Corrupting

-POV: Sakura-

I spent the day essentially cuddling with Natsuru. Still female too, but she's a little too preoccupied dealing with her parents demise and thinking over my words. I called out of school for both of us and Shizuku has been messaging me since nine in the morning. Given that it's ten now, I'll probably need to reply to her soon. Stroking Natsuru's long blue hair I start thinking of my next steps.

~She's getting incredibly suspicious of me. I might have underestimated her intuition and sixth sense. That said, it'd be a shame to kill her. With Natsuru not likely to save her during the fight and reeling her in, I suppose I can do it..~ Deciding on my next actions, I get another notification on my phone.

<25,000 USD has been sent to recipient Desperado> I see from my banking information before wiping it all clean off my phone.

~That one guy.. What was his name? Monsoon? All too eager to kill two doctors. He didn't even question my credentials as an Armstrong. Or maybe Father knows..? But wouldn't he call me if that were the case..? Maybe not. Perhaps he's watching me as I've been watching him~ I decided to shelf that train of thought as I feel Natsuru begin waking up on my lap.

"Good morning, Natsuru" I say, though my mask isn't present.

After all, it's the perfect moment to mold her a little more.

-USA, Texas Armstrong Estate. POV: 3rd-

Senator Armstrong was enjoying a day off while Desperado was out working. Maverick was beginning the training and security of Prime Minister N'Mani in the South African country that had recently been attacked. He estimated it'd take a year for Maverick to fully build the nation's defenses back up. Impressive but he had other things he was more concerned with. Namely, Monsoon, who had called him.

"Armstrong here" The Senator answered as he watched the evening sky.

"Her request has been completed. Pretty easy too. Why kill off two random doctors anyway?" Monsoon asked, chuckling to himself.

"Their last names, of course. Senou. Looked into the School's database and saw a student there with the same last name. A boy, too.." Armstrong grunted after he said.

"Pffhahaha! Think she hates the boy? Or maybe she's trying to be his emotional support?" Monsoon questioned.

"If you think that, you really underestimate my girl. I've been watching her since that attack on her years ago. Her whole life, she's lacked that drive I have.. That ambition. I was content keeping her and her Mother in the dark about all this but now..? Oh you should see how she's changed.. I want to bring her in on my plan, get some fresh new perspective on things. Maybe share some of my own nanomachines, just to see what she can do" Armstrong grinned excitedly.

"Really..? Well she is YOUR daughter. Maybe she can train under the new guy. After all, a weapon is only as good as its wielder" Monsoon replied, hearing Armstrong's chuckle.

"No.. something tells me she's a lot more skilled than she lets on. Let's bring her in next year, before you make a move on N'Mani" Armstrong responded while he lit up a cigar.

"That's a lot of faith.. Okay, I'll let the others know" Monsoon replied before Armstrong hung up and looked at his phone.

On it were images of girls with blue and red bracelets. Pictures of their battle while performing superhuman feats. Feats on the level of the best cyborgs. Guns, average. Blades, tough. Magic, interesting. The magic users were rare and he really struggled to believe magic was even real but one image showed a blue haired girl throwing a fireball that had the force of a handheld grenade.

Of course, the most important part was that they were all near Sakura's school. His daughter was certainly involved but how much, he could only guess. So he would wait. Until he officially brought Sakura into the 'family business'.

-Natsuru's house-

"Sa..kura..?" Natsuru woke up, rubbing her eyes.

"Hello Natsuru. I called us out for School, so don't worry. I don't think you're okay to go yet anyway" Sakura replied, still stroking her head.

That's when Natsuru jumped. Having realized she was in her Kampfer form and was also face first in Sakura's soft, comforting chest.

"S-Sakura.. I.." Natsuru struggled what to address first, having remembered the night prior when she was comforted by Sakura.

~Why did I.. Take my Kampfer form..?~ Natsuru asked herself, looking at Sakura as she started removing her damp shirt.

Natsuru steadily became redder and redder as she saw Sakura's bra. Only to slightly wilt in disappointment as she put on a clean loose shirt from her dresser. Though she burned the image into her mind, she felt Sakura's hand caress her head again. Getting lost in the feeling, she almost drifted back to sleep before she heard Sakura speak again.

"Now, shall we talk about last night?" Sakura asked, sitting back on the bed, next to Natsuru.

"Y-Yes. My parents.. they.." Natsuru's fists clenched as she remembered.

"They died. Thanks to my family connections, I found out. I heard that a South African nation was attacked and I was worried. I remembered you saying your parents worked in South Africa as Doctors. They were good people, Natsuru" Sakura comforted her, rubbing the top of Natsuru's hand with a small smile.

"Who.. did it?" Natsuru asked, eyes narrowed in anger.

"A mercenary group. War profiteering under disguise.. A group named Maverick. They have cyborgs, Natsuru. I know you're strong but you only just got these powers. You'll lose as you are now" Sakura touched her cheek and lifted Natsuru's gaze back onto her.

"E..h? How do you.." Natsuru started to ask.

"The Kampfer. I'm in charge of who gets made one. A war between two godly factions they forced upon me to decide. I never wanted Kampfer to fight each other, not as they have been doing anyway.. I imagined they could have truly helped the world. Natsuru, I chose you because I know you would appreciate and use the Kampfer powers responsibly. The day you saved me confirmed it" Sakura got closer and spoke in a far more mature voice.

Natsuru shivered as she felt Sakura's fingers trail up her hands. Focusing on Sakura's words, she slowly nodded. It made sense to her now. Her words on war.

"So you hoped.. to get help to stop the wars?" Natsuru asked hopefully.

