Air had been sucked away by the vacuum fault. The rush of wind accompanying the cacophony made a mess of Kasumi and Izumi’s hair. Kasumi’s short locks were one thing, but Izumi’s longer tresses were left in a chaotic state, yet all she did was lightly comb a hand through her hair and all was well.
“Kasumi-chan, are you OK?”
Raising her torso slightly, Izumi asked Kasumi, who was still pressing down on top of her.
“Thanks, Izumi. That was a close one just now.”
Kasumi replied back as she shifted her body away from Izumi.
Right now, Takuma continued to launch his attacks. Exchanging defensive duties, Kasumi and Izumi were barely able to hold him off.
Nonetheless, neither of them betrayed any hint of unease on their faces.
“We appear to have underestimated this guy.”
“I don’t know about the term underestimate, but that appears to be the case.”
“This will be bad if it continues on like this.”
“However, you don’t plan on losing, do you?”
“Of course. Izumi, we’re going to use that.”
“Yeah, Kasumi-chan. Just like usual.”
“I will shoot.”
“I will raise.”
“Counting down.”
“Three.” “Two.” “One.”
“Roles assigned!”
Immediately after Kasumi shouted out, the force of the magic roaring towards Takuma spiked exponentially.
Takuma immediately raised his phenomena interference strength around his back, head, and flanks. Detecting the harbinger of a hitherto incomparably powerful magic, Takuma channeled all of his offense into defense.
He felt that the magic targeted air molecules while gathering and moving them – so this must be a magic that controlled the air currents, but he had no time to continue observing. Instinct told him to erect an all directional, sealed barrier and Takuma was able to finish his defensive barrier first only because the design of the Magic Sequence for this magic was far less complex than the magic Kasumi and Izumi were about to invoke.
In the narrow framework of the classroom, a furious tornado began brewing. By the time the wind pressed down on top of his head and his entire body, the wind was everywhere around his back and sides. He was almost blown away along with the sealed barrier around him. With a barrier around him, the surface area impacted by the wind grew just as the pressure sustained would increase as well. Even with that being said, he couldn’t decrease the permeability or lower the size of the barrier. As a Magician, Takuma noticed that the level of nitrogen within the wind buffeting him had increased.
This was a magic that raised the level of nitrogen in the air as well as magic that moved blocks of air around. A combination of Gather-Type and Move-Type Magic, “Nitrogen Storm”. A single breath of this air that was heavily deficient in oxygen would immediately render someone unconscious due to lack of oxygen. If he lowered the barrier to prevent being blown away by the turbulence, then he would immediately start running short of oxygen.
Beneath Takuma’s feet where he furiously stamped to right himself, the sound of the pristinely bound book’s pages being blown furiously by the wind could be heard as the pages continuously flapped in the wind. The book itself had not been blown away because the wind from the magic only blew at a height above the knees. The pristinely bound book that Takuma carried was a particularly heavy tome. Takuma looked at the back of the book that was printed with the same geometric symbols from the first page to the last and decided to use his trump card.
“This is…… Nitrogen Storm?”
“Correct.”
In the face of Miyuki’s both shocked and amazed question, Tatsuya gave a concise confirmation.
“To be able to fluently wield such a high level magic, I guess I should say as expected of Saegusa-senpai’s younger sisters.”
“Still a little rough around the edges, but impressive nonetheless.”
On the level of neutralizing an opponent by using magic to induce a lack of oxygen, this magic probably belonged to the same category as Mayumi’s anti-personnel trump card “Dry Meteor”. Kasumi and Izumi probably devised this trump card due to Mayumi’s influence. Still, in terms of magic difficulty, Nitrogen Storm was far more difficult than Dry Meteor. Though it was a hassle to gather a large amount of dry ice particles laced with carbon dioxide in the air beforehand, Nitrogen Storm required constant maintenance of the molecular composition in the air as well as careful control of the air currents, rendering this an extremely difficult magic.
Kasumi and Izumi’s control of the air currents for Nitrogen Storm was far too coarse, which was why Tatsuya said “still a little rough around the edges”, but this was definitely a high level magic that could not be seen at the high school level.
