The Fox Knights' Newest Huntress

The realm they had entered was a grassy plain with few, if any, landmarks for miles around them. The sky was dark, and the moon above them was the only source of light they had aside from their phones. Ruka and Hana stood opposite of each other, separated by about twenty feet as Hana’s friends all watched from nearby. Ruka held out her left hand, and in an instant, she transformed into her battle outfit.

Hana did the same, transforming into a white and red uniform with a skirt, frills, and a small band around her waist that carried a scabbard for a katana. She drew her sword, which was far more Japanese in nature than Ruka’s longsword, and told her, “Draw your sword.”

“I see we share a similar armament,” Ruka replied as she drew her Western-style longsword. “Your outfit is more like a stereotypical magical girl’s, though.”

“Indeed,” Hana replied. “Now, let’s settle this. If I win, you will join my group.”

Ruka asked her, “And if I win?”

“If you win, you can do whatever you want.”

“I like the sound of that.”

From the sidelines, Hana’s group watched in anticipation and some concern. Yoshiro was most worried, saying to Yoko, “What do you think’s gonna happen?”

“It should be obvious that Miyashita-san will win,” she replied. “She’s gonna kick that bitch’s ass.”

“I know that,” Yoshiro assured her. “But do you think that girl with the blonde hair is gonna get a hit on her?”

“No way,” Yoko brushed him off.

Ruka and Hana then charged at each other with their swords. Ruka attempted to strike from the side, but Hana blocked her with her katana. In response, Ruka let go of her sword with her left hand and attempted to use it to grab Hana’s right hand. However, Hana saw this coming, and jumped back, causing Ruka to stumble on her feet. Hana told her, “You tried to go for my sword.”

Ruka chuckled and replied, “Of course I did. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book.” Ruka then kicked up some dirt with her sword in the direction of Hana, causing her to cover her eyes for a brief second while keeping her sword out for cover. She then swung down vertically at her, but once again, Hana blocked her attack. “Damn it!”

“You like to play dirty, don’t you?”

“I’ll kick up as much dirt as I have to!” Ruka then managed to get a clean shot at Hana’s shoulder, but hesitated briefly, not wanting to hurt her lest people start asking questions once they came back to their world. Hana saw her hesitate and attacked, slicing Ruka’s arm up with her katana and spilling blood both on the ground and on her outfit. “Agh, damn it!”

Yoshiro gasped, saying, “Woah, Hana-senpai actually hurt her!”

Ruka stood back, telling Hana, “Ugh, you bitch… You realize that’s gonna be pretty God damn suspicious when people see the wound I got, right?”

“I have a way to deal with that wound,” Hana replied with a smile. “I have plenty of healing dust.” Healing dust, a somewhat expensive item that could only be obtained from the world they were in, could easily take care of wounds similar to Ruka’s, and was prized by magical huntresses and huntsmen. For Hana to boast about having plenty was a surefire sign of her wealth.

“Then I won’t hold back either,” Ruka replied as she tightened her grip on her sword despite the searing pain from her arm wound and charged forward. This time, Ruka was able to get through Hana’s blocking and managed to land a hit on her shoulder, slowing the sword down but not stopping this time.

Hana kept her mouth shut despite the pain and the blood seeping from the wound on her shoulder. Yoshiro, angry that Ruka had gotten a hit on Hana, tried to march forward and activate his transformation ring, but Yoko stopped him, telling him, “Miyashita-san gave you and the rest of us orders to not intervene.”

“But she got hu-“

“She has plenty of healing dust,” Yoko told him in a rather stern tone. “She can handle this on her own.”

“As second-in-command, you can’t or-“

“Enough. Stop before you do something stupid.”

Yoshiro sighed and stood back, following Yoko’s orders. “Ugh, fine. I swear to God, if it weren’t for those orders, I’d kill that girl she’s fighting right here and now.”

Hana told Ruka as she took a deep breath and continued to hold her sword despite the pain, “You got a nice hit on me. I’m impressed. The reputation you have among other magical huntresses around here is certainly warranted.”

“You really do talk too much,” Ruka replied to her, unimpressed by her words. “In a battle, talking at length puts you at significant risk!” She then swung at Hana as hard as she could, but before her sword could make contact with her body, Hana managed to get a hit on her instead, stabbing her in the abdomen and causing her to immediately stop. “Agh… Ugh…”

Hana grinned and told her, “You won’t be able to get up from that.”

