Editing Cute Kunoichis:Volume1 Chapter5 (section)

===2: Chance Meeting===

––On one side were his students Kuhou Ouka, Hanasawa Bara, Nantou Hoozuki, and Shizukuma Asagao.

The ninja outfits they all wore were designed to be practical while also supplying an alluring sex appeal.

The most conspicuous of them was their direct fighter Ouka, who wore a bodysuit that showed off her undeveloped figure, a white sleeveless kimono top, a long front and back skirt, and a red rope that hung down from the back of her hips like a cat tail.

That twintail kunoichi twirled around Midnight Tempest, a vertically-stacked double-barrel hunting gun with a bayonet and a binoculars-like multipurpose site attached. The blade-shaped gadget erupted with fire like a flamethrower and that fury took the form of a tornado around her.

No, that was more than just fire. She sometimes used explosive flames of more than 2000 degrees and sometimes used liquid nitrogen of less than -195 degrees to create a double tornado around her.

Still, the light filling the entire plaza was unnaturally intense.

That was thanks to the secret efforts of Bara, the redhaired ringlet curls girl who specialized in disguises and camouflage. She wore a body suit plus an oiran-style kimono top that exposed her shoulders and cleavage, and used the hanging sash in place of a front skirt, but that ninja outfit danced in the air as she moved now. She was probably scattering lead or zinc powder from her hair tubes. She called that weapon Pressurized Light. Metal powder with a low melting point was scattered around and the residual heat of the flames would paint it across the floors and pillars like a mirror. From there, the mirrors would control the light much like the board reflectors in a photo studio.

Based on that, it was clear that the bright and conspicuous flames were no more than a smokescreen.

From a step behind, Nantou Hoozuki, a girl with a silver ponytail and with an open-back one-piece swimsuit and baggy pants, broke through the wall of fire, arched her lithe back, strained the belts binding her body, and moved her shoulder blades to launch large shurikens at a rate of more than 3000 a minute using the pitching machine she had created by transforming her off-road motorcycle named Countless Calamities. Her combination cross shurikens could fold up like a pair of scissors, so they functioned like a cross shuriken when open and like a stick shuriken when closed.

Seeing through to that attack was very impressive.

But the true grim reaper’s scythe was sneaking up on the twin sisters from an unseen and unheard location.

Sugiyado Souha’s focus landed not on the direct fighter, but on the small bob-cut girl wearing a bleached white military uniform with a short tight skirt.

(Asagao’s their commander. She does love hiding her claws and feigning powerlessness.)

Kuhou Ouka was moving her lithe and growing body like a rhythmic gymnast or a figure skater to alternately use hellfire of more than 2000 degrees or liquid nitrogen of less than -200 degrees. The intense temperature difference created a drastic fluctuation in atmospheric pressure, which would likely help create a vacuum blade.

But that was not its purpose.

The final weapon was an impurity. It was really only specks of nitrogen oxide that would generally be called soot, but by placing it in that artificially heated wind and rapidly accelerating it, it could take out people’s senses in a different way from a vacuum blade. Anyone would notice the instant their eyes were taken out, but what about their ears or nose? If their effectiveness was reduced without your knowledge, it could cause a fatal delay in how long it took you to notice the next attack coming.

(I doubt even Ouka can see the minute impurities she’s wielding. Asagao must be monitoring the airflow while separated from the direct fighting, so she can move her limbs or clothing around to fan the nitrogen oxide in. Impressive teamwork.)

––On the other side were Shirazaya Guren and Suiren. Those kunoichi twins let their beautiful blonde hair flutter behind them along with their pure white sleeveless kimono tops and pleated miniskirts.

Chain links could be heard scraping together.

“Randomize the Steel Rope’s path.”

“Understood, Guren.”

The identical girls wielded ninja swords, kusarigamas, and stick shurikens. With ABS and polycarbonate, there were plenty of nonmetal materials that could withstand use in combat, but they had a good reason for using well-tempered steel for every last weapon.

