2 Chapter 2: The shrine maiden of the Izanami clan

Then after a few short minutes of walking, Tatsurou and the shrine maiden girl arrived at a large somewhat square-shaped public park that was surrounded by a small dark orange stone wall, that had a medium-sized pointy iron fence on top of the said wall and inside this park was a 15 km track that people could use to either jog or run, a children's park with slides and swings, and we could not forget the dozens upon dozens of threes that gave a nice shade to walk around the park during hot summer day's.

"We're here finally…" Tatsurou thought as he looked at the inside of the public park, from the iron fence, before he and the shrine maiden girl made their way to the large iron main gate of the park, and after traversing the gate, they began to make their way towards the park's center with Tatsurou looking around him in silence, while he kept holding the shrine maiden girl's hand.

"Let's see...where should we…!" Tatsurou muttered this, the shrine maiden girl interrupted him, by gently pulling on his hand.

"Say...mister...why are we here in this park?" The shrine maiden girl asked both curious and worried, as she looked at Tatsurou that glanced at her from over his shoulder.

"Well, we're here because…! Oh, finally, there it is!" As Tatsurou said this, he looked forward and he finally saw what he was looking for and sure enough, he began to pull the shrine maiden girl towards it.

"Wait...is something wrong?" The shrine maiden girl asked with a curious tone, but Tatsurou didn't respond, as he kept walking towards a free reclined bench of the park that had its frame painted in black and its woodwork painted in white and a small trash can, right next to it, but the best of all was the threes around said the bench, that gave a nice shade, after all, it was a tad bit hot today.

"Well then, please take a seat..." Tatsurou said with a happy and somewhat courteous tone, as he pointed at the bench with his right hand before he let go of the shrine maiden's hand.

"S-Sure...if you excuse me then…" The shrine maiden girl said with a faintly embarrassed tone, as she took her seat on the bench and once she was comfortable, she looked around for a moment, before she turned her gaze towards Tatsurou.

"Mister...do you mind telling me what we are doing in this park here, before we do anything else…!" As the shrine maiden girl said this, Tatsurou interrupted her by taking out a small paper box from the plastic bag he was holding, before he handed it to the girl.

"What is this?" The shrine maiden girl asked with a curious tone as she looked at the paper box with a rather puzzled expression before her ahoge made a brief question mark.

"What's this? Well, inside this box, there's a delicious strawberry cake, just for you!" Tatsurou said with a very happy tone, as he moved the box closer to the shrine maiden girl, that began to blush a bit.

"I'm sorry, mister...but I have to decline this, I don't even have anything to pay you with…!"The shrine maiden girl said with a worried and embarrassed tone, as she flailed her hand around a bit, before Tatsurou interrupted her, once again.

"I don't wanna hear any excuses, here! You're hungry right? There's a plastic fork inside so just eat up and don't worry, it's my treat!" Tatsurou said with a happy and reassuring tone, as he once again moved the box closer to the shrine maiden girl, that began to look at it in silence for a bit, while she pondered about taking the box or not, by placing her hand in front of her mouth, but as her stomach growled more and more, just by knowing that there was a cake right in front of her, she finally gave in and gently grabbed the box.

"O-Ok then...I'll accept it...mister…" The shrine maiden girl said with a very embarrassed tone, as she placed the box on top of her lap, before she opened it, to reveal a slice of cake covered with chantilly and strawberries on both its top and on its middle.

"Oh my! This cake looks so good!" The shrine maiden girl said with a very impressed and happy tone, as she placed her hands together before her ahoge began to wiggle around a bit.

"If it looks good, now imagine the taste! So go ahead and dig in!" Tatsurou said with a happy and faint excited tone, as he placed his school bag on the bench, before he took a seat next to the shrine maiden girl, that nodded as she heard Tatsurou.

"A-Alright then...don't mind if I do! Thanks to all the Kami's in the world and mister, for this delicious looking cake!" The shrine maiden girl said with a happy tone, as she placed her hands together before she grabbed the plastic fork that was inside the box.

"Thanks to all the Kami's? Oh right, right, she must practice Shintoism...but that was to be expected of a shrine maiden…" Tatsurou thought a bit surprised as he looked at the shrine maiden girl taking a piece of cake with the fork before she placed the said fork inside her mouth.

