Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan - Volume Zero - Chapter 0

Chapter 0: Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan Episode Zero 

Part 1 

It was the opening day of the new school term. Spring break had ended, and the Hagun Academy campus was filled with the sounds of people and the rustling of leaves. Amid that boisterous noise, a boy with unstylish black hair and pitifully soft face walked while shouldering the weight of a young woman. He was Ikki Kurogane, an F-rank student knight repeating his first school year. The woman was Yuuri Oreki, homeroom teacher for Ikki's year one class one, whose youthful face and figure was ruined by eyes ringed with deep shadow. At the moment, he was taking her to the school infirmary from their homeroom, where her health had collapsed and she had vomited a catastrophic amount of blood. 

"Sorry, Kurogane-kun. I've made more trouble for you… cough! Cough!" 

"It's fine, but please don't try to talk if you're not up to it. You're very pale." 

"O-Oh, this is nothing. Just transfuse two liters of blood and I'll be back in shape…." 

"If you're getting transfusions by the liter, that's already a problem, right? Sensei, your body's weaker than most, so don't push yourself." 

"Ugh… but we have to celebrate opening day for the new first-years. That's why I had to be bright and welcoming, you know." 

Oreki-sensei's the same as ever. 

His teacher knew better than anyone that her body would not able to endure it, but she was fine doing foolish things for her students. Ikki knew that kindness personally, and his respect for her did not let him argue. 

I guess I should just let it go for today. 

He settled on that compromise just as they reached the school infirmary. 

"Ahh, here we are." 

Upon opening the infirmary door, they were assailed by the sharp odor of medicine. 

"Haa… what a nice smell. Being surrounded by this scent calms my heart." 

"I can't say I share that opinion…." 

After all, Ikki had not lived half a lifetime in a hospital. 

"The nurse's not here? I'll go find someone." 

"Cough…Ah, it's fine. I… I can pick out medicine myself. See, Sensei's had so many diseases that she's more informed than most doctors." 

Oreki walked over to the infirmary's desk and started rummaging. 

"Umm, aspirin and indomethacin, cilostazol… wow, they even have rarer ones like nitroglycerin here.[1] How lucky! Sensei loves these~? Kurogane-kun, do you want some?" 

"…I think I'll pass." 

"Even though they're delicacies~?" 

Oreki sat down on a bed and started eating pills like candy. Ikki was quite concerned about whether she was actually choosing medicine properly, but his teacher said it was fine and indeed her pallor was somehow improving, so he begrudgingly admitted maybe it was okay. 

"What about homeroom? I think everyone's still back there." 

"That's true… there's nothing else important for me to announce, so sorry to ask this, but could you go tell them that it's fine to head home?" 

"Got it. Then please rest here, Sensei. You held strong for a while, but that doesn't change the fact that you're unwell." 

"Cough cough… Alright, thanks for worrying…." 

Oreki looked up at Ikki's face and gave a small smile. 

"But… it's nostalgic, isn't it? Back at the entrance exam, you lent me your shoulder the same way." 

"Yes, I remembered that too." 

The two of them first met a year ago at the academy entrance examination. Ikki had come to Hagun Academy by foot, and on the way to the sixth practice arena, he found Oreki fallen by the side of the road from a seizure, and helped her to the test venue. 

"I was really surprised that you were the examiner." 

"And I was very thankful for your help. If you hadn't been there, I would've been late for something so important… but speaking of surprise, that would make two of us, right? …No, I'd say I was much more shocked. No examinee before or since has said what you did." 

Oreki eyes wandered in reminiscence. 

"How quick it's been… already a year, isn't it?" 

That winter day was so vivid it might as well have been yesterday, the day she met and dueled this boy named Ikki Kurogane. 

Part 2 

Having power exceeding human norms, Blazers were assets to society, so society stood to benefit from turning them into proper knights. With this the case, almost all of the seven knight academies in Japan had no barrier to entry besides the basic qualification. 

Hagun Academy differed. It provided the perks of a dormitory residence system, guaranteed food and clothing, and a full tuition waiver. Not all Blazers were worthy of that investment, and during the selection process, one group of twenty candidates was assigned to Yuuri Oreki. 

