Inside a Building in Kivotos
"…They're late," a figure mused in a dimly lit room. "They should've arrived by now. Did I err in trusting Kaiser's soldiers? It would've been more efficient to bring her directly."
Seated was a man in a black suit, his body shadowy and inorganic, with a glowing right eye and cracks radiating across his face. His black gloves revealed cracked skin between sleeve and cuff.
Known as Black Suit, he awaited Takanotsume Hoshino, his contracted prize.
"No matter," he continued. "This building is crawling with soldiers. Even if Hoshino acts out, she can't beat them—"
CRACK! SMASH!
CRASHHH!
GRIND, GRIND, GRIND!
"What?" Black Suit froze.
Chaos erupted outside—something was rampaging. Could Hoshino really be causing this? He chuckled, hearing footsteps stop at the door.
"They're here. Heh, come in," Black Suit said.
BAM!
"What?" he blinked.
SHATTER!
"What!?" he repeated.
The door exploded, and a nearby window shattered. Black Suit, momentarily stunned, looked toward the doorway.
"Sensei, you really need to learn how to open doors," Hoshino sighed.
"It's enemy territory, so I figured it's fine," Mash replied.
There stood Hoshino, the contracted student, and… a mushroom-haired guy.
"Takanotsume Hoshino… and you are?" Black Suit asked.
"Hey, Black Suit. I'm Hoshino's Sensei, Mash Burnedead," Mash said.
"So, you're Schale's… Heh, a kid, just as they said," Black Suit smirked.
"You look scary, like you'd kill without blinking," Mash said.
"That's a bit rude for a first meeting," Black Suit retorted.
"Anyway, one thing—" Mash's eyes narrowed. "I'm taking my precious student back."
Mash had stormed Black Suit's building, ignoring the heavily armed soldiers and smashing his way in, door and all.
"Schale's Sensei… Heh, I see," Black Suit said.
"Cancel Hoshino's contract," Mash demanded.
"Hold on. Let's talk first. This way," Black Suit gestured.
"No need. Just cancel it," Mash said.
"You're impatient," Black Suit said. "Come, sit."
"I said, no need. Cancel it—" Mash started.
"Sensei, maybe we should sit?" Hoshino interjected. "I'm right here."
"…Fine," Mash grumbled.
(Will this even go anywhere?) Hoshino thought.
Black Suit managed to get Mash and Hoshino seated, starting the discussion as the adult.
"Let's establish the premise," Black Suit said. "Hoshino's rights were transferred to us by her own will. Here's the contract copy. Take a look."
"Thanks… Uh, no clue what this says," Mash admitted.
"You looked for, like, three seconds," Hoshino pointed out.
"Doesn't matter if I look longer. It's gibberish," Mash said.
"I… see," Black Suit said, smirking. (Is this guy an idiot, or playing one? Either way, I've got this.)
Black Suit began, exuding confidence.
"We took Hoshino for an experiment," he said. "This contract ensures that, depending on the results. Testing things like functioning without breathing. To someone from outside Kivotos, it's just paper or promises. But in this mystical world, oaths hold real power. Absolute powerhouses can be undone by careless promises. Fascinating, no?"
Black Suit spoke smugly, but…
"...?" Mash stared blankly.
"…Were you listening?" Black Suit asked.
"Uh, Sensei?" Hoshino said. "Basically, Black Suit wants to use me to experiment with Kivotos' mysteries—see what happens."
"I get it," Mash said. "Hoshino's not your lab rat."
"Let's continue," Black Suit said. "Hoshino chose to leave her academy and signed the contract. It's all legal, mutual agreement. Mash Burnedead, what right do you have to demand this?"
Black Suit tilted his head.
"I haven't approved Hoshino's resignation," Mash said.
"Meaning?" Black Suit asked.
Mash held up the resignation form like a talisman. "See? No signature."
Black Suit stared, motionless. After a pause, he sighed.
"…If only I'd secured the contract sooner," he muttered.
"Got it?" Mash said. "Cancel the contract. And your ties with Kaiser."
"…Heh… Hehehe," Black Suit chuckled.
"?" Mash blinked.
"Don't underestimate adults, Sensei," Black Suit said, standing and looming over Mash.
"Listen," he continued. "You're Schale's Sensei with some authority. But we, Gematria—my organization—could crush Abydos or you in an instant."
"…" Mash thought. (He's not lying… Is he for real?)
"We have… connections," Black Suit said. "So, what's a mere kid—not even an adult—going to do against us? You, a halo-less child, have no power!"
