It sits in the family

by Flagarach

Though luck, will and sheer determination Kusanagi Shizuka managed to slay a deity, becoming the eighth godslayer in the process. Now she is forced to deal with mages, heretic gods and fellow Campione. But most importantly, can she keep her new-found powers a secret from her totally not also a Campione brother?

9. Arc 3-3:

Second of December, Tuesday, late afternoon:

After a rather normal schoolday Shizuka spends the rest of her afternoon in the same place she could be found even before becoming one of the world's devil kings: The tea ceremony club. They gather every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Since today is a Tuesday the weekly "three days of tea", as it has been nicknamed by one of the younger members of their club, has started again.

Shizuka has entered a very Japanese-looking building, the one where most cultural clubs are resided: the tea ceremony club, the flower arrangement club, the Japanese dance research club and a few other typically Japanese cultural things, causing the building to get the nickname "the Japanese block" among the students. These clubs are quite supportive of each other, which can be most evidently seen in the tea ceremony's clubroom.

The tea ceremony club has a simple 4.5 tatami room with a proper mizuya and tokonoma {1}. Inside of the tokonoma many artistic items from other clubs can be found: a hanging scroll from the calligraphy club, a flower arrangement from the flower arrangement club, a bonsai tree from the bonsai research club and an incense burner from the incense research club. Inside she sees that almost everyone has gathered already. Five people are already inside, and only one more needs to come.

Sitting at the host's mat is the oldest member of the club and also the club president, Hanabusa Akari. A second year of high school senior with gracious speaking mannerisms and benevolent facial expressions, she is a person who always leaves a good impression on those who meet her for the first time. The only one who can rival her in this club, perhaps even surpass her, is Mariya Yuri. Her mature, ladylike manners, combined with her graceful appearance, are what make her one of the school's three beauties.

Mariya's behavior around Kusanagi Godou does deserves some minus points, so Hanabusa still wins this battle of polite manners.

However, when it comes to actual ceremony performance it is Hanso Rikyu, the only male of the club and in the third year of middle school, who manages to take the crown. The great-grandson of Sen Soshitsu XV {2}, it's not really surprising that an official pupil in this art beats the rest who are technically still amateurs.

The others already here are the two youngest members, the Higashi twins named Miwako and Aya. Though they are fraternal twins who don't look alike at all they share their love for this cultural activity.

As Shizuka is just about to settle down she hears the door slide open violently. The last member of the club, Hayata Yuko, has entered, panting from what is probably running between this club room and the classrooms of the third years in middle school.

"Sorry I'm late, I had cleaning duty." Spoken in-between breaths, she confirms Shizuka's thoughts. Club president Hanabusa simply greets her warmly and invites her to enter, allowing the club to finally start.

The schedule for today is quite simply. Of the ninety minutes they have the first hour will be spend on practicing specific parts of the tea ceremony, from how to prepare tea to even very simple things like correctly opening the sliding door. After a short break the group will perform an actual tea ceremony, though it is still only an obon temae {3}. Since there are only seven members in the club they can perform the tea ceremony without needing to exclude anyone.

Chosen as the host is one of the more experienced members, none other than Mariya Yuri herself. Shizuka has been chosen to take the role of the third guest, which is one of the easier roles to perform.

Everyone but the host leaves the room before the ceremony can start. Mariya, as the host of this tea ceremony, is required to prepare a few things, including the boiling of water and normal, non-ceremonious cleaning of the utensils.

When everyone is prepared the first guest, whose role is played by the only male in the club, opens the door from a seating position, allowing every guest entrance to the tea room. Everyone shuffles over the tatami mats and takes their place.

"Please, have these sweets." Mariya offers the traditional sweets to the first guest, who nods back silently. Hanso takes one before offering the dish with the sweets to the second guest. She also takes one of the small treats before handing it over to Shizuka. The young king too takes one sweet and passes it to the fourth guest, and so on.

When everyone has had a sweet the dish returns to Mariya, who performs the next step. She takes the tea utensils out of the mizuya and places them in front of her. When everything stands prepared Mariya bows to the guests, and they bow silently in return. Now Mariya begins with ceremoniously cleaning the utensils.

First to be cleaned is tea caddy, followed by the tea scoop. The washing is done rigorously and exactly according to the rules of this ceremony, without any flexibility yet not losing the flow. After lifting the lid from the hot-water kettle she continues with the cleaning of the whisk.

Mariya scoops some of the powdered tea in the tea bowl, just before removing the lid of the cold-water container. With experienced movements she pours hot water into the tea bowl, before whisking the powder and water together with experienced movements.

In these tasks Mariya shows no deviation from the standard rules, and there are no mistakes noticeable. As a result Shizuka has the feeling that these actions of Mariya are almost a déjà vu, but at least she can expect a good performance from her senpai. Perhaps that rigid adherence to the basics can be called Mariya's strong point.

Now the tea is ready to be served. The first guest gets the first drink, and takes a sip from it.

"How is the tea?" Mariya asks, as according to custom.

"It is excellent." While Hanso has tasted better tea from some at the official school he can't say that the taste is anything other than that it is excellent. That is the only thing a polite guest can say.

When the bowl is empty it is given back to Mariya. She cleans the bowl before whisking new tea to place between the first and the second guest. This allows for a small amount of talk between the first and second guest:

"Pardon me for going ahead of you." The first guest says for being first in line.

"Would you like to drink one more?" In return the second guest offers the first if he wants some more. Naturally that is declined, allowing the second guest to drink.

After the first sip of the second guest Hanso comments that "The tea was very delicious. What is the name of the tea?" As the first guest he is the only one allowed to speak to the host.

Mariya answers this question with polite words, just like the questions that come after that one: "Where is the tea from?" "The sweet we had previously was also excellent. What is it called?" "How about today's flowers, what kind are they?" "How about the flower vase? And the name of the vase, what is it?" Each one gets answered in a way that would give maximum scores if this were graded, and Mariya can make these answers without breaking her concentrationon the whisking of the tea.

Next it is Shizuka's turn to be served tea, and after the customary words between her and the second guest she takes a sip from the tea.

For green tea it's quite good. Shizuka is pleasantly surprised with the quality, as there has been a bit of improvement compared to the last time Mariya served this. Well, either that or a Campione also has superhuman taste buds.

…yeah, the latter is quite unlikely. She hasn't tasted food any differently compared to before, and it probably isn't an ability that only settles in after a month of kingship.

She continues drinking the tea, and in the end returns the bowl to Mariya.

There are no more words spoken until everyone has had tea, after which Hanso announces the end of the tea ceremony: "We have had enough. Would you please finish?"

"I will finish." Mariya bows before her guests and starts with the cleaning, almost in reverse order: First the whisk is cleaned, followed by the tea scoop. Then Mariya fills the hot-water reservoir back to full with water from the cold-water reservoir. Closing the lid on the hot-water kettle she begins with bringing all utensils back to the mizuya in their respective order, and when everything is done she gives a final bow to the guests, who leave the room in order of their number as guest.

After everyone but the host left the room they all walk back in, now much more informal than before. Club president Hanabusa congrats everyone on their performance, especially Mariya for her stellar performance as a host.

