User blog:Jiangshi1/Character Excerpt: Samurai of Beauty

“My name is Stephanie Moreau. And I am. The Samurai of Beauty!”

The woman stood before her classmates, her glasses shining and her hair silky smooth. Her (implanted) H-Cupped breasts bouncing almost comically against her Hawaiian shirt. The class just looked in a combined bewilderment at her… even the teacher looked particularly insulted.

“Right… Ms. Stephanie… please, pick a seat.” he said in boredom, as if he just wanted to shoot himself for picking this profession. The woman smiled and walked to the back… a window seat…

“And with that… I guess we can begin. My name is Mizuki Kiwaki, I’ll be your professor this semester.”

Stephanie had selected this class for a few reasons. One being the most obvious. She was what the internet would describe as a weeabo. A person who would take the term of Japanophile to levels beyond its original term. With a lack of any real knowledge of the history outside of the culture, often ignoring other cultures. Stephanie’s Japanese was… laughable. As such, she took the course to learn the language as well as live out her dreams as a main character.

As she smiled, keeping her head in the clouds - yet listening to her teacher, Stephanie listened on. By the time the class ended, she felt a bit smarter. Even if it was just learning the course’s plan and what to expect. Still, it was the first day, right? As she walked out, she missed hearing the teacher grumble to himself.

“Every year there's at least 5 of them…”

With her bag strapped tightly to her hip, Stephanie peered across the hall. In her mind, she could see everyone differently, some girls looked as if they were ganguro types, some deadbeat, some normal. Still, with one course in her belt, she had her goals set. Learn Japanese, then history, then move to the country itself and prosper as a mangaka! Most would realize how impossible such an accomplishment was, but if the words she heard over the radio was true… she can do it if she tried hard enough. Foolishly optimistic? True, but she had a few backups.

She continued her merry way to her dorm. It was exactly what one would expect. Posters of various animes, an entire shelf dedicated to manga, anime, and even imported figurines she blew her money on almost every month. However, her most prized possession greeted her at the side of her bed.

“Sakura-san, how are you?” she asked, acting as if the sword was alive. It was a standard issue katana, decorated with cherry blossoms and a chain that wrapped around the hilt. Impractical but it did look cool. Sitting at the kotatsu she wasted almost half her college fund on, the woman peered at her text book and cracked it open. If there was one thing she could be given a compliment for, it was that she took her studies just as seriously as her obsession.

“Elisa,” she began, the automated device on top of her television glowing green in response. “Play message.”

A robotic voice replied after processing her request. “Playing message from - Mother.” After another two or three seconds, a voice spoke, using the device to replay the missed phone call.

“Stephanie, dear, its mom again. I just want you to know, Philip and I are proud of you for getting in. I know you studied hard to do so, but I want you to know, you are always welcome back home. Please, do call back when you can. We’d love to hear from you.”

Thats right… its been at least a month. Stephanie was from the Midwestern United States. Moving to Canada was a big change for her. After the shell shock of an entirely different culture, as well as adjusting to living alone for the first time, she cut off contact with her mom. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t homesick. Her father would make the best chicken alfredo and her mother’s homemade barbecue sauce was so good that she’d drink it straight from the jar. It’d explain her hips at least. They were taken aback by her obsession, but she was always alone in a sense. No real friends ever since high school. She was lucky to even be here too given that it took all three of them working late, as well as a PleasePay camphange and fundraiser from her local church and plenty of deeds to pay for everything.

“Elisa. Thank you.” she said solemnly… she was beginning to feel a single tear, but she was unsure why.

“Your welcome.”

Taking in a sigh, the weeabo studied for a good three hours straight, only taking breaks for the restroom and to cook some instant ramen. After a few hours of repeating words to herself, she stood and grabbed her sword. Looking at the time, she nodded and began to head for the door. It was late at night, and time for her second hobby.

She was a so-called hero-in-training. The Samurai with the ability to harden anything in her hands.

