"Ah, well, n-no! I would never underestimate Byakuya-san! It's just that...there's this really troublesome fellow -or rather should I say that he and I can't get along?- and so I just can't help but be more conscious of him than I should be."
Indeed, Ikki had never intended to look down on Byakuya. In fact, he was more than a little embarrassed that Byakuya had heard everything.
For his part Byakuya smiled a little at the obviously flustered Ikki.
"Haha. I was kidding. I know that you're not the sort of person who would look down on his opponent. I was just trying to get your goat. Sorry about that."
"W, well, as long as you understand, that's great."
It seemed that Byakuya wasn't actually angry, but was just pulling Ikki's leg a bit. That relieved him some.
"Still, I thought so when I first saw you at the party, but you really do have an amazing physique when viewed up close. I now understand those superhuman movements you made during the match today. That is no shallow effort you made to train your body to that extent. You have my respect."
"You don't have to be...I don't have anything other than my sword, and there's nothing I can do with it apart from honing myself."
"Don't be so humble. That's not something just anyone could do."
"Eh…?"
In that instant, a sound both agonized cry and shocked shriek escaped from Ikki's lips.
For Byakuya's fingers were upon his chest.
"Now that I've touched it with my own hands, I understand. Each strand of muscle fibre has definition to the core, but not a one has lost its suppleness. The muscles themselves are light but strong - very impressive. Not an ounce of fat, nor an ounce of excess, for-show-only muscle. This is, indeed, the body of a trueborn swordsman, created only to wield his blade. An elegant design, created to display that purity of will. It is truly beautiful - one does not tire of touching it."
"...!!!!!"
Every hair on Ikki's body stood on end as Byakuya's fingers toured the lines of his musculature, his shapely eyes gazing at him under long lashes.
Wasn't this a dangerous situation?
Gripped by an unspeakable fear, he leapt out of the bath.
"Alice," he all but yelled at his friend, "isn't it time for…"
"…me to get in on the action?"
"I'm being pincered?!"
But alas, there were only the three of them there. A tiger before, and a wolf behind. A horrid predicament.
Ikki broke into a profuse cold sweat.
At that moment…
"You pervert…!!!"
…with a resounding warcry, a figure burst from the entrance to the bath, and pried Byakuya off Ikki with a kick, sending him flying into a corner of the bath.
The young man who had done this was also from Bukyoku, and was Byakuya's friend - Yuudai Moroboshi.
"Moroboshi-san!"
"Yo, Kurogane. Somehow it feels like it was just like this yesterday too."
Yuudai greeted unabashedly, even before the one who had just defeated him just a while ago that day.
On the other hand, Byakuya frowned at the one who had sent him flying.
"What are you doing all of a sudden, Yuu? Horseplay in the baths is dangerous."
"The dangerous one was you and yo' touchy-feely stuff sissyin' up the whole place!"
"How rude. Momiji is the one I love. I was only touching Kurogane-kun as a fellow one who lives for battle. It was a sign of respect."
"I know that, but think of how people would see it! Kurogane's crawlin' in his own skin, yo!"
"Oh. Then I apologize. I hadn't intended to scare you. I just wanted to get to know you better."
"...Eh."
"Dat's why I said choose yer words carefully!"
Smacking his friend on the back of the head, Moroboshi proceeded to cover for him.
"Sorry 'bout that, Kurogane. He does some scary stuff, but his sexual tastes are where you'd expect - don't worry 'bout it. It's just the way he does and acts."
"Aha, ahaha...it's a misunderstanding, so it's fine. Really."
He meant it enough, but though the misunderstanding had been cleared, Ikki still felt uncomfortable around -of course- Yuudai.
Though it had been an honorable duel, Ikki had ultimately knocked him out to break through the first round. He wasn't sorry about it, but it was still hard to meet his eyes. While Yuudai did not show it, he was surely still a little sore.
"In that case," Alice said, seeming to read his thoughts, "should we go, Ikki?'
He was not joking this time.
"Yeah. Should we go get something to drink at the vendor?"
Ikki leapt onto that lifeboat, and they made to depart.
Just then, Byakuya spoke up.
"Oh, you're both getting out already?"
Ikki nodded.
"I think we've spent enough time in the water. Any more and we might get faint."
"That's a shame. And I got into this misunderstanding with you to boot. I originally wanted to apologize by washing your back."
"U-um, no, it's alright."
"In that case…"
Byakuya snapped his fingers…
…and something surprising happened.
Out of thin air, a bottle of green tea landed in Ikki's right hand, while Alice grasped a can of black coffee in his.
"Arara?"
"This is…!"
"At least accept this much."
As though to say 'well then', Byakuya then turned his back to them before heading to the showers together with Yuudai. As they did so…
"Shiro. I'm from a merchant house too, y'know? Y'better have paid for those drinks."
"How rude. Of course I placed coins into the vending machine."
…could be heard.
Leaving the bath, the two of them shut the door, keeping the hot steam from leaking out.
Alice pointed at the can that had suddenly appeared in his hands in surprise.
"Ikki...is this in fact his ability?"
Ikki nodded.
"This is the Noble Art of last year's second place, Eye of Heaven Byakuya Jougasaki - God Hand."
It was an ability that allowed him to manipulate the 'placement' of any object within a 50 metre radius of himself via teleportation. Nondescript in theory, but very formidable in practice - especially so in a tournament that utilized a 10-countdown loss by ring-out rule. In fact, he had used this ability to bring his opponent out of the ring and thereby winning.
"...So once again it's a rather tricky ability."
