Everyone at the arena was enjoying the complimentary food and drinks during the waiting process for the matches to start. Anna had spared no expenses in making the Saturday meeting like a PPV event. all the students, teachers, and parents inside the arena were anxious in waiting to see the fights happening later between the new instructors and the school's top boys.
The boys were In their own locker rooms Anna arraigned for them to have their privacy, the boys were preparing with intense concentration for their matches respectively.
Hiro was reading over the files on the instructors on what info he could find in the small timeframe. He wanted to be prepared for their habits and fighting styles, he was also practicing creating different bow frames with his Projection Magic making sure every detail in them was perfect down to the drawstring and curves in the frames.
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 like butter.
Ryuji was doing push-ups to warm his muscles up, he was trying hard to keep his temper down blocking out the memory of his sister slapping 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 Kousuke in his 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 from the upside down kick to his head.
"Here you go, it should help with the headaches and dizziness before your match starts, a little family recipe. Thankfully you're last in the roster so you'll recover better before then." Natsume handed him the warm medicinal tea cup to drink. Kousuke 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 when they met her. 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.
"Kousuke 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 one of an emotionless ice queen. 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 with their military backgrounds, 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 experience as a military police officer 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 figured out who Megumi was from that display of intent in her eyes, her strength, and the heavy concealed information on her paperwork. 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 Kousuke relax his body with cold touches from her hands on his strained muscles.
"They're not well known because of how brutal they were 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 and even then I wouldn't want to see that case again. I spent years looking into the program after that to find some closure 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 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 after one killed a room of trainers when they were only twelve. The graduates 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 Kousuke had trained with her all that time. What kind of horrors he must have experienced being with her, it all ran through her mind.
"Takemura-Kocho, how are you going to let Kousuke 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 Kousuke 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 more now, 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 Kousuke 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."
Kousuke 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 Megumi did. Itsuki hugged him from behind, even Tsukikage nestled next to him. The first time he tried not to bite Kousuke, 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? What does she have to fight with?"
"She's a Master of the Ginji Ryu, she has weapons training in Tekko-Kagi but rarely used them. She also uses flame magic like me. Black flames."
Anna's eyes widened, she dropped her coffee cup as it shattered on ground. Everyone looked at her confused, it was the first time they seen her look terrified, even when Megumi stared her down she was still able to keep her calm.
"Kocho?" Natsume asked.
"No! I'm calling it off now! Damn the consequences, I'm not letting go through it. Do you have any idea how bad black flame users are?" Anna's voice quivered asking that question to group. "Black flame users have high offensive capabilities and near immunity to the feeling of pain, but that's not the worst part. From what Kousuke said about her it fits now on her personality. The most dangerous aspect of them is that the effects of black flames increases bloodlust and rage. They enter a state of killing that doesn't stop till the opponent is completely dead. Anything from a cut or getting a black eye will cause them to go into a rage. How did she manage to stay at your school with that personality?" Anna asked wondering how the military school Megumi went to help with let her stay.
"She didn't go into her rage all the time. She get mad here and there but nothing like that day with the intruder. She also didn't show her flames to anyone but me and she had perfect control over them. Is that bad Kocho?" Kousuke wasn't sure how bad black flames were. He knew all the other ones but practice on black flames was limited, he wasn't taught much on them since no one used them.
"It is my boy. It's not uncommon for anyone to acquire black flames not like yours which hasn't been seen since the first blue flame user, but the those who have used black flames were greatly feared. It was hard to knock them down even make there's no method yet to quell their rage or remove the bloodlust from them. It would certainly weaken their power a bit but they wouldn't suffer the negative effects anymore.even with that can you do it. Can you still fight her Kousuke?"
Kousuke nodded. He had to do it, no use in running when she could easily catch him again or end of killing Hiro and the others. Anna acknowledged Kousuke's determination, she could see he was prepared to face Megumi even with how strong and dangerous she is. She asked the girls to leave the room to give Kousuke space to prepare for his match, Itsuki wanted to stay but Tsukikage barked at her to leave too. Kousuke 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 Kousuke. She held Tsukikage in her arms as she went to leave. She turned her head to take one more look at Kousuke 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 Kousuke, promise me. Promise you won't let her beat you. That you won't die out there. Promise me please." Kousuke 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 still feeling worried, Kousuke 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.
Kousuke tried to calm himself down. He grabbed his inhaler taking two puffs to stop the anxiety from rising. He then took another just incase. After the medicine kicked in he put himself in a meditation state to prepare. His mind was starting to reach its state of clearness, he needed it for the next part of his follow-up to Megumi.
Kousuke began to visualize Megumi in his mind. All the fighting they did formed a silhouette of her, from her behavior, her mannerisms, and every single detail about her he knew to the best of his knowledge 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 Ginji Ryu in its final phase or fine-tuned the ultimate technique yet to an Alpha Soul. Any miscalculation will be fatal to me. Master told me the final rite of passage of the Ginji Ryu is evolving it by molding it to the user's abilities. Adjusting the moves to a new state than from the ones the Predecessor had like she did with adding a new Kata. I need to make the moves my own so she can't counter them. I need to make it my style, my Ginji Ryu.'
Kousuke 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.