AN: First of all, I just want to thank everyone who Faved, Followed and Reviewed since the last update, It means a lot to me. Secondly, feel free to let me know if my writing style is too long-winded, I'm still experimenting a little with the way I write. Without further ado,...
CHAPTER 09: Fear
With the long wail of sirens accompanying them, the squad of police cars sped down the Shuto Expressway through the Rainbow Bridge. They were continuing their pursuit of the criminal convoy but it was proving more and more difficult as they did.
The convoy consisted of a cargo truck and two black minivans, one in the front and one in the rear. The police had earlier attempted to stop them with a blockade but the perpetrators made a sudden bold move by driving up the Daiba ramp on the left. The toll gate that should've stopped them simply crumbled like a fallen house of cards before they drove through and up, connecting with Route 11.
Such a destructive phenomenon naturally caught the police at the scene off guard but the truth was that it was actually caused by a person, an individual sitting in the passenger seat in the leading minivan. He was a rather lanky man with long black hair that fell behind his neck and a simple goatee at his chin, wearing a forest green suit with a matching feathered fedora, dark glasses and a dark red shirt underneath, collar undone and flipped up. He had his arms crossed with annoyance as he looked to the side-view mirror where he could see the flashing lights from the police sirens peeking out the side of the convoy.
"Shit!" exclaimed a Yakuza member seated behind him, the man had pair of binoculars to his eyes and looked ahead.
"They set up another blockade!"
"Of course they've set up another blockade, you idiot!" the man in the green suit said. "We're on the expressway, there's only one way to go! We wouldn't be in this mess if you morons switched the plates like I told you!"
"Can't you just do that trick from earlier, Komatsu-san?" the driver asked.
"Can't you just keep your mouth shut?! It's not that simple."
On cue, Komatsu raised his device up which was in the form a metal flute.
"My Noble Art works by matching an object's resonant frequency, it's mostly effective on large structures made of a single material. But fortunately, I know more than one tune. Signal everyone to slow down and match their speed."
The driver looked at Komatsu in confusion.
"S-slow down!?" he balked.
"Do as I say, cretin! And radio rear guard to open fire on the cops if they come too close." Komatsu commanded before placing the lip-plate of the instrument against his lips.
Further ahead, a handful of policemen stood by the wall of cars that blocked both sides of the road. Their weapons were readily held over the roof and hood of the vehicles as they anticipated the convoy's approach. They heard over the police radio that the criminals were slowing down; Perhaps they realized they were trapped and were ready to give up?
Nevertheless, they were also aware of the possibility of the perps desperately doing something dangerous and prepared themselves for it. But nothing prepared them for what happened next.
It first started with a low hum which was then slowly followed by a rattling noise. At first the officers looked around in confusion until they realized that it was the cars that were vibrating. The vibrations encompassed the whole blockade, dull at the ends but growing stronger at the center; so strong that the particles of sand and dust began to levitate as the sound's pitch grew into an ear-splitting whine. Feeling the pressure at its zenith and the goosebumps on the back of their necks, the officers reacted immediately.
"EVERYONE RUN!" one of them yelled as they tried to scramble away from the blockade.
And right of cue a huge explosion of air pressure burst from the center of the blockade. Although there was no ignition, the blast wave was powerful enough to throw the cars off and over the expressway, clearing a path for the convoy to speed past the knocked out policemen.
"That was sick!" the driver laughed as the rest of the men aside from Komatsu cheered.
"Why didn't you do that before, Komatsu-san?" one of the men asked.
"Because my 'Sonic Bomb' takes the longest to activate, that's why I need dolts like you to cover my ass."
Komatsu then grabbed a walkie-talkie from one the men behind him to radio the other van like he asked them to do earlier.
"Rear guard, are the cops still in pursuit?" he asked through the radio.
"Yeah, bu-but..."
"But what? Spit it out!"
"I think there's something else behind us."
The driver at the back of the convoy said this as he looked at the rear-view mirror where he could see a certain black shape gliding after them. The gunmen by the open passenger door yelled out as they recognized the figure.
"It's that rogue Blazer on the news!"
"Batman!"
"Well don't just stand there! Shoot him!"
And so the gunmen opened fire. Batman immediately banked out of the way of the bullets by releasing his cape and rolling to his right. His body dived from the height but he spread out his cape out to quickly swoop upwards. The fast movement along with the darkness of the night made everyone in the van loose sight of him.
"Where'd he go?" one of the gunman blurted as he looked around, only seeing the buildings that rushed past them.
The driver of the van spoke up.
"I think I saw him move past us but I don't see him now!"
"What do mean you don't see him!?"
"Exactly what I said, I don't see him!" the driver said, turning his head towards the gunman behind him.
That was when a pair of boots suddenly smashed through the driver's side window and plowed into the side of the driver's head.
The force of Batman's kick not only sent the driver crashing against the other Yakuza member in the passenger seat but because his hand pulled against the steering wheel, the whole mini van swerved sudden to its side and began to tip over.
The criminals inside screamed as the van finally rolled on its side and skidded along the road. Batman maintained his hold on the side of the roof and he brought his feet atop the driver door before he fired a grapple line towards one of the nearby buildings that towered over the expressway. The hook met its mark and Batman reeled himself away with the boost feature just as the toppled vehicle stopped from its skid.
One of the police squad cars stopped next to the overturned van, they would find that suspects inside were a little banged up but otherwise alright. The other police cars on the other hand, remained in pursuit. An officer inside one of these cars radioed to the stations about this new development.
"...I repeat, we have confirmed sighting on the Batman! He just took down one of the suspect vehicles!"
The radio suddenly squawked in response.
"This is Superintendent Shimogamo speaking, all units are to break from pursuing the suspects and focus on capturing Batman."
The officer looked shocked. He knew that it was their job to hunt down the Rogue Blazer but he didn't think that they should ignore other major crimes in the process, especially since it appeared that the vigilante was just trying to help them.
"But sir..." he tried to radio back.
"No buts! This order comes straight from the League of Mage-Knight Nations. I repeat, the capture of Batman takes precedence."
Meanwhile in the van at front of the convoy, the Yakuza members in the back noticed that Batman continued to grapple and glide after them until he finally landed atop of the truck behind them.
"He's on our cargo! What do we do!?" exclaimed of of them.
Komatsu of course began to bark orders.
"What do you think, idiots!? Get over there and get him off!"
