"See that? That's the girl. Confirm if she's actually there first or if it’s just a set up. I find it hard to believe those Setsus actually made the choice to send her to a place we’re already marking..." an apparently elderly individual spoke, tilting a glass of wine. "This could be a fortuitous opportunity."

"Then we'll have her."

“Who is she?”

"The daughter of that woman, the runaway of the Fiore familglia."

“All of the details are on the file you've received.” A paper detailing the target's information was held in his hand, blocking the view of the readers seeing the person passed out on a rug of the private office.

"Her daughter’s name is Hanami Hasegawa. Age 14 today. She's now being looked after by the rightful boss of their cousin family, the Acardi."

The phone was then paused. The man stood in the purposely dim room, glancing at someone unconscious on a rug beside two men that were knelt down.

“My Count… I’m afraid we will not be joining you on that mission. You’re already sending Nithilith… that should be enough?” The man held his breath without daring to look up as the man next to him brought out a silencer and aimed it, shooting the guy beside him.

"You do what you’re told and deliver it to her…"

“I… just shot my own brother for his impotence. Please, my Count… I believe it’s good enough with what you’ve sent already.”

The defiance in the man’s eyes was answered with a warning that ushered utter despair.

“Or you'll cost your family another death."

"F*ck you! I’m not taking your shit!" The guy tries to aim his silencer at the Count but quickly found he got shot through his finger causing him to cry out and attempt to turn around only to get shot from numerous areas as five men dressed in black military attire step out of their hiding spots in the room.

“Get the trash bag and change the rug… have the hotel staff remove the footage of them entering,” one of the masked men said as their client turned to face the glass in the office. The brisk weather made a branch scratch against the glass window.

“Now that entire famiglia will have to be wiped”

"No need to be brash, you lot focus on the task at hand. I already sent some to make way for us to get her."

“Begin war, attain first blood, go for their source from the ground up where the core is…"

Metallic grey vents released air that propelled the hovering car straight through the long stretch of roads that disappeared into the upper clouds. Once they had gotten off of the blue road and onto the clear force field road, Hanami pressed her palms up against her window and gawked at the beautiful auburn sunrise that reflected off of the shiny ocean that was below. They were going up to such an altitude that all the people that crossed the busy streets where they had been now appeared like small ants scattered around. She tried twisting over so she could get a better look through the back window, but nearly fell over.

Voltaire fixed his driver’s hat around and warned the girl to use her seat belt. Hanami quickly reached for her seat belt and as she did, the back of the car shook back and forth, only for the back trunk to suddenly be whipped forward by an intense compression of air that propelled the car straight up through passing clouds while leaving the road misty.

She could see clearly, but shut her eyes as the ride got bumpier. Voltaire focused on maintaining the ride at the center while the girl squealed in terror. It felt like her insides rose up, leaving her gasping with a queasy sensation in her stomach. To her relief, suddenly, the vibrations stopped as quickly as it had begun. She opened her eyes and was taken aback by what laid beyond the semi-rectangular clouds. There were all sorts of floating roads with hundreds of cars breezing past in different directions, and there were varying white, floating buildings with grey mirrors making up their long sides.

“This is the intermediate zone,” the butler informed her. “It connects drivers to roads that can get them to a specific area within the floating city above. Neat, right?” He chuckled, amused by the stars that formed in her eyes, as she was clearly impressed like a curious child.

“IT’S REALLY IMPRESSIVE!!! I have to admit-” She pressed her cheek against the back of the seat that was beside Voltaire’s to get a better look at the view ahead as the limousine passed through a gigantic tunnel. Blue letters slid across its black headlights, only to rise back up and burst into a sign that read “Welcome to Osaka Sector 2: Terminal 1-E.” Once they had passed through the tunnel, there was a normal concrete road that led into the city.

A deep sigh escaped Hanami as she leaned back in her seat. Voltaire dug into the side pocket of his suit and unwrapped a small paper that had green gum within it while the car drove itself and popped one in. They went past a commercial complex on the free road and continued through. Up above was an eighty foot hologram that played news related to a tennis game and other sports highlights revolving around the latest games. After passing that hologram, there were more over the road in different colors. Naturally, it grasped Hanami’s attention.

“There are so many competitions…”

“We’re passing by the area where the Tohru Stadium is. Different events are held there.” Voltaire informed her.

