Chapter 3: Encounter

Beta read by Kyugan, DerpMaster9000, Maglad, Shigiya and Darklord331.

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-Tokonosu-

"What do you mean I'm out of the club, Tajima-sensei?" Miyamoto Rei repeated in disbelief as she stared at her now former mentor in disbelief, his words reverberating like a thunderclap inside her head as the bag containing her equipment dropped from nerveless fingers to the floor of his office.

A desperate part of her wondered if all of this was just a stupid prank from one of her older seniors after getting their ass kicked by her, only to slowly be replaced by anger as the middle-aged man continued to sit in silence, his expression never changing. "Why am I being kicked out in the first place!?" she demanded, slapping her hands on his desk in frustration, slamming her hands on the desk, causing her high E-cups to jiggle from the action. "I didn't break any rules!"

"This isn't about breaking rules, Miyamoto-san." Tajima-sensei sighed, his words tempered with a mixture of solemn regret and shame, as he met her gaze with a pained expression "This has been the topic of discussion amongst the staff for some time now."

"As you know, our Dojo is a minor school with a handful of students." he elaborated at Rei's stunned expression, gesturing for the girl to take a seat. The well-developed brunette decided to sit down, hoping that her former teacher would at least explain why he was kicking her out. "All of whom you have already far surpassed for a while now, as is evident in your most recent spars."

Rei flushed in embarrassment and averted her eyes at the look of pride in Tajima's eyes as he said that, some of her earlier irritation vanishing as she sat up straighter in her chair, only to blink as he shook his head with a sigh.

"But that, in itself, is part of the problem." Tajima continued solemnly, looking back up to his star pupil, "The gap between your skills and those of your peers, particularly the older ones, has begun to damage their self-confidence, which in turn has led many to consider dropping out."

"And so, to ensure the dojo's best interest, the other instructors and I eventually decided that this was the best course of action." Looking at the stunned girl with a hint of regret, Tajima concluded, "Rest assured, it wasn't an easy decision to make."

For a moment Rei sat in silence, her mind whirling as she tried to process Tajima's words,  torn between her pride in her skills and her disgust that her peers would feel so insecure that they would demand her expulsion just to avoid being bested by a girl half their age.

It just didn't make sense no matter which angle she looked at it, she'd sensed absolutely none of that hostility during their sparring matches, and the staff certainly hadn't treated her any differently prior to today, so something had to be up.

"Sensei…you're lying." she accused, her eyes narrowing with suspicion and anger as she glared into Tajima's eyes from across the desk, recalling a warning her father had given her back when she first joined the club "Isn't your brother a member of the Shido-Party?"

Shido Ichiro was a debater in the National Diet who was currently aiming for the position of Cabinet Minister, a ruthless, immoral man who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty if it meant protecting his public image.

A fact that Rei was sadly all-too-familiar with, given how the fat bastard had used his influence to have her forcibly held back at school for a year in order to threaten her father to drop his investigation into the man's corruption.

Not like that fat slime ball had succeeded mind you, Rei having urged her father to continue the investigation, enduring the humiliation to support her father alongside her mother to bring that man to justice, knowing that if Shido's corruption was brought to light then they would be vindicated.

And it seemed their faith was justified since apparently Shido was so intimidated by her father's resistance that he had once again seen fit to lash out at her using their connections if the look of shame in Tajima-sensei's eyes were any indication "It's not like th-!"

"—Not like that my ass!" Rei snapped, cutting the man she once saw as a mentor off by getting out of her seat and slapping her hands onto his desk, once again making her bountiful orbs jiggle erratically. " You're just trying to curry favor with that fat bastard by getting rid of me and using it to join his inner circle!" 

"Enough, Rei!" Tajima barked, his frustrated expression actually giving the girl pause, as if her words had actually caused him pain. "You shouldn't speak about people like him in such a tone, do you have any idea of the problems we'll face if others heard you?" 

Rei bit her lip, already knowing what he had said to be true. She wouldn't be surprised that Shido would ruin someone if they even said a bad word about him. The two stared at each other in silence before Tajima rose from his seat with an exhausted sigh "I understand your frustration, but you can't just go around hurling accusations like that. If the other instructors were here, you could have been charged with defamation."

"How am I wrong!?" Rei demanded, a part of her enraged due to the revelation that at the very least Tajima seemed to understand how unfair this all was "I'm the one suffering because you all want to get close to that corrupt pig!" 

"I do not expect you to forgive me." Tajima confessed, startling Rei with his defeated tone as he gazed at her with regret "I am simply looking out for the best interests of the club and its members. You of all people should know why we can't afford to get on the bad side of Shido."

Rei bit her lip in frustration, her emotions whirling inside her head as she glared tearfully at one of the few men aside from her father she respected before gathering her gear from the floor and storming off, only to almost bump into another instructor.

"Is everything okay here?" He asked, glancing between Rei and Tajima, only to flinch back as if being slapped in response to the sheer intensity of the glare that Rei was giving him, before averting his eyes with a look of shame.

"Miyamoto-san was just leaving." Tajima cut in, earning a heated glare from Rei that soon transitioned into a blink of confusion as he pulled out a letter from his sleeve, "Rei-san, while our time was short, I hope you will look back on your time with us fondly."

"And it's not like this is the end of your career in Soujutsu. I know that if you continue your training, you can end up being one of the best Soujutsu in the country." he assured her, handing over the letter "This is a letter of recommendation to another Dojo in town that will help you in your training." he explained, gently handing over the letter of recommendation, "One with no connections to…certain parties. I am more than certain they will be happy to have you."

Rei narrowed her eyes but nodded, fighting back the hot tears that were forming as she wordlessly accepted the folded letter. Clenching her bag tightly, she turned and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her with all the strength she could muster.

"Was that the right thing to do?" the instructor queried, wincing as he listened to Rei's footsteps echo down the hallway, turning to face Tajima as the owner of the Dojo returned to his seat behind his desk "There could be backlash for her expulsion, Miyamoto was very popular."

