"Haruno? What are you doing here?" Shizuka Hiratsuka's surprised voice broke the tension.
Haruno... Rei Ao raised an eyebrow. No wonder this sudden visitor seed familiar—it was Haruno, Haruno Yukinoshita, Yukino's older sister. Aside from the obvious differences in their figures, they did resemble each other quite a bit.
"That's not important right now," Haruno's eyes narrowed as she fixated on Rei Ao. "Did you drug Shizuka's drink? I hope you're not planning anything foolish. Whether it's Shizuka's connections or the Yukinoshita family, you wouldn't want to ss with them."
There was a hint of threat in her tone. Hiratsuka quickly realized what Haruno had misunderstood.
"Wait!" she stood up hurriedly, placing a hand on Haruno's shoulder to calm her down. "You've got it all wrong, Haruno. I wasn't drugged."
"Not drugged?" Haruno sounded skeptical but softened her tone. "Then what was this guy's hand doing near your legs just now?"
"Uh..." Hiratsuka thought back and realized how easily Rei Ao's actions could have been misinterpreted by an outsider. Her ears reddened as she pointed to the ice sculpture in Rei Ao's hand. "He was just showing a magic trick—this."
Rei Ao shrugged. "That's one way to put it."
"..." Haruno quickly caught on. Hiratsuka was sober and in full control of her faculties, which ant her assumption had been wrong. Her expression instantly shifted to an apologetic smile.
"My bad. I misunderstood the situation, Rei Ao," Haruno said smoothly. "I'll make it up by drinking as punishnt." She poured herself a drink and downed it in one go, her face completely composed as she set the glass down. "Oh, and I'll cover your tab today."
She was quick to apologize, and just as quick to handle the aftermath.
"I get that you're looking out for Shizuka as a friend," Rei Ao said, "but next ti, it might be best to confirm the situation before jumping in."
"Also, I'm openly pursuing Shizuka—I wouldn't use any underhanded thods."
"Ugh! Don't just say things like that!" Hiratsuka's face flushed red with embarrassnt as Rei Ao's blunt words echoed in her mind. She grabbed his hand and twisted it playfully in response. If Rei Ao were an ordinary person, he probably would've yelped in pain by now.
"Haha, Rei Ao, you're refreshingly straightforward," Haruno comnted with amusent. His candidness left quite the impression on her.
Sensing that her presence might now be unnecessary, Haruno rose to her feet. "I won't intrude on you two any longer. Shizuka, just send the bill later."
With that, she made a swift exit, not wanting to linger as a third wheel.
"Haruno Yukinoshita..." Rei Ao's eyes followed her retreating figure, deep in thought. The Yukinoshita family really was full of stunning won.
"Admiring the view?" Hiratsuka teased, narrowing her eyes at him.
"She's definitely attractive," Rei Ao admitted without hesitation. But then he turned to Hiratsuka, eting her playful yet slightly annoyed gaze. "Still, you and Haruno have completely different types of charm."
"Oh, really?" Hiratsuka replied with a cold smile. "And what's that supposed to an? 'Older won' charm?"
She had noticed how Rei Ao's eyes lingered on Haruno just monts ago. She had thought Rei Ao was straightforward, but it seed he was just as much of a "little pervert" as the next guy.
Rei Ao sighed. "It seems like you've already forgotten what we were discussing earlier, Sensei." He gently squeezed her hand, which he was still holding, sending a familiar chill through her skin.
In an instant, Hiratsuka snapped back to the earlier conversation—the display of supernatural power, the ice sculpture that had materialized right in front of her.
She stared at the small, intricately detailed ice replica of herself still sitting on the table, rembering how Rei Ao had created it out of thin air. It was impossible to deny what she had witnessed.
"How... How did you do that?"
"Supernatural powers," Rei Ao responded calmly.
"..."
This ti, Shizuka Hiratsuka didn't treat it as a joke. She thought more carefully about what she had just seen—it clearly wasn't sothing that could be explained as a magic trick.
To give her a more direct experience, Rei Ao pointed at the ice sculpture on the table.
Crack!
There was a small noise, and then the ice sculpture—an exact replica of Shizuka Hiratsuka—started to move. At first, it moved stiffly, as if adjusting its joints. But soon, it began to pose dramatically, even spreading its legs provocatively on the table.
"Stop!!!" Shizuka quickly grabbed the ice sculpture, halting its movents. Seeing an ice version of herself acting like that in front of Rei Ao was more than she could handle.
"Do you believe now?"
"Yes, yes, I believe you!" Shizuka nodded repeatedly.
