Chapter 13 : The History Of Team Taka - The Birth of the Strongest TeamYuki slid open the door as everyone in the room stopped what they were currently doing and started back at the newcomer. ”.....”
“A new student!” Rena shouted and pointed.
“.....” Yuki was really shy since everyone was staring at her and wanted to escape but there was pretty much nowhere else to go. So she just walked slowly with her head down, towards an empty seat beside Rena.
“Hey! You look really young! What’s your name? How old are you?” Rena immediately bombarded Yuki with questions.
Yuki shyly nodded. “My name is Kashiwagi Yuki. 7 years old. Please take care of me.”
“Oh~ 6 years difference.. I’m Matsui Rena. 13 years old.” The raven haired girl introduced.
“Rena senpai..” Yuki nodded her head a little in respect.
“Wow, you’re REEEEEAAAALLY polite... I like you!” Rena’s face brightened. “Let’s be best friends!” Rena placed an arm over Yuki’s shoulder as if they were already close to one another. Rena was always straight forward and talkative so it was no surprise that she acted this bold with Yuki.
“Uhm... Okay..” Yuki nodded shyly as she didn’t know how else to react to it.
“Come on! Don’t be shy!!” Rena nudged the young girl again and again. “Let me introduce you to some of my friends.”
A girl appeared in front of Yuki. “Hi! I’m Takayanagi Akane! You can call me Churi. I’m 12 this year and I love birds. And have I mentioned how much you look like a white-starred robin? Your facial features.. Oh in case you don’t know, they’re beautiful birds that can only be found in the Afric-”
“Out of the way! You’re gonna scare her away with your bird talk!” Another girl suddenly shoved Churi away with a butt thrust. “Hi! I’m Furukawa Airi! You can just call me Airin. Or THE BOSS!” Airin then wore a pair of sunglasses that she got out of nowhere.
“......” Yuki remained silent at Airin’s lame gag.
“Alright, that was really bad.” Airin removed her sunglasses and smiled brightly. “I’m 12 this year as well. Same like this birdy bird bird girl right here.” Airin pointed at Churi.
“Don’t shove me away with your butt, Airin!” Churi poked Airin’s shoulder just like how a 12 year old would do.
“Oh yeah? Nobody cares about your bird talk, Churi!” Airin poked Churi’s chest.
“Don’t poke my chest!” Churi flinched from Airin’s action. “And you don’t know if she likes birds or not, Airin!”
“Oh, I know, alright... I always know.” Airin then hopped on top of the lecturer’s table and opened her arms wide. “Coz I’m the king of the world!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!!!” Airin laughed like a boss but to her surprise, there was no reaction to it. The whole class usually laugh or cheered on but this time, they were silent. Curious about this matter, she tilted her head back down just to come face to face with Takamina staring back at her.
“What are you doing, Airin?” Takamina asked with a straight expression.
“I uhhhhh.......” Airin merely blinked at Takamina and let out a fake laugh. “I’m posing.... See? Ahahaha...” She posed again.
“Get back to your seat while I’m still being nice, kid.” Takamina show a glare at Airin and that made her tremble a little in fear.
“Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry!” Airin felt apologetic as she hopped back down on the ground and went back to her seat.
Takamina then slammed her book on her table before gazing at everybody’s eyes. “I have only 2 simple rules for you people. Rule number one, other than asking relevant questions, you are not allowed to talk when I’m talking. Rule number two, you will not sleep or let your mind wander during class. And the rule starts now. Simple, right?”
“What happens if we do not obey the rules?” Churi hands up and asked.
Takamina raised her brow. “You can try.”
“Maybe not.” Churi slowly placed her hand now.
“Pfft.. Owned.” Airin giggled and that caught Takamina’s attention.
Takamina walked over towards Airin and tilted her head down at the sitting girl. “You don’t seem to get what I just said, Airin.”
“I deeply apologize for that. Please don’t hurt me.” Airin begged, knowing how strict Takamina would be.
Airin began panicking when Takamina grabbed onto her collar. “Apology not accepted.”
To everyone’s horror, Takamina straight up threw Airin out the open window. Bear in mind that their class was on the 5th floor. It was terrifying. “WOOAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” As Airin flew out the window, Takamina took out her Judgement and shot a hook that grappled onto Airin’s leg, stopping her fall right away. She then locked the Judgement handle on the window pane, causing Airin to be hanged upside down outside the 5th floor window. “HELPPP!!!!”
“That’s what happens if you disobey me, students. Any more questions?” Takamina asked and was replied with only silence. She then smiled a little. “Good. I like peace. Now let the class begin.”
The class went by normally as Airin remained hanging upside down outside the window the whole time. Takamina was actually doing pretty well as a lecturer. She covered all the important points but still, she hated the job as a lecturer. Only after Takamina finished her class, she pulled Airin back up who now had a completely red face since all the blood rushed up into her head. “Have you learnt your lesson?”
“.....” Airin merely nodded and blinked as if she just lost her mind. It was unlike the hyperactive Airin to be so silent like this. Only Takamina was able to do that. Even Rena who happened to be very close to Takamina dind’t dare to make a single sound throughout the class.
“Pfft... Loser.” Churi placed an L on her forehead.
“Shut up! I’m gonna get you!” Airin began chasing Churi around.
“How was your first day? Was it fun?” Rena smiled at Yuki.
“Uhm....” Yuki scratched her head a little. “I don’t think I understood anything..”
A few months had passed since Yuki entered Legion Academy. She and Rena had developed a very close friendship. This month’s exam results just came out. Rena ranked 1st in combat as usual while she got 6th in theory. This marks the 33rd time Rena was in the top 10 in theory. If everything goes well, Rena could graduate in 7 months time. Yuki on the other hand, was not doing so well in her exams since the day she came in.
“....” Yuki pouted at her ranking in the exams. She got last place for both exams once again. She knew she was the youngest one around but she wanted to at least have a high score.
“Don’t worry about it, Yuki. You’ll do better. Maybe you should meet Minami nee-chan personally for that.” Rena suggested.
Yuki too agree that she needed a little counseling about this matter. She went over to Takamina’s room and was about to knock, before she heard someone speaking.
“She seem to fail every single one of the monthly test.” A voice was heard from behind the door.
That sentence caught Yuki’s attraction as she merely kept silent as she lean her body behind the wall and eavesdrop their conversation. “...”
“She’s still young, Minami. You have to understand.” Atsuko voiced out.
“Rena was also young when she first joined Legion.” Takamina replied.
“It’s different. Rena learnt a lot from you before she even joined. That’s why she could adapt well. Yuki was merely a 7 year old girl who plays around before this. You can’t expect so much from her.”
“I don’t know how to deal with her, Atsuko. She’s doing VERY poorly in exams for the past few months.” Takamina complained. “A 10 upon 100 for theory, Atsuko. You’re the best in theory so you tell me what you have in mind about her results.”
“Well, she’s just 7 so that was kinda expected?” Atsuko shrugged. “You can’t expect her to cope with all these new terms when she just got in, right? She can always improve..”
“Improve? I doubt she can ever improve.” Takamina had already expected Atsuko to side with Yuki. “Alright fine. She can’t study? Then look at her combat exam results. A 7 out of fricking 500, Atsuko. Let me repeat myself. A SEVEN... OUT OF FIVE HUNDRED.. I don’t know if I should laugh or cry because I have never seen such bad results in my life. She can’t run. She can’t do push ups. She can’t do long jumps. She can’t do anything!”
Atsuko shook her head. “Once again, she is only 7, Minami.. Why would you expect a 7 year old girl to be able to do all that!?”
“I could run the whole field when I was 7.” Takamina grumbled. “That girl wheezed at the 20 meter mark.”
“You were different, Minami.. You were a prodigy.. You were born to do things normal kids can’t possibly do. Yes, you trained everyday. I know.. But you have to realize this. Not everybody can do those things at age 7.” Atsuko explained.
“She’s just weak.” Takamina insisted.
Yuki who heard this got hurt by those words as her eyes started welling up with tears and clenched her fists. She was no prodigy like Takamina. She most definitely wasn’t born a fighter. She is not and probably will never be as strong as Takamina will ever be, but this did not break her. Just like the first day she came to Legion Academy and had a talk with Takamina, Yuki believed that she can and will get stronger than she is. Yuki then barged into the room and faced them both and swallowed her tears because she knew just how much Takamina hated seeing tears. She called out loud, alerting both Atsuko and Takamina. “I am not strong now, but give me a few years to adapt. I will definitely become a strong fighter like you. I want to prove to you that I’m not a weakling. I’m a strong fighter too!”
Those words were quite deep for a 7 years old kid to say, but Yuki truly believed in Takamina’s words on the first day that she can indeed become stronger if she wants to. She just needed to work much harder than everyone else. Takamina was hit by a strong feeling of nostalgia. For some reason, Takamina couldn’t talk back. Every single thing Yuki said about becoming stronger sounded very similar to what Minako said. Takamina literally pictured Yuki as Minako at that point. “....”
“Ah..” Only then, Yuki realized that she rudely barged into a lecturer’s room. “I’m sorry! Forgive me! I won’t do it again! Don’t scold me please! It was an accident! I’m sorry!”
“I kinda like her.” Atsuko smiled and twitched her nose. She then called Yuki to come closer. “Yuki, come here..”
“...” Silently, Yuki walked towards Atsuko.
Atsuko then bent her body to come eye to eye level with Yuki. “Yuki, you’re a hardworking girl, aren’t you?”
Yuki nodded.
“You want to be able to graduate as a strong Reaper, don’t you?”
Yuki nodded once again.
“But to graduate, you need to score well in your exams, you know that right?” Atsuko asked with a motherly smile.
“I’m already trying very hard..” Yuki said.
“Trying isn’t enough, Yuki. You need to do it.” Atsuko said.
