"Let's move on to the next match! We're introducing two athletes from the two teams that have become the clear dark horses of this tournament!"
Only the most skilled athletes remained. Many of them had defeated the fighters who were expected to advance, and even if they hadn't, they were still a threat to their position.
"First to enter is Kirin Todo! The last member of the amazing Team Nakajima, who has shown us some incredible matches today!"
In Kirin's hand was only her beloved sword, "Senbagiri." Behind her were Kuro and Nove.
"There isn't a swordsman out there who doesn't know the name of the Todo style! Kirin is a master who, at the young age of 13, has already mastered its ultimate technique, 'Renkaku'!"
"Kirin, don't listen to the announcer's taunts too much."
"It's fine. I'm focused."
"That's a different image, isn't it? I thought she would be the complete opposite of Einhart."
Kirin calmly replied to Nove and Kuro's words.
Her mind was focused on the formidable opponent in front of her rather than the voices around her.
"From the other side, it's Konno Yuuki from the Yagami Dojo! She possesses superhuman reflexes and a sword technique that feels like it's being sucked into her opponent! We asked her second after her last match, and it seems most of her sword techniques are self-taught!"
"Well, the Yagami Dojo has become famous, hasn't it?"
"Thanks to you and Miura. There's a huge skill gap between you and the other members, though."
Signum, her second, thought about the children from the Yagami Dojo who were there to cheer them on. Miura and Yuuki were just far ahead of the pack.
"By the way, when did you get interviewed?"
"...Don't ask about that."
It had been a tough time for Signum.
The two fighters, calm and natural, faced each other in the ring.
"Both Vivio and Miura, who are their respective teammates, showed us a wonderful close-quarters battle! And now we have these two! By some strange coincidence, they are both armed with swords! A historic swordsmanship style versus a self-taught genius!"
The referee stood between them and made the final checks before the match began.
"It's the second direct confrontation between Team Nakajima and the Yagami Dojo today! Who will be the victor?!"
"Do your best, Yuuki-san...!"
"Kirin-san, fight on!"
Vivio and Miura, from the cheering section, were also yelling their support.
"Man, I've always wanted to see this match."
"Yes, I wonder how it will turn out..."
Mikaya and Einhart were also watching the outcome of this match.
Both of them had magical powers, but they didn't use them for cannonballs or projectiles. Yuuki was barely wearing a BJ, but Kirin hadn't changed her outfit and was only using a defensive film.
Both of them were only using the real swords they held in their hands.
Kirin had a large-sized katana. Yuuki had a thin, single-handed sword with a black blade.
"There aren't many fighters who fight purely with swords. These two are on a whole different level. I've sparred with Kirin-chan once, so I know, but that girl, Yuuki, is also quite good. I can't predict who will win at all."
"Yuuki also hasn't been hit once in her previous matches. She's won all of them in the first round..."
Kirin was the same, with no hits taken and all victories in the first round. This was a match between two such fighters.
The two of them drew their swords.
"Alright, the match begins!"
They didn't clash right away; they were measuring each other's distance.
Kirin held her katana in front of her, and Yuuki also didn't move, keeping her sword in her stance.
"What's wrong, Kirin-san? You're being very cautious."
"I'm not strong enough to let my guard down against you."
Kirin's tone was sharper than usual, while Yuuki's was the same as always.
Their ranges were almost identical. If they wanted to land an effective hit, they had to be prepared for a counterattack.
But,
"If you're not going to come, I'll go to you!"
"Yuuki steps forward!"
"!"
Their swords clashed and sparked.
Kirin's blade slid, and without a moment's pause, she launched her next attack. Then the next. And the next.
"Renkaku really is incredible..."
"Yes, there's no break in her attacks..."
Mikaya and Einhart were astonished by her skill.
Kirin wasn't the type to defeat her opponents with one heavy blow like Mikaya. She was the type to deal small amounts of damage by using "Renkaku," a technique that links one attack to the next.
And Yuuki was the same.
While Kirin's attacks were precise, like folding an origami crane, Yuuki's style used her reflexes and reaction speed to fight at the very edge of her limits.
She would deflect the attacks that seemed to be sucked into her body with her sword at the last possible moment. No matter how perfect a continuous attack "Renkaku" was, there was a limit to the number of techniques that could be used after one full swing.
That was the weakness that wasn't normally a weakness, but it was Yuuki's chance to win.
She twisted her body and dodged the next attack by a hair's breadth.
"There!"
"!"
Yuuki's sword, as if to intersect with Kirin's, grazed her chest.