 "Our dojo needs that sponsorship from the Shido Party." Tajima reminded him with a resigned sigh, his expression unwavering "It will allow us to expand our facilities and increase the number of students.

Something that would be nigh-impossible if their financial backer learned that the daughter of Tadashi Miyamoto was a member of the Dojo. If anything, he might use his influence to crush the Dojo entirely just out of spite.

But this wasn't a matter he needed to worry about anymore, another subject occupying his mind before Rei arrived. "By the way, how are the others?" he enquired, only to flinch in the face of the instructor's expression "How bad is it?"

"They are... doing mostly fine… mostly." The instructor replied hesitantly, though in truth things were looking rather bad, as many of the students were in bad shape, some even injured and being treated before Rei even showed up.

"They can barely walk straight due to their sparring sessions… and many even had their pride shattered. Some of our members are requesting to leave the club as they don't feel they have learned anything this entire time. Others are asking for a month or two of vacation." 

Tajima sighed, the instructor's words having confirmed his worry, and he knew they had to address the issue before it spiraled further out of control.

It all started early on in the morning with a young man standing outside the building. A blue-haired foreigner, one that spoke surprisingly fluent Japanese and a rather strange one in his first impression. He'd said that he wanted to look around, staying over to spectate the students sparring against one another. But it all turned south when he opened his mouth, commenting on their forms and lack of skills — doing it for long enough to have one of their members have enough and challenge the man. 'I stayed quiet because I thought he would back out and leave… hah…' 

That had been a mistake. One that ended up turning his formerly confident, talented dojo disciples into crying children as they were beaten to the ground without so much as landing a hit on their opponent. It didn't help that the guy didn't even stay around to clean up the mess, the foreigner running away without even leaving his name behind after seeing his reaction. 

"Alright, let's forget about that for now. We'll start our classes as usual and make sure to have that man banned from ever coming back again."

Seriously… where did such a young master even come from? Last he checked, there wasn't any international Sojutsu tournament going on to bring that beast here. 

{Break}

"Can you believe this? They kicked me out because of that fat bastard!" Sitting by the riverside, Rei spoke with anger in her voice as she vented over the phone. "I didn't even break any rules or cause any drama with any of them, but that idiot Tajma still did it just because he wanted to curry some favors, urgh, I want to punch his face so much!" 

Everything seemed to be going wrong in her life. Despite having excellent grades with straight A's across all subjects, she was repeating a year and now banned from practicing her favorite sport, despite being one of the best in her circle. It felt like a painful slap to the face, and she couldn't figure out how to handle it without wanting to strangle that teacher the moment she saw him.

Wanting to vent some of her emotions, Rei picked up her phone and stared at one of the two numbers in her contacts list, Hisashi Igou and Takashi Komuro. Her mind hesitated to call the latter, as she couldn't recall the last time they had a meaningful conversation outside of school, even then, it became rarer and rarer each month. 

'He hasn't even called me once this entire time after I got held back.' It almost felt awkward wanting to approach such a topic with him, but at the very least, the girl expected some kind of support from her childhood friend. She knew he was a kind soul, and even held some affection towards him, but it didn't seem to be reciprocated no matter how long the wait was. He never tried to go beyond friendship, which left her feeling hurt and disappointed.

Hisashi Igou on the other hand, was quite the opposite and a genuine friend in her opinion. Lately, she had been interacting with him more and more throughout the summer break, having had some simple get-togethers before this drama with that slimy bastard started. 

He supported her when she needed it most, offering more than just words of encouragement. The boy was open and didn't seem to care about any of the rumors around her that came from that event like the rest of the students who had distanced themselves somewhat from her. Having hung out with him for simple events outside of school more than once, Rei wondered if Takashi even cared about her anymore. "So what if he knows? He didn't even try to do as much as Hisashi, and it's his fault for pushing me away."

That was the last thought she had before confidently tapping on Hisashi's name and having her phone start to ring with his number on the screen. This led him to pick up and she started to rant about her entire day to the man.

Hearing her story the boy hummed in understanding. "I'm truly sorry for what happened, Miyamoto. I can only imagine how stressful it must be for you," Her friend said, his voice tinged with empathy. "But please, don't give up. Takashi and I will always be here to support you, no matter what. It's better to forget these people or else it will cause you unnecessary trouble."

She couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment at the mention of Takashi's name. Of course, he would bring him up, after all, those two were close friends as well, closer than she was with the two of them. Despite his kindness, she wished for something more substantial from Takashi — instead of being treated like a stranger at certain moments. She recalled the countless times they spent together, and the laughter they shared, but there was always an invisible barrier between them. It seemed like he was content with just being friends, while she secretly yearned for something deeper.

"It's okay," The girl replied, trying to sound optimistic despite the turmoil brewing inside her. "There are other Sojutsu dojos in town. My former teacher had recommended me to one of the dojos owned by the Busujima family. They might welcome me with open arms, though I don't know if they have any place left for newcomers… I can try going over there and ask, there are still plenty of time before sunset."

Igou hummed in agreement, offering a reassuring chuckle from the other side. "That sounds like a great idea. You deserve to be in a dojo and don't worry about getting a seat or not. You're the best spear woman in our town for god's sake, why would they even refuse you?"

He… he was right, even if nowhere near on par with someone like Saeko Busujima, Rei still wanted to believe that she stood well above the average spear practitioners around her age. With a renewed sense of determination, she vowed to explore other options and find a place where she could continue her passion for Sojutsu without any hindrances. 'Last I heard about that place, they decided to open their doors near the school's district. It would be easier for me to go there every day rather than my old dojo.'

"I'll… I'll try, but no promises." She whispered to which Hisashi seemed to go quiet for a few seconds before talking again. 

