Chivalry of a Dark Knight [Batman x Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry]

CH9: Fear (prt 1)

"You were watching me." Bruce suddenly said.

"What?" asked Ikki, still a little out of it.

"This whole time you had complete attention on all the subtle movements of my body, studying it so accurately that you're able to predict my moves in advance but that's not all. I know for a fact that some of techniques I used aren't well known, yet you replicated them like you've practiced them for years. A kind of mimicry I've never seen before, like...'photographic reflexes'."

The boy gasped and then his lips settled into a rueful smile. It seemed his earlier assessment that Bruce had the mind of a detective was correct.

"I wasn't sure at first so I used a little trick I learned to put my body in a relaxed state. What confirmed it for me was when you reacted to my last attack. That was just to throw you off, I switched styles within the last few milliseconds to disarm you. Now tell me something, Ikki..."

Bruce's eyes narrowed a little. He didn't want to believe the boy was being dishonest but he needed to know.

"Was that a Noble Art?"

Ikki quickly shook his head.

"No. Not at all. Because no one was willing to train me as a child, all I could do was watch others. I read books, studied video footages, watched people training in dojos from afar until I was able to steal their styles. I call this technique 'Blade Steal'."

The boy's response actually managed to leave Bruce surprised.

"You developed this on your own!? That's incredible!"

To say that the former billionaire was amazed was an understatement. The boy before him was only sixteen years of age yet with just determination and insight, he was able to amass a wealth of combat knowledge that took him years to master. Ikki wasn't just good, he was scary good! Though there were areas he lacked in, the so-called Worst One had the potential to become one of greatest fighters in the world.

"Don't think much about this outcome." Bruce said as he dismissed his Device. "Had magic been brought into the equation or perhaps if this bout was drawn out a little longer, I don't think I would've fared better."

But Ikki didn't respond. The boy's face was downcast to the point where his hair obscured his eyes. Bruce was taken aback by the sight, he hadn't meant to make Ikki feel discouraged but just when he opened his mouth to say something, a continuous series of beeps rang out from his pocket.

Bruce's expression quickly grew grim. He knew it wasn't a call but the software he installed from his suit.

"I have to go." he said bluntly, turned and left.

Up above at the stands, the spectating students remained in their places for a while, seeing that Kurogane was the only one standing in the ring, before they began to disperse and leave as well. But Stella stood still with an aghast expression. "How was this possible!" she thought, Ikki was the strongest swordsman she had ever faced! He won against a prodigy A-rank like her so she knew his power. For him to be defeated by someone like Bruce...it was unacceptable!

To make matters worse for the princess, the leaving students were talking to themselves: loud enough for her to overhear them.

"That's that I guess. But he's an F-rank so what do you expect?"

"Poor guy's gonna get slaughtered tomorrow."

"That win against Vermillion-san must've been a fluke."

"Nah! He's from the Kurogane family, remember? I hear they're loaded. I bet he probably bribed her to take the fall."