Mikage cracked his neck and started walking toward Yukiko. The temperature in the gym subtly began to rise.
"Is it getting hot in here?" someone in the crowd muttered.
"You're right."
"I always am."
Suddenly, a rush of students—mostly girls—pushed into the gym, buzzing with excitement.
"Our source was right—he's fighting today!"
"Wait, isn't that Yukiko?"
"Yeah, it is."
"They're both so cool…"
From the sidelines, Akira muttered, "These two have no idea they've got fanbases ready to go to war for them."
Mikage's head was tilted down, shadows covering his eyes. He muttered quietly, "I hate all these eyes on me… guess I'll have to end this quickly."
He raised his voice. "Yukiko, try and dodge this."
Flames ignited in his palms, swirling rapidly until they resembled spinning, flaming saws.
"Fire Wheel."
He hurled them—one toward Yukiko's left, the other right.
"They're fast," she murmured, forming multiple ice barriers. The fire wheels tore through each one like paper, but finally sputtered out just before reaching her.
Yukiko exhaled in relief—then froze. Mikage was suddenly right in front of her, hand outstretched.
"Sorry, Yukiko," he said, "I need to end this early."
His hand closed around her face—only for her to crumble into ice.
"…What the hell?" Mikage muttered.
From the sidelines, Akira grinned. "That was nuts. Right after he threw those fire rings, Mikage condensed his flames to rocket forward. And Yukiko? She slipped back, made a clone, and baited him perfectly."
Mikage turned to see Yukiko calmly standing nearby.
"I really thought I got you," he admitted.
"You almost did," she replied, mist still rising from the spot he'd aimed for.
In the crowd, a chorus of girl voices broke the tension.
"I wish he'd grabbed me like that!"
"Did you see those hands?"
One boy rolled his eyes. "You do know you'd die, right?"
The girls responded in unison, "And so what?"
Mikage smirked. "You look tired. Want to give up?"
Yukiko smiled faintly. "What if I say no?"
Flames reignited around him. "Then I'll make you."
Yukiko tilted her head. "You always let your guard down. Is it because I'm a girl, or because I use ice and you use fire?"
"Or maybe," she added, "you think fire always melts ice?"
Mikage paused—then smiled. "You're smart."
Suddenly, ice burst from the floor, freezing him from the front and back.
"I told you so," Yukiko said, rising to her feet.
The crowd gasped.
"Does this mean she's the strongest in the school?"
"Don't be stupid—it's just luck!"
"No, she outplayed him. Don't be biased."
Akira muttered, "Was she holding this much back against me?"
In the shadows, Edward watched silently.
Then the ice began to melt. Sparks danced across the floor, and flames erupted upward into a swirling inferno that reached the ceiling. A fiery tornado.
Akira shielded his eyes. "Is this still just sparring?"
As the flames died down, Mikage stood shirtless—his shirt burned off, muscles gleaming with heat and faint scars.
Girls screamed again.
"LORD HAVE MERCY!"
"A walking Greek god!"
"The scars make him ten times hotter!"
Sprinklers activated, raining down. Akira looked up and sighed, "Definitely Mikage's fault."
The water turned to snowflakes near Yukiko… but evaporated into mist around Mikage.
"He still doesn't want to stay down," Yukiko whispered.
Akira called out, "Let's end this already—"
"Not yet," Mikage replied.
"If you say so," Yukiko said calmly.
She raised her hands. The mist swirled, enclosing Mikage.
"Looks like it's my turn to be hunted," he said, grinning.
Mist darted past him, followed by a sharp whoosh—an ice ring struck from the front. He blocked it, but his arm began to freeze.
"She copied my Fire Wheel?" he muttered.
Another shot from behind—this one swerved, hitting his shoulder.
"She improved it?!"
More followed—two more rings zoomed past him and missed.
"Huh? Was the first one a fluke?"
He melted the ice and summoned a wall of flame.
"None of these'll reach me."
Then—whirr—a single, bigger sound echoed.
"Wait… where's the second one?"
It passed through his flames. He raised his hand—
Too late.
It swerved again, striking him across the face. As it melted, Mikage whispered, "She has precise control over her ice… impressive."
He closed his eyes, feeling for her mana.