"Oh my, oh my! This cake is so sweet and fluffy! And the strawberries make it even better!" The shrine maiden girl said with a happy and pleased tone, as she placed her left hand on her cheek, after eating the piece of cake on the fork and upon hearing this, Tatsurou began to smile.

"I see...then take your time to eat and savor it!" Tatsurou said with a very happy tone, as he briefly laughed before he looked at the shrine maiden girl, that nodded and smiled, as she heard Tatsurou, but as he looked at the girl, Tatsurou got hit with sudden realization.

"Ah! That's right!" As Tatsurou said this he placed his hand inside the plastic bag he was holding and after fumbling around with it for a brief second, Tatsurou took a can of milk coffee out of it, that he handed to the shrine maiden girl.

"Here, it isn't good to eat something without having nothing to drink it with, right?" Tatsurou asked with a curious and happy tone, as he looked at the girl.

"W-Well...that is true...but I think that you should drink that…!" As the shrine maiden girl said this, Tatsurou interrupted her again, by moving the can of coffee milk closer to her.

"No buts here! I'm not thirsty, so please just take it!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he gently shook the can in front of the shrine maiden girl, that after another bit of pondering, while she scratched her cheek, the girl gently grabbed the can after she placed her fork down inside the box with the cake.

"Thanks once again, mister…" The shrine maiden girl said with a very faint embarrassed tone, as she opened the can of milk coffee before she took a small sip.

"T-This tastes so good! I didn't know that coffee and milk tasted this good or that it was this sweet!" The shrine maiden girl said again with a very happy and pleased tone, as briefly licked her upper lip before her ahoge wiggled around quite a lot.

"No need to thank me! I'm just happy to know that you like it!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he gave the shrine maiden a quick thumbs up.

"Now go ahead and eat, while enjoying the scenery of the park!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone, as he moved his left arm as if he was presenting the public park before he looked at the shrine maiden girl, that nodded and smiled once again before she took another sip from the can of milk coffee.

"Good thing that she likes it...now I just hope that nobody finds us here…" Tatsurou thought a bit worried as he discreetly looked around to check if anyone was watching them or if someone followed them, but the only people in this park at the moment were a few joggers and the occasional elderly person strolling around the park, so for now, everything was alright and calm.

"Looks like no one followed us here, huh? Well, but that woman sounded like she had company, but I didn't notice anyone chasing after us...I think that we can relax...for now that is…but this just raises the question of who is this girl and why she's being followed? Tatsurou thought once again, as he looked around the park one last time before he turned his gaze to the shrine maiden girl that had placed the can of milk coffee next to her before she grabbed the fork again to eat the cake.

"Well, for now, I'll just let her eat her cake in peace, then I'll ask her what's going on…" Tatsurou thought yet again, as he began leaning with his back on the bench, while he looked at shrine maiden girl happily eating the cake and placing her left hand on her cheek with every bite she took, while she made the occasional pause to have a sip from her can of milk coffee and look around the park for a bit and then after some rather long minutes, the shrine maiden girl finished eating, and from her expression alone, Tatsurou figured that she enjoyed it quite a lot.

"Thanks for the food!" The shrine maiden girl said with a happy and grateful tone, as she placed her hands together and smiled before her ahoge began to wiggle around a bit.

"And also thank you so much for giving me this, um...mister?" The shrine maiden girl asked with a very curious tone, as her ahoge briefly turned into a question mark before she looked at Tatsurou, that giggled a bit as he heard the girl.

"Well, my name is Kurokami Tatsurou! And you can call me whichever you prefer!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone, as he gave a warm and comforting smile to the girl.

"Then, thank you, very, very much for the food, Tatsurou-san!" The shrine maiden girl said with a happy tone and a big smile, while she gave a slight bow to Tatsurou after she put both the box with the cake and the can with milk coffee next to her.

"Straight to the first name, really?" Tatsurou thought a bit embarrassed as he briefly looked away from the girl before he began to scratch his cheek a bit, while he blushed, but it wouldn't last long.

"S-So and what's your name?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he regained his composure before he looked at the shrine maiden girl that suddenly got up from the bench, with a surprised look stamped on her face.

