Chapter 21
SHIBA MIYUKI
The beginning of the Nine School Competition had been rocky for First High. The attack on their vans had decimated morale until Inie-kun and President Mayumi stepped forward and relit the fire of passion in their hearts.
And now, with the competition entering the second day, things have turned around. The President's two events were scheduled back to back. Both Crowd Ball and Speed Shooting happened one after another, and Mayumi Saegusa lived up to her title of the Elfen Princess and comminated both of those competitions, respectively, putting their school at the forefront.
From today on, freshmen events were set to begin as well, starting with Ice Pillars Break, the very competition in which Inei-kun was a part. She was taking part in the same event in the girl's section and, hence, had come here to cheer him on as he prepared to leave for his first match.
And she was thankful that she had come.
"Inei-kun, please tell me that you are not going out on stage in that," she asked him as her eyes twitched at the tracksuit he was wearing, and he raised a brow at her.
"I am. Why?" he asked, and she sighed. She should have expected nothing less.
"You do know that Ice Pillars Break is somewhat of a fashion show as well. People dress up to get the crowd on their side and make a positive statement about themselves. You cannot go out dressed like that," she chastised him, and he shook his head.
"I do not want to waste time looking so special for a few seconds of an event," he answered, and she was surprised by his answer.
"Still, it is tradition. You must have the dress you were supposed to wear for the opening ceremony," she asked, and he nodded.
"I do."
"Then please have it brought here. I will not let you leave here without that," she said giving him his coldest smile. Thankfully, he knew better than to argue with her, and she messaged her friends at the hotel to bring his suit, and she gave him the key to his room.
"They will be here in five minutes," she told him as she read Erika's message. He shrugged and sat down once more.
"Mayumi sent you here, didn't she?" he asked, and she nodded.
"She did. She suspected this would happen and sent me here with strict instructions to not make a mess," she replied, smiling at how easily he had been able to read the President's hand behind all this.
She herself couldn't come because she was with Mari-san, tuning her CAD. She had sent her here in case she might not be able to make it, though Miyuki doubted such a thing would happen.
"All this effort for a few seconds," he lamented.
"You do know that you are not the only member from the Ten Master Clans in this competition, right?" she asked him, hoping that he was not taking this all too lightly.
"I know of Ichijou Masaki's participation," he replied. Though given their brackets, both of them would not meet each other until the finals.
"Good. Because he is not an opponent you should underestimate, he fought in a pitched battle once and earned himself the title of the Crimson Prince. He is a very strong magician," she warned him, and he scoffed as he was hurt by her words.
"You think he can beat me," he asked as if that was not even a possibility.
"I doubt it, but if you go face him without any preparation you might find yourself at a disadvantage," and at that the door to the waiting room opened up and she watched as a huffing red faced Erika rushed in.
"I am here," she said as she handed her the hanger with the suit, and she smiled.
"Thank you for this, Erika-san," she said, and the redhead waved it away.
"Nah, Nah, it's fine," and at that, the redhead's eyes turned towards Inei-kun.
"You were going to compete in that," she said scandalously, and Inei-kun rolled his eyes as he took the suit from her hands and began to walk towards the changing area. She began to talk with Erika-san, and a few seconds later, the door opened once more, and she watched as the President joined them as well.
"Mayumi-san," she greeted her senior, who approached them briskly and began to look around.
"Where is Inei-kun?" she asked.
"He is in the changing area," she pointed towards the walled cubicle, and she nodded.
"He was planning to compete in a tracksuit," she told her, and she saw the President roll her eyes.
"I had expected as much. That is why I sent you here," and both laughed a bit when Inei-kun's voice suddenly came from the cubicle.
"I think she brought the wrong damned shirt," he said.
"What? Let me see," and with that, the President shifted and walked towards the door of the cubicle.
"Let me see if I can do..."
"Mayumi-san. Don..."
But it was too late because by then, she had opened the door, and given the way her eyes widened and her face paled, she knew that this was not good.
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ICHIJOU MASAKI
The Nine School Competition had high viewership every year, but the numbers would always be a bit higher when it came to some specific events, events which involved members of the Ten Master Clans.
People like Saegusa Mayumi, Katusto Jumonji, Watanabe Mari, and Fujibayashi Kuroko had huge followings because of the name of the family they bore and the expectation and power that came with it.
And yet, in all its history, it never had the viewership, and interest in the Competition reached the level it has today, as Freshmen Ice Pillars Break was set to begin. Masaki would like to attribute it all to himself, but he could not—or at least not the entirety of it.
Of course, his own name brought in many, but he was not hesitant to admit that most of the people, including him, had their eyes trained on the screen for one individual. Inei Yotsuba, the young scion of the Yotsuba clan, and one of the biggest headaches for the ten Master Clans.
"Do we have any information on his magic?" Shinkuro asked from the side as both of them watched the match begin, and he shook his head.
"No. The Yotsuba, unlike the rest of the clans, are unique, and their magical specialization is also unique in the way that their members usually have very distinct magics, unlike my clan where my magic is much similar to my father's and so forth," and this presented both a problem and an opportunity for the clan.
For the Ichijou, it meant that there were techniques at his disposal that had been perfected after years, but in the case of the Yotsuba, one needed to spend time and resources to understand and master their techniques.
