Hey everyone, and welcome to this new chapter. This chapter was originally supposed the cover the rest of the Rating Game and end it, but as I kept writing, I noticed it was taking longer than I expected, so I decided to split it into two chapters instead. This one will cover two fights, including the main event fight, and will include a few changes I came up with. Hope you all enjoy it.
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody. Highschool DxD, Highschool DxD New, Highschool DxD Born, Highschool DxD EX, and Highschool DxD Hero are all owned by Funimation, Fushimi Shobo, TNK, Passione, and Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.
"Shirou" Regular speech.
"Shirou" Thoughts.
DRAGON SHOT Attack names.
(Shirou) Words said previously.
"SHIROU!" Shouting speech.
[Ddraig] Dragon talking.
Knight's Pride And A Pawn's Will
—…
I still remember that day… I remember it vividly… I even remember how clear the sky was that day…
The day it all started…
"Is there a reason you're following me?"
The silver-haired Delinquent First Year stopped on his way back to face the red-haired Delinquent First Year behind him.
"I take it you're the infamous Tsukiharu that's all the rage these days? The one who beat Ogawa's gang all by himself?"
"So the scrubs that a wasted started spreading my name around? Am I supposed to be flattered?"
"Nah, I'm just here to tell you that those guys were my prey. I was actually looking forward to taking out that scumbag, so you can imagine my annoyance when I heard the new guy got to him first."
The silver-haired youth just seemed amused as he turned around and faced him. "In this world, it's first come, first serve. I do try to avoid taking someone else's prey, but if all you can do is complain about it after the fact, I don't feel like hearing it."
"Tch… Then hear this; I'm Takeru Saito. Remember it."
"I'd give it about five minutes before I forget it."
Now Saito was getting pissed. "Don't worry. I make you remember even if I have to beat it into you. Since you're new, you probably don't know that I'm the Strongest brawler in this town."
"Really, you're the Strongest?" Shirou feigned surprise. "This town must be pretty peaceful if you're the best it's got."
"Well, you've certainly got a pair, don't you?" Saito took his fists out of his pockets and charged at him. "I'm gonna bury you!"
I don't think I'll ever forget…
How fast his punches were… How it felt to hit the concrete… Or how badly I lost…
Now, in the present time, those same two Delinquents were facing off again, now in the Underworld, during a Rating Game. Neither one of them was in a fighting stance, but both of them were glaring daggers at each other, ready to go at any moment.
"Listen, I might be mad about you taking out Koneko and about the trap, but I'm not going to bring those into our fight." Shirou informed him. "This is between the two of us. Outside matters can wait until later."
"I figured you'd say that—You've always been the type who doesn't overcomplicate things when it comes to fighting." Saito responded before changing the subject. "So, how are we doing this? What'll be the ground rules?"
"It's your turn. You decide." Shirou told him.
"All right, we fight using only our natural abilities, no magic, no weapons, no Sacred Gears to help us during the fight." Saito listed down their conditions as he clicked his knuckles. "Let's do this the old-fashioned way."
Shirou smirked in response. "Fine by me. I'm always down for a fistfight."
Both of them stepped back a few feet to gain an adequate distance from each other. To single their start, Saito took out a 5 Yen coin from his pocket before he tossed it in the air. Both of them kept their gaze on each other, not even daring to blink as gravity pulled the coin closer to the floor.
When a quiet ding echoed throughout the room, signaling the start of their bout. The two Dragon Sacred Gear wielders charged at each other like gladiators ready to attack.
[Haaaaaahhhhhhhhh!]
It had been several minutes since the game had begun. In another part of the battlefield—Kiba and Xenovia entered the multi-story parking lot.
They advanced forward while cautiously looking through the dimly lit parking lot. Because they had both encountered a lot of spies in their missions, moving forward like this was their strong point.
Kiba walked in front, and then, after he confirmed that there was no one hiding under cover ahead of them, he called back to Xenovia behind him for her to move forward as well. The duo of Knights repeated this many times as they gradually and meticulously advanced through the parking lot.
The plan was to descend down the car passages on the second floor and go down to the first floor. The elevator was also functioning, but they feared being attacked while they rode it down. So they had no choice but to advance with the most reliable method.
As they advanced down the passage from the second floor and set foot on the first floor of the parking lot, they came to a halt once they noticed there was a silhouette before them.
Looking closely, they could see that it was a glasses-wearing girl with long black hair and a student uniform no different than their own—Kiba easily recognized her—Sona's Queen, the "vice-president of the student council," Tsubaki Shinra. Kiba also noticed that she held a naginata in her hand.
"That's right. I had heard that she was a naginata-user. And she held a considerably high rank with it as well." Kiba thought as he focused on her pole weapon.
"How do you do, Kiba Yuuto-kun, Xenovia-san? I knew that you would come here." Tsubaki spoke indifferently.
But she wasn't alone as two more girls appeared from the shadows and stood at her side—A girl with a tall figure and a slender girl carrying a Japanese Sword. The tall girl was called Tsubasa Yura—A Rook. The girl holding the Japanese Sword was called Tomoe Meguri—A Knight.
Based on what they knew about them, Tsubasa excelled in hand-to-hand combat techniques, while Tomoe was a member of a clan that made their living on the extermination of evil spirits.
"I see, so you stationed three people at the parking lot, President Sona. She read us well. She had secured this place…." Kiba thought as he assessed the situation. "She predicted that we would be the ones most likely to attack."
Xenovia unsheathed the Sword that she carried on her back, and Kiba also produced a Holy Demonic Sword in his hand. Xenovia didn't use Durandal. With that special rule, she wouldn't be able to act well with Durandal. Since its power couldn't be controlled, it would recklessly destroy the building.
{One Of Lady Sona Sitri's Pawns Has Retired.}
At that announcement, all five Devils in the room reacted. The Sitri Devils were surprised and dismayed, considering this announcement didn't aline with the strategy they created beforehand. On the other hand, the Gremory Devils were pleased, knowing that their strategy was going exactly as they had planned.
"Was it Ruruko?" Tsubasa predicted.
"It can't be. I thought the plan to lure Gasper-kun into a trap and take him out was foolproof?" Tomoe expressed her surprise.
"I guess they must have set a trap for our trap." Tsubaki deduced with an expression of dissatisfaction. "We can't forget that we're not the only side with a good tactician."
"Looks like Mika's prediction was right on the money." Kiba noted with a smile.
"And now that our side has drawn first blood let's keep the momentum going." Xenovia exclaimed with enthusiasm.
Together, they prepared our special weapons, and while shortening the distance between our opponents and themselves—The Gremory Knights sprang forward.
GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!
Kiba and Tsubaki, and Xenovia and Meguri Crossed Swords. Sparks flashed from the force of the blades clashing, and intense clangs rang out.
At that instant, Meguri noticed what Xenovia held in her hand and took a step back.
