Here's the (Sort-of final) chapter for the "Special Meeting". I've tried the best I could for this particular fight, but I'm not sure if it went well. Sorry if it seems kinda short.
On another note, I'm starting the next series of sidestories after the next chapter. Not sure where I'll go with this, so if you want some kind of particular plot, or genre involved, let me know with your review, and consider it. Otherwise, enjoy the chapter.
As a final note, I'd like to thank everyone once again for following this Fanfiction story for the last 30 chapters(technically 29 since "Author's note"s don't exactly count). Hopefully the "Grand War" will end up satisfactory.
"So Seijun…"
Tori suddenly placed an arm around Masazumi's neck while she sadly watched Kazu.
"What exactly is your relationship to Kazu here?"
"Huh?!"
Her face became flushed as she suddenly panicked and turned her head away.
"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about!"
"C'mon! You obviously had something going on a while ago!" As he spoke, the chancellor made strange body movements while wiggling and smiling. "Tell us, Tell us!"
Masazumi tried to avoid his gaze, but several others began to stare at her while looking at her suspiciously. She was about to give in when Ayumi stepped forward and kicked Tori into the building.
"Now, now everyone…" She smiled brightly while speaking, but the aura she gave off shouted danger. "You shouldn't really bother Seijun you know, especially since we need to focus on Ichijou's fight…"
"YES MA'AM!"
The group left to watch the next battle while Ayumi sat next to Masazumi with a tired look on her face.
"Um…" Masazumi stammered as Ayumi turned her head to the young politician.
"T-Thanks for helping me…"
"It's fine…" She wrapped her arm around Masazumi's neck. "I just don't really know what you see in him. He's a lazy guy who's obsessed with honor. Not to mention he was beaten up a lot recently…"
She stopped as she noticed the young politician smiling, and turned her head back to Tsukasa, who was watching the people slowly recovering from inside his circle.
"Something wrong?" Masazumi asked in a more serious tone.
"Yeah, something's strange about him…"
"Shirokage?"
"I feel like he's hiding something, like he's trying to keep something secret…"
"Actually…"
"If you have time to talk," Tsukasa spoke without turning. "You should go join the others. A flat-chest and a tomboy shouldn't be sitting around by themselves…"
The two girl's faces turned red as they yelled out angrily.
"So what if I have a tomboyish personality?"
"Who cares about my chest? It was something for my family! That was already made clear!"
He turned his head slightly. "You're mistaken…" He points at Ayumi and then Masazumi respectively. "You're flatchest, and you're tomboy…"
Outraged, the two of them left to watch the battle, ignoring Asama who was slowly walking up to Tsukasa.
"You should try being a bit nicer to them, they're only curious…"
"…Have you told anyone?"
"Huh?"
"Does anyone else know about this besides you and President Sakai?" he brought his hand to his artificial eye.
"No…but…"
"Asama…" He turned his head back to the injured. "Please keep quiet about this. I'm asking you do this as a favor…"
She stood still for a moment before walking away.
"Well then…" Ichijou stepped forward with a discouraged look on his face. "Can I convince you to surrender somehow?"
"No" Futayo gave a determined look as she held her weapon up high.
"Hmmm…" He took his blade out and held it the way his uncle always taught him to while keeping his eyes on her.
"I didn't get to tell you this before," She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry about what happened to your parents…"
Ichijou's eyes widened for a moment before he looked down slightly depressed.
"Forget it, it's too late for that kind of thing."
"I see, I apologize…"
"No it's fine, you probably understand now, right?"
"Of course, after all, I'm in a similar situation…"
"Well then, let's begin…"
It was only a split second before the two began to clash against each other with an incredible force. The two launched blow after blow at each other with incredible speed and accuracy, almost as if they were dancing. Sparks flew as they both matched each other's movements closely, and the sound of metal hitting one another rang throughout the area.
"Looks like you still remember my Father's training"
"I'm not going to just forget those few years of torture he put me through…"
Their rapid movements continued, creating a small gust of wind in the area as people watched intensely. Several people struggled to watch, worried about Ichijou's progress while other people simply stood still, confident in their victory.
"They're both equally matched." Tenzo commented. "Is this going to end anytime soon?"
"It might be sooner than you think," Ayumi replied. "Watch closely…"
Looking closely, he noticed Ichijou was getting small scratches throughout his body, whereas Futayo only managed to receive slight scratches on her armor.
