by Yuu Miyazaki
Kirin felt herself being lifted into the air. Up and down changed places.
“Graven Ring of Purification!”
In the next instant, a shock ran through her back and chest, knocking the wind out of her. Unable to get air into her lungs, she winced and finally realized that she had been thrown to the ground.
Through the tears blurring her vision, she could see that Ayato’s elbow was pinning her chest—bearing down on her school crest. So there was the shock she’d felt to her chest.
He brought his elbow down at the same time he slammed me into the ground…
It was a vicious move, but then, many ancient techniques were.
“Are you okay, Kirin?” Ayato peered anxiously into her face, and she responded with a weak smile.
For a reason she could not name, she felt clean, free.
“You got me. The spear and the knife were just decoys, weren’t they?”
The grappling technique had been his strategy all along. He had let Kirin get near him on purpose.
All this time, I was the one being directed…
Kirin softly closed her eyes. She heard a crack from the school crest on her chest.
“I concede. You’ve beaten me.”
As she spoke, the crest rang out with a mechanical alarm.
“End of duel! Winner: Ayato Amagiri!”
The crowd was silent for a moment—until it erupted into a cheer so loud that it seemed the arena might shatter.
“I can’t believe you really beat her. I’m shocked, to be honest.”
They were in the waiting room of the arena. Julis offered a drink to Ayato, who was sitting limply on a chair.
“I surprised myself, too,” he said with a weak laugh, then received the beverage to drink it a little at a time.
He ached all over from breaking the seal, but this time it was not so bad as to prevent him from moving. The battle had gone for less than five minutes, even though it had felt like much longer.
After the conclusion of the duel, they’d fought off the swarm of students from various journalism clubs to escape into this waiting room and now had a chance to catch their breath. The journalists were still milling outside the door, but they did not witness Ayato closing the seal again.
Still, he had broken the seal in plain sight a few times now, and there had to be students who were beginning to suspect something. The secret wouldn’t remain a secret for much longer.
“Well, now you’re the new number one,” Julis said. “You really are something.” She looked confounded and impressed and somewhat proud all at the same time.
“Thanks. Maybe I was able to redeem myself a little?”
“Redeem? What are you talking about?”
“Remember? I messed up the last time, when I dueled without talking to you first,” Ayato said. “And then you told me that if I made it to Page One, we’d have an advantage in the tournament bracket for the Phoenix.”
Julis’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me that’s the reason you agreed to this duel?”
“Um, well, not the only reason…”
She smiled tenderly at him and ruffled his hair. “What am I going to do with you…?”
Ayato’s heart skipped a beat. Once in a while—like now—Julis showed a great deal of sweetness in her face.
“Ahem.” That was Saya, interrupting with a theatrical cough. “Congrats. You looked really good out there. That’s my Ayato.” She hugged his arm.
“Thanks, Saya.”
There were just the three of them in the room. Claudia had received a message on her mobile and left her seat, and did not return for the rest of the match.
“I’m not getting any cozier with you than I have to,” Lester had said, quickly vacating the premises.
Eishirou had also hurried out as soon as the match was decided, mentioning that he had to prepare an extra edition of his publication. (Though he made sure to get Ayato to promise him an exclusive interview before leaving.)
Sometime Ayato would have to thank those two for letting him borrow their Luxes…
“But I never knew you had so much skill with weapons other than a sword. Why didn’t you say anything?” Julis asked, leaning in and forcefully peeling Saya from his arm.
“Well, I didn’t really mean to keep anything from you. It’s just that I can only sort of use those weapons. I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.”
This time, Saya shoved Julis away. “In the Amagiri Shinmei style, students move on to other weapons after mastering the sword. Ayato learned from watching.”
“That’s right. When we were kids, Saya and I would sneak around to watch my sister train—hey, what are you two doing, anyway?” Ayato stared in confusion as Julis and Saya went on shoving each other. Then he noticed a bit of commotion from outside.
“Ayato? May I come in?” a familiar voice said, followed by a knock on the door.
“Is that you, Claudia? Come on in.”
“Sorry to bother you.” Just as he’d thought, it was Claudia who opened the door with a soft laugh.
And she had someone with her.
“Oh, Miss Toudou, too?”
“Um, excuse me…” Kirin was standing demurely next to Claudia, looking uncertain.
“I was on my way here and I saw her surrounded by the press,” Claudia explained. “She seemed to be having a hard time, so I invited her to come with me.”
“Th-thank you, Miss President!” Kirin bowed politely to her.
“No, not at all. You have some business with him, don’t you?”
“Oh—yes.” Prodded by Claudia, Kirin faced Ayato.
“Business? What is it, Miss Toudou?” he said.
Julis and Saya also looked expectantly at her.
Kirin flinched for a moment as everyone’s gazes focused upon her, but she took a breath and spoke in what was for her a loud voice: “Um… C-could I please join your training sessions?”
“Huh?” The assembled faces went blank at the unexpected request.
“Um, well, Amagiri invited me earlier… And I had to decline because of my circumstances. But now…” Kirin floundered, her face going bright red.
“Ayato, what is this? You never said anything to me.” Julis glared at him sharply.
