Chapter 2: New Friends

There's this… dream I have on the regular. All I can see around me is an endless, reflective surface of water beneath a star and galaxy filled night sky. Around my feet are the shattered remains of black chains, smoldering from their destruction… except for one that stays slackly wrapped around my arm. It's cracked, barely holding on, yet it won't give out… or rather, I won't put in the strength to remove it.

Because I don't want to remove it.

As for what that chain is connected to…

When my eyes follow its length, my eyes fall on a figure shrouded by blue fire before me. Its figure matches mine completely in height and build, even the hair is identical… but I've never seen his face. Because his face is hidden behind the black mask of a glaring yaksha, its horns alight in the same blue fire shrouding him, accented by the black and white robes adorning his body.

And that chain wrapped around my wrist also connects to his own.

The Yaksha says nothing and mirrors my movements as I lift my chained arm towards him. But there is a voice whenever I let my hand meet the Yaksha's. My voice.

"Now isn't the proper time… for a while longer, for a bit more. Keep this restraint in place and be a normal Knight. Until I meet someone like me… someone else who has broken free. Until then, keep the Demon bound to this sole chain."

I don't know why I hear that. I don't remember ever saying it before. But deep within me, I know I should listen. The same as my lack of desire to remove the chain, so to do I understand for now, that Yaksha needs to remain where it is.

Until the day I truly need it. Until the day I meet another Demon.


"Gotta love headlines… 'A Rank member of the Kurogane Clan, Shirogane Ren, beginning attendance at Hagun Academy in…' blah blah blah… sheesh."

Ren sighed as he closed his phone and let it drop to the mattress beside him. Sitting up, a small mutter left the boy as he scanned the room that would now be his for the next year… and his alone as it happened.

Most Mage Knight academies acted as boarding schools, so as such students lived in dormitories divided by year. It was a comfy enough space for a one room apartment styled for two potential occupants. Large bunk beds worked into the wall, a sizable enough living space with a couch, table, and television set while a large sliding glass window overlooked the school grounds. The entryway led off into a bathroom, and a small kitchen was in the cubbies near the door.

All in all, enough amenities for one or more people.

Now ordinarily, as Ren had been made aware, Hagun had a policy of placing students of similar skill level together as a way to promote camaraderie and other cheesy things meant to look good on reports to funders. So quite unsurprisingly, Ren had found himself lacking a roommate since there hadn't been anyone who was officially on his level.

At least, magical level.

"Woulda been interesting if Kurogane was my roomie, but, eh… beggers can't be choosers."

Deciding he had better things to do than lay about all day, Ren hopped from his bed and started changing from his casual clothes into light training clothes and set out into the crisp air of an April morning, electing to bound over the lip of the walkway to reach the ground rather than bothering taking the stairs. Despite having done so from the third floor of the dorm complex. But, for a Blazer like Ren, such a feat was comically easy to manage, landing on the ground as lightly as a feather, a swirl of air surrounding his feet as he lowered.

As he was trotting away from the dorm, a sight caught Ren's interest. It was Ikki, currently stretching and looking rather poised to set off on a run of his own.

"Well, guess I'm not the only one who wants to clear his head," Ren chuckled as he approached, Ikki turning to him with a surprised look. "What? Surprised to see a Rank A bothering to do something as simple as a run?"

"Uh, n-no," Ikki shook his head. "I mean, I am a bit surprised. But not for that… just the idea, I suppose."

"Ah I get it. Blazers usually ain't the type to worry about physical workouts unless they need it," Ren chuckled. "Though considering your situation, I'm guessing physicality is all you've really got going for you anyway."

"Ehehe, right on the mark," Ikki tilted his head. "I wouldn't be able to handle using Itto Shura if my body wasn't well trained after all. So, I've got to train myself to the limits my body can handle… and then keep going."

"How far do you usually go?"

"Twelve miles."

"Jogging?"

"I sprint at full tilt for most of it, actually. I only jog when I need to catch my breath," Ikki looked to the side when Ren started laughing again. The same one he'd let out the other day during Ikki's test. "You… wanna join me? I'm making the run to the school gate."

"Sure! Heck, we can have some fun and make a race out of it," Ren snickered as he rolled an arm. "Just a friendly one, of course. I'm curious to see how you manage it… plus I wanna see if you can keep up."

"I'm assuming you're pretty fast?"

"You'll see. So? Sound good?"