“So this is multiplicative magic…… No wonder people say that 'the Saegusa twins can only reveal their true strength when both are gathered together'.”
Strictly speaking, until this point Kasumi and Izumi had been using fundamental magic and only resorted to high level magic when pressed into a tight spot. As the one responsible for attacking, Kasumi didn’t use this spell not because she was unwilling or she was going easy on her opponent, but because Nitrogen Storm was too difficult for Kasumi to use by herself.
Saegusa Kasumi and Saegusa Izumi bore the name “Saegusa twins” because of the special connotation behind that name as well as the unique characteristic that only the two of them had. It is only through their complete cooperation that they are able to use high powered, and highly difficult, magic that either one of them would not be able to on their own.
People who were not Magicians would think nothing of this, but this was an atypical phenomenon for Magicians. There existed large scale, high level magical techniques that relied on multiple Magicians casting the same spell. This was especially the case in Ancient Magic, though actual examples were quite few, but certainly not rare when it came to techniques passed down from generation to generation. However, this sort of magic ritual required chanting, worship, dance or similar mediums that used all 5 senses.
When multiple Magicians use the same magic at the same time, Magic Power was not additive. In this situation, only the spell of the Magician with the greatest Magic Power would activate, while the Magic Power from other Magicians would actually interfere with phenomena alteration. Magical rituals conducted by multiple individuals required consensus among Magicians to not overlap their Magic Sequences in order to cast more complex or even gigantic Magic Sequences. Its major selling point or defining characteristic was allotting specific goals to each individual Magician, or even a task to be repeated over and over.
Yet Kasumi and Izumi were able to increase their Magic Power simply by using normal magic through usual assistance from their CADs. In addition, the two of them were not components of a Magic Sequence, but combined to form a single, greater Magic Power.
Kasumi loved to hurtle Magic Sequences at the target and Izumi gave it interference strength. Their Magic Power was multiplied rather than added together when casting magic. To be able to accomplish this, not only did their bodies have to contain the same hereditary genes, their mentality and unique magic calculation area had to be the same. Takuma might have determined that Kasumi was stronger in invocation speed and scale of design for Magic Sequences while Izumi was stronger in interference strength, that was actually a misunderstanding. The reason he was led to believe so was because that’s how Kasumi and Izumi wielded their magic, so the result would be the same even if they swapped roles.
This was purely a coincidence that could not even be replicated through genetic medication. This was the secret behind the power of the “Saegusa twins”.
Holding his breath and standing firm, Takuma fell to one knee and closed the book that was about to be blown to tatters by the wind. Immediately, Takuma once more opened the cover of the pristinely bound book. In that instant, every page within the book took to the skies like snowflakes fluttering in the wind.
The book Takuma brought contained 720 pages of foldable B5 paper. The book was 182mm wide and 256mm long (standard B5 paper was 182mm by 257mm). Excluding the 2mm on each page covered by the book covers (where the book was bound), the rest of the page was cut into little squares that were 4mm by 4mm. At that size, every two pages (one sheet) contained 2880 pieces. At 720 pages or 360 sheets, there was a total of 1,036,800 pieces of paper.
More than a million small paper squares flew along the turbulence like snowflakes towards the twins. Needless to say, those 4mm by 4mm squares weren’t just simple pieces of paper. Anyone who could capture those countless pieces of paper in their eyes could tell that those pieces of paper were not bending in the wind, like numerous thin, square-shaped blades with the hardiness of glass. At first glance, the million odd blades were dancing along without any organization whatsoever, but they were truly gathering around Kasumi and Izumi.
Kasumi and Izumi, as well as Tatsuya and Miyuki, knew very well that all of these paper snowflakes were being manipulated by a man. They who knew the Shippou Family’s magic naturally knew what this magic was.
One of the trump cards of the Shippou Family, “Million Edge”. A magic that used Herd Control to manipulate over a million pieces of paper that turned into sharp blades to eviscerate the foe.
