"Urgh… what's with all this noise…"
Rina opened her eyes lazily, rubbing them with the back of her hand. Her head still felt heavy, as if she had just been drowned underwater and then forcefully pulled back to the surface.
Once her vision focused—
She froze.
A traditional dojo-style room. Wooden floors. A faint smell of medicine and sweat.
In front of her: Jun sat casually leaning against the wall, while Zekka sat not far from him—and on Jun's lap, a small blue slime wriggled comfortably.
"Maw~"
Rina blinked once.
Twice.
"…Hah?"
Reflexively, she tried to get up. But the moment her body moved—
"Ugh…!"
Pain rippled through several points: her shoulder, waist, and side of her chest. Not severe, but enough to force her back down with a strained breath.
"Hey, calm down," Jun said casually, not even bothering to get up from his position. His tone was flat, almost lazy.
Zekka stood half a step in front of Jun, back facing him, her body stiff and alert. Her gaze was locked onto Rina, as if ready to swing a sword at any moment if things went wrong.
Rina grit her teeth.
"Damn it…" she muttered. Then her eyes sharpened, staring at Jun. "You're thinking I'm weak too, aren't you?"
Jun raised an eyebrow slightly. "Eeh… no. I haven't even said anything."
"That's a lie!" Rina snapped, her voice rising. Her hand clenched on the wooden floor. "Everyone is the same! Everyone always looks at me like that!"
Zekka flinched. "Rina-san—"
"DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!" Rina cut her off, her voice cracking. "If I don't achieve anything, I'll be discarded! Useless! Worthless!"
The words spilled out uncontrollably, like a broken dam.
Jun fell silent.
But his eyes changed.
Not angry. Not belittling.
Understanding.
He had seen that expression before. Many times. On people who lived under the crushing weight of expectations—family, clans, or systems that allowed no room for failure.
A toxic environment.
"Haah…" Jun let out a quiet sigh. He stood up, and Maw hopped off his lap, landing on the floor with a soft plop.
"Maw…?" the slime tilted its body, sensing the shift in atmosphere.
"Calm down," Jun said, his voice low yet firm. "No one is going to throw you away here."
"No!!" Rina shouted, her eyes turning red. "You don't know anything!"
Jun took one step forward.
Then—
"C A L M D O W N."
One word.
Yet the world felt heavy.
Jun's Demonic Qi spread—not exploding, not raging—but pressing down like sudden gravity. The air inside the dojo seemed to condense. The wooden boards creaked softly. Rina's breath hitched, not out of fear, but because her body was forced to stop trembling.
Zekka held her breath. She could feel the pressure, even though Jun was clearly restraining it so it wouldn't hurt anyone.
Rina went still.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, but her thoughts—previously spiraling—were forced to stop running.
Jun stood before her, his gaze steady.
"I don't care about your clan," he said calmly. "I don't care about anyone's expectations. You lost today, yes. But that doesn't make you useless."
He paused for a moment, then added, more softly, "And attacking others just to prove yourself… that isn't strength."
The aura slowly subsided.
The room returned to normal.
Rina lowered her head. Her indigo hair covered her face. Her shoulders trembled—not from anger, but because the emotions she'd been holding back finally cracked.
Zekka glanced at Jun briefly, then back at Rina, her expression awkward but sincere. "I–I… never thought you were weak."
Rina didn't answer. But her breathing gradually steadied.
In the corner of the room, Maw rolled gently across the wooden floor.
"Maw…"
The soft sound contrasted with the silence that lingered after Rina's emotional outburst. The small slime stopped near Jun's feet, then went still—as if waiting as well.
Jun glanced at it briefly, then returned his gaze to Rina.
"Honestly," he said flatly, yet straight to the point, "why did you attack Zekka when she clearly didn't do anything?"
Rina tensed.
Jun continued without sugarcoating his words, "You look like someone whose mental state isn't very stable."
"What do you mean!?" Rina immediately lifted her head, her voice rising, her defensive reflex returning.
Jun didn't waver. "I'm asking," he repeated calmly, "does this have anything to do with the Sasaki clan?"
The word struck dead center.
Rina stiffened. Her eyes widened for a second before she turned her face away, her jaw tightening. Silence fell again—but this time, the answer was already clear even without words.
Jun let out a quiet sigh.
"Haah… I really shouldn't be getting involved in things like this," he said, his tone honest rather than lecturing. "But it seems the people around you have gone too far."
He leaned lightly against the wall, arms crossed.
"Listen, kid," he continued. "Don't live just to fulfill what other people want from you. Do what you want to do."
Rina grit her teeth, but didn't interrupt.
"If they're only using you," Jun stared straight at her, "then what you should be doing isn't obeying them."
He paused, then spoke with sharper weight, "Challenge them. With your own strength."
Rina clenched her fists. "B–but… if I do that…"
Jun cut her off immediately, as if he already knew the rest.
"Shunned?"
Rina fell silent.
"Yeah," Jun continued without hesitation. "They'll shun you. They might even pretend you never existed."
His words were heavy, cold—yet not without empathy.
"So what?" he continued. "Does that make them right? Or does it just prove they're bad parents—who don't care about their own child?"
Rina lowered her head, her breathing wavering slightly.
"In that case," Jun added, his voice lower yet firm, "why stay in a place that suffocates you?"