"It is a powerful ability, but it's not easy to use. If the target object is immobile, then he can freely change their position like he did earlier. But for moving targets like humans, he has to wound them with his Device first before initiating the teleportation. It's probably a matter of 'locking onto a target' via contact."
"So you mean that if you don't get touched, it'll be fine. I guess then the result of the battle will be quite up the air."
"Yes. Which is why...when I fight him, I will have to be wary of his other ability, the one that gave him his nickname."
"And that is?"
"What's in your hand, Alice?"
Ikki asked, indicating the green tea bottle in his hand.
"It's coffee. How lucky; I was just thinking to buy one after the bath."
"I, too, wanted to buy green tea after getting out of the bath."
"..."
"If you gave two people the same drink, it is possible for you to have matched one of their preferences, but to give two people different drinks and guess their preferences is a different thing, wouldn't you think?"
"Well, it would be a little difficult...so in other words, this is…?"
"Yes. Byakuya-san is a fighter famous for gathering an excessive amount of data on his opponents. Furthermore, he isn't limited to information gathered during combat, but his data-gathering also extends to the subtleties of everyday life."
"Now that you mention it, he did say that he was checking us out. But what does this mean?'
"It may not be information that means anything to us, but it's a very different matter to him. Of course he does take note of movements in combat or the movement of eyes, but he combines that with these small things to figure out a human's personality and inclinations. He is well known for being to expose the 'roots' of another person's thought - their 'logic'."
Exposing their logic.
"So," Alice asked in response to that praise, "could he replicate the effects of your Perfect Vision?"
"Yes. Our approaches are different, but they are of a similar type...though Byakuya-san's method wins by far in terms of functionality. After all, my Perfect Vision is fairly reliant on collecting information in the midst of battles. But he would already have grasped his opponent's 'logic' before the battle thank to his meticulous investigation, and he would take control of a fight the moment it begins. Those monstrous powers of observation, that sees through all like the eyes of a god, are what gives him the moniker Eye of Heaven."
Manipulating his opponent with that godlike power of analysis, and then getting the one slash that would trigger his Teleportation - that was Byakuya's style. His touching of Ikki previously had probably been for the sake of estimating his physical capabilities.
He had already begun gathering data for the battle tomorrow.
'Byakuya-san's right, I shouldn't be worrying about the semifinals when I haven't even gotten there.'
Having seen Byakuya's powers in action, Ikki had been thoroughly reminded of just how daunting his opponent was. This was the Seven Stars Battle Festival, Japan's most prominent tournament for student knights. There wasn't a single Blazer in the tournament he could afford to take lightly.
'I need to focus on tomorrow's match. I can worry about everything else once I've given my all to beat Byakuya-san.'
Ikki mentally steeled himself, putting Amane out of his mind for now.
...
After they left the bath, Ikki parted ways with Alisuin and started walking up the staircase, heading for his room on the tenth floor. He chose not to use the elevator since he wanted to rehabilitate his injured thigh a little bit. The bath had done wonders for his exhaustion, and Byakuya and Alisuin had helped him stop worrying about Amane, so he had a new spring in his step. He was sure he'd sleep soundly tonight. It was about time for him to get to bed too.
However, as he was going up the stairs, he stopped on the seventh floor—the floor Stella was staying on.
'I got to talk with her after my match, but only for a bit.'
They hadn't spoken at all since then. She'd gone into a capsule after her match for healing, and he'd been swarmed by reporters wanting an interview with the man who'd defeated the Seven Stars Sword King.
'I really want to talk with her more...'
Now that he was free from thoughts of Amane, his desire to see Stella began to grow.
'But this is the first night of the tournament. Will she think I'm frivolous for coming to see her when I should be focused on my upcoming matches?'
That worry suddenly ran through Ikki's mind.
'No, it's best not to jump to conclusions.'
He recalled the fight they'd had at the pool and shook his head. Back then, the two of them had kept their distance because they were worried they'd scare the other party off by coming on too strongly. Ikki had sworn to himself after that not to hide anything from Stella.
'Besides, there was nothing wrong with wanting to talk to your girlfriend after not seeing her for a week.'
"All right, let's go."
Ikki walked into the seventh-floor hallway and started heading toward Stella's room. Once there, he rang the doorbell. After a minute of silence, he rang it again, but there was still no response.
"Maybe she went out..."
Ikki's shoulders slumped. Considering the time, it was entirely possible she'd gone down to take a bath as well.
'It'd be pretty weird to wait in front of her room for her...'
Disappointing as it was, it seemed the best course of action was to simply go back to his room and sleep. To that end, he turned around and headed back to the staircase. But when he reached his room, he was treated to a surprise.
"Sh-Should I really have come? What if he thinks I'm a frivolous woman for coming to see him during the tournament? But we barely got to talk today, and..."
Stella was mumbling to herself while standing in front of Ikki's room, debating whether to ring the doorbell.
'Wow, she's literally me.'
Ikki smiled, glad to know she'd been thinking the exact same thing he had. The reason she hadn't been in her room was that she'd gone to his to see him. He opened his mouth to call out to her, but then he stopped, a playful grin spreading across his face.
Stella had her back to him and hadn't noticed that he was there. This was the perfect chance to play a prank on her and surprise her.
He couldn't believe he still had such childish urges inside him, but at the same time, he was excited about sneaking up on her and tapping her on the shoulder.
If he called out to her, it would be just a regular old reunion.
She'd greet him with a smile like she always did. But if he surprised her, he'd get to see some expressions he normally didn't. Even if she got mad, that would be cute in its own way. In fact, that was the preferable outcome. Thus, as stealthily as he could, Ikki snuck up behind Stella.
