A Kute Challenger (Hinabi and Kenshin)

Now it was no secret to anyone who knew the boy just how proud he was of his family lineage. His mother was a descendant of a certain clan, many of its members having been samurai. She even had the ancestral armor kept in a neat display case in the living room of the Akadama household. In fact, she sometimes joked that the reason she married her husband was because of his quirk making him look like a samurai donning his red armor. Naturally this was not the case, but it was a neat little joke she enjoyed telling to get a chuckle or two out. Of course, the boy's father was not offended, and heartily joined in on the jokes, stating that he was the incarnation of a legendary warrior of Japan's past.

Now naturally, there was no known way of verifying whether Kenshin's father had his armor quirk due to being a samurai descendant or if it was merely coincidence. But at least his mother had proof. To the boy, this was something worthy of praise. Though he was not one to brag often, he took pride in his family lineage, and he could not help but show a picture of the family armor to several of the students one day while everyone was out in the shopping district buying food. While everyone in the group was impressed by the fact that the boy really was descended from actual samurai, there was no way Kenshin could ever predict just what would happen from this simple conversation.

Back at Shien's Dojo, it was business as usual. Kenshin was practicing his sword techniques as always, and was also assisting several of the other students with their techniques. Though he strove to get better, Kenshin wished for the dojo's hardworking students to improve as well. Not only did he want them to be able to take care of themselves in case he was not there should a villain decide to attack the dojo, but he also wanted to help train them up so they could someday give him an actual challenge.

Suddenly, Kenshin heard the dojo door open. Seeing the little girl enter, Kenshin was about to greet her in his usual polite and formal manner. But then she spoke, demanding to see the person who 'claimed' to be a samurai. The boy chuckled as all the students suddenly gazed at him. Oh jeez, this better not lead to something I might actually regret. This was why it was never a good idea to brag about something aloud. But surely nothing bad would happen. It was not like this girl was some kind of samurai slayer or something. So clearly there was nothing to worry about. Right?

"I'm right here. The name's Kenshin." The boy bowed politely as he looked at the girl, seeing if she would perhaps show her manners and bow back, or at least give her name. Takenouchi, huh? I feel like I heard that name somewhere before. However, now was not the time to try and remember where and when he had heard one name among hundreds if not thousands. This girl, whatever her name was, wanted a duel. And to an honorable warrior like Kenshin, turning her down would be beyond unforgivable.

"Very well. I accept your challenge! But you're wrong about one thing. There is no one single true samurai family. Just as you fight for the honor of the Takenouchi, I fight for the honor of the Akadama. Now whenever you're ready, follow me to the arena and show me what you can do!"

Kenshin would then walk towards the main arena of the dojo. Once the girl made her way there, two of the students would approach them, handing the two some protective gear, as well as a pristine condition wooden sword. The students would then bow to Kenshin and the girl before running off to sit down with the other students.

A battle of two samurai. Kenshin looked forward to it. While he was obviously not aiming to utterly crush the girl, it would be quite disrespectful of him to not take this fight seriously. So he would choose to hold back just enough to make this a fair but still challenging fight.

As always, there were several instructors supervising the spar. Obviously, it would suck if something went wrong. So with everything all set, it was time to duel! "As the challenger, you can have the first move. Approach me whenever you're ready!" And with the boy assuming his battle stance and holding the wooden sword firmly in both hands, he was ready for the girl's first attack.

WC 777