The bitter smell of medicinal herbs, poultices and potions shook me awake. My eyelids fluttered slightly as a well-lit grand room came into view. Where am I? The last thing I remember I was in the class with Professor Dumbledore and then he said something…
I fluttered my eyes open and closed dozens of times to clear them, the blurred image began to finally set into clear resolution. I was definitely in a hospital bed, who brought me here?
AHHH!
"You've finally woke up."
"…"
"Are you okay? Was it your disability that caused it?"
"…"
"…Can you hear me?"
"…"
"…"
"It really is… you."
"Oh- Oh, Uh. Y-yeah. Long time no see."
"Are you pretending to know who I am?"
"You started doing that first. I was just playing along."
"I wasn't pretending. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. That's you."
"Well, I did introduce myself in class. Sakayanagi Arisu. That's you."
"I would've known your name even if you didn't."
"I guess Gryffindor has two seers in its house this year." He was treating my introduction as a joke. Forget about that other girl for a moment! I'm right in front of you, do you know how long I waited for this moment, how long I prayed every night for this moment to come sooner than the last?
"What I'm talking about has nothing to do with divination."
"..."
"It's been nearly four years now, Ayanokouji-kun."
"…"
"How exactly do you know me?"
"Fufufufu! Infuriating isn't it, when someone else knows you secret."
"…"
"White Room." A smug grin reached my lips. I couldn't wait to see his face break from that expressionless visage. For the iron maiden that withheld that unchanging facade to break from two simple words, all because of me! And this is just the start Ayanokouji-kun, I'll have you admitting defeat soon enough!
"…" Rather than surprise he looked dead. Like a marionette cut free of its strings he just sat still peering silently into my eyes. It looked as if there was nothing going on behind those eyes.
"…Ayanokouji-kun. Did I break him?"
"…"
"…"
"Boo." He said plainly after a few moments. He held a small shaggy puppy in his outstretched arms towards me. It was cute, but it looked like a particularly grim apparition wizards and witches avoided.
"…What is the meaning of this?"
"We were trying to scare each other, right? I was just involving Hikari. It's not polite to treat him like a third wheel."
"…You, you actually aren't bothered at all! That's unfair. Do you know how long I've been waiting to finally meet you, to surprise you by telling you your own secret?!" He wasn't even looking towards me, just playing with the dog in his lap. It's cute… No, don't think about that! Hey, I know about your past, pay attention to me you emotionally bankrupt robot!
"Nearly four years, apparently."
"…Spoilsport."
"In my defence, I don't really have any secrets for people to share."
"…Tch."
"Well, that and your own overexaggerated reaction. Not many people fall out of their chair just hearing my name."
"T-That was…"
"The position your Father holds doesn't do you any favours either." Each and every statement sank into my stomach like a dagger. I want to crawl into a hole and hide myself from view… I bunched the sheets of the infirmary bed up and hid my face beneath them. This wasn't how I wanted out prophetic first meeting to go!
"…Why are you here?" My muffled voice still seemed to reach the boy that was apathetic to my embarrassment.
"It wasn't exactly my choice. Or at least it wasn't initially."
"I mean why here specifically? I was under the impression you didn't have magic. That was the whole reason." The whole reason! The whole reason you had been my goal for so long!
"I'm still not convinced if that helps you."
"You mean you haven't…" Then it wasn't too late! What am I thinking, we're at a school for magical ability, it wouldn't be long before he finally casts a spell. This was Ayanokouji, we're talking about. He's capable of much more than that.
"As far as I know never. And my memory is perhaps my greatest strength." It's still possible all of his accidental magic happened out of his own sight or was explained away by other people. Or perhaps he's never even used magic accidentally. That would be considered ridiculous by most standards, but Ayanokouji wasn't a standard person or raised in a normal environment. He shouldn't be treated with the same standards.
"…No, it wouldn't matter. It isn't something so simple, you can't bypass the school system so easily."