However, what shocks Shizuka more is what is said afterwards: "Kusanagi-san. You have been a member of this club for 15 months. We believe that you have trained sufficiently enough to lead a ceremony of your own. We would like to grant you the role of host at tomorrow's tea ceremony."

Wow. Shizuka almost doesn't know what to say. Usually the people from middle school are not allowed to perform the role of host. The only exception thus far is Hanso, for obvious reasons given his background. To be given this role, it is an unexpected experience. "I'm honored to serve as the host for tomorrow's tea ceremony, Hanabusa-buchou."

"Consider it a birthday gift you deserve." Ah, so that's why she is granted such a role. Hanabusa gives a polite smile, as she realizes she has said everything she wanted to say. "Then hereby the tea ceremony club is dismissed for today!"

Now that club activities have ended Shizuka walks up to Aya, the one who is on cleaning duty today. "Aya-san, would you mind to swap cleaning duties?" The twins are the only people who have their personal names used in the club, mainly because they don't want to be known as "Higashi I" and "Higashi II". For the rest of the members they used the family name as usual.

"Kusanagi-senpai, may I ask with when you want to switch?"

"I just noticed that it's my turn tomorrow, and I would rather not do such a thing on my birthday."

Aya understands this perfectly, as she also would rather not do anything like cleaning when she has her birthday. "That's fine by me, senpai."

Shizuka thanks her for this opportunity, so Aya hands over everything important: She pulls a key out of her pocket, one that Shizuka recognizes as the key to this club room, and hands it over. "Don't forget to hang this back in the teacher's lounge. Cleaning equipment is still in the storage room, so you need to get those too. I believe that is everything, Shizuka-senpai. Until tomorrow."

"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow Aya-san."

-x-

After everyone has left the building Shizuka begins cleaning. True, Shizuka does prefer if she doesn't have to do some menial tasks like that on her birthday, but that's not the real reason why she stayed behind to do this. With the keys of this room in hand she has something that she can really make use of: A place to perform magic in.

There is, after all, a certain item that she would rather not show to her family. What would they say if she was to be storing a naginata in her home, let alone the most famous one in Japanese myth?

Yeah, that would bring all sorts of troubles with it. The only solution left is to use hypnotization, and considering that her energy control is… shoddy, to say the least, and her last attempt caused general amnesia she would rather not use that type of magic on her own family.

Before the fight with Doni the spear was still in its inactive state, and could've easily been kept as something like a keychain without anyone asking questions. With its current length of over two meters it's a little bit too big to fulfill that function, and also a lot more difficult to keep hidden from the family.

There are two possible solutions to this problem: One is a complex ritual requiring multiple talented mages to turn the spear back to its tiny size, which has to be reapplied every time Shizuka uses that thing. The other option is the ritual of [Dismissal] and [Summoning], the one Fuyuhime explained two days ago. Shizuka can do that one without outside help and it only needs to be performed once before a simple spell allows Shizuka to summon and unsummon the spear at will.

As there is no reason to make a simple procedure complicated she obviously chooses the latter. From her school bag she takes out the only non-school related item in it, a certain book about magic.

Titled "Influence of western magic during Japan's age of isolation", it teaches about foreign spells that have become integrated in Japanese culture. These spells are perhaps some of the most effective spells of European origin, all thanks to a combination of simplicity and reliability yet still achieving the desired effect.

Of course, even amongst the spells in this book there are quite a lot that are absolutely redundant for a Campione. There are exactly three spells that Shizuka cannot replicate with her authority, of which this summoning and unsummoning are two.

Shizuka stats with the unsummoning. Opening the book to the correct page, she mutters the steps to be taken out loud.

"First comes the drawing of a magic circle, huh." It's something that you should ask the occult club to do for you, but considering the mental state of its members Shizuka would give a wide berth to those wierdos.

Shizuka removes a few of the tatami mats, leaving the stone underneath bare. That's a better underground for drawings, and she also won't risk accidentally destroying the floor of the room.

Now the circle itself is rather simple if you have the right materials. In Shizuka's case, she has chalk, some thin rope, a large pin and a the shaft of the spear to function as a ruler. The outer circle is easy: Just secure the large pin somewhere in the middle and connect the rope to both the large pin and the chalk. With that you have the most ancient way to draw a perfect circle. Inside of that circle must be drawn a square, and inside that square another circle.

The final step is to draw a triangle in the most inner circle, with tiny double circles on each of the three corners. With that the general geography is finished, so now the words need to be written:

First the mandatory words: On the four sides of the square come the names of the deity who gifted this spell to humanity: Hermes on the highest rib, and then clockwise his epithets Oneiropompus, Hodios and Psychopompus. On the three edges of the triangle come the three items associated with Hermes: petasos, the winged cap of Hermes; talaria, his winged shoes; Finally kerykeion, the staff of heralds wielded by this deity.

These seven words, all written in Greek, are the only symbols that absolutely need to be on this circle. A more variable part that she also needs to write down is the chant with which the naginata can be summoned. That can be anything Shizuka wants, but it has to be written in fourfold on all sides of the outer circle.

In the end it turns out to be quite the annoying challenge for Shizuka, if only because this work is quite precise. Did Fuyuhime have to do the same thing for her weapon? Shizuka really starts to dislike all these tedious steps of the secret world of magic.

But as much as she dislikes this menial labor eventually she is done. Fifteen minutes after she started drawing she's finally finished the circle. That was the hard part, as the rest of the steps are rather easy.

For the next step she places the item she wants to use for the summoning, Ame no Nuhoko, in the middle of the circle. The only other thing she needs to make sure is in the circle is something which binds her as the only one who can summon this item. The general solution for that is quite simple, what does everyone have that is completely unique for them and them alone?

Right, a certain string consisting out of a sugar, a phosphate group and a large collection of the four nucleotides cytosine, guanine, adenine and thymine. In layman's terms, this is known as DNA.

The chance of two people having the exact same DNA, and thus also being able to summon this weapon, is one in a hundred billion, assuming you don't have a monozygotic twin. Since Shizuka doesn't have a twin she is pretty sure this will work.

The safest bet according to modern science is also the one used in the past of this spell: pour a bit of your own blood on it. Those people from the middle-ages probably didn't understand why something like blood would work, but with the modern age of science even something as absurd as magic summoning can be partially explained by science. Who knows, perhaps in the future science and magic will be completely merged.

Shizuka makes a small cut in her left palm with a pencil, causing a few droplets of blood to fall on the blade and the circle. Good, now it's time for the final chanting, the divine words that will finish the spell: Holding the book with instructions in her right she starts to infuse magical power in the circle, causing it to shimmer lightly.

"Hermes, god of all movement between worlds, grant this one permission to access your powers once more. One asks you for the ultimate protection. Please grant this boon upon oneself!"

At the moment the most mana streams out of Shizuka and into the circle (which is from Shizuka's perspective still very little) it grows bright enough that Shizuka starts to have a bit of trouble looking straight ahead. Squinting her eyes she sees that the legendary spear starts to distort, becoming all wavy. Then it starts to turn transparent, until after two seconds it disappears completely.

The exact moment the spear disappears is when the circle stops glowing. The circle has turned back into a simple drawing of chalk, and no more magic energy can be infused into it. With this the ritual should be over.

