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

CH15: A Game and a Stage (prt 3)

Ayase dropped and hung her head as if bowing.

"P-please forgive me but I didn't know how to approach you alone so I thought I could try when you were around Kurogane-kun and Vermillion-san, you three always seem to be together. But I just couldn't work up the nerve."

It seemed to explain why he only noticed her when he was around other students and not by himself. In a way it was kind of a blessing in disguise since had she been intruding on his privacy, he would've taken more drastic measures. Last thing he needed was some girl seeing something he didn't want to be seen.

Bruce also picked up on what she just said: 'you three always seem to be together'. He began to wonder if he was hanging around these kids a little too much.

"Okay but why me?" he asked her.

"It's just that...for some strange reason,...you..."

Ayase cast her eyes sideways while nervously tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. Her cheek had tinged before but now it was full on red.

"You remind me of Tou-san." she said softly.

Bruce remained in silence, honestly not knowing what to think. Ikki and Stella were awkwardly in the same boat. Stella in particular picked up on how the girl regarded her father a little too affectionately and wondered at first if Ayase was some kind of closet father-con who bizarrely saw Bruce the same way. She could kind of see it; Bruce did have a more mature vibe compared to all the other boys.

Realizing how weird her demeanor appeared, Ayase frantically waved her palms around.

"Ah, w-wait, let me start over. Up until my father's hospitalization, he had been training me in Ayatsuji-ittoryu. But recently...I-I have been faltering."

"I'm still not understanding what you're getting at here." Bruce said.

Seeing that it was getting harder for her to explain her case, Ayase mustered up what ever courage she could to just come out with it.

"I saw your match against Saijou-san! I was there in that arena. You faced odds greater than yourself and was still victorious."

She recalled watching him that day, the way he moved with such precision, the way his steely eyes never wavered from his target.

"Tou-san..."

"That determination in your eyes, that fire, it was the same as Tou-san's when he faced against his opponents! I...I could feel it!"

Despite that it was all she was able to enunciate, Ikki could understand where she was coming from as he had studied her father's matches.

"I want to reach that same caliber so...p-please!" she bowed as much as she could from her position. "Accept me as your disciple!"

With his gaze on her, the wait for his response felt agonizingly stretched and her body felt like it was being weighed down second by second until finally...

"I can't help you. I'm sorry."

"O-oh..."

The atmosphere that previously been constricting now felt like it knocked completely out of her, leaving her deflated. Bruce didn't even need to look at the other two teens, he could feel their frowning, questioning stares on him. Frankly, he found it irritating; he was a grown man and he didn't need their approval for his decisions.

Fact the matter is that he had enough on his plate as it is. Plus he suspected that Ayase was withholding something from him and he rather not sign up for anything without knowing the whole picture.