"He is here," Shikuro said, and he watched as the boy in question walked to the podium slowly as the crowd cheered wildly. He was dressed in a full black suit, meaning a black coat, pants, and shirt, yet his most striking feature was his hair, white as if snow, and it fell down and covered his face, but even from the screen, they could feel the rage and anger radiating off of him.
He seems angry for some reason. Shinkuro added, and he nodded.
"He does," he had sat down with Shinkuro because his father had given him clear instructions to both gauge and plan a counter against the magics of Inei Yotsuba, and though his first match was against a moderately strong opponent, he hoped to be able to get some information about his magic.
"Keep an eye on him," Ichijou added, and Shinkuro nodded.
"I will," they watched as he reached the stage, and the other competitor joined him as well.
And then watched as the announcer counted down the start of the match, and as they had expected, the camera was focused on Inei Yotsuba who did not move an inch even as his opponent launched an attack on his Ince Pillars.
The goal of the game was to destroy your opponent's eight pillars before he did the same to you. You could go on attack and defense as per your strategy, but Inei Yotsuba seemed to be doing nothing, and the way his CAD was showed that he had not even cast any magic at all.
"His opponent is using Earthquake, its an area of effect Oscillation type magic. He is targeting all his Ice Pillars simultaneously, but what is he doing?" Shinuro added, perplexed at the display as the screen showed Inei Yotsuba glaring, watching impassively, his eyes narrowed, and his face contorted in rage.
And then it happened. In an instant, the white-haired student from First High, the Yotsuba heir, pushed up his hand as his CAD lit up, and the camera focused on his face as his lips moved.
"Dismantle!"
TINK!
There was a sharp whistling sound, and then, in an instant, the eight pillars of his opponent vanished as the crowd went wild, as Ichijou's eyes widened.
"A second," he gasped.
"All it took him was a second," he added, and Shikuro Kichiouji, the Cardinal George, was in a state of similar disbelief.
"Just what kind of a monster is he."
0000
MAYUMI SAEGUSA
Mayumi Saegusa sat in the waiting area with Miyuki as Kun's match was displayed on the TV. Rather than the excitement she had expected to have for the event, she was embarrassed and perplexed by what had happened.
"How could..." She did not even have the words to describe what she had seen as she sat there, eyes rooted to the ground, and fists balled up.
"I just..." and she shook her head as she looked at the TV screen and watched an annoyed Inei take to the stage.
"What was that?" she asked out, believing the first-year student beside her to have some answers.
Just when she had begun understanding Inei-kun a bit, a new Pandora box opened up and revealed a side of him that she had not ever considered. Mayumi Saegus was not stranger to harsh training and the scars it could leave.
And yet the scars on Inei-kun were not training scars. No, they were marks of torture, years and years of torture, and given his age, she could scarcely imagine just how young he had been when he had gotten them.
"I know that you are curious?" Miyuki began.
"Curious, the wrong word," she cut in as she looked towards the raven-haired girl.
"I am furious, angry, and confused. Just how could someone do that to a boy, a kid? Just how many years does it take to have scars like that," she balked out in rage. Her emotions were a mess ever since she had caught a glimpse of that sight.
"But why do you care?" Miyuki asked her, and she bit her lip.
"Because I do, because he is a valuable underclassman," she replied half-heartedly, but she knew that was not the full truth.
"Is that all he really is to you?" Miyuki asked, and she leaned back and closed her eyes as she answered.
"No, he is more. Or at least I wish he could be," she whispered, and then the first year grabbed her hand as if to support her as she began.
"I knew the Yotsuba were complicated, but this. This is..."
"I am afraid you are wrong," Miyuki cut in sharply, and she noticed how the first-year girl's fists were balled up as well.
"What do you mean?" she asked sharply, thinking it strange that she was defending the most probable culprits behind Inei's condition.
"The Yotsuba are indeed cruel and complex, but Inei-kun's scars do not come from them. No, this is someone else's doing," Miyuki told her, and she frowned.
"And how do you know that? Did he tell you himself?" she asked as she pulled her hand away from hers.
"And how do you even claim to know about the Yotsuba because even I, as the Saegusa heiress, have only rumors to rely on for information about them," she balked and saw the girl look down at the floor.
"Know this that I confide in you only because you are a dear friend of mine and care so deeply about Inei-kun," Miyuki began as she looked her in the eye.
"The reason I know so much about Inei-kun and his past despite him being a Yotsuba is because, much like him, I am one as well."
At the revelation, her eyes widened. Inei's relationship with Miyuki and Shiba had always seemed rather strange to her, but now it made much more sense. Along with that, the strange prowess of the raven-haired girl and her brother began to click together as well.
"We are cousins of sorts. Though much like you, the first time I met him was at school. I cannot tell you much, for I also know very little, but Inei-kun's childhood is nothing short of a tragedy," Miyuki added as the temperature in the room dropped.
"He...,"
And then they heard a loud voice from the TV.
"Dismantle," and then she watched as the opponent's Ice Pillars were turned to dust in a second as the crowd went wild.
And then suddenly, the doors opened once again.
"Mayumi-san! Mayumi-san. You need to come..."
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