Chat 150/151 ( You already lost)

I walked into the classroom with a thought already on my mind. Before I could even get started on my part one of my targets pipped up.

“Prince-san, Can you, Heal Oni-sama again?” Shizuku asked with her head bowed low pausing several times in her statement. Her face was flushed and she was shaking in shame. She clearly knew that she was taking things too far but she was willing to sell any semblance of pride she had for her brother.

Seeing that I let out a sigh. I then threw a glare at the ungrateful fuck who was glaring at me in return. Ikki did not like me and he made that clear but he did not stop his sister from asking. If he had any semblance of dignity he would be the one asking or he could have put a stop to all of this.

Instead, he allowed his sister to shame herself over and over again for his sake. Honestly, I expected so much more from the guy who was the original main character of this story.

I guess having Stella ripped out of his reach and his fragile mental state had broken Ikki. That did not excuse what he did but it at least made it understandable.

I walked towards Ikki who did not say a single word. I gripped onto his shoulder and the boy let out a hiss of pain as I may have gripped it hard. That only increased his glare but really fuck this guy.

I took out my Device and the bell-like laughter rang throughout the room again. There were whispers accompanying it as the class gossiped about me. As I won more and more fights interest in what I could actually do was apparent.

A soft glow appeared on Ikki and his wounds started to stitch together at an incredible pace. In a single second, the guy went from bruised and broken to hale and healthy if a bit scuffed as his clothing did not recover as well.

Ikki flexed his hand with a frown on his face and he stood up to likely tear himself apart again. Before he could leave I gripped onto his shoulder again. The guy’s face went blank and he glared at me with everything he had. I gave him a fierce glare in return.

Instead of continuing this pointless standoff, I dragged him to his sister who had just raised her head.

“Thank you Prince-san.” Shizuku thanked me with a soft smile while she threw a worried look at her brother. She was not sure what I was doing but she knew if she wanted to do more healing for her brother she had to keep me happy.

“This is the last time Kurogane-san,” I spoke out sternly and the girl paled as she could tell I was drawing a line. She was just not sure why that was. Even Ikki seemed confused about why I was drawing a line but he really should not be.

There was only a certain amount of time where I could ignore his clear hostility. Fortuna has been all but beginning me to let her fuck around with the guy. So I was doing him more than enough favor by holding back the irate goddess in my soul.

I was a fucking pretty petty person so holding back my own grievances was annoying. Potter could attest to the sheer amount of petty I was capable of but I let so much slide because his sister was a genuinely nice person.

“I know Oni-sama is being, difficult Prince-san but I beg you to continue healing him, I can’t see him like this every day, Please.” Shizuku quickly spoke out while bowing again with a shaking frame. 

Seeing that I looked over at Ikki who was still not doing anything.

The whispers coming from our classmates were increasing massively but the prick did nothing as his sister’s reputation went into the gutters.

Instead of taking any sense of responsibility here Ikki just glared at me like everything was my fault. I really wanted to punch him but I let it go for now. My apprentice will show him that he really is not that special.

So I looked over at Shizuku and let out a sigh.

“I won’t lie and say Ikki-san’s attitude was not a part of all of this but it’s not the major issue here. I have recently taken up a student and they have a match coming up with Ikki-san. Helping him is basically making her fight more difficult for no reason.” I explained but there was a silence in the room from my comment.

Shizuka paled and looked over at me with a pleading look. Ikki, on the other hand, had a rather ugly look on his face. Again, I narrowed my eyes at the guy, as his health really was not my responsibility.

Seeing Shizuka revving up to say something I decided to continue.

“Look, I healed him right now and he is perfectly healthy. As long as he does not tear himself apart before the fight he should be okay. He does not even need to stop his training as the infirmary should be able to cover him for the most part. As long as he does not push himself as hard as he has been doing.” I spoke out with a frown. Shizuku looked away from me to look at her brother. 

She was shooting him a pleading look which only seemed to increase the ugly look on Ikki’s face.

“Forget it Shizuku, we don’t need him.” Ikki spat out before turning away and leaving the classroom. I felt my brows twitch at his attitude. For someone so confident in not needing me he was sure to take advantage of my kindness for fucking weeks.

Shizuku still had an embarrassed look on her face, and she shot me an apologetic look, but she followed her brother out of the classroom.