"*Cough*… Umm, okay, we're going to have everyone show me their strengths. Once I call your name, please present me your ability using whatever method you prefer." 

Oreki announced this instruction to begin the examination, and the candidates gathered in the sixth practice arena proceeded one after another. There was one who bound flames to twin swords and sliced through a metal practice post, another who flew around the arena carried by wind, another who produced a calming scent wafting from both hands. Every candidate gave a different display, and none could be mistaken as mundane. Though all of them appeared to be no more than children, they were undoubtedly superhuman Blazers. But… 

Hmm… it looks like they're all low ability…. 

Oreki sighed as she munched on pills spread out over her table. All of the candidates she had seen so far were E-rank. Maybe D-rank? New students were always so. For C-rank, one out of fifty would be surprisingly many. A single B-rank would be quite fortunate. And A-rank… not a single one had entered in the history of Hagun Academy. Even now, the only A-rank at the school was "World Clock" Kurono Shinguuji. With the entry selection candidates split into multiple groups, it was not unusual for a group to not have one C-rank. 

The disappointment lingered though. Oreki and the other teachers used to be student knights too. They held strong feelings toward the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival, the summit where student knights contended. They wanted their alma mater to produce, and for themselves to raise up, a student who could reach the summit they themselves had not attained. They used to take joy in the hope, but none of the students under their charge had the power to grasp such possibility. 

It's a bit disheartening. I wonder if any of the other groups…. 

But Oreki could not let this emotion appear on her face. She let her despondency sink into the depths of her heart, and called the next name. 

"Next, Ikki Kurogane-kun. Please step forward." 

"Yes." 

A dignified reply resounded in the arena, and Oreki recognized the tone of a warrior. 

"Ah, you're…." 

Unstylish black hair, and a childish face that made girls' hearts flutter. The boy standing before her was the one who lent his shoulder to bring her to the arena. He had mentioned he was taking the examination, but who knew he would be in her group? 

"Ah, thanks to your help, I got here on time~wait, that's right, I'll give you some candy in return." 

Saying so, Oreki dropped a clattering mound of pills into Ikki's hands. 

"A…Ahaha… I appreciate it? This is… a bit chemical, as candy goes?" 

Ikki, sporting a hesitant face, put all of them into a pocket. 

He's easy to play around with~ 

That was Oreki's impression of Ikki following along with her foolishness, but she turned her attention back to her job. Her eyes fell to the documents at hand, and when she recognized his lineage, Oreki felt a jolt of surprise. Ikki Kurogane was the son of "Iron Blood" Itsuki Kurogane, director of the Japanese branch of the League of Mage-Knight Nations that supervised the country's mage-knights. 

Kurogane. It's a rare name, so I suspected, but… I didn't know he's the younger brother of the Sword Emperor of Wind~ 

She thought that Itsuki Kurogane's only son was Ouma Kurogane, currently attending Bukyoku Academy. She had not heard of a second son at all. But… well, whosever son this was, she still had one task as examiner. 

"Now, please present me your ability." 

Oreki spoke to the candidate at her table as she had to all the others. In response, Ikki stood silently for a short while before asking a question. 

"…When you said whatever method we prefer, does that mean I can choose anything?" 

"Hmm? Yes. I'll accept any method that shows me your merits as a Blazer~" 

Even as Ikki nodded in understanding, Oreki inwardly felt a bit apologetic. 

It's unfortunate, but this boy… will be disqualified, right? 

She had already come to that conclusion because it was her second time meeting Ikki… and the magic power she felt from him was again too weak. If she did not pay attention, she would not feel it at all. Blazers with such low magic power were rare, and by that alone his assessment was F-rank, the lowest. Even among F-ranks, his was inferior, so with better rankings in other traits his overall rank would still be lower than E, and Hagun Academy's cutoff was E or above. 

Even if he was kind enough to help me, this is the hard rule, isn't it~ 

"Well, won't you show me your specialty, Kurogane-kun?" 

Hiding the sorrow in her heart, Oreki urged Ikki on. 

"Then Oreki-sensei, I'd like to prove my worth by beating you in a duel. Would you accept that?" 