The twins continued to control Nitrogen Storm as they employed another magic. By slamming blocks of air with large amounts of oxygen into the paper snowflakes, they were using adiabatic compression to create heated wind that surpassed paper’s burning point to ignite the paper blades.
This was an alternate form of “Heat Storm”. This was a type of magic that was another level higher than simply creating adiabatic compressed air blocks. They had activated this magic while Nitrogen Storm was ongoing, but this was still within the boundaries of their abilities right now. The main subject of the 3rd Research Lab was the control of multiple magics at the same time. The 3rd Research Lab originally intended to test the boundary of how many magics could be activated at the same time as well as raising that boundary as part of their Magician Augmentation Project. Among the Magician Development Labs, the 3rd Research Lab was a rarity in that they were open with their findings, allowing the 10th Research Lab to also benefit from this finding. For the Juumonji Family that had mastered Phalanx, this helped them incorporate more magic and resulted in the ability to use multiple magics. As for the Saegusa Family Magicians who moved to the 7th Research Lab, even if it was high level magic, using two or three of them at the same time was no difficult task.
The tornado that disallowed any breathing devoured Takuma as the air that was heated above 500 degrees Celsius was about to burn the paper squares into a crisp.
Bathed in the heat that surpassed their burning point, the million odd blades under Takuma’s will were protected by magic as they thirsted for Kasumi and Izumi’s blood.
At this rate, Takuma would keel over due to oxygen deprivation and Kasumi and Izumi would be slashed to pieces by the countless blades that had not been burned up. It was readily apparent that the conclusion would leave both sides with permanent injuries.
“That’s far enough!”
Tatsuya moved his right arm.
In his outstretched hand, a silver CAD flashed brilliantly. That was the pistol-shaped Specialized CAD, Silver Horn.
Nitrogen Storm.
Million Edge.
Heat Storm.
Their Magic Sequences were torn to shreds and a surge of psions scattered those broken remnants.
As for Tatsuya’s voice declaring a halt to the match, who knew if that traveled to the consciousness of those three in battle?
In the midst of the silence brought on by the disappearance of magic, regardless of whether it was Takuma, Kasumi, Izumi, no one could understand what had happened as they stood there in a daze. As for whether everyone present was clueless as to what happened – that was not the case. In a word, the only ones who stood there dumbly were the three participants of this match, the three Year 1 students.
While Tomitsuka’s eyes had widened, he wasn’t wearing an expression of someone who had suffered a severe shock. Though there was some element of astonishment, it would be more appropriate to say that was an expression of awe after realizing what had occurred. As for the other three, Miyuki, Honoka, and Shizuku all wore expressions that said “just as we expected from Tatsuya”.
In reality, only Miyuki alone truly understood what had just happened here. Still, the three Year 1 students could not even comprehend the fact that “Tatsuya’s Counter Magic had just nullified the magics coming from Takuma, Kasumi, and Izumi in an instant”.
“This match has resulted in both sides forfeiting the right to continue.”
As the referee, Tatsuya pronounced his judgment. At this time, the Year 1 students finally recovered from their frozen status.
“What the heck is going on!?”
The first one to question Tatsuya was Kasumi.
“I should have said this at the beginning of the match. Fatal strikes or attacks that cause irrecoverable damage to your opponent are strictly forbidden. If I judge the situation to be at risk, I will forcibly end the match.”
“Then, the result of the match is?”
Izumi was far more composed than her twin sibling, but her tone was harsher than usual as she asked her question.
“Both sides have lost the right to continue, ergo both sides have lost.”
This was not a draw, but a mutual defeat. Tatsuya intentionally said it this way to imply “there will not be another match”, but whether Izumi and company were able to understand the nuances remained unknown.
“But, Shiba-senpai, I believe that Nitrogen Storm is different than Million Edge in that this is neither a fatal magic nor would it leave a lingering repercussion.”
Izumi meant that “Wasn’t Shippou-kun the one who lost because he broke the rules?”, a detail that Takuma immediately picked up on. Takuma was about to reply immediately, but Tatsuya beat him to the punch.
