Gakusen Toshi Asterisk - Volume 9 - Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

EVENING

“Claudia, are you okay?” Ayato called out as he shielded her from her opponent.

He wanted to tend to her wounds as soon as possible, but first, he would have to deal with the danger standing across from them.

“I can’t say that it doesn’t hurt… But at least my life isn’t in immediate danger anymore.”

“Right. That’s a relief.”

In that case, the worst seemed to be over. But when he thought about what would have happened had he arrived even a moment later, he couldn’t stop a violent wave of anger from welling up inside him.

“Boy… You must be the Murakumo?” the old man asked softly.

Ayato nodded, raising the Ser Veresta toward him. “And you must be Bujinsai Yabuki?”

“Oh, so you’ve heard of me?”

“From your son.”

Bujinsai scratched at his chin in apparent embarrassment. “Yes, I see. You share a room with that idiot son of mine, don’t you? Does he give you any trouble?”

“Please, step aside.” Even knowing that the old man would never agree to it, he had to ask.

After all, Bujinsai was his friend’s father. He could barely hold down his rage at the thought of what he had been about to do to Claudia, and he would, of course, never be able to forgive him for it, but it would be best for everyone if they could resolve the situation peacefully.

“Ha! You’re direct, I’ll give you that. Not a bad quality… But I’m afraid I can’t oblige.” Bujinsai’s lips curled into a broad smile as he began to spin his staff in a circle.

Ayato’s sense of warning continued to grow more urgent.

“…Then, can you at least give me a minute?”

“Hmm?” The man frowned.

Ayato’s sense of warning abated slightly. Taking this to mean that the request had been agreed to, he bent down to face Claudia—without, of course, letting down his guard.

“Ayato…” Claudia, her eyes damp with tears, stretched a hand out to his face.

Placing it softly in his own, Ayato used his free hand to take something out of his pocket. “Claudia, a friend of yours wanted me to give you this.”

“Huh…?” Confusion spread across Claudia’s almost-feverish face. “What…?”

“It’s from Laetitia,” he added, placing the silver amulet into her hand. She was so exhausted that she almost dropped it, so Ayato instead put it into her breast pocket. “I think it’s supposed to be a good luck charm.”

“N-no, I know that… But why…?” She seemed genuinely confused, but before Ayato could ask her why, he sensed a sudden foreboding emanating from just a short distance away.

Bujinsai, it seemed, wasn’t willing to wait any longer.

“Sorry, Claudia. It’ll be over soon.”

“Um…” Claudia reached out to him as if to hold him back, but she quickly relented, flashing him her usual smile. “No, it’s nothing. Good luck, Ayato.”

Ayato returned the smile, before turning back to Bujinsai.

“My apologies. I don’t mean to interrupt your final tryst, but I’ve got a lot on my plate. I can’t afford to waste any more time.”

“…That’s okay. Because this won’t be the last time,” Ayato replied casually.

Bujinsai immediately launched into his attack, casting a flurry of tobi-kunai in Ayato’s direction, along with a volley of shuriken arcing down from above. Ayato deflected the blades with the Ser Veresta, about to rush toward his opponent, but during the short instant he’d taken his eyes off him, he had disappeared.

“—!”

If he hadn’t fought Eishirou, if he hadn’t already been familiar with this strategy of circling around one’s opponent’s back, that would have been the end of it.

His forward dive to dodge the oncoming strike was all but reflexive, and while he plunged headfirst into a pool of water, that was by far the better of the two options. Had he not done so, his head might have been sliced clean from his body.

“Oh?” Bujinsai, his staff having carved through nothing but air, glanced toward Ayato suspiciously. “Don’t tell me you saw that coming…?”

He seemed to have realized how he had done it.

“So be it. In that case, I’ll take your head from the front.”

Bujinsai’s body swayed back and forth, melting into the rain, until all of a sudden, he was standing directly in front of him.

He’s fast!

