Miyabi (Romance Route)

“Miyabi.” You said the name without thinking, it was just what came naturally to you. Your reply even surprised yourself. When you got these earrings it was your intention to create a perverted paradise for yourself and here you were using them to pursue romantic interests. This choice cemented the kind of girls you’d invite into your harem as well. You’d be looking more for romantic quality than kinkiness. Both would obviously be nice, but not required.

Suzune nodded. “And what about the school? Where will you be going first?”

You honestly weren’t all that sure. You’ve heard there was some pretty hot chicks at Hanzo, but Gessen was an all-girls school. Both places seemed like good opportunities to expand your harem. You looked to Miyabi next to you.

“What would you suggest?”

Miyabi rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Well, Hanzo has always been our rival school. We don’t know too much about Gessen besides the fact that they train Zennin. We don’t really have any dealings with them. We know quite a bit about Hanzo, however, and I have personally clashed swords with a few of their shinobi. They too, are Zennin.”

While Akunin were trained to be used by politicians and corporate interests for the right price, Zennin were trained to be government workers, essentially. They did things for the good of the state rather than their own interests.

“If the decision were up to me, I would pick Hanzo, just because I know more about them and I have a bone to pick with a few of them.” Miyabi clenched her fist tightly and gritted her teeth. “Finding sensitive info about them would be really satisfying.”

You weren’t so sure about Miyabi’s motives there, but since you had no real opinion on the matter you decided to just roll with it.

“All right, Hanzo it is then.” you said confidently to Suzune, who nodded.

“I, too, am quite familiar with the shinobi from Hanzo. Be extra careful, and if you run across her, steer clear of Daidouji. She isn’t the brightest star in the sky but trust me when I say that you can not defeat her in a one-on-one fight. Treat her with the same amount of caution that you would treat me, were I your enemy.”

That made you a tad bit scared, you had to admit, but if the earrings work properly you shouldn’t have a problem with that. “Understood, sensei.”

“Very well. You, Miyabi, and Imu have been excused from your classes for the rest of the day, including this one. I would like you three to spend the rest of the day discussing your plans for the next two weeks. You can go home when you are finished. I will take care of the paperwork required to make you look like official transfers. Imu will give you the details.” Suzune nodded and dismissed you, bringing the other three into the dojo for their lesson. Ryouna gave you a sad look as she was dragged away by Ryoubi.

Somehow in that short time, Imu had already prepared a table, cushions, and a fresh pot of tea. “Have a seat.” She gestured to the table.

The three of you sat down and began to discuss the specifics.

“So, Ippan, what do you know about Hanzo’s elite shinobi?”

“Honestly, nothing.” You shrugged.

“Well I will tell you about the six students you need to look out for the most. They’re elites like us, so don’t let their appearances fool you, they can very dangerous.”

You nod and Imu begins to discuss all of the information she has on all of the Hanzo elite shinobi students. They all sound pretty dangerous. If not for these earrings you’d feel very worried about your prospects for this mission. After a while you begin to treat the debriefing like a dating profile comparison, trying to decide which of these girls sounded the most interesting. Ultimately you can’t decide on one just from the descriptions you are given, so you decide to wait until you actually meet them.

Next she discusses the subject of your identities. Ippan and Miyabi were common enough names so they wouldn’t rouse much suspicion, but the shinobi of the academy would recognize Miyabi in an instant. Miyabi mentions that she knows a disguising technique that she can use to make sure she’s properly hidden. They don’t even bring up the idea of needing a disguise for you.

One way or another, this was going to be interesting.

It was almost time for lunch and Miyabi had to discuss a few things with Suzune, leaving you alone with Imu.

“Today has been really hectic. I’m honestly glad for once that I didn’t have to do lessons today.” Imu says with a sigh leaning against the table.

“Practice drills are important.” You reply in a tone mocking hers, reminding her of what she told you yesterday.

She smirks. “Point taken.”

“Why so hectic though? Did something happen?”

She looks at you incredulously. “What do you mean? You didn’t hear about the headmaster? Everyone was talking about this morning.”

Your mind was on other things this morning. Very jiggly things.

“The headmaster died last night. The administration has been trying to find a replacement. What’s worse is that a lot of the shinobi here believe that he was actually assassinated by an Akunin.”

“Why would anyone want to kill the headmaster?”

“Huh?” The way Imu responded to your obvious enough question was strange. It was like you were weird for wanting to know why he was…

It was like you asking why wasn’t normal. You were now remembering the normality you made last night, about Miyabi’s ****. No reason required. But that would mean that Miyabi was **** by the headmaster. That fucking bastard. Good riddance.

Still, you had to be careful. The fact that this change would have such far-reaching consequences told you that being too emotional when making normalities was a bad idea. That was incredibly fast, though, Akunin were scarily efficient.

There was a bit of lull in the conversation but Imu finally spoke up.

“Hey Ippan.”

“Yeah?”

“I noticed you and Miyabi… kissing earlier.” She was blushing. You had actually completely forgotten that Imu was interested in Miyabi. You felt a little bad about that.

“Uh, sorry we just uh, I guess things just hit off you know?”

“Why are you apologizing?” The look she gave was as though she was genuinely curious. You felt a bit dumb, anything you did looked completely normal, so why should you apologize for doing something normal? It was slightly disorienting.

“Well it’s just, I know you like her and all that.”

She shakes her head. “I mean, I do, a lot, but even I can’t hope to argue with Miyabi’s feelings. If she loves you then… well I’m just glad it’s you she loves and not someone I don’t trust.” You actually felt a bit touched by that statement. The two of you had always been friends but you had no idea she felt that way about it.

"Like Uchika?" You suggest with a grin.

“Oh god, don't even joke about that, that would be disgusting." You laughed at her reaction. At least you were better than Uchika in her mind. "I actually brought it up because I was wondering if you’re okay with me still… you know… being into her.”

You shrug. “It’s not like I can really stop you from being into her.” You didn’t realize until after you said so, but that was actually a lie thanks to the earrings. “And I wouldn’t want to anyway. I definitely wouldn’t mind sharing if you can win her over too.” That, however, was not a lie. The only lie was of omission, because you personally loved the idea of watching Miyabi and Imu going at it. Maybe you could talk to Miyabi about it at some point.

Imu smiled at you. “Thanks, Ippan, I appreciate you being understanding. I wish you luck on your mission by the way.” With that she stood up and walked out of the classroom. It was almost lunch-time.