Chapter 227 ( Facing the Past - I )

"Ugh..." - Ren quickly recoiled as she took a direct hit from the blond's sword clashing with hers, only to notice how Cloud was once again in front of her - "Don't you get bored of doing that!"

"That's where you're wrong" - smirked Cloud as he continued to attack the girl - "I can do this all day long, baby!"

"He doesn't get bored of saying things that can be misinterpreted?" - Meru asked as the others shook their heads.

"I wouldn't mind getting those words~" said Asuna, only to notice how they all looked at her - "What?"

"Right... we forgot that you're a Yandere..." - Chifuyu said as she narrowed her eyes.

"She's a Yandere!" - Keiko asked in surprise as she remembered a small detail - "Oh... that explains why some second and first year girls ended up in the infirmary..."

"Hmph!" - Asuna just gave them a snort as she turned her attention back to the battle.

"Hmm... they're not bad at all..." - Kentarō said as he continued to watch the fight - "I'm no expert in sword combat, but those two are talented to the point that I'm sure those jerks of my enemies would be jealous of them."

"And that you haven't seen anything" - Asuna said proudly, as if all those compliments were towards her and not towards their leader - "Cloud-sama is not only an expert in swordplay, but his martial art is fucking devastating."

"That's putting it mildly, with a single blow he can destroy entire buildings" - Keiko said disdainfully.

"Oh?" - Kentarō's expression changed from one of curiosity, to one of excitement as he felt his Ki start to overflow his body - "It's been a while since I've heard anything like that... I guess after I finish playing with that girl, I'll ask him if he wants to fight me."

"Playing?" - Rumina asked with surprise.

"Exactly, playing" - replied Meru seriously - "Cloud Strife was able to defeat 3 dragons and a tiger at the same time... so fighting Ren is just a mere game."

"I see you are being serious... at least a little" - Chifuyu said while frowning.

"It's out of respect" - Ayane replied neutrally, as she had received all of Cloud's power during their confrontation - "Sensei is showing some of his power to prove to Ren-san that he can still take her seriously despite the power difference..."

Kentarō nodded when he heard this because he too had the mentality that if he fought someone, he had to show them enough respect.

"Tousan..." - Rintarō said seriously.

"I know... we have visitor" - said Kentarō as he looked at the boys, only to see how Chifuyu, Meru, Asuna and Ayane, also noticed the presence of the visitors.

* * * * *

"Okay, this is interesting..." - Saizō said while looking closely at the battle between the two dragons - "That girl is not only beautiful, she's also strong... too bad she can't compare to the blond."

". . ." - Iori only kept silent as she continued to watch the battle, only to notice how the two fighters gave them a quick glance before continuing their combat.

"Oh~!" - Saizō grinned wildly when he noticed this because despite not hiding their presence, he didn't think the two fighters were analyzing them for a few seconds before continuing - "Oh, shit... I felt like joining that battle... too bad I can't do it because it would cause our mission to fail."

"Are you saying it's possible that you can't defeat them, Saizō Nii-san?" - Iori asked in surprise.

"Hmm... I'm not so sure how to answer that..." - Saizō replied as he opened his eyes and watched the battle very carefully - "That girl I can defeat if I use all my techniques and ambush her... but the boy... I'm not sure, but my instinct tells me it's going to be a tough battle..."

"Tough battle?" - Iori repeated as her gaze flicked to the blond boy for a second or two before returning her gaze to her mission partner.

"Yes... and that doesn't mean I would end up winning" - replied Saizō seriously as he felt his hands shaking with excitement - "My instinct just tells me that it will be a tough battle with an unknown outcome..."

". . ." - Iori kept silent as her gaze shifted slightly, seeing a red-haired girl - "Ayane..."

"Oh? I was so focused on the battle that I didn't remember that we had come for Ayane" - Saizō said as he sighed regretfully - "I guess we'd better continue with..."

But before he could continue, he took a step back as he felt the air of the place turn violent.

*Bang!

The sound of the explosion was not long in coming as a small tear appeared on the ground where the black-haired boy had been before.

