Chapter Text
It probably wasn’t best to eat before a fight, but he allowed himself enough time to digest before his next match. He still had around 15 minutes to go, but it would probably be better to change into his clothes sooner rather than later.
When he exited the locker rooms and turned towards the bleachers, he came face to face with his next opponent.
“Seems I got lucky that I got to fight you so early.” Kiryuuin’s white hair was tied up in a bun having ditched her usual headband, most likely for better mobility in combat.
“Lucky? Do you really want to be out of this competition that badly?” he questioned. At this point, Ayanokoji had come to know the way that Kiryuuin acted.
She laughed, “I really only stayed in this competition to fight you and Nagumo, but I gave up on that when we were placed on opposite sides of the bracket. It sucks too, I probably would have beat his pretentious ass.”
“I suppose we’re both individual participants in this exam.”
She nodded, “I didn’t want to be paired with any of the other years or anyone in my class. Ideally if I did, it would have been you who I asked, but obviously that wasn’t feasible. The third individual participant is a first year student, right? That one first year, Amasawa, who follows you around.”
“You’ve noticed that?”
“I’m lurking in certain places.” She grinned mischievously.
Ayanokoji narrowed his eyes slightly, “Creepy. Anyways, I was surprised Koenji didn’t go solo in this exam. I believe he entered a small group with one of my classmates and a few other third years. Because of that he’s not participating in the martial ability competition, but he would probably sweep a lot of the competition if he did.”
“That guy is weird in a completely different way from you and I. But I suppose what you two happen to have in common is your unpredictability.”
Ayanokoji looked up at the clock within the gym, finding that it was 12:25. “Well, I suppose it’s time to get ready for this match.”
The gym was still relatively busy due to the influx of people who had arrived to eat lunch, so many had decided to watch the matches while they ate. As the floor was being cleared of people, Ayanokoji and Kiryuuin took their places on other ends of the mat. They were still a bit early, so they waited for the command to step onto the mat.
At exactly 12:30, Mashima ordered them to step onto the mat. He had previously witnessed the two of them fighting together, so they probably had a relatively good grasp of one another’s abilities. The room quieted as they tuned into the action.
“Let me know if you need another explanation of the rules.” Neither of them signaled that they required it. “Ready? Begin!”
This time, Ayanokoji took the first offensive and rushed Kiryuuin on the attack. They only had a distance of a few feet from each other at the start, so his increased reflexes gave him an overwhelming advantage. He jabbed towards her solar plexus without much force, but this gave her the chance to grab his arm. This is what he had planned for, suddenly moving his forearm up from her grasp and slamming it under her chin. He wasn’t going to use the amount of force he could have, he didn’t want any of his attacks to have lasting effects on his opponents. Well, that would most be the case for all except one opponent he would fight in the future who would walk the line between what was acceptable and not. She was reasonably knocked back from the force of it, but quickly recovered and charged at him with a kick aimed to the chest. He blocked it to the side, but once her foot landed on the ground she moved her other leg into a roundhouse kick. He narrowly dodged this, but rushed forward again with another punch to the face. She managed to block it and tried to return it in quick succession. Ayanokoji blocked both of her attacks and performed a front kick aimed just below her ribs. Kiryuuin was pushed onto the floor from the attack, struggling to regain her breath. She jumped up from her spot on the floor, with Ayanokoji going after her once again afterwards and grabbing her collar. He was relentless with his attacks, but since one arm was preoccupied with holding her she was given the chance to aim for his face while he was attacking. He easily dodged her attempts to fight back, but that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t continue to struggle anyways. She grabbed his fist, but he maneuvered his hand to where he was now holding onto her wrist. He made a motion that bent her arm in an unnatural way, but only enough to strain it and not enough to break it. He still hadn’t even broken into a slight sweat, these were all simple actions in his mind.
She had noticed early on into the battle that he was holding back extensively from what she had witnessed in the past. It wasn’t as if she was a weak opponent, but compared to him there was a very wide gap between them.
As he held her arm from behind, she tried to use her elbow to jab him. This instead resulted in her other arm being caught by him as well. After a few seconds of struggling and trying to use any body part she had free to hit him, Kiryuuin eventually gave in. She could tell that the ten seconds were up.
A whistle blew, and with that his grip on her arms was released. She faced him with a smirk. “I wonder if I’ll ever get to see you replicate the same kind of strength you had on the island.”
