"What should I do next?"
It was afternoon. School wouldn't let out for a while.
Ryuji opened the world map — a bonus item the Reincarnation Space had provided when arranging his identity. It contained detailed information about all of Tokonosu City, apparently to help him complete his tasks.
The Reincarnation Space also granted each reincarnator a personal storage space, initially 1m³ in size. Anything except living things could be stored inside. Reincarnation Points could be spent to expand it.
His personal space was already Lv.5.
His current attributes were:
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[ Reincarnation ID: A/A1 ]
[ Reincarnation Nickname: Black ]
[ Strength: G- ]
[ Intelligence: G- ]
[ Constitution: G- ]
[ Spirit: G- ]
[ Talent: Immortality ]
[ Skill: Age Appearance Control, Japanese Kendō (Hanshi Hachidan) ]
[ Items: Lv.5 Personal Space (125m³) ]
[ Overall Rating: G- ]
[ Reincarnation Points: 0 ]
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"My strength has improved, and my five senses are sharper. Must be from the Grand Master level Kendō."
He clenched his fist. His attributes hadn't changed, but Ryuji felt he could take down three of his former selves.
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Following the map, Ryuji arrived at Fujimi Academy's Kendō Club. The place seemed unusually quiet and empty — probably because school hadn't let out yet.
'Wait, there's someone inside.'
Whoever it was breathed extremely slowly. If not for his heightened senses, he might not have detected it.
Curious, Ryuji pushed open the door. A beautiful girl with purple hair reaching her legs knelt in the center of the club room.
As the door opened, the purple-haired girl opened her blue eyes. She placed her hand on the wooden sword resting on her legs and looked toward the door with vigilance.
Ryuji took in the sight before him. The girl had purple hair tied in a long ponytail. A small portion fell onto the wooden floor due to her kneeling posture. She wore Fujimi Academy's distinctive girls' school uniform, the gray butterfly bow at her collar lifted by her impressive chest. Her waist was slender, and from his angle, Ryuji could even see the curve of her hips.
Under her sharp gaze, he recognized who she was.
Saeko Busujima — the close-combat specialist throughout the entire anime. In the early stages, she protected the airheaded Shizuka with just a bamboo sword and safely reunited with the main group. After obtaining the Guntō sword Murata-tou at the Takagi Estate, she went on a rampage, making it impossible for any "them" (zombies) to get close.
Ryuji showed a moment of confusion at her vigilance, then immediately understood why.
'School hasn't let out yet, so she must think I'm not a student. Teachers wouldn't come here casually either — that's why she's on guard.'
Stepping into the club room, Ryuji made no attempt to hide his burning gaze as he took in Saeko's voluptuous figure and his intense desire to possess her.
With someone who could be as gentle as a Yamato Nadeshiko yet fierce as a Valkyrie, there was no need to conceal his intentions. If he demonstrated strength far surpassing hers, he could win her favor. Then, after the apocalypse broke out, revealing and accepting her hidden weakness would make her fall hopelessly in love with him.
Ryuji's current Kendō skills couldn't be ranked according to standard Japanese dan grades.
{T/N: This is because he holds the title of Hanshi, so not only has he surpassed 8-dan, but there is no higher rank than this.}
If forced to assign a rank, it would be above 8-dan. Master Busujima — Saeko's father — was only 7-dan. After all, Kendō nowadays was just a bunch of old men going by seniority. Who cared about actual skill?
This young woman possessed strength at the 5-dan level, yet at 18 years old could only obtain 3-dan qualifications. That was why she won first place in every national youth Kendō tournament — her skills already far exceeded her peers.
Saeko noticed his undisguised gaze. The favorable impression she'd initially formed from Ryuji's appearance vanished instantly, replaced by indifference.
"It's still class time. Is there something you need at the Kendō Club right now, classmate?" Saeko stood, smoothing her skirt, then questioned him calmly.
She knew how attractive her appearance and figure were to adolescent boys, but she didn't think Ryuji had come to assault her. The entire school knew about her Kendō skills. No one would think even several adult men could take her down, let alone this young man by himself.
"Busujima-senpai, I'll get straight to the point." Ryuji stopped three meters in front of her.
Up close, he could perceive her criminally alluring figure even more clearly. Combined with her eyes — sometimes spirited, sometimes gentle — her housewife-like appearance when cooking in the anime, and those words defending male dignity, it made him want to conquer her and make her his.
"Let's make a wager through a Kendō match. The loser becomes the winner's possession."
As Ryuji's words fell, Saeko — who had won the All Japan Kendō Championships — didn't show the slightest contempt. Instead, she admired his courage.
"Kōhai-kun should know about my Kendō skills, yet you still dare to challenge me. I admire that." Saeko expressed admiration for his courage, then said gently, "But since this is a Kendō match wagering our futures, I won't be holding back, you know…"
Just then, the Reincarnation Space displayed a new task notification.
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〖Ding! Hidden Mission triggered!〗
⤚ — — — ⤙
〖Hidden Mission: Defeat Saeko Busujima! Reward: 1000 Reincarnation Points, Saeko Busujima Bronze Chest ×1 〗
⤚———————————————————⤙
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In the quiet Kendō Club, a man and woman faced each other holding bamboo swords (bokken), each at their starting position.