"Their skills may be equal, but it's still a spear against a sword. Obviously the longer reach will have the advantage…"
"Then Ichijou will…"
"No, it's still too early to make the call…"
President Sakai suddenly appeared nearby, surprising some of the students.
"Futayo's using Tadakatsu's Tonbokiri, and Ichijou has my Maken." He explained scratching his head. "Depending on how they use it, they can turn the battle to their favor."
"But can he still win?"
"Don't worry," Tadagatsu smiled. "He'll be fine."
Ichijou leaps back and held his weapon up with a firm stance. "Looks like she's gotten a lot stronger, it's not going to be easy. But…"
He thinks about the memories of Tori and Horizon before relaxing his guard for a moment. "Come out Ammi…"
His shoulder piece opened up to reveal a small priestess holding a well-polished mirror. It smilied with a fox-like face and small, cat-like ears were poking out from its head. The maus giggled before turning to Ichijou.
"Yo, Ichijou!" It squeaked. "It's been a while since you called me last time you know!"
"Yeah…" He scratched his head while looking a bit exhausted. "But honestly, I was hoping it'd be longer…"
The small maus puffed out its cheeks before lightly hitting its master.
"How dare you say something like that to a beautiful lady like me? You should be grateful I'm taking the time out to help you out in this trivial matter! You should feel grateful! In fact, you should be bowing down in respect…."
Ichijou was slightly annoyed and flicked its forehead.
"Ow!"
"We'll talk about the offerings later. Right now I need your ability…"
"Shut up! I don't want to help you! You jerk! You idiot! You…"
It stopped as it noticed the scratches around its master and the weapon Maken in his hand. It turned its head to Futayo and turned back to Ichijou with a stern look on its face.
"So it's gotten that serious?"
"Sort of. I want to end this quickly, so I really need your help." He grinned. "It'd be great if you could help me out here, I'm really counting on you."
The maus blushed before turning away.
"S-Shut up! You'll have to compensate me later with a big offering!"
Ichijou chuckled before swiping the air with his blade. "Maken, activate…"
The blade opened up near the middle to reveal a nearly hollow core. Futayo was confused for a moment; however the core was beginning to fill itself with a strange bright energy that slowly began to flow throughout the blade itself.
"This is…"
"This is my maus, Ōhirume-no-muchi-no-kami, or 'Ammi' for short. I use her with Maken to bring out its full potential."
Futayo shifts her eyes to the small maus, which began to glow brightly.
"What's happening?"
"One of her abilities is gathering either from the sun, I use that to provide power to Maken and activate it's 'Normal' drive."
As he spoke, the either gathering around Maken began to shape itself into the appearance similar to a long katana. The either appeared to harden itself as the energy began to solidify its shape. Ichijou tested its weight before taking his stance. Futayo took her own stand and eyed the newly formed weapon carefully before speeding towards him with "Soaring wings". Ichijou simply stood and held his place as she charged towards him. He blocked her first strike and began to retaliate with his own movements. His swings were a bit slower, but the force was greater as Futayo struggled to knock away his blows. Neither of them appeared to be giving an opening to the other as both of them were barely scratching the other.
Suddenly, as if their minds were as one, Futayo leapt back a good distance before holding her weapon up for a head-on rush. At the same time, Ichijou took a few steps forward and held his own weapon up as if to prepare for a last-minute strike. Silence fell as both warriors stood within the tense atmosphere, as if waiting for the call to make the full-on strike against each other. Several minutes passed before they both made their move.
There was a swift movement as the two soon stood with their backs against each other. Moments passed as everyone held their breaths. Suddenly, Ichijou gripped his shoulder as blood trickled from the wound Futayo left. Futayo dropped to one knee as the cut across her chest and stomach began to reveal itself. Ichijou held up his weapon and pointed it at his opponent, with calm eyes. Futayo got back on her feet and began breathing heavily as the wounds he left began to strain her body.
"You've lost Futayo, there's no reason to continue…"
She gritted her teeth as she charged at Ichijou again while yelling. He blocked her strike, and countered with a blow from the handle. She fell on one knee again while straining to get up. Ichijou sighed as he began to walk towards the fallen warrior. However, Futayo moved quickly and twisted Tonbokiri, shifting the flat side of the blade towards Ichijou. He suddenly stopped as Futayo glared at him.
"Sever, Tonbokiri…"
