Rebellion - Epilogue 2

[shivalries]

Season: Autumn

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Location: Judgment Stage (Gold)



Ritsu: ......

Tsukasa: Please do not make such a face, Ritsu-senpai.

My seniors are always so cavalier, so very arrogant that I can barely tolerate it...

But that confidence comes from the many victories you've seen up until now, no?

You stand tall and proud, your confidence matched by true ability... You see, I look up to all of you.

So, I beg you, please do not hang your head as if you've already lost.

Tell me, Ritsu-senpai. We Knights shall taste victory today, just as we always do—isn't that right?

Ritsu: ......

...Oh, so that's how you saw us, huh?

You've always got something to lecture us about, so I never thought you actually admired us.

So that's how it is... Then, as your Onii-chan, I can't go showing you this sorry sight~

I've gotta wake up and do my best now. Anzu, mind sparing some blood? I gotta psych myself up. ♪

Let it drip from your finger, and I'll drink it aaall dry like a knight pledging his loyalty.

Tsukasa: For goodness' sake, Ritsu-senpai! Please refrain from such gluttony and stop trying to drink her blood at every chance you get!

Onee-sama's blood, flesh, and bones are hers, and hers alone!

Ritsu: Geez... Can't take a joke, can you. Not that I really mind...

We already pinky promised that she'd let me have a sip later on, anyway. ♪

You really are a weird one, Su~chan. We were on the decline back when you joined Knights, but you still signed up with shining eyes...

You're insanely polite, but still childish. I've thought you were pretty interesting since the day we met.

And you're the only one His Majesty doesn't know.

He can't predict what you'll do, so you're our last hope... our final weapon.

That's why you're the king of our team right now.

It's true that you're still immature. You're a first year, which still makes you a burden.

But why do you think a lazy bunch like us have willingly and devotedly carried that burden with the utmost care?

I'm sure it was all for this day. Or maybe not, who knows... ♪

Well, the first round's about to end.

Win or lose, I bet the next opponent's gonna be the "Emperor" himself, Eichi Tenshouin... Ecchan.

I don't know if we could win against him, even if we take him on all together at once.

But I'll win. At the very least, I'll bring it to a tie. I promise.

Y'know, I may be lazy, but... I protect my promises with my life.

And after that, it'll be down to you and His Majesty, one on one. Make sure you win, 'kay? If you don't, we'd have died for nothing.

Leave our sacrifices behind you while you grab hold of the future. That's what I want you to do.



I once felt like I'd stopped for all eternity, but if even someone like me can help to build a new future...

Then that's all I could ever want. Even if the bright, dazzling future turns me to ash on the spot, I'd be satisfied. ♪

See you later, then.

Tsukasa: Y-Yes! May you find fortune upon the battlefield, Ritsu-senpai!

...It does leave me to wonder, Onee-sama—why, when things seem so hopeless, do I feel a strange clarity?

I feel a sense of unity in our bond, like I've never felt before.

On this very day... it feels as if we have truly become "Knights" for the first time.

We face the jaws of certain death, and bravely fight our way through... We have become a single blade—one forged by noble knights.

Is this why our king... why Leader has antagonized us so? Is this why he played the villain, provoked us, and drove us into this hardship?

Perhaps it is only my naivety speaking...

But yet, Onee-sama, is it a sin to hope for that?

Oh? So you will answer me with a smile?

In the end, Judgment is little more than a shameful squabble. Do you sneer at us for showing you such disgrace?

...No, you are not so heartless, Onee-sama. You, the producer we love and serve—

You would never ridicule us. Losing ourselves in these foolish debacles, fighting with all our might...

How our sweat pours, yet our souls are aflame—how alive we are. You see us like this, and you celebrate us, no?

Ahh, Onee-sama... So this is the meaning of youth. ☆

You have led me here and bestowed unto me this gift. You have adorned it with smiles, and given me such love.



I am so very grateful. ...May I ask for a kiss?

Won't you grant this Tsukasa Suou some courage?

You refuse? Tch... Well, no matter. I simply wanted to try asking.

Eheh, I thought perhaps even I should say some selfish and childish things once in a while. One joke, and my nervousness has melted away. ♪

Ah, but your expression...

It was just a little surprised, and just a little shy—how lovely, yet so rarely seen... I'll be satisfied with simply that for now. ♪

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