He spoke those upsetting words with an adult's direct gaze, and the other candidates nearby began to whisper noisily. 

?D-Duel… he's asking for a duel right now!?? 

?Really!? But the examiner is an active mage-knight, right?? 

?I definitely heard him say that.? 

?Which means this guy's a Blazer? I don't feel any magic out of him.? 

?No, there's a totally weak amount. But challenging a mage-knight with that… is he a dumbass?? 

Their surprise was only natural. Hagun's entrance examiners were active-service mage-knights working at the academy, licensed professionals. They were hardly fair opponents for a Blazer who was not even a student knight yet. Hoping for victory was nonsense. 

"What was that!?" 

A middle-aged academy guard came from the side and walked up to Ikki's shoulder angrily. No doubt he had taken Ikki's words as frivolous and mocking, and was going to throw Ikki out. Why not? What was Ikki's request but an absurd joke? 

"Please wait a moment." 

But the one challenged, Oreki herself, disagreed. 

"Oreki-sensei…?" 

"It's fine. Please step back." 

Oreki turned back to Ikki, who had not retreated a step at any of this and continued staring straight at her. 

How unfortunate… I've been away from real fights for so long that my intuition has dulled. To not notice those eyes…. 

Those eyes shined with a gentle light, but on a closer look, they held in their depths a sharp glare of determination, like a honed blade. Oreki smiled a little bitterly. 

It seems he's not just a gentle boy. 

He was serious and sincere in asking for a duel. And… he intended to win. 

"Kurogane-kun, while it's true that we knights can use our Devices in illusionary form and fight without wounding… that doesn't remove pain, you know? If we have a duel, it might hurt a lot. I don't think either of us want that, so there should be other ways to show ability, don't you think?" 

"But If I tried another way, I'd fail, right?" 

Oreki was astonished at Ikki's words. 

I was trying to not let it show…. 

"Even if you don't say it out loud, I know how inferior I am. And obviously, how hard it is to get into this academy." 

"Hmm… if you know, then why're you taking the entrance exam?" 

"…Well, it's to do with the situation with my family. My father won't let me continue through knight school, but when I was graduating middle school, I decided I would, so I left home. Since my family aren't going to support my schooling even to keep up appearances anymore, I chose Hagun." 

That made sense. The Kurogane family had no desire for others to know that their famous line had produced an F-rank failure. They would not allow him to continue on to knight school, or provide him school expenses. Even the scholarship system was administered by the Japanese branch of the League of Mage-Knight Nations, which was under Kurogane influence. Ikki had no option besides coming to a school like Hagun that provided necessities and waived tuition. 

"But Kurogane-kun, your ability doesn't allow you to enter this school." 

Ikki did not match up to Hagun's standard. Oreki pointed this out without hiding behind niceties. But Ikki did not falter, and spoke without the slightest tremble in his voice. 

"Right. So I came today to challenge that thinking." 

A black sword appeared in his right hand. 

"I'll take victory against the entrance examiner. That's how I'll prove I'm worthwhile. Isn't that enough?" 

How could it not be? All of the instructor knights employed at the school were graduates of knight academies, and certified as proper knights at D-rank or above. This meant defeating an examiner was evidence of actual D-rank ability. 

"Knighthood is a combat occupation, so it would be an appropriate display of eligibility, but…" 

"…Well, I can't argue with that~" 

"O-Oreki-sensei…! Are you sure!? That's unheard of!?" 

"We were the ones who said that they should pick the method… it's an unprecedented situation, but he's gotten to the heart of it. Still… Kurogane-kun, will you let me ask one last question?" 

"What is it?" 

"Why choose me? You don't have to fight me, you know? For example, this guard is also a knight, so defeating him would also prove your power." 

"…That's true, but I'd rather face you, Oreki-sensei." 

"Is that because… you want to take advantage of my weakness?" 

Ikki already knew about her health. Was this why he challenged her? Because her illness made her easy to beat? 

"Haha…." 

Ikki gave an exasperated laugh as if he had heard a bad joke. 

"Please stop pretending to be modest. Sensei, among the people here and everyone I've met today, the pressure I get from you is the strongest of them all." 

