Chapter 216: A Ninja Intrudes!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 216: A Ninja Intrudes!
At the very moment Kim Yoo-Sung's main heroines were gathered in a place completely unknown to him, plotting a sinister harem plan...
A rugged man with dark violet hair, looking as if he had just descended from the mountains, strode confidently through the heart of Tokyo in a pair of wooden clogs.
"Excuse me, miss. Could I ask for directions?"
"Yes?"
An office worker, who had been walking down the street, turned around at the sound of her name and gasped in surprise.
It was no wonder, for the man standing before her was no ordinary person.
He stood nearly seven cheok tall (about 2 meters), his entire body packed with dense muscle. His shaggy hair and long beard, peeking out from under a wide-brimmed hat, brought to mind the demeanor of a Taoist sage from a bygone era.
It was as if someone from the Sengoku period had slipped through time and landed squarely in the modern day.
"Where do I need to go to catch the subway to this address?"
Snapping back to her senses, the office worker checked the address on the paper he held out and explained in a kind tone.
"Ah, for this place, you just need to go straight that way and transfer to the Odawara Line."
"My thanks."
The man tucked the note, which had 'Setagaya Chitose-Funabashi Station' written on the top line, into his clothes and prepared to be on his way.
But something about him seemed unsettlingly out of place, and the office worker hastily grabbed the sleeve of the departing man.
"Um!"
"...?"
"If you don't mind, would it be alright if I showed you the way? I have a feeling you might get lost again if I just let you go."
Receiving her worried gaze, the middle-aged man realized his shabby attire had caused a misunderstanding and let out a hearty laugh.
"Hahaha! I appreciate the concern, miss, but this isn't my first time visiting Tokyo. I may be dressed this way due to certain circumstances, but I assure you, I am a civilized man."
Winking playfully, the middle-aged man took something from his coat and handed it to her.
"It's not much of a reward, but if you ever need help, give this number a call."
Placed in her bewildered hand was a single business card.
'Fixer'
Kazama Kotaro (風間 小太郎).
That was the name the man was currently using.
*
For a third-year high school student, November was the time when college entrance exams were right around the corner.
Even those who had long given up on their studies would usually find themselves opening a book around this time.
But for Yukika, who had no intention of going to college as she had to carry on her ninja family's business, the entrance exams were a world away.
"Yukika!"
"Ugh!"
Unlike the first and second-years, the third-years didn't get to leave early just because they had exams in the morning. Yukika, who was about to eat a rice ball she'd gotten from the convenience store's discarded food pile yesterday, turned her head with a grimace at the voice that suddenly called out from behind her.
"What is it all of a sudden, Ayabe?"
"Hey now~ I told you to just call me Nana~"
The one speaking so cheerfully was Ayabe Nana, the head of the Ichijo Academy newspaper club.
They had originally been mere acquaintances, but after Kim Yoo-Sung introduced them to the same fitness club, she had started clinging to Yukika one-sidedly.
Yukika, a former kendo club captain with a rather straight-laced personality, and the free-spirited Ayabe were polar opposites.
But, as the saying goes, you can't hit a smiling face. Yukika wasn't heartless enough to push away someone who approached her so warmly.
"Why are you eating alone instead of with your friends?"
"...I'm a light eater, so I can't keep up with how fast other people eat."
Indeed, her lunch today consisted of a single convenience store rice ball and a bottle of oolong tea. It was a simple meal, hard to believe for a high school girl in her prime.
But for Yukika, who had developed a habit of saving on everything during three long years of living alone with a meager wallet, even this was a blessing.
It was a much better life than drinking sugar water because she had no money for food, or eating nothing but konjac jelly for all three meals.
Feeling no need to explain her circumstances in detail, Yukika gave a vague reason and took a bite of the tuna-mayo rice ball she had just unwrapped.
Watching her, Ayabe spoke with an air of disbelief.
"How can you have such a great figure when you eat so poorly? Does everything you eat go straight to your chest? Or is it just superior genetics?"
In truth, Yukika's body was so glamorous it was hard to believe she was Japanese.
Her overwhelming curves couldn't be hidden even by the baggy school uniform.
To make matters worse, Ichijo Academy's uniform was a sailor-style one, so if she so much as stretched, the "chest curtain" effect would naturally expose her navel.
"I don't know. I just realized one day that they were already big."
If Karen, her junior from the kendo club, had heard that remark, she would have surely cried tears of blood, but Yukika herself was completely unfazed.
