Chapter 7: Ayame and Isami

Landing beside the crater, Ikari tossed them both away from his arms, settling for a body stretch, but he knew. 

Empty knew, too. 

He was already tired.

She simply didn't understand. No, Empty did. But she simply didn't know why he had done what he did.

Back when he fought Inui, he showed overwhelming power. 

Yes, his [Cardinal Acceleration] move was stronger, but rather, when he fought Inui Yume, he dominated her even without going all out.

Nogi Aiai wasn't strong enough to do all that.

Then, she remembered his words from back then: Dominion... Empty thought.

"I'm—I'm still alive—fuehhh!"

Aiai thought in disbelief, sweating, her hands on the ground as she wheezed. She had dodged a narrow death. 

No, she had died, but thanks to him, she was alive.

So, this is what an inverse is capable of… 'Monster,' she thought. But regardless…

"Why save me in the first place. You could have erased me along with my Sephira Crystal. YET WHY!?"

At some point, she had begun to speak her thoughts; that much she knew she did, but didn't take it back. 

Either way, Empty herself would have still asked.

"Hah? Why should I kill you? Because the game demands it? Just so you know…. I'm a more selfish person you think."

Ikari, without turning back, said that. 

"After all, I wasn't content with fate, so I changed it. Even the Almighty (Deus) tried stopping me, yet I fought her."

"Everything I do is for my selfish wish. Whether I want to kill you or spare you, it's my whim isn't it?"

In this case, such a statement was undeniable. After all, this was the nature of the game to begin with. 

Besides, he had fulfilled this game's purpose already.

"I've killed you already."

Nogi Aiai was already dead.

"What an exteremly twisted logic."

The dead-yet-alive quasi-spirit muttered that, letting out a self-deprecating smile. 

But at the same time, she was thankful. 

Death by evisceration was scary, more scary than anything she'd faced in the real world.

That fleeting feeling, that brief emptiness, she had seen. She'd never want to experience such a thing again.

She hated him. Yet she was thankful. She hated herself for feeling thankful. 

Yet despite these conflicting emotions, she found herself wanting to admire him.

"Kuh..! Dammit."

'Straightforward.'

That was what Empty observed when looking at him. He was different. But now wasn't the time for that..

"Uhm... Ikari-san, let's hurry and leave. The atmosphere here isn't good."

Empty approached Ikari from behind, tugging at the corners of his jacket. 

Ikari nodded and turned his head toward Aiai.

"For now, do as you wish. However, if you cherish this new life I've given you, then wait. Wait a little longer."

Saying that was enough. 

His message had already been conveyed to Nogi. Experiencing a near-death experience is never a good memory for most.

But for her, on the other hand, she didn't just experience a near-death situation; she had already died. 

And from that emptiness she was moving toward, he dragged her back.

She understood that. 

Hence,

"Then, win, smash that Doll Face in the face for me. And in exchange, I'll serve you."

Nogi Aiai said that to him with a serious look on her face. She truly meant it. 

Sticking by someone as determined as him is definitely the right decision.

Ah~ what a lonely, yet reliable back.

Since she was already out of the game, she could no longer assist him. 

But yes, she'll wait, she'll wait until then. And certainly, it is not far off anymore.

…

Silence.

There was no sound nearby, nor any sound of battle around the school grounds. 

Everyone's eyes had focused on the battle until the eventual implosion of the main building.

Other buildings, such as the laboratory building and gymnasium, and two others behind them, were relatively fine.

Even minutes after they left, a suffocating silence still hung over the entire school. 

Not until—

The shrill pitch of a boot skidding against the polished tile resounded through the gymnasium, along with a loud yell from the girl. 

"Hiding and moving around as sneakily as ever, Ayame!"

Isami howled in enjoyment; however, from an unknown location, Ayame's voice responded, slightly irritated.

"Tsk. Already...?"

"Haha! Watching that fight has made my blood boil! Let's battle Ayame!"

Hijikata Isami roared. 