They bent.

They curved.

(Steel Rope. Are they using magnetism? No, is it the Lorentz force!?)

They were likely scattering microscopic iron sand to give electricity a path through. While the twin sisters danced in perfect unison, they only had to throw out the kusarigamas or stick shurikens and they would fly along impossible paths, sometimes even turning at acute angles. Their straight, noncurved ninja swords also raged about with an accuracy that ignored the girls’ skeletal structures, muscular strength, and centers of gravity. The blades seemed to move with a mind of their own to guide their wielders to victory.

Sparks flew.

The combination cross shurikens were 5 or 6 times the weight of an anti-materiel bullet and should have been impossible to dodge under normal circumstances, but the twins repeatedly knocked them from the air, creating blossoms of sparks. Shizukuma Asagao was sending in nitrogen oxide as a sense-numbing grim reaper’s scythe, but even that was blown away all at once by the wind produced when a kusarigama roared around like a tornado.

Sometimes it was from the sides, sometimes it was from the front and back, and sometimes it was from above and below.

Shirazaya Guren and Suiren used their steel weapons to surround and isolate one of the four and either tore into them or made repeated minute movements to aim for the best timing.

Both sides were extremely skilled.

They had beautifully mastered the Strategic Martial Arts of the modern ninja. If they used that power for good, how many people’s smiles could they protect? Just as the design of a nation’s weapons was linked to its dignity, these state-commanded kunoichis perfectly combined practical skill and aesthetic beauty as they danced in combat.

Which was why it would be such a shame if any of them were needlessly lost here.

He could not let that happen.

And beyond that direct battle, he also had to consider the contaminated central heating room directly above this B3 plaza. The Shogunate had left behind deadly claw marks in their desperate attempt to end all this by any means necessary. If this ninja fighting grew too intense and the ceiling collapsed, the sealed PCB9 poison gas weapon would be a threat once more.

“I won’t let anyone trample on Sensei’s honor. I will reclaim him from you Shogunate dogs!!”

“Why don’t you understand that selfish decision will only destroy his current career as an instructor!?”

“Don’t you dare suggest that!”

“Don’t make me laugh, little girl. Did you really think you were the ones working in Sugiyado Souha’s best interest!?”

Even now.

Even after all this.

None of them were bad people. His students had done all this to learn the truth and the enforcers of justice had only tried to protect him by stopping it all.

He felt thankful.

He was so very, very thankful, but he still felt like it was not enough thanks.

The next move was bound to take a life on one side or the other, so now was the time.

He had to protect them, even if it put his life at risk. It did not matter what it broke within him. It was the same as that final mission, so he did not care if people thought he had not learned a thing since then.

No matter who he had to fool, he could not forget what truly mattered.

Simply put, he had to save every last person on both sides!!

In a split second, a ninja who had lost his wings soared down the stairs and onto the front line.

“What!? Sensei!?”

“Sugiyado-san!!”

In one hand, he held a Fierce Fang air-pressure kunai. In the other, a thick gas container. He forcibly moved between them and caught the bayonet and kusarigama blades that should have crossed in their pursuit of each other’s vitals.

A hand each was not enough.

If he tried to compete with them directly, he would be overpowered. He knew the limit on his spine was an illusion created by his brain, but he could not shake free of those self-imposed bonds.

“Kh, ohhhhhh!!”

So he deflected them instead. He spun like a whirlwind and had the two blade-wielding girls pass each other by like they were pressed against opposite sides of a revolving door.

That was the most he could manage.

After stopping that one exchange of deadly slashes, his momentum got the better of him and he slammed back-first into a nearby column. The impact knocked the breath out of him and he slid down to the floor while turning his eyes toward the girls.

First, Kuhou Ouka.

Good. She had no obvious injuries. The fact that her eyes widened on a pale face was worrying, but contradictorily, he was also glad to see she had not changed.

Next, Hanasawa Bara.