"….Hmph." 

Oreki's mouth curled upward slightly at Ikki's words. 

https://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=File:Rakudai_V0_152.jpg 

"EEEEEKKK!" 

In the next instant, screams filled the air of the practice arena. Dozens of selection candidates and multiple guards watching over the place drove the air from their lungs until they finally fell like decaying trees to the ground, foaming at the mouth. What just happened? 

The cause was a blood-red cutlass that had appeared in Yuuri Oreki's left hand. 

"Violet Pain[2]". A Noble Art that spreads the pain of my sick body, the friction of my rotting bones, the ache of my festering innards across everyone within a certain distance. The effect is as you can see." 

No one could keep their sanity at being inflicted with all the diseases violently ravaging Oreki's body. Even the adults were screaming like young girls, and falling unconscious from the pain like a circuit breaker had been flipped. 

"And yet… you're not having any trouble enduring, are you?" 

Ikki alone, without rolling on the ground… no, without the slightest movement, continued to stand there in the arena without moving his gaze from Oreki. 

"As the one who asked for a duel, I won't back down from pain." 

He had certainly heard Oreki's description. Just breathing made his lungs seem to split. But… Ikki smiled slightly. 

"…You're not the only one can bear it." 

"Hehe, it was a boorish test, wasn't it? …Kurogane-kun, I see your resolve. If that's how much you want this fight, then Sensei won't refuse. Yuuri Oreki, the C-rank knight bearing the nickname of Jolly Roger[3], accepts this battle." 

"I'm grateful, Oreki-sensei." 

With those words, Ikki raised Intetsu and began his entrance exam. 

Part 3 

The first to make a move was Oreki. She lunged forward with speed like the wind into range of Ikki and increased the magic power in her sword. 

Let's see if he has the power to justify that courage! 

At the same time, she swung the red cutlass in her left hand, creating a scarlet slash that resembled a claw stroke. 

"Such obvious moves won't get me…!" 

Ikki's black arc repelled the frontal slash that did not even aim at an opening. 

"Well, I wasn't trying to!" 

Oreki did not think her first strike would reach him. Her true motive was… to invite a swing of Ikki's katana. Though the first slash was deflected, she was already stepping deep into range, close enough to punch him. This was a distance better suited for the shorter reach of a cutlass than the longer length of a katana, and her deflected cutlass blade was quicker to return than Intetsu…. 

"…Sh!" 

"Kuh!" 

Three times the redness flashed, striking at Ikki who guarded with Intetsu, but gradually his defense started to slow. His katana was a two-handed weapon. At extremely close range, it could not follow the movements of a one-handed sword like a cutlass. And Oreki was skilled, hiding her wrist motions as she swung her cutlass. Redness flashed nimbly like a conductor waving a baton, but struck with the force of her weight behind it. 

"…I'm amazed. The teachers of a knight academy even train in swordsmanship?" 

"I appreciate the praise, but not all teachers do that. Plenty don't study how to wield their Devices this way. I'm just an oddball." 

Blazers were not required to go deep into swordsmanship. It was a pastime at best, since their true worth was in their supernatural abilities. Sword technique, no matter how excellent, was within the realm of mundane humans, and basically powerless against magic. Swordsmanship gave only a tiny advantage against an opponent with the same rank in Blazer ability, so studying it was considered a terribly inefficient use of time, and few knights bothered. Better to expand one's own magic than to practice something so pointless. 

"I also got into it as part of training my spirit, and kept it up out of habit. I'd say it's not really a big deal?" 

Oreki felt a bit let down by Ikki's performance. 

Honestly, I think he's already able to compete with me on swordsmanship… 

He had challenged a higher-rank knight despite insufficient power, so there must be some reason he could look past the difference… but there were many youngsters with excellent physical fitness and sword technique, who could not abandon the idea that their training would overwhelm the difference between Blazer ranks. Oreki wondered if Ikki shared that delusion. 

But I'm not sure if he actually studies the sword. 

Ikki's stance had no form. She did not see a warrior's refinement, only the use of reflexes to endure her attacks. Reflexes able to perform so well under the effect of Violet Pain were certainly worth something, but… that was hardly enough to vindicate a boast that he could defeat an examiner, and so Oreki was somewhat disappointed. 