"Hmm... I guess that's a warning from that blond boy..." - Saizō said as his expression turned serious because it was obvious that the boy had managed to sense his intentions - "Ok, this will be a bit more complicated... I guess we'll have to do it the pacifist way."

". . ." - Iori continued to remain silent as she watched Saizō before looking back at Ayane and noticing how she was looking at her in surprise.

"I think there's no need for us to hide anymore" - Saizō said as he shrugged - "Come on, Iori.... it's time for you to say hello to your old friend."

"Ok" - said Iori as the wind moved her delicate blue hair.

* * * * *

"What's wrong, Ayane?" - Makoto asked as she noticed the change in her leader's expression.

"Iori... Onii-san..." - Ayane muttered as she watched a boy and girl walk from the forest.

"It's been a while, Ayane..." - The boy said with a smile though those with the keenest senses could tell for sure that he wasn't as friendly as he appeared.

". . ." - Iori only kept silent as she watched her former friend carefully, the same girl who had abandoned her to her fate.

"Iori... I..." - Ayane said, only to be cut off by the blue-haired girl - "Don't talk to me, you traitor..."

"!" - those present could only widen their eyes in surprise when they heard this, especially the people who knew Ayane more personally because it was impossible for her to betray anyone, let alone someone intimate to her.

". . ." - Ayane didn't fight back when she heard her name being called because deep inside she knew it was true. She had betrayed the girl in front of her.

"Aren't you going to say anything!" - Iori exclaimed fiercely as her gaze sharpened.

"Calm down, Iori... not yet" - said Saizō as he shook his head, but his expression changed when he noticed how the two fighters had stopped - "Hello everyone..."

"Better introduce yourself" - Cloud said with a frown because he could smell the unmistakable smell of blood coming from the boy, which was almost never good because that meant one of two things. One, that this boy was a killer, or two, that this boy was someone sadistic who enjoyed hurting his opponents.

"Right... I'm sorry for my lack of education..." - Saizō said with a smile - "But my little friend had better introduce herself first, since she needs a bit of practice."

". . ." - those present only kept silent as they watched the blue-haired girl, hide behind her companion.

"Well?" - Saizō asked as he looked at the girl.

"My name is Iori..." - Iori muttered as she ducked her gaze and ran to behind a nearby tree.

"Sorry about that, she's shy around strangers..." said Saizō with a quiet smile, "She likes to first observe others to get an idea of their personalities before she can communicate at ease..."

"Don't change the subject, kid... I can smell the scent of blood coming from you and if I see you doing something strange..." - Cloud said as his gaze sharpened - "I promise you that your fate won't be a pretty one."

"Oh~? That sure scared me..." - Saizō said while letting out a laugh although from his movements you could tell that far from being scared, he was excited - "Oh well, it's not like I'm trying to hide my identity... my name is Saizō, it's a pleasure, Cloud Strife-kun..."

"You know me?" - Cloud asked in surprise because he never thought his information would come from Nangokuren.

"Just the basic information, since we couldn't find anything personal about you or your companions..." - Saizō said as he opened his eyes and looked straight towards the blond - "It's interesting to say the least.... How did you guys manage to get under our radar?"

"Natural born talent" - Cloud replied sarcastically.

"Oh, too bad... I really wanted to get the answer to that question..." sighed Saizō as he shook his head, only to disappear and reappear in front of the blond as he launched a kick towards the stomach that was blocked with utmost ease.

"And that was?" - Cloud asked neutrally as he grabbed the boy's hand when he saw it go towards his eye - ". . ."

"A little wave to check if the rumor was true..." - Saizō smiled as he tried to resist the urge to fight. He really had attacked in order to test the blond.

"I hope you won't repeat it..." - Cloud said coolly as he threw Saizō towards a tree, a pity that the black-haired boy did a small somersault in the air and landed with utmost ease - "I'll keep that in mind..."

--

Read 16 chapters ahead of Marvel X DC and each chapter is more than 3k words so maybe a total of 47k + words ahead...

and for source read 20 Chapters ahead

I hope you guys join me on this platform

https://www.p@treon.com/Xue_fang_1

OR

Donate Me On PayPal

https://www.paypal.me/Xuefang1