"Hey I got an idea to cheer you up, There is a coffee shop that opened up near my house, they serve the best chocolate cake paired with their coffee. We can go there and I'll buy something for you, you deserve it after everything you've been through. Don't worry, my pockets are full. I just got my paycheck from my part-time job." The man chuckled humorously, which got her to chuckle as well, despite her sour mood. 

Indeed, he was very different from Takashi, and Rei genuinely felt that she enjoyed his company and did not feel she was by his side just to spite her childhood friend, at least… Guess time really did separate people. How convenient it happened right when she needed his support the most and she was tired of waiting.

"Fine by me, I'll be there, we'll meet up at the park." After a few more exchanges of words, both sides ended the conversation. 

"Hah," she sighed, despite the uplifting conversation a nagging feeling continued to linger around at the back of her head as she once again couldn't help but look at the contact of Takashi. After a few seconds of deliberation and second-guessing, the girl took a deep breath before calling him.

 "..."

The call rang, this going on for a couple of seconds before he finally picked up. "Rei?" His voice sounded confused, a tone that made it obvious that he wasn't expecting her to call him. 

"Hey, just wanted to talk." she drawled, unsure what to say to the man but repeating the same words she used to explain her situation to Hisashi. Explaining everything as the other side kept quiet while she continued to feel unsure of how he would react or even respond — so she waited patiently. But she didn't bring up matters related to Koichi Shido, wanting to see how a simple problem would make him react.

"I don't… I don't know what to say Rei, I'm sorry you had to go through such a thing." Just like Hisashi, he felt sorry for her, it was clear in his words. Though for some reason, hearing both of them have such a reaction felt somewhat unnerving. It made her frustrated more than anything else and she couldn't even say why. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything will go back to normal, if you need any kind of help just don't hesitate to ask me okay?"

"..."

That was all? 

Honestly, the girl didn't call him with much of an expectation for their conversation from the beginning. But still… she wanted to see how he would react and called him despite her mind telling her not to do so. The answer she got from this was less than what she expected, and it left her more frustrated with him. 'Even Hisashi went and did more than just wishing me the best, do you really not care about me anymore Takashi?' 

In the end, it was best to not say anything else and just hum in agreement. The previous anger threatened to come back any second. "Thanks."

Not giving him any time to respond, Rei instantly ended the call and dropped her phone to the ground, no longer caring about the device. Everything was just so complicated, stressing over such little matters for so long. She just wanted all of it to come to an end and for her to enjoy her last year of high school. "Now I'm pissed!" She shouted out loud, followed by a few strings of curses and insults thrown in the air without the fear of anyone overhearing. A few hours had gone by since she left the dojo and the streets around her had gone quiet with no one in sight. 

Rei looked at her wooden spear and then felt the urge to practice a bit, even though the place wasn't exactly ideal, but just to find some peace. The reason why she left her house in the first place was to alleviate some of her stress through practice but after everything that happened she didn't have any opportunities to do so anymore.

"Since there is no one around, I'll just practice for a couple of minutes." She whispered while uncovering her weapon, the wooden yari twirling around as she approached a clearing near the river. Going to the side and stretching every limb for a bit to warm up her muscles, she then grabbed her spear and got into a low stance.

"Fuuu…" With a slow release of her breath, she thrust the weapon in a single and swift jab as it pierced through the air. "Hah!" 

She then did so again.

And again and again. 

This went on for a couple more minutes, her body starting to heat up as she channeled all of her frustration and anger through her moves, going so far as to use the surrounding trees as wooden dummies. All of these fast movements caused her delicious marshmallows to bounce and move erratically in her flimsy top. Yet regardless of how many times she damaged the wood or strained her body with each move — the girl barely felt any different even after all of that. 

Beads of sweat streamed down her face and into the deep valley of her cleavage, her white school shirt growing damp with sweat and clinging to her skin. She gritted her teeth, using the image of Koichi Shido as motivation to push on, that slimy bastard ruining her life just because of his pettiness and wanting to get in his father's good graces. This, on top of everyone following suit, like loyal dogs was grating against her nerves. But her conversation with Takashi was just no different from adding oil to the fire. "Argh!" 

All of that anger channeled into the following thrust attack, causing the yari to chip as it clashed against the tree trunk. 

"Heh, that's a lot of anger behind those strikes, young miss. What a waste of energy." A voice spoke out of nowhere, forcing Rei to stop her routine and hastily look all over the area to find the source. Her head turned a few times before her red eyes locked onto the fences near the riverbed where a blue-haired man was, strangely enough, crouching on top of the fence with a cigarette in his mouth and a giant grin on his face as her gaze came to rest upon him. "Yo." 

'What's with him?'

A frown covered her face, not only did she dislike getting her private time interrupted but it was unnerving that this man was observing her like a creep for who knew how long — especially when grinning like that. "First of all, that's none of your business, and second of all, who are you, and why are you staring at me, you creep?"

That use of words did not seem to anger the man, rather it was obvious that he was more amused than anything else. Chuckling while exhaling a puff of white smoke. "Hahahaha! First time I heard someone call me that! But nah, I'm not a creep. I was simply passing by and was surprised and curious to find a girl swinging her stick around like that with so much anger like a kid throwing a tantrum."  

"..." Safe to say, she was not amused nor in the mood to entertain this random stranger who wasn't done with his speech. 

"That's not the proper way to cool off, young miss. While I can relate with the feeling of the adrenaline rushing through your body when you hold a weapon like that, it's important to know how to control it first."

Tch, not only was this a weirdo meddling in her affairs for no reason but was now acting as a know-it-all prick, who acted like he knew a single thing about the martial art she practiced. "Don't speak like you know me or anything about Sojutsu, jackass."  Seeing that it was impossible to continue, and with her worsening mood, she decided that it was better to leave than to stay here any longer and have this random stranger interrupt and pester her again. "I'm leaving! If you're going to follow me again, I'm going to call the cops. "

"Ah," The man in question winced, taking the cigarette from his mouth and extinguishing the bud before throwing it inside a dumpster. "Now, now, let's be reasonable here. I already have enough problems with the fuzz and I don't want to become a regular at the station and give Kyoko another panic attack when I call for bail." That caught her off guard. So not only was the stranger a creep content with watching over a minor girl but he was also a hooligan! 