Kirin hastily retreated. Yuuki also didn't pursue and relaxed her stance.
"Whew, that was a close one, wasn't it?"
"It seems so..."
Kirin looked down at her body.
The blazer on top of the two large swells pushing up her uniform from the inside was cut in a horizontal line.
Since it didn't hit her body directly, her life wasn't chipped away, but it was the first "hit" of the match.
Of course, the arena went wild.
"If you didn't have such big boobs, it might not have grazed you at all."
"I also didn't think I would be attacked in the middle of my 'Renkaku'."
"Th-that was an amazing exchange! Has Kirin's 'Renkaku' been broken?! Or did Yuuki's all-or-nothing attack succeed?!"
Even though it wasn't a flashy battle with magic flying around, the high level of the match had the arena in a frenzy.
"What is that girl...!"
"She's seriously no joke. I'd heard about her, but I didn't think she was this good...!"
Kuro and Nove felt the same way.
"But that girl, Kirin, is also quite good. To exchange that many blows and only allow Yuuki one counterattack is something else."
The cheers in the arena were leaning toward Yuuki, who had landed the first hit. But for Signum, it was different.
Against a normal opponent, if they were fighting at such close quarters, they would have been countered at least ten times.
"No, for that matter, how many people would even be able to go on the offensive?"
Signum was happier that Yuuki had found an opponent her age who could compete with her at this level than she was about the outcome of the match.
"Hayate-chan, how's Yuuki-chan's defense?"
"Hmm, it's not that high? It's more like she avoids everything than she defends against it."
Nanoha asked a question, and Hayate thought for a moment with her finger on her chin before answering.
"Like me?"
"Yeah, like you, Fate-chan. She doesn't have a lot of magic either. So she only uses the bare minimum of shields."
"Then the first one to land a hit will win."
Nanoha said with certainty.
That sharp sword strike. A flimsy shield wouldn't be of any use. It might even cut through the defense and cause a massive bleeding crash.
"I guess so. If even one solid hit lands, their movements will be greatly slowed down by the crash."
"Looking at how these two are fighting now, it looks like a small difference will decide the match."
Hayate and Fate also agreed with that assessment.
And the two fighters who were fighting knew that better than anyone.
That's why they were so cautious. They were both at the mercy of a hair's breadth. Yuuki's chance to win, as she had said before, was only in the tiny gaps in "Renkaku." But Kirin also understood that. She had been made to understand it in the exchange they had just now.
If that was the case, the rest of the match would depend on who's concentration broke first.
The one whose sword tip became dull first would lose.
"But you know,"
"Yes?"
"I think it's a shame to lose without giving it your all."
"Do you mean to say that you're not giving it your all, Yuuki-san?"
"Of course not! It's not that."
Yuuki, in a light tone, got to the heart of the matter.
"Kirin-san, aren't you hiding something? A trump card or something?"
"Th-that's..."
There was indeed something. Einhart had it. Kirin also had a new trump card.
But with her opponent in front of her--a master swordsman of this level--she also wanted to compete with her purely with the power of her sword. That was the truth.
This wasn't a life-or-death battle. This was a "match," and she wanted to fight with only her own skill.
"After the razor-thin exchange, both fighters are even more cautious! Will the one who attacks win, or will the one who meets the attack win?!"
While the announcer, who couldn't hear their conversation in the ring, was stirring up the crowd, the two continued to talk.
"Also, if I win like this, it would feel like your reason for losing would be that you weren't at your best. Ah, of course, I don't think Kirin-san would ever do that!"
Yuuki was asking her to give it her all, to use everything she had, for her own sake.
"...I understand. If you insist!"
"Oh! What is this?!"
The announcer's voice was filled with excitement at the sight.
"Please, come to me, Red Frame!"
---------
Gundam Astray Red Frame
A mobile suit that appears in the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray series.
It is equipped with basic armaments for a Gundam, such as a beam rifle and a beam saber, but its most distinctive feature is a katana named "Gerbera Straight." The key to mastering this mobile suit is to master this weapon, which can cut through beams and slice a mobile suit in half.
Since it was designed to maximize the use of the katana, it was transferred to Kirin from Sho.
Also, since the original pilot was a junk dealer, it has a lot of optional parts (separate items).
---------
"Wow, that's so flashy! But I don't think it suits you very well, Todo-san?"
"I was thinking the same thing..."
As the name "Red Frame" suggests, the frame's skeleton was red. It was a very unbalanced sight, worn over her uniform.
And on her hip was a new sword--"Gerbera Straight."
"(A second sword...) It looks a little similar to the one Einhart-san uses... I wonder if they have the same sponsor?"