"Boo!" he shouted right as he was about to tap her on the
shoulder.
"Don't sneak up behind me, you— Aaaaah!"
"Whoa?!"
Before Ikki had so much as touched her, Stella turned around and launched a perfectly executed roundhouse kick on pure instinct, aimed squarely at Ikki's head despite the fact that she shouldn't have been able to see him. Only then had she realized what she'd done, and her irritated voice had turned into a scream. Ikki had barely managed to duck out of the way, but anyone else would have had the lights knocked out of them.
"Sorry, my training kicked in and I... Are you okay? Wait, I-Ikki?!"
"Ha ha ha ha... Hey, Stella," Ikki said, his expression stiff. It
seemed she'd only just realized who it was she'd tried to kick.
'I never thought I'd nearly be killed for trying to play a prank. I promise not to mess with people ever again.'
...
"I see, so you were trying to surprise me... Hee hee, I didn't know you had such a childish side to you, Ikki," Stella said, sitting down on Ikki's bed next to him. He'd invited her in after the confusion had been resolved. Ikki had been regretting his hasty actions, but then Stella smiled warmly at him, and he decided that maybe it had been worth nearly losing his head for that smile alone.
"I just kicked on instinct, but are you okay?"
"Yeah... I managed to dodge in the nick of time."
"I'm glad you were the one behind me. That probably would have killed anyone else."
"Ha ha..." Considering how sharp that kick had been, it really might have killed anyone else. "I'm amazed you were able to react to that so quickly. I thought I'd completely silenced my footsteps, but I guess not."
Stella had perfectly aimed a fatal kick at a target she hadn't even been looking at. That wasn't something she'd been capable of before her training.
"Did Saikyou-sensei teach you how to do that?" Ikki asked, and Stella nodded.
"Sort of. She's always able to be in my blind spot without me realizing it, so I learned how to deal with that— Oh."
"What's up?"
"Someone on the floor below us dropped a ten-yen coin."
"It's incredible that you were able to hear that, but somehow, it doesn't even surprise me now."
"You were amazing in your match too, Ikki. Well, I know the only person you'll ever lose to is me, but I didn't think you'd pull out those crazy techniques to win. You must have stolen them when you went to rescue Alice, right? You never go down without a fight, do you?"
Stella smiled, sounding prouder of Ikki's accomplishments than her own. But Ikki frowned.
"I can't really say I've mastered those moves, though," he said.
"Really?"
Ikki nodded.
"Yeah, I'm still making too much noise. When I fought Twin
Wings, all of her slashes were as silent as the grave. None of her power was being lost to air resistance, so you didn't hear the sound of her swords slicing through the air. I can't replicate that just yet.'
Indeed, Edelweiss's swordsmanship had been a far cry from what Ikki had copied with his Blade Steal. It wasn't because he'd failed to fully grasp the nature behind her technique, however. He could perfectly recreate what she'd done in his head, and he knew what muscles he had to move to do the same. The reason he couldn't replicate it perfectly was that he still wasn't able to fully control the flow of power within his body.
"I thought I was top class when it came to controlling the various parts of my body, but it looks like I've still got a long way to go," he continued. "I'm reminded of that every time I try to copy her techniques."
Ikki clenched his hands into fists. It had been a long time since he'd failed to replicate a technique he'd stolen, and that frustrated him.
"Hee hee, that's just like you, Ikki," Stella said with a smile.
"What do you mean?"
"You hate to lose, even if it's to the best swordsman in the world."
To most Blazers, Twin Wings was a symbol of fear and awe. She was closer to a god than a person in their eyes. No one believed that they were on even close to the same level as her. As a result, no one seriously thought that they could defeat her. After Stella explained all that, she added, "But you're actually mad that you're not able to match up to her swordsmanship.'
That meant Ikki saw her as a rival to be defeated rather than a god. It was quite something, considering he was still just a student.
Most people would call him arrogant for thinking that way, but not Stella.
"But that's what I love about you," she said, smiling at him again.
Something Ikki had only come to notice after he'd started dating Stella was that dimples formed on her cheeks whenever she smiled from the bottom of her heart. It seemed she was self-conscious about them and usually tried to avoid smiling that broadly, but when she was with Ikki, she dropped all pretenses and was her honest self. In other words, her dimply smile was something special just for him. That made his heart skip a beat.
"Stella..."
As he thought about how long it had been since he'd last seen that smile, Ikki gently caressed Stella's cheeks—an action she didn't shy away from. In fact, she welcomed his touch. She enjoyed feeling Ikki's body heat through his fingers. It made her feel like they were connected.
The knowledge that Stella had accepted him completely enough to allow this sort of contact warmed Ikki's heart. He loved everything about her, from her flaming red hair to her ruby eyes to her soft, inviting lips.
"Mmm..."
Ikki pressed his lips against Stella's as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It was a soft, gentle kiss, which she reciprocated immediately. There was no greater feeling, Ikki thought, than loving someone with all your heart and knowing that they loved you back just as much.
Eventually, they broke the kiss off to take a breath, and then
Stella moved in to kiss Ikki again. They kissed over and over, making up for the time they'd spent apart. After a few moments of pure bliss, Stella pulled away, a slight blush on her face.
"Hey, Ikki? Were you lonely while I was gone?" she asked,
looking up at Ikki with a hint of guilt in her eyes. She was worried that her selfish decision to go off and train had hurt him.
"Yeah, I was real lonely." Ikki knew that he should have said no to make her feel at ease, but he had promised to be completely honest with her. "You know, I actually went down to your room to visit you earlier."
"Really?"