She followed each one, tilting her head back to see behind the car. A channel showing kendo announced that the 97th All Japan Kendo Championship would once more return that year after a long hiatus. Just when it was going to mention the winners of the previous championship, they passed the particular hologram.

Hanami tapped her cheek as the next hologram came into view, showing two individuals in kendo uniforms. The two jumped onto a platform that propelled them up into the air. Once airborne, the two struck their blades against each other and dropped down to the center as they both rushed off to jump on the surrounding bouncy platforms. They did so and once more rammed straight into each other with their blades coming down towards one another in the next hologram ahead of them.

“That’s weird,” she thought to herself. “What kind of kendo is that? Is that how kendo’s done here? Jumping around on bouncy floors? Seems like lots of fun! I’d love to try it out with the others!”

Seeing the two kendokas brought back memories of the days she practiced kendo with her grandmother and five other children her age. Though it’d been so long, she could hardly remember their faces. She grasped her skirt a bit, as a slight sense of homesickness rushed through her.

Hanami recalled the bamboo trees that surrounded the Hasegawa Estate. The distinct memory of her palms pressing up against trees as she watched other children climbing onto them and swinging from one tree to another made her subconsciously tilt her head up to take a sniff, but she quickly shook her head as she realized she was spacing out too much.

“We’ll be arriving in a few minutes,” she heard Voltaire say. She shook her crimson hair side to side freely. “FOCUS! I’ll return home for the break with stories that’ll make them jealous! HYAHHH!” Hanami motivated herself. She raised her elbow up and swung it down in her signature “Haru-bow” strike.

All of that enthusiasm flew out of the window when she turned to look back ahead. She nearly fell over at the sight of thousands of students with dark blue uniforms pressing against one another to get through a gigantic gate. “Are they all going too?” she mumbled as she watched Voltaire pulling in. There was a clear space with yellow tape spread across that created a twenty foot square in front of the entrance. Hover cars were stopping in one by one and then leaving.

Hanami soon realized no one could step through the yellow tape other than the cars and those being dropped off. That wasn’t because of the guards, but rather due to the barrier cast with Retsu. It made the gravitational force denser in this square, something the guards would have to lower everytime a car pulled in. The guards wore a uniform that leveled this gravitational force for them. Only students with their pins were being let in, since a large majority of the students outside weren’t even from the school, but had come to catch sight of the noble lords that’d be attending Hirazawa High as the Bonsai magazine had speculated.

“That illustrious musician Luu! I think I’ll die if I get a picture with him!” one guy shouted as girls around him enthusiastically agreed. “Where is he?! The first picture is for me, he’s all mine!” cried another. Tussling soon ensued, as they all anxiously waited to see who’d come out next.

The limo rolled up to the front of the entrance as Voltaire rolled down his window while a guard in a blue uniform sauntered lazily over his window. “I’m here to drop off Miss Haruna of the Hasegawa domain.” The guard quickly shot out of his relaxed demeanor once Voltaire had mentioned Hasegawa. Voltaire asked Hanami for her fish pin, to which she gave it to him to show the guard. Once he did so, Voltaire returned the pin to her and she slipped it into her kendo bag since she didn’t feel like wearing it. Voltaire started the vehicle again.

The guard saluted and gave a second guard over in the gatehouse the go ahead for Voltaire to pass through. The car hovered in a bit past the space that compressed the gravity to keep any individuals that didn’t belong in the school out. After Voltaire stopped the car, Hanami stepped out, patted her skirt down and pulled her kendo bag over her shoulder excitedly. Almost right away she felt glares jabbed behind her head. Though she felt anxiety, she took a step forward.

“Step by step, go on. Don’t pay mind, baby steps,” she managed to encourage herself… until an individual within the crowd took a picture of her. The flash shot over her, prompting her to turn around. Like a chain reaction, suddenly hundreds of camera flashes were directed towards her. Chatter broke out within the crowd; one person commented, “She’s Haruna Hasegawa… but I’ve never heard of that name among the Hasegawas.” Others added to this, murmuring random obscene rumors. Some ranged from her being the “black sheep of the Hasegawa” to her being kicked out of Hokkaido for being a “disgrace.”