“Indeed, if the power is carefully controlled, then Nitrogen Storm will not leave any serious repercussions on your opponent. However, Izumi, you two did not have that fine level of control.”
With Tatsuya visually interrogating with a “Is that not so?” look, neither of the twins spoke up.
“That is not the case!”
In place of the twins, which was not entirely the case, it was Takuma’s turn to contest Tatsuya’s decision.
“We would have determined the outcome prior to that happening!”
A spark – not out of delight, but out of interest – flashed in Tatsuya’s eyes.
“Then you are saying that you believe you won?”
“Indeed.”
Fearless in the face of Tatsuya’s cold gaze, Takuma arrogantly continued onward.
“The Saegusas’ Heat Storm failed to stop Million Edge. Before the Nitrogen Storm could have breached my sealed barrier, I would have been able to attack the Saegusas!”
A trace of satire slipped into Tatsuya’s chilly gaze.
“Which is to say that had I not interfered, hundreds upon thousands of paper strips filled with burning heat would have shredded the delicate flesh of a pair of Year 1 female students. Is that the gist of what you are trying to say?”
Around them, there were at least two people who were trying to fight down their laughter.
Takuma flushed. The redness of his face was so apparent that anyone could see it.
“In that case, Shippou, this match ends in your defeat due to rules infraction.”
Before the excited Takuma could explode, Tatsuya made this declaration in a voice so cold that it was almost cruel. This was Takuma’s defeat. Before a steely voice that was cold as ice, even Takuma himself hesitated as to how he should argue this.
“I will not allow you to say that you are ignorant of what happens to those who take a hit from Million Edge dead on.”
Takuma was about to open his mouth and say something, but Tatsuya never intended to give him a chance to defend himself.
“Allowing an attack that is completely overkill is synonymous to allowing a mutual slaughter. Under the rules of this match, that is not allowed.”
“Then!”
Takuma appeared to be trying to free himself from the tremendous pressure being exerted on him by Tatsuya and fired back with more fervor than was necessary. Just squeezing out such a simple word plainly cost him a lot of energy.
“So you are saying that from the very beginning, once I used Million Edge I would lose!?”
“If you are unable to control its power, then that is the same as breaking the rules.”
“How can that be, that’s ridiculous!”
Tatsuya remained calm and collected while facing the enraged Takuma, an attitude that only served to fan the flames of Takuma’s fury. Seeing his agitated state, not only was his senior at the Club Activities Group, Tomitsuka, worried about him, even Takuma’s opponent up until this point, Kasumi, also shared that concern.
“That’s practically denying me my trump card even before the match has started! Isn’t that an extremely unfair match!?”
“Everyone’s conditions were the same. For the Saegusa siblings, high powered magic was also forbidden.”
Still, they were the only two who cared to debate the results. The Year 2 female students – Miyuki, Shizuku, and Honoka all watched Takuma with compassionate eyes.
“Bullshit! They don’t have magic that is powerful enough to be banned!”
“Nitrogen Storm carries more than enough firepower. I didn't stop them in the beginning because they had controlled its power to within acceptable parameters.”
Takuma was struck speechless after Tatsuya spoke in a voice that couldn't even be called unpleasant by the widest of margins. Not only did he feel this from the cold gaze leveled at him from Tatsuya, Takuma felt that even the female upperclassmen were laughing at him. He frantically wracked his brain for a counterargument.
“However, Shippou, you were unable to finely control the strength of Million Edge.”
“That’s bullshit, I had perfect control of the spell!”
Takuma’s response was completely groundless and was only his reflex willfully using his emotions to make his decision. All of the Year 2 students present knew very well that Takuma could not completely control Million Edge.
If Tatsuya were to not only declare his own decision but also ask Miyuki, Shizuku, Honoka, and Tomitsuka to all voice their opinions, Takuma would have no choice but to concede. Setting aside Tatsuya’s people for the moment, if even Tomitsuka supported Tatsuya’s decision, then undoubtedly Takuma would have a hard time stubbornly sticking to his guns.