On his lips was an unmistakable maniacal grin as she cut down a few arrows that oddly came from different angles inside the gymnasium.

"Now we're talking!"

".... Haah, how straightforward."

Ayame's voice resounded. 

Then, as she did, the arrows began raining down once more from different angles, and, if Isami didn't miss it, they were changing trajectories.

Yet, no matter how the trajectory changed, it never hit her once. 

The moment the arrows entered Isami's area of omnipotence—reiryokuken—the arrows were all cut down.

"Ahahahaha! It's really fun to fight against you!"

"Is that so? I'm not having fun at all, hurry up and die already."

"Che~ How cold. But still, compared to that person..! This isn't enough!"

"Hah?"

While fighting, the two of them at the same time began to unknowingly converse ideal gossip with each other. 

This was likely because the two had fought hundreds of times in serious attempts to kill each other, but even then, this was not the reason the outcome remained unsettled.

The struggle for each other's deaths and the ease with which senseless gossip was enjoyed both existed between the two parties.

And, naturally, neither side found this matter unusual.

"Flames… we've seen him use. However, time and space, huh?"

"Be it long range or short range. He seems to be the type to excel in both. And then, there is that move against Nogi-san."

"Hah! Let's say he can only move in one straight line with that ability? How about that?"

"Oh? So you can also have bright ideas at times. I see you in a new light now, Isami."

"What are you talking about? Anyways, it doesn't matter! If the two of us team up against him, we won't lose."

Isami said that, and Ayame, who was hiding, couldn't help but mutter along the lines of, "Sure enough, I hate you," before firing a passion-filled arrow.

But yet, the passionate arrow was received comfortably by Isami, cutting it down.

Hijikata Isami wished for this moment to last forever. 

The battle was harsh, painful, exceedingly painful; victory brought only peace of mind, but…

Fighting against her was always enjoyable, no matter the injury. 

It feels like she's had so much fun that she's been postponing settling this matter all this time.

She knew Ayame hated her. 

Surely, the reason was that her playful attitude was incompatible with Ayame's rigid demeanor.

Isami thought it was a bit lonely. 

However, she also didn't want to lie. 

But still—Ah, she wished for this pleasant time to continue forever..

While embracing this hope, which she could not tell others, Isami roared.

"Ahh─!!"

And to the other person, "Ah, it's too irritating," Takashita Ayame thought, clicking her tongue.

Isami's presence, spotted from a completely different building, looked like just a tiny dot. In other words, Ayame was never actually in the gymnasium at all.

And Ayame, who wasn't even in Isami's line of attack, could very much establish her win.

However, easier said than done. 

After hundreds of battles, she had finally reached this distance, the feeling of distance between them.

An antimony where friendship deepens through mutual attempts at killing each other.

However, this was already over.

Today, they came to settle this here and now to rise to greater heights. That was the pledge she made to Isami.

Wanting to become even stronger, they had mutually relied on each other. For that purpose, both parties were fighting without fear.

Thus, Ayame drew her bow once more, to release an arrow at a speed Isami could not respond to—an arrow that could not be dealt with.

An arrow of greater magnitude than before, one that Isami and her reiryokuken could not keep up with, causing her Astral Dress to tear apart.

"Fuu~"

She exhaled elegantly.

"Ahahahaha! Amazing, Ayame is the best after all! How could I lose to you?" 

Hearing Isami's loud voice, Ayame felt somewhat relieved.

"...Well, I thought you would call me out on my cowardice."

"Coward. Oh, please, but... Heh! Found you!"

Having finally located Ayame, Isami sprinted out of the gym, locking eyes with her as she stood on the roof of the building behind it.

"Ngh."

"Heh!"

Isami grinned as she prepared to close in; however, suddenly, from the sides, certain footsteps trudged the ground.

"Sorry to intrude on your lovers' quarrel. However, I'm here to end things quickly. I can't afford to waste any more time."

It was he, Tokisaki Ikari, who had just appeared, wrapped in flames.

"Shit…"

"Of all people…. Haah, what luck."