Silence.
Zekka stood stiffly at the side, too nervous to interrupt. She watched Jun with a mix of awe, confusion, and slight fear.
Rina finally spoke, her voice faint. "…You talk as if you've gone through all of that."
Jun didn't answer right away.
He glanced toward the dojo window where the evening light slanted in.
"Maybe," he said quietly.
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he turned back to Rina.
"By the way," he said abruptly, his tone shifting lighter, "how old are you?"
Rina was caught off guard by the sudden topic change. "Um… sixteen."
Jun nodded slowly.
"…Okay," he muttered. "Maybe I was a bit too harsh."
Zekka blinked. A bit? she thought, her mouth slightly open but choosing to remain silent. She still wasn't used to the way Jun spoke—too… far beyond their age range.
Jun sighed deeply, rubbing his face for a moment, then looked back at Rina.
"So what are you going to do now?" he asked calmly. "Go home?"
Rina didn't answer immediately.
She turned her face away, staring at the cracked wooden floor of the dojo—the remnants of their earlier battle. Her gaze hardened, not from anger, but because she knew her reality all too well.
Attacking Zekka today… had been her last chance.
Her last chance to prove herself to the Sasaki clan—a clan that had only ever valued results, not people. And she had failed. Again.
The silence finally broke when Jun spoke once more.
"What was your name again?" he asked, his tone neutral.
"…Rina Sasaki," Rina replied softly yet clearly. This time, without defiance.
Jun nodded once. "Rina…"
He fell silent for a moment—then dropped a sentence that froze the air in the room.
"Would you mind if I became your guardian?"
"Eeh?"
Rina snapped her head up. Zekka jerked as well, nearly dropping Maw from her arms.
"W–what!?" Zekka shouted first.
Jun shrugged. "What? Even like this, I'm twenty-two."
The second silence—this time heavier.
Rina looked at Jun with a mixed expression. Confused, wary, unbelieving… and a faint hope she herself didn't want to acknowledge.
"S-since when…?" Rina murmured.
"Since I saw you looking like you'd lost your way," Jun replied honestly. "And before you did something even dumber than attacking someone innocent."
Zekka swallowed hard. This situation was moving too fast.
Jun then turned toward him. "Zekka."
"H-huh!?"
"For now, take care of her. I'll handle the administrative matters."
Zekka looked like he was about to refuse, his face clearly showing reluctance—but for some reason, he eventually nodded slowly.
"…Alright."
Even he himself didn't know why he obeyed.
This was strange.
The three of them had only met today. Fought. Almost killed each other. Yet now… the atmosphere felt like a small group that had already known each other for quite some time.
Jun turned around first and walked out of the dojo.
—
That afternoon, Jun walked through the grounds of Kuoh Academy – Junior High School.
His steps were calm, his expression flat, as if the absurd incident earlier had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience. He headed straight to the faculty building and stopped in front of an office whose lights were still on.
He knocked.
"Come in," a woman's voice sounded from inside.
Jun opened the door.
Behind the desk sat a woman with long, neatly flowing purple hair, sharp orange eyes behind glasses, and an aura that was clearly… not human.
Teacher Benemune.
The moment their eyes met, Jun immediately knew.
"Hello," Jun greeted casually. "Are you Teacher Benemune?"
The woman lifted her gaze. "Ah, yes. What business do you have with me?"
"This is about your student," Jun replied without beating around the bush. "Zekka Miyamoto."
"Oh?" Benemune narrowed her eyes. "Are you his guardian—"
Jun let out a small sigh.
He knew.
Azazel wasn't here.
And if that was the case… the person in front of him was clearly no ordinary teacher.
"Let's stop with the small talk," Jun said calmly. "I'm sure Azazel isn't in Kuoh right now. So… instead, I've run into his subordinate."
He spoke the name clearly.
"Penemue."
The room instantly turned tense.
"What…?" Benemune—Penemue—immediately stood up, her chair scraping back. Light began to gather in her hand, forming the tip of a spear.
"Who are you!?"
"Calm down," Jun said flatly. "I'm talking about your student."
"What!?" Penemue fully summoned her light spear. "What did you do to my students!?"
Jun didn't respond with words.
He released his aura.
Dense Demonic Qi pressed down on the room like additional gravity. The air grew heavy, the walls vibrated faintly, and the light spear in Penemue's hand flickered, unstable.
Penemue was clearly under pressure.
But she was still standing.
"…Who are you really," she muttered, forcing herself to withstand it.
"Zekka is fine," Jun said, lowering his aura slightly. "But there was a problem afterward. And I need your help."
His tone shifted—more honest, more direct.
Penemue hesitated for a moment… then her light spear slowly faded.
"What happened?" she finally asked.
Jun then explained everything.
Penemue's expression changed.
"What…?" Her eyes widened. "Zekka-chan was attacked by a descendant of Sasaki Kojiro? That one!?"
"Yes," Jun replied briefly. "I know it sounds absurd."
He turned toward the door.
"It's better if you see it yourself."
—
Not long after, they returned to the dojo.
The moment Penemue stepped inside and saw the condition within—the cracked floor, the lingering aura of a Sacred Gear, and Rina sitting silently in the corner—
Rina turned.
And her eyes widened at once.
"Ah… Benemune-sensei!"
That voice was filled with shock.