He was relieved by what he saw there too. Her mind must have been spinning with questions of how it had come to this and where they had gone wrong. Even though he had told her time and again to quit that since those questions did not help her do better next time.

Then, Nantou Hoozuki.

She was fine too. Only she thought of herself as expressionless because the light wavering in her eyes was highly expressive of her emotions. He wanted to tell her she did not need to feel so shaken right now.

Finally, Shizukuma Asagao.

Good. She was fine too. As much as she liked to play the knowledgeable strategist, she was still the smallest girl and could not actually fight. He had been worried a stray bullet might have found her, but she appeared unharmed.

And.

From the twins, Shirazaya Guren.

He was relieved to see she was uninjured. He had been in charge of those girls, so she could have blamed him for their actions. But she had instead seen him as a companion working on the case together and she had even grown furious on his behalf. Even though she had to be living in much worse conditions than him.

And the second twin, Shirazaya Suiren.

She was fine. She should not have had any real reason to support someone she had just met the other day. She should have prioritized her own conditions, but next thing he knew, here she was. He was actually worried that this side of her personality would lead to her taking on more of a burden than she should. That would be nothing but a negative influence on her life, yet she was almost certainly proud of what she was doing.

“…”

He had trouble breathing and felt close to passing out.

There was not much he could say right away, but if he said nothing at all, they would likely resume their meaningless fight to the death.

So he leaned his bloody back against the column, held the poison gas canister close, and gasped for breath while forcing out what mattered most.

“Stop this! Keep this up and you’ll die!!”

Both sides briefly came to a stop.

No, for a brief moment, Kuhou Ouka and Shirazaya Guren and Suiren’s killer intent was diverted elsewhere.

“Who do you think we’re doing this for in the first place!? And whose side are you on anyway!!!???”

''Ugh,'' thought Sugiyado Souha.

''How did I find myself in this mess?

That was obvious enough.

They were all endlessly kind people, so this was the natural result when they set foot into the world of ninjas.

He knew that.

He understood it.

He just about laughed, so he tensed his face and worked to maintain his consciousness that had nearly been shredded by pain.

This was not over yet.

Now was not the time.

He did not care how many bolts he had in his spine or what he had in his legs to replace his torn ligaments. At 5kg, his spine felt odd. At 10kg, he could no longer fight. But so what? Now was not the time for him to collapse. He could not let it end here. He had to hold onto his consciousness and recall everything that had been built up thus far. All so he could protect those foolish but kind girls.

“Ouka.”

“Y-yes!?”

“Guren and Suiren too.”

“What…do you want?”

Both sides turned toward him when he spoke in a scratchy voice. They almost looked like classmates in the same classroom in this moment.

And he vaguely felt like that might not be a bad future for them.

Which was all the more reason to keep his words ice cold now.

“Put your weapons away, you utter morons. There is no reason for you to throw your lives away over something so stupid.”

The girls’ powerful emotions started to shrivel at his scolding words, but then he distinctly sensed them flare back up. They readied their weapons, creating a series of quiet metallic tones. But he had planned for this. He had known no one who made it this far would be broken by a single statement.

So he silently apologized to them from the bottom of his heart.

He had intentionally trapped them in this. He had dragged them toward unavoidable battle when they might have been able to turn back had they tried.

There was no turning back now.

Fighting was the only option.

But that fighting would not take the form of the lovely girls working to kill each other.

Their wordless rejection creating a piercing atmosphere.

[[Image:Kunoichis_v01_BW07.jpg|thumb]]

After feeling that wash over him, he tossed aside the special container and held a hand forward while still seated with his back against the column.

This was like that final mission all over again. He was taking on too great a burden and he was clearly going to crash and burn for it.

But that was fine with him.

He pulled back his index finger and winked.

The instructor announced the beginning of a special lesson.

“If you’ve got a problem with that, then come at me as a group. You idiots are not easy to teach, I’ll tell you that.”