"…A Holy Sword!?" She let out a voice of surprise.
Yes, Xenovia was holding a Holy Sword. Moreover, it was a legendary one.
"Yeah, this is Ascalon. Shirou-kun loaned it to me."
[!?] All three Sitri Devils were surprised by this news.
Azazel had noticed Ascalon, which was assimilated into the Boosted Gear.
(Shirou, can't you remove it?)
Due to these words, the fact that Ascalon could be detached from the Sacred Gear was uncovered. Azazel had then hurriedly handed Xenovia a training plan to get accustomed to Ascalon.
It seemed that she had practiced handling Ascalon while training outside. As both Dragon-slaying powers and the Red Dragon Emperor's power were now imbued in Ascalon, it had changed into a specialized weapon that boasts enormous power.
It may not match Durandal's destructive power, but when taking into account its ease of use, it had a wider range of uses than Durandal.
However, that meant that Shirou didn't have Ascalon at present. That shouldn't backfire on them this time, but…
(You're only borrowing it THIS time, all right? After that, get your own Sword.)
Shirou was understandably not happy that his Sword was being loaned.
Back to the fight, Kiba and Xenovia entered an intense slashing battle with their opponents. They made sure to avoid each other, but it was the other person on the opponent's side—The Rook, Yura, that Kiba was really concerned about.
Depending on her movements, they would know whether she regarded either of them as dangerous and was aiming at either him or Xenovia. While remaining vigilant of Yura, Kiba continued firing his Holy Demonic Sword at the Vice-President of the Student Council. Kiba and Xenovia's Swords emitted a Holy wave. If they landed a blow on their opponents, a large amount of damage would be definite. If that happened, they would have to retire, as healing techniques were restricted.
A single stroke of the Sword. If they suffered a single stroke of their Swords, it would become their victory.
As she switched between offense and defense, Xenovia suddenly made a hole in space. Normally, anyone would think that she would materialize Durandal here—But that wasn't it.
A Holy aura drifted out from the tear in space and wrapped itself around the Ascalon that Xenovia held.
"—! While keeping Durandal locked up in the space!? You're taking out only its holy aura!" Tsubaki was shocked as she understood.
Xenovia smiled. "Yeah, It was suggested, and I realized an interesting way to use Durandal. I somehow managed to achieve it in my training. Now, I can use it more than sufficiently."
Rias and Azazel had also highly regarded Xenovia's Durandal. At the same time, they felt that it was wasteful that she couldn't control the Sword.
Durandal was a Holy Sword that boasted a tremendous sharpness. Therefore, when its owner couldn't control it, it became an assassin's blade. In reality, Xenovia used Durandal, but it was also a fact that she was also considerably tossed about by its destructive power. She may become able to control it eventually. However, until then, it was also dangerous to simply swing such an assassin's blade recklessly. Therefore, Azazel had an idea.
(Can you not release only Durandal's aura from the separate space? You could then clad it on Ascalon or a Holy Sword that Kiba creates.)
Kiba himself was also wonderstruck by such an amazing idea of using Ascalon and his Swords like this.
Durandal was simply kept in that space, and it continuously emitted its mighty Holy aura. Only the aura was taken out from the separate space, and the power was poured onto other Swords. It wasn't Durandal itself, but a power equal to its own was limitlessly poured onto a different Sword. That—Was the new power of the Ascalon that Xenovia held in her hands.
The Fallen Angel Governor Azazel. He had shown all these possibilities to them. Such a Fallen Angel had been their enemy not that long ago. It was truly an advantage to have him on your side.
Xenovia attacked her opponent with Ascalon+Durandal's aura.
GIIN! GIIIIIIIIN!
Silver lights and sparks flashed in the darkness of the parking lot. With the skill and Sword possessed by the Knight, Tomoe was quite special, but she was gradually being cornered by Xenovia's speed and power!
"Take this!"
Not overlooking an instant opening, Xenovia instantly cornered her opponent. Kiba believed that she had her. But, there was someone who stepped into the space between them—The Rook, Tsubasa.
As she put out both of her hands in front of her— "Reverse!"
Xenovia let out her attack, but the Holy aura had disappeared and changed into a demonic aura.
Xenovia's slash became an attack trapped by momentum, and at that moment, her Sword was caught by Tsubasa and flicked away. Tsubasa tried to pursue her in that state, but Xenovia regained her balance and avoided her kick.
GASSHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
The kick blew away several cars with its force. A direct hit would be dangerous, as expected of a Rook. But what truly had Kiba speechless was witnessing the phenomenon just now. Seeing Holy aura become demonic aura. He had never seen such a thing.
Tsubasa had called out "reverse". In other words, she transformed a wave of Holy aura into a demonic aura. Was that her ability or a Sacred Gear? Neither of them understood the reason for it, and it wasn't in the information they had on their opponents during the briefing before the match, so they had no plan for it, but what they did know was that this was troublesome.
This was one of those so-called Counter abilities that Azazel warned them about. It's a special case, but it would be bad if that counter were used while Tsubasa and Tomoe worked together.
Ascalon's Holy power was reversed and turned into demonic power. Only ordinary damage would be given to a Devil from demonic power since a Devil's origin was from demonic magic. It became just an ordinary slash.
Xenovia also possesses incredible skills, but her battle would be disturbed because she had trained and fought based on Holy swords. If she received a Counter, even Xenovia would fall.
"…Well played, Sitri group. If it's like this—" Kiba thought before announcing his objective. "Xenovia! Switch with me!"
By his shout, he and Xenovia switched places and exchanged our respective opponents.
This was the better solution. Kiba's Holy Demonic Swords were a good foil to Tsubasa's ability. The effect of their "reverse" would have no meaning because there was nothing to reverse when the power of the Holy and demonic was already blended together evenly.
Tsubasa seemed to be aware of that as she didn't display her "reverse" stance, and she started to attack Kiba along with Tomoe.
Next to them, Xenovia and Tsubaki had started slashing at each other. Xenovia's furious attacks were intense, and at last, she managed to corner Tsubaki in front of a wall.
It looked like she had her. Xenovia, decide it instantly like that.
As if they shared the same thoughts, Xenovia raised Ascalon and entered a posture for the finishing strike. This was the moment. If they take out the Queen, the whole situation will become considerably easier.
"With this—This match is decided!" Xenovia declared.
As Xenovia swung down the sword at Shinra-senpai and dealt a direct hit—at that instant.
"You're right, it is decided—" Tsubaki smiled and held up her hands. "Sacred Gear, Mirror Alice."
A huge ornamented mirror appeared in front of Tsubaki, almost like a transparent wall. Xenovia's Holy slash continued barreling towards her without stopping and crushed the mirror.
ZUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!
"—!?"
A wave was released from the broken mirror and attacked Xenovia.
Tsubaki sneered. "When this mirror is destroyed, the impact on it is doubled and returned to the opponent—I am a Counter-user. Yuuto Kiba-kun, it was a mistake to send the Power-type Xenovia-san against me."