“Mm..” Yuki nodded silently.
“You know how Minami is very cool and stylish despite being fierce, right?”
“Mhmm..” Yuki nodded.
Atsuko then whispered at Yuki softly. “How would you like to see the girly side of her?”
“I heard that.” Takamina said.
“How about this..” Atsuko continued whispering. “If you manage to score 70 out of 100 for next month’s theory exam, I will dress Minami up like a fairy princess and force her to act like one. Then I will take her out for a date with her dressed up like that and listen to every single one of my command for the whole day.”
“I totally heard that, Atsuko.” Takamina gave Atsuko the side eye.
“I can do that for real, but you have to work hard for it, okay?” Atsuko smiled and winked at Yuki.
Yuki merely bit her lip to contain her giggle.
“I didn’t agree to anything.” Takamina said.
“What’s wrong, Minami? You’re afraid? You actually think she can get 70 now?” Atsuko tilted her head. “You said that she had no chance of improving her score earlier.”
“Don’t get smart with me, Atsuko. This is beyond childish!” Takamina raised her voice.
“It means you were merely spouting nonsense earlier. So you do believe that Yuki here can do very well in her exams.” Atsuko pushed even more.
“No I do not!” Takamina raised her voice even more. “Stop it!”
Atsuko too raised her voice. “If you think that then you will have no problem accepting this challenge!”
“Fine!” Takamina slammed the table and accepted the challenge because she was so overwhelmed with pride.
Yuki’s whole body flinched from that table slam.
Atsuko then shot a smile of satisfaction. “You accepted the challenge, Minami. You cannot back out from this.. Every single one of my commands~”
“Tch-” Takamina looked away.
“You’d like to see Minami dress up like a fairy princess, don’t you?” Atsuko asked.
Yuki’s smile widened. “Yes!”
“Then you have to score 70 points for next month’s theory exam, ok?”
“Ok!” Yuki said as she hopped out of the room cheerfully.
As soon as Yuki left, Takamina opened her mouth. “You’re out of your mind, Atsuko. This is ridiculous.”
“You accepted it, Minami. So you must deliver.” Atsuko said.
“Cool with me.” Takamina shrugged. “There’s no way she can improve so much within a month. I don’t believe it.”
“Aren’t you looking down on her too much?” Atsuko asked.
“I’m not looking down on her. I’m just telling the fact fom what I experienced first hand for the past few months.” Takamina retorted.
“Just get ready to wear a dress for the first time, Minami.” Atsuko winked as she made her way towards the door.
“Get out.” was all Takamina said.
“Are you serious!?” Rena grabbed Yuki’s shoulders in shock. “Minami nee-chan will dress up like a fairy princess if you scored at least 70 in theory!?”
“Yeah, Atsuko sensei said that earlier and Takamina sensei agreed.” Yuki said.
Rena grabbed Yuki’s hands suddenly, shocking the younger girl. “Let’s go steal the papers right now. I’ll help you.”
“W-Wha??”
“Come on! What are you waiting for? Let’s do it!” Rena nudged Yuki again and again.
“But that’s bad...” Yuki pouted.
“.....” The naiveness of a 7 years old girl made Rena silent.
“I want to try and get 70 with my own effort.” Yuki insisted.
“Yuki... I know you will eventually improve in your results but are you sure you can improve THAT much in just a month?” Rena asked.
“I have to do it somehow. I will camp in the library.”
“Well, good luck to you then.” Rena smiled brightly at Yuki.
“Thank you senpai!” Yuki replied the smile.
For the whole month, Yuki was spending her time in the library. She literally camped there. She wanted to get 70, not only because she wanted to see Takamina in a dress but also wanted to improve herself. She had been scoring poorly in the past exams and this time, she didn’t want to screw up as well. Atsuko and Rena went to the library to check on Yuki everyday. There was once Takamina went to the library as well. Takamina never entered the library since the day she came in but she was actually a little interested in how Yuki would be doing.
“Ugh- What is this term.....” Yuki scratched her head again and again. She was stressed out, hungry and sleepy at the same time. It was already 9pm and she still had not had her dinner yet.
Takamina stood behind the wall and took a peek at the young girl scratching her head again and again. “This kid is really hopeless...”
“Ahh.. I need to go to the toilet..” Yuki then stood up and went to the toilet. A few minutes later, she came back and saw something on her table. As she stepped closer to her table, there was a fruit drops can on her book along with a note. “What’s this?” She then picked up the note and read it.
“Eat a flavored candy while learning. During your exam, munch on the same flavor. It helps in remembering.”
“Hmm?” Yuki picked up the can of sweets and tilted her head. “Who left this?” Yuki merely shrugged and popped a candy in her mouth.
The month flew by in a flash and the next month’s results were out again.
“OH MY GOD!!! YUKI! YOU DID IT!” Rena’s eyes shot wide open at Yuki’s theory results this month. “You got 71 out of 100!!!”
“I did it!” Yuki hopped agian and again in joy while sucking on a piece of candy. 71 points wasn’t enough to get her to the top 10 ranks just yet but she achieved the 70 points mark.
“YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT!” Rena interlock all her fingers with Rena’s and hopped along with her. “I’m so happy for you, Yuki! Good job! But how did you do it!?”
“Oh? Someone gave me this candy. It helped me remember well.” Yuki took out the fruit drop can she received the other day.
“Candy?” Atsuko then shot a look at Takamina.
Takamina had nothing to say about this, definitely. She just lean against a wall and stared back at the overexcited Yuki. That was when a grin crawled onto Atsuko’s face.
Takamina’s eye twitched again and again. “I.........can’t believe this.....” Takamina was dressed up in a hot pink dress with some make up on inside her room. She was also wearing a pair of pink fluffy earrings and pink high heels. This was the first time ever that Takamina had worn a hot pink dress or had make up on her face. Honestly, there was actually nothing wrong with a girl dressed up in hot pink dress and make up on her face. But that’s totally different if it was applied on a very boyish, cool and super badass lady like Takamina. If that wasn’t funny enough already, she was holding onto a ‘magic stick’ on her right hand.
“Ah.. How beautiful~” A small laugh escaped Atsuko’s mouth. “From this point on, you’ll be the fairy princess Takahashi Minami. You’re not allowed to lose your temper and you have to listen to everything I say for one whole day.”
“This is preposterous!” Takamina tossed the ‘magic stick’ on the ground in anger.
“You can’t act like this, Minami! You’re a fairy princess now! Start acting like one!” Atsuko said while holding in her laugh.
“Argh!” Takamina punched the table in frustration.
“Minami! You promised! You’re not the type that break promises, are you!?” Atsuko stated as she placed the ‘magic stick’ back on Takamina’s hand.
Takamina then let out a loud sigh and shut her eyes. “Just end this day quick...”
Atsuko then led Takamina outside her room. Right when Atsuko opened the door, she was greeted by Rena and Yuki. “OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?!?” Rena screamed out for a moment as she noticed a weird looking thing in pink before she realized it was just Takamina in a pink dress and make up on.
With an emotionless face, Takamina pointed. “Don’t you dare laug-”
Rena started laughing her heart out as she pointed at Takamina’s outfit. “WAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!! OH MY GOD MINAMI NEE-CHAN!!!!!! WHAT IS THAT!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!” She then pointed at the ‘magic stick’. “AND THAT!!! THAT STICK!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! OH MY GOD I CAN’T!!!!!! HHAHAHAHAAH!!!!!” That was when Rena’s eyes were attarcted towards Takamina’s pink and fluffy earrings. “WHAT ARE THOSE!!!???? THOSE PINK FUZZBALLS OF FLUFFINESS!!! JUST BRING OUT THE FAIRY DUST ALREADY, NEE-CHAN!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!”
“UGHHH-!!!!!” Takamina was literally trembling in anger as she clenched her fists. This was too much for her to handle. The embarrasment was way off the charts.
“Now now, Minami... You need to act like a princess. No losing temper. No shouting.” Atsuko reminded.
“Minami nee-chan, try flicking the magic stick. Do it! Do it! Do it! Like this! Swish and flick!” Rena demonstrated.
“No...” Takamina shot a death glare at Rena.
“Atsu nee-chan....” Rena sulked and twirled her finger on Atsuko’s shoulder.
“Minami... Do what Rena says.” Atsuko giggled.
“You’re really getting on my nerves, aren’t you?” Takamina side eyed Atsuko.
“Swish and flick, Minami..” Atsuko repeated.
Reluctantly, Takamina did it. “Swish and flick.......”
“OH MY GOD! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!” Rena started laughing all over again as Atsuko giggled a little at her action.
Yuki merely stood there staring at Takamina while blinking her eyes as Rena continued laughing her ass off beside her. Rena’s laugh made Atsuko laugh a little too.
“.....” Takamina didn’t want to say anything. She merely looked at Yuki blankly, expecting her to laugh like Rena and Atsuko did as well but no.
Instead, Yuki shot a sweet smile at Takamina. “Takamina sensei looks like a very beautiful fairy princess! I love it!”
“....” Takamina had not expected that reply from Yuki. She literally thought Yuki would laugh at her as well but she didn’t and that threw her off guard.
“Can I hug you?” Yuki said with a smile and a soft tone. This one threw her way off guard.
“Excuse me?” Takamina raised her brow.
“Cause you’re so beautiul, I just want to give you a hug. Mummy told me that all the pretty things in the world deserves a hug. So I want to hug you.” Yuki smiled widely, showing her teeth. Yuki’s smile reminded Takamina of how much it was so alike Minako’s. It was the exact same smile Minako gives her. Her smile was so mellow, it made even Takamina succumb to it.
“Aww... How cute.” Atsuko smiled and twitched her nose. “Give her a hug, Minami.”
“Fine..” Takamina sighed loudly and squatted down, opening her arms wide.