Only one way to test that theory out. The spear has been successfully transported to the netherworld, can it be summoned back just as easily?

"Heavenly jeweled halberd of creation, appear once more in my hands!" A rather simple spell, but it's easy to remember and relatively short. Those latter two are the most important part of this summoning, as Shizuka doubts she can waste halve a minute on chanting in battle.

During the spell the magic circle Shizuka drew flashes in front of her. In the middle of the circle the handle comes out, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. The spear does not move any further, so Shizuka does the obvious and simply pulls the weapon out of the circle. As the full two meters of the weapon is pulled out the circle disappears, leaving Shizuka with the weapon once more.

In other words, the spell is a success. Satisfied with the result Shizuka lets the spear disappear with a single word, and after a small white flash the weapon is gone again.

With this her goal for today is finished. Now the real cleaning can begin. As Shizuka does what she actually promised she begins to wonder how her brother is doing back at home.

Ugh, he's probably fooling around with the girls. Really, if Shizuka did not have cleaning she would be scolding her brother right now.

Forgetting about her brother she now simply works hard to clean this mess, hoping to get home quickly to catch her brother in the deed of his crimes.

-x-

Meanwhile, a few hours earlier on the day:

Ah… this is absolute bliss. All alone in the house, with a television remote in the left hand and a cup of tea in the right. Shizuka is still busy with her tea ceremony club while gramps is out shopping for dinner. Homework is done, there are no girls around Godou, no supernatural events happening, and with nothing in the way this gives him some intensely needed me-time.

It's rather apart that there is literally no one who needs anything of him. Usually at least Erica, Mariya or Liliana would here. Mariya can be easily explained: she has to go to the tea club ceremony club together with Shizuka. Erica and Liliana on the other hand claimed that they have something very important to do, something they absolutely cannot miss. What can be so important that they attending it is more important that their regular desires?

Somewhere else:

In another part of Tokyo, the flat where Erica bought a floor as her residence, the red and blue knight of the seventh king sit side by side, ready for the greatest fight of the year. They've geared up and prepared themselves for the upcoming combat.

"Hey Lily, you do know that the last time this duel ended in my favor?" Erica has dressed in the colors of red and black, staring intently at her opponent. This is the match they only get two times a year, and only very rarely is there a third possibility.

"Pah, that trash? You got an lucky advantage at the start, and then cowardly defended until the end. Fitting that that is the only match you could win in the last two years." Liliana on the other hand is dressed in the colors black and blue, and has even painted those colors on her face. She is looking straight forward, not wasting any time on Erica's face.

"Oh, but am I not still in the lead? I have a total of twelve victories, while you have a total of eight."

"And there were five draws, I know." Lily interjects with irritation, perfectly aware that Erica has a small advantage. "You have an advantage of four wins… but tomorrow you will find that number decreased to three."

"If you say so, Lily." Erica replies with a playful smirk. "Or perhaps you will find a difference of five. Who knows?"

"Tsk. Just be silent now, it's starting." Lily points to the large television, which has been set on an Italian program, and the two ladies stare intensely at the screen as some starts introductions:

"For the first match of the Coppa Italia's round of sixteen we have the legendary Derby della Madonnina {4}! A.C. Milan against Internazionale, live from the San Siro! What do you think about this match, Gianni?"

"Well Tancredi, this will be a close match, and for once home advantage will not settle it…"

The commentators continue on talking, as the two young women are completely absorbed by them. Who will win? Erica's club A.C. Milan, or Liliana's Internazionale? The two women will find out in the next two hours!

From a distance the two maids look at their masters, seriously wondering what anyone sees in football.

Back to Godou:

Now that he has some well-deserved me-time, what can he do? Perhaps go for a light jog? He's been forced to do those late at night ever since he has to wake up long sleeper Erica. Maybe simply watch some television, or perhaps go read a good book? There are quite a few options to choose from…

*Ding dong*

But that train of thought stops as he hears the doorbell ringing. Who could it be right now? Is Shizuka already back or is this gramps finishing his shopping duties?

Godou walks to the door in a calm tempo, not hurrying at all as there seems to be no reason to do so. Godou opens the door to see who is the-o hell no!

"Yo, Godou! How is my dear friend doing?" Damn it all! That blond-haired Italian idiot, why is he here? In a single fluid motion Godou throws the door in his peer's face, ignoring that that man ever stood there. In fact, he's also ignoring that idiot's very existence. There are no Italian kings here in Japan, and they are certainly not standing in front of Godou's house. Indeed, no Italian kings here.

As Godou takes three steps away from the door he wonders if that decision is wise. After all, the ignored person is Salvatore Doni. Salvatore Doni is, without doubt, an absolute moron. What will the idiot do now that Godou ignores him? Godou, knowing his luck, easily expects something akin to Doni using his [Rippling Arm of Silver] to obliterate the door.

An ominous sound from behind proves too much for Godou to calmly ignore, and turns around to see Doni standing in his hallway. Surprisingly enough the door is still completely intact, which is at least one thing Godou can be thankful for.

However, that small stroke of luck does not dismiss the major problem here: "Doni, how… and more importantly, why are you here?" Godou speaks in curd and disrespectful tones, not that Doni seems to mind. With an angelic Mediterranean smile he speaks back in flowing words:

"Ah, is it so unnatural for someone to visit his friend? It has been a few months since we last saw each other, so a bit of a celebration should be okay, right?"

"Setting aside that questionable friendship, why did you have to visit right now?"

"Eh, I had a bit of other business in Japan. Since I was already in the country, why not visit my dear friend and rival?"

Tsk. There's no rectifying this idiot. "Ugh… setting aside the why, how exactly did you arrive here?"

"The car, of course." Doni points to outside, where a bright yellow car is parked. There are a few other cars in the neighborhood but that is the only one Godou does not recognize, so it's probably the car of his peer. Yes, that makes sen-

Hang on, that's not the question! "I mean how did you enter my house like that?"

"Oh, you mean that…" Doni seems to understand the question, and to answer it he pulls something out of his sleeves… literally, as he now holds a pair of thin metal wires in his hand. "I used these lock picks here. Looks like I still got a knack for it."

"If you busted the lock on that door I'll have you paying for it." Seriously, Godou does not want to be charged money for the stupidity of Doni.

"Haha, don't worry, don't worry." The idiot laughs the problem away, as if it never existed at all. "If you reach my level then you can break in without even scratching the keyhole. That lock over there is not damaged at all."

He does not seem to be lying. Doni is not the type who will or can lie like that. Most likely he would be shamelessly admitting that he broke the lock while aslo claiming he should not be accused for the breaking of the lock.

However, Godou does not want to take the words of this idiot for granted, so he grabs the key to the door and tries to insert it. It slides in without any trouble, and Godou can easily lock or unlock the door. Okay, it seems that Doni was not lying about that.

Godou turns back to the idiot in the hallway, asking about the other part of his question. "Now that we have had the how, can you tell me a bit more about why you are here?"

"It's exactly like I said, I had some other business here in Japan, and since I have some time left I decided to visit a good friend who lives nearby."

"You need to relearn what the definition of good friend is. Either way, could you please leave, this is the first moment I have some free time for myself in a long time, and I do not want to ruin it."