"Of course. I wanted to spend more time with you. I thought you might think I'm frivolous for coming to see you during the tournament, but I rang your doorbell anyway. Well, you'd gone to visit me, so you weren't there, but still."
Maybe it wasn't manly of Ikki to talk about how lonely he'd been, but he didn't care. It just proved how much he'd been thinking about her in the week they'd been apart.
"I'm really happy right now," Ikki said, wrapping his arm around Stella's back and hugging her tightly.
"I see..." Stella said, leaning into him. The time they'd spent apart had made this reunion all the sweeter, so in a sense, Ikki didn't even hate that they hadn't been able to see each other for a bit. "Then I guess you better punish me, Ikki."
"Huh?"
Ikki's thoughts ground to a halt.
"Wait, what? Sorry, did I hear you wrong? Did you just say
'punish me'?" he asked. Stella nodded, blushing. But that only confused him even more.
"Wait, are you talking about, like, spanking you?"
"What else would I be talking about?"
"I mean, I just don't get why I need to punish you."
"B-Because you're going to be my husband eventually, right? Only a bad wife would make her husband lonely! That's why you need to punish me!" Stella said as she balled her hands into fists, her expression dead serious.
"I-I really don't mind that much!" Naturally, Ikki wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about the idea of doing something cruel to his girlfriend over something he perceived as minor.
"You needed that week to focus on your training. I know you'll need time to yourself sometimes, and I don't want to become the kind of abusive boyfriend who tries to monopolize his girlfriend!"
"Well, even if you don't want to punish me, I won't be satisfied until you do!"
"Uhhh..."
Suddenly, Ikki recalled the time Stella had barged into the
bathroom while he was bathing and offered to wash his back, claiming that it was her duty as his servant following her loss in their duel. Her expression right now was the exact same as it had been back then. Because of how prideful and earnest Stella was, she was quite strict with herself. She tried to keep her promises at all costs, and she was willing to go to any length to make up for her mistakes.
At the same time, though, she was so determined to make amends for what she saw as a mistake that she didn't stop to think about whether the other party actually wanted an apology of any kind.
'I shouldn't let Stella take the initiative here.'
Ikki knew from experience things would only get worse if he did that. Stella was normally easily embarrassed, but when she felt she needed to do something, she could become quite bold. If he let her keep going, there was no telling what kind of crazy things she'd offer to do as a means of apologizing. If she asks me to start spanking her for real,
things are going to get out of hand.
Ikki quickly came up with a plan.
"Okay, fine. I'll punish you now, Stella, so don't resist."
Ikki placed his hands on Stella's shoulders and pulled her toward him. He intended to kiss her on the cheek and call that her punishment.
"O-Okay, but no kisses. Something that nice isn't a real
punishment," she said, foiling his plan. Just as he understood her quite well, she also understood him well.
"O-Okay..."
Ikki knew that he still had to find an alternate means of escape or Stella would suggest something far worse. After a few seconds, he came up with a backup plan and brought his face close to Stella's cheek. But not to kiss her. Instead, he pulled her even closer, bringing his mouth past her cheek.
"This is your punishment, so it's going to hurt a little bit," he
whispered into her ear.
"Huh?"
A second later, he bit her earlobe. It was soft, and slightly cooler than the rest of her body. The coolness was pleasant after the hot kisses they'd just shared. He didn't bite down on it super hard, but he also didn't bite so softly that it was a play bite. Ikki knew he had to put at least a little bit of force into it or Stella wouldn't consider it a fair punishment. It was at least a hard enough bite to leave marks on her ear.
"Hyaaah?!"
"Whoa!"
Stella let out a high-pitched scream and jumped out of Ikki's
grasp.
"S-Sorry. Did it hurt that much?" Ikki asked, surprised, but Stella then hugged him and shook her head.
'So it didn't hurt. In that case...'
Ikki looked down at Stella and saw that she was blushing brightly and trembling like a twig. Wanting to test his theory, he bit down on the nape of her neck this time.
"Eeeek!"
Stella let out another scream, but this time, she kept clinging onto Ikki. Upon seeing her reaction, Ikki became certain.
'I see, so Stella likes a little pain.'
It was kind of embarrassing to have discovered one of his
girlfriend's fetishes in this way, but at the same time, it made things easier. After all, he wasn't actually trying to punish her. The last thing he wanted was to genuinely hurt her, but if she was a masochist, then everything worked out. Or so Ikki thought at first, but things quickly escalated.
"Haaah...haaah... I'm so happy."
"Stella?"
Ikki stopped biting her neck and turned to look up at her. She was staring down at him, her skin flushed and naked desire burning in her eyes. She gently brushed Ikki's bite marks with the back of her hand, her expression turning ecstatic.
"You ate me up, Ikki..." she muttered, sounding happier than
ever. She looked so seductive in that instant that Ikki felt a wave of dizziness come over him.
'This isn't good...'
His "punishment" had totally turned her on. He'd been hoping that some light biting would get her off his case about needing to punish her, but instead, he'd created a much worse problem. At this rate, the two of them would cross a line Ikki had promised himself he wouldn't until after meeting her parents. Though he was ashamed to admit it, Ikki knew his self-control wouldn't hold out for much longer.
That being the case, he grabbed Stella's shoulders again and pulled her off of him.
"O-Okay, that's enough punishment! We're done now!"
"Ah..."
Ikki knew he had to stop before he completely lost control.
Unfortunately, in his panic, he'd been slightly more forceful than intended, and when he'd pushed Stella away, he'd accidentally torn open her yukata as well. The yukata had already been somewhat revealing, but now, one of her breasts was fully visible. Of course, that meant her nipple was too.