This was their plan, the trap they set up to surprise their opponents and pull the rug from underneath them. However—
"Sword Birth!"
The ones who ended up being surprised were the Sitri Devils. The moment Kiba saw Tsubaki conjure her giant mirror, he slammed his palm onto the floor and activated the power of his Sacred Gear.
The result was a wall of demonic Swords appeared protectively in front of Xenovia, like a defense wall. But they weren't just ordinary demonic Swords. Each and every one of them was a Holy Eraser—A demonic Sword with the ability to weaken and devour Holy energy along with any other source of Light. The wall of Holy Erasers was hit by the countered Holy wave that was aiming for Xenovia, but the demonic Swords were able to hold their ground. After an intense struggle, the Holy wave was completely stopped and disappeared—The demonic Swords vanished right after.
Among everyone present, the only one who didn't appear to be surprised was Kiba.
Tsubaki, Tsubasa, and Tomoe were surprised because their plan to remove Xenovia from the battlefield had just been foiled. More than that, Kiba's actions appeared to be calculated as though he already knew what they were planning, even though that shouldn't have been possible. And Xenovia was surprised because even though she saw her attack get countered and that Kiba had just saved her from what would have certainly ended in her defeat, she had no idea how or why those things happened.
The one who broke the silence was Tsubaki. "What just happened?"
"It's actually quite simple, ladies." Kiba said in his normal polite manner. "The truth is, we've already seen through your brilliant plan."
All three of them were wide-eyed at that declaration as Tsubaki spoke again. "What?"
"Hold on, Kiba, what plan? What are you talking about?" Xenovia asked, still not in the loop.
"Well, before the game started, Mika-chan wanted to talk to me so she could share her hypothesis with me. During the briefing for this match, we not only learned about the members of your group but also learned that a few of you possessed Counter-Type abilities—Abilities that specific members of our team are vulnerable to and among the members of your group, the one who we should be the wariest of is you, miss Vice President."
"But how? Information on my Sacred Gear's ability shouldn't be known. I only gained this ability during the training period before this match."
"But information on the Sacred Gear—Mirror Alice, itself already exists as well as the potential abilities the user can acquire with it, and with Grigory's vast amount of data and information regarding Sacred Gears, our esteemed strategist was able to narrow it down. The power to send back an attack to the user with double the damage, an ability like that would like poison to our offensive team, so it would make too much sense for you to have it."
Tsubaki became dismayed at realizing they had been seen through. "We also had the aid of Grigory for this match, but I never considered they would do something like this. We were supposed to have the information advantage."
Kiba continued. "But even though the theory made sense, there weren't any real guarantees, so the best way to figure it out was to act based on the actions you took in battle. Mika told me to pay close attention to you and to whoever you targetted—"
(If Tsubaki really has this ability, she'll want to use it as a trap, and what for one of our heavy hitters to launch a big attack at her before sending it back. Listen, if she targets Xenovia or Akeno, assume that my theory is correct and be ready at any moment.)
"Wait, does that mean the real reason you switched opponents was that you were baiting the Vice President to use her Sacred Gear so that you could counter it?" Tomoe asked.
"Actually, no." Kiba answered with an honest smile. "The truth is that I actually was taken off-guard by Yura-san's reversal ability. Tactically, it was the correct choice matching my Holy Demonic Sword against it, but that also meant I could watch and wait to see if Shinra-senpai really was planning to take out Xenovia without anyone suspecting a thing. My Holy Erasers were the only things that could stop a wave of Holy energy from a legendary Holy Sword, so this was something only I could do."
"If this was all planned out, why wasn't I informed of any of this beforehand?" Xenovia questioned him.
"In order to fool your enemies, you must sometimes fool your allies." Kiba quoted. "In order for this plan to work, we had to draw out her trap by making her believe we were going to fall for it, and that's easier to do if you don't know there's a trap in the first place. Mika-chan told me not to tell you so they'd be less likely to suspect anything."
Tsubaki seemed somewhat confused by this turn of events. "Haha, using your teammate as bait to foil our trap? I must say, I always took you for a chivalrous knight, but you're actually quite devious, Kiba-kun." She fixed her glasses. "Maybe you've started to become influenced by Tsukiharu-kun?"
Kiba gave a smile at those words. "That makes me happy. Because part of me also thinks that I'd like to become like him."
"Become like Shirou? You mean become a monster?" Xenovia asked curiously.
"A troublemaker?" Tsubaki asked.
"A rebel?" Tomoe asked.
"A Delinquent?" Tsubasa asked.
"Those are Shirou-kun's things—What I want is a spirit that would never give up like Shirou-kun. He is truly amazing." Kiba said with genuine admiration. "Most likely, I wouldn't be a match for him anymore in terms of simple physical strength. His efforts and guts entered into the territory of deserving admiration. Advancing step by step with effort, his progress was nobler than anyone else. I want to obtain his guts and willpower."
At those words, Tsubaki had a reaction, but she hid it so it wouldn't show on her face. Xenovia, on the other hand, let out a small laugh. "…Those words don't suit you at all."
"I also think that." Kiba confessed. "Still, I can't help how I fell."
{One Of Lady Rias Gemory's Rooks Has Retired.}
[—!] Both the Gremory Knights froze with shock.
The defeat of one of their comrades was heard from the announcement. It was difficult to think that it was Mika, considering where she was and who she was with. They didn't understand how it happened, but Koneko had likely been taken out.
"How calm you are." Tsubaki said that.
"Yes, since I won't be able to endure if I don't get used to something like this."
Kiba responded extremely calmly. Inside, though, his heart was seething. Because even he felt the frustration and regret of losing a friend in battle. Koneko was most likely taken out by another trap or a specific strategy made to defeat her. He wouldn't put it past someone like Sona, who seemingly thought of everything.
"Geez, it's because she didn't train her body enough." Beside Kiba, Xenovia sighed as well. She was also calm—Or so it seemed, but her eyes were still. "But even so, they took out my cute kouhai. I'll have to avenge her."
Dreadful pressure was being given off from her. The pressure was even transmitted to him, her ally. She's surprisingly soft towards her friends as well. Despite appearances, she also felt that Koneko was cute. Being notified of her defeat was unforgivable to her.
Stepping forward, Kiba pointed his Sword at Tsubaki and the other servants from the Sitri group.
"Now then, how shall we do this? As two blade users, shall we decide it by the blade?" He offered.
Tsubaki responded to my question. "That is also fine. In chess, when a Pawn is promoted, in most cases, they become Queen. However, the battle situation changes if they promote to Knight instead, depending on the setting. There are also a lot of differences between actual chess and the Rating Games, but—This will be a good match."
The battle between the Knight—Kiba and the Queen—Tsubaki was decided. However, the Sitri Knight and Rook had already taken off and fled from the parking lot, leaving Xenovia annoyed and irked at the fact that she let them escape.