As Batman maintained his footing, he noticed that the truck was slowing down and so was the van in front of it. The trucked moved to the left side of the road while the van lined itself up to its right where the passenger door slid open and two men crossed over to the larger vehicle and began to climb up it. Batman readied himself, it seemed he was about to have company.
The two Yakuza members quickly brandished their handguns and fired at him but he dodged by stepping off the edge of the truck behind him and grabbing on to the ledge. One of the men rushed towards him but he anticipated it and quickly pulled himself back on the truck before surprising the Yakuza member by running towards him as well.
After quickly pulling out a chord from his gauntlet, Batman vaulted over the criminal with the slackened cord behind him. Then in a continuous motion, he fastened the other ends of the cord around the Yakuza member as he landed, tightly wrapping him in the process, before delivering a spinning kick that sent him off the truck and tumbling down the road.
With one down, Batman did the same to the other. This time by hurling a pair of bolas taken from his belt. The bolas found their mark and entangled the remaining Yakuza member, leaving him helpless as Batman quickly flipped him over the truck with a Tomoe Nage-style throw.
The Caped Crusader rolled himself back upright and glanced back to see the second Yakuza member tumble down the road, he figured that the police should be able to pick up both of them. But just as he was about to turn forward, he was suddenly struck by a continuous blast of high-pitched ultrasonic waves.
He yelped as he knelt and clutched his head, relief came to him when his suit's software detected the high decibels and its emergency protocols shutoff the earpiece in his cowl but he still wasn't out of danger. Before him was Komatsu blowing into his flute Device, creating a forward-facing vortex of sound waves; sound waves so powerful that it pushed against Batman like a hurricane.
Batman kept himself from being pushed off but Komatsu advanced till he was right next to him, his sonic weapon continuing to assault him until finally he couldn't hold on any longer and was forced off the truck!
Thinking fast, he quickly spread his cape into its glide mode and safely touched down on the road. Batman stood upright and scowled seeing the truck make its getaway as the Yakuza Blazer stood atop of it and then to his further annoyance, the police cars behind finally caught up to him and stopped in front of him as well as behind.
It didn't take long for the policemen to get out of their vehicles and point their guns towards the vigilante.
"Batman!" one of them called out. "Your under arrest in violation of the Mage-Knight System! Put your hands in the air!"
Batman's expression remained stony and his arms were concealed behind his curtaining cape and then, before the officers could react, he threw down a smoke bomb and used his grapple gun to escape unseen. The officers coughed and cursed while swatting away the smoke until it dissipated to reveal that the vigilante had vanished.
"Damnit! Where'd he go!?" one of the policemen swore.
They looked around frantically, not knowing that he was perched on the side of a building overlooking the expressway and away from their view.
"Nice to know that they have their priorities straight." Batman muttered sarcastically.
Still, Batman didn't think it was a total loss. Before he was pushed off the truck, he managed to stick a tracking device on the side of it. He raised his forearm against his face and holographic map displayed with a blinking dot traveling along the road paths.
"Looks like they just got off Exit 19 at ground level. Hmm, they seem to heading towards Azabudai..."
With a new destination in mind, Batman fired a grapple line towards another tall building and reeled himself. The hunt was still on.
After thinking that they've lost the police, the remaining vehicles of the convoy finally came to a stop inside an unoccupied construction site. Sheets of steel fenced a large undeveloped ground, machinery and an a tall incomplete structure accompanied by a tower crane that still had an overhanging load. They had no problem entering the premises: after all, the Ichinose-gumi owned the property, making it the perfect place to lay low.
Komatsu cursed under his breath after he got off the line with his superiors. Because of the amount of attention they attracted, the higher ups decided to send another convoy their way and they were all to wait until it arrived so they can transfer over their cargo. After that, Komatsu's orders were to dispose of the remaining vehicles. Needless to say, his bosses were NOT happy with the situation.
Sighing to himself, the Blazer tried to pop a kink out of his neck but in the process he got an imposing view of the incomplete building and the tower crane. Before he could stop himself, the thought of being all the way up there crossed his mind and he visibly shuddered on the spot.
"Everything alright, Komatsu-san?" asked a nearby Yakuza grunt. "You still have a problem with heights?"
"Sh-shut up!" Komatsu snapped.
They didn't notice the dark shape that was watching them from high above at the edge of one of the building floors.
Batman had already listened in on Komatsu's phone conversation with his directional mic and knew that more men were on their way. He felt that this was good thing, it meant he could stop them all at once.
But now he had a new issue to deal with, all he has right now are two batarangs and he used the last smoke bomb he had. He could fight them without his tools but with their numbers and that Blazer among them, he felt that he should be better armed.
As he said once before: A warrior would never bring an unreliable weapon into battle unless necessary. This seemed to be the time where it would be necessary.
He outstretched his palm and Branwen appeared faithfully in grip but then he took a moment to look at the sword.
"Bruce Wayne and his Device are now registered in the League database, that makes things more problematic. If anyone sees me with this thing, they might draw a connection between-"
Batman's inner musings were interrupted as something strange occurred in front of him. The entire hilt of the sword suddenly turned jet back and its shape morphed in a fluid motion! Its pommel turned more flat and pointed, intricate black markings began to appear over the lower sides of the blade, two points extended from the middle portion of the cross-guard over the blade and as for the cross-guard itself, it unmistakably morphed from a simple bar to a pair of bat wings.
"Err...that works." Batman internally commented.
He peered at the weapon curiously, wondering why did it change its appearance all of a sudden. He then remembered when he was training with his spinning projectile Noble Art. Now that he thought about it, with the way his magic had been behaving, he shouldn't have been able to change his projectile's form. Unless...
"This sword…" Batman thought. "It seems to be adapting itself to my needs. But is it doing this all on its own?"
Batman shook off his thoughts, none of that was important right now and so he resumed watching from above and waited.
Soon enough, another truck and two cars entered the site and from them emerged a larger group of grunts than Batman was expecting, about ten of them along with Komatsu's group of five.
He briefly wondered what on earth were they transporting that required this much security.
The newly arrived group seemed to be jeering at Komatsu's group and sure enough, a small argument broke out. Batman primed his sword for a slash; This was the perfect time to strike...now or never.
With a swish of the blade, the conjured batarang materialized and was sent downwards spinning towards the criminal group until it impacted against one of their cars, cracking the windshield in the process. It immediately grabbed everyone's attention.
"What the hell!?" Komatsu exclaimed.
But of course, it wasn't where Batman was aiming.
"Not what I was going for but it'll do."