Ruka then began to feel herself grow weak from the pain as she fell to the ground once Hana pulled her sword out of her. “Agh… You… Fuck you…” Even as she began to become non-alert, she continued to insult Hana. “Damn… You… Rich bitch…”

Before she passed out from the pain and subsequent blood loss, Yoshiro, Yoko, and Tenko all ran over. She could hear Yoko ask Hana, “Miyashita-san, what do we do with her?!”

Meanwhile, Yoshiro ran right up to Hana and pulled out a small container that carried healing dust, asking his leader, “Hana-senpai, are you alright?! Where did she hurt you?!”

“I’m fine,” Hana replied before pointing at her left shoulder. “Just put some dust on my left shoulder. After that, use the rest on Kishio-san here.”

A shocked Yoshiro replied as he opened the container, “The whole jar?”

“Yeah.” As Yoshiro put the dust on Hana’s shoulder wound, it began to slowly close up and heal. Hana told Tenko and Yoko, “Bandage Kishio-san up. I don’t want her dying on us. After we get her stabilized, call in to the Agency so we can get her to a hospital.”

“Got it,” Tenko replied as she took off her backpack and pulled medical supplies out from it.

Meanwhile, Yoko pulled her phone out and opened the app that all of them used to track their activities and receive both missions and payments before pressing on the screen to auto-dial a phone number. She spoke into the phone after the person on the other end answered, “Hello, this is Fujimori Yoko of the Yokosuka Branch, Badge Number Yokosuka 62854. I’d like to call in an injury and request a pickup…”

As the others began to slowly remove parts of her clothing and armor to get at the wound, Ruka began to grow worried, and when they unbuttoned her outfit completely, she attempted to reach out and stop them from touching her chest. However, she was far too weak to actually grab onto Tenko or Hana’s arms, nor did either of them try to actually touch anything beyond the area of the wound. “Hah… I… No… Don’t… Touch me…”

Hana, confused, asked Ruka, “Don’t touch you?”

“Not there…”

Yoshiro walked over with the container of healing dust after putting medical gloves on, but as he got down on his knees to help out, he saw that Ruka’s shirt was completely unbuttoned, exposing her bra. He blushed, embarrassed to see a girl his age in such a state. “I, uh…”

“Don’t panic,” Hana assured him. “It’s fine. We have a job to do.”

“Right,” he replied before taking a deep breath and beginning to spread the dust onto the wound. While it would not fully heal it due to its severity, it would at least get the process started and accelerate it before what was known as a Pickup Crew from the Protection and Research Agency’s Yokosuka Branch could arrive. “How much more?”

“All of it,” Hana told him, prompting him to dump the rest of the contents onto Ruka’s abdomen and wound dressings and spread it out with gloved hands. She then asked Ruka, “Where do you not want us to touch you?”

“I… No…” Ruka then moved an arm over her bra. “Not… Here…”

Hana assured her, “We aren’t gonna touch you there, okay? We’re just gonna get this wound taken care of.”

“Fuck… You… No…” If she had been more alert, Ruka would have probably attacked all of them for trying to help her, but instead, all she could do was weakly voice her resistance. “I… No…”

Yoko looked over at Ruka’s chest for a few seconds and then looked away, slightly jealous of her. Compared to Ruka, Yoko was not as well-endowed by any means despite being the oldest person present. Tenko noticed this and asked her, “What’s up, Fujimori-senpai?”

“Nothing,” she denied. “Don’t worry about it.”

Tenko gave her a playful smile and asked her, “Are you sure?”

“Focus on helping her out,” Hana then told both of them. “We have to heal her as best as we can until a Pickup Crew gets here.”

Tenko and Yoko, both slightly embarrassed, looked at each other before looking at Hana and replying, “Yes.”

…

Ruka was lying in what seemed to be a space void of any colors. She could not see anything else around her, not even whatever she was lying on. She turned her head several times as she began to hear something that sounded like a cluster of voices in the distance. “What…” Ruka then began to feel extremely uneasy, as if someone was watching or even touching her that she could not see. “No… Don’t touch me… Not now…”

A single voice in the distance then emerged from the cluster of them that she heard. It belonged to an intoxicated old man walking over to her that she seemed to recognize, her face twisting into an angered expression. “Your mother was a trashy woman that my oldest son was tempted by… Instead of marrying a girl of a more refined class, he went and married her. You act too much like that whore of a woman your mother unfortunately was.”