Hanami’s eyebrows twitched angrily as she heard the rather rude words people murmured within earshot. Rather than snap at them, she stomped back to Voltaire and bowed, giving Voltaire a farewell. Voltaire gave her a nod, observing how she clenched her kendo bag’s strap. She turned away blowing fumes out of her nostrils. Voltaire reached over to his cupboard to give Takumi a call as he watched her stomp through the entrance and over to the flight of steps. He could tell she was doing her best not to blow up. “I only hope that patience lasts… for your sake as well as Master Takumi’s,” he spoke under his breath, sliding into his car.

Dashing with her kendo bag swaying about, Hanami leapt step by step, forgetting all about the uneasiness she felt before. Pink blossom petals fluttered past her, as the girl looked up ahead and ran up while keeping her hands down at the ends of her skirt.

She cleared the one hundred steps with ease and made it to the top. Spring brought with it a sense of freedom unlike any other. One that she hadn’t experienced ever before. She reminded herself, “This is a fresh start! Can’t afford to gain a bad reputation,” as she knew it was something her fiancé and her grandmother would reprimand her for.

Hanami inhaled deeply as a sudden breeze of air carried the scent of fresh blossoms through the entrance. The girl held the front of her skirt down, waiting for the breeze to finish passing, then stepped forward to begin her exploration of the campus before heading to the auditorium. This was a great opportunity for her to check out some of the clubs she had heard about. There were so many stalls already in view. Of those clubs, she certainly wanted to run into the kendo club.

“The members have to be around here somewhere! I’ll show them what I can do! At least, what I know so far,” she giggled to herself and couldn’t believe her eyes when she zoned back in. It all resembled a massive festival. Banners in a wide range of colors were strung up along long poles. She stopped right over a huge hovering hologram that read “WELCOME TO HIRAZAWA PRIVATE HIGH!!!” as flares of assorted colors shot up into the clear blue sky above.

All of the flashes of vivid colors and calligraphy distracted her momentarily, but she shook her head, fixing her sight back to her surroundings. She walked past four individuals dressed in odd cow suits standing outside of one of the classrooms, giggling and taking note that costumes were likely not their idea. Nevertheless, these individuals had baskets with different colored eggs. One of the individuals offered her one and Hanami gracefully picked it from the basket on her way over to other stalls. She pranced around curiously like a child in unfamiliar surroundings until she stopped herself from acting that way and slowed herself down.

“Calm down, act proper. You can’t attract too much attention. Search for the right stall,” she thought to herself as her tummy gave a lowly grumble. She didn’t have breakfast earlier in the morning due to having to change quickly for her first day. “That big oaf bought himself pancakes on the way over and didn’t even have the decency to buy me some. Talk about a caring fiancé. Hmph, if I see him, he’s getting me lunch,” she complained to herself before sighing.

Hanami puffed up one of her cheeks and folded her arms when she caught a whiff of something that smelled heavenly. The girl couldn’t help the urge to seek this scent out. She passed through the crowd in almost a hypnotic spell that led eventually to a stand where ikayaki were being roasted by a cooking club along with other treats like honey dipped grilled corn.

At the stand, Hanami’s attention diverted from the food for a second, going straight to a rice ball hat with glittery eyes that a very small girl wore. This girl pointed down to one of the plates. “Try some.”

Hanami took one of the dumplings, leading her to take another, and another… and soon, she was stuffing them into her mouth one by one after chewing and swallowing. This led to the girl manning the booth to give her the whole tray after Hanami’s tummy let out a grumble loudly. “Help yourself, there’s more than enough.”

“Oh, why thank you!” Her cheeks blushed bright red in embarrassment, as the girl behind the table felt as if she were being robbed at gunpoint. Nonetheless, she didn’t mind giving Hanami dishes that no one else really even came to try.

“You’re our first food taster…”

“And boy am I grateful! Mggghhh!” Hanami giggled, sliding over.

As the girl pointed at the pork, Hanami only smiled at her. “Sorry, I don’t, eh… eat that sort of meat. Well, I don’t eat meat at all actually. My nana advised me against that. That stuff can turn you into a porky pig! You are what you eat after all, hehe.”

“Oh.” The girl looked over and gave her dumplings she had saved for herself. Hanami excitedly grabbed rice cakes stuffing her face.

“If you eat too much of that rice, your cheeks are going to get really puffy.”

“Ya’ don’t say? I’ll just work it out!” Hanami cheered, noticing the girl held a napkin for her.

Hanami took it appreciatively and asked her. “What’s your name by the way? You have to be some sort of cooking genius!”