"Sure. Though… don't expect much if you use magic."

"I'll go light on it."

Ikki chuckled as Ren started shaking his limbs to loosen up. Both boys adjusted into stances, ready to set off at full tilt the moment the mood struck. Without a word and only a glance from their eyes, both took off at full sprint down the path beside the road. And in that opening stretch down the tree line pathway, the sprint was evenly matched for the distance.

Ren took note of Ikki's pace as they ran. His running form was completely refined, not at all wasting a movement as they ran, every breath paced to maintain the best oxygen flow he could with each stride. And just when it looked like he was about to start heaving, Ikki would slow his sprint into a brisk jog until his breathing leveled out, then taking off at full speed again once it had. Ren had to admit, the sheer efficiency of it all was impressive, and clearly something Ikki had gained through raw practice.

But it was about halfway through the run that Ren felt it was finally about time to stop keeping himself in check. And Ikki didn't fail to notice.

A spark of electricity flashed across Ren's legs. And the instant it did, the other boy rocketed ahead of Ikki with a sudden leap in his next stride, sparks of electricity wrapped around Ren's limbs as he sped ahead in an instant.

As he made distance, the gate coming within sight soon enough, Ren couldn't help but spare a look back. A smirk came to the boy as he saw Ikki moving even harder to not fall out of Ren's sight, even as Ren continued to pull away.

By the time Ren brought himself sliding to a stop at the school gate, the distance between him and Ikki had only widened more. Ren chose to sit down as he waited, conjuring a ball of water in his palm and tossing it into his mouth to alleviate the dryness in his throat. And when Ikki did catch up, Ren chuckled a bit as the boy buckled over with heaving breaths, sweat dripping from his hair as he got his breathing in order.

"Did I push a bit too hard back there?" Ren hummed, Ikki nodding. "Ahehehe, sorry. Got a bit ahead of myself I guess. Was just curious how you'd respond to me speeding up with magic a bit."

"What… was even the Art?" Ikki sat down next to Ren, leaning his head back against the cool stone of the wall to the gate.

"Just one pretty much any electricity user can do," Ren spread the fingers of his right hand as he lifted it, small arcs of electricity moving through them. "It's a simple. Just using the electrical currents to enhance muscle activity and give them a boost. You'd be surprised how fast a master lightning user can move through something that simple."

"I'd bet," Ikki hummed, planting his chin on his knees. "Mind if I ask what kind of Blazer you even are? Your Device is four… well, five swords. So… what can you even do?"

"Better question is what I can't do," Ren chuckled. "When it comes to Blazers, I'm a bit of an anomaly, even regarding A Ranks. Rather than having such fine control over some individual ability I can take it beyond reason, instead I have a whole slew of abilities I can tap into almost as effectively."

"So… you can make use of all the elements?"

"Just five. The fact my Device is called Godai should clue you in."

"Godai… Five Rings…" Ikki pondered it for a moment, his expression shifting as the realization set in. "You mean like from Niten Ichi Ryuu?! Miyamoto Musashi's style and teachings?"

"I suppose we could say that's the foundation for my powers, yes," Ren chuckled, starting to conjure wisps of fire, wind, and water within his fingers. "My elemental affinities align to fire, water, wind, earth, and of course, void. No surprised for guessing each of the swords align to one of them. As it happens though, that wide range of abilities comes at the cost of specific skill. Strong as I am, a more specialized Blazer will be able to do more with their element than I can."

"That's only logical. But in a lot of ways that versatility is just as much an asset in battle as specialization would be. It means that your main weakness is stamina rather than anything particular. Honestly, having a wide range of options can turn out better than one, so long as you know what it is you're doing against an opponent."

"So, I take it that means you're the kind of guy who'd obsessively watch videos of an upcoming opponent to find out as much about them as possible," Ren leaned on a hand as Ikki scratched a cheek. "Whatever works for you. I prefer going into fights blind and figuring it out on the go. After all, at some point in our lives as Mage Knights, we're not going to have the convenience to always watch previous fights. Enemies become unknowns rather than familiar competitors."

"I guess that's true," Ikki hummed. "Uhm… I hope this isn't too personal of a question but… what kind of training did you do? I can't imagine the Kurogane Clan let you be peaceful about things once they learned about you."