Ayato quickly raised the Ser Veresta to counterattack—when he remembered what Eishirou had told him earlier:

“Are you listening, Ayato? If you’re gonna fight my father, let me give you a word of advice. It’s practically impossible to land a blow on him. The same thing goes when trying to dodge his attacks. So—”

Ayato readied the Ser Veresta in a defensive stance, concentrating his prana.

“Ugh…!”

“What?!”

The attack, aimed squarely for Ayato’s neck, reached its target, but fortunately, Ayato’s head was still in place. He had focused his prana on several places throughout his body to increase his defense—the areas not protected by the Ser Veresta, such as his neck, hands, and feet. The older man’s strikes were so precise that they ended up being easily read.

Bujinsai recoiled slightly, giving Ayato an opening to slash back with the Ser Veresta and put some distance between them.

He lifted his free hand to his neck. It seemed to be bleeding, but the wound wasn’t deep.

“I see. Knowing that you couldn’t dodge it, you decided to withstand the blow. I suppose that’s only possible thanks to that incredible amount of prana you seem to have.”

It was as Bujinsai said—Ayato’s defense had consumed such a large amount of prana that if a regular Genestella had attempted it, they would have quickly run dry.

“You must realize that you’re only sprinkling water on parched soil. You seem to have some idea about my techniques, but if you pour everything into defense, how will you strike back? Sooner or later, you’ll have exhausted everything you have.”

“…”

Bujinsai’s words were spot-on.

Even if he was able to hold out for a short while, without changing his strategy, there would be no way to defeat the older man.

However—

“Just in case, I prepared two strategies before coming here. Do you want to see them?”

“Oh?”

“Then again, they both involve outright attacks, so maybe strategy isn’t the right word.”

Ayato tightened his grip on the Ser Veresta, before lashing out with his first one.

Bujinsai jumped backward diagonally, jumping against the side of a nearby crane and onto the platform above.

Ayato chased after him the same way, swinging the Ser Veresta to the side. Bujinsai spun through the air, before landing on the roof of a warehouse—and swung his staff toward Ayato’s head just as he landed beside him.

Again, Ayato concentrated his prana to endure the blow, before lashing out with an attack of his own. He sliced upward from below, then downward from above, as his opponent tried to dodge.

The older man’s staff-shaped Lux might have been of unusual construction, but it was unable to block against the Ser Veresta. He could do nothing but throw himself in the opposite direction, just as Ayato followed through with another lunge.

This first strategy that Ayato had prepared was to drastically increase the number of his attacks.

It stood to reason that even Bujinsai couldn’t keep using his techniques indefinitely. In that case, no matter how many times he managed to dodge them, Ayato simply had to keep pressing the assault, up until his opponent exhausted himself.

“Heh…heh… You’re certainly pushing it, calling this a strategy,” Bujinsai goaded, continuing to launch his own attacks while dodging Ayato’s blade.

Even so, Ayato concentrated his prana and withstood them all, frantically swinging the Ser Veresta at his opponent. His body was taking on one injury after another, and blood was beginning to soak into his clothes, but he couldn’t afford to falter.

“Amagiri Shinmei Style, Middle Technique—Ten-Thorned Thistle!”

But Bujinsai effortlessly dodged the surprise swing.

“Ha-ha, I know that move!”

“Wha—?!”

During the brief window in which the technique had left him open, the older man lunged out at him with the palm of his hand, throwing him from the top of the roof.

He landed flat on the ground, and while he wasted no time pulling himself to his feet, Bujinsai was already there to meet him.

He’s much more powerful than I was expecting…

To begin with, their techniques were at a completely different caliber. If it was to come down to brute physical strength, Ayato would have probably had the lead, but taking into account their respective tactics and the timing of their attacks, the advantage undoubtedly lay with Bujinsai.

On top of that…

“Oh? So you noticed? That’s right—I’m familiar with your Amagiri Shinmei style.”

