Here I Come, America!

Sitting in the airport, Doppo-sensei looked over my shoulder and down at the tickets I had in my hand. A confused look came over his face, "Why are you going to America, Yu? There's not many martial arts opportunities over there," he asked with a slight frown.

I just looked back at him with a slight smile, "I have someone I need to meet. I have to inquire about his diet and how he keeps his muscles in check," I shrugged before picking up my backpack, "That, and I want to make use of his influence to find some people. Strong people I can fight," my small smile exploded across my face, becoming a wide and savage one, full of battle lust.

Doppo-sensei, hearing me, laughed before patting me on the back, "Well, I'm gonna be off touring Asia, so if you're around there, give me a call - I can check out your progress!" her laughed once again before picking up his backpack as well, "Well, my plane's boarding, so I'll see you when I see ya, kid!" he waved before putting on his sunglasses and walking off to the gate where he could board.

...Wearing sunglasses inside? I know he wants to hide his eye patch but it's bit too eccentric...

Seeing that my plane wasn't boarding yet, I just sat down and relaxed, closing my eyes and exercising my muscles a little, making them twitch, contract and expand against one another, so I could get a quick workout before I got on the plane.

I'd have my work cut out for me once I got to America, so I needed to have a long sleep on the plane there because as soon as I landed? The action would begin.

What was I going to do in America? Well--

My thought process was cut off when a group of...unusual people came into the waiting area.

It was a bunch of kids, led by a giant...armored...knight. What the hell? The person had to be around 2 meters tall even without their armor on. Worst of all, I knew who this was - Marmaduke Brown, a member of Yami, in the Weapons Division. She was even one of the big shots, an Hachio Executioner Blade.

And yes, despite wearing massive, masculine armor that made her look like an absolute brute...Marmaduke was a woman. A very beautiful one, apparently. Though her face was never shown in the manga, so I don't really know.

Behind her, however, was where most of my attention was.

Two kids, one of them around my age, while the other was a few years younger.

The one around my age, who actually seemed a year or two older than me, was of Caucasian descent, with long, wavy blonde hair and bright green eyes which were full of mischievousness. She looked pretty cute, and from her budding body, she looked like she would be a stunning lady when she grew up.

The other girl, was what you would call a...Kuudere, was it? She practically had no emotion on her face, even bordering on a pure melancholy-full expression. She had long black hair and dark blue eyes, and despite looking adorable, her emotionless state gave her a look of maturity, like she wasn't in fact a child, but instead an adult.

I could guess at who these two were, as well: Rachel Stanley and Chikage Kushinada, respectively.

Really, those were just some very educated guesses. Who else would match those appearances, while also following around one of the members of Yami? Not many people, honestly.

I kept my head down and pretended to look at my phone, hoping they just went past me. I'd love to fight Marmaduke, but not here in a public airport. The property damage alone would be terrible, let alone the civilians who'd get caught in between us.

But it seemed my luck was absolutely dreadful, because once they checked the screens that showed what gates were boarding and which one's weren't, they came over and plopped themselves down on the seats next to me. Marmaduke ignored the weird stares she got from the surrounding people, while Rachel was messing about with her phone, seemingly texting people.

Chikage, on the other hand...

"Jiiiii~" Chikage looked at me, and then down at the phone I was looking at. It didn't take her long to realize I was just faking it, so she stared back at my head, her eyes boring holes in my temple.

The kuudere loli's emotionless stare continued on, not breaking for even a second.

It was pretty unnerving. I'm not even sure she was blinking.

Remembering something from History's Strongest Disciple, I reached into my backpack and pulled out something that immediately got the loli's attention.

A candy bar.

Her dark blue eyes were glued to the candy now, and she looked like a predator stalking prey. It was quite comical when you realized it was just a 9/10-year-old staring at a chocolate bar. Seeing that she was so infatuated with it, however, I discretely passed the bar to her with a smile. Her emotionless face twitched slightly, as if she was unsure with what to do. It also seemed like she thought I hadn't realized she was staring at me, and me handing the chocolate to her was a shocking thing.

But such thoughts were only there for a few seconds, as she quickly picked up the candy bar and opened the wrapping before devouring it like a ravenous animal.

Just when I thought I could have some peace and quiet...

"Jiiiii~"

...She started staring at me again. But this time, with sparkling eyes. Though nothing else on expression changed, I could tell she wanted more chocolate.

Is this why they tell you not to feed strays? Because they'll pester you for more food?

Reaching into my backpack one again, I brought out two chocolate bars, handing one to Chikage, and keeping one for myself, which I opened and ate after Chikage took hers. She devoured it just as quickly as the first one, leaving a chocolate smudge all around her mouth. Seeing her eat so messily, I shook my head, realizing I'd severely underestimated her sweet tooth.

I reached into my backpack and brought out a small bag of wipes. Opening it, I took one of the wipes and wiped clean Chikage's chocolate covered mouth.