With that thought, he leaped off and dived bombed head first towards one of them and then at the right time, rotated himself, spread his cape and planted his boots the back of the unsuspecting criminal to stomp him into the ground.
Immediately every Yakuza member spun towards him in alert but Batman didn't pause, he continued his momentum by springing off the downed thug with a somersault and brought his blade chopping down through another thug!
The goon's screams of pain were halted after Batman knocked him on his back with a leg sweep and then out cold with a punch.
"Batman!? again?" one of Komatsu's men cried out in surprise.
"How did he find us!?"
Before they could react further, Batman rushed towards them with the length of the blade extended to his side, slicing through them and two other men; of which he finished off one of them with a choke slam.
Komatsu looked on as the Caped Crusader took down man after man efficiently with a combination of his sword and fists but the Blazer also took notice that despite Batman running his blade through them, none of them were dismembered, sliced in half or even cut. That meant only one thing:
"His Device is in Phantom Form?"
Meanwhile, two Yakuza members brandished their hand guns and began firing but Batman quickly swerved out of the way and then switched Branwen out of it's Phantom Form to make it more tangible. He then ran and zigzagged toward them, avoiding gunfire and even managing to deflect some of the bullets with the flat side of the sword.
When he got close to them he slashed at both their guns, damaging both weapons and making both men stagger from the impact. He took one of them out with a DDT and then flipped back up to engage the other.
The gangster recovered from his stupor to see Batman catch him off guard by throwing Branwen up in the air, his gaze followed it on impulse which was what Batman was expecting and took advantage of the misdirection by punching the man in the gut and then bringing an elbow down on the back of his head followed by using the man's hunched position to jump on and vault off his body, sending him face first into the ground as a result.
As he sprang in the air, Batman caught Branwen and switched it back to Phantom Form as he landed and slashed hard through another gangster. Though he wasn't cleaved, the man fell to his knees and passed out.
There were now three of them surrounding him in a semicircle and they flinched when he turned his attention to them, knowing how he easily handled the other eleven but then they girded themselves with fierce looks and began advancing slowly towards him. He was more than ready for them.
But before they could engage, the thugs suddenly widened their eyes and quickly scrambled away from him with panicked yelps, Batman briefly wondered what got into them but soon felt it in his boots up to his legs: a growing vibration followed by a high pitched whine. Sand particles around him began to levitate and he could feel pressure build up as he looked behind him as saw Komatsu playing on his metal flute. He white eyes widened in realization but by then it was too late to do anything.
There was a huge explosion where he stood.
In the wake of the explosion, as the haze from the propelled sand and dirt settled down, the three remaining gangsters came out of their hiding places and looked to the area they ran from.
What resulted from the explosion was a sizable crater. Two of them looked at it with awe but the other wasn't so happy that they were almost blown away along with the vigilante.
"Oi, Komatsu! How about you give us a warning next time!" he snapped.
"And what!? Have him interrupt my Sonic Bomb? You guys know it takes time to activate! Besides he's dead now, isn't he?" Komatsu fired back.
They all gathered around the crater and some even stepping down into it to look around.
"I don't see a body anywhere. Think he got away in time?" one of them asked.
"There's no way! Nobody could escape that! Maybe he...disintegrated or something."
"Guys, is it me or there's something in the middle over there?"
The remaining men looked toward the center of crater that was pointed at and sure enough, there was something. When they gathered close to it they were still unsure what it was until they then realized that it was actually the shadow from the load held by the crane above...and it was glowing.
Submerged in the inky 'shadow space', Batman looked towards the rippling surface above as he continued to sink, his cape floating along with him. An echoing throb brought his attention towards his surroundings, particularly the blurry red cracks and the familiar foreboding feeling it brought.
"Not this time." Batman firmly declared.
After slipping the sword into the side of his belt, Batman took out his grapple gun, aimed upwards and fired.
Up above, the four men recoiled with a start as the claw/cable shot out of the shadowy portal and attached itself to the load above. The line was reeled in and Batman shot out of the shadow and grabbed Komatsu by his shirt as he surfaced. With him still hoisted in the air and the criminal in his clutches, he first plowed his knee right into his gut, causing him to drop his flute and then followed it up by delivering a powerful headbutt that knocked off his hat and broke his sunglasses in the process.
Then in a continuous motion, he flung the unconscious Blazer against one of the three thugs before detaching the line, flipping in the air and driving another thug headfirst into the ground by landing on him.
With two them down, he engaged the remaining Yakuza member who charged at him but by then he removed Branwen from his belt and dealt with him with a few slashes and a finishing roundhouse kick. Just as the he did, the last of the thugs, the one whom he threw Komatsu at, recovered and tried to ambush him but Batman countered with a backwards stab through the man's torso.
The blade was still in its phantom form so despite not inflicting a wound, the man still staggered back in pain and Batman finished him off with a downward punch that sent him unconscious to the ground.
"Now to see what this cargo of theirs is." Batman said with a sense of culmination.
Moving pass the unconscious bodies strewn around him, he made his way towards the back of that particular truck and sliced off the lock with a swing of his sword. But when he at last opened the doors, he noticed movement like something scurrying towards the back. What he saw made his eyes widen and his jaw drop in shock.
"Dear god! They're just children!"
They were. Boys and girls as young as eight to as old as twelve. They also seemed to be from different countries, Batman deduced that they were probably brought here by ship and were picked up in the harbor. The young group were huddled back against the cargo area, looking dirty, bruised and scared out of their minds but that wasn't the only thing he noticed about them: each of their necks and arms were bound by thick metal contraptions with small glowing LED panels.
Just as he looked over them, his hearing picked up the approaching sounds of police sirens. He figured all the racket they made probably attracted someone's attention and that someone must've tipped off the cops.
"Stay here. The police will be here soon, they'll take you all someplace safe." Batman whispered while gesturing with a palm to calm them down.
They didn't seem to react to him, he wasn't sure if it was because of the voice modulator or that they didn't understand the language but he hoped he got his sentiment across.
Meanwhile, Komatsu began to stir from his unconsciousness and raised his head up from being face down on the ground. His sight immediately noticed his flute Device, which had not dissipated, lying just a few inches away from him but as he was about to reach for it a boot stepped on his wrist!
Komatsu cried out as he was then roughly pulled up by his collar towards Batman's intimidating visage.
"Let's you and me have a little chat." the Dark Knight growled as he then pulled out his grappling gun.