Kiba made the first move and created a Holy Demonic Sword and stabbed at her with it. His blade was blocked by her naginata, but Kiba remained vigilant because he didn't know when she would bring out that counter Sacred Gear.
Tsubaki took out a small bottle from her pocket—A vial of Phoenix Tears. It seemed that the Sitri Queen had theirs. She threw the small bottle at Kiba and cut it apart with her naginata. The liquid inside was poured onto him.
"Reverse!" Tsubaki shouted out.
She intended to change the immense healing power of the tears into damage the instant that the liquid hit him. Kiba quickly changed his Holy Demonic Sword into a Sword of water.
BISHAH!
The wave of water mixed together with the tears. When mixed with something else, the tears lost their effect. And as a result, the "Reverse" also lost its meaning.
"If an opening is made even just a little!" Tsubaki sharply turned her naginata towards him.
"I see. The attack just now was to make me block and step out. However—" Kiba thought before he waved his hand.
ZAN!
Holy Demonic Swords bloomed in profusion around Tsubaki. The multiple Holy Demonic blades that sprouted out from the floor destroyed the Student Council's Vice President's naginata.
"The current me has no openings." Kiba finished his thought aloud.
When he tried firing a second bout of Swords at her, she made her move, and the same mirror from before appeared in front of her. Kiba paled when he saw her Sacred Gear and tried to weaken the Swords as much as possible, but they stabbed with just enough power to destroy the mirror.
BARIN! DOOOOOOOOON!
Tsubaki appeared somewhat drained after the mirror was destroyed. "Forcing Mirror Alice to activate again before the cooldown time has passed is draining, I likely won't be able to use it again for the remainder of this match. But, it's worth it to take out one of their key members."
The short-lived mirror broke, and the impact was returned to Kiba with double the damage, but—he could endure this much and responded as he clenched his teeth in pain and raised his left arm towards the sky.
"Xenovia, let's do that strategy!" Kiba announced.
Xenovia seemed to have mixed feelings but nodded nonetheless. "Very well."
Kiba began his chant. "Petro, Basileus, Dionysius, Holy Mary. Please listen to my voice!"
Space warped, and a tear was created. Kiba stuffed his hand into the tear in space and began to pull something large out.
Tsubaki froze in astonishment at what she was seeing. "No way!? That's!"
Understanding the meaning of what she was witnessing, Tsubaki was shocked as Kiba continued to chant. "In the name of the saints lodged in the Holy blade, I release thee—Durandal!"
The item he took out from the space was the legendary Holy Sword, Durandal. The Sword that, in actuality, belonged to Xenovia. Following the momentum, as he took Durandal out, Kiba slashed at Tsubaki before she could fully compose herself. The Holy Sword hit, and serious damage was given to the Sitri Queen. Even in that situation, she didn't activate her counter Sacred Gear. Kiba figured that meant she was unable to use it continuously.
SLAASSSSSSHHH!
The slash not only wounded Tsubaki but also caused a massive amount of dame to the area around her. Even outside the hands of its actual owner, Durandal was a weapon of mass destruction.
"Auu…" Tsubaki coughed painfully on her knees. "But… How?"
"It was Xenovia's suggestion." Kiba explained as he lowered the Sword. "Originally, the plan was that in the case that she became unable to function and fight, she would transfer the Sword's right of use to me since this sword is too good for her."
Xenovia looked a little miffed at that last comment. "That's a fine way to talk about the person who taught you how to use Durandal in the first place."
Kiba gave her a good-natured smile. "I know, and I'm grateful. The point is, I decided that it was time for us to pull out all the stops to defeat you, so even though Xenovia still stood, I wielded Durandal right here and now."
Tsubaki was still confused about something as she held the gash over her body. "However, your Holy Demonic aptitude is—"
"I had no past. Because of that, I saw hell, but…I'm different now." Kiba said with pride in his heart. "Thanks to attaining Balance Breaker, it seems I can also handle Durandal like this."
BUUUUUUUUUUUUN…
Durandal was emitting a quiet and peaceful surge. It wasn't letting out a violent and rampaging surge as it normally did with Xenovia. "Kuh! This is…! You can handle it better than Xenovia-san!?"
"I hate to admit it, but he is controlling it better than I normally do."
Xenovia and Tsubaki said that, but Kiba didn't seem to think so. "…Since Xenovia has an aura temperament that desires power, Durandal may have also reacted to that. But I choose certainty instead of power. Ability over strength."
It was true while he had intended to suppress its power, even so, the floor had been cut into two equal halves up to quite a distance away from the shockwave of slashing Tsubaki. If he were to evaluate himself based on this performance, he'd give himself a minus.
"I thought that it was a stubborn steed that didn't listen to the words of its wielder, but it really seems to be true. It cut more than I thought…." Kiba confessed as he looked over the damage. "So controlling it is still difficult."
"…! This is outside of our calculations, Sona!" Tsubaki breathed out with a new understanding. "They had another ace to play other than Tsukiharu-kun…! Their second ace is…! The other servant to pay attention to is… Yuuto Kiba!"
Tsubaki said that as she was wrapped in the light of retirement teleportation. She left just those parting words and disappeared from this place.
{Lady Sona Sitri's Queen Has Retired.}
"Our second ace, huh…?" Kiba's thoughts started to wander as he heard those words.
Flashback…
Days after the Peace Summit at Kuoh Academy, the Occult Research Club had just finished another meeting, and as the members were heading out, Kiba had called out to Shirou so that he could request to speak to him in private.
Now that they were alone by the woods outside the building, Shirou blinked in confusion as Kiba began the conversation by bowing his head to him.
"Uh, any particular reason you're bowing?" Shirou asked him.
"I just wanted to say something that I felt was long overdue." Kia said regretfully as he raised his head. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help you at all in the previous battle. I'm truly sorry."
Shirou's expression softened. "Is that what this is about?"
"Yes, you were in danger and close to death, no—By all account, you very easily could have died, and yet I did nothing." Kiba clenched his teeth with self-loathing. "I just stood there and watched without lifting a finger to help you. If you had died, I would have been too ashamed to carry on."
"Stop it. None of that was on you." Shirou tried to reason with him. "I chose to fight alone, and everyone else was on the sidelines, not just you. You can't act like you're to blame for things you couldn't control or regret someone else's choices when—"
"You're wrong!" Kiba denied his reasoning. "Regret—That wasn't all that I felt. What I also felt was… Mortified."
"Mortified?" Shirou repeated.
Kiba continued with his confession. "The truth is, from the beginning, all I've been feeling is mortified."
"What do you mean from the beginning?" Shirou wanted to know where he was going with this.
