Editing Cute Kunoichis:Volume1 Chapter1 (section)

===2: The Floating City of the Shogunate and a Daimyo Procession===

Your efforts are undeniable.

We have confirmed the extreme chaos on the scene at the time.

But the fact remains that your injuries prevent you from carrying an injured comrade. No matter how skilled they might be, someone who cannot protect the lives of their comrades in arms cannot be placed on the front line.

Please understand.

“…”

Ouka was one of the Elite Ninjas considered the strongest in active duty, so she would find him immediately if all he did was leave the apartment. He alternated travel routes in a complex pattern to eliminate any trail to follow and blended into the crowds of people.

(Really, this is like a pleasant stroll for me.)

This much exercise was not going to detonate the bombshell in his back. Theoretically, anyway. But while carrying a bombshell like that, he ended up worrying about it even when he should not have to.

He was weak.

He did not avoid admitting to himself he had a handicap. He could not rid himself of his concerns, unease, and even fears when doing something as simple as this. No matter how jokey he might seem on the surface, this was something he could not let his students learn about. He knew it was pathetic keeping secrets from those so close to him, but even instructors had their pride and dignity they wanted to protect.

He had left to escape Ouka’s lecture, which meant he did not have a set destination in mind. So how was he to kill some time? He might b a ninja, but he did not perform any flashy backflips or create clones of himself. He waited at the light for the large pedestrian scramble like anyone else would and he lost himself in thought while watching a line of vehicles cross by in front of him.

However, these were not ordinary cars or trucks.

Two large white police motorcycles took the lead, various bodyguard and escort vehicles were next, and a black luxury car bearing the large family crest of a samurai family followed that.

The police motorcycles were blasting an announcement from their speakers while driving quite slowly (which had to be difficult with motorcycles).

“A special alert is in effect. We know this is an inconvenience to you all, but please do your part to facilitate our official business.”

This was known as a Daimyo Procession.

The term Sankin Kotai was no longer even used these days, but not because the mandatory policy no longer existed. It was just that no one considered it worth arguing about any longer. Modern meetings could be held remotely with a single internet line, but the Shogunate still insisted on direct meetings on the pretext of safety. And of course, the funding for such meetings came from the annual taxes paid by the people living in the New Yokohama Domain.

There must have been some frustrations because people had stopped bowing their heads when they encountered a Daimyo Procession of late. Some young men in the area were aiming their phone cameras toward it and a small girl was eating a corndog while holding her mother’s hand, but none of the bodyguards got after them.

However, there must have been a coordination mistake this time.

The large monitor covering a department store wall was brightly and loudly spreading a wide range of information unrelated to the Daimyo Procession.

“New Yokohama Domain, the reclaimed land known as the modern Dejima, is a unique intersection point with many foreign cultures within this country’s isolationist policies, so it is also a land of many strange gourmet surprises! For example, here we have yaki udon and a pilaf sharing the same plate with a line of shumai running down the center to divide the two.”

“The age of a single OS’s monopoly has come to an end. We in the Kyushu University Computer Machinery Alliance have brought together domestic hardware with a brand new operating system that is estimated will increase the GDP by…”

“Breaking news: Several ships have been detected in the ocean off of the Pacific coast. They appear to be carrying Kingdom knights who plot to steal our data, but the unusually great number of aircraft carriers has led the Shogunate to announce…”

“Happy Churn!! X Day draws nigh! Strap your helmets on tight, everyone!!”

(The world is sounding as dangerous as ever. And what was that about everyone’s beloved Happy Churn?)

Sugiyado Souha prepared to take a mental note about the one topic he could not afford to miss out on, but then the screen switched over.

“In response to the dangerous signs at air and sea, the Tenshukaku at the center of the Shogunate is preparing a conference attended by all Daimyo with more than 500,000 koku of land as they will be the foundation of any regional defense. With the outstanding skill of the great 52nd Shogun Osaie at work…”

High officials in their formal dress were lined up in a large hall where a single tatami mat probably cost as much as a commoner’s entire house.

And in the very, very back sat a single figure.