If he knows he's inferior to others, he must be holding back something else! 

"What's wrong? You can't take victory from me just by dodging! Or is your body hurting so much that you can only run around!?" 

Even with this taunt, Ikki devoted himself to the same defense. No, He was concentrating on the arcs drawn by the red flashes. He must have some other ability, Oreki thought, that would break this stalemate. Perhaps a Noble Art? 

Maybe, but I won't wait for you…! 

*Clash!* 

A loud ring of metal on metal resounded, and the black blade protecting Ikki slipped from its position. With a turn of her wrist, Oreki had changed mid-attack from a cutting stroke to a reversed slash against his lower body. The unexpected angle had made Ikki's defense crumble, and Oreki was not letting this opening escape! 

Swish, and a red blade flashed, aiming at Ikki's neck. Once the neck was cut by illusionary form, the opponent would be knocked out instantly. Since Ikki had not shown any special ability, it would be the end of his examination. 

But this is a battle too, so there's no helping it, right?. 

In battle, no serious opponent would hold back from a certain kill, and Oreki was treating fight seriously. Ikki had asked for that, so Oreki would show no leniency. Her merciless strike— 

—was rather easily dodged with only a slight movement of Ikki's upper body. 

"…Huh!?" 

For an instant, Oreki's movements froze. Because her victorious cut was dodged? —No, the attack was not difficult to evade with good reflexes. She froze at the sight of Ikki's face in that moment, at the lack of surprise that he was being attacking in his moment of vulnerability and at the lack of dismay with having to dodge with reflexes alone. His motion was so natural he might as well have stepped out of the way of a tree branch in his path. 

"Right, I knew you'd change your tactics here." 

"What!? You predicted my winning strike?" 

"I knew you'd start losing patience. Sorry for vexing you, but while it's a battle, it's also an exam, and the specialty I'd like to show you needs a bit of time." 

Ikki switched Intetsu from both hands to only his right, and took a stance. That stance was… no doubt Oreki's own, like seeing herself in the mirror— 

"But I'm ready. I've memorized all of your sword style, Sensei." 

Upon saying such an unbelievable thing, Ikki's sword now swung from his side. The strength of the arm, the snap of the wrist, and the swing of the sword were all clearly Oreki's. 

"You're certainly imitating me well, but calling that a specialty is anti-climatic! This is just a street performance, right!?" 

This style Oreki used was the product of her Device being a cutlass. For a katana with its greater length, the same movements were unnatural and inferior. He could not win against Oreki this way. Against the approaching assault, she countered with her own strike. Blades clashed and sparks danced, but this exchange would not last long. There was no doubt that the more nimble cutlass would win. 

"I can't… keep up with your speed…!?" 

Oreki could not explain it. Speed and agility should be in her favor, and yet—she could not follow Ikki's sword at all. 

No, he's pushing into me! 

"How…!" 

"Sensei, I may be imitating your sword style, but this isn't your technique. I'm pushing you back by taking your swordsmanship a step further, and adapting with my Intetsu on the fly." 

What…What is this boy saying!? 

"A step further…!? How can you do something like that so easily! After only facing a handful of opponents and seeing their styles, so how can you take them—!" 

Ikki smiled bitterly. 

"…Well, that's my specialty. I've been watching and copying other people's training since I was a child because no one would teach me, and before I knew it I could understand everything of a style down from the branches of the current day to the roots of their principles just from seeing them for three minutes, flaws and all. Once I know that much, it's not hard to improve on a style. So I don't have a specific sword style or form. Instead of adopting one, it's better to take a few bits here and there and improvise my own. …Though that's not the most honorable thing, so I can't really brag about it." 

Hearing this statement announced as if it was nothing, Oreki felt more and more at a loss. She thought Ikki's stance was full of gaps, because he did not seem to have anything like a proper sword style, but that was a misunderstanding. He did not need a proper style. A style was a path toward understanding the principles of combat, and someone who could reach those principles directly had no need for one! 

How absurd…! For someone so young to reach this level…! 