"Don't you Japanese have this special word for your hospitality? Wasn't that about treating your guests with kindness without expecting anything in return?" The word Doni is looking for is omotenashi, but Godou doubts that he should give it to this Italian idiot. It would only make his words seem more true. No, Godou will have to point out the contradiction in that statement:

"While you're not completely incorrect, it's more about treating others how you want them to treat you. And I remember that when I visited Italy you did nothing for me other than trying to fight me. You should understand the discrepancy between your actions and expectations, right?"

"Hmm…" Doni starts to think, though Godou doubts that it is something along the lines he hopes for. "Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth or so?" Doni pulls the cylindrical bag he usually carries from his back, which Godou immediately recognizes as a sign of ill intent.

It can't be! Is he really planning to do that?

Before Godou can object Doni agrees with the words spoken earlier. "Well, that suits me fine too. Hey Godou, why don't you pay me back exactly that? A good, friendly spar will do just fine." Doni starts grinning evilly, and Godou realizes the problem he is in.

Shit, is there nothing he can do to stop this?

-x-

An hour later:

The area around the two fighters has become a wasteland. What was once a fertile city has been completely destroyed by their actions. The two know it, of course, but at the moment all they can think of is defeating the enemy.

They are at their last breath. A single good hit will be enough to kill then. Neither does something, trying to maintain this standstill…

As if on agreement both run at each other, one with sword in hand and the other with very powerful kicks from his legs.

At almost blinding speeds a middle kick is used, aimed at the heart to destroy the enemy. It looks like it will connect, the swordsman is caught off guard!

The sound of steel puts an end to these delusions, as the sword wielded by his enemy cuts straight through one wielding those kicks. The swordsman has cut straight through, avoiding that last attack.

With a loud scream the warrior falls to the ground, killed by his opponent.

KO!

Player 2 wins!

With a frustrated grumble Godou throws his hands away from the arcade machine, angry that he lost. The duo has gone to an arcade, where they just had a friendly duel in one of those fighting games. "Ah, I lost. I didn't take you for a gamer, Doni."

Yes, Godou is glad that he could persuade his peer not to fight in the middle of Godou's home, and that it could be resolved with a more normal form of fun here at the arcade. However, the me-time will sadly have to happen at a different moment… whenever that reappears.

Doni face beams with the joy of victory. Clearly he enjoyed this match. "Eh, it's another fun thing to do. Though to be honest, there are a few genres I dislike, like those role playing games your country makes or MMO's." The problem with those is that a level 1 character cannot beat a level 100 character, even if the former is a lot more skilled. It gets even worse when you take those games for which you need to pay money for the best items. For a game to be good from Doni's perspective only skill and luck decide who wins, and neither money nor time of investment should matter.

"I don't really have any gaming preference, though I prefer actual outside sports over digital ones." But either way, both real and digital sports are much preferred over something like battles of the divine, of which Godou is really glad that that did not happen.

"Yep, they're both lots of fun. Either way, want a rematch?" Doni offers Godou the chance to avenge himself, but he's not interested.

"No, I've had enough of fighting games. Let's do something else." Those fighting games give Godou memories of fights where he skirted a bit too close to death. Something calmer, or at least not dueling, is preferred. Looking around he sees several other arcade machines, but what to choose? A racing game? Perhaps, but the one in this arcade hall is already in use. There's also this DDR {5} musical exercise machine, allowing for a dance battle between two persons.

Nope, no way Godou is going to do that with Doni. Simply the thought of two kings, the highest order of humans, spending their time in a dance-off is ridiculous. There has to be something else for the two to do… ah, there is something!

"How about that one?" Godou points to an empty arcade machine, this one being a shooter game. It's a series of games that is not quite that popular in Japan if you compare it to America or Europe, but it's still a well-made game Godou can see himself playing.

"I'm not such a great gunslinger as our American buddy, but sure, why not? Let's have a nice and friendly duel." Doni and Godou both grab a gun and point it at the screen. Before Godou can input a fifty yen coin into the machine Doni has an offer to make: "Hey Godou, let's make this a bit more interesting and place a little wager."

"Depends on your definition of wager." For Godou kicking Doni's ass in games is a reward in and of itself, but he would rather not put something important on the line. "I won't bet anything that will lead to a fight with another king or deity."

"Maybe later we can do such a bet, but I'm also not really feeling anything for that right now. Let's keep it simple: if you win I will tell you what I've been doing here in Japan. But if I win, I want you to treat me to one of those extra-large milkshakes here. I should try one of those pancake flavored ones."

That… actually sounds pretty normal. It surprises Godou how much sense the idiot makes with this wager. However, Godou is not that terribly impressed by Doni's wager, so the ante gets changed a bit: If Godou wins he will get the story and a medium-sized milkshake, and if Doni wins he gets an extra-large one.

The bet is on, and as the game start the two try to kill more enemies then their opponent can!

…

Five minutes later and an angry Doni almost smashes the gun on the ground. "Unfair! You stole my power-up at the end!"

"It's not against the rules." After all, Godou will exploit rules if and when possible. It's one of the things that allowed him to become a Campione. "Besides, you would've done the same in my position."

Doni… cannot deny that. As a result he calms down a bit, though he is still annoyed that he lost. "C'mon, let's have a rematch. Best 2 out of 3?"

"Accept when you lost, moron. I won, so keep your promises!"

"Fine, fine…" Doni sulks off, heading to a nearby café. Godou follows him, and Godou sees something that is almost an actual wonder: Doni pays for his food. If only Godou knew how special that is he would appreciate it a lot more… while also scolding Doni for being even stupider then he thought.

Sitting at one of the tables Godou asks the question he's earned: "So what deity did I miss? More importantly, did you kill it or just repel it?"

"Hmm, are you talking about my business here in Japan? Ahaha, why would you say that?" Godou doesn't even fell like answering that obvious question, so he simply lets Doni continue talking. "Either way, you would normally be right. However, there's one possibility that you did not account for."

"?" Godou looks puzzled at his peer. What could he have missed? He thinks, and thinks, but there's nothing that comes to mind. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, if it ain't a god, what else could I have fun fighting an equal battle against?"

Not a god, but still equal… no way, he can't mean that, can he? "Another of the five godslayers was here in Japan?" Marquis Voban, her eminence Luo Hao, madame Aisha, black prince Alec and John Pluto Smith. One of those was here in Japan too?

"Haha, while it would be fun to fight them it's not any of those five."

Not any of those five? But then who is left? There are seven kings in the world, and Doni denies to have fought any of them. Who or what can be left, Godou seriously doesn't understand.

"Is it really that hard to understand? Did you think you would forever be the youngest king, my good friend?"

Forever the youngest? No, he can't mean… really? "An eighth has been born?"

"Correct, correct! My dear friend, there's an eight king in this world!"

Oh no. This can range from a mild inconvenience to a literal disaster. Best case scenario and Godou will meet someone like John Pluto Smith; calm, not directly causing a fight, and with a possibility to talk it out. Worst case scenario, and there are a lot of those terrible possibilities, is a second Doni. That, or a second Voban. They're equally bad for different reasons.

Godou almost slams his head on the table, but composes himself enough to ask an important question:

"Hang on, why were you here in Japan with him?" Godou fears the worst, but hopes for good news from his peer.