"Well for one I wasn't allowed to participate in the Junior Leagues," Ren's statement brought a surprised look to Ikki's face. "Truth is as a kid my powers were hard to control. Try to image a five-year-old who can't stop himself from going overboard from trying to create a small flame, or just a bit of water and instead ends up blowing out a wall. Things like that. I was honestly as much of a danger to myself as other people. So rather than let me run around causing who knows what damage, my dad started training me in martial arts. Learning methods of self-control and meditation that used to be for simple things, now done to help keep those rampant powers of mine in check."

"Huh… explains why you recognized me using a Yagyu-style technique against Oreki-sensei."

"Hahaha, let's just say I spent basically all of elementary and middle school getting dragged around the country to be taught by various mentors. Picked up a few handy tricks in the process along with it. Learned a thing or two about 'tracing things to their roots' as one could say. Was the only real way to gain a full understanding of my abilities, truth be told. But… where I picked it up from training with different mentors, you taught yourself a skill like that."

"Not like I had a lot of options," Ikki chuckled again. "For most of my life, pretty much everyone in the Kurogane clan tried to pretend I didn't exist. Like I said during the exam, nobody would teach me anything… so I just got really good at teaching myself things from watching others."

"Meaning you have good kinetic vision… nah, not just good, I'd say downright superhuman," Ren stood as he let out a sigh, crossing his arms. "It's frickin' absurd… all cause you're a Rank F Blazer."

"Ren?"

"Lemme ask… what made you so determined? What made you decide that even if you're the weakest Blazer, that you'd try to become a Mage Knight anyway? Something had to inspire you to do it."

"Well… it was thanks to the words of someone… our great-grandfather, actually."

"EH?! You mean Old Man Ryoma? Nobody'd seen him since he got exiled by Grandfather ages ago. When the heck did you run into him?"

"… when I ran away from home as a kid," Ikki admitted as much with a stilted expression, Ren's own expression faltering at realizing that had no doubt been a bad idea. "I wound up getting lost in a snowstorm and sort of just… stumbled on him. He told me that being frustrated that I was weak was fine… that I should hold onto that feeling, because it meant I still had the will to fight despite knowing that fact. So I decided… even if I was the weakest, I wanted to at least prove my own worth to everyone."

"Huh… think I got an idea of why the geezer was kicked out now," Ren's musing words also came with a smirk as he shut his eyes. But I'm wondering if that's just going to be a curse to the guy, thought Ren, opening his eyes and eyeing Ikki over. His physical talent will only go so far even if he somehow manages to get into official battles from here. The moment this guy meets an opponent who's utterly antithetical to the way he fights… just how badly is he going to lose? "Gotta say though… getting to this point alone couldn't have been easy. You picked a pretty painful path even when you could have done anything else."

"I know… but like I said too, I wouldn't be satisfied with just doing something that was easily in reach."

"Greedy bastard," Ren's comment brought a puzzled look from Ikki. "Relax, relax. I don't mean it as some insult. It's just… interesting. It tells me you've got some rather impressive willpower. Most people in your position would've just moved on and found something else to do with their lives. Easier that way, to just accept the nature of the world and become another cog in its machine."

"Definitely," Ikki nodded. "But… even if I can only go so far, I want to prove I can accomplish even that little bit. To prove it to at least… someone," Ren raised a brow at Ikki's brief hesitance. "… then I can be satisfied, that's all. It isn't like I'm trying to become the strongest in the world or something. As I am now, there's no way I could catch up to Blazers like that."

"Hehe, well at you can recognize when the gap is more of a canyon than anything," Ren snickered, Ikki chuckling along with him. Ren then stood, stretching his arms as he did. "So, I think that's enough of a break. Ready to take this run back to the dorms?"

"Can I ask for a handicap?"

"Ahahaha! Alright, let's match pace then."


In no time at all, the day classes began rolled in. The opening ceremony had been exactly what Ren had expected, boring and trite words from the current headmaster about how honored he was to see the new students and whatever other drivel looked appropriate to say to the prospects.

What had actually gotten under Ren's skin during said proceeds was the simple fact a single person couldn't seem to shut up about his presence at the academy now that it was known. It was just something he would have to put up with no matter how frustrating it was.

Of course what followed were the students filing off to their homerooms and finding their places. Hagun's prestige allowed it to host rather state of the art rooms, the lecture halls being the usual tier fashion with high-end electronic desks and boards for the teacher's to control.

Though, as Ren panned around his new classroom, he couldn't help but take notice of a rather… sticking out detail.

