.
Jirou brought the instructors that taught the team and had them escort and accompany Mei and Kyouko in the audience along with those who were sent by Sacred Forest Academy to cheer for their team. Kazuya was glad that he was able to notice the subtle change as well.
If one were not to notice the meaning behind the name 'Black Steel' which was literally translated as 'Kurogane' then the logo engraved and located on various areas of the venue was a dead giveaway. The Kurogane conglomerate had acquired this place.
Kazuya found this move quite normal since the Kuroganes made a move to delve into the sports industry. For them to acquire a famous venue was within expectations yet one could not help but be a little cautious since it was the potential masterminds of his past life's biggest tragedy after all.
Miyamoto was lucky to have drawn block D for the team because they were separated from most of the seeded players and the defending champions. He informed Kazuya of the teams he needed to watch out for so Kazuya would observe the teams that Miyamoto had mentioned.
"[Hey Kouzuki Kazuya]" a familiar voice rang in his ear.
"[What do you want naïve girl?]" he looked at the team who was competing and found Ayame sitting on her team's side.
"[Looks like you haven't cut off this type of communication completely]" he could see a smile on her face.
"[I can disable it but it requires me to intentionally think of closing it. I forgot all about you after that day hence how you're able to communicate with me now. I have to say, I'm quite surprised, you've improved. Seeing that you're able to let me hear your voice without eye contact shows that you've been working on controlling your mana]" Kazuya nodded approvingly.
"[Mana? My grandfather calls it internal energy for some reason. The way you call it is more like a game. It fits so I'll call it that too]" She was glad to have been praised and recognized for her hard work. "[Have you taught Shiroyuki-san how to use it as well?]"
"[No. I don't plan on teaching her 'whisper' unless she learns how to speak properly first]" Kazuya answered honestly. He already considered this since learning the whisper skill can increase her mana control skills but that would let her depend on the skill rather than speaking out so he decided not to do it.
"[Then I'm the only one who can talk to you like this?]" Ayame was quite excited since it seemed like a private communication line that only they shared.
"[Not for long. I plan on teaching this to my fiancé soon]" Kazuya smiled. The referee was already calling Ayame but she was concentrating too much on their communication that she was not able to hear them.
She was quite annoyed with the disturbance and made quick work of her opponent before she took a seat to continue her conversation with Kazuya. "[Were you talking about that older woman who held your hand when you entered?]"
"[That's her. Looks like you still need to work on your awareness. This skill may be useful but while using it, you should still be aware of your surroundings. It's like using a cellphone, being inattentive will lead to accidents]" He added.
"[She's a lot older than you. What's so good about her? She may be pretty but I'll grow up to be even more beautiful!]" she kept note of his comment but focused on asking him about Mei.
"[It wouldn't matter to me even if that were the case. You wouldn't even be pestering me like this if I had chosen to completely conceal my mana. That's one of the biggest differences between you two. She would have taken me even if I were the most pitiful person in the world]" This was a fact that he wouldn't be convinced of otherwise. His previous life had already proven that.
"[That's not true! I might have not noticed you at the entrance when our teams met but I would have definitely noticed when our teams clashed for the first time!]" Ayame's loud declaration rang in Kazuya's mind. It was usually not possible to shout in whisper but when the right conditions are met, it was doable. She really believed in her words.
"[Don't push it. What happened already happened. If you persist on your initial intentions then I really will permanently close this way of communication with you]" Kazuya didn't want to because people naturally being able to be aware or even control mana is rare enough. He was at least open to getting along with her because of this peculiar similarity.
"[Fine... As long as you give me a chance. Do you know who to watch out for?]" She decided to change the topic since he already made himself clear.
Kazuya informed her of what Miyamoto told him about the teams. Ayame was more than happy to share some information and insights of her own since this wasn't her first time participating in the nationals.
Even with her strength, Ayame only placed second in the previous nationals. She was the favorite to win this year because her rival had already moved on to middle school but the appearance of Kazuya had thrown all predictions into disarray.
She had little concern for the team matches and focused on telling him about those people who had the ability to challenge her. From her explanations, Kazuya surmised that the people she mentioned were natural athletes that were able to naturally increase their abilities because of their strong will and passion.
"[Will? Passion?]" Ayame was confused after receiving an explanation from him. She felt a bit envious since Kazuya explained all of this whilst making it look like he was concentrating on his match.
"[Would fighting spirit be an easier term for you to understand? You're a rare type that has high control and sense so this doesn't apply to you. It is also something you lack since you are able to use mana even before understanding it]" Kazuya continued as he got the match point.