The campus is usually quiet around this time, nobody willing to try anything disastrous. A few drunk students may be the exception but it was an ordinary night otherwise. She didn’t bother speaking to the drunks as long as they weren’t harassing anyone or nearly getting themselves killed, they didn’t seem like a bother. Of course, staying near campus wasn’t going to give her anything. She needed to go further…

If she remembered right, there were rumors of one of foreign drug dealers and weapons smugglers nearby. Ever since, the campus ordered a curfew around this time. If she could find one of them and bring them in, Stephanie may be a hero. Maybe even get the thrill of being known as a badass like in her shows. She was getting a giddy feeling in her gut as she thought this, sneaking off the grounds and away from sight. Of course, doing this in the snow was a silly idea given it was up to her ankles. She always enjoyed the snow so she didn’t really mind. And the negative temperatures only felt like a game to her so even while wearing a Hawaiian shirt and possibly teasing the Darwin Awards didn’t bother her.

It was in one of the dorms a few miles away, abandoned for years from a fire. As she approached the window, she peeked inside. It was so dark and filled to the brim with dust that it was impossible to tell someone would even think of hiding inside. Of course, that could be a perfect cover. Taking her sword, the woman stood in front of the back door and concentrated. In seconds, her hands began to feel like iron, her sword felt less like a katana and more like a claymore. With a deep breath, she raised it above her head.

“Ichi!”

One swing was all it took, her sword cleaved the door in two with a clean strike, allowing her to walk in without problem. A confident smile was on her face as she entered what must’ve been the kitchen. And in an instant, the smile was replaced with dread. This feeling wasn’t one of joy, it was of fear. As if every part of her being was demanding her to run. Still, she couldn’t be a hero if she didn’t venture further. As the floorboards creaked, the sound of the wind outside blowing and her cell phone serving as the light source, the emptiness and borderon silence made her feel sick.

From the kitchen to the dining room to the front room, no furniture, no sense of other people being present, no light source, only darkness. Maybe she was wrong?

She was ready to just get out… then something ran through her hair.

“KUYYYYYAAAA!!!”

Panic replaced fear as she took her katana and began swinging at the air. The sound of air swishing and the feeling of something sticky in her hair made her run for the nearest wall, mistaking it for a door and falling flat on her butt as a result. As she ran through her hair, she quickly realized what it was: a spider web.

“Oh… uh… I… I defeated a tsuchigumo.” she reassured herself, trying to laugh it off as she stood and returned her sword into its scabbard. Right as she did, she heard rapidly approaching footsteps and turned, seeing the staircase. As she tried to see upwards, a silhouette quickly took form and ran towards her without stopping. The girl squeaked and jumped to the side, preparing to take her sword out of its scabbard.

“I am the samurai of beauty, Steph-!”

The shadow-covered man didn’t stop, the moment she got back, he made it down the steps and charged into her, knocking her over with enough force to throw her sword across the room and began to grab her throat. It was hard to see, but his eyes had sunken in, he was missing more than half his teeth, his messy yellow hair shaking the cobwebs as he tried to bite her.

The woman managed to harden her fist and lunge it against the attacker, throwing him off and freeing her neck from his cold hands. The man stood back up as the fading light from outside showed more of him. He was so scrawny that she could see his ribcage, his pants stained with what appeared to be dried blood, his nails broken, his skin was so dark and cracked that one could mistake him for a zombie, the fact he smelt like he was rolling around in feces for weeks (and probably did), just tried to bite her face off, and wasn’t speaking in anything other than croaks and hisses didn’t help at all.

“Un- undead youkai r- return to the grave…” Stephanie squeaked, shaken as she reached for her sword. The zombie-like man hissed and coughed before darting for her. The girl had little chance to find her sword like this and simply hardened her body, the sensation made her feel as if her blood vessels were constricting and her neck was paralyzed. The resulting punch was slower than the previous one, but the man almost seemed to lack the cognitive function to counter or duck and was knocked across the room, smashing through the concrete walls and out into the lawn.