"Hngh..."
Ikki was so stunned that he couldn't even form proper words. His mouth suddenly felt dry, and his heart was beating a million times a minute. He knew he should apologize and look away, but he was completely paralyzed. Seeing Stella like this had fried his brain. And unfortunately for him, she wasn't resisting.
"I don't mind..." she said seductively. Her brain had long since been fried. "You can bite me all you want, Ikki."
Smiling, Stella gently stroked his cheek. He was the only thing reflected in her eyes, and in that moment, he knew she'd let him do anything he wanted. His mind went completely blank, and he started acting on autopilot. Slowly but surely, he brought his mouth closer to Stella's bare nipple. She watched with bated breath, bringing her hand around to the back of his head as if to invite him in.
Just then, the doorbell to Ikki's room rang.
"Aaaaaaah!"
Snapping back to reality, the two of them screamed in unison.
...
Ikki and Stella scurried toward opposite corners of the bed, both blushing to the tips of their ears. Now that they'd returned to their senses, they realized just how embarrassing their actions had been.
At the same time, the thought of how far they might have gone had the doorbell not rung ran through their minds.
That made them even more embarrassed, and it was a few seconds before they could bear to look at each other.
"Ha ha... I don't know if I should call that perfect timing or
terrible timing..."
"Y-You can say that again... Oho ho ho..."
Stella let out an uncharacteristically high-class laugh as she
straightened out her yukata. It was probably her way of hiding her embarrassment, but Ikki honestly wasn't sure how to respond to that. Instead, he decided to change the subject.
"I-It looks like someone's here to visit, so let's just cool our heads and..." he said, trailing off.
"Y-Yeah, that sounds good."
Ikki jumped off the bed and headed toward the door, breathing a heavy sigh of relief.
'Th-That was close...'
Had they kept going, he would have broken his promise and had sex with Stella before meeting her parents.
'I never thought I could be so easily swayed... Then again, with how pretty Stella is, it might not have been possible for anyone to maintain their self-control in that situation.'
Either way, Ikki truly had been saved by this nighttime visitor.
He was eager to welcome them in since it felt like being alone with Stella right now was too dangerous.
Now that I think about it, though, who'd even visit me at this
hour? Ikki opened the door and said, "Yes? Who is it?"
"Good evening. As promised, I came here to draw your nude
form."
Ikki slammed the door shut immediately and turned the lock.
"Wh-Who was it, Ikki?!" Stella asked, surprised.
"An annoying door-to-door salesman."
"But we're in a hotel!"
From her vantage point, Ikki had been blocking the doorway, so Stella hadn't actually seen who it was. Naturally, the only person who'd make a comment like that was Sara Bloodlily. And as always, all she'd been wearing was an apron and a pair of jeans.
Sara had been interested in Ikki ever since Akatsuki had attacked Hagun, and she'd approached him during the welcoming party for the Seven Stars Battle Festival participants. That was when she'd first asked him to be her nude model. At the time, Ikki had thought it was some kind of joke, but it appeared she was serious. Either way, this was one guest he couldn't welcome into his room—for one
thing, he didn't want to model for her.
While desperately trying to think of a way out of this situation, Ikki pressed his back against the door. That was when the wall next to him swung open.
"Excuse me," Sara said, stepping into the room.
"Wh-What?! H-How'd you get in?!"
"Through the wall."
"Yeah, I saw that! How did you make the wall open?!"
"I put a doorknob on it."
Ikki looked down and saw that there was indeed a doorknob on the hallway side of the wall.
'Is this just how hotel walls work?'
"Wait, no, there's no way!" Ikki shouted. Sara must have used her Blazer ability. "I don't know what kind of power you used to get in here, but why do you keep stalking me?!"
"Like I said, I came here to draw you in the nude like I promised," Sara said bluntly. The look in her eyes made it clear that she was serious. But Ikki was just as serious about not getting naked for her.
"Well, I never promised I'd let you do that."
"But I promised I'd draw you nude."
"That's not a promise! Promises are made between two people! You just decided to do this without my consent!"
"You're surprisingly stubborn. Very well, if you insist, then…"
"You'll give up?"
"I'll strip for you in exchange."
"No! I don't need that! Like I keep saying, just stop trying to get me to model for you and leave!" Ikki cried, a hint of desperation entering his voice.
"That's not happening." Instead of backing down, Sara took a step closer to Ikki and leaned against his chest. "You're the only thing I can think about now. Ever since I touched your body that day, my mind's been filled with thoughts of you. You're the only one who can satisfy me now. Take responsibility for that."
"S-Sara-san, please choose your words more carefully!"
Ikki paled, and a second later, Stella's hand clapped on his
shoulder. He turned around to see her smiling threateningly at him.
"Um, Ikki? Could you explain what's going on here? Why's this pervert from Akatsuki visiting your room? Also, I heard something about nude modeling. It seems a lot happened while I was away."
"W-Wait, Stella! Calm down! You don't know the whole story!"
"Aha ha ha. What are you talking about, Ikki? We're on the tenth story."
'Oh god, she's so mad that she's not hearing right!'
In fairness, the way Sara was dressed invited misunderstandings, and Stella was the kind of person who even got jealous of Shizuku.
There was no way she'd be fine with some random girl visiting Ikki's room in the middle of the night. Ikki knew he should just explain the situation honestly since he wasn't at fault here.
"We're not even friends, Stella! It's just that during the welcoming party for the knights in the tournament, she asked me to n-nude model for her!"
"N-N-N-N-N-Nude model?! Y-You can't do that! Even I haven't seen you nude yet, so there's no way you can show someone else your naked body!"
