Bella Kamazaki entered the arena, with all eyes on her.
As she began talking with Ari the instructor and receiving her specific assignment, King made a comment to his peers.
I'm tired as hell....and hungry. Can't we leave if we have already done our Selection tests?"
"I did see a number of people leave the stands after they had completed theirs, so yeah, it shouldn't be a problem."
Alexandriya Aya nodded and replied, causing King to smile.
"Good. Since we can stay overnight in the Living Quarters, we should check it out together, along with the cafeteria. What do you say,you guys?
Yukino and Shizaki's eyes widened as Neo and Aya immediately got up in agreement.
"R-Right now? Sure!"
"Wait, what about Kamazaki-san?"
"Hmm? What about them?"
A bit confused, King posed that question to Shizaki, and the latter averted his eyes while scratching his dark blue hair.
"Are you sure that Kamazaki-san can do her Selection alone without us there to support her...?"
"So that's what you meant..."
He peeked at Kamazaki who was not about to begin, and paused before he could come up with an answer.
"Well, she's not a child. She can handle it, I'm sure. Still, though,she would be worried if nobody was around when she finished her test. Ugh, I'm starving though!"
Shizaki's purple eyes dimmed a bit while also in thought, but he came to a decision.
"...You guys can go, and I'll watch over her."
King exchanged glances with the half-elf and he shrugged while the latter nodded with a smile.
"Alright, see you soon, Shizaki-kun!"
"See you later!"
They all proceeded to leave, while Shizaki stayed behind, looking intently at Kamazaki who tightened her eyepatch and straightened her smooth but clumpy hair. He anxiously waited, his cheeks slightly red.
You can do it.
***
"Haaaah....haaaahh...crap."
Bella Kamazaki panted as her body struggled to keep steady.
Nearly five minutes had passed, and she could not find a single opening.
She was given the instruction to do the same thing that Shizaki and just a few other candidates had to do: land one, clean strike on Ari.
She had tried basically everything to get close and even touch him. She would try to get close and attempt to pick up physical speed as soon as she got into his strike zone in an attempt to replicate Shizaki, but Ari read her well, and he could easily react to her physical movements as she did not have an external force propelling her forward.
Time and time again, he would pummel her with hisAffinity, but Kamazaki said that she wanted to keep going, so he held back on ending the duel. Now, as she wavered, she looked at the stands.
She could easily make out the face of Daizen Shizaki. In fact, it was the only face that she could recognize during that time.
How do you make things....look so easy…?
His self-sacrifice in Sekoto Forest. His never-ending determination in the Selection. He most likely had no clue of what she thought of him. To her, although he was still pretty new to her, he was the person that she strived to be.
"....You are...hk."
She faced her opponent once more, and dashed forward yet again.
Reaching out for her pocket, she brought out a stone and threw it forward.
"[Flash Flames]!"
Shizaki's eyes widened and his mouth opened with shock, not able to believe what he just saw.
Is that…?
Knowing very well what she was planning, Ari blocked the surge of fire emanating from the speeding rock with his barrier of wind.
Kamazaki then got close to him and skipped to his side, looking for a sideline approach.
However, this was unimpressive to Ari.
"Same old trick!"
Pointing to the ground at his right he eliminated her hopes with another decisive blow from above her.
Bang! Her body collapsed under the pressure of the wind, and she had no strength left in her to struggle out of it.
Ari began to speak.
"I call for-"
"Not.....yet...."
Her weak voice persisted as she trembled, trying to exert her muscles in vain. Soon enough, though, she stopped trying, and her eyes weakly opened.
"Kamazaki-san...."
Sighing, Ari walked up to her and leaned close, where his body was just beside hers.
"You have done well, Kamazaki-san....but-"
Kamazaki slowly raised her fist.
It rose, and touched Ari's chest with a slight pat.
She smiled cunningly as her face revealed an expression of sorrow.
"You did not.....declare....an end yet....I got.....you....dummy."
Surprised, Ari looked at her, and then glanced at her fist still resting on his chest. He then scoffed.
"...Trickery. If I were a true enemy, a danger to your life, what would you have done here?"