He rushed to explain, “Well, I mean, wouldn’t we have a lot more options if someone with her skills joined us?”
“I suppose so, but—”
“Not a problem. Bring it on.” Saya beckoned with both hands.
“Why do you get to answer?!” Julis shouted. “As a matter of fact, you keep showing up every day, and I don’t remember giving you permission!”
“You worry about the little things too much, Riessfeld. Go with the flow. That’s how the world works. Just deal with it.”
“Go with your flow, you mean, you dim-witted little tyrant!”
Ayato glanced sidelong at the two girls restarting their fight, then shrugged. “Are you really okay training with them?” he asked Kirin.
“Y-yes! Of course I am!” The girl nodded several times in determination.
“All right, then.” Just as he began to hold out his hand for her to shake, there was another commotion outside the door.
“Kirin! I know you’re in here! You come out right this second, Kirin! Damn it, open this door!”
Along with the terrific bellowing, they heard a racket against the door that seemed closer to punching than knocking.
“Oh, dear. That sounds like Mr. Toudou.” Claudia, who had been standing by the door, lowered her eyebrows and touched her cheek in consternation. Then she turned to Ayato with a look that said “What shall we do about this?”
But this was not for Ayato to decide alone. He looked questioningly at Kirin, who nodded bravely even as she bit down on her lip.
“Okay, then. Claudia?”
“Understood.”
As soon as Claudia unlocked the door, Kouichirou stormed into the room like a bull seeing red.
“Kirin, I can’t believe what a fool you are! You h
ad the nerve to duel without my permission, and then you were clumsy enough to lose?! My plan is ruined because of you!” He roared so loudly that the room seemed to vibrate. “Now do you see?! You need my help! Now come with me! Damn it all to hell! We have to start all over!”
He reached to grab Kirin’s arm, but she easily brushed away his hand.
“I’m sorry, Uncle.” Those were her only words as she stared back at him.
There was a tangle of emotions in her eyes, but Kouichirou in his rage could not sense any of them. “Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! You just do as I tell you!”
Purple with fury, he raised his hand.
But before he could bring it down, his body froze.
Ayato was standing between Kouichirou and his niece, glaring up at him. “You’re only embarrassing yourself,” he said coolly. “Please leave.”
“Wh-what did you say to me? You brat…,” Kouichirou tried to shout, but his voice shriveled away mid-sentence.
Ayato’s gaze was like a bared sword, and in it lurked a primeval ferocity that sent a chill down Kouichirou’s spine. The man shuddered with instinctive fear and gingerly took a step back, going pale.
“Your niece took a step forward with her own power. You have no right to interfere.”
“Mr. Amagiri…” His name spilled quietly from Kirin’s lips.
“I see. He’s even more despicable than the rumors,” Julis said from behind Ayato, her arms crossed, glaring at Kouichirou with contempt.
“…Disgusting,” Saya said, activating her Lux.
“Wh-what are you doing? You realize that I’m not a Genestella? If you do anything to me…,” Kouichirou pleaded in a trembling voice, no longer trying to hide his fear. Then, suddenly seizing on something, he looked at Kirin. “Is this really what you want, Kirin?! I’m the one who covered up your father’s crime! If you won’t do as I say, I’ll reveal everything! Do you know what would happen to you and the Toudou style if—”
“My, you have such interesting things to say,” interrupted Claudia, who had been quietly observing the scene unfold.
“Y-you! You’re Enfield’s—” Kouichirou seemed to notice her presence for the first time, and his eyes went wide.
“I have no comment about your relationship with your niece. However, the Kirin Toudou brand you seem to believe you created—that does not belong to you alone.” Claudia appeared to be smiling gracefully, but not a hint of it reached her eyes. “That is the property of Seidoukan Academy and, by association, our integrated enterprise foundation. If you mean to besmirch it for personal reasons—I’m afraid I can’t allow that.”
Kouichirou grunted and groaned without forming words, his mouth moving like a fish out of water.
“I suspect that my mother would come to the same conclusion. What do you think?”
“I—I—”
“From the very start, your plan was predicated on leading Miss Toudou to become the Festa champion, undefeated. There’s no escaping the fact that it’s now fallen through. I suggest you leave your niece be and worry about yourself instead.”
That was the finishing blow. Kouichirou’s shoulders slumped. He unsteadily turned around and plodded toward the door.
“U-uncle!” Kirin called out from behind him.
Kouichirou paused, but did not turn around.
“I’m grateful to you. I mean that. Thank you for everything you did for me!” Kirin—as she always did, to everyone, with true courtesy and sincerity—bowed to him.
He made no reply. Nor did he look back at her before he quietly left the room.
“Uncle…” Kirin stared disconsolately at the floor. Ayato gently placed his hand on her head.
A soft sound left her. As he petted her hair, she looked up at him with a tearful smile.
“I’m looking forward to training with you, Miss Toudou.”
“Me, too. Thank you again.” She nodded, scrubbing the tears from her eyes.
“Ugh… I guess there’s nothing for it,” Julis mumbled.
“Everything works out for the best,” Saya declared.
“That is good to see.” Claudia laughed softly.
