Eroge? Bad Ends? Betrayal? I’m Just Here to Suplex Monsters through Buildings.

Suplexes are Supreme (4.3).

…

Interlude: Asakura Hiyo, the Fiery Blade

…

“You’ve improved.” Lady Hiyo stated simply, while I rose. It took a moment for my vision to clear and for my bones to stop ringing. Eventually, however, I was able to pull myself off the floor. “I took you by surprise this time. I didn’t simply overwhelm you.”

“I am grateful for your words, but there is still much for me to improve.” I managed to grunt out a reply while rising unsteadily. When I got to one knee, she offered a hand, and I took it. “My focus was on your blade. I missed your fist completely.”

“You missed it because you’re lacking in strong opponents. Those you train against do not suffice as sparring partners, either.” Lady Hiyo wore a set of robes for our match. Even from our brief engagements, the white Miko robes were tattered and broken. Idle slashes cut much of it to ribbons. There was a reason why, as revealing as the materials we normally wore were, they were used. They offered much protection and concealed what they could. “Spar against the elites of the clan. It will save your life and give them an opportunity to get to know you.”

“I will do that.” I bowed, and she returned it; with that, our current match was over. A sigh of relief left my lips unbidden. “How are things here?”

“Quiet. More than a few gangs are taking up the power vacuum. Killing each other until someone strong enough pops up to claim territory. This time, I’ll be proactive and cull them before they become a headache.” Lady Hiyo set herself alight and divested herself of the Miko robes. From her ring came forth a magical weave, which covered her head-to-toe in midnight black. Parts came apart along her sides and reinforced sections while taking on a golden hue. Before long she was clad in her usual armor. Simply looking at it informed us that our own suits were most likely derived from her own. “Any sign of the boy?”

Her words drew me away from my thoughts.

“None. It has been almost ten weeks. I doubt that he lives as you believe, Lady Hiyo.” Even when his largest parts were found, even when the location he was last located was immolated into nothingness to deny his body to the enemy, Lady Hiyo did not believe that Keita died. I did not know why she held such a belief. “You said yourself that he would’ve been a figure of legend if he survived his childhood. He did not.”

“There have been many heroes who accomplished their great feats after losing their limbs.” Lady Hiyo hastened her steps and reached the other side of the underground training room. I could only sigh and ready my sword while she readied her own blade. “And I know not of a single dragon that has perished by flame.”

With that final word, there was a flash of light that turned my vision white along with the screech of an explosion.

I ignored the wave of pressure, shut my eyes, and silenced the keening wail in my ears.

Instead, I focused on the ground, felt her footfalls through it, and once she took a stance, deduced which form and strike she took.

I dodged the tip of her blade by the width of a hair and then sent a counter-stroke her way.

I sent out feelers of internal energy into my surroundings and found a space void of particles in the air and determined that was where she was.

My attack struck nothing, and I took a step back to evade the next blow, bowed my head forward to dodge the second, and then the third, slowest strike of the flurry I caught with the pommel of my sword.

Then, I realized she only had one foot on the ground, so I took a step back out of the reach of her leg. The pressure from her kick was immense. Getting struck by it would’ve sent me flying into the wall and embedded me into it. Before I could capitalize on the opening she created, she brought her leg down, and vibrations travelled across the floor at innumerable intervals. My earth sense was thus disrupted, almost making me open my eyes, but instead I focused on energy detection.

Barely did I manage to begin dodging the next flurry of slashes, counting the seconds of each blow, and finding which of them was more than half a second.

Third, eighth, ninth.

Lady Hiyo had a disruptive cadence. Her mastery over the forms allowed her to skip steps and add randomness to it. It was still the style that I knew, but even a heartbeat of disruption was enough to throw my knowledge of it into chaos. An overhead slash or piercing thrust could also be suddenly replaced by another attack entirely, and she mixed in punches, kicks, and even a thrown weapon.

It seemed like a chaotic medley where she threw all that she could in desperation, but in truth she had such great skill with the Hiyo clan’s bladework that she could do with it as she wished.

I managed to survive the flurry and find another chance to parry a blow only to feel a seal suddenly latch onto my abdomen.

The next thing I knew, I was flying upward and slamming into the ceiling.

Training with Lady Hiyo never ceases to be an experience in humility.

…

“Oh, you look roughed up.” Leona raised a hand in greeting. With the help of our scientists and researchers, her mind was cleared of many backdoors and hidden programs. The cyborg could now wear whatever she wished and even augment her parts. According to the researchers, she was cutting edge, and some of the technologies she housed were a boon to the clan. “All done here?”

She was assigned to me as an assistant. Nominally, she was ‘spoils’ taken from our enemies so no other member of our clan could claim her. The technologies she housed were being monopolized by the main family as of now, and the branches were stirring in response. Being able to house a brain and organs in such a potent chassis presented the possibility of a cyborg ninja, which would be a truly potent force.

Leona already showed the ability to utilize internal energy and was training hard to become a ninja herself.

With her innate strength, speed, and reflexes coupled with our techniques, she was sure to be a potent warrior against the threats to humanity.

Naturally, everyone wished to take her apart and make the technology ours, rather than slowly understand it through careful study.

“Lady Hiyo has been pressing me harder, but I cannot complain. The increases of strength that I enjoy are without question.” Leona nodded. To obscure her existence from her creators, she changed her features. Gone was the tanned, suit-clad woman with black hair. She now had long, auburn hair tied up in a long ponytail and Asian features vaguely reminiscent of the Asakura line. She kept the color of her skin but changed her eye color to a light red to further insist upon our shared heritage. Since the transformation was linked to her other purpose, providing pleasure, it came with larger curves, and even her feet refused to wear anything other than stiletto heels. “Were they grateful for the food?”

