Takahashi Yuuya stared wide-eyed at the woman standing behind Komoe-sensei.
'Kiyama Harumi... I didn't expect to meet her here.'
It had been a month since he last saw Kiyama. Because the research institute she worked for was located in District 13—a sector heavily concentrated with kindergartens and elementary schools—it was quite a distance from his usual stomping grounds.
She looked even gloomier than she had a month ago.
She had the typical appearance of an overworked, borderline-obsessive scientist. Although her figure was excellent, her face was haggard. She wore her signature white lab coat over a slightly unbuttoned dress shirt and a black miniskirt. Her dark brown hair was a messy, unkempt bird's nest, giving the impression that she barely had time to manage her own life.
Heavy, dark bags under her eyes made her look perpetually drowsy.
Yuuya felt a pang of sympathy. In this timeline, he had known Kiyama for three years, watching her slowly transform from a bright, naturally kind older sister-figure into this wistful, sleep-deprived shell of a researcher.
"Alright, my little kitties! Everyone come get your test numbers now! Be patient~!"
Komoe-sensei's sweet, cloying voice quelled the restless students. Whether boy or girl, being taught by someone as adorable as Komoe-sensei was incredibly comforting.
The System Scans were a slow process. Even testing the Level 0s took about ten minutes each. Those with actual abilities took much longer, having to undergo a rigorous series of physical, cognitive, and power-output exams—including a mandatory AIM Diffusion Field scan.
"The AIM scan makes it hard to hide my Level 5 status," Yuuya muttered to himself, arms crossed.
The stronger the Esper, the denser their passive AIM Diffusion Field. He could fake throwing a punch or running a dash, but the AIM radar read the raw data of a person's Personal Reality. It couldn't be faked.
"If I'm going to be exposed anyway, I'll just use my Move Point and officially register as a Level 5 Spatial User," Yuuya rubbed his chin, formulating a plan.
"What are you muttering to yourself? Thinking about lewd things again?"
Seiri Fukiyori's sharp voice came from beside him.
"Yeah. I was thinking about lewd things. Did you notice?" Yuuya deliberately feigned a lecherous grin, his gaze shifting downward by exactly thirty centimeters.
Fukiyori was undeniably well-behaved, managed the class perfectly, and loved to help others. She was actually quite cute. But her most prominent feature was... she was just too big.
A visible anime-style "popping vein" mark appeared on Fukiyori's forehead. She grabbed Yuuya by the shoulders and violently slammed her forehead into his.
THWACK!
"Go to hell!"
"..."
"OUCH! Ouch, ouch, ouch!"
Fukiyori immediately released him and squatted on the ground, clutching her forehead. It was bright red, and tears streamed down her face.
"How can your head be so hard?!" she wailed.
"My skull is harder than a diamond. Your signature forehead-banging technique is completely ineffective against me, Fukiyori," Yuuya said matter-of-factly.
"You're getting worse and worse lately!" Fukiyori stood up, glaring at him with sharp, watery eyes. She crossed her arms and gave a cold snort.
"Don't be angry, Fukiyori. Stress causes wrinkles. Here, how about this?"
With a slight flick of his wrist, a cute, bear-shaped shoulder massager appeared in Yuuya's hand. He had pulled it from his System Inventory.
"Where did you get that from?" Fukiyori stared at the sudden appearance of the gadget, blinking in surprise.
"Shouldn't the focus be on the massage, not the magic trick?" Yuuya walked behind her and placed the vibrating bear on her tense shoulders. "Here, put it on."
"W-Wait a minute..." Fukiyori's delicate features flushed slightly. She wanted to refuse, but the vibrations were already working out the knots in her shoulders.
Suddenly, her expression turned highly suspicious. She looked at him over her shoulder.
"You don't mean... you want to date me, do you?"
"Yeah. So what?" Yuuya boldly admitted, grinning.
"..."
Fukiyori froze. She didn't reject him outright, but instead slipped into her 'model student' aura.
"Although I have considered the sociological benefits of finding a boyfriend in high school... I still firmly believe that a student's primary focus should be on studying."
"Studying, graduating, finding a stable job, and then finding someone I like to marry and have children with. Isn't that the proper, well-ordered path in life?"
"Fukiyori, are you having stage fright?" Yuuya teased.
"No way!" she huffed.
"So you don't mind dating me~"
"I don't mind the concept, but I don't feel like dating right now," Fukiyori said, trying to keep her face straight.
"Are you an iron-wall maiden?" Yuuya chuckled.
A row of black lines appeared on Fukiyori's forehead. "No! I just prioritize efficiency!"
"In that case, why don't you try dating me as an experiment?" Yuuya leaned in, like a wolf enticing a little rabbit to take the bait. "Just to test the waters."
"Are you serious?"
"Completely serious."
"Okay... I'll think about it."
Fukiyori looked away, her face flushing bright red. "I-I just want to see if it gives me any specific feelings! Don't misunderstand! I don't really want to date you!"
She secretly harbored a strong liking for Yuuya—certainly more than any of the other immature boys in the class.
"Don't worry. I won't misunderstand," Yuuya laughed, patting her head.
"Hmph! Don't get cocky!" Fukiyori snorted, stomping away to organize the other students.
Yuuya looked down at his test slip.
"Ah, it's my turn."
He quickly filled out the required paperwork and walked over to the testing station on the playground. It was surrounded by heavy, unfamiliar scanning instruments.
Kiyama Harumi was sitting at the terminal with her laptop. When she looked up and saw Yuuya, she paused, her fingers freezing over the keyboard.
"It's you..."
"Oh~ It's been a long time, Kiyama-sensei," Yuuya smiled softly. "You look much more haggard than you did a month ago. Didn't I tell you to make sure you get enough nutrition? Did you forget again?"
Kiyama's gloomy expression became evasive. She hadn't expected to encounter this uniquely troublesome student here.
"I didn't expect to meet you here either. Did you advance to this high school?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. Well, this isn't the time to chat. Let's get the System Scan out of the way first."
Kiyama rubbed her tired eyes and looked at the data on her screen. A hint of surprise flashed across her face.
"Oh? You've developed an Esper ability? Let's see... a Level 2 Pyrokinesis?"
"Then, please step into the booth. We will begin the thermal output test."
"No need," Yuuya interrupted, his lips curling into a confident smile.
"I don't have Pyrokinesis. The data you're looking at is from a clerical error."
He stepped forward.
"My ability is Move Point. And I'm ready to update my file."
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