Next Target, 400PS!
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Shizuka froze. As the implication hit her, a look of absolute horror washed over her face. "N-No way!"
'Was he serious? Could something like this actually happen right under her nose?'
"..." Watching Shizuka's reaction, an amused smirk crept onto Kai's face.
"Well, it's just that I've never seen anything like this before."
Everyone gets curious about strange things sometimes. If this was just a normal weird moment, she might have ignored it. But this was so bizarre, she had to check it out herself.
Kai remained silent. Honestly, he had to agree. The whole thing was just ridiculous.
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"KAI!"
"H-HIRATSUKA-SENSEI!"
After waiting a moment, Kai and Shizuka finally stepped into the room.
Hayato Hayama, Kakeru Tobe, Yamato, and Ooka were already dressed. They sat in complete silence, looking stiff and awkward. Some questionable 'toys' were still lying around the room, showing they hadn't had time to clean up.
Shizuka's mouth twitched. She put on a deeply solemn expression and spoke with the utmost gravity. "Don't worry. As your teacher, I respect everyone's individual preferences. Rest assured, I am not a gossip."
"..."
Kai glanced at her and thought, 'If you could hide that huge grin while saying it, maybe it would sound believable...'
Hayama and the others clearly saw right through her act. They looked miserable.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, you really won't tell anyone?"
"Relax. This is your secret. I won't say a word!" Shizuka answered seriously. Even though she goofed off sometimes, she knew where to draw the line. She wasn't going to joke around with something this sensitive.
"Thank goodness!" Hearing her promise, the four boys let out a collective sigh of relief.
It was just a preference. Everyone had their own preferences. As long as nobody else found out, they could live with it.
"Kai, why are you here?"
Once the panic died down, Tobe and the others finally noticed the boy standing next to their teacher. Since he was part of their group, they didn't think he would snitch. Kai had never been the gossiping type anyway.
"I brought him with me," Shizuka chimed in before Kai could answer. She didn't want the boys getting any weird ideas. "Ahem, I figured since you're all friends, he might know a bit about the situation, so I dragged him along."
At first, she thought Kai could handle things if a Cursed Spirit was involved. But seeing how strange the situation was, she realized it had nothing to do with curses. That's why she made up an excuse so quickly.
"Oh, I see!" The boys accepted the explanation without question.
Kai looked over the group and spoke up. "No need to hide it. They definitely ran into a Cursed Spirit."
"Hmm?" Shizuka looked surprised.
Hayama and the others stared at Kai in utter confusion. "What's a Cursed Spirit?"
"Before I explain that, let's go over the details. Weren't you guys supposed to be meeting Tobe's online girlfriend? How did it devolve into this?"
They were just regular guys. They wouldn't suddenly decide to cross swords without a reason. Something had to have happened.
"Online girlfriend?"
The mention of that sent a jolt through the group. Tobe's face turned an ugly, liver-purple shade.
"Don't even bring it up. There was no girlfriend. That bastard was a guy."
Just talking about it made Tobe shake with anger. He had really cared about that relationship. But when they finally met, he found out the 'girl' was a guy pretending to be someone else. All the money he spent on 'her' was wasted.
"And then?" Kai's expression didn't change.
Online dating was always risky. Getting catfished was one of the better outcomes.
"And then?" Tobe paused, not expecting a follow-up. He thought for a second before answering reflexively. "At the time, I just felt like romance was way too much trouble. You always have to worry about getting betrayed. I figured... if possible, spending the rest of my life with my best bros wouldn't be so bad."
"So... you guys agreed?" Shizuka couldn't resist asking.
Who would have thought? No wonder she never heard any rumors about Hayama or his friends dating. This explained everything.
"We..." Being asked so bluntly made them a little bashful, but they nodded anyway. "We also thought it sounded like a pretty good idea."
"..."
Unbelievable. Her class was full of eccentric weirdos, but this was a whole new level of degeneracy.
"Could this... really be the work of a Cursed Spirit?" Shizuka turned back to Kai, looking skeptical.
"Yep." Kai nodded. "It's a curse-type Cursed Spirit."
"A curse?"
The word drew everyone's attention instantly.
Kai ignored the stares and calmly explained. "Cursed Spirits are born from human fear, but they can also come from deep resentment. Lately, catfishing and online dating disasters have become much more common. Many people have started to really hate the idea of online dating."
"It's not surprising that a Cursed Spirit was born from that collective resentment."
It sounded ridiculous, but with so many new Cursed Spirits appearing lately, it wasn't surprising that some weird ones would show up.
"As for its specific ability, since it acts as a curse, anyone afflicted by it ends up... well, exactly like you guys."
"Hiss!"
What kind of twisted Cursed Spirit was this? Just because of some catfishing, did it make people fall for the same sex? If it were a group of girls, maybe it wouldn't seem so bad. But a group of guys? It just felt wrong in so many ways.
"I-Is there a way to fix this?" Hayama shot to his feet.
He still didn't really get what these 'Cursed Spirits' were, but either way, nobody wanted to live under a curse.
"It's not hard to fix!" Kai raised a hand, pointing it at the group.
Unsure of what Kai was about to do, Hayama instinctively took a few steps closer.
"Hold it!" Kai snapped, throwing a hand up to stop him in his tracks. "Just stay over there. Don't come any closer."
Kai respected people's choices, but he definitely didn't want to get mixed up in this. He'd rather take a hit than risk getting caught up in whatever was going on.
"O-Okay!"
Hayama wasn't an idiot. Seeing the look on Kai's face, he immediately understood the implication. He let out a painfully awkward chuckle and rooted himself to the spot.
Hum!
Activating Cursed Spirit Manipulation, Kai drew out a stream of viscous, pitch-black energy from the four boys. The dark matter coalesced in mid-air, forming the grotesque shape of a monster.
The creature looked exactly like the stereotype of a greasy basement-dweller. It was a perfect fit for a curse born from the bitterness of online dating. Honestly, it couldn't have been more fitting.
"W-W-What is that?!"
Shizuka had seen Kai's power before, so she remained composed. But for Hayama and the others, seeing this for the first time sent them into a spiral of panic. They never could have imagined a monster like that was living inside them...
Only Grade 3?
Kai checked how strong the spirit was and frowned. With his current power, a Grade 3 Cursed Spirit was nothing. Before, he would have just gotten rid of it right away. It wasn't even worth the trouble.
But when he thought about its weird ability... Kai decided to keep it.
Why keep it? Because the technique was just too chaotic to pass up. If anyone annoyed him in the future, he could use this curse and turn them into a copy of Hayama's awkward situation. That would teach them not to mess with him.
"Is... is it over?" For a moment, Hayama and the others stared at Kai with intense, complicated expressions.
This was an actual, supernatural power!
"Ahem!" Catching the awe in their eyes, Shizuka cleared her throat and addressed them with authority. "Kai's identity is strictly confidential. I expect you boys to keep your mouths shut. When the time comes, everyone will know. Understood?"
"U-Understood!" They weren't stupid. After receiving a direct warning from Shizuka, they nodded obediently.
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