“My name is Veil Shaman,” she told Hanami politely. “Would you consider joining our club?”

“Oh! A club?” Hanami exclaimed, looking down to the girl much smaller than her. “She’s so small… a little less than 5 feet?” the girl thought to herself while chewing on a dumpling.

“Now wouldn’t that be something? Me joining a cooking club. I am pretty good when it comes to baking, but I’m terrible at everything else…” Hanami said with her mouth full of the chewy treat. “Oh! Pardon my manners!” Hanami finished chewing first before continuing. “I know how to make pastries, I’ve made plenty of those in the past.”

“You do look like you have talent…” Veil said, staring at her. “The talent for eating.”

Hanami was too busy relishing the flavor to reply. “It tastes so good, MWWWWWMMMWWWWMWWWW!” she squealed uncontrollably, jumping up and down in place, like a prancing gazelle. She danced in place, unable to hold back the warmth and mouth-melting taste of every chomp.

Veil laughed lightly, hiding the laugh behind her tiny knuckles she brought over her mouth for a second. “If you join, I can make you more,” Veil’s tone became serious as she gave a firm nod. Hanami saw the glint in Veil’s puppy eyes. She almost felt guilty.

“Food really does connect people, haha,” Hanami said. “I’ll think about the club later. If I find anyone that’s interested, I’ll tell them all about you!”

“Great,” Veil said in a monotone way, placing her attention to the dough she had in a pot.

Hanami knew she wasn’t going to join the club, but didn’t outwardly say so. Instead, she asked, “Would you have any idea where I might find the kendo club? I was given a guide, but haven’t had any luck finding the stall. For some reason, that info isn’t on the paper.” She skimmed the paper again, then brought it down to her side.

Veil pulled her white elastic gloves off and set them on the table. She knelt down to pick up some boxes with different spices that were hidden under the table. As she stood up, she answered “There are no kendo clubs at this school currently.”

Hanami paused for a second before slapping her palms against her ribbon. “No way!” she dropped down to her knees in disbelief.

“This school is filthy rich! It doesn’t have a kendo club?! No, no, no! That was the only good thing about what you said, nana?!”

Other students nearby looked over to the stall to see what the commotion was all about, just as she suddenly stood up completely losing it and shouting to the heavens.

“W-whyyyyyyyy!?” Hanami slammed her palms down on the table, startling Veil enough to make her stumble backwards. She felt awkward eyes shoot over at her and darted stares back over her shoulder to all the onlookers and called out “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!?!?! NOTHING TO SEE HERE! AGHH!”

The people quickly looked away and continued their own walks. Hanami focused back on Veil. “No kendo club? I didn’t hear that wrong?” she asked again. “Please tell me I heard something else, something stupid like… ‘No scarecrow club’.”

“Y-yeah, there’s never been a kendo club here… but there actually is a scarecrow club, right over there.” Veil hesitantly pointed back to a booth down the three booths as Hanami’s jaw dropped. There was an actual female student handing fliers while someone with a crow suit was being hit by another club member. “Hi! Join our club and help us fight off crows at local businesses!”

“That’s their… hobby,” Veil said in a monotone voice, leading Hanami to remain frozen with her mouth open. “The school was started only four years ago, but I guess no one ever thought about kendo,” Veil added.

Hanami’s hands fidgeted. She lost all feeling in her hand, causing the paper to float down to the ground and be whisked away by the passing breeze. She dug her sharp pink nails into the white fabric that lay over the table and then cocked her head down disappointed.

“Thanks for everything, Veil.” She woozily walked towards the courtyard of the campus, utterly defeated.

“I need to sit down somewhere…” Hanami sat down on a random metallic bench and felt like crying. “What am I going to do?” she asked herself, as a depressive mood slipped in. “I can imagine Angie laughing…” She felt her strength leave her shoulders and sighed, setting her chin between her palms.

“It hasn’t even been a day… nana, what were you thinking? It’s one thing to send me off to another region, but placing me in a school with no kendo club? I guess she’s grown tired of me, too… what’s going to happen if I can’t even make it into the kendo national events for the next four years of highschool?” Hanami felt her head swirl around and around. She stared into empty space for five minutes, not knowing what to do.

Suddenly, she slapped her cheeks and stood back up. “Ha! Struggling is nothing new to me. There has to be a way! I just have to think of something.”