"Wait, that's your problem?"
"Yes, that's my problem! Anyway, I won't allow it! Also, get your hands off of Ikki, you pervert!"
Stella ripped Sara off of Ikki and flung her away. Sara landed
softly on the bed and glared at Stella.
"Why are you deciding this for him, Crimson Princess? This has nothing to do with you."
"Oh, it has everything to do with me! I'm Ikki's girlfriend!"
"I don't see the problem, then. I'm not particularly interested in dating him, nor do I want to make him mine. You can have his heart, I just want his body."
"Well, his body's mine too."
"Huh?"
"B-Besides, you said you just want to draw him nude, but who knows if that's all you're after! I bet you're just a pervert who wants to ogle Ikki's naked body!"
"Hmph."
Sara shot Stella another angry look. It seemed that last comment had wounded her pride as an artist.
"Fine. If you're that suspicious, I'll introduce myself. Though I'm sure the Vermillion royal family is already familiar with the name I use for my aboveboard activities." Sara pulled a notepad and ballpoint pen out of her pocket, wrote something down, tore the page off, and handed it to Stella.
"Does this name look familiar?"
"Let me see... What?! No way!" Stella's jaw dropped as she
examined the signature Sara had given her.
"You're Mario Rosso?!"
"Is that a video game character?" Ikki asked. He didn't recognize the name at all, but he assumed from Stella's reaction that it was a famous one.
"It's the pseudonym of the most famous painter in the world. Their most expensive piece sold for 1.4 billion."
"S-Seriously?! That much?!"
"Yep. And not yen either. American dollars. Anyway, they're
known for valuing their privacy and never showing their face in public, so I'd never met them in person until just now."
"But if no one knows their true identity, maybe Sara-san is lying about being them?" Ikki suggested, but Stella shook her head.
"Not possible. This signature's the real deal. We have a Mario Rosso painting hanging in our dining hall, and the signature on it looks identical. It's a very striking painting, so I remember it well. I never knew Mario was a member of the criminal underworld, though. That explains why all the journalists who tried to sniff out your true identity went missing."
"As long as you understand," Sara said, seemingly satisfied.
"Now you know I'm not some pervert. I just want to draw Another One's perfectly sculpted body. He's the absolute pinnacle of the male form. So stop getting in my way."
However, Stella remained standing protectively in front of Ikki.
"That does prove you're a first-class painter, and I'm honestly curious what a portrait of Ikki drawn by Mario Rosso would look like, but it's clear Ikki doesn't want to do it, so it's not happening!"
"Stella!"
'I'm so lucky to have such a caring girlfriend!'
When Stella had initially misunderstood the situation, Ikki had been worried for a second, but thankfully, she'd remained calm. If the two of them both said no, surely Sara would finally give up. Ikki breathed a sigh of relief.
"If you agree not to get in my way, I promise I'll draw a fresco of the two of you happily in each other's arms on one of the walls in the Vermillion Palace. I'll even put you in wedding attire if you want."
"You know, Ikki, maybe you should let her draw a
commemorative portrait of you. It'll be a good memento of the Seven Stars Battle Festival."
"I can't believe how easily you got bribed!"
"It's okay. You're doing this for art, so there's nothing to be
embarrassed about!"
"You've gotta be kidding me!"
Now it was Ikki who was outnumbered two to one. He jumped through the open wall-door to his room and started running down the hall.
"Wait, Ikki!" Stella shouted, chasing after him.
"I finally found the perfect model. I'm not letting you get away!"
Sara exclaimed, following after him as well.
...
Though Ikki had managed to give Stella and Sara the slip
temporarily, the hotel's floor plan was very basic, meaning there were no good places to hide. Unlike in the battle arena, he couldn't keep running away forever. He'd also had to think about where he was going to sleep. There was no way he could camp outside, as that wouldn't give him the quality rest he needed for his upcoming matches. At the same time, he couldn't return to his room. His only hope was to sleep in someone else's room. Initially, he'd thought about going to Alisuin's room, but he'd figured Stella would know where that was, so it wouldn't be safe.
Shizuku's room was even riskier, and there was a strong chance that Shizuku herself would try something funny. Unfortunately, he had no other friends here whom he was close enough with to just barge into their room in the middle of the night.
"So that's why you came here?"
"Yep. I figured that if I was going to impose, it'd be best to
impose on family." After carefully considering his options, Ikki had chosen to hide out in his brother Ouma's room.
"I doubt Stella and Sara-san will think I came to your room, so it should be safe. And that's why I want you to let me sleep here."
"Go back to your room."
"If I could, I wouldn't have come to this depressing place."
"If all you're going to do is complain, then definitely leave."
Ouma was his older brother by only a year, so Ikki didn't feel any need to stand on ceremony with him. If anything Ikki felt like he deserved to be a bit sarcastic considering that Ouma was currently working with terrorists and had attacked him on multiple occasions.
"Just go to someone else's room. Don't tell me you don't have any friends."
"Like you're one to talk."
"Didn't anyone teach you to respect your elders?"
"Ha ha, I never thought I'd hear a joke from you. Anyway, why would I respect someone who disappears for a few years and then comes back as a gofer for a terrorist organization? I've lost so much respect for you that there's none left. Or what, are you going to tell me to stand out in the hallway as penance?"
"I didn't know you hated me that much..." Ouma said, raising an eyebrow. It seemed he was aware that his actions deserved that kind of ire, though, since he didn't complain any further. With an annoyed scowl, he added, "Fine, but only for tonight."
