“P-Prime Minister Tsukikage!”
Tsukikage Bakuga walked over from the opposite direction that Stella had left in. Ikki hadn’t expected to run into the director of Akatsuki Academy, the man who’d authorized the attack on Hagun, here of all places.
“You sure have grown, Ikki-kun.” Tsukikage said with a warm smile.
“Have we met before?”
“I’m not surprised you don’t remember. I saw you once when I visited Itsuki-kun to ask for his support in my bid to win a diet seat. That was back when Ryouma-san was still alive, so you would have been very young.”
Ikki nodded in understanding. He’d heard from Ouma that their dad had had a hand in Akatsuki’s formation, so it made sense that the man was personally acquainted with Tsukikage.
“I see... I’m sorry for having forgotten that.”
His expression wary, Ikki took a step back, keeping his attention fixed on Tsukikage. Upon seeing that, Tsukikage smiled wryly.
“Ha ha ha. No need to be on guard. An old man like me who doesn’t even have combat-oriented powers can’t harm you.”
From what Ikki could tell, Tsukikage certainly didn’t seem like a particularly strong Blazer. He had a decent amount of mana, but it wasn’t anything exceptional. Still, Ikki wasn’t foolish enough to take the prime minister at his word.
“Sorry, but it’s hard not to be on guard. You’re the leader of the group that attacked our school. And I doubt you just happened to be here by coincidence. Especially since you waited until Stella was gone to show yourself.”
Tsukikage nodded in response.
“True, our meeting here is no happenstance. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”
“There is?”
“Yes. Would you be willing to give me a bit of your time? I promise this won’t take long.”
“No thanks.”
“What a cold response. You didn’t even hesitate.”
“You know who my opponent is tomorrow. And you know what his powers are. For all I know, Amane-kun’s Nameless Glory is doing something to me this very second. I can hardly afford to take up an enemy’s proposition in this situation.”
Ikki was confident he could fight Tsukikage off if he was alone, but ever since Amane had made it to the semifinals, Ikki had been constantly on alert to deal with anything Nameless Glory might do to him. Just making it to the arena was a hurdle when Amane could twist fate to give him all sorts of good luck and make even the most implausible coincidences happen. He had to keep his head on a swivel so that he could deal with anything and everything that might happen, hence he was planning on staying up all night to avoid being taken by surprise.
The reason he’d come to this park wasn’t just to train. Since it was a wide-open space, he had a clear field of view, and there were no nearby buildings in case an earthquake or some other disaster suddenly struck. He was going this far to ensure that he could deal with whatever fate threw at him; there was no need for him to take any extra risks.
“I see. A wise response,” Tsukikage commended him with an impressed nod. “I can tell that you’ve trained hard, and that you have the brains to think through any unfavorable situation. Shinguuji-kun must be proud to have an exemplary student like you.” He then added, “But you needn’t worry. For you see, at this rate, you won’t even get to fight Shinomiya-kun.”
“Huh?” It took a few seconds for Ikki to process what Tsukikage had said. “Do you mean to say I’ll end up forfeiting before the match like all of Amane-kun’s other opponents?”
Tsukikage shook his head.
“No, not at all. Shinomiya-kun isn’t interested in a win by default against you. You see, his hatred runs far deeper than you can fathom. As it so happens, he’s what I’ve come here to talk to you about. What do you say? Interested in having that discussion now?”
In that moment, Ikki realized that he only had one option available to him. Negotiations didn’t begin when both parties met at the table. In fact, they ended before either side even reached the table. A veteran politician like Tsukikage was well aware of that, and he had used that knowledge to leave Ikki with no choice but to accept his offer.
“Fine, I’ll hear you out,” Ikki said resignedly.
“Thank you.”