Yuki then walked over slowly and laid her head on Takamina’s shoulder before closer her arms in. Takamina too replied with the same gesture. It was a weird feeling for Takamina definitely. She hadn’t really hugged anyone for a long time. The last person whom she hugged was none other than MInako. Yuki’s hug was warm, and the warmth left Takamina speechless. It felt as if she was hugging Minako. The nostalgia hit her hard at that point. To everyone’s surprise, she closed her eyes and tightened her hug. “I missed you...”
“E-Eh?” Yuki blushed from Takamina’s sudden blurt. “S-Sensei...”
As soon as Takamina heard Yuki’s voice, she got back to her senses and pulled away from the hug. “Sorry.”
“N-No! Don’t be!” Yuki said.
“Well well.. Let’s go, shall we?” Atsuko smiled.
“Go where?” Takamina raised a brow.
“On a date, of course. Have you forgotten that we’re going out on a date as well?” Atsuko smirked.
“With me looking like that!? Are you serious!?” Takamina raised ehr voice.
“You promised, Minami~” Atsuko said with a singing tone. “You’re gonna break your promise~?”
“Boo.... I didn’t know Minami nee-chan was someone like this..” Rena booed Takamina from behind Atsuko.
“Fine!!” Takamina’s voice literally shook with anger.
“Hey hey! Can we come along!?” Rena hopped.
“Sure..” Atsuko smiled.
“Yay!!” Yuki and Rena hugged each other happily.
Takamina got quite a number of glances on her as she was walking. She’s not any common girl. She was famous for being a badass and strong Reaper. The fact that she was dressed up like a fairy princess, walking around the shopping mall holding a magic stick was attracting a little too much attention. Heck, some people couldn’t even recognize that she was actually the famous Reaper Takahashi Minami. Takamina was definitely getting really frustrated. Yuki looked up at Takamina and noticed her expression. She then moved closer to Takamina and held her hand. Noticing this, Takamina looked down at the young girl. “Why are you holding my hand, kid?”
“Because you’re pretty.” Yuki shot the brightest smile she had.
“Aww.. Isn’t she an angel?” Atsuko smiled. “She thinks you look pretty.”
“Don’t start with me, Atsuko.” Takamina said as she unconcsiously gripped onto Yuki’s small hand a little tighter. Maybe that tiny hand reminded her of her little sister Minako’s.
They soon reached a restaurant and sat down. The waiter then came and took the order. “May I have your order please?”
Atsuko started. “Yeah. One chicken chop, one steak, one bowl of onion rings, a bowl of ramen, one omurice, one curry rice and a red bean slushie. That’s for me. What about you guys?”
“......” The three of them merely gave Atsuko a weird look.
“What?” Atsuko smiled back innocently.
“Never mind.” Takamina shook her head. “Give me a katsudon.”
“Bento box 1 for me!” Rena said.
“Set 4 for me.” Yuki followed.
Soon after, their food came and they begun eating. Right before Takamina could grab her spoon, Atsuko snatched it from her side. “I’ll feed you.”
“What games are you playing now, Atsuko?” Takamina was getting annoyed.
“Open your mouth, Minami~” Atsuko scooped some rice and held the spoon out at Takamina. “Ahhh~~”
“No thanks. I have hands.” Takamina showed both her hands to Atsuko.
“I’ll tell you what else you have. A promise to keep. So obey.” Atsuko
“Why am I even doing this?” Takamina still didn’t want to.
“It’s just for today, Minami. Eat it.” Atsuko swirled the spoon round and round.
“Yeah~! Just for today, MInami~ Eat it~” Rena imitated Atsuko’s voice with a grin as she squeezed Yuki’s hand, waiting for Takamina to eat it.
“.....” Takamina reluctantly opened her mouth as Atsuko placed the scoop of katsudon inside her mouth.
“You eat very well, dear..” Atsuko smiled and twitched her nose.
Takamina raised her brow as she munched on her food. “Dear?”
“DEAR!!! OH MY GOD!! KYAAAA~!!!!!!! SO CUTE!!!!!! I CAN’T CONTAIN MYSELF!!” Rena hug squeezed Yuki and then stretched her face hard, trying to contain all the feels. “ROOOOOAARRRRR!!!!!!!! TOO CUTE!!!!!!!”
“S-Senpai....” Yuki was literally suffering while sitting beside her childish senior. She couldn’t possibly take in all Rena’s hyper actions. Despite being much older than Yuki, Rena was definitely the more childish one.
“Tell me, Yuki! Don’t you think they are the loveliest couple ever!?” Rena stretched Yuki’s face even more.
“I-I’m just trying to eat, senpai..” Yuki spoke out while still having her face stretched. Yuki had been holding onto her scoop of rice for quite some time now. It was because Rena was stretching her face, she couldn’t put it in her mouth.
“We’re on a date, Minami.. Remember? So it’s pretty normal that I call you dear.” Atsuko twitched her nose.
“Yeah! Minami nee-chan should call her dear too!” Rena added.
“Hey, hey. don’t take this too far. I’m fed up with this load of bullshit already.” Takamina retorted while holding her magic stick. “You don’t know how much I’m holding in not to break this stick in two.”
They all started eating their food respectively. The table was literally filled with food because of the number of dishes Atsuko ordered. Rena was eating like a glutton, smearing food all over her face. Takamina on the other hand, stuffed the whole chicken inside her mouth with a single bite despite her mouth being to small. Atsuko then noticed some stains stuck on Takamina’s mouth.
“Your mouth is dirty, Minami..” Atsuko twitched her nose and wiped the stain off Takamina’s lip before licking it off her finger. “Mmm.. Yummy. I tasted strawberries for some reason. I wonder why.”
Takamina replied with an unamused look. “Are you for real now?”
“OH MY GOD! AN INDIRECT KISS! NOW TRY THE DIRECT KISS! KYAAAAAAAA!!!!” Once again, Rena squished Yuki hard, not allowing the younger girl to eat.
“Senpai......” Yuki was frustrated because she wanted to eat.
After they had eaten, they walked around again. Rena looked at Takamina again and again, holding in her laugh. Pfft...”
“Argh!!! This is embarassing!!” Takamina tossed the magic stick on the ground once again.
“No losing your temper, Minami!” Atsuko picked up the magic stick and passed it back to Takamina.
“I’m not holding that thing, Atsuko. As if these things weren’t embarassing enough!” Takamina flicked her pink and fluffy earrings.
“You lost the bet so I say deal with it, Minami.” Atsuko shoved the magic stick back onto Takamina’s hand.
That time, a cake shop attracted both Rena and Yuki’s attention. “Cakes!” Rena hopped.
“I want the strawberry shortcake!” Yuki too hopped excitedly.
“So many choices!!!! Let’s go buy cakes, Yuki!” Rena pulled Yuki into the cake shop with her.
“This is ridiculous...” Takamina let out a frustrated sigh as she still held onto the magic stick.
“You did good, Minami.” Atsuko shot a sweet smile at Takamina.
“What?” Takamina looked confused.
“You helped her pass the theory exam. I have to say, I did not expect that coming from you, Minami.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“As far as I know, only one person ate candy during studying and exams and that’s you, Minami. Who are you trying to lie to?” Atsuko insisted.
“....” Takamina remained silent. She merely placed her palm on her forehead. She probably did not understood why as well. She didn’t owe Yuki anything. She usually do not care much about other people but instead, she helped Yuki.
“Minami?” Atsuko placed a hand on Takamina’s face. “I’ve known you for years. I know what’s going through your mind right now. Yuki reminds you of your little sister, am I right? It’s completely okay to let these troubled feelings out. Don’t hold it in.” Atsuko then pointed at Yuki who was in the cake shop. “She’s the answer to your troubled heart. Go ahead with your feelings.”
“....” Takamina looked at Yuki silently.
That time, a short lady wearing a longcoat walked up to them, attracting the two of them. She was wearing sunglasses. As she stood there, she glanced at a newspaper cutting that she was holding before looking back at Takamina’s face. She then looked back at the newspaper cutting once again and back towards Takamina’s face. She frowned and once again, looked at the newspaper cutting. She scanned Takamina from head to toe and finally opened her mouth. “You’re Takahashi Minami? The one whom they called the strongest in Legion?”
“Who wants to know?” Takamina had a bad vibe from this lady suddenly. Too bad she had not brought her Judgements along with her today because she was wearing a dress.
She suddenly laughed hysterically. “They didn’t tell me you were a fairy princess!”
“I’m not playing with you! Who are you!” Takamina raised her voice as Atsuko slowly reached for her Judgement at her utility belt.
“Oh, I’m just somebody.....looking for a formidable match..” The lady then removed her sunglasses to reveal her blood red eyes.
“A Spectre!” Atsuko immediately activated her Judgement and landed a slash on her.
To their surprise, the Spectre defended against Atsuko’s slash with her very own blade with ease and knocked her away. “I’m not interested in you, lady.. I’m only interested in you.” She pointed right at Takamina’s face.
“What do you want from me?” Takamina asked.
“To see if you’re actually as strong as what people said. To see if you’re worthy to be my rival.” the Spectre said as she clenched her fist at Takamina’s direction. “Yuko’s the name. You should feel honored to be able to fight against an Alpha.”
“You’re an Alpha?” Takamina raised her brows from that fact but that did not intimidate her a slight bit.
“If you wanna get to her, you have to get through me first!!” Atsuko leaped in for a slash once again.
Yuko defended against the attack successfully with her blades while still having both her hands in her pocket. “Lady.. This kind of strength do not even entertain me!” Yuko swiped her blade at Atsuko’s direction.
Atsuko was able to catch up to Yuko’s speed and deflect Yuko’s attacks, and that somehow amazes Yuko a little. “You’re not bad... But not good enough!!” Yuko increased her strength and managed to slam Atsuko hard on the wall.