"It's a she, actually, but that aside." Doni starts to grin, as if he really likes the dilemma he is giving his friend and rival. "There is only one obvious reason, isn't there? At this moment there are 2 Japanese Campione."

Oh damn it all. Godou expected this answer to come up, but it would be preferable if it was not so and that eighth ruler simply decided to go on a trip to Japan before suddenly drawing the attention of the Italian king.

Doni notices that his friend looks simply exhausted from this news, so he decides to give a bit of good news. Well, good news from Godou's perspective.

"Eh, I don't think you should worry too much. She's just as big a tsundere as you are." Godou would like to interject that Doni shouldn't use difficult words he doesn't understand, but he'll let this one slide. "Sure, she's pretty fun to fight against. I'm glad that [Man of Steel] does have some regenerative abilities, or I wouldn't just suffer from a sore arm. However, her words are as much a contradiction as yours, and she doesn't get into conflicts with others that easily. You've got nothing to worry about, so let it be. Carpe diem, as I like to say."

If what Doni says is true, then perhaps it is not that bad. Perhaps she can become a companion, someone who is in agreement with Godou's ideals. Perhaps she is someone amongst the kings of this world that he might call a friend. As in friend friend. A Sayanomiya or Yinghua type of friend, with absolutely no possible romantic feelings between them. At all.

Yes, that would be nice.

"Hey Godou, now that you're not worrying about that eight king, how 'bout another round?"

Godou looks at the time, and finally sees that he has a valid reason to dumb Doni.

"I'm sorry, but I've got to go. Tomorrow is the birthday of my sister Shizuka, and I still have a few things to prepare." Godou doesn't know why he suddenly let out the name of his sister. It just… flopped out of his mouth. Well, will it matter? Doni probably has already forgotten that name already, nor will he care about anyone other than Godou.

Doni lets his friendly rival go, a diabolical grin on his face. So Godou's little sister is called Kusanagi Shizuka… that is some rather interesting information that Doni obtained. Perhaps the lost bet did have some good luck in it after all…

-x-

Third of December, start of school:

Today is a special day for the Kusanagi family. Today is the birthday of the only female in the family, which is a special occasion that will be celebrated.

Compared to most other countries the Japanese celebrating a birthday is not that big of an event. Until the fifties it was believed that everyone got older on new year's day, not the day they were born. It is only though western influence that celebrating your day of birth has become ingrained in the common populace, and even then it is not that big of an event.

In general Shizuka can expect to get some well-wishes from her general acquaintances, along with exemption from any and all arduous tasks. The only difference is her family, thanks to the family having many overseas adventures that made them more acquainted with foreign culture. While they don't throw a party it is common for the household to give presents when one of them ages a year. Godou has gifted Shizuka a nice handbag and Ichirou has given her a pair of Rostov enamel {6} earrings, which he probably obtained from his trip to Russia three months ago.

These are some nice presents, along with the fact that their parents are bringing them to a more luxurious restaurant to celebrate this event. However, before that Shizuka still needs to go to school.

Sure, she gets greeted by some classmates who wish her a happy birthday, but in general most people do not know about what is happening in her residence. Perhaps a bit too normal, but considering what happened two days ago this is quite acceptable.

So class just goes on as usual. The homeroom teacher enters class like usual, except for a single congrats to Shizuka, before simply going off the list of names.

Ah… perfectly normal and standard. Like it is supposed to b-

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you~" The door to the classroom is kicked open, revealing the person who is currently singing a birthday song. Much to Shizuka's chagrin the only person who could and would do such a thing is the greatest idiot on earth:

"Salvatore Doni…" Ugh, why is he here? This also means that since the fight occurred less than two days ago it's certainly not a victory for the youngest king. Worst of all, he's singing happy birthday out loud in front of the entire class. Perhaps that is more common in the European countries, but it's an embarrassing social faux pas here in Japan.

The other people in her class start to whisper amongst each other, some lines of which Shizuka picks up: "What's an adult doing in here?" "Is he connected to Kusanagi-san?" "What is it with the Kusanagi family and picking up blondes from Italy?" Okay, while Shizuka should protest against that last one she has to admit that that line was pretty funny.

Doni finishes his song, placing the gift he held in his hands on Shizuka's desk. It's a cream-cake, though Doni would call it a torta alla panna. It's also quite large, as if Doni expected that he would have to share with an entire classroom. If so then that is quite nice of him.

"Yo Shizuka, happy birthday! Why didn't you tell me that you were celebrating your anniversary?"

Reason number one: Shizuka does not like Doni. However, to prevent any possible hostility she'll have to choose a more socially acceptable answer: "Us Japanese don't celebrate birthdays that much. It's not that special. Besides, you're interrupting the lessons."

"Ah yes, that would be a bit of a problem." Doni turns to the teacher, and with a warm and kind smiles he asks his ridiculous request: "Hey, Mrs. teacher, would you please grant some part of this hour to let us celebrate her birthday. I'm afraid there is no other moment for me to spread this joy, as I will be leaving Japan in the afternoon. Please, could you bring it from out of the bottom of your heart to grant this to me?"

The teacher stutters back a bit, unsure of what to say, but Doni's soothing and charismatic words seem to grant him some time. With official permission he now plans to cut the cake, before realizing something important: "Say, does anyone of you have a cake cutter here?"

Half the class is still too dazed to give a good response, but the half who adjusted to the new situation quickly answer that they don't have one. Doni probably expected this answer, as he pulls the large cylindrical bag from his back.

Okay, no. This idiot is not going to draw his sword in a classroom. That will bring more problems than Shizuka is willing to handle on a daily basis. The energy in her stones may only be small enough that she can't hurt Doni with it, but it should be enough to prevent this conflict.

Telling Doni that she has a cake-cutter in her bag Shizuka puts her hand inside it. The she softly mumbles the spellwords to summon [Steel], followed by the spell-words needed. In Shizuka's hand a small metal blade appears, sharp enough to cut anything ranging from divine beasts to cakes. It's really is ridiculous to use divine power for something as small and petty as this, but either way she has a good kitchen knife now. Shizuka offer this knife to Doni, saying that he should cut the cake with this.

Doni looks a bit disappointed, but he accepts the knife and thus averts a potential crisis. Everyone gets a piece of the cake, including the teacher who was supposed to be on a diet. She doesn't seem to remember that as she gobbles up the cake like a hungry lion. Shizuka gets a slightly larger piece, and upon taking a bite has to admit that this is some damn good cake.

"Hah, you like it, don't you? I knew that those contacts I had with that bakery would eventually be useful." Doni also takes a piece, enjoying the sweet taste of his torta.

Shizuka has to admit, this wasn't so bad. Sure, Doni interrupted her lessons and brought a bit of Euro-Japanese social dissonance, but in the end all he wanted was to celebrate Shizuka's birthday. Now Shizuka is forced to say words that she never expected to ever say:

"Thank you for this gift, Salvatore Doni-san." For once Shizuka will politely speak to Doni unlike her standard rude behavior against this person.

"Gift?" Doni looks puzzled. "Uhm, that cake wasn't the gift that I planned. Hey Giovanni, can you bring in that?"