"Kōhai-kun, you're not wearing protective gear?" Saeko asked with surprise, looking at Ryuji holding a bamboo sword one-handed without any protection.
"A true Kendō match should be about defeating your opponent without restraints." Ryuji spoke these chuunibyou words while raising his bamboo sword one-handed, pointing it diagonally at her.
With his Kendō skills, he certainly didn't think he'd lose.
Facing Ryuji's one-handed diagonal stance, Saeko didn't feel looked down upon. Instead, she focused intently, gripping her bamboo sword with both hands and pointing it diagonally at him.
She sensed an aura — the kind she'd once felt from her father.
'No, this aura is far stronger than Father's.'
Even though Ryuji just stood there holding a bamboo sword one-handed, Saeko couldn't find any opening to attack.
She gripped her bamboo sword tightly, her spirit concentrated, as a drop of cold sweat slid from her pale forehead down to her rounded chin.
Time seemed to slow, making her feel a trace of torment.
Tap!
Suddenly, the sweat droplet hanging on Saeko's chin fell onto her ample bosom, making a faint sound that caused her to lose focus for an instant.
Ryuji moved. Raising his sword high one-handed and bringing it down, he stepped before her.
Smack!
In a fluster, Saeko barely raised her bamboo sword horizontally above her head, blocking the swift strike, but the tremendous force made both her hands ache.
Her impressive chest swayed with her movements.
'To have such force with just one hand — truly monstrous strength.' Saeko felt secretly alarmed.
Before she could recover, Ryuji's bamboo sword was already slashing horizontally toward her left waist.
Smack!
Another hasty parry. Saeko felt her hands growing numb.
Smack!
Another swift diagonal slash toward her right shoulder. She barely managed to block it.
Smack!
Blocking Ryuji's overhead strike once more, Saeko immediately pulled back and retreated, escaping his attack range.
She could now be certain — the boy before her, younger than herself, was a Kendō grandmaster surpassing even her father. When sparring with her father, she was overwhelmed, but it was nothing compared to the pressure this boy brought.
His one-handed bamboo sword, his force, speed, precision — all surpassed her father by a wide margin.
He was so powerful, yet Saeko didn't feel discouraged. Instead, a fierce fighting spirit ignited within her.
Smack!
This time it wasn't Ryuji's attack, but Saeko's.
Ryuji caught her chop aimed at his neck with one hand, while simultaneously seeing her smiling face — flushed slightly with excitement, eyes tinged with bloodlust.
Seeing her like this, he smiled faintly.
This was the real Saeko!
Smack! Smack-smack! Smack!
Saeko launched a fierce assault. Each strike aimed at vital points, her bamboo sword whistling through the air.
However, Ryuji easily blocked her consecutive attacks. A few of his counterattacks nearly knocked the bamboo sword from her hands.
What should have been a five-minute Kendō match stretched to twenty minutes.
The two stood facing each other again. After twenty minutes of high-intensity combat, Saeko was gasping for breath, her chest rising and falling. Exhausted, both hands gripping the bamboo sword trembled.
But the fighting spirit she had ignited hadn't cooled. Instead, it seemed to reach its peak, her eyes shining with golden light.
Ryuji looked at her, feeling this was enough. After Saeko calmed down and absorbed the experience from this match, her Kendō skills would surely improve tremendously.
"Busujima-senpai, it's time to end this match. The next strike will defeat you." Ryuji gripped the bamboo sword with one hand, pointing it diagonally at the ground.
"Huff… huff… hehe, come at me, Kōhai-kun." Saeko smiled excitedly, gripping her bamboo sword with both hands and raising it high, gathering strength for her final strike.
After a moment's pause, both moved simultaneously, passing each other.
Smack!
Clatter-clatter!
A bamboo sword dropped outside the ring.
⤚———————————————————⤙
〖Ding! Hidden Mission [Defeat Saeko Busujima] completed perfectly! Reward: 2000 Reincarnation Points, Saeko Busujima Bronze Chest ×1〗
⤚———————————————————⤙
Ryuji stood and set down his bamboo sword, only to see Saeko swaying unsteadily.
He stepped forward immediately, catching her before she collapsed. He held her close, not caring that she was drenched in sweat.
Her breathing was even — she had fallen asleep.
This wasn't surprising. Twenty minutes of mental and physical exertion at full concentration, dueling an opponent far stronger than herself — it would exhaust anyone, even though Ryuji had been holding back.
Looking at the girl in his arms, he finally had time to observe this heroine who shone so brilliantly in the anime.
"Her appearance is different from my memory, just like Shizuka."
Ryuji understood — anime was just anime. It couldn't represent what things looked like in reality. They say there are no ugly girls in two dimensions, and that was true.
But that didn't mean every girl was a beauty. Those girls on the playground earlier had excellent figures, but their faces were ordinary — the kind you'd lose in a crowd and couldn't pick out. Nothing like Shizuka and Saeko.
Ryuji lowered his head and saw Saeko's full bosom, her clothes soaked with sweat, revealing the deep purple lace bra underneath. He could even glimpse fair skin and deep cleavage through her collar.
Fortunately, he had developed decent self-control through his study materials. Otherwise, the defenseless Saeko would be like a little lamb in the big bad wolf's jaws.
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)