"Oh, my! That's right! It's only polite and proper to give your name to someone when they give you theirs!" The shrine maiden girl said with a surprised tone, as she got up from the bench, and once she got up, the girl turned around to face Tatsurou, before she briefly cleared her throat.

"Ahem! My name is Izanami Shirayuki, the 60th Head shrine maiden of the Izanami clan! And it's a pleasure to meet you Kurokami Tatsurou-san!" Shirayuki said with a very polite and happy tone, as finished her presentation with a bow, and once again, Tatsurou didn't have any words, he was left speechless by Shirayuki until he realized her family name.

"Izanami...wait you mean, that you are from the Izanami clan? For real?" Tatsurou asked with a very surprised and impressed tone, as he looked at Shirayuki with his eyes open wide, but as he asked that, Shirayuki also opened her eyes wide, as she let out a faint gasp, before she placed her hands in front of her mouth, something that surprised Tatsurou a bit.

"Wait, what's wrong, Shirayuki-san?" Tatsurou asked, more worried than curious, as he also got up from the bench and as he did that he looked at Shirayuki, that simply remained silent, as she began to look away from him.

"Oh no...I shouldn't have said that..what do I do now..." Shirayuki thought worried as she glanced at Tatsurou for a brief second before she looked away again.

"Shirayuki-san...what's wrong?" Tatsurou asked again with a worried tone, as he took a small step close to Shirayuki, that once again remained silent, as she looked to all sides trying to avoid Tatsurou's gaze.

"There's no way around it...I have to tell the truth…let's just hope for the best..." Shirayuki thought once again, as she looked at a very worried Tatsurou and as she did that, Shirayuki slowly moved her hands from her mouth, before she adjusted the sleeves of her kimono.

"N-Nothing's wrong, Tatsurou-san and yes...I'm really from the...Izanami clan..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed and somewhat scared tone, as she intertwined her finger before she looked at Tatsurou.

"So you're really from the Izanami clan...whoa...just whoa..." Tatsurou said with a very, no, extremely impressed tone, as his face became covered with all synonyms of surprise, as for Shirayuki she kept looking at him with a worried expression, but this begs the question of why Tatsurou was so surprised by knowing that Shirayuki belonged to the Izanami clan.

Well, the Izanami clan is a rather small family of shrine maidens that belonged to one of the strongest magic organizations in the world, to be precise, they belonged to the Japanese magic organization known as the Dragon's God organization, and this particular clan was also known as one of the strongest and oldest clans to practice Shinto in all of Japan and their strength came from their many shrine maidens, that had some of the most powerful magic the exists, such as the ability to cure a vast number of alignments, exorcise, summon and seal away strong creatures.

But one of the things the Izanami clan was known for, was a certain magic that was able to bring the dead back to life, something that was highly doubted by many, but believed by a lot of people.

In summary, the Izanami clan stands at the top, as one of the strongest clans of the Dragon's God organization, but not the one with the most members.

But the fact that a rather young shrine maiden, that happened to be the head shrine maiden of one of the strongest Shinto clans in Japan, that belonged to one of the strongest magic organizations in the world, was standing, right in front of Tatsurou, was not what surprised him.

In fact, Tatsurou was mostly curious about the reason, as to why Shirayuki was in Takamagahara island, to begin with since the Izanami clan and to a certain extent, all of the clans of the Dragon's God weren't known to come here to Takamagahara too often.

But right now, the most important thing here was how Tatsurou kept looking at Shirayuki in complete silence, as she impressed him once again, but in Shirayuki's case, this silence worried her, but most of all, it scared her.

"I...I did it...now...what should I do? Tatsurou-san is so silent...perhaps I should just ask if everything is alright before I do or say anything else...but he's going to just get scared and run away, once everything is said and done since he heard my name, right?" Shirayuki thought with worry and sadness written all over her face, as she moved her now clasped hands, towards her chest, before she looked at Tatsurou and after another moment of silence, Shirayuki took a deep breath, before she moved her hands away from her chest.

"T-Tatsurou-san, is everything alright? Or did I say something wrong?" Shirayuki asked both worried and scared, while she looked at Tatsurou, then away, before she began to blush.

