Their talk of memories and Moroboshi’s awe-inspiring eagerness to throw himself into battle sent a shiver down Shizuku’s spine. For the sake of getting his sister to speak again, Moroboshi had recovered from career-ending injuries and made a miraculous return to knighthood. His determination and tenacity as he overcame torturous rehabilitation were infinitely beyond the realm of the average person.
There’s no doubt that he’s strong. Both in body and mind. Shizuku couldn’t imagine that he would be bested by someone clouded by doubt. Big Brother, please! You have to get a hold of yourself!
With emotions almost akin to prayer, Shizuku gazed at the blue gate, where Ikki would at some point emerge from. Then, in her periphery, she spotted a tiny girl with bobbed hair seated directly above it.
“Ah…”
It was Moroboshi’s sister, Koume, staring at the red gate. She, just like Shizuku, was waiting for the moment her brother would emerge. Unlike Shizuku, however, she looked as though she was harboring a terrible pain.
“We have another message for everyone here today. We apologize for the long wait, but we will now begin the first match of the Seven Stars Battle Festival’s C block!”
The announcement heralded the start of the matches, prompting Shizuku to turn her attention to the arena, but she continued to think. If she were in Koume’s shoes, how would she feel? If Ikki had lost his legs because of her, and if he had surmounted so much pain and suffering just for her… and if all she could do was wait and watch as he suffered through a world of fighting, a world where everyone continually injured each other, how would she feel?
“…Nh.”
The result of that line of thinking was pain that threatened to rend her heart.
✦ ✦ ✦
Block C progressed smoothly, without any of the delay-related difficulties that block B had run into. While its battles were taking place, after some moderate warming up, Moroboshi lowered himself into a folding chair and stared at a single sheet of paper. On it, a message was written in cute, round handwriting.
“Go get ’em!”
The night before, Moroboshi had not returned to his hotel room. After sending Ikki off in the ambulance, he’d returned to the still-packed restaurant, helping out for so long that he decided to just spend the night at home. As a result, though, he’d received that message from Koume before he’d left home. After all, Moroboshi had asked her to write it before he’d left for the opening ceremony.
“Hey. Mind writing ‘Go get ’em!’ like you always do?”
It was like a good luck charm for him, so he would always make that request before his matches. Each time he did, Koume would look at him and frown momentarily before breaking out into a smile and writing it out for him. Just as she always did.
“…”
As he looked at the message, Moroboshi recalled his sister’s split-second frown. It seemed so apologetic, so pained. He knew exactly what she was thinking when she made that expression.
For so long, she’d known that her brother had made this comeback for her sake. Of course, not once had he acted like he was doing her any favors, but as they shared the same blood, she could understand his thoughts to an extent. That made her hesitate all the more to send him off with a cheer of “Go get ’em!”, as though her brother fighting for her was none of her business. Moroboshi could see through to that truth, and he chuckled softly.
“Silly.”
There’s nothing to be sorry about, Koume. You didn’t do anything wrong. She didn’t have to worry; all she had to do was to recover at her own pace. He didn’t care if it took years or even decades. Until you’re all better, I won’t lose. I’ll just keep on winning until you realize you haven’t taken anything from me, and you finally recover. Then, we’ll be just like we were in the good old days.
“To the fighters in the waiting room, block C’s third match has ended, and we will now begin the fourth match. Hagun Academy’s Ikki Kurogane and Bukyoku Academy’s Yuudai Moroboshi, please head to your entrance gates.”
“All right! Time to win this thing!”
Just watch, kiddo!