"Living together… isn't that moving a little too fast?"
Saeko Busujima clasped her hands behind her back, fingers fidgeting with each other as she gently rubbed her jade-white fingertips together.
She looked a bit flustered by Shuya's sudden proposal. Her breathing had grown heavier than usual, yet at the same time, a faint spark of excitement fluttered in her chest.
Since Saeko hadn't outright refused, Shuya already knew—she was interested. Deep down she was even looking forward to it.
The only thing holding her back was a girl's natural modesty and conservatism. All she needed was one little push from him, or a decent-sounding excuse she could hide behind.
After all, no matter how cool and heroic Saeko usually looked, she was still just an ordinary girl who had never even dated before. The only things setting her apart were her ridiculous combat talent and her slightly niche hobbies.
But there was no rush. Shuya wanted to enjoy this rare, adorable sight of the usually unflappable Saeko looking so conflicted and shy for a little longer.
It was the perfect chance to get a tiny bit of payback for the way she had teased him earlier.
The corner of Shuya's mouth curved upward in a barely noticeable smirk. He teased, "What? Saeko-senpai doesn't want to? Then forget I said anything."
"I—I didn't say that! Don't twist my words!"
Saeko panicked and waved her hands frantically.
"Oh? So Saeko-senpai does agree?"
Seeing how worked up she was getting, Shuya's grin widened even more as he kept pressing.
By now his smile was impossible to hide. Saeko finally realized he was messing with her on purpose.
Once that clicked, the tension in her chest eased. Her body relaxed, and she took a slow, deep breath. Puffing out her cheeks cutely, she reached out and lightly poked Shuya in the chest.
"Shuya-kun… you really are a petty man."
She was clearly remembering how embarrassed he had looked just minutes ago when she had teased him.
"Yeah, I am. So… are you moving in with me or not?" Shuya didn't deny it and simply asked again.
"Of course I am!"
Now that she had calmed down, Saeko could clearly see all the benefits of living together. Not only would she be able to ask Shuya for Nen guidance anytime and grow stronger faster, just the thought of sharing the same roof with him every day filled her heart with quiet joy.
"Perfect." Shuya nodded. "Let's go to your place first. I'll walk you home so you can grab some clothes and daily necessities."
...
Spear Club.
If kendo was one of Japan's most popular club activities and Fujimi Academy's kendo club was the biggest and most crowded on campus, then spear training was basically niche. Even though a few interested students had formed the spear club, compared to the packed kendo clubroom, the spear club's classroom was practically deserted—just a handful of members.
Yet right now, inside that quiet clubroom, a girl with long ash-brown hair was furiously thrusting a spear at a wooden training dummy.
Each strike was fast, accurate, and vicious—like the dummy had personally murdered her entire family.
Every single thrust landed in the exact same spot on the dummy.
If the club hadn't been worried about safety and budget issues, they would have used real spearheads instead of just wrapping cloth around the tip of a long pole. Otherwise that poor training dummy would have been shredded to pieces by now.
"Wow, Miyamoto-senpai is really going hard today. She's been at it forever…"
"Yeah, and have you noticed? She's putting way more power into every thrust than usual. Think something happened to her?"
"I didn't notice at first, but now that you mention it… yeah."
"Totally. The dummy's about to fall apart. I bet Miyamoto-senpai just got dumped."
"Probably not? I heard she got held back this year because of some school drama."
"So we should start calling her Miyamoto-san now, right?"
"…"
The ash-brown-haired girl kept training as if she couldn't hear any of the whispered gossip around her. She continued stabbing the dummy with perfect focus.
If anyone had leaned in close enough to her lips, they might have caught the quiet, venomous muttering:
"Damn you, Koichi Shido… damn you, Takashi Komuro… and that annoying Shuya!"
With every curse, another savage thrust slammed into the wood.
That's right—the girl was Rei Miyamoto.
Even though her family name sounded like it belonged to a sword master, she was actually a member of the spear club, not kendo.
"Miyamoto-san, club time is over. You should head home."
The spear club president finally interrupted her.
Rei snapped out of her trance.
"Crap, it's already this late?"
Only then did she remember—she still hadn't returned the bento box she borrowed at lunch. She had washed it but completely forgot to give it back to Shuya.
She quickly set down the training spear. "Sorry, President, something urgent just came up. Can I leave early?"
After getting permission, Rei practically bolted out of the clubroom.
"If I remember right, Shuya is in the kendo club… I wonder if he's still there?"
Muttering to herself, Rei hurried toward the kendo club building.
Just thinking about Shuya's annoying face made her stomach twist with irritation. If she didn't return the box today, who knew how he would mess with her tomorrow?
"Rei! What a coincidence. Want to walk home together?"
A familiar voice suddenly called out from behind her, stopping Rei in her tracks.
She turned around, and disgust flashed across her face.
It was her childhood friend, Takashi Komuro. He was in the baseball club, so it wasn't surprising he was still around. What Rei couldn't understand was how this guy could act like nothing had happened after hurting her so badly.
"Komuro-san, we're not that close, so could you please stop calling me by my first name? I'm afraid others might misunderstand."
Rei's voice was ice-cold.
"Huh?"
Takashi froze, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
He genuinely couldn't figure out why the girl he had grown up with was suddenly treating him like a stranger.
In Japan, personal boundaries mattered a lot. Casual friends used last names. Only close friends who had explicit permission used first names. Calling someone "-san" while using their last name usually meant "I know your name but we're not close."
"Shuya-kun, please wait!"
At that exact moment, Rei spotted Shuya walking out of the school building together with Saeko. She immediately chased after them, completely ignoring the childhood friend behind her.
Watching Rei's resolute back disappear, Takashi opened his mouth, wanting to say something to stop her… but nothing came out.
Deep down he had a sinking feeling—he might have just lost his childhood friend forever. A bitter, sour ache spread through his chest.
This question was too hard. How the hell was he supposed to solve it? The textbook didn't have the answer, and the teacher had never taught it.
He really couldn't figure it out…
---