Black Suit smirked, confident Gematria's influence could squash a few Abydos students and a powerless kid.
"Then let me show you my power," Mash said.
"?" Black Suit frowned.
Mash vanished from sight.
"!" Black Suit flinched.
Mash reappeared behind him, knocking him off balance. He hoisted Black Suit onto his shoulders, face-up, gripping his chin and thighs.
"W-What are you—This position!" Black Suit stammered.
"Triceps Magic: Tower Bridge!" Mash declared.
CRUNCH!
"GYAAAAAHHH!?" Black Suit screamed.
Mash used his neck as a fulcrum, bending Black Suit's back into an arch.
"He's screaming like I've never heard!" Hoshino gasped.
"Hmph!" Mash grunted.
"MY SPINE!!" Black Suit wailed.
Mash unleashed an Argentine Backbreaker—devastating normally, but with Mash's otherworldly arm and neck strength, it was catastrophic in seconds.
"This is my power," Mash said.
"I DON'T UNDERSTAND!!" Black Suit cried.
"He's desperate to talk," Hoshino noted.
"I can take you out right now," Mash said. "Cancel Hoshino's contract and Kaiser's deal, or I'll snap your spine."
"!?" Black Suit gasped.
"I'm serious," Mash said. "Hmph!"
"GUAAAH!" Black Suit screamed.
Creaking sounds came from Black Suit's body. His face, usually unreadable, was clearly in agony—possibly crying.
"Cancel the contract?" Mash asked.
"W-Wait!" Black Suit pleaded.
"No? Here we go," Mash said.
"Wait! This is violence, unacceptable—ARGH!" Black Suit yelped.
"I've done worse. It's fine," Mash said.
"WHAT'S FINE!?" Black Suit screamed. "Hoshino, he's your Sensei! This is wrong—OWWW!"
"Hmm… Normally, this'd be bad," Hoshino said. "But Black Suit, you tricked me, right?"
"…" Black Suit froze.
"And planned to use me as a lab rat," Hoshino continued. "Be honest—were you after me from the start? Spill, and I might forgive you."
"…Sunaookami Shiroko… instead of you," Black Suit admitted. "Sensei, guilty!"
"Got it," Mash said. CRACK!
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!!" Black Suit wailed.
Mash cranked up the pressure, pushing Black Suit to the brink of passing out. To survive, Black Suit shouted:
"Sensei! Let's… talk!"
"Talk?" Mash asked.
"About Hoshino and Kaiser's contract!" Black Suit gasped.
"You'll do it properly, right?" Mash said.
"Of course!" Black Suit wheezed.
"Alright," Mash said, dropping him. THUD!
"OW! That was rough!" Black Suit groaned.
The cool, villainous adult vibe was gone. Black Suit clutched his back, panting and sweating.
"Ugh… My spine's never felt this pain! What kind of power…?" he muttered.
"Seeing Black Suit like this makes me grin," Hoshino said.
"Hoshino's smile is rare," Mash noted.
"L-Let's talk," Black Suit stammered, head down.
"Talking like that?" Mash asked.
"Whose fault is this!?" Black Suit snapped, then calmed. "Sorry, I lost it."
Black Suit struggled to his feet (still clutching his back) and proposed a deal.
"I'll give you a trial," he said. "Succeed, and I'll free Hoshino and cut ties with Kaiser. How's that?"
"Deal," Mash said.
"So fast! Sensei, you sure!?" Hoshino asked.
"Trust me," Mash said.
Mash stepped forward, facing Black Suit.
"I'll do anything. What's the trial?" Mash asked.
"Simple," Black Suit said, placing a candle on the floor. Hoshino's face twisted in disbelief.
"Light this without touching it," Black Suit said.
"Don't screw around! That's impossible!" Hoshino shouted.
"You said anything, Sensei," Black Suit smirked.
"…" Hoshino gritted her teeth.
Black Suit demanded Mash light the candle without touching it or using a lighter—an impossible task without magic. A cruel trap.
(Heh, a bit mean, but he won't give up otherwise. What'll you do, Sensei?) Black Suit thought.
(This is ridiculous! Mash's muscles are useless here. Lighting a fire without tools…? Wait…) Hoshino thought.
Mash picked up a wooden broom. "Can I use this?"
"…Sure, it's just a broom," Black Suit said.
"Thanks," Mash said, snapping it in half. (Did he just break it with his hands?)
Mash shaped the broken broom into a staff and pressed it to the ground.
(Making a staff… but what for?) Black Suit wondered.
ZIIIIIIZ!