The Daimyo Procession must have cost a fortune, but it paled in comparison to this.

Sugiyado Souha gave a look of pity toward the family crest on the luxury car, but he was still mostly thinking of Happy Churn. And then a bewitching voice reached his ears.

“Oh, dear. If it isn’t, Sensei. If you make Ouka wait too long, you will lose your chance to apologize, you know?”

A floral scent wafted over to him.

She was tall for a girl but still shorter than Sugiyado. This was a sexy girl with long red hair worn in gorgeous ringlet curls and a dress so bold a red it almost looked dyed in blood. The buns on either side of her head may have been a floral symbol. She did wear a kanzashi, but she still had a mostly Western appearance. She looked splendid enough to make an appearance at an evening party or on a theatre stage.

The fact that someone like this had blended into the background until now was all you needed to know to see her great skill.

“Oh, Bara.”

Sugiyado whispered without moving his lips and without looking back. He kept his eyes on the opposite red light and the luxury cars of the Daimyo Procession.

When he carefully studied the reflection in the highly-polished cars, he could indeed see the beautiful kunoichi standing behind him.

“You’re getting better. I thought I had hidden my presence better than this.”

She was 18 which meant she was older than him, but he still ended up speaking like her superior.

But the red ringlet curls girl did not seem to mind.

“Only because my specialty is in disguises and deception instead of direct combat. Knowing how to disguise myself means knowing how to see through other people’s disguises.” That star of the stage giggled while crossing her arms in a way that lifted her large breasts up from below. “Plus, these techniques are all things you taught me.”

“You have already made them into your own techniques. I have nothing left to teach you there.” He relaxed his shoulders. “So where are Hoozuki and Asagao?”

“They went shopping to buy some ingredients for tonight.”

“Hm? Hold on. What are you four starting now?”

Something seemed to dawn on him after he asked that. This explained why Ouka was so upset about him eating snacks. The problem was not with the Happy Churn itself; she had been behaving like a mother refusing to let her child snack before dinner.

“Forgive her, Happy Churn. My student lashed out at you unfairly, but I know you have a big enough heart to laugh it off like an adult for my sake.”

“I’m pretty sure Ouka’s problem is that she likes you so much she’ll even get jealous over your fondness for an inanimate object.”

“But this is a problem. I was thinking of killing some time at a family restaurant or burger shop since I have nowhere to go.”

“That would only add fuel to the fire, but I won’t stop you if you are the kind of ‘expert’ who enjoys seeing a cute girl erupt at you.”

“What do you even want from me?”

“Oh? I like you a lot too, Sensei.”

She dropped a bombshell with a straight face. They were student and instructor and he wanted to complain about the kids these days, but Bara gave a mischievous smile and toyed with one of her ringlet curls using nail-polished fingertips. That was enough to squish her large breasts together from the side with her arm, so he really, really wanted to complain about the kids these days.

Kunoichis were taught to distract their opponents with their bodies, but the scent of nectar coming from Hanasawa Bara was especially strong. If she transferred in, she could probably bring down an entire prestigious girl’s school on her own.

“Now, Ouka’s ‘like’ is a much narrower kind of thing, but mine is much broader. I absolutely love the general atmosphere when you, Ouka, Hoozuki, Asagao, and I are together.”

“But…just to be clear, isn’t that atmosphere in trouble? If Ouka erupts, won’t that beloved peace of yours crumble away?”

“My, my. Who ever said the atmosphere I like is a peaceful one?”

That was the end of it.

The parade-like Daimyo Procession finally left. The pedestrian light turned green and the waiting people began to move. That girl in a bright red dress had been by his side a moment before, but now she was gone.

However, he did hear a giggling breath. Just as he realized she was still close by, he felt a soft touch on his cheek.

It was a maiden’s lips.

Only a thick floral scent reminiscent of a red rose’s petals remained in his nose.

“So if necessary, I am willing to throw in some sparks or add fuel to the fire. Just like this.”

Now she really was gone.

He shook his head side to side and then started across the pedestrian scramble a little later than the others waiting.