Hana smell

Mimi clicked her tongue quietly, then raised her scissors and razors and swept them apart. Halfway through, a gigantic tree blocked their lines of sight, and Mimi vanished—or at least, that was how it should have appeared from Gekokujou Hana’s point of view.

***

“She vanished? Contestant Styler Mimi’s vanished under the shade of a tree! Where could she be…”

“Given her Magic, she probably gave herself a perfect magical makeover.”

“So she’s not just limited to urban fashions, but when she’s outdoors she’s adept at camouflaging herself too, is that it… but camouflage… camouflage? This is way beyond the level of camouflage!”

“That’s because it’s Magic.”

“I see, Magic… but this is a form of concealment on par with invisibility. One would need special senses to avoid being deceived by it. Like say, the ability to hear the voices of peoples’ hearts, the ability to sense body heat, a Magic that detects life energy and so on.”

“Indeed.”

“Then, let’s turn the camera’s infrared mode on. Ah, Contestant Mimi’s definitely there.”

***
In response to the commentator’s instructions, the camera changed its optical filter. The camouflaged Mimi was now moving towards Hana after circling around her.

***

“Her stance is low and she’s camouflaged to look like the grass, so that’s how she’s hiding herself. Even as she’s lowered her body, she’s still keeping her eyes on Contestant Gekokujou’s line of sight, moving like she’s carrying the grass on her back.”

“Those are the movements of an expert who’s familiar with her own Magic.”

***
Mimi moved slowly, taking feather-light steps, moving along the thick tree roots and taking the utmost care not to make mistakes like stepping on branches or leaving footprints behind, and indeed, she had shrunk the distance to her opponent. She began raising her razor five meters behind and at an angle from her, but then Hana began to move too. Hana turned around and took a step, moving straight towards the hidden Mimi and then launched a low kick. Mimi was still swinging her weapon and could not respond in time, and so she took a hit from her opponent’s ankle. A look of agony appeared on her face, and a cry escaped from the depths of her throat.

***

“She saw through it! She saw right through Contestant Mimi’s position and attack!”

“This is…”

“That must be Gekokujou-san’s Magic. Like our information says, she uses Magic that sharpens the senses. Going back to the example from before, did she sharpen her sense of hearing and smell to avoid being tricked by the camouflage?”

“Ah.”

“Her low kick also has frightening power.”

“No, as for that power… it’s probably the work of Magic too.”

***

It looked like just a gentle low kick. However, Mimi reacted like she had taken a heavy blow.

Hana low-kicked again, and she managed to block it with her calf this time. Even so, Mimi grit her teeth in pain. She back stepped, looking like she had been kneed, but Hana would not let Mimi off so easily. Hana advanced, keeping her distance as she attacked. She kicked low, then low again, and once Mimi’s attention was focused low, she suddenly kicked at Mimi’s middle. Mimi barely managed to respond to her opponent’s speedy combination attack, blocking with her calf, taking it on her arms, and every time Mimi was hit, it looked like she was in pain beyond the damage she had taken.

***

“Gekokujou-san’s Magic is ‘to sharpen senses’. Is she limited to using it on herself?”

“Why do you ask?”

“If it’s usable on others, then Mimi’s reaction is understandable. She specializes in fast attacks, but her aim is not to do damage. She probably just wants to make contact..Every touch she makes increases her opponent’s sensitivity to pain and places them in agony.”

“Making her opponents sensitive to pain… so she could do something like that.”

“It’s a Magic that’s much more broadly applicable than the name suggests.”

Mimi threw a series of razor blades forward. The razor blades gleamed in the light of the moon and stars, flashing as they danced in the air between them. Before the blades hit the ground, Mimi had already run off in the opposite direction. After waiting for the blades to fall, Hana began pursuing Mimi from behind.

***

“Contestant Gekokujou’s reactions are swift and agile. All the attacks she launched were simply intended to make contact with her opponent, so evading them would be very difficult. Compared to that, it would be wiser not to let Hana attack at all. That was why Mimi dispensed a large quantity of razor blades, filling the space between them and hindering her opponent’s movements.”