“Well, if you can find another corrupt Acting Director who is extensively trained in combat before the year is over, then let me know.” His voice and face stayed the same, but Kiryuuin appreciated his attempt at a joke. He held his hand out. She grasped it firmly and continued to smile back at him with her usual teasing expression.
They walked off of the mat together and put their shoes back on. Ayanokoji caught a glimpse of Horikita sitting in the bleachers and felt a piercing stare directed back at him.
“Your little class leader is glaring at you.”
“I’m surprised you managed to notice considering that the rest of the people in my class are also probably glaring at me too.”
She laughed at his statement, “Seems like you did something unexpected. That’s what I think at least.”
He hummed softly, “I wonder.”
They walked out of the gym together, neither of them having much to do by sticking around the area. “I should probably leave you for now. My presence will only make you stand out even more.” Kiryuuin waved goodbye and began on her way to the third year dorms. Ayanokoji considered it would also be for the best considering that being seen talking with women all the time wasn’t a very good look right after breaking up with Kei. Of course, he didn’t intend to date anyone ever again, but rumors spread easily. If he was to predict when they would start, he would give it maybe a month at most until everyone in their class starts pairing him with random people he’s merely friends with.
—
The martial ability tournament really was turning out to be the longest of all the events. It was already 2:30 PM and only now was it finally time for the third round. From now on, the process would most likely speed up significantly, and the matches would become filled with those who had higher ability in combat. There would always be some who had lower ability than the others and only survived due to luck, but he could now say with confidence that the majority of battles would be relatively even pairings. This was pushing aside the issue of himself, Hosen, and Amasawa, who were all in a league of their own in separate ways.
Checking the bracket as he walked in the gym, Ayanokoji was surprised that Horikita had managed to battle her way to the third round. Though, checking her competitors it made sense. However, her next battle would be against someone who had defeated her in less than a few seconds a while back. Hosen. Ayanokoji was still confident he would win even if face to face with Hosen. He possessed actual martial arts training, and although raw strength could sometimes outclass technique, his own strength was most likely comparable despite his physique not showing it. Street fighting wouldn’t do you much good when your opponent possesses both the strength and skill to take you down.
For his current match, it was determined to be against Kitou. Many of the students in Class A practiced martial arts, so to be at the top of what would arguably be the most martially skilled class was certainly a feat. It was most likely because of this fact that Sakayanagi kept him close in dangerous scenarios. She was someone who couldn’t defend herself, so it would be detrimental if she didn’t go out of her way to bring protection in the case of meeting someone like Ryuuen. Although Kiyotaka didn’t have much of an idea of the true skill that Kitou possessed, he was sure that he would win no matter what. The most insight he had into the man’s technique was the pillow fight back during the school trip, but that didn’t count for much considering it was a pillow. His poor pillow’s sacrifice… rest in peace.
He caught sight of Sakayanagi’s white hair in the bleachers, surrounded by her two henchmen as always. While catching the eye of Sakayanagi, Kamuro beside her was glaring at Ayanokoji as if he was garbage, and Hashimoto was unrelenting with a mischievous grin. He rolled his eyes and ignored their attempted provocations, but this match most likely had a relatively high value for Class A which warranted some concerns. Out of Sakayanagi’s group, Kitou was undoubtedly the most talented martial artist despite the addition of some third and first years within their composition. Despite this, she remained wholly unfazed by what she knew was going to take place before her. Perhaps it emerged from a state of curiosity as was likely the case, but it was almost as if she had sensed the change within himself. She did not pose his ability to take first place and surpass Class A as a threat. It was like she knew that he would condemn his class to a fate of sinking to the bottom once again.
Ayanokoji took his place somewhere in the area around the mat, waiting for the confirmation of his own match’s start. Kitou soon walked in front of him while the organizers were taking their five minute break in between matches' end.
“I witnessed your first two battles so far. I can tell that you possess a level of skill that’s unexpected for someone I used to regard as someone unimportant in the background.” Ouch. That was a slightly harsh way to describe his presence, but it wasn’t technically incorrect. They had only bonded slightly due to their time together in Hokkaido. They couldn’t be considered friends, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to call them acquaintances. Even during that trip, Ayanokoji had retained a relatively faint presence, only stepping in when things were bound to ruin his own enjoyment of the vacation.
He shrugged, “I trained a bit in junior high, but it’s nothing special.”