"Do you remember my loss against the Phenex family? I tried not to show it, but I was filled with feelings of frustration and mortification back then. Mortifying. It had been mortifying for me—Since Rias Gremory's sole Knight was beaten disgracefully without being able to protect my master." He clenched his fist, just remembering it. "And not just that—Even though I had finally attained Balance Breaker, the power of me and my comrades couldn't connect with Kokabiel, and I couldn't enter the battle against the White Dragon Emperor either. I hadn't been helpful at either of those times."
Shirou didn't say anything and let him rant. He could tell that he had been bottling this up inside for a while and needed to let it all out.
"The worst part was what I said before. I made some big stand about myself, saying that I would protect you if you ever needed me, but whenever you did need me, I could never do a thing." Kiba trembled in lamentation. "I'm a disgrace as both a Knight and a friend."
"And that's where you're wrong." Shirou argued immediately. "In fact, you're completely off the mark."
"Huh?" Kiba stopped and looked up at him, wondering what he meant.
"To be a true Knight means to protect your liege and master. Tell me, am I your master, or is it Rias?" Shirou pointed out. "You already know the answer to that."
"But, even so, I still…." Kiba tried to go on, but Shirou cut him off.
"And as for the friend part—You feel like you let me down. I know how that feels. I know better than anyone what it feels like to hate yourself for not being strong enough when it really matter."
Kiba knew what he was referring to and lowered his gaze. "Yes, I suppose you do."
Shirou didn't become daunted as he continued. "But you know something, neither words of encouragement nor consolement will help you get that off your chest. Only one thing can do that—Become stronger."
"Stronger?" Kiba repeated.
"As long as you're alive, there'll always be a next time, and if your mad at yourself because you weren't strong enough to help me or protect Rias, then become stronger, so much stronger than your current self, strong enough, so that when the time does come, you'll be able to make a difference." Shirou added context. "That's what I did, and you can do the same."
"Shirou-kun, I…" Kiba still seemed somewhat down. "I don't know if I can."
"That's because you still don't realize how far you've come. You might not have noticed, but you've already surprised Akeno and even Rias."
Kiba was taken aback by that assessment. Even if Kiba didn't believe, Shirou certainly did, and that was why he could see the power in Kiba that Kiba had trouble seeing in himself.
"It's true, ever since you awakened your Balance Breaker. But it isn't just about that. You have the talent and potential to go even further beyond. The fact is, the path to greatness has no ceiling. It's not a mountain or a wall. It's a spiral. It stretches up endlessly above the clouds and beyond the stars. How far you can reach is only limited by how far you want to go before you're satisfied and stop climbing. So, even if you feel you're not strong enough now, you're still much stronger than you realize, and as long as you never become complacent, you can always become stronger, always."
Those words were a relief and an inspiration to him. Talking with him helped well some of the guilt in his heart and replaced them with ambition and conviction. It returned—His warm smile had returned, and Kiba couldn't hide his feelings of happiness.
"Mortifying. Yes, it was mortifying for me, Shirou-kun. But your words helped me understand that rather than just be mortified, I needed to strive to reach greater heights in order to redeem that humiliation." Kiba thought as he remembered that day. "That's why I trained from scratch under my teacher. Truly from scratch. I learned from the Sword basics again."
It was true. The vast majority of his training was Kiba's training him trying to rebuild himself as a Swordsman from the ground up. He relearned everything from the basics but this time added more depth and density to his training as if he was trying to understand it at a much deeper level compared to last time, and not only did he gain a greater understanding of the skills he already had, he also acquired new skills that were lost to him before.
"Perhaps telling myself that I wasn't like you, I also kept doing straightforward training to the point of foolishness. If I simply prided myself on attaining Balance Breaker, that will be where I degenerate into complacency." Kiba thought, looking back on it. "But, you never missed an opportunity to get better or reach greater heights, so from on, that's how I'll be as well."
Xenovia walked up to him and looked down at Durandal, that was still in his hands, still having mixed feelings. "I can't really complain since you won and all, but it really does bother me seeing someone else using Durandal."
Kiba allowed the Sword to vanish back into its confined space as he gave her an eye-closed smile. "Regardless, I do appreciate you letting me use it. That strategy really helped us take the initiative."
"I suppose, but looking back on it, it seemed like the Vice President couldn't use her counter ability for a third time, so you might have been able to beat her even without Durandal." Xenovia examined certain details of the last battle.
"Maybe, but I still would have wanted to. I wanted to try using it at least once." Kiba looked down at the hand that held Durandal, if only momentarily. "Gaining experience in wielding more powerful weapons like legendary Holy or demonic Swords will help me grow as a Swordsman and also help me inch closer to my ultimate goal."
"Hmm, what goal is that?" Xenovia asked curiously.
Kiba closed his hand with determination in his heart. "There is only one. My goal is to be my master's Sword and stand as a partner next to him, my comrade and greatest friend. That's right—I aim to stand on the same caliber as Shirou-kun, no, the Red Dragon Emperor."
Xenovia's eyes widened, she clearly wasn't expecting him to say that, but she could tell from the look in his eyes that he was deadly serious. "You want to reach the same level as Shirou?"
"Yes, I want to be his equal in terms of ability and the best possible servant to the Chief, but more than that—" Kiba then looked a little miffed. "More than anything else, I hate how it always seems like the only servant worth remembering is the Red Dragon Emperor. I want the whole world to understand that Rias Gremory has not only the Red Dragon Emperor but also "Yuuto Kiba of the Holy Demonic Swords"."
Xenovia could feel his convictions through his declaration, and not only did she respect and acknowledge them, but on some level, she felt the same way.
"Goodness, Shirou really is rubbing off on you. You make it sound like I'm not worth remembering either." Xenovia jokingly reprimanded him. "Rias also me "Xenovia of the Holy Sword Durandal" or have you forgotten?"
"Ah, no, that wasn't what I…." Kiba sheepishly tried to make an excuse.
"Well, either way, I get what you're saying. I also don't plan on getting left behind by him." Xenovia said, also feeling determined. "So let's do it. Let's make it so that no one in the world will be able to overlook us."
"Right." Kiba nodded with the same enthusiasm.
Now that their business here was settled, the two Gremory Knights marched on and made their way further into the large shopping mall that was their battlefield.
"Gah!"
After getting knocked off of his feet and into a stone wall, Saito coughed out the air in his lungs as Shirou stood over him. Saito kept his head down as his uniform was messed up, and his face was all bruised up, while Shirou looked practically untouched.
"That makes 42 wins for me and 0 for you." Shirou noted casually. "You must be a glutton for punishment for doing this every day, Saito."
Saito coughed out a small laugh. "Look at that. You finally remembered my name, took you long enough."
"I had to find some way to remember you, aside from the familiar sound of me cracking your ribs." Shrou said, not even joking.
"Tch… Just keep on talking like that, but one of these days, the last thing you'll hear is me cracking open your skull." Saito threatened, but there was no malice in his voice.