"In a way, yes. Wars and conflicts are in our very nature. Wars are fought to defend, for ideals, religion, resources and various other reasons. We can't stop conflict. It's in our very souls. What we can stop, are pointless wars fought for profit. The war that took your parents. We can stop those" Sakura clarified, seeing Natsuru start to consider it.

"I.. but.." Natsuru felt a finger seal her lips, looking over to Sakura's mature looking face and being entranced as the light from the window shone on the back of her head.

"Have you ever heard the term 'Strong men create peaceful times, peaceful times create weak men, weak men create hard times'? It's a cycle. The strong rise up in the face of adversity to create a better world. Though that world breeds weak people. Those who look back on the sacrifices made by the strong and whine. They're too busy caring about the stupid celebrity drama, fighting for a stupid cause and getting angry on the fucking internet, Natsuru. The weak people that find safety in distance as they start wars for profits. Preying on the strong like your parents, who risked their lives helping the people in an active warzone" Natsuru's eyes widened as she took in every word.

Disbelief that this was the same Sakura, until she remembered back to their conversations. She had always had this passion, Natsuru just hadn't looked deep enough. She slowly reached up and touched Sakura's face. A face that had changed from feigned ignorance and cuteness to one that held ambitions and the burden of her ideals.

"Natsuru.. I wish to break the cycle of this propagation of pointless wars. I offer you a choice, will you help me?" Sakura asked, staring into Natsuru's blue eyes.

Natsuru opened her mouth, yet no words came out. Not immediately. She bit her lip as she thought it over a dozen times in her head. What did she really have to lose? She was alone now. She made a new friend, sort of. But their relationship wasn't nearly as close as hers and Sakura's were at this moment. Sakura's position in her heart changed overnight. She had a rather intense crush on her, sure. Even excited to be breathing the same air as her yesterday. But this Sakura was something else.

A whole other side she had no idea about. One she revealed for her sake alone. She revealed it, just to comfort Natsuru in the most terrible point in her life. Tears once again threatened to escape her, but she was done crying. Crying about it did nothing.

She was taking too long to decide and saw Sakura's expression sadden a little. She froze as she watched Sakura start to get up from her bed. Before she could, Natsuru grabbed her arms and got up close, shifting their weight as Natsuru ended up on top of Sakura.

"I will! I'll.. I'll help you. I.. have these powers you helped give me and.. I'd hate to disappoint you. I know I'm not very reliable yet but.. I believe you're onto something.." Natsuru exclaimed, hoping to erase the perceived sadness she saw on Sakura.

"I'm relieved, Natsuru.." Sakura smiled up at her.

"Um... I.. You look different too. Different than how you usually are" Natsuru added, her eyes blinking as she took in the sight of Sakura's face.

"Hmm.. Oh, yes. I usually have to act pretty normal. I think I'd alarm too many people if I acted like my true self out of the blue. Don't worry, I'll switch back since you like-" Natsuru interrupted with a frantic shake of her head.

"No.. No! I think this Sakura is more beautiful. I love true Sakura" Natsuru admitted shamelessly.

Sakura's face reddened as she took in the compliment. One she had never gotten before, for obvious reasons. But it unexpectedly hit her like a truck. She felt a warmth in her belly as she brought up her sleeve in front of her cheeks.

"We-Well thank you, Natsuru.. Now, I believe it's time to get up.." Sakura tried to play off her own happiness at the compliment and moved to get up, only to be held down by Natsuru, whose face was a slight pink too.

"Ehhh..? What was that, Sakura? I can't hear you over how cute you sounded. Hmm.. can I see your beautiful face again~?" Natsuru teased.

~Is.. Is she teasing me!? What happened to that dense protagonist aura!?~ Sakura thought to herself as she felt Natsuru get bolder and fully sit on her lap, with her hands on both sides of her head.

"Come on.. I won't tell anyone about this. In fact.. I might prefer if only I got to see this side of you" Natsuru said, Sakura feeling her breath tickle her neck.

Seeing Natsuru's boldness, Sakura grinned and decided to test her confidence. Pulling her sleeve away, she smiled at Natsuru before quickly pulling her face closer to hers. Natsuru getting redder by the second as she felt her upper lip very slightly graze Sakura's. Both of their eyes locked on the others until Natsuru pulled away in embarrassment while Sakura chuckled and got back up.

"You're a hundred years too early to try and bluff me, Natsuru. Good try though" Sakura said while Natsuru shot her a weak glare.

"So mean.. This Sakura's a bully..~" Natsuru playfully pouted.

Just to be taken back when Sakura sealed her lips with hers. Natsuru's eyes widened as she took in the sensation. Almost yelping in surprise when she felt Sakura's tongue enter her mouth and actually yelping once Sakura bit her bottom lip.

"I am indeed. But I only bully the people I like, Natsuru" Sakura winked as she grabbed a towel from Natsuru's hamper.

"Now excuse me. I have to shower and plan to bring the female version of you registered as a student" Sakura added as she went into Natsuru's bathroom to shower, keeping it open.

"H..aaau.. Er- Why..?" Natsuru asked, slapping her beet red cheeks.

"Well someone cried on me for hours. I got a little dirty" Sakura responded playfully.

"I-I mean-" Natsuru tried correcting her, only hearing soft laughter interrupt her.

"I know what you meant. Bully, remember? Well if you're going to help me, you need to assist me in roping in all the other Kampfer. And you'll need to be in Kampfer form, a lot" Sakura said, hearing Natsuru groan.

"Okay.. How will you register me in? I know your family's influential but.." Natsuru heard Sakura giggle in response.

"I don't need to pull strings that way. Just a.. 'friendly' visit to Shizuku will suffice" Sakura replied, licking her lips.