into your personal life Haru-san. If it's too personal, then you don't have to answer."
"Thank you, Haru doesn't like to talk about things like that to many people, it makes Haru feel uncomfortable."
"Sorry there."
"It's ok."
The two sat in silence not really knowing what they should say or do next. It was Koukin that broke the silence.
"So Haru-san, do you live around here?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Do you go to any of the schools in Kanto?"
"No, Haru doesn't."
"So, you don't know what's going on then?"
"Going on?"
"You must have heard about the turf-war, right?"
"Haru has, it's very cruel and bloody how the fighters here do to one another. Why do they fight like that or fight at all?"
"It's… complicated Haru-san, be thankful you're not a part of the destiny we all have to face."
Haru turned his head in confusion. He was about to ask what Koukin meant when a low groan was heard. They looked down and saw that Hakufu was stirring from her sleep. Koukin went to get the nurse while Haru stayed. Hakufu slowly opened her eyes, she looked around with a daze look till her sights fell on Haru.
"Haru is glad that Hakufu is awake, Haru thought that—GAH!" He didn't finish as Hakufu leaped from the bed and on to him in a bear hug.
She throws them to the ground with her on top. Hakufu was hugging Haru to death and since he was so short, his head was in between her breasts. Haru was blushing madly; he never felt anything so soft in his life before. His hearing picked up as Hakufu was wailing like a baby.
"Please don't be mad at me mama! I didn't mean it to happen, please don't spank me, I'll be a good girl." She said with a whine.
She wailed like this for a few moments till Koukin and the nurse came in and saw the two on the ground. Haru had this "please help me" look as Hakufu continued to wail and hugged him tighter.
"Hakufu you idiot, what are you doing?" Koukin spoke up.
This seemed to snap her out of her daze and looked at Koukin angrily.
"Hey! You called me stupid! The one who says stupid first is really stupid!" She snapped back.
"Well I'm not the one who's giving Haru-san here the 'grip of death', let him go, you're suffocating him!" He retorted.
Hakufu was confused till Koukin pointed below her. She looked down and saw Haru was looking a bit blue in the face.
"Haru… can't… breath… needs… air… now!" He gasped.
"Oh shit!" She let go of him immediately.
Haru gasped as the sweet relief of the grip was gone and he could breath.
"Haru-san, I didn't mean to do that! It was an accident I swear." She tried to explain.
"'Cough' it's ok Hakufu 'cough' Haru knows 'cough' that Hakufu didn't mean to 'cough' hug Haru so tightly. But remember that Hakufu is a lot 'cough' stronger than Haru, so be careful next time?" He said between coughs.
"I will and I'm still sorry." She said and brought him into another but lighter hug.
And again, his head fell in between her large breasts, and he was red as a tomato. And his blush deepened when he realized her dress was down a bit and he could really feel her breasts. But either Hakufu didn't notice her dress was down or she didn't care, as she brought his head deeper into her cleavage. The nurse had pink across her face while looking at the display while Koukin groaned and had his own shade of red as well.
"Hakufu, I think you should let us treat your wounds now and let go of Haru-san before he loses his blood through his nose." Koukin spoke up.
"Ok." She said and let Haru go.
The nurse gave them the medical kit and left them so she could fill out the report. Koukin applied the ointment on her bruises while Haru uses the bandages on her cuts. Hakufu squirmed under their care.
"Stop moving so much." Koukin said trying to be as gentle as possible.
"I can't help it, that stuff stings like a bitch." She whined.
"Please Hakufu, it'll help Hakufu heal Hakufu's wounds and Koukin can't do it if Hakufu moves so much." Haru added.
"Fine I'll try—OUCH! Be careful!" She snapped at Koukin.
"Sorry, you're still moving too much." He said.
After ten minutes of patching her up, Koukin gathered the supplies and went to put them away. Haru and Hakufu sat there and started to talk.
"Haru is glad that Hakufu is ok, but why did Hakufu do that?" Haru asked.
"Do what?"
"Went into that fight you did?"
"Like I said before, I'm here to fight strong opponents."
"But 30 at once?"
"Oh, that was my mama's suggestion."
"Huh?"