Ruka yelled at the voice as loudly as she could, “You shut up! I’m so fucking tired of hearing you in my mind! Shut up!”

“Why did my son have to get that girl pregnant with you? Why did he have to die?!”

Before Ruka could shout back a reply, she awoke in a hospital bed. There were no traces of anything she had heard or seen in the vision she had. As she checked the time, she saw that it had been about an hour and a half since she had fought Hana. Ruka rubbed her forehead with her right hand and said to herself, “Ugh… What the fuck… I’m in the hospital?”

A nurse bearing a ponytail, a white uniform, and a badge indicating she worked for the Protection and Research Agency turned around and said to her, “You’re awake, Kishio Ruka-san.”

“What happened after I passed out?”

“The Pickup Crew brought you here,” the nurse replied before she picked up a clipboard containing a chart. “Your wounds are almost done healing, but we’ll probably keep you in here overnight until you go to school tomorrow.”

“Overnight?” Ruka sighed. “Shit… Does my uncle know about this?”

“Yeah,” she replied with a nod. “Daisuke-kun knows all about it.” The way she talked about him indicated a level of familiarity between the two of them. “I was kinda surprised to see your name pop up as a patient here, Kishio-san.”

“Do you know my uncle?”

“We go way back,” the nurse replied with a smile. “We used to be battle partners when we were your age. After we got out of hunting, he settled into recruitment and I went into the medical field.”

“I see…” Ruka then looked at the time and asked the nurse, “What about the others?”

“You mean the huntresses you were found with? They’re all fine.”

Almost on cue, Yoshiro then walked into the room. “Sorry to interrupt. I was told I could come in. Is it a bad time?”

A confused Ruka turned to him and replied, “Come in, I guess.”

“I’ll leave you two to talk if you want,” the nurse said to them. “I gotta go see another patient anyway.”

Once the nurse had left the room, Yoshiro sat down next to Ruka’s hospital bed and said to her, “You took quite a beating.”

“I’m surprised you guys stayed here,” Ruka said to him. “Especially you. The whole damn time, you seemed like you wanted to rip me apart.”

“Hana-senpai wanted at least one of us to be here with you,” Yoshiro explained. “The other two couldn’t do it due to prior commitments, so I was picked to stay.” He then sighed, clearly not entirely happy with the task he was given. “You know, if it were up to me, I’d have left you in that world to die.”

Ruka, annoyed at the remark, replied sarcastically, “Well thanks for those encouraging words, asshole.”

“Even so,” he admitted. “She’s right that you possess a lot of talent when it comes to swordplay. You had her on the run for a bit there before she regained the upper hand. Is it true that you once held back a Class Two beast all by yourself after it managed to escape a world for ten whole minutes?”

“Yep. It was a bitch to fight, but I managed to hold the line until two more huntresses got there when I requested assistance.” She then picked up her phone, which had been placed on a table next to her bed, and told him, “I rarely request assistance through the app. In the over three years I’ve been doing this, I’ve done it only five times.”

Yoshiro begrudgingly admitted, “Okay, that’s actually kinda impressive.”

“I was only twelve when I did that, too.”

“Wait a sec, what the Hell?! You were only twelve?!”

Ruka smugly confirmed as she pulled up something on her app, “Yep.” She then showed Yoshiro a body of text known as a Kill Report that detailed all known information about a beast as well as who killed it, when they did it, and what reward was paid out, with this particular report being the one from the Class Two beast she had fought two years prior. “Take a look at that. What’s the highest-level beast you’ve fought on your own?”

“Class Four,” Yoshiro replied. “I don’t fight anything higher on my own. Hana-senpai doesn’t want us to.”

Ruka asked Yoshiro, “What’s the deal with that girl? Why is she acting so high and mighty? Does she think she’s some kind of knight or lord?”

“Come on,” Yoshiro chided her. “Don’t talk about her like that. She’s a noble girl and a great leader.”

“Does she think that because her name is attached to the former nobility of Japan that it means she can act like they’re still a thing?”