With the duo gone the whispering was back on but I was paying attention to one particular person. Stella was in the same class after all.

She was watching the situation with a frown on her face. She may feel better about Ikki pushing himself instead of wallowing but Ikki’s lack of appreciation was irritating her. She was also not completely happy with my student.

The hint of jealousy that sparked when Ayase called me out has been burning brighter and brighter. Ayase has been taking a rather large chunk of my time which took away opportunities for her own seduction route. Stella was also jealous of me training Ayase as I did not do the same for her.

While Stella and I did spar often that was not comparable to the training plans I made and the thoughts I put into pushing Ayase. Sure, I give Stella advice often but I have been spending days brainstorming how to best use Ayase’s Device.

“Finally stopped catering to short stuff?” Stella let out with a huff as I got closer. I gave her a wry smile as she was right I should have dealt with this much earlier.

“There is only so much I can take and the match coming up is a good enough reason,” I spoke out calmly as I leaned against the desk she was sitting at.

“She better be worth all this effort. I’m going to challenge your new ‘student’ when their official match is over. Ikki-san was a big disappointment so she better bring her A-game.” Stella spoke out as she clenched her fists.

She was all about improving herself so a worthy foe that was closer to her level would be amazing for her. I rubbed my chin and thought it over. Ayase was making countless advancements as she was willing to push herself to the brink and put herself back together again.

Stella on the other hand was a natural-born monster. There was no cutting that here, she was born to be the strongest and that is what she will be. Obviously she had not reached her peak but from what she had already shown she was well beyond the norm here.

Ayase had a shot but it was a one in a million type. 

“Hmmmmmm, it will be difficult but I think she would be a better challenge than Ikki-san, at least for now that is,” I spoke out after a moment. I did not want to get her hopes up but if she went into that fight underestimating Ayase she would lose.

A lion hunts a rabbit with everything it has. Holding back pointlessly would only lead to your death.

Ayase could take Ikki right now no problem. That was a fact I was confident in but that was more of an Ikki problem than the overwhelming force she was capable of. Still, there was one thing that would bring him ahead of my little student.

Despite the immense growth she was going through she was far away from her limits. Ikki on the other hand was already touching those illusive chains. If he became a Despardo there was not a lot that she could do to combat that. At least not currently.

Stella let out a sigh at hearing my words. The excitement that was building in her gaze flicked away. She really wanted to be as strong as she could possibly be. So having an opportunity taken away from her was bugging her.

“Disappointing, I’m hoping that there will be someone out there that can push me in the Sword Festival,” Stella spoke out with a furrowed brow. I felt my lips twitch as she would certainly find opponents that were well beyond what she was currently fighting there.

Then again the biggest threat in the tournament might find himself losing his life if he starts trying to harm me. Considering the parallels between our abilities he would want to torment me the moment he finds out about me. 

Which sucks as his Device would have been amazing to copy. Still, I can’t stop him from committing suicide by godess. Well, I could ask Fortuna to not kill him but honestly, I did not really want to give the guy any shot at harming me.

Wish-fulfillment is insane and it’s likely to murder me if I gave it the chance. Better to have Fortuna constantly on guard against that guy.

My Probability Control and Fortuna’s own blessing would be good enough.

“Well, you always have an opponent in me,” I spoke out confidently and she rolled her eyes at me. She did not really treat me as a rival, it was more like an insurmountable mountain. One she was determined to conquer no matter how daunting the task was.

“Just wait, Prince-kun. I’ll overwhelm you eventually.” She announced with all the pride that her bones were capable of. She then packed up and left to go somewhere. Considering her statement and her habits she was going to train.

Which was fine with me, I had to train my little apprentice after all.

151 ()

Today was the day. My little apprentice was going to face off against the tides of fate and I was confident she would crush it. Normally she was a bit nervous and fidgety in the face of battle. Not confident in the skills she had honed but that image had long since faded.

Today she was looking over at the arena that was assigned to them with a calm coldness that spoke volumes. She was not coming into this fight trying to avenge her father or crush the hopeful dreams of a boy she loved. No, this was just another task in her day and she would do it with the same calm demeanor reserved for eating breakfast.

“Confident enough?” I asked with a knowing look on my face as I looked at her. The calm mask on her face broke apart for a moment as she looked at me in exasperation.