"[Didn't I show it off when I fought against Shiroyuki-san?]"
"[So you finally understand. Yes, that would be a good example of it. You were able to increase your potential more because of that]"
"[But I still lost to her though]"
"[That was only natural. It was me who taught her after all]"
"[Hmph! Full of yourself aren't you]"
"[Well you weren't able to use it against me right? Your concentration was elsewhere and that ended up being your downfall]"
"[Hey you were being unfair as well. You treated the match with Shiroyuki-san differently. Both my match and hers were for her benefit. I'm your friend now so you have to treat me the same too]"
"[You sure are fond of skipping steps. You are merely an acquaintance and hardly a friend yet. Besides, I don't think I've considered anyone as my friend yet]" now that he thought about it, among his acquaintances, he hadn't truly accepted anyone he could call a friend just yet.
"[You're lying. From the way you favor Shiroyuki-san, no one would believe that statement. Going as far as letting her improve by using a championship match]"
"[Believe what you will. I care little about winning or losing. I only joined this competition as a way to find people like you and to fulfill the requirements of grandpa Jirou so that he can continue to help me keep and sharpen my battle senses]"
The two continued to converse as the team matches continued. Miyamoto and Jirou's strategy to alternate Kazuya and Tomoyo along with Nishida to secure victories early worked as they climbed to the top of their block.
However, due to their long conversation, people who have been watching them from the sidelines noticed that both of them have been looking at each other and have been exchanging gestures for quite some time now. Tomoyo was the closest person to Kazuya physically and it would have been even weirder if she didn't notice.
"…" she tried to block Kazuya from looking at Ayame by standing in front of him and looking at his eyes instead.
"[Looks like she finally couldn't stand it and tried to interfere. Not like it matters if she blocks our vision. I've gotten the hang of this skill by talking to you for a long time now]" Ayame giggled. She felt good to have gotten an advantage over Tomoyo.
Although Mei didn't particularly like Tomoyo today, she was glad that the girl stepped in when she did. It was however a futile move as Kazuya's expression remained unchanged as if he was seeing through Tomoyo as he continued his conversation.
"It's no use robot girl. The naïve girl can talk to me with her mind because of a skill she can use with mana" Kazuya looked at Tomoyo and shared this with a thought in mind.
"!" Tomoyo looked towards Ayame who smiled at her as if she had already won. Tomoyo turned back at Kazuya and gave him an expectant gaze. Her expression wasn't unfamiliar to him since she would look at him this way whenever she had a move that she was interested in.
"I won't teach you this skill unless you learn how to communicate with your voice. Teaching you this would be useless otherwise" Kazuya looked back at her and Tomoyo understood that he wouldn't be swayed.
"…" Tomoyo sat back down and sank into her own thoughts. Kazuya didn't know what she was thinking about but completely, but it was most likely about what he just said.
"[KAZU! You better not be flirting with that girl with just your eyes!]" Kazuya was startled as he quickly turned towards the audience stand to look at Mei.
He was shocked. It was mentioned in a class he took in magic that the very first people to come up with the whisper skill developed it by accident. It was due to sheer will of relaying a message that triggered the phenomenon. Mei did just that and unconsciously let Kazuya hear what she wanted to say. She even did it without eye contact unlike when Ayame discovered it.
"[I wasn't flirting at all big sis]" Kazuya smiled at Mei's direction. He knew that she could see him because of her vision.
Mei immediately stood up in surprise and started to look around to look for any devices that could have been the cause for Kazuya to transmit his voice. It was only a few moments later that she remembered that she hadn't said anything out loud.
"[Did you really just read my mind and respond Kazu?]" Mei transmitted another message and looked a bit skeptical.
"[Congratulations on learning the 'whisper' skill on your own big sis. I'm not reading your mind, but big sis wanted to send me a message badly, so I was able to receive it. Think of it like a telepathic message]" he explained while smiling at the different changes in her expressions.
Mei still couldn't believe it, this was something that could only have come out of a novel or manga. She tried to pinch herself several times and could only stare at the stinging red mark that she left on her skin. It was then that she stared at the boy who nonchalantly just congratulated her as if it was something normal for him.
"[You can freely use this skill at will?]" She looked at him seriously but wasn't expecting a clear answer. Kazuya had been hiding too many secrets and she just discovered that what he told her had just been a tip of this iceberg.
"[I've been able to at least longer than you, big sis. That girl you thought I was flirting with can use this skill as well. We were communicating like this earlier]" Kazuya explained.