Having two swords automatically made her think of a two-sword style. As far as she and Signum had researched, the Todo style didn't have any techniques that used two swords.
"(So, this is an original move of Kirin-san? A two-sword 'Renkaku'?) "
"Eh?! No, that's..."
"Hmm?"
Kirin had a huge reaction to the topic she had brought up just to buy some time for her analysis.
It was true that she had received it from the same person. As a reward for passing the preliminaries, from the person she admired.
At first, she and Einhart had refused, saying they couldn't accept such an expensive gift, but then Sho revealed the secret of his ability.
Sho thought it wouldn't be fair if he didn't tell them.
"(I was surprised at the time, but I know that wasn't what my senior was after...)"
But there was one thing that bothered her.
"(If my senior had some kind of ability or item that she didn't know about, it meant that she had done something... dirty with someone... Hnnngh...!)"
When she learned the secret of Sho's ability, she also found out about the relationships between Sho and the girls around him.
Even though she had confessed to Sho with that knowledge, she couldn't help but feel conflicted.
"--san? Kirin-san?"
"Y-yes!"
"Are you okay? Can we start now?"
"(W-what was I thinking during a match?!) I'm so sorry! I made you worry about me!"
"It's fine..."
Kirin changed her mindset. The match was back on. There was one minute left in the first round. But they both had a feeling that the next exchange would decide the match.
The Red Frame had a unique armament that other mobile suits didn't have. It was the katana "Gerbera Straight" equipped on its hip.
But she didn't draw that sword. In her hand was still only "Senbagiri."
"Haaah!"
"(This is 'Renkaku,' but...!)"
The line of her sword hadn't changed, but her speed was different from before.
The Red Frame's assistance had enhanced her physical abilities, and its armor supplemented her defense. She had simply amplified her own stats.
Yuuki's saving grace was that the Phase Shift (PS) armor, which was equipped on most of the Gundams from the SEED series, was not used on the Astray.
The PS armor was an incredible armor that could almost completely nullify the impact of real swords and projectiles. If she had that, Yuuki, who specialized in real swords, would have had a very tough time.
Still, it was still a difficult fight for Yuuki.
"(She has armor. I might not be able to cut her in one hit. If my attack is deflected and it creates an opening, she won't let me get away with it!)"
Yuuki's hope was to counter "Renkaku." And that required the advanced technique of aiming for the joints between the armor plates to land an effective hit against her opponent's armor.
"(I can't land a hit... Even though my power should have increased...!)"
But Kirin also had a hard time mastering the Red Frame.
While it was one thing to incorporate some of the Dimension King style's techniques into her own King style like Einhart, there just wasn't enough time to practice a two-sword style.
However, that also meant she could use one or two of those techniques in a real match.
"Even if I have to force it!"
"That's careless!"
Kirin moved forward, not caring if her armor was chipped away.
Yuuki took advantage of the opening and deflected her sword. Even so, she had another sword on her hip, but...
"(It's okay, it takes time to draw the second sword! I'm faster!)"
She aimed for her right shoulder. She was trying to take out Kirin's dominant hand.
The right hand, which was expected to move to draw the next sword, made an unexpected move.
Instead of grabbing the handle of the Gerbera Straight, her palm opened up and moved toward Yuuki, as if to push her. Her hand was shining brightly.
It was a technique that used the charged particles from her palm for the beam saber and fixed them into a spherical shape to hit the opponent.
Its name was.
"Lightning Orb!"
"!"
The glowing orb of light hit Yuuki.
The light burst, and the shock from it wiped out all of Yuuki's remaining life.
"It's over! The winner is! Kirin Todo, who showed us a hidden card at the end!"
"Ah, I lost."
The plate armor was blown away, and the BJ underneath it was also torn. She held her hand over it, afraid that it would peel back in a dangerous way.
Yuuki staggered to her feet and walked over to Kirin.
"I'm sorry. I won with a trick like that."
"That's not true. I told you to use it."
"That may be true, but..."
But even so, she still felt like she should have fought purely with swords. That feeling welled up inside her after the match was over.
If they had fought purely with swords, she couldn't say whether she would have won or lost. It would have been a match that no one could have predicted the outcome of until the very end.
Seeing this, Yuuki said,
"Oh... if you have so many regrets, let's have another match next time, purely with swords. We can have a match whenever we want, it doesn't have to be a tournament."
"...Yes! I'd love to!"
Kirin replied with a smile to her proposal.
And so, the match between Kirin and Yuuki came to an end.
Clink, clink
--------------------------------------------
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