It was a little after 3:20 in the afternoon.
The sun had only drifted a short distance westward across the sky.
Kendo Club.
As the largest and most popular club at Fujimi Academy, the kendo club had been given the biggest classroom on campus as its home base.
Even though school had only let out a short while ago, the clubroom was already packed with students—regular members plus a bunch of freshmen who wanted to join.
But among all of them, the one who stood out the most was the cool, elegant girl with long dark-purple hair.
Noble background, god-tier sword skills, breathtaking beauty, and that gentle-yet-distant personality that kept everyone at arm's length.
Saeko Busujima perfectly embodied every fantasy people had about an "untouchable flower on the peak."
If Fujimi Academy had to pick one representative student, at least eighty percent of the school would vote for her without hesitation.
The other twenty percent? Probably just clueless freshmen who hadn't been around long enough.
Yet right now, that same untouchable goddess was walking straight up to a guy with a bright, genuine smile no one had ever seen on her face before.
In that moment, countless male hearts in the kendo club shattered into pieces.
What? You're saying the guy is Shuya?
Oh. Never mind then.
After all, in the year Shuya had been at Fujimi, he'd spent plenty of training sessions beating the absolute crap out of these same club members to sharpen his own sword skills.
"Shuya-kun, you're here?"
The second she saw him, Saeko's face lit up with joy. She hurried over, her steps noticeably lighter and happier than usual.
The moment Shuya saw her, he knew—she had signed the contract last night.
He could clearly sense the Nen seed inside her body, pulsing in perfect sync with his own.
That was all the proof he needed.
Shuya nodded. "Let's find somewhere quiet to talk first."
"Alright, give me a second."
Saeko had wanted to say more, but after glancing around the crowded room, she realized this definitely wasn't the place. She quickly spoke with a few senior club members, then came back. "Shuya-kun, let's go."
Soon the two of them reached an empty classroom.
"This should work," Saeko said. "It used to belong to a club that got shut down. It's pretty out of the way, so almost nobody comes here."
"Perfect."
Shuya didn't object. "Saeko-senpai, I'm guessing you signed the contract after you got home last night? And you've already felt that 'aura' inside your body, right?"
"Thank you, Shuya-kun."
Looking into his deep black eyes, Saeko pressed her lips together. There were so many things she wanted to say, but in the end all that came out was a soft, sincere "thank you."
"No need. You earned it."
Shuya smiled and shook his head, then got straight to business. "We can talk more later. Since you can already feel the aura inside you, I'll start teaching you how to control it right now."
"Yes."
Saeko's expression instantly turned serious and focused.
Unlike the lazy Shizuka, Shuya had much higher expectations for Saeko.
After all, she was the main combat powerhouse of the entire anime—the girl who could carve through hordes of zombies with nothing but a wooden sword.
He was genuinely excited to see what kind of Nen ability she would awaken and then share with him through their contract.
Normally, learning Nen took forever.
Just like Zushi in Hunter x Hunter, beginners usually had to spend months tempering their bodies and sharpening their willpower.
But there was also a much faster, riskier shortcut—the "heretic method."
That was exactly what Gon and Killua used in the original story. You could awaken in less than a day.
The dangerous way involved having a Nen user force your aura nodes wide open, so the life energy that usually trickled out like toothpaste now gushed out like air from a popped balloon. Even an idiot could feel it then. The hard part was learning to control it before you ran out of life force and died.
Thankfully, because of the contract, Saeko already had a stable Nen seed planted inside her. That entire risky step could be skipped.
Strictly speaking, this contract method was also a form of heretical shortcut cultivation.
Shuya began explaining, "First, the energy inside your body is called Nen. People who fight using it are called Nen users. The foundation of everything is built on the Four Major Principles."
"Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu."
"Almost every advanced technique is an extension of these four basics."
"'Ten' is the ability to stop your life energy from leaking out and to concentrate it wherever you need it."
He paused for a second. "Saeko-senpai, do you have any tissues on you?"
"Huh? Yes, I do."
Saeko blinked, a little confused, but quickly pulled out a small pack and handed it over. "Is this enough? I can get more if you need."
"It's perfect."
Shuya took the pack, pulled out a single tissue, and channeled Nen into it.
Instantly, the soft, flimsy paper became rigid and stiff in his hand.
"Watch closely. This is an advanced application of Ten."
With a casual flick, he threw the tissue.
It spun through the air like a playing card and sank straight into the concrete floor like a hot knife through butter.
Impossible!
Saeko's pupils shrank in shock.
She knew better than anyone—that was just an ordinary tissue. Soft. You could tear it apart with barely any effort.
Yet now it had embedded itself into solid reinforced concrete without any resistance.
Even though she had mentally prepared herself for supernatural powers, actually seeing it happen still left her stunned.
No matter how skilled she was with a sword, even with the finest blade in the world, she had zero confidence she could do something like that.
And that was just a regular tissue.
What if it had been a real sword?
Or even her usual white oak practice sword…?
The look in Saeko's eyes as she stared at Shuya grew even hotter with excitement.