Seeing her reaction, Rei Ao dispersed the ice sculpture, causing it to vanish into thin air.
"Gone?" Shizuka touched the dry surface of the table and the cold sensation lingering on her fingers. This... was magic! She was now fully convinced that Rei Ao possessed supernatural abilities. But the realization hit her hard—so much so that she drank several more bottles of alcohol to calm her nerves before slumping back onto the sofa in a daze.
Supernatural abilities... It was enough to shake her entire worldview.
She stared at Rei Ao, asking, "Are there many people like you?"
"Not many," Rei Ao responded calmly. "But this world isn't simple. Angels and demons might exist, too."
He didn't say it directly, but Shizuka sensed sothing hidden in his words. Angels and demons... it was almost too much to fathom.
She watched as Rei Ao's expression shifted into a faint smile, and he leaned closer, whispering in her ear with a devilish tone, "If you're willing to be one of my girlfriends, I can show you a whole new world."
"!!!"
The warm breath on her ear made Shizuka's heart race, especially since no man had ever gotten this close to her before. But then she caught onto sothing important.
"One of your girlfriends?"
She looked at him suspiciously. "What does that an?"
Rei Ao shrugged and spoke honestly, "I won't lie. I plan to have more than one girlfriend."
"Ha?!"
After hearing Rei Ao's blunt confession, Shizuka's mind was spinning. She had almost been swayed by his straightforward pursuit, but his final revelation completely threw her off balance. This guy was clearly just a playboy after her body!
Normally, if soone tried this with her, they'd receive a punch to the face. But Rei Ao didn't follow normal rules—he was so blunt it was almost disarming. Even she didn't know if she should punch him or not.
In the end, she excused herself to the bathroom to gather her thoughts. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Shizuka smiled wryly. "This is the first ti soone's been so brazen about just wanting my body."
After splashing so water on her face and drying her hands, she left the bathroom with the intention of firmly rejecting Rei Ao. But she wasn't paying attention and accidentally bumped into a gaudily dressed woman.
It was just a light bump, but the woman, with her heavy makeup and dramatic eyeliner, glared at Shizuka's appearance with displeasure.
"Ow!"
Then, in an exaggerated fashion, the woman dramatically fell to the ground. She was accompanied by a muscular man covered in tattoos and wearing a chunky gold chain, clearly her boyfriend.
"How dare you bump into her!"
The man imdiately played the protective boyfriend, raising his voice. Shizuka's expression darkened—this was clearly a setup, a scam. These people were trying to pull a "bump and scam" on her. Unfortunately for them, they picked the wrong person, as she was skilled in Taekwondo.
Before the man could make a violent move, however, he froze, unable to move, as did the overly dramatic woman.
"Hmph, trash like this dares to ss with soone I care about?" Rei Ao appeared, his eyes cold.
Shizuka, surprised, asked, "What happened to them?"
"Don't worry," Rei Ao reassured her. "They won't die. I just taught them a small lesson."
He gently touched Shizuka's hand as he led her around the frozen couple. "Let's go."
Shizuka, still in shock, let herself be guided away. After they were gone, the two scamrs returned to normal.
"Huh? Where did they go?" The man and woman were confused, unsure of what had just happened.
But then, as if acting on so strange impulse, both of them reached for their crotches simultaneously. Rei Ao had left them a "gift"—one would suffer from impotence for a month, and the other would experience a month of sexual disinterest.
…
"Sensei, I can tell you're probably feeling confused right now, so let's end today's 'date' here," Rei Ao said, recognizing that he couldn't win Shizuka Hiratsuka over in one go. For now, he had planted enough seeds, giving her sothing to think about. He was confident that he'd succeed eventually.
"…Okay." Shizuka gazed at the familiar yet unfamiliar Rei Ao for a mont, unable to reconcile the difference between his current gentle deanor and the cold, intimidating version of him from earlier. It was hard for her to grasp who the "real" Rei Ao was—her forr student or this new version of him.
However, one thing was undeniable: she found his earlier deanor to be incredibly attractive. Despite the chill in his tone, which even made her feel cold, she understood it was all because of her.
Still feeling dazed, she returned ho, her mind replaying his words: 'Even trash dares to touch soone I care about?' Her heart began to race—this was a completely new feeling for her. But when she rembered the age gap between them, Shizuka's face turned beet red. "What am I even thinking?!" she muttered to herself, laughing at the absurdity of her own thoughts. "I can't be that desperate, right?"
As she reached for the door, she realized her right hand still tingled from where Rei Ao had held it.