“Get away from me, you filthy turd!!!” A girl cried out nearby, causing her to look across the courtyard. People had gathered by a fountain where a baby angel statue poured clear water. A rather shady sounding male voice answered. “Calm yourself, Miss Funbags, we only wanted to ask you to join our club, teheh.”

Hanami gripped her kendo bag with the intent of going off to investigate, as the crowd made it a bit difficult for her to see what was going on. As she strapped her bag again, the other girl’s face burned cherry red with shame and embarrassment. She looked as if she was about to speak again, but no words left her lips as she attempted to turn and run in the opposite direction. The leader of the thugs grasped her arm and yanked her back to his side.

“The fan club for the Hirazawa thugs! Our gang is the best gang around!”

“Poor girl,” one of the girls whispered to another while watching.

“Yeah, those creepy thugs got her. I’d do something, but that’d be too risky, considering their status. Someone else will probably step in, so I don’t have to do anything,” the second girl tried justifying herself as she looked on.

Hanami scoffed, shocked that people would just stand around and watch such immoral behavior. “Let me through! Out of my way!” She squirmed through the crowd until she made it to the front.

Hanami tightened her grip on the strap of her bag. She already had so much stress on her and now she had a perfect excuse to release that pent up anger. Consequences were the last things on her mind. “HEY!!! THIS IS AN ENTRANCE CEREMONY!”

Her crimson hair waved back and forth, as a single strand glided from behind her ear over to her cheek. Her ears turned a faint shade of pink. With a death glare directed at the thugs, she whipped her kendo bag with force over her head and slammed it right down in front of her, attracting the attention of the onlookers and making those who were beside her scramble away.

“Well, lookie here. This one has some fire in her belly,” a random spectator within the crowd instigated.

“Woah, a fight’s popping off here of all places!”

“Some girl’s actually standing up to Heisuke!”

“Never thought I’d see this today. This might be on the news later, lemme record!”

“Someone get the Day Patrol, QUICK!!!” another onlooker added as a few people ran off.

The blades within Hanami’s bag shook against each other, creating a jingling sound that was soon replaced by the sound of a breeze blowing between Hanami and the hooligans.

“Okay… there’s five of them? Don’t sweat it, Hanami… you’re good enough to take them out, right?” Hanami felt scared internally, but kept a serious angered glare at the thugs.

Water continued to pump out of the fountain behind them. The breeze carried with it green leaves that danced around across the silver patterned tiles before being whisked away. She kept her eyes on them as she unzipped the top of the bag and grasped the handle of one of her kendo blades. The one she took out was a metallic one that weighed forty pounds. She used that one for training and had grown accustomed to it, unlike the other weighted sticks.

“Hei, we have another hot piece of cake! I CHANGE MY MIND! I call dibs on this chick. Asa can have that other one!” The first raggedy male said, as one of the other thugs stepped away from the girl they had been harassing, directing grabby hands in Hanami’s direction.

“Go for it Sada, attaboy!” Heisuke shrugged with a grin.

Hanami whipped the kendo stick to her side, disgusted by the crazed googly eyes he gave her. “I dare you, trash bag!”

“No, stay away! This doesn’t involve y-” shouted the girl, but Hanami didn’t listen and only got more upset when she saw Heisuke lightly slap the girl across the cheek. “Pipe down and enjoy the show. Act like a fan!” The girl shifted slightly from her defenseless look to a more serious stare.

“C’mon sweet cheeks, what are you gonna do with that thing? Spank us with it?!” Sada teased in a baby voice and looked back for acceptance as the others cackled at his remark.

The Hasegawa took a set of quick steps, dashing straight at the male; she jumped almost twelve feet above him just as he turned his head back to where she had been.

“Where’d she go?!” he called out. He wasn’t aware that she had jumped, but naturally glanced up as Hanami came down, smashing the tip of the kendo blade at the center of his head, which made a low clanging noise with the strange ninja-like headband he wore. The male’s back twisted over and his head collided with the concrete ground. All of the onlookers gasped at what they witnessed.

The thugs’ laughter died down and their mouths were wide open as cracks formed in the ground below Sada’s head. “Oh snap, he’s definitely got a concussion,” one of the thugs thought as the one on the ground groggily narrowed his eyes around, disoriented.