As far as Oreki knew, only a knight like the God of War Torajirou Nangou could attain such a state. She shuddered at the youth before her from the depths of her heart. 

"Haa!" 

With a cutting shout, a black strike at last pushed against the red blade, sending it away. The unleashed Intetsu flashed. It was already too late for defense or evasion. The blade cut deeply into Oreki at an angle, but since this was a mock battle, no blood came out. A Device in illusionary form inflicts no physical wounds, and instead only a blood-red glow of physical strength gushed forth. 

But even illusions could damage, inflicting the pain of a real cut and the fatigue of losing strength. The damage to Oreki would be more than enough to decide the match, if this was a match against a normal knight. 

"Guaaah!?" 

The combatant fallen on one knee was… Ikki. 

Part 4 

W-What just happened!? 

Pain burned through Ikki's body just as his diagonal slash touched Oreki's shoulder, even though he had not taken a wound. On his knee, Ikki shook at this turn of events, but Oreki's cutlass came for his throat before he could get in a breath. This time he could not evade as delicately as before. Trusting his reflexes, he threw his body backward to retreat from the red slash. 

"Oh, you dodged? I guess you don't want to be caught in close range~?" 

Oreki sighed. A diagonal line of red crossed her body. It was the afterglow of her life energy touched by Intetsu, the mark of Ikki's slash, and Ikki realized what had happened. 

That mark… it's exactly the same as where I'm hurting…. 

"I got careless. Violet Pain… does more than share your physical condition. It also shares the wounds you take in combat, right…!" 

"You understand it terribly well." 

Indeed, her Violet Pain was able to force the opponent to bear her wounds too, which meant that every strike Ikki put on her would all be mutual hits. 

This is too dangerous. I mustn't attack carelessly…." 

"But having said that, you can't stay turtled up forever… right?" 

"Would you please not read my mind?" 

"It's an obvious guess with you sweating so much." 

As Oreki said, Ikki had a sheen of perspiration. 

"Since the beginning of the test, you've been under the effect of my Violet Pain, sharing the pains of my body. I've felt this pain since I was a child… long enough to call it a part of me, and I can endure no matter how bad it is. Not so for you. How much longer can you put up with it?" 

She was right. Ikki had been fighting all this time under a raging pain that made many adults collapse. He could not push himself more than this. 

"If this was a sword duel, you'd have won, Kurogane-kun. I'll acknowledge that. But… we're not swordsmen. We're Blazers, with supernatural powers beyond human understanding. The sword alone won't give us victory. So… I think it's about time you showed me your pride as a Blazer. Show me your Noble Art… or continue trying to challenge me on endurance?" 

"Haa… I can't see how I'll win like that." 

Dragging out a fight against Oreki was the height of folly, but Ikki would not win without a plan. An attack like the last one would just be repeating the same dance. To defeat her, he would need a strike with decisive damage, and cause a pain that she was not ready for. Could he do that? 

…I can. 

Ikki Kurogane had a way. Closing his eyes, he gathered the power of every cell in his body from the tips of his hair to the tips of his fingers. A blue flame erupted across his form, his magic power condensed to the point of visibility. By concentrating all of his spirit and holding nothing back, he would gain explosive power for a single short minute against a formidable enemy. This was Ikki Kurogane's Noble Art—Ittou Shura. Once this power was invoked, he could not stop himself from exhausting it all. After this one minute, Ikki would have none left over. Raising a thundering shout, he stepped toward Oreki. 

"Here I come, Sensei… and with this weakness, I'll show you my worth!" 

Part 5 

Seeing that blue flame, Oreki sucked in a breath. 

What an desperate way to use magic power! 

It was many times the amount she had felt in him before, so he must be drawing from the depths of his spirit, wagering his entire body and soul. Describing the idea was easy, but doing it was nigh-impossible. Ikki Kurogane was devoting even his last dregs of life-preserving magic to the attack. How much determination did this take? Oreki could not even imagine it. 

But Oreki knew one thing. 

I have to defeat this boy, no matter what! 