He fired a line at a neighboring building and quickly reeled them both towards it, with Komatsu screaming in fright all the way as he was dragged by his collar. When they came to a stop, Komatsu found himself dangling over the ledge of the building as he only hung from his shirt that was held by Batman's vice grip.
"Start talking! Why were those kids in the truck? Where were you taking them!?" Batman grilled as his white slits narrowed dangerously.
Komatsu peered towards the ground far from him and began to sweat profusely, his phobia beginning to prick at him but he still tried to put on a cocky brave face.
"Y-y-you don't sc-scare me, Batman!" he challenged. "Folks thought you were some supernatural creature but we all know now that you're just some weirdo in a costume! If you think I'm gonna sell out my people you got another thing comi-EEEAAAAAHHH!"
His speech morphed into another scream as he was suddenly dropped! The ground rushed up to meet him but then his fall came to a sudden halt. Komatsu looked up to see that Batman had grabbed his leg and had his other hand on his grappling gun which he used to rappel down the building.
"S-see! I told you! You don't have the guts, that's why you caught me!"
"Actually, I was thinking of continuing this someplace higher. I hear the view from Tokyo tower is lovely this time of night."
Komatsu followed the vigilante's brief glance and even from where he hung upside down he could still see the red and white structure past the buildings, the way it touched the sky. Just the thought of it made his eyes enlarge, formed a lump in his throat and turned his stomach to lead.
"Y-y-yo-you wouldn't!" he stammered nervously.
Batman flashed his teeth in a sinister grin.
"I dunno, you tell me. I'm just a weirdo in a costume, remember?"
It was enough to make him crack.
"Alright! I'll talk! We were taking the kids for the Midnight Hell Festa."
"The what?" Batman asked with a curious look.
"It's a fighting tournament! Underground. They're all Blazers you see. We pit them against each other and take bets and if they don't fight, we use them for...other services."
The Dark Knight's jaw tightened at this, it didn't take a genius detective to know what he meant by 'other services'.
"Where is this tournament being held!?"
"I don't know."
Komatsu then began to scream again as Batman reeled them up again at full speed. As they reached the end of the line, Batman swung his arm and tossed Komatsu before detaching the hook and kicking off the building. He quickly seized the criminal by the collar and then fired a line at another, much higher building before they were about to fall. Komatsu felt himself being dragged through the air until once again he was hung over the edge of the building.
The whole experience nearly reduced him into a crying mess.
"I don't like being lied to, scum. It makes my arm tired." Batman threatened with a low dangerous voice.
"I swear, I really don't know!" cried Komatsu, almost blubbering. "They always change their venues! All I know is that it's being held sometime next week. I'm not that high up in the ranks for them to tell me anything else!"
Batman reached for his grappling gun again.
"Not that high up, huh? I can fix that."
Komatsu thrust both his palms forward and shook them in desperation.
"Wait! Wait! I know someone who might know! He's their bookie. His name is Takigawa, Koshiro Takigawa, but I don't know where he is! Honest! You'll have to find someone who's close to him."
For a moment, Batman regarded him and thought about all the info he had gathered so far. He doubted that he could get anything more out of him but there was one more thing he could ask about. It was a long shot but if he happened to know something, it'd be worth it.
"One more question. I'm looking for a girl..."
Komatsu blinked at this.
"Um...I know a few hostess clubs."
Batman grabbed his collar with both his hand and roughly shook him.
"Not that kind of girl! A Blazer! Tan skin, red eyes, short purple hair with a white streak. Hard to miss."
Komatsu repeated Batman's description to himself in a small mumble until suddenly his eyes lit up in realization.
"Hold on, I know someone like that...the current champion of the Midnight Hell Festa! Yeah! That's her!"
"Finally! A lead!" Batman thought as his blood quickened.
"Who is this champion?"
"I only know her by her ring name. She goes by the name 'Venomous'."
Batman 'hmm-ed' to himself. It's an oddly specific name and now that he thought about it, weren't the purple-haired girl's Nobel Arts poisonous in nature? It certainly sounds like the kind of name she would take. He may be wrong but whoever this 'Venomous' was, she just might the person he's looking for.
"S-so I told you everything. You're gonna let me go now, right?" asked Komatsu.
"Sure."
With that simple response, Batman dropped him.
Komatsu let out a long scream as he tumbled down through the air. His head pivoted towards the ground and he could see it rushing up to meet him but within mere inches, he was stopped thanks to a long chord that Batman managed to wrap around his legs. It was enough to make him pass out, leaving him hanging in the middle of the street.
Ikki's eyes shot open and he suddenly sat up with a small gasp. It was dark but the moonlight seeping through the curtains allowed him to see that he was still in his room atop of his bunk, waking from a terrible dream.
"That moment from last year…" he thought as he ran his fingers through his hair which was now moist with sweat. "Why do I keep remembering that after all this time?"
He settled back on his bed and for a while stared at the ceiling with his arms crossed behind his head until he sighed with defeat. It was no good. Try as he might, he just couldn't sleep.
He glanced below him to see Stella soundly asleep and mused to himself that at least one of them seemed to be at peace. Deciding to clear his head, he climbed down from the upper bunk while making sure not to wake her before changing into his tracksuit and exiting the room.
The high speed train arced along the metro rail line towards Hagun Academy and standing readily atop of its roof was Batman, his cape flapped in the rushing wind as his boots kept him magnetically anchored. The HUD viewed through his eye lenses prompted him to change trains and so he raised his grappling gun, took aim and fired.
There was a click from the pulled trigger but nothing else.
Batman looked at the gadget with surprise but his answer came immediately via his cowl lenses which detected a malfunction in the firing mechanism's primer.
"Just perfect." he rasped with irritation, feeling that issues like this wouldn't happen if he still had his resources back in Gotham.
Still, he felt it wasn't that big a deal. The malfunction can easily be fixed and despite this minor setback, he wasn't far from Hagun and could still hoof it. With the change of plans in mind, he leapt off the train and proceeded to glide towards his destination.
The night air was just as chilly as Ikki expected it to be and it made him glad that he wore something to keep himself warm. He had his elbows rested over the corridor's railing as he took in the view of the campus grounds below him; the building overlooked quite a bit of it up to the compound wall.
With each area he glanced at, certain scenes from last year replayed in his mind. He had an unfortunate reputation that clinged to him since then, as the cursed boy who anyone befriended would get into trouble. This was mostly due to how the teaching staff at the time regarded him and from there the rumors began.