"What? No, nothing's wrong! I was just lost in thought thinking that I am very, no, extremely lucky to meet a member of the Izanami clan!" Tatsurou said with a happy and reassuring tone, as he scratched the back of his head a bit before he began to laugh, something that surprised Shirayuki quite a lot, as her eyes opened wide and her face became covered in surprise.

"R-Really? You're just impressed that I'm a member of the Izanami clan and nothing else?" Shirayuki asked with a very surprised and impressed tone, as she clenched her hands a bit before she took a few steps close to Tatsurou, correction, extremely close to Tatsurou.

"Y-Yes...I'm just impressed, after all, it's not every day that you meet a member of the Izanami clan, especially the head maiden!" Tatsurou said with a faintly embarrassed tone, at first, as he looked at how close Shirayuki was, but his tone quickly turned into a happy one, as he raised his index finger a bit and upon hearing him Shirayuki let out a relieved sigh.

"T-Tatsurou-san didn't run away nor did he become scared upon hearing my name…!" Shirayuki thought happily, as she looked at Tatsurou for a bit before she realized how close she was to him, but even so, she was so happy that she didn't blush once she realized it, instead, she simply took a few steps back, while she kept smiling.

"By all the Kami! That's a relief..." Shirayuki said with a happy but mostly relieved tone after she let out another small sigh and of course, this surprised Tatsuoru a bit.

"I'm sorry to ask this, Shirayuki-san...but why is it a relief and why the scared reaction from earlier?" Tatsurou asked, more confused than curious, as he scratched his cheek a bit, with his right hand

"Well, y-you see...Tatsurou-san...normally when I tell people my name or in this case family name, they tend to either be scared and treat me badly or act as if I'm above them...and in the end, those same people simply run away from me…but you didn't do that, you were just impressed by knowing my family name...you're the first person to not run away or become scared upon hearing my family name...that makes me really, really happy..."

Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone, while she began to fidget a bit, before she began to blush and smile cutely, as she placed both of her hands on her chest and upon seeing this Tatsurou began to blush quite a bit, while he looked at Shirayuki, but it didn't last long,as Tatsurou was suddely pushed back into his thoughts.

"I see...now that sort of explains Shirayuki's reaction from earlier...but I'm honestly surprised that people would do something like treat a memeber of such a well know Magic Clan badly...especially a Clan that belongs to the Dragon's God..." Tatsurou thought a bit surprised as he scratched the back of his head a bit, before he looked at Shirayuki, that was still smilling, while she kept her hands close to her chest.

"Who am I kidding here? The way Shirayuki reacted once she told me her name and the way she's acting now...just shows that she is telling me the truth and honestly, it's making my blood boil knowing that there's people out there that would do something like that to such a sweet and innocent girl..."

Tatsurou thought a bit angry and worried, as he placed his clenched hands inside the pocket of his hoodie, while he briefly remembered the way Shirayuki acted earlier, upon presenting herself, but at the same time Tatsurou took a small deep breath, to calm himself a bit.

"Well...I'm not scared of you, Shirayuki-san and why should I be scared? You and I, we are equals, clans, rankings or the alike are just dumb things people come up with to separate themselves from one other when they are all the same deep down!"

Tatsurou said with a happy and confident tone, without wavering, while he gave Shirayuki a big smile because this was what Tatsurou believed in and how he saw the world, ranks or family name didn't matter to him, what mattered was the person as a whole instead of its rank or family name.

"Tatsurou-san...yes...that's what I believe in too!" Shirayuki said with a very happy tone, as she placed her hands together before she looked at Tatsurou with an impressed expression covering her face, but this wouldn't last long as Tatsurou was about to ask Shirayuki, something that had been on the back of his mind for a while now.

"Good to know that we're on the same page here, Shirayuki-san! But say...can I ask you something else?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he tilted his head a bit before he took his right hand out from the pocket of his hoodie.

"Hmm! Sure! What is it?" Shirayuki asked also with a curious tone, as her ahoge made a question mark once again before she looked at Tatsurou, that scratched his cheek once again.

"So...well, Shirayuki-san...I wanted to ask you this for a while now...so...just who was that woman following you earlier?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he kept scratching his cheek before he looked at Shirayuki, that got a scared expression covering her face, as soon as she heard Tatsurou's question.

"Well...I...I..." Shirayuki said this with an extremely worried tone, as she moved her hands around a bit before her ahoge drooped a little bit and it was obvious to Tatsurou, that she didn't want to talk about it anyone could figure that out.