"Surely the headmaster could just admit anyone he wants, as far as I'm aware the entire school is under his influence. Include the Wizengamot in that circle of influence then it shouldn't be too hard." Headmaster Dumbledore was indeed a very capable and well-renowned man, and for good reason. But it's not as simple as using influence. This school itself doesn't allow for such things.
"No, it simply isn't possible. I don't blame you because you're uninformed Ayanokouji-kun, but the schooling system doesn't work like that. You have to have magic potential in your blood to even get the offer. For all intents and purposes Hogwarts itself is a living being that could overrule the headmaster. Most magical schools are the same, if not the school itself then the staff perform tests to ensure only magical practitioners enrol." There have been noted examples of squibs attending even with their lacklustre magical prowess, but those numbers are one in a million. Squibs by themselves were an exceedingly rare thing.
"…Meaning I could actually use it when I finish this wand trial." That was the most confusing part of it. I had never heard of a wand trial that fully prevented magical ability. Being a squib was a much more common outcome with the same symptoms, though even that was rare in magical society.
I found myself hoping that it was the latter. That Ayanokouji was a squib. If he were then I could still pursue him with the same goals in mind. Yes, he would have magical blood in his veins, but it was diluted to such a degree that it wouldn't matter. He wouldn't ever be able to cast magic, nor ride a broom nor duel on the same footing as those with magic. He would effectively be magically neutered, disabled in the most excruciating way for a witch or wizard. But in that same way he could mirror me.
I was disabled in the worst way for a muggle, he was disabled in the worst way for a magician. Yet we could show the absolute heights that our species were capable of. Muggles and magicians were different, they prided themselves on different things. His physicality and wit were extraordinary even when he was younger. My wit and magical ability can rival adults even at my age. I had no doubts that we would both grow even greater as the years continued to pass. If that came to pass, then it would be the same as before. Even if he were here it wouldn't matter, if anything it just gave me the perfect chance to test him a bit before my initial plans.
"Before that Ayanokouji-kun, I have a request if you would be so kind."
"It depends just what you're asking for."
"I want an opportunity to fight against the greatest masterpiece that your father has ever created. It's my dream to defeat you, without question."
"You're a witch. Without magic I doubt I'll even make for a decent fight." Was he underestimating himself? At such a high level he had to have a confident grasp of his own abilities, perhaps he just wasn't familiar with the boundaries of magic. Even for magicians, not everything is possible. The fact that I must remain tethered to the ground like this is just one example.
"It doesn't have to be magic. But I wouldn't be against it, my magic against your martial arts." He gave off the possibility that he might shrug off or completely ignore hexes and curses, that was how indomitable the Ayanokouji I imagined was. Perhaps he'd just brush aside lofty spells from lower mages and confidently defeat them. That was delusion at work, spells affected everyone equally. He could dodge, deflect or even counter spells with his own incantations, but if he were hit then he was as hopeless as any other.
"A single spell could defeat me, it doesn't seem like a particularly fair match." I'm sure he wasn't ignorant to the parallels, a single attack from Ayanokouji-kun at this distance wouldn't end with my knockout, it had the chance of being fatal. Though, I suppose it would be blithe to not recognise the difference in our effective combat ranges.
"Does the prospect of losing scare you that much? I wouldn't think you'd shy away with your abilities."
"…Interesting. I just don't even know if it's possible for physical strength to surpass magic. I'd have to test it." My prayers go to the unlucky person that find themselves on the receiving end of that experiment. I could offer, but I'd much rather allow the fruit to ripen over time before plucking it for myself.
"It does seem interesting, doesn't it? It can be any way you want. I just want there to be no question of who the victor is."
"But there are plenty of competitions which can end that way. Test examinations would give a home advantage depending on the subject matter."
"I suppose our different upbringings are to blame for that."
Silence lulled for a moment as we each thought about the possibilities… Wait, I didn't even think about it but he's agreeing to this way too easily, isn't he? Was he waiting for a challenge?
"…You're taking this more seriously than I thought."
"Are you saying I shouldn't take your challenge seriously?"