“I am the referee of this match, and I will determine victory or defeat. I should have said this in the beginning.”
Yet, Tatsuya failed to do so. Victory or defeat was determined by the referee. Tatsuya felt that there was no need to change that rule.
“—Ah, I get it! So you’re saying that the use of Million Edge constitutes overkill! Then you should have said so in the very beginning! If I knew that Million Edge was against the rules, I would have chosen another strategy!”
Takuma was ignorant of the fact that he was throwing a tantrum like a little child.
The gaze Tomitsuka leveled at Takuma changed from concerned to uneasy.
The look Miyuki directed towards Takuma switched from compassionate to piercing.
Nevertheless, Tatsuya continued to use cold logic to deal with Takuma’s ruckus.
“Stop sulking, Shippou. You were unable to control its power because you’re still immature. Regardless of whether it was forbidden, the inability to fulfill the requirements proves that you are still lacking.”
“You’re a Weed. You have no right to say that!”
The classroom suddenly…… fell silent. That silence was suffused with an almost painful anxiety.
Takuma’s originally flushed face now went deathly pale. He had never planned to go so far. It was almost as if all of his blood had rushed to his head, thus leading him to say something he could never take back.
Shizuku and Honoka had turned pale for another reason altogether. That was because they were fearful of the winter storm that was about to ravage this entire room. Fortunately, prior to that occurrence, Tatsuya opened his mouth.
“Are you displeased with what I said?”
Takuma also noticed that his statement was inappropriate on two fronts. “Weed” was a term that was taboo on campus. Furthermore, Tatsuya was an “exception” who had been promoted to Magic Engineering from Course 2 due to outstanding talent. Takuma thought furiously in order to recover from that blunder, but he had already been pressed into a corner and unable to restore his cool, so no solution came to his mind. Even so, Takuma still didn’t shut his mouth.
“Hmph…… I’m displeased only because of the unfair adjudication! The Saegusas were able to control Nitrogen Storm and I was unable to control Million Edge. Isn't that too much of a bias impression on Shiba-senpai’s part? I controlled Million Edge perfectly! Shiba-senpai is clearly favoring the Saegusa!”
“Shippou…… Your words are at odds with one another.”
Takuma allowed his emotions free reign as he allowed his mouth to run wild like a child throwing a tantrum. The stunned voice that reprimanded the present Takuma came not from Tatsuya, but from Tomitsuka.
“If that situation had continued, your magic would have dealt damage to the Saegusa siblings that surpassed the bounds of this match. Didn't you already admit that?”
“That’s because the Saegusas used Heat Storm!”
Takuma’s words were not entirely illogical. Unfortunately, in this circumstance, these words only sounded like he was shedding responsibility.
“Enough, Shippou.”
An emotionless voice inserted itself into Shippou and Tomitsuka’s conversation.
Those words were issued from Kasumi’s lips.
“To be unwilling to admit defeat to this degree, let’s just call it your win.”
“Kasumi-chan, is that really OK?”
Among those present that felt varying degrees of surprise, the one who asked Kasumi this was the one who knew her the best, Izumi.
“Yeah~, now that I think about it, we shouldn’t get so heated about something like this. No matter how you look at it, using multiplicative magic in an unofficial school match along with a combination of Nitrogen Storm and Heat Storm is just plain overkill. Shiba-senpai is right about that.”
Just like her words, Kasumi appeared to have completely calmed down.
Not only did the look they sent Takuma not contain a trace of enmity, it was absolutely carefree.
“……If that’s what Kasumi-chan wants.”
Izumi easily accepted Kasumi’s words. Originally, she was only here to help out her older twin sister. Since Kasumi said that was fine, then Izumi wasn’t going to be a stickler for the result.
Takuma looked like he was unable to decide whether to speak or not. Although he wanted to angrily shout “Don’t be ridiculous!”, he also felt that was too shameful. In the end, no shout came from him. As he fell silent thanks to this unexpected shock, he was able to reclaim a level of rationality.
Kasumi walked towards Tatsuya with Izumi following behind her.
