Akeno found herself stranded on an island of endless thunderstorms.
The dark sky crackled with electricity, each lightning strike illuminating her surroundings in brilliant flashes that cast stark shadows across the rocky terrain.
Rain pelted her skin, soaking through her Kuoh Academy uniform, but the discomfort barely registered. For someone else, this environment would be terrifying. For her, it was... stimulating.
"Ara ara~" Akeno murmured, tilting her face upward as raindrops traced paths down her cheeks. A small smile played on her lips."Leon-san certainly knows me."
She extended her hand, feeling the electric charge in the air gather around her fingertips. The sensation sent a pleasant shiver down her spine, igniting that part of her that few ever saw—the sadistic priestess who reveled in battle.
"How thoughtful of him," she whispered, her violet eyes gleaming with mischievous delight. "I wonder if he knows just how much pleasure this brings me?"
Lightning struck nearby, the thunder following almost instantly. Instead of flinching, Akeno's smile widened to something almost predatory. The raw power surging through the air was intoxicating, and she couldn't help but imagine harnessing it against an opponent—watching them writhe as her lightning coursed through them.
"The Nexus system is truly remarkable," she said softly, running her fingers through her long black ponytail, wringing out some of the rainwater. "Every sensation feels absolutely real."
Her thoughts drifted to Leon himself—so mysterious, so powerful. The perfect gentleman on the outside, yet harboring such tremendous power beneath.
To be honest, she was a little jealous of her kouhai Koneko, dating such a powerful man.
"Fufu~" she laughed softly, though it lacked her usual playfulness. "Such an interesting man. No wonder Koneko-chan likes him."
Sometimes it made her wonder what it would be like to have a man look at her the way Leon looked at Koneko.
Would he see both sides of her too? The refined Yamato Nadeshiko that everyone at school admired, and the sadistic fallen angel's daughter who reveled in battle and pain?
Akeno shook her head, sending droplets of rain flying from her long ponytail. These were dangerous thoughts. Inappropriate thoughts about her kouhai's boyfriend. Yet in the privacy of this virtual storm, she could admit to herself that Leon intrigued her in ways few others ever had.
There was something... dangerous about Leon that called to her own darker nature.
"I wonder what your real objective is, Leon-san," she whispered to the storm. "Are you testing my powers... or my control?"
She flexed her fingers, feeling her own lightning abilities responding to the storm around her. This virtual island might be Leon's creation, but here, surrounded by her element, Akeno was in her domain.
And she intended to show him exactly what the "Priestess of Thunder" could do.
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"Mou, Leon." Koneko puffed cutely, her cheeks slightly inflated in that rare show of emotion she reserved only for him.
"Haha." Leon infuriatingly laughed in front of her, his amber eyes dancing with amusement at her expression.
"I thought you're gonna help me train?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. After watching her fellow club members don their Nexus headsets and disappear into their personalized virtual training grounds.
Koneko had been prepared to enter her own virtual training space too.
Instead, Leon had casually removed her headset just as she was about to put it on, canceling her session with a few taps on his control panel.
The others were gone now, their bodies resting in the specially designed chairs while their minds were fully immersed in the virtual reality.
Koneko narrowed her eyes at Leon. He had that look—the one that meant he was up to something. She'd become adept at reading his subtle expressions over the months they'd been together, noticing things others missed.
"I am going to help you train," he said, setting her headset aside completely. "Just not in there."
She tilted her head slightly, curiosity overriding her annoyance. "Why?"
Leon stepped closer, reaching out to gently ruffle her hair. Any other time, she might have swatted his hand away, maintaining her aloof persona. But they were alone now, so she allowed herself to lean into his touch, just slightly.
"Your powers are different," he explained. "Senjutsu requires a connection to the natural world—to life energy itself. Virtual reality, no matter how realistic, can't replicate that properly."
Koneko tensed at the mention of senjutsu. She still had... complicated feelings about that part of her heritage. The power that had driven her sister mad.
Leon noticed her reaction immediately. His hand moved from her hair to her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"I know," he said softly. "But avoiding it forever isn't the answer."
"It's dangerous," she replied flatly, her default tone returning as her defenses rose.
"Only without proper guidance," Leon said, his voice gentle but firm. "And that's why I've arranged for someone to help you—someone more qualified than me."
Koneko blinked, confusion replacing her wariness. "Who?"
Leon's expression grew more serious.
"Someone who understands senjutsu better than almost anyone. Someone who can teach you how to use it safely."
Her golden eyes widened slightly. "Not—"
"Koneko—"
"Not her." Koneko took a step back, shaking her head. "Not Kuroka."
Leon didn't reach for her, respecting the boundary she'd just established. "She's the only one who truly understands what you're going through. The only one who can teach you to control it safely."
"She killed our master." Koneko's voice was flat, but her hands had balled into tiny fists at her sides. "She abandoned me."
"I know," Leon acknowledged, his voice calm. "And I'm not asking you to forgive her. I'm just asking you to listen to what she has to say."
And then she sensed it. A presence. Familiar and foreign all at once.
"Shirone."
The voice came from behind them, soft and playful with an undercurrent of something more complex. Koneko went rigid, her entire body tensing as she slowly turned around.
There, casually leaning against the far wall, was a figure she had both dreamed of and dreaded seeing again.
Kuroka.
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