Entering through the doorway is the pirate lookalike, uhm… what was his name again? It was indeed something with the G… but not Giovanni, because Doni probably has that name wrong again.

In his hands he holds a large giftbox. With large Shizuka means something more along the lines of absurdly huge! It has to be at least two meters high and seventy centimeters wide.

"Of course, milord." Uhm, uh, ah yes, his name is Genaro! Genaro drags it along and with a heavy groan he puts it down next to Shizuka.

"Nah, this is what I call a gift. I forced a few of my man to work under torturous conditions for twelve hours without breaks, but it was all worth it now that it is finished."

Shizuka feels a bit bad for the people that have worked so hard for this gift, but that doesn't mean she should not accept it. However, there are a few questions she wants to ask first.

"Doni-san, is this a sword?" It's a bit too wide and tall for that, but you never know with this man.

Doni laughs it off, calling Shizuka's idea ridiculous. "Hey, even I know better than to give things like that to a lady."

"Is it a weapon?"

Now Doni falls flat, stopping his laughter. Doni tries to deny it, but it already is enough for Shizuka to see right through it.

With a sigh she undoes the wrapping paper, finding a large carton underneath it all. Opening that box actually shows her the true gift.

"It's… an electric guitar." To be precise, it's an oversized turquoise electric guitar. There's a curved part on the left side, going from the nut to the bridge, and it's covered in white fur. On the other side, starting in the middle of the fretboard and ending much lower than the rest of the guitar, is another curved part that sticks out a bit more, though this one is covered in golden shells… "Hang on, did you make this out of my-"

"-beast?" Doni interrupts, clearly admitting that he did exactly that. "You made a few rules, remember? I was out in 23 hours, so that means that I have won our little duel. I just claimed the spoils of war as I promised to."

Shizuka has no interest in giving a counterargument, mainly because she doesn't want to create more havoc by arguing about whether or not he is allowed to take something Shizuka basically threw away. Doni simply continues talking, this time about what surprised him.

"Though I believe I ordered a hunting horn. Strange how this came out of it." Doni ignores it and simply removes the rest of the packaging, letting Shizuka hold the guitar.

As Shizuka tries to lift it she realizes how stupidly heavy this thing is. Ever since becoming a Campione she noticed that she had a slight increase in her strength. Nothing major, but enough to easily lift a bag of fifteen kilograms with one hand. This, on the other hand, might be seven times as heavy, and that would not be an exaggeration. She can barely lift it over her shoulder, and she can feel how hard it is to lift this instrument.

Doni too sees that Shizuka has difficulties lifting it, and gives some advice. "My dear Shizuka, let me give you some help." But instead of helping her lift it he whispers her something in the ear:

"This guitar is a magic item. I haven't exactly seen everything it can do, but the weight problem can be solved easily. Just string the second snare twice and then slide the nut upwards."

Shizuka does as told: First she strings the second snare twice, producing two deep and clear notes. Then she swings the guitar backwards, and slides the nut upwards.

Suddenly the sound of a guitar riff is created from that single action. Everything around her suddenly disappears, replaced by bright sparkling lights. A few seconds later it all disappears, just leaving a classroom, Doni and Genaro staring at her. The former with shock and surprise, the latter two with a smile of success, and Genaro is even filming it all!

Looking at herself she can see why everyone looks so surprised. What the hell is she wearing?! It's made from the same materials as the monster, looking like some sort of abnormal samurai armor. If that was all she could live with it. No, her main focus is on the fact that this armor bares both her midriff and the back of her upper legs. She looks at the two who are probably the cause of this, that idiot and his accomplice!

Those two are actually bumping their fists, as if congratulating each other. "To think that I would see such a beautiful magical girl transformation in real life! I graciously thank you, milord!"

Doni calls it nothing, saying that he also simply wanted to see something fun.

The tricked one, Shizuka, ponders an entirely different question: Is she angry enough to actually harm these two for embarrassing her? With angry eyes she looks at these two idiots, readying this large blunt object to smash the enemy.

"Doni...!"

-x-

Early evening:

Now back at home Shizuka is glad that the debacle at school is over. Luckily for her Genaro had the heart to hypnotize the students into forgetting Doni's visit, as well as instructing her how to turn back to normal. He also promised to temporarily hide the gift in one of the school's storage rooms, making sure that nobody notices it. Hopefully now nobody will have any idea that something weird happened today at school.

Ugh, at least she had fun being the host at the tea ceremony club. All she gained from Doni's gift is that she now has to do that summon ritual again for this weapon, lest a poor soul stumbles on this thing and finds it. Hopefully there will never, ever be a time she needs to summon that damned thing again!

But that should be dealt with tomorrow, can't let it continue ruining the birthday. She has returned back to home, anticipating the nice things that will happen this evening. Tonight she will be treated to dinner by her family, but it's especially the guests who are coming that really brighten the mood. For once in a pretty long time both father and mother Kusanagi have freed time to celebrate the birthday of their daughter. They are rarely seen in the Kusanagi residence, let alone both at the same time! Seeing them again might perhaps be the biggest gift that can be given.

However, it is not meant to be. At half past six Shizuka gets a phone call from her mom, Kusanagi Mayo, that a business deal has come up and she is required to attend it lest she loses a deal worth millions.

In other words, mother won't be coming home… again. Shizuka kind of expected something like that to happen, considering how busy that woman is with her company. Oh well, at least her father might still come, so some celebrations can be spend.

Fifteen minutes later the siblings sit around the table, mood a bit dampened.

"So what do you think, onii-chan?" Shizuka asks to her onii-chan, asking the big question of the moment. "My vote is that he won't end up coming."

"I'll cast my vote on that too." Godou knows perfectly well that both father and mother, while very successful in the world of business, are rather neglectful parents. "Maybe he had some matters to take care of, want to wait a little more?"

"We don't have much of a choice really." And so the waiting game begins. Godou pours in some drinks for himself and the birthday girl, as they can't really do much else but wait.

Fifteen minutes later they learn that their thoughts are reality. Their father has send them a mail that is not the harbinger of good news:

To my dearest Shizuka,

Happy birthday!

I'm afraid that I'm not able to make it to your birthday celebration tonight. Some urgent business has come up and I need to go to Toronto as quickly as possible.

As a result we will not be able to go to that Spanish restaurant for your birthday. I've spoken with the manager of the restaurant and I have moved the date to the fifteenth of December. I hope that we can then spend some time together to celebrate this birthday.

Also, if you want you can take a friend with you, that will be no problem at all.

On another note, my lovely Shizuka, if you get tired of school then I can arrange for you to get an extra week of vacation with me down at the Caribbean. It's not like anything useful is taught during the last week before Christmas, so feel free to join me. Consider it a form of a birthday present.

Technically the same offer stands for you Godou, but would you be so cruel as to interrupt a loving meeting between father and daughter? That is something that would be absolutely unforgivable!

I hope that you still have a good birthday.

With many loving kisses from your father,

Your dad Genzou

"Well, that is to be expected of dad." Shizuka already voted for his absence, and now it has been proven. It's just another thing for their family.

"This would only happen to dad." Godou can only see his dad having things like this happen. Compared to mom, who doesn't make any promises, old man Genzou has the problem that most of his promises get broken by sudden changes in work.

