Meanwhile, on the rooftop of Sōbu High's main school building—
"That brat…"
Hiratsuka Shizuka lit a slim ladies' cigarette. As she smoked, she replayed the scene she'd witnessed in the hallway.
As a teacher, she'd seen student fights plenty of times. Even the "tough" kids mostly just flailed wild punches and threw a few messy kicks. Most brawls ended with one side taking enough pain to back down.
But this time was different.
Shizuka read hot-blooded manga all the time, and she'd also trained in martial arts in a structured way for a while. She could tell at a glance how textbook-perfect Hōjō Yoru's step-in side kick had been—his load, the footwork, the strike point, the follow-through—every detail was clean, crisp, and nearly flawless.
And it wasn't just that he knocked those upperclassmen down.
He made it so they couldn't get back up for a while—meaning they lost the ability to keep fighting.
That wasn't "a student brawl" anymore.
It looked more like a real combat sports match.
"Where did he learn to fight like that?" Shizuka muttered, frowning. "Those movements are so practiced… and his expression wasn't tense at all. He didn't even have the normal excitement most boys get when they fight—he's clearly used to combat…"
Her thoughts took a weird turn.
"This kid… don't tell me he fights in underground matches? Like some illegal ring?"
She stubbed out her cigarette in an ashtray she'd brought up to the rooftop and set by the railing. Her brows were still drawn tight—but then she gave a self-mocking laugh and dismissed the idea as too absurd.
No way.
Hōjō-kun was outstanding—ranked first among the incoming freshmen, chosen as the freshman representative to speak on stage.
How could someone like that be doing something so dangerous?
She must be watching too much tokusatsu and fighting manga. Her brain wiring had gotten weird.
......
At noon, in First Year Class A—
[Hōjō-kun, are you okay?]
Seeing Shoko Nishimiya's question in her notebook, Yoru looked up. Her cute face was full of worry and concern. He simply chuckled.
"I'm better than I've ever been. Only problem is I didn't get to enjoy the beating enough. It wasn't satisfying."
Shoko visibly relaxed. Then she stole a glance at Yoru's smiling face, her cheeks tinting red. After holding it in for a while, she finally spoke—her words soft, slightly unclear, and oddly sweet with that gentle, hesitant tone.
"F-fighting… dangerous… bad… I… I worried you'd get hurt…"
"Fighting? That's not what that was."
Yoru spread his hands, smiling as lightly as ever.
"That was just me punishing them, one-sided. No danger, no injuries. I'm all about stepping in when I see injustice—"
He added, shamelessly:
"—limited to beautiful girls, of course."
While Yoru and Shoko talked, Yukinoshita Yukino—who looked like she was reading a light novel—was actually thinking hard.
She realized she'd misunderstood something.
Hōjō Yoru did resemble her sister, Yukinoshita Haruno, in a lot of ways.
But when a real "problem" appeared, she found that Yoru and Haruno were completely different types of people.
If Haruno had been faced with Tōma Kazusa's situation, she probably wouldn't have done anything—she'd just stand aside and enjoy the show. Even if she chose to help, she'd do it in a subtle way: embellish the story afterward, leverage her status as an excellent student, and pressure the school into handing the upperclassmen a severe punishment.
But Yoru wasn't like that.
As the freshman representative, he could've done the same thing.
Instead, his choice was simple—brutal, direct.
Yukino didn't know how to feel about it.
But…
When she saw it happen, something inside her had been stirred.
That kind of violence that ignored "atmosphere" and "fitting in," that cut straight through everything—
Honestly?
It looked… pretty satisfying.
A thought even surfaced in Yukino's mind: back then, when she was ostracized for not fitting in, when classmates hid her outdoor shoes on purpose—if Hōjō Yoru had been there…
Or if she could be like him…
He'd probably just beat up every student who looked suspicious.
Every time her shoes went missing, he'd beat them again—until it stopped.
"Hōjō."
At that moment, Yuuki Asuna walked up to Yoru's desk and spoke with effortless confidence.
"Want to eat lunch together?"
Yoru stood up immediately, without hesitation.
"Yeah. Let's go."
......
Once again, they were on the rooftop.
Asuna shut the door with urgency, drew in a deep breath, and stared into Yoru's eyes with a look of fierce determination. Yoru couldn't help teasing her.
"What's that look? You trying to have a rooftop showdown with me?"
"Who wants to fight you—"
Asuna started to snap back, but then suddenly realized what he was implying. Her face flushed.
"Y-you mean a real fight when you say 'rooftop showdown,' right…?"
"It's still a kind of fight." Yoru shrugged. "If you say it is, it is. I won't argue."
"Y-you—!"
To avoid getting dragged into his nonsense rhythm again, Asuna forcibly yanked the topic back onto the main track.
"Hōjō-kun."
Yoru was opening a deluxe convenience-store bento and cracking open an ice-cold Coca-Cola from the vending machine, sounding casual.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Please throw me off the roof a few more times!"
"…What are you even saying?"
Yoru deadpanned the complaint like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"You're out here getting free bungee-jump experiences? 'Throw me off,' and not just once but multiple times? Yuuki Asuna, I'm not your entertainment device—at least not that kind of entertainment device."
"I'm not doing it for fun!"
Asuna sat down beside him and explained seriously.
"I was thinking—if I experience 'near-death panic' a few more times, if my emotions spike more often… maybe I'll get used to it. Maybe I'll be able to issue commands to that metal thing."
"…You're a special kind of genius."
Yoru never bothered being polite about this stuff. Asuna wasn't some fragile "princess," so he always just said it outright.
"If you genuinely thought you were going to die, it might work. But you already know I'll save you in advance. What's the point of this method?"
"Oh…"
Asuna replied, deflated. She sighed softly.
"Then why is it…? I'm sure I'm not worse than you…"
"You're getting bold."
Yoru patted her shoulder, speaking with grave sincerity.
"I'm Tokyo's strongest Devil Hunter, Yuuki Asuna."
He leaned in with the final blow, utterly shameless.
"So tell me—what 'champion' are you?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 90)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter70)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter70)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter60)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 30
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 30
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