svetikya #144 - Became a master
#144 - Became a master
"Isn't that your friend?"
"I thought she was your friend."
"I don't know her either."
The group chimed in.
Zun-zun crossed his arms and looked at her, saying, "Hey, you've been following us for a week now, haven't you? I've been feeling your gaze on us this whole time. Who are you?"
"Eek—"
She seemed to think she was hiding well.
Being suddenly questioned like that made her mind go blank, and she turned to run away.
But she completely forgot that she was huddled in a corner. As soon as she turned, she crashed into the locker in the preparation room, making a huge sound.
With a loud thud, she clutched her forehead and squatted on the ground.
The others twitched their lips.
"That clumsy appearance..."
"Is a bit like Stella."
"Huh!?"
Stella couldn't help but bristle at the Kurogane siblings' words. Although she felt displeased, she couldn't find any reason to refute them.
This girl...
Although her hair covered her forehead and eyes, it became disheveled when she lay on the ground, revealing a dignified appearance. It was just a pity that she had a look of terror on her face, probably because she had just been exposed.
"A stalker?"
"Probably."
"Candle wax, whipping, the rack..."
While the others were filled with curiosity, Kurogane Shizuku muttered to herself, making it unclear whether she was talking about methods of torture or some kind of fetish.
After hitting her head, this girl had been squatting on the ground, secretly observing the others. When Zun-zun cast his gaze over, she quickly twisted her neck away.
"Why aren't you looking over here?"
"D-don't mind it, there's a very personal reason for it..."
Her answer sounded nervous.
From the start, it wasn't just her gaze, but her whole demeanor that felt very restless. It seemed she knew she was in the wrong and felt ashamed to face them.
But that could wait. First—
"Who are you?"
"I-I'm Ayatsuji Ayase, a third-year."
Her self-introduction sounded fearful, like a commoner being asked their name by the emperor, wishing she could bury her head in the ground and not dare to look up.
In fact, that's exactly what she was doing.
Not only her gaze, but even her head was turned to the other side, twisting to the limit as she looked at the wall behind her.
"...What are you doing?"
"D-don't mind it."
"How can I not mind when the person in front of me is going to such lengths to avoid eye contact? Speaking of which, did you do something you're ashamed of? Come on, turn your face over here."
Even though the other person was an upperclassman, Zun-zun forcefully grabbed her chin and turned her face towards himself, his scarlet eyes staring directly at her.
Immediately, Ayatsuji Ayase's cheeks became as red as Zun-zun's eyes.
"Oh my, Zun-zun, you're so bold."
Arisugawa Nagi revealed a strange smile.
"It's not what you think," Zun-zun rolled his eyes at him, then looked at Ayatsuji Ayase and asked, "Alright, tell me why you were looking at the wall. Is there something there?"
As he spoke, he also leaned his hand against the wall, trapping her.
Ayatsuji Ayase seemed startled and involuntarily trembled, saying in a mosquito-like voice, "B-because I feel shy... T-to have to talk to a strange boy and look him in the eyes... It's too embarrassing."
At this moment, the girl's face seemed to be spitting fire, completely red to the roots of her ears.
"Why is Zun-zun able to talk face-to-face with a member of the opposite sex he just met?"
"Even if you ask why, isn't that a normal thing?"
"Even pinching the other person's face like that?"
"Very normal."
"Being so forceful?"
"Very normal."
"...How amazing."
Ayatsuji Ayase praised.
Even Zun-zun didn't expect someone to admire him for something like this.
But as the other person said.
Ayatsuji Ayase herself was indeed trying to look at Zun-zun's face, but she seemed to be defeated by her shyness. She tried to peek a few times, but as soon as their eyes met, she immediately looked away.
This behavior didn't seem fake.
It seemed Ayatsuji Ayase was really shy.
However, Zun-zun had experience dealing with shy people. As long as he became assertive, there wouldn't be a problem.
"So, what do you want from following us!?"
"Eek!"
The sudden scolding made Ayatsuji Ayase's body tremble, but she was finally able to speak.
"I-I want to become your disciple!"
"...Huh? Me?"
Zun-zun pointed at himself, and Ayatsuji Ayase nodded quickly.
How strange.
His inherent device wasn't a sword, and he hadn't displayed much swordsmanship during the school selection battles.
Even if Ayatsuji Ayase had been peeking often, she would have noticed that his swordsmanship was the most basic, ordinary, and unremarkable swordsmanship. How could she possibly want to become his disciple?
Ayatsuji Ayase seemed to sense Zun-zun's confusion and explained softly, "I-I wanted to become Kurogane Ikki's disciple, but..."
"Hmm!?"
"Hmph!"
Stella and Kurogane Shizuku stood in front of Kurogane Ikki like two irritable red and silver kittens.
"I-it would turn out like this."