"She's hiding it well…"
He sensed it—then launched fire and propelled himself forward.
Yukiko blocked the flame just in time, but Mikage appeared in front of her and threw a kick. She blocked, but it sent her skidding.
"You remind me of my sister," Mikage said.
"Which part?" she asked, steadying herself.
"Your magic control."
Yukiko smiled. "I'm flattered. The brother of Anri Magata giving compliments? That's rare."
"Let's end this, Yukiko."
he raised his hand as he formed a growing fireball. Heat surged.
"I really wish I had my sword…" Yukiko muttered. "Guess I'll improvise."
She conjured two ice rings—one horizontal, one verticalpouring her mana into them as they absorbed mist from the air.
From the entrance, Mr. Oliver stepped in. "What's with this mana spike—"
He froze as he saw Mikage and Yukiko, both about to unleash their ultimate spells.
"Cataclysm!"
"Ice Vortex!"
Akira muttered, "I should probably protect myself."
He summoned a shadow barrier. Edward and others followed suit.
"Stone Slab!" Mr. Oliver shouted, slamming his foot on the ground. A massive wall of earth erupted between the two spells.
A thunderous shockwave cracked through the school. The ground rumbled.
Mikage blinked, disoriented. "Who stopped us?"
Mr. Oliver roared, "You two! WHOSE SCHOOL DO YOU THINK YOU WANT TO DESTROY?!!!
Mikage, Yukiko, and Akira knelt in front of Mr. Oliver, their heads slightly bowed.
Akira muttered under his breath, "Why am I kneeling? I was just watching..."
Mr. Oliver's voice boomed across the gym. "Would anyone like to explain what the hell happened here?!"
Mikage calmly raised his hand. "Sir, allow me."
Oliver glared at him. "Go ahead."
Mikage exhaled. "I told them we should come and test each other's battle prowess... but we went overboard."
Akira blinked. "We? What do you mean we?"
Mikage continued, "I take full responsibility for everything, sir."
Mr. Oliver shifted his glare to Akira. "Do you have anything to say?"
Akira shrugged. "Sir, not at all."
Then Mr. Oliver turned to Yukiko. "And you?"
Yukiko met his eyes, her tone flat and unreadable. "Sir, I only followed what I assumed was the team leader's command. I acted purely in self-defense. You don't expect me to just stand there and get injured, do you?"
For a second, silence filled the room.
Mikage, Akira, and Mr. Oliver all thought the same thing:
"This girl is sly."
Mr. Oliver groaned and rubbed his forehead. "Next time, activate a phantom world. You three could've destroyed the entire school."
The trio replied in unison, "Yes, sir."
As Mr. Oliver turned to leave, he paused. "Oh yeah," he muttered, turning back and handing them each two folders. "You've got two missions coming up."
He pointed to the first folder. "People have been going missing lately. We suspect Night Walkers are involved. Most of them are probably mindless by now, walking corpses… but if you find anyone still sane, bring them back."
Then he gestured to the second. "This one's more of an excursion. An ancient labyrinth was discovered on Earth two weeks ago. The Divine Visionaries are already stationed there—you're just going to observe how they operate. Especially you, Akira. It'll give you a sense of how these structures work."
Akira's eyes lit up. "That sounds cool."
Mr. Oliver added, "You'll be going with Edward's group on the second mission."
He then handed Akira a small package.
"What's this?" Akira asked.
Mr. Oliver nodded toward Mikage. "He noticed you haven't used a phone in a while and asked me to get you one. He offered to pay, but I decided to cover it."
Akira blinked. "Wait… what did happen to my phone?"
Then he shrugged. "Who cares."
He stood up and gave a respectful bow. "Thank you, Mr. Oliver. Mikage."
Mr. Oliver replied, "It's my pleasure."
Mikage smiled. "That's what friends are for."
Akira stared at him, stunned.
"F-Friends...? I THOUGHT I WAS JUST HIS PUNCHING BAG!"
As Mr. Oliver reached the exit, he turned and gave one final glare.
"Oh—and I want this place spotless by tomorrow."
The gym door slammed shut behind him.
After Mr. Oliver closed the door behind him, Mikage sighed and stretched.
"Looks like we should get to cleaning," he said.
