Chapter 3: Kenji's concern

Danu had enough time finish and enjoy her cup of tea before the bell for the next class rang. Cleaning up her mug, she left, heading for where Kenji told her to go with a smile on her face. She refused to let that little speed bump ruin her plans for herself. He was just a child. He didn't hold that much power.

Kenji was waiting for her, the rest of the students getting changed. He had a dark look on his face, and Danu swallowed. Was he going to be as angry at her as the Principal had been? She hadn't anticipated that.

"Did the Principal already talk to you?" He asked and she stared at his expression.

"Kenji, if you are going to try to intimidate me, it isn't going to work. I'm not going to treat him differently when he's acting out of line. They can fight all they want, but not with their powers. In fact, I think a good old brawl is great for getting the body moving, but their kids. Someone has to police them." He was silent for a moment before his expression relaxed.

"Nah. I had no plans to intimidate you. Honestly, if you had been intimidated by that idiot I would have thought less of you." He ran his hand over his face, sighing. "You're right. The kid needs to grow up more, but I can't say shit." He gave her a tight smile. "He's my young master. Hell, I changed the kid's diapers." Danu's heart went out to the man. It must have been hard watching the kid he'd helped raise turn into a demon.

"Why can't you guys say anything? Is his Father obsessed with him?" She asked and he made a face.

"It's...complicated. Boss...well, young master's Mom died in a territory dispute when he was super young. Since then Boss has tried to give him everything he could." Tried appeared to be the clear word here. Danu could read between the lines here. The husband had lost his wife and therefore neglected his son in his path to revenge. It was a classic tale. One that always had victims.

"So you all babied him? Kenji, that makes monsters of children less powerful than him." Danu chastised and Kenji chuckled softly.

"Well, what else could I do? Daniel had just left me behind, the Mistress had just passed, and the Boss..." He sighed. "He was all I had left. But, things'll be different now. You're here, you aren't with any of the groups around, and you have a good head on your shoulders. Daniel told me that you did. Sure, you ran into him on your first day, but no one has perfect luck." He gave her a thumbs up. "You'll just have to make sure to punish him before the Principal catches you next time." He added and Danu smiled. She was glad he was taking this in stride. It would have hurt her if he had been upset with her.

The kids began to trickle out from the change rooms and Kenji gave her a wink.

"You're okay with me taking the lead?" She nodded. She had no idea what she was doing, so having Kenji show her the ropes had been her plan from the beginning. He gave her another thumbs up. He gave her a one over, as if just realising what she was wearing. "Uh, are you sure you're going to be okay in that?" He asked and she nodded. He didn't say any more on it, and waited for all of the kids to gather. "Alright everyone! This is my fellow teacher, Ms. Douglas. She's here to help me with your tortur-I mean lessons. She's also in charge of language. Be nice to here, she's new here." Danu took the moment that Kenji was speaking to look over the kids. There appeared to be an age difference between them, and considering that there were only six teachers in this huge building, Danu assumed this was a blended class from two grades. A little unconventional, but they had to do what they could to get by.

"Now, we're going to do a basic warm up. Four laps around the field. Get going! We'll be following behind so you better not cheat!" Kenji warned and the kids took off with a groan. It was nice to see that even at their core, they were still kids. Kenji waited a few minutes before he took off after the surprisingly fast kids at a jog. Danu kept up with him, still in her heels and Kenji laughed.

"You don't have another pair of shoes?" He asked and she shook her head.

"No. I burned them." She answered. Kenji laughed harder.

"What? Were you only allowed to wear combat boots or something?" When Danu didn't reply, he threw a wide grin her direction. "Alright, I'll take pity on you. After school's out, I'll take you out on the town. We'll get you something besides combat boots." She knew he was teasing her, but she took it in stride.

"Thank you Kenji. I would really appreciate your help in this regard. I haven't had a chance to look around town, nor do I have a phone on me. I would really love your help in getting around town." He grinned at Danu, clearly pleased before he glanced ahead and his grin fell off. He raced off to deal with a clear problem while Danu hung back. She could tell that the other students were keeping an eye on her, testing her. She prevented a few of them from running away, and she might have struck fear in a few of them as she ran after them, full sprint, in heels.

She didn't hate that as part of her image.

The rest of class went smoothly, and she found that this class wasn't that different from when she overlooked the new recruits. Sure, Kenji wasn't as much of a hardass as she was supposed to be, and there were several kind words exchanged to the students, but the general gist was the same. She felt like she had a handle on this class.

Kenji also seemed pleased with her results as well. When he passed off the lead to Danu, he was pleased with how she directed the students. He was also free with his compliments towards Danu, and once more she appreciated the small differences between the brothers. Daniel had been sparingly with his praise, where Kenji spared no expense. Danu wondered what had created the differences in the two, but didn't want to pry. She knew Daniel had hated speaking about his past, and assumed with their similarities so far that Kenji was the same.