Yoshiro turned away from Ruka, annoyed by her. “That’s got nothing to do with it. I don’t have to listen to you trash-talk her. Besides, Hana-senpai told me you come from wealth, too.”

Ruka sighed, replying, “Fine, I did, okay? You don’t see me flaunting it like she does with all of her healing dust and her outfit. I may be from a family with money, but that doesn’t mean I have a lot. I refuse to associate with most of them anyway aside from my uncle.”

“That sounds like a ‘you’ problem.”

“Exactly,” Ruka agreed. “It is my own problem. Why did she tell you about what I said to her?”

Yoshiro shrugged. “I don’t know, okay? She really wants you to join the team, even though I think it’s a shitty idea. She was raving to us about how it was so refreshing to actually have a challenging fight with another huntress. I don’t know why she talked so highly of you.”

“I don’t get it either.”

Then, Hana walked into the room, surprising both of them and stopping their conversation immediately. “Excuse me, Yoshiro-kun, Kishio-san. How are you guys doing here?”

“We’re doing fine,” Yoshiro replied. “Are you here to talk to her?”

“Indeed,” she nodded. “You can go home if you want, Yoshiro-kun.”

“Thank you,” he replied with a bow before leaving the room.

Once he was gone, Ruka immediately asked her, “Okay, what’s that dude’s deal?”

“Yoshiro-kun?”

“Yeah, him. Is he like your boyfriend or something?”

“Boyfriend?” Hana chuckled. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s a close friend of mine, and a devoted member of my group. I’ve taught him everything about how to fight, and I couldn’t be happier with his work.”

“I swear,” Ruka replied. “That boy wants to get in your pants.”

“I’m not here to talk about him, though.” She then looked Ruka in the eyes and told her, “I’m here to talk about you. I want you to join the Fox Knights, Kishio Ruka.”

“The Fox Knights? Is that the name of your little hunting party?”

“Indeed.”

“Come to think of it,” Ruka then realized. “I think I’ve actually heard that name before. Didn’t you guys team up and kill a Class One beast that had killed two other magical huntresses in Kamakura?”

“Correct,” Hana affirmed with a nod. “That was two months ago. That was actually Ikezawa-san’s first fight with us.”

“That’s a Hell of a way to join a group,” Ruka commented in surprise. “Holy shit. I heard a group of huntresses and a huntsman from around here killed that damn thing, but I didn’t know it was you guys. I went to the funeral for the two girls afterwards, but I don’t think I saw your group there, or at least I didn’t notice them.”

“We were there to pay our respects.”

“You know,” Ruka then said to change the subject. “For someone I just tried to basically kill, you’re acting pretty civil towards me.”

Hana smiled and told her, “That’s because I still want you to join the Fox Knights, and since you’ve lost, you have to hold up your end of the bargain.”

Ruka nodded and replied, “Very well. I guess that means I’m in as of this moment?”

“Once you get out of the hospital,” Hana clarified. “I’ll get you started with us. After all, you can’t exactly fight when you’re in here.” She then paused for a brief moment and looked at the hospital gown that Ruka had been dressed in shortly after her arrival. “I don’t mean to pry open your personal life, but it seems you like to hide your figure a lot.”

Ruka sighed. “I had a feeling this would come up. Yeah, I don’t tend to wear clothing as thin or loose as this.”

“I was a bit surprised when we began to work on you, I must admit.” Hana then looked over Ruka’s body again. “You could easily pass for an older high schooler.”

Ruka chuckled and told her, “I’ve been told that plenty of times. You don’t need to remind me. I got mistaken for a middle schooler when I was in elementary school several times.” She then asked Hana, “Why are you eyeing my body up anyway? Are you actually gay or something? No bullshit.”

“I’m not gay,” Hana explained. “I wouldn’t lie to you about that, Kishio-san.”

“You got that look in your eye, though,” Ruka pointed out. “Like you like what you’re seeing in front of you.”

“I’ll admit to admiring the female form quite a bit. That’s not to say I don’t have my own desires involving boys, however.”

Ruka was amused by her way of describing her sexuality and how she felt. “Alright, I see. I’ve never had a problem with gay people, just to clarify.”

“I know you don’t.”

Ruka then asked her, “Do you know if that Arikawa boy likes anyone in your group?”

“Yoshiro-kun?”

“I mean, come on. He’s surrounded by three pretty girls of his age. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s thought about fucking one of them before.”