Only one person, the boy who was his roommate before Stella, seemed to the closest thing he would ever have to a friend. At least that's what he thought until he caved to the pressure and began to distance himself from him as well. Last Ikki had heard of him, he had transferred out of Hagun after advancing a grade ahead of him. He wondered what would Stella think of him if she knew about all this.
"Some year that was, huh?" Ikki muttered to himself as he slouched over the railings.
That was when his eyes noticed something and he went full alert. By the compound wall was a shadowy shape that seemed to be skulking around! It looked human but Ikki wasn't sure.
"What in the world?"
He already had all security cameras and their visual range mentally mapped out and with that awareness along with the cover of darkness, Batman methodically crept from one cover spot to another as he made his way towards the dorm building.
He would've already got there much quicker if his grapple gun was working but fortunately he found out earlier that the dorm's security guard was an elderly man who was also a deep sleeper. Definitely not the kind of security he would rely on but in this case, it works out well for him. Sneaking past him and climbing up to his dorm should be easy.
"Who's there!"
A voice sounded off right next to him.
It was Ikki who called out in an act of haste, the boy had already snuck out of the dorm building and managed to sneak up on the unknown figure. He couldn't help but flinch when the shadowy thing suddenly reared itself towards him in alarm, its white eyes illuminated in the dark, before it quickly took off as the scalloped cloak trailed behind it.
Ikki blinked and then snapped out of his stupor before giving chase but because of the head start he had given him, the intruder remained far ahead of him.
"Was that who I think it was?" Ikki wondered as he continued to run after him. "It can't be! What would he be doing here in Hagun!?"
The chase continued all the way past the side of the office building until the intruder suddenly turned and disappeared around the corner. When Ikki followed and spun around the corner himself, he was shocked to see that the intruder was nowhere to be seen.
"Wh-what?"
Ikki swiveled back and forth, scanning the area of signs where he could be hiding but he couldn't find anything, it was like he vanished in thin air!
"Where did he go?" he uttered in confusion.
Then a voice sounded behind him.
"Where did who go?"
He spun around to find someone he didn't expect.
"Bruce?"
Before him was indeed the foreign transfer student, he was wearing a simple red track suit and a pair of slides on his feet. Ikki wondered how come he didn't hear him coming.
"What are you doing out here so late? It's past curfew." Ikki asked.
"I could ask you the same thing." Bruce responded. "I heard a noise and someone running so I came here to find that it's you. Is everything alright?"
He said so, expertly feigning ignorance while mentally making sure the suit he stashed away remained hidden from sight.
Ikki glanced behind himself towards the scene where the figure vanished. He didn't know what to think and was starting to consider if he imagined the whole thing. Was the stress finally getting to him?
"I...I thought I saw something. It looked like..."
"Like what?" asked Bruce.
The boy finally dropped his head and sighed in defeat as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Forget it. I must be losing my mind." he griped.
Bruce shot him a curious look.
"Are you sure you're alright? You seem a little out of it."
He wasn't acting this time, his concern was genuine and could tell that something more than just this incident was troubling Ikki. But the F-rank immediately dismissed it, putting on a forced smile as he addressed Bruce.
"It's nothing. I must be tired from all that training I did today."
The former billionaire narrowed his eyes and peered at the boy with suspicion.
"No, there's something on your mind. You've been like this since yesterday when we met. In fact, your behavior has gotten stranger since then."
Ikki shook his head with a half-hearted chuckle.
"No really, I'm fine. You don't really have to worry about m-"
"Kurogane!"
Hearing Bruce snap made Ikki clam up and his body went rigid while his eyes widened. The older male glared at him with stern expression.
"I may not be good at making quips but you're a terrible liar! And the only one who believes otherwise is yourself because that's who you seem to be lying to the most!"
The boy gasped as the realization hit him with full force.
"How? How did he..?" Ikki spluttered in his mind, not only reeling from the wake up call that Bruce just gave him but also that he had remained oblivious this whole time.
Bruce released a breath before speaking again.
"The security guard back at the dorms, I assume he was still asleep when you sneaked out?"
Ikki was taken aback by the abrupt change of subject but nodded silently. This prompted Bruce to turn and take a few steps away.
"Well, since we're both out here and not in trouble yet..."
He then glanced back and gestured Ikki to follow him.
"Walk with me for a moment."
Almost two minutes later, Ikki and Bruce were seated on the wide steps that lead towards a sunken plaza; each holding a canned drink which they procured from a nearby vending machine. Up to this point, they had engaged in small talk: nothing too personal, just little facets about their respective countries. Bruce thought it was funny that he rarely had moments like this where he could just shoot the breeze with someone, the only other person he chatted with from recent memory was Jim Gordon but it was mostly work related.
At the moment, Ikki was recounting some of the memorable matches he witnessed during his previous year.
"...and they continued to volley back and forth, it went on for almost two hours! In the end, the referee had reach out to the committee who then decided that the victor of the match would be decided by who ever drew first blood."
"'First blood'..." Bruce echoed with a grimace. "This school is so bizarre."
"Are the Chivalry schools in the U.S different compared to here?"
Bruce glanced upwards towards the starry sky, briefly wondering if among those stars was his own world.
He obviously didn't have an answer to Ikki's question since he's never been to this world's version of the U.S but he responded with a half-true story based on his own experience traveling the world.
"Honestly, I wouldn't know. I didn't exactly stay in one school for too long, I kinda moved from place to place and did a lot of home schooling along the way."
"I understand, because of your magic." Ikki said with a nod.
"Sure, let's go with that." Bruce thought.
"But where did you learn all those martial art techniques?"
At this question, Bruce shifted his gaze downwards with a somber expression. That was a list too long to recount; Destreza in Spain, Yaw-yan in Philippines, Kalaripayattu in India...sparring with Ra's Al Ghul.
"You might say I had one hell of a teacher." was the answer that Bruce decided on.
The subject about his martial arts knowledge reminded him about the sparring session he had with Ikki, particularly the boy's expression at the end. Bruce realized that he didn't get the chance to set things straight between them and, after clearing his throat, decided to do so now.
"Listen...about our duel earlier, I didn't want to give the wrong idea or make you feel bad or anything."
"Are you kidding?" Ikki asked while giving him an incredulous look before suddenly his mouth stretched into a wide cheerful smile like he was a kid at Christmas.
"I had the time of my life!"
Bruce recoiled a bit, not expecting this kind of reaction.
"I've never faced an opponent that pushed me that hard before, never had my skills tested to its absolute limit! It was exhilarating! I absolutely have no regrets about your win." Ikki continued to speak excitedly.