Once class was over, Kenji guided Danu to her next classroom only because his was next door. She was in charge of this class with the man who had an eyepatch. She couldn't remember his name right off the bat, so when she opened the door to the classroom, she worried what she should greet him with. To her surprise, he wasn't actually there yet. All the students were, and she was quite surprised. She knew it took her and Kenji a while to clean up after class, so her coworker should have been here already. Nervous, she glanced at the two desks at the front of the room, the clear board behind them, and the full classroom of teenagers. They had quieted as soon as she entered, and trying to control her emotions, she headed for the desk closest to her.

Thankfully, she had stopped by the teacher's lounge before coming here, so she had some material with her. She knew she was going to be in charge of teaching languages since that was the position she had applied for, but she had no idea where the kids were with their progression, or even what they were learning. She was hoping her fellow teacher was going to help her, but she found instead that he'd fucked off. No, control yourself Danu. This is a fresh start, learn to control your anger.

Inhaling, Danu put down her papers and turned to the board. With her left hand, she began to write her name on the board, in English and Japanese. With her back turned, some of the students began to chatter amongst themselves. They didn't know she could hear them.

"Who dresses like that nowadays?"

"Is she even from here?"

"That can't be her natural colour, can it?"

"Do you think she's affiliated with a national branch?"

"She seemed close to Mr. Shibata, do you think they're dating?" That last one in particular got to her and she shivered. If she dared to date Daniel's older brother she was sure he would rise from the dead and strangle her to death. She'd let him. That was a breech of trust.

She turned to the desk, opening the file folder she had there and pulling out a few pages of paper. She then turned to the board again and began writing the same phrase out but in several languages. She thought this was a simple test that would be fun for the students to guess, and also help her understand where they were in their language comprehension. It was while she was writing the fourth phrase on the board that what's-his-nuts showed up.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing?" His tone was harsh, and filled with anger. Danu, stunned, paused what she was doing to stare in shock at the man. He showed up late to class and had the audacity to raise his voice at her? Who the hell did he think he was?

She was ready to charge at him, when she remembered what she had just made herself promise. We are a changed woman. Control your anger. Taking a deep breath in, she calmed herself quickly.

"I walked into class and you weren't here. Since I have no idea what level of comprehension the students are at, I planned to give them a fun test that would allow me to understand where they are. Is there a problem?" She asked calmly, and he snorted. He leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms.

"You are. I know Kenji is all gungho about you, but I don't trust you. Don't get comfortable here. I can't see you lasting two days." Danu felt her blood begin to boil.

"I beg your pardon?" She said and he snorted.

"Don't behave as if you actually care. I don't know what your military taught you," he looked over her with open disdain, "but we don't need spoiled little girls like you here. Hell, even having Reiko here is too much, but I know she's worth more than you are." Danu felt her jaw drop in shock. This man had said this in front of all of the students, and given the fact that they had been speculating about her only a few minutes before, she knew they were listening with big ears. Clearing her throat, she put her papers down, before marching towards him. Reaching out, she grabbed him by the collar and opened the door. He smirked, convinced that she wasn't going to be able to move him, so she had the distinct pleasure of watching his eyes widen in shock as she yanked him into the hallway and slammed the door behind them a little too hard. She slammed him against the wall, picking the man up by his shirt.

"Now listen here you damn fool." She growled out in English, knowing damn well he could understand her. "I have no idea what shat in your cornflakes this morning, but I know it wasn't me. I haven't done a damn thing to you." She glared at him, and he at least had the sense of mind to be surprised at her behaviour. "I honestly, don't give a fuck if you hate me, or if you criticize me or complain about me to others. Hell, I don't even care if you are a raging misogynists or have beef with Kenji. What I will have a problem with is if you get in my way as I'm trying to build a new life for myself. Understood?" She released him, dropping him to the ground. She hadn't lifted him up high, just enough to prove she was stronger than she looked. The man stared down at her, his brown eye narrowing as he looked her over.

"I don't care enough about you to even breathe down your neck, so why the fuck would I get in your way?" There was a pause. "It's enhanced physical abilities, isn't it?" She scoffed, crossing her arms. She was aware her original personality was leaking out, but she felt that if she tried to appear docile around this idiot it would only bite her in the ass later.

"No, but that's a good guess. That's actually from being in the military since I was 17." He stared at Danu, and she stared back. "Now you have two choices. You can either get the fuck out of the classroom, or help me with the lesson. That's it." She offered kindly.

"17, huh?" He murmured and Danu shifted on her feet. She could feel the anger simmering inside of her, but she had to hold it in. "I'm not intimated by a little girl who thinks flexing her muscles is enough to silence others." Brat, if you knew what I had done....

Calm down, Danu. Think happy thoughts.

"Little old me? Scary?" She switched to German just to test him. "Boy, I spent years working with some of the most fucked up people I've ever met. I just want a clean break. But don't you dare step on my toes here, am I clear?" She switched to Russian. "I retained all of my limbs and appendages on my body because I was good at what I did." His face was getting redder by the second and. In Korean Danu said, "now run along little bunny, I have a class to teach." She waved him along. "Goodbye." She sang in French and he stood, furious. He uncrossed his arms, pissed as Danu opened the classroom door.

"You'll regret this." He declared hotly and Danu watched him with disinterest. She didn't think she would as she closed the door behind her.

"Sorry about that class. Shall we start with our introductions?" Danu asked sweetly and the students stared at her in silence.