(Kei's perspective)Four hours later...
The final game had begun.
Martial Arts.
The event was being held inside the largest gymnasium on campus. Hundreds of students filled the seats surrounding the mats.
Most of them looked excited.
I wasn't.
The outcome had already become fairly predictable.
The freshmen's lineup consisted of Kaito, Ichika, Rika, Naoki, Reina, myself, and several others.
On paper, it was excessive.
The seniors knew it too.
Across the mat, Scarlet looked at our side and scoffed.
Confidence.
Or denial.
At this point it was difficult to tell the difference.
The referee stepped forward.
"Call out a participant."
Scarlet immediately stepped onto the mat.
She stood there with her arms crossed, waiting.
Unlike the sword duel tournament, challengers could choose when to enter.
Five matches.
No more.
No less.
Kaito grinned and stepped forward.
I placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait."
He looked annoyed.
"Why?"
I glanced toward Rika.
"You may want to watch this one."
Rika quietly stepped onto the mat.
Kaito frowned.
"The new girl?"
"Perhaps."
I looked toward Scarlet.
"Or perhaps something else."
The whistle blew.
Scarlet attacked immediately.
A fast kick.
Rika sidestepped.
Another strike.
Missed.
A combination.
Missed.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Rika wasn't winning.
Not yet.
She was collecting information.
Every movement.
Every habit.
Every pattern.
Scarlet gradually became faster.
More aggressive.
More desperate.
Then it happened.
Her breathing changed.
A minor drop in pace.
Most people wouldn't notice.
Rika did.
One sweep.
Scarlet hit the mat.
Match over.
The crowd erupted.
Kaito whistled.
"Well. Didn't expect that."
I wasn't surprised.
Rika's ability wasn't overwhelming strength.
It was adaptation.
A dangerous trait.
...
Kaito stepped onto the mat next.
Silence.
Not a single senior moved.
I almost laughed.
Kaito had unintentionally become a deterrent.
Nobody wanted to face him.
"Oh come on!" Kaito shouted.
His grin widened.
"At least pretend to have some pride."
Nothing.
The seniors remained frozen.
Pathetic.
Then Ichika stepped forward.
A grin spread across his face.
"How disappointing."
Kaito clicked his tongue.
Ichika pointed toward the sidelines.
"Step off for a moment."
Kaito looked irritated.
But obeyed.
I already knew what Ichika was planning.
Without discussing it, both of us stepped onto the mat.
Rika blinked.
"What are you two doing?"
Ichika looked toward the referee.
"We request a doubles match."
The referee agreed.
A few seconds later, Scarlet and Dusk entered.
Ichika smiled.
"Oh? You want another loss already?"
Scarlet's eye twitched.
Dusk frowned.
Ichika continued.
"Didn't learn your lesson from the sword duel?"
I sighed.
"Stop provoking them."
"Why?"
Ichika shrugged.
"Their egos are practically begging to be damaged."
Predictably, Scarlet became angry.
Exactly what Ichika wanted.
I looked at him.
"Scarlet is yours. Dusk is mine."
Ichika immediately shook his head.
"That's boring."
Of course he would say that.
Scarlet glared at us.
"We can hear you."
"Good."
Ichika smiled.
"Then maybe you'll learn something."
The whistle blew.
Scarlet charged.
She ignored me entirely.
Her target was Ichika.
Another mistake.
Ichika casually lowered his head.
Her kick passed over him.
Too much emotion.
Too much force.
Too little control.
I stepped in front of her.
"If your emotions dictate your actions..."
I redirected her punch.
"...then everything Ichika said about you becomes true."
A pressure point strike.
Her body froze.
She collapsed.
Simultaneously, I glanced toward Ichika.
Dusk was already on the ground.
As expected.
"Freshmen win."
The referee sounded exhausted already.
...
Then Kaito returned.
And chaos followed.
He challenged every senior willing to step onto the mat.
Eventually four of them entered.
Including Iron.
I heard Rika mutter:
"A four versus one?"
She sounded concerned.
Before I could answer, Ichika, Reina, and I all looked at her.
"What are you talking about?"
She blinked.
Ichika pointed toward Kaito.
"Using four people against him is like using four rabbits against a silverback gorilla."
For once, he wasn't exaggerating.
The whistle blew.
The match lasted less than two minutes.
One by one they fell.
Iron was the last.
A strike to the knee.
A strike to the chest.
A clean takedown.
Finished.
The referee raised his hand.
"Freshmen win."
Predictable.
...
At that point the overall result was obvious.
The freshmen had already secured victory.
Ichika knew it too.
"Let's end it."
The seniors looked frustrated.
Humiliated.
Kaito only made things worse.
His words struck harder than his fists.
Ichika followed immediately after.
Together they dismantled what little confidence the seniors still possessed.
Rika attempted to stop them.
Neither listened.
I didn't bother intervening.
The damage had already been done.
Then Ichika proposed another match.
The Athletic Three versus Reina and Naoki.
Interesting.
I glanced toward Naoki.
Even now, I still knew almost nothing about him.
Six days.
That was all he had spent at NIFL.
Yet something about him felt strangely out of place.
As though he were observing a different game than everyone else.
The whistle blew.
Scarlet and Dusk rushed Reina.
Iron charged Naoki.
Naoki immediately retreated.
Running.
Avoiding.
Circling.
Even I found myself wondering what he was doing.
Beside me, Ichika smiled.
"Wait for it."
Reina was already dismantling Scarlet and Dusk.
His calculations had become sharper since the soccer match.
Ayame's existence had shattered parts of his worldview.
Ironically, it had made him stronger.
Then Iron finally cornered Naoki.
Or at least he thought he had.
Reina moved.
A trip.
A collapse.
A coordinated finish.
Match over.
The Athletic Three lost again.
The seniors looked completely defeated.
...
Then came the final match.
Rika stepped onto the mat.
"Anyone else?"
Six seniors entered simultaneously.
I stared at them.
"That's low."
Ichika laughed.
"These are the same people who refused to challenge Kaito."
I stepped onto the mat beside Rika.
"I'll help."
She simply nodded.
The whistle blew.
The seniors charged.
Three minutes later they were all on the floor.
The referee announced another victory.
The crowd cheered.
Some were excited.
Others disappointed.
Most were confused.
I wasn't any of those things.
The result had been decided long before the final whistle.
As everyone celebrated, I quietly turned away.
The tournament was over.
The cheering continued behind me.
I ignored it.
Then I walked back toward my dormitory alone.