Robot Girl
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If Kazuya would classify himself as a person, then he would put himself in the silent average people category. He was not ambitious nor wanted to gain popularity, but one of the ones that simply lived and did was he was supposed to quietly.
His life on earth before he had been called to Edea was as mundane as it could get. His only desire was to make his guardian Mei happy and improve her lifestyle. She didn't say much so he did everything that he could to satisfy her since she was the closest thing he had to a family.
Kazuya was annoyed by Stockton Kurumi but he didn't really hate her. He classified her as a curious cat who would chase anything that caught her attention. He only needed to avoid her and everything would be fine. Well… maybe except for the male territorial cats.
Shiroyuki Tomoyo was completely different. She had a reputation that could compare to Kurumi but it was not her beauty that stood out the most, it was her temperament. The emotionless girl who was immovable in national kendo tournaments earned the nickname 'robot girl'. This grey-haired beauty had her fair share of fans but none of them dared approach her. One could only imagine their surprise when this girl who was like a robot that meticulously followed a routine suddenly changed her every day program.
It all started when a rumor spread around that Stockton Kurumi had felt pity for a boy who suffered from amnesia. It was then that the name Kouzuki Kazuya spread around the school and his identity together with his circumstances were known by the students. Various people asked him if he really did suffer from amnesia out of curiosity, so he could only answer them truthfully.
What surprised everyone though was that the robot that did the same thing everyday for as long as they could remember, acted like a normal person and approached the boy in the rumors.
"Kouzuki Kazuya?" he turned to face her and found a beautiful girl that made his heart skip a beat.
"Y-yes?" he was nervous. This was the only other person who could make his heart skip a beat aside from his guardian.
But that only lasted for a few moments. Tomoyo immediately grabbed him by the collar and dragged him behind her after confirming his identity. No one was as shocked as he was because he had never met this girl before. He was thrown inside the unused kendo hall and locked alone with the girl who had the same expression all throughout their encounter.
He wasn't stupid, so he immediately deduced his kidnapper's identity especially since he was brought to a kendo hall. She quietly handed him a bamboo sword before taking a few steps back while holding one for herself.
"Umm… Shiroyuki-san right?"
"You lost your memories?" She ignored his question and asked one of her own.
"I did. I have no memory before waking up and could attend middle school after rehabilitation and physical therapy" after seeing the sword in her hand, he didn't forget to mention his own injuries.
"You know me?"
"How could I not?" he replied. Tomoyo simply nodded before looking at him again.
"Fight me" she made a stance and ignored further attempts Kazuya made to initiate a conversation.
That was the beginning of the change in the robot's daily program and also the start of the 'matches' Kazuya would be having with her. Tomoyo would drag him to the dojo and force him to go up against her and suffer a beating. She was aware that he had no knowledge of the sport but that did not stop her from doing what she wanted.
Others felt envy but most felt pity since the pitiful amnesiac boy was suddenly chosen to be the robot girl's training dummy. His limited knowledge about kendo was based on how much this girl has said and with her temperament, it was not that much. She taught him to attack her head or her body to be able to win so he assumed that those were the only places you could hit to win.
Who would like being beaten up for no reason? He hated it so much that Shiroyuki Tomoyo became the primary reason of his transfer out of Sacred Forest Academy. He would have beaten her back if he could, but her achievements were not for show and he was badly beaten for his efforts. This led to his current feeling of enmity towards her.
"Over here Kazuya" Kyouko spotted him wandering around as she drank tea with Shiroyuki Kaori. He was introduced at the old lady who was looking at him from head to toe.
"Looks like you're fine. Did you beat Tomoyo?" Kaori asked while looking at Kazuya's status.
"I don't know much about kendo but grandpa Jirou said I got two points" he still felt a little bitter about his sudden realization but couldn't blame it on anyone.
"Haha good! That old man is too proud of Tomoyo and dotes on her to the point that she turned out that way. It's a good lesson for the both of them. I have to thank you young man, Kyouko indeed has raised a fine young lad"
"Thank you, grandma Kaori. My mom is the best"
They talked and ate snacks for a while. Kaori was told about what happened to Kazuya and expressed great regret that Lee was allowed into their household. She promised them that she would talk to Jirou about it when both Tomoyo and Jirou arrived.
"I heard it all! That punk will be erased from the history of this dojo! He was mediocre anyway" He sat down with Tomoyo and looked at the boy "What do you think of my granddaughter's skills?"
"Weak"
"Kazuya don't be rude!" his mother reprimanded him.
"It's alright Kyouko-chan. It's the truth a beginner like him did beat her without even breaking a sweat"
"But granny Kaori said that no one her age could beat her"
"Until now that is. This means we have to work harder as teachers so we are grateful for this lesson" he patted his granddaughter's head and continued. "I was worried that there would be no one her age that she could contend with so I'm glad that both of you came to visit. The two of you will become comrades in school as well"
"Tomoyo-chan also attends Sacred Forest Academy?"
Tomoyo who was now wearing regular clothes kept her stare at Kazuya. He knew she was looking at him and he was intentionally ignoring her. He didn't know what she was thinking but he imagined her holding a grudge. She sat up and sat close to him but Kazuya continuously tried to move away.