“Yes Sensei, Ikki-san will not be a problem.” She spoke out with a roll of her eyes but the calm mask was back in place. I felt myself grin at her confidence but honestly, she should be feeling that way. Especially since Ikki was apparently an idiot.

I looked over at the guy who was already standing in the arena. He did not heed my warnings and still pushed himself beyond what the Infirmary could handle. Of course, Shizuka was the one who paid for his hubris by begging me for hours. She knew exactly how much this tournament meant to her Brother so she was willing to give up anything to get him the help he needed.

Honestly, when she was so desperate to convince me of that I thought my Username came with a buff. She was all but placing herself in my grasp after all. I had seen enough hentai to know where such desperation leads. So it was kind of shocking seeing how easily this scenario came to pass.

I of course refused. I gave them a warning and I told them exactly what was going to happen but the dumb fuck still pushed himself. If his dream was going to be shattered that was entirely on him. Judging from the glare he was throwing at me he was not going to accept that judgment.

Fucking prick.

I had to deal with tears and pleading looks for a day but she gave up quickly when she realized I was not budging. She was currently not in the crowd as she was spending every last moment of her time trying to get someone to heal her brother.

It’s the main reason everyone was standing around despite both combatants being ready and willing to fight. This was the last mercy I could provide Shizuka as I had asked Ayase to wait till the last moment to enter the arena.

She gave me an odd look but followed along as she really treated me as her teacher. Which was entirely fair considering how much effort I put into her.

I frowned at Ikki as he was all but dooming himself by coming to this arena pre-injured but maybe he thought it was unimportant as he could handle Ayase from the information available about her. He would have been right if she had not come under my tutelage. 

Now the information he was counting on was betraying him.

“It’s almost time,” Ayase spoke out as she looked over her PDA. I let out a sigh as it looked like Shizuka was not able to find someone last minute but that was to be expected. There was only one person I knew who could heal like me and the guy had a fight of his own to attend right now.

Shizuka stood a decent chance at getting 50/50's help as the kid had a pretty good nature but his own obligations overruled his nice nature. I frowned as even with the healing from the infirmary Ikki was far away from his peak.

I wanted to prove that my student could crush him at his best but I guess that was not in the cards. 

Ayase gave me another odd look as she took in my frown. She bit her lip in hesitation and it looked like something was bugging her so I raised an eyebrow and gave her a questioning look. That seemed to break the hesitation plaguing her as she took a deep breath and faced me.

“If she means that much to you Sensei, I don’t mind if you heal Ikki-san.” Ayase spoke resolutely and I kind of froze at her words. I understood what she was saying but for the life of me, I just could not make sense of it.

So I stood blankly while looking at her for a good long while. The longer I remained silent the more nervous she looked but it was hard to deal with such a curve ball.

“Ayase-chan, I really don’t understand what you mean,” I spoke out breaking the tension and fishing for more information. She looked away with a frown on her face and a blush building on her cheeks.

“You refused to heal Ikki-san for me right? Because I asked you not to. But if this is putting a strain on your relationship then you don’t have to. I am more than confident in beating Ikki-san when he is at his best anyway.” She patted her chest and smiled at me with a determined look. 

“It’s not like this match is that important.” She muttered out slyly while she was looking away to the side. I ignored her adorable response for a moment while I let out a loud breath. A mix of tension and mirth bleeding out of me.

That response drew her attention back to me but I gave her an awkward smile.

“I think you are misunderstanding my relationship with Kurogane-chan. I was healing her brother because she was pleading with me non-stop. I could not really take the puppy dog eyes over and over again if I’m being honest.” I spoke out awkwardly while I rubbed the back of my head. It seemed to be Ayase's turn to freeze as she took in my words and looked like a deer in the headlights.

“Also, Ikki-san was kind of annoying with his attitude so I was planning not to heal him anyway. You just happened to come along when my annoyance had reached its peak. The reason I asked you to wait was my last shred of mercy for the girl who would do anything for her brother.” I finished explaining with a soft smile on my face.

Ayase again froze with several emotions flashing across her face before she faced Ikki with a grimace. Something was brewing in her head but for once I could not figure out what.

Before we could continue any more discussion the alarm rang on her PDA. The chime-like bells signaled that there was no more time to wait.

“I guess he is out of time.” She muttered before taking a deep breath and walking down to the arena. Ikki seemed to tense up at the sight of his opponent. Finally abandoning his approach of glaring at me to observe the girl who was stalking him like a cat on the prowl.