"Ohh…" Shirou made a gesture of pretending to be afraid. "Talking like that may have worked for you in the past, but you're not the Strongest guy around anymore, and there's no chance I'll ever lose to you. Now, I gotta go and feed my Sister. If I'm late, she'll just raid the fridge again."
As Shirou stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away, Saito just sat there and watched him go. He didn't seem upset or disappointed at his loss but instead looked up a the bright blue sky as he went back to his thought.
That guy'll never understand… Winning was never the reason I started doing this…
Play OST — Air Gear — Overkooled
Back on the other side of the shopping mall, the two Pawns of both teams were still locked in battle. After taking a heavy blow to the face, Saito was rocked backward until his back hit a wall. He kept his back leaning against the wall and stayed on his feet while his head was down.
While Saito's outfit was a little messed up, and his face was bruised here and there, showing that he was injured from fighting, Shirou looked relatively untouched as though he was no different from when the fight started.
"Come on, Saito, what's wrong? Done already?" Shirou asked emotionlessly.
Saito raised his head and stepped away from the wall. "…You wish."
The two faced off once again. Despite the obvious gap in their abilities, Saito had no plans of stopping here. As they stood across from each other for a bit, Saito moved his gaze from Shirou to looking around at the familiar sights of the shopping mall.
"This really is cereal, I must have been to this store a million times, but this is the first time I've fought him in it." Saito thought before finding a bit of amusement. "It's kinda ironic, the first time we fight here, and it isn't even the real thing, just a replica."
"But in the end, it makes no difference." Shirou added to that thought. "After all, a real fight no neither time nor place."
"Yeah, that's right, it doesn't matter if we're in a void or even the deeps of Hell. As long as I can keep swinging my fists, I won't ever stop fighting!" Saito raised his fists up.
Once again, they simultaneously charged at each other. Once they got in close, Saito threw the first punch, and Shirou blocked it with both arms crossed together. Saito then moved back, and Shirou aimed a chopping right at him, which missed when Saito ducked out of the way as Shirou's fist cut through the air and met only the empty space where Saito's head was a second ago.
While he was facing downward, Saito jumped and aimed a spin-kick at Shirou's head, but Shirou leaned back in time s that the kick only grazed his cheek. Shirou stepped back to gain some distance, and Saito did the same until they were both a few feet apart. They then immediately closed the distance and blitzed toward each other, and threw a punch.
CLASH!
A gust of wind was blown back as both their fists clashed in a power struggle against each other.
This wasn't like any of the other fights taking place in this game. There were no magic or supernatural abilities. It wasn't flashy or dazzling. It looked nothing like a battle between two Devils or two Dragon users. It was nothing more than two thugs brawling. And yet, somehow, it fully captured the attention of those watching. No one wanted to look away.
"Back then, so long ago that I barely even remember how it started… I dealt with a problem the only way I knew how… Fighting my way through it…."
"Even when my fists were much smaller than now, there was no one I couldn't beat…."
"Back then, even if I didn't truly know what it meant to be strong, I knew that I was stronger than everyone around me…."
"I believed that no one could stop me!"
As the fight kept going on, Saito started to dive back into his deeper thoughts and memories.
"I was invincible. Everyone around me was my enemy, all I did was swing my fists at the world, and everything fell into place. Soon, the ground was littered with the bodies of my beaten opponents, and everyone was calling me the Strongest!"
Music Off
DON!
"Augh!"
Saito's thoughts were interrupted when Shirou broke through his defense and cocked back his arm in order to hit him with a punch that carried his entire weight behind it.
"Dammit…" Saito cursed, knowing he couldn't dodge this one.
GASSHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
Shirou's punch collided with Saito's face. The force behind his punch was great that not only did it send Saito flying back into the wall, but his body also crashed through the wall like a wrecking ball, and even then, he didn't stop. Saito crashed through three straight walls before he ended up in a bookstore, where he crashed into a shelf, and a pile of books fell on top of him.
Saito gasped for air before he started coughing. After that, he now had a bloody nose, and drops of blood came out of his mouth while he coughed. And yet, he still sat up and pushed himself to stand up, reading himself to go again.
While Saito was pulling himself off the floor and out of the pile of books, Shirou slowly walked toward him like a beast moving in on an injured rival beast. Saito narrowed his eyes as he saw his approach.
"Strong… I hated to admit it, but I had no idea what that even meant… Until I met him."
Shirou stopped when he was right in front of him, and Saito was back on his feet. However, before another word could be said, they both heard a new announcement.
{Lady Sona Sitri's Queen Has Retired.}
If either Pawn was shocked by this news, they did a very good job of hiding it. They didn't blink or look away, acting as though the fact that the Queen of one of the teams—A central figure on this battlefield, wasn't anything to react to that much.
"Huh, so Tsubaki's out?" Shirou broke the silence. "Something tells me that wasn't part of Sona's big plan."
"It wasn't." Saito told him, acting as though he wasn't concerned at all about explaining their strategy. "The plan was to have Tsubaki take out Xenovia, one of the main cannons on the other side, and then group up with the rest of the squad. But it looks like that plan just got scrapped."
Shirou shrugged casually. "Well, you know what they say—No plan survives a punch in the face."
"Fair point, but since everyone else is getting serious out there, what's say we up the ante a little?" Saito smirked and closed his fists.
ZAN!
Power coursed through him as Saito let loose the white transparent aura that was his natural life energy generated into power and used to strengthen himself physically and spiritually.
Shirou smirked when he saw him power up. "Touki, eh? I had a feeling you'd learn it too."
Shirou didn't have a problem with him using Touki because it technically didn't break the ground rules they set. They agreed on only using their natural abilities. Since Touki was just them converting their life essence into a source of power to enhance their physical abilities, it was only a natural ability.
Now Shirou closed his fists. "Well, since you've shown me yours, let me show you mine."
ZAN!
Now Shirou coated his body in his own Touki. A transparent white aura was emitting all over his frame as the spiritual essence of his life aura empowered his body and mind.
"I'd hate the keep the others waiting, so I'll finish this quickly." Shirou confidently raised his fists.
"Don't be so sure. I'm not so easy to beat like this." Saito confidently raised his fists.
Now that both combatants were armed with Touki, the fight was ready to enter the next stage.
The first to make a move was Shirou. He immediately closed the distance a threw a straight right at Saito's head, but to his surprise, Saito not only dodged it, but he did so easily as he shifted his body to the side and watched Shirou's punch sail past.
Shirou didn't have time to be surprised, though, as Saito immediately threw a counterpunch and hit Shirou was a strong right hook across his cheek. The punch rocked Shirou and made him step back a few steps.
Shirou stopped himself and spat out a drop of blood from his mouth as he rubbed off the damage and smirked like it wasn't a big deal. However, it quickly hit him all at once as he suddenly felt a huge weight drop on him, and without being able to stop himself, Shirou fell and hit the floor on one knee.
"What's wrong?" Saito calmly gestured for him to move closer. "C'mon, get up."
