Chapter 103: Shigure's Injury
"Koichi-kun, wake up."
Takumi snapped awake from his blackout, realizing he was pillowed on Miu's soft thighs once again—another heavenly lap-pillow experience. Both Miu and Keni stared down at him with worried eyes. He shook his head, but his brain still felt like it was doing slow-motion somersaults. This level of dizziness hadn't hit him once since he officially stepped into the big leagues at Ryōzanpaku.
"I'm fine… What the heck happened to me?"
"You just collapsed out of nowhere! You scared us half to death!"
Keni's eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she clutched Takumi's hand tightly. Only then did the memories flood back. He'd been this close to pulling off a legendary double-date escalation with two gorgeous girls… and then nosebleed city followed by instant blackout.
He bolted upright and glanced at the sky. The moon was still riding high.
"Whatever! Miu, Keni—let's pick up right where we left off!"
Without waiting for permission, his hands shot straight for Miu's chest. Her face instantly turned beet-red. A hand-chop rose… but remembering his earlier collapse, she couldn't bring herself to actually land the blow. Instead she grabbed his wrist and huffed,
"Pick up your head, idiot! We're going home. Now."
"No way! No way no way! I wanna keep going!"
Takumi flopped onto the grass like a sulky elementary-schooler throwing a tantrum. How could they blue-ball him like this? Opportunities like tonight didn't come around every day!
Miu's forehead vein throbbed. Are you seriously in grade school?
Keni's cheeks were flaming as she murmured,
"Koichi-kun… there'll be plenty of other chances, okay?"
"Really?"
"Of course."
Miu muttered under her breath, "She hasn't actually promised anything yet…"
Takumi turned big pleading puppy eyes toward Miu. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and delivered a very gentle chop to his skull.
"There aren't that many chances waiting for you, you walking pervert! The second you get a little stimulation you keel over. Same thing happened in the hot spring with Shigure, and now the moment we give you a tiny bit of fanservice you pass out again. Face it—it's your own body that can't handle it. Don't blame me for not giving you more chances."
"Oof… critical hit…"
Miu's words stabbed straight through his heart like twin kunai. He clutched his chest dramatically.
"Wait, wait—that hot spring thing was just because I'd never been in one before! And earlier wasn't because of the stimulation, it was—"
Takumi abruptly shut his mouth.
He remembered now.
Right before the collapse, a mysterious expert had let out a cold snort—an attack so subtle he hadn't even sensed the internal damage until it was too late. The nosebleed looked like classic fanservice overload, but the truth was he'd been secretly hit. And whoever pulled that off had to be at least high-tier master level… maybe even…
Could it be… the invincible Superman?
"What was it?" Miu pressed.
"Nothing. Miu… just give me one more shot, pretty please?"
He had zero proof, and now he was paranoid. Better not spill everything. So he simply turned the saddest, most pitiful gaze he could muster on Miu.
Miu wasn't exactly thrilled about moving at supersonic speed toward losing her chastity, but the kind of steamy-yet-not-quite-there touching they'd done earlier? That she didn't mind. Mutual affection required physical closeness—it wasn't some pure Platonic mind-meld romance. Cheeks still burning, she said,
"What we did earlier was already my limit. Until I graduate high school, the key to my virginity stays firmly in my possession. Break that rule and you get nothing. Got it?"
"I swear!"
Takumi answered instantly with maximum sincerity.
'Yeah, right. If men's promises in that department actually meant anything, humanity wouldn't have hit eight billion.'
The night breeze was slowly picking up. Ever since Takumi started cultivating ki he could shrug off the cold, but Keni was trembling. He noticed immediately and pulled her into his arms.
"Okay… it's a shame to stop now, but there's always tomorrow. Let's head back."
He moved to scoop Keni up bridal-style—then realized Miu wasn't budging. His emotional radar pinged. Ah. Right.
He wrapped his other arm around Miu too.
"Takumi Airlines, human transport service commencing! Please keep all hands and feet inside the ride at all times."
He poured every ounce of ki he had into his legs. Blue electric arcs—visible even to normal people—crackled around him. Then he took off at blistering speed.
Both girls clung to his broad back, their hands eventually finding each other behind him and lacing fingers. They exchanged a small, secret smile.
To other girls it might look shameless—two of them sharing one boyfriend. Weird. Unthinkable.
But to them?
As long as Takumi never betrayed either of them… this arrangement honestly felt kind of perfect.
A triangle is the sturdiest shape, after all. No jealousy, no backstabbing—and they could have love and deep friendship.
Back at Ryōzanpaku, Takumi gave each girl a gentle forehead kiss goodnight. With so many masters around whose senses were razor-sharp, anything more blatant would get noticed instantly.
"Good night, Keni. Good night, Miu."
"Night, Koichi. I'm sleeping with Keni tonight, so you rest up too, okay?"
"Waaah, I wanna join—ow!"
Miu's fist met his shoulder. She grabbed Keni's hand and marched off.
Takumi trudged back to his room alone, rolling around in an empty bed. Tonight had been a massive leap forward with both girls… yet that mysterious warning kept gnawing at him.
Who the hell was it?
Fuurinji Hayato, maybe? Telling him to stop getting too cozy with Miu?
Or someone else entirely?
Eventually exhaustion won. He drifted off.
In the middle of the night he felt something heavy settle on the bed.
Eyes cracking open in the moonlight, he saw a pair of beautiful, intense eyes staring straight at him.
Takumi jolted—then relaxed. That familiar (yet slightly bloody) aura…
"Shigure! Where've you been? I wanted to take you, Miu, and Keni to the summer festival together, but you vanished."
"I went to retrieve some hunting blades."
Shigure spoke in full sentences for once, giving the short version of why she'd disappeared.
Hunting blades?
Takumi blinked… then the original story clicked back into place.
Shigure's father had been a legendary swordsmith. Unable to bear the thought of his ancient forging techniques dying out, he'd been corrupted by Darkness. He crafted countless lethal blades for them. Eventually, after clashing with Akisame Kōetsuji, guilt overwhelmed him and he threw himself off a cliff—leaving young Shigure in Akisame's care. She later came to Ryōzanpaku and became their first (and only) female disciple. Twenty years later she reached master level and earned the title "Child of Weapons."
'Darkness'…
A shadowy organization of martial artists who would kill without hesitation to achieve their goals. Even nations quietly tolerated—and sometimes hired—them. They held worldwide influence and were secretly issued "murder licenses" by various governments.
They embraced the long-forbidden belief that "killing is the true essence of martial arts." They never appeared in daylight. True to their name, they operated in utter darkness—split into two major factions: empty-hand and weapons.
After mastering her art, Shigure began her personal atonement quest: hunting down every blade her father had forged for murder and destroying them. Some were hoarded by tycoons and politicians, others wielded by powerful martial artists. Getting them back was never easy.
Over the past decade she racked up countless life-or-death battles, survived several near-fatal crises, perfected her skills, and three years ago finally became a true master—the only weapons-style master in Ryōzanpaku. Title: Child of Weapons.
Now that he remembered, Takumi didn't play dumb and ask obvious questions. Shigure didn't elaborate further either.
A quiet moment passed.
Takumi reached out to pull her into a hug.
She dodged smoothly.
That was when he noticed the bandages wrapped across her back—fresh blood slowly seeping through.
"Shigure… you're hurt?"
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