Returning her body to normal, Stephanie caught her breath, piercing her eyes to the side to find her thrown weapon and quickly picked it up. By the time she picked it up and turned to face this zombie-like enemy, he was already at her face. This superhuman speed forced her to harden both of her arms as she flung herself to the left. The force was like a 400 pound dumbbell to the side of the skull, far more than enough to kill a normal person. But for this guy, he simply rocked his head in the direction she was going.

“''A Superhuman with high resilience to take being flung through a wall. And with this high level of aggression… If I keep aiming for the head, I can knock him out with one more blow''!”

With this revelation finally setting in, Stephanie allowed her arms to soften and jump back to her feet, ready for a counter attack. She smirked and held her sword to the side, watching as the stunned man faced her and attacked once more.

“Kabuto!" Lunging her head forward, Stephanie hardened it with enough force to have it weigh like a freight train! Smashing the charging enemy’s face and forcing him to stagger back! She then dashed in and swung with a single horizontal strike! “Ichi!”

A head on strike from the fake sword to the waist! The rippling of skin underneath that would definitely cause a bruise. This was done simply to help her keep the man off balance. As soon as he began to lift off his feet to fall back, Stephanie pulled the sword back and jumped! Reaching the ceiling in an instant and coming down with an overhead swing!

“Yama!”

Like a car crash from above! Stephanie felt an intense tingle from her spine that instantly dashed into the sword’s scabbard, increasing its weight a hundred fold! The resulting slam as it met the man’s chest could’ve killed a human two hundred times over, but thanks to his drugged up form and natural Superhuman toughness, she had high hopes she could incapacitate him!

Of course, the old building was something she almost completely forgotten… within an instant, the floorboards gave way from the collision, leading the two into a large celler. Stephanie was lucky enough to have the reflexes to harden her entire lower body, negating the damage as the man himself was rendered unconscious. Standing back up, the young woman squinted. She could make out various foul odors. Feces, urine, blood, and some she couldn’t recognize. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could make out a fully functional lab. Dishes, trays, gasoline barriers, empty alcohol bottles, beakers, jugs… she could hardly believe her eyes.

“Well now, looks like you’re of some use after all…” a voice rang from above. The startled Stephanie looked up, seeing a somewhat familiar face.

“Mizuki-sensei!?”

The man jumped down, his scruffy beard and frizzled graying hair giving him away as he wore what appeared to be a dark blue gi and jeans. He walked past her, a neutral look in his eyes as he took out a cell phone and began dialing. The girl was in too much shock to speak as she heard him talk into it in his native tongue. He seemed to be explaining the room interior judging from how he paced around and studied everything. He then looked at the man lying unconscious on the ground. One word stood out to her. Krokodil.

If she remembered right - a drug from Russia that caused necrosis, serving as a cheaper alternative to heroin. There were reports of it reaching the United States so for it to reach Canada? She can assume it wasn’t that big a stretch. Add in the zombie like body and enhanced aggression…

As her mind began to contemplate the problems of such a powerful drug reaching Alberta, her thought was quickly interrupted by her sensei’s words.

“Moreau. You listening?” Her mind snapped back to normal in a moment as she looked at the man. “Go home. And don’t do this shit again, okay?”

“Huh, not even a thank you? Or a good job?” she thought. With a huff, she crossed her arms. “Sensei, I believe I have some sort of right to know what’s going on. I discovered this guy after all!”

“And? You also caused property damage and for all intent and purposes, traspsery.” Mizuki countered, not losing his bored expression. Stephanie growled at his remark, not budging an inch.

“Because I knew something was up! I respect you highly sir, but at the least, let me take responsibility for bringing in a potentially dangerous criminal and discovering a lab being used as a drug site!”

“Responsibility? This isn’t being responsible. Moreau, you’re putting yourself in harm’s way in a cause that doesn’t need you in it.”

This was going to be a back and forth… and Stephanie knew it. She wasn’t going to talk down a brick way, but the best she could do was try and wait it out. She knew that there were likely law enforcers on their way, so she could try and bluff her way into-.

