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

CH11: Dark Knight's Debut (prt 6)

Bruce stepped outside and squinted a bit from the familiar evening golden glow that the academy ground was bathe in but it wasn't the only that caught his sight. To his surprise, there were four teens standing at the bottom of the steps and they immediately turned their notice towards him.

"Congratulations, Bruce." Ikki greeted with a wave. "How's Saijou-san?"

Bruce descended the steps as he responded.

"He'll be fine. He's actually a lot sturdier than he looks."

Bruce flicked his gaze towards the other teens present: Stella, Nagi and Shizuku. He gave a look of confusion, wondering if they had some business with him.

"Were you all waiting for me?" he asked.

"Yeah, we were thinking of going to Akihabara together. You want to join us?" Ikki offered.

"Think of it as us celebrating your win today." chimed in Nagi.

Bruce internally flinched.

"These kids...do they actually want me to hang out with them?" he thought.

He'd never admit this, not even to himself, but he felt kind of touched by the sentiment. He didn't even feel that way when he was in the company of other people in his age group. But on that subject, he still felt awkward about the idea of these teenagers spending their time with an older man like him. Besides, there was still one more thing on his agenda today.

"Maybe some other time, I have some things I need to take care of." he said.

"Oh. Okay then." said Ikki, sounding a little disappointed.

The older student made his way past them but just before walked any further, Nagi suddenly called out to him.

"By the way Brucie, I recall you telling Saijou-san that he owed you a favor if you won."

Bruce stopped in his tracks and then turned to face them.

"That's right."

"What was that favor anyway?" Nagi asked.

"I asked him to convince the Student Council to suspend Kirihara's inquiry, at least until the culprit is caught."

Both Ikki and Stella gasped at this.

"What? Then that means..." Ikki trailed off.

Bruce nodded and his lips slightly curled.

"Yup. You're not getting disqualified anytime soon, Kid."

"But what about Takigawa?" asked Stella. "I thought you said we can't approach him yet."

"Trust me, I don't think there's any need to worry about that right now. You guys go have fun."

And with a small wave, he turned around and left.

"Well, there he goes." Ikki said, shaking his head while chuckling. "He always seems so busy with something, I wonder what he's up to."

Nagi noticed Shizuku standing a distance away from Ikki with a frown and her eyes cast downwards. The feminine boy assumed that she was probably still upset about Ikki's close friendship with Bruce.

"I know what you're thinking, Shizuku." Nagi whispered as he approached her. "But don't take it the wrong way, Ikki is just excited that he has a like-minded friend like Brucie."

"It's not that." Shizuku said.

The younger Kurogane fiddled with her fingers before elaborating.

"It's just...I suppose Onii-sama was right. Maybe like Saijou-senpai, I judged him too harshly...but..."