"Ugh, well, it's my own hand... nothing wrong with using it a little, right?" she murmured to herself, a flush creeping over her face as she hurriedly entered her ho.
…
Elsewhere, in the world of 'Kabaneri':
"Argh!" A green-haired boy nad Ikoma suddenly collapsed inside a train car.
"Are you alright, Ikoma?" his friend Takumi asked in concern, seeing his friend in visible pain.
Hearing the commotion, another friend, Kajika, ca over to check. "What's happening with Ikoma?"
"I…" Ikoma's voice was low and strained.
"Is it hunger?" Kajika assud, offering so food. But just as she approached, a hand grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back.
It was Mui, who stepped between them. "I sense the presence of a 'Kabane'."
"A 'Kabane'?!" Both Takumi and Kajika stared at Ikoma in shock.
Takumi nervously reached out to touch his friend's shoulder. "Ikoma, you're scaring , man!"
"Run!!!" Ikoma's bloodshot eyes flared, and beneath his torn shirt, his glowing golden heart was revealed.
"There's a 'Kabane'!" soone scread, and panic spread through the train car as people backed away in fear.
Mui sighed, shaking her head. She had suspected that Ikoma might be a 'Kabaneri'—soone who retained their human consciousness even after being infected by the 'Kabane' virus, like herself. But it seed that Ikoma was losing control, with the virus invading his brain.
"He's turning into a full 'Kabane'…" Mui lanted.
Takumi collapsed to the ground in despair, and Kajika's face was etched with sorrow.
"Ugh!" Ikoma was on the verge of fully transforming.
Mui, resigned to what had to be done, pulled out her gun. "It's unfortunate you couldn't beco a 'Kabaneri'."
Seeing this, Kajika—desperate to save her friend—initiated a trade request.
[Ding! Kajika has initiated a trade request!]
[Trade Objective]: Save Ikoma from becoming a full 'Kabane'!
[Ding! Please confirm trade terms!]
On his way ho, Rei Ao received a notification from the chat group.
"Ikoma becoming a 'Kabane'?" He was puzzled, as he rembered Ikoma eventually becoming a 'Kabaneri'. The last ti he visited 'Kabaneri', he had been busy leveling up and hadn't paid much attention to the protagonist. Kajika's request seed intriguing.
"She knows she only has her 'body' to trade, yet she still made the request… for a friend?" Rei Ao mused, skeptical about Kajika's true motives. "Let's see what she's really thinking."
[Ding! Your trade request has been accepted!]
[Trade Terms]: 'Body usage, one ti'
Kajika's face turned red as she saw the trade confirmation, but for the sake of her friend and her desire to beco soone as capable as Mui, she accepted it.
[Ding! Trade Initiated!]
When Mui noticed Kajika's reaction, she paused and released the trigger. In that mont, Rei Ao appeared behind Kajika.
"Rei Ao... sama," Mui greeted awkwardly, unsure of the proper title. Though still adjusting to the etiquette of the 'Kabaneri' world, she understood that Rei Ao was a figure of great power.
"God is here!" the surrounding passengers exclaid in astonishnt, dropping to their knees in reverence.
Even Takumi joined them, now ignoring Ikoma's predicant in favor of worshiping Rei Ao.
Rei Ao, however, was still focused on Ikoma. "So, the virus is invading his brain?"
He hadn't tried curing soone fully infected with the 'Kabane' virus before, but he was eager to experint. Ikoma lunged at Rei Ao, his body half-transford, teeth bared. However, Rei Ao slowed ti, freezing Ikoma's movents. He reached out, placing his finger on Ikoma's forehead.
"Freeze."
Using his freezing ability, Rei Ao targeted the 'Kabane' virus inside Ikoma. His freezing power wasn't just about controlling ice; at higher levels, it allowed him to freeze concepts like ti, space, and even mories.
Under Rei Ao's control, the 'Kabane' virus in Ikoma's body was completely halted, and Ikoma's human features began to return—the golden glow of his heart faded, and his once discolored skin beca normal again.
Ikoma collapsed.
"Is he… dead?" Takumi asked, fearing the worst.
"No," Rei Ao replied. "He's human again. The virus has been neutralized—he's just unconscious now."
"He turned back from a 'Kabane'… to a human?!" Everyone in the train car was left speechless, staring at Rei Ao with awe. The passengers, including Mui, were overwheld with reverence.
For Mui, the sight of Ikoma being saved left her astonished. Even she, as a 'Kabaneri', hadn't thought this was possible.
~~~
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