"[Would you have told me about it if I hadn't discovered?]" she felt a bit threatened since a girl close to Kazuya's age had suddenly shared a secret that she wasn't aware of until now. He did say that they weren't even friends and met only at the last tournament but their interactions today looked like they were having a harmonious conversation.
"[I would have as soon as you were ready to understand. This is something I can't just tell you out of the blue or I will really be seen as crazy]"
"[I don't care. I want you to tell me everything! Didn't I believe everything you said when you told me about your premonition? You should trust your big sis more!]" Mei was upset. Now all the suspicions she had been having about the changes in her and Kyouko lately pointed her at Kazuya's direction.
"[It will be a very long explanation and I still don't know how to explain it quite accurately. I thought that it would take a little more time before you were able to do this but it just shows how much talent you have big sis]" Kazuya smiled. He was glad that he could reveal his secrets to Mei little by little.
"[Hmph! Flattery won't get you anywhere. Weren't you talking to that girl for a long time with this skill? Use that time to explain to me what you know instead!]"
Mei felt pretty excited and forgot all about Ayame who had been ignored throughout their conversation. Kazuya had switched his attention towards Mei and started telling her about how she could better use the whisper skill. He also started to give her an introduction to mana.
Ayame, who only received a message that Kazuya had something to do before immediately cutting off her communication with him couldn't help but frown. She was pretty surprised that the woman she watched out for seemed to also be capable of using the whisper skill and stole all of Kazuya's attention.
"(That sly fox…)" she gritted her teeth and glared at Mei who immediately noticed.
"(Now that I can do what you can, he won't even have time to spare you a look little girl)" Mei triumphantly smiled at Ayame.
They may have not been conversing through the whisper skill but the two girls could more or less understand what the other meant. Kazuya could feel the tension between the two of them but could do nothing because it was already his turn to go into the arena.
Due to Miyamoto and Jirou's careful planning, the Sacred Forest Academy's team had made it to the top of their block. Their research and strategy had paid off and had secured a place in the country's top four.
Their school, who had been unable to participate in the last tournament, had swept through the competition and changed the rankings by kicking off the team who had placed 3rd in the previous year.
"We should let Kouzuki-kun and Shiroyuki-san rest. They are participating early tomorrow morning and it wouldn't be good if they are worn out by the other teams" Miyamoto felt proud about this achievement and was already satisfied. He wasn't glad that the divisions changed on the second day of the finals but he couldn't do anything about it since the schedule had already been set.
"If you're worried about those two's stamina then I can assure you that it is a needless worry. I don't need to say anything about the kid who's like a monster, but my granddaughter can deal with a little more practice.
"It's not that… It's just that one of the teams in the final four are a bit…" Miyamoto's gaze went towards the previous year's 4th place contenders.
Dokuyama Technical was notorious for prioritizing the individual tournament results. They would sacrifice any chance at obtaining the team championship by using their substitutes to injure or wear out the opponents who were a threat to their individual tournament participants.
Miyamoto explained what he found out during his research about them and was afraid that they were doing the same thing because the patterns of their matches have indicated that they indeed had the same intentions like the previous year.
"Interesting" Kazuya smiled. "Do they have people attending the individual tournament in their current roster?"
"They do. Their pattern hasn't changed and I think that they will send out one of them during the first match so that they could get an easy win. We haven't placed you and Shiroyuki-san on the vanguard during the whole tournament so they would most likely let one participate as the vanguard"
"Then I'll be the vanguard this time. I want to see how they can wear me out" Kazuya volunteered and Jirou nodded towards Miyamoto to let him do as he pleased.
"Alright then. I will place Shiroyuki-san as the fourth person. Just be very cautious Kouzuki-kun. They have a tendency to even cause injuries towards those who have higher chances of advancing through the individual tournament. They rarely succeed because of the skills of their targets but please be careful"
"Thank you for your concern Sensei" Kazuya walked towards the dueling area. His opponent was a 6th grader who was most likely a person who was supposed to be in middle school already.
"You're the dark horse everyone's talking about right? You're quite unlucky kid" the big guy grinned at him confidently.
"I agree with you. I've been given a very easy opponents so I'm quite disappointed" Kazuya took a stance and gave the big guy no opportunity for a comeback.
"(I think I know that reason why people want you hurt so bad. You've pissed me off so this is the end of the road for your participation in this tournament kid)" he grinned under his mask and prepared to strike as soon as the referee gave the signal.
.