“Argh!” Atsuko groaned from the impact as the Judgement flew off her grip.
As Yuko closed in for another attack, Takamina pulled Atsuko out of the way, causing Yuko’s blade to thrust through the wall cleanly. Takamina then attempted a punch on Yuko but got dodged successfully. Yuko swung her blade at Takamina’s direction this time. Dodging every single one of Yuko’s blade attacks, Takamina managed to get close to the short Spectre and released a powerful punch right on her stomach. That blow was so powerful that even Yuko stumbled back a few feet. She shot a glare at Yuko. “I will not forgive those who hurt Atsuko..”
Yuko held her stomach and smirked. “So you’re not a common fairy princess.. You’re actually the real deal.. Those furry earrings and pink dress confused me for a moment.”
Takamina kicked the Judgement up from the ground with her high heels and caught it in her hand successfully before pointing it at Yuko’s direction. “Why don’t you try me out yourself?”
“Show me some entertainment, Taka!!” Yuko said as two huge blades extended from her back.
“What? You’re gonna fight in a dress and high heels??” Atsuko was dumbfounded. “How are you gonna fight?”
“Hold this.” Without thinking, Takamina passed the magic stick to Atsuko and leaped towards Yuko followed by a strong slash. Yuko blocked it successfully with her blade. Yuko was surprised with the amount of strength on Takamina’s strike.
“You have some strength!” Yuko grinned. “But this is still not enough to amaze me!” Yuko then increased her blade strength and caused Takamina to stumble backwards. Yuko then slammed her blade at Takamina’s direction. Takamina managed to dodge the blade attack by a close call because the dress and high heels were giving her limited mobility.
“Minami nee-chan!” Rena came running out.
“Takamina sensei!” Yuki too was attracted by the noises outside.
“Stay back, girls.. You might get hurt from this battle. Minami’s fighting against an Alpha. So don’t disturb.” Atsuko called out.
“An Alpha!?” Rena and Yuko wewre both shocked at the fact. This was in fact Takamina’s first encounter with an Alpha.
Takamina blocked Yuko’s blade attacks again and again with her sword before leaping in for a surprise slash right at Yuko’s neck. Yuko almost wasn’t able to dodge against it. Luckily, as an Alpha Spectre, she was able to use her enhanced reflexes to tilt her body backwards to dodge against the slash.
Just when Takamina was about to leap in for another slash, she almost tripped over herself from the dress and that left her wide open. “Ugh!”
As Yuko swung another blade at her, Takamina let her body fall onto the ground to dodge against it and rolled a few feet away. Frustrated that her mobility is restricted, she forcefully tore the bottom part of the dress and her sleeves away to increase her mobility. She then tossed her heels away, being barefooted right now. This time, Takamina could move swifter than before and was able to catch up to Yuko’s speed.
After a few minutes of non-stop attacks, both Takamina and Yuko were panting already. Then once again, they shouted and leaped towards their rival’s direction. Yuko swung her blade as Takamina replied the attack. They both clashed with a powerful impact and the recoil pushed them both back. Takamina had a slash wound on her arm. Yuko let out a smirk at her successful attack before she discovered a slash wound on her own face. She traced the blood from her cheek and took a closer look at it. That was when Yuko knew she had truly found her match. She then shot a satisfied smirk at Takamina. “You’re all good, Taka! I’m more than impressed!”
“What?” Takamina frowned.
“You could even cope with my 50% power. I have to tell you, I did not expect that.” Yuko answered.
“50% power?” Takamina smirked. “I have only one sword with me, Yuko. That’s merely 40% of my power..”
That sentence intrigued Yuko even more. “Good... You’re worthy after all. We shall end this here for now. I’ve tested enough. I’ll be looking forward to our next battle. The next time we meet, it won’t be a test anymore! I will be going all out!” Yuko shot a final smirk and clenched her fist at Takamina before she made her way out of the scene till their next encounter.
“What the hell was that?” Takamina was still confused.
“Minami, are you ok!?” That time, Atsuko, Rena and Yuki came running towards her.
“Yeah, I’m all good.”
“You tore the dress apart.” Rena pointed out. “And god knows where you tossed your heels to.”
“This belongs to you, sensei.” Yuki passed the magic stick back to Takamina.
“I look like shit right now.” Takamina said as she looked down at her attire. Her dress was completely torn apart, there were smudges on her face and she was bare footed. The only thing that was still in good condition were her fluffy pink earrings and the magic stick.
“You still look pretty, sensei..” Yuki smiled and held Takamina’s hand. “You still have your earrings on.”
“You’re the strongest fairy princess ever!!!” Rena hugged Takamina. “No, wait. You look like Rambo right now so you’re the strongest Rambo princess ever!!!”
“And the coolest one too!” Atsuko twitched her nose and placed her arm over Takamina’s shoulder. “This has got to be the most badass date ever..”
“I swear to god, I will burn the three of you to ashes along with this dress and the magic stick for embarrasing me in public like that..”
It was already late. Takamina had just taken a shower and got rid of the princess outfit once and for all. Apparently, Takamina was still in the office despite it being night time already because she had some documents to pile up. That time, Atsuko came into her room. “Hey..”
“May I help you?” Takamina shot a look at Atsuko.
“No, you may not. But I’m gonna help you.” Atsuko said.
“Excuse me?” Takamina raised a brow.
“I already knew you would leave the wound unattended just like that. So I came here with bandages..” Atsuko walked over towards Takamina. “Here, let me put this on you.”
“Atsuko, please. You know I don’t need anything like that.”
“The wound is a little deep so I have to bandage it.” Atsuko insisted.
“I said, I don’t need it!”
“SHUSH! You’re still a fairy princess today! Obey!” Atsuko raised her voice.
“Don’t raise your voice at me, Atsuko! Damn it! Who do you think you are speaking to me like that!?” Takamina got angered.
“I’m your fairy godmother, that’s who I am! Now be quiet and let me bandage you!” Atsuko too raised her voice. Atsuko was pretty much the only person in the whole world who could raise her voice against Takamina.
Takamina sighed loudly as she had no more energy to argue with Atsuko. “You know what? Fine. Just do whatever you want. You wanna bandage me? Go ahead. You wanna tie me up? Go ahead. I’m already tired of this shit. Just do it quickly and leave. I’ve had enough embarrassment today already.”
“You accepted the challenge yourself, MInami. And plus, you even helped Yuki win this challenge. So don’t complain, ok?” Atsuko smiled and twitched her nose.
Takamina rolled her eyes and thrusted her arm out for Atsuko to bandage. “Make it quick. I still have some documents to file up.”
“Don’t rush me. This needs to be done with utmost care.” Atsuko said as she slowly started sewing Takamina’s wound back together.
Takamina didn’t need any painkiller or anything like that. That’s what made her so badass. She could stand the pain of sewing her wound without even flinching. Once in a while, Atsuko shot a look at Takamina’s face and smiled. “You look coolest like that, Minami.”
Takamina could literally feel Atsuko’s breath by her neck. It was a tingling feeling. Something that Takamina couldn’t understand. The warmness of her breath somehow felt relieving. Takamina was staring at the diligent Atsuko bandaging her arm silently the whole time. Atsuko was concentrating so much on it that she didn’t realize that Takamina was staring at her.
Atsuko looked simply beautiful concentrating on something like that. Her eyes became doe like and her cheeks looked a little puffy with the light shining on her face. “I want to thank you for saving me earlier, Minami.. If it weren’t for you, I would have di-”
Takamina cut Atsuko off immediately. “Don’t even mention the word, Atsuko.”
“Alright, alright..” Atsuko smiled and twitched her nose. She then got back to bandaging. “I’m always relying on you, Minami.. Though I’m already a Reaper, you’re still protecting me.. Honestly, I loved that feeling of being protected by you a lot. But I just wish one day it will be the other way round where I will be the one to protect you.”
“Then you should be stronger in order to do that.” Takamina smiled a little. With Atsuko’s disclosure, the whole atmosphere became sweet and warm.
“There.. All done..” Atsuko smiled back and looked up.
At that moment, their eyes were locked for a short amount of time. Atsuko was in an awkwardly close proximity with Takamina’s face. With eyes fixed on each other, Atsuko was suddenly entranced with the lips before her very eyes and slowly moved her head closer. For every milimeter Atsuko got closer to Takamina’s lips, her heart beat hastened little by little. She wasn’t sure her heart had ever pounded so fast in her life. As their nose were almost touching, Atsuko tilted her head slightly for a little more space to get her lips closer. Their lips were almost touching. They could literally feel each other’s breath under their noses.
That was when Atsuko immediately jerked back and tucked her hair behind her ear, somehow being flustered by it. Atsuko never tucks her hair behind her ears. That was a strange move she did there. Heck, the whole thing was strange to her. It was as if someone else took posession of her body that time. It was probably an involuntary action that came from deep inside Atsuko. “S-Sorry..”
Takamina then let out a fake cough and turned her head away a little as well. “...”
“Maybe I should go now.. It’s late.” Atsuko stood up fom her seat.
“Yeah, you should.”
“So I’ll see you tomorrow..” Atsuko shot a smile at Takamina and exited the room. Atsuko felt really weird definitely. As she made her way back to her room, she placed her hand on her face and felt that it was a little warm. Her heart was still pounding fast. “That was weird... What just happened?”
Few minutes later, it was Yuki’s turn to walk over to Takamina’s office and knocked on the door. “Sensei?”
“Come in.” Takamina called out.
Yuki entered the room and made her way towards Takamina’s table. “Hi, sensei.”
“What is up with people coming into my room this late?” Takamina asked a rhetorical question before looking at Yuki. “What is it that you want now?”
“Oh, I came here to see if you need any help.” Yuki asked with a smile.
“And why do I need help suddenly?” Takamina was confused with Yuki’s sentence.