As opposed to answering the question, Hana instead pointed out to Ruka, “I must say, you tend to switch between respectful and not so respectful speech quite a bit. One moment, you use a very polite and formal tone of voice, and the next, I hear you use profanity.”

“Yeah, I do,” Ruka agreed. “Perhaps it depends on who I’m speaking to and what I’m talking about, but anyway, that’s not an answer to my question.”

“Fair enough. I just thought I’d comment on that. It’s kinda cool, actually.” Hana then looked at the clock on the wall to check the time. “Anyway, to answer your question, I don’t really have a definitive answer for you. Like you said, I wouldn’t be surprised either if he’s had some thoughts about that. He’s a boy, after all. Boys think about that sort of thing with girls a lot. Sometimes it feels like dirty things occupy most of their mind with how much they think and talk about it.”

Ruka pointed out, “Girls do, too. Don’t let us off the hook.”

“Maybe so,” Hana admitted. “As for how Yoshiro-kun thinks, well… He’s never told any of us how he feels if he does feel that way about us. Besides, I’ve known him for a while. He would never do something bad to any of us.”

Ruka nodded. “I see, I see.” In her mind, she still believed that Yoshiro secretly harbored romantic feelings for Hana herself, but she also had decided not to press it any further with her.

Hana then checked her phone before she got up from her seat and told Ruka, “Well, I have to go home now. I’ll see you very soon, Kishio-san. I wish you the best of health in the meantime.”

“See you later,” Ruka replied as Hana walked out of the room.

In the hallway, Hana noticed that Yoshiro was standing near the entrance to the room, and was able to hear a good chunk of their conversation. She greeted him with, “Oh, hey there, Yoshiro-kun. I didn’t know you were still here.”

“I figured I’d stick around a bit longer,” he replied. “I got nothing else better to do.”

“I have to get going,” she told him. “Have a good day.”

“You too.” Once Hana was out of earshot, Yoshiro said to himself with a small hint of frustration and jealousy, “What the Hell is so special about you, Kishio? Why did Ruka open up so much to you so soon?”

…

September 15, 2023

Ruka was at school as previously planned by the nurse in charge of her care at the hospital. She bore no outward signs of the fight she had with Hana, whom she anticipated meeting after school got out so she could formally join the Fox Knights. The head teacher for her class, Class 2-3, was giving out assignments for the day when he called out her name. “Kishio Ruka,” he addressed her.

Ruka replied as she got up and bowed, “Yes, Hayami-sensei?”

“You will have homework collection duties for the day,” the teacher, known to the class as Hayami-sensei, instructed. “You may sit.”

“Yes, Hayami-sensei,” she replied before sitting down.

“That will complete the list of assignments for Class 2-3,” Hayami-sensei concluded. “Now, before the first period begins, I wish to remind everyone that as we reach the midpoint of the first month in our second term, we will be hosting makeup days on Saturdays for any students who may need it. It is imperative that you tell your teachers if you need to attend these makeup days and classes so they can get a proper headcount. Do not show up without giving at least a day’s notice. With all that out of the way, let’s begin another good day here.” Hayami-sensei then left the classroom, giving the students inside a few minutes to relax and maybe even finish some homework before the next teacher came in and the first true classes began.

Another student asked Ruka, “That’s pretty odd, huh?”

Somewhat confused, Ruka replied to the other student, who was a girl with a smaller build and longer black hair than her, “What’s odd?”

“You’re usually never picked for that kind of stuff,” the other girl, named Riko Ayano, pointed out. “For this whole year, you’ve never been chosen to do class day assignments.”

“Oh yeah, you’re right,” Ruka replied. “This is the first time I’ve been picked this year, Ayano-san.” She then briefly pulled out her phone to check it upon feeling it vibrate from a text. “Hmmmm…”

“Who is it?”

“Oh, it’s just my uncle,” she replied. Sure enough, the text was indeed from her uncle.

DAISUKE: Sorry for texting you in the morning during school. All the paperwork you filled out has been submitted.

RUKA: thank you

DAISUKE: I’m surprised you replied back to me so soon. Aren’t you in school?

RUKA: the teacher isnt here yet for 1st period

DAISUKE: Oh okay. I’ll see you later. Have a great day, Ruka.

RUKA: thank you