"She does" Jirou laughed as he watched the children "You two should get along since you will be teammates both here and in the school club. I was hoping she could find an opponent during competitions but it turns out I only needed to look for one in the neighborhood!"
"(Damn, I totally forgot about this)" he cursed inside. He would have chosen another school if the summoning area wasn't nearest to the academy but this time he had no choice. Not only did he encounter Kurumi but now Tomoyo earlier than expected as well. "(It's really true that enemies really are bound to meet up on a narrow road)" he sighed.
"What makes things better is that it turned out to be old Kou's grandson! You two are going to sweep the nation's competition in the future hahaha!"
"Don't put too much pressure on them you old man! They are still children"
"You know that stuff doesn't affect Tomoyo much less is it going to affect Kazuya" they watched the two that was still slowly chasing each other without a care.
"Maybe you have a point" Kaori gave a light smile after seeing the two interacting.
"Can my Kazuya really do it?" Kyouko doubted as she watched her son finally get away from Tomoyo by sitting on her lap and wrapping her arms around himself.
"I have no doubt. It's a good thing that he and Tomoyo are going to the same school or else my granddaughter would be doomed to be second place in the individual tournaments until they both reach the age where the competitions would be separated by gender"
"Are you really going to do it Kazuya?" She asked the spoiled looking boy in her arms.
"I can only say that I'll do my best"
"Where did your confidence earlier go young man? I've taken my granddaughter to all the dojos in the district and no one in your generation stood a chance against her. You defeated her so convincingly and you can only say that you'll do your best?" He felt a little disappointed at Kazuya's lackluster response.
"There are no absolutes in the face of battle between people of similar prowess" the boy replied nonchalantly "A moment of hesitation can lead to defeat or even worse, death" His response shook everyone in the room especially Jirou. Tomoyo's gaze turned sharp as she continued to stare at him but he continued to ignore her.
"Strong and wise. Truly a blessing to the Kouzuki family. Unlike this sword addicted husband of mine, you seem to be the wiser. You should be ashamed Jirou"
"Haha… how about it young man? Do you wish to join the dojo? Since you won earlier then our deal applies"
"Hmm…" still under the relentless gaze of Tomoyo he felt reluctant. "I will think about it and come again when I've decided" he stood up and paid his respects before leaving with his mother.
"I see… then I will await your favorable response" Jirou was disappointed as he watched the mother and son's backs. He didn't want to push it. He noticed the change in Kazuya's attitude earlier and didn't want to agitate him into avoiding their dojo.
"Looks like the both of you have taken a liking to that boy" Kaori spoke and startled her husband. Jirou glanced at Tomoyo whose gaze was still fixated at Kazuya.
"You'll see him again Tomoyo. Didn't you hear? He'll be going the same school and club as you" Jirou patted her granddaughter's head. He had failed to notice this but it looked like his granddaughter held more interest in the boy than he did.
*nod* "Kouzuki… Kazuya…"
The mother and son pair left the Shiroyuki household a little abruptly so Kyouko had her concerns. She already knew that her son's temperament was different and a bit complicated so she wanted to clear a few things with him.
"Kazuya, our families have been friends with the Shiroyukis for a long time so I hope you'll be nice to them. Me and your grandfather owe them a great deal of gratitude"
"Even that robot like girl?" Kazuya frowned. It was bad enough that he saw her again, now he had to be nice to her?
"Be especially nice to Tomoyo-chan. She is quite the pitiful child. She lost her parents before her own eyes. That's why she is a little strange" Kyouko explained.
"I see… (That's why she's like that?)" he didn't show it but he was surprised. Who would have thought that she had gone through something like that? "I'll try" he responded. Kyouko knew that that was the best she could get for now. She had gotten used to the changes in her son recently. He would usually just agree or disagree but if he was uncertain, this was the best reply she could get.
"Okay. I trust you" She patted his head and smiled as they walked back home together.
They really didn't do much after they arrived back home. Kyouko returned to do work at home and Kazuya locked himself up his room to do some additional training. He would study the book of research whenever he took a break and learn a few things from it.
"It's a pity there isn't enough mana on earth" he sighed as he read through the research notes about different spells that the authors either invented or improved. Most of them had high requirements of mana so he would have no way of using them.
"Wait a second…" he flipped through the book after he had caught on to something. "I found it!"
[Gathering Formation]
[To counter the deficiency caused by hero summoning, a gathering formation derived from the hero summoning formation itself]
[By changing the key elements of the summoning formation, making it into a mana gathering formation and adding devices/ talismans/ artifacts/formations to keep them in place, it is possible to stabilize the deficiency of mana caused by the hero summoning formation]
[To provide mana for the land suffering deficiency, land that was unaffected is needed]
[the unaffected land would have it's mana reduced to stabilize the area containing the formation]
[research was halted due to the enormous amount of complaints of the affected land owners and my co-researchers]
"I should be able to use this to concentrate the mana in the area to our place. No one is going to complain since no one knows about mana anyway" he raised his hand and smiled at the ancient looking ring that appeared.
"Don't worry little buddy. I'll have you shining like new again in no time"