Everyone at the arena was enjoying the complimentary food and drinks during the waiting process for the marches to start. They were anxious in waiting to see the fights happening later between the new instructors and the school's top boys. In the locker rooms, the boys were preparing for their matches respectively.
Hiro was reading over the files on the instructors on what info he could find in the small timeframe. He was also practicing creating different bows with his Projection Magic making sure every detail in them was perfect for any situation.
Ren was meditating with his sword on his lap, his mind going over the many moves of the Mitsurugi line he was trained in along with the other sword styles he studied to adapt into his own. Once his meditation was done he began sharpening the blade with a magic stone tough enough to finely shape the edge of the sword, the edge sharp enough to even cut through diamonds.
Ryuji was doing push-ups, remembering how his sister slapped him in the face. His pride was on the line, he needed to prove to himself he could win this. That he wasn't a mistake like his sister kept saying to him growing up.
Itsuki and the girls were with Koutetsu in the locker room letting him recuperate after his near-death moment with Megumi. He was trying to get his head to stop spinning after all that craziness that happened earlier, his brain still felt like jelly bouncing around in his skull.
"Here you go, it should help with the headaches and dizziness before your match starts. Thankfully you're last in the roster so you'll recover better before then." Natsume handed him the warm medicinal tea cup to drink. Koutetsu accepted, he took small sips trying to take it slow with how he was feeling so he wouldn't choke from large gulps of the hot tea.
Rina and Natsume couldn't shake that terrifying pressure Megumi gave off. They still had chills over their bodies that didn't go away completely. It was an unnatural pressure they felt from Megumi, never in their lives had they encountered such a terrifying aura like her's before.
"Who in the world was she? That wasn't an ordinary person there. I thought I was near a real demon for a second." Natsume said trying to the shaking rattling her body.
"Koutetsu said she was his Master who taught him his fighting style, he was absolutely terrified of her once she got up on the stage, and I can see why, she's completely unhinged and downright crazy in the head from how she acted."
Anna was drinking coffee listening in on the girls. She had been pondering the whole time how Megumi was so terrifying with her stare and how the vibe about her felt murderous when she switched over from her normal face to that one. She had read her files earlier when she went over Megumi's resume, There was a lot of redacted information, not uncommon since Barnaby and Alexandra had the same thing, Megumi's however was nearly all black lines with only a few not covered.
There was nothing in them that would have given a hint to specify that kind of intensity Megumi had. It took her previous military experiences to come up with an answer when Anna did investigations in classified cases the Army didn't want to get out to the public or other branches preferring it to be kept in-house. After going over many cases in her memories, she knew instantly who Megumi was from that display of intent in her eyes and her strength. The disbelief in her mind for not catching on sooner made it harder to believe the type of person she had to be or the training she conducted.
"I know what she is. I didn't think there were any of them left. I'm so sorry to all of you, I put you in such danger by hiring her without a deeper background check. She's a Deity of Killers." Anna told everyone with her hand trembling holding her coffee cup.
"What?" Both of the girls said after hearing Anna's response. Itsuki didn't respond, she was busy helping Koutetsu relax his body.
"They're not well known because of how brutal they are in the field, their existence was meant to be kept secret. I dealt with a case involving them years ago but the information was heavily classified, I didn't realize what it was till it was over. I spent years looking into them after that till I found out why there was such red tape in their existence. Years ago the military trained talented children into soldiers who could prove to be on par with veteran Prime Calibers in terms of sheer power and skill. The training was inhuman, borderline illegal against many laws, and government officials from all over would be sick to their stomachs from seeing the training methods they witnessed. Eventually, a select few graduated from the program, but their mental states were in question. The military had to keep a close eye on them in case any had a psychotic break. They were merciless, violent, and above all perfect killing machines who eviscerated every target to complete their missions. You remember the last war that happened years ago. Well, the ones who helped kill most of the Ghasts including rogue Casters, that was them. I think we just saw one here and now, and she's been employed with us here thanks to my screw-up." Anna groaned in shame as she couldn't believe she missed that big of detail when hiring Megumi.
The girls were frozen in shock, Itsuki was scared of how Koutetsu had trained with her all that time. He mentioned how messed up his head was, now she wondered if that's what made it worse, to begin with.