An air of refreshed relief filled the room.
But Kirin looked anxiously side to side, then called to Ayato, barely above a whisper, “Um, Mr. Amagiri?”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Well, I…I have one—no, two favors to ask you. May I?” Her voice was tiny, and she turned crimson to the tips of her ears.
“Favors…?”
“Y-yes. I’d really like to, um, to call you by your first name…” She was scarcely audible now.
“What, that’s all? Of course, I don’t mind. And? What’s the second one?”
“Okay, um, then…Mr. A-Ayato?”
“Uh-huh?”
She faced downward but cast her eyes up at him, terribly shy and yet determined. “Could you also…call me by my first name?”
That surprised him a little. Still, he had no reason to refuse.
Ayato nodded at her with a smile.
“Sure, I will…Kirin.”
EPILOGUE
“Damn it! Are you kidding me?!”
“It didn’t work at all?”
In a special arena in the underground block of Allekant’s research institute, one young man held a sword-type Lux in either hand, and the other held a Lux assault rifle in his. Both boys stared straight ahead in panicked disbelief.
A cloud of dust rose steadily at the end of their gaze.
The Luxes these two young men held were the newest models designed by Ferrovius, known for high performance. And the young men themselves were seasoned fighters in the practical class, both listed among the Named Chart of Allekant Académie.
They were a tag team who had been among the top finishers at the previous season’s Phoenix. From the looks on their faces, neither could believe the sight before his eyes.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that they did not want to believe.
A figure wavered within the cloud, and a pair of lights glowed like the eyes of something uncanny lurking in the dark night.
The terrified shrieks of the two young men ripped through the arena.
Without bothering to watch the end of the feed, Ernesta closed the air-window and turned. The sound and video abruptly stopped, leaving only two women sitting quietly in a dimly lit laboratory.
“So, that’s about what I have now. What do you think, Camilla? I still need to make some fine adjustments, but not bad, right?” Ernesta said, spinning around in her chair with a gloating smile.
“May I speak frankly?”
“Go for it!”
“I’ve never found you more frightening than I do right now.” Camilla seemed to wring the words from her dry mouth—then she grinned.
“Eee-hee-hee-hee! That might be the highest compliment I’ve ever received!” Ernesta pretended to act bashful, but her eyes glittered with pride.
“If I can ask one thing—don’t treat my Ferrovius fighters too harshly. It’s not easy to recruit such competent practical class students, you know.”
“Don’t worry, they’ll be fine! I said to go easy on them.” Ernesta cackled without a shred of guilt.
“I have to admit, though, winning the Phoenix doesn’t seem so unrealistic now.”
“Well, duh. That was my goal all along. And it looks like Tenorio might be able to take care of our one cause for concern.”
As always, other than the one that Ernesta had just closed, there were many air-windows of all sizes open in the lab. Ernesta pulled one of them close to her. It showed Ayato with the Ser Veresta in hand, cleaving through a giant dragon.
“Mm-hmm, that was really fantastic. Oooh, I just love it!” She laughed mirthfully and, nodding, enlarged the window. Aside from the image, the screen displayed several numbers and plots—the valuable data relayed by the probe.
“Tenorio failed to beat him, and now their hands will be tied. And you got the necessary data without dirtyi
ng your own hands. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.”
“Nah, all I did was place my bet and win,” Ernesta said, as if this was only to be expected. “And life is just a series of bets, so if you want something, the only way to get it is to go on a winning streak.”
“Is that your guiding principle?” Camilla asked.
“Hmm, more like a philosophy, I guess?” Ernesta reached for yet another air-window.
This one showed a video of the duel between Ayato and Kirin in the arena, recorded by a Seidoukan student and uploaded to the public Net.
“Well, it would be awesome if I could’ve gotten some data from this, too. But I guess there’s nothing for it. We can’t exactly send probes into another school,” she rambled and swiped the window closed.
“Ladies and gentlemen of Seidoukan and Allekant! Thank you so much for all of your kind assistance!” Now Ernesta stood on top of her chair and took a theatrical bow. “And now, it’s time for the main attraction. I do hope you stick around until the end.”
With her head still bowed low, she wore a dauntless grin on her face.
Bemused as ever, Camilla nonetheless showered her friend with unreserved applause.
“…By the way, Toudou.”
“Oh! What is it, Sasamiya?”
It was after school in the training room. Ayato, Julis, Saya, and Kirin had just gone through their first session together.
Just as Kirin had finished changing out of her workout clothes, Saya had abruptly called out to her.
“I heard you were fighting for your father. Is that true?”
“Y-yes. That’s right…,” Kirin replied nervously.
Arms crossed, Saya nodded a few times. “That’s noble of you. Very noble.”
“Wha…?”
“Actually, I’m the same. I’m fighting for my father, too.”
“Oh, you are?” That surprised Kirin.
Saya leaned in close and said with her usual stoic expression, “I have a proposition for you.”
“…A-a proposition?”
Paying no mind to the uncertainty in the way Kirin cocked her head, Saya pressed on. “Do you want to team up with me?”
AFTERWORD
Hi there. It’s Yuu Miyazaki.