She marched back hurriedly, wanting to grab her spear cloth, and proceeded to cover the weapon before making her way back home… or at least, that was what she would have done if it weren't for his following words. "Your form wasn't too bad, your strikes were good enough for a beginner and I can see that you have a lot of potential to become a strong spear user.. You have the drive but terrible execution." He stated matter of factly, a statement that made her freeze up in her steps as her eyes started twitching.

"Excuse me?" Even though he was nothing but a stranger who had no business or right to make such comments, that particular phrase did not sit well with her and it felt like it broke a final straw within her mind. "And what would someone like you know about the art of the spear in the first place!?" These words were uttered loudly, having a vein pop on Rei's forehead, glaring at the man leisurely walking over. In her moment of anger, she did not notice just how tall he was, easily having her tilt her head upwards to look at him and easily surpassing Takashi, Hisashi, and even her own father.

'He isn't Japanese, but he speaks it fluently… half Japanese? Probably, it's very rare to see a foreigner speak the language like a local — I can't even tell where he's from.' This was further pushed by the hairstyle, a ponytail like that was not something many boys her age in town would have. Not that she would ever admit it, but he did possess a rather handsome face. 

"Me? I am something of a spear user myself." He said without missing a beat, "Practiced the damn thing ever since I could walk, got the hang of it with how strict my master was. Even was said to be quite talented, though I never was able to square off against her seriously to earn the title of the strongest — but that's a story for another time."

"..."

Alright, now she was certain that this man just came here to spout bullshit and was messing with her. The way he spoke to her and the way he was behaving alluded to that, and It wasn't the first time she had to deal with people falsely calling themselves spear users just to impress those around them. "Yeah yeah, you're a great spearman. So you can use this space to play all you want. I'll be on my way."

What a waste, why continue to entertain him just because of a few taunting words of his? Hurgh, her mind was already tired from everything that happened today, she did not want to create a scene with the guy just because of this little matter. 'I've had enough people question my skills and berate them behind my back. There is no reason for me to treat him any different.' 

Before even being able to move forward, he spoke once more and his words managed to pierce through her mind.

"I can show you some moves and teach you some lessons if you'd like?" Offered the man. "You may be good enough to play around with some of the local kids and be called talented, but you're not actually that good if compared to an actual spear user with experience. Heck, at most I put you at the beginner level at best, which is understandable given the kind of people you are working with."

That was the last straw that broke her patience. Now seething with anger at this random stranger coming out of nowhere and belittling her skills and trash-talking her for no reason, Rei just couldn't take it anymore and needed to shut him up once and for all. "Oh yeah? If I'm so bad with the spear why don't we just have a little matchup. If you are so good with it then you wouldn't mind going against a small amateur like me." 

She was going to teach him a lesson, one that he wouldn't forget for years to come. However, the girl expected the guy to get intimidated that she actually was going to spar with him.

"That's the spirit!" He exclaimed with joy weirdly enough, not backing out as she thought he would, he even looked excited for it. "Man, it's been so long since I had a proper duel! Those brats at the dojo were so bad at their technique that even I couldn't help but die a little inside — worst of all they didn't even like my advice for their shitty forms! Ah but whatever… don't worry your pretty little head about that, I'll go easy on you!" 

This mother…

There was a little detail that came to her attention, the fact that she was the only one who had a spear, while the man only had a duffel bag. As if he could read her mind, the man waved his hand dismissively, "Ah, you're worried about me not having a weapon? I got the perfect tool for the job!" 

He rushed towards the back, rummaging through some of his belongings before grabbing an item that turned her speechless. 

"... You can't be serious." 

"You like it? I made it myself! Wanted to buy one of those modern ones from the store but the price was enough to have me running with my tail between my legs, hahaha!" 

No, there wasn't any problem with the spear… given the damn thing wasn't even a spear to begin with! 

"You're using a crappy fishing pole!?" 

{Break}

'This girl has a fiery attitude.' 

This was the thought that passed through Cu's mind while twirling the bamboo stick he crafted into a handy fishing pole with a string attached to the end. "It ain't a spear, but I can always use a random stick if it's too much for you. Though at that point it'll feel like I'm using a sword more than a spear… which I don't mind." 

Was he doing it on purpose? Not really, even without his Servant stats, his experience remained as fresh as ever. This flimsy made fishing pole served more as a form of protection for this girl, where even using his hands didn't guarantee she wouldn't get hurt. The material basically forced him to limit his strength so as to not use too much and break it and the girl's confidence. 

"You seriously can't expect me to fight you when you don't have a proper way to defend yourself. You're just asking to get hurt. " Getting hurt? If she actually managed to do so then Cu was certain he would be extremely happy, how can one enjoy a good fight without expecting to get a couple of cuts or broken bones in the process? Though he severely doubted she would be able to do that. 

He shrugged nonchalantly, tone laced with false confidence in her ears. "Come now, there's no need to worry. I don't plan on getting hit in the first place, so getting hurt is out of the question," Cu stated, using a mocking tone, not hiding his intentions in the least, attempting to downplay any concern but only managed to further fuel the small embers of doubt, rage and bafflement.

This on top of further enhancing her annoyance which already started to reach its limit, was evident in the furrow of her brows and the tightening of her fists. Of course, she would be angry with such a dismissive answer, but he had learned from life's lessons that people tended to give it their all when there was something to prove, and that same desire was fueled by anger. 

"Just a moment ago, you were lecturing me about my lack of knowledge in using a spear, and now you're hesitating?" he taunted, a sly grin creeping onto his face. "My, my, it seems I've encountered someone who's all bark and no bite." 

Mentally, he congratulated himself for channeling Archer's personality through his words. If there was one thing that damned bastard was good at—aside from being a lying scoundrel with no pride—it was provoking people with just a few words. It was a skill he had fallen victim to himself, if only for a brief moment.