“Yeah, a lot of them enjoy food back from Earth. Makes sense that they wouldn’t want to go back, though. They’re under Lady Hiyo’s protection here.” Leona wore a battlesuit in green and white, which was open at the sides and back whilst also not covering her arms. The bottom half was a pair of shorts. The uncovered portions were where she could unleash weapons. Wings could sprout from her back, while her arms and legs became boosters, cannons, or even saws. That she couldn’t use such weapons plainly informed me that Keita had been right in mistrusting her. She had so many limits in place that we hadn’t noticed without dedicated researchers and specialists. “They’re appreciative, even though some are still worried you’ll bring trouble by coming back.”

“We’ll take what goodwill we can. The rest will have to be swayed through time.” I informed her, and she gave a nod. Several of the women that Lady Hiyo saved were from other parts of the world. Priestesses, shamans, and even dames from Europe. She helped them regain their sanity and was willing to train them to regain their strength as well. All of them suffered horrible fates, but many chose to return to the fight. Some of them coming to the Hiyo Clan will provide us with magic and techniques from other lands. Perhaps even bloodlines if they can be swayed. “Do they still ask of Keita?”

“Not since we’ve informed them of his end.” Leona shook her head sadly. They had avoided him even after he worked to deal with many of the local threats. Yet when we returned without him, it was obvious that his death was felt in the small community. Lady Hiyo said some who wished to just lead peaceful lives decided to take up arms again. In the end, they realized that a young boy died in battle against forces that would bring humanity low. “Does Lady Hiyo still think he’s alive?”

“She does. She told me that she doesn’t believe that dragons die by flame. That we only found his limbs and not his head or heart is evidence enough for her.” I shook my head, and Leona considered my words with a frown. We reached the portal and entered it. Once more we were at the Hiyo Clan’s mountain compound. “I don’t think that’s enough evidence for us to contact his former clan.”

“… I wouldn’t want my hopes raised, but maybe that’s for his mother to decide. Isn’t she on the warpath now?” I grimaced and nodded in response. “We don’t want to be on their bad side, right?”

“Your advice warrants consideration.” I admitted carefully. “It’s just that I hesitate to dangle a belief before her without proof besides the word of my secret ancestor.”

Leona mouthed a silent ‘ah’ at my statement while I made my way to the showers.

She followed when I bid her to, since I intended to keep speaking with her.

“The Uwabami clan has radically changed in the last few weeks. She has assumed control over after defeating the former ruling council’s champion.” My former peer leapt ahead of me by an astonishing amount. Galvanized by her son’s death, she went against the ruling council, and now the clan was under her control. Immediately after, they went to us to exchange information and technology and combine our efforts to bring San Kyoto’s supernatural, malicious elements to heel. “I worry for her, even with their success. In fact, with their success, the likelihood of reprisal from a coalition of our foes becomes more possible. She might be leading her people into annihilation.”

The Uwabami clan was conservative, with many elders in charge. They modernized a fair amount but kept many old traditions. This allowed them to be a bridge between new and old clans. Now, with my old friend as their new matriarch, they were changing rapidly. They were aggressive in dealing with threats, getting new technologies and techniques, and expanding their industry with their treasury.

Soon there will no longer be a bridge between the traditionalist clans and the modernists.

Thankfully, Mother was already moving to keep in contact with them and establish embassies that acknowledge our differences but keep lines of communication open.

I could only hope that we will remain united against the encroaching threats.

“Can’t that change if Keita is alive, though? Maybe, it would be worth trying to search for him.” Leona stated, and I considered her words. Out of her clothes, she shifted back to her tanned self, and her features shifted subtly to be more Hispanic in origin. I placed myself under a shower to wash and made sure to pulse my energy and check myself from head to toe. Our waters were blessed, but it remained important to be vigilant for any markings, seals, curses, or corruption. “We should try. Confirming he’s gone will give closure, and maybe a target for his mother to focus on.”

I sighed as I washed and lathered myself in the shower, considering the proposal in silence while rinsing off the bubbles.

As I moved towards the heated baths, I made my decision.

“I’ll ask Mother and lead the effort. Contact Catherine and Alecia. Perhaps they will be interested in helping us, despite their busy schedules.” Leona followed me into the baths, only for me to raise an eyebrow as the two I mentioned were already present and lounging. “Hm.”

“I’m in.” Catherine raised a hand my way in greeting, and I nodded at her. She lounged with arms spread and a floating plate with liquor on it before her. Her breasts floated as if with minds of their own in the water. Without the grizzled glamour that she adopted, her beauty was without question. “So, Lady Hiyo thinks that the brat’s alive, huh?”

“It is mere suspicion based on instinct and a few of her prior experiences.” Alecia’s gaze was sharp as she looked at me. She searched for duplicity, and I gave her none. Since their parting, she has handled herself well. In fact, she handled herself so well that it was a wonder why she was so concerned now. “I act more for my friend who now leads the Uwabami clan recklessly.”

“I will join you, but I could care less for a clan that would ostracize a warrior such as Keita or a mother who never met her son until he passed into legend.” She wore a towel in the bath and had her hair bundled in a cap. It was a stark reminder that she was young, just like Keita was. “If he lives, I will not allow her to claim him. I already planned on resurrecting him once I gained enough power, but if he lives, I will make him mine sooner than I planned.”

I almost stumbled into the bath at her words.

She was so calm about his death because she intended to fetch his soul from the afterlife and bind him to herself forever!?