(Is he rubbing it that fast!?) Hoshino thought.
WHOOSH!
(Friction fire!?) On stone!?) Black Suit gaped.
Mash sparked a fire by rubbing the staff on the stone floor, the flames roaring like a flamethrower.
"You said no touching, no lighter," Mash said. "Done."
"…R-Right…" Black Suit muttered, his chuckle weak. (No energy in that laugh. No wonder after that,) Hoshino thought.
"Next trial," Black Suit said.
"Go ahead," Mash replied.
Black Suit produced a massive handcuff—an iron block meant for Kivotos students, stronger than Valkyrie's.
Click.
"Heavy," Mash said, his hands encased.
"Remove it without using your hands or feet," Black Suit said. "It's tank-grade—"
SMASH!
"What…?" Black Suit stammered.
"Just iron. Headbutt works," Mash said.
"Too easy," Hoshino added.
Mash shattered the tank-grade cuffs with a headbutt. Black Suit saw his impossible trials crumbling, despair creeping in.
"…Final trial, then," Black Suit said.
"Only three? That's it?" Mash asked.
"As a Gematria member, an adult, losing to a halo-less kid… it stings," Black Suit admitted.
"Petty adult," Mash said.
"So, I've thought of something you can't do," Black Suit said.
"Oh?" Mash raised an eyebrow.
Black Suit grabbed a bottle and walked to the broken window Mash had smashed earlier.
"I'll drop this," Black Suit said. "Catch every shard before it hits the ground."
"!?" Hoshino gasped.
"It's 32 meters down," Black Suit smirked. "No stairwell's fast enough."
"That's too much!" Hoshino shouted.
"Say what you want," Black Suit said. "I'm no saint." He dropped the bottle.
"This is insane—" Hoshino started.
"Hoshino, hold this," Mash said, handing her his shirt.
"Huh!?" Hoshino caught it.
Tap, tap…
"What?" Black Suit blinked.
"Sensei?" Hoshino said.
Mash stripped to his training gear, crouching low.
"Hamstrings Magic," Mash said, taking a sprinter's crouch.
"Hamstrings…? That's a crouching start!" Hoshino realized.
CRACKLE!
"Big Bang Dash!" Mash declared.
His muscles bulged visibly. Hoshino stared, awestruck; Black Suit was dumbfounded.
In a flash—
BOOM!
Mash sprinted, leaping out the window. The force cracked the floor and shattered nearby windows.
"Where'd Sensei go!?" Hoshino cried.
"No way! Even with that strength, falling from here—unscathed!?" Black Suit stammered.
WHOOSH!
"I'm back," Mash said.
"What…?" Black Suit gasped.
"Sensei!" Hoshino exclaimed.
Mash held the bottle, unscathed, having caught it mid-fall and returned in an instant.
(He went down, grabbed it, and came back!? In that time!? His body… some unknown mystic power? No, impossible for a mere human!) Black Suit thought.
"Black Suit," Mash said.
"!" Black Suit flinched.
"Done? Got nothing else to say?" Mash asked.
Mash cornered Black Suit against the wall, bottle in hand.
"No more unfair demands?" Mash pressed.
"…Sensei, how about joining us—" Black Suit started.
BAM!
Mash swung his fist near Black Suit's face, glaring coldly like he did with Kaiser's Director.
"If you pull unfair crap on us, we'll fight back with our own unfairness," Mash said.
"…" Black Suit froze.
"You said not to underestimate adults," Mash continued. "Well, don't underestimate kids' resolve."
Mash stepped back. Black Suit, silent, grabbed the original contract from his desk.
"…I concede, Sensei," Black Suit said, tearing it up. "I'll cut ties with Kaiser. Heh, didn't expect this."
"My job's done," Mash said. "Let's go, Hoshino."
"Y-Yeah," Hoshino nodded.
"Oh, and tell Gematria," Mash said.
CRUNCH!
He crushed the bottle in one hand. "Touch my friends, and I won't hold back."
"…Heh… Hehehe… Sensei, we're watching you. Always," Black Suit said.
"Bring it on," Mash replied.
Mash took Hoshino's hand, and they left.
"A mere human without mysticism… this terrifying," Black Suit muttered, collapsing to the floor. "I'm more curious now, Sensei. Who are you? What are you hiding?"
Afterword
Maybe went overboard—nah, definitely did! The Tower Bridge was inspired by Kinnikuman—good thing Mash held back, or Black Suit's body would've been torn apart! Next up, the final showdown… Kaiser, start begging! Please rate, comment, and share activity reports! Typo reports are super appreciated!