Ikki frowned at her approach but said nothing waiting for the countdown to start the match. Ayase tried to keep the predator-like attitude up but when Ikki winced as he shifted his shoulder slightly she let out a deep sigh.

“You know I was looking forward to this fight.” She spoke out idly as she looked over at Ikki with a disappointed look. That look had the boy tense up some real anger flashing across his face. 

“Ikki Kurugane The Worst One. That is the title that belongs to you but I respected you Ikki-san. The way you swing your sword reminds me so much of my father, So I thought I would need to use every dirty trick in the book to win against someone like you.” She spoke out with that frown growing more and more intense on her face. Ikki cold look faded with anger blazing in his eyes.

“Is that why you told him not to heal me?”Ikki spat out with that anger dancing across his pupils. I frowned and let out a sigh as the boy was still avoiding the part he played in all of this.

For a moment disgust flashed across Ayase’s face before she let out a sigh of her own.

“Yes.” She stated simply while looking at him with disdain flashing across her face again. “ When I approached Sensei, I was willing to destroy my worthless pride if it meant winning but you, you are not worth that.” She finished with a deep frown as she summoned her Device as the countdown was almost done.

Ikki almost snarled but pulled out his own device. Finally, the countdown stopped and the match started with a large horn.

Ikki went to use his technique immediately, I suppose he learned to no longer hold back quite so much but his actions were interrupted by the bell-like chime of Ayase’s blade as she activated her Noble Art.

The shoulder that was bothering him earlier opened up in a shower of crimson as the wound bled fresh blood. He dashed away with that grimace flashing across his face as his right hand fell limply as his body could not handle the deep wound bleeding from it.

I heard a loud gasp and I looked away briefly catching sight of Shizuku who managed to get back with a surprising guest. It looked like she was able to drag 50/50 here. Too bad they were too late to heal Ikki not that it would matter.

“Is this one of your ‘tricks’?” Ikki spat out as he tossed his Device to his other hand preparing to charge. Ayase let out another sigh.

“No this is entirely on you. Sensei asked me if I wanted to be strong, strong enough to not sully my pride any longer. I accepted of course, how could I not?” She spoke out wistfully with a dazed expression on her face. Ikki took the chance to activate Ittou Shura and charged at her with everything he had.

For someone distaining Ayase’s dirty tricks, he was not above blindsiding his opponent. Too bad for him that it did not matter.

Ayase tapped her sword idly and the bell-like sound rang out once more. This time his right leg burst open with a shower of blood. Messing up Ikki’s charge as he lost balance and stumbled past Ayase who dodged while not looking at Ikki.

Ikki went to swing at her back but she tapped her sword again and another wound burst from his chest more blood dancing in the air. Shizuku let out another gasp as she shuddered at the sight of her brother’s bloody frame.

Ayase turned around finally facing Ikki with disappointment clear on her face.

“The ability of my Device is to Manipulate Wounds. And you have come onto this stage a walking talking wound despite my Sensei’s warnings that he would no longer heal you. Maybe you have underestimated me or maybe you thought you needed to push yourself like this, but all that matters is you lost the moment you stepped onto this stage like this.” Ayase spoke out with more bells ringing with Ikki’s body tearing itself apart at her command.

Even as he was bloodied and almost passing out from the pain Ikki managed to grit his teeth and snarl at her with an almost demonic expression. For a brief moment, the air chilled as if something terrible was coming but this was no longer the shounen anime where the hero could save the day by pulling something out of his ass.

Ayase far too kind for her own good activated the card she had been holding onto all week. The exhaustion she had stored from pushing her body to the brink day in and day out was unloaded on Ikki with a chime.

His body’s already frail state from him breaking his limiter and the wounds bleeding him out and her trump card made Ikki pass out. Like I said it did not matter if Ikki came here perfectly healthy she could have forced him to unconsciousness whenever she wanted.

She just wanted to show him that you should not underestimate anyone let alone her. Beyond that, she wanted to prove to this school that she was strong.

Even without her Trump card, she had reached a point with her Device that would have pulled her through. She called Ikki a walking talking wound and she was absolutely right. Ikki has torn his body apart leaving countless hidden wounds that would effect his life later on. She could have killed the guy when ever she wished.