"No. Not that. I'm ecstatic. It's an honour to get the opportunity… It's just strange to suddenly be in front of you, issuing a challenge like this. And you're actually responding…" I couldn't quite find myself at ease, even in this bed after only just waking. I was restless and felt antsy whilst he was still sat there looking completely unfazed. The pup by his side rolling around in his lap. I could only look at it quizzically, what a contrasting image.
"Are you disillusioned by me? Right now we might be on similar footing… Who's to say that'll be the case forever." I thought for a moment that he was referring to the dog in his arms, but he really was treating me like an opponent. Like an equal.
"If anything it just makes me want to beat you even more, to be treated as a worthy adversary by you… It sparks my battle instinct like no other."
"You've been waiting for an opponent all this time?"
"Not just any opponent. No other but Ayanokouji-kun will do."
"…"
"Do you worry that I'll reveal this to other people? You shouldn't. So long as Ayanokouji-kun will be my opponent, I have no intentions to do such a thing."
"No. That doesn't bother me so much." Doesn't bother him? "Sakayanagi, how did you imagine our battle looking? What did you always picture when you defeated me in your mind?"
"…" I had never defeated him in my mind. He was incredible, I fantasized about our battle. Waited for it with bated breath. But the only picture I could fully form was us battling, competing. Never the outcome…
"That day I saw you all compete against grandmasters, back-to-back." Rushing back to that reminiscent day, I felt a great sense of elation. Knowing that unlike the past I could finally converse face to face with the object of my desires.
"Chess, huh?"
"It's embarrassing but at that time all I could do was watch with my nose pressed up to the glass whilst my father held me on his shoulders. Little giggles coming from my lips as I watched you all compete. I was inconsolable when Father said I wasn't allowed to participate myself. Though, I hadn't ever even played chess before then…"
"But now you have."
"But now, I have. It was a reminder of meeting… seeing you that day, I've practiced every day since. Thinking maybe it would be the battlegrounds for me to defeat you… But…"
"But then you realised what chess played at a high level really is."
"Yes. Wins and losses, even the greatest champions in the world decide by a ratio collated from innumerable games. Competing so much certainly seems fun if I had an opponent like you. Alas, it lacks the poetic finality I always craved."
"It does lack a certain element to it…"
"But now we're here. I have an even better idea!"
"…"
"A grand game of chess. Using the pieces, we won't decide who the winner is, but the very school itself will."
"The house cup?" Of course, Ayanokouji-kun knew exactly what I was referring to.
"I wanted something even greater, but I think this is a good settlement. We could decide on who has the majority victories, or maybe total the points our houses gained over the seven years? It would give you an opportunity to catch up in magical knowledge, who knows you might even be able to use magic in that time."
"I thought you wanted to fight me without magic?"
"That was my ideal, even in dreams you have to settle for what you can get. Besides, I don't want you to blame your defeat on a handicap." Even at that small tease he wasn't moved at all. Though the pup in his lap reacted, jumping onto the bed and pawing at my hands. Nibbling playfully on each of the fingers. Just as his ears gave the same likeness, he was ferocious like a bear cub. I couldn't help but notice the stark differences pet and owner had, this pup was precocious unlike Ayanokouji-kun. Energetic and curious. I suppose that curiosity was the only thing they shared. When and where did he even retrieve this little monster?
"What if we draw? Or if the other houses were to win instead of us?"
"With me and you in this school I don't believe that is possible." Even accounting for the seven years that made up every house. I had no doubt in my mind. If he wanted to win the house cup he could come up with several different strategies, all I had to do was respond in kind. With Ayanokouji-kun here there was no point in looking towards anywhere else for a challenge, he was the only one worthy enough for me to call an adversary.
"You truly don't, do you? That overconfidence of yours teeters on hubristic." I could feel myself reaching the brink of laughter. Such a thing doesn't exist for the strong.
"It's the same for you. There's no such thing as presumptuous or cocky for us, only the reality that we have no equal."
"Would you take the same attitude if your opponent was Dumbledore?"
"Dumbledore deserves respect, just as many of the other teachers do. But the only reason they are ahead of me is that their births precede my own. With time I'll eclipse all of them too."
"You know that for fact?"