"Fine! Your funeral," The girl assumed her stance, her grip firm on her spear as she braced herself for the impending clash. Despite her readiness, hesitation lingered in her expression, a flicker of uncertainty betraying her resolve. On the other hand, he remained composed, his posture relaxed as he awaited her move, the same faint smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

"Hah!" With a determined cry, she lunged forward, her wooden yari piercing through the air with precision as she aimed for his legs, capitalizing on the weapon's length to maintain distance while targeting a vulnerable spot without causing any major damage. "Huh?" Yet, before her attack could connect, his bamboo pole whistled through the air in a blur of motion, intercepting her strike with startling speed and deflecting it effortlessly.

Pa!

"What!?" Rei's voice echoed with surprise, her grip faltering on her weapon as realization dawned upon her. That perhaps all of that talk wasn't merely a boast; it most likely held some grains of truth. "Kya!" Her moment of disbelief was swiftly followed by a startled yelp as he seized the opening, executing a swift yet gentle counterattack that caught her off guard. 

The fishing pole connected with her peaks, the end of the bamboo stick poking her left breast and right in the center of nipple, sinking deep into the malleable flesh, bouncing back after he pulled away. Already being sensitive in that region, it forced an unintentional moan from her lips as she hastily staggered backward. 

A flush of embarrassment colored her cheeks at the prior action.

"Oooh! Nice reaction there! But don't just stand there like a statue after getting hit. I could have easily gone for another attack and struck you in the heart." 

"—!?" Regaining her composure, she leaped back once again, putting distance between them as she assessed the situation. His taunting words lingered in the air, but the lingering sensation on her chest made it hard to focus. Having not worn the usual piece of equipment to protect her front, this was the first time Rei felt like such a sensation. 

"Your footing… hm, needs some work. Somewhat rigid, you need to be fast and light as a feather." Cu continued his explanation, trying to be helpful and remembering the first few lessons he got from his master when he started to train with her — no way he would put a random girl through the same torture that witch put him through. 

First and foremost, to always protect one's vital areas, which included the heart. 

But Rei, on the other hand, was having a completely different line of thought, staring at him with a murderous glare. 

"You… you disgusting pervert!" 

"Eh?" 

An expression of confusion appeared on his face at those words.

With no hesitation like before, she rushed forward and delivered one thrust of her spear after another, each with the intent to bring harm. If one were to look at her now, most would be focused on how breasts bounced and jiggled from her actions, "Woah there," the blue-haired Irishman exclaimed, weaving left and right and dodging each trust attack with ease. Using simple footwork to create enough of a distance for the tip to glide right past him or an opening large enough to have the yari miss its target completely. A few seconds later, Cu grabbed her spear as it missed his waist, forcing the girl to be stuck before pulling the weapon and causing her to lose her footing and fall to the ground face first. 

"You're getting better but you're still letting your anger ride you like a horse. Gotta control that little missy." He said while playfully poking her head with the end of his fishing pole and laughing at her annoyed expression from the action. 

At this point, every rational thought had completely left the brunette's mind as she stood back up and went back to attack Cu with renewed vigor. With each thrust the man would casually sidestep just like before or swing his body around to dodge it at the very last second, his bamboo fishing pole not even being used as it lay comfortably nestled behind his neck. 

"How about this!?" 

"Oh?" 

Getting annoyed at how easily he was dodging all of it, she tensed her core and swung her spear in a wide horizontal arc. All reservations of holding back in fear of hurting the man were thrown out of her mind.

But once again, the man didn't even bother to block or find a way to counter her move, with a swift blur of his hands, the fishing pole struck the ground with him using it as a vaulting pole to jump mid-air and completely fly overhead her attack. Before landing behind, unable to turn around in time, Rei yelped as the end of the pole ended up poking the back of her knees and making her lose balance. 

"Your moves are far too telegraphed, I can see them coming from a mile away and you're putting too much strength in each first attack rather than distributing it evenly between attacking and recovering for the following strike."

"Shut up!" 

Rather than listen to him, she twisted her body and tried to hit him with her legs, though her attempt was blocked by a single gesture, him using the back of his hand to redirect her kick mid-strike towards the ground, deflecting it completely and forcing her into a rather embarrassing position as her legs were left wide open. "Oya, you're seriously using such a move while wearing a skirt? That's rather brave on your part, I commend you on your choice of underwear." 

"Don't look!" 

Completely forgetting about her spear, Rei got up and tried to punch his face with fury, unable to believe that she let a stranger see such a side of her and even mock her so brazenly, he was definitely a giant pervert!

Her outburst managed to make Cu retreat a couple of steps, an opportunity she used to hastily grab her spear. "Nothing to be ashamed of, I know some people that don't bother to wear anything at all,hahaha!" 

"That's obviously a lie and stop talking about it!"

The assault continued, getting more and more intense with each thrust and wide slash attack unlike before, more beads of sweat covered her temples as her body started to grow tired and exhausted, the fact that not once after his initial block did she manage to force him to use his damned fishing pole was seriously damaging her pride. "Just stop dodging for one goddamn second!"

"Hah? That's not how it works girl, if this were a battle you can't exactly tell your opponent to allow themselves to be killed. And I'm not just dodging, I hit you a couple of times before didn't I?"

From his initial poke to her chest, followed by a couple of similar moves aimed at her head and finally at the back of her knees. "If in my hands I held a real spear or even the one you are currently holding. Any one of those attacks could have easily given you a nasty bruise or at worst a couple of torn ligaments."

The man got up and turned his back to the girl, she quietly looked at his back and focused. The entire time she couldn't even get to so much as touch his clothes And now the man had the audacity to openly leave his back open. No longer caring about any rules or fairness, fully focused on the sole goal of landing a single hit she moved. Yari in hand as the distance between them closed and she finally was close enough to land a strike on him. 