Kitou narrowed his eyes, but soon after shook off his comment. “I can tell that Sakayanagi-san holds you in quite high regard. When I told her I was going to win specifically in regards to this match, she responded with ‘Try your best.’ Something about the way she said it makes me think there’s more behind it than what was on the surface. That is why I’m looking forward to our match.”
“She regards me highly? I don’t know what I could have done to earn that, and I’m not sure whether I should be thankful or not.”
Kitou seemed to have believed his lie. It was still unknown to everyone that Sakayanagi and Ayanokoji had any sort of connection, other than maybe the few who had associations to the White Room in one way or another.
They waited awkwardly, not being close enough to talk about anything but also having to stay in the same area. Eventually, Mashima walked back in from his break and told them to get ready for the match. By this time, the process was already well known by both of them.
They arrived on the mat once again, Ayanokoji not bothering to get into his fighting stance until required. Kitou was already prepared and at the ready, presumably wary about his opponent as a person of unknown strength.
Mashima gave the same starting words as before, with the match kicking off with the blow of a whistle.
Both of them kept their distance at first, but stayed light on their feet in order to dodge any possible oncoming attacks. Kitou went in for the first attack after finding an opening that Ayanokoji had purposefully created in order to lure him into his own attack. Kitou grabbed onto his left bicep using his right arm and intended to follow up on this by throwing him to the ground, but Ayanokoji struck first. When his arm was grabbed he responded similarly by grabbing hold of the same part of Kitou’s arm before wrapping his other arm around his back in quick succession and throwing him to the ground. Kitou made an attempt to stop his footing from being lost, but the strength of the throw was too aggressive so he braced for impact and got up quickly after the fall. Ayanokoji didn’t have the opportunity to lock Kitou into place due to his quick recovery and the technique he had used to make him fall.
As they stood across from each other once again, Kitou’s breathing started to pick up the pace and Ayanokoji remained completely expressionless and calm. His strength and technique was nowhere near close to what Ayanokoji could handle, although worthy of praise nonetheless.
In order to break the stalemate, Ayanokoji feigned a roundhouse kick which led to Kitou closing the distance in order to get into a better position, but was instead kicked in the side with an enormous amount of force. After getting up another time with a bruised body, Kitou began to recognize that he was not going to win this battle. The eyes of his opponent were so lifeless that it was hard to even imagine a person with a face so still and composed being a living and breathing human. Ayanokoji was far scarier than he had recognized in the past. Was he always lurking like this? What flaw put him into Class D in the first place?
Ayanokoji seemed to notice that the gears were turning within Kitou’s head, so it was decided he would end the match as quickly as possible. He approached Kitou and jabbed towards him, the attack being blocked with Kitou returning his own. The punch was swiftly dodged before he grabbed the sleeve and collar of his attacker and forced him onto the ground once again. To end the match, he grabbed his opponent’s arm and bent it up towards the ceiling with his wrist locked firmly in place. Ayanokoji placed another foot on his back to ensure that he would have no means of escape. Kitou patted on the ground lightly with his free hand, signaling his yield.
The whistle blew, and Ayanokoji let go. He held out his hand in order to help Kitou up from the mat. He graciously accepted the help, recognizing that he had lost to a truly skilled opponent.
Kitou held out his hand after being helped up in order to shake to an end of the match. He grasped the hand and firmly shook it, nodding slightly. Kitou’s breathing was very labored while Ayanokoji maintained the same pace and pulse as he had at the start of the match.
“You’re very skilled. I don’t think I stood a chance from the beginning, did I?”
“Perhaps not. What do you practice anyway?”
“A bit of everything I suppose. And you?”
“Same. I don’t think I could even count what I’ve practiced on my hands.” He could remember the names and techniques for every single one, but some were obviously more useful than others. He simply mixed them all in a way that worked with specific opponents of all varieties.
“It was an honor to fight against you, I see why Sakayanagi sensed your strength.” He nodded in a motion of departure and turned around to put his shoes back on.
Sakayanagi’s recognition would soon become more public with his new actions being the driving factor of her change in the near future. More and more people were beginning to get a sense of his true strength, which was mostly worrying even though it was something he had planned extensively for. He was no stranger to being watched, but the eyes of hundreds of people on him constantly would be slightly unbearable to deal with. However, he didn’t believe that normal people would be able to comprehend what he held within. Even those who had known some of his secrets without the full story would not be able to grasp what he is .