“…I see…”

Whether he had mastered the fighting style or not, there would have been no way that he would have been able to take advantage of the opening left by the Ten-Thorned Thistle if that was his first time seeing it.

“My clan has been around for a long time, boy. We’ve kept records of every opponent that we’ve faced over the centuries, all passed down and recorded for posterity. And in that time, we’ve faced several users of your style.”

The Amagiri Shinmei style was an old school of swordsmanship, so it wasn’t altogether unusual that that should be the case. And it explained how Bujinsai had seen through not only the technique itself, but also the trajectory of his attack.

But in that case, it would probably be difficult to defeat him simply by increasing the number and rate of his attacks.

“Now then, why don’t you show me this second strategy of yours?” Bujinsai asked, as if reading his thoughts.

“I don’t need you to tell me that…!”

“Oh…?”

“Haaaaaaaaah!”

With an almighty cry and his hands gripping the Ser Veresta as tightly as he could, Ayato poured his prana into the blade.

He was using Meteor Arts.

According to Eishirou, the Yabuki’s techniques involved affecting their opponents’ subconsciousness to disrupt their actions.

In that case, he would use an attack so large that it wouldn’t matter even if his aim was disrupted.

“Yaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Ayato poured his prana into the sword, instantly triggering mana excitation overload in its urm-manadite core, causing the blade to extend to more than five yards in length, before swinging it down in front of him.

“Hmph…!”

The blade, however, made contact only with an afterimage of his opponent. Bujinsai, it seemed, had effortlessly evaded the strike. Ayato had succeeded in cutting through only the streetlight behind him, which came crashing down into the lake.

The rain, still pouring around them, evaporated as soon as it hit the long blade of the Orga Lux, causing a haze of white steam to rise up around them.

“I see you’ve turned to a brute-force approach. Do you really think that gigantic thing will be able to reach me?” Bujinsai scoffed, casting a flurry of at least a dozen more tobi-kunai toward him.

“Ugh!”

In its current state, the Ser Veresta was too large to knock them all down. His only option was to leap to safety.

But as if having already anticipated that, Bujinsai suddenly appeared right in front of him.

“I won’t let you get away this time. Even if you do try to withstand it, I’ll just have to whittle your prana down bit by bit…” The old man’s eyes glowed darkly as he approached ever closer.

This was the chance that Ayato had been waiting for.

Letting go of the Ser Veresta and concentrating his prana into his stomach to endure the powerful slash, he clasped his hands around his opponent as strongly as he could.

This is the only way to bring down a faster, more skilled opponent…!

“What?!”

It was the same strategy he had used in a duel against Kirin.

The Amagiri Shinmei style was originally developed to be used by those dressed in full battle armor, and so the purpose of its grappling techniques wasn’t to strike one’s opponents or knock them aside, but rather to pin them down. After all, once an armored opponent was pushed into the ground, further resistance was all but impossible.

As such, he had resorted to one of his school’s oldest and most inelegant moves:

“Amagiri Shinmei Style Grappling Technique—Twisted Vine!”

He grabbed Bujinsai’s arm, pushing himself toward his opponent as he kicked his legs out from under him.

He was, in short, throwing his whole body on top of him, so it wouldn’t matter too much if Bujinsai managed to interfere with his movements.

“Ngh…!”

If Bujinsai was as knowledgeable about the Amagiri Shinmei style as he appeared, he would probably know how to free himself from his situation, so Ayato immediately moved into his next attack, concentrating his prana into his fist and slamming it down into the soldier’s chest.

“Amagiri Shinmei Style Grappling Technique—Divine Hammer!”

“Koff…!”

Ayato had put so much strength into the strike that the air around him trembled, the shock coursing straight through Bujinsai’s body and shattering the ground into a small crater beneath him.

It was a more advanced version of the technique that he had used against Eishirou, made more powerful by his having poured his prana into the attack.

This should do it…

“—!”

But as soon as Ayato, thinking he had snatched victory, relaxed his guard, Bujinsai’s eyes suddenly snapped open.