She could not let this young lad use his strength so absurdly. Ikki was strong, and so abnormal that the other candidates were no comparison, but that was not enough. There were monsters in this world who would not take a single wound even if someone like Ikki exhausted all his body and soul to do it. If Ikki continued on the road of a knight, he might chance upon those monsters… but Ikki would likely not give up. She could tell. After crossing swords with him today, Oreki could already see what kind of person Ikki was. No matter how he lost, he would not stop believing in his own worth. Without giving up, he would try again and again, burning up his own life just as he was doing right now, and… his body and mind would shatter. 

For an instant, Oreki saw Ikki in despair, crashing against a wall he could not surmount no matter what he did. She… could not allow it. Yuuri Oreki's values as a teacher would not let her disregard that possibility. Adults were to guide children. They had a duty to pull them back from the brink, to stop them from chasing a ruinous future. 

I can't lose this duel! 

Yuuri Oreki was resolved. With conviction not as the entrance examiner, but as a teacher and a knight, she intercepted the young lion clad in blue light. Ikki's speed was incomparably higher, more than similar knights might be able to follow, but a speed she could still grasp. She was, like Ikki said, stronger than anyone else here. As Ikki approached, she whipped the cutlass in her left hand calmly across his torso with perfect timing. Ikki could not stop at this speed, and took the red blade deeply. 

But in that moment, he disappeared from Oreki's sight like mist. 

Ikki was standing a bit further away than she expected, and Oreki did not understand. Was her timing wrong? No, it was perfect, but her attack was… against Ikki's image. He had used a technique that, using footwork and spiritual pressure, created an illusion of his rushing body to make the opponent strike in vain. It was one of Ikki's original sword techniques, the fourth secret sword—Shinkirou. 

Oreki had swung at that image. As a result, she could not defend against the true Ikki's sword, crossing the distance between them. Ikki would not let this chance escape. He swung Intetsu in his right hand and struck with all his might. She could not evade or block, but… that was the same as before! 

Not yet! 

Oreki was fighting with conviction. As a teacher, she would not allow a child to destroy himself. She would not allow the duel to end this way! 

At the moment of contact, Ikki's breath caught in his throat as he saw Oreki do something he did not anticipate. With the cutlass raised skyward, she made an overhead swing, and without hesitation she cut her own right arm. 

Anguish erupted. Because of illusionary form, her arm did not fly off, but an equivalent sensation still passed through her mind. And that pain and loss was also inflicted on Ikki by Violet Pain! Ikki's right arm lost all its strength, and Intetsu flew from his grip. It was the consequence of betting all of his strength, read successfully by Oreki. She had not intended to use her cutlass normally. Considering the difference in skill between them, Oreki's attacks was unlikely to hit. She knew she would be dodged, so she put together a defense for when that happened. 

It was an unimaginable tactic. If not for illusionary form, the pain would be real. Even Oreki would have trouble withstanding the agony of losing an arm. Who would be able to keep fighting under that? But this was for the sake of a young lad that she had only just met, a complete stranger. Oreki did not hesitate to mutilate her own body for the sake of protecting another. Her students were like her children. What kind of mother would not protect her child? So without hesitation, she cut her right arm… and deprived Ikki of his blade to protect his future. 

I'm sorry…! But… this fight… is mine! 

Ikki had no defense without a Device, and he could not abort an attack with all his power to retrieve what he dropped. Oreki turned the blade that she had used to cut her arm and slashed up at Ikki— 

Blood-red light gushed out. 

Part 6 

The one to fall was… Oreki. 

"…Wha?" 

What had just happened? Why was Ikki, whose sword had been flung from his hand, still standing? And… why, when she looked down at Ikki's left hand, did she see her own cutlass clutched there? 

The confusion lasted for a short while before she could remember that moment when Ikki, with the strength of his fingers and the snap of a wrist backed by Ittou Shura, had twisted Oreki's cutlass from her left hand and slashing her with it in the same motion. It took less than half a second. She knew of a single technique that could do this, snatching barehanded an opponent's sword to cut that opponent down. 

"The… Yagyuu style's barehanded disarm[4]…. To even know that technique…." 

"I had the chance to see footage of it once, and I improved on my memory of it. I didn't think I'd ever have the chance to use it though." 