“You’re injured, sensei..” Yuki pointed at the bandage on Takamina’s arm. Yuki was simply too cute not to ignore. “I figured you would need some help with something.”
Takamina raised her brow. “Are you kidding me? I don’t need or want help.”
“Are you sure? Nothing at all?” Yuki tilted her head a little.
“No.” Takamina answered straight. “Get out.”
“Aww...” Yuki pouted and slowly made her way to the door. Though this scene was awfully familiar to Takamina.
“You hurt your foot, nee-chan! You should sit down! Let me help you do something!”
“It’s only a foot. There’s nothing for you to help, Minako...”
“But I want to help!”
“Alright then... Help me carry these books into the house.”
“Yay~!”“Wait.” Takamina suddenly called out to Yuki.
“Yes, sensei!” Yuki turned her body around and smiled.
After letting out a loud sigh, Takamina continued. “Do you know where Ohori’s room is?”
“Ahh.. Ohori baachan’s room! Yes! It’s at the ground floor!”
“I have some documents that I have to pass to her. Can you do that for me?” Takamina asked as she placed her hand over some files.
“Of course!!” Yuki’s face brightened.
“It’s very heavy though.”
“I’m a strong girl, sensei! I can do it!” Yuki rushed towards Takamina’s desk and lifted the documents up. Takamina wasn’t lying. It was indeed quite heavy. Yuki literally struggled to hold up the documents but she insisted on going alone. “You can stay here and rest, Takamina sensei. I can do it by myself.”
As Yuki left the room, Takamina couldn’t help but to smile a little at Yuki’s determination. It was exactly like Minako’s. Takamina then took a peek outside her room as Yuki made her way towards the staircase at the end of the hallway. Takamina noticed that Yuki was tottering about, having difficulty walking while trying to balance the weights of the documents on her tiny hands. “Watch your step, kid!”
“I will-Woah!!” Yuki tripped on the steps as soon as she answered Takamina and fell down the stairs. All the way down, 15 steps of it. The documents scattered all over the place. On the last step, Yuki’s head came in contact with the concrete ground with a loud thud.
“Yuki!!” Takamina straight up dashed towards the stairs that lead to the ground floor to attend to Yuki immediately. She was completely motionless. Takamina turned Yuki’s body around and discovered that she was bleeding from her forehead. “Damn it, I told you to watch your step!”
Takamina sent her to the hospital and she had to be in the ward for three days. By the end of the first day, Yuki had already woken up. Takamina, Atsuko and Rena visited her definitely. Rena skipped class for a day just to stick by Yuki’s side and played with her, but of course Takamina didn’t like that. Yuki’s classmates visited her as well. There was once the doctor even needed to shoo Airin and Churi out of the room for arguing too loud. Three days later, Yuki was given the permission to check out of the hospital and head back to the Legion Academy. Takamina gave Yuki a whole week break to have a rest.
*knock knock*
“Come in.”
The door slowly opened and Yuki’s head popped up from the side. “Takamina sensei?” Her voice was still a little hoarse because of the medication she took earlier and that made her sounded even cuter than she already was.
The bandage on her head was still attracting Takamina’s attention. “You should be resting right now, Yuki. Your head is still injured.”
“Oh this?” Yuki touched her forehead a little. “It doesn’t hurt.”
“Yeah?” Takamina walked over and pressed on Yuki’s forehead a little.
“OUCH!!” Yuki flinched back and held her head in pain. She was in the verge of tears but she held it in.
“As I thought. You fell down the stairs, kid. There’s no way someone like you could stand the pain. Don’t try to act tough with me now. Go back to sleep. There’s no reason for you to be here. Besides, it’s way past bed time for a 7 year old kid.”
“But I have something important to do..” Yuki said with her hoarse voice.
“And that is?”
Yuki took out a box from her back and passed it to Takamina. “I want to thank you for taking me to the hospital, sensei.”
“.....” Takamina was not used to receiving gifts, what more from a 7 year old kid. “What’s this?”
“Animal Biscuits!!!” Yuki said loudly as she got excited.
“So....you got me biscuits as a sign of thank you...” Takamina was simply speechless with Yuki’s cute gift.
“Yup. Haruka baachan gave them to me this morning. So I’m giving them to you as a gift.” Yuki smiled widely.
Takamina crouched down to come eye to eye level with Yuki. “Alright, thanks for the animal biscuits, kid. I will eat them.”
“Yay!!” Yuki was cheerful that Takamina accepted her gift.
“Now go back to your room and rest.” Takamina ordered.
Instead of leaving, Yuki played around with her own fingers, fidgeting about, wanting to say something else. “Before I leave... C-Can I get a kiss on the forehead?”
“And why is that now?” Takamina asked.
“......My brother would always kiss my forehead before I head to sleep..” Yuki said.
“Mmmm....” Minako whined a little and tilted her head down.
Knowing what Minako wants, Takamina smiled and brushed Minako’s bangs up, revealing her wide forehead and landed a soft and tender kiss on it for a few seconds. “There’s your kiss.. Good night, Minako..”
“Good night, nee-chan..” Minako then went back to her room.Without a second wasted, Takamina brushed Yuki’s bangs up and planted a kiss on her forehead. “Good night, kid.”
Yuki blushed and bowed 90 degree at Takamina. “Thank you, Takamina sensei..” and she dashed out the room being all shy.
Takamina chuckled to herself in disbelief as she looked upon Yuki leaving her room being dumbounded by Yuki. “How is possible that she is so much like MInako?”
Since that day, 7 months had passed and Rena finally got her chance to graduate as an official Reaper at the age of 14. One of the youngest Reaper ever in history. “I’m an official Reaper now!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!”
“Congratulations, Rena!” Atsuko hugged Rena and Takamina gave her a forced high 5.
“Congratulations, senpai.” Yuki smiled brightly at Rena and clapped her hands.
“Don’t worry, Yuki. You’ll get there..” Rena patted Yuki on the back.
“Wait a minute! I have a great suggestion!!” Rena placed her arm over both Atsuko and Takamina’s shoulders. “Let’s form a team!!”
Rena’s loud sentence attracted attention from everyone in the hall. If the three of them were to form a team, it could very well be the strongest team in Legion history ever. The hall was then filled with cheers for their team to be formed.
“What drug did you feed her this time, Atsuko?” Takamina gave Atsuko a look.
“Apparently, I placed a little too much sugar in her breakfast this morning. So she might be having a small case of sugar rush..” Atsuko answered.
“Just imagine this.. A team consisting of a legendary super badass Reaper, a brainiac Reaper and the youngest Reaper in history... Doesn’t that sound awesome!?” Rena hopped in excitement.
“Stop hallucinating, Rena.”
“We need a name for our team..” Rena started giving it a thought.
“Stop deciding for us!” Takamina raised her voice.
“How about Team Rena? It sounds nice, don’t you think so?” Rena let out a bright smile.
“What about Team Taka?” Atsuko added on.
“Atsuko, not you too!?” Takamina got frustrated.
“Team Taka!! Yes!! It has a nice ring to it! Team Taka!! The strongest team in Legion! We would be invincible!!!! And we will rule the world!!!!” Rena then let out a hysterical laugh.
“Oh my, this is getting a little out of hand.” Atsuko smiled and twitched her nose.
“Don’t make decisions for me, kid.” Takamina pointed her index finger at Rena.
Rena then poked Takamina’s finger with her very own index finger. “E.T. TOUCH! The seal is done! We’re a team now! Weee~!!”
“I said don’t make decisions for me!” Takamina shouted.
“Oh my...” Atsuko giggled at the sudden formation of Team Taka.
“I will get the team application form from Ohori baba! Wee~~~!!!” Rena started running off from the scene.
“I don’t believe this!” Takamina was dumbfounded.
“Think about it, Minami. It’ll be fun, don’t you think so? Just like when the three of us traveled together to find Legion. Like the old times.” Atsuko said.
“Ugh..” Takamina wasn’t too angry about it. She just doesn’t like people maing decisions for her. Forming a team has its own good points.
Yuki smiled and clapped at the formation of the new team, but somehow, she felt a little empty and depressed inside. She had a really good relation with the three of them and she didn’t want to get left out. But she was still too young and have at least a few more years before she could finally graduate. All she could do right now is just to be happy for them. Takamina who noticed the expression on Yuki’s face called out. “Yuki.”
“Huh?” Yuki looked back at Takamina.
“Come to my room now.” Takamina gestured.
“Okay..” Yuki nodded and followed Takamina back to her room.
While inside, Takamina took her seat and looked back at the 8 year old girl. “You’ve definitely improved in your theory examinations but your combat examination results are still very bad.. This can’t go on..”
“I’m sorry, Takamina sensei...” Yuki had her head down in guilt.
“I don’t accept apologies, Yuki. You know that. At the same time, I’m sick and tired of looking at your bad combat results. Every month, I have to go through the stress of looking at how low your grades were. It makes me want to gauge my eye out LITERALLY.”
Every mock from Takamina made Yuki feel smaller and smaller.
“So!”
That one word caught Yuki’s attention as she looked back up at Takamina.
“I’m gonna personally coach you in combat from now on, Yuki. If I don’t, you might end up not graduating for the rest of your life. Understood?”
Yuki’s face brightened. “Thank you, Takamina sensei!!” Yuki was definitely very happy with Takamina personally coaching her one on one.
Takamina raised her brow. “Why are you so happy about it? You should be pissing your pants right now, kid..”
As soon as Yuki heard that, she gulped. “W-Why?”
Takamina then tilted her whole body down and stared right into Yuki’s eyes from a few inch away. “Because my training will have a risk of dying.. literally.”
That was when a shiver ran up Yuki’s spine. “D-D-Die!?”
“If you’re strong and able to act fast, then of course you won’t.. But if you’re slow and weak, you might end up dead. And I’m not playing around with you, Yuki. If I’m gonna train you, I will make sure you end up being the best fighter in Legion, you get me?”