Ayabe, who had recently started working out because she'd gained some weight, was momentarily dumbfounded by Yukika's "I woke up and I was busty" comment. She quickly collected herself and got to her main point.
"Anyway, Yukika, you're going to the gym this evening, right? If you don't mind, could you teach me some workout routines?"
"Workout routines?"
"Yeah. The director was kind enough to show me a few things, but it's hard trying to do it all by myself. I'm too scared to ask the male members, and you're the only one I could think of."
It was true. For a typical high school girl, striking up a conversation with the members of that fitness club, who were all hardcore veterans, would be a daunting task.
"Well, if it's just that..."
"Yes! Thank you!"
Ayabe clung to Yukika, overjoyed.
Annoyed by Ayabe's overly familiar behavior, Yukika took another bite of her half-eaten rice ball.
*
After school.
Having retired from the kendo club, Yukika had no reason to stay late at school and headed straight home.
There was a place she had to stop by before going home today.
It was the day of the supermarket's time sale, an event that happened only once a week.
To save money on a bag, Yukika took out a shopping basket she'd brought from home and hooked it onto her arm. The moment she got off at her station, she sprinted towards the shopping arcade.
The housewives in this town were incredibly resourceful, and if she was too late, there was a chance that nothing she wanted to buy would be left.
And as if to prove that such ominous premonitions always come true, there was only one carton of ten eggs left on the supermarket's fresh food display.
But Yukika wasn't the only one eyeing it.
A housewife in her forties, who had just heard about the time sale, came running.
A housewife in her thirties, maneuvering a stroller with dazzling drifts as she rounded the corner.
A newlywed couple, still in their honeymoon phase, out shopping together.
At the appearance of such formidable rivals, Yukika unknowingly swallowed hard.
From this point on, it was a battle against time.
Then, all four parties moved at once.
"Hngh!"
The 40-year-old housewife, who had a slightly late start, pushed aside those around her with overwhelming force and charged forward.
The driving skills of the 30-year-old housewife, who was one with her baby's stroller, were also extraordinary.
The young bloods, the newlywed couple trying to overpower everyone with pure physique, were dark horses as well.
But the one who defeated all competitors to lift the championship trophy was Yukika.
Because she was a NINJA.
No matter how skilled they were, they were no match for Yukika, who had learned the footwork of Shinrai (迅雷), the swift sword art taught only to the head of the Fuma clan.
'I won! Tonight's dinner is rolled omelet!'
Exercising her victor's right, Yukika monopolized the special-price eggs—ten for 100 yen—and, feeling a small moment of everyday happiness, headed straight for the checkout counter.
*
She returned to her studio apartment with her quite satisfying spoils of war: the eggs.
But waiting for Yukika in front of the apartment stairs was a completely unexpected guest.
"It's been a while, Yuki."
"......"
Squeeze!
So startled she almost dropped it, Yukika gripped the shopping basket full of eggs tightly and asked in a trembling voice.
"Don't tell me... Father?"
The reply to her question was short.
"Yes."
The man who had vanished without a trace about ten years ago, on a day when the world was painted white with falling snow.
The 17th Fuma Kotaro.
And the biological father of the current Acting Clan Head, Fuma Yukika. He spoke with an awkward smile.
"I'm hungry. Do you think you could give me something to eat?"
*
Inside the tiny room, which would be cramped with just two people lying down, the father and daughter, reunited after nearly ten years, ate their meal in silence with a small table between them.
The side dishes were just rolled omelet, miso soup, and some braised potatoes a neighbor had shared.
But Fuma Kotaro devoured the meal his daughter had made in a flash. Finding his beard bothersome, he kept stroking it before finally looking in a mirror and shaving it off himself.
Of course, what he used in place of a razor was his own finger.
Fuma Kotaro was a superhuman who had perfectly mastered Jinpushinrai, the secret martial art of the Fuma clan.
While he was at it, he also tidied up his disheveled hair, then plopped down in front of his daughter, who had waited patiently for him to finish.
"Well, I'm sure you have a lot you want to say since it's been so long. I'll answer anything, so ask away."
With her father's permission, Yukika clutched her trembling heart and asked.
"Why did you suddenly show up now?"
From Yukika's perspective, the question was loaded with meaning.
Her father was a man who hadn't shown his face even to his family for about ten years.
And Fuma Kotaro's answer to that was simple.
"Yuki, I came because I wanted to see for myself just what kind of man your prospective groom is."
They say he's the strongest in Japan, right?