When sunlight spilled through the window the next morning, Genichi finally regained control of his body.
He flexed his fingers, clenched them, then loosened his grip, confirming that every bone and every muscle belonged to him again.
Then he sat up, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
What had happened yesterday was still far too intense for Genichi.
To put it bluntly, he had been passive the entire time.
Drugged, pushed down, touched however they pleased—he had been like a fish lying on a cutting board, unable to flip over, unable to struggle, left entirely at someone else's mercy.
He did not like that feeling.
Not one bit.
He got dressed and walked out of the room.
Morning at the shrine was quiet. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, scattering mottled shadows across the ground.
The air carried the fresh scent of grass and trees, mixed with the faint fragrance of incense.
Akeno and Rias were sitting beneath the eaves, drinking tea.
Akeno wore her shrine maiden outfit, her long hair tied up to reveal the graceful line of her neck. She held her teacup with elegant poise.
Rias sat beside her, already changed back into her own clothes. Her crimson hair spilled over her shoulders, and her expression was calm.
The two of them looked no different from usual. They chatted and laughed as if nothing had happened yesterday.
If he had not experienced it himself, Genichi never would have believed that these two admired upperclasswomen were capable of doing such a thing.
"I think we need to have a serious talk."
Genichi walked over and stopped in front of them.
Akeno raised her head and looked at him with a bright smile.
"Good morning, junior. Would you like some tea?"
Genichi looked at her without speaking.
What was done was done. Right now, the only thing he wanted was to understand what these two had been thinking.
He could still understand Rias's side of it—the pressure of the engagement, the threat from Sona, Akeno pushing things along, and the fact that Rias herself already had feelings for him. What happened last night had been sudden, but it had not come without warning.
Akeno, however, was different.
He completely failed to understand why Akeno Himejima had done what she did.
His interactions with Akeno had not been nonexistent, but they had certainly been limited.
Usually, in the clubroom, she treated him no differently from Kiba or Koneko—smiling, gentle, and keeping just the right distance.
After their sparring match, she had indeed set her sights on him, but he had thought that was only because she hated losing and wanted to reclaim her pride.
He had never once imagined that she would feel that way about him.
It made no sense.
"Upperclassman."
Genichi looked at Akeno and asked the question directly.
"Why did you drug me?"
Akeno's hand paused slightly as she held the teacup, but the smile on her face did not change in the slightest.
"Whatever do you mean, junior? I have no idea."
The corner of Genichi's eye twitched.
That expression again. That line again.
This upperclassman had truly perfected the art of playing dumb.
He was just about to press further when Rias spoke.
"As for that question, I have a guess."
Genichi turned to look at her.
Rias set down her teacup. Her expression remained calm, and those dark red eyes held an emotion Genichi could not quite understand.
"Because Akeno is an extreme sadist."
Genichi froze.
He looked at Rias in confusion, thinking he must have misheard.
An extreme sadist?
What did that have to do with him being drugged?
"And since she's an extreme sadist, she's naturally an extreme masochist too," Rias continued, her tone as calm as if she were explaining the weather.
"And you can probably satisfy both sides of Akeno."
Genichi's expression went completely stiff.
He looked at Akeno—her shrine maiden outfit, her long straight black hair, her gentle smile, her refined posture.
From every angle, she looked like the perfect yamato nadeshiko.
An extreme sadist?
An extreme masochist?
He remembered their sparring match, remembered how he had mercilessly aimed a blow at her face. He remembered the smile she had shown when those black shadows had surrounded and attacked her.
That had not been anger.
It had not been frustration.
It had been excitement.
At the time, he had not thought much of it. He had simply assumed she was a battle junkie.
Looking back now, that smile really had been a little off.
Akeno kept smiling without denying or admitting anything.
She merely held her teacup and took a small, graceful sip, as if they were discussing the weather.
"Junior, what are you thinking about?"
Genichi looked at that gentle smile and felt an absurd feeling well up inside him.
"So that's why you drugged me?"
Akeno tilted her head slightly, the gesture carrying a girlish charm.
"What do you think, junior?"
Genichi fell silent.
He wanted to say no, but he was not certain.
He had never once been able to see through this upperclassman's thoughts.
He took a deep breath and tried to clear his head.
"Upperclassman, how long have we even known each other?"
"Not long," Akeno admitted frankly.
"But there are some people you can know for a lifetime without ever feeling anything for them. And there are others who only need one glance."
Genichi opened his mouth, only to find himself at a loss for words.
What was that supposed to be?
Love at first sight?
He did not really believe it.
Akeno saw his expression and smiled.
This smile was a little more sincere than usual, and a little less disguised.
"Junior, do you want to know the real reason?"
Genichi looked at her without speaking.
Akeno set down her teacup, braced both hands behind herself, and lifted her face toward the sky.
Sunlight fell across her face, and her expression grew somewhat distant.
"Junior, you know I'm a half-breed born between a human and a Fallen Angel."
Her voice was soft.
"Ever since I was little, I was rejected, despised, and treated like an outsider. My relatives on my mother's side thought I was a monster. My father caused my mother's death, so I hated this bloodline."
She turned her head and looked at Genichi.
"But you were different. When you looked at my wings, there was nothing in your eyes. No disgust. No rejection. No sympathy or pity. Nothing at all."
Genichi remembered that night, when she had spread her wings in front of him and asked whether he thought she was ugly.
What he had said then was—
You live for yourself. Why care about how anyone else looks at you?
He had thought it was only an ordinary answer.
He had not expected her to remember it.
"You were the first person to look at me that way," Akeno said quietly.
"So I thought, if it was you, then maybe it would be all right."
Genichi remained silent for a long time.
He had thought this was only a contest between her and Rias.
He had not expected there to be another layer beneath it.
"Upperclassman," he finally said. "Aren't you afraid you've chosen the wrong person?"
Akeno smiled.
"Then I'll be wrong. At worst, I'll just go back to being alone. It's not as if I'll lose anything."
She said it lightly, but Genichi could hear the bitterness in her voice.
(End of Chapter)
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