“G-Got it, sensei!!”
“Your mind have to be strong during the training. I will be extremely strict with you. I will scold you, beat you to a pulp, mock you, everything I can to break you.. If you can’t stand any of those, then you’re not worth my time.. Understood?” Takamina said.
“Understood!”
And then Yuki’s one on one training with Takamina started. There was no questioning that Takamina’s training was intense and usually way overboard. There were a few times that Yuki literally thought of giving up, but she still hung on to it. Yuki was already a few months into Takamina’s training. Just not too long ago, Takamina brought Yuki out to the forest to train.
“Phew...” Yuki laid on the ground exhausted from the amount of push ups she just did.
“Pack up the stuff. We’re heading back now.” Takamina said.
That was when Takamina heard the sound of a whimper. Curious, she looked around and saw something in a distance, so she decided to check on it. Once there, she saw a husky laying on the ground motionless with a tree trunk fallen on top of its body. A baby husky was desperately trying to pull it out from underneath the tree but to no avail. The scene reminded her so much about herself when she was younger, how she was unable to lift the concrete beam. She walked closer and stepped in front of the dead husky. She then activated her sword and wrenched the tree trunk out of the way with ease, allowing the baby husky to cuddle itself against the adult husky. The baby was whimpering and crying as it shot a look at Takamina. She usually had no compassion over these things but this one is different. This baby reminded her so much about herself, so she picked the baby husky up.
“Ooo... A husky.” Yuki stated. “And it’s a boy.. Are you gonna bring him home, sensei?”
“Yes.”
“What are you gonna name him then?” Yuki asked.
“Bark! Bark!” A bark was heard from within her house as a husky ran out and jumped on Takamina. As the dog was really big, the weight pushed Takamina down on the ground. The husky began licking Takamina’s face again and again as Rena and Minako stood there laughing at the scene.
“Hey, that’s enough, Juliet! Stop!” Takamina tried to push the female husky away a couple of times just to end up on top of Takamina once again.“Your name will be Romeo from now on..” Takamina said as she wiped the tears off the baby husky’s eyes. “I will take care of you.”
“Romeo sounds nice..” Yuki smiled.
“You wanna hold him?” Takamina passed baby Romeo to Yuki.
“Ah.. Uhmm....” As Yuki held Romeo on her hands, he stared back at her face and wagged his tail while Yuki simply blinked her eyes blankly. “Hello there..”
“Let’s go home..” Takamina said as they both headed home with a new pet Romeo.
Days became months, and months became years. She started at the bottom rank of 246. Three years later, she came up all the way to 12th place. But that still didn’t earn her a spot in the top 10 yet. How time flies. Yuki is already 11 years old. Everyone was surprised that Yuki’s combat examination results improved drastically. So far, nobody had ever improved as much as Yuki did. But Takamina still wasn’t impressed the slight bit. She knew Yuki could have done much better in combat. She wanted the best from Yuki.
“12th place!? Pathetic!” Takamina scolded as she met her student in the training room.
“It’s still an improvement..”
“Improvement so what? You could have done so much better. I know it. You just didnt push yourself hard enough.” Takamina replied. “Forget it.. Today I will teach you how to improve your senses..”
”Senses?” Yuki tilted her head.
“I will demonstrate first.” Takamina took out a blindfold from her pocket and covered her own eyes. She then got into her combat position. “Come at me with anything you have.”
“Uhm... You’re not eqquiped with any weapons though..” Yuki stated.
“I don’t need a weapon to be able to take down someone of your level, kid.”
Yuki felt mocked by Takamina’s statement. “Then I’ll come at you with full force, sensei!” Yuki then propelled herself towards Takamina in a fast speed and attempted a slash. To her surprise, Takamina was able to dodge the slash successfully despite being blindfolded. She grabbed onto Yuki’s collar and threw her towards the wall.
“You’re not fast enough, Yuki! You need to be faster!”
“Ugh..” Yuki got herself back up and went in for a slash again, only to miss one more time, but this time, she didn’t give Takamina the chance to attack her.
“That’s it! That’s it!” Takamina praised while dodging at the same time. Yuki was still amazed at how Takamina could dodge every single one of her slashes without even looking. That time, Takamina managed to place her palm on the side of Yuki’s sword and redirected the slash onto the ground, causing Yuki to trip over. She then gave Yuki a headbutt on the nose, causing the taller girl to fall. “Not bad for someone of your level. But you still can improve a lot more.”
“Ugh....” Yuki groaned from the headbutt.
Takamina then took out her blindfold and tossed it at Yuki. “Now you try this.”
“For real!?” Yuki definitely didn’t want to because she knew she would get beaten to a pulp.
“Put it on, Yuki.” Takamina repeated again.
Reluctantly, Yuki put on the blindfold. “Done.”
“Now, concentrate everything to your other senses.. Listen to the sound of the wind movement.. Feel it smoothly gliding through your skin.. We spent so much time together, so you should know how I smell, kid. Search using your nose too. Sniff in once in a while.”
“I’ll try.”
“There is no trying. Do it.” Takamina cracked her fingers. Uh-oh. Takamina cracking her fingers meant that she would go all out. That was definitely bad for Yuki. “Ready?”
“Wait! Wait! Wait!” Yuki was not ready yet. As if Takamina cares.
“Here I come!” Takamina dashed towards Yuki and in an instant, she was already in front of Yuki. She immediately landed a strong punch on her stomach and sent her crashing onto the wall.
“Ugh!!” Yuki did not even have the time to stand herself back up and Takamina was already in front of her face.
“Get up!” Takamina released an uppercut on Yuki’s chin and punched her on the face. There wasn’t even any time for Yuki to react at all. Takamina was just releasing punch after punch and kick after kick without even stopping. Yuki stood no chance at all despite being the one with the weapon. It hurts so much. Every single one of Takamina’s punches and kicks were comparable to hammer strikes. The blow was so heavy that she felt the force of it piercing through her body. Finally, Yuki couldn’t stand it anymore. Her body was breaking apart. The pain was excruciating.
“STOP! STOP! *cough cough**gack*” Yuki fell down on her knees, panting her heart out from the knee kick. She held her stomach as her strength completely drained from her body from Takamina’s continuous attacks. Yuki was bruised all over her face and body. This may just be a training but Takamina was not showing her any mercy at all. Yuki pulled out the blindfold off.
Takamina lowered her swords. “Stop?”
“*cough cough* I...can’t take any of this anymore. *cough* It hurts...” Yuki coughed again and again.
“It’s not over yet, Yuki. You’re still in the early phase of training.” Takamina replied strictly. “What happened to all your determination? You had so much willpower when you first came in.”
“I can’t... I really can’t.. It hurts like hell.. I’m serious! I need time out..” Yuki coughed another time.
“Time out? You never needed a time out, Yuki. You’re just not motivated enough!”
“I can’t stand it! No more of this please! It hurts like hell already, I feel like my body is breaking apart!” Yuki groaned as her rib still hurt from the powerful knee kick. She stood herself up and tottered her way towards the exit.
Angered by Yuki’s broken determnation, Takamina voiced out. “Yea, that’s what I thought... Go ahead and leave.... Just like the coward you are.”
Yuki stopped in her tracks suddenly. She wasn’t a coward. She refused to be branded a coward by Takamina. But this training was way too much for her to handle. Her body was aching badly. After giving it some thought, Yuki still decided to leave even after being mocked.
“Now I can see why your brother died. You’re weak, kid!”
Yuki stopped once again. Her ear twitched and she answered softly as her fist curled into a ball of fist. “I’m not....”
“You stood there like an idiot and watch your own brother die, Yuki! You’re worthless! Pathetic! Instead of motivating yourself to be stronger, you dare complain about being in too much pain. You’re just a sloth, Yuki. WEAK!”
“I AM NOT WEAK!!!!” Yuki dashed over and swung her Judgement sword on Takamina. Her eyes full of tears, not wanting to hear anymore of this. For a second, Takamina was shocked by Yuki’s speed. Takamina had almost no time at all to hop out of the way, so she activated another Judgement and defended against the attack instead.
“See? For a moment, I literally couldn’t catch on to your speed, Yuki. You could even force me to use my Judgement to block.. You could be so much better, but you don’t want to push yourself over the limit!” Takamina parried Yuki’s sword attack and slammed her head on the wall. Her head came closer to Yuki’s ears. “Look at you now.. Haven’t I told you that I hate seeing tears, huh!? Crying like a baby over someone who is already dead. You’re a bloody disgrace to your family, Yuki. I’m sure they are feeling very disappointed in you.”
“SHUT UPP!!!!” Yuki elbowed Takamina hard and swung her swords at Takamina once again. “I am not weak!”
Takamina blocked Yuki’s attack. “THEN PROVE TO ME THAT YOU ARE NOT WEAK! THAT YOU ARE STRONG! DON’T QUIT!” She then headbutted Yuki, tripping her over and slammed her onto the ground, earning a groan from the taller girl. “Learn to let your tears flow in the form of strength and determination instead. I don’t wanna see your tears again! Understand?”
Yuki wiped her tears away and nodded at Takamina. It was that point in Yuki’s life that she had decided not to be a weakling anymore. She wanted to be a strong fighter like Takamina, or even stronger. No more pulling back. No more giving up. It’s all hardwork and pure determination from here on.
“Now up.” Takamina helped Yuki up once again. “Don’t you dare quit on me again, kid. I have high hopes on you.”
Yuki then put on the blindfold again, being more determined than ever. She gave her 100% concentration this time. “I’m ready now.”
“Then I’m gonna come at full force again. Defend every single one of my attacks if you can.” Takamina cracked her fingers before ambushing Yuki from the back with a punch.