Ayato’s body immediately turned stiff, leaving him unable to so much as lift a finger.

A binding technique…?!

Left completely defenseless, Bujinsai drove the palm of his hand into Ayato’s stomach.

“Ngh!”

The attack sent him flying through the air, crashing into the ground before he could have any chance to prepare for the impact.

“Serves you right, you damn kid…!” Bujinsai spat out a ball of blood before wiping at his mouth with his fist.

“Now you’ve gone and done it. I wasn’t going easy on you or letting down my guard, but I suppose some part of me wanted to see what you could pull off. I guess I’ll have to be more careful.” The man’s words, finally shedding their false dispassion, rang with indignation.

“Argh…” Ayato forced himself to move, albeit only slightly, but most of his body remained frozen in place. The best he could do was force himself to his feet, though unsteadily.

“It’s over for you. The immobilization effect hasn’t worn off yet. I’m impressed that you can do this much, but now…,” Bujinsai trailed off, balancing his staff against the ground, and effortlessly cast eight separate tobi-kunai toward him.

“—!”

Ayato was in no condition to dodge them. Barely managing to raise his hands to protect his face, he poured his prana into his body in an attempt to withstand the blows.

If he couldn’t free himself from this binding technique, he was finished.

Continuing to let his prana flow through his body, he glanced between his clenched fingers covering his eyes and caught his breath at the sight of his opponent.

“…I wonder how much you can endure?” Bujinsai murmured, another round of tobi-kunai already clenched between his fingers.

He can’t mean to do it like this…?!

The man intended to engulf him in a storm of steel.

Each and every one of Bujinsai’s endless shower of blades found their targets, tearing into Ayato’s flesh, rasping against his bones.

Ayato gritted his teach, trying to weather the pain, but he could feel his prana decreasing at a frightening pace.

“Haah… Haah…!”

But there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t even get his body to move as he wanted it.

When finally it came to an end, dozens, perhaps even hundreds of the small throwing blades had struck Ayato’s body.

The blades seemed to be composed of some mysterious substance, as they quickly began to soften away in the rain, melting into a puddle of a strange black liquid building up at his feet.

Ayato fell to his knees, letting the strange liquid splash all over him.

His prana had reached its limit. His whole body was covered in wounds.

“…I guess it’s time.” Bujinsai, staring down at him, raised his staff to deliver the final blow.

Bujinsai approached slowly, without revealing even the slightest opening.

This… This is bad…

Ayato’s vision was growing blurred, and though he strove to muster what remained of his strength, he couldn’t bring his body to move.

And then—

“Ayato! Get ahold of yourself! You’ve got more in you than this!”

—Claudia’s voice, strong and clear, came rushing toward him.

Her words were filled with confidence. She wasn’t merely trying to console or encourage him.

And with that, before he knew it, he had brought himself to his feet amid the darkness.

Or more precisely, he was overlooking himself from above, watching another version of him lift himself up.

This is…

Though at a loss, he immediately understood. He had experienced this before.

He was looking at an image—an image of the chains that bound him.

Like last time, there were three locks attached to the chains. The first lay shattered, the second unlocked. And the third…remained clasped shut.

He slowly unfolded his clenched hand, revealing a glimmering key.

He understood it immediately. The key was still incomplete. It needed more.

Even so, he didn’t hesitate to insert it into the third lock. Even if it was incomplete, even if it wasn’t enough, even if, like when he first broke the first lock, it only lasted for a short length of time, if he could just break free now…

“Now then, let’s finish this.” Bujinsai raised his staff toward the stormy sky as he prepared to bring it down upon Ayato’s exposed neck.

It had taken longer than he had intended, but now he would finally be able to clear away this final obstacle. All that would be left would be to take care of the target, and his work here would be complete.

Or at least, that was how it should have happened.

“—?!”