"I would have…..activated my Affinity….of Spirit Arts - [Runes of Affinity]...on my fist…..and burned you alive."
Ari exhaled, got up and spoke loudly.
"I concede! Bella Kamazaki has registered a clean hit!"
Shouts and cheering ensured, and a loud applause resonated within the arena.
Breathing deeply with relief, Shizaki slumped back down in his seat.
Holy…..she did it.
Kamazaki's fist slowly descended as her willpower and physical strength gave out. She tried to make out Shizaki's face among the many people in the crowd, but could not find him. Her right eye closed with tiredness as she gave a weak smile.
Haaaaah....I did it. I did it, Shizaki.
***
Her right eye slowly opened.
Bella Kamazaki found herself lying down in a new environment.
The ceiling was white....
Wait, ceiling....?
Slowly glancing to her left, she saw a familiar face sitting down next to her.
His eyes studied hers as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. She attempted to get up, but the young man tried to stop her.
"I'm impressed. Usually you sleep for much longer than this. Unless, were you dreaming about a boy again? That usually gets your blood pumping while you wake up faster."
"Suri-chan..."
"...At this point, I'd rather you just continue to call me by my first name, although it's the same name as my bastard of a father. Anyway, take it easy. I heard that you had it rough out there in your Selection Test."
"Where....in the world am I?"
"The bedroom area of your room in the Living Quarters."
"Oh....okay....my room."
She took a few seconds to realize what he had just said. Sitting up with haste, she looked at King with a mix of shock and excitement.
"Wait, wait, wait!!!! What did you just say?!?!"
"Woah-hey! I just said to take it eas-"
"Screw 'taking it easy'! This is my place to stay overnight?! This is awesoooome!!!
"Take it easy, fucking hell!!!"
She pumped her both fists up into the air in glee. Ignoring the black-haired boy next to her, she tossed aside her bed cover and jumped out of her bed before dashing across the room to inspect it all over.
"This looks nice! Ooooh, what's this!? Hahahaha, I'm in looooovee!!"
Seeing her slightly annoying yet bubbly nature return in an instant, Yukikama Kawarasuri held his head in his right palm and sighed.
"Seems like you're completely fine. Seriously, why did I worry about you in the first place?"
"Oh, that's right! The Selection-"
"It's all done."
"H-Haaaaaaaahhh?!?!?!"
Kamazaki's mouth gaped in shock, and King merely blinked.
".....What?"
"How long have I been dead for?!"
"Not dead, asleep!! And it was five hours, although the Selection ended like two hours ago."
Kamazaki closed her eyes as she put her hand on her chin and started to think.
"Mew, mew, mew, mew, mew..."
"The fuck are you doing?"
"Processing my thoughts! More specifically, I'm thinking of what to ask about what I've missed out on!"
"Ugh, well, nothing much, really. After you did your test Shizaki-kun brought you here after asking about where your room would be located, after which he volunteered to look after you. That's what he told me anyway."
Ah right, Babyface.
"Where's he now?"
"I don't know, I'm not his guardian. Probably in his room or something, or checking out the rest of the Living Quarters. Anyway, while you were out cold, the others and I checked out this place and it is sweeeeet! You gotta check it out yourself when you have the time."
He grinned, but Kamazaki removed the knot of her smooth but striking red hair, and let it flow downwards at its full length before replying icily.
"Well, knowing you who always overhype everything, it's bound to be a letdown."
"I know you're not talking about me hyping everything up! Yeah, yeah, I can't wait to see your reaction when you check out the place yourself."
"Whateeeeever....well, I hope it's not too late outside. Maybe I can take a more detailed look at the entire compound for a while now. It is what Elegant-kun said we must do, after all."
She got up and headed straight for the door, while King was pondering about something.
"Ele….? Wait, are you talking about Ren-kun, the tour guide!? Curse you and your ignorance of names....!"
Kamazaki exited her new room, with her true goal set in her mind, and her heart quickening.
I need to find out where he is….and thank him.
-----------------------------------------
(Chapter 30: From Shizaki to Kamazaki.)