Chapter 62: Esdeath is a Love-Brain
Under Leone's gnashing glare, Kobayashi casually left his seat and walked towards the tournament stage.
He slowly came to a stop in front of Tatsumi, looking into his eyes which revealed a pie chart of one part surprise, two parts joy, three parts sadness, and four parts anger.
If nothing had actually happened between them, he would have thought he was some kind of heartless scoundrel.
"Hey, long time no see, Tatsumi."
"...Kobayashi."
"Should we call it a coincidence, or fate? I never thought we'd be reunited in a place like this."
This was a lie.
In truth, Kobayashi had deliberately asked Seryu to help him cut in line. Although she found it strange, he had told her that he and Tatsumi were old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time and that he was preparing a surprise reunion on the stage. Seryu had readily agreed.
And the purpose of doing this was, naturally, to be the green leaf that made the little white flower, Tatsumi, stand out.
"Why? Why are you here?!"
Tatsumi was furious upon seeing Kobayashi. He questioned him angrily, "Do you have any idea how everyone was after you left...?!!!"
"Tatsumi! Shh—"
Kobayashi quieted him softly, placing a finger to his lips and glancing to the side to indicate that there were outsiders present.
Tatsumi really wanted to question him impulsively, but in the end, he clenched his fists and endured.
Wave's smile twitched awkwardly at the corner of his mouth. It seemed that although the two were old acquaintances, there was some kind of grudge between them. It was best not to get involved.
Then, he raised his right hand.
"Next, the ninth match begins!"
"...It's starting."
On the viewing platform, Run couldn't help but say softly. Esdeath had been looking bored with the fights from the very beginning, but her eyes had lit up and she had perked up slightly when the two combatants for the ninth match entered the stage.
"General Esdeath, are you perhaps interested in the two on the stage?"
"I just saw an interesting person, that's all."
Esdeath saw the young man who gave her that inexplicable sense of familiarity, and his appearance had garnered a bit of her attention.
"Is that so?"
Run was also slightly surprised and turned his gaze back to the stage.
The two on the stage were exchanging punches at a high frequency.
"You've gotten stronger, Tatsumi."
Kobayashi continuously blocked the incoming straight punches. They were extremely fast and powerful, very much in Bulat's style.
"Hmph!"
Tatsumi grunted. Seeing Kobayashi's ease, he was naturally annoyed, and the speed of his fists increased by a fraction.
"And you're a junior who joined after me."
"That's not right, Tatsumi. I didn't join you, and I'm older than you. You should be calling me 'senpai'."
"What did you say?!"
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything. Hearing it made Tatsumi even angrier.
During the time Kobayashi was gone, Leone had been drinking all day, cursing him as a bastard. Akame seemed unchanged, but she would always paste his name on the training dummy when she practiced. Mine would even frequently dress it in the clothes she had bought for him and blast it with her Teigu. Najenda and Lubbock were also constantly troubled, treating him as a hypothetical enemy.
It was easy to imagine how important he was to them.
And now he was saying he had nothing to do with them?!
Peeking into his heart, Kobayashi couldn't help but try to explain. "Wait, have you misunderstood something?"
"Shut up! I don't want to hear it!"
With his anger surpassing its critical value, both the speed and power of Tatsumi's punches increased by several degrees. But the price was that his attack patterns became chaotic and failed to form effective combos, leading to openings.
—A flaw!
Kobayashi parried an oncoming punch, and as it threw him off balance and created a brief moment of stiffness, he delivered an extremely fast punch to Tatsumi's abdomen.
"Pu-koff!"
Tatsumi's face tightened. He clutched his side and took a large step back, then quickly regulated his scattered breathing.
"No, no, that's not right. How can you get emotional? You have to stay calm no matter how angry you are."
Kobayashi tapped a finger in the direction of his forehead and lectured him. "Bulat was also an excitable, hot-blooded man, but he didn't let his fire show on the surface. His body would get fired up, but his mind was always calm. You still have a lot to learn on that point."