“Shiba-senpai, I’m sorry for troubling you.”
Kasumi and Izumi both bowed to Tatsuya. The fact that 70% of Izumi’s attention was placed on Miyuki could probably be chalked up as her adorable part.
—While Takuma gritted his teeth and watched this scene.
“Still, can I say something?”
Of course, just apologizing at the end of it all was not Kasumi’s style. Nay, it was more like not facing off against Tatsuya here was not Kasumi’s style.
“What is it?”
Unlike the expression he wore while conversing with Takuma, Tatsuya wore a wry smile here.
“I – we never lost control of our magic. Forcibly stopping the match there was the wrong call on senpai’s part.”
After spilling all of those words with a resolute look in her eye, Kasumi left the practice room without waiting for Tatsuya’s reply.
“Um, well.”
Switching back and forth between Kasumi’s back and Tatsuya’s face, Izumi was truly (and quite rarely) bewildered.
“Izumi.”
“Eh!”
Though this was plainly not completely unexpected, Izumi still jumped and went ramrod straight when Tatsuya called her name. Immediately afterward, Izumi lowered her head in shame at being tongue-tied.
Tatsuya never teased Izumi or put on a solemn expression. Instead, he continued speaking with a gentle expression.
“Please send a message to Kasumi for me. If she is unsatisfied, I am always willing to be the opponent for the two of you. That’s all.”
Was this because she was astounded? Izumi’s eyes widened. Still, Izumi immediately understood that Tatsuya was saying this because he was taking Kasumi’s feelings into account. This departed greatly from her previous impression of Tatsuya.
“……I understand, senpai. Thank you.”
Izumi replied to Tatsuya as she bowed deeply to Tatsuya without going too far or too shallow. When Izumi raised her head, she remained where she was for some reason.
“What is it?”
Tatsuya asked this question to Izumi. For the first time, Izumi gave Tatsuya a smile that came from the bottom of her heart.
“I think I’ve changed my mind a little about senpai. You do have areas that make you seem like Miyuki Onee-sama’s older brother.”
This went far beyond retort worthy and the might of this line rivaled that of a train wreck. In spite of this, probably because this was far too honest to wield a forked tongue against, Tatsuya said nothing as he watched Izumi leave with an “Excuse me” and another short bow.
After Kasumi and Izumi left the practice room, Takuma continued to stand there without a word. In the eyes of the Year 2 students, he had been abandoned, but Takuma himself didn’t think that way.
“Shiba-senpai.”
At least from his perspective, he had hoped to speak to Tatsuya without anyone else present, which was why he stayed behind.
“Is there anything else you want to say?”
Tatsuya voice remained chilly, but no one called him “immature”. Anyone who heard of the conversation that had occurred in this room would definitely lay the blame at Takuma’s feet. In truth, Takuma also thought this way after recovering his rationality. Yet, at the same time, he decided against apologizing because he felt that it was far too late to do that. Excluding his behavioral blunder, he was determined to reclaim his lost face.
“I still haven’t accepted this!”
“Still haven’t accepted what?”
“That I lost because I broke the rules.”
“Shippou!”
Unable to hold it in any longer, Tomitsuka thundered at Takuma. However, Takuma kept his eyes locked on Tatsuya and never spared Tomitsuka a glance.
“What is your wish?”
Tatsuya was in position to seriously deny Takuma’s objection. In the first place, this match was designed to protect Kasumi and Takuma from the serious breach in school rules they had incurred. Protection was especially the case for Takuma, seeing as he committed the greater infraction that ran the risk of expulsion. Even if this was favoritism or a mummer’s farce, Takuma was in no position to make demands.
Even so, Tatsuya still inquired as to the source of Takuma’s dissatisfaction. Rather than calling Tatsuya a gentle soul, it would be more appropriate to say that he was the type who didn’t want to procrastinate when dealing with troublesome issues.
“Please allow me to prove it!”
“Prove what?”
“Prove that I can control Million Edge perfectly.”
“And how would you do that?”
“Please duel me. I will use Million Edge and force senpai to surrender without harming you!”