"It's alright if you don't want to tell me, Shirayuki-san, I understand and I won't make you tell me either if you don't want to..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, this while he gave Shirayuki an equally reassuring smile.

"No, no, no you're getting the wrong idea Tatsurou-san! It's just that I don't want to involve you in my problems, that's all...but then again...I..."

Shirayuki said with a worried and embarrassed tone, as she tried to dissuade Tatsurou, from dwelling into her problems, in all honesty, Shirayuki was just trying to protect him, but at the same time it felt as if she was trying to ask for help, and for Shirayuki it was a stroke of luck because Tatsurou just couldn't stand still and back down without doing anything when someone needed help.

"I know what you mean, Shirayuki-san, but…!" As Tatsurou was about to ask again if he could do anything to help Shirayuki, he felt something, that he hasn't felt in a long time, it was a feeling that he knew all too well, it was an aura of malicious intent, praying over him and Shirayuki.

"What the…!" Tatsurou thought, as he quickly turned around, looking for whoever was giving out this malicious intent, while he quickly placed Shirayuki behind him.

"W-What's wrong Tatsurou-san?" Shirayuki asked with a worried tone, as she looked at Tatsurou, but she soon understood what was happening, as she looked at Tatsurou's alert expression scanning his surroundings and so upon seeing that, Shirayuki kept herself behind Tatsurou, while she grabbed the tip of his uniform jacket.

"I wasn't expecting them to find us this soon...just our luck...but at least there's no one around…" Tatsurou thought as he looked around once again to check his surroundings and to his surprise, there wasn't anyone in the park and so after a long silence and not being able to pinpoint where this aura came from, Tatsurou took matters to himself.

"There's no need to hide anymore! I know you're there...so show yourself!" Tatsurou shouted with an angry and intimidating tone, in the direction, he believed, the aura of ill intentions was hiding, and for a while, the silence reigned again, until...

"What the…!" Tatsurou said with a surprised tone, while his gaze turned upwards, as the aura with ill-intentions that he felt was now air-born and above both him and Shirayuki.

"Run!" Tatsurou said with a worried tone, as he grabbed Shirayuki by her arm before he dashed away from the bench they were standing close to and in the blink of an eye, a loud crash was heard, and after it, a large cloud of dust formed by dirt, pebbles, and pieces of wood from the bench, started to fly in every direction and as Tatsurou saw this, he stopped running and wrapped his arms around Shirayuki, before he turned his back to the cloud of dust.

"Dammit! Hold on to me, Shirayuki-san!" Tatsurou said with a worried tone, as he hugged Shirayuki tight before the pebbles and pieces of wood began to hit his back and as they hit them Tatsurou let out a faint pained moan.

"T-Tatsurou-san!" Shirayuki said with a worried tone, as she lifted her head to look at Tatsurou, which gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry...this is nothing!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he placed his hand on Shirayuki's head, to give her a quick head pat and after a while, the pebbles and pieces of wood stooped hitting Tatsurou and that was when looked over his shoulder to have a look at the one responsible for this, but all that Tatsurou saw was a cloud of dust.

"Just who are you…" Tatsurou thought as he let go of Shirayuki before he turned towards the cloud of dust, but of course, he kept Shirayuki behind him, to protect her from whoever their attacker might be, and soon enough as the cloud of dust began to fade away, a tall figure emerged from it and this figure was a black armor, similar to the one used by knights, that as tall as the trees that surrounded them.

But something that stood out was the symbol of a lion with a crown on its head, printed on his chest and the black hackle on his helmet, as for weapons this knight was holding a shield in his left arm and a lance in his right hand.

"Wait a knight? No, I don't have time for that! Tatsurou muttered with an impressed tone, which quickly turned into a worried one, as he looked at the knight that kept silent as he observed both him and Shirayuki with an intimidating and imposing aura covering his body.

"Hey! Who are you? What are you after?" Tatsurou asked with a curious but mostly angry tone, as he looked at the knight, but he didn't answer, he simply kept silent as he kept looking at Tatsurou and Shirayuki, without making a single move and it was in this very moment that Tatsurou began to get nervous, with the knight's ominous silence.