There was a single empty seat. When last Ren had checked the class roster, there had been enough accepted students that every room should have been full to capacity. And I think I know just who's missing…

"Alright, attention, will you?" The teacher for their homeroom was a rugged, stern looking man, who tapped at his desk to get the chattering of the excited student body to calm itself. "Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Ito Akihiro, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next year. It's my job to educate and train you all through the basics of what it means to be a Mage Knight. And for the record of it, I'm a C Ranked Blazer myself. And while I would like to get to lessons, as it's also the first day there won't be any classes for now."

As the students began to chatter again, Ito tapped at his desk again, a wry little smile on his face.

"Don't go thinking you're getting excused yet, brats," The man chuckled. "Let's remember why some of you are even here. The Seven Stars Sword Festival. Hagun is a bit different than other schools in regard to how we select our representatives, so pay attention. During the lead up to the festival, among your normal classes we'll also be holding matches between students who submit for participation in the tournament. Selection for the representatives will be based on the measure of their ability, and how they perform in the matches."

[Well, that rules out anyone at D Rank for sure.]

[Anyone who's a B is assured to get in…]

[Isn't there also an A Rank attending now? No way that guy isn't getting a spot.]

[Not even worth submitting in that case…]

Ren could only narrow his eyes at the dejected mutters that his ears caught. He could already pick out from those alone the ones who had given up on the idea outright. Although, another part of him could understand it.

The Seven Star Festival would be the first time any of these students would fight someone with their Device in Material Form rather than Phantom Form. For some, the fact there was an actual risk of serious harm, if not death in the worst cases, was more than enough to turn them away from participation. Some people simply wished to graduate, become Mage Knights, and begin their careers without taking that risk before they even got off the ground. Which was understandable enough.

Though some could argue that was also simply taking the easy way out.

Though perhaps more understandable was the turn-off being that inherent ability would factor in far more to who would be selected than participation in the selection matches leading up to the tournament in the summer. Ren himself had to admit to feeling a sting of bitterness at hearing it, since it meant there was no way he wasn't getting one of the representative spots even if he went out of his way to perform badly just to spite people.

Hagun clearly wasn't about to let their new star pupil go to waste like that.

"I understand that for those who would wish too participate, hearing the ability stipulation may be disencouraging…" Ito cast his gaze across the class as more grumbles ensued, "And while it does mean there are students who will be assured a spot in the tournament, that's only a handful of them. There's six slots, and our rules provide that only two of them can be pre-selected, meaning the other four are open for those who prove themselves in the selection process regardless of their ascribed ranking."

That statement appeared to lift the mood of the more doubtful looking students a bit. While it meant the race would be solely between the D and C ranked students, with any of the sparse B Ranks almost assured to take their places after the two shoo-ins were selected. Ren however didn't feel his bitter feelings alleviate at all. This just confirmed any of the fun of testing himself against other abilities in the selection matches wasn't going to mean anything.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, be sure to check your student handbooks later. They'll be updated soon with information about the selection matches, and you can decide whether you'll participate then. There should be a message about the update on them now, so feel free to look."

Ren followed suit as every other student reached into their pockets. Ren drew out a palm sized LCD device with a cover marked in Hagun's emblem, flicking the cover open to reveal the activating screen. Every Knight Academy gave their students these "handbooks", which served as everything from an ID, cellular device, internet access point, and digital wallet. Handy things for the aspiring Mage Knight.

True to Ito's statement, Ren found his inbox to currently have a single message, bearing the topic of "Information on upcoming Seven Stars Selection Matches," no doubt with more lines in the message itself.

"And with that out of the way, let's get on with introductions. State your name and anything else you feel is appropriate. Starting from the As…"

Ren couldn't help but find it amusing how quickly they switched from the talk of the summer tournament to something as mundane as class introductions. Ren's suspicious about Ikki's lack of presence was only confirmed as the introductions reached "K" and there was an ever so brief pause from Ito to glance at the empty chair in the room. So, Ren decided he'd use his moment to address it.

"The name's Shirogane Ren," as he stood and stated his name, "And to get it out of the way, I'm the Rank A that got accepted for our year… nice to meet all of you."

Ren could only sigh at the sudden barrage of questions, which was quickly shut down by Ito barking at the students.

"Also…" Ren continuing kept attention on him. "I feel like we skipped somebody. There should have been someone else, right? Kurogane Ikki."