In conclusion: no father to show up, no mother to show up, combine that with an appearance of Salvatore Doni and you might perhaps have the worse birthday so far of Shizuka's life.

Shizuka lets out a big sigh of disappointment. Sure, she could've seen this coming from a mile away, but this parental neglect still saddens her a bit.

Dark thoughts gather in Shizuka's head, as she comes with a new plan for celebrating her birthday: How about she uses her authorities to force her parents to attend? That might actually be her best shot at uniting them once more.

Quickly she realizes that such an action is futile. After all, her stones aren't revitalized enough to allow for such frolicking. Along with the social implications of course. Forcing people to do things against their will is bad, of course Shizuka remembers that.

"So, my children couldn't come again?" Shizuka snaps out of her thoughts, and realizes that her gramps is standing in front of her. He apparently could read the disappointment from Shizuka's face, as he tries to cheer up the youngest member of the family: "Hey Shizuka, how about we go to the Pakistani? It's not like we got anything else left in home."

Well, that might do too. And having a happy outing with her gramps and onii-chan is quite nice too. Perhaps there is some light in this after all.

-x-

The Kusanagi siblings try their best to salvage what remains of the birthday party. At the same time there is a matter of importance being handled by the great knight of the [Copper Black Cross], Erica Blandelli. It is about the former rival to the title of [Diavolo Rosso], Genaro Gantz. Erica has obtained some knowledge from inside her organization, why was he here in Tokyo?

It takes a while for the other side to connect, but eventually the phone gets picked up:

"Eh, hello?" That voice! "If you're trying to reach Guiseppe, then I'm afraid he's a bit busy at the moment. Not sure when he'll be back though."

Yeah, there's only one person with such a voice that can combine Italian friendliness with such a lack of care.

"Greetings, your highness. Allow me to express my deepest gratitude that I am allowed to speak to you again." Salvatore Doni! But if he has the phone of the organization's other Italian great knight… then does that mean?

"Ah, you're that blonde girl who serves my dear Godou! How's it going with him, Elena?" And it seems like Doni is still amazing at getting people's names wrong. Hah, that's a problem that will never be solved.

"My name is Erica, milord, but that is not of relevance here. I wanted to ask my fellow knight a few questions, but your answering of the phone has most likely proven my theory."

"Hey, would you mind telling me this theory of yours? I've got nothing to do here, so I am a bit interested in this idea of yours, Elsa." Okay, now Erica is wondering if Doni is getting her name wrong on purpose! She literally just said her name five seconds ago!

No, that moron's stupidity should not make Erica feel angry or annoyed. Erica ignores that Doni has gotten her name wrong again, and simply talks about what her sleuth powers found out: "I heard from the [Copper-Black Cross] that Genaro Gantz visited the islands of Japan. He was seen with a blonde-haired young man at his side. I would normally ask sir Gantz who this person is, but from you picking up this phone I believe that that question has been answered, has it not your highness?"

"Correct, correct, it's me." In a jovial tone Doni admits that he is the accomplice, though there are some things Doni wants to hear next: "But that can't be all, right? You should know a bit more about what I do here if you did some real investigating."

"Please let this knight explain the rest of the story, your majesty. I, Erica Blandelli, believes that this can be fully explained." Doni grants Erica permission to tell of the deed Doni has done here in Japan, and so the red devil speaks of everything: "The first question that needs to be answered is why a king would casually visit the lands of another king. Someone knowledgeable about and experienced with the Italian king knows that there are three possibilities for why you visit: To fight a divine beast, to fight a god, or to fight a godslayer."

Doni admits that it's true. Fighting is usually the reason why he visits alternate countries, much to the annoyance of his Japanese friend. Erica continues talking as Doni listens with a small smile of anticipation:

"The first is unlikely. While you do slay many of these in Italy or on neutral grounds you never touch those in the Balkan, England or Egypt. You don't travel to the lands of another king simply to steal a divine beast."

"Yep, I did not come here to slay a divine beast. In that case, which is it: Did I fight a god or a godslayer?"

"And there's the problem: Both are not correct. While your majesty does steal gods under the noses of other kings the other Campione would certainly note that a deity has appeared on their lands. Godou would certainly have gone after that god, along with me. If you were having a rematch with my lord and lover then the same problem arises, Godou would certainly know and ask for my aid. And as far as our information network goes, there is no mention of any of the other five godslayers being in Japan."

"But I am here, for a reason. Now that you a speaking against your own words that must mean that there's a contradiction there. So what is the contradiction then? Did I not go to Japan for a fight? Did I manage to secretly hide a god from Godou? What is it?"

Doni seems to have fun playing detective with Erica, wanting to see how Godou's lover and knight deals with this situation. It seems bad for Erica, since what she says seems to be impossible. However, she does not have a reason to simply give up.

"The contradiction? The answer is that there is none. Every words this knight has spoken is true, so there can be no contradiction in it."

"Then how do you explain your own words?" Doni seems to get slyer and slyer with every word of Erica, as he realizes that she is ever closer. Can she figure out the truth?

"The answer is surprisingly simple. There is one possibility I haven't named yet: his highness Salvatore Doni went to Japan to fight a Campione who is not Kusanagi Godou."

"Now that is a bold claim to make. There is a king born only six months after the last? That's quite impossible, y'know?"

"Not impossible, milord, just improbable. A famous man {7} once said: Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. And while I could go on with long theories I have just obtained an even more solid piece of proof: your majesty Salvatore Doni, would you please indulge this knight with how you obtained the knowledge that a king is born six months after Kusanagi Godou?"

Salvatore Doni clicks his tongue, realizing that he made a mistake. Well then, it seems that the game is over. "Hah, word games like these do not suit me at all. You're right, there has been born an eighth king in Japan, six months after dear Godou ascended. Well done, Eleonore."

"This knight thanks you for your praise, your highness." Though no thanks are given for him getting her name wrong again. However, that is not why Erica clicks her tongue, as she suddenly realizes something. "However, with this last bit of knowledge you graciously gave to me I believe I can do even better."

Doni turns exited again, realizing that some more fun might be had with these conclusions. "Go on then! Tell me what kind of exiting conclusion you made!"

"Let us talk about the knowledge of the six months first. If we continue counting from when Godou became a king that would mean that this king became a lord in late October or early November."

Doni calls that knowledge correct, allowing Erica to continue. "Another clue is that today something strange happened at school. While many people can't seem to recall anything at all there are a few who have spotted a blonde-haired stranger entering Jounan academy, along with someone who looks like a pirate. Now, this wouldn't be you and sir Gantz, would it milord?"

"Didn't Godou tell you that I visited him these days? That's quite the simple explanation for your answer."

"But today I spend the whole day with him, and I haven't seen you once. In fact, you weren't even seen at the high school building, the only people who noted anything saw you entering the middle school building."

"So what are you trying to say?"

"The only reason you would bother to visit such a school building is to meet with the eighth king. In other words, the eighth king is a middle school student or teacher of Jounan academy who became a Campione a month ago."

"Haha, not bad at all! That's correct what you are saying there! You're pretty good, I guess I can leave Godou in reliable hands like yours when the two kings fight."

"I am thankful of the compliment, but I still have not finished my explanation." Doni continues to listen intently, wondering what more she has to say.

