Chapter Text
I leave the boos behind as I return to Class B’s seating.
Pony has her hands clasped together on the side of her face with a cheerful smile. “You guys were so romantic!”
Kamakiri tuts. “That was a complete waste, I would never throw away my chance at victory for my girlfriend.”
“You wouldn’t be in that situation,” Tetsu says obliviously, “You don’t have a girlfriend.”
Kamakiri lunges at Tetsu, but Honenuki and Rin manage to pull him back.
Tetsu wasn’t even trying to insult Kamakiri, he’s just too dense to realize.
Tsuburuba kicks the ground. “I didn’t think I would feel jealous for a guy that I beat.”
Shiozaki corrects him. “That would be envy, not jealousy. You aren’t losing-”
Shoda tries to stop another argument. “Shiozaki, instead of lecturing Tsuburuba, don’t you think its best for us to start our match?”
I turn to the screen to check the remaining tiebreaker matches.
“Nirengeki Shoda vs. Ibara Shiozaki”
“Itsuka Kendo vs. Kojiro Bondo”
“Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu vs. Jurota Shishida”
Shiozaki gently pulls on my shoulder. “Do you have any guidance to offer?”
I speak directly to Shoda and Shiozaki, not wanting to make it look like I’m giving advantages to one over the other.
“This match will be determined by whichever one of you can get within your effective range. Shoda has longer range but given that he also has less control than Shiozaki she can easily break his guard if she gets close enough. Shoda needs to stay back and Shiozaki needs to push forward without taking damage.”
The two of them leave for their match.
“You can’t hold back for even a second?”
Setsuna has sat down to rest. I sit down beside her.
“I have to make sure my friends demonstrate their full capabilities. They need to receive the best internships they can.”
She attempts to dramatically slouch in her chair. Not an easy task, but she does well enough. “The depth of your selflessness always surprises me.”
At least one person can look deep within me to see what I’m like. I’ve spent too much time in my own head to be an honest judge of character.
“SECOND TIEBREAKER MATCH, START!”
Shoda immediately uses Twin Impact to shatter the ground at his feet, scooping up the rubble while dodging to the side, away from Shiozaki’s vines. He tosses the rubble at Shiozaki, who blocks it with her vines.
It must have hit harder than she thought, she winces and takes a step back. Shoda refuses to let up, continuing to attack from range. Shiozaki focuses her vines to protect a smaller area, recognizing Shoda’s lack of mobility is also preventing him from attacking anywhere aside from Shiozaki’s front. After throwing the last piece he had available, Shoda feigns moving to the ground to pick up more and turns to strike Shiozaki just as she advances. She moves to trap Shoda in her vines as he uses Twin Impact to destroy them. Although surprised by Shoda’s attacks, Shiozaki successfully traps Shoda in her vines. She then moves to throw him out of the arena when he refuses to yield, continuing to tear out her vines.
“Shoda is out of bounds! Shiozaki wins!”
A miserable looking Shiozaki finds her way to rejoin the rest of the class. She folds her vines together to fill the patches Shoda made when he ripped them out, giving her the appearance of a far shorter haircut.
Nobody looks graceful after a fight like that.
Kendo leaves without saying anything.
Bondo grabs me before heading down. “Monoma, what do I do?”
I’m disoriented from Bondo’s strength and it takes me a moment to steady myself. “Uh, trapping Kendo with your glue should be pretty easy, just don’t allow her a second to rest.”
“Got it, Monoma!”
He leaves triumphantly, waiting for the starting signal.
“READY? START!”
Kendo advances on Bondo, who defends by creating his glue. Kendo dodges by using her hands to push off the ground. Bondo turns around to flee across the arena, faster than you would expect someone his size to do. He pivots on his feet, activating Cemedine, hitting Kendo mid-step, her lack of defensive options becoming apparent. She does her best to continue attacking, but the match is decided when Bondo glues her hands together.
“No! Kendo!” Tetsu jumps up grabbing onto the railing, evidently disappointed.
Kendo can’t win the match just by kicking. Bondo glues her feet to the ground to end it.
“Kendo is incapacitated! Bondo wins!”
Shishida coughs. “Erm, Monoma sir? Do you have any advice for my tiebreaker match?”
“You’re made of flesh; he’s made of steel. The longer the match goes the greater chance of him winning. Don’t even try to hit him, just throw him out of the arena as fast as possible.”
“And me?” Tetsu asks.
“The exact opposite. Drag it out as long as possible.”
Tetsu nods, but his expression is sad. He stops to talk to Kendo when they cross paths just before the entrance.
“READY? START!”
Shishida activates Beast, charging at Tetsu and tackling him. He switches to a grab, holding him tight and pushing him out of the arena.
“Tetsutetsu is out of bounds! Shishida wins the tiebreaker!”
What the hell was that? Was Tetsu that distracted by Kendo’s loss or did he take more of a beating in the cavalry battle than I thought?
A Shishida victory isn’t that shocking, but the speed at which he did it certainly was.
Always uncomfortable with his position, Shishida accepts the praise awkwardly. “Erm, I am satisfied that I can continue in this competition.”
“That’s the end of the tiebreaker matches. You can rest during the break, or go through the events they set up.”
“And for the tournament itself?” a confused Pony asks.
“They must not have made the bracket yet. Best to prepare for anything.”
Pony nods, heading down to the games.
Setsuna stretches. “Well, I’m going to win the side games. Anyone wants to join?”
“I’m not even in the tournament and I still want to rest.”
“Lazy.”
I roll my eyes and lean back in the seat.
With that, Class B leaves to join the games, or train or whatever seems best for them during the break. I turn on my side, trying to relax in spite of the uncomfortable furniture.
“Um… Monoma?”
I’m dragged out of my rest by Kuroiro’s voice. I sit up, turning to him, noticing that the rest of Class B has already left. He’s looking away from me, his hands clasped together in front of his stomach.
“What is it, Kuroiro?”
Kuroiro turns to look at me before turning back to the arena, where the side games are going on.
“What is it?”
He repeats the gesture, looking at me and back at the games. I glance at the games themselves, noticing that Setsuna is helping to roll a ball along.
“Well, what is it, Kuroiro? Do you want some training before the tournament?”
He opens his mouth before closing it again, clearly struggling to find the words. He gives up, returning to look at the field.
I follow his gaze, noticing it follows Setsuna just as mine did. Her and Komori have crossed the finish line, ending the race victorious. Kuroiro pulls away from the event, turning to look at me once more.
Setsuna and Komori…
A pit forms in my stomach.
“Monoma… can I ask you… for some advice?”
“No.”
“It’s about… girls…”
“NO.”