"Ah… him," Ito put a hand behind his head as attention was brought to it. Some mutters of speculation followed, some wondering if perhaps there was merely a late arrival, or if Ikki had merely fallen ill. Clearly, nobody was considering the idea a Kurogane was simply too poorly ranked. "Hagh, I wanted to at least avoid it for a bit… as it is, our class is going to be down one. Despite passing his entrance exam, Kurogane doesn't meet the basic competency requirements. So, he simply isn't allowed to attend classes."

[Someone who passed but can't be in classes?]

[Wait… it's that Rank F guy who was at the entrance exams! He passed?! And he's a Kurogane?!]

[I heard everyone in that arena passed out because of the proctor's Noble Art. No one saw the duel!]

[You think she cheaped out and let him in on purpose?]

"Enough!" Ito barked again as the chatter went on, then bringing his gaze back to Ren. "However it happened, Kurogane was allowed to enter. But it doesn't change the fact that regardless of that, he never met the basic requirements to begin with. However he got accepted, it clearly wasn't by his ability as a Blazer. That's all that matters for a Mage Knight."

"Understood," Ren simply nodded. He wouldn't get anywhere by trying to argue with Ito over it. As unfair as he saw it as, those were simply the rules. And sometimes, bending those rules wouldn't be in his best interest. Well, if they won't him attend classes, then I guess I can just help the guy out in my free time. Nothing in the rules about that.

After that, introductions carried on as normal and the class was eventually dismissed to go about the rest of their day. Ren made sure to make himself scarce as quickly as possible, since he wasn't in the mood to suddenly be bogged down by questions from a swarm of all too curious students.

And yet…

"Heyyy! Shirogane-kun! Hold up!"

One person seemed quite intent on following him anyway.

Ren came face to face with another boy who was wearing his uniform in a far more standard manner than Ren elected too, what with his decision to swap the undershirt for a hoodie and wear his own pants and sneakers instead. His features weren't quite standout like Ren's own, a generically good-looking face with muted blonde hair and dark green eyes, though Ren could tell there was an at least decently athletic build under the uniform.

"You're…"

"Sorry if you didn't catch it during the ice breakers!" The other boy put a hand behind his head as he chuckled. "The name's Kaneshiro Ryo. I'm a Rank C."

"Huh, I'm impressed. Means you're a decent one."

"Ah c'mon, that's gotta be nothing coming from a Rank A like you!"

Ren chuckled as he pocketed his hands. "You'd be surprised. The right person with the right experience would be able to beat me quite handily, trust me."

"Well, I… I mean I uh… s-sorry."

"Ahaha! Don't apologize for nothing. I'm just saying not to hype me up is all," Ren then held a hand outward. "Nice to meet you, Kaneshiro-san," after a moment of hesitation, Ryo took the offered handshake, clearly quite excited. "What made you decide to come chasing after me?"

"I uh… actually wanted to see if you could answer something… about that duel with the proctor and that Kurogane guy during exams."

Ren's brow raised. "Were you in that arena?"

"Ahehe, yeah…" Ryo scratched at his cheek as a stilted look crossed his face. "Was out like a damn light after Oreki brought out her Device. I was not expecting to get hit by a Noble Art like that during an exam, y'know?"

"Ech… my condolences. Couldn't have been pleasant."

"Well y'know I was only in bed for like… three days after that. But not the point!" Ren snickered as Ryo held up his hands. "I was kinda thinking… since you're a Rank A, that would mean you've gotta be pretty sturdy, yeah? Or at least like, more resistant to some things than most Blazers would be. I was wondering if you actually got to watch Kurogane and Oreki's duel. By the time everyone else woke up, all we knew was that he'd passed."

"I got to see it," Ren nodded. "I did get hit by Oreki's Noble Art, but I'm pretty good at resisting those kinds of things, so I stayed conscious and could basically ignore it outright."

"So like… what happened? If Kurogane couldn't even pass on the basic ability requirements then, how did he get accepted when he challenged an active Rank C like her? Did he actually win?" when Ren nodded, Ryo's eyes almost bugged out of his head. "You're kidding?!" Ren shook his head. "But like… to do that it'd mean… but what the hell would someone have to do… no no, that's way too insane… but maybe…"

"Uh… Kaneshiro-san?" Ren tilted his head as Ryo started muttering to himself

"Ah! Sorry, sorry! Just trying to run it through. So uh… how did he win?"