Takuma’s words caused Miyuki to lift a delicate eyebrow.
Nevertheless, white darkness failed to suffocate the classroom.
Before her emotions could explode, there came the sounds of a furious impact and a human body hitting the floor. This unexpected turnout put a hold on Miyuki’s anger.
The one who fell to the floor was Takuma.
The one who struck him down was Tomitsuka.
“……Tomitsuka-senpai?”
Towards a completely bewildered Takuma who was propping himself up with his hands,
“Shippou, don’t press your luck!”
Tomitsuka roared in absolute fury. Maybe Tomisuka’s face was originally unpleasant to look at, though not to the degree that he should be described as having the face of an enraged ghoul, this time he was truly livid.
“From the very start you’ve been spouting these arrogant and disingenuous words…… Who the hell do you think you are? Huh? Or are you saying that the 28 families are allowed to behave like that?”
“I…… I didn’t mean that.”
Takuma remained sitting on the ground as he seemed to mutter to himself. He maintained his posture of only sitting up with his upper body undoubtedly because this incredible shock had robbed him of any thought towards standing up.
Takuma truly never noticed. He never really noticed at all. Fixated on a place within the Ten Master Clans, he always looked upwards and never downwards. No, even if he did lower his head he never truly looked.
Just as Takuma never acknowledged the value of the Shippou Family absent its place among the Ten Master Clans, so too did he unwittingly look down upon the Magicians who didn’t even have the right to join the Ten Master Clans just as he derisively viewed his own father.
“Shippou. If you say you want to prove yourself, then I will be your opponent! Or are you saying that I’m not good enough for you? That 'Range Zero', the Tomitsuka trash of the Hundred Families, doesn’t have what it takes to be your opponent!?”
Maybe because he was completely overcome by Tomitsuka’s imposing manner, but Takuma kept crawling backwards on the ground. Was Tomitsuka about to press the attack home, or was Takuma about to demonstrate “how to flee with your tail between your legs”? Regardless of which one it was, the atmosphere in the practice room was filled eminent violence.
“Tomitsuka-kun, please relax.”
Just as the situation became touch and go, Miyuki’s clear voice caused the atmosphere to calm down.
“Without approval from the Student Council President and the Public Moral Committee Chief, no duels are to be permitted. In addition, doesn’t Shippou-kun also need time to consider? And surely time to prepare the medium required to activate Million Edge, correct?”
“……That’s true. My apologies.”
Owing to Miyuki’s reprimand, Tomitsuka was slightly ashamed of his temporarily inflamed passions.
“Shippou-kun, can you stand?”
In place of Tomitsuka, who had retreated to a corner, Honoka walked in front of Takuma. Though she was still upset with Takuma’s rude display towards Tatsuya, she wasn’t going to abandon an underclassman on the ground because of that. Based on that point alone, one could tell that Honoka was far too kind.
“I’m fine!”
Takuma swiftly scrambled to his feet. His face was red because a girl he was trying to draw to his camp had seen him discomfited – that was how Takuma chose to view this.
“Shippou, I have no inclination to play along with you. Tomitsuka, if you want to have a match with Shippou, it would be best if you spoke with Hattori first.”
“Eh? Ah, you’re right.”
Tomitsuka’s response started strong but faded down the stretch. Takuma stared in sullen silence at Tatsuya.
“Honoka, I’m sorry, could I bother you to lock the door?”
“Of course, Tatsuya-san.”
Tatsuya was surrounded by an aura of “don’t trouble me any further” as he swiftly departed.
With only Miyuki in tow.
Unfortunately, Tatsuya wasn’t able to escape so easily.
It was approximately 15 minutes since Honoka locked the doors and returned to the Student Council Room. Just as Tatsuya got to his feet and was about to head for home, the doorbell to the Student Council Room rang.
“I’ll get it. Please come in.”
“Excuse me.”
After Azusa used the remote to disengage the lock, the one who came through the door was the Head of the Club Activities Group, Hattori.
Rather than saying he had a bad feeling, it was more appropriate to say that Tatsuya was sure something terrible was about to happen as he straightened in his chair.