The F-rank then gave a challenging smirk.
"But don't get too comfortable. Next time, I'll find a way to beat you at your own game."
"Keep dreaming, kid." Bruce gave a playful snort and then took a sip of his drink.
"Kid?" Ikki asked with amusement as he raised a brow at him. "You're just a year older than me."
"And a year wiser." Bruce quickly recovered from his flub and tapped the side of his head in emphasis.
"Oh really? Then tell me, o wise one, got any advice for my match tomorrow?"
That was when Bruce dropped their little banter and his voice took on a serious tone.
"Can't exactly impart any wisdom unless you tell me what's bothering you. For someone with no regrets, you seemed upset earlier."
"Oh."
Ikki turned his gaze towards the plaza below and mulled quietly to himself, it was after he suddenly took a sip of his drink when he broke his silence.
"I guess at the time, I was more disappointed with myself than anything. That I was maybe getting too predictable, too reckless. If I can't even focus when I need to, how am I going to win tomorrow?"
"Why are you so worked up over these selection battles? I can understand being competitive but in the end that's all it is, a competition." Bruce asked with a frown.
Ikki remained quiet for a while with a contemplative frown before responding.
"Because it's the only way I can graduate."
Bruce's brows shot up in surprise and then slowly dropped down in suspicion.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
There was another moment of silence from the boy until finally, he completely turned his attention towards Bruce.
"I didn't tell you the whole story about me, Bruce. The thing is, I'm from the Kurogane family. I don't know if you've heard of us but the Kurogane house is a respected noble house with a strong standing in the Mage-Knight society."
"The head of the LMN Japan branch...he's your father, correct?"
Ikki nodded.
"Yes. And because I'm considered talentless, my family didn't want to deal with such a stain on Kurogane legacy and treated me like I didn't even exist, locked me away where no one could see me. My sister was the only one who cared."
Bruce didn't show any reaction and listened quietly but in truth, he was shocked that Ikki was treated so badly.
He couldn't say that he could relate; although his parents weren't always around and were stolen from him as a child, he at least knew that they loved him. For someone to disregard their own child just because he couldn't meet their lofty standards...it just wasn't right!
"I came here to Hagun with something to prove, that even someone like me can join the ranks of the greats. But my family wouldn't allow the idea of their embarrassment doing such things in the public eye. So they used their influence to change the system where I couldn't take combat classes and moved the goalpost far enough to deem me too unqualified."
"What about Director Shinguuji?" Bruce asked. "I doubt she would've allowed anything unfair to continue."
"You're right. Things changed for the better after she was appointed but even she was being pressured by those in authority. So she created the selection battles format to allow me a fair shot. The Sword Art Festival is a very publicized event and if I became the champion, not only will I prove myself to them but they'll have no choice but to acknowledge me and allow me to graduate."
Proof of strength and glory seemed to be very prized in this world and Bruce personally had no interest in them but he could understand why it was important to Ikki. However he also knew that the the boy had a lot going against him and most would probably tell him it's a goal that was impossible.
They would probably say the same about his own personal mission, his war on crime.
In some way, he saw a little of himself in Ikki.
"But now..." Ikki began speak, turned away and sighed.
"I dunno, Bruce. I want to win, so badly. But it feels like with ever step I take, the world around me feels heavier, like fate itself is pulling me back."
"It's not fate." Bruce said matter-of-factly. "What you're feeling is fear."
Ikki's eyes enlarged and he quickly turned to Bruce with astonishment.
"My guess is that you've been ignoring all your doubts and worries in order to push yourself forward and now that you're at the precipice, it's hitting you all at once. You're also afraid that by admitting your fear, you'll prove all your detractors right and that everything you've worked for will be for nothing." Bruce stated.
And then the older man took on a more thoughtful expression.
"But here's the funny thing about fear: It can be your greatest weaknesses but it can also be your greatest strength. Fear drives us, cautions us, reminds us we're alive and can even make us accomplish the impossible."
Bruce looked towards Ikki and could see that the boy didn't fully understand, that's when he decided to reveal a small truth about himself.
"You said that there's something powerful that drives me, do you want to know what it is?" Bruce asked.
Ikki didn't know where he was going with this but nodded silently.
"It's a vow. A single vow."
The F-rank blinked at this, he expected a variety of reasons but this wasn't one of them. Bruce turned his gaze back towards the stars above, this time with his expression hardened with resolve.
"To honor that vow, I had to strive to be the best I can be. Every moment, every day, honing each and every skill set I've learned to its maximum efficiency without exceptions. Because I'm afraid of that one day...that one night when I'll need to be stronger, faster and smarter, I won't be good enough."
"So that's how he's that good?" Ikki wondered with amazement. "What on earth could be this vow that made him this way?"
Bruce then turned his attention back to the boy.
"It's alright to feel terrified, Ikki. It's how you handle it that will define what kind of man you are." he finished.
Ikki looked at him in awe and was reminded of his great grandfather who had similar words of worldly experience.
Thinking back to it all, he realized how much he had lost sight of what kind of man he wanted to be because he was too concerned about failing. He can no longer deny his fears but he now understands what he needs to do, his fortitude was truly renewed.
He remembered what he said to Bruce earlier and was beginning to feel foolish, he proclaimed himself as 'not the type to give up' and yet he almost did. He almost lost faith in himself. He glanced downwards and sighed.
"Great, now I feel stupid. After that big talk I gave you earlier. I thought I was helping you."
He was bought out of it when a felt a hand clasp his shoulder and looked to see Bruce surprisingly sporting a real, reassuring smile on his face.
"You did. This is me returning the favor."
Ikki honestly didn't know what to say other than letting out a good natured chuckle before voicing out his gratitude.
"Heh, Thanks Bruce."
Feeling satisfied, Bruce withdrew hand and leaned back against the steps.
"Any time, kid." he said as he finished off his drink.
Ikki sweated and looked at him warily.
"You're not gonna keep calling me that, are you?"
"What do you think?"
"Right leg."
The Hunter sneered and on cue, Ikki cried out as an invisible bolt tore through his leg with a loud bang and a burst of blood.
"Left shoulder."
Ikki's opponent declared again and this time another invisible bolt shot through where he said. It continued like this, shot after shot, each time when Kirihara would mercilessly sound off his targets and Ikki would helplessly get tagged. It went on to the point where the Worst One fell to his knees as his uniform was stained in blood.
"This is bad." Nagi said grimly.
