"Ahem." Shuya coughed lightly twice to cover up his embarrassment. "Let's keep talking about Nen."
"Alright~"
Saeko Busujima's eyes sparkled with amusement, but she didn't call him out. Just like she'd said earlier—protecting a man's dignity is a woman's pride. And protecting Shuya's dignity definitely counted as protecting him.
"I've already shown you all Four Major Principles of Nen. Next, you should start getting familiar with the most basic one: Ten."
Shuya's expression turned serious. "After that, I'll hit you with Ren again like before. All you have to do is wrap your aura around your body. It'll act like a down jacket protecting you from a blizzard and block the pressure I release."
The moment she heard that, Saeko's face paled slightly as she remembered the terrifying feeling from earlier—like being stared down by a prehistoric monster. She really didn't want to experience that helplessness again.
But once Shuya said Ten could defend against Ren, color slowly returned to her cheeks.
"I understand."
Saeko nodded, closed her eyes, and carefully followed his instructions. She focused on the aura flowing inside her body and began guiding it outward.
Soon, the aura formed a thin protective membrane around her entire body—like an invisible coat of Nen.
"I did it."
Saeko opened her eyes, pure joy shining in them.
Nen is life energy, formless and invisible to the naked eye. Only by using an advanced application of Ren called Gyo—concentrating aura over the eyes—can you actually see it.
After more than a year of training, if Shuya couldn't do at least that much, he might as well go feed the dogs.
So of course he could clearly see the layer of aura wrapped around Saeko.
He wasn't surprised. Gon and Killua in Hunter x Hunter had managed the same thing the moment they first learned to control their aura. There was no reason Saeko—with the help of the Nen seed from their contract—couldn't do it too.
What actually shocked him was something else.
In just these few minutes, he already felt a fresh surge of Nen syncing into his body from Saeko.
It wasn't anywhere near his total amount, but it was still a lot. At least as much as he would gain from thirty full minutes of normal training.
That was insane.
Could Saeko… actually be a genius?
Honestly, Shuya felt a little attacked.
His half-hour of hard work was worth less than her few minutes of casual practice—at least three times less.
But then he remembered: once they were contracted, he synced everything she trained.
So… I'm a genius too!
Confirmed.jpg
So this is what eating soft rice feels like?
I'm in love. I'm in love!
Delicious! More please!
At the same time, he couldn't help feeling a twinge of regret. Why had he waited until now to contract Saeko? If he'd done it a year ago, he would've saved himself years of grinding!
His gaze toward her grew noticeably hotter.
"Shuya-kun… why are you looking at me like that?"
Saeko felt a little creeped out by his stare and asked softly.
Shuya scratched his cheek with an awkward laugh. "N-nothing."
He definitely couldn't tell her "your soft rice tastes amazing."
He cleared his throat and got back on topic. "Ready to face my Ren again?"
"Mm."
Saeko turned serious. Even though she was still a little scared inside, she nodded firmly. "Bring it."
Shuya nodded and immediately released his aura.
An invisible pressure exploded outward from his body.
Even though it couldn't be seen or touched, it felt far more terrifying than any blizzard.
The moment the wave hit her, Saeko instinctively took a few steps back.
But the layer of Ten around her body quickly kicked in.
Compared to before, the Ren that had felt like a raging storm now felt like nothing more than a gentle breeze.
Realizing the pressure had dropped dramatically, Saeko began walking forward step by step.
She moved easily. In no time at all she was standing right in front of Shuya.
Her purple eyes locked onto his, as if waiting for something.
"Well done."
Shuya cut off the aura and gave her genuine praise.
The moment she received his approval, a flicker of delight flashed in Saeko's eyes.
For the next hour and more, Shuya continued guiding her through deeper practice of Ten, as well as Zetsu and Ren.
Maybe because she had trained in kendo since childhood, Saeko picked up the essence of Zetsu and Ren frighteningly fast. She had already gained basic mastery of all three.
By the time the clock approached five in the afternoon—the end of club activities—Shuya called a stop.
"Alright, it's getting late. That's enough for today."
He suddenly remembered that Shizuka had taken the day off to visit her best friend Rika. He wasn't sure if she'd be coming home tonight.
If it was just him, no problem—but there were two hungry Snowball Beasts waiting at home. There was zero chance the ditzy blonde had taken them with her.
"Stop here?"
The visible speed of her growth had completely mesmerized Saeko. She hadn't even noticed how much time had passed.
Only after Shuya spoke did she glance out the classroom window and realize the sun had already turned into a golden sunset sinking in the west.
She felt a little reluctant to end their alone time, but she didn't push. She simply tucked the anticipation for tomorrow deep in her heart.
"I've taught you all Four Major Principles. From now on just keep practicing on your own. If you run into anything you don't understand, you can go find Marikawa-sensei in the infirmary."
Shuya sold out the lazy blonde without hesitation. That woman barely trained seriously anyway—she needed something to do.
Plus, even though she slacked off, after nearly a year she had still awakened her own Nen Beast. Her foundation was solid enough to teach a complete beginner like Saeko.
"Marikawa-sensei?"
Saeko looked surprised.
So the lazy, ditzy blonde school nurse in the infirmary was also a Nen user?
That really caught her off guard.
Maybe this was what they meant by "never judge a book by its cover."
"Wait!"
Shuya suddenly thought of something and called after her. "Do you live alone right now?"
"Yes," Saeko answered without thinking. "My mother passed away when I was very young. I'm already an adult, and my father trusts me completely, so he left me here in Japan while he went abroad to develop the Busujima sword style at his dojo."
"Then… would you consider moving in with us?"
The sudden suggestion made Saeko's breathing hitch. Her voice even stuttered.
"M-move in… and live together with Shuya-kun…?"
Her brain went completely blank. The only two words left echoing inside were "live together."
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