"I just remembered something. I'll head back to class first. See you later."
Satoru didn't wait for a response. He offered a casual, wave of his hand and turned on his heel, exiting the office with the practiced ease of someone eager to escape a lecture.
Behind her desk, Natsuki watched him go, a slow, disbelieving sigh slipping past her lips as she shook her head helplessly.
She let the matter drop—for now—and reached into her mahogany desk drawer, pulling out a crisp, fresh file folder.
With a sharp flick of her wrist, she flipped open the cover to the opening page, her eyes scanning the neat rows of typed text.
---
[Satoru Mikami — Sacred Gear Holder]
Incident Report — Half a month ago, during an evening outing with his parents, his Sacred Gear unexpectedly awakened.
The surge of aura attracted a Level 2 Curse Spirit. The resulting onslaught claimed the lives of both parents. Satoru survived, though the psychological fallout left deep, invisible scars.
---
Natsuki tapped a polished fingernail against the edge of the desk, deep in thought. The kid was walking a razor's edge.
"Judging from his composure earlier, he really has moved past that incident… but something feels off. As if he's gone too far in the other direction."
She hesitated for a moment, then picked up her phone, she punched in a direct line.
"Hello, Rias? You're not too busy right now, are you? Good. I have a rather unusual favor to ask..."
---
Far down the sprawling, sunlit corridor, Satoru walked at a leisurely pace, his hands shoved deep into his pants pockets.
The hum of distant chatter from surrounding classrooms filled the air, completely normal, entirely mundane.
Until a frantic, breathless roar shattered the peace from the opposite end of the hall.
"Issei! You treacherous bastard, stop right there!"
"What happened to 'sharing adversity together,' you coward? You actually deserted us and threw us to the wolves!"
Two boys charged down the hall, red-faced with fury.
"How can you two hypocrites say that with a straight face? Didn't you pull the exact same trick on me last week, don't act so righteous!"
Satoru paused, tilting his head as three disheveled boys rounded the corner, sprinting at breakneck speed.
Leading the pack was a familiar brown-haired teen, his face flushed with panic and triumph in equal measure.
Issei glanced backward, sticking his tongue out at his furious pursuers.
In his haste to mock them, Issei failed to notice the student standing dead ahead in the center of the corridor.
"Oh, crap—!" Issei shrieked, his eyes widening in sheer terror. "Get out of the way! My legs won't stop!"
Before he could stop, momentum carried him forward. Satoru moved like water, sidestepping and hooking an arm.
In the next instant, the brown-haired boy found himself flipped clean off his feet.
Bang!
To Issei, the world suddenly flipped upside down. A dizzying spin blurred his vision before a sharp, unforgiving jolt rattled his teeth.
When his brain finally caught up to his body, he found himself flat on his stomach, arms wrenched uncomfortably behind his back, with a heavy knee planted squarely against the back of his neck.
"Gah—! Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Issei wailed, thrashing uselessly against the pavement. "Mercy! I surrender! I was wrong, let go of me, please!"
Realizing what he'd done, Satoru loosened his grip and stood, brushing off his hands. "Sorry. Pure muscle memory."
Lately, between sword drills and fitness training, he'd been studying close-quarters combat.
When the boy had barreled into him, his body had simply reacted. And truth be told—it felt good to test it in practice.
"You hurt?" Satoru asked casually. "I can patch you up if you want."
"N-No need!" the boy scrambled upright, shaking his head furiously.
After that lightning-fast takedown, the last thing he wanted was to spend another second near Satoru.
Sniffling, he nodded gratefully toward his two equally stunned friends who had finally caught up, and the trio hastily scurried off toward the nurse's office.
Watching them retreat, Satoru didn't immediately resume his walk.
Instead, his gaze drifted to the empty air hovering just above the floorboards where Issei had fallen.
A translucent, ethereal blue notification panel materialized in his field of vision.
---
[System Notice]
Congratulations on successfully subduing Issei Hyoudou. You have unlocked the Red-tier Trait : [Boost].
[Boost (Red) : Active skill. Upon activation, physical strength doubles every ten seconds. The upper limit of stacking is strictly bound by current physical capacity.]
---
Satoru let out a soft breath, a slow, satisfied grin spreading across his face. "Well now. That is quite the unexpected gain."
It was a pleasant surprise, turns out defeating opponents can earn new traits.
"Boost…?"
He knew this power. In the original work, this was the gift of the Red Dragon Emperor—an ability so broken that even a fool could topple monsters with it.
And now, it was his.
Excitement stirred in his chest. If Boost had appeared, then perhaps…
He would test the theory later. For now, he headed back to class.
---
Stepping into his classroom, Satoru slid into his seat near the window. He offered a polite nod to the quiet girl sitting right beside him.
"Good morning, Kato."
"Ah—good morning, Mikami-kun,"
Megumi Kato blinked her large, expressive eyes, looking momentarily surprised that anyone had paid attention to her presence.
Before Satoru could reply, the desk in front of him rattled as a spiky-haired girl whipped around, grinning broadly.
"Yo, Satoru-kun! Long time no see," Yuko Itadori said, leaning over her chair. "I heard you had a pretty nasty car accident a couple of weeks ago. You holding up okay?"
"Never better. I'm practically brimming with health," Satoru replied, extending his right hand across the aisle. "Want to test my recovery?"
Yuko grinned, instantly reading the unspoken challenge. "Oh? You're approaching me? Let's see it."
Grabbing Satoru's hand, Yuko locked her wrist into a firm arm-wrestling grip.
For the first five seconds, Yuko channeled her innate superhuman athletics, pushing hard. But Satoru didn't budge an inch.
"Whoa... since when got you so ridiculously strong?" Yuko's eyes widened in disbelief as she felt her grip slipping.
Satoru's smile deepened.
The Boost entry silently activated within Satoru's nervous system. A sudden, potent rush of raw, compressed power flooded his arm muscles, doubling his output instantly.
Yuko's grip faltered, and with one decisive push, Satoru slammed his opponent's hand against the desk.
"Wha—?! What the hell was that?!" Yuko stared in disbelief.
"Just messing around," Satoru answered with an innocent smile, releasing his grip.
Before Yuko could protest further, the door slid open. A petite figure in gothic-lolita attire swept inside, sharp gaze instantly cutting through the classroom chatter.
"Silence! Take your seats and open your textbooks!"
Natsuki Minamiya announced, her sharp gaze sweeping across the room until it lingered for a fraction of a second on Satoru.
Satoru leaned back in his seat, pulling up his status panel beneath the desk. No new Traits.
Arm-wrestling a friend doesn't trigger the 'defeat an enemy' condition. Logical enough.
His lips curled.
"Looks like I need a more... deliberate approach," he murmured quietly under his breath.
•
[Itadori Yuko]
•
[Megumi Kato]
•
*****
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