He was sitting in the stands alongside Shizuku and Stella, both looking with worry towards the overhanging monitors. It was the only way they could view the match since Kirihara's Area Invisible covered the ring below with an illusionary forest.
"It is. It looks like Onii-sama's strategy has fallen apart." Shizuku said.
At first Ikki seemed to maintain a foothold in the match. Even though he couldn't see Kirihara, he could still see the arrows he shot which allowed him to deflect them and trace their path back to its origin. This was how he was able to find him and attack where he stood. But apparently Kirihara had another trick up his sleeve, he improved his Noble Art where now he could make his arrows invisible as well. It caught Ikki off guard and now it looked like Kirihara had him on the ropes.
"I don't get it. Why isn't he doing anything?" wondered Stella, growing agitated.
They weren't the only ones observing the match tensely: Bruce sat few rows above them but unlike them, he didn't seem too worried. His brows knit as he placed a finger over his mouth in thought. It was true that Ikki was currently at a disadvantage but from what Bruce could see, there were several ways Ikki could turn the battle around and he had a pretty good idea what Ikki was planning...At least, what he hoped he was planning.
"Come on, Kid. If you're going to make a move, make it now."
Ikki hissed and gasped in pain as he slowly tried to push himself up. As he did so, Kirihara looked down at him from his perch in cruel amusement and threw more jeers at him.
"What's the matter, Kurogane? You've been awfully quiet from the start. Are you too scared shitless to say anything?"
But Ikki remained silent and managed to push himself upright, his bloody back turned to the archer. This made one of Kirihara's eyebrow twitch in irritation. Despite Ikki's state, Kirihara could feel the defiance emanating from him and it was spoiling his mood.
"You know what? This getting real annoying." he snarled in revolt.
He then drew back the string from Oborosuki, prepped another arrow and aimed at Ikki again.
"Maybe I'll just shut you up forever with a headshot!" he said with malice and let the invisible arrow fly.
Within that mere second, Ikki's eyes popped wide open and what he did next not only surprised everyone in the arena but caught Bruce a little off guard: he turned around and flung Intetsu in such a way that sword spun like spinning saw, slicing through the invisible projectile and knocking Oborosuki out of Kirihara's hands!
There was stunned silence as both Devices fell to the bottom of Kirihara's illusion forest.
"What!? Stella and Shizuku gasped.
"Whaaaaat!?"
The whole audience balked and the girl commentator's voiced boomed through the speakers.
"Holy crap! Did everyone see that!? Kurogane threw his own Device against Kirihara's Oborosuki! But why would he do that, Oreki-sensei? He basically disarmed himself!"
It was Yuuri who was the co-commentator for the day. The sickly teacher dabbed the blood from her nose as she looked at the monitors in scrutiny.
"True. But...he disarmed Kirihara-kun as well."
And while the arena went abuzz with murmuring students, Bruce stayed quiet and fixed in his seat.
"Hm, he threw it like a batarang. He must've somehow picked it up during our duel yesterday." Bruce thought.
"Oi! Oi! What's all this!?" Kirihara exclaimed, still shocked that he was now without his bow.
But it was when Kirihara shifted his attention back to Ikki that he felt his composure shaken. His eyes bulged out and his irises shrunk to pin pricks as trails of sweat ran down the sides of his head. What he saw was Ikki's eyes, without wandering, staring directly at him.
"N-...No way! Y-you can see me!?"
"I should be thanking you, Kirihara." Ikki said calmly. "You were right, I am scared...actually, I WAS scared. But someone reminded me that it doesn't mean I should give up, that I can use it to push myself further."
"Shut up with your F-rank gibberish! How the hell are you seeing me!?" Kirihara snapped.
Ikki flashed a grin which only make Kirihara even more nervous.
"I can't see you but I don't need to. You left a lot of clues for me to find you, another thing I should be thanking you for."
"C-clues?"
Ikki pointed to his bloody uniform with his thumb.
"The wounds you inflicted on me."
"Wait, does that mean that Kurogane was allowing himself to get hit!?" the girl commentator sounded off.
Yuuri dropped a fist to her palm in realization.
"Of course! He must've used a variation of his Blade Steal to analyze Kirihara-kun's fighting system."
"The timing tells me your style, the angle tells me the direction, the depth tells me your distance..." Ikki continued to speak.
"But that's not all, I also figured out your mannerisms and habits. You said earlier you were firing for my head but that's not where you were aiming, was it?"
"Tha-th-that's bullshit! There's no way you could've known!"
"Just like I couldn't have known that you just took two steps to your right?"
Kirihara choked and froze in his tracks, he had attempted to sneak away from the branch he was standing on by it seemed that Ikki had completely got into his head.
Bruce couldn't help but smirk in approval.
"Not bad. Quite a detective in the making..."
The so-called Hunter's breathing began to quiver as Ikki approached the end of his speech, his cool conceited persona was at the verge of crumbling.
"Yesterday, I faced an opponent who was too complex to read but you..."
Ikki's smug smile was enough to finally shatter his composure.
"You're like an open book."
Kirihara's face quickly morphed into dread as he shirked back.
"No! no!no!no!no!no!"
"And another thing, you tend to talk too much. Ittou Shura!"
With that, a brilliant fiery blue aura engulfed Ikki and he leaped high in the air towards Kirihara.
"Get away from me! Stay back!" the archer yelped and stumbled back, falling from his perch.
Kirihara landed with a flop but he could see that Ikki wasn't done pursuing and came after him with a downward kick. He cried out and scurried back just as Ikki's foot struck the ground. He then pushed himself up into run to put some distance between them but thanks to the boosted speed from Ittou Shura, Ikki was able to jet pass him and even trip him ahead with an outstretched leg.
Panic began to settle in as Kirihara scrambled away while seeing Ikki calmly follow him, eyes never leaving him. He was in no way trained in close quarter combat and that made the prospect of the F-rank beating him a frightening reality. It was unthinkable! If he lost to such a low-ranked knight, he'd never hear the end of it! His reputation would be stained forever!
His only hope was to retrieve Oborosuki and so he looked towards where it had fallen but he couldn't see it anywhere!
"Where is it!? Where is it!?" he cried out as he frantically looked around.
It quickly dawned on him that Area Invisible was still active and it not only cloaked him but his Device as well. He quickly ran to the area, crawled and palmed at the floor desperately.
"Whereisit!?whereisit!?WHEREISIT!?WHEREISIT!?"