Ren looked around for a moment, then gesturing as he turned off. "It's probably better we don't talk about it in the halls. I actually don't wanna cause too much trouble for Kurogane so… If I'm gonna tell you, can I ask you don't tell anyone else? It's gonna be enough trouble for him as it is."

"Uh, sure! No problem at all. How about we go to the fountains? That's pretty isolated."

"Alright by me."


"He beat her just with his swordsmanship?!"

"And a boost by pushing out his meager magic reserves all in about one minute."

Ryo stumbled back as Ren finished telling him about Ikki and Oreki's duel. Another step and Ren worried his classmate would have pitched over the railing of the walkway and into the fountain below them. Quite understandably, Ryo had blanched quite hard as Ren went on about the match in detail.

"That is… is that guy actually insane or something?" Ryo shook his head as his hands ruffled his hair. "Pushing out all of his magic power at once for a boost even a basic body enhancement Art could match? Yeah, gotta be insane…"

"Well maybe it takes being a certain level of crazy to decide you're going to keep trying to be a Mage Knight as a Rank F," Ren hummed, Ryo leaning on the railing as he took a few breaths to gather himself. "In a way I can't blame him too much. Even though we're direct cousins, I grew up in a branch family. But even then, I know enough about how the Kurogane Clan is. You can probably guess being born with no talent meant his childhood was pretty shit once he got to the age his powers should have manifested."

"It's kinda messed up is what it is," Ryo muttered. "What the hell kind of sick irony is it that a guy with the physical talent to beat out a Rank C Mage Knight has barely any magical talent at all? Like… if he was even just Rank E, it'd be a whole different story!"

"Same thought I had after I realized he's a genius when it comes to swordsmanship. Guy was born in the wrong kind of world."

"So is there like… anything you could do?"

"Doubt it. From what I heard from my folks, the Kurogane Clan has most of Hagun's staff in their pocket. Wouldn't be surprised if they play dirty as the year goes on and start trying to make reasons to boot Ikki from the school."

"Man… being from a big clan sounds tiring," Ryo hung his head back while Ren let out a dry chuckle. "I mean it! Growing up with all those expectations too succeed and who knows what other pressures… it'd make being the favorite child kinda nuts."

"Well I guess in that regard I got pretty luck. The Shirogane branched off cause my dad and some other relatives were sick and tired of how the Kurogane were watching way back then. Far as the main branch cares most of the time, the Shirogane might as well be a different family entirely… at least until they found out about me."

"Ouch… and now you gotta put up with their lackeys being in the school. And here I thought being Rank A would make things easy!"

"Hahaha, the only benefit I get out of being Rank A is knowing that those lackeys can't do a damn thing to me no matter how much they'd want to if I 'step out of line', so to say," Ren leaned on a hand as he snickered. "But it is kind of a shame… I was hoping that getting into the Seven Star's Festival would actually be something I need to try to do… but after hearing that spiel in class, ain't no way they're not going to slap me into one of the locked in slots as soon as they can."

"… yeah that definitely sucks," Ryo turned around and joined Ren in gazing out across the school grounds. "So uh… I'm not like, gonna get pulled aside by some guys in black suits just because I talked to you am I?"

"Ahahaha! Please, the Kurogane are scummy but they ain't about to act like some secret police. And besides, if they tried, I'd just blow those guys to the next region myself."

"Hehe… does this like… make us friends now?"

"Well, if you see it that way," Ren chuckled and held a fist out. Ryo hesitated for a moment, then accepting the fist bump. "Nice to meet ya, Ryo."

"You too, Ren… I'm… allowed to use your first name, yeah?"

"C'mon, quit being nervous!" Ren laughed and lightly tapped Ryo on the shoulder. "No need for that dumb formality type of stuff. If we're gonna be friends, then be casual with me, alright? Better that way I'd say. So… you got any good stories from the junior circuit? I wasn't allowed to join that for… reasons."

"Ah, yeah, actually!" Ryo immediately perked up as he pulled out his phone. "I'm no slouch of a Blazer myself, but I'm kinda the type who likes to gather info. There ain't a Blazer in our age group I haven't looked into. Hehehe… this is actually a good chance. A Rank A like you is absolutely gonna draw a lot of other strong Blazers around."

"Well, sounds like we're better friends already."

"Hope I get to see some good fights!"

The two boys shared mischievous chuckles as they bumped fists again.

And some would swear they felt shivers go up their spines at that same time, as if they'd been given a premonition of danger in the future.