“Aw yeah!” shouted one of the onlookers, joined by more who cheered her on. Hanami jammed the back of her shoes into his gut and then casually stepped over him. “That was easier than I thought…” Hanami mumbled in thought.

“And the gravity in this area… is lighter.”

The leader of the thugs grit his teeth and ordered the two closest to her to “Stop standing around and get that tiny b*tch!” At Heisuke’s orders, the second thug reluctantly stepped forward while the third ran over to one of the nearby classroom fronts and quickly grabbed a metallic folding chair.

The second thug ran about three feet towards the girl, but abruptly stopped in his tracks when Hanami gave him a deadly smile while advancing closer and closer to him with the metallic kendo blade in hand. Thoughts of what she’d do to him made him quiver.

“What should I do? If I approach her, she’s gonna beat my ass. People are recording this fight! I’ll be the laughing stock for the rest of my life in this prestigious school, maybe even outside of this school after graduation. If I leave, I can avoid that, but if I do… my friends will call me a pansy for the rest of my life!” It was a lose-lose situation for him and those thoughts kept him glued in place. Uda imagined himself seeking employment when the employer lowered their glasses recognizing him as the guy the employer saw on a WhoTube video. That freaked Uda out as he shrieked loudly.

“UDA!!!” The third thug yelled the second thug’s name, appearing pissed off. He ran in with a folded chair, pushing Uda aside, before bringing it down towards her.

“MIYOSHI, HANG ON!” Uda called out to his foolish friend.

To everyone’s shock, Hanami sidestepped the teen’s clumsy swing and jabbed the kendo stick at him, striking him directly in the crotch. The sudden action made him drop the chair, as he flopped forward onto the ground like a worm.

He groaned in pain as Hanami then jumped onto his right knee. She suppressed it there with one foot and used her other foot to kick his knees apart. Just as she did this, she jabbed the blade against his gut, forcing him to grip his gut.

Hanami heard giggling and looked over her shoulder. Uda, for some odd reason, couldn’t help but laugh at Miyoshi, who had basically been neutered. He quickly shut up when Hanami proceeded to strike Miyoshi once more over the head, before directing her sights back over to him.

“UDA, YOU LITTLE WIMP! COME ON, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! JUMP IN THERE!” Heisuke called out impatiently and began to feel dizzy. His arm felt frail for some reason. He could feel his energy being drained. He glanced down to the girl he had his arm wrapped around and then back over to Hanami and Uda. The girl sniffled, pretending to cry some more. She kept her gaze away from him so he couldn’t see the devious grin that formed across her face momentarily. With Heisuke fixing his attention back on him, Uda was forced to shake off his jelly knees and just run in.

He swung his fists around randomly, moving towards Hanami, but was quickly taken out when she followed up with a swift scissor kick that connected directly below his chin.

This forced the male’s body to rise off of the ground. Almost as if it were muscle memory, Hanami knelt down and applied force on her left heel to lift herself off of the ground in a single twirl, delivering a precise roundhouse kick straight to his gut, sending Uda spiraling backwards four times like a wheel headed directly for the spurting fountain.

The fifth thug took a single step to the side as Uda spun past him and splashed into the clear water. The splash rained over Heisuke and gave the girl he had his arm around enough time to finally pull away from him.

“Come on, do I have to go over there myself? YOU DUMBAS*ES CAN’T HANDLE A SINGLE GIRL?” Heisuke flung his finger around, pointing to the fourth thug to handle the situation. “ASA, SHOW HER WHY THERE’S FAN GIRLS!”

“Fan girls?!” Asa yelled back, confused, but without a second thought, ran in like Uda had, except he swung his right foot up in an attempt to kick the girl’s head, but Hanami effortlessly slid right below and swept the kendo stick across the single foot he had on the ground. It happened too quickly and he stumbled over, smacking his right ear against the rough tiles below and looked over his shoulder as she walked towards Heisuke, who only had one more of his guys remaining.

Asa laid his head on the ground and pretended to be passed out as Heisuke yelled, “I KNOW YOU’RE AWAKE! GET UP!” A sweat drop rolled down Asa’s head and he didn’t dare get up. “Marco!” Heisuke yelled to his final thug.

The fifth thug wore a red bandana with silver chains hanging around his neck and a white puffy shirt that had a red panda’s face at the center. From his smirk, Hanami knew there was something different about him. She observed Marco as she walked over. He had a vibe to him that spoke to her. Was it his confident walk that gave off a domineering persona? Or something else in the air?