With brief hesitation and no further choice left, he dispelled his Nobel Art. Ironically, the bow weapon revealed itself just within grasp. He clung to it and spun around but before his sight leaped a figure towards him, enshadowed by the lights of the arena and holding up a certain black katana that was ready to be brought down on him.
Shrinking back into the ground, Kirihara brought his bow up defensively in fear.
"Stop! I surrender! I forfeit! I'm afraid of paaaain!" he whined.
Intetsu's blade stopped within inches from his face.
Silence hung over the entire arena until the commentator spoke through the speakers.
"Did Kirihara just faint?"
The referee noticed that the boy had indeed passed out, prompting him to make the call.
"Shizuya Kirihara can no longer fight! The winner is Ikki Kurogane!"
On cue, the overhead monitors displayed Ikki's face with the words 'WINNER!' underneath.
"He did it!"
"I knew Onii-sama would!"
Stella, Shizuku and Nagi lauded loudly and almost immediately the rest of the students followed suit and drowned the whole arena in a frenzy of cheers.
"Amazing!" the commentator's voice boomed. "Against all odds, somehow the Worst One has defeated last year's representative and acquired his first win!"
Ikki remained still at first, as if the feeling of his victory hadn't hit him yet then he looked up towards his three friends: Alice, Shizuku...and of course Stella. Then he looked further up the rows of seats where Bruce looked like he was about to leave.
When the older student paused and looked back, Ikki's lips curled up into a smile and flashed a thumbs up at him which Bruce slowly returned. Ikki felt it was kind of cheesy but he couldn't help himself.
There was still much about the mysterious transfer student that Ikki didn't know about but he did know that an unexpected bond had formed between the two them, one of friendship and mutual respect.
And then the moment was lost when things took an abrupt turn.
"Whoa! It looks like contender Kurogane has suddenly collapsed! Somebody better get a medical team over there." the commentator's voice announced.
Bruce flinched in shock and then quickly ran down the steps towards the front of the stands where Stella, Shizuku and Nagi were.
"What happened to him!?" Bruce called out.
Stella and Shizuku spun towards him with surprised wide eyes, they certainly never expected him to show such concern.
Nagi didn't appear to show any surprise and simply explained to Bruce in a calm manner.
"There's nothing to worry about, Brucie. Ikki is just extremely exhausted because an unfortunate effect of Ittou Shura, you see."
Bruce exhaled in relief but the fact got him thinking.
"I see. He's not just boosting his capabilities, he's basically using whatever Mana he has to overclock his own body; pushing it beyond what's humanly possible."
It sounded stupid and insane...
It sounded like something he would do.
Bruce supposed the two them really were like kindred spirits.
"Hey, what's that smirk all about?" Stella asked suspiciously.
Bruce dropped his expression, shook his head and turned to leave.
"Nothing. I should get going, give him my congrats when he wakes up."
And with a hand in his pocket and a casual wave from behind, Bruce began to make his way out of the arena and left both Stella and Shizuku staring after him, perplexed.
Kagami at the time was scribbling down notes about Ikki's match furiously when she noticed someone meet Bruce just at the exit. It was someone she didn't expect to be here.
"Director." Bruce greeted. "Are you here to see the match? You just missed it."
Kurono didn't seem the least bit enthusiastic. In fact, her brows were taut with seriousness and her cigarette was held with stern lips.
"Not in particular. I actually wanted to talk to you." she said, making sure to keep her voice low.
"Oh?"
"Did you happen to see the news today?"
"No. Why?"
She released a puff while her expression remained tense.
"Last night, the police apprehended a group of known criminals who were in the middle of trafficking children, young Blazers who just awakened their powers."
"That's horrible."
She nodded.
"It is. The police and the League are now looking into returning them to their homes but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. Apparently, the Batman was also sighted last night."
That's when she regarded him with utmost suspicion.
"You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" she asked with an icy voice.
But Bruce kept his composure and lied without hesitation.
"Can't say that I do, I was here in the campus all night."
"Really? Are your suggesting that there's someone else out there wearing the same costume?"
He had anticipated her asking this and had a story ready in response, it wasn't totally made-up but was based on a few experiences while he was in Gotham.
"Where I come from, I had some run-ins with a few copy cats. People who got...enamored by the work I did and wanted to do the same. It's unfortunate and I feel bad about it but I had nothing to do with it. If you don't believe me you can check the security footage, Kurogane was with me. Yes, I know that we technically broke curfew but you did say that I...needed to get along with my fellow students."
Kurono continued to glare at him with doubt. She didn't totally believe him but it wasn't like she could disprove him either and decided not to press it any further. However, as she walked passed him, she gave one small warning.
"I can only keep you out of trouble for so long, Wayne. I'm trying to give you a chance, don't make me regret it."
Kagami watched as Kurono walked away and Bruce pausing for a second before leaving through the exit. She wasn't able to hear what they were saying but she could tell something was going on from the way they were acting.
"Curiouser and curiouser..." she remarked as her glasses flashed while placing a finger gun under her chin.
Wasting no time, she quickly scampered after him. She was through the exit and saw that he had already descended down the stairs and was walking down the road. She ran up right next to his side and then slowed down to match his pace, pretending to walk casually with her arms cutely behind her back.
"Shouldn't you be back there covering today's match?" asked Bruce, immediately noticing her.
"I know. But I'm more interested in you, Wayne-Senpai." Kagami responded coyly.
Bruce rolled his eyes and grunted.
"Right."
"Soooo...what were you and the Director talking about? It sounded super serious!"
"It's nothing important. Are you done following me? I have things to do."
Kagami then moved in front of Bruce and walked backwards while putting on a cute smile.
"Aw, don't be like that! C'mon, you can tell me. I'll bet there's real interesting story here!"
Just as Bruce was about to shoo her away his phone in his pocket suddenly buzzed to life with a notification sound, he fished it out and found out that he just received an email, one that he was expecting. But before he fully read the contents, he noticed Kagami in front of him trying inconspicuously take a peek.
He sighed in exasperation and figured the reporter girl was not going to leave him alone unless she got some nugget of information.
"If you must know, it's from the Selection Battle Committee." Bruce finally said. "It seems my first match has been scheduled for tomorrow."
Kagami gasped excitedly and bounced on her heels with her fists clenched like a hyperactive kid.
"W-W-Well!? Who's your opponent!?"
Bruce shook his head wearily and went back to reading the message.
"Who is Ikazuchi Saijou?" Bruce asked.
The bespectacled girl's jaw dropped in astonishment.
"The...the Student Council member! The fourth strongest student in Hagun!"
TBC