"For a fact." I wonder how he felt in that moment. Was he averse to the idea that his foster father could be eclipsed by me as well? Or did he not care? Come to think of it, how long has Dumbledore been taking care of Ayanokouji-kun? From his own words I'm guessing it hasn't been long. He didn't choose to be here, and he was staying with the Weasley family before this. Perhaps a year or less?
"What do you make of this school?" He asked before I could make any sense of his current situation.
"…What's this? A test of yours perhaps, Ayanokouji-kun?" I'll play along if that's what he desires.
"Just a healthy interest in my admirer's abilities."
"A-Admirer?"
"Isn't that fair to say? You've been counting down the days since you saw me, I thought it felt appropriate." Now that just makes me sound shameless!
"Ahem."
"Embarrassed? You were firing on all cylinders when you properly introduced yourself."
"That was just because I was excited to finally meet you properly… Forget about that. I've noticed a few things about this school that don't add up." I had to gather myself, I couldn't go ruining this opportunity by making a mockery of myself. Ayanokouji-kun was treating me with enough respect that I couldn't betray those expectations. As his rival, I couldn't do that to him.
"…"
"First: Competition is the be all and end all of this school. Houses are separated not only ideologically but also physically in the tables and common rooms. Not to mention throughout the months by pairing the classes together. Us Japanese students were evenly allocated, and the proportion of students male and female is equally distributed throughout the first-year classes."
"With the house cup as the main attraction for the year it makes sense, doesn't it? By controlling these fundamental factors we can focus on the pure competition between houses."
"You might think so, however a few things are strange. For one; the year seven students that would gain no incentive to win the house cup are still determined to defeat the other houses this year."
"Perhaps they simply want to do their best for the juniors, or make some lasting memories before they graduate?"
"If that were the case it wouldn't be the same in every house. They also wouldn't require the funds of the lower years to provide for club equipment. They've been in this academy longer than us and the funds they've accumulated would be entirely useless after they graduate, as stated by our professors." It went without saying that they may as well use the abundant funds they had built up to pay for all the equipment they needed, else it be wasted upon graduation.
"There are other explanations for that as well."
"Indeed, the students could have spent the sums of their riches before now. Or they could merely want the younger students to pitch in. But I don't believe that's the reason."
"Why don't you find that agreeable?"
"Because the older students have a different allowance than us. Possibly larger."
"Do you have proof of that?"
"In the statement by our homeroom teachers. The allowance isn't related to the house points. Not at all. But they didn't mention anything about another metric being used to decide it." Their explanation was worded specifically. They gave hints but never enough to fully gleam the system itself. I didn't pay much attention before because this school was dull, but now I wished that I was concentrating properly during those times. There was something worth doing at this school. "The fact that future months' income is blank is also a sign of this." If it stayed the same throughout the school year, it might as well already be filled in.
"…Are you sure you should be telling an enemy house about this?"
"Oh, please. As if you hadn't already figured it out. Besides, if you really lacked the ability to do even that, it would mean my estimation of you was so wrong you won't even prove to be a challenge."
"I see. You can carry on."
"Not so fast. Your turn, Ayanokouji-kun. I don't plan on spilling the secrets of the entire school system." I wanted to at least taste what that mind was capable of. He wouldn't disappoint me, I was sure of it.
"Sigh. What do you want to know?"
"Surprise me. A hint alone might be enough for you to grasp something you hadn't before." I wouldn't give him anything to work with, he already had everything he needed during the explanation our teachers gave us.
"Fine. How about the fact that everything will be revealed at the end of this month?"
"Unfair. Anyone could see that coming!" Don't try to get out of this you slippery snake!
"I suppose. I'll give you my guess then, just one of them though. There are a few possibilities."
"That's fine."
"At the end of the month our allowances will change, and the point distribution will affect it in some way."
"That's directly against the teacher's instruction."
"I know. You understand, don't you?" They clearly told us house points were not responsible for the monthly stipend we received… But that didn't mean the points we received, or deductions given by professors couldn't affect a different number… A hidden system.
"As I thought, you are the real deal. You believe the same as me. Those points serve two purposes."