"Kuh…" Shirou glared spitefully at him.
Shirou didn't stand up fully, and instead, halfway up, he lunged forward and charged at Saito like a ram. His head collided with Saito's stomach, and Shirou wrapped his arms around his body as though he was trying to lift him. But Saito reacted and saw that their kneecaps were right next to each other.
Moving to attack before Shirou could, Saito kicked out his kneecap into Shirou's kneecap, and Shirou gasped as pain shot through his leg, and he felt himself lose his balance. Saito wasn't done as he followed up as he raised his leg, and slammed his kneecap into Shirou's stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs and lifting Shirou's feet off the ground.
Saito then finished his assault by raising his fist up and bringing it down like a rock on the back of Shirou's neck. His punch was so strong that he sent Shirou's body plummeting to the floor headfirst.
But, before Shirou's head hit the floor, he caught himself with one hand that touched the floor first to break his fall. Saito was surprised to see that Shirou was able to break his fall. Still, that moment of surprise ended up leaving him vulnerable as Shirou took advantage of that moment and twisted his entire upper body back before he swung his body around like a catapult, using the force and momentum to strengthen his fist as he hit Saito with a powerful backhanded right hook.
Shirou's punch hit Saito across his chin and blasted him off his feet as his body collapsed before him, and he violently hit the floor.
Saito quickly sat up and gave Shirou a spiteful glare. "Kuh…"
"Hey, what's wrong?" Shirou calmly gestured for him to move closer in the same manner that Saito did a moment ago. "Get up."
"Haha…" Saito spat out a bit of blood before he wiped his mouth and smirked at Shirou. "Not bad."
"Seriously though, when the Hell did he get so strong?" Shirou wondered as Saito got up.
Shirou's surprise was reasonable. After the addition of Touki, it was as though Saito was a completely different fighter.
The reason for that was simple. It was because of the difference in how they trained themselves and what they focused on during their training.
They had the same amount of time to train, but even if you don't factor in their individual Sacred Gears, Shirou had so many things he wanted to work on. His Holy Swords, the Dividing Gear, his Divine Sword, the Power of Darkness, his control of Senjutsu, and of course, Touki.
Saito, on the other hand, only had Touki and thus was able to devote much more time and effort to that single aspect, while Shirou had to divide his time and attention among many other things. Due to that fact, right now, Saito's level of mastery over Touki was far greater than Shirou's; thus, his speed and power were at a higher level. And considering they were only allowed to use Touki in his fight, Saito had a clear advantage.
That said, despite however the physical advantage, Shirou still had the technical advantage. Even though his level Touki wasn't as high as Saito's, Shirou was still superior in terms of skill and was a better-trained fighter thanks to his knowledge of martial arts.
So this had now become a battle of a strong man against a skilled fighter.
They continued their fight as Saito landed a punch on Shirou's stomach, but Shirou returned fire and punched him in the face. Despite the blows landing at the same time, Shirou took more damage. He stepped back after being rattled a bit as Saito tried to throw another punch.
Shirou dodged his punch with a sway back and low-kicked Saito's leg. The kick hit home, and Saito let out a gasp of pain. Shirou then moved and attempted to move back in order to gain a bit more distance. However, Saito wouldn't let him.
He quickly brushed off the damage and reached out to grab Shirou. He succeeded in capturing one of Shirou's arms which he held in a vice grip to keep him from escaping. He then swung back his other arm and aimed a powerful punch at Shirou's head.
Shirou knew he couldn't dodge this one, nor did he have enough time to break out of Saito's grip; thus, his only option was to use his free arm to block Saito's punch. But this was no ordinary punch. Right now, there was a dense, thick aura of Touki coating Saito's entire body, but now, he concentrated all of his aura from his body to his arm.
Now his fist was covered in a white, fiery burst of Touki that carried all of his natural energy in it, giving it enough power to eviscerate an ordinary Devil upon impact. Or, in this case, turn through Shirou's guard.
CRACK!
"Gugh!"
Shirou couldn't help letting out a pain-filled groan as the deafening sound of his arm breaking echoed throughout the store. After Saito's Touki-filled punch collided with Shirou's forearm, it tore into the flesh, and the impact traveled into the bone, cracking it painfully. Not only that, it damaged the blood vessels and tore the muscle fibers around them.
The result ended with Shirou's right arm becoming bent at a bad angle while being bruised and swollen as he hung down uselessly like a puppet with one of its strings cut. Shirou forced his mouth closed in order to stop himself from screaming in pain as his body shook, and he started to sweat a little as he glared at Saito with bloodshot eyes.
Saito just stood before him without saying a word, as if he was waiting for him to try and make a move. And, of course, Shirou did. Fighting through the pain, Shirou swung his fist at Saito, but the speed and accuracy couldn't be compared to before, as Saito didn't even need to try dodging that punch. Instead, he countered by kicking Shirou in the diaphragm.
The added damage of the kick knocked Shirou back down to his knees. After he fell, Shirou was about to look up, but just as he did, Saito kicked him again right in the face. This time, the kick drew blood from his mouth and fully knocked him to the floor as Shirou was face down on the ground. Saito then went over to him and sat as he straddled Shirou's back.
Saito then raised his arm as high as he could before he brought down his fist with his whole upper body behind it, and he smashed the back of his fist into the back of Shirou's head like it was a sledgehammer.
BAM!
Shirou's whole body shook under the impact of that crushing blow. He remained motionless as Saito raised his arm and repeated that same blow on the same target. Even without the aid of his Touki, Saito still possessed a great amount of strength.
BAM!
Once again, as though he intended to continue this process endlessly, Saito brought up his fist and prepared to hit the back of Shirou's head with all of his weight behind it.
BAM!
You'd think that Saito was trying to kill him, but the reason he was taking things so far was that he knew better than anyone that when fighting Shirou if you didn't fight him with the intent to kill him, you wouldn't even be able to phase him.
BAM!
As Saito kept hammering his fist into Shirou's skull, he started to get lost in thought again.
"What's wrong with me? Why do I feel this way?"
BAM!
"I've got him on the ropes. He can't even defend himself anymore. So why? Why are my instincts still warning me that I'm in danger?"
BAM!
"Why can't I see myself winning!?" He inwardly roared with frustration.
This time, Saito lifted his arm so high that he stood up from the ground the put every last bit of strength, weight, and momentum in this last blow as though he intended to crack open Shirou's skull. Shirou's head stayed facedown on the floor as a small puddle of blood formed around it. If it were someone else, you'd already assume they were either unconscious or dead.
But Saito didn't plan on leaving it to chance.
After he stretched his hand to the highest point he could reach, he brought it down like a guillotine with the resounding force of a thunderbolt, ready to completely finish Shirou off.
BAAAAAM!
Play OST — Ace Of Diamond — Silent Impact
"—!"
The result of Saito's strike was sudden before it hit in an instant.