And yet, the strike, which should have sheared its target’s head clean from his shoulders, cut through nothing but air. Ayato, who had been kneeling weakly on the ground, had completely disappeared.

Taken aback, Bujinsai spun around—only to see the boy standing calmly a few yards away.

“When did you…?! No, more importantly…” Bujinsai inadvertently took a step backward, staring at Ayato, who continued to stand motionless in the rain. His face was unreadable, tilted toward the ground, while a powerful force emanated from his body.

His prana had been on the verge of depletion, his body covered in injuries and bleeding profusely, and now he was unarmed as well.

And yet—

I’ve got a bad feeling about this…

A cold sweat began to run down Bujinsai’s back.

He wanted neither to admit it nor to believe it, but his instincts told him he was in danger.

I’m not going to let some kid get the better of me!

Trying to shake off his uneasiness, he cast four tobi-kunai toward Ayato to distract him while shortening the distance between them.

The binding technique was another application of the Yabuki clan’s secret Void Tide ability, intended to put the subject into a state of extreme tension so they found themselves unable to control their body. Its biggest weakness was that the user had to be looking into the subject’s eyes at close range. Bujinsai couldn’t work out why it had stopped working, but if he could just activate it once more, he would be able to finish everything once and for all.

“…”

Ayato, in total silence, moved his body slightly to dodge each of the airborne blades one by one.

Bujinsai, of course, had taken such a possibility into account.

The tobi-kunai had been no more than a distraction—and one that had given him the opening he needed to get close enough to—

“Gah…?!”

Before he could properly react, however, Ayato’s clenched fist slammed into his chin.

I-impossible…! How can he be this fast…?!

He hadn’t even had a chance to use the Void Tide technique.

There was no obvious reason for his opponent’s change. But despite that, his level of skill had undergone an unfathomable transformation.

What the hell just happened…?!

In his confusion, Bujinsai quickly leaped back to safety.

Only then did he realize what he had done—

He had lost sight of the boy.

And at that very instant, his long-cultivated intuition warned him of a fast-approaching source of danger coming from directly behind him.

That’s… That’s our technique…!

“Rending the five vital organs and crushing the four limbs—”

Bujinsai spun around, but the voice continued to echo in his ears.

“Amagiri Shinmei Style Grappling Technique—Nine-Fanged Hammer!”

At that instant, a tempest of nine consecutive strikes slammed into him, breaking both his arms, crushing his legs, and gouging into his liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—the final blow delivered with unimaginable force.

“Gargh?!”

His body went flying into the base of a large crane, the shock strong enough to practically impale him on the machinery.

“Ugh… I-impossible! How could this…?”

His broken voice filled with resentment, he could do nothing but watch as Ayato slowly stepped toward him.

It was a strange feeling.

He didn’t feel as if there was any new power welling up inside him, but rather like he had returned to how his body was supposed to be.

He had merely followed his instincts, and just like that, he had overpowered his opponent.

“…But it’s not over yet,” he murmured.

Even having been subject to the Nine-Fanged Hammer, Bujinsai didn’t appear to have lost his will to fight. He probably wouldn’t be able to stop him unless he knocked him unconscious, Ayato thought.

He stepped forward, preparing to deal the final blow—when he suddenly fell to his knees, letting out a terrible scream as an overwhelming pain began to take hold.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!”

His time was up.

Magic rings appeared around him, spewing out fresh chains that wrapped about his body.

“N-no! Not yet…!” Ayato let out a mute curse. But his sister’s ability was too powerful. There was no way he could resist it.

Bujinsai began to smile, an expression of relief and dead assurance.

He cast a fresh tobi-kunai toward him.

In his current state, Ayato could do nothing to dodge it, nothing but watch as the black blade approached, as if in slow-motion. He had fought to the bitter end, but his efforts, it seemed, had come to nothing.

But just before it could reach him—

“Ayato!” Claudia leaped in front of him.

“Claudia!” he cried back, but he was too late.

Fresh blood flowered amid the cold, dark rain.