'Finally!' 

In her jubilance, the girl failed to notice Cu holding onto a small round piece of stone in his other hand, the man casually throwing the item behind and having it land right under her feet. "Wah!"

Splash!

Her face twisted in terror as she slipped, stumbling right past Cu, who sidestepped at the last second, leaving nothing to stand between Rei and the shallow river. With a splash, she fell in, droplets of water scattering everywhere. The area fell silent for a couple of seconds before Rei emerged, gasping for air. "Hah... hah... hah..."

If the girl had taken the time to look herself over, she would've noticed that the entirety of her white shirt was now transparent and showed off her bright pink bra.

"Finally came down, did you? Figured a small splash in the water would cool you off enough, though I didn't expect you to jump in with your clothes on," he said, crouching next to the edge with a smile that no longer resembled an infuriating smirk. "You did good there, kid. If I was younger and we spared back then, you could have landed a hit or two on me, no problem."

It was a bit of an exaggeration on his part. By her age, Cu had already earned the title of the Hound of Kulan, having protected and killed countless at that age. But to preserve the girl's pride and avoid demoralizing her too much, he felt this kind of compliment would suffice. To his surprise, it only earned him a confused and annoyed expression from Rei.

"Why are you calling me a kid? You don't seem that old yourself. I might be older than you even," Rei retorted, something that made him shake his head with a bitter chuckle. The fact that he physically looked younger continued to escape him in such moments. Having grown accustomed to being summoned, whether as a Lancer or Caster in his more mature form, contributed to his behavior. Oh well, nothing could be done about that.

"Right, right. It's just a bad habit of mine. Though I doubt you're older than me, considering you're most likely a student. I'm physically seventeen, after all," Cu explained. Deciding to change the subject, he extended his arm to Rei. "So, do you want to get out of the water, dry off, and start round two with me? I don't mind."

She physically hesitated at first but in the end, relented and grasped his arm. From her whispers, he heard the following words. "Get ready, next time I'll break that fishing pole of yours." 

"Hahahaha!" 

He had to give it to his parents, though he was very much against the idea of starting to attend a random school in Japan of all places in a different environment than what he was used to, Cu had to admit that it wasn't all that bad. The people he met so far were genuinely interesting and this girl gave him a weird sense of familiarity.

"You know, you never bothered to tell me your name… and you keep calling me young miss which was pretty weird since I was the same age." Getting hoisted to dry land, Rei realized this matter as she dried her hair with the spare towel inside her bag. Not even noticing how see-through her clothes had gotten as she stood before Cu, the latter sneaking a couple of glances in the beginning before lying down on the floor to take a nap. 

"Right, I kind of got excited when I met someone who actually looked like they knew how to use the spear. The name is Seth Collins, but you can call me Cu, it's easier to remember." 

"Your Japanese is really good for a foreigner, I thought you were half-Japanese at first." No wonder he was so openly forward with his words and behaved so differently from anyone she knew. "I'm Rei, Miyamoto Rei." 

…Why did that name sound so familiar?

.

.

.

(A few hours later)

"You did what!?" Rei exclaimed, incredulity coloring her tone as she heard Cu recount the events of his first day in town. The two of them were seated by the convenience store, the sun dipping below the horizon, casting a warm glow over their conversation. Her loud voice echoed against the peaceful backdrop as no people were walking on the sidewalk to eavesdrop. 

Another glaring detail was her wearing the blue-haired Heroic Spirit's shirt that was a couple of sizes too big for her while he sat next to her shirtless. All of this happened after her bag accidentally got splashed with water and ruined everything… and she wasn't going to walk around where anyone could see her underwear through her wet shirt. Thankfully there weren't any police officers nearby. 

"..." And what was with him being so ripped!? The man had more defined muscles than many of the models in magazines. Her eyes occasionally sneaked a peek or two without even realizing it, eyeing the well-defined teen, and swallowed the lump in her throat before looking back to his face. What kind of student even needed a body like that?

"Hahaha! I know, right? It sounds unbelievable, but it happened," Cu continued, his voice tinged with amusement. "I was just minding my own business when those thugs appeared out of nowhere. Luckily, I've had my fair share of scraps in the past to deal with, so holding these people back on my own and taking them down was easy. It was all in self-defense; I made sure not to seriously injure any of them, just a few cuts and broken bones. You listening Rei?"

"Uh? A-Ah! Of course I'm listening!" She let out a disbelieving scoff, her expression a mix of incredulity and bewilderment, trying to act cool at the same time. "How is breaking someone's bones and cutting them up considered a small thing in your head? It would have been better if you'd just tried to run away…" she commented, staring at the person who was nonchalantly sipping at his soda that he bought for himself and her, while she looked at him as a strange animal — one that kept getting stranger and stranger with the more he talked. 

It was difficult for her to comprehend how a single person could overcome a group of assailants unscathed. However, witnessing Cu's exceptional skill firsthand made it harder to declare it as a lie, one part trying to come up with logical possibilities on how it was even possible and the other side screaming that this wasn't an action movie where the hero could square off against a small army empty handed. 

"Do you want another demonstration? Though I'm not sure you have the energy for round three, it's already very late." 

"You're just trying to cop a feel again, aren't you?" She replied with sheer disdain, her words forcing the Irishman to spit his drink through sheer surprise. His hand hastily moved around as an apologetic expression graced his face. 

"Oi oi, I told ya that it wasn't intentional! Those pokes were meant to point out your weak points and openings. Even if I tried to target slightly above your collarbones your jugs kept defying gravity and somehow getting in between!" 

"P-Pervert!" Hands instinctively covering her breast, she accused him with a lighter blush on her face. "Don't try to create excuses!" 

He rolled his eyes, he wasn't lying and was being genuine. Even when wearing tight clothes that left little to the imagination and him seeing the sports bra underneath the wet shirt in the beginning — her breasts still kept bouncing around without control! His Master wore something similar when they trained in the water and even her chest didn't move like that!