To Takamina’s surprise, Yuki turned her body back and managed blocked against the punch with the side of her sword while still having the blindfold on. That made Takamina smile a little. “You’re starting to get the hang of it, but you still need to be much faster. What you lack in is strength, so pump it up on your speed instead.” Takamina then landed a successful punch on Yuki’s shoulder before kicking her right on her face.
That sent her flying few feet away. She was groaning on the ground. “Ugh....”
Takamina felt that the previous kick was a little too rough on the 11 year old girl. Looking at Yuki suffering so much like this, Takamina shook her head in disappointment and decided to call it a day. “You look like you’re gonna die. We end here today.”
Yuki slowly got back up. “Again...”
“....” Takamina wasn’t expecting for that. She thought the kick would be enough to knock her out but instead she was still standing. “As you wish.” She punched Yuki on the face and on the stomach and then a kick on her rib. That sent Yuki crashing towards a wall once again. Takamina was sure that this attack was definitely enough to take her down.
“Uweekkk...” Yuki started coughing out blood.
Noticing the blood, Takamina decided to end it. “Alright, That’s enough for today. We’ll continue tomorrow.”
“Continue now...” Yuki stood back up once again with her chin smeared with blood.
“What?” Takamina was surprised that Yuki could even stand herself up. She was well aware of how much strength she was using against Yuki. That amount of strength exerted should have been more than enough to take down an 11 year old girl with ease. By this time, she should have fallen flat on the ground but there she was, still standing. “You do know that as long as you’re standing, I’m gonna continue, right?”
“C-Come...” Yuki said with a weak voice.
Takamina clenched her fist and swung another punch at Yuki. Yuki screamed and tilted her head to the side to avoid the attack before using the sword to deflect her fist away. Bear in mind that Yuki was still blindfolded at this point. Not only did she withstood all Takamina’s heavy punches, she still managed to counter her once in this state. Takamina then landed an elbow strike on Yuki’s chest that caused her to fall onto the ground.
“UGHHH............” Yuki groaned.
“Have you had enough today, or do you still want to go on?” Takamina asked.
“Uweekkkk........” Yuki coughed out some blood from her mouth.
“Fine. That’s enough for today then..” Truthfully speaking, Takamina was hoping that Yuki stayed on the ground like that.
*CLANG!*
To Takamina’s surprise, Yuki balanced herself up with her sword and slowly pointed it at Takamina’s face. “C-Continue...”
Now, Takamina is simply astonished. Just minutes ago, Yuki was giving up, and now, she kept on going even after so many strikes from Takamina. Just where did she suddenly get so much willpower from? “If this continues, you would die, you know that right? You really want me to beat you to death, don’t you? In this state, you can’t even hear for me or block my attacks anymore.”
“THEN I’LL JUST RECIEVE IT ALL!” Yuki screamed at the top of her lungs. “I......want to prove.....that I am not weak.... I can still withstand....500 of your punches.....” Yuki’s body started swaying left to right.
“500 punches, huh?” Takamina raised her brow. “Don’t regret this, kid..”
“I....won’t...” Yuki weakly raised her sword at Takamina. “I....was stupid to even think of giving up.. Very.....stupid....”
Takamina clenched her fist. “Very well!!” Respecting Yuki’s decision, she released a kick on Yuki’s arm.
“Argh!!” The force of the kick literally sent Yuki flying far away and broke her arm. “Ughh.....”
“That’s more than enough to take you d-” Takamina was suddenly interrupted by Yuki who was standing up once again. Takamina was amazed and shocked at the same time. “Are you serious........”
“As long as I have the energy to stand, I will never give up ever again!!!! COME AT ME!!!!!!!” Yuki used the final ounce of energy within her to scream her heart out.
Being incredibly satisfied by Yuki’s determination, Takamina decided to end this training according to Yuki’s way. “Well said!! I will grant your wish!” As Takamina made her way towards Yuki once again, the young girl fell down flat on the ground right away. She was finally knocked out cold.
“.....” Takamina stopped and shook her head at Yuki. She walked over and looked at the blindfolded girl laying on the ground. Her chin was smeared with her own blood. She then piggy backed the heavily injured girl.
“.....” Yuki was laying behind Takamina’s back peacefully. She had exerted a little too much energy today and she deserved some good night sleep. Perhaps Takamina punched and kicked her way too hard. She was still in the process of learning.
“You’re improving a lot, Yuki.. I’m gonna have to say that I’m very impressed.. Your willpower is so strong.. All you needed to do was a little push and you’ll be forcing it out by yourself. You have a lot of potential and you’re very smart. You can definitely be stronger.. I can see that in you. Keep this up and you’ll soon be at the top of the rankings...”
Takamina sent Yuki to the hospital for treatment. Apparently, this time Takamina did a little too much damage on Yuki. This was by far Yuki’s worst injury. She suffered a a total of 9 broken rib, a broken arm, a fractured arm and leg and a slightly dislocated jaw. She had to stay in the hospital for a whole month to heal completely. Five days had passed and Yuki was still in deep sleep. She was definitely having a very good sleep because she was snoring most of the time.
“Good job, Minami.. Really good job..” Atsuko shook her head.
“Yeah, Minami~ Really good job~” Rena who was standing beside Atsuko imitated. She wasa holding onto a packet of melon pan which she will feast on during the mission later.
“Don’t question my ways..” Takamina merely brushed them off.
“Your ways or not, you definitely went way overboard, Minami. Just look at her now. Look at the amount of cast and bandages on her.” Atsuko said with a frustrated tone.
“Yeah! She’s wrapped up like a mummy!” Rena added.
“She wanted to be strong. She kept coming at me. She didn’t want to give up even after I broke her arm. Even after having her bones broken like that, she begged me to continue. She told me that as long as she has the energy to stand up, she will not give up. Hearing her saying those words, it will hurt her pride if I were to hold back. Atsuko, you know me. I’m a strong fighter.. And as a strong fighter, I have to respect her determination. It was the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen.” Takamina explained.
All Atsuko could do was to sigh loudly. “I do understand, Minami... Maybe you should stay here with Yuki for today. I will take Rena alone for the mission.”
“Alright.” Takamina nodded and called. “Rena, come here.”
“What is it?” Rena walked closer to Takamina.
Without another word, Takamina snatched the melon pan out of Rena’s grip.
“Hey, that’s my melon pan!!” Rena complained.
“Not anymore. Yuki has yet to eat anything. I’m giving this to her when she wakes up.”
“But that’s mine!” Rena raised her voice. “You can’t just take my melon pan away from me! It’s my melon pan! MINE!”
“I can and already did. Get out of my face before I lock you up in a cage, Rena.” Takamina shot a glare.
“I HATE YOU!!” Rena punched Takamina on her shoulder and stormed out of the ward.
“My my...” Atsuko giggled at Rena’s childishness for being upset over a simple melon pan. “I’ll see you tonight, Minami. Look after Yuki nicely, ok?” She then left the room and went on a mission with Rena.
Minutes later, Yuki woke up and slowly glanced throughout the whole room and noticed Takamina sitting beside her bed with her eyes closed. She called out weakly. “Sensei?”
Hearing Yuki’s voice, Takamina opened her eyes to come in contact with the girl who just woke up from her injury. “You’re awake.”
Yuki looked a little down for some reason. “I’m sorry, sensei.”
Takamina rasied her brow. “For what?”
“For not being able to withstand 500 punches... I’m disappointed in myself. I was all talk..”
“Yuki. You know I’m a very blunt person so I’m gonna tell you straight on. No human being could survive even thirty strikes from me when I use full force. You’re 11 this year and you withstood 3 elbow strikes, 4 knee strikes, 11 punches, and 7 kicks from me. All full force. To tell you truthfully, I expected you to fall from the fourth punch, but you didn’t. You stood up and at one point still managed to deflect my attack. Impressive, kid. A lot of potential. That’s just what I like to see from you.”
“I want to promise you something, sensei...” Yuki weakly voiced out.
“What is it?”
Yuki weakly said in a hoarse voice. “I will grow up to be the stongest Reaper you have ever seen, sensei.. Your teachings.. I won’t let it go to waste.. From now on, I will push myself past the limits. I will train everyday and get 1st in combat ranking..”
“That’s nice to hear, but you’re heavily injured. You’ll be laying here for the whole month and you’ll be skipping this month’s combat exam.”
“What? No.... I’m gonna attend it.”
“No, you’re not. There’s no way you can score high with your body condition like that.” Takamina pointed out.
“I want to attend it!” Yuki raised her voice.
“No, you’re not attending it! You’re gonna fail miserably taking the combat exam in this state. You know just how much I hated seeing your score being so low so don’t even think about it.”
“This is important to me.”
Takamina stood up in anger. “I said no! Don’t challenge me, Minako!”
“M-Minako?” Yuki became confused.
Takamina realized her mistake and immedaitely changed the name. “I meant Yuki. Not Minako..”
“....” Yuki understood Takamina probably didn’t want her to attend the exam because she actually cares for her. From that last sentence, Yuki knew that Takamina saw her little sister within her, so she could totally understand Takamina’s feelings right now. “So I’m delayed for another month?”
“One month delay is nothing, kid. It’s better than getting yourself crippled for the rest of your life.”
“I guess I have no other choice..” Yuki sighed.
“Good to hear then.” Takamina then took out the melon pan she snatched from Rena. “You must be hungry now.”
“Ugh...” Yuki then shifted herself a little. She couldn’t move much from the castings on both her arms and legs.
“Stop moving.” Takamina adjusted the bed angle to a sitting position. “I’ll feed you. So, don’t move.”
“F-Feed me? But....I’m gonna feel guilty about it....” Yuki felt a little guilty for having Takamina feed her the melon pan.
“You think so? Then eat this by yourself.” Takamina tossed the melonpan on Yuki’s stomach.
