Unlikely Friends
At the Academy Before Class Starts…………Sitting in her deck in the back of the class, Akiho found herself playing with one of her senbon her mother gave her. Rolling it between her fingers, she imagined throwing it at one of the many nuisances in the room called students. Looking up from the shiny metal in her hand, she noticed that many of the more annoying students were gathered around one of the quieter individuals, but his name escaped her.
Deciding to see what the fun was about, she stepped up onto her desk, and then leapt into the central area where the stairs were. Landing gracefully on her feet, despite the uneven surface, Akiho then walked over to the horde of hyenas…. Students, and saw the book in his hand: ‘Advanced Doton Ninjutsu’.
Raising an eyebrow Akiho could only chuckle to herself,
‘Someone’s a little overachiever.’Elbowing her way through the mass of immature monkeys….. students, Akiho was sure she bruised a few of them with her metal skeleton. As she reached the front of his desk she questioned with a tint of sarcasm and a large grin,
“Oi, Grumpy-san, why so serious?”In receiving no reaction, Akiho tried one more time,
“Grumpy-san! Don’t be so gloomy, there’s life to live and people to fight!”The only reaction she had received, was a small eyebrow raise, but it was enough to satisfy. Noticing that the sensei had walked in, she walked back to her seat and resumed playing with her one senbon.
Many Days of ‘Grumpy-san’ Later….As she began walking home, Akiho found herself coming across a group consisting of five of the larger brutes in her class. As she walked past them, she bumped into one of them accidentally, and soon found herself surrounded.
A sudden voice broke out,
“Is there a problem here?”Akiho turned and saw Grumpy-san walking up, actually looking grumpy as he stood there. The other boys looked confused; usually he had no desire to speak to anyone. The boy that she had bumped into answered for them all, acting like the brain of the hive,
“She shoved into me, so now she’s gonna learn some manners.”Akiho didn’t bother defending herself verbally as she rushed forward towards the brain of the hive at full speed. He tried to land a punch at her stomach, but she blocked it with her arm, causing him to harm himself as well as her. She then rushed forward, ignoring the slight pain, and placed her hands on his shoulders, lifting herself up to his height and head-butting him straight in the nose. Kicking off his stomach before she was crushed under his weight, she landed back in the center of the circle in a crouch, with her hand touching the ground as a balance.
As Akiho landed one of the two boys who had been standing to the left of the speaker charged her. Noticing this, the boy ran in and intercepted the fool, ducking under the wild punch he aimed at his head and sending his own straight into the bully’s stomach. As he doubled over from the strike, Grumpy-san straightened up and brought his right knee up to connect to his face, breaking his nose with a satisfying crunch, and knocked him onto the ground.
Glancing over, Akiho noticed that another idiot was charging at Grumpy-san’s back. Narrowing her eyes, she dashed forward cutting between the two. Getting lower into a slight crouch, she forced her palm up, into the bully’s nose, shattering it. She then brought her other fist forward and punched him in the collarbone, hearing the satisfying crack as it broke. Frowning as he went down, she placed a heavy foot onto his chest, forcing her weight onto his sternum and spoke angrily,
“That was dishonorable, you disgust me.” She then stepped off of him, noticing that he was having difficulties breathing, and listened to him coughing and moaning in pain at his broken nose and bruised ribs. He had nearly killed the fun of this fight, and she was equally unhappy about Grumpy-san’s interference, despite his help.
As she stepped off of the boy’s chest, Grumpy-san turned to his right and turned to see one of the last two bullies charging at him. He ducked the boy’s left handed punch and dodged to the left to avoid his right handed one. Before he had time to retract his arm however, he grabbed his wrist and forearm and twisted the boy’s arm behind his back. Adding just a little bit of pressure he easily dislocated his shoulder and then struck him in the back of the neck with his left hand to knock him to the ground to join his follows.
Akiho and Grumpy-san both turned to the last remaining boy, but before they could do anything the boy, who looked like he was ready to wet himself, ran in the opposite direction.
Akiho then turned to him, and grumpily stated with her arms crossed,
“I didn’t need your help.”Looking at her he replied in a mocking tone
“Oh you’re welcome, no need to thank me. And my name is Orion Ekisho, pleasure to meet you.”Ignoring his tone to piss him off she answered with a smirk,
“The name’s Akiho Hagane, Grumpy-san. And you’re right, the pleasure is yours.”Shaking his head he said
“Look, I just saw you outnumbered and decided to help. If you want to be ungrateful fine, but wasn’t it you who mentioned honor during the fight? Isn’t part of that being kind to a comrade and ally?”Pondering his words for a second, she relinquished and said,
“Yes I suppose.” She paused for a second, feeling the last bit of adrenaline from the fight leaving her body and finished her apology,
“Sorry about that, fighting is deep in my blood and imprinted on the brain.”Orion then asked,
“Oh? How do you mean?”Akiho grinned and then explained,
“My mom was the same way about fighting, and I got her way of fighting in my bones….. Metal ones that is.”And so began the very close, though very unusual, friendship of Akiho Hagane and Orion Ekisho. Over the years the two would grow closer, both as friends and comrades, and became nearly inseperable.
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