“Say, girly. What’s your name?”

“Ha… Haruna. What’s it to you?”

“My name’s Marco. And the guy behind me is Heisuke of the Yataro clan, the Mob of Osaka’s underground. Here at Hirazawa, I safeguard the boss. Although you can call Heisuke the leader, I’m the one who calls the shots. Under regular circumstances, I’d apologize and let you go. Still, messing with him means you become our doll face. So, you sure you want to keep this up?”

“As if! I won’t lose to any of you pervs!” Hanami completely lost her cool again… just as Marco wanted. She started charging straight towards the fountain.

“Have it your way,” Marco smirked. Hanami was already all over him with the kendo blade. Her strikes ranged from nearly hitting his knees, hips, to even grazing his throat. She kept on her toes, leaping out of the narrow grabs he made for her arms.

She continued rushing at him, pointing the tip of the kendo stick towards one of his eyes, forcing him to dodge. Marco placed his hands back and moved down into a human crab walk position. The kendo stick continued ahead without striking anything. Since she had missed, she had continued to fall forward, losing her balance in the process. “Baby, baby…” Marco winked at her and kicked his left knee up towards her stomach. Hanami swiped her left hand down to catch his left knee, but it was a setup.

Marco flipped over and brought the back of his right foot to the left side of her ribs. It connected and shot Hanami back several feet towards a series of bushes. The girl’s body rubbed against the tiled ground, causing minor burn marks to form below her elbow and forearms as she rolled several times with her kendo blade still in hand.

Marco spun around on his back as if breakdancing, flipped backwards right back onto his feet, and dusted his cargo pants off. He kicked up one of his sandals, revealing it had metal. “You’re in for a spanking,” Marco snickered and widened his eyes. Getting into a sprinting position, he bolted straight towards her. Hanami slammed the tip of her kendo blade to the ground as it wobbled over as she helped herself up, panting a bit.

She’d only have a few seconds to raise her kendo blade up in front of herself defensively. Her arms burned from all the swinging. “I used up too much strength with all that striking…” Hanami clenched one of her eyes shut, expecting to be struck a deadly blow, but smoky explosions suddenly blew up around Marco, who stopped himself. These explosions of smoke were followed by a “KRRRASSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHTTTTTT!!!”

A whip of violent wind interjected between Hanami and Marco, which blew the latter back. He quickly raised his arms over his face to keep the wind from burning his eyes and peered over his fists in the direction of the girl seconds later, struggling to maintain his eyes open. It became harder to remain grounded with his sandals, and Marco found himself rolling backwards further. At the source of the fierce smokey breeze stood…

“IT’S JUNE!!!” The girls who had been watching the commotion screamed their heads off at the sight of the tall blonde fellow. It was the second year student known as “The Dual-Wielding Sheriff of Class C-1,” a member of the Hirazawa Day Patrol and prestigious School Council. The sun’s rays shone fiercely, making his hair seem majestically golden.

Grey clusters of mist poured out around June, concealing the crater he had made in the ground. The mist spread past Hanami over towards the tree lines before clearing up. June took a moment to pull his right foot out of the concrete ground he had struck and tapped the heel of his casual black shoes beside his left foot. A sweat drop ran down Marco’s forehead and he scoffed, staring at the black metallic baton June spun around in his left hand.

June stared at the thugs, then closed his eyes. “Sheriff is around! My my… you guys are causing trouble already and it hasn’t even been the first official school day, Marco,” June said with a sinister smile, as the top of his curly hair swayed back and forth along his grey Day Patrol uniform.

“Messed with the wrong girl.” His lime-green irises made direct eye contact with Marco. Hanami rubbed the eye she had clenched as dust had managed to get in, rendering her confused and unable to clearly see yet.

“June?” The name danced around her tongue and spread out through her lips. “June-pyo…?” Thoughts of a blonde curly-haired boy between five other people became visible in her head. They were all holding hands. Someone she had almost forgotten about and certainly hadn’t seen in a long time suddenly entered her head.

The fellow whipped the flap of his jacket back and stopped his rotating baton. It stopped across his forearm, spreading out past his elbows nicely. Puffy clouds continuously slid out of his sleeves, drifting down to the ground and rotating around him. June tilted his head over his shoulder and gave her a sincere smile that Hanami knew all too well. “Been a while, Hana.”