What started out as a plan to stop her from staring at me, has turned into my babysitting her.

Just my luck.

"Like, what are you doing?" a slightly stand-offish voice said and I looked up to see Marmaduke and Rachel looking at me. While Rachel was glaring at me like I was some kind of pervert, I could sense that behind Marmaduke's knight helmet...she was smiling? I guess she feels some sympathy for Chikage.

Looking at her with a raised eyebrow, I smirked at Rachel, "Cleaning this kids face so it isn't covered in chocolate? Is that not allowed or something?"

"No, I mean, why are you feeding her chocolate? You a pervert or something? Trying to lead Chikage away so you can kidnap her?" she huffed, sending back a sharp reply, obviously wanting to get a rise out of me.

But I just shrugged before throwing the wet wipe I'd used to clean Chikage's face into the bin a few meters away. "I gave her the chocolate because she looked like she wanted it. Besides, I'm around the same age as you, what would I get by kidnapping a kid?" I asked her with an expression that screamed 'Are you stupid?'.

Seeing such an expression on my face, Rachel looked like she was about to blow her top but an armored gauntlet landed on her shoulder; Marmaduke.

"Calm down, Rachel. The young boy was only giving her chocolate. Is that right...?" her voice was quite deep but that was probably because of the echo inside her helmet. Even then, it seemed to have quite a feminine sound to it.

"Yukiro. Yukiro Nishimiya," I smiled, telling her my name. There was no point in hiding it, really.

"Yukiro...That's a strong name!" she gave a shout, alerting everyone around us, who, again, looked at Marmaduke with weird gazes. Only now, I was included in the weird gazes because I was associating with her. "Where is your guardian, Yukiro?" she asked, rather informally and referring to me by my first name.

Originally being from a country that wasn't Japan, I wasn't that caught off by this, but it did tell me that Marmaduke wasn't from Japan. Which was kinda obvious because of the European knight armor.

"She's at home - I'm on my own...?" I trailed off, indirectly asking for her name.

"Ah, where are my manners?!" she gave another echoey shout, drawing more attention. She stood up before slamming her fist against her chest, "My name is Marmaduke Brown, nice to meet you, Yukiro Nishimiya!" her voice was firm and I could practically feel the Ki pouring off of her. She was strong.

The urge to fight was blisteringly hot inside of me right now, my blood boiling and my skin taking on an indiscernible red tint yet I suppressed it with my Sei Ki, calming myself down.

Oblivious to my endeavors because of Sei Ki's ability to remain undetected, Marmaduke went on to introduce the other two, "And this here is Rachel Stanley, and the little girl you've been feeding is called Chikage Kushinada. Speaking of which, what do you say to the nice boy who gave you chocolate Chikage?" Marmaduke sat back down and I sensed that she was looking at Chikage with a slightly reprimanding look.

Chikage seemed to sense the same because she turned to me and bowed her head slightly, "Thank you..." her emotionless and even voice said, though I did hear some genuine gratitude in there.

"No worries, Kushinada-chan," I smiled before looking to Marmaduke, "Then where are you three going, Marmaduke?" I decided to drop the honorifics with Marmaduke, deciding that it wouldn't mean much to her either way.

"Oh, we're going to America to pick up Rachel's brother, Ethan. What about you, Yukiro?" she answered and then asked innocently, yet my head was pounding slightly.

"Ah, really?" I asked somewhat annoyed, yet I hid it well, "I'm also going to America. Arizona to be exact."

"Really now? That's a lovely coincidence. We're also going to Arizona," Marmaduke said in a joyful voice, followed by a hearty laugh, yet I was practically cut off from the world at this point.

...Will I be able to get some sleep on the plan? Looking at the kuudere loli who was looking at me with sparkling eyes again, seemingly wanting more chocolate and then at Rachel who was glaring at me...I sincerely doubted I'd get any rest at all.

. . .

"Good luck with your endeavors, Yukiro!" Marmaduke said as she shook my hand vigorously. If I were a normal person, my hand would have been crushed by her gauntlets, while my shoulder would've been pulled from it's socket. When Marmaduke finally let go, Chikage appeared in front of me, a candy bar in her hands.

She pushed the candy bar into my hands, a slight glimmer of emotion in her eyes, "Good luck...Yukiro-niisama..." she said, having taken to that form of addressing me after I gave her enough chocolate. It seems whoever wants her respect, just has to give her chocolate.

Rachel didn't come over to me, she just turned her head away, a competitive grin on her face, "Next time we meet, I'll definitely fight you~!" she said in a playfully threatening way, yet I just rolled my eyes at her.

"You'll need to get a lot strong to do that, Rachel," I shrugged at her glare, before I ruffled Chikage's hair and pocketed the candy bar, "Hopefully I'll see you in the future, Chikage-chan," I said this before I picked up my suitcase and went to go and hail a taxi. I hope my English hasn't gone too rusty in my time speaking just Japanese.

Nonetheless, let's get ready...to break into a prison!