Into… sleep…

By the time she woke up, Stephanie was in a different dorm room… she had no clue whose however. All she knew was… warmth. A large blanket covered her body, a single pillow under her head as the smell of coffee hit her nose and helped her wake up relatively quickly.

“You’re awake? It's a quarter past noon.” a soft voice called out. Not too far, was a young woman with black hair that reached her shoulders with glasses. Across from her was a brown hair woman with dark skin and a noticeable… figure. “Julia found you sleeping in the middle of the hallways and brought you here, I’m Clara Oxford.”

Asleep? That… that's impossible, she KNEW where she was!

“Wait, what time is it again?” Stephanie asked, sitting up from the floor. Clara blinked in slight confusion.

“A quarter past noon.”

The television was on, being watched by another woman - this time, with dyed pink hair and a blue sundress.

“After what appeared to be an explosion, police were on the scene to find 35 year old Henrick Gordon in the cellar of an abandoned dormitory. A drug lab was found with dozens of utensils as well as blood samples showing the effects of the Russian drug Krokodil. Nobody was injured, but also on the scene-.”

“He wasn’t there? He didn’t take the credit? But he-.” Stephanie muttered before grabbing her hair and razzling it. “GAAAAAAH!! I busted that guuuuuy!”

“Julia, can you shut her up before I do?” the pink haired woman questioned, taking a spoonful of pudding. That’s when the name came clear again.

“Julia-san- wait, you two are her dorm mates?”

“Dorm mate is using the term lightly.” the pink haired woman muttered, only to get a reprime from Clara.

“Levy, please, she’s our guest.” Clara sighed, facing her and folding her arms. Stephanie turned to the dark skinned woman writing in her notebook and stood, ignoring what was likely the rest of the conversation to speak to her.

Julia was known as a Filipina transfer student who just suddenly arrived. A recent high school graduate with a Japanese girlfriend. Her hair braided into a single ponytail that reached her back and unnatural amber eyes being a recognized trait. With a confident smile, Stephanie stood next to her.

“Thank you for finding me,” Stephanie simply said. “Was there anything unusual? Like a note? Bruise? Bite mark?” Julia turned to her, their eyes locked on.

“There wasn’t, don’t worry. There was a crumpled note however.” she replied, pulling something from her cleavage. A simple scrap of paper that… somehow wasn’t wrinkled or smelling of coconut perfume. Stephanie blinked in curiosity as she took it, thanking the newbie with a smile… Her smile slowly turned to confusion… then worry as she read the letter.

Being a hero is not worth the trouble

Quit while you're ahead

Because if you die

Your body will be nothing more than food for the worms.

Nothing more, Nothing less.

-K

She knew who this was…

“Hmhm. I see why he's doing this.” she muttered. Julia blinked as she studied the expression. “I just have to prove it to him. That I am a hero!” Stephanie exclaimed with a fist pumped into the air!

From that day onward, new motivation was to surge within her. A modern samurai who wants to do good and protect others. From a small city in Ohio to Calgary’s cities, her name will be heard!

“I am Stephanie Moreau! And I am… The Samurai of Beauty!” Now all she needed… was common sense.

Epilogue

A few weeks passed. With feet crunching in the 60 cm snow, (yet still wandering with little more than a T Shirt, shorts, and gym shoes) Stephanie hummed and met with some friends. Beautiful women who claimed to just be working the night shift or on their extended breaks... at 11 in the evening... near an alleyway... How Stephanie never caught on was anybody’s guess.

“Stephanie, darling, you thinking of working?” One of them asked, her Irish accent barely hidden. The young woman shook her head, holding a box of donuts.

“Its cold out, so I thought you guys would like some warm donuts.” She smiled, opening the box. One of the women chuckled and picked one up, not even hesitating to take a bite.

“Many thanks, babe. Need info, I take it?”

Stephanie nodded in response. “What do you ladies know of Diana Rivers or Mizuki Kiwaki?”