Hana, on the other hand, couldn’t have cared less, consumed as she was by anger at the man in front of them.
Azuha was special to Hana, and she could not forgive him for treating her little one with such violence.
While she was debating how to best exact revenge, the man said, “How about you break up with Saku?”
She immediately snapped, “No one in their right mind would agree to a request like that from a stranger. Are you stupid?” She repaid his earlier mockery in kind.
A vein on his temple throbbed. “Who do you think you’re mouthing off to? Bravery and recklessness aren’t the same, you know. Consider your audience and pick your words accordingly.”
He fixed Hana with a piercing gaze. His expression had frosted over in an instant. His eyes were cold enough to make hardened men quake.
Hazuki swallowed heavily and took a step back, but Hana advanced instead, ready to fight. She refused to be the first to look away.
“Cheeky brat,” the man murmured and grabbed her arm.
She tried to shake off his hand right away, but his grip was too strong. “Let go,” she growled, scowling.
The threat in her tone had no effect on her opponent.
Still, she kept her eyes locked on his, sensing that the one to avert their eyes would lose their duel. Her thoughts were ruled by her anger. Driven by her refusal to lose, she stood her ground.
A piercing “Hey!” interrupted their staring contest.
It was Kikyou. Apparently, her argument with Suzu had finished. It had taken longer than usual.
“Is that you, Yukizasa?! What are you doing to Hana?!” Kikyou cried.
The two contestants finally disengaged from their duel and turned to look at Kikyou.
Yukizasa made a face like he had just bitten into a lemon. “Here comes the crybaby. Where’s your partner today?”
Kikyou flinched, and her brows drew downward. Unlike when she was fighting with Suzu, she looked afraid.
“N-none of your business. Wh-wh-what about your exam? Aren’t you supposed to be in the middle of your Obsidian-rank trial? Did you skip again? I’m going to report this to your mother! Hurry up and get your hands off Hana,” she shouted.
However, maybe out of fear, she was keeping her distance, so she did not make for an effective rescuer.
Nevertheless, she managed to temper Yukizasa’s anger. All the motivation visibly drained from his body, and he flung Hana’s arm away.
“I’m sick of this.”
Hana’s arm wasn’t broken, but the pain from his viselike grip still lingered. She didn’t want to show any weakness in front of him, so she put everything she had into pretending her arm didn’t bother her.
She glowered at him, threatening him with a world of pain if he tried to come near her again.
Yukizasa turned away and disappeared into the crowd without another word.
Once he was gone, Hana rolled up her sleeves to find that his hand had left a significant bruise.
“I should have slugged him,” she grumbled, her hatred of losing rearing its head.
Suzu and Hazuki approached her with worried faces.
“Hana, are you okay?” Suzu asked. Her eyes landed on Hana’s arm, and she winced. “Oh my god. That’s one heck of a bruise.”
“Does it hurt?” Hazuki asked.
“I’m fine,” Hana replied curtly. “More importantly, do you know that jerk, Kikyou?”
However, the one to answer was Suzu. “You’re probably the only one here who doesn’t know him.”
“What? Seriously?” Hana turned to her sister. “You know him, too?”
Hazuki nodded. “I didn’t recognize his face, but I realized right away after hearing his name.”
“You too, Suzu?”
“Of course. I’m a Mitsui. My family falls under the Sankourou clan. I’ve never talked to him, but I know what he looks like at least.”
“You’re kidding.”
In the end, Hana was the only one still in the dark.
“Please explain, Kikyou,” Hana asked.
“That was Yukizasa Sankourou. As you can tell by his name, he’s from one of the five great clans, the Sankourou clan. He’s the son of the current clan head, and the one who has been nominated as the successor.”
“So he’s in the same position as you and Kiriya, then.”
“No. We are merely candidates, whereas he is the confirmed successor,” she said. “As long as nothing goes wrong, at least.”
A man like him was going to be the clan lord? That seemed like poor judgment.
Hana wanted to file a complaint with whoever had made that ridiculous decision.
“The Sankourou clan specializes in defense,” Hazuki added in simple terms for Hana’s understanding.
Kikyou picked up the conversational thread. “Like Hazuki said, the clan excels at creating robust barriers, and a nomination by the current clan head means that Yukizasa’s skills are the real deal. He was originally a Lapis-rank practitioner, and I had heard that he would be undergoing the promotion exam to claim the Obsidian rank, but that’s all I know…”
Hazuki said, “Earlier, he was wearing an obsidian pendant.”
Kikyou looked surprised. “That must mean he passed… I see. He must have heard about Lord Ichinomiya’s marriage after returning from the testing grounds and come to see for himself who the spouse is. This is a disaster, Hana.”
Kikyou’s pitying gaze irritated Hana. “Is he related to Saku somehow?” she asked.
“Yes, they’re old friends, though it feels a little one-sided on Yukizasa’s end. He’s fixated on Lord Ichinomiya. I’m sure he was dying to know who he married. Geez. Talk about having too much time on your hands.”
“Yet another troublemaker crawls out of the woodwork.” Hana stared meaningfully at Kikyou and sighed deeply.
“Why are you sighing while looking at me?!” Kikyou demanded, tears springing to her eyes.
Hana wanted to point to her reaction and tell her, Exhibit A.