"She said 'first impressions are important, so defeat 30 fighters and you'll be sure to make a good impression' and I almost got to 30, but that big guy gunned me down, and easily too." She said with a depressed voice.
"That 'big guy that gunned you down' was Gakushuu-san and he is part of the Big Four of Nanyo." Koukin said, coming back to them.
"Big Four?" The two asked.
"They're the strongest fighters here at Nanyo and Gakushuu-san is a very strong fighter, he's a SS rank fighter and that makes him really strong."
"Then that only gives me more reason to fight him!"
"WHAT!?" Koukin and Haru yelled in disbelief.
"And while I'm at it, I'll challenge all four of them."
"Are you insane? You didn't last 30 seconds with Gakushuu-san, and he's the weakest of the four. And you're telling us you want to go against all four of them? Are you stupid?" Koukin freaked out.
"Hey, you called me stupid again!"
"Hakufu, Haru and Koukin are just worried that Hakufu might get seriously hurt if Hakufu goes up against Gakushuu again. Gakushuu is very tough and Hakufu's kick didn't even faze Gakushuu. Haru thinks that Hakufu should at least rest and really think about what Hakufu wants, going head strong against powerful opponents like that… Hakufu may not make it out in one piece." Haru said the last part quietly.
Hakufu sat there and absorbed what Haru said. He did have a point, her kick didn't seem to hurt him and he did major damage on her just with one punch. If she really wants to be able to defeat stronger opponents like Gakushuu, she needs to be smarter in battle.
"Your right Haru-san, I shouldn't go head first into fights like that but I still want to fight stronger opponents so I can get stronger. It's in my blood, my fighting spirit burns with the desire to fight stronger opponents!"
"And you will but only with training and using your head." Koukin said.
"Ok."
"I've been meaning to ask you, but why did you come here? Aunt Goei called me out of the blue and said you were going to attend at Nanyo, why?
"Cause Ma said so."
"Haru is confused? Doesn't Hakufu's mother know about the fights?" Haru asked.
"She does and she said I need to conquer all of the region… or something along the lines of that."
"As I feared, of course she said that." Koukin sighed.
"Huh?" Both Haru and Hakufu said.
"It's nothing for now; don't worry about it for now."
"If you say so." Hakufu shrugged.
"So, did you get your magatama from aunt Goei yet?" Koukin asked Hakufu.
"Oh yeah, she gave it to me the morning I left it's right…GASP!"
"What?"
"I lost it."
"YOU WHAT! How can you lose your freak'n magatama?" Koukin said, basically yelling.
"I think I dropped it while I was fighting?"
It was then Haru remembered that during the fight, the guy that was groping Hakufu went into her dress and took something out. It must be that he stole it!
"Wait, Haru thinks that when that teen with the brown hair was… touching you, he dug into your dress and took it."
"Wait… what do you mean touching her? Touch her where?" Koukin demanded.
But before Haru could answer, the door opened and the teen that molested Hakufu from before, stood at the door with a chilled out smile.
"I see you're looking better." He said.
"Hey I know you, you're that bra salesman." Hakufu said.
"No, I'm actually a student here."
"Then how did you know my bra size?"
"Lots of experience."
"Haru bets" Haru thought.
Haru could tell right off the bat that he was trouble. He was the type of person who isn't ashamed of molesting girls in public and thinking he can get away with it. But there was a hidden agenda to him, a dark secret that could harm his friend.
"Haru should watch this one."
"Your Saji Genpou." Koukin said.
"The one and only."
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh to give this back." He held up a green magatama.
"I believe this is the young ladies here."
"How can Saji know?" Haru asked.
He showed them on the side her name written in permanent ink.
"… You wrote on it!" Koukin asked her, giving her a small glare wondering what was going through her head when she did that.
"What? I thought it would be a good idea if I ever lost it. And it worked didn't it? By the way, how did you find it… you stole it didn't you? Haru-san was right!" Hakufu asked Saji, giving him the stink eye.
"Oh no, you misunderstood. See you dropped it and I found it lying on the ground, so I kept it safe till you were done with that fight of yours." He said.
"Bullshit/Yeah right/Really?" Hakufu, Koukin, and Haru thought.
"Well, thank you very much; I would have gotten such a hassle from my Ma if she learned I lost this." She said, lying to him, taking the magatama from him.