Ayatsuji Ayase hid behind Zun-zun, afraid to be seen.
...Am I a backup?
Zun-zun then said, "Actually, I don't know much swordsmanship. Ikki is more suitable for you than I am, and even Stella over there is better than me."
"N-no... Um, I happened to see you and Kurogane Ikki training before school started, so..."
She seemed to know Zun-zun's true strength.
To be honest, this was a bit troublesome.
Zun-zun wasn't very good at teaching people. After all, there were some things he didn't even know how he had learned. For example, even now, he still didn't understand why his cooking was so delicious.
Kurogane Ikki then saw Ayatsuji Ayase's constantly waving hands and, after seeing something on her palms, suddenly seemed to realize something.
"Ayatsuji-senpai, could you be a relative of Ayatsuji Kaito-sensei?"
"A-Ayatsuji Kaito is indeed my father... H-how do you know?"
Hearing this question, Ayatsuji Ayase widened her eyes in surprise.
Kurogane Ikki explained, "Because of the calluses on your hands from the bamboo sword. Those are calluses that can only be formed after swinging a bamboo sword thousands, tens of thousands of times. Plus, your surname is Ayatsuji, so... I didn't expect you to be his child, and also a senpai. It's really surprising!"
He suddenly seemed excited.
Stella didn't understand what he was happy about and asked Zun-zun in confusion.
"Zun-zun, who is Ayatsuji Kaito?"
"You're asking me?"
Zun-zun rolled his eyes.
He was a transmigrator, originally not from this world, how could he know everything?
Kurogane Shizuku explained to the two short-sighted people, "He's a non-Blazer, known as the Last Samurai. Most Blazers aren't interested in martial arts, so it's no wonder you don't know. But anyone who has even a little contact with swordsmanship has definitely heard of Ayatsuji Kaito's name. His swordsmanship is that superb."
It was said that he was a rare genius.
He had won every major tournament in the world of swordsmanship. During his prime, he even used his status as a non-Blazer to suppress countless ability-based criminals.
Generally speaking, Blazers are protected by magic power, and even if they are attacked by bullets, they can only suffer minor scratches.
But it was said that his sword was not affected by magic power, so it could cause effective damage to Blazers.
"He might be the person in this world who most wanted to become a Blazer..."
Kurogane Shizuku sighed, "But he was too strong despite not being a Blazer, which caused dissatisfaction among the Magic Knights. Therefore, not many people in the Knight world know his name."
"But Shizuku knows."
"That's because the Kurogane family recognizes the practicality of martial arts."
The Kurogane family had also transitioned from a martial arts family to a Knight family. How could they forget swordsmanship and martial arts, their old trade? That would bring destruction to the family!
Just like Ayatsuji Ayase.
Even though her father didn't have the qualifications to become a Blazer, she, who had become a Blazer, could inherit her family's name and carry it forward. In the future, she might be able to have a place in the Blazer world.
Of course.
Zun-zun didn't care about any of this.
He wanted to know the reason why she was following him.
"B-because my father had an accident during a match and is now in the hospital..."
"Had an accident!? ...S-sorry, I got a little too excited."
Kurogane Ikki exclaimed.
He seemed to care a lot about Ayatsuji Ayase's father. Considering that he admired him very much, it was understandable.
"My father is also my swordsmanship teacher. Since he was hospitalized, I've been practicing the Ayatsuji One-Sword Style on my own, but recently I've been hitting a bottleneck..."
According to Ayatsuji Ayase, no matter how much she practiced, she couldn't keep up with her father's movements.
She felt frustrated about this.
"At this time, I suddenly remembered seeing you and Kurogane Ikki training by chance before entering the school, so I wanted to discuss it with you, thinking there might be some inspiration. But..."
Then, her voice gradually became softer, and her gaze shifted away from Zun-zun again.
"Apart from my father and the disciples who grew up with me, I've never talked to other boys, so..."
"So you hesitated for a week, seemingly following us, but actually thinking about how to start a conversation?"
"Y-yes..."
Ayatsuji Ayase lowered her head embarrassedly.
She was like a young lady from a secluded family, afraid of everything, unaccustomed to talking to strangers, and afraid to start a conversation.
For some reason, Zun-zun saw the shadow of someone in her, making him feel a little worried.
"Alright, you can follow us."
"Really!? I'm so happy, thank you, Master!"
"Not Master, just practicing together."
Zun-zun freed his hand from Ayatsuji Ayase's hands and asked the others, "What do you guys think?"
"I don't mind."
Kurogane Ikki replied the fastest.
Stella and Kurogane Shizuku saw that Ayatsuji Ayase's target wasn't Kurogane Ikki, so they reluctantly agreed.
Arisugawa Nagi did the same.
Just like that, Zun-zun had a disciple who was two grades higher than him and several years older.