"I ain't, you just need an actual suit of armor to keep those sweater puppies in place, young mi—" clang!

His head dipped just in time to dodge an empty can sent hurtling towards him by Rei, her expression had gotten worse as her face now resembled a literal tomato. Taking a heavy breath, the girl took a few seconds to calm down before sending him more glares which he shrugged off with his usual smile. 

"Let's just not talk about it again." Funnily enough, a small part of her mind actually didn't feel as disgusted as she did before with his words. Awkward and embarrassing, yes, but every other negative feeling had mostly disappeared. Cu gave her the impression of someone brutally honest to a fault, unafraid to say whatever passed through his mind. He chose to mull everything being said and remained honest regardless of the topic, it was a new experience. 

"Also, stop calling me young miss, we're the same age, somehow, so just call me Miyamoto or Rei." 

"Really? Don't you Japanese people have a thing about using the first name being only reserved for family members and those you're close with? I mean, four hours is a lot to get to know someone, though I'm not sure it's enough."

Rei shrugged, "It's not that big of a deal. Also, you're not from around here. So you're most likely used to calling people by their first name anyway and your intentions aren't exactly the same if you called me that. So it's not a big deal to me… plus it wouldn't be fair when I'm calling you Cu." 

Huh, so she wasn't as big of a hothead as he'd expected, holding enough reasoning that the image of a certain twin-tailed master emerged in his mind. But of course, both of these people were still vastly different, for obvious physical reasons, but he just liked to make that comparison. "I'll just call you Rei, short and simple." 

For the first time, a smile appeared on her face. "Kinda weird if we got to learn each other's name after sparring for nearly three hours. It's common courtesy to introduce oneself before such things. Going back to the previous topic, most of those guys were all bark and no bite. They lacked any real fighting skills, so I took out the most skilled one first before dealing with the rest. I would've walked away without any trouble  if it weren't for the cops showing up." 

He paused, glancing at Ray, who had buried her face in her palm in disbelief. "Wait, so you were the weird kid my father has been talking about this entire time!? He's been complaining about you nonstop for the entire day! You freaking stabbed someone's hand!" 

Cu nodded, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Like I said, minor injuries and yeah… not the best first meeting. Can't tell if he was impressed or furious by my actions, though he was a good enough man to drop me off at my caretaker's house." After saying that, a peculiar and somewhat awkward silence settled between them. He seized this opportunity to address a specific matter that had been on his mind since their initial encounter. "You know, I don't know if you're ready to talk about it, but why were you so pissed off this morning? It seemed like you were ready to rip someone's face off given the chance."

"..." Rei found herself at a crossroads, debating whether or not to reveal the details of the morning's events to Cu. Despite her reservations, she couldn't help but open up and share the information with him, including details about Shido, a person she doubted he would even know about — there didn't seem to be any issues with that.

So she started talking.

Throughout her narrative, Cu listened carefully, his serene laid-back face fading into a stoic expression as he absorbed every word. Choosing to mull everything that was being said and remaining silent, allowing Rei to recount everything from beginning to end. "So yeah, that's why my mood wasn't the best," she concluded.

"Now everything makes sense," Cu remarked, his tone thoughtful. "This Koichi Shido guy is definitely not someone that I would get along with, that's for sure." 

Especially when he recently dealt with people like Kotomine, meeting people with similar traits like the fake priest and the seaweed-haired boy was the last thing he wanted right now. 

"You're not angry at your father." A statement rather than a question, one that received a light nod. 

"Most of my friends and even people I knew for years have turned silent, no consolation or even any attempt to help me emotionally." 

Cu scratched his chin, to his eyes this kind of problem was barely an issue in the first place. But he had to keep in mind that times were different and these people were not amongst those who grew up in the same era as him and faced struggles for most of their lives. Where the chances of a person dying the next day were much higher. He couldn't fault them for that, and dismissing this issue was not an option. "Mah, I ain't much of a talker when it comes to problems like these. But I'll just tell you what I feel; fuck  'em." 

"Huh?" Rei was caught off guard by his words and looked back. Cu gazed at the now-darkened sky with an unreadable expression. 

"Why care about what others think? Hard to call them friends when they leave you behind like that, so don't bother worrying about what they feel towards you or their opinion — it's all irrelevant. Even though we just met today, I got a good feeling about your personality with our little spar and I know this isn't enough to put you down for long, you're a fiery lass after all!" That… wasn't the type of answer Rei thought she'd hear in her life, also unable to decide whether to be flattered or offended to be labeled as a 'fiery lass.' 

'He's going to make it harder for me this upcoming school year, I just know it.' She countered in her mind, knowing full well about this outcome. 

"Bah, to hell with him!" Rei yelped as Cu lightly slapped her back. "What's with you getting all scared by some slimy worm that's all bark but no bite? I know you ain't one to buckle by one setback alone, it took me throwing you into the river and making you eat dirt a dozen times to finally give up… and even then it was mostly because you were exhausted! And if he does try something sketchy again, just come look for me, we'll handle that bastard no problem!"

"Ouch! Be careful, you idiot! My back is already sore because of you!" Still hard to believe this was of her age and was going to attend the same class, whether that was a good sign or not she didn't know. "Humph, he's the son of a politician, you'll get in trouble and become like everyone else eventually. He'll make your life hell, trust me." 

"Oh yeah?" A feral grin emerged from his face, once that made her flinch instinctively. "I'd like to see him try, I don't mind venting my frustrations on people like him for a while. Heh, it'll be fun! I'm sure you're itching to punch his lights out." 

"... Are you seriously going to use violence against a professor?" She didn't deny it, though punching Koichi Shido was only something she could do in her dreams. 

"If he's seriously asking for it, then why not? Not like anything is holding me back anymore, I'm free to do as I please. And I'll teach you another lesson, people like him tend to never learn unless you're willing to use your fists… or a spear ideally, the latter will have better results." At best he would rough up the guy a bit and scare him off without giving him any possible material he could use against them. But if the man continued to keep hounding them, then there was only so much patience he could muster up before breaking him.