Highly displeased, or maybe with a bitter scowl, Hattori walked towards Azusa.
Sitting at the desk, there was no hint of trepidation from Azusa’s part, a detail that surprised Tatsuya quite a bit.
“Nakajou, this is very difficult for me to say, or maybe I should say this is ridiculous……”
“Hattori-kun, what is the matter?”
In Azusa’s shoes, that was all she could say.
“I’m sorry, I need to request another permission slip for a match.”
“Again!? Who is it this time?”
Under these circumstances, the fact that Hattori said nothing defamatory about anyone was a testament to his character.
At the very least, he had a better sense of duty than Tatsuya, who had already foreseen this possibility and had chosen to protect himself by not reporting anything.
“It’s Tomitsuka and Shippou.”
“Shippou-kun again……?”
The deep creases in between Hattori’s brows indicated that he was of the same sentiment as Azusa.
“……I felt that there were a few problems with his attitude when he refused to join the Student Council. This time is the same, and to be honest, I think that he needs a serious beating to help him reflect.”
Miyuki and Honoka both nodded at this, but Hattori didn’t see them.
“Still, it’s a shame about his talent. I feel that if he was just a little more humble, he could be capable of great things.”
Again, Hattori missed the visual conversation between Miyuki and Honoka that went something like this “What do you think?” “Unlikely”.
“I think that in order to take him down a notch, making him suffer a little would be far more effective than chewing him out.”
“So that’s the reason behind this match…… Will Tomitsuka-kun be OK as the opponent? If it’s for that sort of reason, wouldn’t Sawaki-kun or even you yourself, Hattori-kun, be a little better?”
With Katsuto, Mayumi, and Mari graduating, the strongest students on the surface at First High turned into Hattori and Sawaki. (“Turned into” was just how the students phrased it, as there was no elimination tournament to determine this.)
“I considered teaching him a lesson myself, but Tomitsuka strongly requested for him to do it. Thus far, Tomitsuka has been responsible for training Shippou and he is definitely more than capable of doing this. Thus, this time I want to hand it over to him.”
“Is this really going to be OK?”
Isori had been sitting quietly by listening to Hattori up until now and lent his support.
“Tomitsuka-kun is very strong. Just as Hattori-kun said, he is definitely more than capable.”
Owing to the respective specialties of the two families, there was a substantial relationship between the Tomitsuka and Isori Families. Though their private relationship wasn’t close, there was nothing strange about Isori Kei knowing the limits of Tomitsuka Hagane’s might.
“Furthermore, Tomitsuka-kun has an earnest personality. Even under those circumstances, his personality didn’t become twisted. I think that it is unlikely that there would be an unwelcome result if we allowed him to have a match with Shippou-kun.”
Azusa knew about this, which was why she easily accepted Isori’s suggestion.
“What day do you want to request? The school is about to close today so that’s out of the question.”
In response to Azusa’s question, Hattori had prepared an answer ahead of time.
“Two days from now.”
“Is it OK if it’s not tomorrow?”
“That’s because I don’t want him to use continuous battles as an excuse. Leaving a day to prepare in between would be better.”
“Two days from now would be Saturday. I’m not sure the practice rooms will still be open after school……”
Azusa said this as she opened up the screen regarding facilities requests.
“Ah, there’s an opening at 3pm in Practice Room #3. Would one hour be enough?”
“Can you keep two hours open?”
“Hm~, no problem.”
Although she was a little surprised at Hattori’s request, Azusa still did as he requested and completed the scheduling request.
“Then, I will grant the permission slip ahead of time.”
“Sorry for bothering you.”
Hattori nodded to Azusa in thanks. Azusa snickered happily.
“……What’s so funny?”
“I feel that Hattori-kun is becoming more like Juumonji-senpai.”
To Azusa, this was undoubtedly praise. However, Hattori personally felt that he and Katsuto were two entirely different types of people. From his perspective, this was like saying he was imitating Katsuto to help bridge the gap between the two of them, something that definitely put him in an odd mood.
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