"No problem, just make sure you keep an eye on it closely, it proves that you're a fighter." He said.
"I know, my Ma would have killed me if she found out I lost it, I wonder if I have some string left?" Hakufu said, going into her bag.
"She's an interesting one indeed." Saji chuckled.
"And a handful it seems." Koukin sighed.
"But what really interests me is that she may be the Sho Haou ."
Koukin stiffened up when Saji said that.
"W… what makes you think that she is…?"
"Don't worry, I'm not much into conflict and I really don't care who she is or what she was 1800 years ago… but there are others who may find her… too dangerous to be alive. So, watch her back and yours, Koukin Shuuyu."
"How did you know my name?"
"Don't be so modest, and as how I know, isn't your destiny to protect Sonsaku from anything?"
Koukin didn't answer directly. Saji took this moment of hesitation and continued his questioning.
"And as for you being such a weak fighter, it's getting pretty damn old. I know for a fact that you're a lot stronger than you play yourself at. You better wake up and start acting who you really are or things will get ugly and fast."
"Why is Saji doing this?" Haru spoke up.
The two looked at Haru who had a worried expression on his face.
"And who might you be?" Saji asked.
"Haru."
"Haru? I believe I heard that name before. Aren't you the kid that can fix anything?"
"Yes, Haru is a Tinkerer and can fix anything you give Haru."
"I must say that's a handy skill to have, but why are you here?"
"Cause Hakufu was hurt and needed help. Hakufu is Haru's friend."
"I see. Well Haru-san, it's a pleasure to meet you but a word of advice. Be careful who you choose your friends to be, they might not be who they say they are." With that, Saji left the room.
"Haru doesn't like Saji, Saji is hiding something and it could hurt others for Saji's own gain."
"You might be right, but he's also one of the Big Four Haru-san, so we can't really do much for now."
"What was Saji talking about when Saji said about Koukin's destiny and what Hakufu might be?" Haru asked.
"He's referring to what happened over 1800 years ago, during the era of the Three Kingdoms."
"The Three Kingdoms?"
"Long ago in China, fighters tried to conquer all the lands of China. Within the massive battles were unique and very powerful fighters that stood out and remain in history. These fighters were called the 'Heroes of the Three Kingdoms'. Today, the battle rages on, with us." Koukin said, looking out the window.
"And this destiny has something to do with Hakufu and Koukin?"
"Yes, the Magatama or sacred beads you see us wearing were actually handed down from generation to generation. Each carried the soul and destiny of that fighter back then, some became great fighters and won every battle… while others died very young from other fighters or something else. Today, we not only bear the names of those fighters from the era, but also their fate."
Haru could see that Koukin was very upset when he said the last part. It sounded like all this fighting carried a much deeper and darker side than he originally thought. And to be honest, it started to make sense why these fights were so cruel and bloody, but does it have to be this way?
"Can't Koukin and Hakufu just simply not go down the same path as the fighters from before?" Haru asked.
"It's not that easy Haru-san, many of our destinies and fates are intertwined with others and they want to make what happened in the era of the Three Kingdoms happen to them. And for those whose lives are with these beads, can never change it. That's why I said you should be thankful you're not part of this."
"Haru sees, and what's Hakufu's destiny?"
Koukin didn't answer as Hakufu came back with her bead in a new string necklace.
"Finally found that damn string, took me forever to… hey, where's that dude that had my bead?"
"Oh, he left, and by the way, that was Saji-san, another part of the Big Four, you should be careful with him." Koukin said.
"If you say so, hey Haru-san, wanna check out the school with me?"
"Haru can't, Haru has to do something important before like Haru said Haru had to do. Maybe some other time."
"Damn, I wanted to spend some time with you but alright, I'll see you later and be careful Haru-san." Hakufu gave him a hug and he hugged back.
"It was nice meeting you Haru-san, hope we meet again soon." Koukin shook his hand.
"Ditto…does this mean Haru and Koukin are friends?" Haru asked.
"Of course we're friends now. And you're welcome to come to my place and hang around if you want, here's my address." Koukin quickly wrote down his address on a piece of paper and gave it to him.
"Haru will one day." He put the paper in his bag and left.