Ikki stood firmly with beads of sweat on his forehead, having endured the fatal wound caused by mutual strike with Oreki. On the other hand, Oreki was already down. The completely unexpected strike had severed the thread tying her body and mind together, and she could not hold onto consciousness much longer. She had lost. 

"I can't refute this outcome. Congratulations, Kurogane-kun." 

"Thank you." 

"But there's one last thing I want to say." 

"What is it?" 

"Despite all this, won't you give up on becoming a knight?" 

At those words, Ikki's expression hardened. 

"Are you… saying that you won't pass me?" 

"No. This is just a personal request. As a teacher… I think it's fine for kids to pursue their dreams with all they have. As a teacher, I want to help them. Even if a dream can't come true, striving for something is a good experience… but you're different, Kurogane-kun. You'll face heights beyond the strength your abilities can ever attain. It's very dangerous to not back down when you should, and exceed what everyone else calls reasonable limits. That Noble Art. It's… not something you can use like a regular power, right?" 

Ikki smiled painfully at this simple truth. 

"You figured me out, huh…?" 

Ikki's special ability as a Blazer was to double his physical ability by expending magic power, nothing more. By taking hold of inner power that living creatures should not use and concentrating it to an absurd degree, he was able to magnify the effect dozens of times. 

"That's an act which will shorten your life. If you continue using it, sooner or later… you won't be able to recover. As a teacher, I… want to keep you away from this school. Kurogane-kun… I'm sure you can succeed in many other ways. There's no need for you to sacrifice so much in a field that doesn't suit your strengths. So… please reconsider." 

For a knight, making such a request after losing a duel must be shameful, but Oreki had to ask. She did not want to see this gallant, intense lad be ruined. 

"…Thank you. For thinking of me, when I challenged you so selfishly." 

Ikki understood Oreki's kindness. He knew that she was setting aside her own pride to protect him. 

"But even so, I'm aiming to be a knight." 

At the answer, Oreki sighed. She… knew that this would be his reply. She knew he understood her feelings, and was sorry, but would never bend in his determination. 

I doubt tears would convince him… he's certainly very manly." 

"It's a dangerous road, you know…?" 

"Yes, but I have my reasons. Besides… I don't think I want a life dreaming of things I can achieve just by stretching out a hand for them. The dream that best suits me is one higher than I can reach." 

Ikki's eyes did not waver, and at that sight, Oreki knew her own misunderstanding. He… was not a child. He was a full-grown knight, who would cut his way through life with his sword. 

Part 7 

"…Well, it's about time for me to head back to the classroom." 

Oreki stopped retracing her memories at Ikki's voice. 

"Ah, right. Please dismiss everyone for me." 

Seeing Ikki's straightened back as he left, Oreki remembered her worry from back then, as well as the injustice of his family in intervening to hold him back a year despite his strength. But despite that injustice… Ikki was not bowed. Standing proudly, the light in his eyes was not the slightest bit clouded. 

"Hey, Kurogane-kun." 

"Yes?" 

"Even now, I still think that pursuing the road to knighthood isn't right for you." 

"Sensei…." 

"So please show me how wrong I am, okay?" 

Show her that he was not going to stop. That he was not a child. Show her so that she and the world knew he was a valorous knight who could walk this road with conviction. Oreki pushed Ikki onward not as a teacher but as a friend. At this support, Ikki's eyes widened in surprise for an instant. 

"Of course. That's what I'm going to do." 

He nodded, and left the infirmary. The sound of his departing footsteps made a spirited rhythm, and Oreki followed that rhythm into slumber. 

References 

1 Aspirin, indomethacin, cilostazol, nitroglycerin: Pain relief medications. Aspirin and indomethacin treat inflammation. Cilostazol and nitroglycerin fix blood flow. 

2 Violet Pain: This uses the kanji 血染めの海原, chisome no umihara ("Bloodstained Sea"). 

3 Jolly Roger: This uses the kanji 死の宣告, shi no senkoku ("Death Sentence"). 

4 Yagyuu style: Yagyuu Shinkage-ryuu, one of the oldest Japanese swordsmanship styles, established in the late sixteenth century.