The trio grabbed their cleaning supplies and began surveying the gym. Parts of the floor were scorched, others slick with melting ice shards. Mikage gave a nervous chuckle.
"Was this… us?"
Akira replied with dry sarcasm, "Not at all. It was the great-grandfather of Mikage and the great-grandfather of Yukiko. They're known for their wild sparring matches."
Yukiko added calmly, "I don't believe we'll be able to finish this in one night."
Akira turned to her, exasperated. "YOU THINK?!"
Mikage tried to lighten the mood. "Let's just get started and see how far we get."
As they cleaned, Akira asked, "Are we supposed to pay for all this damaged gym equipment?"
Mikage shook his head. "No. There's a warehouse with extra equipment for situations like this."
Akira glanced around at the wreckage. "Well, considering at least 80% of the gym is toast, this won't be easy."
"And heavy," Yukiko added dryly.
Akira let out a loud sigh.
Just then, a group of male students approached them. "We want to help with the cleaning," one of them offered.
Akira blinked. "Why? You didn't even participate."
One of the boys shrugged. "We enjoyed the fight… It'd feel wrong to leave you to deal with the consequences alone."
Akira gave a surprised nod. "Thanks."
He thought to himself, Strange. I really thought they just wanted Yukiko's attention.
Another thought intruded, mimicking a smug inner voice:"We don't care about the rest of you. I'm just trying to look manly."
A group of girls then joined in to help. Yukiko softly muttered, "Yahh," acknowledging them.
While cleaning, Akira's mind drifted to earlier that day—he remembered seeing Trixie rushing toward Mr. Simon's office, and how the door had been locked behind her.
He glanced at Yukiko, who was now being doted on by the boys like a goddess.
Yukiko and Trixie are close, right? Akira thought. It's not really my business… but damn it, I'm curious now.
He walked over and called her name. All the boys surrounding her instantly glared at him.
"Earlier today," Akira began, "I saw Trixie running to Mr. Simon's office. He locked the door behind them. Yesterday, he also asked her to meet him later, and she seemed… uncomfortable. Do you know anything about that?"
Yukiko stared at him for a moment before replying, "Honestly, I'm not sure. She said she'll tell me when she's ready… but she's been saying that for years."
"Should we find out anyway?" Akira asked.
"No. She'll tell me when she's ready."
Akira poked her cheek teasingly. "Come on. Aren't you at least a little curious?"
"No," she replied flatly.
Meanwhile, Mikage watched them from afar, frowning. When did they get so close? What are they talking about?
As he began to approach them, a group of girls suddenly swarmed him with questions.
"Are you dating anyone?"
"Do you like someone right now?"
Other boys nearby watched with envy. Lucky bastard, one of them thought.
Mikage chuckled awkwardly. "Let's finish cleaning first, then I'll answer your questions."
Back by Yukiko, Akira tugged her cheeks from side to side. "Come on, I know you want to know."
Yukiko grabbed his hand, and a cold chill spread over it as frost formed.
Akira flinched. "Crap. Did I go too far?"
Yukiko sighed. "Fine. Let's go."
"Alright!" Akira grinned. "Mikage, you coming?"
Mikage, still surrounded, waved them off. "I've got my hands full here. Just be quick."
Akira and Yukiko made their way to Mr. Simon's door. Akira tried the handle—it was still locked.
He muttered, "How do we get in without a key…?"
Yukiko peered through the keyhole, then started forming a key out of ice. She handed it to Akira.
"Use this as a mold. Copy it with your shadow magic and solidify the result," she instructed.
"Why not just use your ice key?" Akira asked.
"For ice to be dense enough not to shatter, it has to be thick. This key would break in the lock."
Akira studied the ice key and began forming a shadow around it, slowly replicating the shape. He messed up the first couple of tries.
"Focus," Yukiko said calmly. "We don't have the same brain. Stop multitasking. Memorize the shape first, then replicate it."
Akira nodded, took a breath, then concentrated. His shadow magic coiled around the ice key and molded into an identical replica. He removed the ice version and tested his new shadow key.
It fit perfectly. He turned it—click. The door unlocked.
Akira grinned. "Open sesame."
As the door slid open, Yukiko looked at him and said softly, "You're actually a pretty smart person, Akira."