"Big Bro..."
Tatsumi's mind recalled the words his Big Bro had once said, and his teachings on the Dragon Boat.
Then, he became even angrier.
Because it was after hearing the news of his Big Bro's death that Kobayashi had resolutely decided to leave them.
"Oooohhhhhh!!!"
Tatsumi charged forward again. His punches were fast, and each one was aimed at Kobayashi's weak points. Unfortunately, his intent was too obvious, and each one was easily dodged or blocked. At this rate, he would just be wasting his stamina.
—It's time to decide the winner.
Wave, acting as the referee, subconsciously made a judgment. After the two had fought for a while, he knew that Tatsumi was no match for Kobayashi. Although it looked like Tatsumi was the one constantly attacking, forcing Kobayashi back and onto the defensive, in reality, Kobayashi was completely at ease.
Furthermore, after attacking for so long without success, Tatsumi would soon lose due to a lack of stamina.
At this moment, the battle also underwent a drastic change. It was no longer just fists; legs also joined the attack.
Front kick, then another front kick!
Two extremely fast kicks aimed at Kobayashi's abdomen, but both were easily blocked.
Tatsumi was not discouraged.
He retracted his leg, twisted his waist, and spun...!
Wait! Why does this move look so familiar?
Kobayashi's mind flashed back to the scene of his first fight with Bulat. Tatsumi had been watching at that time.
Is it a spinning back kick to the chest? But from the minute movements of his muscles, it looks like a high spinning kick to the chin.
—[Insight]!
Unsure, Kobayashi immediately peeked into his heart, only to find that he was just desperately thinking about the scene of Bulat's death, which caused a slight lapse in his own defense.
At the same time, Tatsumi's eyes lit up, and he put all his strength into this one blow.
—A kick to the chest!
He didn't follow his instincts, but chose to believe in Bulat instead?
Kobayashi quickly crossed his arms in front of his chest to block. Although he managed to block it, the force of the kick was too great, and he still slid back several meters.
And he just happened to fall off the stage.
"I didn't expect that your impulsive attacks were all an act, with the goal of forcing me to the edge of the stage and then using a powerful blow to knock me off."
Kobayashi exposed his strategy in a single sentence and praised him, "I underestimated you. I've lost, Tatsumi."
—He's lying.
Wave, who had a clear view as an onlooker, knew that things were not as Kobayashi said. It was true that Kobayashi had been slow to react when he was kicked, but at that time, he had already adjusted his posture and shouldn't have slid so far. But for some reason, he had deliberately adjusted his angle to make himself slide further, and "just happened" to fall off the stage.
It seemed there really was something between them.
But that had nothing to do with him. There was only one thing he had to do.
"—The winner is Tatsumi!"
"Oooohhhhhh!!!" xN
Amidst the continuous cheers from the surroundings, Tatsumi was still in a slightly dazed state.
Kobayashi encouraged him, "I was wrong to say you weren't level-headed. You're just like Bulat. I'm sure he would be very happy if he knew. So, puff out your chest and accept everyone's cheers."
"Cheering for me... This feels pretty good!"
Tatsumi raised his right hand, a pure smile on his face.
That infectious smile instantly turned into an arrow of love, shooting towards Esdeath on the viewing platform and successfully capturing her heart.
Then, she came down to the stage.
The domineering Esdeath, after asking for his name, immediately declared that she was taking him away, giving him no chance to resist.
Kobayashi, who was watching the show from the sidelines, was a little disappointed because Esdeath hadn't looked at him at all. He had thought their previous conversation would have left some impression, enough for him to borrow some convenience.
But oh well. This was the development he had hoped for.
A girl in love has an IQ of zero.
Although Esdeath wasn't a simple love-brain, Tatsumi's appearance had indeed caused her IQ to drop.
He would make good use of this opening.
"—Excuse me! I want to join the Jaegers!"
(End of Chapter)