"Indeed, it would be too convoluted to manage a totally separate metric for the private tokens as they're called. I'm guessing that individual granted or reduced points by the professors affects a hidden class total. Which will affect the allowance we get monthly. Or at least that's one of my working theories." Competition was encouraged in this school, though it always stipulated that competition was on a house scale. We lived together, learnt together and ate together in our assorted houses like a brotherhood of arms. It made the most sense for the point totals to also follow the same trend.
That being said there were other possibilities that lurked on the horizon, the only way to say for sure would be to wait until the month was over.
"…Before you ask-"I didn't want him to think I was conceited enough to actually look down on him. The false genius was capable of so much that I couldn't help but see it for myself. Just a smidgen of what he possessed.
"It's fine. Even if you were testing me, it's not like I haven't done the same. Besides, neither of us can say that it's definitely going to happen. There are plenty of possibilities as it stands."
"Does that mean, you'll agree to it? To our battle?" I didn't want to get ahead of myself, but I was close to reaching for the stars and thanking the heavens. I suppose I should be thanking Ayanokouji-kun instead.
"Rather I have just one question; Do you have what it takes to bury me for good?" He opened his palm towards me, his long fingers extending and separating to make room for my own hand.
"You have my word, I shall destroy the very thing your father sought to create." I grasped his firm hand with my own. It was warm despite his cold exterior. A few strands of hair present between his fingers, an artefact of his affection for the pup. How cute. His pup yipped and jumped excitedly placing both his front paws on our joining hands. It was as if he wanted to be included in this great battle to come.
"It seems I'll have an ally on my side, that won't dissuade you will it. Sakayanagi?"
"Hmmm, it does seem a tad unfair to have such a ferocious beast on your side. Perhaps I should even the odds."
"I suppose that's only fair." He returned. A twisted smile begun to frame my features before I could stop myself from uttering the single word.
"Pandemonium." The windows providing an ample backlight quickly obscured and darkened. A gathering of shadows on the warm glass exterior of the castle that quickly ate up the sun's rays, providing the inside as naught but a cold hospitality for shadows. Butterflies flew through the spare open windows and doors of the infirmary gathering around the bed.
Through the slit of the grand stained-glass window behind us, a single large looming eye that regarded us both silently. Ominously.
"A declaration of war. I'm so very looking forwards to this Ayanokouji-kun!" Four long years I've waited for this! To think our conflict could last nearly double that excruciating wait. Now that I know this is the result, it was all worth it. Every single second I waited. Every single hope and prayer I recited.
All of it was for this moment.
---
Word count: 4052
I think I teased it for long enough. Ayanokouji and Sakayanagi have met for real this time. The explanation for the competition and how there's something more going on behind the scenes made sense to me. But I'm the one writing it, so that barely means anything. Let me know if it's confusing or some things didn't make sense to you reading.
I think approaching their meeting from Sakayanagi's viewpoint was more interesting than the opposite. Ayanokouji also isn't particularly bothered about his secret being known and even predicted this beforehand due to his acceptance into the school. There's also the fact that magic is real, he wouldn't treat being a human experiment with as much secrecy if that were the case. I mean an entire world or rather, two entire worlds have been hidden from him his entire life, you kinda stop caring about stuff like that in response.
You can assume most of the day passed by as Sakayanagi fell asleep. That's why Hikari is in the room with him. Dumbledore also implored that Ayanokouji watch over her, more to annoy him and get them to confront each other than anything else. I debated showing this in the chapter but felt like it might drag the pace a bit. The conversation itself was already quite long winded.
Finally, Sakayanagi's 'ally' so to speak isn't against school rules or a spell by itself. It is classified as a pet, though I think I'll let you speculate just why it's allowed despite its immense size. I did mention in a previous chapter, I think Magical Menagerie when Ayanokouji bought Hikari. That certain pets; regarding size, ferocity etc. aren't allowed on campus. Keep in mind Sakayanagi's pet is within these restrictions, it isn't unlawfully entering the school premises.
Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter, let me know any thoughts you have in the comments below.
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Until next time.