"I should have known that he wouldn't talk...but still, just who is he? Wait, I have seen that crest before it belongs to the British magic organization, the...the Lion Emperor! But wait, don't tell me that they are the ones after Shirayuki? They could be but…!"

Tatsurou thought as he looked at the symbol on the knight's chest, that belonged to the British magic organization, known as the Lion Emperor, that was known to create such armors, but Tatsurou's thought process was suddenly halted when the knight slowly began to take on a stance that was for anyone easy to recognize, his legs started opening and getting a firm grip on the ground, his shield put aside, his lance taking center stage as he pulled it back, yes, that was the stance of someone ready to engage in a fight.

"No way! He wants to fight here?!" Tatsurou worried, as he clenched his fists before he looked at the knight that was getting ready to attack.

"What should I do? Do I stay and fight or do I run away with Shirayuki? I want to avoid any fighting...but if I don't do it he will follow us…!"

As Tatsurou thought this, he began to brainstorm ways of getting out of this situation, as he got into a defensive stance, but his brainstorming was brought to a sudden halt as he felt Shirayuki pulling on the jacket of his gakuran and as he looked over his shoulder, Tatsurou saw Shirayuki trembling with her eyes closed and on the verge of tears, and upon seeing this Tatsurou made up his mind on the spot, as he clenched his fist, before he took a battle stance.

"I hate to fight but...there's no way I'll let him hurt Shirayuki by trying to run away with her! So let's do this!" Tatsurou thought determined as he looked at Shirayuki with a determined expression before he looked at the knight.

"I don't know who you are...but I know what you are after! And believe me when I say that I won't let you take or hurt Shirayuki-san" Tatsurou shouted with an angry and determined tone, to the knight that was unshaken by his words, if anything, he looked even more eager to go and start this fight, but it was also in this very moment that Shirayuki opened her eyes, before she looked at Tatsurou with a surprised and impressed expression, while she kept holding his jacket, but what stood out the most, was the shine and gratitude in her eyes, as she kept looking at Tatsurou.

"Tatsurou-san...thank you…" Shirayuki muttered with a happy and embarrassed tone, as she held the tip of his jacked once again before she moved her other hand towards her chest.

"Shirayuki-san, stay behind me, ok?" Tatsurou said with a calm and firm tone, to Shirayuki that nodded, as she let go of his jacket.

"Y-Yes!" As Shirayuki said this to Tatsurou, the knight lunged himself at them as if he was a lion ready to attack its prey, with his lance pulled back and prepared to pierce Tatsurou, but unfortunately for this knight, its prey could fight back and as the knight got closer and closer to Tatsurou, he dodged to the left, before he kicked the lance with his right leg, all the while, holding Shirayuki to take her out of harm's way and thanks to that, the knight's lance was now stuck on the ground.

"Got you!" Tatsurou thought happily as he looked at the knight struggling to take its lance out of the ground and even though the knight lacked any kind of expression, thanks to its helmet, you could tell he was distressed, but also kind of impressed by this turn of events.

"Nice! Now I…!" Tatsurou said this with a happy tone, as he clenched his fist to celebrate his achievement, but his happiness quickly faded away, as the knight grabbed his lance handle tight, after giving it a spin and in the blink of an eye, the lance began to pour smoke out of it, before it opened up to reveal a sword.

"So that "lance" was just a sword sheet, no way!" Tatsurou though, both surprised and impressed at this sudden turn of events, but even so, Tatsurou didn't break his guard for a single instant, as he saw the knight take its sword out, in a way that could be described as showing off, before he began to admire it, for a brief second, as right after, the knight prepared himself to swing his sword, and a bad feeling came to Tatsurou as he saw this.

"Oh no!" Tatsurou said with a worried tone, as he wrapped his arms around Shirayuki once again before he dived to the ground with his back before he rolled around to stay on top of Shirayuki and soon enough Tatsurou's bad feeling proved right as the knight, swung his sword with such incredible speed and strength, that the trees in this spot of the park were simply cut clean and the leaves, tree branches, and trunks of the said trees, began to fly away and falling to the ground, and as the knight finished his attack he began looking around the park admiring his work, as the sound of flying debris ruled the scene.

"Are...are you okay, Shirayuki-san?" Tatsurou asked with a worried and pained tone from getting hit by some of the flying debris after he let out a small cough.

