The continuation of this story must be credited, in part, to fugu-chan's most timely review. Thank you for your comments and encouragement.
Silverbrilliance, I tried to include some emotional torture, hope you like it.
Everyone, please enjoy the story.
Daytime - Part Four
"Why baka, what do you think? A spell battle of course. And people say you're a good Fighter…how can you be if you're this slow?" Ikeda Jun's smirk widened as he noticed Soubi's glare. "Jun, stop." The order that came from Kimura Shouhei, though short, was effective. "Hai, hai, Shou-san." Ikeda Jun shrugged and smiled cavalierly, but did not comment any further.
"It's barely a few hours after training night - why?" Soubi directed his question at Kimura. Kimura tapped his finger lightly against his arm. He paused slightly before replying, "Because I wish to, of course. Agatsuma-kun, call your Sacrifice here." Soubi was silent. Call Seimei here? He could do that easily enough, through the Fighter-Sacrifice bond that he had with Seimei. And Seimei could get here quickly enough, since he was studying in the secondary school section that was right besides the high school section. The question was, did he want to disturb Seimei now? Without even completing the task that he had been given…Seimei would be displeased.
"This is a bother. I do not wish to battle." Soubi made to turn away from the pair. However, he was soon halted by a strong, vise-like grip on his wrist, which had been twisted into the small of his back. "Not so fast, Soubi-kun. Who said you could leave?" In a split second, Jun had grabbed hold of Soubi's hand and now refused to allow him to leave. Soubi's eyes narrowed. In addition to being trained in Judo, Jun had a tight grip and a sinewy body, and Kimura too looked liked he possessed a strong physique. If it came down to a physical battle, Soubi was not sure that he could win. Trapped in a dilemma, Soubi gave up. He could not decide on what he should do…
…which was why he reached out to his Sacrifice through the bond and called. Not for help, not for Seimei to come rushing to him, but for orders. If Seimei refused the battle, he would obey. Even if it meant that he would probably become the punching bag of these two…he met Jun's angry gaze. Two years ago, he had been Soubi's friend. The only friend Soubi ever had. By nature somewhat aloof, Soubi had not had many chances to make friends, especially when most of the other students had disliked him because they thought he sucked up to Ritsu-sensei in order to become his favourite. Jun had been the only one to ignore all that and reached out to Soubi. However, in the first year of high school, Jun had met his Sacrifice. And the two had drifted apart slowly…it did not help that the next time they met, Soubi had lost his ears to Ritsu-sensei. That time, the disgust in Jun's eyes had been mixed with anger. After that, even when they met inevitably in school, few words passed between them…
Soubi's cell phone rang. As much as it was possible to communicate through the thread-like bond between them, actual words were not possible and it could be difficult to convey one's exact message clearly. Hence, whenever possible, Seimei always preferred to use modern technology…Soubi glared at Jun. "Let go of me. That is from my Sacrifice." At a nod from Kimura, Jun obeyed.
Soubi immediately accepted the call. "Soubi, explain the situation." Seimei's voice sounded quite irritated – Soubi prayed that Seimei had not been in the midst of anything important, or he would have to pay for it. He did not look forward to being disciplined for two consecutive nights… "Hai, Seimei. As I was going about the task you gave me, Kimura Shouhei and Ikeda Jun of Hopeless appeared and demanded a spell battle with Beloved. What are your orders?" Seimei was silent for a short moment, probably because he was pondering the consequences of the various options open to him.
Meanwhile, Kimura and Jun exchanged meaningful glances. They had heard that the relationship between the Fighter and Sacrifice of the Beloved pair was the most unequal one ever – that the Fighter was openly and totally submissive to his Sacrifice. It looked like the rumour might be true after all.
"Soubi, you will accept the challenge. Defeat them and show everyone the power of Beloved." Soubi's heart lurched for an inestimable moment. Could it be? Was it even possible? Would Seimei do that for him? Soubi's voice trembled as a question involuntarily escaped his lips "You…are you coming?" As soon as the question was out, Soubi knew what the answer would be. He closed his eyes, as if that action would somehow blot out the hurt that was to come.
Seimei's laughter was rich and melodious. "Don't be ridiculous Soubi. Why would I go to your side just because of this? You will fight them on Automatic mode." Soubi felt like a lance had pierced his heart. That mocking laughter, to Soubi, was like the sharpest of blades, easily cutting through his flimsy defenses to wound his fragile heart. Soubi bowed his head, even though he knew that Seimei could not see him. Seimei's voice held several shades of irritation and mocking sadism as he continued, "Do not be presumptuous, Soubi. You're only a tool – my tool, to wield as I see fit. Never forget that."
"Hai, Seimei. Gomennasai."Soubi's voice was a mere whisper as he struggled to bury his fragile emotions. He already knew that he was only a tool to Seimei; it did not matter to him as long as he was needed. That was what he told himself, but why, why then, why did he still feel hurt at Seimei's words? A soft click from the phone told him that Seimei had hung up. Soubi took a deep breath to regain his composure before opening his eyes.
After returning his cell phone to its rightful place in his pocket, Soubi turned back to Hopeless. "I have been ordered to accept the challenge. So…let's do it." So saying, he removed his fragile glasses and slipped it into his shirt pocket. Jun and Kimura exchanged another glance. "We can wait for your Sacrifice." Kimura stated.
Soubi lowered his bag onto the ground. "That will not be necessary. He is not coming." "What? You think you can take us on while in Automatic mode?" Jun's eyes flashed with anger and shock; he sounded incredulous. Hissing, he continued in a low snarl, "You bastard! How dare you look down on us…"
"Jun, please." Again, two words from Kimura Shouhei stopped Ikeda Jun mid-rant. He turned to Agatsuma Soubi and eyed him measuringly. "It does not matter whether Aoyagi comes. We just have to defeat Beloved. Just a word of warning Agatsuma – we will not go easy on you." Agatsuma Soubi did not reply to the grim pronouncement. Instead, he slowly unbuttoned the high-collared school shirt to reveal…Jun could not help but gasp in shock. The area right above Agatsuma's collarbone, that pale, alabaster flesh was perfectly smooth save for the scars; barbed wires carved in a criss-crossed pattern onto his skin, directly above the name he shared with his Sacrifice – Beloved. Those scars looked extremely painful. And if what Reika-sensei said was true, those were carved personally by his Sacrifice. And those submissive words and body language he showed while on the phone with his sacrifice just now…What kind of life has he been leading these two years? What kind of relationship does he have with his Sacrifice? Jun could not even begin to fathom what said Sacrifice must have been thinking when he caused those scars – he knew that Shou-san would never ever do that to him.
However, Jun soon brought his thoughts under control. What did it matter to him how Agatsuma's Sacrifice treated him? That was none of his business; he just had to defeat Agatsuma. "Two bodies, two minds, one entity. Our name is Hopeless and we challenge Beloved to a spell battle. Battle system, expand!" As the usual blank darkness flowed over the school's brightly whitewashed corridors, Agatsuma responded in kind. "My name is Beloved and I accept your challenge. I will be on Automatic mode. Battle system, expand."
And so, the battle between Hopeless and Beloved's fighter unit, Agatsuma Soubi, began.
Hope everyone derives the same amount of pleasure from the reading as I do from the writing:)
