Chapter 14: Must Be The Wind

Only a few hours had passed before Taichi found himself back in the arena.

The roar of the crowd hit him the moment he stepped onto the mat — louder than before, sharper, edged with expectation. His breathing steadied as his eyes swept over the stands, searching for familiar faces.

Asumi and Meguri sat in the Top Ten booth.

Beyond them, scattered throughout the crowd was the group of bystanding people in black suits, just like his last match. They were expressionless, holding a notepad and pen while their eyes stayed pinned to the center of the arena. He had asked Meguri about them previously when talking about his match, but she had no answer.

The referee walked to the center of the arena.

“Hayato Taichi, rank 11. Tadokoro Shoko, rank 13.”

The vibrant crowd came to a quick hush as he began talking.

“This is a no-holds-barred duel, but if I stop the duel, the duel stops. Any actions afterward will result in immediate disqualification or further punishment. Understood?”

“Yes,” both competitors said in unison.

“Shake hands.”

The two contestants shook hands, their grips equally tight. Shoko’s eyes dragged over Taichi’s frame, slow and deliberate, before she smiled.

“Let’s have a good match, okay?” she said lightly.

The malignant grin she wore sent a shiver up his spine.

“Yeah… good luck.”

“Off to your sides!” the referee shouted.

They turned around, taking ten paces in the opposite direction from each other.

He gripped his pendant, but didn’t take it off. He stared forward at Shoko, struggling to keep his breath steady as his eyes fixed forward.

“Three seconds. Three, two, one – go!”

Before Taichi’s foot could even kick off, Shoko was already right in front of him.

Pain exploded through his side as her shinai slammed into him, launching him across the mat. The impact rattled his ribs; the air left his lungs in a sharp cough as he rolled and barely forced himself upright.

Before he knew it, Shoko was right there again.

His vision swam as his health bar dropped — twenty percent gone in seconds.

“You can concede at any time, Hayato,” Shoko teased, kicking him back again before he could regain his footing.

Taichi dragged himself upright, teeth clenched.

“Ha… not a chance.”

He shut his eyes completely, swinging his shinai as hard as his arms would allow. Everybody in the audience laughed – the distance of his strike was way off from where Shoko was positioned.

Then their laughter died.

The crack of Taichi’s shinai echoed across the arena.

Shoko was launched backward, skidding hard across the mat.

Taichi advanced with his eyes still closed, shinai steady in his grip.

“Tadokoro Shoko…” Taichi said calmly. “A unique aspect holder… illusions.”

Shoko scowled as she once again rushed at Taichi, but he cleanly blocked and countered.

“You told everyone it was wind,” Taichi continued, stepping into her space. “That you enhanced your speed. Faster than Isshiki Meguri.” His tone sharpened. “That was bold… but also rather idiotic, don’t you think?”

She lashed out again. He turned the strike aside.

“My roommate, Yuki Asumi, discovered your true aspect when she stole your seat in the Top Ten,” he continued. “You didn’t participate in the Top Ten Tournament for the past two months… I guess you were hoping people would forget, huh?”

“Shut up!” Shoko yelled out, rushing back at him, but once again being swiftly countered by the blind Taichi.

“You only have enough mana for basic misdirection,” he said coolly. “Visual displacement. Nothing more.”

She slipped past his guard, barely grazing his shoulder.

“Still,” Taichi added, unfazed, “it’s a good matchup against me. If the illusion doesn’t touch me, I can’t nullify it. And if I don’t know where your sword is coming from, it’s hard to do anything about it, even with your sloppy swordplay. That must be why you were so confident going into this fight… but a one-trick pony can’t stop me.”

Shoko tightened her stride, dashing forward, her footsteps clambering through the arena. With each new sound, Taichi’s ears twitched and his body adjusted. He raised his shinai to block the next blow on his left—

Shoko’s shinai slammed into the right side of his ribs.

“I’m not the same person I was two months ago!”

His head snapped slightly as he absorbed the blow.

“I see…” Taichi whispered, opening his eyes.