“....” Obviously, all Yuki could do is simply stare at it. She couldn’t hold it since both her arms were casted.
“Well!?” Takamina raised her voice. “You will feel guilty, right? Pick it up and eat it then! What’s wrong? Go ahead.”
“I......can’t reach it.” Yuki said in a soft voice, regretting her choice of words earlier.
“So do you want to feel guilty or do you want to eat?” Takamina asked.
“Eat.” Yuki answered in a timid voice, losing the verbal battle. There was no way anybody could win a verbal battle with the fierce Takahashi Minami except for Atsuko.
Without another word, Takamina removed the melon pan from the packet and slowly placed it inside Yuki’s mouth. Yuki still couldn’t munch properly from her recently dislocated jaw. Her jaw just got relaligned not too long ago, so she chewed her food slowly. Takamina was very attentive just like how an older sister wouls treat her younger sister. She would wipe off any bread crumbs that fell out from Yuki’s mouth and she would help her drink some water once in a while. Soon after, the melon pan was gone. “All done.”
“Thank you, sensei...” Yuki shot a sweet smile. No matter what Takamina did to her, Yuki could never find a reason to hate her teacher. Sure thing, Takamina was way too violent on her training and even mocked her badly but that was all for her to be much stronger and be able to fight for herself without needing assistance. All so that she will not die a regrettable death just like Minako did. From the very first day Takamina laid eyes on Yuki, she felt it and had decided on one thing. Takamina would do anything at all to prevent herself from seeing her younger sister die twice.
By the hillside“Ugh!!!!” Rena kicked the rock, sending it flying high into the sky.
“Rena.. It’s just a melon pan..”
Rena turned her head back at Atsuko. “It’s not just a melon pan. It’s my melon pan! She snatched it from me and gave it to someone else!! UGHHH!!!!! And that Yuki. She’s a traitor!” Rena kicked every single rock the saw.
“Yuki was laying on the bed motionless. How is that her fault?” Atsuko smiled and shook her head.
“Minami nee-chan stole my melon pan for her!” Rena puffed her cheeks.
“Rena please..” Atsuko tried convincing but it doesn’t seem to enter Rena’s ears.
“Yuki this! Yuki that! Yuki here! Yuki there! UGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!” Rena kicked another rock, this time, using all her strength. The kick was so strong that the stone got embedded inside a tree trunk.
“I smell jealousy..” Atsuko giggled. Well, she couldn’t blame Rena for being mad at this since Takamina had not spent much time with Rena lately.
“Which kid in the world doesn’t like attention!?” Rena pouted.
Atsuko smiled and shook her head. “Rena, Yuki is just 11 this year.. you’re 17. Give her a break, will you?”
“Hmph!!” Rena turned her head away from Atsuko. As Rena stood by the edge of the cliff, she screamed at the top of her lungs. “UGHHH!!!!! I HATE YOUUUU MINAMI NEE-CHAN!!!!! AND YUKI YOU TRAITOR!!! GIVE ME BACK MY MELON PANNN!!!!”
Seeing Rena being so melodramatic, Atsuko suddenly decided on one thing. “Hmm.. How about we do something interesting today?”
“We’re going on a mission..” Rena was still sulking. “What so interesting about that?”
“Forget about the mission for now... The mission can wait.” Atsuko winked.
“Oooo..... What kind of things?” Rena’s eyes sudenly glittered. She really does get distracted very easily.
“Bad things...”
“Ooooo....... What kind of bad things!? How bad!?” Rena got excited all of a sudden.
“Bad enough to get us both exiled from Legion...” Atsuko smiled.
“OH MY GOD, LET’S DO IT!” Rena started hopping around.
“Well, let’s go then!” Atsuko clapped her hands once.
“GO! GO! GO!” Rena screamed in excitement.
Atsuko then led Rena into the forest. After about an hour hiking, they both stopped in the tracks suddenly. “This is the place.”
“So what bad thing is there to do here?” Rena asked.
Atsuko pointed up at a tree silently as Rena looked at that direction as well. She noticed someone sitting there silently, staring at the sunset. Being too excited about the person, Rena called out. “Hello there! You must be the bad person!”
Hearing Rena’s call, the person turned back and two red eyes stared back at her.
Rena got on guard suddenly. “Wow, wait a minute.. Is that a.....Spectre?”
“Jurina?” Atsuko called out.
“Jurina is her name? Wait, you know this Spectre!?” Rena was shocked with this revelation. Only then, Rena’s eyes widened and pointed at Atsuko, knowing what the ‘bad thing’ finally is. “Oh my god, Atsu nee-chan!!”
“Shhh.. Not too loud, Rena. We don’t want anybody knowing this fact, okay? Even Minami cannot know. Understand?” Atsuko stated.
“Oh, Atsu nee-chan... I didn’t know you were this naughty~~” Rena released a few playful punch on Atsuko’s shoulder.
As the Spectre hopped down from the tree, the light shone on her whole body, lightening her facial and body features. There was a small drone sitting on her shoulder. She remained in her position and stared at Atsuko before staring at Rena. “Who is this girl, Atsuko?”
Atsuko then introduced them. “Rena, meet Jurina. Jurina, meet Rena.”
“HI!! I’m Matsui Rena! I’m 17 this year!” Rena waved excitedly as this was her first time facing a Spectre without fighting.
“Oh boy... The group is getting bigger and bigger..” A robotic voice sounded over the drone.
“Oooo.....” Rena’s eyes glittered. “And that little drone on the shoulder? A friend of yours too, Atsu nee-chan?”
“That drone belongs to a Cyber named Mayu.” Atsuko said.
“Atsu nee-chan, how dare you keep this a secret!” Rena puffed her cheeks. “I always wanted weird friends!”
“Weird friends?” Mayu voiced out. “First, you’re the weird one around. Second, let’s not act like we’re THAT close yet, shall we?”
“You’re both Atsu nee-chan’s friends, so you’re my friends by default too!” Rena exclaimed before asking Atsuko. “So how did you both know each other?”
“I met them both two years back. Apparently, we have something in common, so instead of fighting it off, we sort of discussed a little about it and from that day on, we would meet around this area once in a while to have a friendly chat..”
“Ooo.... What thing in common??” Rena asked.
“The fact that I believe all three species can live together in harmony. If that is possible, then there’s no reason to risk our lives anymore, Rena. We can all go back to our childhood lives. The peaceful life.. Do you understand?”
Rena blinked at Atsuko’s explanation. Atsuko wasn’t sure if Rena heard her or not. Rena merely shrugged and turned back at Jurina. “Hey, let’s go fishing together sometime!”
“.....” Jurina was blinking her eyes being confused with Rena’s random blurt.
Atsuo smmiled and shook her head. “Why did I even explain so much..”
“Well?? Well?? Well??” With every ‘well’, Rena took a step closer to Jurina.
“This girl is weird, Jurina. I have never seen a human acting like that. Certainly an interesting specimen..” Mayu said.
As Rena got closer to Jurina, she lost her smile suddenly. She stared right into Jurina’s eyes for the longest time ever before opening her mouth. “Why are you unhappy?”
“Ho.. This is interesting..” Mayu voiced out.
“Excuse me?” Jurina raised her brow.
“Your eyes... They look dead..” Rena pointed out. “For someone who’s jolly all the time like me, I could always tell when someone is unhappy. Their eyes would look dead just like yours... I’ve never seen a Spectre having these eyes before.. Usually, they would look menacing and full of lust to kill. Your eyes on the other hand.....”
“What’s wrong with my eyes?” Jurina asked.
“They’re asking for help... You don’t like this life, don’t you?” Rena continued.
Atsuko smiled a little at the fact that Rena could actually be mature at times like thesewhispered to herself. “Rena, that kid.. She’s growing..”
Rena suddenly grabbed onto Jurina’s arms. “Don’t worry, Jurina! I have the perfect medicine for you!”
“....” Jurina was still confused about this matter.
“All you need is to fill yourself with happiness.. I can give you that happiness!” Rena hopped away and pointed.
“You giving me happiness? What do you mean?”
“Cakes!!” Rena shouted out.
“What!?” Atsuko, Jurina and Mayu sounded simultaneously.
“Cakes are happiness! Especially chocolate cakes! I will buy cakes for you everyday to eat! Eat them everyday and you’ll never feel sad and troubled again in your life!”
“This girl must be borderline retard.” Mayu sighed.
Atsuko giggled. “Rena, cakes are not happiness.”
“Yes, it is!” Rena exclaimed. “When was the last time you saw someone cry when feasting on a cake?”
“Uhh..” Atsuko was giving it a thought.
“Never!” Rena shouted once again. “Even if that person was crying, it was definitely tears of happiess!! So, by default, cakes are happiness!”
“Uhh...” Jurina was about to say something before she was silenced with Rena pointing her finger at her face.
“I’ll make you happy with cakes!” Rena then clinged her arm onto Jurina and twitched her nose. “And we’re gonna be best friends.”
“Oh my..” Atsuko giggled.
With her arm still clinging onto Jurina, Rena called out. “Atsu nee-chan, can I meet Jurina from now on!?”
“Sure you can.. But you have to make sure Minami doesn’t find out about this, alright?”
“Yay!! We’re gonna be super duper hyper ultra best friends, Jurina!!” Rena said with a smile and a nose twitch.
Mayu then voiced over the drone. “Oh boy, things will get a little messy from now on..”
Chapter 13 : The History Of Team Taka - The Birth of the Strongest Team
ENDThings will elevate from here on~ The next chapter will be the second last chapter in the Team Taka History storyline, then I will continue with the main storyline. You will see how this hisstory connect to the main storyline. In the next chapter, there will be some revelations and some of the puzzle pieces will start to connect and become clearer.. Why? Because the next chapter, Chapter 14 will be entitled as The History Of Team Taka - The Mysterious Black Button. Stay tuned~!