One Girl, One Oni - Two Idiots

Two Idiots In Town

Inazuma had never been the biggest piece of land nor the biggest nation of them all thus rumors and news tend to spread rather fast. One could say it all spread like wildfire, the locals chatting about the latest occurrences taking place within Inazuman borders. May it be the city or sightings at Narukami Island or even Watatsumi Island. Or any of the other islands, the not so inhabited spaces within Inazuma, spaces which smell trouble for the common folk. These rumors were not a good sign either, far from it. Then again, rumors involving the Arataki Gang were never the most pleasant news. Now, the gang was not particularly terrifying or evil but a local nuisance nonetheless. Especially the leader, he was notorious, one of the worst and hardest to handle, slightly annoying. That was all this gang was, a nuisance, annoyance personified. Yet they always managed to remain the talk of the town. Even today, despite the small addition the stories had these days…

"Mio–Chan, you look troubled these days. Have you been getting enough sleep lately?"

One of the more frequent visitors at Ogura Textiles & Kimonos had asked the young shop owner with concern. An elderly lady had passed by, spotting Mio who had been eyeing the messy pile of clothing right inside her very own shop. It had all become dirty, to the point it may look like it had been beyond saving at that point. Then again, partially burnt kimonos are beyond saving! It was just… Mio had no words if she were completely honest, once she was turning around to talk to the elderly lady right then and there.

“I have, thank you for asking.” She responded somewhat calmly. Though it had nothing to do with the presence of the old woman but rather… “I have just been… Wondering something.” She nearly spit out the last bit of her sentence, being unusually spiteful today. 

“Oh my! Did something happen?” The raspy voice of the old woman exclaimed in shock, the disbelief written all over her face. “Have you been targeted by—”

“The Arataki Gang? Well… No. Not on purpose at least.” The pink haired shop keeper sighed as she shook her own head. “However, it seems that their newcomer is getting a little out of hand.”

“A newcomer?”

“Yeah. And of course their brick of a boss is not doing us any favors. Who let them out of their cage?” Mio complained, the thought of it just shaking her to the core, nearly turning her all bitter. Then again, bitter might be the wrong word in the end. It is not that. The matter is way more complicated than this. In fact, she was probably just collateral damage in the end, especially the clothes which had become the primary target. And they are not just clothes! They are her business! So without them she wouldn’t get any income for a while! And they were surely damaged. 

It had all happened earlier that day. It was still morning time yet close to noon all the same. The shopkeeper had opened up for some time now, a few hours. And there seemed to have been nothing out of the ordinary. Absolutely nothing. That wouldn’t last for very long at this moment however because the next thing her ears caught onto was the following conversation:

“Hey! You two get back here! You’ve trespassed on grounds you shouldn’t have!”

“You said there was no one in sight!” A female voice had echoed from nearby, sounding out of breath and slightly complaining. 

“Haha, must’ve missed somethin’! Sorry ‘bout that!” An all too familiar voice responded. Anyone in Inazuma City knew that one by a longshot: Arataki Itto. Of course the oni would be up to something yet again. But who was that girl he had been talking to at that very moment? A question which Mio would not get her answer to for quite some time. Even when spotting the redhead from afar it told her nothing, absolutely nothing. She didn’t look familiar despite her Inazuman attire. She looked quite young on top of that… Maybe someone from the countryside? Could that be really possible? Then again, she would have surely come across the city before. That or this girl had never been one of her customers, it could have been that. Her attire looked rather old, if Mio dared to say, as if this girl had not been living in this century of Inazuma. It was small details but details someone who had to do with clothing wouldn’t miss out on. The redhead was not wearing a rag but it was still very outdated. 

Anyhow, as her thoughts pondered around the attire it had been unfortunately close to her own shop where the young girl would suddenly come to a halt, sighing. 

“Guh… This running’s tiring me out!” She suddenly announced as she grabbed to one of her sides, a sword having hung around her waist all this time. She then pulled it out in one swoop and held it with both of her hands, right in front of her body. A sword seeming to have had quite the history behind itself yet was still in tip top shape… Though the tip seemed a little broken. If it would be considered unusable or not, that was for an expert to decide, not a clothes shop owner. 

It was then where the tall oni had also come to a sudden halt, his gaze in a bit of a shock. “Woha woha woha! What do you think you’re doing?” He asked, then adding: “We gotta make a run for it! Unless you want more up your ass y’know! Actually—”

“Oh c’mon, I dealt with more than that. What can a few guards do?” The girl responded, sounding somewhat confident despite her chuckle. “They’re just small fry!”

“Yeah well I’d like to make it in time for that beetle tournament thank you very much!”

“Then it’s time for a quickie~”

“A wha—”

Yet before this could carry on, guards blocked their path, their naginata and swords out in the open. “Halt!” One of them yelled while pointing their weapon right at the redhead, almost too close for comfort. However, she seemed unfazed. 

“Run ahead, I’m taking care of them!”

Before another word could be uttered the girl charged ahead, running a few steps before swinging her sword as it seemed to light up. At first it may have been like a mere candle but soon her blade was surrounded by a red flame, swinging right at the guards. Those could not help themselves but jump aside or take quick steps backwards before one dared to clash with her by throwing their naginata right against the young woman. It forced her to block the attack right then and there, her having to hold her ground and only being slightly pushed backwards. This didn’t last for very long however, the sword’s flames increasing as she shoved the guard backwards in one go. Or rather, she sent him flying against the next best wall while crashing into a food stand. 

Two more soldiers came from two sides, both attacking the girl with their swords. She seemed to have been caught a little off guard, the swords hitting parts of her clothing yet she lifted up one of her legs to kick one away while shoving the other forcefully aside with her elbow, then going in full swing with one hand. The movement was sloppy at that moment yet seemed to have worked out just fine… At least for that very moment. Because the next chain of events sent Mio into a panic, not just on the inside but also rather visibly. One of the guards had caught the redhead completely off guard in the heat of the moment, grasping her before slamming her away. And this time it had to hit Mio’s shop. Because of course it had to.

The girl landed right in the pile with her burning hot sword, setting parts of it essentially on fire. The sight would terrify just about anyone at first. Though she noticed quickly, the first instinct was to stomp on those flames. Oddly enough she didn’t squeal or make a sound of pain while being hit with the flames. She was even quick about it, muttering a rushed “Sorry” even before spotting one of the guards dashing for that… Troublemaker, to put it lightly. She moved away from the shop at the very least and concluded her senseless fighting in the center before finally making a run for it as well. What was the reason to beat Inazuman guards into oblivion before leaving? Who could tell but it was for sure an offense, wasn’t it? That might put this girl on the watchlist yet maybe she didn’t really care…

“A fight in broad daylight? Kids these days…” The old lady sighed, shaking her head in utter disbelief. “Was she raised in a barn?”

“Now, no need to be so harsh on her.” Mio could defend the young woman she saw that much. Maybe she just got involved with the wrong people… Then again… “It was just reckless. I guess I should have expected nothing less.” But still, why did she have to be in that crossfire? Ugh… 

“Anyway, there’s no use sulking now. I need to replace all of this as soon as I can manage.”

And once Mio does, she makes sure to give that young woman a debt she has to pay out of her own pocket and work herself to the bone. Though that might be a while if she is affiliated with the Arataki Gang… 

This nation really didn’t need two idiots causing trouble like this.