"Agghhhhh!" Surprisingly enough, Saito was the one who cried out in pain as a sudden but great amount of pain hit him like a sack of bricks as he gripped his hand.
Instead of hitting the back of Shirou's head, Saito's fit collided with the solid concrete floor. The result was Saito smashing his closed fist, clashing with a heavy, rock-solid ground surface. As he gripped his wrist, he saw that not only was his hand hurting, it was broken—So much so that all four of his fingers were bent at different angles.
He immediately understood what had happened. Not only was Shirou still conscious during that whole onslaught, but he was also waiting for this moment. When Saito put all of his strength into one final death blow, Shirou moved his head a few inches out of the way s that Saito would break the bones in his hand by punching the floor.
As he unpackaged all this in his mind, Shirou rose to his feet like a man rising from the dead and launched a kick at him before he could even think of responding. He hit Saito with a vicious clothesline kick that hit him right in his throat.
"Kkh…!" Saito fell on one knee and gripped his thought while coughing painfully.
He looked up to see Shirou towering over him. If Shirou weren't already a Devil, people would say that the look on his face would look extremely demonic right now. The center of his forehead was soaked with still-wet blood, and both his face and the bangs on the front of his hair were dripping with crimson liquid. The blood also smeared around his nose and down to his chin.
But it wasn't just the blood. In his eyes burned a raging storm of fighting spirit that couldn't be extinguished. Regardless of his injuries, his eyes still had the look of carnage that always struck fear into the hearts of his eyes.
He looked like something straight out of a horror movie.
With the damage done to his throat, Saito couldn't form words properly yet, but his expression made it clear what he was thinking. Shirou could tell from the look on his face that Saito was surprised that Shirou was still up and wanted to know he could still fight after taking so much punishment. Shirou answered him with a scowl.
"I've come back from worse."
After that cold disposition, Shirou stretched his arm back, and like Saito did before, he gathered a large amount of Touki around his fist. He then stepped forward and put his weight on his front foot before punching his arm out at Saito's head, putting all his body and Touki behind his punch.
BIG BANG BLOW!
DOOOOOOON!
Music Off
Saito was blown away and sent flying as the punch collided with the center of his face. Fresh blood sprayed out of his mouth and nose, splashing out like a popped water balloon as the blow hit him like a cannonball that fired at his head point-blank. The impact of the punch was so dramatic that he felt rocketed from his brain right down to the tips of his toes, almost like he was struck by lightning.
And as Saito hit the floor, he merely lay there. Strength left his body, and darkness started to creep in as his vision began to blur.
After that ruthless blow to the head, Saito's brain was knocked around the inside of his skull like a pinball. The result left him dazed and before he was able to function. He just sat there on his knees with his slouched over. Everything was blurry. He couldn't form any words. He didn't even have the strength to close his one non-broken fist.
"So strong…"
As his mind was on the verge of blacking out, Saito's idle thoughts started to surface.
"What does it mean to be strong…? I've always wondered that… I knew I was strong physically, but what did it mean aside from that… What did it truly mean to be strong… For as long as I could remember, no matter how many fights I won or how much I grew as a fighter, I always felt like I was missing something…."
Saito slowly raised his head up.
"And… Those feelings only grew after I met… Him. Every time we fought, it felt like from anyone I had ever seen… He wasn't just strong. It was like he had a strength that no one else had. The weight behind his fists felt different, as though there was something beyond just physical strength… It was like there was a line that separated us, and no matter how much I grew, I couldn't cross it."
With his vision blurred and distorted, he could hardly make anything around him, and yet, he could tell without a doubt that right in front of him—Only a few feet away was the physical form of what it was he strove for—Shirou.
"What does it mean to be strong? I felt that he knew the answer to that, and that's what separated us… What did he have that I didn't? How could I obtain that strength as well? Winning or losing wasn't the reason I always challenged him… All I was to find the answer to that question…."
Shirou moved in to finish it. He leaped in the air and arched his neck and upper body backward as though he was winding him up. Then, like releasing the band on a slingshot, he launched his head forward with all that added momentum and smashed his forehead right into Saito's forehead with a thunderous headbutt.
CRACK!
That was it.
After that last attack, Saito's vision was neither blurred nor distorted—It was blank. That headbutt caused him to blackout; taking a second punishing impact to the head only seconds after the first was too much for him to withstand. There was no way he could stay conscious after that.
In an instant, Saito was out like a light as his body crumbled to the floor, and the light of retirement started to cover his body and quickly removed him from the gameboard.
{One Of Lady Sona Sitri's Pawns Has Retired}
"Haah… Haah…"
Shirou let out heavy gasps of breath. With his victory having been made official after hearing that announcement, the adrenalin of the situation started to fade away, and his body started to feel drained of all the energy that was expended. In spite of all the times he had fought Saito in the past, this was easily the most taxing and punishing of them all. He clearly didn't expect to have such a fight on his hands.
Shirou started walking, planning to meet up with the others as was their plan. He didn't even bother to wipe away the blood on his face. Despite his damaged head, his bloodied face, and his broken arm, Shirou didn't let any of it bother him and just walked. He planned to use the slow, simple walk to give his body time to keep his breath and regain his energy so that he could recover to an extent and let either Asia or the Phoenix Tear take care of the rest later.
And as Shirou quietly and methodically made his way through the open pathway of the shopping mall, he only had one thing to say in response to the fight he just had.
"That's #159 wins for me and 0 losses."
—…
Ō ō
And that's the chapter. First of all, as I've already made apparent in this story, the Gremory Peerage also has a master strategist as so they won't just fall for all of Sona's traps, case in point, they didn't fall for the trap they set for Xenovia and instead were able to take out Tsubaki which is a big win for them at this point in the match.
As for the other fight, it was a real struggle for Shirou for several reasons. For one, the last chapter just showed that Saito was a really strong fighter by decimating Koneko, so, after all that, would it really make sense to have him get trashed like that against a Shirou that wasn't using everything in his arsenal?
And that goes into another reason. Shirou's whole theme is variety. He learns as much as he can from many different sources, learns many different styles, and tries to master every ability he possesses. So naturally, if he ended up facing someone with the same ability, which put all their attention in that specific category and trained in it more than Shrou has and has talent themselves, then, of course, Shirou would struggle against them.
Saito is different from Shirou. His style is straightforward. Unlike Shirou, who is a specialist in everything, Saito has one specific style, and he works to improve and master it as much as possible. So currently, he comes out on top in a contest with Touki. Though Shirou could surpass Saito in terms of Touki if he focused all his attention on doing so. But that would mean diverting attention away from all of his other skills and abilities, and there's no way he would do that.
The next chapter will be the end of this Rating Game and, if I'm lucky, the rest of this Arc.
Anyways thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. If you liked the story, leave a review. If you want more, click the follow/favorite. If you want an earlier release, feel free to become a patron, and as always, have an awesome day.