"Headmaster, how are you going to let Koutetsu fight her? If what you said is true he has no chance, just call off the match." Natsume pleaded.
"Believe me if I could I'd do it in a heartbeat. But I don't think it would help. That woman is a true killer, I saw it in her eyes. If I said no, I don't think any of us could stop her. If Koutetsu was her student, then he's the best bet to fight her. I don't want him to fight either, but if she wants it I can't stop it."
Itsuki couldn't stop being worried, even Tsukikage couldn't cheer her up with his snugging against her side. Itsuki looked at him too, she gave a faint smile trying to be strong. Tsukikage started licking Itsuki's hand, Itsuki petted his head in response, appreciating his attempts to help brighten her spirit.
"I'll do it."
Everyone heard Koutetsu say, with a scratchy voice.
"I don't have a choice in the matter. I'm the best that knows her in fighting. Besides, If I refuse she'll just fight me anyway regardless, worse she'll beat someone to death if you pair them up with her. I've noticed it about her, whenever she fights it's like she has a whole different personality, like she's obsessed with killing and fighting her enemy. I remember when an intruder came to the school she was hit with a stray bullet helping evacuate the other kids. The look of hate in her eyes from being grazed with that bullet and seeing her own blood. It was like a switch went up and she mauled that intruder brutally scaring everyone in the process. I can't imagine what would happen if someone was put in that position with her. So I'll do it. She's my Master after all I have a responsibility to face her head-on."
Koutetsu finished off the tea after his speech, he tried to fix his neck more by massaging out the kinks that were made from the snap. Itsuki hugged him from behind, even Tsukikage nestled next to him. The first time he tried not to bite Koutetsu, but be friendly.
"Are you sure Hayashi? She may be your Master but she's a genuine killer. Can you handle it even with the restrictions in place? Like you said what if she has a break and decides to kill in her rage? Can you honestly handle her if that happens?" Koutetsu nodded. He had to do it, no use in running when she could easily catch him again. Anna acknowledged his determination, she could see he was prepared to face Megumi even with how strong she was. She asked the girls to leave the room to give Koutetsu space to prepare for his match, Itsuki wanted to stay but Tsukikage barked at her to leave too. Koutetsu petted him in appreciation for trying to help out, acting like the good guardian for Itsuki like he was promised to be.
"Good boy. Take care of Itsuki for me. I got some mental training to do." Itsuki let go of Koutetsu. She held Tsukikage in her arms as she went to leave. She turned her head to take one more look at Koutetsu who was still rubbing his neck. He tried to be strong for her and the others, he didn't want to worry any of them more than were already, especially Itsuki.
"Hey Koutetsu, promise me. Promise you won't let her beat you. That you won't die out there. Promise me please." Koutetsu looked Itsuki in the eyes, he could see the reflection of concern in them. That fear in them was one he was all too familiar with. The same feeling he had with his Thanatophobia.
"I promise, cross my heart, and hope to live Shirayuki-Hime." He said putting up a confident look to ease her mind.
Itsuki left finally, Koutetsu breathed heavily finally finishing his neck realignment. He kept having thoughts run through his head that he was going to fight Megumi. She taught him everything. She even used flame magic as he did, he was in a bad conundrum of figuring out what exactly would work against her effectively.
He could feel his anxiety build, she triggered him multiple times as a kid from how close to death she made him get.
Koutetsu tried to calm himself down. He put himself in a meditation state to stop the anxiety from taking over. His mind was starting to reach its state of clearness, he needed it for the next part of his follow-up to Megumi.
Koutetsu began to visualize Megumi in his mind. All the fighting they did formed before, her behavior, her mannerisms, and every single detail about her he used to make a perfect image of her in his head.
'Gotta prepare. If not I'm totally screwed. I can't lose. I didn't become her successor rightfully yet. I still haven't adjusted the Hiyou Ryu in its final phase or fine-tuned the secret technique yet. Any miscalculation will be fatal to me. Megumi told me the final phase of the Hiyou Ryu is evolving by molding it to the user's abilities. Adjusting the moves to a new state than from the ones the Predecessor had. I need to make the moves on my own so she can't counter them. I need to make it my style, my Hiyou Ryu.'
Koutetsu concentrated hard, his body radiating in its process to ascend to a higher level than now. This was the fight he needed not just to get strong. But to prove to himself he wasn't afraid of death anymore.