"Since students and teachers do not leave Japan these days that must mean that the god descended somewhere in Japan. However, Godou wasn't brought in to deal with the problem. The only possibility is if he was busy with another god. The only time this could've happened is during the first week of November." That was the moment Godou fought the remains of true lord Erlang. The incident with Sun Wukong was too early, while the incident with Athena was too late.

Doni encourages Erica to go on, who does as ordered: "However, there were no notifications that a god descended in Tokyo, meaning that the ascension took place somewhere else. Everyone was learning in Tokyo during that week… except for class 3-B, where one of them won a trip to the northern parts of Japan. While news spoke about an earthquake, it would be more logical if it was the cause of a heretic god, is it not?"

"I say, it does sound quite plausible. And then?"

"As becoming a king restores your body to full health only the people who came out unscathed are possible candidates for kingship. That leaves exactly eight students who might be your peer. If we look amongst those who actually had the time to duel with you then there is exactly one possibility left. In fact, it also explains why some claim to have seen a massive birthday present. The eight Campione, who coincidentally celebrates her birthday today, is none other than Kusanagi Godou's younger sister, Kusanagi Shizuka."

Erica can almost hear Doni grinning on the other side of the phone. "Hahaha, to think that you could come to that conclusion with pure guesswork. Hey, you sure that you don't wanna switch over to work at my side?"

"Please, your majesty, to suggest the separation of lovers is a joke not even you should make."

"Hey, it's a harmless joke!" Doni tries to talk his way out of it, though he knows too that an Italian like him should not desecrate love. "In fact, I'm offering you a pretty sweet deal of my own. My dear friend is indeed quite talented at gathering females to his side, and who knows how many he will get. How about I help you assure the dominant position of first wife?"

"Hoho. I thank you for the offer, but you are offering me, Erica Blandelli, something she can gain herself. I assure you that I do not need help for that."

"Ah, can't you just play along? Perhaps I need to make this offer to one of the other girls. Remember how that silvery girl managed to get is such good standards with dear Godou?"

Hmm… that was the fight with Perseus. And yes, Lily's success with Godou was thanks to Salvatore Doni setting the stage for a fight with purely that silver-haired witch as a companion to Godou. Erica managed to maintain her top position, but if one of the other girls manages to get help from Doni then she might be in for a hard time.

"This knight is interested in your proposition, your majesty. Please enlighten the offer you are planning."

"You see, there's this rather particular situation going on there with you. Two kings who are absolutely unaware of each other's status. Last time I heard of something like that was a century ago from the time of old man Voban and madame Aisha. So let's have a little bet between us: Who will figure out the other's identity first? The older brother or the younger sister?"

"Then do not mind if this knight bets on her own lord, your highness Salvatore Doni."

"Of course I don't mind, so I will go for our youngest king. However… this info we discussed is a secret just between us. If you tell either of them, well, I won't punish you, but I might offer some assistance of my own to the other girls."

That last one is a scenario Erica would rather avoid if she can help it, so she listens intently to the offer of the king. "If you win, then I will help you conquer your love. Give you some time and place just for the two of you, perhaps with some nice bonuses if the possibility arises for it."

"I understand. However, what if you win?"

"Oh, nothing much. Y'see, I fought dear Shizuka in battle, and I kinda broke my sword in that battle. Sure, she was nice enough to give me the materials to make a new one, but I really liked the old one. It's a special collector's edition, and it's rather hard to find in stores. Just find me one of those and then your task is done."

That's surprisingly simple, thought it will cost her some time and resources to find such an identical blade.

"Very well. I, Erica Blandelli, swears hereby thus that I will uphold the wager as we discussed. I swear it on my honor as a knight."

Doni also accepts the wager, before proclaiming that he has to hang up. Just as he said that he actually hung up, so fast that Erica couldn't even say goodbye.

Erica also hangs up, as she stares out of the window of her room. Kusanagi Godou and Kusanagi Shizuka, the two Campione of Japan… how will their story unfold?

-x-

{1} Mizuya and tokonoma: The first is the preparation area for a tea ceremony, used for things like cleaning the supplies and boiling extra water. The tokonoma is the recess where you place items for artistic impressions. The most common ones are a hanging scroll and flower arrangement, though.

{2} Sen Soshitsu XV: The fifteenth generation head of Urasenke, one of the three major tea ceremony schools in Japan. His real name is Hanso Soshitsu.

{3} Obon Temae: The least formal of tea ceremonies, it's also the first one learned by people new to the trade. Perfect for people in a school circle to practice.

{4} Derby della Madonnina: How soccer matches between Inter and A.C. Milan are called. Named after the gilded bronze statue on top of the Duomo di Milano… that Godou destroyed in his battle with Doni. Perhaps it's time for a renaming.

{5} DDR: Dance Dance Revolution, a video game by Konami and a trendsetter in rhythm games. Has nothing to do with the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, a former country belonging to the Soviet Union.

{6} Rostov enamel: A type of painting on enamel originating from the Russian city of Rostov in the year 1706. Heavily influenced by the classicism style of painting, it became heavily factory-produced after the second world war, and is to this day Russia's most popular way of painting on enamel.

{7} This person is Sherlock Holmes, a fictional detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle.

-x-

So now Shizuka own the Ame no Nuhoko and a Despot's Thunderclap. Perhaps she should start her own armory if this continues. Now before you are wondering how Doni managed to obtain so much drops from a single monster, don't forget that Campiones have amazing drop rates. They're really lucky, y'know.

On another note, I am sure that most of you readers are Americans who are not that interested in football. Actual football, not that second-rate rugby thing you guys play at high school. If I want to mention that I will call it by the name of gridiron.

Back to actual football, I have absolutely no proof that Erica and Liliana like football this much. I do know that the official author, Taketsuki Jou, likes it. Considering that every European name he uses in his story is based on a soccer player (e.g. Niko Krancjar, Cristiano Doni, Paul Gascoigne) I'm pretty sure of that hypothesis. I decided to join Jou in this, considering that a certain unlucky witch is a shout-out to Anderson Luis de Abreu Oliviera, while the Czech witch and her husband are named after Antonin Panenka.

The same goes for European magic associations, which are based on soccer clubs. [Bronze Black Cross] = Inter Milan, [Copper Black cross] = A.C. Milan, Turin's [Old Dame] = Juventus and Rome's [Female Wolf] = A.S. Roma, to name a few. European magic is named after soccer, and I tried to do the same. In a similar manner, [Graoully] is based on the nickname for FC Metz, "Les Graoullys"

In fact, I even used the names of a few official soccer commentators for the soccer commentators here, namely Giovanni Di Marzio and Tancredi Palmeri.

Perhaps next you'll see me writing European characters with last names like Ziyech, Burdenski or Mackay. Maybe there will also be something like a Greek magic association named [Twin Eagles] or a German [Royal Blues], named after AEK and Schalke '04.

Either way, I made those girls fans of the club their respective association is based on. I mean, they're Italians. For those people soccer is tradition, love, passion! They can't not be fan of a club!

And thus the Doni arc is over. What will the next arc be about? Well… since it's about time for the events of chapter 12 to play out, or what is left of it ever since the death of Guinevere… oh well, just continue reading to find out!