The hotel rooms they'd been given were quite big, and Ouma had long since stopped sleeping on beds anyway. It didn't matter to him if someone else took his empty bed.
"Thanks a lot."
Ouma stepped out of the doorway and let Ikki inside. His lights were off, which made Ikki think he'd been asleep until just now.
Ouma took a bottle of mineral water out of the fridge and turned to Ikki.
"Want anything to drink?"
"Nah, I'll be going to sleep soon."
"I see. Feel free to use the bed. I don't sleep on beds anymore."
"If you say so..."
Ikki sat gratefully down on the bed. Meanwhile, Ouma sat down on a mat he'd lain on the floor and leaned back against the wall.
"So, what did you really come here to do?" he turned to Ikki and asked, his eyes glinting in the darkness.
"If all you wanted was a safe haven, you wouldn't have come here."
"Fair enough," Ikki replied. Ouma was of course correct. Ikki did genuinely want to hide from Sara and Stella, but there were safer places he could have chosen for that. After all, Ouma had literally tried to kill him the night before. Despite that, Ikki had come here.
He had his reasons, of course.
"We've only met on the battlefield the past few days, so we haven't been able to have a proper conversation. I wanted a chance to sit down and talk with you one-on-one."
Ouma said nothing, but he also didn't chase Ikki out of the room. Ikki took his silence as permission to keep talking.
"You know, I always respected you, Nii-san. You were always
stricter on yourself than anyone else, and you always lived up to the huge expectations our family set on you. You were my hero—the only person in the Kurogane family that I genuinely wanted to be like. When you vanished after graduating elementary school, I wasn't worried. I thought that since it was you, you were probably just traveling the world, training. That you'd found Japan too boring
and were seeking even greater challenges."
By the time Ouma had disappeared, no one in his age range, either in Japan or abroad, was even a threat to him. He'd already won the Under-12 World Cup tournament held by the main body of the International Mage-Knight Federation, and frankly, there hadn't even been any middle schoolers who were a match for him. In fact, there had been rumors that he was stronger than the Seven Stars Sword King at the time, so even high schoolers had been unable to
hold a candle to him. But Ouma was a man who kept pursuing evergreater heights, so he must have found regular middle school stifling.
He'd probably found the rules and regulations that bound student knights stifling as well. Federation rules stipulated that Blazers fighting in elementary and middle school tournaments could only bring their Devices out in phantom form. There was no way Ouma would be happy with such toothless duels. To him, a battle wasn't real unless you put your life on the line. Duels fought in illusionary form were mere games, not true battles. No matter how many
hundreds of them he fought, he wouldn't attain true strength. That was something Ikki believed too, so he knew Ouma must have felt the same way.
Ouma's disappearance hadn't come as a surprise to Ikki. On the contrary, he'd been expecting it. He'd known Ouma wouldn't be satisfied with the no-stakes tournaments middle schoolers fought in.
Though Ikki hadn't known where Ouma had gone, he'd still
respected his brother for setting off to challenge yet greater heights.
"But that's exactly why I was so shocked when you came back with a group of terrorists," Ikki said, turning to glare at Ouma. "Tell me, Nii-san, why are you with Rebellion?"
The reason Ikki had come here was to ask Ouma that question.
The Ouma Ikki knew wasn't interested in petty political schemes. He was a warrior through and through, whose only purpose in life was pursuing the pinnacle of strength. Ikki needed to know what had caused Ouma to change.
"To be clear, I'm not actually a part of Rebellion," Ouma answered after a short silence.
"It just so happens that I'm working with them right now as a favor."
"A favor for who?"
"I didn't think you were this slow on the uptake. Who's at the
center of this whole commotion?"
"Prime Minister Tsukikage?"
"That's right. I'm working for him, not Rebellion. And the reason I'm working for him is that Itsuki asked me to."
"D-Dad did?!"
"Is that really so surprising? If Japan leaves the Mage-Knight Federation, the old samurai order that used to manage Japan's Blazers will come back. And it's the Kurogane family who helmed that old organization. Both sides want the Federation gone for their own reasons—Tsukikage wants to reclaim Japan's old prestige, and Itsuki wants to be free of the Federation's yoke. It's only natural that they'd join forces."
That much was true, and Ikki had considered that possibility, but he hadn't wanted to believe his strait-laced father would take part in what was essentially a coup. However, if Ouma was saying that he was, then there was no doubt it was true. That wasn't the only thing that had surprised Ikki, though.
"I didn't think you'd actually listen to a request from Dad."
If anything, that part was more surprising than Itsuki supporting a coup. Ouma wasn't the kind of man to care about family ties.
"I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong," Ouma said,
frowning at Ikki's insinuation.
"I cut all ties with the Kurogane family years ago. Helping Itsuki and joining up with Akatsuki was simply the best way to open the Crimson Princess's eyes. All because you
put some stupid ideas in her head."
"Maybe you just don't want to admit you still respect Dad?"
"Keep saying that and I'll kick you out."
"Has Prime Minister Tsukikage told you why he's doing this?"
"No. And I don't care enough to ask either," Ouma said flatly. Ikki knew he was telling the truth and didn't care about what Tsukikage was planning. It seemed Ouma really was helping out solely because his interests happened to align with Akatsuki's for the moment.
"I see... Now it all makes sense."
Honestly, Ikki was relieved. It was reassuring that his brother was still the same Ouma he knew, uninterested in criminal plots or political machinations. All he cared about was having a satisfying duel with Stella, and he was willing to do whatever it took to get it.
"That being said, I'm surprised you're so focused on Stella in particular. You attacked me over her last night too," Ikki said. Indeed, Ouma had said he was going to kill him because he was making Stella weaker.