But he also didn't want to create any problems for Kyoko. 'I'll have to think carefully about this, best to be prepared than letting my instincts take control.'

 "Also we'll need to find better friends for ya. I know two cailíní that you'll probably get along with amazingly. One reminds me of myself while the other one is a bit shy but is a sweetheart. They attend the same school as you, so I'll introduce them to you."

"You're crazy." Unlike before, these words no longer contained any negative feelings or genuine anger, a comment that merely served to express her inability to understand this man. But… it did make her feel better, more so than anything in the past. 'He's the only one other than my parents who actually believed in me. A stranger of all people was more understanding about my issues than those I called friends, what a joke.'

However, this brought up a matter she wanted to discuss. "Hey, you're not part of some dojo are you?" 

"Nope, tried to get into one but the people weren't serious practitioners and were just a bunch of kids swinging sticks."

Of course, he would think like that, but she had to restrain herself from commenting how it was very unlikely for him to come across anyone in this town on his level, other than Saeko Busujima. 

"C-Can we… do you mind if we practice like we did today more often?" her voice filled with uncertainty as she was actually feeling a bit worried about his answer. "I-I don't think I had so much progress made in a single session, even though I wish the process involved less getting wet and covered in d-dirt…" 

Damn it, why did she even stutter!?

Fortunately, his following response came quickly enough to soothe her worries. "Naturally! I had tons of fun today and it would be a waste to see your skills go to waste! I'll even make sure to not poke your chest, though it might be a bit hard given they seem to have a mind of their own hahaha!"

Alright, this guy needed a beating. "Now you're seriously asking for —"

"—Rei?" 

Both of them turned their attention towards the voice that called out her name, the Irishman raising an eyebrow as his gaze fell upon a young man with spiky black hair and brown eyes. Even though they'd never met, he didn't miss the slight flash of distaste and wariness in the boy's eyes as the latter looked at him before returning his attention to Rei. 

"Takashi?" 

Oh, it looked like both of them knew each other. Were they in a relationship? Didn't seem like it. Rei, in particular, behaved differently than what he'd expect if she was his girlfriend, and more like seeing an old friend. 

'Hopefully, I'm not in the middle of some romantic drama, I've been stumbling onto those rather recently. Not really my field of expertise if Master had anything to say about it.These thoughts came more as a joke, recalling his second meeting with the Archer's Master and that boy she obviously had a crush on. 

"What are you doing here?" The boy asked, looking suspiciously at her current appearance which didn't look in the best of shapes after hours spent getting thrown around. "What happened to you? And who is this? Don't tell me…"

Having misunderstood something, Cu found the look he got having gotten increasingly hostile. Putting two and two together, it came to his attention what could have brought about such a reaction. "Calm down lad, I didn't do—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, the girl intervened quickly. "It's not what you think! My clothes just got wet after I fell into the river and Cu here let me borrow his clothes, he was just helping me out."

Right, there was definitely something going on between these two, but it was better for him to stay quiet and see how the girl was going to handle it. 

"You're sure?" Said Takashi, now fully focused on Rei, "I can accompany you back home if you're having any trouble." 

Cu had to hold back a snort when he heard that but held it back. If anything, anyone who decided to mess with her was more likely to get hurt themselves.

"It's alright, I'll return by myself. I'm not some helpless girl, Takashi." 

Even after having his suggestion turned down, the boy hesitated and looked somewhat unwilling to let go so easily. "Hey, Rei… about your call, I'm again very sorry about this. I'm sure the dojo must have had a reason, so it's better to not get too hung up over it."

"..."

He continued, not noticing the way Rei's hands were balled up into fists. "Um, you seem down lately… I understand why. if you need any help then you can talk to me." 

"..."

Sheesh, even when taking a distance and giving these two some space, Cu felt the awkwardness permeate the air to the point of even making him uncomfortable. The gal was holding back some anger, her clenched fist was a telltale sign, one that completely escaped the young, oblivious boy. 

"I have to go back, Takashi. It's late." Rei's words cut through the air, sounding clear despite having been said quietly. "Thanks for the help, see you after tomorrow at school." She grabbed her bag and walked away hastily, saying a simple goodbye to Cu, which was a bit more lighter than how she spoke to the other boy, which he returned. 

This left both him and the boy alone, but unlike her, there was no need to beat around the bush. "I ain't going after her, lad. We just met by pure chance, spared a little and she fell into the water, you don't need to look at me like I'm going to steal your girlfriend." 

His response caught Takashi by surprise with how forward they were. "I-I'm n-not… we're j-just friends…"

"Riiiight, whatever you say. But keep acting like that and she'll remain your friend." He said under his breath, grabbing his can of soda, it was high time for him to go to Kyoko's house first before going back to his little apartment. "Anyways, I'll probably see you at school as well. Name's Cu, nice to meet ya!" 

"..." 

.

.

.

"Why are you shirtless…?" 

Standing in front of Kyoko's house, Cu found himself on the receiving end of a murderous glare from the beautiful bespectacled redhead. Having ran back just in time for dinner, and with a small apology gift which consisted of a plastic bag filled with sweetfishes he captured before his little training with Rei. 

"Uh, I kinda gave it to a girl, she'll return it, probably." 

Unfortunately, his gift wasn't enough to calm the woman down. "Inside. Now." 

Hah, so another lecture. Not that he minded, at least she was pleasant to the eyes and he rather enjoyed seeing her getting that worked up, a guilty pleasure of his he admitted. Also helped that her choice of casual clothing consisted of a rather tight shirt that hugged her bouncy chests like a second skin and left her toned belly slightly exposed and clung to her chest rather nicely, making the experience that much sweeter along with a flannel pajama pants that riding a bit low in his opinion.

Was she doing it on purpose? Most likely not, but he was not going to complain.

"Yes ma'am." 

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 2 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.