The audience rained applause down on Stella as she walked out of the ring. Toutokubara Kanata sighed in admiration as she watched her leave.
“That was an amazing battle.”
Toudou Touka nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. I always knew Stella-san was immensely talented, but I never imagined she’d grow so much in such a short time that not even the Gale Emperor would be a match for her.”
Touka knew she wouldn’t be able to win so much as a single practice match against Stella now. In just one week, she’d grown exponentially stronger.
“Ouma-san made a mistake in angering her,” Kanata muttered softly. If he hadn’t done that, he would have been able to win this match.
“No, he did that on purpose,” Ikki corrected her, shaking his head.
“Really?”
Ikki nodded.
“He’s the kind of man who will never compromise, both when it comes to himself and when it comes to his opponents. Nii-san toured the world in pursuit of strength, so he was probably frustrated that Stella wasn’t using her full potential. I bet he purposely goaded her to spur on her growth. He doesn’t care about glory or even victory. His only goal is to become the strongest person alive.”
“That...does seem fitting, considering his personality.”
“Yep. I do have my complaints about him, like how there’s nothing he won’t do as long as it furthers his goal. I can’t say I condone attacking our school or ambushing me in the middle of the night, but at the same time, I do respect his single-minded devotion to his goal.”
When Ikki closed his eyes, he recalled all the evenings he’d seen Ouma doggedly swinging his sword in the family dojo long after all the lecturers and other kids had left. There was a lot he’d learned from his older brother, including many of the techniques he’d stolen. Kurogane Ouma was the closest thing Kurogane Ikki had ever had to a real teacher. And Stella had managed to utterly crush him.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect Stella to become this strong,” Ikki continued. “She doesn’t have any of the naivete she showed during our mock battle either. There’s no way I can match up to her strength, and she’s almost caught up to me in speed too. I’m getting a headache just thinking about how I’m going to fight her.”
“Liar. You’re grinning from ear to ear.”
“Well, she’s not the only one who’s gotten stronger since then.”
While Stella’s growth had surprised Ikki, it wasn’t as if he’d been resting on his laurels. In fact, even during her match, he’d been observing her closely and thinking of potential countermeasures for her new abilities. He had a few ideas in mind, and he was confident that he at least had a chance at winning.
If he tried to fight her head-on in a battle of brute force like Ouma had done, he’d obviously be ground into paste. But there wasn’t a single enemy Ikki had ever been able to beat head-on. He had never intended to try to match Stella in terms of might. There was more to battle than pure strength, after all. An absolute victory where you utterly overwhelmed your opponent wasn’t the only kind of victory out there.
Ouma-niisan would probably call me a fraud for that line of thinking. But, well, those are his beliefs, not mine.
As someone who’d been born with no talent whatsoever, Ikki had chosen to walk his own path, and he had his own reasons for walking it to the end. It didn’t matter if Ouma accepted his way of life; what mattered was that Ikki believed in himself.
“Good luck. I’ll be rooting for you!” Touka said with a smile.
“Are you sure you should be playing favorites when we’re both your friends, Toudou-san?”
“You’re the one who beat me, so I need you to win the tournament.”
I can’t argue with that, I suppose.
“Thank you. But it’s too early to be thinking about tomorrow’s match.”
Just then, the announcer called out, “We’ll be taking a thirty minute break to clean up the ring for the next match. Fighters, please move to your respective waiting rooms.”
Before Ikki could fight Stella, he had one last wall he needed to overcome. There was a man he needed to defeat at all costs.
“There’s unfinished business I need to take care of first.”
As he said that, Ikki got up from his seat and started heading to the waiting room. Touka could feel his resolve as she watched him leave.
“He’s raring to go. I guess it makes sense after what happened to his sister.”
“I wonder, though. Is that the only reason?”
“What do you mean, Kana-chan?”
“It didn’t seem to me like he was intent on getting revenge for Shizuku-san. Rather, I felt a powerful...determination from him. As if there’s some great duty he needs to fulfill.”
Touka was reminded of how Ikki had looked when he’d stepped into the ring to fight her in his final qualifying match. He’d been horribly ill and barely able to stand, but she’d sensed that he’d been willing to stake his very existence on that one duel.
✦ ✦ ✦
On the way to the waiting room, Ikki took a small detour to the infirmary. He wanted to check up on Shizuku and Alisuin before the match. It turned out to be perfect timing, since they came out of the door just as he reached it.
“Shizuku!”
“O-Onii-sama?!”
The two of them looked over in surprise as Ikki ran up to them.
“My, what perfect timing. I take it you came to see us before your match?” Alisuin asked.
“Yeah. I’m glad you two are awake.”
“We actually just woke up.”
“Is it okay for you to be out and about? You were both hurt pretty badly.”
“No need to worry. We were treated quickly enough that we’re all right. Isn’t that right, Shi— Wait, what are you doing?”
“Sh-Shizuku?”
Shizuku had pulled her shirt up over her head to hide her face. All Ikki could make out were her eyes, which looked apologetic.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I don’t deserve to be in the same room as you, Onii-sama...” she muttered, looking away. “Not only did I fail to stop that abominable man, he made a fool out of me for everyone to see. I hate how weak I am.” In a faint voice, she added, “I’m sorry I failed you.”
“There’s nothing you need to apologize for.”
Ikki strode forward and gently hugged Shizuku.
“O-Onii-sama?”
“Thank you. You fought not just for my sake, but for every knight in this tournament. I’m truly proud of you.”
“Onii-sama...”
Shizuku started sobbing in Ikki’s arms, and he gently wiped away her tears.
“It’s okay. I’ll inherit your will, Shizuku. I won’t let him mess up this tournament any more than he already has.”
“Do you have a plan in mind? Amane’s power is insanely difficult to deal with,” Alisuin said in a worried voice.
“Nope,” Ikki replied with a shake of his head. “I don’t have a plan, but last night, I finally figured out Amane-kun’s true nature.”
At long last, Ikki understood why he’d hated Amane so much from the moment they’d met. He also knew who those turgid, dark eyes staring at him from the depths of his mind belonged to now. That was precisely why he could say his next words with complete confidence.
“Don’t worry. I’ll beat him. He’s the one person I absolutely can’t lose to.”