"I-I'm alright Tatsurou-san, don't worry..." Shirayuki said with a reassuring tone, in between small coughs, before she looked at Tatsurou.

"That's a relief...but things are still looking bad on our side..." Tatsurou said with a worried tone, as he slowly got up, before he helped Shirayuki get back on her feet and once they were up, Tatsurou turned towards the knight, while he took a battle stance again.

But as he did that, the knight gave off an aura that felt as if he was laughing at Tatsurou and Shirayuki, it felt as if had the upper hand and would win no matter how hard Tatsurou fought back, but to his surprise, Tatsurou also smiled.

"Don't think...that just because you got me off guard once, that you'll have the upper hand for the rest of the fight! Because this is far from over, you hear!" Tatsurou said with a firm and determined tone, to the knight as he prepared to attack and the knight responded in kind with the same gesture, by preparing his sword for another slash.

"This is it...I can't run anymore and even if I don't want to, I have to fight, I have...to show that side of myself...very well then..."

Tatsurou thought, as he clenched his fists harder before he began to prepare himself to fight, something that he disliked quite a lot but in this situation, Tatsurou didn't have much of choice, so after he took a deep breath, Tatsurou began to run towards the knight, that once again responded with the same gesture and soon enough they were both running towards each other, with the knight preparing his sword for another slash and Tatsurou preparing to punch him and as they were getting closer and closer, to each other, Tatsurou let out a scream.

"This is it! You better grind those teeth, you damn bastard…!" Tatsurou said with a determined and angry tone, as he and the knight prepared to hit each other with their respective attacks, but suddenly and out of nowhere a vermillion red magic circle, with a drawing of a hand appeared to their right side and out of said magic circle came to a fist that hit the knight straight in his helmet before it sent him flying away from Tatsurou.

"Huh? What the hell?" Tatsurou said with a confused tone, as he stopped dead on his track as he was now standing on the place that the knight once stood, but he then looked to the left side to see the knight lying on the ground knocked out flat.

"W-What happened, just now?" Tatsurou thought as he tried to decipher what just happened in front of him, but his in-progress train of thought was cut short when the knight suddenly got up, looking around confused as he placed his left hand on the large bump caved in his helmet.

"Not even that stopped him?" Tatsurou thought impressed and worried, as looked at the knight slowly move towards him, but that was when another vermillion magic circle appeared beneath him that made him stop and then another one showed up from above him, and out from that magic circle came various clenched hands, that began to punch the knight as if he was nothing more than a simple ragdoll, but even so the knight kept moving but it proved useless and soon enough he finally stopped moving.

"What...what was that just now?" Shirayuki asked with a tone of awe and surprise, but Tatsurou just looked at the knight in absolute relief and fear, as he knew who was the one responsible for this attack.

"W-Well...that's…!" As Tatsurou said this, his face became pale as the one of a ghost, before he was interrupted by an angry voice of a woman.

"Just what the hell, do you think you're doing here? Kurokami Tatsurou, you idiot delinquent look-alike!!!"

The woman that shouted this from behind Tatsurou, was a tall and beautiful looking woman, perhaps in her mid 20's, that had violet eyes and long equally violet hair, that was tied up in a high ponytail, that reached to her hips, as for her bangs they were untied and a bit messy.

As for her clothes, she was dressed in a business suit, that showed off her long slender legs and thighs, but of course, we could not forget her quite generous chest area.

"What? Did a cat bite your tongue off now?" The woman asked with a curious and angry tone, as she gave Tatsurou a stare that could murder him, if moved a single centimeter and of course upon hearing her, Tatsurou kept sweating and trembling nervously and in the meantime, Shirayuki briefly looked at this woman before she made her way towards Tatsurou and once she got close...

"Say, Tatsurou-san...do you know this person?" Shirayuki asked with a curious tone, as she looked at Tatsurou slowly turning around, to look at this woman.

"Yes...I know her, Shirayuki-san...she...she is...my homeroom teacher, Kuroiwa Yumeko-sensei..." Tatsurou said with a very scared tone, as he jolted a bit before he looked at Yumeko slowly approach him, while she cracked her knuckles with a dark aura of impending doom shaped in the form of a skull, hovering over her...