Shoko charged straight at him, fury twisting her face.

“I’m going to win this and take Yuki Asumi’s position away from her! It’s mine!” Shoko yelled out, swinging her shinai.

Taichi took a step back and blocked cleanly.

“Your mana can’t handle draining two senses at once… so if my hearing is being manipulated…” Taichi said, pushing for a counterattack. “That means my sight is back.”

“I…” Shoko tried to get up again, but the weight of her arms began to feel heavy with the weight of Taichi’s counters.

“My roommate defeated you…” he said quietly. “I can’t be the one to lose here.”

Taichi raised his shinai over his head.

“You can concede at any time, Tadokoro.”

With a growl, Shoko attempted to bring herself back up and attack Taichi, but with one last swing of his shinai, it was over.

“Match over!” the referee shouted. “Hayato Taichi is the winner!”

The arena exploded with noise.

Taichi lowered his weapon and extended a hand.

“Good match.”

Shoko’s hands trembled. Her eyes welled up in tears as her hand slowly went toward Taichi’s… and beyond.

She surged forward, her shinai cracking against the back of Taichi’s head.

The referee restrained her instantly.

Before Taichi could even turn, the suited figures from the audience were on the mat.

“So they’re security, I guess…” Taichi muttered, knowing that there was more to it than met the eye.

He went back to the Top Ten booth, meeting Asumi and Meguri once again.

“Congratulations, Taichi,” Meguri said with a small smile.

“I wouldn’t have won without your intel,” Taichi admitted. “If she polished her swordplay, she’d be a seriously difficult foe.”

Taichi looked down on the stage – all the people in suits that filled the audience had already disappeared while the students slowly rolled out. Shoko was nowhere in sight. He rubbed the back of his head softly, still feeling the tingle of the blow as a reminder of this match lingering within him.

“You taunted her too much,” Asumi said, passing a cold pack that was kept in the booth for his wound. “That isn’t like you.”

“Oh, that was because Meg–”

“Yeah, you really overdid it, Taichi,” Meguri cut in, smirking. “Why would you taunt her that much?”

“You…”

“What? It’s true!” Meguri said, her smirk as malignant as ever.

“You told me to!” Taichi snapped.

“I would NEVER do such a thing!” Meguri stated, lying through her teeth.

“Meguri…” Asumi’s eyes tightened around her.

“Okay, I didn’t know she’d go THAT far! I figured she’d have some unsportsmanlike conduct, but not actually hit the back of his head!” Meguri admitted. “But I wanted to see the reaction of the suits. They’ve been at every tournament, observing so passively. The teachers won’t tell me who they are, and I want to know.”

Asumi’s eyes softened. “That’s true… I guess since Tadokoro was taken away by them, she’d learn something. We can ask her later… but you shouldn’t have been manipulating Taichi, Meguri!”

“I am pretty curious too,” Taichi admitted, setting the issue aside easily before receiving a message on his phone. “Oh, I got a bye for my third round of the tournament. No more matches today!”

“Nice… we can head back to the dorm then,” Asumi said, packing up her stuff.

“Don’t you want to watch other matches?” Taichi asked.

“Oh, the Top Ten don’t usually watch the matches – it’s a matter of going into the match against Rank 11 relatively blind to make it more fair,” Meguri remarked.

“I guess it makes sense why you’re the only two in the booth then… but wait, why are you watching mine?!” Taichi asked.

“I just went along with Asumi,” Meguri stated candidly, her eyes veering toward Asumi who looked away.

“I was… I just… I guess I was just curious about my roommate’s matches! Is that such a bad thing?! It’s not like I’m worried about your results or anything!” Asumi responded.

“Anyway,” Meguri interrupted before Asumi could keep going deeper into her denial. “I’m on the same dorm floor as Tadokoro, so I’ll see if I can talk to her tonight. I’ll relay the information to the two of you since you’re curious.”

Asumi and Taichi nodded as they all went their separate ways.

The next day came, and Meguri sent a message to the two of them.

Tadokoro Shoko never came back to the dorms. She was gone without a trace.