Somewhere else in the Stadium

Blake stays silent as he watches the replay of one of the Scarlet Wolf’s latest battles – particularly the one between her and the Class I girl named Lost – meanwhile his classmates and friends around him continue gossiping about who they believe will win the Primary out of the five remaining students.

He doesn’t care though. All he cares about is White’s daughter.

“Blake!” Blake vaguely hears his name being called but ignores it to continue watching the replay with his head resting on the palm of his hand, his elbow on the armrest of the bleacher seat. “Blake Walker!”

Blake finally raises his head to frown at his friend, wondering just what’s so important that they’d continue bothering him.

“Finally! Are you really that interested in that Class I girl?” Lexi Carter asks with an amused look on her face. “It can’t be love at first sight, can it?!”

Blake scoffs at that before returning his attention to the screen again.

“Nah, the great Blake Walker, son of the Red Knight of Humanity, would never fall for a mundane girl!” his other friend, a loose term that might snap if they keep this up, says with a rather amused tone clear in his voice.

“Oh, right, I forgot about that,” Lexi says, playing in on the joke at Blake’s expense.

The two continue ribbing him for a few seconds, uncaring of his lack of any responses until Aidan finally asks, “So why are you intensely watching that girl’s fights anyways?”

“Is it because she’s likely going to reach Class II right after this? So she’ll be competing with us during the next tournament?” Lexi prods, leaning too close to Blake for comfort as she looks at the screen in front of him showing the replays.

Blake pushes her away with a grunt before pausing the replay as he says, “I want to see my competition.”

“So I was right?” Lexi asks, sounding proud of herself.

“No, you weren’t,” Blake shuts her down without any hint of pity. “I’m watching her because she’s in the same situation I am, and I will not be outdone like my father was.”

Both of his friends go silent at that, understanding what he means.

For as long as he can remember, his father, Noah Walker, the great Red Knight of Humanity, has always been ‘competing’ with the White Knight of Humanity. And also for as long as he can remember, he has been losing at every turn.

I can’t fucking believe that prick. Now he expects me to compete with White’s daughter just because he competes with her mother?!

Blake’s fist clenches as he remembers the absolute shit storm of a conversation he had with his father about the subject. But in the end, it was Red’s way or Red’s way. No other choice.

Even after I graduated I can’t get out from under his damned thumb… why can’t he just get over White already?! And why does he have to constantly try making me into a carbon copy of himself?!

Blake feels both of his friends patting his back in sympathy. And if it were any other time, he would thank them for caring. But now?

All he does is continue watching the girl’s fights back to back, trying to find any possible weakness he can while completely looking past her status as a Class I despite his being Class II.

Despite her rather instinctive fighting style, she does seem to have some skill in martial arts. Even if a lot of it appears to be some sort of technique she’s developing on her own to make use of her claws. She’s also very cunning and uses her skills in unexpected ways that ends up bringing her the win.

Several seconds pass as the man completely ignores the gazes of the many people around them, all of which know who he is despite none of them being courageous enough to approach. Because Blake has already made it abundantly clear that he does not appreciate fans, and especially not fangirls who try to ask him out or get autographs.

“Remind me again why we don’t have our own private booth?” Aidan asks out of the corner of Blake’s eye. But Lexi answers for him, “Because we’re not participants in today’s tournament, and students aren’t allowed to get their own booth unless they are participating in the tournament that is currently going on.”

“Right, a stupid rule,” Aidan says, mocking the rule.

Blake can’t help but agree with him, but at the same time he realizes that there can only be so many private booths. And all of the working Guardians who are out of university will likely be taking those up themselves, hence the need for the rule.

A few seconds pass before the gazes grow in number, the distraction that was the tournament being on hold due to the hour long break, making the civilians all the more aware of their surroundings. So eventually, Blake gets up from his seat, drawing the eyes of dozens, maybe even hundreds of people as he says, “Let’s go somewhere else until the match starts.”

Both his friends immediately agree with him, and they head off to a less populated area outside of the stadium where they sit down in a lobby.

After they sit down, Blake immediately pulls up recordings of the girl again, feeling his fist clenching slightly in the process.

Damnit, it’s so fucking annoying.

Blake always felt that his father’s romantic interest in White was ridiculous with how much he fought her, even knowing that the woman has a daughter already. But he knew it the instant he laid his eyes on White’s daughter.

That she is his type.

No matter how much I hate to say it, we really are father and son… and that pisses me off.

Blake shakes his head at the thought before sighing, a scowl permanently resting on his face that sends any would-be fans that happen to notice him despite the much less populate area scurrying away.

Whatever. I can just beat her in the next Interschool Tournaments and never see her again. No time for romance anyways, not that she looks like she’d even be interested.

Blake’s eyes narrow at that last thought, and he shakes his head again.

Damnit.