"I thought you might try and kill me again today. What changed?"
"There's simply no need for me to anymore."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what I said. You saw her match today. She's not the
same Blazer she used to be. She's far more powerful. The only reason she would have gone out of her way to get notably stronger in such a short period of time was if she'd felt it was absolutely necessary in order to defeat me. In other words, she's no longer blinded by the charlatan's tricks you showed her. She understands who it is she truly needs to compete against. I'm glad. If she's not aiming for ever-greater heights, then no matter how much talent she
has, she'll never grow."
Ikki frowned. Stella had gone to train because she'd wanted to fulfill her promise to fight Ikki in the finals, so he didn't like Ouma's assertion that she was doing it all for him. But at the same time, it was her loss to Ouma that had triggered her desire to train, so it wasn't like Ouma was completely wrong either.
"Okay, that explains why you're not attacking me anymore, but I still don't get why you're so obsessed with Stella. There's plenty of Blazers in Japan right now who are stronger than her, like the God of War or the Yaksha Princess. Wouldn't it make more sense to challenge them if you want a tough fight? Why are you going out of your way to do something as roundabout as pushing her to grow
stronger just so you can fight her?"
As Stella's boyfriend, that was what Ikki was most interested in.
"Heh... As always, you're missing the point.'
"Huh?"
"You fundamentally misunderstand what a knight's true strength is. That's why I call you a fraud. Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once," Ouma said in a sharp voice.
"What makes a Blazer different from a regular person? The mana they possess. And what does that mana let them do? It lets them bend the laws of the universe. You could even call it the power to impose one's will onto the world. A person's total mana pool, their Aura, is something that's
set at birth and can never change. In other words, from the moment they're born, the level to which they can influence the world and leave their mark on history is set in stone. That's the true nature of what people call 'fate.'"
Ouma continued his explanation.
"A knight's true strength lies in their ability to crush the fate of other people and impose their own fate on the world. And Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion is the Blazer with the largest mana pool in the world. As someone seeking ultimate strength, she's the perfect opponent."
The common belief among people was that magic was indeed the power to impose one's will, their fate, onto the world. In truth, every A-Rank Blazer had left their mark on history in one way or another, even if some had been great heroes and others heinous criminals. It was hardly surprising that in the world of Mage-Knights, a person's
overall mana pool was considered the most important factor in evaluating their strength. Ouma was simply stating what most people accepted as fact.
"But that's just referring to latent talent," Ikki rebutted. "At
present—"
"The Yaksha Princess is stronger? True enough. But that just
means I need to force the Crimson Princess to surpass her. I need to instill in her a desire to get stronger so that she trains until she's eclipsed the Yaksha Princess. And it seems I've already succeeded in that regard. You saw that dragon that appeared behind her in the battle this afternoon too. That's the true potential of the Crimson Princess. The God of War and Yaksha Princess can't hope to compete with that. Also, you seem to be misunderstanding that it's not like I specifically want to fight a battle where the odds are stacked against me. If I merely wanted to challenge strong opponents, the Yaksha Princess would certainly suffice. However, I've already experienced countless life-or-death battles over these past five years."
"You have?!"
"It's not that I want a hard fight against the Crimson Princess. I seek power, power inexorable. I seek defeat, defeat inevitable. For an A-Rank knight like me, the only one who can give this to me is Stella, who possesses that absolute magic. And… if I can overcome it… if I can do that, then perhaps this hand of mine will tremble no more."
As he said that, Ouma grasped his right wrist. Ikki looked down and saw that his hand was indeed trembling furiously. It was the type of trembling that only came from an overwhelming sense of fear. And while Ikki had no idea what it was that Ouma was so terrified of, the raging fighting spirit emanating from him despite it made Ikki happy.
'You really haven't changed at all...'
Because of how shocking their reunion had been, Ikki had been worried that Ouma had become a different person. However, it seemed that wasn't the case. Ouma was the same upstanding warrior Ikki had looked up to.
"I take it back. I still respect you a little after all, Ouma-niisan," Ikki said.
"Exactly how much respect did I earn back?"
"Enough that if you told me to go stand in the hall, I might do it."
"You never stop joking, do you?" Ouma glowered, then closed his eyes. "That's enough talking. I'm going to sleep. You'd better get some rest too."
"Don't worry, I will."
Ikki had asked everything he'd wanted to. He was curious about what Ouma was so deathly afraid of, but they weren't close enough yet that he could ask. Thus, Ikki closed his eyes and let sleep take him. His match had been quite draining, and he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before, so it was easy for him to fall fast asleep.
Right before he fell completely unconscious, however, he heard Ouma mutter something.
"You've caught the attention of quite a troublesome guy. Things are going to be rough for you going forward. I hope you're prepared."
...
Just as Ouma had predicted, the next morning brought with it new trials. The Seven Stars Battle Festival Management Committee had sent out an important notice to everyone participating in the tournament.
This morning, we were informed that Akatsuki Academy firstyears Tatara Yui and Kazamatsuri Rinna have officially
withdrawn from the tournament. Fellow Akatsuki first-year
Hiraga Reisen was found to have broken the rules of the
tournament and has also been disqualified. With all other
fighters in the B block having forfeited, Stella Vermillion has moved on to the semifinals.
As a result of this, there will be fewer matches than initially
planned, and we have been forced to adjust the schedule for the tournament. All matches in both round two and round three will take place today so that the semifinals can be held tomorrow.
「We realize this will place an undue burden on the affected
fighters, but we must nevertheless ask for everyone's
cooperation.」